Rickey Smiley is an American radio broadcaster, stand-up comedian, actor, and television host. He is well-known for his prank phone calls and has been making audiences laugh for more than two decades.
Smiley is the host of “The Rickey Smiley Morning Show,” heard on 59 radio stations in the Midwest and the South. Additionally, he is the star of TV One‘s popular reality series, “Rickey Smiley For Real,” which debuted in 2015.
Rickey Smiley's Appearance (Height, Hair, Eyes & More)
| Height | 6 ft 0 in 1.83 m |
|---|---|
| Weight | 172 pounds 78 kg |
| Hair Color | Black |
| Eye Color | Dark Brown |
| Body Type | Fit |
| Sexual Orientation | Straight |
Facts About Rickey Smiley
| Nationality | American |
|---|---|
| Estimate Net Worth | $7 million |
| Religion | Christian |
| Birth Sign | Leo |
| Birthplace | Birmingham, Alabama USA |
| Birthday | August 10, 1968 |
Rickey Smiley's Net Worth
A radio personality and comedian from Atlanta, USA, Rickey Smiley has a $7 million fortune. His lucrative careers in stand-up comedy, acting, and hosting are how he acquired his money.
Early in the 1990s, Smiley started doing stand-up comedy. In 1995, he appeared on “Def Comedy Jam,” which helped him gain popularity. Since then, he has starred in his sitcom, “The Rickey Smiley Show,” and has recorded several comedy albums, which added to his wealth.
His net worth is predicted to increase in the future as the 54-year-old celebrity continues to be popular yet living a low-profile lifestyle. His radio show, “The Rickey Smiley Morning Show,” is thought to bring him around $4 million in income annually.
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Rickey Smiley's Early Life
An American comedian and radio host, Broderick Dornell Smiley was born on August 10, 1968, in Birmingham, Alabama, the youngest of seven kids. His mother, Annie Bell Smiley, was a stay-at-home mom, and his father, John Smiley, worked in the steel industry.
When Rickey was four, his parents got divorced, and his mother took care of raising him. When he was six, his father passed away. Smiley was raised with assistance from her mother’s extended family and was watched over by his grandparents.
Rickey was raised by his grandparents and faced numerous challenges when he was younger. He has always said that his childhood was enjoyable, despite these challenges. His humor, political views, and social action are influenced by the diversity of his family and a deep appreciation of Southern culture.
Rickey grew up around funny people with exciting stories to share. At age 14, he started doing stand-up comedy.
Rickey Smiley's Education
He completed his secondary schooling at Birmingham, Alabama’s Woodlawn High School. Smiley briefly attended Tuskegee University, but by 1992 he had graduated from Alabama State University with a bachelor’s degree in music. (1)
Rickey Smiley's Relationships and Dating Life
Rickey isn’t dating right now. He has two sons, Malik Smiley and Brandon Smiley, yet there is no information on his wife or girlfriend. Additionally, he has adopted eight kids.
The difficulty of losing his father so young was a powerful inspiration for him to open his home and care for other kids. He enjoys spending time with all his children and, whenever he can, take them boating and fishing.
Interestingly, he found out about his oldest son, his first child, six years after his birth. After DNA tests confirmed that the infant was his son, he wanted to be part of his life.
His son was reared as a child by his ex-girlfriend and boyfriend. The three parties involved eventually devised a plan to split child care. Later, he welcomed his estranged son into his home, and they have led tranquil lives ever since.
On July 6, 2020, the performer just went through a horrific event. His 19-year-old daughter Aaryn Smiley was shot three times on the Fourth of July holiday in 2021. She was out grabbing lunch when she got caught in a crossfire. She underwent surgery and survived.
He has also kept his wife’s and their divorce-related details private. Since his divorce from his ex-wife, Rickey hasn’t been in a committed relationship. In one of his interviews, he claimed that he is not now trying to enter into any relationships.
Rickey Smiley's Career
Stand-up Comedian
After graduating high school and starting his stand-up comedy career at 14, he relocated to Atlanta, Georgia. Bernie Mac, a stand-up comedian, became Rickey’s mentor after they met in Atlanta. (2)
Radio and Television Personality
He moved to Atlanta, Georgia, in 2000 and started working on the Rickey Smiley Morning Show there. He also appeared in Uptown Comedy Club and Comic Escape.
Smiley’s prank call routines, in which he would contact businesses and people while mimicking various characters, helped the show gain popularity.
He started appearing in “Rickey Smiley For Real,” a reality television show aired on the TV One network, in 2008.
Smiley has a diverse resume that includes roles in several movies and theatre productions and his radio and television work. His comedic CDs include “Prank Calls Gone Wrong” and “Live & Uncensored,” both of which were published in 2002.
Singer
He has also released several funny songs based on his skits, including “Roll Tide” with his redneck character Buford and “We Miss Robert,” which is based on a performance in which a friend of a dead drug dealer. He also performed the rap song called “We Miss Robert“ at the funeral, which is a song about a woman, performed in hopes of getting a record deal.
Writer
Rickey published his memoirs to make his writing debut. Smiley’s “Stand by Your Truth,” then “Run for Your Life,” a book published in 2017 by Gallery Books, details his ideas, interests, and experiences from growing up and learning from renowned comedians in the entertainment industry, including Steve Harvey and Tom Joyner.
He contributes a piece to the nationally broadcast tabloid program Dish Nation, produced by Fox.
Social Media Influencer
Additionally, Ricky has a YouTube channel with 690K members, contributing to his significant annual income.
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Rickey Smiley's Controversies
And for the recored the producer told my son the make that statement about black women. He's about to apologize on the air
— Rickey Smiley (@RickeySmiley) January 23, 2017
All of Rickey Smiley‘s business, according to a woman who claims to be his ex-girlfriend, is out in the open and is quite messy.
This isn’t the first or second time Rickey’s reputation has been damaged. Emails from his [email protected] email account were made public, and they mentioned a few bisexual encounters, his relationships with several women, and his extremely insulting language toward them.
Rickey Smiley was dragged into the controversy about his son, wherein a lot of black women were enraged due to his son’s statement that he doesn’t like black women. Smiley defends his son by saying that the producers are to blame for the agenda that came out of the show. His son apologized and promised that it would never happen again. (3)
Rickey Smiley's Humanitarian Works
The comedian used to cook sandwiches and boil sausages for hungry kids even when Ricky was a tiny child. He’s a firm believer in giving back to the community.
Because he was interested in politics and social concerns, Smiley was motivated to become an activist. He has traveled to speak to community groups and schoolchildren about the value of voting, fostering strong family ties, and ending violence in African American communities.
This holiday season, comedian, actor, radio host, and TV personality Rickey Smiley (TV One Rickey Smiley For Real) is making effective use of his platform by helping underprivileged families all around the nation through his non-profit organization, The Rickey Smiley Foundation.
The Rickey Smiley Foundation works to improve the lives of kids, teenagers, and elders via initiatives that promote social, familial, and community responsibility. Tim Mercer, a member of the foundation’s board of directors, was personally impacted by the organization’s work and decided to start off the holiday season by making a live, on-air donation of $3,000 to the foundation on “The Rickey Smiley Morning Show.” (4)
“The Rickey Smiley Morning Show,” Rickey Smiley’s award-winning morning radio program, will continue for an additional five years thanks to a new agreement he struck with “Reach Media” and “Urban One.” The agreement also calls for the establishment of “The Rickey Smiley Podcast Network,” a platform for black storytellers whose talents span everything from comedy to serious storytelling.
The most diversified media firm in the United States that predominantly targets Black Americans and urban customers is Urban One, together with its subsidiaries.
Rickey Smiley's Real Estate and other Properties
Rickey lives peacefully with his children in Atlanta, where he runs a radio show. He does not like luxurious cars and only uses regular vehicles for his travels.
References
- Web Post, Rickey Smiley, retrieved from https://bijog.com/biography/rickey-smiley
- Otis Alexander, Rickey Smiley (1968- ), retrieved from https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/rickey-smiley-1968/
- Bossip Staff, Rickey Smiley Responds To His Son’s Disgusting ‘Black Women Are Unattractive’ Comments, retrieved from https://bossip.com/1442469/rickey-smiley-responds-to-his-sons-disgusting-black-women-are-unattractive-comments/2/
- Gabriel Williams, Rickey Smiley Is Not Only Funny As Hell But He Is Giving Back To The Community, retrieved from https://stuffflypeoplelike.com/176699/rickey-smiley-is-not-only-funny-as-hell-but-he-is-giving-back-to-the-community/