Darryl Lenox ( – April 16, 2023) was an American comedian. He toured the US and Canada for over 20 years, headlining comedy clubs. He lived in Vancouver, where he founded the entertainment company Ellison Rains. His stand-up special Blind Ambition was filmed at the Vogue Theater in Vancouver and aired on Starz! Network in 2012. Lenox was signed to Stand Up! Records.
For over 25 years, Lenox experienced degenerative sight loss, rendering him legally blind. Much of his material focused on his personal experience surrounding his relationship with his diminishing eyesight and the associated observations and challenges.
Early life and career
Lenox was born and raised in Las Vegas, Nevada. He originally dreamed of becoming a professional basketballer. His first experience with stand-up comedy was an open mic night at the Seattle Underground comedy club, after which he was invited to return the following night for a comedy competition.
Most of the comedian's early career in stand-up was performed in Canada. In 2005, following the Just for Laughs festival in Montreal, Lenox traveled to Florida intending to return. With no work permit, he was denied access by the border patrol and excluded from the country for a year, leaving all of his belongings in his Canadian apartment.
Stand-up
Lenox performed in comedy clubs throughout the United States and Canada starting in the early 1990s. Some of his career accomplishments include opening for Chuck Berry and Maxi Priest, being the Winner of Best New Play at Vancouver Fringe Festival, and being the Winner of the Seattle Comedy Competition.
Darryl featured on A&E’s Evening at the Improv, BET’s Comic View, Best of Just for Laughs Comedy Festival New Year’s Eve Special, Jamie Foxx’s Laffa Palooza, and Live at Gotham on Comedy Central. He performed at numerous comedy festivals including Montreal’s JFL, HBO Comedy Arts Festival, Boston Comedy Festival, Chicago Festival, and Vancouver Comedy Festival.
Lenox's comedy special "Blind Ambition" appeared on Starz in November 2012 and continues to be featured on their channel multiple times a month. After his success on Starz, Lenox caught the eye of late-night television.
In addition to touring comedy clubs, Lenox was featured on Conan on TBS and Marc Maron's WTF Podcast. In 2022, Lenox appeared on an episode of This American Life to discuss how going blind shifted his trust in strangers.
Accolades
Lenox was the winner of Seattle International Comedy Competition in 1999 and Winner of Best New Play at Vancouver Fringe Festival.
Humanitarian
Having been afflicted with deteriorating eyesight since his youth, Lenox shrugged off any notion of self-pity. “I can’t see two feet in front of me, but I can see tomorrow.” Surgery restored some of his vision. Lenox partnered with the Third World Eye Care Society, an organization that provides eye exams and eyeglasses for visually impaired people worldwide. Lenox believed that poverty should never prevent one from enjoying a better quality of life through a better vision.
Personal life and death
Lenox was visually impaired; he was extremely nearsighted from birth and became legally blind in his teenage years. Later in life, he went completely blind in his left eye and had limited vision in his right eye, due to a cataract and detached retina. After undergoing surgery, Lenox regained 20/40 vision, provided he was wearing corrective lenses. Lenox lived in Vancouver from 1994 to 2005, later stating that "the best thing that ever happened to me was Canada".
Lenox died after a heart attack on April 16, 2023.