Talent: Comedian, Actor
Location: New York
Phrase: "I'm Rich Bitch"
Contact: www.bootlegcomedy.com
               www.myspace.com/donnellrawlings

You’ve seen Donnell Rawlings on the Comedy Central’s award winning and critically celebrated Chappelle’s Show as ‘Ashy Larry’, the 70’s jheri curled ‘Beautiful’, or any of the numerous characters he’s played.  Donnell is the franchise player Dave Chappelle and Neal Brennan wanted as a writer and prime time player on their team.

Donnell has performed his intelligently bold stand-up throughout the U.S., Europe, and the Caribbean.  He has appeared on both award winning Law & Order series Special Victims Unit (SVU) and Criminal Intent (CI).  Donnell has also appeared in Third Watch on CBS, and the Emmy award winning HBO Special: The Corner.  Last season, he was featured on HBO’s critically acclaimed series The Wire.

Growing up, this Washington, D.C. native used humor as a means of persuasion with the ladies and whipped out his wicked wit as a weapon of mass destruction in verbal battle.  While in the Air Force Donnell’s wordplay shot down more military personnel than any G.I. issued arms as he traveled the world.

When Donnell returned to the States and settled into civilian life he decided to check out the local comedy scene in D.C.  He quickly became the “official heckler” as he ate comedians alive from the audience.  One day a local comedian challenged Donnell to bring his act to the stage.  Six months later Donnell was performing on HBO’s Def Comedy Jam.

That was the jump off that has led to other opportunities for Donnell.  From his weekly guest appearance on New York’s Hot 97 Morning Show, to Donnell’s role in the blockbuster Spider-Man II and his status as resident “Funny Guy” on the Ricki Lake Show.

Before comedy, I heard that you were in the military?

Yea. In four years that I was a military police officer, I was probably the worst cop they ever had.  I only had one arrest.  I was pretty much a glorified security officer if would like to say. 

How did you get into comedy?

When I was working in Washington D.C., a group of friends and I use to go to the comedy club every Wednesday for the open mic just to have a good time and I became a heckler.  I became so good at being a heckler that I was drawing an audience.  People were coming to see me and the club owner didn’t know what to do, so he challenged me to go on stage because he felt that was the only way that he could shut me up.  I went on stage and I ripped it and I have never looked back since. 

As a kid were you a class clown that liked to entertain others?

Clown isn’t the word. I would say I was the class humor.  My whole life I’ve also had a since of humor and was always the life of the party but when I was young I never considered a career in comedy.  Everything kind of fell that way. 

I read recently that you were chosen to host “Lost Episodes of Chappelle’s Show”.  Why do you think that you were chosen?

I think because Dave decided that he didn’t want to do the show anymore and they had material and the only element that was missing was somebody to step up and sketch it up.  I think that it would make common sense for them to use two faces that were familiar with the show and faces that the fans enjoyed with me and Charlie Murphy.  A lot of people think that it’s the Charlie and Donnell show but its all Chappelle Show but we’re just introducing the sketches. 

Speaking of Comedy Central, are they going to offer you and Charlie anything that now the Chappelle Show has come to an end?

We just finished a pilot for Comedy Central called Charlie vs Donnell which is a reality show produced by Neil Britin who is one of the executive producers from the Chappelle Show.  The dynamics of me and Charlie’s relationship is that we argue and fight in a joking way all day but at the end of the day anybody that’s been around us, its kind of hard to know if we’re friends or not so we thought that we would take that of us going back and fourth, put some money to it and make a comedy show. 

When is that suppose to premiere?

We don’t have a date for Charlie versus Donnell yet. 

Are you working on any motion pictures at the time?

Yea I’m doing a film with Charlie right now called Twisted Cap.

What is that about?

I really can’t talk about it right now but its funny.  It features Charlie Murphy, myself, David Tale, Tracy Morgan, Tommy Chung, and its got a real real nice cast.  I play a cop and that’s the only thing that I can talk about right now. 

With all of these things going on, how do you find time to co-host your morning show?

I really don’t find time. I just really don’t go to sleep. (laugh).  I gotta get all the jobs that I can get right now.

A lot of people look at you as just Ashy Larry from television or a comic but few people know you as the community activist. Would you like to elaborate on that a little?

I always felt like you have to go back to places you started and give kids inspiration or give them a figure that has made some success out of their dream.  I’m not saying that I’m some super role model and I don’t tell the kids to say no to anything but I’m like anything that you say yes to, there could be some serious repercussions.. I felt like Camdon High School would be a challenge because its one of the toughest high schools in the country but they laugh just like the kids who grew up in the Hamptons.  I think the kids need to see images that they can relate to. 

Since you’re a comedian, do the kids take you seriously?

The reception that I get from all the charity events I’ve done its been good.  You can have a serious platform but bring it with a humorous tone, even with politics, in religion and everything. A sense of humor is the one thing that can bring all groups together.  My thing is to get people laughing first and then hit them with the serious stuff.  I don’t clam to be a Politian but I think humor can go into everybody’s day-to-day life and it makes everybody feel good.  It makes people comfortalbe to talk when you can make them laugh first and then think later. 

What other projects are you working on right now besides the ones that we talked about so far?

One project is trying to get my girlfriend to become my fiancé and possibly my wife.  I did a film with Tom Green last year called Legacy. I did a film with Ben Savage, John Grigts, and Blake Clarke called Car Days.  It should be out next year.  I’ve been just filling in the grind and trying to move forward. 

With all of your accomplishments that you’ve had, at the end of the day do you want people to remember you as Ashy Larry from the Chappelle Show or do you want people to remember you for something else?

That character was strong so I don’t have a problem people calling me ashy and I don’t have a problem with people wanting me to say “I’m Rich Bitch”.  The only problem that I’ll have in the future is when the ashy and the rich bitch don’t pay off anymore.  I think Jimmy Walker was fine saying dynamite until they weren’t cutting any checks anymore but whatever people connect with me with, then I gotta role with that.  That’s how I make my living. 

So you came up with the concept “I’m Rich Bitch”?

Naw, that was one of Dave’s jokes on his stand up and it was one of my lines and it happened that I nailed it.   When we were doing the wrap around after the first season every time they played that clip people laughed and I think Dave was excited with the popularity of it and decided to put it in.  But that was a line that Dave had in his stand up years ago. 

Anything else you want say?

Live, Love, and Laugh.