Many comedy fans have come to recognize Loni Love as one of the most exciting and hilarious entertainers to arrive on the scene within the last decade.
She has recently been rated as one of the “Top 10 Comics to Watch” by both Comedy Central and Variety.com.
Love, a Detroit native, worked on a General Motors assembly line in high school. She developed an interest in electrical engineering, which helped her get a scholarship to attend Prairie View A&M University in Texas.
It was in college Love discovered her passion for comedy. She moved to California to accept an engineering job and pursue her dream ultimately becoming a popular attraction at Los Angeles comedy clubs. In 2003 she was featured in HBO’s U.S. Comedy Arts Festival.
Since then, Love has made numerous appearances on television and in film. She landed a role in the major motion picture “Soul Plane” alongside fellow comedian Kevin Hart and rapper Snoop Dogg.
Love has also starred in her own half-hour special for Comedy Central, and has become a familiar face while appearing on programs such as “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” “The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn,” VH1’s “I Love the ‘70s/80s/90s,” “The Dr. Oz Show” and “Comics Unleashed.”
Love became a CNN correspondent for the show “D.L. Hughley Breaks the News,” covering the inauguration of President Barack Obama, and now hosts E!s “Wildest TV Show Moments.”
Love will bring her Live, Love, Laugh tour to Indianapolis March 14-17. She spoke with the Recorder about her career and what we can expect from her show:
Recorder: Will this be your first time in Indianapolis?
Love: Not the first time visiting, but the first time performing.
What do you think of our city? You can be honest – we won’t hold it against you.
(Laughs) It’s a really, really nice city. The people there are wonderful and everything is so nice and neat. I’m looking forward to coming back.
What can people expect from your show?
That’s simple: They can expect some good stand up comedy, and a guaranteed good time.
What do you enjoy most about your career?
I like being able to make people laugh and make them feel good. That’s what the stand up part of my career allows me to do, so I really like that. It gives you an opportunity to travel and interact with people directly. The live shows are less scripted and more spontaneous. When you do comedy live you actually get to engage people and enjoy their laughter.
You have gifts in both comedy and engineering. Is it important for people to develop more than one gift as they pursue their dreams?
Yes. It is important for people to find out what they are good at and have something else to complement that. What attracted me to engineering was the fact that it gave me problem solving skills, something that can be helpful not only in your career but your whole life.
Would you say comedy is your true calling?
I wouldn’t say it’s a calling. It’s just something that I enjoy doing. I like to entertain people and make them smile, and that’s the goal for every performance.
Who are some of the comedians who have inspired you?
Bill Maher, Whoopi Goldberg and Eddie Murphy. I like people who have something to say and take comedy from the truth.
What subjects do you enjoy using?
Usually relationships, fat people uniting, current events and politics.
Any thoughts on the Oscars?
I was rooting for George Clooney, because everyone knows I love George. Some things this year were unexpected, but everything was cool.
