Who is Darryl M. Bell?
Daryl M. Bell was born in Chicago, Illinois USA, on 10 May 1963 – his zodiac sign is Taurus, and he holds American nationality. He’s an actor and a film producer, who has appeared in close to 20 movies and TV series, while he’s perhaps still known best for his debut TV series role, portraying the lead character Ron Johnson, in the popular comedy series “A Different World”. It was created by Bill Cosby, also starred Lisa Bonet, Kadeem Hardison and Jasmine Guy, and follows the lives of several students who are attending an ‘historically Black college’; the series aired from 1987 to 1993, and won 17 of the 28 awards for which it was nominated, including three Primetime Emmy nominations.
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Early life, parents and education
Darryl was raised in Illinois by his father Travers J. Bell Jr., who was the first black man to own a company on the New York Stock Exchange, and his mother who was a housewife; because he hasn’t spoken of having any siblings, most people believe Darryl to be an only child.
He studied at Delbarton School, and was one of four African-American students in his generation. It was during his four years there that Darryl became interested in acting, appearing in numerous plays performed at the school, as well as at a local theatre. Upon matriculating in 1981, he enrolled at Syracuse University, where he was a member of the fraternity Alpha Phi Alpha, and from which he graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in 1985.
Darryl worked a couple of jobs in the following three years, prior to launching his acting career.
Roles in movies
Darryl made his debut film appearance in the 1988 musical comedy drama “School Daze”, written and directed by Spike Lee, and which starred Laurence Fishburne, Giancarlo Esposito and Tisha Campbell. It follows a young man who’s not very popular, but is still trying to join his college’s fraternity; the movie was nominated for a National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Image Award for Outstanding Motion Picture.
In 1994, he played Lawrence in the comedy drama “Mr. White”, while the following year saw him portray E-Z Street, in the crime science fiction action “Black Scorpion”.
Darryl was cast to play Bug in the 1999 comedy “New Jersey Turnpikes”, directed by Bryan Buckley, and which starred Kelsey Grammer, Roberta Angelica and Susan Anton. It follows the lives of the members of a not-so-good basketball team.
In 2000, Darryl played Yamomoto’s Henchman in the hit crime thriller drama “Brother”, and the year 2004 saw him play a supporting character in the comedy “Beverly Hills S. U. V.”
He has appeared in only one other movie: the 2013 romantic drama “The Dark Party”, written and directed by Kadeem Hardison, who also starred in it, alongside Marcus Patrick and Eric Payne. It follows two best friends, Jeff and Mike, who have hired a psychologist to help them throw a blind date party; the movie was nominated for an American Black Film Festival Grand Jury Prize for Best Film.
Roles in TV series
In 1996, Darryl played John in the episode “Dear John” of the popular comedy “Living Single”, and in 1996 and 1997, he portrayed the lead character Morris Clay in the science fiction comedy “Homeboys in Outer Space”. It was created by Enrich Van Lowe, also starred Flex Alexander and Rhona Bennett, and follows Tyberius Walker and Morris Clay who are two best friends, and are travelling around space while pretending to be two Han Solos (from the film franchise “Star Wars”).
In 1997, Darryl played Julius in three episodes of the comedy “Cosby”, and in 1999, he portrayed Floyd Huxtable III in the episode “The Van for All Seasons” of the comedy “For Your Love”.
He has appeared in only two other series: the 2012 episode “The House Sitter’s Episode” of the comedy “Are We There Yet?”, and the 2018 episodes “Better-Like” and “High-Like” of the romantic comedy “Insecure”.
Other credits
Darryl voiced Bravo Leader in the 2003 video game “X2 – Wolverine’s Revenge”.
He produced the 2013 TV special documentary “Bill Cosby: Far from Finished”, and the 2014 video “Bill Cosby: 77”.
Darryl has also been featured in various documentaries, in the 2006 movie “I Was a Network Star”, and most recently in the 2016 series “Unsung Hollywood”, and the 2021 mini-series “Reunion Road Trip: All My Children”.
He has made a guest appearance in various talk-shows, such as “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson”, “Oprah: Where Are They Now?”, and “Steve Harvey”.
Love life and wife
Darryl’s quite secretive when it comes to sharing the details of his love life, but it’s still widely known that he’s today in a long-term relationship. Darryl met the American actress Tempestt Bledsoe on the set of a movie, sometime in the first half of the ‘90s; she’s appeared in close to 30 movies and TV series, but is probably still known best for her portrayal of Vanessa Huxtable in the critically acclaimed romantic family comedy series “The Cosby Show”, which aired from 1984 to 1992.
As of January 2022, Darryl and Tempestt have been together for close to 30 years now, but haven’t married, and don’t have children together. It’s widely believed that they have chosen not to have children but to rather focus on their careers, however, some of their fans believe that perhaps one of the two, or both, is infertile; this remains unconfirmed.
Hobbies and other interests
Darryl is quite active on Instagram, and apparently enjoys the attention which he’s receiving from his close to 30,000 followers; he’s uploaded over 250 pictures, most of which have been taken during his everyday life.
His acting career has taken him to various US states, while Darryl has also vacationed in a couple of European and African countries, and his dream travel destination is Cairo in Egypt.
He was physically highly active in his 20s and 30s, and worked out at the gym nearly every day, however, Darryl no longer works out, but only occasionally plays tennis and golf with his friends.
He has his own favorite actors and actresses, some of whom are Will Smith, Eddie Murphy and Julia Roberts, while a couple of his favorite movies include “Independence Day”, “Seven Pounds” and “I Am Legend”.
Age, height and net worth
Darryl’s age is 58. He’s bald, and has brown eyes, his height is 5ft 8ins (1.75m) and he weighs around 165lbs (75kgs).
As of January 2022, his net worth has been estimated at more than $6 million.
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