What is Rickey Smiley’s net worth?
Rickey Smiley is a stand-up comedian, radio and television personality, and actor who has a net worth of $2.5 million. Rickey Smiley is best known for his prank phone calls. He serves as the host of the nationally syndicated radio program “The Rickey Smiley Morning Show,” and previously starred on the television sitcom “The Rickey Smiley Show” and the reality series “Rickey Smiley For Real.” In 2002 Rickey played the role of “Santa Claus” in the Ice Cube film “Friday After Next.” That same year he appeared as “Snitch Mitch” in the Ice Cube movie “All About the Benjamins.” In the 2008 Ice Cube movie he appeared as his character “Bernice Jenkins.” Among his other credits, he appeared in the films “First Sunday” and “Baggage Claim.”
Early Life and Education
Rickey Smiley was born as Broderick Smiley on August 10, 1968 in Birmingham, Alabama. For his higher education, he attended Alabama State University in Montgomery.
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Stand-up Comedy
Early in his career as a stand-up comedian, Smiley performed on such television shows as “Def Comedy Jam,” “Snaps,” and “Showtime at the Apollo.” He also hosted the 13th season of the BET stand-up comedy show “Comic View” in 2004. In his comedy routines, Smiley typically plays a variety of colorful fictional characters, such as Bernice Jenkins, Rusty Dale, and Lil’ Daryl.
(Photo by Marcus Ingram/Getty Images for BET)
Radio Career
In 2004, Smiley became the morning show personality for the Dallas, Texas radio station KBFB. He became known on the station for his elaborate prank calls, which involve him roleplaying as various characters. Some of Smiley’s most notable prank calls include “Buried Alive,” in which he pretends to be a narcoleptic working at a funeral home who is accidentally buried alive; “Uncle Melvin,” in which he prank calls his uncle; and “She P-E-E-D,” which ends with the recipient of the call, an elderly lady, laughing so hard that she pees on herself. In 2008, Smiley signed a deal with Syndication One to take his radio program nationwide as “The Rickey Smiley Morning Show.” The show is heard on many mainstream urban and urban adult contemporary stations in the United States.
Television Career
In 2011, Smiley became a host on the newly created Fox-produced television program “Dish Nation,” which features tabloid news and commentary on pop culture. For the second season of the show, he was joined by his cast mates from “The Rickey Smiley Morning Show” in Atlanta. Smiley remained on “Dish Nation” until 2019. Meanwhile, he appeared on a number of other television shows. From 2012 to 2014, he starred on his own sitcom, “The Rickey Smiley Show,” which aired on TV One. After that, from 2014 to 2016, he cohosted the Stellar Awards.
Smiley went on to land his own reality series, “Rickey Smiley For Real,” which premiered on TV One in 2015. The series followed Smiley as he balanced his career and his personal life as a father. “Rickey Smiley For Real” ran for five seasons through 2018. Elsewhere on television, Smiley made many appearances on the Bravo reality series “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” between 2014 and 2018. He also cohosted the Black Music Honors from 2017 to 2020, and cohosted the Super Bowl Gospel Celebration in 2021.
(Photo by Prince Williams/Wireimage)
Film Career
Smiley made his feature film debut in the 2002 stoner comedy “Friday After Next,” the third film in the “Friday” franchise starring Ice Cube. He reunited with Ice Cube in 2008 for the crime comedy “First Sunday,” which also featured Katt Williams and Clifton Powell from “Friday After Next.” In the film, Smiley played his popular stand-up character Bernice Jenkins. His next film was the 2010 direct-to-video dance drama “Stomp the Yard: Homecoming,” a sequel to “Stomp the Yard.” Three years after that, Smiley appeared in David E. Talbert’s romcom “Baggage Claim,” which Talbert adapted from his book of the same name.
Personal Life
Smiley was previously married for 12 years to Brenda Morris, with whom he had four children: Brandon, D’Essence, Aaryn, and Malik. In the summer of 2020, their daughter Aaryn was shot during a road rage incident. Later, in early 2023, their 32-year-old son Brandon killed himself via intentional drug overdose.
