WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.299 Welcome to the Deep Dive. Today, we're looking 00:00:02.299 --> 00:00:05.040 into, well, a really compelling figure in comedy, 00:00:05.259 --> 00:00:08.039 Daryl O 'Flynn Lennox. Yeah, born in 66, passed 00:00:08.039 --> 00:00:11.720 away just last year, 2023, a 34 -year career 00:00:11.720 --> 00:00:14.019 in stand -up. And it wasn't just about jokes, 00:00:14.099 --> 00:00:18.160 was it? His whole story is about navigating some 00:00:18.160 --> 00:00:21.609 intense... personal stuff, moving around geographically 00:00:21.609 --> 00:00:23.750 and just really digging into the differences 00:00:23.750 --> 00:00:26.429 between, say, Canadians and Americans. That's 00:00:26.429 --> 00:00:28.730 right. It's an incredible life and body of work 00:00:28.730 --> 00:00:30.570 to explore. We're not just, you know, listing 00:00:30.570 --> 00:00:32.229 dates here. We're really trying to understand 00:00:32.229 --> 00:00:34.070 his resilience. We've got a lot of biographical 00:00:34.070 --> 00:00:37.070 sources and they consistently call him a giant 00:00:37.070 --> 00:00:39.689 of Canadian comedy. Which is fascinating given 00:00:39.689 --> 00:00:41.829 he was American from Vegas originally. Exactly. 00:00:41.829 --> 00:00:43.990 So our mission today really is to get beneath 00:00:43.990 --> 00:00:46.450 the surface facts. We want to uncover the insights, 00:00:46.630 --> 00:00:48.659 the things that let him turn cultural. observations. 00:00:49.520 --> 00:00:52.579 And I mean, the unbelievable challenge of going 00:00:52.579 --> 00:00:56.140 blind into this unique comedic voice, part humor, 00:00:56.320 --> 00:00:59.100 part philosophy. And that's the core of it, isn't 00:00:59.100 --> 00:01:01.460 it? These two big themes running through his 00:01:01.460 --> 00:01:04.200 work. First, like you said, the whole Canadian 00:01:04.200 --> 00:01:06.739 versus American thing, sharp, funny, sometimes 00:01:06.739 --> 00:01:09.659 kind of gentle observations. And second, his 00:01:09.659 --> 00:01:13.239 own personal journey with his eyesight. Decades 00:01:13.239 --> 00:01:16.200 of it deteriorating, eventually leading to him 00:01:16.200 --> 00:01:18.829 being totally blind. And that combination, that's 00:01:18.829 --> 00:01:20.709 what makes him stand out. He took the external 00:01:20.709 --> 00:01:23.409 observing culture and paired it with the deeply 00:01:23.409 --> 00:01:25.969 internal struggle. It's what made him more than 00:01:25.969 --> 00:01:27.829 just a comic, almost a philosopher on stage. 00:01:28.049 --> 00:01:30.890 Yeah, balancing that raw club humor with stuff 00:01:30.890 --> 00:01:33.799 that felt, I don't know, deeper. A therapeutic 00:01:33.799 --> 00:01:36.299 almost. Absolutely. And the recognition he got 00:01:36.299 --> 00:01:39.060 was huge. Yeah. I mean, appearances on Conan. 00:01:39.180 --> 00:01:42.140 Right. And that really revealing talk on Marc 00:01:42.140 --> 00:01:44.799 Maron's WTF. Oh, that was a big one. And This 00:01:44.799 --> 00:01:47.760 American Life, too. Plus his big specials Blind 00:01:47.760 --> 00:01:51.299 Ambition back in 2012. And Super Bloom in 2021. 00:01:51.780 --> 00:01:53.959 Such a powerful title for that one. And they 00:01:53.959 --> 00:01:57.599 weren't just, you know, popular. Crickley acclaimed 00:01:57.599 --> 00:02:00.459 Stage Time magazine called Blind Ambition one 00:02:00.459 --> 00:02:03.140 of the top five comedy albums of the year. That's 00:02:03.140 --> 00:02:05.219 major praise. OK, so let's start at the beginning. 00:02:05.879 --> 00:02:08.400 How did this guy from Las Vegas end up becoming 00:02:08.400 --> 00:02:11.259 such a defining voice up in Vancouver? All right. 00:02:11.280 --> 00:02:14.680 So Daryl Lennox, born in Las Vegas, Nevada, 1966. 00:02:15.360 --> 00:02:18.539 His early family life had some big shifts. Yeah, 00:02:18.620 --> 00:02:21.719 his biological dad was a Vietnam vet, left when 00:02:21.719 --> 00:02:24.479 Daryl was only four. Right. So he and his four 00:02:24.479 --> 00:02:27.180 sisters were raised by his mother and stepfather. 00:02:27.400 --> 00:02:28.780 And what's really interesting right from the 00:02:28.780 --> 00:02:31.759 start is this contrast. He had physical challenges 00:02:31.759 --> 00:02:34.740 early on. Mm -hmm. Nearsighted from birth, which 00:02:34.740 --> 00:02:37.139 obviously became a huge part of his story later. 00:02:37.319 --> 00:02:39.300 But at the same time, he was apparently a really 00:02:39.300 --> 00:02:41.680 gifted athlete. Wanted to play pro basketball. 00:02:41.919 --> 00:02:44.689 Yeah. Quite talented, despite the vision issues 00:02:44.689 --> 00:02:47.650 and that ambition, that drive you see in athletes 00:02:47.650 --> 00:02:50.370 to overcome physical stuff. You can kind of see 00:02:50.370 --> 00:02:52.409 that carrying over into his comedy career later. 00:02:52.610 --> 00:02:54.250 That makes sense, that resilience, that sort 00:02:54.250 --> 00:02:56.389 of competitive spirit, maybe taking it from the 00:02:56.389 --> 00:02:59.090 court to the stage, even when he couldn't really 00:02:59.090 --> 00:03:01.870 see the crowd clearly. Totally. So the geographical 00:03:01.870 --> 00:03:03.830 shift started when he was a teenager. He moved 00:03:03.830 --> 00:03:06.349 up to Seattle. His biological dad lived there. 00:03:06.669 --> 00:03:09.050 And Seattle's where the comedy bug really bit. 00:03:09.150 --> 00:03:11.650 First time on stage was at an open mic. Seattle 00:03:11.650 --> 00:03:15.169 comedy underground. Legendary spot. Right, right. 00:03:15.229 --> 00:03:18.009 So Seattle was the launch pad. But he didn't 00:03:18.009 --> 00:03:20.669 just stay put, did he? No. Typical comic journey 00:03:20.669 --> 00:03:23.030 in some ways. He moved around a lot early on. 00:03:23.229 --> 00:03:26.469 Did time in L .A., New York, Florida. Trying 00:03:26.469 --> 00:03:29.250 to find his footing, his base. But eventually. 00:03:29.550 --> 00:03:32.189 Canada. Eventually, yeah. Yeah. All the sources 00:03:32.189 --> 00:03:35.030 point to Vancouver, British Columbia as the place 00:03:35.030 --> 00:03:37.210 he really considered home, his adopted home. 00:03:37.370 --> 00:03:39.210 And that wasn't just like, oh, I like Vancouver. 00:03:39.550 --> 00:03:41.629 It really shaped his career path, didn't it? 00:03:41.710 --> 00:03:44.090 Oh, fundamentally. Most of his early stand -up 00:03:44.090 --> 00:03:45.969 career, like the core years of developing his 00:03:45.969 --> 00:03:48.650 voice, happened in Canada. He made that definitive 00:03:48.650 --> 00:03:51.550 move to Vancouver in 1994. OK, let's pause there. 00:03:51.669 --> 00:03:54.129 That move to Vancouver in 94, you said it was 00:03:54.129 --> 00:03:57.389 a fundamental shift. How so? What changed? Well, 00:03:57.409 --> 00:03:59.370 this is key to understanding his whole artistic 00:03:59.370 --> 00:04:02.270 evolution. You take an American comics, American 00:04:02.270 --> 00:04:05.509 rooms, American issues, and you drop them into 00:04:05.509 --> 00:04:07.449 Vancouver. You found out pretty quickly, like 00:04:07.449 --> 00:04:09.909 a lot of comics do crossing that border, that 00:04:09.909 --> 00:04:12.110 Canadian audiences, well, they react differently. 00:04:12.229 --> 00:04:15.620 How differently? What wasn't landing? From what 00:04:15.620 --> 00:04:17.660 he said, it was often the stuff focused really 00:04:17.660 --> 00:04:20.720 tightly on American racial dynamics or very specific 00:04:20.720 --> 00:04:24.399 kind of hot button U .S. political jokes. They 00:04:24.399 --> 00:04:27.959 just didn't hit with the same immediate gut reaction 00:04:27.959 --> 00:04:30.459 in a Vancouver club. Less relevant directly, 00:04:30.740 --> 00:04:33.060 maybe. Yeah. Or just a different comedic sensibility. 00:04:33.279 --> 00:04:36.980 Probably a bit of both. You know, American humor 00:04:36.980 --> 00:04:40.199 often thrives on that high tension, conflict, 00:04:40.459 --> 00:04:43.800 clear sides. Canadian humor often leans more 00:04:43.800 --> 00:04:46.740 towards self -deprecation, observation, maybe 00:04:46.740 --> 00:04:49.160 finding the absurdity in things rather than direct 00:04:49.160 --> 00:04:51.740 confrontation. It's a generalization, of course, 00:04:51.839 --> 00:04:53.600 but there's truth to it. So he had a choice. 00:04:53.759 --> 00:04:55.800 Yeah. Keep doing the same stuff and maybe not 00:04:55.800 --> 00:04:58.319 connect or adapt. And he adapted. Smart move. 00:04:58.399 --> 00:05:00.480 It forced him to broaden his perspective, move 00:05:00.480 --> 00:05:02.180 away from jokes that only worked if you were 00:05:02.180 --> 00:05:04.839 deep in U .S. current events and become more, 00:05:04.939 --> 00:05:07.850 well, more universal. More philosophical. So 00:05:07.850 --> 00:05:09.949 the outsider perspective became his strength. 00:05:10.209 --> 00:05:12.990 Exactly. Observing Canadian culture from an American 00:05:12.990 --> 00:05:16.610 viewpoint gave him endless material. Contrasting 00:05:16.610 --> 00:05:18.709 that Canadian politeness, which he sometimes 00:05:18.709 --> 00:05:21.290 framed as kind of passive aggressive, hilariously 00:05:21.290 --> 00:05:24.949 with American, you know, intensity or bluntness. 00:05:25.290 --> 00:05:27.930 So Vancouver basically made him step back, watch 00:05:27.930 --> 00:05:30.420 more, find the humor. In the human stuff, not 00:05:30.420 --> 00:05:32.720 just the headlines. Precisely. He developed that 00:05:32.720 --> 00:05:35.459 sharp outsider's eye, and that's where the philosophical 00:05:35.459 --> 00:05:38.620 tag really started to make sense. He turned cultural 00:05:38.620 --> 00:05:41.139 observation into something deeper about existence. 00:05:41.560 --> 00:05:44.279 That's a big leap for a stand -up. But his commitment 00:05:44.279 --> 00:05:46.439 to Canada wasn't always smooth sailing, right? 00:05:46.480 --> 00:05:48.240 He actually got deported at one point. Yeah, 00:05:48.339 --> 00:05:50.339 that was a huge disruption. Happened in 2005. 00:05:50.459 --> 00:05:52.959 Some kind of alleged work permit issue. He was 00:05:52.959 --> 00:05:55.699 out of Canada for five years. Wow. Five years. 00:05:55.740 --> 00:05:57.600 He didn't just give up and stay in the States. 00:05:57.680 --> 00:06:00.540 He fought it. And eventually the issue was sorted 00:06:00.540 --> 00:06:03.000 out. Apparently it was based on a mistake and 00:06:03.000 --> 00:06:05.279 he was able to return in 2010. That five -year 00:06:05.279 --> 00:06:08.279 gap and then coming back, it really underlines 00:06:08.279 --> 00:06:11.379 how much he saw Vancouver as his home base, his 00:06:11.379 --> 00:06:14.199 creative center. He didn't just drift away. No, 00:06:14.300 --> 00:06:17.319 he actively worked to get back. And his return 00:06:17.319 --> 00:06:20.300 in 2010 really kicks off his most acclaimed period. 00:06:20.579 --> 00:06:23.699 It proved those Canadian roots were real and 00:06:23.699 --> 00:06:26.519 deep. He really was the comedian of two nations, 00:06:26.560 --> 00:06:29.959 but he chose Canada as the place to forge his 00:06:29.959 --> 00:06:32.839 voice. So Lennox is back in Vancouver. His style 00:06:32.839 --> 00:06:35.819 is locked in. And people were noticing what made 00:06:35.819 --> 00:06:38.319 him different. The Georgia Straight, big Vancouver 00:06:38.319 --> 00:06:40.680 paper, called his comedy part philosophical, 00:06:41.019 --> 00:06:43.959 part therapeutic, part inspirational. Those are 00:06:43.959 --> 00:06:45.680 pretty heavy words for stand -up comedy, aren't 00:06:45.680 --> 00:06:47.519 they? Usually it's just funny. Right, but it 00:06:47.519 --> 00:06:49.379 fits him. The philosophical part, that's the 00:06:49.379 --> 00:06:51.379 cultural observations, the human condition stuff. 00:06:51.620 --> 00:06:54.100 Yeah, and the therapeutic that comes from his 00:06:54.100 --> 00:06:56.920 honesty, I think. Brutal honesty about his life, 00:06:56.959 --> 00:07:00.000 especially the vision loss, relationships, failings. 00:07:00.120 --> 00:07:02.399 And inspirational is just, well... Turning all 00:07:02.399 --> 00:07:04.620 that difficulty into brilliant comedy. That's 00:07:04.620 --> 00:07:06.680 inspiring in itself. Definitely. And look at 00:07:06.680 --> 00:07:08.819 his influences. They reflect that duality, too. 00:07:08.939 --> 00:07:11.220 He mentioned the absolute titans of American 00:07:11.220 --> 00:07:13.379 truth -telling comedy. Richard Pryor, George 00:07:13.379 --> 00:07:16.300 Carlin. Chris Frog, Dave Chappelle. Comics who 00:07:16.300 --> 00:07:18.779 made stand -up into real commentary. Exactly. 00:07:18.779 --> 00:07:21.660 But then he also credited people closer to his 00:07:21.660 --> 00:07:24.680 journey. Rod Long, a Seattle comic from his early 00:07:24.680 --> 00:07:28.019 days. And crucially, Canadian comic Brent Butt. 00:07:28.459 --> 00:07:30.639 Oh, interesting. Brent Butt is known for that 00:07:30.639 --> 00:07:34.759 very Canadian, gentle, observational style, like 00:07:34.759 --> 00:07:37.160 Corner Gas. Right. So Lennox was clearly pulling 00:07:37.160 --> 00:07:39.699 from both worlds, that American intensity and 00:07:39.699 --> 00:07:42.199 that Canadian nuance. He was blending them. And 00:07:42.199 --> 00:07:44.899 that blend made him a cornerstone of the Vancouver 00:07:44.899 --> 00:07:47.680 scene, which leads to maybe the coolest story 00:07:47.680 --> 00:07:50.779 about his influence, mentoring a super young 00:07:50.779 --> 00:07:53.230 Seth Rogen. Yeah, apparently Rojan was just a 00:07:53.230 --> 00:07:55.449 kid, like 13, hanging around the comedy clubs. 00:07:55.589 --> 00:07:57.509 Yeah. And Lennox kind of took him under his wing. 00:07:57.649 --> 00:08:00.089 Wow. Rojan's talked about it a lot, says Lennox 00:08:00.089 --> 00:08:02.189 was a huge influence on him, especially on his 00:08:02.189 --> 00:08:05.290 first big movie, Superbad. Really? What do you 00:08:05.290 --> 00:08:08.459 think Rojan took from him? My guess. Probably 00:08:08.459 --> 00:08:11.100 that permission to be really raw and vulnerable, 00:08:11.319 --> 00:08:13.740 but still funny. Lennox is always honest about 00:08:13.740 --> 00:08:16.240 his flaws, his anxieties, even before the blindness 00:08:16.240 --> 00:08:19.000 got really bad. And Superbad has that same kind 00:08:19.000 --> 00:08:21.779 of awkward, unfiltered honesty about being young. 00:08:21.920 --> 00:08:24.420 He didn't feel like slick Hollywood stuff. Yeah, 00:08:24.459 --> 00:08:27.199 it felt real. Exactly. And they stayed connected. 00:08:27.680 --> 00:08:30.560 Lennox even narrated a story in the audio version 00:08:30.560 --> 00:08:33.860 of Rogin's memoir, Yearbook, years later. It 00:08:33.860 --> 00:08:36.100 shows that influence went beyond just jokes. 00:08:36.179 --> 00:08:38.740 It was about truthful storytelling. So he's building 00:08:38.740 --> 00:08:41.519 this base in Vancouver, mentoring future stars. 00:08:42.480 --> 00:08:45.100 But he still had that American competitive drive, 00:08:45.240 --> 00:08:46.879 didn't he? He was hitting the competition circuit 00:08:46.879 --> 00:08:49.200 hard. Oh, yeah. He didn't just stay local. He 00:08:49.200 --> 00:08:51.120 won the Seattle International Comedy Competition 00:08:51.120 --> 00:08:54.440 back in 99. Big win, showing his stuff worked 00:08:54.440 --> 00:08:56.919 stateside, too. And kept going second place in 00:08:56.919 --> 00:08:59.700 the San Francisco competition in 2000. That's 00:08:59.700 --> 00:09:01.980 a tough one. Very tough. And then another second 00:09:01.980 --> 00:09:04.980 place, 2006 Boston Comedy Festival. These aren't 00:09:04.980 --> 00:09:07.120 small potatoes. These are major platforms in 00:09:07.120 --> 00:09:09.679 big U .S. comedy cities. It proves that the deeper 00:09:09.679 --> 00:09:12.929 philosophical stuff he honed in Canada. It translated 00:09:12.929 --> 00:09:14.629 right back across the border. People got it. 00:09:14.710 --> 00:09:17.629 And he was everywhere festival -wise, too. SXSW, 00:09:17.710 --> 00:09:20.269 Winnipeg, Just for Laughs in Montreal, HBO's 00:09:20.269 --> 00:09:22.610 U .S. Comedy Arts Festival, Vancouver Comedy 00:09:22.610 --> 00:09:24.090 Fest. I mean, the list goes on. He was working 00:09:24.090 --> 00:09:27.169 constantly. Plus TV and radio on both sides of 00:09:27.169 --> 00:09:30.110 the border. In the U .S., you had Conan. Late 00:09:30.110 --> 00:09:32.370 lead show with Craig Ferguson. Comedy Central 00:09:32.370 --> 00:09:36.909 presents BT's Comic View. Even Jamie Foxx's Lafapalooza. 00:09:36.990 --> 00:09:38.990 Right, showing that range. Mainstream cable, 00:09:39.330 --> 00:09:42.470 late night BET. He could connect with different 00:09:42.470 --> 00:09:45.470 audiences. But his Canadian media presence is 00:09:45.470 --> 00:09:48.009 really telling, too, like being a guest panelist 00:09:48.009 --> 00:09:51.750 six times on CBC Radio's The Debaters. Yeah, 00:09:51.950 --> 00:09:54.049 The Debaters is great. It's not just stand -up. 00:09:54.049 --> 00:09:56.169 You have to be quick, argue funny points. Exactly. 00:09:56.190 --> 00:09:59.250 It requires serious wit and cultural literacy. 00:09:59.450 --> 00:10:01.730 Being on six times, that means you're considered 00:10:01.730 --> 00:10:04.210 top -tier funny in Canada, someone who gets the 00:10:04.210 --> 00:10:06.929 nuances. He was also a judge on Get Cooking with 00:10:06.929 --> 00:10:08.950 the Stars twice. That's pretty random, but shows 00:10:08.950 --> 00:10:10.990 he was becoming a known personality. Totally. 00:10:11.129 --> 00:10:14.169 So by the early 2010s, Lennox isn't just a comic 00:10:14.169 --> 00:10:16.110 in Canada. He's part of the fabric of Canadian 00:10:16.110 --> 00:10:18.750 entertainment. Respected, established. Which 00:10:18.750 --> 00:10:21.529 means when his health really took a turn, when 00:10:21.529 --> 00:10:24.169 the blindness became the central story, he had 00:10:24.169 --> 00:10:26.809 this incredibly solid foundation already built. 00:10:26.909 --> 00:10:30.129 He had the platform, the skills, everything ready 00:10:30.129 --> 00:10:32.590 to process that huge challenge through his art. 00:10:33.330 --> 00:10:35.850 OK, let's get into what is maybe the most defining 00:10:35.850 --> 00:10:39.269 aspect of Daryl Lennox's life and comedy. His 00:10:39.269 --> 00:10:41.669 journey with sight loss. It started early, right? 00:10:41.889 --> 00:10:44.549 Near sighted from birth. Yeah, and legally blind 00:10:44.549 --> 00:10:46.509 by the time he was a teenager. Just pause on 00:10:46.509 --> 00:10:49.909 that. Legally blind as a teen. That means a huge 00:10:49.909 --> 00:10:52.590 chunk of his early comedy career, when he was 00:10:52.590 --> 00:10:55.450 figuring things out on stage, was done with seriously 00:10:55.450 --> 00:10:58.379 bad vision. Imagine that. Standing under those 00:10:58.379 --> 00:11:00.500 bright lights, trying to connect with an audience 00:11:00.500 --> 00:11:03.000 you can barely physically see. It must have forced 00:11:03.000 --> 00:11:05.720 him to rely so much more on listening, on tone, 00:11:05.840 --> 00:11:08.299 on just the feeling in the room. Had to make 00:11:08.299 --> 00:11:10.299 him a better listener, maybe. More conversational 00:11:10.299 --> 00:11:13.320 on stage. Could be. And the decline wasn't just 00:11:13.320 --> 00:11:15.700 a straight line down. He had a bad injury in 00:11:15.700 --> 00:11:19.120 1997 that made his sight worse. But then, and 00:11:19.120 --> 00:11:20.639 this is just incredible, he had surgery that 00:11:20.639 --> 00:11:22.720 actually worked. It restored his sight for several 00:11:22.720 --> 00:11:27.220 years. Wow. I didn't realize that. To get it 00:11:27.220 --> 00:11:30.740 back. And then lose it again later. Can you imagine 00:11:30.740 --> 00:11:33.620 the psychological impact? Seeing clearly again 00:11:33.620 --> 00:11:36.639 after years of impairment. Seeing faces. Details 00:11:36.639 --> 00:11:38.980 only to know it wasn't permanent. And then eventually 00:11:38.980 --> 00:11:41.860 face losing it all again. That experience alone 00:11:41.860 --> 00:11:44.600 gives you a perspective on, well, on everything. 00:11:44.840 --> 00:11:48.320 On how temporary things are. Almost cruel twist. 00:11:48.620 --> 00:11:51.080 Yeah. And the fight just continued. He finally 00:11:51.080 --> 00:11:53.840 became totally blind in 2021. Yeah, right around 00:11:53.840 --> 00:11:56.570 the peak of his recognition, tragically. A decades 00:11:56.570 --> 00:11:59.169 -long battle ending in complete darkness. And 00:11:59.169 --> 00:12:00.549 he wasn't just talking about it on stage. He 00:12:00.549 --> 00:12:02.809 was doing work offstage, too, right? That's right. 00:12:02.889 --> 00:12:04.610 He got involved with the Third World Eye Care 00:12:04.610 --> 00:12:07.210 Society. It's a charity helping visually impaired 00:12:07.210 --> 00:12:09.929 people in poorer countries. He was trying to 00:12:09.929 --> 00:12:12.330 channel his own experience into something positive 00:12:12.330 --> 00:12:14.590 for others. Which brings us to Blind Ambition, 00:12:14.669 --> 00:12:17.509 his first really big special, recorded in Vancouver 00:12:17.509 --> 00:12:20.909 at the Vogue Theatre, October 2010, just after 00:12:20.909 --> 00:12:22.769 he got back to Canada. Perfect timing, really. 00:12:23.029 --> 00:12:26.059 And the title? Blind ambition. It's just brilliant. 00:12:26.200 --> 00:12:28.860 Takes that corporate buzzword and makes it deeply 00:12:28.860 --> 00:12:31.620 personal, vulnerable and literal. And it got 00:12:31.620 --> 00:12:34.179 noticed. Stars picked it up for TV in the U .S. 00:12:34.200 --> 00:12:37.580 Huge deal. Put his story and his comedy in front 00:12:37.580 --> 00:12:40.460 of a massive American audience. And the critics 00:12:40.460 --> 00:12:43.399 loved it. Stage Time magazine called it one of 00:12:43.399 --> 00:12:45.740 the most complete experiences in comedy this 00:12:45.740 --> 00:12:48.809 year. Top five album of 2012. What's that even 00:12:48.809 --> 00:12:51.389 mean, most complete experience in comedy? I think 00:12:51.389 --> 00:12:53.210 it means it wasn't just a string of jokes. It 00:12:53.210 --> 00:12:56.090 was a journey. It had narrative, themes, emotional 00:12:56.090 --> 00:12:58.710 depth alongside the laughs. Jake Austin from 00:12:58.710 --> 00:13:00.590 Rocktober magazine put it really well. What did 00:13:00.590 --> 00:13:04.230 he say? He said Linux could address mortality, 00:13:04.509 --> 00:13:07.110 race, personal failings and triumphs, what it 00:13:07.110 --> 00:13:08.870 means to be an American and what it means to 00:13:08.870 --> 00:13:12.470 be a human in very funny, touching terms. See, 00:13:12.629 --> 00:13:15.519 not just jokes. Existential stuff. That mix again. 00:13:15.659 --> 00:13:18.000 The personal pain, the cultural observation. 00:13:18.360 --> 00:13:20.799 Richard Lenoy, another reviewer, pointed to the 00:13:20.799 --> 00:13:23.220 specifics, the wickedly funny, self -deprecating 00:13:23.220 --> 00:13:26.120 stories about his site, but also that laser -sharp 00:13:26.120 --> 00:13:28.159 take on the Canadians he lived with. So blind 00:13:28.159 --> 00:13:30.159 ambition was really the moment those two big 00:13:30.159 --> 00:13:32.360 threads, the two nations, the blindness came 00:13:32.360 --> 00:13:34.919 together perfectly in his art. Absolutely. He 00:13:34.919 --> 00:13:37.120 took this incredibly vulnerable thing, losing 00:13:37.120 --> 00:13:39.960 his site, and used it to connect. That's therapeutic 00:13:39.960 --> 00:13:42.639 comedy at its best. He made people laugh with 00:13:42.639 --> 00:13:44.700 him about the absurdity of it all, which kind 00:13:44.700 --> 00:13:46.740 of gives you permission to look at the absurdities 00:13:46.740 --> 00:13:49.139 in your own life. Okay, so fast forward almost 00:13:49.139 --> 00:13:53.259 10 years, 2021. He releases his next major album, 00:13:53.500 --> 00:13:57.000 Super Bloom. And this comes out right when he 00:13:57.000 --> 00:13:59.500 actually becomes totally blind. Yeah, the timing 00:13:59.500 --> 00:14:02.159 is profound. And that title, Super Bloom, it's... 00:14:02.440 --> 00:14:04.539 maybe the most powerful metaphor he ever used. 00:14:04.659 --> 00:14:06.320 Explain it. It's a desert thing, right? Exactly. 00:14:06.320 --> 00:14:08.700 Like in Nevada, where he was from, after really 00:14:08.700 --> 00:14:11.000 heavy rain, sometimes in places that look totally 00:14:11.000 --> 00:14:13.820 barren, you get this sudden, massive, unexpected 00:14:13.820 --> 00:14:17.179 explosion of wildflowers. Just blankets of color. 00:14:17.299 --> 00:14:20.480 Wow. So the metaphor is blindness is the heavy 00:14:20.480 --> 00:14:22.580 rain, the darkness. That's how it feels, the 00:14:22.580 --> 00:14:25.279 trauma, the difficulty. And the super bloom is 00:14:25.279 --> 00:14:27.860 the unexpected growth, the new perspective, the 00:14:27.860 --> 00:14:30.460 wisdom, maybe even the new material that comes 00:14:30.460 --> 00:14:32.179 out of that darkness. That's incredibly poignant. 00:14:32.440 --> 00:14:34.639 And the album was another hit, number one on 00:14:34.639 --> 00:14:37.539 the iTunes comedy chart. It shows audiences respond 00:14:37.539 --> 00:14:39.700 to that kind of honesty, especially when it's 00:14:39.700 --> 00:14:42.580 handled with humor and grace. Sean Conner at 00:14:42.580 --> 00:14:45.039 the Vancouver Sun pointed out it felt more positive, 00:14:45.159 --> 00:14:47.960 maybe. How so? Conner said the theme seemed to 00:14:47.960 --> 00:14:50.700 be that there is usually a silver lining somewhere. 00:14:51.000 --> 00:14:54.000 It felt like a shift. So if Blind Ambition was 00:14:54.000 --> 00:14:56.529 about the struggle with the loss. Yeah, maybe 00:14:56.529 --> 00:14:59.289 Super Bloom was about accepting the new reality, 00:14:59.490 --> 00:15:02.470 finding the unexpected upsides even. Like what? 00:15:02.610 --> 00:15:05.210 Like he talked about later having to trust people 00:15:05.210 --> 00:15:07.950 differently, relying on other senses, judging 00:15:07.950 --> 00:15:10.409 people just by their voice and intent, not how 00:15:10.409 --> 00:15:13.330 they look. It suggests a kind of peace with it, 00:15:13.370 --> 00:15:15.970 maybe an embrace of the change. It's the ultimate 00:15:15.970 --> 00:15:18.529 statement of acceptance in a way. But Lennox 00:15:18.529 --> 00:15:20.590 wasn't just sticking to stand up albums. He was 00:15:20.590 --> 00:15:24.090 clearly pushing into other forms, too. He wrote 00:15:24.090 --> 00:15:27.029 and performed a one -man show called DNA. Right. 00:15:27.129 --> 00:15:30.250 DNA was his chance to stretch out as a storyteller, 00:15:30.350 --> 00:15:32.950 really build a theatrical narrative from his 00:15:32.950 --> 00:15:35.470 life experiences. He toured it to festivals. 00:15:35.590 --> 00:15:38.309 And it did well. Really well. It won Best New 00:15:38.309 --> 00:15:41.429 Play at the Vancouver Fringe Festival. And note 00:15:41.429 --> 00:15:44.850 that Best New Play, not Best Comedy Show or Best 00:15:44.850 --> 00:15:47.169 Stand -Up. That signals he was being recognized 00:15:47.169 --> 00:15:49.570 as a writer, a playwright even. And that opened 00:15:49.570 --> 00:15:52.090 other doors, didn't it? I read HBO was interested 00:15:52.090 --> 00:15:55.210 in DNA. Yeah, apparently HBO showed serious interest 00:15:55.210 --> 00:15:58.990 in developing it into a sitcom. Wow, HBO. That's 00:15:58.990 --> 00:16:01.049 a big leagues for development. Absolutely. It 00:16:01.049 --> 00:16:03.649 means the industry saw potential in his voice, 00:16:03.750 --> 00:16:06.750 his story, his characters for long form TV. He 00:16:06.750 --> 00:16:08.889 was right on the edge, possibly, of becoming 00:16:08.889 --> 00:16:11.629 a creator, a showrunner. Huge potential there. 00:16:11.789 --> 00:16:14.389 And his reach also just exploded thanks to... 00:16:14.600 --> 00:16:17.860 podcasts. That 2013 appearance on Marc Maron's 00:16:17.860 --> 00:16:20.899 WTF, that must have been huge for him. Oh, massive. 00:16:21.200 --> 00:16:23.600 Maron's audience is full of dedicated comedy 00:16:23.600 --> 00:16:26.539 fans, people who really listen deeply. It's often 00:16:26.539 --> 00:16:28.960 where comics get really, really honest. Lennox 00:16:28.960 --> 00:16:30.879 definitely used that platform well. But he went 00:16:30.879 --> 00:16:33.159 beyond just comedy podcasts too, right? He ended 00:16:33.159 --> 00:16:36.080 up on This American Life. Yeah, in 2022, just 00:16:36.080 --> 00:16:38.330 the year before he passed. That's crossing over 00:16:38.330 --> 00:16:41.129 into major narrative journalism, a huge achievement 00:16:41.129 --> 00:16:43.950 for a comic. And This American Life is all about 00:16:43.950 --> 00:16:46.409 that deep emotional storytelling. What was this 00:16:46.409 --> 00:16:49.909 segment about? It focused specifically on how 00:16:49.909 --> 00:16:52.769 going totally blind changed the way he trusted 00:16:52.769 --> 00:16:55.990 strangers. Oh, wow. That's deep. Think about 00:16:55.990 --> 00:16:59.809 it. Losing all visual cues, body language, facial 00:16:59.809 --> 00:17:02.230 expressions, and having to rely completely on 00:17:02.230 --> 00:17:05.710 sound, on intuition, on just trusting someone's 00:17:05.710 --> 00:17:07.769 voice when you need help navigating the world. 00:17:07.849 --> 00:17:10.890 It's a profound shift in how you relate to other 00:17:10.890 --> 00:17:12.710 people. He must have had incredible insights 00:17:12.710 --> 00:17:14.950 on that, the vulnerability involved. Totally. 00:17:15.029 --> 00:17:17.869 And that specific appearance, that story he told. 00:17:18.440 --> 00:17:20.859 It actually led to a book deal. No kidding. Yeah. 00:17:20.940 --> 00:17:23.799 He was working on a book, presumably memoir or 00:17:23.799 --> 00:17:26.680 philosophical reflections, based on that experience 00:17:26.680 --> 00:17:29.039 and his life right before he died. Oh, man. So 00:17:29.039 --> 00:17:31.960 he was really moving into that next phase, author, 00:17:32.220 --> 00:17:34.480 thinker. It definitely seemed like it. Stand 00:17:34.480 --> 00:17:37.259 -up, playwright, potential TV creator, author. 00:17:37.440 --> 00:17:39.700 He was expanding his reach constantly. He also 00:17:39.700 --> 00:17:42.859 did other podcasts like Two Opinionated, 8T Banter. 00:17:42.859 --> 00:17:44.779 That's one about accessible technology, which 00:17:44.779 --> 00:17:48.130 makes sense. middle of somewhere. These platforms 00:17:48.130 --> 00:17:50.369 let him talk about his life and process in ways 00:17:50.369 --> 00:17:52.730 mainstream interviews just don't allow. Shows 00:17:52.730 --> 00:17:54.289 he was smart about building his career, too. 00:17:54.490 --> 00:17:56.470 He even started his own entertainment company. 00:17:56.650 --> 00:18:00.220 Yep. Ellison Raines, founded in 2019. He wasn't 00:18:00.220 --> 00:18:01.720 just waiting for calls. He was building his own 00:18:01.720 --> 00:18:04.220 thing, ready to produce his own projects, stand 00:18:04.220 --> 00:18:07.039 -up, plays, books, whatever came next. And personally, 00:18:07.259 --> 00:18:09.539 we know he was married twice. Yeah, divorced 00:18:09.539 --> 00:18:12.160 his first wife back in 94. His second marriage 00:18:12.160 --> 00:18:14.900 was to a musician, Claire Riley Rowe. They divorced 00:18:14.900 --> 00:18:17.960 in 2019. Just another layer of the complexity 00:18:17.960 --> 00:18:20.400 in his life journey. And then, tragically, it 00:18:20.400 --> 00:18:22.960 all came to an end much too soon. Way too soon. 00:18:23.519 --> 00:18:26.859 Daryl O. Flynn Lennox, born January 28, 1966, 00:18:27.559 --> 00:18:32.460 died April 16. 2023. He was only 57. An aortic 00:18:32.460 --> 00:18:34.740 dissection happened at Vancouver General Hospital. 00:18:34.960 --> 00:18:37.880 Just sudden and heartbreakingly young, a career 00:18:37.880 --> 00:18:40.559 still very much in progress. Hashtag tag outro. 00:18:40.759 --> 00:18:43.299 So when we look back at Daryl Lennox's 34 years 00:18:43.299 --> 00:18:47.329 in comedy, what's the big takeaway? For me, it's 00:18:47.329 --> 00:18:49.970 this incredible ability he had to take the absolute 00:18:49.970 --> 00:18:52.950 toughest parts of life, losing sight, feeling 00:18:52.950 --> 00:18:55.450 like an outsider, navigating cultural divides, 00:18:55.650 --> 00:18:57.670 and turn them into brilliant connecting comedy. 00:18:57.910 --> 00:19:00.849 Yeah, he really was that rare thing, the comedian 00:19:00.849 --> 00:19:04.369 as philosopher. He showed that being deeply vulnerable 00:19:04.369 --> 00:19:06.450 doesn't have to be weakness. It can actually 00:19:06.450 --> 00:19:08.849 be the source of your greatest strength and connection 00:19:08.849 --> 00:19:11.289 with an audience. Mastering that dual identity, 00:19:11.470 --> 00:19:14.720 right? American and Canadian. sighted and blind. 00:19:15.079 --> 00:19:18.220 He used those tensions. Absolutely. He translated 00:19:18.220 --> 00:19:20.559 displacement and trauma into material that was 00:19:20.559 --> 00:19:23.200 not just funny, but accessible, inspiring, and 00:19:23.200 --> 00:19:26.180 just profoundly truthful. Guy McPherson, who 00:19:26.180 --> 00:19:28.519 writes a lot about Vancouver comedy, called him 00:19:28.519 --> 00:19:30.640 one of the best comics this city and country 00:19:30.640 --> 00:19:32.720 has ever produced. That's high praise. And his 00:19:32.720 --> 00:19:35.079 influence lives on, obviously, through his work, 00:19:35.140 --> 00:19:37.240 but also through people like Seth Rogen, who 00:19:37.240 --> 00:19:39.799 he mentored so early on. That impact will ripple 00:19:39.799 --> 00:19:42.480 out for a long time. And maybe the best way to 00:19:42.480 --> 00:19:45.869 end this dive is to come back to that title super 00:19:45.869 --> 00:19:49.170 bloom that image he chose for his last album 00:19:49.170 --> 00:19:52.130 released right when he went totally blind the 00:19:52.130 --> 00:19:54.500 desert blooming after the heavy rain It's such 00:19:54.500 --> 00:19:57.859 a perfect, powerful metaphor for his whole approach 00:19:57.859 --> 00:20:00.480 to life, isn't it? Finding beauty and growth 00:20:00.480 --> 00:20:03.599 right after the darkest, most difficult period. 00:20:03.880 --> 00:20:06.660 It really is. It suggests that sometimes the 00:20:06.660 --> 00:20:09.079 most challenging experiences are actually preparing 00:20:09.079 --> 00:20:11.359 the ground for something unexpected and beautiful 00:20:11.359 --> 00:20:13.539 to grow. And that's the final thought maybe we 00:20:13.539 --> 00:20:16.319 can leave you, the listener, with. If Daryl Lennox 00:20:16.319 --> 00:20:18.880 could find that profound super bloom of insight 00:20:18.880 --> 00:20:21.279 and creativity after the heavy rain of total 00:20:21.279 --> 00:20:23.779 blindness, well, it makes you think, doesn't 00:20:23.779 --> 00:20:25.940 it? What tough times, what challenges in your 00:20:25.940 --> 00:20:27.799 own life, once you process them, once you accept 00:20:27.799 --> 00:20:30.420 them, might actually lead to your own unexpected 00:20:30.420 --> 00:20:33.440 super bloom? What new perspective, what surprising 00:20:33.440 --> 00:20:35.960 growth could emerge from the hardest ground you've 00:20:35.960 --> 00:20:38.259 ever had to cross? That wisdom, that resilience. 00:20:38.779 --> 00:20:41.059 Maybe that's the ultimate punchline Daryl Lennox 00:20:41.059 --> 00:20:42.039 left for all of us.