Kenya Duke, comedian Gary Owen’s wife, has pulled the plug on their 18-year marriage.
The Shade Room reported the news and posted the estranged couple’s divorce decree from the Los Angeles Superior Court. As of right now, there is no explanation as to Duke filed for divorce. Owens and Duke tied the knot in 2003 and have three adult children together.
In 2015, Buzzfeed.com wrote an article explaining why Owen became a household name for minorities and why he is a Caucasian comedian that makes black people laugh repeatedly. In the article, Chris Spencer, the co-creator of The Real Husbands of Hollywood mentioned Owen’s comedic style after watching him perform at the DC Improv.
“I was like, ‘Look, I know I’m supposed to wait three days, but you’re gonna meet a lot of dudes in three days. I’m just letting you know how I’m interested,’ ” Owen told BET.com. “Me and my wife have been together so long, and you know race doesn’t come up that much.”
“A lot of white comedians playing for black audiences self-deprecate without a lot of pride. “He doesn’t do that. He talks about black culture. And he does it from a perspective of knowing it and not faking it,” said Spencer. “It’s almost like how some people are born gay. Gary was born black.”
Owen’s career began when he made an appearance on the BET comedy show, ComicView. Since the show, Owen appeared in several films including, Think Like a Man, Think Like a Man 2, Ride Along, Get Hard, Undercover Brother, Little Man, and a made a television appearance on House of Payne. He also starred in his reality show, The Gary Owen Show, back in 2016. It lasted for one year.
