By Stone Martindale Jul 19, 2007, 22:33 GMT
Dave Chappelle was briefly admitted for exhaustion at a local Los Angeles hospital recently, but intrepid reporter and erstwhile blogger CNN White House Correspondent Ed Henry found him lollygagging in the nation's capitol.
Comedy Central star Comedian Dave Chappelle EPA/PAUL BUCK
"One of the best parts of the White House beat is that you just never know who’s going to show up at those black iron gates at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue," blogs Henry.
..."And then there was this morning: Who knew I’d run into the comedian Dave Chappelle, just a couple days after he was hospitalized for exhaustion?
As I arrived at the White House by foot, I noticed a small group of Secret Service officers gathered around a man with a black backpack but didn’t think too much of it. People with backpacks somewhat routinely show up at the White House gates saying they have an appointment with the president, when they really do not...
But as I headed through the screening machine in the Secret Service’s security shack, I overheard someone say, 'Hey, that’s Dave Chappelle out there. That’s Dave Chappelle, I’m telling you.'
'No way,' I said. 'Isn’t he in the hospital?' ... I couldn’t resist chasing a story — even a non-political one — so I grabbed my backpack and headed back to the street...Chappelle scrunched his face into that familiar pose and declared: 'And who do you think I am?'
Confirmed — it was him. So I introduced myself and started walking with Chappelle toward the Treasury Department," blogs Henry.
CNN's Henry described a hearty and hale Chappelle wearing a fetching outfit athletic while smoking and staying out of the line of fire for surrounding family photo opportunities.
Chappelle then told Henry he was just "taking a stroll."
Chappelle asked if Henry had ever been given a nickname by President Bush. “Oh,” Chappelle quipped. “That’s my favorite part of the Bush presidency — the nicknames.”
Chappelle then mused having Tony Snow's job would be fun.
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