05/26/2026
Thank you Darwin Singleton for being the MC for many years at the Mobile Chocolate Festival that benefits Penelope House!!! Hope you are not retired from being with us in 2027 and beyond!!! 🥰🥰🥰🎊🎊🎊💜💜💜
CITY HONORS TV ICON SINGLETON
The City of Mobile honored retiring television journalist Darwin Singleton during Tuesday’s Mobile City Council meeting, with Mayor Spiro Cheriogotis proclaiming May 29, 2026, as “Darwin Singleton Day.”
Reading the proclamation before the council, Cheriogotis recognized Singleton’s 45 years in broadcast journalism, including nearly four decades in the Mobile-Pensacola television market.
Singleton began his career in local radio before transitioning to television news in 1980. A native of Hazard, Kentucky, he worked for CBS affiliates WKYT-TV and WYMT-TV as a reporter and anchor before moving to the Gulf Coast in 1987.
The proclamation noted Singleton became “a trusted voice in the Mobile community and a lasting presence in the Mobile-Pensacola television market” after relocating to the area. It also highlighted his work at WPMI NBC 15, where his “Here’s Darwin” feature reports and later role as morning anchor made him a familiar figure to viewers across the region.
City officials also recognized Singleton’s support for Mobile’s historic neighborhoods, downtown revitalization and cultural traditions, noting he earned the nickname “Mobile’s Mr. Mardi Gras.”
“His integrity, warmth and commitment to storytelling have left an indelible mark on the city of Mobile and its citizens,” Cheriogotis said while reading the proclamation.
Speaking to council members, Singleton reflected on arriving in Mobile nearly 40 years ago expecting to stay only briefly.
“I came here in 1987, and I thought I’d be here about a year or two,” Singleton said. “The house is paid for. It was a 30-year mortgage, so I guess I stayed.”
Singleton said the city’s transformation over the years convinced him to remain in Mobile. He credited former Mayor Mike Dow with helping renew excitement about the city at a time when downtown Mobile was struggling and many residents felt discouraged.
“As time went on, he dreamed, and some of us dreamed along with him,” Singleton said.
Singleton said his “Here’s Darwin” segments introduced him to people and neighborhoods throughout the area, allowing him to see firsthand the pride residents had in their community.
“Everybody had something positive. Everybody had something exciting to talk about,” he said. “Everybody from all walks of life.”
He described Mobile as a city strengthened by its diversity, cultures and traditions, saying its variety of people, celebrations and restaurants helped turn it into a destination city.
“This is a destination now,” Singleton said. “It’s no longer a pass-through.”
Singleton also thanked the LGBTQ community for supporting him during his years in Mobile and encouraged residents to embrace “diversity and inclusion.”
“They’re not bad words,” he said. “They’re what make Mobile so rich and so powerful and so beautiful.”
