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David "Dave" Chappelle (born August 24, 1973) is an
Emmy-nominated comedian, satirist and actor.
****
Born: August 24, 1973 (age 33)
Washington, D.C.
Occupation: Comedian
Salary: $2 million [citation needed]
Spouse: Elaine Chappelle
Website: DaveChappelle.com
****
Early
life
Dave Chappelle was born in Washington D.C. During
his younger years, his comic inspiration came from comedians such as Rodney
Dangerfield and Bill Engvall, as well as television cartoons. At the age of 14,
he gathered the courage to perform stand-up comedy at Harlem's famed Apollo
Theater. He was booed off the stage but, in an Inside the Actors Studio
interview broadcast February 12, 2006, he described the experience as an
enlightening moment that gave him the courage to continue with his show business
ambitions.
After his parents separated, Chappelle stayed in
Washington with his mother, while spending summers with his father in Yellow
Springs, Ohio. In June 1991, he graduated from Washington's Duke Ellington
School of the Arts, a renowned performing arts high school, where he majored in
theatre arts.
Roles
His first major role was in Robin Hood: Men in
Tights. Chappelle turned down the role of Bubba in the 1994 movie Forrest Gump,
thinking the movie would be a box office bust, and has since admitted to deeply
regretting it. He later appeared as the abrasive comedian in the remake of The
Nutty Professor, had a minor role in Con Air, had a supporting role in Martin
Lawrence's Blue Streak, and then wrote and starred in Half Baked, a cult film
about a group of pot-smoking best friends trying to get their friend out of
jail. Chappelle appeared as himself in an episode of The Larry Sanders Show. In
that performance, Chappelle and the executives of the show's nameless television
network satirized the treatment that scriptwriters and show creators are subject
to, as well as the executives' knee-jerk stereotyping when it comes to race. In
1998, he played a supporting role as Tom Hanks' best friend and confidant in
You've Got Mail.
Television stardom
In 2003, Chappelle debuted his own weekly
television show on Comedy Central, Chappelle's Show. The show parodies many
aspects of American culture, including racial stereotypes and slurs, including
Chappelle's African-American heritage. This, combined with Chappelle's pointed
social and political commentary, quickly helped garner the show critical and
commercial success. Chappelle's Show also gained a large hip-hop following and
featured progressive rappers such as Dead Prez, Talib Kweli, The Roots, Mos Def,
and Kanye West. Along with comedy skits, the show also had musical performances,
which spotlighted musical guests such as Wu-Tang Clan, Busta Rhymes, Outkast,
Common, De La Soul, Fat Joe, Anthony Hamilton, DMX, Snoop Dogg, Erykah Badu, and
John Mayer. Chappelle can even be heard on the track "The Mic" by the Roots as
well as "Right About Now" by Talib Kweli. In addition, he intros in the song
"Keynote Speaker" on Talib Kweli's album Quality. By the end of the second
season, it was one of the highest-rated shows on basic cable, with a greater
audience share than South Park on Comedy Central.[citation needed] Additionally,
the DVD set, Chappelle's Show Season One Uncensored!, became the best-selling
DVD of a television show to date, which had sold over 3 million copies [1]. Due
to the show's popularity, Comedy Central's parent company Viacom reportedly
offered Chappelle a $55 million contract (giving Chappelle a share of DVD sales)
to continue production of Chappelle's Show for two more years while allowing him
to do side projects. Chappelle has stated, though, that sketch is not his
favorite form of comedy, but that characteristics of the format of his show were
somewhat like short films.
Chappelle was the subject of the Michel
Gondry-directed documentary Dave Chappelle's Block Party which chronicles a
Chappelle-hosted event in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn on 18
September 2004. The highlight of the event was the reunion of popular '90s rap
group The Fugees. Chappelle toured several cities in February and March 2006 to
promote the film under the moniker "Block Party All-Stars featuring Dave
Chappelle". Universal Pictures' genre division Rogue Pictures released the film
in the United States on March 3, 2006.
The sudden popularity of Chappelle's television
show and his widespread fame created new dilemmas for Chappelle. For example,
one of his most widely-known segments from the show, the February 2004 Rick
James sketch, finds Chappelle portraying funk musician Rick James, six months
before James's death in August. In the sketch, Chappelle shouts, "I'm Rick
James, bitch!" The phrase quickly became a part of popular culture. Soon, to
Chappelle's chagrin, the phrase was shouted at him by fans wherever he went,
often in front of his wife and children. During an appearance at Southern
Illinois University Carbondale, Chappelle stopped the show to deal with an
audience member who would not stop repeating the Rick James phrase. After the
crowd repeatedly called out the phrase during a show at Memorial Auditorium in
Sacramento, Chappelle admonished the crowd and walked off the stage.
Along with regular actor roles, Chappelle has also
done commercials for Right Guard deodorant, Coke, and Pepsi. He has commented
about the latter in his last stand-up special saying, "if you want to know the
truth . . . I can't even taste the difference. Surprise! All I know is Pepsi
paid me most recently so, tastes better."
Chappelle has made an appearance on Def Poetry. He
performed two poems, titled Fuck Ashton Kutcher and How I Got the Lead on
"Jeopardy!."[2]
Season
3 turbulence
The comedian stunned fans and the entertainment
industry when he abruptly left during production of the third season of
Chappelle's Show. Chappelle has since stated that he was unhappy with the
direction the show had taken, claiming pressure from network executives
regarding the show's content. Chappelle left the United States to visit South
Africa. His decision triggered reports of mental or drug problems with the
actor, which Chappelle later denied. On May 11, 2005, news sources reported that
Chappelle had checked himself into a psychiatric facility in South Africa, which
Chappelle has since repeatedly denied. On May 14, Time Magazine announced that
one of their reporters had interviewed Chappelle in South Africa, and the
comedian said no psychiatric treatments were occurring or necessary. Chappelle
has stated that his reasons for visiting South Africa were to reflect on his
life and career. [3]
On August 3, co-star Charlie Murphy gave an
interview to TV Guide stating that he believed that Dave Chappelle was finished
with Chappelle's Show and would not be returning.
Return
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This article has been tagged since December 2006.
Later in the year, Chappelle had returned home and
was performing impromptu shows in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Newport,
Kentucky. Chappelle was interviewed for Inside the Actors Studio on December 18,
2005 at Pace University's Michael Schimmel Center for the Arts. The show
premiered on February 12, 2006. Chappelle stated that the death of his father
had an impact in his decision to go to South Africa to get away from the stress
of stardom, stating that he had not received a chance to mourn his father's
death. He also said the rumors that he was in drug or psychiatric treatment only
persuaded him to stay in South Africa.
He was interviewed by Oprah Winfrey on her show on
February 3, 2006 in his first televised interview since his departure from
Chappelle's Show. He stated in the interview that he "wasn't crazy" but the
environment was "incredibly stressful". He continued:
“ I would go to work on the show and I felt awful
every day, that's not the way it was. ... I felt like some kind of prostitute or
something. If I feel so bad, why keep on showing up to this place? I'm going to
Africa. The hardest thing to do is to be true to yourself, especially when
everybody is watching. ”
Chappelle also admitted to Oprah that he felt some
of his sketches were socially irresponsible. He singled out the "pixie sketch"
(in which it implied everyone has a pixie that appears to them and encourages
them to act in a way stereotypical for their race) and said during the filming
of the blackface pixie sketch a white crew member was laughing. Chappelle said
"it was the first time I felt that someone was not laughing with me but laughing
at me." He also said that during the sketch he was called nigger by one of the
other non-important cast members. [4] [5]
During these interviews, Chappelle did not rule out
returning to Chappelle's Show to "finish what we started", but promised that he
would not return without changes to the production, such as a better working
environment. He also stated he would like to donate half of the DVD sales to
charity, and to people that supported him. Chappelle expressed disdain at the
possibility of his material from the unfinished third season being aired, saying
that to do so would be "a bully move", and that he would not return to the show
if Comedy Central were to air the unfinished material. On July 9, 2006, Comedy
Central aired the first episode of Chappelle's Show: The Lost Episodes. An
uncensored DVD release of the episodes was made available on July 25.
Chappelle has stated that he has no intention of
leaving Yellow Springs, Ohio, his current residence (see below). "Turns out you
don't need $50 million to live around these parts, just a nice smile and a kind
way about you. You guys are the best neighbors ever", he stated at a blues and
jazz festival in the town in mid-September 2006, "That's why I came back and
that's why I'm staying."[1]
According to IMDB, Chappelle is set to star in a
sports comedy film, Ballers, in 2007.
Dave Chappelle was scheduled to perform at The
Comedy Festival in Las Vegas, November 14-18, 2006, however, it was cancelled at
the last minute on the first date of the show for reasons unknown.
Rick
James Biopic
Variety Magazine reported on December 14th, 2006
that a film about the life of colorful and controversial punk-funk singer Rick
James had started pre-production stages. Screenwriter Sheldon Turner has stated
he is interested in pursuing Chappelle to play James, something that he had
expressed interest in a few years back. However, it is speculated that if
officially offered the role, Chappelle may pass on the project in order to
separate himself from his earlier work and the caricatured impression of James
he had created on Comedy Central's "Chappelle's Show."[citation needed]
Personal life
Currently, Chappelle lives with his wife Elaine
(who is of Filipino descent [6]) and two sons (one is named Sulayman[7]) on a
65-acre (26-hectare) farm just outside Yellow Springs, Ohio. When he is not
touring or engaged in filming for television or the big screen, Chappelle can be
seen in the shops and markets of the small college town.
Chappelle has commented on being a computer and
video game enthusiast, some of his favorites being NBA Street, Street Fighter
and Grand Theft Auto. He also is a World of Warcraft enthusiast.[8] On
Chappelle's Show, he has paid homage a few different times to various video
games. One was to Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, in which he plays the main
character that steals a car to go to work. Another was to the game Street Hoops,
in which he challenges and beats a child with cancer. In a 2Pac rap sketch, a
lyric mentions "run up in yo' spot like CJ from San Andreas".
Chappelle likes to skateboard as a hobby and says
he tries to find skateparks in the cities he performs in. He has also made an
appearance skateboarding in the Signature Video Magazine Volume 1. The video
features a short clip of Dave skating at Project 58 in Raleigh, North Carolina.
He made another appearance skating on the first episode of Chappelle's Show
during the credits as Clayton.
Conversion to Islam
In 1998, Chappelle converted to Islam. He told Time
Magazine in a May 2005 interview, "I don't normally talk about my religion
publicly because I don't want people to associate me and my flaws with this
beautiful thing. And I believe it is beautiful if you learn it the right way."
[9]
Trivia
Richard Pryor said that he "passed the torch" to
Chappelle. [10]
Dave Chappelle created an iTunes Celebrity Playlist
and selected the DangerDoom track Mince Meat for his Block Party Picks. He
stated, "Two very consistently good artists collaborate to make my head nod.
Doom, Mouse - Thank You. Wherever you are, nice album."
Chappelle has also reportedly offered beatboxer
Rahzel $1,000,000 to "be his iPod".[11]
He is 6' ft (1.83 m) in height. [12]
He is ¼ white, the caucasion origins coming from
his mother's side.
Chappelle DVDs
Chappelle's Show - Lost Episodes, 2005
Dave Chappelle's Block Party, 2006
Dave Chappelle - For What It's Worth, 2004
Chappelle's Show - Season Two, 2004
Chappelle's Show - Season One, 2004
Dave Chappelle - Killin' Them Softly, 2000
Filmography
Dave Chappelle's Block Party, 2005 as himself
Undercover Brother, 2002 as Conspiracy Brother
Screwed, 2000 as Rusty P. Hayes
Blue Streak, 1999 as Tulley
Half Baked, 1998 as co-writer and Thurgood
Jenkins/Sir Smoke-a-lot
200 Cigarettes, 1998 as Disco Cabbie
You've Got Mail, 1998 as Kevin Jackson
Woo, 1998 as Lenny
The Real Blonde, 1997 as Zee
Con Air, 1997 as Joe 'Pinball' Parker
Bowl of Pork[13] 1997 as Black Forrest Gump.
Damn Whitey[14] 1997 as Dave
The Nutty Professor, 1996 as Reggie Warrington
Joe's Apartment 1996 (voice) ... Cockroach
Buddies, 1996 as Dave Carlisle
Getting In[15] , 1994 as Ron
Robin Hood: Men in Tights, 1993 as Ahchoo
Undercover Blues, 1993 as Ozzie
****
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URL of Original Article:
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Date Article Copied:
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