From laughter to outrage, Dave Chappelle is one of the most popular and controversial
comedians on the planet. But who is the man behind all the jokes?
We'd wager that most 14-year-olds have no clue what they want to do with their lives,
but that was the age Dave Chappelle realized he wanted to become a comedian. He saw Bill
Cosby on "The Cosby Show" and was so inspired that he decided to start writing jokes of his
own. While attending the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, D.C.,
he studied theater arts and began performing stand-up comedy in the area. His mom would
often have to accompany him to clubs and bars since he was underage at the time.
After graduating from high school in 1991, he decided not to attend college so he
could move to New York City and pursue a comedy career full time. Within months,
he was performing in comedy clubs all over the city. He quickly made a name for himself
as people noticed his great sense of humor, personality, and charisma. It wouldn't be
long before he took his career to the next level by appearing in TV shows and movies.
"I looked in his eyes and I could see in his eyes he didn't remember meeting me the first time."
Chappelle made his first major TV appearance on Russell Simmons' "Def Comedy Jam." Each episode
showcased talented new comedians, and viewers thought Chappelle was absolutely hilarious. The
show exposed him to a much wider audience and helped him land more opportunities to be on TV.
In 1995, he appeared in an episode of "Home Improvement" as a member of the "Tool Time"
audience. He didn't have much time on screen, but TV executives were so impressed that they
gave him a leading role in the spin-off series "Buddies." The show centered around two friends
trying to run a video production company. Unfortunately for Chappelle, the show was a
flop and got canceled after only five episodes. While the series may have been short-lived,
Chappelle's comedy career was just getting started. He went on to appear in many more
shows and movies before eventually starting the immensely popular "Chappelle's Show" in 2003.
During an interview with Project Casting in 2021, Chappelle said,
"I love television. The fact that television ultimately
made me famous was very gratifying for me."
In 1993, shortly after his first TV appearance, Chappelle put on a pair of tights and took his
career to a whole new level. He made his film debut as Ahchoo in "Robin Hood: Men in Tights."
It was far from a serious role, but higher-ups could already tell they had a star on their hands.
Chappelle's career kept gaining momentum as he landed supporting roles in several other movies,
such as Ozzie in "Undercover Blues," Reggie in "The Nutty Professor," and Pinball in "Con Air."
In 1998, he co-wrote, produced, and starred in the stoner comedy "Half Baked." He played a stoner who
starts selling weed with his friends to raise enough money to bail their buddy out of jail.
Although the movie has become a cult classic, it actually had terrible reviews when it was first
released. Neal Brennan, who co-wrote the film with Chappelle, said that it initially had a
negative impact on both of their careers because Hollywood executives didn't take them seriously.
They drifted apart for a while. Then, several years later, the pair co-wrote "Chappelle's
Show," which became Comedy Central's top-rated program in 2005 and launched Chappelle to stardom.
"Watch my back… Your back just got punched twice."
Chappelle has a pretty eclectic group of comedic influences. He's heavily inspired
by Richard Pryor, which makes a lot of sense as Pryor would often joke
about race. Chappelle is inspired by Eddie Murphy as well, having previously said that
Murphy was a major influence in why he started doing comedy in the first place.
But his biggest comedic influence might be the "Looney Tunes" character Bugs Bunny.
"What's up, doc?"
Speaking to Inside the Actors Studio, Chappelle said,
"It's weird. If you watch a lot of the stuff I do, you can almost see the influence in it."
He went on to praise the voice actor for Bugs Bunny and explained how the
cartoons served as his first major comedic inspiration in his life.
Now that you know Bugs Bunny influenced Chappelle's style
of comedy, good luck unseeing it next time you watch him perform.
It's hard to believe that such a hilarious comedian could get booed off stage,
but Dave Chappelle has always had a controversial style of comedy,
and his jokes don't always sit right with every audience. Shortly after he'd moved to New York
City to pursue his dream of becoming a comedian, he got the chance to perform during Amateur Night
at the famous Apollo Theater in Harlem. This was a big opportunity to show off his comedic potential,
so he tried his best to impress the audience, but they weren't having it. His jokes weren't
landing and he ended up bombing so hard that he was booed off stage.
Chappelle later said the incident actually encouraged him to continue in show business,
instilling him with newfound confidence. Speaking on Inside the Actors Studio, he said:
"That night was liberating because I failed so far beyond my wildest nightmares of failing."
"I was furious."
Chappelle's religious awakening all started at a pizza shop in Washington,
D.C. Although the comedian stays quiet about his religious beliefs for the most part,
faith is a big part of his life.
Chatting to David Letterman, he said:
"I wanted to have a meaningful life, a spiritual life, not just what my hands
can hold. I felt like I've always had this notion that life should mean something."
When he was 17 years old, he would go to a local pizza shop where a lot of
Muslim people worked. He was struck by how positive they all seemed,
prompting him to ask them about their beliefs. He explained how the owner
of the shop answered his questions and he found his explanations interesting.
That led Chappelle to convert to Islam when he was a teenager, and he hasn't looked back
since. He says that being a Muslim has given his life and career more meaning.
"Forrest Gump" was such a great movie that one would think any actor would jump at the
opportunity to be in it. But Dave Chappelle was offered the role of Bubba and turned it
down. He wasn't interested in the role because he thought it perpetuated demeaning stereotypes
about Black men. In the movie, Bubba had a learning disability but was slightly more
intelligent than Forrest. However, Chappelle claims he read an earlier version of the script
in which Bubba was even more dim-witted than Forrest, which didn't appeal to him at all.
Chappelle later regretted turning down the role since the movie was so successful. In 1997,
he starred in a short parody of the film called "Bowl of Pork," starring
as an unintelligent man who realizes that "life is just a bowl of pork."
"Why!!! Ah, dammit."
To this day, "Chappelle's Show" is one of Chappelle's most memorable projects -- and
for good reason. He wasn't afraid to take on big issues like race and social stereotypes in the
groundbreaking sketch comedy series. It was a huge hit, and at one point,
Comedy Central offered him $50 million to keep making it. Instead, in 2005,
Chappelle shocked everyone when he abruptly left the show during production of the third season.
Chappelle had been filming a skit about pixies that embodied different races. He liked the skit,
but a crew member laughed at a moment that made him wonder if he
was reinforcing racial stereotypes rather than making fun of them.
Speaking to David Letterman, Chappelle said:
"The sketch wasn't that bad. It's actually funny. It was a pixie. It
was me dressed in blackface who'd pop up anytime a person felt the pains of racism,
which is a tough trick to pull off. It's not a bad sketch,
but hearing the wrong laugh, while you're dressed that way, it makes you feel shame."
He said that wasn't the only reason he left, but it did influence his decision.
He had already been feeling overwhelmed, pressured by the network, and unhappy with
the direction the show was going. The incident was just the straw that broke the camel's back.
After leaving his show, Chappelle took things a step further and left the entire country.
He visited South Africa for a while, and when he returned to the United States, he started living
a more reclusive lifestyle. He stepped away from the spotlight, moved to Yellow Springs,
Ohio, and made much fewer public appearances than before. He did release the documentary
"Dave Chappelle's Block Party" in 2006, but other than that, he mostly kept to himself.
In 2013, fans were happily surprised to see Chappelle at The Comedy Cellar in New
York City. Comedian Chris Rock joined him on stage and the two talked about possibly touring
together. Shortly afterward, Chappelle made a formal return to stand-up comedy and started
touring the country. Did he miss his fans or did he just need more money? Fans didn't know,
and they didn't really care because the bottom line was Chappelle was back! They
welcomed him with open arms and he went on to appear in many more movies and shows,
including "A Star Is Born" and "Saturday Night Live." In 2016, he also reportedly signed a
deal with streaming giant Netflix, earning $60 million in return for three comedy specials.
"I was like phew!"
The Laugh Factory has an endurance record for the comedian who can perform stand-up for the longest
amount of time. Richard Pryor set the record by performing for two hours and 40 minutes back in
1980, then Dane Cook set a new record for three hours and 50 minutes in 2009. Not long afterward,
Chappelle broke that record with a performance lasting six hours and seven minutes. Later
that year, he topped his own record by cracking jokes for six hours and 12 minutes.
Laugh Factory owner Jamie Masada told HuffPost that Chappelle broke
his own record since he found out Dane Cook had his eyes set on it.
Less than a month later, Cook took the stage again and set a new record by telling jokes
for a whopping 7 hours. The set went on for so long that he sent out food to the audience.
Salt and pepper, peanut butter and jelly, Dave Chappelle and controversy -- some things
just go together. Throughout his entire career, Chappelle has faced controversy
for pushing the limits of comedy. It has contributed to his massive success,
but it has also gotten him in hot water, especially with the LGBTQ+ community.
They criticized him for being transphobic in his 2021 Netflix special "The Closer." He spent
a lot of time joking about transgender people. After the special was released,
things got so heated that a group of Netflix employees staged a walkout at headquarters to
advocate for transgender rights. Netflix stood by Chappelle and said it would not censor artists.
As for Chappelle, he doubled down on his beliefs towards transgender people
in his 2022 special "What's in a Name?" He addressed the backlash he faced, saying:
"The more you say I can't say something, the more urgent it is for me to say it.
And it has nothing to do with what you're saying I can't say. It has everything to do
with my right, my freedom, of artistic expression. That is valuable to me."
Nothing was off limits in "Chappelle's Show," so the comedian once poked fun
at Prince in one of the sketches. He impersonated the legendary musician
and destroyed Charlie Murphy at a game of basketball, all while looking absolutely
fabulous. Prince responded by putting a photo of Chappelle impersonating him on the cover of
his 2013 single "Breakfast Can Wait." In the photo, Chappelle is wearing an elaborately
ruffled blouse like Prince did in "Purple Rain" era and holding a plate of pancakes.
In an interview with Jimmy Fallon, Chappelle said the following about it:
"That's a Prince judo move right there. You make fun of Prince in
a sketch and he'll just use you in his album cover. What
am I going to do -- sue him for using a picture of me dressed up like him?"
"That's checkmate right there."
Chappelle is known for his sense of humor,
but in this case, it looks like Prince got the last laugh.