| Dave Chappelle | |
|---|---|
Dave Chappelle, 2007 |
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| Birth name | David Khari Webber Chappelle |
| Born | August 24, 1973 Washington, D.C., U.S.[1] |
| Medium | Stand-up, television, film |
| Nationality | American |
| Years active | 1987–present |
| Genres | Satire/political satire, improvisational comedy, observational comedy, surreal humor, sketch comedy, black comedy, blue comedy |
| Subject(s) | Racism, race relations, American politics, African American culture, pop culture, recreational drug use, human sexuality, morality |
| Influences | Richard Pryor,[2] Eddie Murphy,[2] Mel Blanc,[2] Chris Rock[3] |
| Spouse | Elaine Chappelle (2001-present) 3 children |
| Notable works and roles | Himself and Various in Chappelle's Show Himself in Dave Chappelle's Block Party Achoo in Robin Hood: Men in Tights Thurgood Jenkins in Half Baked |
| Signature | |
David Khari Webber "Dave" Chappelle[4] (pronounced /ʃəˈpɛl/; born August 24, 1973)[1] is an American comedian, screenwriter, television/film producer, actor, and artist. Chappelle began his film career in the film Robin Hood: Men in Tights in 1993 and continued to star in minor roles in the films The Nutty Professor, Con Air, and Blue Streak. His first lead role in a film was in Half Baked in 1998. In 2003, he became widely known for his popular sketch comedy television series, Chappelle's Show, which ran until his abrupt retirement from the show in 2005. Several "lost episodes" were aired in 2006, and the show still plays in syndication on several television networks despite the relatively small number of episodes compared to most American syndicated television programs. Chappelle is ranked forty-third in Comedy Central Presents: 100 Greatest Stand-Ups of All Time.[5]
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Chappelle was born David Khari Webber Chappelle in Washington, D.C. on August 24, 1973.[1][2] His father, William David Chappelle III, was a professor at Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio.[2] His mother, Yvonne (née Reed), was a professor at Howard University, Prince George's Community College, and the University of Maryland and is also a Unitarian Universalist minister.[6][7][8] Chappelle grew up in Silver Spring, Maryland and attended Woodlin Elementary School.[2] During young Chappelle's formative years, his comic inspiration came from various comedians, particularly Eddie Murphy and Richard Pryor.[2]
After his parents separated, Chappelle stayed in Washington with his mother while spending summers with his father in Ohio. In 1991, he graduated from Washington's Duke Ellington School of the Arts where he studied theatre arts.[2]
In 2003, Chappelle debuted his own weekly sketch comedy show on Comedy Central called Chappelle's Show. The show parodied many aspects of American culture including racial stereotypes, politics and pop culture. Along with comedy skits, the show also featured musical performances by mostly hip-hop and soul artists. Chappelle's pointed social and political commentary quickly helped the show garner critical and commercial success as well as controversy.[9][10] Richard Pryor, one of Chappelle's comedic influences, was a fan of the show and stated that he had "passed the torch" to Chappelle.[9] Chappelle received two Emmy nominations for the show.[11] Additionally, the DVD set became the best-selling DVD of a television show to date, overtaking the previous best-selling, The Simpsons first season DVD. It had sold over 3 million copies.[12] 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 had stated that sketches are not his favorite form of comedy, and that the characteristics of the show's format were somewhat like short films.
In June 2004, based on the popularity of the "Rick James" sketch, it was announced that Chappelle was in talks to portray Rick James in a biopic from Paramount Pictures (also owned by Viacom).[13] James's estate disagreed with the proposed comical tone of the film and put a halt to the talks.[14]
In 2004, Chappelle recorded his second comedy special, this time airing on Showtime - Dave Chappelle: For What It's Worth, at San Francisco's Fillmore Auditorium.[15]
In a June 2004 stand-up performance in Sacramento, California, Chappelle walked off the stage after berating his audience for constantly shouting "I'm Rick James, bitch!," which became a catchphrase from the popular "Rick James" sketch. After a few minutes, Chappelle returned and continued by saying, "The show is ruining my life." He stated that he disliked working "20 hours a day" and that the popularity of the show was making it difficult for him to continue his stand-up career, which was "the most important thing" to him. He also told the audience:
You know why my show is good? Because the network officials say you're not smart enough to get what I'm doing, and every day I fight for you. I tell them how smart you are. Turns out, I was wrong. You people are stupid.[16]
Season 3 was scheduled to air on May 31, 2005, but in that month, Chappelle stunned fans and the entertainment industry when he abruptly left during production of the third season of Chappelle's Show and took a trip to South Africa. Chappelle has since stated that he was unhappy with the direction the show had taken.
Coming here I don't have the distractions of fame. It quiets the ego down. I'm interested in the kind of person I've got to become. I want to be well rounded and the industry is a place of extremes. I want to be well balanced. I've got to check my intentions, man.[17]
In June 2005, Chappelle performed impromptu stand-up shows in Los Angeles.[18][19][20] He then went on a tour that began in Newport, Kentucky, not far from his Ohio home.[21] He also made a surprise appearance on HBO's Def Poetry where he performed two poems, titled Fuck Ashton Kutcher and How I Got the Lead on "Jeopardy!."[22] He 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.[23] Chappelle stated that the death of his father in 1998 had an impact on his decision to go to South Africa. By throwing himself into his work, he had not taken 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.[2]
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 said that he felt some of his sketches were "socially irresponsible."[24][25] He singled out the "pixie sketch" in which pixies appear to people and encourage them to reinforce stereotypes of their races. In the sketch, Chappelle is wearing blackface and is dressed as a character in a minstrel show.[26] According to Chappelle, during the filming of the sketch, a crew member was laughing in a way that made him feel uncomfortable and made him rethink the show.[24][25] Chappelle said, "it was the first time I felt that someone was not laughing with me but laughing at me."[24]
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.[27] 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.[25] 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 was the star and producer of the Michel Gondry-directed documentary Dave Chappelle's Block Party, which chronicles a Chappelle-hosted concert in the Clinton Hill neighborhood of Brooklyn on September 18, 2004. Several musical artists, including Kanye West, The Roots, Erykah Badu, Mos Def, Dead Prez and Jill Scott are featured in the movie both performing in the concert and in conversation off-stage. The most surprising highlight of the event was the "last minute" reunion of popular 1990s hip hop 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.
In April 2007, Chappelle set a stand-up endurance record at the Laugh Factory Sunset Strip comedy club, beating comedian Dane Cook's record of 3 hours and 50 minutes. In December of the same year, Chappelle broke his own record with a time of 6 hours and 12 minutes. Cook took the record again in January 2008, with a time of 7 hours.[28] On November 19, 2009 Chappelle performed at the Laugh Factory in Los Angeles, where it was speculated that he would aim to take back the record. However, he was disqualified according to the club owner, after he left the stage, five hours into his routine.[29]
Chappelle again appeared on Inside the Actors Studio and in celebration of the show's 200th episode, he humorously interviewed the show's usual host, James Lipton. The episode aired on November 11, 2008.
Chappelle lives with his wife Elaine, two sons,[26] Sulayman[30] and Ibrahim,[31] and daughter Sonal, on a 65-acre (260,000 m2) farm,[2][9] just outside Yellow Springs, Ohio.[21] He also owns several houses in Xenia, Ohio. Regarding his home in Yellow Springs, Ohio, Chappelle says, "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."[32]
Chappelle is a Muslim, having converted to Islam in 1998. 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."[33]
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Def Comedy Jam | Himself | |
| 1993 | Robin Hood: Men in Tights | Ahchoo | |
| 1993 | Undercover Blues | Ozzie | |
| 1995 | Home Improvement | Dave | One episode |
| 1996 | The Nutty Professor | Reggie Warrington | |
| 1996 | Buddies (TV series) | Dave Carlisle | Discontinued same year |
| 1997 | Con Air | Pinball | |
| 1998 | Half Baked | Thurgood Jenkins / Sir Smoke-a-Lot | |
| 1998 | You've Got Mail | Kevin Jackson | |
| 1999 | 200 Cigarettes | Disco Cabbie | |
| 1999 | Blue Streak | Tulley | |
| 2000 | Screwed | Rusty P. Hayes | |
| 2002 | Undercover Brother | Conspiracy Brother | |
| 2003–2006 | Chappelle's Show | Himself and others | |
| 2005 | Inside the Actor's Studio | Himself | |
| 2006 | Dave Chappelle's Block Party | Himself | Documentary |
| 2007 | I'm Rick James | Himself | Documentary |
| 2008 | Inside the Actor's Studio | Himself |
| Year | Album | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Killin' Them Softly | Executive Producer | Stand Up |
| 2004 | For What It's Worth | Executive Producer | Stand Up |