Okay, I know what your going to say: "Never Forgotten"? Dave Chappelle? He is still around and on his way to a major comeback from his recent hiatus from the spotlight. So, let me explain. What I am going to cover here in this piece, is his previous work and let you all know that his previous work will "Never {Be} Forgotten". But, let me get there first. So let's begin.
David Khari Webber Chappelle was born August 24Th 1973 in Washington D.C. Young Dave was born into a very successful family as his father, William David Chappelle III, was a professor at Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio. His mother, Yvonne {Reed} Chappelle, was a professor at Howard University, Prince George's Community College & The University of Maryland. She was also a Unitarian Universalist minister having worked for revolutionary leader, Patrice Lumumba in the Congo. Dave grew up the youngest of their three children. He has an older sister & older brother.
Dave's mother, Yvonne brought the magazine seen above with Bill Cosby on the cover. As Dave had put it, he knew from that moment that he read this magazine, that he wanted to get into Comedy. He was ready to take the first steps. Now, he just needed some comedic inspiration.
So, having taken a major interest after reading the magazine, his mother brought him, growing up, Dave's comedic inspirations came mainly from legends, Eddie Murphy & Richard Pryor. So he already had the ambition to be as great as Murphy & Pryor.
After his parents separated, Dave spent summers in Ohio with his father. But, while staying with his mother in Washington, D.C., Dave went to The Duke Ellington School of The Arts to hone his craft for becoming a comedian. In 1991, Dave graduated studying theatre arts. Shortly thereafter, he moved to New York to pursue his career as a comedian.
In his first outing as a comedian, young Dave tried his hand at his new craft having performed at the World's Famous Apollo Theater in Harlem, New York, for amateur night. Needless to say, young Dave was booed off the stage. Dave later described this moment as the moment that he gained courage to continue pursuing his comedic dreams. So Dave, set out and hit the New York comedy circuit.
At age 19, Dave landed a role as "Ahchoo" in Mel Brooks' "Robin Hood: Men In Tights". His star was slowly on the rise. In the same year, he was offered the role of "Benjamin Buford 'Bubba' Blue" starring alongside Tom Hanks & Sally Field in "Forrest Gump". He turned it down, saying that the role was demeaning and that the movie would not do well. He was wrong of course. Thankfully, later on in his career turning down the role didn't harm his career. It did however plant the seeds of something he would later speak publicly about when it pertains to Hollywood.
In 1994, Dave had a supporting role in the movie starring alongside of Calista Flockhart, Kristy Swanson & Matthew Perry in the Comedy film, "Getting In". Television executives took notice of Dave. The string of TV pilots and guest spots on shows such as "Home Improvement" along with fellow comedian and friend, Jim Breuer.
Then in 1996 after having played some minor roles in movies and making appearances on TV, Dave landed the role that in my opinion was his first memorable role which included him working alongside of his greatest influences to do Comedy, Eddie Murphy. The movie was "The Nutty Professor".
Dave played a bully-like comedian, "Reggie Warrington" picking on Eddie's character, "Sherman Klump". Have a look at the following clips below with their memorable confrontations:
"Reggie" {Dave Chappelle} Picks On "Sherman" {Eddie Murphy}
& His Date, "Carla" {Jada Pinkett}.
And Below,
"Buddy Love" {Eddie} Exacts Revenge On "Reggie" {Dave}!
Not long after, Dave landed a minor role in the 1997 film "Con Air" Starring Nicolas Cage, John Cusack, Steve Buscemi, Ving Rhames & John Malkovich.
He played Joe "Pinball" Parker in the film.
Shortly thereafter, at the start of 1998, Dave filmed a half hour HBO Comedy show. Then came his first stand alone performance.
Later that year, with long time friend and co-writer, Neal Brennan, he wrote stoner comedic classic "Half Baked" teaming alongside once again with Jim Breuer.
I am not a weed man myself, never have been but I got the humor of it having had so many of my friends and family that smoked the ganja. Some of which even acted like how I saw in the film. The movie was however, when I felt that Dave had arrived. Although, he later went on to say that the film didn't come out as great as the actual script had been written. But, needless to say, the film was just the beginning of Dave's ascension to the top of the Entertainment World.
In December of 1998, Dave appeared in a movie that not many people remembered him being in. My reaction was the same as the dude below:
All jokes aside, Dave was Tom Hanks' close friend "Kevin" in the hit "You've Got Mail" also starring Meg Ryan.
In 1999, he had the opportunity to share the silver screen with fellow comedic Icon, Martin Lawrence in his movie "Blue Streak".
In "Blue Streak", Dave plays "Tulley" a former jewel thief accomplice of Martin's character "Miles Logan" in the movie.
With Martin as the star, Dave, Luke Wilson, William Forsythe, Nicole Ari Parker & a Platinum certified soundtrack featuring Jay-Z, Ja Rule, Keith Sweat, Heavy D, Foxy Brown, Tyrese and Kelly Price, the movie was a number one box office draw with nearly a $118 million dollars in ticket revenue.
The height of Dave's stand up comedy success came when in 2000, he recorded his first ever one hour HBO Comedy special entitled "Dave Chappelle: Killin' Them Softly".
Named after one of his favorite songs, the hit "Killin' Them Softly" from one of his favorite Rap groups, The Fugees. Dave's first major comedy one hour comedy special for HBO was a defining moment for his career. Shortly thereafter was the set up for something even bigger for him.
Have a great laugh below watching Dave as he is on the brink of superstardom:
As you can see, Dave hit a homerun with this special. His narratives and story telling flowed and seemed almost conversational while speaking on many news worthy topics at the time. Just genius!
While riding the wave of his new found success with his genius stand up shows, Dave landed himself a role in 2002's Comedy, "Undercover Brother" starring alongside, Eddie Griffin, Denise Richards & Chris Kattan. Dave plays "Conspiracy Brother" in a hilarious role that kept his fans steadily laughing. View the small clip below of some of his funny moments from the film:
In 2003, Dave Chappelle landed his biggest score. He started his own sketch comedy series on Comedy Central called "Chappelle's Show". Immediately, Dave was the hottest star in Entertainment.
The show debuted on January 22nd 2003 to rave reviews. "Chappelle's Show" parodied a number of topics from Race, Politics, Culture and everything Pop Culture. Dave also had a great supporting cast which included Eddie Murphy's brother, Comedian Charlie Murphy. The cast also featured Donnell Rawlings, Paul Mooney, and appearances from top names from film, movies, the Modeling World and more.
On January 21st 2004, Season 2 of "Chappelle's Show" debut on Comedy Central. The show was red hot and the most successful show on Television. Dave Chappelle's name was everywhere and I remembered how the guy that was coming up and getting more popular now was thee man. He had the platinum touch.
Then on July 9Th 2006, Season 3 "The Lost Episodes" which consisted of only 3 episodes premiered on Comedy Central. The final episode of the very shortened season and of the show overall, was aired on July 23rd 2006.
Okay, Okay. Your probably reading this and saying what the guy above just said. So let's fill in the blanks of the shows demise and where Dave was in all of this. It was a truly bizarre story. So here goes:
Dave was on top of the World. He was everywhere. During this time, he did his 2nd very successful stand up Comedy special while he was enjoying his monster success of his "Chappelle's Show" which was in the 2nd season.
The special was entitled "Dave Chappelle: For What It's Worth" which aired for Showtime from San Francisco's legendary Fillmore Auditorium. The show is featured below for your viewing pleasure:
Dave killed another performance and it only added to his mega stardom. He however was burning out as he would later explain. He was not happy with the way the show was headed into a space that he was not comfortable with. Due to the massive mainstream success that he was enjoying and the incredible record-breaking DVD sales of the first season of his show, he was given a massive $55 million dollar contract from Comedy Central's parent company, Viacom. From this incredible contract, he would also have a nice profit share of the DVD sales of the show. The contract was so that for the next two years, Dave keeps the production of the show going. It was a non-exclusive contract as he would be able to do side projects outside of "Chappelle's Show".
What made Dave's incredible show so huge was his role as Rick James during "Chappelle's Show" "Charlie Murphy's True Hollywood Stories". Charlie's story telling of Rick James' antics in which he and his brother Eddie Murphy experienced with James during The 1980s was driven home with the legendary dead-with-laughter portrayal of Rick James by Chappelle in what turned out to be the single greatest comedy sketch that I have personally ever seen. Not to mention the splicing in of Rick James himself speaking on the events described during this sketch. Well, instead of me telling you check out the clips below:
Dave Chappelle - Rick James Best Scenes
CHARLIE MURPHY
Dave Chappelle Rick James
Again, GENIUS! Dave Chappelle & "Chappelle's Show" had become the number one Television show on at the time. It spawned off a Pop Culture frenzy. Check some of the things that came from this great performance by everyone involved especially, Dave:
Dave Chappelle as Rick James - Action Figures
Dave Chappelle as Rick James - Soundboard
Dave Chappelle as Rick James - Famous Catchphrases
Oh but don't let me sway you into thinking that the show's success was based off one popular sketch. The show with it's supporting cast had some great sketches but none was more creative and controversial, than the character Dave played called "Clayton Bigsby" a black white supremacist.
The concept was truly original and yet made you laugh but still touched on the issue that race is blind but truly ignorant. If you are offended by the language used during the sketch then you missed the point. Have a look at Dave playing "Clayton Bigsby" below:
Wow! Incredible concept and character. Dave also played Hip Hop superstar, Lil' Jon in "A Moment in the Life of Lil Jon." This spawned a number of catchphrases in Pop Culture especially those that followed the show intensely.
Have a look below at this hilarious sketch featuring Dave as Lil Jon:
Dave Chappelle - Lil Jon Talking to Lil Jon
I found the best description of what happened next on Dave's official Wikipedia page. So I will let them explain in detail what occurred:
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:
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.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.[18]
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.[19]"
Speaking of which when he finally resurfaced he appeared on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" on February 3rd 2006 after popping up here and there from the time he walked off the show up until this eye opening appearance.
If your not convinced of what Dave was feeling then you must check out his appearance that aired on February 12Th 2006 {Originally filmed on December 18Th 2005} for "Inside The Actors Studio" Hosted by James Lipton.
I believe in what Dave said was the reasoning behind walking away from the show and the money. He said a few things that stuck with me. One of which is the following quote below, have a look:
Moving on, Dave in the midst of season two of his hit show, and before his highly publicized walk out on his own show, filmed a documentary/block party concert which started following Dave from the summer of 2004 to September 2004. The culmination of the filming ended in the hit: "Dave Chappelle's Block Party". The film was released on March 3rd 2006.
Block Party (2005) Trailer (Dave Chappelle, Mos Def and Lauryn Hill)
The film was a success and it also marked the return of The Fugees together for the first time in years. It was a truly historic moment. The party held in Brooklyn, NY was also Dave's display of his influence as well. The Block Party's format was also inspired by 1973 documentary, "Wattstax".
* Dave's Return To His Roots & Present Day *
In 2007 & 2009, Dave successfully made his return to where it started it all for his incredible career: Stand up Comedy. He went after the record of longest stand up comedy show both years at The Laugh Factory.
In April 2007, he broke Comedian, Dane Cook's record of 3 hours and 50 minutes. Then In December 2007, He even broke his own record of 6 hours and 12 minutes which was later broken by Dane Cook in 2008 with 7 hours. On November 19Th 2009 he was disqualified, leaving the stage 5 hours into his routine. But, it proved that Dave hadn't lost a step since the controversy surrounding the end of his highly popular show. Take a look at the clips below of Dave at his best:
Dave Chappelle - Man Rape
Dave Chappelle - Kramer
Dave Chappelle - The Secret
Dave, returned to Inside The Actor's Studio with host James Lipton for their 200Th episode which aired on November 11Th 2008. Dave was the host of this historic show interviewing Mr. Lipton. It was a hilarious show.
In 2012, Dave successfully completed 3 shows in Toronto at Toronto's Winter Garden Theatre. He was cited by the city for smoking during his set. He paid an unexpected visit to Toronto Mayor, Rob Ford. For more on the story go here
Over the last year or so, Dave, who is still a bit reclusive popped up in great condition and looked like he was on his way to making a huge comeback.
In earlier 2013, the rumour mill spins as it has been reported that Dave, is gearing up for that aforementioned return to the spotlight. And where? you ask? Well, on a Comedy Tour with Comedic Titan, Chris Rock. Will it happen? I hope so, and so do Dave's fans.
Recently, Dave appeared at The Comedy Cellar in New York. It's where the rumors began as they performed a surprise set to the delight of the audience in attendance. He appeared with Chris, Kevin Hart. They posed for the picture seen below with those gentlemen including Marlon Wayans, Bill Bellamy and Questlove from The Roots. Check Celebrity blogger, Perez Hilton for the story here.
In closing, Dave Chappelle has had a very successful career and can pretty much write his own ticket of what he wishes to do next. I am a huge fan of his work and I look forward, like everyone else what he does next in the Entertainment World. You know that whatever his next move will be, whether he wishes to step into the major spotlight or not, one thing is for sure....
* Dave Chappelle Will Never Ever Be Forgotten *
___________________________________________________
*Check Back Here For More *
___________________________________________________________________________
