David Spade
David Spade | |
|---|---|
 David Spade, 2008 | |
| Born | David Wayne Spade |
| Occupation(s) | Actor Comedian Television personality |
| Years active | 1987–present |
| Children | Harper (born 2008) |
| Website | DavidSpade.com |
David Wayne Spade (born July 22, 1964) is an American actor, comedian and television personality who first became famous in the 1990s as a cast member on Saturday Night Live, and from 1997 until 2003 starred as Dennis Finch on Just Shoot Me!. He also starred as C.J. Barnes, along with Katey Sagal, James Garner and Kaley Cuoco on 8 Simple Rules.
He currently stars as Russell Dunbar on the CBS sitcom Rules of Engagement. He is also working with TBS on an animated series based on his film Joe Dirt.[1]
Early life
Spade was born in Birmingham, Michigan, the son of Judith M, a writer and magazine editor, and Wayne M. Spade, a sales representative.[2][3] His brothers are Bryan and Andy Spade; Andy Spade is the husband of designer Kate Spade and CEO of Kate Spade New York.
Spade attended Scottsdale Community College and briefly went on to Arizona State University, where he was a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity.[4] He graduated with a degree in Business in 1986. Spade performed standup at the university's long-running sketch comedy show, Farce Side Comedy Hour, on numerous occasions. In the mid-80s he also did standup in the Monday night comedy show at Greesy Tony's Pizza in Tempe, Arizona. Before finding success as a comedian, Spade made money by working as a busboy, a valet parker, a skee ball championship competitor and a skateboard shop employee.
Career
With the help of friend and fellow comedian Dennis Miller, he joined Saturday Night Live in 1990 as a regular cast member and writer. Here, he made popular his well-known sarcastic, smart aleck characters in a number of sketches, some of which include: a flight attendant who bids a perceived-as-unpleasant "Buh-Bye" to each passenger upon disembarking; a receptionist for Dick Clark who, as a matter of policy, asks people indiscriminately "And you are?"; and the sarcastic "Hollywood Minute" reporter who communicates with celebrities by means of one-liners. Other characters include Christy Henderson from the Gap Girls, and Karl from the Karl's Video sketches. He has also done impressions of famous celebrities, such as Brad Pitt and Michael J. Fox. According to interviews with Spade, most of the material that he wrote early on was given to Dana Carvey to perform on the show. Due to his relatively low work rate, he was in danger of being fired as a performer, until the Hollywood Minute segment secured his position.
Though most of the cast left in 1995, Spade stayed on the following year to help in the transition with the new cast. He then quit in 1996, citing "burnout" as the reason. Said Spade, "When I leave, it will be to ease the pressure, not to be a movie star. You can't stay there forever — it kills you inside. It ages you in dog years. It's a tough place." He returned to host an episode in 1998 and another in 2005. He recently also voiced a chihuahua in an animated short, written by Fred Wolf, in 2010.
Spade's attempt at a film career was met with mixed success. Movies such as Joe Dirt and Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star were, especially the former, not very successful critically, although both made back their budget and more. (They were both written by Spade with Fred Wolf.) He worked with fellow Saturday Night Live cast member Chris Farley in the movies Tommy Boy and Black Sheep, in an attempt to form a modern-day Laurel and Hardy. The two were planning a third movie together when Farley died of a drug overdose at the age of 33. Spade did not attend Farley's funeral because he "could not be in a room where Chris was in a box."
Although he received several offers to star in his own TV shows, he turned them down and joined the ensemble cast of Steven Levitan's office sitcom Just Shoot Me!, which ran for seven seasons from 1997 to 2003. He played to type as a sarcastic receptionist Dennis Finch, which earned him an Emmy nomination and two Golden Globe nominations.
Spade hosted both the Teen Choice Awards and SpikeTV's Video Game Awards in 2003. He voiced characters on several episodes of Beavis and Butt-head, and produced his own TV series Sammy in 2000. From 2002 to 2006, Spade regularly appeared in commercials for Capital One with Nate Torrence, where he plays the employee of a fictional rival company whose policy toward honoring credit card rewards (and just about everything else) is "always no." In 2004 he joined the cast of 8 Simple Rules, following the death of the sitcom's star, John Ritter.
On September 5, 2003, Spade received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. His star is located at 7018 Hollywood Blvd. He was recently the host of a new Comedy Central show, The Showbiz Show with David Spade, which began in September 2005. On the show, Spade made fun of Hollywood and celebrities in a manner similar to his old "Hollywood Minute" segment on SNL. The Showbiz Show with David Spade was canceled in October 2007 after three seasons.[5]
Along with actors Elijah Wood and Gary Oldman, Spade is one of the voice talents for The Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning, the sixth installment of the platform game series Spyro the Dragon. He provides the voice for Spyro's dragonfly companion, Sparx.[6]
Currently, he stars as Russell in the CBS comedy, Rules of Engagement.
Personal life
Spade has one daughter with Playboy Playmate Jillian Grace. The daughter is named Harper Spade, and she was born on August 26, 2008 in Missouri. Spade confirmed his paternity on September 3, 2008.[7]
Spade is very sensitive to light. The combination of bright lights on-set and working under sunlight while filming Black Sheep caused permanent damage to his eyes. On his condition: "I have to wear a hat even indoors and flashes in particular freak me out. I even have to make them turn down the lights in the make-up trailers. I've become such a pain in the butt with this light-sensitive thing, it's a wonder they don't just shoot me!"[8]
Spade has said he would like to marry one day, but he wants to get it right the first time around.[citation needed]
Charity
In December 2008, Spade donated $100,000 to the police department in his former hometown of Phoenix, Arizona, as part of a program designed to provide patrol officers with rifles.[9] Spade's contribution will buy 50 AR-15 semi-automatic rifles for Phoenix police officers.[10]
Filmography
Film
| Year | Film Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol | Kyle | |
| 1992 | Light Sleeper | Theological Cokehead | |
| 1993 | Coneheads | Eli Turnbull | |
| 1994 | Reality Bites | The "Wienerschnitzel" Manager | |
| PCU | Rand McPherson | ||
| 1995 | Tommy Boy | Richard Hayden | MTV Movie Awards (won 1) |
| 1996 | Black Sheep | Steven "Steve" Dodds | |
| A Very Brady Sequel | Sergio | ||
| Beavis and Butt-Head Do America | Voice | ||
| 1997 | 8 Heads in a Duffel Bag | Ernest "Ernie" Lipscomb | |
| 1998 | Senseless | Scott Thorpe | |
| The Rugrats Movie | Ranger Frank "Franklin" | voice only | |
| Jerome | Executive Producer | ||
| 1999 | Lost & Found | Dylan Ramsey | |
| 2000 | Loser | The Video Store Clerk | |
| The Emperor's New Groove | Emperor Kuzco / Llama Kuzco | voice only
Kid's Choice Awards (nominated-1) | |
| 2001 | Joe Dirt | Joseph "Joe" Dirt | |
| 2003 | Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star | Dickie Roberts | |
| 2005 | Racing Stripes | Scuzz | voice only |
| Lil' Pimp | Principal Nixon | ||
| Kronk's New Groove | Emperor Kuzco | voice only | |
| 2006 | Grandma's Boy | Shilo | |
| The Benchwarmers | Richie Goodman | Teen Choice Awards (nominated-1) | |
| 2010 | Grown Ups | Marcus Higgins | |
| 2011 | Zookeeper | Flamingo | voice only |
Television
| Year | Show Title | Role | Other notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | The Facts of Life | Scott | cameo |
| 1989 | Baywatch | B.J. | cameo |
| 1990 | ALF | Larry Slotkin | cameo |
| Monsters | Teddy | brief appearance | |
| Born to Be Mild | Stage Assistant | uncredited; cameo | |
| Saturday Night Live | Various | writer and cast member from 1990–1996 Emmy Awards (nominated-3) | |
| 1994 | Beavis and Butt-Head | Mr. Manners/Mr. Candy/Ticket Attendant (voice) | uncredited; cast member from 1994–1997 |
| 1997–2003 | Just Shoot Me! | Dennis Finch | American Comedy Awards (nominated-1) Emmy Awards (nominated-1) Golden Globe Awards (nominated-2) TV Land Awards (nominated-1) |
| 1998 | David Spade: Take the Hit | Himself | |
| 2000 | Sammy | Sammy Blake/James Blake (voice) | canceled after 2 episodes |
| 2002 | Greg The Bunny | Cameo | |
| 2004 | Father of the Pride | Tommy the Coyote (voice) | |
| 8 Simple Rules | C.J. Barnes | cast member from 2003–2005 | |
| 2005 | The Showbiz Show with David Spade | Himself | |
| 2007–Present | Rules of Engagement | Russell Dunbar | Teen Choice Awards (nominated-1) |
Videos
| Year | Song Title | Performer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | "Buddy" | Adam Sandler |
Video games
| Year | Title | Character | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | The Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning | Sparx |
References
- ^ "David Spade, TBS plotting animated 'Joe Dirt'". The Live Feed. Jan. 28, 2010.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ David Spade Biography (1964–)
- ^ 1 "David Spade"
- ^ Facts and History, Sigma Alpha Epsilon.
- ^ The Showbiz Show with David Spade: Comedy Central Series Cancelled, TVSeriesFinale.com. October 7, 2007
- ^ FX TV channel
- ^ "David Spade Becomes a Dad"
- ^ Louis B. Hobson, September 5, 2003 "Spade digs up dirt". Cinema Confidential. Retrieved July 30, 2009.
- ^ David Spade Helps Phoenix Police Pay for Guns People Magazine, December 22, 2008
- ^ David Spade Buys High-Powered Rifles for Local Police Department Fox News, December 23, 2008
External links
- Use mdy dates from August 2010
- 1964 births
- Actors from Arizona
- Actors from Michigan
- American comedians
- American film actors
- American impressionists (entertainers)
- American infotainers
- American screenwriters
- American stand-up comedians
- American television actors
- American television writers
- American television personalities
- American voice actors
- Arizona State University alumni
- Living people
- People from Oakland County, Michigan
- People from Scottsdale, Arizona