Dave Chappelle, whose full name is David Khari Webber Chappelle is a remarkable American actor and comedian. He is famously known as a stand-up comedian and also has worked in several series as an actor. Dave is also famously called among the fans as ‘comic genius of America’. Rolling Stone, a journalism group ranked Dave 9th as the best stand-up comedian in the list of top 50. He has been a part of many films and his debut film as an actor was back in 1993, where he worked in ‘Robin Hood: Men in Tights’.
Dave Chappelle Initial Life and Background
Dave was born in Washington D.C. on 24 August 1973. He is the child of William Chappelle III who was a professor of vocals and also the dean of the students at Antioch College, Ohio. Dave’s mother Yvonne Seon used to work for a Congolian prime minister named Patrice Lumumba. She also worked as a professor at several universities like Wright State University. Dave also has a stepmother and a stepbrother.
Dave was brought up in Silver Spring, Maryland and used to attend Woodlin Elementary School. Johnny Hartman, who used to visit Dave’s house, already told when Dave was young that he would become a very good comedian. Dave Chappelle got his inspiration to become a comedy star from Eddie Murphy and Richard Pryor. When Dave was growing up, his parents got separated and he used to live with his mother in Washington. He used to spend his summer time in Ohio with his father.
Also Read: Boy Swallows Universe, a Dark Series Based on a Book
Watch: Dave Chappelle: The Closer, a 2021 film
Career of Dave in America & Hollywood
In the 1990s show, America’s funniest people, Dave Chappelle was first time seen as a comedian telling jokes. Once at Apollo Theatre, Dave was booed off stage, but after that he made his name famous amongst the people in New York while performing in the city’s parks. He got the real boost in his career after he was seen on the show Def Comedy Jam on HBO.
Dave came up with his own comedy show named Chappelle’s Show in 2003, which was a weekly comedy show. Many aspects and parts of American culture were shown on the show such as politics, racial stereotypes, pop culture and more. Other than comedy, musical presentations were also shown on the show by famous hip-hop and soul artists. Dave also gave a boost to the work of other black comedians such as Paul Mooney.
Viacom, parent company of comedy central, offered Dave Chappelle 55 million dollars at that time to continue his show for 2 more years, as it was so popular.
It was like a comeback for Dave, when he hosted Saturday Night Live (SNL) on 12 November 2016, the same weekend when Donald Trump won the 2016 presidential elections. Netflix also announced that they would be associating with Dave and will release 3 stand-up specials and for each stand-up special Netflix would be paying 20 million dollars to Dave. During the 60th Annual Grammy Awards, Dave won a Grammy for best comedy album.
Dave Chappelle: The Dreamer
Recently, Netflix is all set to release a new stand-up special in association with Dave Chappelle, which will be releasing on 31st of December 2023.
Personal Life of Dave
Dave married Elaine Mendoza Erfe in 2001 and they have 2 sons and 2 daughters. Dave and his wife live on 65 acre farm land.
Also Watch: Dave Chappelle: The Dreamer on Netflix official site
