David Spade: Education, Career, and Rise to Comedy Stardom
David Wayne Spade, born on July 22, 1964, is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and podcaster renowned for his sarcastic wit and self-deprecating humor. His career spans decades, marked by success in television, film, and stand-up comedy.
Early Life and Education
Born in Birmingham, Michigan, to Judith J. (née Meek), a writer and magazine editor, and Wayne M. Spade, David is of German, English, Irish, and Scottish descent. He is the youngest of three brothers. His father was a sales representative. The family moved to Scottsdale, Arizona, when David was four years old, but his father left them not long afterward. As a child, Spade and his brothers enjoyed catching rattlesnakes in the Arizona desert to keep as pets.
Growing up, Spade excelled academically, skipping a grade in elementary school, becoming a spelling bee champion, and participating in chess finals. Spade attended Saguaro High School, graduating in 1982. He then attended Scottsdale Community College before transferring to Arizona State University (ASU). Spade dropped out of ASU, where he was a business major, as he was making a decent living doing stand-up. He was a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. Spade performed stand-up at the university's long-running sketch comedy show, Farce Side Comedy Hour, on numerous occasions.
Early Career and Saturday Night Live
Spade began performing stand-up comedy after dropping out of college. He was spotted by a talent agent while performing at The Improv in Los Angeles and was cast in the 1987 film Police Academy 4. With the help of friend and fellow comedian Dennis Miller, he joined Saturday Night Live (SNL) in 1990.
On SNL, Spade started as a writer before becoming a cast member. He became known for his sarcastic humor, creating memorable characters in various sketches. Some of his notable characters include:
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- A dismissive flight attendant for "Total Bastard Airlines" who says "Buh-Bye" to passengers upon disembarking.
- A receptionist for Dick Clark who asks everyone, even celebrities, "And you are?"
- The sarcastic "Hollywood Minute" reporter who roasts celebrities with personal one-liners.
Other characters included Christy Henderson from the Gap Girls and Karl from the Karl's Video sketches. Spade also did impressions of various celebrities, including Brad Pitt and Michael J. Fox. According to interviews with Spade, most of the material that he wrote early in his time at SNL was given to Dana Carvey to perform on the show.
One controversial "Hollywood Minute" segment involved a joke about Eddie Murphy. On December 9, 1995, Spade revived "Hollywood Minute" inside one of his "Spade in America" segments; Spade joked, "Look, children, it's a falling star. Make a wish!" next to a picture of former Saturday Night Live cast member Eddie Murphy. The one-liner referred to Murphy's lack of recent box office success, especially the bomb Vampire in Brooklyn. The quip made Murphy turn against both Spade and SNL for several years afterward. Spade wrote in his 2015 memoir that he received an angry phone call from Murphy two days later at the SNL offices; the two did not reconcile until a chance meeting in 2011.
After the major cast overhaul following the 1994-1995 season, Spade agreed to remain on the show for the 1995-96 season to serve as a bridge between the former cast and new cast members Will Ferrell, Molly Shannon, and Cheri Oteri. During this season, Spade was given a weekly segment called "Spade in America" which was a spin-off of his "Hollywood Minute" and "Weekend Update" commentaries. Spade left SNL in 1996, citing burnout.
Film Career
Spade's film career began to take off while he was still on SNL. He starred with fellow Saturday Night Live cast member Chris Farley in two buddy comedy films, Tommy Boy (1995) and Black Sheep (1996). The two were planning a third film together, but Farley died of a drug overdose in 1997 at the age of 33, and thus it was canceled. Spade declined to attend Farley's funeral, stating that their friendship had been under some tension, partly because of Farley's drug problem and reckless lifestyle.
In 1998, Spade appeared with Marlon Wayans in the buddy comedy film Senseless and voiced Ranger Frank in The Rugrats Movie. In 2000, he provided the voice of Kuzco in Disney's buddy comedy film, The Emperor's New Groove (2000) and would later reprise the role in its direct-to-video sequel Kronk's New Groove (2005). While appearing on Just Shoot Me, Spade had his first solo starring role as the title character in the 2001 film Joe Dirt, which was a modest box office success. The film was co-written by Spade and Fred Wolf. Spade starred again in the 2003 film Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star, again co-written by Spade and Wolf.
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Spade starred in numerous films produced by fellow Saturday Night Live castmate Adam Sandler. Most notable among these are the films Grown Ups (2010) and Grown Ups 2 (2013), both of which included Spade and Sandler among the lead roles and were major box office hits. Other collaborations with Sandler include Grandma's Boy (2006), The Benchwarmers (2006), I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry (2007), Jack & Jill (2011), Joe Dirt 2 (2015), The Ridiculous 6 (2015), The Do-Over (2016), The Wrong Missy (2020), as well as voicing Griffin the Invisible Man in the Hotel Transylvania film series (2012-2022).
More recent comic film vehicles include The Benchwarmers (2006), The Do-Over (2016) alongside Adam Sandler; Father of the Year (2018); and The Wrong Missy (2020), along with cocky supporting roles in Entourage (2015) (as himself); the Adam Sandler vehicles Jack and Jill (2011), Grown Ups (2010), Grown Ups 2 (2013) and The Ridiculous 6 (2015); Sandy Wexler (2017); a voice in the animated feature Hotel Transylvania (2012) and its sequel Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation (2018); Mad Families (2017) (also-co-wrote); and the rare dramatic thriller Warning Shot (2018).
Television Career
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!, opposite Laura San Giacomo and George Segal, which ran for seven seasons from 1997 to 2003. He played a sarcastic receptionist, Dennis Finch. In 2004, he joined the cast of 8 Simple Rules, following the death of the sitcom's star, John Ritter, for the show's third and final season. From 2007 to 2013, he starred as Russell Dunbar in the ensemble CBS sitcom Rules of Engagement.
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 played the employee of a fictional rival company whose policy toward honoring credit card rewards (and just about everything else) is "always no". He hosted the Comedy Central TV show The Showbiz Show with David Spade for three seasons, from September 2005 to October 2007.
In 2014, Spade had a guest role on an episode of ABC sitcom The Goldbergs (on which George Segal, his former Just Shoot Me co-star, has a major role as "Pops", the protagonist's grandfather). In 2019, he started hosting a new late-night show called Lights Out with David Spade on Comedy Central. In August 2020, Spade guest hosted two episodes of Jimmy Kimmel Live! while Kimmel took a summer vacation.
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Recent Projects
In 2022, Spade began co-hosting the Fly on the Wall podcast with fellow Saturday Night Live alum Dana Carvey. In 2023, he began hosting and producing the new game show Snake Oil at Fox with Will Arnett as executive producer.
Personal Life
Spade has dated numerous actresses and celebrities, including Heather Locklear, Lara Flynn Boyle, Julie Bowen, Teri Hatcher, and Naya Rivera. In 2008, he and Playboy Playmate Jillian Grace had a daughter named Harper.
On November 29, 2000, Spade was attacked by his assistant, David Warren "Skippy" Malloy, while he was sleeping. Malloy used a stun gun on Spade after breaking into his home in the early morning. Malloy pleaded guilty and avoided jail time on condition that he seek counseling for drug and psychological problems.
Spade's brother Andy was married to fashion designer Kate Spade, who died in June 2018.
Philanthropy
Spade has a history of charitable giving. He has donated to the Phoenix Police Department and the Oklahoma tornado relief program. He also supports organizations like the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) and contributed to the A.L.S. ice bucket challenge. Following Kate Spade's death, David Spade donated $100,000 to a mental health organization.
Recognition
Spade received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on September 5, 2003. He has also received nominations for four Primetime Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards for his roles on television.
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