David Khari Webber Chappelle was born August 24, 1973 and he is an American comedian, actor, writer, and producer. With his incisive observations, he has been described as “poetically unfiltered and sociopolitically introspective, with an ability to illuminate and interrogate agonizing and poignant subjects.”
Dave Chappelle Biography
Dave Chappelle’s father, William David Chappelle III, was a professor of vocal performance and dean of students at Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio. His mother, Yvonne Seon , worked for Congolese Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba, is a Unitarian Universalist minister, and has been a professor and university administrator at various institutions including Wright State University and Prince George’s Community College.
Chappelle has a stepmother and a stepbrother. Dave Chappelle’s great-grandfather was William David Chappelle, who was born into slavery and led a delegation of African Americans who met with President Woodrow Wilson at the White House.
Chappelle grew up in Silver Spring, Maryland and attended Woodlin Elementary School. His parents were politically active, and visitors to the family home included Pete Seeger and Johnny Hartman. Hartman predicted that Chappelle would be a comedian, and around this time, Chappelle’s comedic inspiration came from Eddie Murphy and Richard Pryor.
After his parents separated, Chappelle stayed in Washington with his mother while spending summers with his father in Ohio. In high school he worked as an usher at Ford’s Theater.In 1991, he graduated from Washington’s Duke Ellington School of the Arts, where he studied theater arts.
Dave Chappelle Career
Chappelle appeared in a montage of random people telling a joke on the first episode of ABC ‘s America’s Funniest People , which aired on September 13, 1990. Chappelle moved to New York City to pursue a career as a stand-up comedian. He performed at Harlem’s famed Apollo Theater in front of the infamous “Amateur Night” audience, but was booed offstage.
Chappelle described the experience as the moment that gave her the courage to pursue his aspirations in show business. He quickly made a name for himself on the New York comedy circuit, even performing in city parks. In addition to weekend stand-up gigs, he also honed his craft at Monday night “open mic” performances at venues like the Boston Comedy Club on W 3rd St., until the summer of 1994.
In 1992, he won critical and popular acclaim for his television appearance on Russell Simmons ‘ Def Comedy Jam on HBO. It was his appearance on this show that allowed his popularity to really start to rise, eventually allowing him to become a regular guest on late-night TV shows like Politically Incorrect , The Late Show With David Letterman ., The Howard Stern Show and Late Night with Conan O’Brien . Whoopi Goldberg nicknamed him “The Kid”.
At age 19, he made his film debut as “Ahchoo” in Mel Brooks’ Robin Hood: Men in Tights . He also appeared on Star Search three times, but lost to comedian Lester Barrie; Chappelle then joked about being more successful than Barrie. The same year, Chappelle was offered the role of Benjamin Buford “Bubba” Blue in Forrest Gump . Worried that the character would be demeaning and that the movie would be a bombshell, he turned down the role., where a goofy black man is responsible for the beating of Rodney King, the Los Angeles riots, and OJ Simpson is framed for murder.
Chappelle played another supporting role in one of Doug Liman’s first films, Getting In , in 1994. At age 19, he opened for R&B soul singer Aretha Franklin. Early in his career, Chappelle was cast after comedy veteran Chris Thomas, who was so good that Chappelle, though he had been warned, was totally bombarded. 
Chappelle attracted the attention of network television executives and developed numerous pilots, but none were picked up for series. In 1995, he made a guest appearance on an episode of the popular ABC sitcom Home Improvement . The story prompted Chappelle and his friend and real-life comedian Jim Breuer to ask Tim Taylor for advice on their girlfriends.
The characters’ single in the episode proved so popular that ABC decided to give them their own spin-off sitcom titled Buddies . However, after filming a pilot episode, Breuer was fired and replaced by the actor.Christopher Gartin. Buddies premiered in March 1996 to disappointing ratings, and the show was canceled after only five episodes out of 13 that had been produced.
Following the failure of Buddies , Chappelle starred in another pilot. According to Chappelle, the network was uncomfortable with the African-American cast and wanted white actors added. Chappelle resisted and later accused the network of racism. Shortly thereafter, Chappelle’s father died, and after returning to Ohio, he considered leaving the entertainment business.
He later appeared as an insult comedian taking aim at nightclub patrons in the 1996 comedy The Nutty Professor starring Eddie Murphy, one of his main comedic influences. He had a minor role in 1997 ‘s Con Air .
In early 1998, he did a stand-up appearance for the HBO Comedy Half-Hour. That same year, he appeared in “Pilots and Lost Pens”, an episode of The Larry Sanders Show ‘seasons six, in which he and the executives of the show’s unnamed television network lampoon the treatment that writers and show creators were subjected to, as well as the executives’ knee-jerk tendencies toward racial stereotyping.
He and Neal Brennan co-wrote the 1998 cult stoner film Half Baked , Chappelle’s first leading role, about a group of pot-smoking friends trying to break their other friend out of jail. It made money at the box office and remains a classic of “Stoner” cinema, a genre that includes the Cheech and Chong movies, as well as more recent fare like Judd Apatow’s Pineapple Express .In December 1998, Chappelle appeared as a friend and confidant of Tom Hanks’ character on You’ve Got Mail . In 1999, he appeared in the Martin Lawrence film Blue Streak . 
In 2000, Chappelle taped his first hour-long HBO special, Dave Chappelle: Killin’ Them Softly , in Washington, DC. He followed this up with an appearance as “Conspiracy Brother” in the 2002 racial satire Undercover Brother .
2003-2006: Chappelle Show
In 2003, Chappelle debuted his own weekly sketch comedy show on Comedy Central called Chappelle’s Show . The show parodies many aspects of American culture, including racial stereotypes, politics, and pop culture. Along with the comedy sketches, the show also featured musical performances by primarily hip-hop and soul artists. He also promoted the work of other black comedians, most notably Paul Mooney and Charlie Murphy.
Due to the show’s popularity, Comedy Central’s new 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 has said that sketches are not his favorite form of comedy, and that the show’s format was similar to that of short films.
In June 2004, based on the popularity of the “Rick James” sketch, it was announced that Chappelle was in talks to play James in a biopic from Paramount Pictures, also owned by Viacom.The James estate disagreed with the proposed comedic tone of the film and stopped talks.
That same month, Chappelle taped his second comedy special, this time broadcast on Showtime, Dave Chappelle: For What It’s Worth , at San Francisco’s Fillmore Auditorium, where Lenny Bruce, George Carlin, Richard Pryor, and Robin Williams had performed.
Season 3 Issues
At a June 2004 performance in Sacramento, California, Chappelle walked offstage after berating his audience for constantly yelling “I’m Rick James, bitch!” which had become a catchphrase for his popular “Rick James” skit. After a few minutes, Chappelle returned, continuing to say, “The show is ruining my life.” He said he didn’t like working “20 hours a day” and that the show’s popularity made it difficult for him to continue his stand-up career, which was “the most important thing” to him. He told the audience:
“Do you know why my show is good? Because 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 are stupid “.
Season 3 was scheduled to begin airing on May 31, 2005, but in early May, Chappelle shocked fans and the entertainment industry when he abruptly left during production and took a trip to South Africa. Chappelle said that he was unhappy with the direction the show had taken, expressing in an interview with Time his need to reflect in the face of tremendous stress:
“Coming here, I don’t have the distractions of fame. It calms the ego. I’m interested in the kind of person I have to become. I want to be whole and the industry is a place of extremes. I want to be well balanced. I have to check my intentions, man.” 
Immediately after Chappelle’s departure, tabloids speculated that Chappelle’s departure was prompted by drug addiction or a mental problem, rather than the ethical and professional concerns that Chappelle had expressed.
Chappelle’s decision to leave the show meant walking away from his $50 million contract with Comedy Central and entering a rift with collaborator Neal Brennan.
The show still plays on various television networks, despite the relatively small number of episodes compared to most American television shows. Chappelle’s abrupt departure from his show remains a focus of interviews and profiles of Chappelle and of Chappelle’s own comedy. In Bird Revelation , Chappelle draws an analogy between his departure and the book Pimp , Iceberg Slim’s memoir.
2015-2017: Return To The Race
In August 2013, Chappelle returned to touring stand-up full-time,as a headliner,when he appeared during the Oddball Comedy & Curiosity festival. Sponsored by Funny or Die, Chappelle co-headlined with the comedy act Flight of the Conchords.
During a stop in Hartford, Chappelle walked offstage due to boos from the crowd that lasted his entire performance. The boos were so raucous that they drowned out Chappelle’s voice over the public address system and included chants of “White Power”, a line used in an episode of Chappelle’s Show , which was seen as wildly inappropriate and out of context by other members of the gang. audience who later wrote about the event.
A few days later, Chappelle stopped in Chicago for a performance. The comedy website ComedyHype.com acquired and posted audio of him on stage responding to boos. Chappelle referenced the Hartford incident, stating that “young, white, alcoholics” should be blamed for the earlier incident, that he expected North Korea to bomb Hartford, that in the future they would not stop at Hartford for gasoline, and finally summarizing his feelings about the situation by saying, “Fuck Hartford!”
However, in August 2014 Chappelle returned to Hartford for a surprise appearance at the 2014 Oddball Festival and received multiple standing ovations during his performance.
In June 2014, Chappelle made his first major New York City appearance in eleven years, performing ten nights at Radio City Music Hall. Chappelle promoted the dates by appearing on The Today Show , The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon , and Late Show with David Letterman .
In 2015, Chappelle appeared in the Spike Lee film Chi-Raq , his first film role in 13 years.
On November 12, 2016, Chappelle made his hosting debut on Saturday Night Live the weekend that Donald Trump won the 2016 presidential election. The show also featured A Tribe Called Quest as a musical guest.
In his opening monologue, Chappelle tackled Trump and the election head-on. He ended his monologue by saying, “I wish Donald Trump luck and I’m going to give him a chance, and we, the historically marginalized, demand that he give us one too.”
His performance on SNL received widespread praise from both critics and audiences. At the 69th Primetime Emmy Awards, he received an Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for his appearance.
He donated the Emmy to his former high school while filming an episode of the Jerry Seinfeld Netflix series Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee (Season 10, Episode 2: “Nobody Says, ‘I Wish I Had A Camera'”) .
On November 21, 2016, Netflix announced that they would be releasing three new Chappelle stand-up comedy specials in 2017, with Chappelle being paid $20 million per special.
The first two specials were released on Netflix on March 21, 2017, and come directly from Chappelle’s personal comedy vault. “Deep in the Heart of Texas” was filmed at Austin City Limits Live in April 2015, and “The Age of Spin” was filmed at the Hollywood Palladium in March 2016. The specials marked the comedian’s first concert specials released in 12 years, and proved an immediate hit when Netflix announced a month later that they were the most-watched comedy specials in Netflix history.
The third special, Equanimity , was filmed in September 2017 at the Warner Theater in Washington, D.C., and then on November 20, 2017, Chappelle filmed a fourth special, The Bird Revelation , at The Comedy Store in Los Angeles. On December 22, 2017, Netflix announced the expansion of the deal to include The Bird Revelation , which was released with Equanimity on December 31.
2018 – Present
In January 2018 at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards, Chappelle received a Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album for his first two 2017 specials The Spin Era & Deep in the Heart of Texas .
In September 2018, Chappelle’s special Equanimity received an Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety Special (Prerecorded).
In October 2018, Chappelle returned to the big screen as “Noodles”, Jackson Maine’s best friend and retired musician in Bradley Cooper’s directorial debut, a remake of A Star Is Born . The film was a huge critical and commercial success. He was nominated along with the cast for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Ensemble in a Motion Picture.
In 2018, Chappelle and Jon Stewart joined forces for a comedy duo tour of the United States and throughout the United Kingdom. She has also collaborated with Aziz Ansari on three stand-up shows in Austin, Texas at the Paramount Theatre.
In February 2019, Chappelle was nominated for and won the Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album for Equanimity and Breakthrough Bird.
In 2019, Chappelle was chosen to receive the annual Mark Twain Prize for American Humor presented by the Kennedy Center. Kennedy Center President Deborah Rutter stated, “Dave is the embodiment of Mark Twain’s observation that ‘against the onslaught of humour, nothing can stand’ … and for three decades, Dave has challenged us to see issues red-hot from their completely original yet relatable experience.”
The set of people who honored Chappelle included Jon Stewart, Bradley Cooper, Morgan Freeman, Lorne Michaels, Tiffany Haddish, Aziz Ansari, Sarah Silverman, Neal Brennan, Q-Tip, Mos Def, John Legend, Frederic Yonnet, Erykah Badu, Common, SNL cast membersKenan Thompson, Michael Che, and Colin Jost, as well as Eddie Murphy.
The award was presented at the Kennedy Center gala on October 27, 2019. The ceremony was broadcast on PBS on January 7, 2020.Mayor of the District of Columbia, Muriel Bowser, declared the day of the award ceremony. “Dave Chappelle Day” in Washington, D.C.
On August 26, 2019, Chappelle’s fifth Netflix special , Dave Chappelle: Sticks & Stones , was released .The special generated controversy (received an average score of 5.70 by critics on Rotten Tomatoes), received backlash for jokes over allegations of abuse against singers Michael Jackson and R. Kelly, as well as for jokes about the LGBT community and cancellation culture, among other topics. In 2020, Sticks & Stones won the Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album. 
On June 12, 2020, Netflix released 8:46 , a 27 minute 20 second video of Chappelle’s newly recorded stand-up on the “Netflix Is a Joke” YouTube channel. The private event was held outdoors on June 6, 2020, in Yellow Springs, Ohio, where audience members observed social distancing rules and wore masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
The stand-up was titled 8:46 in reference to the 8 minutes and 46 seconds police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on the neck of George Floyd, a black man, killing him. Chappelle touches on Floyd’s death and subsequent protests and takes aim at Don Lemon, Laura Ingraham, and Candace Owens.
Expanding on the concept of socially distanced comedy presentation, beginning with a pair of performances in late June 2020 and officially kicking off with a July 4th celebration, “Chappelle and Friends” hosted what became known as “Summer Camp of Chappelle,” which brought live performances for a masked, socially distanced audience at Wirrig Pavilion, in Yellow Springs, Ohio.
These shows featured regular performances by comedians Michelle Wolf, Mo Amer, and Donnell Rawlings, as well as Chappelle’s tour DJ, DJ Trauma, and frequent special guests such as Jon Stewart, Chris Rock, Louis C.K., Sarah Silverman, David Letterman, Bill Burr, Michael Che. , Brian Regan , Chris Tucker , Kevin Hart , Ali Wong , Trevor Noah , Tiffany Haddish , with musical guests John Mayer, Common and many others.
After several shows in July, some problems arose in the wake of noise and disturbance complaints from neighbors, local zoning officials granted a special variance allowing performances to continue through October 4, 2020.The Chappelle Summer Camp series of shows abruptly ended on September 25. , 2020, when Elaine Chappelle announced in a closed Facebook fan group that there had been possible exposure to COVID-19 in her inner circle, and all subsequent performances were cancelled.
It was announced that Chappelle would return to host Saturday Night Live on the weekend of the 2020 United States presidential election once again giving another post-election monologue. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the results were delayed and were announced that Saturday. In response to Joe Biden defeating Donald Trump, Chappelle offered quips ranging from Trump’s handling of the pandemic to his resulting legacy and the political future of the United States, in his 16-minute opening monologue:
“Everyone knows what that feels like. But here’s the difference between you and me: You guys hate each other for it, and I don’t hate anyone. I just hate that feeling. That’s what I fight for. That’s what I suggest you do.” fight. You have to find a way to live your life. You have to find a way to forgive each other. You have to find a way to find joy in your existence despite that feeling.”
Honors And Legacy
Chappelle has received many awards and nominations for his work on stand-up television including three consecutive Grammy Awards for Best Comedy Album.He has also received four Primetime Emmy Awards and a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination along with the ensemble of A Star Is Born .
In 2017, Columbia, South Carolina Mayor Steven Benjamin declared February 3 “Dave Chappelle Day” when Chappelle spoke at Allen University’s Chappelle Auditorium, a building named after his great-grandfather, Bishop William David Chappelle, who worked at the university.
In 2019, Chappelle received the prestigious Mark Twain Prize for American Humor at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Those honoring Chappelle at the event included Jon Stewart, Bradley Cooper, Aziz Ansari, Sarah Silverman, Chris Tucker, Frederic Yonnet, and Lorne Michaels. The award ceremony was made into a television special and released on Netflix and received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Variety Special (Prerecorded).
His work, as well as that of Margaret Cho, was also the subject of a book by Canadian playwright Elizabeth Ludwig, American Stand-Up and Sketch Comedy , which was published in late 2010.
Dave Chappelle Net Worth
Dave is without a doubt one of the most talented names in acting and comedy. Despite struggling in the early stages, he is probably one of the most respected figures in this industry. With all that he has done, Dave has accomplished a lot. Furthermore, his net worth is estimated to be around $42 million. Chappelle is clearly living a life full of luxury and deserves all the success he has today.
Dave Chappelle Personal Life
Chappelle married Elaine Mendoza Erfe in 2001. They live with their two sons, Sulaymanand Ibrahim, and their daughter, Sanaa, on a 65-acre (26 ha) farm near Yellow Springs, Ohio.
He also owned several houses in Xenia, Ohio. Chappelle told residents of Yellow Springs in September 2006, “Turns out you don’t need $50 million to live in these places, just a nice smile and a friendly attitude toward yourselves. You guys are the best neighbors ever.” That’s why I came back and that’s why I’m staying.”
Chappelle converted to Islam in 1991. He told Time in May 2005, “I don’t usually talk about my religion publicly because I don’t want people to associate me and my flaws with this beautiful thing. And I think it’s beautiful if you do.” you learn the right way.” Chappelle appears in a video explaining the religious history of the Well of Zamzam in Mecca.
His great-grandfather, Bishop William D. Chappelle, born into slavery in 1857, was president of Allen University. His great-great-grandfather, Robert J. Palmer, was a member of the then-majority black South Carolina Legislature during Reconstruction.
His great-uncle, WD Chappelle, Jr., was a physician and surgeon who opened the People’s Infirmary around 1915, a small hospital and surgical practice in Columbia, South Carolina, during a time when segregation prevented that many African-Americans had access to health care.
In 2004, he donated his time to the Seeds of Peace International Camp, a camp located in Otisfield, Maine, that brings together young leaders from communities in conflict.
Chappelle endorsed Andrew Yang in the 2020 United States presidential election.
