Dave Chappelle

Biography: Dave Chappelle began doing stand-up at age 14. After making his film debut at 20 with a silly supporting role in Mel Brooks' Robin Hood: Men in Tights, Chappelle spent the next decade toiling in similar parts (Tom Hanks' best friend in You've Got Mail, the short-lived sitcom Buddies) that failed to capitalize on his talents. The cult stoner flick Half Baked, which he also wrote, and a few stand-up specials were the only projects that gave an indication of his success to come. In 2003, Chappelle's Show---a hybrid of stand-up, surreal sketches and music---premiered on Comedy Central, and he became a household name overnight. Whether portraying the famous (a basketball-playing Prince, a "bitch"-screaming Rick James) or the fictional (a crackhead competing on Survivor, a blind black man who happens to be a member of the Ku Klux Klan), Chappelle was consistently hilarious, and the show was popular both when it aired and in its subsequent DVD release. In early 2005, the sudden starDave Chappelle began doing stand-up at age 14. After making his film debut at 20 with a silly supporting role in Mel Brooks' Robin Hood: Men in Tights, Chappelle spent the next decade toiling in similar parts (Tom Hanks' best friend in You've Got Mail, the short-lived sitcom Buddies) that failed to capitalize on his talents. The cult stoner flick Half Baked, which he also wrote, and a few stand-up specials were the only projects that gave an indication of his success to come. In 2003, Chappelle's Show---a hybrid of stand-up, surreal sketches and music---premiered on Comedy Central, and he became a household name overnight. Whether portraying the famous (a basketball-playing Prince, a "bitch"-screaming Rick James) or the fictional (a crackhead competing on Survivor, a blind black man who happens to be a member of the Ku Klux Klan), Chappelle was consistently hilarious, and the show was popular both when it aired and in its subsequent DVD release. In early 2005, the sudden star signed a reported $50 million deal with Comedy Central's parent company, Viacom, for two more years. But in May, in the midst of filming Season 3, Chappelle disappeared, prompting rumors of drug abuse and mental instability. He soon resurfaced in South Africa, where he said he went for a "spiritual retreat." In 2006 he explained his erratic actions on the talk-show circuit, telling Oprah Winfrey and Inside the Actors Studio's James Lipton that he bailed because he felt like "a prostitute" and had begun questioning whether he was "dancing or shuffling," meaning he wondered whether people were laughing with him or at him. Although Comedy Central did air segments from the aborted third season in the summer of 2006, Chappelle never went back to his eponymous series. Instead he returned to his stand-up roots. He has an ongoing rivalry with comedian Dave Cook in stand-up endurance at the Laugh Factory comedy club. Chappelle bested Cook's record of three hours and 50 minutes in April 2007. He then beat his own record in December 2007, with a stand-up set clocking in at a whopping six hours and 12 minutes. Cook reclaimed the record with a seven-hour set in January 2008. Expand

Dave Chappelle's Scores

Average career score: 75
Highest Metascore: 99 The Larry Sanders Show: Season 6
Lowest Metascore: 61 Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee: Season 10
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 4
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 4
  3. Negative: 0 out of 4
4 tv reviews
Title: Year: Credit: User score:
tbd My Next Guest Needs No Introduction With David Letterman: Season 5 Jun 12, 2024 Dave Chappelle tbd
tbd My Next Guest Needs No Introduction With David Letterman: Season 4 May 20, 2022 Dave Chappelle tbd
tbd My Next Guest Needs No Introduction With David Letterman: Season 3 Oct 21, 2020 Dave Chappelle tbd
tbd Saturday Night Live: Season 46 Oct 3, 2020 Dave Chappelle tbd
61 Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee: Season 10 Jul 6, 2018 Guest 5.0
tbd Ride with Norman Reedus: Season 2 Nov 5, 2017 Appearing tbd
tbd Jimmy Kimmel Live: Season 15 Jan 2, 2017 Guest tbd
tbd Saturday Night Live: Season 42 Oct 1, 2016 Host 4.6
tbd Late Show with Stephen Colbert: Season 2 Sep 6, 2016 Guest tbd
tbd Late Show with David Letterman: Season 1 Apr 7, 2015 Guest 6.3
65 The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon: Season 1 Feb 18, 2014 Guest 6.3
tbd Late Show with David Letterman: Season 21 Aug 19, 2013 Guest tbd
tbd Inside the Actors Studio: Season 19 Jan 31, 2012 Guest tbd
tbd Crank Yankers: Season 4 Feb 9, 2007 Voice / Dave Chappelle tbd
tbd Iconoclasts: Season 2 Oct 26, 2006 Himself / Dave Chappelle tbd
tbd Chappelle's Show: Season 3 Jul 9, 2006 Host/Various / Writer / Creator / Executive Producer / Host 9.0
tbd Late Night with Conan O'Brien: Season 13 Sep 6, 2005 Guest tbd
tbd Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry: Season 5 Jun 10, 2005 Performer tbd
tbd 60 Minutes: Season 37 Sep 26, 2004 Appearing tbd
tbd Late Night with Conan O'Brien: Season 12 Aug 31, 2004 Guest tbd
tbd Chappelle's Show: Season 2 Jan 21, 2004 Host/Various / Writer / Creator / Executive Producer / Host 9.2
tbd Late Show with David Letterman: Season 11 Oct 13, 2003 Guest tbd
tbd Wanda at Large: Season 2 Sep 19, 2003 Vincent tbd
tbd Late Night with Conan O'Brien: Season 11 Sep 3, 2003 Guest tbd
tbd The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: Season 12 Sep 2, 2003 Guest tbd
73 Chappelle's Show: Season 1 Jan 22, 2003 Host/Various / Writer / Creator / Executive Producer / Host 8.7
tbd The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: Season 11 Sep 23, 2002 Guest tbd
tbd Late Show with David Letterman: Season 10 Sep 13, 2002 Guest tbd
tbd Crank Yankers: Season 1 Jun 16, 2002 Voice tbd
tbd Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry: Season 1 Dec 15, 2001 Performer tbd