Andrew Dice Clay (Courtesy Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

Andrew Dice Clay (born Andrew Clay Silverstein; September 29, 1957) is an American comedian and actor. He played the lead role in the 1990 film The Adventures of Ford Fairlane.

Clay has been in several movies and has released a number of stand-up comedy albums. He is the only comedian in history to sell out Madison Square Garden two nights in a row.

Early life

Clay was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. He grew up in the neighborhood of Sheepshead Bay in a Jewish family. His parents are Doris and Fred Silverstein. His father worked in real estate sales and also as a boxer. Clay was doing impressions and entertaining his family in his living room by age 5. He played the drums at James Madison High School, and later worked as a drummer in the Catskills in the late 1970s.

Career

In 1978, he auditioned at Pips, a local comedy club in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, doing comedic impressions, then headlined there the following week as "Andrew Clay." His act at the time included an impression of John Travolta in Grease and Jerry Lewis as The Nutty Professor. Clay graduated to the major Manhattan comedy clubs, including Budd Friedman's The Improv, Catch a Rising Star and Dangerfield's. His move to Los Angeles came in 1980. He was "adopted" there by Mitzi Shore, owner of the famed Comedy Store. His work at the Store led to sitcom appearances on M*A*S*H and Diff'rent Strokes. He later landed roles in movies such as Making the Grade (1984) and Pretty in Pink (1986).

He had a regular role on Crime Story from 1986"1988. He eventually turned from acting to pursue a career in stand-up comedy, focusing on the character "Dice" from Making the Grade. His big break came in 1988 when he did a seven-minute set at Dangerfield's during the Rodney Dangerfield special "Nothing Goes Right." It was there that he met his agent Dennis Arfa, which led to his first HBO special.

Later works

Clay retreated from the media spotlight for several years. For several years he was rumored to have run a fitness gym in Brooklyn, but later verified on an interview with CNN that this was not true. In 1995. he released a HBO special Assume the Position. The special failed to reignite Clay's career.

In 1998, Clay released the triple-live album "Filth" via the Internet. Soon afterward, Clay aligned himself with New York City-based talk program The Opie and Anthony Show.

To coincide with the release of 2000's "Face Down, Ass Up," Opie and Anthony teamed up with Clay to allow him to perform at Madison Square Garden.

In 2005, Clay signed a deal with Sirius to produce and broadcast his own show, Out of the Cage.

In 2007, he attempted a comeback with the reality TV series Dice: Undisputed on VH1, which lasted seven episodes.

He appeared as a part of NBC's The Celebrity Apprentice 2 and was the first celebrity to be fired, after he openly entertained the idea of quitting while in Donald Trump's presence. On The Howard Stern Show, Clay stated that the show was edited to exclude situations where Trump treated Clay poorly based on his comic treatment of women rather than his accomplishments. Throughout the season, each celebrity was raising money for a charity of their choice; Clay had selected StandUp For Kids.

In July 2011, Clay was featured in the eighth and final season of Entourage as Johnny Drama's co-star in the fictional program Johnny's Bananas. He also appeared in an episode of Raising Hope as himself which aired on November 29, 2011

In May 2012, Clay appeared on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast and also did a set at The Bamboozle festival in Asbury Park.

In 2011, Clay placed number fourteen in Complex Magazine's "The 15 Worst Stand-Up Comedians".

Controversy

Clay is known for a style of comedy that has sparked controversy and much media coverage. He is loved by some and reviled by others, who feel that his act is crude, misogynistic, racist, and homophobic. Clay has been opposed by women's rights groups and has been banned from many radio and television shows for his explicit language and socially and politically incorrect humor. MTV banned him for life for reciting what he called "adult nursery rhymes" during the 1989 MTV Video Music Awards. In 2011 the ban was lifted by MTV.

In 1990, Clay was invited to guest host the weekly comedy TV show Saturday Night Live. Cast member Nora Dunn declared her refusal to appear on the same broadcast as Clay and did not participate in the episode of his guest appearance. Invited musical guest Sinéad O'Connor also boycotted Clay's appearance on Saturday Night Live.

In a 2006 interview with CNN, Clay was asked by the interviewer if he had been running a gym since his comedy career diminished. He then proceeded, before walking out of the interview, to go on a profanity laced tirade.

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