Andrew Dice Clay | |
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Clay in 2012
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Birth name | Andrew Clay Silverstein |
Born |
Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
September 29, 1957
Medium | Stand-up, Television, Film |
Nationality | American |
Years active | 1978–present |
Genres | Character comedy, Observational comedy, Improvisational comedy, Political satire, Insult comedy, Blue comedy, Black comedy |
Spouse | Kathy Swanson (1984–1986) Kathleen Monica (1992–2002) Valerie Vasquez (2010–2014) |
Children | 2 |
Notable works and roles |
The Day the Laughter Died The Adventures of Ford Fairlane |
Website | andrewdiceclayofficial.com |
Andrew Dice Clay (born Andrew Clay Silverstein, September 29, 1957) is an American comedian and actor.
He came to prominence in the late 1980s with a brash, macho, and offensive persona of "The Diceman". In 1990 he became the first comedian to sell out Madison Square Garden two nights in a row. That same year he played the lead role in the comedy-mystery film The Adventures of Ford Fairlane.
Clay has been in several movies and has released a number of stand-up comedy albums. He is currently continuing his focus on acting while still touring and performing his stand-up.
Clay was born to a Jewish family and raised in Brooklyn, New York. He grew up in the neighborhood of Sheepshead Bay. His parents are Jacqueline and Fred Silverstein; he has one sister. Clay's 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.
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. He did a character called "the dice man" that was wildly popular that was based on Buddy Love. Clay eventually became this character full-time in his act. Clay graduated to the major Manhattan comedy clubs, including Budd Friedman's The Improv, Catch a Rising Star and Dangerfield's. In 1980, he moved to Los Angeles, where he was "adopted" 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), Pretty in Pink (1986) and Casual Sex? (1988).