Adam Sandler has slowly risen among the ranks as one the most popular comedians of this generation, but unlike most comics who have enjoyed a majority of their critical renown on the stage, Adam has built his empire around the countless and unforgettable characters that fuel his slapstick-happy movies. Born in Brooklyn, New York in 1966, Adam was the odd child out in his small Jewish home. Unlike his brother and sisters who excelled in academics, Adam was always deemed the class clown, and at the age of 17, seriously contemplated dropping out of high school. Adam’s older brother suggested that he become a stand-up comedian one night during an amateur night at a nearby Boston club, and the rest is history.
Hesitant on continuing his education, Adam enrolled at New York University where he studied to earn a BS in Fine Arts, all while enjoying a small amount of success doing stand-up, though he experienced trouble with an uncontrollable stutter during bad performances. His brother suggested singing to calm his fear of the stage, and suddenly, Adam was performing a wide array of funny songs to complement his act. It was after then that Adam landed a recurring role on “The Cosby Show” and earned an audition with Lorne Michaels for “Saturday Night Live.” At first, Adam only joined the TV series as a writer, but after one short year, he began performing such famous characters as Opera Man and Canteen Boy, and became part of the early 90’s comic trinity made up Chris Farley, David Spade and himself.
After noticing what fellow alumni’s were doing in Hollywood with their success on the show, Adam followed in their footsteps and left the sketch comedy show in return for a chance in the movies. His early efforts (in films like “Airheads”) weren’t met with high regard, but his first starring role in the film “Billy Madison” earned him a giant fan base that has since snowballed into super stardom. Adam quickly followed with hilarious comedies like “Happy Gilmore,” “The Wedding Singer” and “The Waterboy,” and was soon earning more money than a majority of the industry’s leading men. In 2002, Adam married long-time girlfriend Jackie Titone and decided to make the dangerous transition to dramatic acting. He quickly proved to critics with his amazing performance in “Punch-Drunk Love” that he had what it took to become a serious actor, and since then, Adam has enjoyed incredible success as the box office king of comedy.
Adam on the Screen
Adam has been climbing his way up the ladder to comic greatness ever since he first appeared on “Saturday Night Live,” but after only four short seasons, Adam traded in his sketch comedy roots for a chance at the big screen. Since then, Adam has starred in nearly twenty films and produced a handful more under his production company Happy Madison. In fact, some of his best work came early on in movies like “Billy Madison” and Happy Gilmore,” but more recent dramatic turns in films like “Punch-Drunk Love” and “Spanglish” have earned him the same critical respect that guys like Jim Carrey have earned from maturing as actors. More of Adam’s bigger hits include “The Wedding Singer,” “The Waterboy” and “50 First Dates,” while he didn’t garner as much attention with less popular features such as “Little Nicky,” “Mr. Deeds” and the overrated “Anger Management.” Regardless, Adam is less of a hit-and-miss comic like Ben Stiller, and always proves an entertaining comic to watch. Adam has joined the music scene with the release of five comedy albums over the past ten years, among his best including his sophomore album What the Hell Happened to Me? (1996) and Stan and Judy’s Kid (1999).
Adam Says
On chemistry:
“Chemistry can be a good and bad thing. Chemistry is good when you make love with it. Chemistry is bad when you make crack with it.”
On his image:
“I’m just a buffoon. That’s all. I look in the mirror, I see a buffoon. That’s all I want to see.”