David Spade Biography

David Wayne Spade (born July 22, 1964) is an American actor, comedian, and television personality. He is best known for his nasally and high pitched voice and his use of cutting and sarcastic one liners and his sometimes childish stage personality. He rose to fame in the 1990s as a cast member on Saturday Night Live, for co-starring in the 1995 comedy Tommy Boy, and from 1997 until 2003 when he starred as Dennis Finch on Just Shoot Me!. He also starred as C. J. Barnes, along with Katey Sagal, James Garner, and Kaley Cuoco on 8 Simple Rules.

He starred as Russell Dunbar on the CBS sitcom Rules of Engagement. He also is working with TBS on an animated series based on his film, Joe Dirt.

Early life, high school & college

Spade was born in Birmingham, Michigan, the son of Judith J. (née Meek), a writer and magazine editor, and Wayne M. Spade, a sales representative. His brothers are Bryan and Andy Spade; Andy Spade is the husband of designer Kate Spade and CEO of Kate Spade New York.

Spade and his family moved to Scottsdale, Arizona, when he was four years old. Spade attended Saguaro High School and later Scottsdale Community College, before transferring to Arizona State University, where he earned his Bachelor's degree in business in 1986. He also was a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. Spade performed standup at the university's long-running sketch comedy show, Farce Side Comedy Hour, on numerous occasions. In the mid-80s he also did "stand up" in the Monday night comedy show at Greasy Tony's Pizza in Tempe, Arizona.

Career

With the help of friend and fellow comedian, Dennis Miller, he joined Saturday Night Live in 1990 as a regular cast member and writer. While there, his well-known sarcasm became popular, and his smart aleck characters in a number of sketches were hits. Some of them include: a flight attendant who bids a perceived-as-unpleasant "Buh-Bye" to each passenger upon disembarking; a receptionist for Dick Clark who, as a matter of policy, asks people indiscriminately "And you are?"; and the sarcastic "Hollywood Minute" reporter who communicates with celebrities by means of one-liners. Other characters include Christy Henderson from the Gap Girls, and Karl from the Karl's Video sketches. He also has done impressions of famous celebrities, such as Brad Pitt and Michael J. Fox. According to interviews with Spade, most of the material that he wrote early in his time at SNL was given to Dana Carvey to perform on the show. Due to his relatively low work rate, he was in danger of being fired as a performer, until the Hollywood Minute segment secured his position.

Though most of the cast left in 1995, Spade stayed the following year to help in the transition with the new cast. He then quit in 1996 citing "burnout" as the reason. Said Spade, "When I leave, it will be to ease the pressure, not to be a movie star. You can't stay there forever " it kills you inside. It ages you in dog years. It's a tough place." He returned to host an episode in 1998 and another in 2005. He recently also voiced a chihuahua in an animated short, written by Fred Wolf, in 2010.

Spade's attempt at a film career met with success. He worked with fellow Saturday Night Live cast member and friend, Chris Farley, in the films Tommy Boy and Black Sheep. The two were planning a third film together when Farley died of a drug overdose at the age of 33. He then proceeded to act in films where he was the central character, such as Joe Dirt and Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star, but they were not as well received. They were both written by Spade with Fred Wolf.

Although he received several offers to star in his own TV shows, he turned them down and joined the ensemble cast of Steven Levitan's office sitcom Just Shoot Me!, opposite Laura San Giacomo and George Segal, which ran for seven seasons from 1997 to 2003. He played as sarcastic receptionist, Dennis Finch, which earned him an Emmy nomination and two Golden Globe nominations.

Spade hosted both the Teen Choice Awards and SpikeTV's Video Game Awards in 2003. He voiced characters on several episodes of Beavis and Butt-head, and produced his own TV series Sammy in 2000. From 2002 to 2006 Spade regularly appeared in commercials for Capital One (with Nate Torrence) where he played the employee of a fictional rival company whose policy toward honoring credit card rewards (and just about everything else) is "always no." In 2004, he joined the cast of 8 Simple Rules, following the death of the sitcom's star, John Ritter.

On September 5, 2003, Spade received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, which is located at 7018 Hollywood Blvd. He was the host of the Comedy Central show, The Showbiz Show with David Spade, which began in September 2005. On the show Spade made fun of Hollywood and celebrities in a manner similar to his old "Hollywood Minute" segment on SNL. The Showbiz Show with David Spade was canceled in October 2007 after three seasons.

Along with actors Elijah Wood and Gary Oldman, Spade is one of the voice talents for The Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning, the sixth installment of the platform game series Spyro the Dragon. He provides the voice for Spyro's dragonfly companion, Sparx.

He also starred as Russell Dunbar in the CBS comedy, Rules of Engagement.

Personal life

Spade has one daughter named Harper with Playboy Playmate Jillian Grace. Spade confirmed his paternity on September 3, 2008.

Spade is very sensitive to light. The combination of bright lights on-set and working under sunlight while filming Black Sheep caused permanent damage to his eyes. Spade says of his condition: "I have to wear a hat even indoors and flashes in particular freak me out. I even have to make them turn down the lights in the make-up trailers. I've become such a pain in the butt with this light-sensitive thing, it's a wonder they don't just shoot me!"

In December 2005, Spade donated $100,000 to the police department in his hometown of Phoenix, Arizona, as part of a program designed to provide patrol officers with rifles. Spade's contribution will buy 50 AR-15 semi-automatic rifles for Phoenix police officers.

On May 20, 2013, he donated $200,000 for the Oklahoma tornado relief program.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1987	Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol	Kyle
1992	Light Sleeper	Theological Cokehead
1993	Coneheads	Eli Turnbull
1994	Reality Bites	The "Wienerschnitzel" Manager
1994	PCU	Rand McPherson
1995	Tommy Boy	Richard Hayden	MTV Movie Award for Best On-Screen Duo
1996	Black Sheep	Steven "Steve" Dodds
1996	'	Sergio
1996	Beavis and Butt-Head Do America	Voice
1997	8 Heads in a Duffel Bag	Ernest "Ernie" Lipscomb
1998	Senseless	Scott Thorpe
1998	'	Ranger Frank "Franklin"	voice role
1998	Jerome	Executive Producer
1999	Lost & Found	Dylan Ramsey
2000	Loser	The Video Store Clerk
2000	'	Emperor Kuzco / Llama Kuzco (voice)	Nominated - Kid's Choice Award
2001	Joe Dirt	Joseph "Joe" Dirt
2003	Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star	Dickie Roberts
2005	Racing Stripes	Scuzz	voice role
2005	Lil' Pimp	Principal Nixon
2005	Kronk's New Groove	Emperor Kuzco	voice role
2006	Grandma's Boy	Shilo
2006	'	Richie Goodman	Nominated - Teen Choice Award for Best Choice Chemistry
2010	Grown Ups	Marcus Higgins
2011	Jack & Jill	Monica	Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actress
2012	Hotel Transylvania	Griffin the Invisible Man	voice role
2013	Grown Ups 2	Marcus Higgins

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1988	'	Scott	Season 9, Episode 22: "Big Apple Blues"
1989	Baywatch	B. J.	Season 1, Episode 3: "Second Wave"
1990	ALF	Larry Slotkin	Season 4, Episode 14: "Make 'em Laugh"
1990	Monsters	Teddy	Season 3, Episode 7: "Small Blessings"
1990	Born to Be Mild	Stage Assistant	uncredited; cameo
1990–1996	Saturday Night Live	Various	writer and cast member from 1990"1996 Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing in a Variety or Music Program (1990-1993) Hosted episodes in 1998 and 2005.
1992	'	Himself	Season 1, Episode 2: "The Promise"
1994	Beavis and Butt-Head	Mr. Manners Mr. Candy Ticket Attendant	voice role; uncredited; cast member from 1994"1997
1997"2003	Just Shoot Me!	Dennis Finch	Nominated - Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV Nominated - TV Land Award for Co-Worker You're Least Likely to Invite Out for Happy Hour Nominated - American Comedy Award
1998	David Spade: Take the Hit	Himself	Stand up comedy special
2000	Sammy	Sammy Blake James Blake	voice role; canceled after 2 episodes
2002	Greg The Bunny	Himself	cameo
2004	Father of the Pride	Tommy the Coyote	voice role
2003–2005	8 Simple Rules	C. J. Barnes	main cast member from 2003"2005
2005–2007	'	Himself
2007–2013	Rules of Engagement	Russell Dunbar	main cast; nominated - Teen Choice Award for Choice TV Actor: Comedy
2011	Entourage	Himself	Season 8 Episode 6 "The Big Bang"
2012	Hot in Cleveland	Christopher	Episode 3.24: "Blow Outs"

Music videos

Year	Title	Performer	Notes
1993	"Buddy"	Adam Sandler

Video games

Year	Title	Character	Notes
2000	The Emperor's New Groove (video game)	Kuzco/Kuzco llama
2006	The Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning	Sparx