Hater Hall of Fame: Andrew Dice Clay Edition

Andrew Clay Silverstein aka “The Diceman”,  Born September 29, 1957

Andrew Silverstein was born in a rough area of Brooklyn, New York – known as Sheepshead Bay – to Doris and Fred Silverstein.  It was evident from an early age that Andrew was destined to be a performer, and by age five he was already doing impressions of Elvis and the Fonz in the living room of his family’s house.  Clay claims that it was his musical skills, however, that helped get him through high school; he became a decent drummer and played bar mitzvahs and other local shindigs under the name Clay Silvers to earn cash.  In 1978, a 21 year-old Clay first stepped onto the comedy stage at a small club in Brooklyn called Pips.  He captivated the audience with a Jerry Lewis impersonation in the vain of his Nutty Professor character; and then after drinking some “magic potion”, he was transformed him into John Travolta’s suave character from the movie Grease – complete with a song and dance routine to “Greased Lightning.”  The audience went wild over his performance, and a week later he was headlining at the club under the name Andrew Clay.  Soon after, Andrew’s growing reputation led to bigger, more reputable venues like Budd Friedman’s Improv, To Catch a Rising Star, and Rodney Dangerfield’s Comedy Club.  In 1980, he made the move to Los Angeles, and was soon taken in my Mitzi Shore – who was the owner of The Comedy Store, and mother of The Wea…sel.  His work at Shore’s establishment led to bit parts in several B-movies (like Night Patrol, Wacko, and Private Resort), and appearances on TV shows like M*A*S*H and Diff’rent Strokes.

In 1983, Andrew Clay decided to go in a new direction with his comedy routine, and created the on-stage persona of Andrew “Dice” Clay.  Andrew molded The Diceman into a politically incorrect character who was patterned after an “an Italian street-corner tough guy, wearing a Fonz-like outfit”.  The new Andrew Clay was described as a “tough-talking, gutter-mouthed comic who preyed on everything and everybody…His tongue, razor sharp, could destroy and mangle any comedy club heckler and his act was so biting – that audiences sometimes didn’t know if he was joking.”  His outrageous subject matter spawned a small, loyal group of followers, but Clay was determined to make himself a household name in the comedy business.  Even though his rise was met with challenges from various groups who labeled his routine as misogynistic, racist, and morally reprehensible, Andrew was soon filling up clubs from California to New York, and everywhere in between.  His newest reputation triggered other film appearances in the 80′s (Pretty in Pink, Casual Sex), and netted him an appearance on a 1988 HBO special presented by Rodney Dangerfield – titled “Nothing Goes Right”.  While he only did eight minutes of actual material on the hour long special, it turned out to be “the break” that a lot of comedians experience before they invade the mainstream.  The very next show Dice did was in front of sold-out audience at the 18,000 seat Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York, and “Dice Mania” was born.  This rise led to his own New Year’s Eve special on HBO (“The Iceman Cometh”), more movie offers, and helped him a accomplish a feat that no other comedian has matched – Andrew Dice Clay became the only comedian to ever sell out Madison Square Garden on two consecutive nights.

Although Clay was enjoying tremendous success as a stand-up, some of his decisions began to catch up with him in a negative way.  After he delivered an expletive-laden tirade during the 1989 MTV Movie Awards – which for some reason, surprised the network executives – he was banned from the station for life.  A year later he was picked to host Saturday Night Live, and cast member Nora Dunn boycotted the show due to his material on women – she never returned.  Perhaps Clay’s worst career choice revolved around his aspirations to be recognized as a legitimate movie star and leading man.  This desire would materialize in 1990 in the form of The Adventure of Ford Fairlane, his first role as a lead character; but pressure from his detractors resulted in the film getting pulled from many theater screens across the country, and Clay was soon blackballed in the motion picture industry.  He then acted in two unsuccessful TV projects thereafter, and it became apparent that the star of Andrew Dice Clay was beginning its descent.  In recent years, Andrew has managed to revive his career by performing nightly at showrooms in Las Vegas.  He had an 11-year contract with Bally’s Casino and Resort, and upon its end, he signed the biggest contract of his career with The Venetian.  There have been many opinions/discussions on where the Diceman’s place is in comedic lore.  Some say he appealed to the lowest common denominator, and made millions by glorifying stereotypes and prejudices.  Others say he was just playing a character whose job was to offend people, much like other famous insult comics before him.  A critic who saw Clay at his Vegas stomping ground recently had this to say: “What you will experience at the Venetian is a very talented actor, who has dared to say in public what most of us think and maybe even enjoy saying in private.  After the shock wears off, the laughter remains.”

Clay does impersonations of some popular actors in the 90′s (All video clips contain language):

The 1987 performance that established The Diceman as an up-and-coming talent:

One of his more recent TV appearances, from Jim Norton’s HBO show “Down and Dirty”: