Dave Chappelle was born on August 24, 1973 in Washington D.C. Chappelle was inspired by the comedy sitcom The Cosby Show and Bill Cosby himself. He knew then he wanted to start a career as a comedian. Chappelle started his stand-up routine in high school in different comedy clubs and since most places were for adults, his mother or father had to accompany him. Dave had a chance to perform at an amatuer comedy night at New York’s Apollo Theatre. Unfortunately, he got booed off that night. But by the early ‘90s, he began to get recognition and his comedy gave him privileges.

Chappelle made his first film debut in Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993) and was the youngest to be featured on the HBO special Comic Relief (1994). Chappelle began to appear in more films such as The Nutty Professor, You’ve Got Mail, and Half Baked. In 2003, Dave Chappelle started his own show on Comedy Central called Chappelle’s Show. The show was known for extremely funny skits and for its outrageous dialogue. Chappelle was granted with two Emmy Awards for his effort and for the show’s popularity.

Chappelle stopped his show because the main network executives wanted to control his show by telling Chappelle what jokes to tell, how to dress, and what he can and can’t say. By quitting, Dave Chappelle proved a point that he follows his mind, he doesn’t need to be told what is funny and what’s not. He knows what his audience wants and by winning awards for his original show says it all. Recently, he teamed up with Rihanna to raise money for her charity foundation.