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Adam Sandler

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Adam Sandler
Born
Adam Richard Sandler
Height5 ft 6 in (168 cm)[1]
Spouse[[]] (2003-)

Adam Richard Sandler (born September 9, 1966) is an American actor, comedian, producer, and musician. After becoming a successful stand-up comedian and Saturday Night Live cast member, he went on to become a major Hollywood actor and has starred in seven $150 million films.[2][3] Though he is best known for his comedic roles, he has also had success in romantic and dramatic roles, such as the films Punch-Drunk Love (2002), Spanglish (2004), and Reign Over Me (2007). Sandler is also known by his nickname "The Sand Man".

Biography

Early Life

Sandler was born in a Jewish family in Brooklyn, New York to Judy, a housewife, and Stan Sandler, an electrician. He attended Minersville Area Junior Senior High School, but later transferred to Nativity BVM. He has two older siblings and one younger, Scott, Elizabeth and Valerie. He was born with a speech-impediment that causes his jaw to move diagonally when he talks. It went away after speech therapy, but can be spotted when he gets emotional. [citation needed] Sandler's family moved to the city of Manchester, New Hampshire when he was six, where he was one of only a few Jewish students.[4] He attended Webster Elementary School and Hillside Junior High. He later attended Manchester Central High School and New York University, where he worked as a resident assistant while studying drama.[citation needed]

Acting career

In the mid to late 1980s, Sandler portrayed Theo Huxtable's friend Special Ed on The Cosby Show (1985–1989). He also was a performer for the MTV game show Remote Control, on which he made appearances as the characters "Trivia Delinquent" or "Stud Boy."

Sandler started performing in comedy clubs by spontaneously taking the stage at a club in Boston. He was then discovered by comedian Dennis Miller, who caught Sandler's act in Los Angeles. Miller immediately recommended him to Saturday Night Live producer Lorne Michaels. Sandler was hired as a writer for SNL in 1990 and became a featured player the following year, quickly making a name for himself by performing amusing original songs on the show, including "The Chanukah Song". He left the show in 1995 to focus on his acting career.

Sandler's first successful starring role was in 1989 when he starred in the movie Going Overboard. In 1995 he starred in Billy Madison, in which he plays a grown man repeating grades 1–12 to earn the right to inherit his father's multi-million-dollar hotel empire, and more importantly, his father's respect. He followed this movie up with other financially successful comedies such as Happy Gilmore (1996) and The Wedding Singer (1998). He was initially cast in the bachelor-party-themed comedy/thriller Very Bad Things, but had to back out because of his work in other movies at the same time. After The Waterboy (1998), Sandler reached box-office superstardom, where he has remained.

Although most of his earlier films were almost universally despised by movie critics, many of his recent films starting with Punch-Drunk Love have received almost uniformly positive reviews, leading many movie critics to believe that Sandler possesses considerable acting ability that they believed had been previously wasted on poorly written scripts and characters with no development. Audiences have remained faithful to Sandler's slapstick humor to the tune of $100-million-plus grossing movies. Sandler has moved outside the genre of goofball humor to take on more serious parts such as the aforementioned Punch-Drunk Love (for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe), and Spanglish.

At one point, Sandler was considered for the part that went to Jamie Foxx in Collateral (2004). He also was one of the finalists along with Jim Carrey and Johnny Depp for the role of Willy Wonka in Tim Burton's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, but Depp in the end got the role. Most recently, he starred in the movie Click (2006), which features some humor typical of his earlier films as well as a serious message about the stresses of everyday life. He returns to more dramatic fare with Mike Binder's Reign Over Me, a drama about a man who lost his entire family in 9/11 and rekindles a friendship with his old college roommate (played by Don Cheadle). His next comedy will be I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, in which he and Kevin James will portray firemen who pretend to be a gay couple in order to receive domestic partner benefits.

Cameos & other work

Sandler made a cameo appearance on an episode of The Price Is Right during the "Happy Gilmore Showcase." Host Bob Barker appeared in the movie Happy Gilmore which featured a famous fight scene with Sandler's character (where Barker wins).

Adam may have guest spots on a talk shows, as a special audience member in an episode of The Showbiz Show with David Spade and Peter La maybe also be a costar on the show, and as the feature guest on the final episode of John McEnroe's eponymous CNBC talk show, airing in late 2004. McEnroe had appeared in two of Sandler's movies, both times as himself (Mr. Deeds and Anger Management). In The Animal, starring Rob Schneider, Sandler appears briefly as Schneider's "'You can do it' Guy" from The Waterboy.

He was lampooned in the South Park episode AWESOM-O as a simplistic and repetitive filmmaker. The character of Cartman, pretending to be an all-knowing robot, rails off hundreds of movie ideas all featuring Adam Sandler in similar plots; this was a desperate and spontaneous response to movie studio executives asking Cartman the robot for movie ideas that would guarantee large profits.

On March 20, 2007 Sandler was scheduled to be a guest on The Late Show with David Letterman. However, due to a minor illness, Letterman could not host the show and Sandler filled in as host.

Sandler and Rob Schneider have always made cameos in each other's movies:

  • The Hot Chick, where Schneider stars, Sandler plays the drummer
  • The Animal, where Schneider stars, Sandler played the townie
  • Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo, where Schneider stars, Sandler does cameo as one of the deceased gigolos
  • The Longest Yard, where Sandler stars, Schneider suggests to the prisoners around him, that they hug in the showers
  • Little Nicky, where Sandler stars, Schneider is an angry man (Townie) in riot
  • Big Daddy, where Sandler stars, Schneider plays a man named Nazo
  • Mr. Deeds, where Sandler stars, Schneider makes two short appearances as Nazo; Schneider's character in Sandler's movie, Big Daddy.
  • 50 First Dates, where Sandler stars, Schneider plays a Hawaiian friend of Adam's character with one eye and is the priest to his wedding.
  • The Waterboy, where Sandler stars, Schneider plays the same angry man or Townie from Little Nicky
  • Eight Crazy Nights, where Sandler stars, Schneider voices a Chinese waiter who doesn't like Sandler's character, not to mention that Schneider also provided the narration to the film.
  • Click, where Sandler stars, Schneider plays Prince Habeeboo, a potential foreign customer for Sandler's architect firm. (Schneider is not credited on-screen)

Similarities in Sandler's films

Most of his characters have a short temper or fuse. Also, many of Sandler's films involve large denomonations of money and/or something worth a large amount of money ($200,000 in Big Daddy, $270,000-$275,000 in Happy Gilmore, $40 billion and Blake Media in Mr. Deeds, Madison Hotels in Billy Madison, etc.) A lot of Sandler's films involve the antagonist using an accomplice to take him down (Chuck Cedars and Mac McGrath in Mr. Deeds, etc.) Many of his films end with a scene in which his character is being cheered on by a large audience for one reason or another (knowledge bowl in Billy Madison, baseball game in Anger Management, golf tournament in Happy Gilmore, stockholders' meeting in Mr. Deeds, the airport passengers in The Wedding Singer, etc). He has also occasionally followed up the cheering scenes with a judge going the opposite direction of the crowd sentiment and ruining the moment (the Billy Madison contest and the trial in Big Daddy being two examples). This can be interpreted as a response to the lack of realism in other "cheesy" movies where a dumb protagonist wins over contest judges in the end or has serious crimes overlooked by a trial judge to produce a happy ending.

Sandler's character names in many of his earlier films end with a "y" or an "ie" sound. Most notably in Going Overboard (Schecky), Billy Madison (Billy), Happy Gilmore (Happy), Bulletproof (Archie), Wedding Singer (Robbie), Waterboy (Bobby), Big Daddy (Sonny), Little Nicky (Nicky), Punch-Drunk Love (Barry), 50 First Dates (Henry), and Reign Over Me (Charlie). In most of his movies, the leading lady's name starts with a V (i.e., Vicki Vallencourt, Veronica Vaughn, Virginia Venit, Valerie Veran, Vanessa).

  • He is a huge fan of the band Styx, and will often feature their music in his movies. In Big Daddy, he admitted to refusing to show his late aunt around Manhattan so he could catch a Jethro Tull concert in New Jersey.

Sandler often casts Allen Covert, Blake Clark, Steve Buscemi, Peter Dante, Jonathan Loughran, Rob Schneider, and former SNL players in his films. He almost always has a character with red hair by the surname of O'Doyle in his movies.

Sandler has made many references to the NFL New York Jets Football Team. Seen in Click (when he is a young boy wearing a Jets jersey), Mr.Deeds (when the helicopter pilot informs him that he now owns the Jets), Big Daddy (when Sonny and Julian go to a sports bar and the waitress asks Julian which football team he wanted to win and he replies by saying "the goddamn Jets"), In Little Nicky (When Dan Marino tries to sell his soul to win the Super Bowl, but the Devil refuses. When Dan leaves, the Devil informs Nicky that he's a Jets fan) and most notably in The Longest Yard.

In almost all of his movies somebody yells "You can do it (name), (then something such as "Bite his fricking head off)" this is usually said by Rob Schneider, with the exception of "Anger Management" where Mayor Gulliani says the line.

He pairs in both The Wedding Singer and 50 First Dates with Drew Barrymore, and in both the song True is played, in its original version and a remixed version respectively.

Sandler is good friends with comedian Norm MacDonald. Sandler subsequently made a cameo appearance in MacDonald's Dirty Work. He is a fan of professional wrestling, and most of his self-written films have references to professional wrestling in them. Five professional wrestlers had a role in The Longest Yard due to Sandler's insistence. He was also seen at WWE WrestleMania 21. Kevin Nash and Paul Wight additionally made appearances in Grandma's Boy and The Waterboy respectively.

Sandler is also a huge fan of the New York Yankees, which has also been evident in some of his films including Anger Management.

Actor Thomas Wilson of Back to the Future fame, states Sandler is the "nicest famous guy he knows".[5]

In the movie "Click", Sandler goes to Lake Winnipesauke, a lake in New Hampshire where he (as do most other new Hampshirian kids) went to camp. he also make reference to the lake in his song "The Thanksgiving Song."

The song "Lunchlady Land" is dedicated to the lunchlady at Central High School in Manchester, NH, where Sandler went to school.

Recurring characters on Saturday Night Live

  • Angelo from "Good Morning, Brooklyn"
  • Audience McGee, a random audience member who interrupts SNL sketches
  • Cajun Man, a Weekend Update commentator from Louisiana
  • Fabio, one of the La Cantore waiters who hits on Mrs. Kirkpatrick (played by two-time host Kirstie Alley)
  • Canteen Boy, an adult scouting enthusiast who is frequently mocked by adults and was once molested by his scoutmaster (Alec Baldwin).
  • Gil Graham, a geek who tours with bands
  • Helios, from Hub's Gyros
  • Opera Man, Weekend Update commentator from Italy, who would sing the stories in opera form

Celebrity impersonations on SNL

Filmography

Films

  1. Going Overboard (1989)
  2. Shakes the Clown (1992)
  3. Coneheads (1993)
  4. Airheads (1994)
  5. Mixed Nuts (1994)
  6. Billy Madison (1995) (also writer)
  7. Happy Gilmore (1996) (also writer)
  8. Bulletproof (1996)
  9. The Wedding Singer (1998)
  10. Dirty Work (1998) (Cameo)
  11. The Waterboy (1998) (also executive producer and writer)
  12. Big Daddy (1999) (also executive producer and writer)
  13. Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo (1999) (cameo voice)
  14. Little Nicky (2000) (also executive producer and writer)
  15. The Animal (2001) (Cameo, executive producer)
  16. Punch-Drunk Love (2002)
  17. Mr. Deeds (2003)
  18. Eight Crazy Nights (2002) (voice, also writer and producer)
  19. A Day with the Meatball (2002) (short subject)
  20. The Hot Chick (2002) (Cameo, also executive producer)
  21. Anger Management (2003) (executive producer)
  22. Pauly Shore Is Dead (2003) (documentary, voice)
  23. Stupidity (2003) (documentary)
  24. The Couch (2003) (short film)
  25. 50 First Dates (2004)
  26. Spanglish (2004)
  27. The Longest Yard (2005)
  28. Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo (2005) (cameo image)
  29. Click (2006) (also producer and writer)
  30. Reign Over Me (2007)
  31. I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry (2007) (currently in post-production)
  32. Stu the BSB (2007) (currently in pre-production)
  33. Crood Awakening (2008) (in production, voice)
  34. You Don't Mess with the Zohan (2008) (currently in pre-production)
  35. Bedtime Stories (2008) (currently in pre-production)

Television

  1. Remote Control (1987-1990)
  2. The Cosby Show (1987-1988)
  3. Saturday Night Live (1991-1995)

Comedy albums

  1. They're All Gonna Laugh at You! (1993)[Certified: 2x Platinum]
  2. What The Hell Happened To Me? (1996)[Certified: 2x Platinum]
  3. What's Your Name? (1997)[Certified: Gold]
  4. Stan and Judy's Kid (1999)[Certified: Gold]
  5. Shhh...Don't Tell (2004)

Footnotes

  1. ^ http://www.celebheights.com/s/Adam-Sandler-965.html
  2. ^ http://www.boxofficemojo.com/people/chart/?view=Actor&id=adamsandler.htm
  3. ^ http://www.boxofficemojo.com/people/chart/?view=Actor&id=adamsandler.htm
  4. ^ http://www.jewishjournal.com/home/searchview.php?id=6140
  5. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwY5o2fsG7Y&mode=related&search=.com
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