Andrew Dice Clay

Andrew "Dice" Clay (born September 29, 1957 in Brooklyn, New York) is an American comedian and actor born Andrew Clay Silverstein. Notorious for his highly profane comedy, he became popular during the late 1980s, but has since faded into relative obscurity. However, Rick Rubin was quoted on the "E! True Hollywood Story: Andrew Dice Clay" as saying to the effect "What's the bad news that he's making seven figures in Vegas?" a reference to Clay's popular Las Vegas Strip comedy shows. His importance and contributions to the art of comedy and performance art are undeniable and he is number 95 on Comedy Central's list of the 100 Greatest Standups of All Time.

Early career

As Andrew Clay, he made sitcom appearances on M*A*S*H and Diff'rent Strokes. He then landed roles in movies such as Making the Grade, starring Judd Nelson (1984) (playing a character named "Dice"), Pretty In Pink (1986) (credited for the first time as Andrew "Dice" Clay). As Andrew Dice Clay, he also had a regular role on Crime Story from 1986–1988. This was followed by a series of less-notable films. He eventually turned from acting towards stand-up comedy, focusing on the character "Dice" as in Pretty in Pink. Possibly named after The Dice Man, a novel by Luke Rhinehart, the persona was that of a highly racist, homophobic woman-hating street-wise Brooklyn tough.

Comedic style

Unlike comics such as Lenny Bruce, Sam Kinison or George Carlin, who would use their aggression as a tool for political or social commentary, Clay's seeming intent was simply to be as shocking as possible. His material consisted of profane, sexist routines emphasizing women as sex objects, featuring his purported sexual prowess and his total self-involvement, as well as extremely offending racist comments aimed mainly toward Asian and Arab people. At its best, Clay's overbearing character hovered between a performance-art rejection of stereotypical misogynism and a celebration of pure excess (similar to the old joke/new film The Aristocrats). However, at its worst the material was simply insulting, and detractors, fans and comedian alike seemed to have had a hard time separating character from reality.

Dice would often insult members of his audience while they were there, and made many so uncomfortable that they left in the middle of his shows.

Ironically, most would agree, Clay's crass, violent, misogynistic and even sophomoric style were the very key to his success. In an age of increasing prominence of feminism and political correctness, "Dice" served as a respite for many fans; a caricature of American masculinity embodied in a chain-smoking greaser in a leather jacket.

Nursery rhyme adaptations

His most popular routine involved the subversion of traditional nursery rhymes, turning them from child friendly rhymes into sordid sexual encounters. Subsequently, those rhymes became both his most widely-known material as well as the routine he (and many others) most despised.

Some examples include:

Hickory Dickory Dock.
My balls fell out of my jock.
I laid them to rest
On some hooker's chest
And paddled her face with my cock.

Roll, roll, roll your cunt
Gently down my prick.
Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily,
Then you'll suck my dick.

Jack and Betty, up in a tree
F-U-C-K-I-N-G
First comes Betty, then comes Jack
Then comes the goo from Betty's crack.

Hickory dickory dock
Some chick was sucking my cock.
The clock struck two
I dropped my goo
I dumped the bitch on the next block.

Mary, Mary, quite contrary,
Trim that pussy it's too damn hairy.

Little Miss Muffet sat on a tuffet
Eating her curds and whey.
Along came a spider,
Who sat down beside her
And said, "Hey, what's in the bowl, bitch?"

Eenie, Meenie, Miney, Moe
Suck my dick and swallow slow.

There was an old lady who lived in a shoe
She had so many kids,
Her uterus fell out.

Three Blind Mice
See how they run,
Where the fuck are they going?

Roses are red, violets are blue
I fucked your mother,
and then she had you.

Jack be nimble, Jack be quick
Jack burnt of his fucking dick

Popularity and controversy

Clay's growing notoriety led to his being offered a recording contract with Rick Rubin's Def American label. Comedy records do not traditionally sell well, and so it was a shock (even to Clay himself) when his debut album Dice was a commercial success. Sampled excerpts from the album made their way to tracks by gangsta rap artist Ice Cube. When he hosted Saturday Night Live, musical guest Sinéad O'Connor and cast member Nora Dunn refused to appear, protesting Clay's misogynistic persona. Clay donated the money he made from this appearance to charity.

The Day the Laughter Died

Clay would then go on to record what some regard as his masterpiece; it is certainly his most successful example of "Dice" as performance art. The two CD set The Day The Laughter Died, lasting just under two hours, hit the Top 40 Album Chart. The concept, according to Clay, was to perform "the worst show possible". Clay went in front of a paying audience with no planned material and insulted them, individually and as a whole, for nearly two hours. Many members of the audience—even some familiar with the standards of a Clay show—walked out, and the entire concert was released without any edits. The album was produced by Rick Rubin.

Commercial failure

Clay's first starring role in a feature film was as the title character in The Adventures of Ford Fairlane in 1990. It failed at the box office, effectively ending Clay's leading man career but the movie has emerged as a bona-fide cult classic in video release.

A stand-up performance at Madison Square Garden was given movie release as Dice Rules in 1991. Many theaters refused to show it, and it failed commercially. By the release of his album 40 Too Long (1992), Clay was nearly forgotten.

His 1993 album The Day The Laughter Died, Part 2 was recorded in front of a small audience at Dangerfield's in New York. On the album, he reprised the concept of The Day The Laughter Died, again verbally insulting his audience. Apart from the audience-baiting, he also attacked American film critics Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert for giving Dice Rules and Ford Fairlane bad reviews. Responding to a request for a nursery rhyme, which he had previously refused to do in The Day The Laughter Died, he claimed, "You don't know how much I hate those fucking poems, you have no idea how I hate those fucking poems, I wish I'd never thought of those fucking poems." Following the release of The Day The Laughter Died, Part 2, Dice vanished from the media spotlight for two years.

Bless This House

He returned in 1995, dropping the "Dice" from his name, eschewing his "Dice Man" persona, and playing the part of a caring family man in CBS' sitcom Bless This House. CBS soon alleged that he was difficult to work with, refusing to learn his lines (among other things), and the show was cancelled. Clay claimed in a radio interview with shock jock Howard Stern that CBS had promised him they would eventually give the character "an edge", this being the only reason he accepted the role. In typical Dice form, the interview ended in an on-air argument.

Later works

Following the sitcom's failure, he returned to comedy with his HBO special Assume the Position and his 1999 album, Face Down, Ass Up. His audience was smaller than ever before, due to the fall from grace of so called "assault comedy" following the deaths of Sam Kinison and Bill Hicks. Clay has continued to appear in smaller film roles, such as One Night at McCool's (2001), featuring Matt Dillon and Michael Douglas.

CNN appearance

In an interview before a supposed comeback on November 12, 2003, Clay used several profanities on a live CNN cable news program, The Biz, hosted by Allan Chernoff. The video of this episode is available online in many collections of outrageous moments in American television history and "funny video" collections. Comments made on the show include "where are you getting your fucking information" and "Jesus fucking Christ". The channel was not fined by the FCC because it does not govern cable television.

CNN interview transcript: "Stand-up Guy"

Host (Alan Chernoff): Let's talk a little bit about where your career has been --

Clay: (laughing in disbelief) I can't believe it, you know what I mean?

Host: You, of course, were a headline guy, and then --

Clay: I'm still a headline guy, you know what I mean?

Host: For a while you popped out, and now you're coming back (motioning a cycle with his hands) --

Clay: I'm coming back... (imitating the host - motioning a cycle with his hands) it's what I do...

Host: For a while you were actually... you were running a gym? Tell us about that.

Clay: (irritated) Running a gym?

Host: Weren't you running a gym at some point?

Clay: You're supposed to be a news guy, where are you getting your fucking information?

Host: That's our research...

Clay: This is ridiculous. I come on CNN, and the guy don't even know what he's talking about. Go 'head.

Host: At no point were you running a gym?

Clay: No, no... running a gym? What, do you need a workout or something?

Host: Do you need to take a time out?

Clay: Jesus fucking Christ... with these guys. I come on the news for two seconds... an-and you want to say... every time I do an interview a guy wants to open his fucking mouth. Can't even do a little fucking routine here.

Host: Alright Andrew, thank you very much, we thought that you could hold back.

Clay: (removing microphone) You know? Go fuck yourself. You know what? Fuck the whole fucking network. (leaves)

Host: (to camera) Alright. We'll go back to talking about Art Carney.

Clay: (off camera) Fucking jerk-off. Fucking asshole guy. Half dead.

Host: And we'll be back in just a moment to fill you in on the Art Carney situation.

Discography

Recordings featuring Dice samples

"A Gangsta's Fairytale" on Ice Cube's album AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted (Priority Records, 1990): Dice is heard saying "Good old Mother Goose, remember her? I fucked her." from "Nursery Rhymes" at the end of the song.
"Just Don't Bite It" on N.W.A's EP 100 Miles and Runnin' (Ruthless/Priority Records, 1990): Dice asking the question, "But does she suck a good dick?!?" from "Couples In Love", is part of the song's chorus.
"Unbelievable" by EMF (EMI, 1991): Assorted interjections of Dice shouting "Oh, shit!" (sanitized for the radio version), "Whoa, man!" and "It's unbelievable", all from Dice, are heard throughout the song.

Starring roles

External links

Andrew Dice Clay at IMDb
Rotten.com: Andrew Dice Clay biography (includes some jokes)