Andrew Dice Clay

Andrew Dice Clay (born Andrew Clay Silverstein; September 29, 1957) is an American stand-up comedian and actor.

Clay attended James Madison High School in Brooklyn and as a teenager worked as a drummer on the Catskill Mountains circuit in the 1970s, playing bar mitzvahs and weddings under the name Clay Silvers.

Upon returning to New York City, he failed to form a big band of his own.

He pursued higher education but dropped out to become a full-time comedian.

Clay cites Elvis Presley, Fonzie, John Travolta, and Sylvester Stallone as his heroes.

Clay began his stand-up career in 1978 when he auditioned at Pips comedy club in Sheepshead Bay, which turned into a headline spot at the venue the following week, billed as Andrew Clay.

He started with an act mainly of impressions, which included a character named "The Diceman", based on Jerry Lewis as Buddy Love from The Nutty Professor, which transformed into John Travolta in Grease.

It took him three weeks to prepare the act.

A picture of him on stage during his early sets at Pips was described: "[Clay] In a baggy white shirt, pants rolled up to his knees and a pair of thick glasses", with a black leather jacket underneath the shirt so he could seamlessly switch to his Travolta character when the lights went out.

With his new act, Clay graduated to larger and more prestigious comedy venues, including The Improv, Catch a Rising Star, and Dangerfield's.

He recalled his father being supportive of his act during one performance at Dangerfield's. "He knew it was different right off the bat [...] He saw it worked".

The persona was more of a shock to his mother, but she got used to it and he recalled her laughing at his jokes.

He rose to prominence in the late 1980s with a brash, deliberately offensive persona known as "The Diceman".

By 1980, Clay had relocated to Los Angeles and landed work at the Comedy Store, owned by Mitzi Shore.

His sets were not an instant hit, and because of his dirty act and her unwillingness to have other comics follow him, Shore had Clay perform at late hours, resorting for him "to wait and perform for ten drunks".

In 1982, Clay landed his first film role, appearing in Wacko.

In 1983, Clay added the "Diceman" moniker to his name and no longer relied on impressions of other notable figures, instead creating an alter ego based on his heroes.

He first used the act at the Comedy Store after he was asked to fill in for a comic who cancelled their spot.

He said: "I didn't have my Jerry Lewis stuff with me, so I just winged it, saying whatever popped in my head".

His performances at the venue led to his first sitcom roles, with appearances on M*A*S*H and Diff'rent Strokes, and feature-length films, including Making the Grade (1984), Pretty in Pink (1986), and Casual Sex? (1988).

A review by Los Angeles Times critic Michael Wilmington described Clay's character as "a macho bozo from Jersey".

From 1986 to 1988, he had a regular role as Max Goldman on Crime Story.

His act included a drum solo as a tribute to Buddy Rich.

Clay then pursued stand-up comedy full-time as the Dice character.

Clay's breakthrough came in 1988 when he performed at an all-male Big Brother Association dinner event with "all of Hollywood's royalty [...] dressed in tuxedos, and I show up in a black leather jacket with a flag on the back that said 'Rock and Roll'".

The set was a hit; the next day, 20th Century Fox offered him a film deal and entered talks with producer Joel Silver.

Also in 1988, Clay performed a seven-minute set at Dangerfield's in New York City for Rodney Dangerfield's HBO stand-up showcase special Nothing Goes Right, launching him into the national spotlight.

In January 1989, Clay's HBO special, The Diceman Cometh, appeared on HBO and subsequently became a top video rental, according to Entertainment Weekly.

In March, he released his debut comedy album, Dice, which went on to reach gold certification by the RIAA for selling over 500,000 copies in the US.

In 1990, he became the first stand-up comedian to sell out Madison Square Garden for two consecutive nights.

That same year, he played the lead role in the comedy-mystery film The Adventures of Ford Fairlane.

Clay has appeared in several films and television shows, including critically acclaimed supporting roles in Woody Allen's Blue Jasmine (2013) and Bradley Cooper's directorial debut, A Star Is Born (2018).

He continues his acting career while also touring and performing stand-up.

The television show Dice aired on Showtime for two seasons.

He also launched a podcast, I'm Ova Hea' Now, in September 2018.

Clay was born to parents Jacqueline and Fred Silverstein in the Sheepshead Bay neighborhood of Brooklyn in New York City, where he was raised.

He is Jewish.

He has one sister.

Clay's father was a boxer and real estate agent.

At age five, Clay was entertaining his family with impressions, and by seven he was playing drums, inspired by the sounds of big band music.