Friday, August 21, 2009

Andrew Dice Clay

Andrew Dice Clay is a stand-up comedian and actor best known for his raunchy stand-up comedy routine during the late-1980s. Clay was very successful for several years until the public quickly tired of his highly profane shtick.

Clay's birth name is Andrew Clay Silverstein and he was born on September 29, 1958 in Brooklyn, New York. Clay began his stand-up career in the late 1970s, at age 20. Despite not knowing anyone in comedy, Clay worked hard to tighten his routine and craft a unique on-stage persona. As a stand-up comedian, Clay was known for being extremely crass, racist, and misogynist. While performing his stand-up routine, he would refer to himself as "Diceman."

Dice initially made several appearances on TV shows during the early 1980s, such as M*A*S*H, Diff'rent Strokes, and Crime Story. He also had a memorable appearance as a bouncer in the 1986 cult classic, Pretty in Pink. Clay was also perfecting his stand-up routine at this time and was selling out show after show throughout the late 1980s and into the early 1990s as his fame grew from good word-of-mouth. One of the trademarks of his routine was the recitation of absolutely filthy derivations of popular nursery rhymes, such as:

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.

Clay was rewarded with his first HBO special in 1989, entitled "The Diceman Cometh" and filmed in front of a live audience in Philadelphia, PA. Clay's HBO special effectively increased his exposure and fame by an order of magnitude, leading to other media appearances, such as a 1989 appearance on the MTV music video awards and an opportunity to host Saturday Night Live in 1990.

However, as Clay's fame grew, his ego inflated to epic proportions. Meanwhile, many people became vocal opponents of his brand of gross-out comedy. During his 1989 appearance on the MTV video awards, Clay used so much profanity on the air that the network executives banned him from appearing on the network again. Women's groups also protested his brand of comedy, labeling him a misogynist.

Leading up to his 1990 appearance on Saturday Night Live, comedienne Nora Dunn, one of the headliners on the show, and the scheduled musical guest, Sinead O'Connor, threatened to boycott the episode unless Clay's invitation to host the show was rescinded. Despite the boycott, Clay did appear on the show - although the show was taped live, it was broadcast was a delay of several seconds to give censors the chance to bleep out any curse words that Clay might utter. (As an aside, Nora Dunn was fired from the show for her boycott.)

The public quickly began to tired of Clay by the early 1990s as people tired of his stale act. Although Clay had a starring role in the 1990s movie, The Adventures of Ford Fairlane, the movie performed poorly at the box office. Moreover, Clay was no longer able to routinely sell out huge auditoriums anymore and eventually decided to take some time off to regroup. Clay moved his wife and two boys to Florida for a couple years where he ran a Gold's Gym and underwent therapy.

Clay returned to Hollywood in 1995 to appear in a starring role on the CBS family comedy, Bless This House. Clay attempted to distance himself from his previous raunchy persona, claiming that his on-stage personality was merely an act and that he never meant the horrible things he used to say, and that he only said them to be funny. The public didn't seem to like Clay's more family-friendly character on Bless This House and the show was canceled after one season.

Clay subsequently had roles in other unsuccessful TV shows during the late 1990s-early 2001, at which point he stopped receiving offers for decent acting roles. Clay had tremendous difficulty coming to terms with the state of his career and became extremely bitter about his treatment by the public. Clay also vocalized his jealously of other, more successful comedians whom he deemed to be inferior. Regarding Jerry Seinfeld, Clay has stated:

"Watching Jerry Seinfeld on stage is like watching a fucking accountant. It's just so absolutely God-awful. I would rather watch a Monday night amateur who doesn't know any better try to create something funny rather than going, "Have you been to McDonald's lately?" Yeah, I have. What's so funny about it? The fries are good. You put me on stage, I'm the greatest stand-up ever in the history of American culture.

Clay's acting roles dried up after 2001 as the public wanted absolutely nothing to do with him. Clay attempted to revive his career in 2003 by appearing for an interview on the now-defunct CNN business news channel, CNNfN. Clay became extremely upset when the show's host asked him about his career and his time away from Hollywood when he was managing a gym. Clay's awkward and profane appearance did nothing to help his career, as should be no surprise to anyone who has seen this clip from his appearance:



Clay laid low again before attempting another comeback in 2007 with a reality show based on his life, entitled: "Dice Undisputed." The apparent purpose of the reality show was to show the human side of Clay. However, the only thing that the few viewers of the show saw was a deeply insecure fat and balding man. The amazing thing is that although Clay is overweight and clearly out of shape, he apparently has the deluded idea that he is in great shape - perhaps that explains why he wears sleeveless shirts which accentuate his flabby arms:


Clay also appeared in the celebrity version of The Apprentice in 2009. However, he quickly made enemies and was booted off during the first episode.

Andrew Dice Clay went from being one of the most popular stand-up comedians of the late 1980s to a washed up joke within a few short years. His massive ego and extreme jealously of more popular comedians have been him a very unlikeable person. For this and the other reasons discussed above, Andrew Dice Clay is one washed-up celebrity!

63 comments:

Michelle said...

He was NEVER funny to begin with.

choad said...

aww c'mon!.. the Dice Man is hilarious! love your blog btw.

The L-Shaped Tetris Block said...

All that crappy leather and studs makes him look like an aging member of the Village People.

erik smith said...

Great post! And all I can say is -- please, keep 'em coming!

Anonymous said...

Gotta admit this is definitely a good one. Wondered whatever happened to this guy.

Michelle said...

Sadly, I have to agree with him about Jerry Seinfeld. He's not funny either.

Anonymous said...

"The Day the Laughter Died" is one of the most bizarre comedy albums I have ever heard. I don't even know how to explain it. I haven't heard much else from Dice, but his "Dirty Nursery Rhymes" are lame as hell. What a pathetic man he is today. Or perhaps he's always been? Nah, "The Day the Laughter Died" prevents me from hating him totally for some reason. And having read a little more about him, deep down inside, I'd like to believe that his misogynist persona is just an act like he claimed it was once his fame began to dwindle, but looking at him these days (wherever the hell he is), it's even harder to believe the prick.




HOUR BACK?! Get it?!?!?

Anonymous said...

What's with the Beetlejuice head?! It looks too small for his body as he's getting older. As if the gay Elvis look of his youth wasn't bad enough.

J said...

I think it's time for a new entry.

Movie Fan said...

J, I'll probably add a new one within the next week or two.

Anonymous said...

Dice is absolutely right about Seinfeld's standup, one of the most unfunny "comedy" acts ever to grace a stage. I've never laughed once at his boring observational comedy. The show was an entirely different matter.

Anonymous said...

This guy was awesome. Problem is there's too many liberals that get their tiny little hearts broken. I mean its like America lost its set of balls. This guy is still celebrated , its just the liberal side of America that doesn't want to see it.

Anonymous said...

I never found Dice funny. I was never offended by his humor and I did not like it when he was attacked for being politically incorrect. I loved Sam Kinison back in the 1980's and Sam hated Dice also. I agreed with Sam. Dice was lame and not funny.

Anonymous said...

Never liked his 'stand-up', but I love the Adventures of Ford Fairlaine. He does seem to be a genuine fucktard though

Anonymous said...

Never a big Dice fan but he did appear on the "Gene Simmons Comedy Central Roast" and he threw a few good zingers at Gene Simmons from KISS. He called Gene "The Bozo The Clown" of Rock and Roll! He also said Gene's KISS film "Detroit Rock City" was so bad that movie theaters turned it off halfway through! LOL Clips are on Youtube.

Nat Jay said...

Being annoying and pathetically funny may work for a while, but sooner (rather than later) it ends up blowing in your face.

The problem with this Dice guy is, he still doesn't get it.

Anonymous said...

please im 35 yr old chick and my hubby is 38 diceman rules you all are so jealous come on its comedy who gives a fk u put down all these celebrities but what have u done nothing u all are jealous leave them alone and mind your own lives ohh wait u dont have any ha ha ha lol

Anonymous said...

what this post neglects to mention, is that the dirty nursery rhymes that dice supposedly originated, came from borsch belt comic, who was doing them back in the 60s

clay did them because he knew he would be hitting a generation that had never heard them

so here you have a jewish guy, pretending to be an italian, doing jokes that another jewish guy had created almost 20 years before clay hit the big time....funny

its kinda like the plethora of wasps who have stolen lenny bruce's act

or the hacks who are still doing bill hicks act

the one positive about clay is that he shows exactly where dane cook will be in 20 years....ohhhhhhhh

Anonymous said...

Dice's problem was pretending to be Italian rather than, like Seinfeld, accepting that he's Jewish and being comfortable in his own skin. Some Jews have the "cool" complex and he had it bad.
Hope at this point he's accepted himself and his ethnicity.

Anonymous said...

A friend of mine cashed him out recently at a Las Vegas casino, and he had thousands of dollars, even high rolling. Might be washed up, but he ain't broke.

Unknown said...

i loved him on the "adventures of ford fairlane". OH!

Kenny Kelly said...

I think Diceman is funny, and his raw jokes always gave me lots of laughs. Even when he offended my demographic, most of the time, it WAS funny, and funny is funny! If you don't think so, that's cool. Not everyone has the same sense of humor. But give the guy a break! Perhaps I missed it, but what'd this guy do to become hated all of a sudden? Did they catch'm screwin a chicken or somethin? Sure some have always hated him. But there was/is a segment that loved him. Now everyone hates him? Why? Haters are pathetic for calling someone else pathetic... or else they wouldn't give a crap. Is the world gonna turn on the very funny Lisa Lampanelli? I hope not, but what's the difference? I personally feel that the CNN guy was a prick, for dishing out a low (hickory dickory dock) blow. What a cheap shot! You invite a guy on your show, with the only intention of humiliating him in public to try and jack up your ratings, and profit from someone's suffering?? How is that not the lowest piece of F'ed up $#!+? Anyone who can't see how f'ed up that is, is f'ed up themselves. This clip caused me to loose respect for CNN, and gain respect for Andrew. What they did was despicable and inappropriate, while Diceman's response was not only appropriate and legitimate, but gutsy. Despite needing the work, he wasn't gonna kiss the network's ass. I honor and respect him for that! Too few are willing to do that, and that's why these networks are able to shove so much of this lame, untalented, boring, cookie-cutter crap down our throats. And too many viewers are too young to know any different, being unaware of the 'olden' days where performers actually had to have a long lost, and seemingly forgotten thing called 'talent'. These days, talent has been TOO overshadowed by money, promotion and hype.

Hey, this is just my personal honest opinion. Anyone who doesn't like it can just kiss my great American soil, for having the right and privilege not to like it. God Bless F'king America, the land of the free and the home of the, (whoa!) M.F. Diceman!

Anonymous said...

I will be 65 this year and Dice still breaks me up! Saw a few of his stand ups back in the day and he was always right on. His insights, or as some of you call it observational comedy were on the money. If he were to tour again, I would be one of the first on line. Come on, it's comedy, not Shakespeare!

Anonymous said...

It was not the public who ended Dice’s career, it was the PC crowd AKA limp wristed loony progressive leftist liberals that’s who. Comedians of today are the filthiest foul mouthed of them all. Every joke today is about bodily functions. YET because the jokes are now made towards White and/or straight men, or Christians (especially Catholics)… All is fair.
You see political correctness is the first step by a Marxist/Communist regime to end a free people. They use this as a weapon to play on human emotions. Those who fall for it probably deserve what they get. Any person who can not laugh at their own race, gender, weight, or whatever is a weak-minded drone. I liked Andrew. He made jokes towards everybody. Want to hear a joke?
Go to the White House or the EPA…..This is why liberals/ democrats are called sheeple, because sheep are the dumbest animals on the planet…democrats follow the crowd because they can’t wipe their own butts without mommies help….

Anonymous said...

A fitting end to this loser.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said: It was not the public who ended Dice’s career, it was the PC crowd AKA limp wristed loony progressive leftist liberals that’s who. Comedians of today are the filthiest foul mouthed of them all. Every joke today is about bodily functions. YET because the jokes are now made towards White and/or straight men, or Christians (especially Catholics)… All is fair."

What a crock of horseshit! This has nothing to do with PC - it has to do with the fact that most people think he is PAINFULLY UNFUNNY! Cmon - do you really think that bastardized nursey rhymes are that funny?

I also find it amusing that you call democrats "sheep" when it's the conservatives who never disagree with a republican. They believe that they work for the RNC (That's republican national committee in case you're too stupid to know that abbreviation) instead of the American people.

I once tried out for a play that took place during world war II and the word "Jap" was used in the script. The director told us that we wouldn't use that word in the play. Another actor, who happened to be Jewish, said "another case of PC." The director, who knew him, said "Would it be ok if we replaced it with "Kike"?

You know - your remakrs are so incredibly stupid that not even people like Limbaugh or O'Reilly would agree with you.

Arbi Baraev said...

clay was funny or rather passed off as funny because he was crude, but sooner or later most people will be able to tell the difference as they grow up and realize he was just lazy and his material wears off, but that's been clay from the start to the finish, so clay really hasn't changed except for becoming another fat american slob, but so are most people in the US. most people just got tired of his material and moved on. it's not just him, (dane cook, carlos mencia, sarah silverman, etc), but he still has the ego to think that he matters; that's what gives him that washed-up factor.

Peter McKnight said...

Just listened to the Marc Maron interview of Dice. Pretty interesting.

Arbi Baraev said...

he is currently as of 2010 (i could be wrong) married to some way younger latina woman (claims mexican, italian and jewish, but i only see the mexican), and claims he uses viagra because he's so fragile he can't handle her. this is very different then the act he portrays on stage. i also heard that marc merone podcast where he claims it was an act and expands on it through past events. there is not much that's different from his on air persona -the new york travolta thug. except that he does care about how he is perceived that he is willing to step out of character briefly to explain. opie and anthony (mostly anthony)ripped him a new asshole with their 'andrew dice gay' bit, which was brought about after dice's insults on opie on H. Stern's radio show. afterwards it looked like he stepped out of character to explain himself... real though guy or character, he will act like a typical neurotic jew when cornered.

Anonymous said...

I found my way to enjoying his humor when it first got popular, but unlike a genuine comedic artist, which he THINKS he is, he never found other material to further develop his act and grow with on his own.
I believe, if he actually had the talent, controlled his ego and his mouth, he could have developed more as an artist. After a while, his material didn't require filth, but the opposite...his material just became an excuse to curse and sell his highly-objectionable persona.
Andy Kaufman was unsettling and he offended many, but not everyone around him. Still, he earned admiration from his peers.
Dice alienated his peers along with his audience.
Watching him was like watching a street bum in a subway, ranting in a way we find funny for a while, but we eventually move on with our lives. For this street bum to keep my attention, he needed a new rant. This one got old and there was no reason to watch anymore...and he faults us for that.
He had that rare chance at the moon and he threw it away. Moron.

Eddie R said...

What is funny to me is that people actually found him to be funny/entertaining. What is even more funny, is that people actually paid REAL money to see him perform his lame act! I want to know how he tricked millions of Americans into thinking he was funny.

Anonymous said...

I always saw Clay (I refuse to call him Ali) as the comedian for the subpar IQ demographic, the ones that would have trouble understanding the complex comedic subtleties of say a Gallagher or Carrot Top (for his fans I feel I must point out the obvious sarcasm there). The guy just wasn't funny, and seeing what a bitter slimy old troll he's turned into makes me double down on that statement. He was just a one trick pony ... at best.

Anonymous said...

Well, a while back I worked for a big distributor for sports drinks. We had a huge business in Florida and get this I would deliver to the Gold's gym in Florida that "The Diceman" was working out of at that time. I got hooked up with a membership and started to go there and work out. I made my way into striking up a semi-friendship with "The Diceman" and you could tell this was not his cup of tea. As it turned out in time I noticed some celebrities would show up and work out. Well, I saw "The Diceman" look after them and he would attend to their needs. Well, around this time gay porn star Chad Savage would come in to work out "The Diceman would point out everybody and tell you who they were and what they did. Chad Savage would always request a massage from a little guy from Hawaii named Mario after his workouts. There was a private room for these massages well, one day as I was passing that room as I went to the Men's locker room I heard a lot of screaming. The door burst open a naked Mario ran out and behind him was Chad Savage and "The Diceman" chasing him and "The Diceman yelling, "I am going to pop that butt cherry!" Chad Savage said,"We should have put more roofies in his drink he'd have been an easy piece!" Needless to say, I never went back to that gym again.

Anonymous said...

well, everyone's right, BUT...he is the only comedian to sell out madison two nights in a row. but i'm sure, back in his prime- dane cook probably could've done that too. his net worth on google states he only has a mill to his name, slowly draining....

jimmie t. murakami said...

Theres no question that Andrew Dice Clay is indeed a bloody load of old rubbish, but, just to put things into the proper perspective, its also important to remember and realise that Jerry Seinfeld, Robin Williams, Jim Carrey, and Adam Sandler are also worthless talentless piles of garbage as well ! ! !.

Anonymous said...

He was a comedy icon. Nobody has sold out as many HUGE shows as him (until Dane Cook). How vulger and edgy is almost all comedians now? He was one of the first doing it. Racist and sexist? Ever heard of Richard Pryor and Eddie Murphy? Its the standard in black comedy now a days. I dont hate on any of it. Its all funny. To bad socity gets off on worshiping celebs 1 minute and tearing them to shreds the next. you all are pathetic. Get a life outside of hating.

eddie lydecker said...

Jimmie is right, EVERYONE involved in every concievable aspect and area of the entertainment industry is a worthless scumbag by definition (its a worthless scumbag industry, it always has been and it always will be), its just that some of those worthless scumbags are luckier than others.

Anonymous said...

saw him in Las Vegas.
He sucked.. Don't waste
your money.

Anonymous said...

There is a video clip of Dice 'headlining' at a pizza restaurant on the Jersey shore, he arrives late, boasts that he threatened to beat up a cop over speeding ticket .. it seems like he really believes he is important.

J said...

He'll have his first stand-up special in 17 years on Showtime that will air on New Year's Eve.

http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2012/12/07/ring-in-the-new-year-with-andrew-dice-clay-indestructible-on-showtime/160848/

This comment at the link posted says it all:

hickory dickery dock, i will not be watching this at ten o’clock.

Harold Macklin said...

It is only the people that didn't get the comedy (or were offended because it described them), that makes the D-Man look bad. If they don't like him then turn the channel! At least he had the balls to get out and do something to make money! All these haters are just f-n jealous! He made more money in one night than 90% of his haters make in 10 years! Just give him a break, won't ya?

the sayer of the truth said...

OK Mack, no problem, as long as you can also accept that Andrew Dice Clay is a worthless pile of dog-shit, that is without question his MOST important attribute.

Anonymous said...

I have a confession to make- sometimes the Diceman made me laugh. I'm not proud of it, but he does have some comic talent. The problem with being so profane is that it gets old very quickly. A little bit of such schtick goes a long way and he wasn't able to distance himself from his stage persona successfully.

Anonymous said...

dice is raw and funny, not all is funny but most, will keep you laughing, there are a lot worse ppl that are called comedians , no one says shit about them
you dont like it dont listen
so f.o lololol

Anonymous said...

I met him at the taj at atlantic city he paid for everyones drinks and did a few lines with me on the bar don't know why people don't like him

Anonymous said...

I didn't see any mention of his appearance in "One Night at McCools" He was pretty funny in that albeit a very small part

Anonymous said...

Just saw him in Woody Allen's superb "Blue Jasmine" and he was fantastic. It was a dramatic role, and I have no idea how he hooked up with the Woodman, but it was great to see him. I was a teenager in the late 80s and Andrew Dice Clay was huge back then. His brand of comedy was unique, irreverent, and highly quotable. "Little Boy Blue...he needed the money." Knock him all you want but the man was a sensation, and very few comics ever occupy that kind of status for any period of time. His immense popularity in the late 80s should be acknowledged rather than mocked. So what if it didn't last forever--it was an achievement hardly anyone else on the planet can claim as their own and none of the schadenfreude reflected on this board does anything to negate it. I hope to see more of him, wish him the best, and thank him for providing me with some laughs--more than most people can say about their own comparative contributions to the world.

Anonymous said...

While I'm no fan or defender of Clay, I think it should be pointed out that Nora Dunn's protest was more the act of her being self-serving then being legitimately offended by his act. John Lovitz, one of her SNL castmates, said Dunn was being fired at the end of the season anyway because of her difficult personality, and she only boycotted the episode in order to drum up some publicity for herself.

Anonymous said...

Despite all the trashing, Dice is one of the greatest stand up comedians ever. He wasn't afraid to say whatever he wanted, at a time when NOONE was saying the kind of stuff he said. And vulgar? all that sex talk he goes on about HAPPENS IN REAL LIFE. Besides, noone can be insanely popular forever. Everyone eventually wanes in popularity.

Anonymous said...

Porn and meth. i just wanted to say that. Seriously Dice is okay, I saw him in Vegas about two years ago, wasn't bad and his opening act was decent too. It was a chick but I forget her name.

Anonymous said...

His problem was his shtick was already out of date by late 80's. In 1970's there were quite few jewish guys in popular culture doing a take on the macho Italian 50's Brooklyn guy - the Fonz was most mainstream, but the Ramones were essentially doing the same, middle class jewish doing goombah backdated wop, dumbed down parodies. Clay just followed a formula that was old by end of 70's. No wonder he died a popular death so quickly.

Suaverico3 said...

He isn't really funny. He sounds like a drunk at a frat house. He's pathetic.

Unknown said...

Haven't caught his act lately, but if it still revolves around the same stuff he was doing 25+ years ago I'm sorry for him. Retro humor it's not. It's just the same old worn out crap he's always done.

Leaning into destiny... said...

I wouldn't call him a loser. In his time his comedy was called for, just as today the politics of the day are calling for a guy like Trump.

tomasiepants said...

Well... he took time off because the press had it "in" for him.
Then he raised his kids. That's admirable. Not to mention he went through a divorce.
Andrew Dice Clay is very well respected with today's comedians. Now he's making a comeback and given high praises for his acting.

Dice Clay is funny. He is also a good actor. It's political correctness that did him in.

Unknown said...

Apparently whoever wrote this blog has issues. Maybe the person tried to hit on Dice and was rejected. Who knows. Dice is funny. Dice is a character.

Anonymous said...

dice led the way for other comics to use profanity he took all the heat so we could hear the great comedy we hear today, dice has inspired so many people some of whom include joey diaz, joe rogan,louis c.k and many other, this bloogger has no idea what hes talking about, dice sold out 3 shows in a row at madison sq. garden
watch joe rogans podcast with dice man he is hilarous

Anonymous said...

In 1990 he became the first comedian to sell out Madison Square Garden two nights in a row, That same year he played the lead role in the comedy-mystery film The Adventures of Ford Fairlane. this bloggers and idiot

Anonymous said...

A Star Is Born (2018) - Enuff said, boom!

Unknown said...

In today's extremely liberal politically correct society where everything offends everybody, Diceman is a breath of fresh air. Just listened to him bashing gays for 15 minutes on a 1987 stand-up show and laughed my ass off. He should come back to that style.

Dependable Brokers said...

He just sold out three shows in KC at almost 70 years old. Washed up my ads. The liberal media can suck a big nad

kittenlyric said...

I never liked his comedy but he was great as Gaga's dad in A Star is Born

Carl said...

First of all, he was hilarious, and there's no denying it. He set records for comedy show attendance, and comedy album sales. Those are just facts. Second, he's a great actor but very underappreciated because his larger than life persona as DICE overshadows his legitimate skills as a thespian. Third, when he's not on stage, he's a normal guy and great father. And we're all still talking about him.