"Don't tell me. We're about to describe David Spade." "Yep." "Tropes at the bottom?" "Most likely." "...bring it on."
David Wayne Spade (born July 22, 1964 in Birmingham, Michigan) is an American comedian, actor, and screenwriter who was famous for starring on Saturday Night Live from 1990 to 1996, and starring on sitcoms like Just Shoot Me!, 8 Simple Rules (after John Ritter died), and Rules of Engagement.
He was part of the "Bad Boys of SNL" in the early 90s, along with Adam Sandler, Chris Farley, Chris Rock, and Rob Schneider.
Some of his SNL characters included a rude flight attendant who'd tell departing passengers "Buh-Bye" ("Total Bastard Airlines"), a receptionist for Dick Clark who would ask people "And you are?" (even going as far as to give Jesus Christ [played by Phil Hartman] the same treatment), one of the Gap Girls with Sandler and Farley, and Karl from the "Karl's Videos" sketches. Some of his celebrity impressions on the show included Brad Pitt (with whom he actually went to elementary school), Kato Kaelin, Kurt Cobain, Denis Leary, Jeff Foxworthy, Owen Wilson, and Michael J. Fox.
He also did the "Hollywood Minute" sketch as part of Weekend Update, in which he'd make Take Thats to Hollywood stars, including a notorious one to Eddie Murphy in 1995 ("Look, children! It's a falling star! Make a wish!") which famously pissed Murphy off enough that he vowed never to return to SNL (at least until the 40th anniversary special in 2015 before finally hosting in 2019).
He was close with Chris Farley, frequently doing sketches together, and starring together in Tommy Boy and Black Sheep (1996). After Farley's sudden death in 1997, Spade notably did not attend his funeral, saying "I just couldn't have gone into a room where Chris was in a box."
He also appeared in a series of Capital One credit card commercials as a phone operator who would answer "No" to everything. And voiced Sparx in The Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning (but just that one, as he was recast twice with Billy West and Wayne Brady)
His sister-in-law was the late fashion designer Kate Spade.
Selected filmography of David Spade:
- Light Sleeper (1992)
- Coneheads (1993)
- PCU (1994)
- Tommy Boy (1995)
- Black Sheep (1996)
- Senseless (1998)
- Lost and Found (1999)
- The Emperor's New Groove (2000, voice)
- Kronk's New Groove (2005)
- Joe Dirt (2001)
- Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star (2003)
- Racing Stripes (2005, voice)
- The Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning (2005, voicenote )
- The Benchwarmers (2006)
- Grown Ups (2010)
- Grown Ups 2 (2013
- Hotel Transylvania (2012, voice)
- Hotel Transylvania 2 (2015)
- Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation (2018)
- Hotel Transylvania: Transformania (2022)
- The Do Over (2016)
- The Wrong Missy (2020)
- Home Movie: The Princess Bride (2020)
Tropes applying to David Spade:
- Calling the Old Man Out: In one of his standup routines, he reveals that his dad constantly talks about how he had sex with his mother... when she was 19. He later proceeds to call his dad out on it.
- Deadpan Snarker: Has a tendency to play these.
- Fat and Skinny: Skinny to Farley's Fat.
- Older Than They Look: He could easily pass for a teenager during his SNL days and still manages to look relatively young despite being in his late 50s.
- Playing Against Type: His starring role in The Wrong Missy is decidedly different from his usual persona; he's not sarcastic or surly at all and is more the Straight Man reacting to Missy's craziness.
- Sunglasses at Night: Has said in interviews that he has eye problems that make seeing in certain levels of light painful, so he is often seen wearing shades indoors and at night.
- True Companions: He was this with Chris Farley whom he frequently tried to help with his addictions. Farley's premature death devastated Spade so much he couldn't even bear to attend his funeral. Spade's declining to attend Farley's funeral led to speculation that the two had a falling out prior to Farley's death. Spade admitted that he could not keep up with Farley's drug problems and reckless lifestyle, but denied that there was ever any ill will between them.
