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Andrew "Dice" Clay (born 's list of the 100 Greatest Standups of All Time. EARLY CAREER
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 Rhyme s, 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 . 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?" 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 Critic s 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 2000 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 . Due to Opie & Anthony largely helping to revamp his image in the public (At the time he was largely thought of as a hack), he was able to sell out Madison Square Garden in 2000 for a career third time. After a falling out with Opie & Anthony in 2004 he is back to doing small comedy clubs again in the NY area. Clay has continued to appear in smaller film roles, such as '' One Night At McCool's '' ( 2001 ), featuring Matt Dillon and Michael Douglas . In 2006 he re-united with Howard Stern on his Sirius show. Through Stern's promoting his club dates he may yet have another rise in his career. 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
STARRING ROLES
SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS
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