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Andrew
"Dice" Clay
The stage act of this stand-up comedian-turned-actor reaped
controversy for being over-laden with obscenities and was
considered to be misogynistic by feminists and most thinking
people. Andrew 'Dice' Clay nevertheless found the shtick to
propel him to stardom after years of performing in small clubs
with an appeal to the urban/suburban teenaged white boys,
confused about their roles as men in the changing times. Clay,
decked in a leather jacket, with a dangling spoke in Brooklyn
slang and used so many nasty words and disgusting references
that he was banned from MTV after an appearance on "The
1989 MTV Video Awards". The controversy continued the
following year when Clay's booking as the guest host on the
final show of the season of "Saturday Night Live"
caused cast member Nora Dunn to boycott the show in protest of
his remarks about women. Dunn never returned to the cast, but
Clay's gig was pretty much up as well. He disappeared for
several years, returning in the mid-1990s trying to become a TV
sitcom star.
Born Andrew Clay
Silverstein in Brooklyn, he was still a teen when he began
performing in comedy clubs in the 70s. By 1980, he had migrated
to Los Angeles where he frequently performed at The Comedy Store
on the Sunset Strip, but failed to be "discovered".
Clay played bit parts in the features like "Wacko"
(1983) and "Making the Grade" (1984) and could be seen
as a bouncer in "Pretty in Pink" (1986). He also
played a mobster named Max Goldman in numerous episodes of
"Crime Story" on NBC during the 1986-1987 season. But
his stage act slowly began to build a following when he
developed the 'Dice' persona. In 1988, he appeared on an HBO
Rodney Dangerfield comedy special, then headlined his own HBO
special, "Andrew 'Dice' Clay: The Diceman Cometh".
Clay was hot, and the controversy was only helping to pack 'em
in. When the backlash hit in 1989-90, it was somewhat
unexpected.
When his first
starring role in a feature, "The Adventures of Ford
Fairlane" (1990), did not sell tickets, the luster was
fading. Clay had two best-selling albums, "Dice"
(1989) and "The Day the Laughter Died" (1990), but by
1991, after the release of "Dice", a concert film, the
establishment had little interest in him. He tried to mend
fences with "Andrew Dice Clay: For Ladies Only", a
1992 HBO special, but to little avail. The 1993 feature
"Brain Smasher...A Love Story" was a failed attempt to
turn Clay into an action hero. For much of the next two years,
he virtually disappeared, returning in 1995 in the TV-movie
"No Contest" (HBO). Clay, now billed as Andrew Clay,
attempted to remake his image, dropping much of the 'Dice'
persona by co-starring with Cathy Moriarty in the CBS sitcom
"Bless This House" (1995-1996), loosely inspired by
the far superior "The Honeymooners". While Clay was
still tainted, and the result failed to win in the ratings war,
there was a glimmer that the Diceman changeth. He resumed his
stage act, still cocky and self-confident, still foul-mouthed,
but leaving the subject of women alone. He returned to series TV
as a surly record company executive in the UPN sitcom "Hitz"
(1997).
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