One of the most endearing class clowns to ever grace the stages of Saturday Night Live, affectionately offensive funnyman Adam Sandler has often been cited as the writer-performer who almost single-handedly rescued the late-night television staple when it appeared to have run its course. A natural, the aspiring comedian nurtured his talents while attending NYU. With early appearances on The Cosby Show and the MTV game show Remote Control providing the increasingly busy Sandler with a loyal following, an early feature role coincided with his discovery by SNL cast member Dennis Miller. It wasn’t until SNL producers took Miller’s praise to heart and hired him as a writer that Sandler’s talents were truly set to shine. Frequent appearances as Opera Man and Canteen Boy soon elevated him to player status, and it wasn’t long before Sandler was the toast of the SNL cast in the mid-’90s. While appearing in SNL and sharpening his feature skills, Sandler released the Grammy-nominated “They’re All Gonna Laugh at You,” which proved the most appropriate title imaginable. The album found Sandler gaining footing as an artist independent of SNL and fueled his desire to strike out on his own. Sandler’s loyal and devoted fan base proved strong supporters of such early solo feature efforts as Billy Madison (1996) and, especially, Happy Gilmore (1996). His success continued with The Waterboy (1998), and The Wedding Singer (1998). As the decade rolled on, Sandler also appeared in the action-oriented Bulletproof and the hilarious, heart warmer Big Daddy (1999). In 2002, Sandler starred in Mr. Deeds. The early 2000s also saw Sandler branch out in a number of directions, which included the animated 8 Crazy Nights (2002), Punch Drunk Love (2002) and Spanglish (2004). Sandler continued to sustain his popularity with 2002’s Anger Management, 50 First Dates and The Longest Yard – all box office gold. In 2006, Sandler starred in yet another hit: Click, a surrealistic comedy. Sandler decided it was a good time to take another chance. He signed on to star with Don Cheadle in the 2007 drama Reign Over Me. Always tempering his risks with more predictable career moves, the actor next signed on to appear alongside Kevin James in the buddy movie I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry. In 2014, Netflix announced a four-movie deal with Sandler. The first released was The Ridiculous 6 in 2015. He released three additional films on Netflix between 2016 and 2018: The Do-Over, Sandy Wexler and The Week Of. 2019 saw the release of his long awaited return to stand up, the Netflix special “100% Fresh.” Adam Sandler shows no signs that he’s going to stop clowning around.
