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right|thumb|270px|Dave Chappelle

'''David 'Dave' Chappelle''' (born August 25, 1973 in Washington, D.C.) is an Emmy-nominated American comedian, satirist, and actor.

Early life

Chappelle became enraptured by stand-up comedy as a secondary school student at Woodlin Elementary School in Silver Spring, Maryland, and at middle school in Yellow Springs, Ohio. His inspiration came from his favorite comedians and idols, such as Richard Pryor. His father, William, was a professor of voice and music at Antioch College in Yellow Springs. At 14, Chappelle gathered the courage to perform on stage at the famed Apollo Theater in Harlem, New York. Chappelle was booed off stage, but described this experience on ''Inside the Actors Studio'' as an enlightening experience that gave him courage to continue on. After his parents' divorce, Chappelle moved to Washington, D.C., with his mother, Yvonne Seon (a Unitarian Universalist minister). He spent summers with his father in Yellow Springs and graduated from Duke Ellington School of the Arts, a renowned performing arts high school in Washington, D.C., where he majored in literary and theatre arts.

Fledgling career

In 1992, Chappelle made his first TV appearance on ''Def Comedy Jam''. The next year Dave made his first appearance as an actor in ''Robin Hood: Men in Tights'' as Ahchoo, and then in ''Undercover Blues'' as Ozzie. From 1994 to 1997 Chappelle's career consisted of TV appearances, small stand-up comedy gigs, and low-budget films. During this time, he was given his first shot at a television show, ''The Dave Chappelle Project'' but the pilot was not picked up. Chappelle appeared in the much-hyped but short-lived sitcom ''Buddies'' on ABC. He had a role in the 1996 remake of ''The Nutty Professor''.

In 1998, Chappelle's career and life hit a turning point following a starring role in the comedy film ''Half Baked'', which Chappelle co-wrote with Neal Brennan and produced (uncredited). The film follows the adventures of a gang of potheads and has since become a cult classic. Also in 1998, Chappelle converted to Islam. He told ''Time'' magazine in a May 2005 interview, "I don't normally talk about my religion publicly because I don't want people to associate me and my flaws with this beautiful thing. And I believe it is a beautiful religion if you learn it the right way." http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1061415,00.html

Television stardom

In 2003, Chappelle debuted his own weekly television show on Comedy Central, ''Article licensed under GNU Free Documentation License. See the Wikipedia article "Dave_Chappelle"