Profile: Dave Chappelle (Legacy Series)
Shunning photos and selfies with fans, his episode of Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee is titled “Nobody says, ‘I wish I had a camera,'" a nod to his desire to interact and make memories with fans instead of snapping a photo.
Dave Chappelle: “Sometimes you have to be a lion so you can be the lamb you really are.”
Dave Chappelle: The Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. In his acceptance speech, Chappelle describes himself as a sensitive kid who cried easily and was afraid to fist fight. And he recalls this advice from his mother who mouths the words in unison with him from the audience: “Sometimes you have to be a lion so you can be the lamb you really are.”
Comedy as art. Explaining how much he loves comedy as an art form and saying it saved his life, he goes on to share that he’ll go toe-to-toe with anyone to defend the genre of comedy “just so I can chill and be me.”
Creating moments. A common thread in the stories shared about Chappelle throughout the ceremony is how much he seems to be in the moment—how aware he is of creating the experience, not just having fun but making memories with anyone in his orbit.
Relevance. Shunning photos and selfies with fans, his episode of Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee is titled “Nobody says, ‘I wish I had a camera,'” a nod to his desire to interact and make memories with fans instead of snapping a photo. One of the best moments of the episode is when Dave asks Jerry Seinfeld, “Do you ever think about your own relevancy?” Jerry replies, “No” and Dave says, “I don’t either” before they chuckle together walking down the street as the scene ends.
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