Adam Sandler Biography

September 9th, 1966 was the day, the goofball we know as Adam Richard Sandler was born. Till the age of five he and his family lived in Brooklyn, New York. Later his family moved to Manchester, New Hampshire. Adam was never a good student throughout his schooling career; he was more interested in Wrestling and Basketball. Even today he insists on having a hoop around wherever he is filming. Adam was interested in comedy from a very young age; his earliest inspiration was Mel Brooks but later he became a huge fan of Rodney Dangerfield, he bought all of his records and memorized them. His parents once took him to see Rodney’s act in New York where he kept mouthing exactly what Rodney was about to say.

It was his brother who suggested that Adam take up Comedy as a career and pushed him towards it. Adam and his brother visited a lot of comedy clubs, it was at one of these clubs on an open mic night that Adam got up stage and did a small act. Though it did not go very well, this was the beginning of Adam’s career as a Stand-up comic. He eventually got better and developed a penchant for writing original songs with funny lyrics.

Education was important to his family as is the case with most Jewish families. Adam after finishing High School enrolled himself in the New York University for a degree in Fine Arts, all the while continuing with his comedy. Adam managed to procure a role on ‘The Cosby Show’ and also in the MTV reality show ‘Remote Control’. He later landed a feature role in the movie ‘Going Overboard’ which was about a struggling stand-up comic, a complete contrast to Adams own career. The movie failed, but coincidentally during this time Dennis Miller cast member of ‘Saturday Night Live’ was impressed by Adam and recommended him to Producer Lorne Michaels. Adam was first hired as a writer then later on he also became a cast member performing his trademark funny songs.

Like many of the cast members of Saturday Night Live, Adam always had a desire to branch out on his own. The opportunity arose soon as he left the show in 1995. Though his debut movie was not a success he managed to land a role in ‘Billy Madison’ (1995) as the protagonist, a dim-witted spoilt rich kid who has to finish all grades including High School in order for him to inherit his father’s fortune. The critics panned the movie, but it was a commercial success giving Adam his first hit movie. He followed it up with a string of successful movies like ‘Happy Gilmore’, ‘The Waterboy’ (1998), and ‘The Wedding Singer’ (1998), carving out a niche for himself in Hollywood.

Later Adam started his own production company by the name of Happy Madison and came out with films like Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo (1999), Little Nicky (2000), The Animal (2001), Joe Dirt (2001), Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo (2005) and Grandma’s Boy (2006). All of these movies were ripped-apart by the critics. But they hit the right cord with the audience as all of them were commercial successes. Adam had developed a loyal fan-base ready to throng the theatres at his every release.

Later in the early 2000’s Adam tried his hand at different things making the animated feature Hanukkah Musical ‘8 Crazy Nights’ (2002) and also his most acclaimed film yet ‘Punch-drunk Love’ (2002). In the latter part of the decade he came out with ‘Click’ (2006) playing his usual role of common man with an uncommon problem. This movie too was a success. He tried his hand at drama coming out with ‘Reign over me’ (2007), this time it was the critics who loved it but the audience gave it a lukewarm response. Continuing with his hot-streak Adam struck gold at box-office with ‘Anger Management’ (2003), ‘50 First Dates’, ‘Spanglish’ (2004) and ‘The Longest Yard’ (2005). Click became his biggest hit and he followed it up with ‘I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry’. His latest films are ‘YouDon’t Mess with the Zohan’ (2008), ‘Funny People (2009), and ‘Grown Ups’ (2010).