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Adam Richard Sandler (born September 9, 1966) is an American comedian, actor, screenwriter, producer, singer, and musician. Primarily a comedic leading actor in film and television, his accolades, include nominations for three Grammy Awards, five Primetime Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. In 2023, Sandler was awarded the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. Sandler was a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live from 1990 to 1995. He went on to star in Hollywood films that cumulatively grossed over $2 billion worldwide. Sandler had an estimated net worth of $420 million in 2020, and signed a new four-movie deal with Netflix worth over $250 million.

Sandler's comedic roles include Billy Madison (1995), Happy Gilmore (1996), The Waterboy (1998), The Wedding Singer (1998), Big Daddy (1999), Mr. Deeds (2002), 50 First Dates (2004), The Longest Yard (2005), Click (2006), Grown Ups (2010), Just Go with It (2011), Grown Ups 2 (2013), Blended (2014), Murder Mystery (2019) and Hubie Halloween (2020). He also voiced Davey, Whitey, and Eleanore in Eight Crazy Nights (2002) and Dracula in the first three films of the Hotel Transylvania franchise (2012–2018).

Several Sandler comedies, such as Jack and Jill (2011), have been panned, resulting in nine Golden Raspberry Awards and 37 Raspberry Award nominations, more than any actor except Sylvester Stallone. However, Sandler has also received acclaim for his leading roles in comedy-drama films including Paul Thomas Anderson's Punch-Drunk Love (2002), Mike Binder's Reign Over Me (2007), Noah Baumbach's The Meyerowitz Stories (2017), the Safdie brothers' Uncut Gems (2019), and Jeremiah Zagar's Hustle (2022), with the latter three ranked as major career highlights.

While performing on stage in Los Angeles, Dennis Miller caught his act and recommended Sandler to SNL producer Lorne Michaels in 1990, and while he auditioned to be in the cast, he was ultimately initially hired as a writer. He made his first onscreen appearance on December 8, 1990, during the "Sabra Network Sketch", and became on official featured player on February 9, 1991. After spending a few seasons as a featured player and writer, Sandler became a full-fledged member of the cast at the start of the 1993-94 season.

Characters like Cajun Man, Opera Man, and his own songs ("The Chanukah Song") made him an instant fan favorite. Due to low ratings, and then-NBC West Coast President Don Ohlmeyer having a different sense of humor, Sandler was released from SNL in 1995, at the end of the show's 20th season. Despite that, Sandler's fame and popularity continued to rise when he left SNL to pursue a film career. Though not always loved by critics, movies like "Billy Madison," "Happy Gilmore," and "Big Daddy" connected with audiences, making Sandler one of the top paid comic actor/writers working in Hollywood. 

Despite being let go from the show, he made two cameos on the show. On February 17, 1996 during the Weekend Update segment, and on November 16, 2002 during the Cold Open. Other than those two cameoes, and appearances at the 25th and 40th anniversary shows, Sandler never hosted the show until May 4, 2019. Both him and Dan Aykroyd tie the record of the longest gap between leaving the show as a cast member and returning as a host. Both hosted the show for the first time nine days shy of 24 years from last appearance as cast. However, both made appearances on the show during the gap.

Sandler then made two cameo appearances during the first two SNL at Home episodes, he cameoed on the April 11, 2020 episode, during the Hal Willner tribute, and in the next episode on April 25, 2020 episode in the "Stuck in the House" music sketch.

Biography[]

Early life[]

Sandler was born in Brooklyn, New York to Jewish American parents, Stan and Judy Sandler. He has three older siblings, Scott, Liz, and Val. Adam was raised in Manchester, New Hampshire, attending Manchester Central High School.

Characters/Impressions[]

Characters[]

  • Angelo
  • Audience McGee
  • Brian
  • Cajun Man
  • Canteen Boy
  • Carlo, one of the kitchen boys
  • Fabio
  • Frank Dippy
  • Gil Graham
  • Hank Gelfand
  • Helios
  • The Herlihy Boy
  • Iraqi Pete
  • Lucy Brawn
  • Opera Man
  • Pedro
  • Religious Cult Member
  • Sleepyhead
  • Tony Vallencourt

Impressions[]

SNL Career[]

Trivia[]

  • Has credited his late friend, Chris Farley, as the funniest guy of all time when he shows his children YouTube clips of them together.
  • Admits that he got permission and the blessing of Chris Farley's mother to write a song about Farley.
  • Admits that he tried his hardest not to cry when he was singing the song in front of his family.

Gallery[]

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