Comedy / Film & TV
David Spade
born 1964 · stand-up comedian, actor, podcaster
Sarcastic Saturday Night Live alumnus and Tommy Boy star, born in the Detroit suburb of Birmingham before his family moved west.
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
David Spade was born on July 22, 1964, in Birmingham, one of the leafy Oakland County suburbs north of Detroit. His family moved to Arizona while he was still small, and he grew up in Scottsdale, so his Michigan chapter is short: the city lists him as a native son, but his memories and his comedy were formed in the Southwest. After years on the stand-up circuit he joined Saturday Night Live in 1990 as a writer and cast member, sharpening the dry, self-mocking sarcasm that became his trademark. The buddy comedies Tommy Boy and Black Sheep with Chris Farley made him a film star, and the sitcoms Just Shoot Me!, 8 Simple Rules and Rules of Engagement kept him on network television for two decades. He is also the voice of Kuzco in Disney's The Emperor's New Groove.
Highlights
- Writer and cast member of Saturday Night Live (1990–1996)
- Tommy Boy (1995) and Black Sheep (1996) with Chris Farley
- Dennis Finch on Just Shoot Me! (1997–2003), four Emmy nominations overall
- Voice of Kuzco in The Emperor's New Groove (2000)
- Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (2003)