Adam Richard Sandler (born September 9, 1966) is a Jewish-American actor, comedian, producer, and musician who was born in Brooklyn, New York, and raised in Manchester, New Hampshire.
In the late 1980s, Sandler portrayed "Smitty" on The Cosby Show (1985-1989). He also was a performer for the MTV game show Remote Control, on which he made appearances as the characters "Trivia Delinquent" or "Stud Boy."
Sandler started performing in comedy clubs by spontaneously taking the stage at a club in Boston. He was then discovered by comedian Dennis Miller, who caught Sandler's act in Los Angeles. Miller immediately recommended him to Saturday Night Live producer Lorne Michaels. Sandler was hired as a writer for "SNL" in 1990 and became a featured player the following year, quickly making a name for himself by performing amusing original songs on the show, including The Chanukah Song. He left the popular show in 1995 to focus on his acting career.
Sandler's first starring vehicle was the cult frat-boy classic Billy Madison, in which he plays a grown man repeating grades 1-12 to get his reluctant father's hotel empire. He followed this movie up with other surprisingly successful comedies such as Happy Gilmore (1996) and The Wedding Singer (1998). After The Waterboy (1998) Sandler reached box-office superstardom, where he has remained since.
Although generally despised by movie critics, audiences have remained faithful to Sandler's slapstick humor to the tune of $100-million-plus grossing movies, while the Sandman has even moved outside the genre of goofball humor to take on more serious parts such as the critically acclaimed Punch-Drunk Love, and Spanglish. At one point, Sandler was considered for the part that went to Jamie Foxx in Collateral (2004).
A celebrity comic who keeps a low profile, he rarely gives interviews and keeps his personal life private. Sandler graduated from New York University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1991. On June 22, 2003, he wed model Jackie Titone, whom he'd met on the set of Big Daddy. Sandler and Titone worked together again in the Rob Schneider comedy Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo, which Sandler executive-produced. He also has his own production company, Happy Madison, named for two of his most popular early films.
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