Andrew Clay Silverstein (born September 29, 1957) known professionally as Andrew Dice Clay is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He rose to prominence in the late 1980s with a brash, deliberately offensive persona known as "The Diceman", a cartoonishly hyper-masculine, Italian-American street-tough caricature that claimed to weaponise misogyny, ethnic bravado, and shock but caused widespread offense.
In 1990, Clay became the first stand-up comedian to sell out Madison Square Garden for two consecutive nights. That same year, he played the lead role in the comedy-mystery film The Adventures of Ford Fairlane.
Clay has appeared in several films and television shows, including critically acclaimed supporting roles in Woody Allen's Blue Jasmine (2013) and the 2018 remake of A Star Is Born, the latter of which earned him a nomination for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Performance by a Cast. He continues his acting career while also touring and performing stand-up. The television show Dice aired on Showtime for two seasons. He also launched a podcast, I'm Ova Hea' Now, in September 2018.
Early life
Clay was born to parents Jacqueline and Fred Silverstein in the Sheepshead Bay neighborhood of Brooklyn in New York City, where he was raised. He is Jewish. He has one sister. Clay's father was a boxer and real estate agent.
At age five, Clay was entertaining his family with impressions, and by seven he was playing drums, inspired by the sounds of big band music. Upon returning to New York City, he failed to form a big band of his own. He pursued higher education but dropped out to become a full-time comedian.
Clay's performances at the venue led to his first sitcom roles, with appearances on M*A*S*H and Diff'rent Strokes, and feature-length films, including Making the Grade (1984), Pretty in Pink (1986) and Casual Sex? (1988). A review by Los Angeles Times critic Michael Wilmington described Clay's character Vinny Falcone as "a macho bozo from Jersey". His act included a drum solo as a tribute to Buddy Rich. Clay then pursued stand-up comedy full-time as the Dice character.
Clay's breakthrough came in 1988 when he performed at an all-male Big Brother Association dinner event with "all of Hollywood's royalty [...] dressed in tuxedos, and I show up in a black leather jacket with a flag on the back that said 'Rock and Roll'". The set was a hit; the next day, 20th Century Fox offered him a film deal and entered talks with producer Joel Silver. In March, he released his debut comedy album, Dice, which was certified gold by the RIAA for selling over 500,000 copies in the U.S. It peaked at No. 89 on the Billboard 200. Clay was named Comedy Act of the Year by readers of Performance magazine. peaking at No. 39 on the Billboard 200. When Clay was booked to host a Saturday Night Live episode on May 12, 1990, cast member Nora Dunn refused to appear in the episode due to the sexist and homophobic content in Clay's stand-up act. Sinéad O'Connor also canceled her appearance as the episode's musical guest in protest. During Clay's opening monologue, security guards removed protesters from the studio. NBC used a five-second tape delay to cut offensive content from the live broadcast, but one remark escaped removal. The episode was the show's fourth-highest-rated episode of the 15th season.
Clay first met his agent, Dennis Arfa, at Dangerfield's, which led to his first HBO special and ultimately his starring role in the 1990 film The Adventures of Ford Fairlane; in 1991, he received the Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actor for his performance in the film. In 1991, Clay ran his own production company, Fleebin Dabble Productions. Footage of Clay's shows at Madison Square Garden was used to produce his 1991 stand-up concert film Dice Rules. His controversial act affected the number of venues willing to screen the film; it opened in 40 theatres nationwide. 20th Century Fox was originally to release it, but it dropped out over the controversial material, leaving it to be picked up by Seven Arts. A sell-out show at Symphony Hall in Salt Lake City in August 1991 was met with angry protesters outside the venue over his perceived homophobia and hateful material, during which police were called.
In 1993, ABC dropped a proposed one-hour television drama that was to feature Clay after management deemed him too controversial. Clay had signed a one-year deal with ABC that kept him from working with other networks. In July 1993, Clay released No Apologies, the first stand-up concert pay-per-view special. It was purchased by over 250,000 homes and was the highest-grossing non-sports pay-per-view event of the year. It was to feature Joey Buttafuoco, but the plan was dropped on his attorney's advice after the publicity it attracted. In mid-1995, Clay explained that the Diceman character had "sort of gone out of hand", which he felt happy about because it allowed him to pursue more television and film work. The situation led to a change in his stand-up act, focusing more on being a husband and a father, yet still with an "edge". In 1998, Clay released the triple album Filth through his website. Later in 1998, he began appearing on the New York City-based radio show Opie and Anthony. His opening act at the time, Jim Norton, became the show's co-host in late 2000.
2000s
In 2000, Clay released I'm Over Here Now and Banned for Life. Later in 2000, he released Face Down, Ass Up. He supported these with a nationwide tour that included a headline show at Madison Square Garden, ten years after his two sold-out performances.
Clay appeared on CNNfn on November 12, 2003 and was drilled by the host in what immediately turned into a denigrating hit piece, accusing Clay of being a failure on the downside of his career when he was actually still working steady doing comedy shows and appearing in supporting film and TV roles, though he had slowed his career down a bit on purpose. Clay walked out of the interview pretty quickly with a barrage of profanity.
In 2005, Clay signed a deal with Sirius Satellite Radio to broadcast his own show, Out of the Cage. In 2007, he attempted a mainstream comeback with the reality TV series Dice: Undisputed on VH1, which lasted seven episodes.
Clay appeared as a part of NBC's The Celebrity Apprentice 2 and was the first celebrity to be fired after he openly entertained the idea of quitting in Donald Trump's presence and called him "Donny Trump". On The Howard Stern Show, Clay said the show was edited to exclude situations where Trump treated Clay poorly, based on his comic treatment of women rather than his accomplishments. Throughout the season, each celebrity was raising money for a charity of their choice; Clay had selected StandUp For Kids.
2010s
In 2011, Clay was featured in the eighth and final season of Entourage as Johnny Drama (Kevin Dillon)'s co-star in the fictional program Johnny's Bananas. Clay also appeared as himself in the Entourage film. He appeared in an episode of Raising Hope as himself, which aired on November 29, 2011. In May 2012, Clay appeared on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast and also did a set at The Bamboozle festival in Asbury Park. In December 2012, he had a stand-up comedy special on Showtime titled Indestructible. In May 2013, Clay began a podcast with Michael Wheels named Rollin' with Dice and Wheels...The Podcast. It ran for 46 episodes, the last of which was released in December 2015.
thumb|right|Clay in 2012Clay appeared with Cate Blanchett in Woody Allen's Blue Jasmine, which opened on July 26, 2013. In an interview with Good Day L.A., Clay said that, as he had not been in a movie in 12 years, "It was a thrill to do something dramatic, something I've always wanted to do." His performance was critically praised. In July 2013, Clay signed a book deal with Simon & Schuster for a memoir to be co-authored with David Ritz. In November 2014, Clay released his book The Filthy Truth.
In 2015, Clay hosted The Blue Show, showcasing some of his favorite blue comics, which was released on Showtime. In 2016, Clay had a guest role as record executive Frank "Buck" Rodgers in the Martin Scorsese/Mick Jagger-produced television series Vinyl for HBO. In 2017, Clay competed in and won, with his wife Valerie Silverstein, the Fox reality cooking series My Kitchen Rules. In September 2018, Clay launched his podcast I'm Ova Hea' Now on the GaS Digital Network. Later that year, he appeared as Lorenzo Campana in the musical drama film A Star is Born, alongside Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper, playing Gaga's character Ally's father. Clay beat out several high-profile actors for the part, including Robert De Niro and Ray Liotta, and his performance received positive reviews, as did the film.
Personal life
Clay has married three times. From 1984 to 1986, he was married to Kathy Swanson and from 1992 to 2002 to Kathleen "Trini" Monica. He had two sons with Monica, one of whom, Max, has followed his father into stand-up comedy and occasionally opens for him on tour. Clay's third marriage was to hairstylist Valerie Vasquez from 2010 to 2014. Clay was in an eight-year relationship with his ex-fiancée, comedian Eleanor Kerrigan.
In 2017, Clay had a stent placed in a partially blocked artery.
Discography
- ADC: The Mixtape That Hates You (1988)
- Dice (1989)
- The Day the Laughter Died (1990)
- Dice Rules Live at Madison Square Garden (1991)
- 40 Too Long (1992)
- The Day the Laughter Died, Part II (1993)
- No Apologies (1993)
- Filth (1998)
- Face Down, Ass Up (2000)
- Indestructible (2012)
- Comedy King (2023)
- Nursery Rhymes (2023)
Filmography
Comedy specials
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Notes
|-
| 1981
| An Evening at the Improv
| Himself
|
|-
| 1984
| Dirty Dirty Jokes
| Himself
| Stand-up showcase hosted by Redd Foxx
|-
| 1986
| Andrew Dice Clay: One Night with Dice
| Himself
| Stand-up special
|-
| 1987
| Nothin' Goes Right
| Himself
| HBO stand-up showcase hosted by Rodney Dangerfield
|-
| 1989
| The Diceman Cometh
| Himself
| HBO stand-up comedy special
|-
| 1991
| Dice Rules
| Himself
| Stand-up concert film
|-
| 1992
| Andrew Dice Clay: For Ladies Only
| Himself
| HBO stand-up comedy special
|-
| 1993
| Andrew Dice Clay: No Apologies
| Himself
| Pay-per-view stand-up comedy special
|-
| 1994
| Andrew Dice Clay and His Gang Live!<br/>The Valentine's Day Massacre
| Himself
| Pay-per-view stand-up comedy special
|-
| 1996
| Andrew Dice Clay: Assume the Position
| Himself
| HBO stand-up comedy special
|-
| 2000
| Andrew Dice Clay: I'm Over Here Now
| Himself
| Pay-per-view stand-up comedy special
|-
| 2012
| Andrew Dice Clay: Indestructible
| Himself
| Showtime stand-up comedy special
|-
| 2015
| Andrew Dice Clay presents The Blue Show
| Himself
| Showtime stand-up comedy special
|}
Film
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Notes
|-
| 1982
| Wacko
| Tony Schlongini
|
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1984
| Making the Grade
| "Dice"
|
|-
| Night Patrol
| Tony Baroni
|
|-
| 1985
| Private Resort
| Curt
|
|-
| 1986
| Pretty in Pink
| Bouncer
|
|-
| 1987
| Amazon Women on the Moon
| Frankie
| Segment: "Video Date"
|-
| 1988
| Casual Sex?
| Vinny Falcone
|
|-
| 1990
| The Adventures of Ford Fairlane
| Ford Fairlane
|
|-
| 1993
| Brainsmasher... A Love Story
| Ed "The Brainsmasher" Malloy
|
|-
| rowspan="3" | 1995
| No Contest
| Raymond Ulysses "Oz" Brice
|
|-
| Jury Duty
| Uncle Sal
| Uncredited
|-
| The Chili Con Carne Club
| The Cooler (voice)
| Short film
|-
| 1997
| The Good Life
| Albert
| Never released
|-
| 1998
| Whatever It Takes
| Dave Menardi
|
|-
| 1999
| Foolish
| Ron "El Dorado Ron"
|
|-
| rowspan="2"| 2000
| My 5 Wives
| Tony Morano
|
|-
| Point Doom
| Frankie
|
|-
| 2001
| One Night at McCool's
| Utah / Elmo
| As Andrew Silverstein
|-
| 2012
| JJ Star... How Embarrassing
| Himself (voice)
|
|-
| 2013
| Blue Jasmine
| Augie
|
|-
| 2015
| Entourage
| Himself
|
|-
| 2018
| A Star Is Born
| Lorenzo Campana
|
|-
| 2023
| Warrior Strong
| Avery Schmidt
|
|-
| 2025
| The Pickup
| Clark
|
|}
Television
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Notes
|-
| 1982
| M*A*S*H
| Corporal Hrabosky
| Episode: "Trick or Treatment"
|-
| 1982–1983
| Diff'rent Strokes
| Larry "Crazy Larry"
| 2 episodes
|-
|1983
|The Young Landlords
|A.B. Tucker
|Television film
|-
|1986
|Cinemax Comedy Experiment
|Tough Kid
|Episode: "Charlie Barnett's Terms of Enrollment"
|-
| 1986–1988
| Crime Story
| Max Goldman
| 13 episodes
|-
|1989
|Camp Midnite
|Himself
|Episode: "Show 112"
|-
|1990
|Saturday Night Live
|Himself/Host
|Episode: "Andrew Dice Clay/Julee Cruise/Spanic Boys"
|-
|1995
|Favorite Deadly Sins
|Richard Spencer
|Television film; segment: "Anger"
|-
| 1995–1996
| Bless This House
| Burt Clayton
| 16 episodes
|-
| rowspan="3" | 1997
| Hitz
| Jimmy Esposito
| 10 episodes
|-
|The Chris Rock Show
|Himself
|Episode: "Arsenio Hall/Puff Daddy"
|-
| Rugrats
| Plumber (voice)
| Episode: "Angelica Nose Best/Pirate Light"
|-
| 1998
| Dharma and Greg
| Himself
| Episode: "Unarmed and Dangerous"
|-
|1999
|Chicken Soup for the Soul
|Martin Scali
|Episiode: "The Surprise Date"
|-
| 2007
| Dice: Undisputed
| Himself
| 6 episodes
|-
| 2009
| The Apprentice
| Himself
| 2 episodes
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2011
| Entourage
| Himself
| 5 episodes
|-
| Raising Hope
| Himself
| Episode: "Bro-gurt"
|-
| 2012
| That Metal Show
| Himself
| Episode: "Herman Rarebell & Andrew Dice Clay"
|-
| rowspan ="2" |2013
| The Blacklist
| Abraham Maltz
| Episode: "General Ludd (No. 109)"
|-
| Tosh.0
| Himself
|5 episodes
|-
| 2015–2016
| TripTank
| Grant / Paulie / Frankie / Caller (voice)
| 3 episodes
|-
| 2016
| Vinyl
| Frank "Buck" Rogers
| Episode: "Pilot"
|-
| 2016–2017
| Dice
| Himself
| 13 episodes
|-
| 2017
| My Kitchen Rules
| Himself
|4 episodes
|-
| 2018
| Hap and Leonard
| Sonny Knox
| 6 episodes
|-
| 2020
| The Comedy Store
| Himself
|3 episodes
|-
| 2021
| Gravesend
| Rinaldo
| 2 episodes
|-
| 2022
| Pam & Tommy
| Louis "Butchie" Peraino
| 2 episodes
|}
Awards and nominations
{| class="wikitable sortable"
!Year
!Award
!Category
!Nominated work
!Result
|-
|1991
| rowspan="3" |Golden Raspberry Awards
| rowspan="2" |Worst Actor
|The Adventures of Ford Fairlane
|
|-
| rowspan="2" |1992
| rowspan="2" |Dice Rules
|
|-
|Worst Screenplay
|
|-
|2019
|Screen Actors Guild Awards
|Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
|A Star Is Born
|
|}