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Dave Chappelle
30 archived facts 3 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
All facts (30)
- #001
Dave Chappelle's maternal grandmother, Beatrice (Murray), was born in Grenada and worked as a real estate broker and civil rights activist. All of his other grandparents were African-American. His paternal great-grandfather, William D. Chappelle (William David Chappelle), was an educator, a bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church and president of Allen University. His paternal great-great-grandfather, Robert J. Palmer, was a landowning merchant and a member of the South Carolina Legislature, which at the time had a black majority during Reconstruction.
- #002
His first time hosting SNL drew the highest ratings the show had seen in three years.
- #003
Chappelle signed a deal with Netflix to perform, produce and star in three specials, each worth $20 million.
- #004
He grew up in Silver Spring, Maryland, and Yellow Springs, Ohio, and has lived in Washington, D.C.; he still lives in Yellow Springs, Ohio, with his wife and children.
- #005
He met Muhammad Ali when he was three years old. A photo of their meeting is held in the Bettmann Archive.
- #006
His mother, Yvonne K. (Reed) Chappelle, is a professor at Howard University, Wilberforce University, Central State University and the University of Maryland. She is also a Unitarian Universalist minister.
- #007
He is one of the few celebrities to have advertised both Coca-Cola and Pepsi (though not only those brands).
- #008
He ranked 43rd on Comedy Central's list of the 100 Greatest Stand-ups of All Time. He is the youngest person on the list.
- #009
He was in talks to play Rick James in a film about James's life. It was decided the project would not go ahead because of some of Rick James's objections to the content, before James's death. (2004).
- #010
He named his production company "Pilot Boy Productions," a reference to the many failed pilots he had appeared in.
- #011
He has two sons, Sulayman and Ibrahim, and a daughter named Sanaa Chappelle.
- #012
His wife, Elaine, is Filipina.
- #013
In 2019 he won the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.
- #014
He is currently in early talks about a film centered on his family and the historical events in which they were fictionally involved.
- #015
While in New York he sat next to Howard Stern. Chappelle is one of Stern's favorite comedians.
- #016
He has appeared on Late Night with Conan O'Brien (1993) eight times so far, more than on all other talk shows combined.
- #017
He has continued to perform stand-up across the country, doing more than 500 shows in the last three years.
- #018
Because of the popularity of his show, Comedy Central's parent company Viacom made a $50 million deal to continue Chappelle's Show (2003) for two more years and allow him to make side projects.
- #019
In 2014 he performed 10 sold-out shows at Radio City Music Hall.
- #020
His father, William David Chapelle III, taught music and voice at Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio.
- #021
Dave Chappelle made the Forbes Celebrity 100 list with earnings of 12 million dollars.
- #022
After traveling to Africa for a spiritual retreat, Dave Chappelle lives in Ohio.
- #023
Dave Chappelle has a brother named William and a sister named Felicia.
- #024
Dave Chappelle turned down an offer to host the 2004 MTV Video Music Awards (2004).
- #025
Dave Chappelle was considered to play Fletch in the Kevin Smith-helmed "Fletch Won" reboot, which was cancelled. However, Miramax rejected him.
- #026
Dave Chappelle appeared at the Actors Studio on February 12, 2006.
- #027
Dave Chappelle often appears opposite a Saturday Night Live (1975) star: Screwed (2000) (with Norm MacDonald), Half Baked (1998) (with Jim Breuer) and Undercover Brother (2002) (with Chris Kattan).
- #028
Dave Chappelle's surname is pronounced "Shuh-pel".
- #029
Dave Chappelle currently has his own show, Chappelle's Show (2003), on Comedy Central.
- #030
Before finishing his remaining high school years at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts, Dave Chappelle briefly attended Eastern High School.
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