Making people laugh was never a problem for Adam Sandler. A class clown throughout his formative years, there was no doubt he understood the art of humor. At the age of 17, his brother persuaded him to jump on stage at a Boston comedy club. Luckily, the crowd loved his material, and Sandler seemed to have struck gold. It was only a matter of time before his natural ability to leave people in stitches would blossom into a brilliant career.
A Brooklyn native, Sandler was born on Sept. 9, 1966 to Stanley and Judy Sandler. Both of his parents are of Russian Jewish descent, and Sandler would later use his religious background as the basis for some of his funniest material. Five years after his birth, the Sandler family moved to Manchester, New Hampshire where he and his siblings attended grade school. Sandler went on to enroll at New York University, graduating from the Tisch School of the arts in the spring of 1988.
Post-graduation, Sandler made the move to Los Angeles to pursue his dream of becoming an actor. It was while working in Los Angeles he was offered a position as a comedy writer for Saturday Night Live. The gig with SNL proved to be his big break, as he soon landed his first film roll in the hilarious comedy, Billy Madison. Following a successful debut on the big screen, Sandler appeared in several other box office hits including popular titles such as “Happy Gilmore,” “The Wedding Singer,” and “Mr. Deeds.”
Now 47, Sandler doesn’t appear to have any desire to throw in the towel. He is currently working on filming “The Familymoon,” which is set in South Africa and co-stars his longtime friend Drew Barrymore. Sandler’s latest project is projected to hit theaters in May of 2014.
Joshua Shapiro is a third-year student majoring in English and education. He can be reached at JS762110@wcupa.edu.