Born:

September 29, 1957

Andrew Dice Clay Overview:

One of the most controversial comedians of all time, Andrew "Dice" Clay became the biggest comic in the world for a brief time in the late '80s and early '90s. Known for doing an act that was bluer than blue -- filled with obscenity, misogyny and crude sex talk -- Clay was the first comic since Steve Martin to achieve "rock star" status, selling out sports arenas instead of just playing clubs.

His most famous routine consisted of a series of children's nursery rhymes that he altered to make dirty. His popularity was short lived, though, and the public turned on Clay pretty quickly in the '90s. He continued to act and perform comedy, but his audience had become more of a cult of loyal fans and was significantly smaller than it had once been.

Quick Andrew Dice Clay Facts:

• Andrew Dice Clay (born Andrew Clay Silverstein) was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York.
• He began performing comedy for family and friends at age 5.
• Clay started doing comedy professionally in 1978, starting out at clubs in Brooklyn before making the move to Manhattan.
• He did a number of small roles in film and TV, including appearances on MASH, Diff'rent Strokes and in movies like Private Resort and Pretty in Pink.
• Clay's big break came after he performed a set on Rodney Dangerfield's 1988 comedy special Nothing Goes Right.
• He is still the only comedian to sell out Madison Square Garden two nights in a row.

Andrew Dice Clay Albums and Stand-up Specials:

• ADC: The Mixtape That Hates You (1988)
• Dice (1989)
• The Day the Laughter Died (1990)
• Dice Rules (1991)
• 40 Too Long (1992)
• The Day the Laughter Died Part II (1993)
• No Apologies (1993)
• Filth (1999)
• Face Down, Ass Up (2000)
• Indestructible (2012)

Andrew Dice Clay on Television:

At the peak of his popularity in 1990, Clay was invited to host Saturday Night Live. Some of the cast members, who did not approve of Dice's stand-up act, did not approve; Nora Dunn (a regular cast member) boycotted the episode and did not appear in any sketches. Musical guest Sinead O'Connor also refused to appear.

With his popularity waning somewhat in the mid-'90s, Dice decided to reinvent himself. He dropped the "Dice" and was cast as Andrew Clay on the CBS sitcom Bless This House, a Honeymooners imitation also starring Cathy Moriarty. The series lasted only 16 episodes on the air. Two years later, Dice tried his hand at sitcoms again in a supporting role on the UPN comedy Hitz, playing the sleazy head of a record label. That show also lasted only 16 episodes.

In 2007, Clay made his TV comeback with the VH1 reality series Dice Undisputed. The show was canceled after seven episodes.

He had a recurring role on the final season of the HBO comedy Entourage, playing himself.

Select Andrew Dice Clay Filmography:

• Pretty in Pink (1986)
• Amazon Women on the Moon (1987)
• Casual Sex? (1988)
• The Adventures of Ford Fairlane (1990)
• Dice Rules (1991)
• Brainsmasher...A Love Story (1993)
• No Contest (1994)
• One Night at McCool's (2001)
• Blue Jasmine (2013)

Additional Andrew Dice Clay Facts:

• After performing several of his nursery rhymes at the MTV Video Music Awards in 1989, the network banned Dice for life. However, MTV lifted the ban in 2011.
• Dice was a contestant on the second season of the NBC reality series The Celebrity Apprentice in 2009. He did not make it very far in the competition.
• Complex Magazine named Clay one of the 15 worst stand-up comics of all time in 2011.
• Clay's son, Max, also does stand-up comedy and sometimes opens for Dice at shows.
• He is an accomplished drummer, as is his son.