He was offered a $50 million deal for seasons three and four of his sketch show, and during filming, walked away. Some said he went mad (the most far-flung theory adds from playing too much World Of Warcraft), but this has proved not to be hes just choosy. Hes not the next big thing in American comedy, he is the big thing. So why, to all but the most persistent of British funny-foragers, does the mention of Dave Chappelles name raise nothing but a quizzical eyebrow?
Ratings? Its been a huge hit for Comedy Central, and is re-run almost continuously. Too US-centric? Certainly no more than The West Wing or The Simpsons. Too raunchy? No more than Shameless. That Chappelles Show remains unseen in the UK is another great programming mystery of our time, taking the shabby Brit treatment of such masterpiece comedy series as The Larry Sanders Show, Arrested Development and Seinfeld one step further by simply neglecting to pick it up in the first place. The 32 year-old comedians not totally invisible over here. Youll find a couple of stand-up DVDs and the odd movie bit-part good (The Nutty Professor) and bad (Robin Hood: Men In Tights) but his crowning achievement is nowhere to be found, so its to Region 1 DVD we must turn.
To be honest, Chappelles Show is edgy, but not revolutionary its thetried-and-tested sketch show. Liken it to Saturday Night Live: The Best Of Eddie Murphy, except every episode is that good. Chappelle has the advantage of being young and in-touch, but hes been working long enough (since he was 14) to have mastered comic writing and timing. He successfully walks a fine line, being punchy without offending, a bit like an African-American Peter Kay (although Chappelle chooses the riskier topic of race relations against the likes of Kays relatives at weddings repertoire). And then theres his characters.
Ask any fan for a favourite Chappelle creation and theyll invariably come back with either the friendly neighbourhood crackhead Tyrone Biggums, or his greatest opus to date, Clayton Bigsby: a blind (and black) white supremacist. Its this character (inspired by his own grandfather, a blind Caucasian raised from a baby by an African-American family) who exemplifies the comedians style; a simple loophole in logic exploited to an absurd and hilarious extreme.
Whatever the details of his multi-faceted appeal, the good news is that Dave Chappelle has recently returned to comedy, playing small live shows in the US, with the prospect of him returning to TV looking very good. Maybe British audiences will finally start getting a look-in? At least theres no danger of him becoming over-exposed which, these days, is a rare thing...