Adam Sandler (born 9.9.1966)
Adam Sandler is an American comedian and actor, as well as a film producer and screenwriter.
Childhood: Adam Sandler was born to Judy and Stanley Sandler in the Brooklyn area of New York. His mother was a nursery teacher and his father was an electrical engineer. At the age of five, Adam and his family moved to Manchester, New Hampshire.
When he graduated from Manchester High School, Adam Sandler studied for a Bachelor of Fine Arts at New York University. Whilst at university, he began to develop his natural talent for comedy, performing in local clubs and on campus.
Career: Adam Sandler's first break into TV was when he played the character of Smitty, Theo Huxtable's friend in The Cosby Show, the show masterminded by Bill Cosby. He also appeared on MTV's Remote Control, playing characters such as 'Stud Boy' or 'Trivia Delinquent'.
The comedian Dennis Miller saw Adam Sandler's stand-up routine in Los Angeles and tipped-off Lorne Michaels, one of the producers of Saturday Night Live. In 1990, Sandler landed a job as a writer for the show and later became one of the featured comedians. He became known for his comedic songs, including 'The Chanukah Song'.
In 1989, Sandler earned himself his first film role, in the low-budget Going Overboard. The film also featured Billy Zane, Billy Bob Thornton and Burt Young.
Billy Madison, released in 1995, saw Sandler in his next starring role. The film also featured Steve Buscemi and saw Sandler playing a man who has to repeat his high school education in order to earn his inheritance.
Sandler then starred in a string of successful comedies, including Bulletproof (opposite Damon Wayans) and Happy Gilmore, a golfing comedy that also starred Ben Stiller, in an uncredited role.
One of Sandler's biggest hits of this period was The Wedding Singer, released in 1998 and also starring Drew Barrymore. That same year, The Waterboy was released; another popular hit for Sandler, which saw him working alongside Kathy Bates and Henry Winkler.
Big Daddy was another hit for Sandler in 1999 and he met Jacqueline Samantha Titone on the set of the film. Titone would later become his wife and plays a waitress in the film.
Starting with the release of 2002's Punch Drunk Love, Sandler's films began to receive critical acclaim, as well as box office success. In 2004, he starred in Spanglish, which starred Tea Leoni, followed by 2007's Reign Over Me, a drama that featured Jada Pinkett Smith, Liv Tyler, Saffron Burrows and Donald Sutherland.
Sandler lost out to Johnny Depp for the role of Willy Wonka in Tim Burton's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. In 2007, he starred in the comedy I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, opposite Kevin James. The film was only a moderate success but Sandler's popularity was soon on an upturn with the release of You Don't Mess With the Zohan in 2008. The film was written by Judd Apatow, a hugely successful comedy writer who is responsible for films such as 40 Year Old Virgin.
2008 saw Sandler starring in the fantasy film Bedtime Stories, directed by Adam Shankman. The film also starred Russell Brand and Keri Russell.
Adam Sandler has his own production company, Happy Madison Productions. Some of the films that have been produced by the company include Deuce Bigalow: American Gigolo as well as the majority of Sandler's latter films, including Spanglish and Reign Over Me.
Personal Life: Adam Sandler married Jacqueline Samantha Titone in June 2003. They have two daughters, Sadie Madison Sandler (b. 2006) and Sunny Madison Sandler (b. 2008).
Biography by Contactmusic.com
Hotel Transylvania 2 has topped the US box office.
