Sinbad (actor)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sinbad

Sinbad speaks with Zama American High School students in Sagamihara, Japan, September 2004
Born David Adkins
November 18, 1956 (1956-11-18) (age 51)
Benton Harbor, Michigan, Flag of the United States United States
Spouse(s) Meredith Adkins

David Adkins (born November 10[1] or November 18,[2] 1956), better known by the stage name Sinbad, is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He became known in the late 1980s and 1990s, appearing on several television series and starring in the family-friendly films Houseguest, First Kid and Jingle All the Way.

Contents

[edit] Early life

Sinbad was born in Benton Harbor, Michigan, the son of Louise and the Baptist Rev. Dr. Donald Adkins The Second.[2] He has five siblings, named Donna, Dorothea, Mark, Michael, and Donald.[3] He attended college between 1974 and 1978 at the University of Denver in Denver, Colorado, where he lettered two seasons for the basketball team.[4]

[edit] Military service

Sinbad served in the US Air Force as a Boom Operator aboard KC-135 Stratotankers. While assigned to the 320th Bomb Wing at McConnell AFB in Wichita, Kansas, he would often go dowtown to do stand-up comedy. He was almost dismissed with a dishonorable discharge for various misbehavior including going AWOL.[5]

“ I didn't make the Air Force basketball team and went into denial. So, I kept going AWOL. My mother kept begging me to go back. I told her, 'No, I'm not going back. I'll just grow a beard. They won't recognize me. I'll just be another Black man with a beard.' I was going to Georgia Tech to learn about computers. I'd go AWOL all the time. I'd just leave. I'd come back, hoping they'd throw me out.[6] ”

After a series of incidents, he was eventually ejected "for parking my car in the wrong position."[7]

[edit] Career

Under the professional name Sinbad,[8] he began his career appearing on Star Search, Sinbad won his round against fellow comedian Dennis Miller,[9] appearing a total of seven times. He soon was cast on The Redd Foxx Show, a short-lived sitcom, playing Byron Lightfoot.

[edit] A Different World

In 1987, Sinbad landed a role in A Different World, a spin-off of The Cosby Show for Lisa Bonet's character Denise Huxtable. (Previously, Sinbad appeared in two different one-off roles on The Cosby Show, as a principal and as "Davis Sarrette".) Huxtable attended Hillman College; a fictional traditionally black college, it was modeled on Atlanta's Spelman College. While Bonet only stayed with the program for a season,[10] Sinbad stayed with the cast from 1988 until 1991 as "Coach Walter Oakes". His nick name on the set was Weejin. This was a joke for both cast and crew, Sinbad later stated.

With the exception of later addition Marisa Tomei to the cast, the students at Hillman were all high-achieving African Americans with unique personalities, contrary to the "token" roles previously focused on. At a July 2006 cast reunion, promoting the series syndication on cable channel Nick at Nite, Sinbad reflected on the program: "The show was a problem. You look back, black shows were just happening... It wasn't supposed to succeed and it (did). This show was never given the accolades it should have. In A Different World, Walter began to fall in love with a girl named Jaleesa played by Dawnn Lewis. She was not interested in him until he asked her to marry him. The wedding ceremony was broke up because they had realistic thoughts about life so they broke up.

[edit] Roles after A Different World

Sinbad co-starred with Scott Bakula in Necessary Roughness, where he played Andre Krimm, a college professor recruited by coach for the defensive line, after NCAA sanctions force the Texas State University Fightin' Armadillos to start from scratch. The Paramount Pictures film opened September 27, 1991, going on to gross over $20 million at the box office.

After playing a condom in 1992 video Time Out: The Truth About HIV, AIDS, and You, and hosting the November 21, 1992 episode of Saturday Night Live, he found small roles in The Meteor Man and Coneheads. Other appearances during this hiatus from episodic television were in the 1994 telefilm Aliens for Breakfast, and two appearances on Bill Nye, the Science Guy.

[edit] The Sinbad Show

By the early 1990s, his popularity had grown enough for FOX to green-light The Sinbad Show, which premiered September 16, 1993. In the self-titled series, Sinbad plays 35-year-old David Bryan, a bachelor who decides to become a foster parent to two children, after becoming emotionally attached to them.[11] The series, which co-starred a young Salma Hayek, received praise from critics for its unique and realistic portrayal of African American life.[11] Around that time, Sinbad had recently received joint custody of his two kids, Royce,[12] then age 4 and Paige, age 7, and told the press that these experiences informed him of single parenting.[11]

“ Black men are already responsible, already take care of our duties, but nobody emphasizes that. I hear all this bad talk against men and their children. I just got so tired of it. More than anything else, I'm showing that life has changed, the world has changed. And now the key is not going to just be parenting, it's going to be mentoring, where people who are not even in your family are going to have to go in and help. And we are going to accept that responsibility, which we used to do in our culture.[11] ”

The Sinbad Show had too small a following, and was cancelled, with the last episode airing April 21, 1994. The role earned him a 1995 Kids' Choice Awards nomination for "Favorite Television Actor".

[edit] Films and other projects

In 1993 Sinbad did a stand-up HBO special called Sinbad - Afros and Bellbottoms for which he won a 1995 Image Award. The show was such a huge success that he was brought back in 1996 for Sinbad - Son of a Preacher Man and again in 1998 for Sinbad - Nothin' but the Funk. All of these shows have been released on VHS and DVD.

Sinbad again won a 1998 Image Award in 1998 for Sinbad's Summer Jam III: '70s Soul Music Festival.

By 1995, Sinbad had created a company called "David & Goliath Productions", located in Studio City by that point.[3]

From 1989 to 1991, Sinbad was host of It's Showtime at the Apollo, returning in 2005 while regular host Mo'Nique was on maternity leave. He hosted a Soul Train episode that aired January 14, 1995; appearing as a contestant in a 1995 episode of Celebrity Jeopardy!; and was the emcee the 2000 Miss Universe Pageant.[13]

During the 1990s, Sinbad guest-starred on an episode of Nickelodeon's All That. In one sketch, he played the father of recurring character Ishboo, dubbed "Sinboo". He also made a cameo appearance in the comedy movie Good Burger, starring Kenan & Kel, as "Mr. Wheat", a short tempered teacher whose car gets crushed by a giant realistic hamburger. His character was modeled after Gough Wheat, a past teacher of the movie's producer at White Station High School in Memphis, Tennessee.

He and Phil Hartman co-starred in the comedy film Houseguest, where he plays Kevin Franklin, a Pittsburgh resident who owes $50,000 to the mob. Hartman, as Gary Young, comments to his children that they're waiting to pick up a black man. Taking who they think to be a well-known dentist home, Young's family is stabilized by Franklin's own unstable nature. Released January 6, 1995, the film grossed $26m in North America.

Sinbad's film roles also include First Kid, which he starred in, and Jingle All the Way (1996). For Jingle All the Way, Sinbad won a Blockbuster Entertainment Award for "Favorite Supporting Actor - Family".

In 1996, Sinbad joined First Lady Hillary Clinton and musician Sheryl Crow in a USO tour in Bosnia and Herzegovina.[14]

The NAACP Image Awards recognized his 1996 role in Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child, nominating him in the "Outstanding Performance in an Animated/Live-Action/Dramatic Youth or Children's Series/Special" category. He lent his voice to Reily, an animal character in Homeward Bound II: Lost in San Francisco (1996), and later voiced the horse "Hollywood Shuffle" in Ready to Run.

VIBE magazine started its own syndicated late-night talk show in August 1997, hosted by actor Chris Spencer. Spencer was fired in October, and replaced by Sinbad; the series lasted until the summer of 1998.

He was also featured in a 1999 infomercial for Tae Bo, where he claimed that he was successfully using the Tae Bo system to become an action star.[15]

In 2004 he was named the #78 greatest stand-up comic of all time on "Comedy Central Presents: 100 Greatest Stand-Ups of All Time". He was also listed by men's magazine Maxim as the worst comedian of all time, with the magizine citing poor joke quality as the main contributing factor to their decision.[16]

Actor Mark Curry credits Sinbad and Bill Cosby for helping convince him not to commit suicide.[17] Sinbad was responsible for discovering R&B trio 702; convincing their parents to let him take them to a music convention/competition, under the name "Sweeta than Suga", eventually being heard by music producer Michael Bivins.[18]

[edit] Erroneous death report

On March 10, 2007, Sinbad's managers began receiving phone calls of condolence, after people began hearing unsubstantiated rumors of Sinbad's death.[19] Hundreds contacted his managers and production studio, including Lionel Richie.[19] This rumor spread to Wikipedia on March 14, 2007, when his biography was edited by an anonymous user to include the claim of his death. The incorrect information was soon removed, but a fan spreading the initial rumor included a link to the old (and incorrect) revision of the article.[20][21]

Sinbad joked the situation off, commenting that, "I wish that people would've called me back like this when I was alive. I gotta die more often. Seriously, my death is gonna be my comeback."[19]

This is apparently the second time Sinbad was the subject of such a rumor.[19] He says such situations are harder on family and friends, who are led to believe it as truth, than on himself.[19] He believes such situations will become more commonplace with increased use of the Internet.[22] Sinbad has been an Internet user since 1990; he was the moderator for an Apple Computer forum as of 1995.[3]

On the person who originated the rumor, Sinbad comments:

“ If somebody has nothing better to do today, then I’m happy that it gave you something to do. Because if that's all you have to do in your life, you have a sad life. If the best you could do is create a page that said somebody is dead, then your life is already dead.[19] ”


[edit] References

  1. ^ Virginian-Pilot Archives
  2. ^ a b Sinbad Biography (1956-)
  3. ^ a b c Roberts, Tara. "Hanging out with Sinbad: more than a successful actor and comedian, at heart Sinbad's a down-home family man", Essence, 1995-10-01. Retrieved on 2007-03-17. (English) 
  4. ^ Thrasher, Don. "Sinbad - Comedian's Show Biz Voyage Brings Him to the Nutter Center Saturday", Dayton Daily News (Ohio), Dayton Newspapers, Inc., 2005-11-05, p. GO16. Retrieved on 2007-03-15. 
  5. ^ Sinbad talks about his divorce, single parenthood and his real name. Ebony (June 1997). Retrieved on 2007-03-17.
  6. ^ Collier, Aldore. "Sinbad talks about his divorce, single parenthood and his real name - comedian and actor", Ebony, Johnson Publishing Company, Inc., 1997-06-01. Retrieved on 2007-03-16. (English) 
  7. ^ Ritz, David. "Sinbad", Essence, 1992-11-01. Retrieved on 2007-03-16. (English) 
  8. ^ "How Stars Got Their Names", Jet, Johnson Publishing Company, Inc., 1997-07-21, p. 58. Retrieved on 2007-03-15. 
  9. ^ USA Weekend, STRAIGHT TALK, By Jeffrey Zaslow, July 18-20, 1997; Accessed March 19, 2007.
  10. ^ Weintraub, Joanne. "'Different', but still the same; Cable revives black college sitcom", The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Journal Communications, 2006-06-14. Retrieved on 2007-03-19. (English) 
  11. ^ a b c d "Sinbad: TV star plays father on new sitcom; says black men can be positive role models", Jet, 1993-11-22. Retrieved on 2007-03-17. (English) 
  12. ^ Royce's name is pronounced "Roy-cee"; Hanging out with Sinbad: more than a successful actor and comedian, at heart Sinbad's a down-home family man, Essence, Oct, 1995
  13. ^ Wilson, Cintra. "The 49th Annual Miss Universe Pageant", Salon.com, Salon Media Group, Inc., 2000-05-17. Retrieved on 2007-03-19. (English) 
  14. ^ Response by G.I.'s Mixed As Hillary Clinton Visits, New York Times, 1996-03-26
  15. ^ The End of the World As We Know it: Tae Bo, Iowa State Daily, 1999-02-01
  16. ^ [http://www.maximonline.com/slideshows/index.aspx?slideId=2098&imgCollectId=98
  17. ^ Press, Associated. "Mark Curry: Laughs kept him from suicide", USA Today, Gannett Co. Inc., 2007-02-14. Retrieved on 2007-03-19. (English) "said he changed his mind after talking to some funny friends, like Sinbad and Bill Cosby." 
  18. ^ AskMen.com - 702 pics
  19. ^ a b c d e f Bailey, Lee. "SINBAD, STILL NOT DEAD, CHATS WITH LEE BAILEY: Comedian jokes about yesterday's crazy rumor that he had died of a heart-attack.", EURweb, Rabercom Enterprises, 2007-03-16. Retrieved on 2007-03-18. (English) 
  20. ^ "Wikipedia: Kills then resurrects Sinbad the comedian", iTWire, 2007-03-16. Retrieved on 2007-03-17. 
  21. ^ Wikipedia falsely reports comedian Sinbad's death March 16, 2007
  22. ^ Kennedy, Kelli; Associated Press. "Sinbad Laughs Off Death 'Report'", Fox Reno, 2007-03-16. Retrieved on 2007-03-17. (English) 

[edit] External links

Languages