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Half Baked is a 1998 stoner comedy film starring Dave Chappelle, Jim Breuer, Harland Williams and Guillermo Díaz. The movie was directed by Tamra Davis, and co-written by star Dave Chappelle and Neal Brennan (Brennan was later writer and co-creator of Chappelle's Comedy Central show Chappelle's Show). Cameo appearances include Steven Wright, Tommy Chong, Janeane Garofalo, Willie Nelson, Tracy Morgan, Snoop Dogg, Jon Stewart, Stephen Baldwin and Bob Saget.

Plot[link]

Thurgood Jenkins (Dave Chappelle) and his friends Brian (Breuer) and Scarface (Diaz) are forced into selling marijuana stolen from the lab where Thurgood works as a "master of the custodial arts" (janitor) in order to bail their friend Kenny (Williams) out of jail, after he accidentally kills Buttercup, a diabetic police horse, by feeding it junk food. Their business, named Mr. Nice Guy in honor of their good-natured incarcerated friend, becomes immensely popular, even attracting famous clientele. Thurgood's personal life is ruined once his adamantly anti-drug girlfriend, ironically named Mary Jane Potman (Rachel True), discovers that he works for Mr. Nice Guy. Soon, all of their lives are in danger once Samson Simpson, a local drug lord, learns that Mr. Nice Guy is costing him business, including his former client rapper Sir Smoke-a-Lot. He threatens to kill them if they do not pay him 20 grand every week. Brian buys a pouch that is supposed to contain the ashes of Jerry Garcia with some of the money they are making, and Scarface buys a rottweiler named Killer.

Thurgood tells police about a future meeting he has with Samson Simpson after they arrest him for stealing marijuana from the laboratory. The police agree to drop the charges if Thurgood wears a wire, that way they can get the proof they need to arrest the drug lord. Before the guys go into Samson's home they smoke a joint in the police van. The cops get high from the second hand smoke. The cops tell them to say abracadabra when they have purchased the drugs. During the interview, Samson discovers that Thurgood is wearing a wire and is about to kill them. They scream abracadabra into the wire to try to get the cops to save them. But the cops are high from second-hand smoke and busy mocking a letter Thurgood wrote to Mary Jane. A fight breaks out with Samson and his army of women. Brian throws the pouch he bought earlier on the ground. The ghost of Jerry Garcia emerges and hits Samson with a guitar, knocking him out. The police then rush in and recover all of the drugs, and arrest Samson after he wakes up. Thurgood, Brian, and Scarface's deal with the police works to get Kenny a pardon from jail. Thurgood gives up smoking and is able to win back Mary Jane.

Production[link]

Much of Half Baked was shot in Toronto, Ontario & New York City. Some shooting locations included the R. C. Harris Water Treatment Plant and Yonge Street.

On Inside the Actors Studio in 2006, Chappelle lamented that his original Ryan T Young Half Baked script was actually much better than the film turned out to be, specifically that he had intended for the film to be more adult-oriented, and thought that his script had been turned into "a weed movie for kids".

Reception[link]

Half Baked hit U.S. theaters on January 16, 1998, grossing $7,722,540 in its opening weekend (#6; #1 at that weekend was Titanic), and grossed in total over $17,000,000^[1]. It received negative reviews and currently holds a 29% on Rotten Tomatoes. Despite its success in America, Half Baked was never shown in Australian cinemas, most likely because of the movie's indiscreet drug topic. Half Baked is #81 on Bravo's "100 Funniest Movies."^{[citation needed]}

DVD features[link]

In an alternate ending available on the "Fully Baked Edition" DVD release as a deleted scene, it is revealed that after Kenny returns home from jail, all of the roommates sit down to smoke from "Billy Bong Thornton," an act that was thwarted earlier in the movie due to Kenny still being in jail. This scene implies that it is Thurgood's last time smoking.

The next scene is an extended version of the theatrical ending, in which Thurgood meets Mary Jane on the bridge, and after a short talk with his "joint" he throws it over the side of the bridge, then walks off with Mary Jane. In this version, he has a longer talk with his "joint," throws it off the side of the bridge, and slowly walks away with Mary Jane until they almost disappear on the horizon, but then Thurgood comes running back yelling, "Hold on, weed, I'm coming!" as he hops over the side of the bridge at the spot where he threw the joint over.

In the same alternate ending, it is revealed that Jan may not really be "a big dyke" as she is caught on the couch with Steven Wright's "guy on the couch" character, when Kenny and the roommates return home from bailing Kenny out of jail.

The "Fully Baked Edition" includes a segment called "Five Minutes with the Guy on the Couch." The five minute clip depicts a stationary camera filming a man who resembles Steven Wright, as he sleeps on the couch. As clouds of smoke waft in and out of the scene, he turns over several times, farts, scratches his head, removes his socks, and at the end of the scene, he rolls over and falls off of the couch. This feature is reminiscent of the Yule Log, in which a stationary camera films a burning log in a fireplace which is intended for people who do not have a fireplace.

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Half Baked

• Half Baked at the Internet Movie Database
• Half Baked at AllRovi
• Half Baked at Rotten Tomatoes
• The 10 Most Memorable Stoners on Film
• Half Baked at Box Office Mojo

References[link]

Harland Williams
Williams at the 34th Annie Awards, 2007. Photo by John B. Mueller[1]
Born	(1962-11-14) November 14, 1962 (age 49) Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Occupation	Actor/Comedian
Years active	1994–present
Website
HarlandWilliams.com

Harland Williams (born November 14, 1962) is a Canadian actor, comedian, author, artist, musician and radio personality.

Personal life[link]

Harland Reesor Williams was born on November 14, 1962, in Toronto, Ontario, to Lorraine (née O'Donnell), a social worker, and John Reesor Williams, who worked as a member of the Ontario Provincial Parliament. He was the middle child of four sisters. Harland holds dual citizenship with Canada and the United States.

He is an author and illustrator of his own series of children's books involving a little brontosaurus named Lickety Split. Williams' love of art drove him to create the series, in which the curious, young dinosaur embarks on a series of amazing adventures and learns important life lessons in the process. The artistically inclined Williams had refined his passion for drawing and painting at Canada's Sheridan College in Oakville, Ontario. Finding a creative outlet in poetry and painting while working as a forest ranger for five years after dropping out of Sheridan College, Williams set his goals to leave the forest as a stand-up comic and actor, soon moving to Los Angeles to pursue his new found calling.

Harland's cousin is Barenaked Ladies keyboardist Kevin Hearn and together they have a hobby band called The Cousins.

Career[link]

Harland Williams is known for his movie roles and comedy. His roles include films such as Dumb and Dumber, Freddy Got Fingered, There's Something About Mary, Half Baked, RocketMan, Sorority Boys, Down Periscope and Employee of The Month. Williams was featured as a security guard in the music video for Barenaked Ladies "Falling For The First Time". He has performed his stand-up comedy routines on Late Night with David Letterman, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, HBO, Comedy Central and at comedy clubs throughout the country.

Harland's improvisational skills led to him winning the award for 'Best Improviser' on an episode of NBC's prime time series Thank God You're Here in 2007.

Harland's latest ventures include voicing 'Monster' on Nickelodeon's new animated series Robot and Monster and starring as Warwick the Warlock in Disney's upcoming movie Spooky Buddies.

Harland has a free, tri-weekly podcast called The Harland Highway. Since its debut in December 2009, The Harland Highway has been receiving positive reviews and is quickly becoming one of the top downloaded podcasts on the internet. The Harland Highway can be downloaded on iTunes or streamed live from your mobile device on Stitcher Radio.

Rocker Parry Gripp of the rock band Nerf Herder wrote a song in homage to Williams, entitled "I Wanna Be Your Harland Williams".^[2]

He has appeared on Tom Green's House Tonight and on the Adam Carolla Podcast numerous times.^[3]

Filmography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Harland Williams

• Official website
• Harland Williams at the Internet Movie Database
• Harland Williams on Twitter
• Harland Williams on Facebook

Dave Chappelle
Dave Chappelle, 2007
Birth name	David Khari Webber Chappelle
Born	(1973-08-24) August 24, 1973 (age 38) Washington, D.C., U.S.[1]
Medium	Stand-up, television, film
Nationality	American
Years active	1987–present
Genres	Satire/political satire, improvisational comedy, observational comedy, surreal humor, sketch comedy, black comedy, blue comedy
Subject(s)	Racism, race relations, American politics, African American culture, pop culture, recreational drug use, human sexuality, morality
Influences	Richard Pryor,[2] Eddie Murphy,[2] Mel Blanc,[2] Chris Rock[3]
Spouse	Elaine Chappelle (2001–present) 3 children
Notable works and roles	Himself and Various in Chappelle's Show Himself in Dave Chappelle's Block Party Achoo in Robin Hood: Men in Tights Thurgood Jenkins in Half Baked
Signature

David Khari Webber "Dave" Chappelle^[4] (/ʃəˈpɛl/; born August 24, 1973)^[1] is an American comedian, screenwriter, television/film producer, actor, and artist. Chappelle began his film career in the film Robin Hood: Men in Tights in 1993 and continued to star in minor roles in the films The Nutty Professor, Con Air, and Blue Streak. His first lead role in a film was in Half Baked in 1998. In 2003, he became widely known for his popular sketch comedy television series, Chappelle's Show, which ran until his abrupt retirement from the show in 2005. Chappelle is ranked forty-third in Comedy Central Presents: 100 Greatest Stand-Ups of All Time.^[5]

Early life[link]

Chappelle was born David Khari Webber Chappelle in Washington, D.C. on August 24, 1973.^[1][2] His father, William David Chappelle III, was a professor at Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio.^[2] His mother, Yvonne (née Reed), was a professor at Howard University, Prince George's Community College, and the University of Maryland and is also a Unitarian Universalist minister.^[6][7][8] Chappelle grew up in Silver Spring, Maryland and attended Woodlin Elementary School.^[2] During young Chappelle's formative years, his comic inspiration came from various comedians, particularly Eddie Murphy and Richard Pryor.^[2]

After his parents separated, Chappelle stayed in Washington with his mother while spending summers with his father in Ohio. In 1991, he graduated from Washington's Duke Ellington School of the Arts where he studied theatre arts.^[2]

Chappelle moved to New York City to pursue a career as a comedian. He gathered the courage to perform at Harlem's famed Apollo Theater in front of the infamous "Amateur Night" audience. The performance resulted in him being booed off the stage. Chappelle has described the experience as the moment that gave him the courage to continue his show business aspirations.^[2] He quickly made a name for himself in the New York comedy circuit, even performing in the city's parks. At the age of 19, Chappelle made his film debut as "Ahchoo" in Mel Brooks' Robin Hood: Men in Tights. In the same year, Chappelle was offered the role of Benjamin Buford "Bubba" Blue in Forrest Gump. Concerned about what seemed to be a racially demeaning character, he turned down the part; the film would go on to win Academy Award for Best Picture that year. He has since admitted to regretting the decision.^[9] Chappelle played another supporting movie role in 1994's little-seen Getting In.

He attracted the attention of TV network executives and developed numerous pilots but none of them were picked up for series.^[2][10] In 1995, he made a guest appearance in an episode of ABC's highly rated sitcom Home Improvement. The storyline had Chappelle and real-life friend comedian Jim Breuer ask Tim Taylor for advice on their girlfriends. The characters' single outing in the episode proved so popular that ABC decided to give them their own spin-off sitcom titled Buddies. However, after taping a pilot episode, Jim Breuer was fired and replaced with actor Christopher Gartin. Buddies premiered in March 1996 to disappointing ratings. The show was cancelled after only four episodes out of thirteen that were produced. Nine years later, in May 2005, ten of the episodes were released on a single-disc DVD to capitalize on Chappelle's new-found fame.

After the failure of Buddies, Chappelle starred in another pilot. According to Chappelle, the network was uncomfortable with the African-American cast and wanted white actors added. Chappelle resisted and subsequently accused the network of racism. Shortly after this incident, Chappelle's father died. Chappelle returned to Ohio and considered leaving the entertainment business.^[2][10]

He later appeared as a nightclub comedian in the 1996 comedy The Nutty Professor starring Eddie Murphy, one of his major comedic influences. He also had a minor role in 1997's Con Air. He and Neal Brennan co-wrote the 1998 cult stoner film Half Baked, Chappelle's first starring role, about a group of marijuana-smoking friends trying to get their friend out of jail. That same year, he appeared in "Pilots and Pens Lost", a 1998 episode of The Larry Sanders Show's sixth season, in which he and the executives of the show's nameless television network satirized the treatment to which scriptwriters and show creators were subjected, as well as the executives' knee-jerk tendencies toward racial stereotypes. In December of that year Chappelle appeared as Tom Hanks' friend and confidant in You've Got Mail. In 1999, he appeared in the Martin Lawrence film Blue Streak.

In 2000, Chappelle recorded his first HBO special, Dave Chappelle: Killin' Them Softly, in Washington, DC.^[11] He followed this up with an appearance as "Conspiracy Brother" in the 2002 racial satire Undercover Brother.

[edit] 2003–2006: Standup and Chappelle's Show

In 2003, Chappelle debuted his own weekly sketch comedy show on Comedy Central called Chappelle's Show. The show parodied many aspects of American culture including racial stereotypes, politics and pop culture. Along with comedy skits, the show also featured musical performances by mostly hip-hop and soul artists.

Chappelle's pointed social and political commentary quickly helped the show garner critical and commercial success as well as controversy.^[10][12] Richard Pryor, one of Chappelle's comedic influences, was a fan of the show and stated that he had "passed the torch" to Chappelle.^[10] Chappelle received two Emmy nominations for the show.^[13] Additionally, the DVD set became the best-selling DVD of a television show to date, overtaking the previous best-selling, The Simpsons first season DVD. It had sold over 3 million copies.^[14] Due to the show's popularity, Comedy Central's parent company Viacom reportedly offered Chappelle a $55 million contract (giving Chappelle a share of DVD sales) to continue production of Chappelle's Show for two more years while allowing him to do side projects. Chappelle had stated that sketches are not his favorite form of comedy, and that the characteristics of the show's format were somewhat like short films.

In June 2004, based on the popularity of the "Rick James" sketch, it was announced that Chappelle was in talks to portray Rick James in a biopic from Paramount Pictures (also owned by Viacom).^[15] James's estate disagreed with the proposed comical tone of the film and put a halt to the talks.^[16]

In 2004, Chappelle recorded his second comedy special, this time airing on Showtime - Dave Chappelle: For What It's Worth, at San Francisco's Fillmore Auditorium.^[17]

Season three turbulence[link]

In a June 2004 stand-up performance in Sacramento, California, Chappelle walked off the stage after berating his audience for constantly shouting "I'm Rick James, bitch!," which became a catchphrase from the popular "Rick James" sketch. After a few minutes, Chappelle returned and continued by saying, "The show is ruining my life." He stated that he disliked working "20 hours a day" and that the popularity of the show was making it difficult for him to continue his stand-up career, which was "the most important thing" to him. He also told the audience:

You know why my show is good? Because the network officials say you're not smart enough to get what I'm doing, and every day I fight for you. I tell them how smart you are. Turns out, I was wrong. You people are stupid.^[18]

Season 3 was scheduled to air on May 31, 2005, but in that month, Chappelle stunned fans and the entertainment industry when he abruptly left during production of the third season of Chappelle's Show and took a trip to South Africa. Chappelle has since stated that he was unhappy with the direction the show had taken.

Coming here I don't have the distractions of fame. It quiets the ego down. I'm interested in the kind of person I've got to become. I want to be well rounded and the industry is a place of extremes. I want to be well balanced. I've got to check my intentions, man.^[19]

Return[link]

In June 2005, Chappelle performed impromptu stand-up shows in Los Angeles.^[20][21][22] He then went on a tour that began in Newport, Kentucky, not far from his Ohio home.^[23] He also made a surprise appearance on HBO's Def Poetry where he performed two poems, titled Fuck Ashton Kutcher and How I Got the Lead on "Jeopardy!."^[24] He was interviewed for Inside the Actors Studio on December 18, 2005 at Pace University's Michael Schimmel Center for the Arts. The show premiered on February 12, 2006.^[25] Chappelle stated that the death of his father in 1998 had an impact on his decision to go to South Africa. By throwing himself into his work, he had not taken a chance to mourn his father's death. He also said the rumors that he was in drug or psychiatric treatment only persuaded him to stay in South Africa.^[2]

He continued:

I would go to work on the show and I felt awful every day, that's not the way it was. ... I felt like some kind of prostitute or something. If I feel so bad, why keep on showing up to this place? I'm going to Africa. The hardest thing to do is to be true to yourself, especially when everybody is watching.

Chappelle also said that he felt some of his sketches were "socially irresponsible."^[26][27] He singled out the "pixie sketch" in which pixies appear to people and encourage them to reinforce stereotypes of their races. In the sketch, Chappelle is wearing blackface and is dressed as a character in a minstrel show.^[28] According to Chappelle, during the filming of the sketch, a crew member was laughing in a way that made him feel uncomfortable and made him rethink the show.^[26][27] Chappelle said, "it was the first time I felt that someone was not laughing with me but laughing at me."^[26]

During these interviews, Chappelle did not rule out returning to Chappelle's Show to "finish what we started," but promised that he would not return without changes to the production, such as a better working environment. He also stated he would like to donate half of the DVD sales to charity.^[29] Chappelle expressed disdain at the possibility of his material from the unfinished third season being aired, saying that to do so would be "a bully move," and that he would not return to the show if Comedy Central were to air the unfinished material.^[27] On July 9, 2006, Comedy Central aired the first episode of Chappelle's Show: The Lost Episodes. An uncensored DVD release of the episodes was made available on July 25.

The show still plays in syndication on several television networks despite the relatively small number of episodes compared to most American syndicated television programs.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Dave Chappelle's Block Party

The site of Dave Chappelle's Block Party in Brooklyn.

Chappelle was the star and producer of the Michel Gondry-directed documentary Dave Chappelle's Block Party, which chronicles a Chappelle-hosted concert in the Clinton Hill neighborhood of Brooklyn on September 18, 2004. Several musical artists, including Kanye West, The Roots, Erykah Badu, Mos Def, Dead Prez and Jill Scott are featured in the movie both performing in the concert and in conversation off-stage. The most surprising highlight of the event was the "last minute" reunion of popular 1990s hip hop group The Fugees. Chappelle toured several cities in February and March 2006 to promote the film under the moniker "Block Party All-Stars featuring Dave Chappelle". Universal Pictures' genre division Rogue Pictures released the film in the United States on March 3, 2006.

2007–present[link]

In April 2007, Chappelle set a stand-up endurance record at the Laugh Factory Sunset Strip comedy club, beating comedian Dane Cook's record of 3 hours and 50 minutes. In December of the same year, Chappelle broke his own record with a time of 6 hours and 12 minutes. Cook reclaimed the record in January 2008, with a time of 7 hours.^[30] On November 19, 2009 Chappelle performed at the Laugh Factory in Los Angeles, where it was speculated that he would aim to take back the record. However, he was disqualified according to the club owner, after he left the stage, five hours into his routine.^[31]

Chappelle again appeared on Inside the Actors Studio and in celebration of the show's 200th episode, he humorously interviewed the show's usual host, James Lipton. The episode aired on November 11, 2008.

Personal life[link]

Chappelle lives with his wife Elaine, two sons,^[28] Sulayman^[32] and Ibrahim,^[33] and daughter Sonal, on a 65-acre (260,000 m²) farm,^[2][10] just outside Yellow Springs, Ohio.^[23] He also owns several houses in Xenia, Ohio. Regarding his home in Yellow Springs, Ohio, Chappelle says, "Turns out you don't need $50 million to live around these parts, just a nice smile and a kind way about you. You guys are the best neighbors ever," he stated at a blues and jazz festival in the town in mid-September 2006. "That's why I came back and that's why I'm staying."^[34]

Chappelle is a Muslim, having converted to Islam in 1998. He told Time Magazine in a May 2005 interview, "I don’t normally talk about my religion publicly because I don’t want people to associate me and my flaws with this beautiful thing. And I believe it is beautiful if you learn it the right way."^[35]

Filmography[link]

This section requires expansion.

Discography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Dave Chappelle

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Dave Chappelle

• Dave Chappelle at the Internet Movie Database
• Video of Anderson Cooper 360 Interview
• Fresh Air Interview in 2004