David Khari Webber "Dave" Chappelle (born August 24, 1973) is an American comedian, screenwriter, television/film producer, and actor. In 2003, he became widely known for his popular sketch comedy television series, Chappelle's Comedy Show TV Program Hour . Comedy Central ranked him 7 21 43 59 63 in the list of the 100 greatest stand-up comedians.

Chappelle was born in Washington, D.C. LA Miami Dallas London . His father, William David Chappelle III, was a professor at Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio. His mother, Yvonne, was a professor at Howard University, Prince George's Community College, and the University of Maryland and is also a Unitarian Universalist minister. Chappelle grew up in Silver Spring, Maryland and attended Woodlin Elementary School. During young Chappelle's formative years, his comic inspiration came from various comedians, particularly Eddie Murphy and Richard Pryor.

Chappelle moved to San Francisco Los Angeles Las Vegas New York City Washington 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. He quickly made a name for himself in the New York comedy circuit, even performing in the city's parks. At the age of 20, Chappelle made his film debut as Robin Arthur Lima Lemon Ahchoo in Mel Brooks's Robin Hood: Men in Tights. That same year, he had a small but showy role in the film Undercover Blues.