The stage act of this stand-up comedian-turned-actor reaped controversy for being over-laden with obscenities and was considered to be misogynistic by feminists and most thinking people. Andrew 'Dice' Clay nevertheless found the shtick to propel him to stardom after years of performing in small clubs with an appeal to the urban/suburban teenaged white boys, confused about their roles as men in the changing times. Clay, decked in a leather jacket, with a dangling spoke in Brooklyn slang and used so many nasty words and disgusting references that he was banned from MTV after an appearance on "The 1989 MTV Video Awards". The controversy continued the following year when Clay's booking as the guest host on the final show of the season of "Saturday Night Live" caused cast member Nora Dunn to boycott the show in protest of his remarks about women. Dunn never returned to the cast, but Clay's gig was pretty much up as well. He disappeared for several years, returning in the mid-1990s trying to become a TV sitcom star.
Born Andrew Clay Silverstein in Brooklyn, he was still a teen when he began performing in comedy clubs in the 70s. By 1980, he had migrated to Los Angeles where he frequently performed at The Comedy Store on the Sunset Strip, but failed to be "discovered". Clay played bit parts in the features like "Wacko" (1983) and "Making the Grade" (1984) and could be seen as a bouncer in "Pretty in Pink" (1986). He also played a mobster named Max Goldman in numerous episodes of "Crime Story" on NBC during the 1986-1987 season. But his stage act slowly began to build a following when he developed the 'Dice' persona. In 1988, he appeared on an HBO Rodney Dangerfield comedy special, then headlined his own HBO special, "Andrew 'Dice' Clay: The Diceman Cometh". Clay was hot, and the controversy was only helping to pack 'em in. When the backlash hit in 1989-90, it was somewhat unexpected.
When his first starring role in a feature, "The Adventures of Ford Fairlane" (1990), did not sell tickets, the luster was fading. Clay had two best-selling albums, "Dice" (1989) and "The Day the Laughter Died" (1990), but by 1991, after the release of "Dice", a concert film, the establishment had little interest in him. He tried to mend fences with "Andrew Dice Clay: For Ladies Only", a 1992 HBO special, but to little avail. The 1993 feature "Brain Smasher...A Love Story" was a failed attempt to turn Clay into an action hero. For much of the next two years, he virtually disappeared, returning in 1995 in the TV-movie "No Contest" (HBO). Clay, now billed as Andrew Clay, attempted to remake his image, dropping much of the 'Dice' persona by co-starring with Cathy Moriarty in the CBS sitcom "Bless This House" (1995-1996), loosely inspired by the far superior "The Honeymooners". While Clay was still tainted, and the result failed to win in the ratings war, there was a glimmer that the Diceman changeth. He resumed his stage act, still cocky and self-confident, still foul-mouthed, but leaving the subject of women alone. He returned to series TV as a surly record company executive in the UPN sitcom "Hitz" (1997).