The guest
Andrew Dice Clay: Brooklyn-born stand-up comedian and actor, 'The Dice Man,' the first comic to sell out arenas; star of The Adventures of Ford Fairlane and a character actor in films like A Star Is Born and Pam & Tommy.
What this episode covers
Andrew Dice Clay recounts his rise from doing a Travolta-from-Grease impression at a Brooklyn club to selling out arenas and becoming the biggest comic in the world by 1990. He details the massive backlash he faced, including being banned for life by MTV and becoming the target of relentless press, and how few other comics supported him. He and Joe Rogan dig into his creative philosophy of always being first, his gambling stories, his health battles (a heart attack and Bell's palsy), and his late-career acting resurgence. Dice repeatedly praises Rogan as an original and credits The Comedy Store as the foundation for both their careers.
Recommended on this episode
ProductRecommended
Parisi Coffee
Parisi
“incredible coffee it's what I drink every day”
“now he does pareses coffee you know and it's incredible coffee it's what I drink every day”— Andrew Dice Clay
The guest's own work
MediaBy the guest
The Day the Laughter Died
Andrew Dice Clay
“we do three nights at dangerfields and it winds up the double CD the day the laugh died okay”— Andrew Dice Clay
MediaBy the guest
Dice Rules
Andrew Dice Clay
“when when dice rules that where I do grease lightning that was dice rules the album okay besides the movie”— Andrew Dice Clay
MediaBy the guest
The Black Album
Andrew Dice Clay
“you're talking about the Black Album guys yes that came out right about the same time the Rodney special”— Andrew Dice Clay
Also referenced (named, not recommended)
BookReferenced
Street Smart
Dr. Rock Positano
“I gave him my book Street Smart cuz he also wrote a book on Joe de magio he lived with him for 10 years”— Andrew Dice Clay
MediaReferenced
The Adventures of Ford Fairlane
“I get a call Ford Fair Lane's coming out you want to host Saturday Night Live my father's like I think it's a smart move”— Andrew Dice Clay
MediaReferenced
Saturday Night Live
Lorne Michaels
“I don't even want to do Saturday Night Live I was never a Saturday Night Live freak you know”— Andrew Dice Clay
MediaReferenced
Crime Story
Michael Mann
“I was um working on Michael man's crime story which spawned everybody um Dennis finina Michael Madson”— Andrew Dice Clay
MediaReferenced
Casino
Martin Scorsese
“if you think a casino Joe pesi bangs Sharon Stone okay and then they wind up blowing up daero out of the car”— Andrew Dice Clay
MediaReferenced
Wacko
“this stupid movie called wacko but I couldn't believe the people I'm getting to work with like I'd call home”— Andrew Dice Clay
MediaReferenced
Walking Tall
“it's Joe Don Baker Walking Tall and George Ken Cool Hand Luke you know so it was all about the acting”— Andrew Dice Clay
MediaReferenced
Cool Hand Luke
“it's Joe Don Baker Walking Tall and George Ken Cool Hand Luke you know so it was all about the acting”— Andrew Dice Clay
MediaReferenced
Private Resort
“then I did a movie private Resort Johnny Depp and Rob Marrow now Johnny we know where his career went”— Andrew Dice Clay
MediaReferenced
Northern Exposure
“he's a big star he's in billions he did his own show uh Northern Exposure and the producer would say”— Andrew Dice Clay
MediaReferenced
Billions
“he's a big star he's in billions he did his own show uh Northern Exposure and the producer would say”— Andrew Dice Clay
MediaReferenced
Pretty in Pink
“pretty and pink Molly ringal you know John CER that that John yuse took one scene I did and split it into two”— Andrew Dice Clay
MediaReferenced
Making the Grade
“making the grade Jud Nelson I was almost like auxiliary bratpack that they would use me in their movies”— Andrew Dice Clay
MediaReferenced
Casual Sex?
“I did Casual Sex for Ivan wman and his wife directed Jean viev and I played the man”— Andrew Dice Clay
MediaReferenced
A Star Is Born
“the biggest thing I did was a star was born with Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga”— Andrew Dice Clay
MediaReferenced
Pam & Tommy
“working with Sebastian Stan in the new uh when they did the Pam and Tommy series on Hulu recently”— Andrew Dice Clay
MediaReferenced
Entourage
Doug Ellin
“Here Comes Doug Ellen who created Entourage and he's getting ready to do his very last season of Entourage”— Andrew Dice Clay
MediaReferenced
Malcolm & Eddie
“Eddie's got uh Malcolm and Eddie the TV sit I remember that and from that he went on to the movie startom”— Andrew Dice Clay
MediaReferenced
Frasier
“they take Lenny now and they put him on Frasier for I think it was frasia for all the years playing a cop”— Andrew Dice Clay
MediaReferenced
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Quentin Tarantino
“when you see Brad smash that woman's face against the mantle and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood he's not really doing that”— Joe Rogan
MediaReferenced
Grease
“the night I saw Greece was the night my life changed and there was no videos back then you understand”— Andrew Dice Clay
MediaReferenced
The Nutty Professor
Jerry Lewis
“Jerry Lewis The Nutty Professor who would turn into buddy love but if I could turn into Travolta from Professor kelp”— Andrew Dice Clay
MediaReferenced
Penthouse
“the only other guy that's ever been on the cover was me you're going to be the first man on the cover of Penthouse”— Andrew Dice Clay
MediaReferenced
Black Belt Magazine
“I used to like to look at Black Belt Magazine there he is in a split with his onions basically plasted to the ground”— Andrew Dice Clay
ProductReferenced
Black Rifle Coffee
Black Rifle Coffee Company
“we got a Yeti for you brother it's good it's not bad Black Rifle I got to C back on sugar”— Joe Rogan
ProductReferenced
Yeti
Yeti
“we got a Yeti for you brother it's good it's not bad Black Rifle I got to C back on sugar”— Joe Rogan
ProductReferenced
Alpha Brain
Onnit
“I take things to help my memory while I'm it's not helping mine yeah I can give you some I'll give you some Alpha Brain next time”— Joe Rogan
ProductReferenced
Harley-Davidson belt
Harley-Davidson
“leaving the hotel the Regency Hotel in full Gob with a belt buckle this big a Holly Davidson belt I wanted people looking”— Andrew Dice Clay
Big reveals from this episode
- Dice says MTV banned him for life after his 1990 awards-show poems set, and that Dick Clark tried to charge the stage while Arsenio Hall tackled him to stop it.
- Mitzi Shore warned The Day the Laughter Died would ruin his career, but it went gold in four days and became, in his telling, the biggest-selling comedy album ever.
- Dice reveals he had a heart attack at 60, got a stent put in, and quit smoking that same day, while also publicly battling Bell's palsy.
- Dice describes calling the exact blackjack cards on a 'gut' feeling at the Mirage and walking out with about $455,000 in profit.
- Dice claims he was the one who helped put Guns N' Roses back together, brokering peace between Axl Rose, Slash and Duff McKagan.
- His entire career launched from a first-ever open-mic set at Pips doing a Jerry Lewis-into-Travolta 'Grease Lightning' act, after which he was immediately booked to headline.
Worth remembering
- At his peak Dice says he was doing 80,000 to 100,000 people a week and ultimately played over 300 arenas to roughly 12 million people.
- Rick Rubin approached Dice outside the Comedy Store and they went on to make five albums together.
- The Rodney Dangerfield young-comedians special, which aired February 13, 1988, is what launched Dice to overnight arena stardom.
- Doug Ellin gave Dice the final season of Entourage, which revived his acting career.
- Axl Rose talked Dice into opening for Guns N' Roses between Metallica and GNR at the Rose Bowl in front of more than 104,000 people.
- Dice's foot doctor, Dr. Rock Positano, gave Joe the book Street Smart and reportedly lived with Joe DiMaggio for ten years.
- Dice says comedians used to stab each other in the back and didn't help one another; the supportive culture changed in the early 2000s out of The Comedy Store.
- His viral 'famous face' prank videos, where he approaches strangers who run from him, are a live version of The Day the Laughter Died.
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