Sinbad
*Sinbad was born on this date in 1956. He is a Black comedian, writer, and actor.
Born David Adkins in Benton Harbor, MI, he is the son of Rev. Dr. Donald and Louise Adkins. In 1974 and 1978, he attended the University of Denver and played basketball. Adkins was in the US Air Force as a Boom Operator aboard the KC-135. He almost received a dishonorable discharge for various problems, including going AWOL. He joined the military to get the attention of his idols, the Harlem Globetrotters. He planned to play basketball in the Air Force, get noticed by the Globetrotters or another pro team, and leave; he never made the team.
In 1981, things began to change. The comedy bug hit him when he participated in an Air Force Talent Show. He won several contests while stationed in Kansas. Under the professional name Sinbad, he became popular in the late 1980s and 1990s, appearing on television and starring in the feature films Houseguest (1995), First Kid, and Jingle All the Way (1996). Sinbad married Meredith Fuller in 1985. They have two children together. [27] The couple divorced in 1992, then remarried in 2002.
He appeared on Star Search and The Redd Foxx Show. At one time, Sinbad hosted his talk show, VIBE, and portrayed the goofy coach Walter Oakes on A Different World (a spinoff of The Cosby Show). He also had his show, "The Sinbad Show," in the early 1990s on Fox. He was also featured in a late 1990s infomercial for Tae Bo, claiming he successfully used the Tae Bo system to become an action star. He was the host of Showtime at the Apollo. He had originally hosted from 1989 to 1991 and was the temporary host in 2005 while regular host Mo'Nique was on maternity leave.
During the 1990s, Sinbad guest-starred on an episode of Nickelodeon’s All That. He also made a cameo appearance in the comedy movie Good Burger. Sinbad's film roles consist of the comedy Houseguest and the films First Kid and Jingle All the Way. 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". In 2006, Maxim Magazine ranked Sinbad as the "Worst Comic of All Time."
Sinbad also made a cameo appearance on the television show It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia as himself in a rehab center in the episode Dennis Reynolds: An Erotic Life, originally aired October 23, 2008. Sinbad was the host of Thou Shalt Laugh 3. The DVD was released in 2008. In 2009, Sinbad was placed in the top 10 of California's 250 worst tax debtors. The comedian owed the State $2.5 million in personal income tax. In 2009, Sinbad filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. In 2010, it was reported that Sinbad put up his 2.5-acre (10,000 m2) hilltop home for sale to alleviate his tax burdens.
In 2010, he debuted on Celebrity Apprentice and was fired on the second episode after losing in the Kodak challenge as project manager, placing 13th. In 2011, he was the celebrity speaker at the MacWorld Expo 2011. He starred in a reality show on WE TV called Sinbad: It's Just Family. However, it was canceled in 2011. Sinbad made an appearance on "The Eric Andre Show" in 2012.
In 2015, Sinbad appeared in a USO show at Bagram and Kandahar Air Bases in Afghanistan. In 2017, he appeared on two episodes of Disney Junior's The Lion Guard as the voice of Uroho, the baboon. The same year, he appeared in a College Humor April Fool's video consisting of footage from an alleged genie movie called Shazaam.
