Grammy award winning Comedian Dave Chappelle, famously known for Comedy Central’s “The Chappelle Show,” was spotted in Kingston, Jamaica, on Thursday. The Neflix comedian who is from Ohio is in the island for the holidays.
The Blue Streak star ran into Jamaican comedian Ity Ellis by chance, compelling Ellis to capture a moment with him, which he posted on Instagram with the caption:
“His peers call him the GOAT! What a day?! Bumped into arguably one of the most talented contemporaries of this art called STAND-Up Comedy.Seeing him @davechappelle in Jamaica was a good reminder that Jamaica is still the place to be. In December!”
Ellis spoke with WMV about the encounter saying, “Yeah man, we met a couple of hours ago, I had a lunch meeting with the Honey Bun Foundation, and they said we have two comedians in the house. They said it was Dave Chappelle, and I thought it was a joke. When I got up, I saw him, and I had to calm down.”
“I met him before in LA, and he was telling jokes about Jamaica. He was on stage talking for two hours, engaging and discussing anything,” Ellis recalled.
The two discussed comedy in Jamaica briefly when Ellis share with stand up comedian that he had the 20th anniversary of his Boxing Day show “Comedy Cookup” next Tuesday. “I said, ‘You are in the island, and I am doing my 20th staging of Comedy Cook-Up. When I left, I was like, ‘Hold on a second,'” Ellis said contemplating whether he should have been more direct in inviting Chappelle to the show in spite of his handlers surrounding the comedic star.
Ity, real name Ian Ellis is a co-host on CVM at Sunrise with Tami Chin but before taking up the new gig he did ten seasons of the Ity and Fancy Cat Show with his comedic partner Alton “Fancy Cat” Hardware, a Jamaican sketch comedy inspired by The Chapelle Show.
He said the state comedy comedy in Jamaica need some growth on par with other regions especially with the advent of digital streaming networks and channels like HBO, Netflix and Comedy Central looking outside of the US for new talent. “If Dave Chapelle is in Jamaica, it must be because one of us brought him here. We want to see the thing scale,” he said.
Chappelle was honored with the prestigious Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 2019, recognized as America’s highest comedy accolade by the Kennedy Center.
Ity said he didn’t get a chance to personally invite Chappelle to his show when they met, but says he wants to let him know that there is a VIP section reserved for him if he so desire.
“If he’s (Dave Chapelle) here until Tuesday, he is going to be at Pegasus. If you are here until Tuesday, please come to the show at the Pegasus,” its said
Chappelle has been in a number of Hollywood films such as “Robin Hood: Men in Tights” (1993), “The Nutty Professor” (1996), “Con Air” (1997), “You’ve Got Mail” (1998), “Blue Streak” (1999), “Undercover Brother” (2002), “Dave Chappelle’s Block Party” (2005), and “Chi-Raq” (2015). His debut as a lead actor was in the 1998 comedy film “Half Baked,” which he co-wrote. Chappelle also took on a starring role in the ABC comedy series “Buddies” (1996).
In 2016, Chappelle inked a groundbreaking $20 million per-release deal with Netflix for comedy specials and subsequently delivered six stand-up specials as part of the agreement. This move solidified his presence as a major force in the modern comedy world.
His remarkable contributions to the entertainment industry have earned six Emmy Awards and four Grammy Awards. Dave received two Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for hosting “Saturday Night Live” in 2016 and 2020. Chappelle’s Grammy Awards include four wins for Best Comedy Album, specifically for “The Age of Spin” (2018), “Equanimity & The Bird Revelation” (2019), “Sticks & Stones” (2019), and “The Closer” (2021).
