Adam Sandler Credits His Sense of Humor to His Dad’s ‘Temper’

Adam Sandler is an actor and comedian, who is best known for his raucous humor in films like Billy Madison and Happy Gilmore. Sandler hasn’t always received great reviews during the course of his movie career, and many critics have slammed his unique brand of humor.

Still, Sandler stays winning, and even after decades in the entertainment business, he remains very popular with his fan base. Sandler’s life hasn’t been all sunshine and rainbows, and the noted comedian has opened up on several occasions about his complex relationship with his late father. 

How did Adam Sandler become famous?

Sandler was born in New York in 1966. His family moved to New Hampshire when he was very young, and he spent the majority of his childhood there before ultimately returning to New York as an adolescent.

In the mid-80s, when Sandler was still very young, he developed an interest in stand-up and began performing in clubs around New York City. Ultimately, his routines led him to get discovered by a writer on Saturday Night Live, and in 1989, he was cast in the iconic sketch comedy series.

In the early ’90s, Sandler started making waves as a comedian and performer, and after a successful run on SNL, he appeared in films like Airheads, Billy Madison, Coneheads, and The Waterboy. All throughout the late nineties and early 2000s, Sandler continued to act in films — while he was occasionally slammed by critics, he did receive accolades for his work in movies like Punch-Drunk Love and Reign Over Me. 

What is Adam Sandler doing these days?

Sandler has never really slowed down, even though he is now in his 50s. Sandler recently started producing content for Netflix and has released several popular movies to the streaming platform over the past couple of years, including Murder Mystery, Sandy Wexler, and The Do-Over.

In January 2020, Netflix extended its partnership with Sandler, announcing that the comedian would be creating four more movies exclusively for the platform in the coming months.

In addition to his work in movies, Sandler spends a great deal of time behind the scenes, mentoring other young performers and spending time with his family. Sandler will likely continue working in the entertainment industry for years to come. In spite of Sandler’s remarkable success, however, he had some difficult days in his youth, as he has discussed on several occasions. 

Adam Sandler’s occasionally troubled relationship with his father

Sandler’s father, Stanley, was reportedly a man who dealt with a bit of an anger problem. As Sandler once stated: “I never had a speech from my father (saying), ‘this is what you must do or shouldn’t do,’ but I just learned to be led by example. My father wasn’t perfect. He had a temper. I took some of that.” He went on to say that “he would snap, but the older he got, he started calming down. He learned about life, but the thing that he taught my whole family was that family was the most important thing and, no matter what, if a family member needs you, you go and help them out, you get there. He just made us feel comfortable and respectful to other families, my mother also… part of my father having a temper led to me developing a sense of humor to calm the old man down. That kind of sense of humor.”

Any troubled times that Sandler and his father experienced had mostly dissipated by the time that Sandler became an adult. In 2004, when the senior Sandler passed away, his superstar son made sure that he knew how loved he was, and has paid tribute to him on several occasions in the years since.