Dave Chappelle's laid-back yet socially attuned style of comedy has made him a favorite among all ages and races. Ever since "Chappelle's Show" Dave's career has skyrocketed and was recently named the funniest man in America. "Chappelle's Show" was the very reason why Dave was coming to our town and that was great news to us. We had been fans of his for years, so it was obvious that we would be trying for his autograph.
Unfortunately, Sterling and I both had the same night class the day of the show, so getting Dave's autograph would be tough due to time constraints. Since it was a film class, most of it is spent watching a film and the lecture portion is held towards the end of class. I decided to skip the film (and watch it at a later date) and return before lecture started, while Sterling chose to stay and watch the film. It was just lil' old me on this autograph outing and I hoped skipping the film would give me enough time to try and meet Dave Chappelle.
As I was heading out, fellow autograph collector Newt informed me that Dave signed for him earlier in the day at a hotel close to the venue. I now knew where I needed to be and hoped that I would be as fortunate as Newt. Traffic was dreadfully slow and I feared that I would be arriving too late. It was raining pretty heavy which also worried me, because there's nothing worse than a drenched autograph. Rain also discourages many celebrities from signing, but I didn't have to worry about that long because it eventually let up.
I finally got to the hotel and Newt hung around to help me out, in case I needed a photographer for a photo-op with Dave. We stayed by Dave's bus (which is obvious because it has his picture all over it) and waited for any signs of this awesome comedian. As Newt was talking to me I always made sure to keep my eyes glued to the hotel doors hoping he would be leaving at any minute. All the sudden I spotted a celebrity, no not Dave Chappelle, but someone I would have never expected, the extremely talented Sean Penn!!! I froze in my tracks... would I come out of it? Would we meet the notorious bad boy of Hollywood? Find out in his section if you care to find out.
After that surprise we went back to our spots by Dave's bus. The clock struck 7:00pm and things weren't looking good because Dave's show started at 7:00pm. Both of us started to think that he got a ride to the venue and wasn't taking the tour bus to get there. My hopes were waning, that was until the bus driver started the engine and it looked like they were waiting for someone. I was really sweating this one out because it was also getting close to the lecture portion of my class, so I was really hoping that this would be worth it.
Finally I fixed my eyes on the man himself and it had been such a long wait that he seemed like mirage. Dave was surrounded by a lot of people (which was kind of intimidating) but I asked for an autograph when they got close enough. Chappelle didn't seem to hear me so I tried asking again with a little more volume to it, "Dave...can I please have an autograph?"
Before Dave could say a word, the people around him said he was extremely late and would sign when they returned later that night. Dave Chappelle stopped and told them, "It's okay let me sign this one joint". It was really nice of Dave to stop and sign, despite the opinions of his entourage. I really couldn't believe that I was actually talking with him, no less getting his autograph.
As he was signing my photograph I was able to ask a couple of question and so was Newt. One thing that Newt mentioned really made Dave perk up. Newt, for some reason, mentioned our encounter with Sean Penn moments ago and Dave Chappelle was mad that he hadn't run into him. He told us that if we spotted Sean Penn again to make sure and ask him if he would be willing to make an appearance on his show.
Unfortunately we didn't see Sean again, so we were unable to deliver the message -too bad. When I asked for a picture with him, his people really emphasized the urgency to get to the show and swept Dave away. As Dave was being pulled away he promised to come back and take a picture with me. The doors to the bus closed and he disappeared within. Before it pulled off, Dave opened the door and yelled once more "I'll be back and will take a picture with you". He seemed very genuine in his promise and cared about accommodating a lone fans request, which is rare in a lot of celebrities today. I decided I'd return after class and quickly took off to make it on time, which I thankfully did.
After class was over I went to the hotel but the bus was gone and I figured he was still at the venue. I decided to go to the venue he was performing at and after driving about five times around the venue found a parking spot. I went to the entrance and asked them what time his first show (he was doing 2 that night) was letting out.
They had no idea and gave me an estimation of 9:30pm. It was only 7:40pm so I wasn't quite sure if I wanted to wait that long, because I already had his autograph. I waited until 8:00pm and decided it was time to leave because I had classes the next morning. As I was heading off the front doors opened and the crowds started pouring out. I quickly ran to the side of the building where the tour bus was located and waited.
The huge crowd kept walking past me, but my eyes remained fixed on the stage door. All of the sudden Dave Chappelle's face/body (on the tour bus) opened up (window) and Dave's head popped out. The huge crowd stopped and Dave started shaking hands with everyone and that eventually turned into an autograph signing session. Dave stood there and signed autographs from the window and he was soooo funny. He was doing stand up routines and repeating some of the jokes for us from his show. He said it seemed like he was an ice cream man selling ice cream and joked after signing one fan's ticket stub "Hey you shorted me 50 cents, no more (ice cream) for you".
After signing for about a good solid 10-15 minutes Dave's guard/manager told him to rest up before his next show and I knew I was running out of time to get a picture with him. I waited my turn and shook his hand first and then asked for a picture with him. Dave was more than willing and reached down to grab my shoulder ready to pose for a couple of pictures. I shook his hand and thanked him once more for everything and then I disappeared into the darkness of the night. I was so happy and had a really successful day collecting autographs.
