Sinbad

Biography

Like his idol Bill Cosby, Sinbad never curses on stage. “I want people to bring the whole family to my show.” It might surprise some people to realize that he keeps a show clean. Big and bulky, favoring broad comedy, he stalks up and down the stage like a security guard at a cheap sneaker store. He might be the kind of gentle giant who’d say, “ok, just pay for what you stole and you walk out no harm done,” but he’s still a dangerous looking dude. It’s prevented him from truly achieving comic stardom.

Born in Benton Harbor, Michigan, he had three brothers and two sisters. To get attention, he’d perform all kinds of wacky stunts. He also developed a sharp wit. That’s why he used the name Sinbad on stage: “I renamed myself Sinbad because Sinbad is bad. He could hang with rogues and with kings. He didn’t have the strength of Hercules, but he could outwit anyone.”

An unusual looking figure in his teens, young David Adkins attended the University of Denver on a basketball scholarship and was named “Red Chamberlain” for his amazing height and even more unusual red hair. He switched from sports to comedy in 1983 when he began touring. “I prayed, Please Lord, this is hard work. So if I’m not funny let me know right away.”

Sinbad’s first break came when he was a finalist on “Star Search.” He played Redd Foxx’s son on “The New Redd Foxx Show ” and got a valuable acting tip from the star. Between takes Redd told his red-headed “son” on the show: “If you don’t do this right,” we’ll get a white boy to play the part.”

After the Foxx show folded, Bill Cosby hired Sinbad for “A Different World.” Sinbad continued his stand-up work, hosting “It’s Showtime at the Apollo,” and earning his own one-hour HBO special, “Brain Damaged.” Tha year, 1991, he also co-starred on the “Share the Dream Tour” of black colleges. The tour was sponsored by Coca-Cola, and other companies found Sinbad a key comedian to back. Reebok hired him for their line of Blacktop basketball shoes and he also shilled for Polaroid Captiva and One-Step Cameras. He returned to HBO for a 1993 special, “Afros and Bellbottoms.” By 1996 he had a deal with HBO for a series of comedy specials as both comedian and producer.

Distinctive looking, family oriented, and coming up with bold, broad strokes of black comedy, Sinbad was one of the hottest comics who never told a joke. “I don’t know any,” he admits, building laughs ala Cosby, via anecdotes and observations.

The late 90’s saw Hollywood beckon, but film audiences didn’t quite know what to make of this larger-than-life high-energy animated giant. He starred in “Houseguest” and battled the formidable Arnold Schwarzenneger in “Jingle All the Way,” but the films didn’t exactly thrill critics or turn Sinbad into a money-in-the-bank box office name. He was tapped as the host of his own talk show, but this too was a disappointment.

He continues to tour, to appear in film projects, and to devote himself to a various charities including The Sickle Cell Research Foundation, The Children’s Defense Fund, Omega Boys Club and The Magic Johnson Foundation. He starred in a one-man show for Morehouse College, with the profits going to the Endowed Scholarship Fund in the names of his parents, the Reverend Dr. Donald and Louise Adkins.