Photo: Universal Pictures
Adam Sandler, star of Saturday Night Live and the 1996 film Happy Gilmore, will perform in Cincinnati in February.
"They're all gonna laugh at you!" Well, at him.
Veteran comedian and actor Adam Sandler is extending this year's tour into 2023, and he'll visit Cincinnati's Heritage Bank Center on Feb. 6. Tickets will go on sale to the public Dec. 16, with a pre-sale already in process.
Sandler has been touring frequently over the past few years (except for the COVID-19 pause), with the latest tour launching in October. During the shows, Sandler typically performs both stand-up and music, including a tribute to his close friend and former Saturday Night Live co-star, the late Chris Farley. During a recent episode of the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Sandler said that that the song – which he'd debuted while hosting SNL in 2019 – remains emotional for him.
"I’ve sung it maybe a hundred times already, but it rocks me. I think it’s because we show video of Chris, and I see his face, and I remember his dad, and I remember I’m friends with his brothers and his mom and everybody, and they still miss him a lot. So, yeah, it gets me," Sandler said.
Sandler was part of an SNL cohort in the early '90s that included Farley, David Spade, Tim Meadows, Chris Rock and Rob Schneider. His characters like "Canteen Boy," "Opera Man" and "Gap Girl" made SNL essential viewing for people of a certain age, and his skit songs "Lunchlady Land," "Thanksgiving Song" and "Hanukkah Song" were staples on morning radio shows and in high schools. The show launched Sandler and his friends into the film world, where he became box-office bank with starring roles in Billy Madison, Happy Gilmore and The Wedding Singer.
Theatrical film and TV offers continued over the decades, but Sandler has turned his sights largely to streaming now. Through a deal with Netflix, Sandler's company Happy Madison Productions has produced a number of family hit and comedies – often starring his former SNL buds plus Friends' Jennifer Aniston – and he earned critical acclaim for the wide-release thriller Uncut Gems.
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts announced Dec. 13 that Sandler would receive its Mark Twain Prize for American Humor during a ceremony in May. Previous recipients include Jon Stewart, Whoopi Goldberg, Billy Crystal and George Carlin (The organization recently presented actor/producer and former Mason student George Clooney with the Kennedy Center Honors). Sandler received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2011.
Below, watch Sandler's tribute to Farley during a 2019 broadcast of Saturday Night Live.
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