A lt hough he's been nominated for Emmys a nd Golden
Globes, perhaps t he surest sig n of Dav id Spade's t a lent
is t he fact t hat most people t hink he rea lly is t he sna rky
woma nizer he's por t rayed on T V's Rules of Engagement
and in the Grown Ups movie franchise. But caustic skirt-
cha sers don't keep a cache of long t ime loya l f r iends
(Spade's include Saturday Night Live a lums Ada m
Sa ndler a nd Chr is Rock, mov ie director Judd Apatow,
a nd Just Shoot Me! cost a r George Sega l), a nd self-
obsessed celebs don't quiet ly w r ite persona l checks to
worthy causes (Spade just donated $100,000 to the ALS
Associat ion in lieu of dousing himself w it h a bucket of
ice water and gave $200,000 last summer for Oklahoma
tor nado relief ). W hat fa ns may a lso not rea lize is t hat
t he eter na lly yout hful 50 -yea r- old rema ins a st a nd-up -
comedy a nima l, cr iss - crossing t he count r y for severa l
mont hs a yea r. Before he hit s t he Mirage st age w it h pa l
Ray Romano on October 17 and 18, the actor-comedian
gave us a glimpse of t he sur pr isingly t hought f ul g uy
behind t he sa rcasm.
W hat do you remember about your earlier years
in L as Vegas?
I st a r ted my Vegas show yea rs ago at t he Improv at t he
R iv iera —21 shows a week for $50 0 tot a l. It wa s t hree
shows a night , 12 m inutes a show, a nd it wa s g reat!
A lt hough it was rea lly ha rd to wa lk t hrough t he casino
on t he way to t he show a nd not be able to play. I mea n,
you just ca nnot look, you have to put t he blinders on,
'cause $50 0 isn't much, you k now? Back t hen I couldn't
st ay at t he R iv iera. I had to st ay at , like, t he El Chucka
Shacka, but I got to eat with the busboys at the R iviera.
Twill suiting jacket
($1,875) and pants
($690),
Marc Jacobs.
The Forum
Shops at
Caesars, 702-369-
2007; marcjacobs.com.
Navy shirt ($450) and
classic black shoes
($800), Giorgio
Armani. Via Bellagio,
702-893-8327;
armani.com. Pocket
square, Tom Ford
($165). The Shops at
Crystals, 702-740-2940.
Classic 43.5mm Small
Seconds timepiece,
David Yurman
($3,600). The Forum
Shops at Caesars,
704-794-4545;
davidyurman.com
Spade
on
deck
He's not a sHallow, tart-cHasing rake or a self-
centered former cHeerleader turned tax-law
manipulator—He's just played tHem on tV. still,
david Spade
just can't stop bringing tHe funny.
By Leslie
Van Busk irk photography by Brian Bowen Smith
88 vegasmagazine.com
