Since he famously walked away from his hit Comedy Central series “Chappelle’s Show” nearly a decade ago, Dave Chappelle has become the comedy equivalent of J.D. Salinger, a celebrated artist happy to stay out of the limelight and keep his work mostly to himself — much to the dismay of his many eager fans.
But the reclusive comedian has been slowly edging back into the spotlight over the past year. On Tuesday, he made his first late-night television appearance in six years on “The Late Show With David Letterman” in advance of a string of eight nearly sold-out stand-up shows at Radio City Music Hall next week.
Naturally, Letterman, like millions of others, was curious about Chappelle’s decision to abruptly quit his popular and hugely influential sketch comedy series during production of its third season and flee to South Africa.
“Well, technically I never quit,” Chappelle clarified. “I’m seven years late for work.” (Well, more like nine, but OK.)
