Dave Chappelle

IT WAS ALMOST two weeks ago that Comedy Central announced Dave Chappelle had been absent from work and shut down production on the third season of "Chappelle's Show," due to start May 31. Fewer than five episodes, reports E!, had been completed. Rumors as to the cause of the work stoppage: After signing a $50-million contract, the pressure had gotten to Chappelle and he flipped; He was having "creative differences" with Comedy Central and is flexing his muscle by staying away; His party-happy lifestyle had taken a toll on him. The correct answer could be all of the above.

Through the magic of TV, Dave Chappelle will come back to Comedy Central tonight at 9, even though Dave Chappelle won't. The subversive-ish comedian, you may recall, walked out on his acclaimed sketch show, Chappelle's Show, last year after having made a handful of sketches for the show's third season. Smelling green now that Chappelle is bigger than ever, Comedy Central has patched the footage together to make three shows that it has been marketing vigorously as "the lost episodes.

"If I said everything I thought, it would just freak America out, man. You wouldn't want to hear a young black dude saying half the things I be thinking. The only way people would listen to stuff I think is if a pretty white girl sang my thoughts. " Now don't cringe and write angry letters to the paper - that quote is from comedian Dave Chappelle's new sketch-comedy romp Chappelle's Show on Comedy Central. And he followed it up with a white lady who sang, in operatic style no less, that crack was invented for the downfall of African Americans and that O.J. had something to do with the 2000 Florida election fiasco.

Cheech and Chong's retirement from movies leaves a void that the doper comedy Half Baked fills with what you might call a joie de joint. Though by no means a good film, this diversion starring Saturday Night Live's Jim Breuer and comic Dave Chappelle (who wrote the script with Main Line native Neal Brennan) emanates Reefer Gladness. Anyone who has been around a pothead knows that marijuana reduces those who inhale to a woozy infantile state in which the sole ambition is the gratification of various appetites.

The Comedy Central series Chappelle's Show treats topics ranging from religion (mocking the Catholic Church's woes with a Jedi Knight sex scandal skit) to TV programs (spoofing TLC's Trading Spaces with Trading Spouses) with gut-wrenching humor. Now 12 episodes of the first season are available on DVD. Dave Chappelle, best known for films such as Half Baked and Undercover Brother, along with cowriter Neal Brennan, has touched a nerve with his racially charged bits and characters such as crack addict Tyrone Biggums.

Ain't nothin' but a party, y'all. Back in 2004, before Dave Chappelle got all twisted up in his own success, the comedian organized and hosted one perfect day - a rather impromptu rap party held on the asphalt of Brooklyn. It's music for the people, featuring Kanye West, Common, Erykah Badu, the Roots, Mos Def, and an onstage reunion of the Fugees. The entire ego-free affair is captured in this delightful documentary by French director Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind)

"Matt loves his mother. He thinks his mother is the greatest woman in the world. " - Cameron Diaz, on why she loves (or is it hates?) beau Matt Dillon Sometimes - usually, in fact - a canceled TV show is also a bad TV show. But comedian Dave Chappelle sees something much more sinister in the end of his planned sitcom, "Dave Chappelle. " The Fox series, in development for next season, never saw the light of day, and Chappelle says it's because the Fox network wanted more white people on the show.

Dave Chappelle probably won't be doing earthquake jokes any time soon. The actor-comedian, fresh off an appearance at Comic Relief, had just gone to bed in his North Hollywood apartment when the big one hit California last week. "I'd be the first one to admit I have never been that scared," he said from the ruins of his apartment. "It was like 45 seconds, but it was like the longest 45 seconds of my life. " That fear has understandably led to some paranoia. "Every time I feel a little bump, I think it's a tremor," he said.

Embattled comedian Dave Chappelle sought understanding yesterday in the only court of appeals that matters: Oprah Winfrey's show. He wasn't met by the stern Oprah who took disgraced author James Frey to the woodshed last week. Chappelle got classic, compassionate Oprah, who provided balm to the fragile funnyman. Certainly, Chappelle had a lot of explaining to do. He had, after all, committed the most heinous transgression in our society: walking away from a big pile of money.

Make no mistake: J.K. Rowling can - and will - kill. Even maim and murder, if she feels like it. The unemployed-single-mother-turned-master-of-the-universe (her personal fortune is $1 billion) yesterday revealed that in the last Harry Potter novel, she will do in at least two of the characters. Rowling, 40, who wrote The Final Chapter long ago, said: "One character got a reprieve, but I have to say two die that I didn't intend to die. " (Didn't intend? Who's got authorial charge here?

In May 2005, comic Dave Chappelle shocked fans by walking off the set of his popular TV series, Chappelle's Show, for no apparent reason. Chappelle, whose show turned racial stereotypes on their heads, later explained that he was performing a skit in blackface when he noticed a white crew member laughing in a way that made him uncomfortable. Chappelle thought the white guy had missed the satire and was laughing for the wrong reason. Some pundits dismissed the performer as paranoid.

Through the magic of TV, Dave Chappelle will come back to Comedy Central tonight at 9, even though Dave Chappelle won't. The subversive-ish comedian, you may recall, walked out on his acclaimed sketch show, Chappelle's Show, last year after having made a handful of sketches for the show's third season. Smelling green now that Chappelle is bigger than ever, Comedy Central has patched the footage together to make three shows that it has been marketing vigorously as "the lost episodes.

Make no mistake: J.K. Rowling can - and will - kill. Even maim and murder, if she feels like it. The unemployed-single-mother-turned-master-of-the-universe (her personal fortune is $1 billion) yesterday revealed that in the last Harry Potter novel, she will do in at least two of the characters. Rowling, 40, who wrote The Final Chapter long ago, said: "One character got a reprieve, but I have to say two die that I didn't intend to die. " (Didn't intend? Who's got authorial charge here?

Speaking to Esquire, Dave Chappelle gives a three-point explanation of why he walked away from a $50 mil deal with Comedy Central for his hilarious, subversive Chappelle's Show, though he admitted it was his best TV experience. "The bottom line was, white people own everything, and where can a black person go and be himself or say something that's familiar to him and not have to explain or apologize?" Some fans have said D.C.'s show was the one where the 32-year-old satirist finally felt free to express himself.

AS WE HEAD into Oscars weekend, all of Hollywood's naked ambition is in the spotlight. So it seems like a perfect time to see which celebrities put their nakedness to the best use in 2005, with the 7th Annual Mr. Skin's Anatomy Awards, announced yesterday by Sirius Satellite's Howard [Stern] 100 and at MrSkin.com. Finally, an awards presentation in which whatever you're wearing on the red carpet is too much. And the wowza winners are: Best See-through Top: Pam Anderson, "Comedy Central Roast of Pam Anderson" Best Full-frontal Scene: Alexis Dziena, "Broken Flowers" Best Buns: Jessica Alba, "Into the Blue" Best Nip-slip: Debra Messing, "The Wedding Date" Best Skinterracial Scene: Jennifer Esposito and Don Cheadle, "Crash" Best Bikini: Jessica Simpson, "The Dukes of Hazzard" Best Nude Scene: Anne Hathaway, "Havoc" Best Breasts: Carla Gugino, "Sin City" Biggest Jumbo Jacks: Cynthia Ettinger, "Carnivale," HBO Best Nude-comer: Juliette Marquis Best Over-50 Skin Scene: Jane Seymour, "Wedding Crashers" Best DVD: "The 40-Year-Old Virgin: Unrated Edition" Best Network TV Scene: Lake Bell, "Surface," NBC Best Skincest Scene: Polly Walker, "Rome," HBO Best Lesbian Scene: Juliette Marquis and Cheyenne Silver, "This Girl's Life," Showtime Best Bonus DVD Scene: P.J. Soles, "Stripes" Best FUR-frontal: Mia Kirshner, "The L Word," Showtime Best Cable TV Show: "Masters of Horror,"...

Ain't nothin' but a party, y'all. Back in 2004, before Dave Chappelle got all twisted up in his own success, the comedian organized and hosted one perfect day - a rather impromptu rap party held on the asphalt of Brooklyn. It's music for the people, featuring Kanye West, Common, Erykah Badu, the Roots, Mos Def, and an onstage reunion of the Fugees. The entire ego-free affair is captured in this delightful documentary by French director Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind)

This is how Dave Chappelle is coming back, back from eight months out of the public eye, back from being called crazy and a crack head, back from the infamy of being famous, back from turning down $50 million, son! This is how - with stand-up comedy, the world in which he feels most comfortable, winding up a nine-city tour with a cadre of fellow artists who shelter him like a security blanket. "This," he says, standing backstage Monday night at the Tower Theater, "is the perfect way to come back.

Embattled comedian Dave Chappelle sought understanding yesterday in the only court of appeals that matters: Oprah Winfrey's show. He wasn't met by the stern Oprah who took disgraced author James Frey to the woodshed last week. Chappelle got classic, compassionate Oprah, who provided balm to the fragile funnyman. Certainly, Chappelle had a lot of explaining to do. He had, after all, committed the most heinous transgression in our society: walking away from a big pile of money.

Dave Chappelle, who disappeared for a spiritual sojourn in the midst of taping for the new season of Comedy Central's Chappelle's Show, is back performing. Variety says Chapelle played surprise stand-up sets at two Los Angeles comedy clubs on Wednesday, saying he just flew into the airport and felt like doing an act. (He didn't say whether his arms were tired.) Love's troubles Courtney Love is facing some money woes. The New York Post says managers of the rocker's Manhattan condo have filed a lien for $122,594 for common charges and fees they say she hasn't paid since July.

DAVE CHAPPELLE speaks: "I'm not crazy, I'm not smoking crack," he tells Time magazine. So why did you bolt your show and flee the country? "I'm definitely stressed out," said the comedian, who took off last month to South Africa for a "spiritual retreat," leaving his fans - and even his peeps - wondering where he went. "You hear so many voices jockeying for position in your mind that you want to make sure that you hear your own voice," he said. "So I figured, let me just cut myself off from everybody, take a minute and pull a Flintstone - stop a speeding car by using my bare feet as the brakes.