The Memoir Of Ms. Butterfly

David Adkins (born November 10, 1956), better known by his stage name Sinbad, is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He became known in the 1990s for being featured on his own HBO specials, appearing on several television series such as Coach Walter Oakes in A Different World (1987–1991) and as David Bryan on The Sinbad Show (1993–1994), and starring in the films Necessary Roughness, Houseguest, First Kid, Jingle All the Way, Good Burger, and Planes.

Sinbad was born November 10, 1956, in Benton Harbor, Michigan, the son of Louise and a Baptist minister, Dr. Donald Beckley Adkins Sr. He has five siblings: Donna, Dorothea, Mark, Michael, and Donald Jr., His paternal grandmother was of Irish descent. Sinbad attended Benton Harbor High School and graduated in 1974. He attended college from 1974 to 1978 at the University of Denver in Denver, Colorado, where he lettered two seasons for the basketball team.

Sinbad served in the United States Air Force as a boom operator aboard KC-135 Stratotankers. While assigned to the 384th Air Refueling Wing at McConnell Air Force Base in Wichita, Kansas, he often traveled downtown to perform stand-up comedy. He competed as a comedian/MC in the Air Force’s Talent Contest in 1981. Sinbad was almost dismissed with a dishonorable discharge for misbehavior, including going AWOL. I didn’t make the Air Force basketball team and went into denial. So, I kept going AWOL. My mother kept begging me to go back. I told her, “No, I’m not going back. I’ll just grow a beard. They won’t recognize me. I’ll just be another black man with a beard.” I was going to Georgia Tech to learn about computers. I’d go AWOL all the time. I’d just leave. I’d come back, hoping they’d throw me out. After several incidents, he was eventually discharged “for parking my car in the wrong position.

To stand out in the entertainment industry, Adkins worked under the professional name Sinbad, which he chose out of admiration for Sinbad the Sailor. He began his stand-up comedy career appearing on Star Search. Sinbad won his round against fellow comedian Dennis Miller and made it to the finals before losing to John Kassir.

He soon was cast on The Redd Foxx Show, a short-lived sitcom, playing Byron Lightfoot.

In 1987, Sinbad landed a role in A Different World, a spin-off of The Cosby Show built around Lisa Bonet’s character Denise Huxtable. Previously, Sinbad appeared in a one-off role on The Cosby Show as car salesman Davis Sarrette. While Bonet only stayed with the program for a season, Sinbad remained with the cast from 1988 until 1991 as Coach Walter Oakes. Walter began to fall in love with a girl named Jaleesa Vinson, played by Dawnn Lewis. They dated and eventually became engaged but decided to cancel the wedding due to differing outlooks on life.

The Sinbad Show

By the early 1990s, his popularity had grown enough for Fox to greenlight The Sinbad Show, which premiered on September 16, 1993. In it, Sinbad played 35-year-old David Bryan, a bachelor who becomes a foster parent to two children after becoming emotionally attached to them.

Around that time, Sinbad had received joint custody of his two children: Royce, age 4, and Paige, age 7, and told the press that these experiences informed him of single parenting. Black men are already responsible and care for our duties, but nobody emphasizes that. I hear all this bad talk against men and their children. I just got so tired of it. More than anything else, I’m showing that life has changed, and the world has changed. And now the key is not going to just be parenting; it’s going to be mentoring, where people who are not even in your Family will have to go in and help. And we will accept that responsibility, which we used to do in our culture. The Sinbad Show was canceled, with the last episode airing on April 21, 1994. However, the role earned him a nomination in the 1995 Kids’ Choice Awards for “Favorite Television Actor.

In 1990, Sinbad did his first stand-up comedy special for HBO called Sinbad: Brain Damaged. The special was recorded at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia. In 1993, Sinbad did his following stand-up special in New York City’s Paramount Theater at Madison Square Garden called Sinbad: Afros and Bellbottoms, for which he won a 1995 Image Award. He was brought back in 1996 for Sinbad: Son of a Preacher Man and again in 1997 for Sinbad: Nothin’ but the Funk. All of these shows have been released on VHS and DVD. Sinbad again won an NAACP Image Award in 1998 for his role in Sinbad’s Summer Jam III: ’70s Soul Music Festival. By 1995, Sinbad created “David & Goliath Productions” in Studio City.

From 1989 to 1991, Sinbad hosted Its Showtime at the Apollo and returned in 2005 while regular host Mo’Nique was on maternity leave. He hosted an episode of Soul Train that aired January 14, 1995; appeared as a contestant in an episode of Celebrity Jeopardy! in 1998; and was the emcee for the May 2000 Miss Universe Pageant. During the 1990s, Sinbad guest starred on an episode of Nickelodeon’s All That. In one sketch, he played the father of the recurring character Ishboo, dubbed “Sinboo. He also appeared in the comedy movie Good Burger, starring Kenan & Kel, as “Mr. Wheat,” a short-tempered teacher. His character was modeled after Gough Wheat, a past teacher of the movie’s producer, Dan Schneider, at White Station High School in Memphis, Tennessee. He and Phil Hartman co-starred in the comedy film Houseguest, where he plays Kevin Franklin, a Pittsburgh resident who owes $50,000 to the mob. Hartman, as Gary Young, comments to his children that they are waiting to pick up his old college friend, who is black and has not seen him for twenty years. Taking who they think to be a well-known dentist home, Young’s Family is stabilized by Franklin’s own unstable nature. Released on January 6, 1995, the film grossed $26 million in North America.

Sinbad’s film roles include First Kid, which he starred in, and Jingle All the Way (1996) opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rita Wilson, and the late Phil Hartman. For Jingle All the Way, Sinbad won a Blockbuster Entertainment Award for “Favorite Supporting Actor – Family”; it was also his third and final collaboration with Hartman following the latter’s death in May 1998. He also performed his HBO comedy memorable “Son of a Preacher Man” at the Paramount Theatre in Denver, Colorado.

In March 1996, Sinbad joined First Lady Hillary Clinton and musician Sheryl Crow on a USO tour in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The NAACP Image Awards recognized his role in Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child (1996), nominating him in the “Outstanding Performance in an Animated/Live-Action/Dramatic Youth or Children’s Series/Special” category. In addition, he lent his voice to Riley, an animal character, in Homeward Bound II: Lost in San Francisco (1996), and later voiced the horse “Hollywood Shuffle” in Ready to Run.

In 1997, Sinbad released Sinbad’s Guide to Life: Because I Know Everything, a book of short comedic essays. It was co-written with David Ritz.

In August 1997, Vibe magazine started its syndicated late-night talk show, which aired on UPN, hosted by actor Chris Spencer. Spencer was fired in October and replaced by Sinbad; the series lasted until the summer of 1998. At that same time, Sinbad performed his HBO comedy special “Nothin’ But the Funk” in Aruba’s Guillermo P. Trinidad Memorial Stadium.

In 1998 and 1999, Sinbad reunited with Bill Cosby and Carsey-Werner Productions and appeared in three episodes of Cosby. In February 1999, he was featured in an infomercial for Tae Bo, claiming he successfully used the Tae Bo system to become an action star.

In 2002, he appeared in three episodes of the Showtime series Resurrection Blvd. In 2004, he was named the No. 78 Greatest Stand-Up Comic of All Time on “Comedy Central Presents: 100 Greatest Stand-Ups of All Time”. In 2006, Maxim magazine ranked Sinbad as the “Worst Comic of All Time. In February 2007, actor Mark Curry credited Sinbad and Bill Cosby for helping convince him not to commit suicide. In addition, Sinbad was responsible for discovering R&B trio 702, convincing their parents to let him take them to a music convention/competition under the name “Sweeta than Suga”; the group eventually being heard by music producer Michael Bivins.

Sinbad also made a cameo appearance on the television show It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia as himself in a rehab center in the episode “Dennis Reynolds: An Erotic Life,” originally aired October 23, 2008. His cameo was met with positive acclaim from fans of both him and the series.

Sinbad was the host of Thou Shalt Laugh 3. The DVD was released on November 11, 2008. He performed his Comedy Central television special Where U Been? at Club Nokia, later released on DVD to even more tremendous success. On March 14, 2010, he debuted on Celebrity Apprentice and was fired on the second episode (March 21, 2010) after losing in the Kodak challenge as project manager, placing 13th.

Sinbad starred in a reality show on WE tv called Sinbad: It’s Just Family that aired on Tuesdays at 10:00 p.m.; the show was canceled in 2011.

In 2013, Sinbad voiced Roper in the animated film Planes. The same year he had a guest role on the adult animated series American Dad!, displaying an animated version of himself in the episode “Lost in Space,” then returning for the 2014 episode “The Longest Distance Relationship,” and again in 2015’s “Holy Shit, Jeff’s Back!”

In April 2015, Sinbad appeared in a USO show at Bagram and Kandahar Air Bases in Afghanistan.

In 2017, he appeared on two episodes of Disney Junior’s The Lion Guard as the voice of Uroho, the baboon. The same year, he appeared in a CollegeHumor April Fool’s video consisting of newly created footage supposedly taken from a 1990s genie movie called Shazaam which never existed.

The comedy drew from an Internet rumor confusing Shazaam with the actual genie film titled Kazaam (1996), starring Shaquille O’Neal. The false memories of Shazaam have been explained as a confabulation of memories of the comedian wearing a genie-like costume during a TV presentation of Sinbad the Sailor movies in 1994; in addition, in the 1960s, Hanna-Barbera had an animated series about a genie called Shazzan. In 2018-2019 he starred in the TV show Rel.

Sinbad is also known for his musical abilities, with expertise in playing multiple instruments; drums and percussion are primary, which he most often displays after every show appearance. He has played with numerous artists and musicians under the moniker of “Memphis Red,”; such as Dawnn Lewis and Adult-Urban instrumentalist (saxophonist) Journell Henry “p/k/a. J. Henry”.

Sinbad married Meredith Fuller in 1985. They have two children together. The couple divorced in 1992 but remarried in 2002. In November 2020, his Family announced that Sinbad was recovering from a recent stroke. It’s been two years since comedian and actor Sinbad had a debilitating stroke that left him hooked up to a ventilator and in a medically induced coma. 

While his family said his situation only had a roughly 30% survival rate, today, the 66-year-old is recovering. 

“His progress is nothing short of remarkable,” his family said on a website updating his fans. “Limbs that were said to be ‘dead’ are coming alive, and he’s taking the steps necessary to learn to walk again.

The update came two years after Sinbad had an ischemic stroke after a blood clot traveled from his heart to his brain, his Family said. Then, after an initially “very promising” prognosis, he developed another blood clot the next day. Soon after he had to undergo a second surgery, his brain started to swell, and as doctors attempted to relieve the pressure during a craniotomy, they discovered a brain bleed. 

That’s when he was placed in a medically induced coma and on a ventilator.

“It would be weeks before he would open his eyes, speak, or show signs of basic mobility,” his family said on the website. “It wasn’t long before we realized he couldn’t move his left side or simply hold his head up. The more time passed, the more the Family learned how much had been lost.” 

After months of moving through acute care facilities, Sinbad was admitted to a rehabilitation center in May 2021. Two months later – nine months after his initial stroke – he got to go home. He has improved and recently appeared in an episode of FX’s “Atlanta.” 

The Family is asking for help through the website paying for his treatment, saying that his care costs have exceeded what insurance will cover. 

“Survival odds from this type of event are approximately 30%,” the Family said. “Sinbad has already beaten the odds and has made significant progress beyond what anyone expected, but there are still miles to go.

Several celebrities have highlighted his Family’s website seeking assistance, including actor Marlon Wayans, who said, “This man has given so much to our spirits and our smiles.

“Love you, brother, keep fighting,” he wrote on Instagram, adding to his Instagram story that “legends fall on hard times. So let’s all be a part of the healing.” 

Fellow actor and comedian D.L. Hughley also directed people to donate, saying that Sinbad “is not only a naturally talented, FUNNY brotha, but he’s also a good one too.” 

“This thing of ours, it’s a brotherhood and sisterhood that comes with an unspoken bond,” he wrote on Instagram, resharing the words of actor Chris Spencer. “…Many times, we don’t get a chance to help because it’s too late. … Here is our opportunity to stand up for one of the greatest stand-ups.” 

To raise money for Sinbad’s recovery, his Family worked with toy designer Miguel Wilson and Rad Retro Power to create a limited edition handpainted Sinbad action figure. On Monday, a post on Sinbad’s Instagram said that only 40 sculptures have been made so far and that all proceeds will go toward helping his recovery. 

The action figure was inspired by Sinbad’s ’90s HBO comedy special “Brain Damaged” and features the outfit that Sinbad wore during the routine. 

“His confidence and bold outfits always made a statement,” a description of the figure, which comes with a microphone and towel, says. “This first-ever art piece/action figure captures his iconic look from the special that only a superstar like Sinbad could pull off!” 

Meanwhile, Sinbad and his family continue to fight. 

“In his own words, ‘I am not done. I will not stop fighting until I can walk across the stage again,’” his family said on their website. “And neither will we.

The comedian’s family also stated on the donation website that their hearts were devastated when they realized the recovery would take longer. Saying that they had to go through a challenging phase, the family continued that it would be weeks before the comedian opened his eyes, spoke, or even showed signs of essential mobility. They added that they also realized he could not move his left side or hold his head up. They also said they concluded by stating that he started recovering and returned home in July 2022. They said that he is still receiving therapy and fighting since his limbs were said to be dead, and he is learning to walk again. According to the family, only 30% of people survive such problems.

Sinbad’s insurance has not been able to cover the overall costs of the therapy. The family has launched a donation page for medical expenses to provide the proceeds to the Adkins Trust. This will help the Good Burger star continue his fight.

The family concluded by saying they are grateful for all the outpouring of love the comedian has received. They added that all the memories people shared, and their stories of how he touched their lives have not gone unheard. Sinbad’s family also said these messages have lifted his spirits and inspired them all.

The couple got married in 1985.

Although they were married for seven years, the duo separated in 1992. However, they married again in 2002, and there have been no other reports related to their separation in all these years. While speaking to the Black America Web, the Sesame Street star revealed that Fuller is the secret behind his successful marriage. He said that after their divorce and remarriage, he kept his house for five years because he could go there when he was not feeling well and spend some time alone.

Meredith is active on social media and frequently shares pictures with her husband. She has also shared her best moments with Sinbad and never missed posting a yearly birthday tribute for her husband.

They are the parents of three kids and became grandparents after their son, and daughter-in-law welcomed a baby boy in February 2020. Meredith celebrated the occasion by posting a picture of the baby, followed by another where she was cradling the newborn.

Also known as David Adkins, the comedian gained recognition for appearing on TV shows like A Different World and The Sinbad Show. In addition, he has appeared in films like Necessary Roughness, First Kid, and Planes.

Sinbad Has 2 Kids with Meredith Adkins, His Wife of 18 Years, Who He Married Twice.

Ms. Butterfly Genesis