Pop Culture | 90s | Celebrities | Movies
He Made Us All Laugh In The 90s, But Where Is Sinbad Now?
Some people stand out because they are incredibly popular, others because of a memorable role, but there are some people are memorable simply because they have a bizarre enough name that it just sticks with you. Sinbad is one of those people.
The comedian and actor known as Sinabd was incredibly popular for a good chunk of the 90s, but he has seemed to have vanished completely. Where did he end up after stepping out of the spotlight?
Sinbad's real name is actually David Adkins. Doesn't really have the same appeal as Sinbad now does it? He was raised in Michigan by his Baptist Reverend father, Dr. Donald Beckley Adkins, and his mom Louise Adkins, along with his five siblings, Donna, Dorothea, Mark, Michael, and Donald.
Sinbad actually served in the United States Air Force when he was young, and worked as a boom operator. However, he was never really committed to the job. "I didn't make the Air Force basketball team and went into denial. So, I kept going AWOL," he said of his experience. "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." He did eventually get dismissed, apparently "for parking [his] car in the wrong position."
He got his start in show business by appearing on the show Star Search, where he decided to use the name Sinbad as a tribute to the fictional sailor. He won his round of the show which led to him getting cast in a short-lived sitcom.
He was then lucky enough to land a role on A Different World, the spin-off of The Cosby Show. He stayed on the show even after their star, Lisa Bonet, left and continued portraying Coach Walter Oakes until 1991.
After the show ended, he continued in television, but this time he was the star. It was called The Sinbad Show and he played a man who becomes a foster parent to two children. The show actually featured Salma Hayak and received praise from the critics.
Over the years he appeared in a few feature films, including the Christmas classic Jingle All The Way, and the cult hit Good Burger. But after this, everything seemed to have taken a turn for the worst.
Sinbad may have been a huge star in the 90s, but now he is struggling. His roles have slowed down significantly in the last decade, and while he still books jobs, a lot of them are voice acting in small roles, so it doesn't pay as much as he used to get.
The actor ran into some issues with the government after failing to pay his taxes for many years. That's not the only debt he's in either. He has actually claimed bankruptcy twice to try and clear his debt.
He is said to have had approximately $11 million worth of debt in 2013, $8 million of which was due in back taxes. He claims that he only has $131,000 worth of assets and cannot pay the $10,991,715 bill he has. The actor filed for his second bankruptcy in 2013, hoping that it would help alleviate some of the pressure.
He owed American Express over $300,000, Bank of America over $30,000 and all on top of the millions in back taxes. He says he brings in $16,000 a month and has listed his mansion for sale to try and pay back some of the money.
Even though he landed himself in financial struggles, when speaking with Oprah he claimed he wouldn't change a thing. “I didn’t buy Bentleys. I didn’t live large. I invested in me. I invested in a lot of other people. I would not change it; I would not go back,” he said. "It’s never over. There’s no one defining moment that kills you or makes you."
Since filing for bankruptcy in 2013, he has slowed down significantly in his work. He's only appeared in a handful of things, mostly as a voice actor only. However, he has been doing more stand-up acts lately, to try and make his way back into the mainstream.
He did recently make a video with a website to finally create the movie Shazaam that everyone thinks he starred in (even though the movie doesn't exist). People claim it came out at the same time as Kazaam with Shaq, but obviously that wasn't true. At least now it's sort of real!