David Rasche Biography

Fast Facts

• A former English professor at Gustavus Adolphus College in Minnesota who also studied at the University of Chicago Divinity School and worked in a hospital as a late-night clerk before pursuing acting
• Began taking courses at Chicago's Second City improv group at age 26
• Later officially joined the troupe after John Belushi left
• In 1974, was an investor in Victory Gardens Theater in Chicago
• Moved to New York after his stints with Second City and Victory Gardens Theater to further his acting career
• In 1977, co-starred in the Pulitzer Prize-winning Broadway play The Shadow Box
• Was cast as the title role in the ABC sitcom Sledge Hammer! without an audition after show creator Alan Spencer saw his performance in the 1984 film Best Defense
• A friend of playwright David Mamet, and has appeared in several of Mamet's plays