In elementary school, David excelled at math and reading and was even asked to skip a grade. His mother would not allow that because of his small size. Being as smart as he was, it was somewhat hard for him to make friends. Elementary school kids don't think it's "cool" to be the smartest kid in the class, and David got picked on often.
David moved to Scottsdale, AZ when he was 12 years old. His brother, Andy, helped him become accepted with the in crowd. He concentrated more on hanging out with friends and fitting in than on his grades. David graduated from Saguaro High School and went on to the community college to study business.
David has been through many losses. At age 15, his friend was killed in a car accident. Shortly after that, his stepfather committed suicide. When he got to college, another friend killed himself, and his best friend was killed in an accident.
David learned a unique way of coping with his losses. He turned to comedy. He went to Los Angeles to pursue stand-up. He took a role in Police Academy 4: Citizen's on Patrol. He guest starred in The Facts of Life and Baywatch. In 1990 he signed on as a writer and performer for Saturday Night Live, possibly his best career move.
David also accepted small roles in Light Sleeper as the theological cokehead, Coneheads as an INS Agent, Reality Bites as the hot dog vendor, and PCU. He finally got a big role in 1995 co-starring in Tommy Boy with his good friend Chris Farley. The movie was a hit at the box office, and the duo returned the next year in Black Sheep. David also had two small roles in 1996: the hair stylist in A Very Brady Sequal and a voice part in Bevis and Butthead Do America.
In 1997, David began his Just Shoot Me career. He also played in 8 Heads in a Duffle Bag with Joe Pesci and Kristy Swanson (whom he dated for awhile). The year ended on a bad note with the death of Chris Farley. David had become very good friends with Chris since sharing an office with him the first year at Saturday Night Live. David was so upset that he couldn't bring himself to attend the funeral and mourned in solitude.
1998 brought about the movie Senseless. David also had a voice part in Rugrats the Movie.
The next year David co-starred with Sophie Marceau in Lost and Found. In 2000 he had a small role in Loser as the video store clerk and starred as the voice of Emperor Kuzko in The Emperor's New Groove. He also executive-produced and voiced an animated show called "Sammy" which lasted only two weeks.
This year, David has continued with the fifth season of Just Shoot Me and starred in Joe Dirt.