People in the news.

The recent passing of "Super Freak" singer Rick James brought sadness to all lovers of funky pop music and hard-living pop stars. The only upside is that comedian Dave Chappelle _ fresh from appearing at the MTV Video Music Awards show in Miami _ might finally be set free of his pesky catchphrase, "I'm Rick James, b----!"

This monster of Dave's own creation _ made popular in "Chappelle's Show" sketches _ has gotten out of hand. He can't even do stand-up anymore without hecklers disruptively shouting the phrase.

"I had a feeling it was going to be successful," Chappelle tells TV Guide Online. "I wasn't prepared for how successful it was. It kind of took on a life of its own until it became what it is. And now, I can't go anywhere without hearing it. What have I done?"

Chappelle's done what the contestants on "Last Comic Standing" dream of. He's ascended from obscure stand-up gigs to failed sitcom pilots to, at long last, a hit that landed him on the comedy A-list. This month, Chappelle inked a $50 million deal with Comedy Central to continue hosting "Chappelle's Show" for two more seasons. You can hear him joke about his rise in his Showtime comedy special airing Saturday.

"`Chappelle's Show' was a do-or-die type move," he says. "I mean, I've been through the wringer on 10 or 11 pilots for network television. I've seen every dirty trick. I'm not a corporate dude. Cable was kind of the remedy. It was the only thing I never tried! And just for the record, I used to tell people I'm doing a show on Comedy Central and they'd look at me like they felt sorry for me."

Guess Dave got the last laugh.

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