Make A Rose Out Of Paper

Diceman cometh! Andrew Dice Clay chats with the paper that discovered him

This interview comes with a parental advisory.

OK, now that the kiddies have flipped the page, it’s time to get down to some nasty business: Andrew Dice Clay is about to unload all over you.

Don’t blame us — the raunchy comedian, who filled arenas nationwide for much of the 1980s with an outrageous mix of homophobia, sexism, curse-filled nursery rhymes, misanthropy and preposterous sexual achievements, is back, beginning a “comeback” tour at MCU Park in Coney Island on Oct. 1.

Tickets went on sale last Monday, so we got “The Diceman” on the phone to talk about his early triumphs, his two-decade disappearance, and his revival with a role on “Entourage,” a famously disastrous turn on “The Apprentice” and a new act (which isn’t much different from his old act).

Full disclosure: Clay owes his entire career to The Brooklyn Paper, which discovered then-Andrew Clay Silverman in 1979 . At the time, “Dice” was just a fast-talking wannabe on Court Street.

Still, he impressed our then-editor Laurie Sue Brockway, who wrote the first article on him on March 6, 1979. The rest, of course, is history: Dice and The Brooklyn Paper went on to superstardom.

This week, he chatted with Brockway’s heir, Editor Gersh Kuntzman:

Gersh Kuntzman : First, let’s credit The Brooklyn Paper with making your entire career.

Andrew Dice Clay : You did not make my career, but Laurie was the first person to write me up. It was so exciting to me, a guy working for my dad in his process-serving agency, Royal Process Serving, on Court Street. She wrote the first story and then a bigger story when she saw me a few months later in a Joe Franklin “Gong Show” thing. The winner got to open for Tiny Tim , who was hot then. I won, and that was really my humble beginning.

GK : And then you went on to become a legend — selling out arenas and becoming the only comedian to sellout Madison Square Garden twice.

ADC : That’s not that big a deal. I did more than 300 sold-out arenas. I did the Rose Bowl with Guns and Roses in 1992. That was a wild show.

GK : You were huge. So what happened?

ADC : I went through a bad divorce and felt it was more important to raise my sons. I didn’t care much about my career; I cared more about bringing up two sons with brains and a good outlook. They needed to be guided. It was more important than doing another movie. But I never stopped working. I did the club circuit. My sons are my world to me. If you’re going after a career, you have to be completely focused. That’s how I am now.

Dangerous Kiwi » Blog Archive » How Not to Make a Paper Rose

I found a great starting craft project on a WordPress blog I frequent where they made some beautiful paper roses. I thought that it looked easy enough for me to try and might be fun as well. No special equipment was required and it didn’t seem like too much skill was required either. Plus, I have a cute vase that’s been sitting on my kitchen windowsill for years and I have yet to put anything in it. This looked like the quick craft I needed to fill that empty void.

Now, it is dangerous to assume that something is easy enough for me to try. I am by no means crafty and have little experience even pretending to be crafty. I have great ideas and a lot of confidence in my abilities, but I don’t have the practice that it takes to make this stuff look good.

In addition to my general lack of skills in this arena, I also don’t have much in the way of craft supplies and also am trying to use as much recycled material as possible. This sometimes works out OK, sometimes makes it better than I imagined (ha!) and it always adds to the fun. Let’s take a look at how my paper rose project went.

Materials Suggested by Site:

Materials I had available:

Step 1 - Draw out the shapes you will use for the petals.

This step I got down pretty well. I had some sturdy paper thanks to an ad for George’s Used Car Sale that would be my template and first rose.

Step 2 – Cut out a half circle in the middle. Start with a wider circle and then as the flower gets bigger make it more narrow. Well, now step 2 is interesting because I didn’t actually read it. I often like to skim directions and just get on with it. Now I realize what I should have done and can understand the issues I had with my layers lining up correctly. If you are following these instructions, do not forget step 2.

Step 3 & 4 - Put rubber cement on the edge of the half circle and on one edge. Do this on both sides. Now roll the piece, starting with the side that has the rubber cement. When you get to the end tape it.

Well, I did not have rubber cement, and during my first rose I did not have the spray adhesive or anything else, either. I just threw on some tape and hoped that would do the trick. The petals moved around a lot, but didn’t fall apart. I also decided I’d add some cardboard as a stem so that the roses would sit nicely in the vase. Since I had no glue, the best I could do is to try to tape it in there. The best was not enough.

Good housekeeping

Instructor

The Wild Rose

House & garden

Redbook, the magazine for young adults