Sinbad

Born in Benton Harbor, Mich., David Adkins was a member of his high school marching band and math club before attending University of Denver in Colorado, where he played on the basketball team for two seasons. He went on to serve in the Air Force as a boom operator. Adkins seemed like a normal straight-laced American. But while stationed in Wichita, Kan., he would go downtown and do stand-up comedy. Adkins even competed as a comedian/MC in the USAF Talent Contest in 1981. He was almost discharged for going AWOL, and was eventually let go for parking his car in the wrong position. From there, Adkins adopted the name Sinbad and began his comedy career scoring roles in A Different World, Necessary Roughness, Houseguest, Good Burger and Jungle All the Way. He even landed his own television series The Sinbad Show. Sinbad makes his way to the Ontario Improv for a four-day stint this week.

Sinbad at Ontario Improv, 4555 Mills Circle, Ontario, (909) 484-5411; www.improv.com/comedyclub/ontario. Thurs-Sun, June 7-10. $25.