One of seven children and the perennial class clown, Adam Sandler didn’t consider comedy a viable career path until his brother encouraged the then 17 year old to perform at a Boston comedy club. He continued performing while attending NYU and after graduation became a regular on MTV’s Remote Control and got his first break in film in “Going Overboard” (1989). Dennis Miller recruited him for “Saturday Night Live” in 1990, but after five years he bailed for the big screen. A string of hits — “Billy Madison,” “Happy Gilmore,” “The Wedding Singer,” “The Water Boy,” “Anger Management,” “50 First Dates” and “Big Daddy” — followed and finally in 2002 with “Punch-Drunk Love,” he proved he was more than juvenile jokes, offensive stunts and silly voices. Since he tackled a sad September 11th story in 2007’s “Reign Over Me,” it has pretty much been all funny business. But his humungous box-office returns as an actor and producer on projects like “Grown Ups” and “Jack and Jill” and iron loyalty to friends like David Spade and Rob Schneider are no laughing matter. The father of two daughters, Sadie and Sunny, and husband of actress Jackie Titone has put out several comedy albums that mix sketches with silly songs like the hit “Chanukah Song.”