It’s not just about film and television for David Spade who will deliver stand-up Friday at FICA

Norm McDonald laughed when asked about working with David Spade during a 2018 interview.

“We joke around a lot, but we get each other and David is hilarious,” McDonald said.

Shortly after the chat, Spade was asked about what McDonald enjoys.

“All Norm cares about is gambling and writing jokes,” Spade said.

Unfortunately, the underappreciated McDonald died in 2021 and so have some other of Spade’s friends from his “Saturday Night Live” days, such as Chris Farley and Phil Hartman. Yet Spade, 59, is still cracking jokes and acting.

Since Spade has starred in a number of films, such as “Tommy Boy,” “Grown Ups” and “Black Sheep,” and television shows, such as “Just Shoot Me!” and “Rules of Engagement,” the belief is that Spade is an inveterate actor. Comedy, however, was always Spade’s first love.

“If you think David is funny onstage, he’s even funnier when you’re just hanging out with him,” McDonald once said.

Spade, who will perform Friday at the First Interstate Center for the Arts, is one of the best self-deprecating humorists.

While Spade performs with an edge, his skill set is to know where the line is and to cross it but not to go too far.

Such comics as Dave Chappelle and Ricky Gervais received heat for transgender jokes. While Spade did tell a joke about Caitlyn Jenner in 2022, it was an innocuous bit.

It was evident that Spade was a gifted comic when he made his first special for HBO, “Take the Hit,” in 1998. Spade proved he was unlike many of his peers, who used stand-up as a vehicle for a sitcom.

Spade proved to be a capable comic-actor, but his bits are typically more interesting than the dialogue he delivers in film and television. Spade is an underrated stand-up, but he’s appreciated by his longtime pals.

“David’s a great guy,” comic-actor Rob Schneider said in 2015. “He’s just like all of us. We just love making fun of each other when we get together.”

It worked in the film “Grown Ups” and “Grown Ups 2,” which featured Spade, Schneider, Adam Sandler, Chris Rock and Kevin James.

“It’s great having friends like these guys,” Spade said, “and even better when you’re able to have a career where you work with your closest pals.”