By Ruth Longoria

When the phone rings at Dave Chappelle’s Island home, the 47-year-old homebuilder is never sure if the call is really for him. Sometimes callers are looking for another Dave Chappelle, whom an Internet Web site once (mistakenly) said lived on Mercer island. That Dave Chappelle is slightly more prosperous, famous, and even — the Island Chappelle admits — a bit funnier.

Chappelle, who has lived most of his life in Mercer Island, has made a name for himself in the business world — though in the past few years his name has been bantered about in comedy clubs, television, and movies, as he shares the moniker with the oft-times off-color, Comedy Central comedian, 32-year-old Dave Chappelle.

“It’s kind of funny to find somebody famous with your name — and it’s even spelled right,” the Mercer Island Chappelle said with a laugh.

But beyond the name they share, there is nothing else that the two men have in common.

“It gets aggravating sometimes because I can’t use a credit card without somebody commenting on the name, but for the most part I don’t mind,” Mercer Island’s Chappelle said.

Dave Chappelle, the Islander, was born in 1958 in Berkeley, Calif. He moved to the Island in 1962 with his parents, Dick and Virginia Chappelle, sister Sue, and brothers Mike and Kent.

Chappelle married his high school sweetheart, Betsy Donahue. The couple both graduated from Mercer Island High School in 1976 and married in 1978. They have five children, Amelia, 25, a graduate student at New York’s Sarah Lawrence College; Jonathan, 21, a student at Western State of Colorado; and Jesse, 18, 15-year-old twin sons Patrick and Christopher, are all students at the high school.

Island Chappelle studied industrial design and business at Peninsula College, in Port Angeles, and at Western Washington University, in Bellingham, before starting his own business, Chappelle Construction in 1984. Chappelle continues to work as owner and builder for the company, which changed its name to Chappelle Homes, LLC, last year. He has built 38 homes, most of which were built on the Island.

Chappelle has been on the Island’s Planning Commission since 2003. He also is on the city’s Building Board of Appeals, although that board is seldom used and hasn’t met in six years because, Chappelle said, it is a conflict resolution board and there are seldom builder conflicts to resolve. “The city does a good job of resolving issues before they get to the board,” he said.

Without a doubt, the Island Chappelle’s life runs a more serious course than his in-name-only double.

“I’ve never really watched more than five minutes of his TV show — it’s not really my taste — and we’re not much alike,” he added. “I’m light-hearted, but I’m not a comedian.”