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Hal Sparks

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Hal Sparks
Sparks in 2016
Birth nameHal Harry Magee Sparks III [1]
Born (1969-09-25) September 25, 1969 (age 55)[2]
Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.
MediumStand-up, television, film
Years active1987–present
GenresSketch comedy, observational comedy, clean comedy
Children1
WebsiteOfficial website

Hal Harry Magee Sparks III (born September 25, 1969)[3] is an American stand-up comedian, actor, musician, political commentator, television and radio host and television personality. He made contributions to VH1, hosting E!'s Talk Soup, and played the roles of Michael Novotny on the American television series Queer as Folk, Donald Davenport in Lab Rats and the voice of Tak in Tak and the Power of Juju television series and video games.

Early life

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Sparks was born on September 25, 1969, in Cincinnati, Ohio, but grew up in Peaks Mill, Kentucky.[4]

Sparks played Dungeons & Dragons every Sunday with a group of friends at the local library in Frankfort. At the age of 11, he became a "de facto dungeon master" because none of his friends wanted to do the reading required to be a dungeon master.[4]

When he was 14 years old, he moved to the Chicago area and enrolled at New Trier High School in Winnetka, Illinois, where he entered the theater department. Despite some initial opposition by his father, by 15 he began performing standup comedy and by 17 he won the title of "Chicago's Funniest Teenager" from a stand-up contest sponsored the Chicago Sun-Times.[5][6]

Career

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Film

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His first breakout role in a mainstream movie was in Dude, Where's My Car? (2000), as Zoltan, the bubble-wrapped leader of a clan of nerds obsessed with outer space. In a 2009 interview with We Are Movie Geeks, he confirmed he created the hand gesture in a "Z" formation.[7] The "Z" hand gesture became the celebratory sign of choice among the members and fans of baseball's Pittsburgh Pirates, of whom Sparks is a fan, starting in 2012.[8] On July 25, 2012, he threw out the first pitch during a Pirates/Cubs series at PNC Park.

Sparks has appeared in other films, including Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star and Spider-Man 2, where he had a cameo as the elevator passenger who enjoys an awkward moment with Spider-Man. He also appeared in the opening scene of the 2009 Mike Judge film Extract, as one of the guitar salesmen scammed out of a guitar by the con-woman played by Mila Kunis.

In 2004, he starred as Deputy Dale in the independently produced Lightning Bug, which was written and directed by Robert Hall, who was an original bandmate in Hal's hard rock band Zero 1.

Television

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Sparks in 2009

Sparks had his screen debut on the television movie Frog, starring Shelley Duvall, Elliott Gould, and Scott Grimes in 1987. Upon graduation, Sparks moved to Los Angeles and ten years later he was hired to host Talk Soup in 1999. He appeared as himself in the video "Beat It," the Michael Jackson cover, by Fall Out Boy, and voiced a cameo on Robot Chicken.

Sparks had made appearances on various television programs from as early as 1994, when he played a long-haired skateboarder on the fourteenth episode of the first season of Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. In 1995, he appeared in the "Gentle Horse" episode of Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman. From 2000 through 2006, he appeared in Martial Law, Frasier, One on One, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, and Las Vegas.

He went on to independently produce his first standup comedy DVD Escape from Halcatraz in 2008. Sparks is a regular guest on CNN's Your $$$$$, The Joy Behar Show and The View when he is not hosting his own weekly progressive radio show.[9] He has also participated in the Progressive Voices Cruise in 2009 and 2010.[citation needed]

Sparks had a leading role on the breakthrough Showtime television series, Queer as Folk, where he played Michael Novotny, a gay man living in Pittsburgh with his queer friends.[10] The show is an American adaptation of the UK series of the same name written by Russell T Davies.[11] In 2007, Sparks became the voice of the lead character in the animated series for children, Tak & the Power of Juju for Nickelodeon (replacing Jason Marsden), which ran for twelve episodes between 2007 and 2008.

Sparks played Nelson Burkhard in the second season of Fuller House (replacing Jason Marsden).[12] He portrayed Donald Davenport in Lab Rats.[13][14] In early 2012, the Lab Rats premiere received the highest ratings for original series for the network.[15] Sparks continued portraying Davenport in the spin-off Lab Rats: Elite Force. He provided the voice of the computer named "Mr. Q" on the U.S. television adaptation of 20Q, which aired on the Game Show Network (GSN) in 2009.

Reality series and hosting

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Sparks became the United States' youngest game show emcee in 1988 when he hosted the short-lived, syndicated game show Treasure Mall. He also participated on GSN's Extreme Dodgeball as captain of the Chicago Hitmen team.

In 2006, Sparks competed for the charity Habitat for Humanity on the Fox celebrity competition Celebrity Duets. He performed with such musical legends as Smokey Robinson, Gladys Knight, Wynonna Judd, Dennis DeYoung, Dee Snider and Sebastian Bach. He made it to the finale along with Lucy Lawless and Alfonso Ribeiro, and came in third in the series.

In 2007, Sparks was cast as the host for the WB reality series Survival of the Richest, where wealthy young adults were paired with those young adults with massive debts to complete challenges together and work as a team. Also in 2007, Sparks joined Roseanne to judge Nick at Night's search for America's Funniest Mom.[16]

Sparks was a contestant on the 2008 VH1 celeb-reality series Celebracadabra, where the celebrities vie to out-perform each other with magic they have learned from their experienced coaches. Other celebrity contestants competing included Ant, Lisa Ann Walter, Carnie Wilson, Christopher "Kid" Reid, Kimberly Wyatt, and C. Thomas Howell. Howell was the winner, with Sparks taking second place.

In 2009, Sparks recorded his first Showtime comedy special Charmageddon in front of a standing-room-only crowd at the OC Pavilion in Santa Ana, California. The special aired in 2010, and was released on DVD.

In 2019, Sparks appeared in the premiere episode of Famously Afraid on the Travel Channel, a series in which celebrities tell of their personal unusual encounters, to describe his experience with alien abduction.[17]

VH1 appearances

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Sparks was one of five celebrities to appear in the first episode of VH1's Celebrity Paranormal Project. He has also been a regular commentator on several VH1 series, including the following:

Other ventures

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Radio

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Sparks appears as a regular guest and fill-in host on the national Stephanie Miller Radio Show, providing three hours of commentary and humor on Wednesday mornings. The program is known as "Hump Days with Hal", and is broadcast weekly from his U-stream channel. Sparks also appeared as guest host for Norman Goldman's former Los Angeles-based show.[18] Sparks broadcast hosting was also made available through Goldman's "Beyond the Norm" segments.

He continued this free "behind the scenes" Ustream show. In June 2010 he got his own radio program on WCPT (AM) as host of The Hal Sparks Radio Program (megaworldwide), which broadcasts between 11am and 1pm CST each Saturday.[19][20]

Music

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Sparks in 2007

In addition to acting, Sparks is also the lead singer and guitarist for a rock band, ZERO 1 (previously called The Hal Sparks Band). At the start, the band consisted of Sparks, his friend Rob Hall on bass and Sparks' cousin Miles Loretta on drums. Their self-titled debut album was released in December 2006 and produced by King's X's frontman DUg Pinnick. The album is available through iTunes and on Sparks' official website.

In 2007, both Sparks and Loretta from Zero 1 participated on Doug's solo project Strum Sum Up.[21]

The band now has a new lineup consisting of Sparks (lead vocals and guitar), Brian Crow (guitar and backup vocals), Bumper Renga (bass and backup vocals) and Lance Tamanaha (drums and backup vocals). They signed with the record label "rocket science" and have a new album on the way called The sacred nothing. Also expected to debut is the band's first video for the single "American Psycho," which was directed by Adrienne Wanyo and filmed on location at the Houdini Mansion.[22][needs update]

Sparks was a contestant in the first season of Celebrity Duets. He often joins the Los Angeles cover band Steel Panther to sing classic 1980s metal tunes, such as the Skid Row hit "Youth Gone Wild".[23]

Stand-up

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In 2011 he joined Stephanie Miller and John Fugelsang for the successful Sexy Liberal Comedy Tour in various cities across the country. This tour topped more than a million dollars in ticket sales while raising money for local progressive causes.[24] In 2012, Sparks and Fugelsang began the "Politics, Sex and Religion Tour."[25]

Personal life

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Sparks is an activist who regularly participates in charitable events for organizations like AIDS Walk, Farm Sanctuary, the Lilli Claire Foundation, Imagine a Cure and the Marijuana Policy Project. He is straight edge and claims to never have drank, smoked or used recreational drugs.[26]

While at Los Angeles International Airport in 2010, Sparks and an airline passenger used CPR on an unconscious, elderly man who had collapsed in the airport terminal.[27]

In May 2011, Sparks announced he would become a father during a Ustream show on Father's Day.[28] He debuted his son Camden Harrison Sparks at the 2011 AIDS Walk in Los Angeles.[29]

Sparks has studied martial arts since the age of 8 years old and holds belts in Karate, Tae Kwon Do, and several forms of Kung Fu including Wushu.[30]

In 2012, the Pittsburgh Pirates began using the iconic "Zoltan" hand gesture from Dude, Where's My Car? as a good luck symbol to turn around a 19-season losing streak. After a Twitter campaign to encourage the "real Zoltan" to appear at a game, Sparks flew to Pittsburgh on July 25, 2012, to throw out the honorary first pitch, and was on hand to see the Pirates win 3–2 over his hometown team, the Chicago Cubs.[31] Despite picking up a cult following in Pittsburgh[32] and helping the team contend in the playoff race well into September, the Pirates finished with a 79–83 record, extending their major North American professional sports record to 20 consecutive losing seasons.

Sparks is a Freemason, having been initiated on November 6, 2016, at Los Angeles Lodge No 42 F. & A. M.[33][34]

He lives in Chinatown, Los Angeles.[35] He also does a political commentary talk show on the Chicago radio station WCPT 820 AM on Saturdays, which is uploaded on his YouTube channel. He also has a Twitch account.[36]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
1989 Chopper Chicks in Zombietown Lance
1996 Invader Fort Irwin Defense Command Voice
1999 Lost & Found DJ
2000 Dude, Where's My Car? Zoltan – Cult Leader
2001 Dr. Dolittle 2 School Fish #1 Voice
2003 Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star Publisher
2004 Lightning Bug Deputy Dale
2004 Spider-Man 2 Elevator Passenger Cameo
2006 Denial Executive Producer
2007 The House That Jack Built Dominic
2008 Dead Space: Downfall Ramirez Voice
2009 Extract Guitar Salesman #1
2011 Slip Away Seth Short film
2015 The A-List Brad

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
1987 Frog Jim Television film
1988 Treasure Mall Himself Game Show
1994 Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Skateboarder Episode: "Witness"
1995 Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman Gentle Horse Episode: "Indian Agent"
1995 Signs and Wonders Rocker 2 Unknown episode
1995, 1996 Night Stand Father Chip Episodes: "Follow-Up Show", "Confessions"
1998 Cheap Theatrix
1999–2000 Talk Soup Host
2000 Martial Law Ellroy Nelson Episode: "No Fare"
2000–2005 Queer as Folk Michael Novotny 5 seasons
2001, 2002 Rendez-View Guest Host Episodes: "She Loves Him, Loves Him Not", "Belgian Boy Toy"
2002 One on One Danny Davis Jr. Episodes: "Unemployment Up, Pride Down", "I Believe I Can Fly: Part 2"
2002 Bleacher Bums Richie Television film
2003 Frasier Receptionist Episode: "Door Jam"
2004 Extreme Dodgeball Player for Chicago Hitmen
2005 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Digger James Episode: "Dog Eat Dog"
2005 Video Game Vixens Host
2006 Las Vegas Doctor Paul Episode: "Cash Springs Eternal"
2006 Survival of the Richest Host
2006 Robot Chicken Himself/Ben Stiller
2006 Celebrity Duets Contestant, Third Runner Up
2006 Celebrity Paranormal Project Episode: "Waverly Hills Sanatorium"
2007–2009 Tak and the Power of Juju Tak, Really, Really Revolting Juju Voice role; 26 episodes
2007 America's Funniest Mom 3 Himself/Judge
2008 Rock Band 2: The Stars Guest Star
2008 Celebracadabra Himself, First Runner Up Reality Show
2009 20Q Co-Host, Voice of Mr. Q the Computer
2009 2009 Game Show Awards Mr. Q Voice role
2010 The Tester Judge in Sony PlayStation Series
2010 Web Soup Himself Special Guest Appearance with Chris Hardwick
2010 Hal Sparks: Charmageddon Himself Stand-up special
2012–2016 Lab Rats Donald Davenport Main role
2016 Lab Rats: Elite Force Donald Davenport Recurring role
2016 Fuller House Nelson Burkhard
2018 Grey's Anatomy Dr. Scott Hanson Season 14 Episode 18
2019 Famously Afraid Himself Reality show, Season 1 Episode 1

Video games

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Year Title Role Notes
2007 Nicktoons: Attack of the Toybots Tak Voice role
2008 SpongeBob SquarePants featuring Nicktoons: Globs of Doom
Tak and the Guardians of Gross

Music videos

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Year Title Artist Role Notes
2008 "Beat It" Fall Out Boy Himself
2013 "Party Like Tomorrow Is the End of the World" Steel Panther

Discography

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  • Charmageddon (2010)
  • Wreckcreation (2018)

References

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  1. ^ "Hal Sparks, from 'Queer As Folk' to real-life role as comedian, straight ally". LGBTQ Nation. August 26, 2012.
  2. ^ "Hal Sparks on Instagram: "This is my starting point for my fitness goals for the year. Im planning on adding about 5/10lbs of muscle over the next year. This is where I am on my 49th Birthday. By 50 I want to achieve my best physique ever. I'm making this goal public to pressure me to work hard and commit. And of course all the hate comments..those are hilarious 😂"".
  3. ^ @HalSparks (September 25, 2019). "I launched #Project50 one year ago..." (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  4. ^ a b Starter Kit - D&D Edition | Episode 1: You Meet at the Inn. Geek & Sundry. August 7, 2019. Retrieved August 7, 2019. Well I grew up in a place called Peaks Mill, Kentucky. And at the Tom Sawyer Library, we would have Dungeons and Dragons every Sunday. I became the kind of defacto Dungeon Master when I was 11, and then 12 years old, because I was the only one who wanted to do the reading.
  5. ^ "Bio". halsparks.com.
  6. ^ "NBC DFW: Stand-Up Sit-Down: Hal Sparks". NBC DFW. July 8, 2010. Retrieved February 5, 2016.
  7. ^ "WAMG Interview with Hal Sparks". wearemoviegeeks.com. February 28, 2009.
  8. ^ Starkey, Joe (July 26, 2012). "No Dempster dive for Pirates". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
  9. ^ "Hal Sparks Tackles Politics, Civil Rights, Radio, and... Disney?". Edge New York City. April 19, 2011.
  10. ^ "Interview With Cast of "Queer as Folk"". CNN. April 24, 2002. Retrieved August 18, 2024.
  11. ^ Wallace, Lindsay Lee (June 16, 2022). "How Queer as Folk Became the Defining Gay TV Show of a Generation—Twice". TIME. Time Magazine. Retrieved August 18, 2024.
  12. ^ Swift, Andy (September 15, 2016). "Fuller House Recast: Hal Sparks to Play D.J.'s Ex-Boyfriend Nelson in Season 2". TVLine. Archived from the original on October 25, 2021. Retrieved September 16, 2016.
  13. ^ "Hal Sparks Tapped for Disney XD Pilot 'Lab Rats'". Levity Management. April 2011. Archived from the original on October 6, 2011.
  14. ^ Weisman, Jon (July 12, 2011). "Disney XD experiments with 'Lab Rats'". Variety.
  15. ^ "Disney XD's Top-Rated Series 'Lab Rats' Renewed for Second Season". Deadline Hollywood. May 18, 2012.
  16. ^ "Hal Sparks". Comedy Off Broadway. Archived from the original on March 4, 2011.
  17. ^ "Season 1, Episode 1: Howie Mandel, Hal Sparks and Chloe Lukasiak". Travel Channel. Retrieved February 18, 2020.
  18. ^ The Norman Goldman Show - Where Justice is Served, normangoldman.com
  19. ^ "Hal Sparks Live". Ustream.
  20. ^ "Hal Sparks - The Hal Sparks Show". chicagosprogressivetalk.com. Archived from the original on April 29, 2011. Retrieved May 4, 2011.
  21. ^ "Dug Pinnick Strum Sum Up". Magna Cart Records.
  22. ^ "American Psycho Sneak Peek". October 24, 2010. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021 – via YouTube.
  23. ^ "HAL SPARKS sings Youth Gone Wild w/ METAL SKOOL". February 8, 2007. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021 – via YouTube.
  24. ^ "Can a comedy tour be 'sexy and liberal?'". Los Angeles Times. October 22, 2011.
  25. ^ Langum, Frances (June 24, 2012). "A Conversation With Hal Sparks". Crooks and Liars. Retrieved May 6, 2018.
  26. ^ "CNN: Comedian Hal Sparks: Legalize pot" (video). YouTube (verified account). CNN. June 9, 2011. Event occurs at 1:32. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved March 19, 2018.
  27. ^ "Township woman helps comedian save man at LAX". Dayton Daily News. August 19, 2010.
  28. ^ "HalSparksLive Ustream: Humpdays With Hal". Retrieved June 22, 2011 – via Ustream.
  29. ^ ""Queer as Folk" alum Hal Sparks is a dad!". greginhollywood.com.
  30. ^ Lab Rats - Hal Sparks Interview. March 13, 2012. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021 – via YouTube.
  31. ^ Majors, Dan (July 26, 2012). "Actor who played Zoltan on hand for Pirates win". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
  32. ^ Majors, Dan (July 4, 2012). "The Pirates believe in the power of Zoltan". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
  33. ^ "Welcome, Bro. Sparks". Los Angeles Lodge No. 42, Free and Accepted Masons of California. Retrieved April 5, 2017.
  34. ^ "Hal Sparks". Archived from the original on February 26, 2022. Retrieved April 5, 2017 – via Facebook.
  35. ^ Hofmann, Michelle (April 21, 2017). "My Favorite Room: Hal Sparks converses with his 'punk feng shui' living space". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 26, 2017.
  36. ^ "Hal Sparks Radio Program Mega-Worldwide". WCPT 820. Retrieved September 26, 2017.
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