Hal Sparks

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Hal Sparks

Sparks at the Nikki Hunter Benefit Party, April 2007
Born Hal Harry Magee Sparks III
September 25, 1969 (1969-09-25) (age 38)
Peaks Mill, Kentucky, U.S.
Spouse(s) James SuicideAKA Samantha Humphrey
Official website

Hal Harry Magee Sparks III (born September 25, 1969) is an American actor, comedian one-time game show host, known for his witty additions to VH1 and the role of Michael Novotny, on the American television series Queer as Folk. His previous claim to fame was hosting E!'s Talk Soup.

Contents

[edit] Career

Sparks was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. In addition to acting, Sparks is also the lead singer and guitarist for a rock band, Zero 1 (previously called The Hal Sparks Band). Members include Robert Hall (Sparks's friend) on bass and Miles Loretta (Sparks's cousin) on drums. Their first album was produced by King's X's frontman Doug Pinnick. His musical experience paid off as a contestant in the first season of Celebrity Duets. He often joins the Los Angeles cover band Metal Skool to sing Skid Row songs.

Sparks is a regular on VH1's I Love… series: VH1's I Love the '70s, I Love the '80s, I Love the '80s Strikes Back, I Love the '80s 3-D, I Love the '90s, I Love the '90s: Part Deux, I Love the Holidays, I Love Toys, and I Love the '70s Volume II.

Sparks was the captain of the Chicago Hitmen team on GSN's Extreme Dodgeball. He has had small roles in a few films, including Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star and Spider Man 2, where he was an elevator passenger with a handful of lines. Hal's first significant role was in the movie Dude, Where's My Car?, as Zoltan, the head of a clan of nerds obsessed with outer space. Sparks' earliest career began when he became the first youngest game show emcee (next to J. D. Roth) to host the short-lived game show, Treasure Mall, in syndication. Hal was one of five celebrities to appear in the first episode of VH1's Celebrity Paranormal Project.

Sparks appeared on all episodes, every season, of Logo/Showtime's mass hit, Queer As Folk, as Michael Novotny.

He appeared as himself in the video "Beat It," the Michael Jackson cover, by Fall Out Boy.

Sparks is currently a contestant on the 2008 VH1 television show Celebracadabra, where the celebrities vie to out-perform each other with magic they have learned from their experienced coaches. Other celebrity contestants competing are Ant, Lisa Ann Walter, Carnie Wilson, Christopher "Kid" Reid, Kimberly Wyatt, and C. Thomas Howell.

Sparks appeared as guest host on American Afternoon on the Air America radio show during the first week in June 2008.

[edit] Zero 1

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Zero1 is a rock music group made up of Hal Sparks, Robert Hall, and Miles Loretta. The band was originally founded under the name “The Hal Sparks Band”.

Robert Hall owns his own Creature/FX company in Hollywood called Almost Human. He was the creator of the creatures for the popular shows Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. He was involved in some prosthetic work on Talk Soup, where he met Hal and became friends. In 2004. he wrote and directed his very own film called Lightning Bug which starred Sparks.

Miles Loretta is the cousin of Hal Sparks and has been playing the drums since he was in the 7th grade. He used to be the drummer in a band called Rosavelt and has drummed for artists such as Tim Easton and Doug Gillard.

The debut, self-titled album by Zero1 was released in December 2006. It is now availible on iTunes and Halsparks.com.

[edit] Television credits

[edit] Filmography

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Preceded by
John Henson		 Host of Talk Soup
1999-2000		 Succeeded by
Aisha Tyler