Hal Sparks facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Hal Sparks
Sparks in 2016
Birth name	Hal Harry Magee Sparks III
Born	(1969-09-25) September 25, 1969 (age 55) Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.
Medium	Stand-up, television, film
Genres	Sketch comedy, observational comedy, clean comedy
Children	1

Hal Harry Magee Sparks III (born September 25, 1969) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, musician, and television host. He is known for his roles as Michael Novotny on the TV series Queer as Folk and as the inventor Donald Davenport in the Disney XD series Lab Rats. He also voiced the main character in the cartoon Tak and the Power of Juju.

Early Life and Starting Comedy

Hal Sparks was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, but he grew up in a small town called Peaks Mill, Kentucky. As a kid, he loved playing the game Dungeons & Dragons with his friends at the local library. By age 11, he was the "dungeon master" for his group because he was willing to do all the reading needed to lead the game.

When he was 14, his family moved to the Chicago area. He joined the theater department at his high school. At just 15 years old, he started performing stand-up comedy. By the time he was 17, he won a contest called "Chicago's Funniest Teenager," which was sponsored by the Chicago Sun-Times newspaper.

Career in Movies and Television

Film Roles

One of Sparks's most famous movie roles was in Dude, Where's My Car? (2000). He played Zoltan, the leader of a group of nerds who were obsessed with outer space. Sparks actually invented the "Z" hand gesture his character uses in the movie. This hand sign became very popular with fans of the Pittsburgh Pirates baseball team starting in 2012.

Sparks has also appeared in other movies. He had a funny cameo in Spider-Man 2 as a man in an elevator with Spider-Man. He also had a small role in the movie Extract. In 2004, he starred as Deputy Dale in the movie Lightning Bug.

Television Appearances

Sparks in 2009

Sparks started his TV career in 1987 in a movie called Frog. After high school, he moved to Los Angeles. In 1999, he became the host of the show Talk Soup.

From 2000 to 2005, he played Michael Novotny in the Showtime series Queer as Folk. The show was about a group of friends living in Pittsburgh.

For younger audiences, Sparks is best known as Donald Davenport in the Disney XD series Lab Rats and its spin-off, Lab Rats: Elite Force. He also voiced the main character, Tak, in the Nickelodeon cartoon Tak & the Power of Juju. He later appeared as Nelson Burkhard in the series Fuller House.

Hosting and Reality Shows

Sparks has hosted several shows. In 1988, he became one of the youngest game show hosts in the U.S. with the show Treasure Mall. He also competed on reality shows like Celebrity Duets, where he sang with famous musicians like Smokey Robinson and Gladys Knight. He finished in third place. In 2008, he was a contestant on Celebracadabra, a show where celebrities learned to perform magic tricks. He came in second place.

VH1 Shows

Sparks was a regular commentator on many VH1 shows where comedians and celebrities talk about pop culture from different decades. Some of the shows he appeared on include:

• I Love the '70s
• I Love the '80s
• I Love the '90s
• I Love the New Millennium

Other Projects

Music

Sparks in 2007

Besides acting, Sparks is the lead singer and guitarist for the rock band ZERO 1. The band released its first album in 2006. The band later changed its lineup and worked on a new album called The sacred nothing. They also filmed a music video for their single "American P...". Sparks sometimes performs with the cover band Steel Panther, singing classic 1980s rock songs.

Stand-Up Comedy

Sparks has continued to perform stand-up comedy throughout his career. In 2010, he had his own comedy special on Showtime called Charmageddon. In 2011, he joined the ... Liberal Comedy Tour, which traveled across the country raising money for different causes.

Personal Life

Sparks is an activist who supports charities like AIDS Walk and Farm Sanctuary. He has studied martial arts since he was eight years old and has belts in Karate, Tae Kwon Do, and several styles of Kung Fu.

In 2010, Sparks helped save a man's life at an airport. He and another person performed CPR on an elderly man who had collapsed. In 2011, he announced that he was going to be a father, and his son Camden was born later that year.

Because of his role as Zoltan, Sparks became a good luck charm for the Pittsburgh Pirates baseball team. On July 25, 2012, he was invited to a game to throw the first pitch. The Pirates won that day against his hometown team, the Chicago Cubs.

Sparks is also a Freemason and hosts a political commentary show on a Chicago radio station. He is active online and has both a YouTube channel and a Twitch account.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Music videos

Discography

• Charmageddon (2010)
• Wreckcreation (2018)

See also

In Spanish: Hal Sparks para niños