Jack Black
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Jack Black (born Thomas J. Black;[1] August 28, 1969) is an American actor, comedian and musician.
Black and Kyle Gass make up the comedy and rock music duo Tenacious D. The duo has released two albums, Tenacious D, and its follow up, The Pick of Destiny.
Black's acting career began with primetime TV roles, and then with small roles in 1990s films such as Dead Man Walking, The Cable Guy, The Jackal and Enemy of the State.
By the 2000s, he was cast in lead roles in comedy films such as Shallow Hal and School of Rock and in dramas such as King Kong and The Holiday. He is a member of the so-called Frat Pack, a media term for a group of comedians active in Hollywood films. He has been nominated for a Golden Globe award.
Biography
Early life
Black was born in Redondo Beach, California, the son of two satellite engineers, Judith (née Cohen) and Thomas Jack Black, Sr.; his mother worked on the Hubble Space Telescope.[2] Jack Black's mother is Jewish and his father converted to Judaism;[3][4] Black was thus raised Jewish.[5] His parents divorced when he was 10. Jack had a Bull Mastiff and Rottweiler mix named Chico. Chico died of parvovirus soon after Jack's parents divorced. Black moved to Culver City with his father and frequently visited his mother’s home until the end of his first year of college at UCLA when his father’s family moved to Bristol, UK. As a child, Black appeared in an early Atari Pitfall! commercial,[6] which was later shown during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live and again on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
When he entered high school, his parents suggested that he should transfer to the Poseidon School, a private secondary school engineered specifically for students struggling in the traditional school system.[7] Black eagerly accepted the proposition, afraid that he would only be bullied if he remained in public school. He also attended the Crossroads School, where he excelled in drama. Black later attended UCLA but dropped out during his sophomore year to pursue a career in the entertainment business, at which point his father discontinued his financial support. Fellow UCLA veteran Tim Robbins later cast Black in Bob Roberts. He also had recurring roles on the HBO sketch comedy series Mr. Show.
Acting career
Black's acting career began with primetime TV. He played roles on several shows such as: The Golden Palace (Taxi Driver), Life Goes On (skinhead), The X-Files (Bart 'Zero' Liquori), Northern Exposure (Kevin Wilkins, prom king), HBO's Mr. Show and Picket Fences (Curtis Williams). Black later took on small roles in Airborne, Demolition Man, The Cable Guy, Bob Roberts, Mars Attacks!, Waterworld, The Jackal, Bye Bye Love, Jesus' Son, Dead Man Walking, Enemy of the State, and I Still Know What You Did Last Summer. He was cast in the role of Barry, the pretentious co-worker to John Cusack's record store owner in High Fidelity, which garnered him more exposure.
His career soon led to leading roles in films such as Shallow Hal, Orange County, School of Rock, Envy, Be Kind Rewind and King Kong. Black starred in two films in 2006: Nacho Libre, in which he played a Mexican friar following his childhood dream of wrestling and pursuing true victory by fighting for the children of an orphanage, and Tenacious D in: The Pick of Destiny, a fictionalized account of the band's formation and their quest to obtain a "supranatural" guitar pick. Nacho Libre opened on June 16, 2006; Tenacious D: The Pick of Destiny was released November 22, 2006.
He starred alongside Jude Law, Cameron Diaz, and Kate Winslet in The Holiday, in which he played Miles, the love interest of Winslet's character. In 2007, he still occasionally made TV appearances, including the short-lived animated television program Clone High. Black starred in Margot at the Wedding, opposite Jennifer Jason Leigh and Nicole Kidman, released November 16, 2007.
Jack Black has appeared numerous times on the "untelevised TV network" short film festival Channel101, starring in the shows Computerman, Timebelt, and Laserfart. He also provided an introduction for the unaired sketch comedy, Awesometown, donning a Colonial-era military uniform. In the introduction, he claims to be George Washington (and takes credit for the accomplishments of other American Presidents such as Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln) and gives viewers a general idea as to what they should expect from the show. Black has also guest starred in the Adult Swim show Tom Goes to the Mayor as a bear trap store owner.
Black appeared in an un-aired pilot episode for a show directed by Ben Stiller called Heat Vision and Jack where he played an ex-astronaut pursued by actor Ron Silver. He was accompanied by his friend who had merged with a motorcycle, voiced by Owen Wilson. In a Season 3 episode of The X-Files, titled "D.P.O.", Black played Bart 'Zero' Liquori, friend to Darren, a teen who could cause lightning strikes, played by Giovanni Ribisi.
Black hosted the 2006 Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards on April 1, 2006 and hosted it again on March 29, 2008. He also appeared on the MTV video music awards on August 31, 2006. He is also a member of the Frat Pack, which also includes Owen Wilson, Luke Wilson, Ben Stiller, Will Ferrell, Vince Vaughn, and Steve Carell. Jack Black has made five appearances on Saturday Night Live: three times as a host, once as a musical guest (with Kyle Gass as Tenacious D), and another appearance with Tenacious D, not as a host or musical guest. He appeared on VH1's Internet video show Acceptable.TV.[8]
Black has also voice acted for The Simpsons episode "Husbands and Knives", voicing the friendly owner of the rival comic book store, Milo. In 2008, he will be voicing the main character, roadie Eddie Riggs, in the rock-themed action-adventure video game, Brutal Legend. Black also appeared in a Who Wants To Be A Millionaire celebrity edition along with Denis Leary, Jimmy Kimmel and others and walked away with $125,000.
Black stars alongside Mos Def in the film Be Kind Rewind, written and directed by Michel Gondry, and released on February 22, 2008.
Music career
Black first appeared in the music video for Beck's song Sexx Laws. Black is the lead singer for the rock comedy band Tenacious D; he uses a singing style described as being a scat type of music. Black has also performed a two-part scat with bandmate Gass in the song "Tribute".
Tenacious D has released two albums, a self-titled debut, and the follow up, The Pick of Destiny (from which their song "The Metal" went on to be used in music video game Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock). The latter coincides with the movie Tenacious D in: The Pick of Destiny. The film, directed by Tenacious D veteran Liam Lynch, features recurring characters such as Lee the superfan and Sasquatch. Tim Robbins cameos (both Black and Gass appeared in Robbins' 1999 film Cradle Will Rock), as does Dave Grohl as Satan. Ben Stiller also makes an appearance as a worker at Guitar Center, and also another appearance in the music video for Tribute.
Tenacious D recently helped the United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation[9] to raise awareness and funds in San Diego on June 16, 2007. Tenacious D can also be seen performing in the Pauly Shore film Bio-Dome, where the duo are performing at a "Save the Environment" party. Black was also a guest star on an episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show entitled "Ellen the Musical", alongside Broadway star Kristin Chenoweth and teenage singer-actress Olivia Olson. On the show, besides singing, he discussed his then-upcoming film Nacho Libre with the host.
Black has also appeared on Dave Grohl's Probot album, providing vocals for the hidden song "I Am The Warlock", and Liam Lynch's Fake Songs album, providing vocals for the song "Rock and Roll Whore". Black performed a cover of Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On" in the last sequence of High Fidelity. He lent his musical abilities to the Queens of the Stone Age song "Burn the Witch" with rhythmic stomps and claps, some performed with his eyes closed.
Black has appeared in music videos by Beck, "Sexx Laws"; Foo Fighters ( "Learn To Fly", "Low", and "The One"); The Eagles of Death Metal, "I Want You So Hard (Boy's Bad News)"; and Sum 41 ("Things I Want").
Personal life
Black dated actress and comedian Laura Kightlinger from 1997 until 2005. In January 2006, he became engaged to Tanya Haden (daughter of the jazz double bassist Charlie Haden). Haden herself is an accomplished cellist. Both attended Crossroads school, but met again 15 years after graduating, at a friend's birthday party. Black proposed marriage around Christmas 2005 with a $50,000 Neil Lane ring. They married on March 14, 2006, in Big Sur, California.[10] Their son, Samuel Wyatt Black, was born on June 10, 2006 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.[11] In January 2008, Black announced that Haden is currently expecting their second child.[12]
Comedic style
Black's comedic style combines many key elements from both sides of the traditional double act. Black typically begins a skit in which he presents an earnest introduction to a premise or subject that quickly reveals itself to be flawed or fundamentally ludicrous. Black then switches completely to a far-extreme caricature of human emotion.
His would-be bent-man Gass often functions to trigger these outbursts. Tenacious D’s subject matter illustrates this technique. In "Tribute", Tenacious D tells a story in which they claim to have performed "The Greatest Song in the World" for a "Shiny Demon" who would otherwise "EAT THEIR SOULS". In "Inward Singing", Black doesn’t merely discover a new vocal technique, he discovers what he refers to as "the most powerful tool in singing technology since yodeling". Black's skits also use the catchphrase 'more cushion for the pushin', a self-deprecating reference to his abdominal body fat. Black hosted the 2006 Kids' Choice Awards, and returned in the [[2008 Kids' Choice Awards
- ^ According to the State of California. California Birth Index, 1905-1995. Center for Health Statistics, California Department of Health Services, Sacramento, California. At Ancestry.com
- ^ Potton, Ed (2008-02-16). "Jack Black does Hollywood on the cheap in Be Kind Rewind". The Times. Retrieved 2008-02-15.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ http://www.moviecrazed.com/outpast/jackblack.html
- ^ "Interfaithfamily". Retrieved 2007-03-24.
- ^ Murray, Rebecca (2006-11-15). "Kyle Gass and Jack Black Discuss "Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny"". About.com. Retrieved 2006-11-20.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ "1982 Pitfall! Commercial". Retrieved 2007-03-24.
- ^ "Jumpin' Jack Black". The Sidney Sun Herald. 2003-11-03. Retrieved 2006-11-20.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "acceptable.tv". Retrieved 2007-03-24.
- ^ Home - UMDF
- ^ Jack Black Elopes with Tanya Haden - Marriage, Jack Black : People.com
- ^ It's a Boy for Jack Black, Wife - Birth, Jack Black : People.com
- ^ Jack Black to Be a Dad Again - Babies, Jack Black : People.com