Comedian Hal Sparks’ act to headline on Thursday at Harrah’s

Actor, comedian, producer and rock star, Hal Sparks is a jack-of-all-trades, and Maricopans will get the chance to hear the mega star’s stand-up act Thursday at Harrah’s Ak-Chin Casino Resort in the Comedy Spot Satellite Room.

Sparks started his comedian career at the age of 16 as a member of the Second City Troupe.

The Second City Troupe is a world renowned comedy theater that has launched the careers of such comic greats as John Belushi, Mike Myers, Bill Murray and Gilda Radner.

By the time he was 17, the Chicago Sun Times had crowned Sparks as the funniest teenager in Chicago.

“I knew I wanted to be a comedian since I was 8, but until the age of 16 I didn’t think it was something I could actually get paid for,” Sparks said.

After achieving success in Chicago, Sparks said he decided to move his gig to Los Angeles in the late ’80s.

“If you want to go anywhere in the industry L.A. is the place to be,” Sparks said.

While there, he would perform at many comedy clubs including high-profile stages such as The Comedy Store, The Laugh Factory and The Ice House.

The success he found in L.A. led to a brief stint on the E series “Talk Soup.”

“I worked there for a year before being fired,” Sparks said.

Sparks said he was fired because the writers didn’t see eye to eye with him on what was funny, however that team of writers was fired six months later and hasn’t worked in the industry since.

“Everyone needs to be fired once by a group of (expletives). It is required to earn your dues in Hollywood,” Sparks said.

The firing turned out to be a blessing.

If he hadn’t been fired, he never would have had the opportunity to star in the hit Showtime series “Queer as Folk.”

In the six-season series Sparks played in-the closet character Michael Novotny.

“My character was a very naive and good natured man,” Sparks said.

Since then, Sparks has appeared regularly in the VH1 series “I love the ’80s” and is currently providing his voice as Tak for the Nickelodeon show “Tak and the Power of Juju”.

Sparks said he attributes his success in the industry to stupidity and arrogance.

“You have to be stupid enough to continue trying to be successful in an industry with such a high failure rate and you have to be arrogant enough to think people want to hear what you have to say,” Sparks said.

Sparks views his comedic style as the content of George Carlin with the presentation of Steve Martin.

“People see things all the time and they know there is something wrong, but they just can’t put their finger on it. I put my finger on it and make a joke about it,” Sparks said.

When he is not acting or doing stand up comedy Sparks plays in a metal band called Zero 1.

For more information on Sparks visit his MySpace page at www.myspace.com/therealhalsparks.

If you go:
What: Hal Sparks Comedy Show
Where: Comedy Spot Satellite Room at Harrah’s, 15406 N. Maricopa Road
When: 8 p.m. July 24
Cost: Free, but arrive early to guarantee a ticket
Information: (480) 802-5000

Photo courtesy of Hal Sparks