Roles help spark Sparks' recognition

Besides acting and being a talk-show host, the Ohio native also does standup.
By JOHN BENSON
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
After a decade of near anonymity, comedian Hal Sparks is now known as "That Talk Soup Guy," "That VH1 Guy" or "That Queer as Folk Guy."
While some entertainers would dread any type of pigeonholing, the Cincinnati-born, Chicago-raised comedian has no problems with being labeled.
"I welcome the monikers," said Sparks, calling from Los Angeles. "Yeah, having people yell 'Talk Soup' from across the parking lot or 'Hey, '80s Guy' beats the hell out of 'I think you messed up my change.'"
Life is good for Sparks, who in recent times has gained exposure on Showtime series "Queer as Folk," VH1's "I Love the '80s" and plenty of silver screen roles, including "Dude, Where's My Car?" and "Spider Man 2."
What he loves
A standup comedian since he was 15, sneaking out of his parents' Windy City house while still in high school to do a set or two, the 36-year-old funnyman says comedy and music are his two loves, with the latter finally coming to fruition in the form of metal band Zero 1.
"The band features on drums Cleveland's own Miles Loretta, formerly of the band Rosavelt," Sparks said. "He's also my cousin. We're a three piece. I play guitar and sing and it's like old-school metal, like Ozzy, Soundgarden, Kings X, old Metallica."
He quickly added, " I'm not kidding."
Considering Sparks' oftentimes biting commentary on bad career choices from celebrities on "Talk Soup" and the various "I Love the '80s" spinoffs, it seems as though he's setting himself up for a, well, David Hasselhoff-like reaction from the media.
"Well, first you can't dish it out without being able to take it and secondly, nobody is going to listen to the music and think that I'm kidding," Sparks said.
With an album due out this summer and a tour slated for this fall, Sparks will soon learn whether this hard rock digression -- which he said he needed to do to fulfill his dreams of becoming a musician -- pans out.
Coming to Cleveland
In the meantime, his stand-up calendar remains full, including his upcoming Cleveland standup debut Thursday through Sunday at Hilarities. While Sparks maintains his sarcastic side in his set -- with plenty of swearing, no matter what he's talking about -- there's also a political slant that surfaces when welcome.
"Most of my stuff is like observational and political stuff," Sparks said. "One of my jokes where I test the water of where I am in the country is anybody who still supports George Bush would still let Michael Jackson babysit their kids. And depending on the response I get from that, I know exactly where I am."
So what does he expect from a Northeast Ohio audience?
"Cleveland is pretty cool," Sparks said. "Obviously Cleveland's only problem was that they were a blue city with red voting machines. So I trust I will be welcomed there."