Harry Julius Shearer was born on December 23,1943 and is an American actor, comedian, musician, radio host, writer, and producer.
53 Facts About Harry Shearer
2.
From 1969 to 1976, Harry Shearer was a member of The Credibility Gap, a radio comedy group.
3.
Harry Shearer was a cast member on Saturday Night Live between 1979 and 1980, and 1984 and 1985.
4.
Harry Shearer co-created, co-wrote and co-starred in the film This Is Spinal Tap, a satirical rockumentary, which became a hit.
5.
Harry Shearer has appeared in films including The Truman Show and A Mighty Wind, and has directed two, Teddy Bears' Picnic and The Big Uneasy.
6.
Harry Shearer has won a Primetime Emmy Award and has received several other Emmy and Grammy Award nominations.
7.
Harry Shearer has been married to singer-songwriter Judith Owen since 1993.
8.
Harry Shearer became an artist in residence at Loyola University, New Orleans in 2013.
9.
Harry Shearer was born December 23,1943, in Los Angeles, California, the son of Dora, a bookkeeper, and Mack Harry Shearer.
10.
Harry Shearer's parents were Jewish immigrants from Austria and Poland.
11.
Harry Shearer received the role when he was seven years old.
12.
Harry Shearer was a guy who dug the idea of other people on the show getting laughs, which sort of spoiled me for other people in comedy.
13.
Harry Shearer made his film debut in the film Abbott and Costello Go to Mars, in which he had a small part, and appeared in The Robe.
14.
In 1957, Harry Shearer played the precursor to the Eddie Haskell character in the pilot episode of the television series Leave It to Beaver.
15.
Harry Shearer graduated from Los Angeles High School and attended UCLA as a political science major in the early 1960s and decided to quit show business to become a "serious person".
16.
Harry Shearer was editor of the college humor magazine, including the June 1964 parody Preyboy.
17.
Harry Shearer worked as a newscaster at KRLA, a top 40 radio station in Pasadena, during this period.
18.
From 1969 to 1976, Harry Shearer was a member of The Credibility Gap, a radio comedy group that included David Lander, Richard Beebe and Michael McKean.
19.
Harry Shearer heard about it from a friend so he brought over a tape to the station and nervously gave it to the receptionist.
20.
Harry Shearer found out he was hired that same day.
21.
In 1973, Harry Shearer appeared as Jim Houseafire on How Time Flys, an album by The Firesign Theatre's David Ossman.
22.
Harry Shearer started working with Albert Brooks, producing one of Brooks' albums and co-writing the film Real Life.
23.
Harry Shearer started writing for Martin Mull's television series Fernwood 2 Night.
24.
Harry Shearer told new executive producer Jean Doumanian that he was "not a fan of Lorne's" and offered to stay with the show if he was given the chance to overhaul the program and bring in experienced comedians, like Christopher Guest.
25.
Harry Shearer co-created, co-wrote and co-starred in Rob Reiner's film This Is Spinal Tap.
26.
Harry Shearer is known for his work as a voice actor on The Simpsons.
27.
Matt Groening, the creator of the show, was a fan of Harry Shearer's work, while Harry Shearer was a fan of a column Groening used to write.
28.
Harry Shearer felt that voice acting was "not a lot of fun" as, traditionally, voice actors record their parts separately.
29.
Harry Shearer was told that the actors would record their lines together, and after three phone calls for executive producer James L Brooks, Shearer was convinced to join the cast of The Simpsons.
30.
Harry Shearer provides voices for Principal Skinner, Kent Brockman, Mr Burns, Waylon Smithers, Ned Flanders, Reverend Lovejoy, formerly Dr Hibbert until 2021, Lenny Leonard, Otto Mann, Rainier Wolfcastle, Scratchy, Kang, Dr Marvin Monroe, and Judge Snyder, among others.
31.
Harry Shearer says that Burns is the most difficult character for him to voice because it is rough on his vocal cords and he often needs to drink tea and honey to soothe his voice.
32.
Similarly, Harry Shearer was unable to appear in the Family Guy crossover episode "The Simpsons Guy" due to further scheduling conflicts.
33.
The dispute was resolved and Harry Shearer received $125,000 per episode until 2004, when the voice actors demanded that they be paid $360,000 an episode.
34.
The dispute was resolved a month later, and Harry Shearer's pay rose to $250,000 per episode.
35.
On May 14,2015, Harry Shearer announced he was leaving the show.
36.
On July 7,2015, Harry Shearer agreed to continue with the show, on the same terms as the other voice actors.
37.
Harry Shearer is known for his work as a narrator on Wild Discovery.
38.
In 2008, Shearer released a music CD called Songs of the Bushmen, consisting of his satirical numbers about former President George W Bush on Le Show.
39.
Since encountering satellite news feeds when he worked on Saturday Night Live, Harry Shearer has been fascinated with the contents of the video that does not air.
40.
Harry Shearer collects this material and uses it on Le Show and on his website.
41.
In 2006 Harry Shearer appeared with Brian Hayes in four episodes of the BBC Radio 4 sitcom Not Today, Thank You, playing Nostrils, a man so ugly he cannot stand to be in his own presence.
42.
Harry Shearer was scheduled to appear in all six episodes but had to withdraw from recording two due to a problem with his work permit.
43.
On June 19,2008, it was announced that Harry Shearer would receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in the radio category.
44.
Harry Shearer had a major role in the Guest-directed parody of Oscar politicking For Your Consideration released in 2006.
45.
Harry Shearer played Victor Allan Miller, a veteran actor who is convinced that he is going to be nominated for an Academy Award.
46.
Harry Shearer appeared as a news anchor in Godzilla with fellow The Simpsons cast members Hank Azaria and Nancy Cartwright.
47.
Harry Shearer directed and appeared in the television program Portrait of a White Marriage, a sequel to The History of White People in America.
48.
Harry Shearer has released five solo comedy albums: It Must Have Been Something I Said, Dropping Anchors, Songs Pointed and Pointless, Songs of the Bushmen and Greed and Fear.
49.
Harry Shearer is the director of The Big Uneasy, a documentary film about the impacts of Hurricane Katrina on New Orleans.
50.
Harry Shearer has been married to Welsh singer-songwriter Judith Owen since 1993.
51.
Harry Shearer often speaks and writes about the failure of the Federal levee system which flooded New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina, blasting the coverage of it in the mainstream media and criticizing the role of the United States Army Corps of Engineers.
52.
Harry Shearer was the last of the six regular voice actors from The Simpsons to win the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance.
53.
Harry Shearer's win came for the season 25 episode "Four Regrettings and a Funeral".