Jack Black life and biography

Jack Black is an American comedian, actor and musician. He makes up one half of the comedy and satirical rock duo Tenacious D. The group has two albums as well as a television series and a film. His acting career is extensive, starring primarily as bumbling, cocky, but internally self-conscious outsiders in comedy films. He was a member of the Frat Pack, a group of comedians who have appeared together in several Hollywood films, and has been nominated for a Golden Globe award. He has also won an MTV Movie Award, and a Nickelodeon Kids Choice Award. He also hosted the 2011 Kids Choice Awards.

Black was born Thomas Jacob Black in Santa Monica, California, the son of two satellite engineers, Judith (née Cohen), who worked on the Hubble Space Telescope, and Thomas William Black.

Jack Black was born in California, and attended the University of California at Los Angeles. While at UCLA, he was a member of Tim Robbins's acting troupe and it was through this collaboration that led to his 1992 film debut in Bob Roberts (1992). Although he was just a background voice in his first film, Jack's appearances in such television shows as "The X-Files" (1993), his breakthrough performance in High Fidelity (2000), and his rock-comedy band, Tenacious D, have created an ever-growing cult following.

As a child, Black appeared in a commercial for the Activision game Pitfall! in 1982, which was later shown during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live and again on The Tonight Show with Conan O' Brien. When Black entered high school, his parents enrolled him at the Poseidon School, a private secondary school engineered specifically for students struggling in the traditional school system. Black also attended the Crossroads School, where he excelled in drama. He later attended UCLA but dropped out during his sophomore year to pursue a career in entertainment, at which point his father discontinued his financial support. Fellow UCLA alumnus Tim Robbins later cast Black in Bob Roberts. He also had recurring roles on the HBO sketch comedy series Mr. Show.

ack Black is the wild-eyed, manic star of the hit comedy School of Rock (2003, directed by Richard Linklater), and half of the comedy-rock duo Tenacious D. He started in the movies in the early 1990s with small but memorable parts in movies, including Tim Burton's Mars Attacks! (1996) and Enemy of the State (1998, with Will Smith). Tenacious D earned a national audience by way of a short-lived cable TV show by 2000, and Black's film career was taking off. In a supporting role, he stole the show in High Fidelity (2000, starring John Cusack) and was next getting lead roles in comedies, including Shallow Hal (2001, with Gwyneth Paltrow) and Orange County (2002). He voiced Lenny in the animated feature Shark Tale (2004) and won the lead role of Carl Denham in Peter Jackson's King Kong (2005, with Adrien Brody). He then went back to comedy, appearing in Nacho Libre (2006), The Holiday (2006, opposite Kate Winslet), Be Kind Rewind (2008, co-starring Mos Def) and Gulliver's Travels (2011, with Amanda Peet).

In January 2006, Black became engaged to Tanya Haden. She is the daughter of the jazz double bassist Charlie Haden, and sister of violinist and singer Petra Haden. Haden herself is an accomplished cellist. Both attended Crossroads school and met again 15 years after graduating, at a friend's birthday party. Black proposed marriage around Christmas 2005. They married on March 14, 2006, in Big Sur, California. Their son, Samuel Jason "Sammy" Black, was born on June 10, 2006, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. On May 23, 2008, Black and his wife had their second son, Thomas David Black.

Filmography:

2000: High Fidelity
2003: School of Rock
2004: Envy
2005: Peter Jackson's King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie
2006: Nacho Libre
2008: Kung Fu Panda
2010: Gulliver's Travels

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