Aries Spears (born April 3, 1975) is an American stand-up comedian, impressionist, and actor from New Jersey. Spears was a regular on Fox's sketch comedy series MADtv, appearing in 198 episodes, making him the second longest-serving cast member on the show behind Michael McDonald. In 2011, he released a special called Aries Spears: Hollywood, Look I'm Smiling. He co-hosted for the AVN Awards twice in 2018 and 2020.
| Aries Spears | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) Spears performs at the Shoreline Comedy Jam in 2012 | |
| Birth name | Nairobi Aries Spears |
| Born | April 3, 1975 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Medium | Stand-up, film, television |
| Years active | 1989–present |
| Genres | Sketch comedy |
| Children | 3 |
Early life
editSpears was born in Chicago, Illinois and moved to New York when he was two years old. His mother, Doris Spears, is a jazz singer. Spears moved to New Jersey at age 11 and attended Arthur M. Judd Elementary School. He became a comedian at 14, performing stand-up comedy in various comedy clubs in New York City. He was expelled for fighting during his sophomore year in North Brunswick Township High School in North Brunswick Township, at age 17.[1] Spears then started doing his own comedy routine around his hometown.
Spears said that his first stand-up comedy was doing impressions of James Brown and Jack Nicholson at the Uptown Comedy Club in Harlem.[2]
Career
editEarly film and TV roles
editSpears's first television appearance was on Russell Simmons's Def Comedy Jam, followed by It's Showtime at the Apollo. He moved to Los Angeles in 1992, landed a recurring role on A Different World (1993) and became a regular at The Comedy Store, The Improv and The Laugh Factory. Other television credits include Crosstown Traffic, The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. (1993) and Soul Train.
Spears was cast in a starring role opposite Glenn Frey in South of Sunset (1993). Spears's other film appearances include Home of Angels (1994), The Pest (1997), Jerry Maguire in which he played Teepee, brother of Rod Tidwell (1996), Out-of-Sync (1995), and The Proud Family (2003).
MADtv
editHe joined the cast of MADtv during its third season in 1997, and he left at the end of its 10th season in 2005. During his tenure, he created characters such as comedian Belma Buttons (co-host of fictional BET show "Reality Check"), Dollar Bill Montgomery (a host of an urban parody of Politically Incorrect called "Real **********ing Talk with Dollar Bill Montgomery"), James Brown Jr. (co-host of Cabana Chat), and controversial rapper Emcee Esher. He is well known for his impressions of celebrities, including Jay-Z, Kanye West, LL Cool J, DMX, Snoop Dogg, Mike Tyson, R Kelly, Denzel Washington, Eddie Murphy and Paul Mooney.
After MADtv
editSpears appeared in a second-season episode of Mind of Mencia, which parodied Jamie Foxx's role in Kanye West's music video for "Gold Digger." He appeared in the 2006 film Hood of Horror. Spears performed in the TV series The Underground and voiced the character Wizard Kelly in the animated television series The Proud Family.
Spears appeared in two episodes of Frank Caliendo's sketch comedy show Frank TV as Shaquille O'Neal.
He appeared alongside Cedric the Entertainer and other comedians in the All Star Comedy Jam in 2009.
His 2011 stand-up comedy special Aries Spears: Hollywood, Look I'm Smiling was shown on Showtime.[citation needed] According to Deadline Hollywood, Spears was expected to appear in the dark comedy feature film directed by Vladislav Kozlov The Immortalist in 2020, along with Franco Nero, Sherilyn Fenn, Paul Rodriguez, and Jeff DuJardin.[3]
Sexual abuse allegation
editOn August 30, 2022, Spears and Tiffany Haddish were sued for alleged grooming and sexual abuse of two minors. The lawsuit details that the minors were recruited to film comedy skits, and were asked to perform sexually suggestive content. Spears's attorney stated "he isn't going to fall for any shakedown" in reference to Spears.[4][5][6] That September, the accuser filed to have the claims against both dismissed with prejudice.[7]
Filmography
editFilm
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Home of Angels | Gang Leader | |
| 1995 | Out-of-Sync | Frank | |
| 1996 | Jerry Maguire | Tee Pee Tidwell | |
| 1997 | The Pest | Chubby | |
| 1998 | Why Do Fools Fall in Love | Redd Foxx | |
| 2001 | Josie and the Pussycats | The Other Carson Daly | |
| Higher Ed | Lil' Bud | ||
| 2003 | Love Chronicles | Playa | |
| The Night B4 Christmas | Elvin (voice) | TV movie | |
| 2004 | Jiminy Glick in Lalawood | Gunnar "MC GUN" Jorge | |
| 2005 | The Proud Family Movie | Wizard Kelly/Board Member (voice) | TV movie |
| 2006 | Hood of Horror | Quon | |
| The Boo Crew | Money/Jay-Z/Africans (voice) | TV movie | |
| 2015 | Promoted | Homothug | |
| 2017 | Kings | Keith | |
| 2019 | Chase | Miles | |
| 2020 | The 420 Movie: Mary & Jane | Patrolman Watkins | |
| 2021 | Immortalist | Doctor Olivier Johnson | |
| 2024 | The Killers | Oli | |
| Holy Cash | Willie Dollars |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Def Comedy Jam | Himself | Episode: "Episode #2.9" |
| 1993 | A Different World | Ty | Episode: "Mind Your Own Business" & "Dancing Machines" |
| South of Sunset | Ziggy Duane | Main Cast | |
| Soul Train | Himself/Guest Host | Episode: "Episode #22.13" & "#23.3" | |
| 1994 | The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. | Bobby Swan | Episode: "Stagecoach" |
| 1996 | C Bear and Jamal | Big Chill (voice) | Main Cast |
| 1997 | Def Comedy Jam | Himself | Episode: "Episode #7.6" |
| 1997–2005 | MADtv | Himself/Cast Member | Main Cast: Season 3-10 |
| 2001 | The Test | Himself/Panelist | Episode: "The Roommate Test" |
| 2001–03 | The Proud Family | Wizard Kelly (voice) | Recurring Cast |
| 2002 | Late Friday | Himself | Episode: "Episode #2.8" |
| The Rerun Show | Louise Jefferson | Episode: "Saved by the Bell: Jessie's Song/The Jeffersons: Florence in Love" | |
| 2003 | Laffapalooza | Himself | Episode: "Laffapalooza Volume 3" |
| 2004 | ComicView | Himself | Episode: "Episode #13.2" |
| 2005 | Lilo & Stitch | Wizard Kelly (voice) | Episode: "Spats: Experiment 397" |
| Comedy Central Presents | Himself | Episode: "Aries Spears" | |
| 2006 | The Underground | Himself/Cast Member | Main Cast |
| Mind of Mencia | Himself/Guest Host | Episode: "Episode #2.1" | |
| 2006–14 | Comics Unleashed | Himself | Recurring Guest |
| 2007 | CSI: Miami | Oscar Monahan | Episode: "Inside Out" & "Chain Reaction" |
| 2009 | Black to the Future | Himself | Episode: "Hour 1: The 70s" |
| Just for Laughs | Himself | Episode: "Gerry Dee" | |
| 2009–19 | Laugh Factory | Himself | Recurring Guest |
| 2010 | The Boondocks | Lord Rufus Crabmiser (voice) | Episode: "Stinkmeaner 3: The Hateocracy" |
| Supreme Court of Comedy | Himself | Episode: "Aries Spears vs. Paul Mooney" | |
| 2012 | ComicView | Himself | Episode: "Kevin Hart/Aries Spears/Omar" |
| Black Dynamite | Mr. T/O. J. Simpson (voice) | Recurring Cast: Season 1 | |
| 2013 | Funny as Hell | Himself | Episode: "Episode #3.8" |
| Who Gets the Last Laugh? | Himself | Episode: "Aries Spears/Natasha Leggero/Andy Dick" | |
| 2015 | Turbo FAST | Mr. Tinfoil (voice) | Episode: Tough as Snails/C.O.N.S.P.I.R.A.C.Y. |
| Gotham Comedy Live | Himself/Host | Episode: "Aries Spears" | |
| 2016 | MADtv | Himself | Episode: "Episode #15.3" |
| American Dad! | Shaquille O'Neal (voice) | Episode: Criss-Cross Applesauce: The Ballad of Billy Jesusworth | |
| TripTank | Various Voices (voice) | Recurring Cast: Season 2 | |
| The 5th Quarter | Young Shaq | Episode: "I'm So Mean" | |
| 2018 | Family Guy | Shaquille O'Neal/Eddie Murphy (voice) | Episode: "Pal Stewie" & "Regarding Carter" |
| 2018 and 20 | AVN Awards | Himself/Host | Main Host |
| 2020 | Gentefied | Chef Michael | Episode: "Unemployed AF" |
| 2022 | Phat Tuesdays: The Era Of Hip Hop Comedy | Himself | Main Guest |
| Dark Side of Comedy | Himself | Episode: "Roseanne Barr" & "Artie Lange" | |
| 2022–23 | The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder | Wizard Kelly (voice) | Recurring Cast |
| 2023 | See It Loud: The History of Black Television | Himself | Recurring Guest |
Comedy releases
edit| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 2010 | Chocolate Sundaes Comedy Show: Live on Sunset Strip! |
| 2011 | Aries Spears: Hollywood, Look I'm Smiling |
| 2016 | Aries Spears: Comedy Blueprint |
Discography
edit| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 2005 | I Ain't Scared! |
Documentary
edit| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 2011 | Ladies and Gentlemen, Jordan Rock |
| Phunny Business: A Black Comedy |
References
edit- ^ Gadino, Dylan P. "Sketching up with Aries Spears", Punchline. accessed October 10, 2007.
- ^ In a video that was published to YouTube on February 29, 2016, an interviewer asked Spears questions. From the 1:48 mark of the video to the 1:55 mark of the video, the interviewer asked Spears, "Okay, so what was like, the first time you actually got in front of an audience, and did your thing?" From the 1:54 mark of the video to the 2:41 mark of the video, Spears answered, "Uh, you know I I went down, me and my mother my sister went down to uh The Improv in New York, and back then, to try to get on stage, you had to put ya your name in a hat, and they would pull it out of a hat, so all three of us put my, all three of us put my name in, and uh neither one of us got it, so I was, I was a little discouraged that day but then someone kinda pulled me to the side, said, you know, there's the Uptown Comedy Club, in half-, in Harlem. Uptown Comedy Cafe is what it was called. Uh, so, jump on a train. Go up there. Maybe get your feet wet. So, I went up there. I I did, you know, two minutes of impressions, and uh the, the got bit by the bug man. It was kinda, kinda successful for me, and I said okay this is what I want to do, and been, been riding the wave ever since." From the 2:40 mark of the video to the 2:42 mark of the video, the interviewer asked Spears, "What were the impressions, that you did back there?" From the 2:41 mark of the video to the 2:52 mark of the video, Spears answered "Ah man, I think I did like James Brown, Jack Nicholson, doing a Pepsi commercial. Uh, really raw stuff, man. Just just really, stuff that I had practiced in front of the mirror at the crib."
- ^ N'Duka, Amanda (2019-12-20). "Rachel True, Sean Gunn Join 'Agnes'; Sherilyn Fenn, Franco Nero Topline 'Immortalist'; Cameron Douglas, Elisabeth Röhm In 'The Runner'". Deadline. Retrieved 2019-12-22.
- ^ Bradley, Laura (September 2022). "Comedians Tiffany Haddish and Aries Spears Accused of Child Sexual Abuse". The Daily Beast. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
- ^ "Tiffany Haddish and Aries Spears Face Child Sexual Abuse Allegations, Her Lawyer Responds". Complex. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
- ^ Veltman, Chloe (September 2, 2022). "Tiffany Haddish and Aries Spears are accused of child abuse in a lawsuit". NPR. Retrieved September 3, 2022.
- ^ Dasrath/Romero, Diana/Dennis (September 21, 2022). "Woman files to dismiss lawsuit against Tiffany Haddish and Aries Spears". NBC. Retrieved September 22, 2022.
External links
edit- Aries Spears at IMDb