Eric Sharp
Encyclopedia
Eric Howell Sharp is a Southern California-based entertainer and actor, owner of Sharpo.com.
, New York
. The intermediate of three sons of Walter and Bonnie, Sharp was raised in Manalapan, New Jersey. During summers at Camp Winamac in Bennington, New Hampshire
, Sharp "hammed it up" on Talent Nights, where Sharp and older brother Stuart would entertain by recreating episodes of the classic sitcom The Honeymooners
verbatim.
During his teenage years, Sharp formed the rock band "Eric & The Enterprise", performing in Monmouth County, New Jersey
as vocalist and keyboardist in the Rolling Stones-influenced group. Sharp and younger brother Douglas joined another local band, BATASB, who took their show to legendary underground rock nightclub CBGB's in New York City's Lower East Side.
Attending Brookdale Community College in Lincroft, New Jersey
, Sharp performed in musicals and plays, including Play It Again, Sam
at Kobe Dinner Theatre in Lakewood, New Jersey, a lead role for which an Asbury Park Press review raved "Woody Allen couldn't have done better." Encouraged by college drama professor J. Lawrence Lowenstein, Sharp moved to New York, where he studied with the Neighborhood Playhouse Alumnus and accomplished TV director Norman Hall. Sharp wrote and acted the lead role in his play, Invasion of the OOOOGS at the Courtyard Playhouse (now the Grove Street Playhouse), Greenwich Village, New York.
After doing "atmosphere" work on the Brian de Palma film The Bonfire of the Vanities
and daytime soap operas One Life To Live and All My Children, Sharp landed a day player gig on the Spike Lee film Malcolm X
. Lee selected Sharp for speaking part, a recitation of his prison serial number "A two-nine-one-nine-four-five", audible in the final film.
SAG card in hand, Sharp headed for Los Angeles in 1993, where he wrote and starred in a low-budget TV pilot, Lenny Frick, directed by Emmy Award-Winning actor Scott Jacoby
. Director, Dan Helfgott gave Sharp a major break, casting him with E.E. Bell for a one-liner on the NBC TV special Abbott and Costello Meet Jerry Seinfeld. Sharp's subsequent co-starring appearances on primetime network television shows include Star Trek: Voyager
, in which he had a memorable appearance as an alien map vendor, Wings and more. Sharp played Benny, the disgruntled nebbish on two episodes of UPN's In the House with LL Cool J
and Kim Wayans
.
Sharp had a cameo as his comic creation "Sharpo" in the 1997 film Liar Liar
, with Jim Carrey, and is featured prominently as a threatening police detective in the Good Charlotte
music video Lifestyles Of The Rich And Famous. Sharp also hosted and produced the Los Angeles-based cable interview show My Half Hour from 1997 through 2002.
Sharp honed his live comedy act over more than 15 years, traveling throughout the U.S. playing audiences including air force generals, Fortune 500 CEOs, award-winning physicists, network chiefs, and others. Sharp's comedy is a blend of pop-culture references, topical humor, impressions, blues harmonica, and comic songs.
Sharp resides with his family in Southern California's San Fernando Valley
.
Life & Career
Eric Howell Sharp was born in June, 1966 in Bayside, QueensBayside, Queens
Bayside is a suburban neighborhood in the borough of Queens in New York, New York in the United States. Bayside is known as one of the most expensive areas to live in Queens, with well kept homes and landscaping...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. The intermediate of three sons of Walter and Bonnie, Sharp was raised in Manalapan, New Jersey. During summers at Camp Winamac in Bennington, New Hampshire
Bennington, New Hampshire
Bennington is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 1,476 at the 2010 census.The main village of the town, where 381 people resided at the 2010 census, is defined as the Bennington census-designated place , and is located on the Contoocook River at the...
, Sharp "hammed it up" on Talent Nights, where Sharp and older brother Stuart would entertain by recreating episodes of the classic sitcom The Honeymooners
The Honeymooners
The Honeymooners is an American situation comedy television show, based on a recurring 1951–'55 sketch of the same name. It originally aired on the DuMont network's Cavalcade of Stars and subsequently on the CBS network's The Jackie Gleason Show hosted by Jackie Gleason, and filmed before a live...
verbatim.
During his teenage years, Sharp formed the rock band "Eric & The Enterprise", performing in Monmouth County, New Jersey
Monmouth County, New Jersey
Monmouth County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey, within the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2010 Census, the population was 630,380, up from 615,301 at the 2000 census. Its county seat is Freehold Borough. The most populous municipality is Middletown Township with...
as vocalist and keyboardist in the Rolling Stones-influenced group. Sharp and younger brother Douglas joined another local band, BATASB, who took their show to legendary underground rock nightclub CBGB's in New York City's Lower East Side.
Attending Brookdale Community College in Lincroft, New Jersey
Lincroft, New Jersey
Lincroft is a part of Middletown Township, in Monmouth County, New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States Census, the Lincroft census-designated place had a population was 6,135.-Geography:Lincroft is located at ....
, Sharp performed in musicals and plays, including Play It Again, Sam
Play It Again, Sam
Play It Again, Sam is a 1972 film written by and starring Woody Allen, originally entitled Aspirins for Three. The film was directed by Herbert Ross, which is unusual, as Allen usually directs all his own written work....
at Kobe Dinner Theatre in Lakewood, New Jersey, a lead role for which an Asbury Park Press review raved "Woody Allen couldn't have done better." Encouraged by college drama professor J. Lawrence Lowenstein, Sharp moved to New York, where he studied with the Neighborhood Playhouse Alumnus and accomplished TV director Norman Hall. Sharp wrote and acted the lead role in his play, Invasion of the OOOOGS at the Courtyard Playhouse (now the Grove Street Playhouse), Greenwich Village, New York.
After doing "atmosphere" work on the Brian de Palma film The Bonfire of the Vanities
The Bonfire of the Vanities (film)
The Bonfire of the Vanities is a 1990 American film adaptation of the best-selling novel of the same name by Tom Wolfe. The film was directed by Brian De Palma and stars Tom Hanks as Sherman McCoy, Bruce Willis as Peter Fallow, Melanie Griffith as Maria Ruskin, and Kim Cattrall as Judy McCoy,...
and daytime soap operas One Life To Live and All My Children, Sharp landed a day player gig on the Spike Lee film Malcolm X
Malcolm X (film)
Malcolm X is a 1992 biographical motion picture about the Muslim-American figure Malcolm X . It was co-written, co-produced, and directed by Spike Lee. It stars Denzel Washington as the titular character. It co-stars Angela Bassett, Albert Hall, Al Freeman, Jr., and Delroy Lindo...
. Lee selected Sharp for speaking part, a recitation of his prison serial number "A two-nine-one-nine-four-five", audible in the final film.
SAG card in hand, Sharp headed for Los Angeles in 1993, where he wrote and starred in a low-budget TV pilot, Lenny Frick, directed by Emmy Award-Winning actor Scott Jacoby
Scott Jacoby
Scott Jacoby is an American actor. He won an Emmy Award for his role in the 1972 television film That Certain Summer. He is also famous for playing the lead role in the made for TV film Bad Ronald 1974....
. Director, Dan Helfgott gave Sharp a major break, casting him with E.E. Bell for a one-liner on the NBC TV special Abbott and Costello Meet Jerry Seinfeld. Sharp's subsequent co-starring appearances on primetime network television shows include Star Trek: Voyager
Star Trek: Voyager
Star Trek: Voyager is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe. Set in the 24th century from the year 2371 through 2378, the series follows the adventures of the Starfleet vessel USS Voyager, which becomes stranded in the Delta Quadrant 70,000 light-years from Earth while...
, in which he had a memorable appearance as an alien map vendor, Wings and more. Sharp played Benny, the disgruntled nebbish on two episodes of UPN's In the House with LL Cool J
LL Cool J
James Todd Smith , better known as LL Cool J , is an American rapper, entrepreneur, and actor...
and Kim Wayans
Kim Wayans
Kim Wayans is an American actress, comedian, producer, writer and director. She is also a member of the Wayans family.-Early life:...
.
Sharp had a cameo as his comic creation "Sharpo" in the 1997 film Liar Liar
Liar Liar
Liar Liar is a 1997 American comedy film written by Paul Guay and Stephen Mazur, directed by Tom Shadyac and starring Jim Carrey. Carrey was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Comedy/Musical...
, with Jim Carrey, and is featured prominently as a threatening police detective in the Good Charlotte
Good Charlotte
Good Charlotte is an American rock band from Waldorf, Maryland that formed in 1996. Since 1998, the band's constant members have been lead vocalist Joel Madden, lead guitarist and back-up vocalist Benji Madden, bass guitarist Paul Thomas and rhythm guitarist and keyboardist Billy Martin...
music video Lifestyles Of The Rich And Famous. Sharp also hosted and produced the Los Angeles-based cable interview show My Half Hour from 1997 through 2002.
Sharpo.com
As Detective Sharp, Sharp performs hundreds of dinner-theater murder mysteries annually around the U.S. with a cast of Hollywood and Broadway actors. Sharp's detective persona is a unique comic crimesolver, sometimes compared to the TV sleuth Columbo.Sharp honed his live comedy act over more than 15 years, traveling throughout the U.S. playing audiences including air force generals, Fortune 500 CEOs, award-winning physicists, network chiefs, and others. Sharp's comedy is a blend of pop-culture references, topical humor, impressions, blues harmonica, and comic songs.
Sharp resides with his family in Southern California's San Fernando Valley
San Fernando Valley
The San Fernando Valley is an urbanized valley located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area of southern California, United States, defined by the dramatic mountains of the Transverse Ranges circling it...
.
Filmography
- Malcolm XMalcolm X (film)Malcolm X is a 1992 biographical motion picture about the Muslim-American figure Malcolm X . It was co-written, co-produced, and directed by Spike Lee. It stars Denzel Washington as the titular character. It co-stars Angela Bassett, Albert Hall, Al Freeman, Jr., and Delroy Lindo...
(1992) - Liar LiarLiar LiarLiar Liar is a 1997 American comedy film written by Paul Guay and Stephen Mazur, directed by Tom Shadyac and starring Jim Carrey. Carrey was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Comedy/Musical...
(1997) - Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous (2002) (Good CharlotteGood CharlotteGood Charlotte is an American rock band from Waldorf, Maryland that formed in 1996. Since 1998, the band's constant members have been lead vocalist Joel Madden, lead guitarist and back-up vocalist Benji Madden, bass guitarist Paul Thomas and rhythm guitarist and keyboardist Billy Martin...
music video)
Television
- Lenny Frick (1993) (pilot)
- Abbot and Costello Meet Jerry Seinfield (1994)
- In the House (1996)
- Wings (1997)
- The Aqua Girls (1998)