Thomas Jack Black, Jr. (born August 28, 1969) is an
American actor,
comedian and
musician. With his friend
Kyle Gass, he makes up one half of the comedy and rock music duo
Tenacious D. The group has two albums and a full-length movie. His acting career is extensive, starring primarily as bumbling, cocky, but internally self-conscious outsiders in comedy films. He is 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.
Biography
Early life
Black was born in California, the son of two
satellite engineers, Judith (
née Cohen) and Thomas William Black; his mother worked on the
Hubble Space Telescope.
Jack Black's mother is
Jewish and his father
converted to Judaism;
[Moviecrazed] Black was thus raised Jewish.
On
The Tonight Show he said his surname may come from the
Scottish occupational name
Blacksmith.
[ Tonight Show with Jay Leno August 7, 2008] His parents
divorced when he was 10. Jack Black had a
Bull Mastiff and
Rottweiler mix named Chico. Chico died of
parvovirus soon after Jack's parents divorced. Black moved to
Culver City with his father and frequently visited his mother’s home until the end of his first year of college at
UCLA when his father’s family moved to France. As a child, Black appeared in an early
Atari Pitfall! commercial,
which was later shown during an appearance on
Jimmy Kimmel Live and again on
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
