Todd Hanson
| Todd Hanson | |
|---|---|
| Born |
October 10, 1968 Chicago, Illinois |
| Residence | Brooklyn, New York |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Writer and voice actor |
Todd Hanson is an American writer and voice actor, notable for his work as a writer and editor at the parody newspaper The Onion. He also voices the character Dan Halen on the Adult Swim program Squidbillies.
Career
As writer
Todd Hanson briefly attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1986 and soon dropped out. He remained in Madison and began working a series of menial jobs. Eventually Hanson began drawing a semi-autobiographical cartoon entitled 'Badgers and Other Animals' which was published regularly in the Daily Cardinal, a university student newspaper. Hanson was working as a dishwasher, when he first started as a writer and cartoonist at The Onion.[1] He wrote an article in The Onion that was optioned as a movie by DreamWorks[2] and co-wrote the comedy film The Onion Movie (2003), which he has since disowned.[3]
As actor
Todd was an ensemble member in [4] the Ark Improvisational Theater in Madison, Wisconsin from 1987-88. He voices the character Dan Halen on Squidbillies. He made three guest appearances in the episodes of Aqua Teen Hunger Force called Interfection, Hypno-Germ and Last Dance for Napkin Lad. He is also on the commentary for Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters in which he stated that he is a big fan of the show. The commentary also states that he came up with the Chicken Bittle character which was rejected to be an Aqua Teen for several years.
Personal life
Hanson has lived in Wisconsin and New York City, New York. During a storytelling segment on Public Radio International's The Moth, Hanson credited his mother for him being "a douchebag".[5]
Depression and suicide attempt
On the July 7, 2011 episode of WTF with Marc Maron, Hanson spoke about his long history of depression, as well as a suicide attempt he made in January 2009. Though he had been in counseling and on medication for the condition, he checked into a hotel room near his home in the Brooklyn borough of New York City, wrote two notes (one to his family, another to whoever found his body), consumed a bottle of Scotch whisky and over 60 Xanax pills, and lost consciousness for more than 24 hours.
He survived the attempt and was awakened the following day by a hotel maid. In a blacked-out state, he returned home, where he was discovered, still highly intoxicated, by his roommate. Hanson was then checked into a hospital for detoxification and placed on suicide observation. He now considers this day his "second birthday," and has since been in more intensive treatment and has a better grip on his depressive states.[6]
Filmography and television work
- Space Ghost Coast to Coast (1 episode, 2003; writer)
- Aqua Teen Hunger Force (3 episodes, 2002–2011)
- The Aristocrats (2005) Himself (staff of The Onion)
- The Onion Movie (2008; writer)
- Squidbillies (10 episodes, 2005–2008)
- Ape Trouble (2009; video)
- Something Extremely Important (2009)
- The People vs. George Lucas (2010)
See also
References
- ↑ Hoffmann, Leah (May 23, 2006). "First Job: Todd Hanson". Forbes. Retrieved August 23, 2012.
- ↑ Fierman, Daniel (October 10, 2000). "Web Masters – The Site's Creators Tell EW that It's Just the Beginning of Mass Commodification". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved August 23, 2012.
- ↑ "WTF with Marc Maron Podcast Episode 190". Retrieved 28 July 2013.
- ↑ http://freewisconsinblog.com/?author=1&paged=61
- ↑ "The Moth Presents Todd Hanson: The Triumph of Apathy" (video; requires Adobe Flash). The Moth's channel on YouTube. Uploaded April 21, 2011. Retrieved August 23, 2012.
- ↑ "WTF with Marc Maron Podcast – Episode 190 – Todd Hanson". Wtfpod.com. July 7, 2011. Retrieved October 4, 2012.