David Nkrumah Liebe Unger Hart, also credited as D. L. Hart, (born April 19, 1957) is an American

outsider artist Outsider art is art made by self-taught individuals who are untrained and untutored in the traditional arts with typically little or no contact with the conventions of the art worlds. The term ''outsider art'' was coined in 1972 as the title ...

musician A musician is someone who Composer, composes, Conducting, conducts, or Performing arts#Performers, performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general Terminology, term used to designate a person who fol ...

painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

puppeteer A puppeteer is a person who manipulates an inanimate object called a puppet to create the illusion that the puppet is alive. The puppet is often shaped like a human, animal, or legendary creature. The puppeteer may be visible to or hidden from the ...

and

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

. He is best known for his appearances on

Adult Swim Adult Swim (stylized as

dult swim Dult is a village in Batala in Gurdaspur district of Punjab State, India. It is located from sub district headquarter, from district headquarter and from Sri Hargobindpur. The village is administrated by Sarpanch an elected representativ ...

and s is an American adult-oriented television programming block that airs on Cartoon Network which broadcasts during the evening, prime time, and Late-night television, late-night Dayparting, dayparts. T ...

's ''

Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! ''Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!'' is an American sketch comedy television series created by Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim for Cartoon Network's nighttime programming block Adult Swim. It premiered on February 11, 2007 and originally ...

'', performing bizarre puppetry and singing in a variety of voice characterizations. He is also known in the

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

area for his role as a puppeteer on ''The Junior Christian Science Bible Lesson Program'', a local

public-access television Public-access television (sometimes called community-access television) is traditionally a form of non-commercial mass media where the general public can create content television programming which is Narrowcasting, narrowcast through cable tele ...

cable TV Cable television is a system of delivering television broadcast programming, programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This ...

program, and for performing with his puppet "Doug the Dog" just outside the

Hollywood Bowl The Hollywood Bowl is an amphitheatre and Urban park, public park in the Hollywood Hills of Los Angeles, California. It was named one of the 10 best live music venues in the United States by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine in 2018 and was listed on ...

and

Los Angeles Music Center The Los Angeles Music Center (officially the Performing Arts Center of Los Angeles County) is one of the largest performing arts centers in the United States. Located in downtown Los Angeles, The Music Center is composed of the Dorothy Chandler Pa ...

after shows, where he is known to many concert goers simply as the "puppet man". Outside of the ''Tim & Eric'' universe, David has appeared in a number of cult and indie films such as '' The People's Joker'', and
Vampire Zombies... from Space!
' He has also been known at times as David Hart, David Lieber Mintz, David Unger Hart, David King Liebe Hart and DL Hart.

Career

During an interview with

Jimmy Kimmel James Christian Kimmel (born November 13, 1967), known professionally as Jimmy Kimmel, is an American television host, comedian, writer, voice actor, and producer. He has been the host and executive producer of '' Jimmy Kimmel Live!'', a late-n ...

, he stated he first developed his passion for puppeteering upon attending church

Sunday school ] A Sunday school, sometimes known as a Sabbath school, is an educational institution, usually Christianity, Christian in character and intended for children or neophytes. Sunday school classes usually precede a Sunday church service and are u ...

in his youth. He claims to have gotten his start in Cinema of the United States, Hollywood performing with comedian

Robin Williams Robin McLaurin Williams (July 21, 1951August 11, 2014) was an American actor and comedian known for his improvisational skills and the wide variety of characters he created on the spur of the moment and portrayed on film, in dramas and comedie ...

and from making an appearance on ''

The Gong Show ''The Gong Show'' is an American amateur talent contest franchised by Sony Pictures Television to many countries. It was broadcast on NBC's daytime schedule from June 14, 1976, through July 21, 1978, and in first-run syndication from 1976 to ...

'' in 1977. In 1990 he appeared on '' Golden Girls'' and in 1993 on '' Wings''. Hart has frequently appeared on television shows ''The Del Talk Show'', ''

'', and various other Abso Lutely productions and independent films. In 2004, David Hart was featured in the documentary ''Public Access Hollywood''. He made an appearance on ''

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

'' in 2004 and again 2009, as well as on ''

Jimmy Kimmel Live! ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'', sometimes shortened to ''JKL'', is an American late-night talk show, created and hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, and broadcast on ABC. The nightly hour-long show tapes and is based out of the Hollywood Masonic Temple in Hollywo ...

'' in 2004. He also appeared in a commentary on ''Tim And Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!'' Season One DVD. Throughout late April and early May 2008 he performed live as part of Tim and Eric's Awesome Tour 2008. In 2014 Hart appeared prominently in the independent feature film ''White Cop''. In 2018, Hart appeared in the crowd sourced remake of ''

Shrek ''Shrek'' is a 2001 American animated fantasy comedy film directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson, and written by Ted Elliott, Terry Rossio, Joe Stillman, and Roger S. H. Schulman, loosely based on the 1990 children's picture boo ...

'', '' Shrek Retold'', in which he performs the song

Hallelujah ''Hallelujah'' (; , Modern ) is an interjection from the Hebrew language, used as an expression of gratitude to God. The term is used 24 times in the Tanakh (in the book of Psalms), twice in deuterocanonical books, and four times in the Christ ...

, originally composed by

Leonard Cohen Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934November 7, 2016) was a Canadian songwriter, singer, poet, and novelist. Themes commonly explored throughout his work include faith and mortality, isolation and depression, betrayal and redemption, soc ...

. In 2019 David created a series called ''I Love David'', directed by

Vera Drew Vera Drew is an American editor, director, writer and actress. She is best known for her film ''The People's Joker'', which she directed, wrote, produced and starred in. Early life Drew was born in Chicago, Illinois. As a teenager, she studied ...

, who would also go on to direct him in 2022's '' The People's Joker''. In 2024 David appeared as

Nosferatu ''Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror'' () is a 1922 silent film, silent German Expressionism (cinema), German Expressionist vampire film directed by F. W. Murnau from a screenplay by Henrik Galeen. It stars Max Schreck as Count Orlok, a vampire who ...

in the feature film '' Vampire Zombies... from Space!''

Filmography

* Tim & Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! (2007 - 2010) as Himself * '' Check it Out! with Dr. Steve Brule'' (2010 - 2017) as Himself * '' Tim & Eric's Billion Dollar Movie'' (2012) as Himself * ''White Cop'' (2014) as Mayor Dennis * '' Bagboy'' (2015) as Himself / Dog * '' Shrek Retold'' (2018) as Himself * ''I Love David'' (2019) as Himself * ''Celebrity Home Tours'' (2020) as Himself * '' The People's Joker'' (2022) as

Ra's al Ghul Ra's al Ghul is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly as an adversary of the superhero Batman. Created by editor Julius Schwartz, writer Dennis O'Neil, and artist Neal Adams, the character first appeared ...

* '' Vampire Zombies... from Space!'' (2024) as

Music

Hart writes his own music, mostly about

religion Religion is a range of social system, social-cultural systems, including designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics in religion, ethics, or ...

, aliens, women, trains, and his tragic love life. For six years he teamed up with his friend and fellow public-access television host Adam Papagan to create music together, with Hart writing lyrics and singing, and Papagan creating the music. They created four full albums and an EP. Since 2014, Hart has been collaborating and performing with producer/composer Jonah Mociun (AKA Th' Mole), developing a more electronic-oriented and carefully sculpted sound. With Mociun, Hart has released the

mixtape In the modern music industry, a mixtape is a musical project, typically with looser constraints than that of an album or extended play. Unlike the traditional album or extended play, mixtapes are labeled as laid-back projects that allow artists mo ...

Go Into The Light and the Teleportation Thru Space EP, with an official album, Astronaut, slated for release in January, 2015. Hart's songs from ''Tim and Eric'' are also featured on ''Awesome Record, Great Songs!''. David Hart has been known to sell an album titled ''Christian Hymns And Songs Of Praise'' at shows during the Tim and Eric Awesome Tours in 2008 and 2009. In Spring 2011, Hart and Papagan toured the East and West Coast with a newly formed band that played

punk music Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

exclusively, including new interpretations of their older material. The Best of David and Adam, a compilation cassette tape/download featuring music from David and Adam's five albums, was released by Cellar Hits in 2011.

Discography

Solo

*''Christian Hymns and Songs of Praise'' (2004) *''Christian Hymns and Songs of Praise Pt. II'' (2004) *''Songs All About Advent at Christmas'' (2004) *''Christian Hymns and Songs of Praise Pt. III'' (2014) *''Go into the Light'' (2014) *''Teleportation thru Space'' (2014) *''Astronaut'' (2015)

With Tragic Club

*''Good Morning, Have A Good Day'' (2023)

With Adam Papagan

*''Public Access'' (April 2008) *''New Songs Improvised Live: 6-05-08'' (January 2009) *''Trains of The Past and Present'' (December 2009) *''Monsters'' (March 2010) *''Split EP (with Power Animal)'' (late-2010) *''The David Liebe Hart Hymn Book'' (May 2011) *''The Best of David and Adam'' (October 2011) * The David Liebe Hart Band EP (August 2013)

Features

*'' Tim And Eric – Awesome Record, Great Songs!'' (2008)

Personal life

Hart was born in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

and grew up in Park Forest, Illinois, where his father worked for the

United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the federal governmen ...

and

Chicago Public Schools Chicago Public Schools (CPS), officially classified as City of Chicago School District #299 for funding and districting reasons, in Chicago, Illinois, is the List of the largest school districts in the United States by enrollment, fourth-large ...

. His interest in the history of the railroad system was sparked at a young age but extended throughout his life. He has written several songs discussing both his personal remembrances and history of mid-20th Century railroad lines. He is vocal about his

abstinence Abstinence is the practice of self-enforced restraint from indulging in bodily activities that are widely experienced as giving pleasure. Most frequently, the term refers to sexual abstinence, but it can also mean abstinence from alcohol (drug), ...

from

smoking Smoking is a practice in which a substance is combusted, and the resulting smoke is typically inhaled to be tasted and absorbed into the bloodstream of a person. Most commonly, the substance used is the dried leaves of the tobacco plant, whi ...

alcohol Alcohol may refer to: Common uses * Alcohol (chemistry), a class of compounds * Ethanol, one of several alcohols, commonly known as alcohol in everyday life ** Alcohol (drug), intoxicant found in alcoholic beverages ** Alcoholic beverage, an alco ...

, and

drugs A drug is any chemical substance other than a nutrient or an essential dietary ingredient, which, when administered to a living organism, produces a biological effect. Consumption of drugs can be via inhalation, injection, smoking, ingestio ...

, and his dislike of

rap music Rapping (also rhyming, flowing, spitting, emceeing, or MCing) is an artistic form of vocal delivery and emotive expression that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and ommonlystreet vernacular". It is usually performed over a backing ...

—but other parts of his life, especially since his arrival in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

in 1976, are less clear. In interviews he revealed that he served as a cook in the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest displacement, at 4.5 million tons in 2021. It has the world's largest aircraft ...

at one point in his life.

References

External links

* *
Hart and Hartmänn Publishing Company
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hart, David Liebe 1957 births Living people American Christian Scientists American male film actors American puppeteers American male television actors American people of German descent American outsider musicians American performance artists