‘Clerks’ star Brian O’Halloran serves as a celebrity bartender at Food & Fire in Moosic on Jan. 30
From a press release:
Just because he’ll serve you doesn’t mean he’ll like you.
Actor Brian O’Halloran, best known for playing the character of Dante Hicks in Kevin Smith’s “Clerks” films, and “Mr. Hush” writer/director David Lee Madison will be celebrity bartenders at Food & Fire BBQ Taphouse in Moosic this Thursday, Jan. 30.
O’Halloran and Madison will slinging drinks from 5 p.m.-9 p.m., and the restaurant is featuring a New Belgium Brewing tap takeover that night with live acoustic music by local singer/songwriter Eric Rudy. Food & Fire is located at the Shoppes at Montage Mountain (7041 Shoppes Blvd., Moosic) and has 48 beers on tap in addition to authentic barbecue cooked “low and slow.”
The longtime friends have visited Northeastern Pennsylvania before, shooting “Mr. Hush” in Pike County and appearing at the Mr. Hush Weekend of Fear at The Woodlands in Wilkes-Barre in 2014. Their most recent project together, “Wit’s End,” is about a man fighting for survival after being stranded.
Brian O’Halloran, first-generation American son of Irish immigrants, was born in New York and moved to New Jersey at the age of 10. He discovered his love for acting at age 15 and became active in theater in high school and college.
In 1994, he made his film debut as Dante Hicks in writer/director Kevin Smith’s “Clerks” but continued to work as a stage actor with the Boomerang Theatre Company, the New Jersey Repertory Company, and the Tri-State Actors Theatre, among others. While reprising his role in 2006’s “Clerks II,” O’Halloran also appeared as Reverend Parris in Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible” at the Holmdel Theatre Company.
He has been seen in many other Kevin Smith films, including “Mallrats,” “Chasing Amy,” “Dogma,” and “Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back,” as well as returning to voice Dante in “Clerks: The Animated Series.” Following his recent appearance in 2019’s “Jay and Silent Bob Reboot,” O’Halloran is set to play Dante at least one more time in “Clerks III.”
The title role in the 2000 film “Vulgar” was specifically created for him. O’Halloran has also been seen in “The Happening,” “Miss December,” “Bloody Slumber Party,” and “Flea,” and he continues to appear in indie films to this day, with several projects currently in the works.
Writer, director, and actor David Lee Madison developed his love for film at a young age. By the age of 5, he had already seen and loved all of the original Universal horror films. He got his first taste of filmmaking at 9, when he was an extra in “Hero at Large,” a John Ritter film directed by Martin Davidson. Throughout his teen years, he appeared in Neil Simon’s “Brighton Beach Memoirs” and James Lemmo’s “Heart” starring Brad Davis. His recent work includes “Emerging Past,” a film he produced in which he appears alongside his childhood idol “Stephen Geoffreys” (“Fright Night,” “976-EVIL”) in a very funny scene.
“Mr. Hush,” which he wrote, produced, and directed, has become a cult classic. It stars Brad Loree (Michael Myers in “Halloween: Resurrection”), Stephen Geoffreys, and Steve Dash (Jason Voorhees in “Friday the 13th: Part 2”) and enjoyed a limited national theatrical run in New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Atlanta, Dallas, Northeastern Pennsylvania, and Pittsburgh. It was released nationally on DVD and Blu-ray on Aug. 7, 2012 and spent six weeks on Redbox’s genre Top 10 list. In 2012, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences requested a copy of the “Mr. Hush” script to be placed in the permanent core collection of the Margaret Herrick Library to be preserved forever.
In 2014, Madison started a podcast/radio show titled “The End of the Night.” In his first 10 episodes, guests included Corey Feldman, Doug Bradley, David Naughton, Brian O’Halloran, Harrison Page, Tiffany Shepis, Fred “the Hammer” Williamson, G. Tom Mac, and Tony Moran, just to name a few.
In 2015, he released his film “Middle Village” with a theatrical debut at the historic Cinemart Theater in Queens, New York. It has garnered laurels from the Forwardian Film Festival and has received overwhelmingly positive reviews. The film features his dear friend Brian O’Halloran, Ray Abruzzo (“Mad Men,” “The Sopranos”), Scott Schiaffo (“Clerks”), and WWE Superstar Gene Snisky.
In 2016, Madison appeared in Tom Holland’s “You’re So Cool, Brewster! The Story of Fright Night.” In 2018, he played Agent Smith in Stevan Mena’s film “Malevolence 3: Killer.”
Madison’s latest film, “Wit’s End,” is waiting to be released, along with a movie he appears in titled “Darkness Waits,” directed by Libby McDermott and featuring Conrad Brooks’ last performance.
