Andy Hallett Biography
Summary
"Andrew Alcott 'Andy' Hallett" (August 4, 1975 – March 29, 2009) was an American singer and actor best known for playing the part of Lorne (The Host) in the television series "Angel". He used his singing talents often on the show, and performed two songs on the series' 2005 soundtrack album, "Angel: Live Fast, Die Never".
Early life
Hallett was an only child who grew to stand 6'2'. He was raised in the Cape Cod village of Osterville, Massachusetts, Barnstable County, Massachusetts. He graduated from Barnstable High School in 1993 and went on to attend Assumption College in Worcester.
He did not begin singing publicly until he was invited onstage at a concert, and discovered the thrill of performing. "The Boston Globe" quoted an earlier interview with Hallett in his obituary: "The first time I sang out loud in front of other people was in Boston at Harborlights when Patti Labelle was there", he told the Globe in 2000. The singer coaxed a group of guys onto the stage. "I'm this little white boy. I started singing, and we blew the house down. I sang a line and she said, 'This is a white boy with soul."
Career
After moving to Los Angeles Hallett worked as a runner for an agency and then as a property manager. He eventually became a personal assistant to Kai Cole, wife of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" creator Joss Whedon. When the couple and their friends saw Hallett singing at the 'B.B. Kings' lounge at Universal CityWalk, Whedon conceived a new character for his new show "Angel": The Host, an anagogic demon who reads the hearts and futures of his guests as they sing in his karaoke bar. Hallett was invited to try out for the part, and won it after three auditions. "Angel" was his first job as an actor; he acquired agent Pat Brady only after she spotted him singing and acting in 'Judgment,' the premiere episode of the show's second season.
The Host was featured as a recurring character in 45 episodes before Hallett was added to the title sequence as a series regular for the last nine episodes of the fourth season, and all of the fifth; in total he appeared as Lorne in 76 of the show's 110 episodes. The character's demonic visage involved extensive prosthetic makeup and detailed coloring of his face, neck and hands, leading to early calls for two to four hours of makeup before Hallett's filming day could begin.
During the run of "Angel", Hallett appeared in two other small productions: "The Enforcers" (2001), a TV miniseries directed by "Angel" writer Mere Smith, and "Chance" (2002), a film directed by "Buffy" actress Amber Benson.
Health complications and death
According to a 2005 interview, about a month after filming the last episode of "Angel", Hallett suffered a dental infection which spread through the bloodstream to his heart, leading to a case of cardiomyopathy, for which he spent five days in the hospital. Although he recovered, his heart muscle and valves were weakened and he found himself easily fatigued afterward. He did not return to acting (except for a voice part in the animated film "Geppetto's Secret"), but pursued his music career and frequently appeared at media conventions for "Buffy" and "Angel" and for science fiction and fantasy in general.
Five years after first experiencing heart problems, and after at least three additional hospitalizations, Hallett died from congestive heart failure on March 29, 2009 at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles with his father by his bedside.
External links
(Interview with Andy Hallett) at The Friends of Science Fiction Fan Club convention in Australia in 2002
Credit
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article about Andy Hallett.
