Main Article |
Background[]
The late Michael Lee Aday ( b. 27 September 1947 - 20 January 2022 ) was a writer, musician, and actor but was best known as rock singer under his professional stage name as "Meat Loaf". His career included live action musical stage theater, television and cinematic roles; and voice acting performances.
Renowned for his powerful voice and broad range; Meat Loaf began his career in a number of off-Broadway rock musicals such as "Hair" and "The Rocky Horror Show" before seriously pursuing a career as a professional musician and singer in the mid-1970s. His first major album "Bat Out of Hell" was released in 1977.
Although it was not a major hit at first in the United States; it did become massively popular internationally and eventually emerged as one of the best selling albums of all time ― allowing Meat Loaf to emerge as a major rock star aboard. His music songs and style was often classified as "rock opera".
Meat Loaf however never forgot his music theater roots and his concert tours and live shows became legendary for their flamboyance and theatricality. Nor his first love of acting as he would make numerous cameos in various television shows and minor bit parts in films over the next few decades.
Personal Life[]
Filmography[]
- State Fair (1962)
- Family Honor (1973)
- The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)
- Saturday Night Live (1978-81) 2 episodes
- Americathon (1979)
- Scavenger Hunt (1979)
- Roadie (1980)
- Dead Ringer (1981)
- Rebellious Jukebox (1983)
- Pop Quiz (1984) 2 episodes
- Feel the Motion (1985)
- The Equalizer (1985) 1 episode
- Out of Bounds (1986)
- Love Me Tender: A Tribute to the Music of Elvis Presley (1987)
- The Squeeze (1987)
- Medium Rare (1987)
- Meat Loaf: London Meltdown Concert (1987)
- Freedomfest: Nelson Mandela's 70th Birthday Celebratation (1988)
- Monsters (1988) 1 episode
- Motorama (1991)
- Meat Loaf: Hits Out of Hell (1991)
- Wayne's World (1992)
- Lightning Force (1992) 2 episodes
- Tales from the Crypt (1992) 1 episode
- The Gun in Betty Lou's Handbag (1992)
- Leap of Faith (1992)
- Psyched for Snuppa (1993)
- Meat Loaf: Bat Out of Hell II - Picture Show (1994)
- To Catch a Yeti (1995)
- I'd Lie for You and That's the Truth (1996)
- Nash Bridges (1997) 1 episode
- Dead Man's Gun (1997) 1 episode
- Spice World (1997)
- South Park (1998) 1 episode
- Gunshy (1998)
- The Mighty (1998)
- Black Dog (1998)
- Everything That Rises (1998)
- Outside Ozona (1998)
- Crazy in Alabama (1999)
- Python Night: 30 Years of Monty Python (1999)
- Fight Club (1999)
- The Diary of the Hurdy-Gurdy Man (1999)
- The Outer Limits (2000) 1 episode
- Blacktop (2000)
- From Spam to Sperm (2000)
- The Ballad of Lucy Whipple (2001)
- Italian Ties (2001)
- Rustin (2001)
- A Galaxy Far, Far Away (2001)
- Trapped (2001)
- Focus (2001)
- Formula 51 (2001)
- Polish Spaghetti (2001)
- The Salton Sea (2002)
- Wishcraft (2002)
- The Car Kid (2002)
- John Doe (2002) 1 episode
- Learning Curves (2003)
- A Hole in One (2004)
- Meat Loaf: Live with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (2004)
- Extreme Dating (2005)
- Chasing Ghosts (2005)
- Crazylove (2005)
- BloodRayne (2005)
- American Idol (2006) 1 episode
- The Pleasure Drivers (2006)
- Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny (2006)
- Masters of Horror (2006) 1 episode
- Urban Decay (2007)
- Dancing with the Stars (2007) 1 episode
- Rock & A Hard Place (2008) 12 episodes
- House M.D. (2009) 1 episode
- Citizen Jane (2009)
- Monk (2009) 1 episode
- Ghost Hunters (2009-10) 2 episodes
- Burning Bright (2010)
- Beautiful Boy (2010)
- Polish Bar (2010)
- Glee (2010) 1 episode
- Absolute Killers (2011)
- The Apprentice (2011) 12 episodes
- Fairly Legal (2012) 1 episode
- U B Da Judge (2012)
- The Moment (2013)
- All American Christmas Carol (2013)
- Night of the Proms (2013) 1 episode
- Stage Fright (2014)
- Wishin' and Hopin' (2014)
- Elementary (2017) 1 episode
Trivia[]
- Despite his professional stage name, Meat Loaf is actually not a big fan of meatloaf itself. In fact, he was a vegetarian for most of the 1980's.
- Meat Loaf often gave numerous contradictory stories to the origins of his stage name; claiming that when he was born, he was bright red for days and his father proclaimed that he looked like "nine-and-a-half pounds of ground chuck" and tagged him as "Meat"; as an overweight football player, he accidentally stepped on his coach's foot and was cursed out as a "hunk of meatloaf"; and that his classmates tagged him with the unfortunate moniker after his initials of "M.L.A."; among other more outrageous ones.
Quotes[]
- "Rock n' Roll came from the slaves singing gospel in the fields. Their lives were hell and they used music to lift out of it, to take them away. That's what rock n' roll should do ― take you to a better place."
- "There's no explanation for success. Success just comes out of life."
- "I never fit in. I am a true alternative. And I love being the outcast. That's my role in life, to be an outcast."
- "When your name is on the marquee, you either get the glory or you get the hits."