Zach Anner (born November 17, 1984) is an American comedian, actor, and writer with cerebral palsy who gained worldwide attention with the submission of a video to Oprah Winfrey 's "Search for the Next TV Star" competition. He won his own TV show on OWN through Oprah's Your OWN Show: Oprah's Search for the Next TV Star . His wheelchair travel show, Rollin' With Zach , premiered December 12, 2011. Zach recently wrote for and guest-starred on the ABC-TV sitcom Speechless , which is centered on a teenager with cerebral palsy.
30-484: Zach Anner is originally from Kenmore, New York . He was born with cerebral palsy . Anner graduated from Kenmore West Senior High School . After a stint working for Disney World as a park security specialist at Epcot , he started college at the University of Texas , Austin, in 2005. While attending school, he obtained celebrity interviews through That's Awesome , a sketch comedy program on Texas Student TV K29HW-D ,
60-425: A story arc ). In some cases a guest star may play an important recurring character and may appear many times in a series, despite not being a member of the main cast; they may ultimately be asked to join the main cast if their role continues. The title special guest star is typically used in television for a celebrity guest, but it is also occasionally used for a regular cast member—usually for an actor or actress who
90-425: A YouTube channel where he posts videos on a weekly basis. The channel has over 350,000 subscribers and over 15 million total views. He has multiple series that he includes on the channel, including project "Riding Shotgun", which premiered on October 23, 2012, and "Workout Wednesday", which premiered on August 21, 2013. The latter featured a video that was auto-tuned by The Gregory Brothers . In 2013, Zach started doing
120-455: A common practice. Guest artists should not be confused with touring groups, troupes, orchestra, or even individual artists, although the distinction may be blurred. In the case of touring, their act is independent in itself, while the guest takes part in the act of the resident staff. The duration of involvement of a guest artist may vary, from separate short-term acts with fees per concert to fixed temporary contracts for several seasons. In
150-545: A contestant. Zach Anner also guest-starred as Lee on the 2016–2019 ABC television series Speechless , and was a staff writer and story editor who wrote two episodes for the show as well. Kenmore, New York Kenmore is a village in Erie County, New York , United States. The population was 15,205 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Buffalo-Niagara Falls metropolitan area . Kenmore
180-473: A female householder with no husband present, and 40.1% were non-families. 34.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 3.04. In the village, the population was spread out, with 23.3% under the age of 18, 7.4% from 18 to 24, 30.5% from 25 to 44, 22.5% from 45 to 64, and 16.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age
210-431: A guest star on a record, a production coordinator must in many cases obtain permission from the record label of the guest and make sure that proper credits are delivered to the host record label. Often credits appear in the form " Artist name , courtesy of Record Label name. " The guests are often referred to as featured artists or featured guests. Such a performer may be annotated in credits or even in song titles by
240-626: A show with SoulPancake titled "Have a little faith", in which he explores, in his comedic way, the basic rules of several religions that have a foothold in the United States. Among other religions, Zach has explored Judaism, Islam, the Bahá'í faith, Mormonism, Quakerism, Baptism, and Catholicism. Zach has also been featured on the Rooster Teeth shows The Eleven Little Roosters , Million Dollars But... , and its game show, On The Spot , as
270-447: A weekend trip to Dallas , was unaware of the overnight success of his video submission. Anner's friends filmed his reaction to the then over 2,000,000 votes, as well as the blog and "To Zach Anner" video by John Mayer. Anner exclaimed, "How.... what the... what the balls is this?" at the sight of his new popularity. As a response, Anner posted the subsequent "Thank You, Internet" and "I want to come and see you!" videos. On February 25, it
300-562: Is featured heavily but joined the show after the rest of the cast was signed. The first regular cast member in a TV series to be credited as special guest star was Jonathan Harris in Lost in Space . In a nonfiction television show , a guest star is a guest on the show who is a celebrity or other noteworthy interviewee or commentator. For a list of guest appearances in television, see Lists of guest appearances in television . In video games ,
330-539: Is in the south part of the town of Tonawanda , and together with the town it is often referred to as "Ken-Ton". It is bordered to the south by the city of Buffalo . The village is in the northwest part of Erie County. The village has received accolades: In 2009, the American Planning Association named Kenmore "One of the Top 10 Great Neighborhoods" in the United States. The village is also one of
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#1732798677785360-670: Is portrayed on the village logo is the Eberhardt Mansion , located at the corner of Delaware Avenue and Kenmore Avenue. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. The Kenmore Village Hall was listed in 2013 as the Tonawanda Municipal Building . Kenmore is located at 42°57′54″N 78°52′18″W / 42.96500°N 78.87167°W / 42.96500; -78.87167 (42.964907, -78.871679). According to
390-557: The United States Census Bureau , the village has a total area of 1.4 square miles (3.6 km ), all land. As of the census of 2000, there were 16,426 people, 7,071 households, and 4,235 families residing in the village. The population density was 11,437.2 inhabitants per square mile (4,415.9/km ), one of the densest populations in the United States. There were 7,459 housing units at an average density of 5,193.6 per square mile (2,005.3/km ). The racial makeup of
420-705: The poverty line , including 5.8% of those under age 18 and 4.6% of those age 65 or over. The village government consists of a mayor and four trustees, each elected to a four-year term. The current mayor is Patrick Mang. Kenmore located in Kenmore-Tonawanda Union Free School District . Guest appearance The term guest appearance generally denotes the appearance of a guest in an artistic or pop-culture setting. The guests themselves (referred to as guest artists , featured artists , guest stars , or guest fighters , depending on context), are distinguished from
450-597: The Beard. On June 2, 2010, Anner uploaded a video submission to a contest sponsored by Oprah Winfrey and Harpo Productions . Oprah's "Search for the Next TV Star" contest is a chance for one "top five" finalist to compete on a reality show located in Los Angeles, California. The winner of the reality program would receive a show on OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network . The "top five" online finalists were to be determined by
480-405: The abbreviation feat. or further abbreviation ft. ; or by the word with or abbreviation w/ . The specific credit and billing given to a given performer—"starring," "guest star," "special guest star," "also starring," etc.—is a matter negotiated between the production and the performer or their agent. In a TV series , a guest star is an actor who appears in one or a few episodes (sometimes
510-451: The blending of characters originating from a different series, franchise or medium entirely (see crossovers in video games ). In the case of specific crossovers already being the main theme, guest characters may be those who do not fit within that theme. The inclusion of stars, particularly those from older generations near the end of their career arcs, may bring benefits to the stars themselves. In rap, mutual and multiple guest starring
540-536: The contest was rigged against Anner, as a contestant named Dr. Phyllis received over 300,000 votes in 20 minutes and surpassed Anner. Many voters noticed that after they placed a vote for Anner, the total number of his votes would actually decrease, further adding to the belief that the system was rigged. Anner expressed skepticism about the alleged rigging, stating, "I sincerely doubt that Oprah would do anything like that. She’s probably too busy building schools and helping children to even notice someone like me." Anner has
570-421: The country's 100 most densely-populated incorporated places. The village of Kenmore was incorporated in 1899 from part of the town of Tonawanda. It is known as " Buffalo 's First Suburb". Louis Eberhardt, known as the "father of Kenmore", opposed naming the village "Eberhardt" after himself. He was responsible for buying farmland and subdividing the property into a suburban development. The building which
600-537: The early days of the pop music industry the bands were relatively stable units, and while guests were not uncommon, they were seldom given credits on album covers. For example, Eric Clapton was not credited in print for his guitar performance in the release of " While My Guitar Gently Weeps " of The Beatles . Gradually guest appearances have become a fully credited staple of music industry. The custom of guest appearance has become especially prominent in rap music , and this influenced rock musicians as well. To have
630-436: The number of votes their video received. On the morning of Friday, June 11, 2010, Anner had just over 3,000 votes for his video submission, while the leader of the competition possessed more votes. By the night of Saturday, June 12, celebrity endorsements and support began to appear for Anner. John Mayer, an early supporter of Anner's, posted words of encouragement on his blog. According to The Daily Texan , Anner, who had taken
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#1732798677785660-424: The other real artists or fictional characters by not being part of or fitting the usual theme of the cast. They are usually recognisable on their own and only appear once or rarely within that cast. In show business , a guest appearance is the participation of an outsider performer (such as a musician or actor ) in an event such as a music record or concert , show , etc., when the performer does not belong to
690-421: The regular band, cast, or other performing group. In music, such an outside performer is often referred to as a guest artist. Guest appearances have been known in theatre , ballet , and classical music for centuries, with guests both from the home country and from abroad. The advent of air transport has made this practice much more practical and global. In classical music, guest orchestra conductors are
720-456: The same piece with a new star. Commercialization of guests policy may also have negative consequences. Local theatres may limit the growth opportunities for their performers in favor of guests. Sometimes rehearsal times are inadequate to fully integrate the home and guest styles. Touring increases physical load on an actor. It is also associated with multiple stress factors: from jet lags to close calls due to unanticipated travel delays. With
750-405: The term denotes a playable character whose inclusion in that video game's roster does not follow the template set by the majority of the other characters (for non-playable characters this applies too, see Cameo appearance ). The premise of a playable character straying from a general theme may, for example, include the introduction of real-life personalities to a roster of fictional characters or
780-451: The university's local public-access television cable TV channel. That’s Awesome was created by independent filmmaker Mark Dennis , a friend Zach credits as the one who encouraged him to be in front of the camera. In 2008, he and fellow production mates started a comedy troupe called Lark the Beard, which produced a Streamy-nominated web series entitled The Wingmen . Anner is currently involved in writing shows and feature movies with Lark
810-405: The village was 96.85% White , 0.99% African American , 0.35% Native American , 0.58% Asian , 0.04% Pacific Islander , 0.35% from other races , and 0.83% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.30% of the population. There were 7,071 households, out of which 28.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.3% were married couples living together, 11.6% had
840-412: Was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 86.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.9 males. The median income for a household in the village was $ 42,252, and the median income for a family was $ 53,155. Males had a median income of $ 38,371 versus $ 26,875 for females. The per capita income for the village was $ 21,695. About 3.5% of families and 5.2% of the population were below
870-693: Was announced that Zach Anner had won the competition, winning his own television show, $ 100,000, and a Chevrolet Equinox. The show, titled Rollin' With Zach , premiered December 12, 2011, but was cancelled after six episodes. As of June 15, 2010, Anner had received support from Perez Hilton , John Mayer , Harry Knowles , David Hasselhoff , Daniel Tosh , and others on the Internet. He had also received coverage in New York Magazine , Time , Entertainment Weekly , ABC News, Fox News (Red Eye), Tubefilter.tv, and G4TV. According to internet speculation,
900-507: Was recognized as a way to diversify the performance. In theatre and ballet, guest appearances diversify actors' repertory and experience under different choreographers, and give more acting opportunities. Even for established stars, prestigious overseas engagements increase their home status. Conversely, a guest star benefits the receiving troupe, bringing new inspiration and technique. Audience would welcome diversity, and theatrical business benefits as well: theatre connoisseurs will come to see
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