You might know him as Derek Smalls, the hirsute Spinal Tap bassist who sets off metal detectors with the aluminum-wrapped cucumber he stores in the crotch of his pants. Or perhaps you know him better as one of the many voices he provides for TV’s The Simpsons, including the reptilian mogul Montgomery Burns, his kowtowing assistant Waylon Smithers, or the aggressively upbeat Ned Flanders.
He is Harry Shearer – actor, director, musician, author and radio host, to mention just a few of the applicable monikers. Whether you’re familiar more with his vocal acrobatics or his talent for improv, on display during two short-lived stints with Saturday Night Live and in his collaborations with Tap guitarist Christopher Guest (A Mighty Wind), you probably don’t know Shearer as an avid news junkie.
Get to know him tonight at the Christopher B. Smith Rafael Film Center in San Rafael, where the 67-year-old Los Angeles native will be hosting the 7 p.m. screening of The Big Uneasy, his illuminating new documentary about New Orleans, Hurricane Katrina and the insufficiently designed levees that left a bustling metropolis vulnerable to preventable floods. For tickets, click here.
