Drake Bell
Drake Bell performing in 2007
Background information
Birth name	Jared Drake Bell
Born	(1986-06-27) June 27, 1986 (age 25)
Origin	Santa Ana, California, U.S.
Genres	Pop rock, alternative rock
Occupations	Actor, comedian, producer, musician, singer-songwriter, director, voice artist
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, piano, bass, drums, ukulele
Years active	1994–present
Labels	Nine Yards, Universal Motown[1]
Associated acts	Hawk Nelson
Website	www.drakebell.com

Jared Drake Bell^[2] (born June 27, 1986), better known as Drake Bell, is an American actor, comedian, musician, singer-songwriter, record producer, and occasional television director. After beginning his career as a child star in the late 1990s and early 2000s, he appeared on The Amanda Show and became well-known among young audiences for his role on the series Drake & Josh while playing Drake Parker. As of 2010, Drake Bell remains one of Nickelodeon's most popular stars ever and has won nine Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards. His latest film role is the live-action Timmy Turner in the TV film A Fairly Odd Movie: Grow Up, Timmy Turner! shown on July 9, 2011, on Nickelodeon; he is also the voice of Peter Parker / Spider-Man in the animated series Ultimate Spider-Man on Disney XD. Bell is commonly associated with his real-life friend Josh Peck, who co-starred with him in The Amanda Show and Drake & Josh.

In addition to acting, Bell has a growing career as a musician, and co-wrote and performed the theme song to Drake & Josh, entitled "I Found a Way". In 2005 he independently released his debut album, Telegraph. His second album, It's Only Time, was released in 2006 after signing with Universal Motown Records.

Early life[link]

Bell was born and raised in Santa Ana, California, the son of Robin Dodson, a professional billiards player, and Joe Bell. He has three older brothers, Joey, Robert and Travis, and one older sister, Kellie.^[2][3] His cousin is Miami Marlins closer Heath Bell.^[4]

Career[link]

Acting[link]

Bell first appeared on television in a 1994 episode of Home Improvement. He appeared in the film Jerry Maguire (1996), and had a small role in the Seinfeld episode "The Frogger" in 1998. In 1999, he acted in a commercial for Pokémon Red and Blue and in the movie Dragon World: The Legend Continues. In 2000, he was nominated for the Young role as Cage Redding in the made-for-television film The Jack Bull. During the early 2000s, Bell was a featured performer on The Amanda Show and made a guest appearance on the series The Nightmare Room, before being cast as teenage heartthrob Drake Parker alongside real life best friend and former Amanda Show costar Josh Peck on the Nickelodeon series Drake & Josh, which began airing in 2004. During this time period, he made a guest appearance as himself on Nickelodeon's Zoey 101 and won the first of three consecutive "Blimp Awards" at the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards in the "Favorite TV Actor" category. In 2005, Bell co-starred alongside fellow Drake & Josh actress Miranda Cosgrove with Dennis Quaid in Yours, Mine and Ours. In the spring of 2008, Bell had a starring role in the comedy spoof film Superhero Movie. In August 2008, he co-starred in the comedy College, which was shot on location in New Orleans. Bell recently starred in Merry Christmas, Drake & Josh alongside Josh Peck, which began production in July 2008, and premiered on December 5, 2008. In 2010, he made a cameo appearance as Drake Parker in an iCarly episode entitled "iBloop". He starred as Timmy Turner in the live-action TV-movie adaptation of its hit animated series The Fairly Odd Parents, A Fairly Odd Movie: Grow Up, Timmy Turner!, released in 2011.^[5] Bell also guest starred as himself on Victorious in 2012.

Music[link]

Beginnings[link]

In the film Chasing Destiny, he co-starred with The Who lead singer Roger Daltrey, who gave him his first guitar lessons. Bell performed on television for the first time in 2002 when he performed his first original song, "Lost A Lover", on The Amanda Show. He also performed part of this song on an episode of "The Nightmare Room", and "So Little Time".

Bell has described his music as being heavily influenced by The Beatles and The Beach Boys, with the Beatles being his main influence.^[6] He says that two of his other influences are Elvis Presley and Buddy Holly.^[7]

[edit] Telegraph (2004–2005)

His song, "I Found a Way", is featured as the theme song for Drake & Josh. The song is included on Drake & Josh soundtrack, along with two other songs he wrote and performed, and were also included on his debut album, Telegraph, which was released independently on September 27, 2005.

In 2005, Bell performed with Hawk Nelson in a video for the Hawk Nelson song called "Bring 'Em Out," which was featured in the movie Yours, Mine and Ours. Bell and then-band-mates Michael Corcoran (Backhouse Mike) and C.J. Abraham (The Super Chris), worked on music for Drake & Josh, Zoey 101, and iCarly.

[edit] It's Only Time and concert DVD (2006–2008)

In 2006, Bell signed with Universal Motown. He released his first single, "I Know", on October 17, 2006. The video for "I Know" was filmed in October 2006. Bell's second album, entitled It's Only Time, was released on December 5, 2006, reaching Number 81 on Billboard's Top 200.^[8] Bell performed live on MTV's TRL the day after it was released. In the summer of 2007, he went on a Nextfest tour in support of It's Only Time, opening up alongside Corbin Bleu for Aly & AJ.

On October 16, 2007, the Radio Disney single edit version of his song "Makes Me Happy", was released on iTunes. This was the second single for Bell's album It's Only Time. He also wrote with band-mates Michael Corcoran (Backhouse Mike), and C.J. Abraham (The Super Chris), and sang the theme song for the show iCarly, "Leave It All to Me," with Miranda Cosgrove. The music video for the song premiered on May 24, 2008. Bell has recorded a theme song featuring Sara Paxton for his movie Superhero Movie called "Superhero! Song". He performed some Christmas songs in the Merry Christmas, Drake & Josh movie.

A DVD entitled "Drake Bell In Concert" was released on December 16, 2008. The video was unable to crack the 2008 or 2009 Top 100.^[9] The DVD contains footage of him and his band live on stage while they toured in Mexico, in October 2008. It also features 2 new songs and 5 covers, all of which are exclusive to the DVD.^[10]

The Live In Concert DVD featured new music for the first time since 2006's It's Only Time; "Sea Song" and "All Alone at the Disco". He released a preview of a Spanglish edit of "All Alone at the Disco".

[edit] A Reminder and third album (2009–present)

In 2009, he released the songs "Unbelievable", "Modern Times" and "Shades of Grey" on his official MySpace.^[7]

In 2009, Bell uploaded a new track "Yesterday's Fool" to his SoundCloud page that he wrote/produced.

In 2010, Bell released a video showing him and Toby Gad working on a new song "Nevermind". A behind-the-scenes video of the making of the music video for a new song "Our Love" was uploaded on Bell's Official YouTube Channel in 2010. The official music video for "Our Love" appeared on YouTube soon after.

In March 2011, Bell released a 1:00 clip of the music video for a new song "Terrific", with a sneak preview of the studio version of the song.

On May 18, 2011, an official music video for the new song "You're Not Thinking" was released on YouTube, the video already airing heavily in Latin and South America (MTV Mexico Top 10).^[11]

A new single, "Terrific", was released on June 14, 2011, and was also included on an EP titled A Reminder, released on June 28, 2011, also featuring the songs "You’re Not Thinking", "Big Shot" and "Speak My Mind".^[12] The EP was produced by John Fields, who previously worked with Rooney, Jimmy Eat World, Selena Gomez, the Jonas Brothers, and Bleu. Bell said he decided to release A Reminder because he hasn't put out new music in a few years and "a full album will probably not happen until next year."^[12]

Personal life[link]

On December 29, 2005, Bell was involved in a car accident on Los Angeles's Pacific Coast Highway. He was driving with a friend when a truck ran a red light and caused a head-on collision. This resulted in a fractured neck, a jaw broken in three places, six missing teeth and several facial lacerations.^[13]

He has supported the non-profit organization, The Thirst Project, since 2009. The Thirst Project is an organization that addresses the issue of the clean water crisis by raising awareness through education. Bell's contributions include public appeals and concerts to raise funds. In 2010, the organization gave him the Pioneering Spirit Award, the highest honour that The Thirst Project has.^[14]

Filmography[link]

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

Extended plays[link]

Singles[link]

Featured singles[link]

Music videos[link]

Video albums[link]

Awards[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Drake Bell

• Official website
• Drake Bell at the Internet Movie Database
• Works by or about Drake Bell in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
• Drake Bell on Twitter