Willam Belli
Willam Belli | |
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File:Willam Belli Shankbone 2010 NYC (1).jpg
Belli at the premiere of Ticked-Off Trannies with Knives
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Born | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States |
June 30, 1982
Residence | Los Angeles, California, United States |
Occupation | |
Website | www |
Willam Belli (born June 30, 1982) is an American actor, drag queen, model and recording artist, who is known for his recurring role as transgender woman Cherry Peck in Nip/Tuck and for being a contestant on the fourth season of RuPaul's Drag Race, for which he remains the only contestant ever disqualified from the series, as well as being the only contestant to vomit on the main stage. In addition to acting, Belli found viral success with his music video parodies "Chow Down" and "Boy Is a Bottom" with his Los Angeles drag queen pop trio, DWV. However, the group split in June 2014, because of a personal conflict among the groupmates.[1]
Contents
Early life
Willam Belli was born on June 30, 1982, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.[2] He is the younger of two children. He lived in Cocoa Beach, Florida, for middle school and high school.[3] Belli's father worked at the Kennedy Space Center. His aunt is television director Mary Lou Belli.
Career
2000–08: Beginnings
Belli's first acting credit was as the role of a street hustler named Darren Jacobs on two episodes of The District (2002) and his first TV appearance was on an episode of the game show Street Smarts.[3][4] He later appeared in the TV Series; The District, Boston Public, Cold Case, The Shield, My Name Is Earl and most notably Nip/Tuck as the transsexual Cherry Peck. Throughout the 2000s he would go on to play small roles in many television shows such as American Wedding, but it would not be until his Rupaul debut that he made a splash.
In 2008, Belli was featured on the single artwork for the song "Breakin' Up" by Rilo Kiley.[5] He has also modeled as part of the Tranimal Master Class Workshop at the Machine Project, which was photographed by Austin Young.[6]
2009–10: Drag career
Belli is a member of the band Tranzkuntinental, which made its debut at The Roxy in 2009. The band was started by Charlie Paulson and Xander Smith and features drag queens Detox, Kelly Mantle, Rhea Litré, and Vicky Vox.[7][8]
In January 2011, he was featured in Rihanna's music video "S&M" along with Detox and Morgan McMichaels as back-up dancers.[9]
2011–12: RuPaul's Drag Race and further success
World of Wonder contacted Willam's manager asking for him to audition for the fourth season of RuPaul's Drag Race.[3] In November 2011, Logo TV announced that Belli was among 13 contestants competing on the fourth season.[10] Fellow castmate Chad Michaels had competed with Belli in the California Entertainer of the Year Pageant in 2010.[11] Belli won the main challenges in the episodes "Float Your Bloat" and "Frenemies," but was disqualified in the latter.[12] In the episode "Reunited," Belli stated that his disqualification was due to conjugal visits made by his husband in his hotel room,[13] though by Belli's own account, the "disqualification" coincided with a previously booked off-Broadway engagement.[14] Belli used the publicity of his disqualification to release his single "Chow Down," which was a parody of Wilson Phillips' "Hold On" that addressed the 2012 Chick-fil-A same-sex marriage controversy. The song featured Detox and Vicky Vox.[15]
On March 12, 2012, he released his first single "Trouble," which was produced by RuPaul's Red Hot collaborator Tom Trujillo. The music video for the song was directed by porn director Chi Chi LaRue and premiered on Logo TV.[3][16] This was not a particularly successful endeavour for him. On March 21, Belli released "The Vagina Song," a parody of "Billionaire" by Travie McCoy featuring Bruno Mars as his third single, which had been previously uploaded to YouTube in 2010. The music video was directed by Michael Serrato,[17] who also directed Belli's music video for "Chow Down."[15]
Belli released "Love You Like a Big Schlong" on April 29, 2012. This was much better received becoming something of a viral hit being watched more than a million times on YouTube alone. Produced by Uncle Slam, the song parodies "Love You Like a Love Song" by Selena Gomez & the Scene. The song was inspired by Belli's loss to 7-year-old Eden Wood in a lip syncing contest during a segment of the 2012 NewNowNext Awards.[18]
In November 2012, Belli was featured with country music artist Drake Jensen on a cover of Tammy Wynette's "Stand by Your Man."[19] That same month, Belli self-released his debut album The Wreckoning via his website.[20]
2013: "Boy Is a Bottom" and DWV success
In January 2013, Belli would have his biggest viral hit with 18 million hits on YouTube alone, when he released "Boy Is a Bottom," featuring Detox and Vicky Vox, to coincide with the fifth season premiere of RuPaul's Drag Race.[21] Its timing and the use of social media made it a very well received release. The song is a parody of "Girl on Fire" by Alicia Keys and also features an altered version of the "breakdown" from "My Lovin' (You're Never Gonna Get It)" by En Vogue.[22] "Boy Is a Bottom" debuted at number six on Billboard's Comedy Digital Songs, selling 3,000 downloads in its first week.[23]
On August 14, 2013, Belli was featured along with Shangela, Detox, Raven, Morgan McMichaels, Shannel, and Courtney Act, in Lady Gaga's lyric video for her single "Applause".
Belli's trio, including Detox and Vicky Vox, called DWV, officially split in June 2014 due to a personal conflict between the members.[1]
2014–present: American Apparel and Shartistry in Motion
Belli then became an American Apparel Ad Girl alongside Drag Race alumni Courtney Act and Alaska Thunderfuck 5000 to which they supported this with a single entitled, "American Apparel Ad Girls".[24][25] They also released a second single together, "Dear Santa, Bring Me a Man" for the Christmas season.[26][27]
On January 13, he released a solo version of the DWV hit "Boy Is a Bottom", in Spanish, entitled, "Es Una Pasiva",[28] which went on to top the comedy iTunes chart.[29] Belli self-released his sophomore studio album, Shartistry in Motion, on June 2.[30][31]
Filmography
Film
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2003 | American Wedding | Butch Queen | |
2004 | The Last Shot | Bus Stop Drag Queen | |
2006 | Unbeatable Harold | Anita Boner | |
2007 | Because I Said So | Transsexual | |
2008 | Defying Gravity | Lola | |
2008 | Dog Tags | Alan | |
2008 | Another Gay Sequel: Gays Gone Wild! | Transamerican Stewardess Nancy Needatwat | |
2009 | Sex Drugs Guns | Candy | |
2009 | Road to the Alter | Jamie | |
2010 | Barry Munday | Felicia | Uncredited |
2010 | Ticked-Off Trannies with Knives | Rachel Slurr | |
2010 | BloodRayne 3: The Third Reich | Vasyl Tishenko | |
2011 | Cinema Verite | Candy Darling | Television film |
2011 | Blubberella | Vadge | |
2012 | The Newest Pledge | Sailor | |
2012 | Fun Size | Qwerty | |
2012 | Lost Angeles | Bob | |
2013 | Girls Will Be Girls | Prosecuter | post-production |
2013 | X-Rated | Geoffrey Gann/'Karen Dior' | pre-production |
2013 | After Birth | Tammy | pre-production |
2013 | Kicking Zombie Ass for Jesus | Beth Ann-Fetterman | post-production |
TBA | Hurricane Bianca | Bailey | pre-production |
Television
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2002 | The District | Hustler | Episode: "Oil and Water" |
2003 | Boston Public | Mike | Episode: "Chapter Fifty-Eight" |
2003 | Cold Case | Drag Performer | Episode: "A Time to Hate" |
2004 | The Shield | Colt | Episode: "Posse Up" |
2004 | Eve | Waiter | Episode: "Self Helpless" |
2004-2006 | Nip/Tuck | Cherry Peck | 5 episodes |
2005 | My Name Is Earl | D.J. | Episode: "Pilot" |
2005 | Related | Amy | Episode: "Movin' Out, Movin' In, Movin' On" |
2006 | Saved | Tippi | Episode: "Living Dead" |
2007 | CSI: NY | Candy Darling | Episode: "The Lying Game" |
2007 | Women's Murder Club | Sasha Simone | Episode: "To Drag & to Hold" |
2009 | Southland | Sheila | Episode: "See the Woman" |
2009 | Criminal Minds | Walter Patterson | Episode: "Too Hell and Back" |
2011 | Hot in Cleveland | Bar Queen | Episode: "2.16" |
2011 | Wonder Woman | Fake Marilyn Monroe | Television pilot |
2012 | RuPaul's Drag Race | Himself | 10 episodes |
2012 | RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked | Himself | 10 episodes |
2012 | RuPaul's Drag U | Professor | Episode: "Ex-Beauty Queens" |
2012 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Dahlia | Episode: "Code Blue Plate Special" |
2013 | The New Normal | Nana Drag Queen | Episode: "The Goldie Rush" |
2013 | She's Living for This[32] | Himself | Season 2, Episode 1 |
2014 | Drag Queens of London | Himself | Season 1, Episode 2 |
Web
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2012-13 | Transfashionable[33] | Himself | 4 episodes "Drag Queen Makeover", "Drag Queen Makeunder", "Death by Drag" and "Miles Jai Post Beatdown Makeover" |
2013 | Neil's Puppet Dreams[34] | Performer | Season 1, Episode 5: Dream Bump |
Willam's Beatdown | Host | 19 episodes | |
Willam's "This is not The Beat Down" Shit I Do... / "Biliam's Wheatdown" | Himself | 8 episodes | |
30 Days of Willam | Host | 30 episodes | |
Snore (Downton Abbey) | Maid | Funny or Die feature | |
Rambo, But Gay | Deputy Mitch | Nerdist feature | |
2014- present |
Beatdown[35] | Host | 16 episodes |
Paint Me Bitch | 8 episodes |
Discography
Albums
Title | Details | Peak chart positions |
|||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
US Comedy [36] |
|||||||||||||
The Wreckoning |
|
— | |||||||||||
Shartistry in Motion |
|
1 | |||||||||||
"—" denotes a recording that failed to chart or was not released in that territory. |
Singles
Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
US Comedy Digital [37] |
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"Trouble" | 2012 | — | The Wreckoning | ||||||||||
"Chow Down" (featuring Detox & Vicky Vox) |
12 | ||||||||||||
"The Vagina Song" | — | ||||||||||||
"Love You Like a Big Schlong" | 25 | ||||||||||||
"She Doesn't Know" | — | ||||||||||||
"Let's Have a KaiKai" (featuring Rhea Litré) |
— | ||||||||||||
"Stand by Your Man" (featuring Drake Jensen) |
— | ||||||||||||
"RuPaulogize" (featuring Sharon Needles) |
2013 | 14 | |||||||||||
"Potential New Boyfriend" | — | ||||||||||||
"Boy Is a Bottom" (with DWV) |
6 | Non-album singles | |||||||||||
"Silicone" (with DWV) |
— | ||||||||||||
"Blurred Bynes" (with DWV) |
5 | ||||||||||||
"That Christmas Song" (with DWV) |
— | ||||||||||||
"Gaycation!" (with DWV) |
2014 | — | |||||||||||
"Hole Pic" | — | ||||||||||||
"Only Anally" | — | Sharistry in Motion | |||||||||||
"American Apparel Ad Girls" (with Courtney and Alaska) |
10 | ||||||||||||
"Dear Santa, Bring Me a Man" (with Courtney and Alaska) |
— | Non-album single | |||||||||||
"Es Una Pasiva" | 2015 | — | Shartistry in Motion | ||||||||||
"Ride for AIDS" (featuring Alaska 5000) |
12 | ||||||||||||
"Thick Thighs" (featuring Latrice Royale) |
3 | ||||||||||||
"—" denotes a recording that failed to chart or was not released in that territory. |
Awards and nominations
NewNowNext Awards
Belli was nominated for his role on RuPaul's Drag Race at the fifth annual NewNowNext Awards which aired on Logo network on April 9, 2012. He lost to Nadia G. of Bitchin' Kitchen which aires on the Food Network Canada and the Cooking Channel.[38]
Year | Recipient/Nominated work | Award | Result |
---|---|---|---|
2012 | Willam Belli | Most Addictive Reality Star | Nominated |
References
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- ↑ http://www.out.com/fashion/truman-says/2014/09/11/alaska-courtney-act-and-willam-belli-american-apparel
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mhNedNUAa4
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zudT4fu5cjc
- ↑ https://www.facebook.com/willam/photos/a.642759532403209.1073741828.635934403085722/915902075088952/?type=1&theater
- ↑ https://www.facebook.com/willam/photos/a.642759532403209.1073741828.635934403085722/917341178278375/?type=1&theater
- ↑ http://www.out.com/theater-dance/2015/4/17/willam-belli-wants-get-thrown-out-her-own-show
- ↑ https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/shartistry-in-motion/id999417762
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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External links
- Use mdy dates from January 2014
- Pages with broken file links
- Articles with hCards
- Official website not in Wikidata
- American bloggers
- American male film actors
- American drag queens
- American male television actors
- LGBT entertainers from the United States
- Gay actors
- People from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- RuPaul's Drag Race contestants
- 1982 births
- Living people