Adam Savage
Encyclopedia
Adam Whitney Savage is an American industrial design
and special effect
s designer/fabricator, actor, educator, and co-host of the Discovery Channel
television series MythBusters
. His model work
has appeared in major films, including Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones and The Matrix Reloaded
. He is a prominent member of the skeptic
community. He lives in San Francisco with his twin sons and wife, Julia.
in Westchester County
. He graduated from Sleepy Hollow High School in 1985. His father, Whitney Lee Savage, was a painter, filmmaker, and animator known for his work on Sesame Street
, and has a permanent exhibit in the Avampato Discovery Museum. His mother is a psychotherapist. His sister Kate Savage is also an artist. As a teenager in Sleepy Hollow, he routinely visited the local bike shop to have flat tires fixed. The shop showed him to do the repairs himself. From this experience, Savage said, "I realized you could take a bike apart and put it back together and it wasn't that hard...I've been building and putting bicycles and putting together bicycles since then."
Adam Savage began acting as a child, and has had five years of acting school. His early credits include voicing animated characters that his father produced for Sesame Street, Mr. Whipple
's stock boy "Jimmy" in a Charmin
commercial, a helper in the special effects of Star Wars
, and a drowning young man saved by a lifeguard in the 1985 Billy Joel
music video "You're Only Human (Second Wind)
." He attended New York University
's Tisch School of the Arts
for acting for six months before dropping out.
Describing the early abandonment of his acting career, Savage said "...by the time I was, I guess probably nineteen, I had passed on that in favor of doing stuff with my hands – graphic design, assistant animation in New York, and then eventually working in theater in San Francisco, and film special effects. Then MythBusters came along and it was the perfect marriage of two things, performance and special effects." On 25 November 2011, Savage received an honorary doctorate from the University of Twente (Enschede
, Netherlands
) for his role in the popularization of science and technology; Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands was present during the ceremony.
, graphic design
er, carpenter
, projectionist
, film developer, television presenter, set designer
, toy
designer, and gallery owner. He worked as a model maker
on the films Galaxy Quest
, Bicentennial Man
, Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones, The Matrix Reloaded
, and Space Cowboys
, among others.
Savage played the role of a helpful engineer in the film Ever Since the World Ended and the role of an army surplus store owner who sells a man a rocket engine for his pickup truck in The Darwin Awards
, which also featured MythBusters co-star Jamie Hyneman
. He made a cameo appearance
along with Jamie Hyneman on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
on the May 1, 2008, episode "The Theory of Everything." In the "making of" material for The Matrix Revolutions
, he appears in his role as a special effects artist and discusses some of the miniature effects used and the difficulties involved.
He previously taught advanced model making
in the department of Industrial Design at the Academy of Art University
in San Francisco.
Savage has become a regular presenter at magician James Randi
's annual skeptics
' conference, The Amaz!ng Meeting
, since first appearing in January 2006. He also appeared in the UK, giving a talk at the first Amazing Meeting London from 3–4 October, 2009, hosted at the Mermaid Conference Centre, Blackfriars.
Savage was a featured performer at the three w00tstock
v1.x shows in 2009, and is scheduled to appear in four w00tstock v2.x shows in 2010. He also appeared as a guest on Diggnation's
220th show.
Savage has also been a regular guest speaker at the annual Maker Faire
since 2008, speaking on different topics such as his obsession with the dodo bird and problem solving, and also taking questions from the audience members about the Mythbusters and other things.
Savage also hosted an episode of the Discovery Channel series Curiosity
, in which he speculated as to whether or not it is possible for humans to live forever
. During the program various topics such as limb regeneration, organ printers, and even age reversal are discussed.
Savage's demeanour on MythBusters is animated and energetic, providing a foil
to Jamie Hyneman
's more reserved straight man
persona.
Savage and Hyneman were the only hosts of the show for the first season of MythBusters, but starting with the second season, members of Hyneman's staff were introduced and began to appear regularly in episodes; Kari Byron
, Tory Belleci and welder
Scottie Chapman appeared in the second season. In the third season, Chapman was replaced by Grant Imahara
, a robot
builder and model maker. In an interview Savage gave during The Amaz!ng Meeting 5, he expressed an interest in proving natural selection
over creationism
on MythBusters.
Savage also stated that such an episode is unlikely because MythBusters has a policy against trying to disprove supernatural
phenomena.
He is soon to be known as dr.h.c.
Adam Savage, since the University of Twente has decided to confer him (together with Jamie Hyneman) such titles for their role in popularizing science, with the occasion of its 50th anniversary, on November 25, 2011.
's Nerdist site). He wears a hearing aid on his left ear due to a congenital condition. He is a practiced juggler, as seen on Mythbusters. He is also an atheist. He has a lifelong interest in costume making. He said, "I remember my mom getting me a 'Jaws' costume when 'Jaws' came out...and wearing a Batman costume. Back then, everyone dressed up as hobos." He strives for authenticity with his costumes. While in high school, he and his father made a suit of armor out of aluminum roof flashing
that had 700 rivets. He said, "I wore it to school and passed out from heat exhaustion in math class. I woke up in the nurse's office and the first thing I said was 'Where's my armor'?" In 2011, he built a costume based on the character No-Face from the film Spirited Away
.
Industrial design
Industrial design is the use of a combination of applied art and applied science to improve the aesthetics, ergonomics, and usability of a product, but it may also be used to improve the product's marketability and production...
and special effect
Special effect
The illusions used in the film, television, theatre, or entertainment industries to simulate the imagined events in a story are traditionally called special effects ....
s designer/fabricator, actor, educator, and co-host of the Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel is an American satellite and cable specialty channel , founded by John Hendricks and distributed by Discovery Communications. It is a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav...
television series MythBusters
MythBusters
MythBusters is a science entertainment TV program created and produced by Beyond Television Productions for the Discovery Channel. The series is screened by numerous international broadcasters, including Discovery Channel Australia, Discovery Channel Latin America, Discovery Channel Canada, Quest...
. His model work
Scale model
A scale model is a physical model, a representation or copy of an object that is larger or smaller than the actual size of the object, which seeks to maintain the relative proportions of the physical size of the original object. Very often the scale model is used as a guide to making the object in...
has appeared in major films, including Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones and The Matrix Reloaded
The Matrix Reloaded
The Matrix Reloaded is a 2003 American science fiction film and the second installment in The Matrix trilogy, written and directed by the Wachowskis. It premiered on May 7, 2003, in Westwood, Los Angeles, California, and went on general release by Warner Bros. in North American theaters on May 15,...
. He is a prominent member of the skeptic
Scientific skepticism
Scientific skepticism is the practice of questioning the veracity of claims lacking empirical evidence or reproducibility, as part of a methodological norm pursuing "the extension of certified knowledge". For example, Robert K...
community. He lives in San Francisco with his twin sons and wife, Julia.
Early life and education
Born in New York City, Savage was raised in Sleepy HollowSleepy Hollow, New York
Sleepy Hollow is a village in the town of Mount Pleasant in Westchester County, New York, United States. It is located on the eastern bank of the Hudson River, about north of midtown Manhattan in New York City, and is served by the Philipse Manor stop on the Metro-North Hudson Line.Originally...
in Westchester County
Westchester County, New York
Westchester County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. Westchester covers an area of and has a population of 949,113 according to the 2010 Census, residing in 45 municipalities...
. He graduated from Sleepy Hollow High School in 1985. His father, Whitney Lee Savage, was a painter, filmmaker, and animator known for his work on Sesame Street
Sesame Street
Sesame Street has undergone significant changes in its history. According to writer Michael Davis, by the mid-1970s the show had become "an American institution". The cast and crew expanded during this time, including the hiring of women in the crew and additional minorities in the cast. The...
, and has a permanent exhibit in the Avampato Discovery Museum. His mother is a psychotherapist. His sister Kate Savage is also an artist. As a teenager in Sleepy Hollow, he routinely visited the local bike shop to have flat tires fixed. The shop showed him to do the repairs himself. From this experience, Savage said, "I realized you could take a bike apart and put it back together and it wasn't that hard...I've been building and putting bicycles and putting together bicycles since then."
Adam Savage began acting as a child, and has had five years of acting school. His early credits include voicing animated characters that his father produced for Sesame Street, Mr. Whipple
Mr. Whipple
Mr. George Whipple is a fictional supermarket manager featured in television commercials and print advertisements that ran in the United States and Canada from 1964 to 1985 for Charmin toilet paper...
's stock boy "Jimmy" in a Charmin
Charmin
Charmin is a brand-name of toilet paper manufactured by Procter & Gamble.-History:The Charmin name was first created in 1928 by the Hoberg Paper Company in Green Bay, Wisconsin. In 1950, Hoberg changed its name to Charmin Paper Company and continued to produce bath tissue, paper napkins, and other...
commercial, a helper in the special effects of Star Wars
Star Wars
Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
, and a drowning young man saved by a lifeguard in the 1985 Billy Joel
Billy Joel
William Martin "Billy" Joel is an American musician and pianist, singer-songwriter, and classical composer. Since releasing his first hit song, "Piano Man", in 1973, Joel has become the sixth best-selling recording artist and the third best-selling solo artist in the United States, according to...
music video "You're Only Human (Second Wind)
You're Only Human (Second Wind)
"You're Only Human " is a song written in 1985 and performed by Billy Joel for the express purpose of teenage suicide prevention....
." He attended New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
's Tisch School of the Arts
Tisch School of the Arts
Tisch School of the Arts is one of the 15 schools that make up New York University ....
for acting for six months before dropping out.
Describing the early abandonment of his acting career, Savage said "...by the time I was, I guess probably nineteen, I had passed on that in favor of doing stuff with my hands – graphic design, assistant animation in New York, and then eventually working in theater in San Francisco, and film special effects. Then MythBusters came along and it was the perfect marriage of two things, performance and special effects." On 25 November 2011, Savage received an honorary doctorate from the University of Twente (Enschede
Enschede
Enschede , also known as Eanske in the local dialect of Twents, is a municipality and a city in the eastern Netherlands in the province of Overijssel and in the Twente region...
, Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
) for his role in the popularization of science and technology; Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands was present during the ceremony.
Career
Savage has worked as an animatorAnimator
An animator is an artist who creates multiple images that give an illusion of movement called animation when displayed in rapid sequence; the images are called frames and key frames. Animators can work in a variety of fields including film, television, video games, and the internet. Usually, an...
, graphic design
Graphic design
Graphic design is a creative process – most often involving a client and a designer and usually completed in conjunction with producers of form – undertaken in order to convey a specific message to a targeted audience...
er, carpenter
Carpenter
A carpenter is a skilled craftsperson who works with timber to construct, install and maintain buildings, furniture, and other objects. The work, known as carpentry, may involve manual labor and work outdoors....
, projectionist
Projectionist
A Projectionist is a person who operates a movie projector. In the strict sense of the term this means any movie projector and therefore could include someone who operates the projector in a home video show or school. In common usage the term is generally understood to describe a paid employee of...
, film developer, television presenter, set designer
Scenic design
Scenic design is the creation of theatrical, as well as film or television scenery. Scenic designers have traditionally come from a variety of artistic backgrounds, but nowadays, generally speaking, they are trained professionals, often with M.F.A...
, toy
Toy
A toy is any object that can be used for play. Toys are associated commonly with children and pets. Playing with toys is often thought to be an enjoyable means of training the young for life in human society. Different materials are used to make toys enjoyable and cuddly to both young and old...
designer, and gallery owner. He worked as a model maker
Model maker
A model maker is a professional craftsperson who creates a 3 dimensional representation of a design or concept. Most products in use and in development today first take form as a model. This "model" may be an exacting duplicate of the future design or a simple mock-up of the general shape or concept...
on the films Galaxy Quest
Galaxy Quest
Galaxy Quest is a 1999 science-fiction comedy parody about a troupe of human actors who defend a group of aliens against an alien warlord. It was directed by Dean Parisot and written by David Howard and Robert Gordon. Mark Johnson and Charles Newirth produced the film for DreamWorks, and David...
, Bicentennial Man
Bicentennial Man (film)
Bicentennial Man is a 1999 American drama and science fiction film starring Robin Williams and Sam Neill. Based on the novel The Positronic Man, co-written by Isaac Asimov and Robert Silverberg which is itself based on Asimov's original novella titled The Bicentennial Man, the plot explores issues...
, Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones, The Matrix Reloaded
The Matrix Reloaded
The Matrix Reloaded is a 2003 American science fiction film and the second installment in The Matrix trilogy, written and directed by the Wachowskis. It premiered on May 7, 2003, in Westwood, Los Angeles, California, and went on general release by Warner Bros. in North American theaters on May 15,...
, and Space Cowboys
Space Cowboys
Space Cowboys is a 2000 science fiction film directed by Clint Eastwood. Eastwood also stars in the film alongside Tommy Lee Jones, Donald Sutherland, and James Garner as four older "ex-test pilots" who are sent into space to repair an old Soviet satellite...
, among others.
Savage played the role of a helpful engineer in the film Ever Since the World Ended and the role of an army surplus store owner who sells a man a rocket engine for his pickup truck in The Darwin Awards
The Darwin Awards (film)
The Darwin Awards is a 2006 American adventure comedy film based on the website of the same name.Written and directed by Finn Taylor, the film premiered January 25, 2006, at the Sundance Film Festival...
, which also featured MythBusters co-star Jamie Hyneman
Jamie Hyneman
James Franklin "Jamie" Hyneman is an American special effects expert, best known for being the co-host of the television series MythBusters. He is also the owner of M5 Industries, the special effects workshop where MythBusters is filmed...
. He made a cameo appearance
Cameo appearance
A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
along with Jamie Hyneman on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation is an American crime drama television series, which premiered on CBS on October 6, 2000. The show was created by Anthony E. Zuiker and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer...
on the May 1, 2008, episode "The Theory of Everything." In the "making of" material for The Matrix Revolutions
The Matrix Revolutions
The Matrix Revolutions is a 2003 American science fiction film and the third installment of The Matrix trilogy. The film was released six months following The Matrix Reloaded. The film was written and directed by the Wachowski brothers and released simultaneously in sixty countries on November 5,...
, he appears in his role as a special effects artist and discusses some of the miniature effects used and the difficulties involved.
He previously taught advanced model making
Scale model
A scale model is a physical model, a representation or copy of an object that is larger or smaller than the actual size of the object, which seeks to maintain the relative proportions of the physical size of the original object. Very often the scale model is used as a guide to making the object in...
in the department of Industrial Design at the Academy of Art University
Academy of Art University
The Academy of Art University , a for-profit university owned by the Stephens Institute, was founded in San Francisco, California in 1929 by Richard S. Stephens...
in San Francisco.
Savage has become a regular presenter at magician James Randi
James Randi
James Randi is a Canadian-American stage magician and scientific skeptic best known as a challenger of paranormal claims and pseudoscience. Randi is the founder of the James Randi Educational Foundation...
's annual skeptics
Scientific skepticism
Scientific skepticism is the practice of questioning the veracity of claims lacking empirical evidence or reproducibility, as part of a methodological norm pursuing "the extension of certified knowledge". For example, Robert K...
' conference, The Amaz!ng Meeting
The Amaz!ng Meeting
The Amaz!ng Meeting is an annual conference that focuses on science, skepticism, and atheism. It was started in 2003 by the James Randi Educational Foundation...
, since first appearing in January 2006. He also appeared in the UK, giving a talk at the first Amazing Meeting London from 3–4 October, 2009, hosted at the Mermaid Conference Centre, Blackfriars.
Savage was a featured performer at the three w00tstock
W00tstock
w00tstock, billed as "3 Hours of Geeks & Music," is a special event featuring music, comedy, readings, short films, and demonstrations. Shows in 2009 took place in two locations: the Swedish American Hall in San Francisco, California on October 19 and 20; and Largo in Los Angeles, California on...
v1.x shows in 2009, and is scheduled to appear in four w00tstock v2.x shows in 2010. He also appeared as a guest on Diggnation's
Diggnation
Diggnation is Revision3's flagship video podcast produced weekly. It is hosted by Kevin Rose and Alex Albrecht, who had previously hosted TechTV's The Screen Savers together. Its main purpose is to discuss some of the top stories from Digg, the social news and bookmarking website developed by Rose...
220th show.
Savage has also been a regular guest speaker at the annual Maker Faire
Maker Faire
Maker Faire is an event created by Make magazine to "celebrate arts, crafts, engineering, science projects and the Do-It-Yourself mindset".-Past events:The first was held April 22 – 23, 2006, at the San Mateo Fairgrounds...
since 2008, speaking on different topics such as his obsession with the dodo bird and problem solving, and also taking questions from the audience members about the Mythbusters and other things.
Savage also hosted an episode of the Discovery Channel series Curiosity
Curiosity (TV series)
Curiosity is a Discovery Channel show. It premiered on Sunday, August 7, 2011 at 8 pm. Each episode focuses on one question in science, technology, and society, such as why the Titanic sank, and features a different celebrity host...
, in which he speculated as to whether or not it is possible for humans to live forever
Immortality
Immortality is the ability to live forever. It is unknown whether human physical immortality is an achievable condition. Biological forms have inherent limitations which may or may not be able to be overcome through medical interventions or engineering...
. During the program various topics such as limb regeneration, organ printers, and even age reversal are discussed.
MythBusters
Savage has been involved in MythBusters since its creation. His role in the show (that he shares with all the other talent) is to either disprove ("bust") myths or confirm them through testing and experiments done at different scales. If the myth is about a one-time occurrence and not about whether or not something can happen at all, it is often deemed "plausible" instead.Savage's demeanour on MythBusters is animated and energetic, providing a foil
Foil (literature)
In fiction, a foil is a character who contrasts with another character in order to highlight particular qualities of another character....
to Jamie Hyneman
Jamie Hyneman
James Franklin "Jamie" Hyneman is an American special effects expert, best known for being the co-host of the television series MythBusters. He is also the owner of M5 Industries, the special effects workshop where MythBusters is filmed...
's more reserved straight man
Double act
A double act, also known as a comedy duo, is a comic pairing in which humor is derived from the uneven relationship between two partners, usually of the same gender, age, ethnic origin and profession, but drastically different personalities or behavior...
persona.
Savage and Hyneman were the only hosts of the show for the first season of MythBusters, but starting with the second season, members of Hyneman's staff were introduced and began to appear regularly in episodes; Kari Byron
Kari Byron
Kari Elizabeth Byron is a San Francisco-based television host and artist, best known for her featured role on the Discovery Channel show MythBusters.-MythBusters:...
, Tory Belleci and welder
Welding
Welding is a fabrication or sculptural process that joins materials, usually metals or thermoplastics, by causing coalescence. This is often done by melting the workpieces and adding a filler material to form a pool of molten material that cools to become a strong joint, with pressure sometimes...
Scottie Chapman appeared in the second season. In the third season, Chapman was replaced by Grant Imahara
Grant Imahara
Grant Masaru Imahara is a Japanese American electronics and radio control expert, best known for his work on the American television show MythBusters.-Education and early work:...
, a robot
Robot
A robot is a mechanical or virtual intelligent agent that can perform tasks automatically or with guidance, typically by remote control. In practice a robot is usually an electro-mechanical machine that is guided by computer and electronic programming. Robots can be autonomous, semi-autonomous or...
builder and model maker. In an interview Savage gave during The Amaz!ng Meeting 5, he expressed an interest in proving natural selection
Natural selection
Natural selection is the nonrandom process by which biologic traits become either more or less common in a population as a function of differential reproduction of their bearers. It is a key mechanism of evolution....
over creationism
Creationism
Creationism is the religious beliefthat humanity, life, the Earth, and the universe are the creation of a supernatural being, most often referring to the Abrahamic god. As science developed from the 18th century onwards, various views developed which aimed to reconcile science with the Genesis...
on MythBusters.
Savage also stated that such an episode is unlikely because MythBusters has a policy against trying to disprove supernatural
Supernatural
The supernatural or is that which is not subject to the laws of nature, or more figuratively, that which is said to exist above and beyond nature...
phenomena.
He is soon to be known as dr.h.c.
Honorary degree
An honorary degree or a degree honoris causa is an academic degree for which a university has waived the usual requirements, such as matriculation, residence, study, and the passing of examinations...
Adam Savage, since the University of Twente has decided to confer him (together with Jamie Hyneman) such titles for their role in popularizing science, with the occasion of its 50th anniversary, on November 25, 2011.
Personal life
Savage and his current wife Julia were married in 2002. He has twin sons from a previous relationship (as referred to during his participation in a podcast from Chris HardwickChris Hardwick
Christopher Ryan "Chris" Hardwick is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, musician, podcaster, television personality, and voice artist...
's Nerdist site). He wears a hearing aid on his left ear due to a congenital condition. He is a practiced juggler, as seen on Mythbusters. He is also an atheist. He has a lifelong interest in costume making. He said, "I remember my mom getting me a 'Jaws' costume when 'Jaws' came out...and wearing a Batman costume. Back then, everyone dressed up as hobos." He strives for authenticity with his costumes. While in high school, he and his father made a suit of armor out of aluminum roof flashing
Flashing (weatherproofing)
Flashing refers to thin continuous pieces of sheet metal or other impervious material installed to prevent the passage of water into a structure from an angle or joint...
that had 700 rivets. He said, "I wore it to school and passed out from heat exhaustion in math class. I woke up in the nurse's office and the first thing I said was 'Where's my armor'?" In 2011, he built a costume based on the character No-Face from the film Spirited Away
Spirited Away
is a 2001 Japanese animated fantasy-adventure film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki and produced by Studio Ghibli. The film tells the story of Chihiro Ogino, a sullen ten-year-old girl who, while moving to a new neighborhood and after her parents are transformed into pigs by the witch Yubaba,...
.
External links
- Adam Savage's personal website
- Adam Savage's biography from the Discovery Channel
- Interview with Adam at The Sneeze
- Interview with Adam from Reddit.com
- Adam Savage interviewed on Penn RadioPenn RadioPenn Radio was an hour-long talk CBS radio show which ran from January 3, 2006 to March 2, 2007, hosted by Penn Jillette and Michael Goudeau and produced by "Happy" Jack Landreth and Patrick DiFazio...
- Adam talks about his newfound fame
- Savage Presentation at The Entertainment Gathering (December 2008)
- Adam Savage on Diggnation (September 2009)
- Adam Savage interviewed on Geek a Week