Lance Bass
Encyclopedia
James Lance Bass best known as Lance Bass, is an American
pop
singer, dancer, actor
, film
and television producer
, and author
. He grew up in Mississippi
and rose to fame as the bass singer for the American pop
boy band
'N Sync
. 'N Sync's success led Bass to work in film and television. He starred in the 2001 film On the Line
, which his company, Bacon & Eggs, also produced. Bass later formed a second production company, Lance Bass Productions, as well as a now-defunct music management company, Free Lance Entertainment, a joint venture with Mercury Records
.
After completion of 'N Sync's Pop Odyssey Tour
, Bass moved to Star City, Russia
, in much publicized pursuit of a seat on a Soyuz
space capsule
. Bass was certified by both NASA
and the Russian Space Program
after several months of cosmonaut training, and planned to join the TMA-1
mission to the International Space Station
. However, after his financial sponsors backed out, Bass was denied a seat on the mission.
In July 2006, Bass revealed that he is gay
in a cover story for People
magazine. He was awarded the Human Rights Campaign
Visibility Award in October 2006, and released an autobiography
, Out of Sync
, in October 2007, which debuted on the New York Times Best Seller list
.
, to James Irvin Bass, Jr., a medical technologist
, and Diane (née
Pulliam), a middle school
mathematics
and English teacher
. Along with his older sister, Stacy, Bass grew up in nearby Ellisville, Mississippi
, and was raised as a Southern Baptist. Bass has described his family as devoutly Christian
and conservative and has said that his childhood was "extremely happy". As a young boy, Bass developed an interest in space
, and at age 9 traveled to Cape Canaveral, Florida
, with his father to watch his first live space shuttle
launch. Of this experience Bass said, "I was certain from then on that my future was to be involved with space." Shortly after, Bass attended space camp in Titusville, Florida
, and aspired to attend college and study engineering
, with the hope that he would one day work for NASA
.
When Bass was 10 years old, his father was transferred to a different hospital
, and the family moved to Clinton, Mississippi
. Bass began singing in his Baptist church choir, and was encouraged to audition for local performance groups by his childhood best friend, Darren Dale, the youngest child of former longtime Mississippi Insurance Commissioner George Dale. Bass joined the Mississippi Show Stoppers, a state-wide music group sponsored by the Mississippi Agriculture
and Forestry
Museum, and the Attaché Show Choir, a national-award-winning competitive show choir
group at Clinton High School. He was also a member of a seven-man vocal group named Seven Card Stud, which competed at state fairs and performed at several social and political events for Senator
Trent Lott
.
At Clinton High School, Bass was elected vice president of his junior class, and has said that he performed well in math
and science
. However, Bass later stated that his primary focus during high school was singing, and when looking back, he remembers "hardly anything" about academia.
and his mother, Lynn Harless, who asked Bass if he would be interested in auditioning for a pop
group
that Timberlake was a part of. After the group's original bass singer, Jason Galasso, had quit, Timberlake's vocal coach (who had worked with Bass during his time as a Mississippi Show Stopper) recommended Bass as a replacement. Bass was accepted into the group, which was later named 'N Sync
, after auditioning in front of the other bandmembers and Lou Pearlman
, and soon left school to move to Orlando, Florida
, and rehearse full-time. Bass has said that he did not know how to dance
before he joined 'N Sync, and therefore found much of the group's choreography difficult to learn. According to an episode of VH1
's Driven, Jan Boltz, president of BMG's German
division, offered 'N Sync a recording contract under the condition that they replace Bass, whose dancing, he felt, "wasn't at the same level as all the others." However, the other members of the group refused to accept the contract without Bass, and the group's manager, Johnny Wright, convinced Bolz that Bass's dancing would quickly improve. Bolz conceded, and the group soon moved to Munich
, Germany to record their first album with BMG. 'N Sync began extensive touring in Europe, and Bass's mother quit her job to tour with the group as a chaperone, as Bass was still a minor
.
After gaining significant notability in Europe, 'N Sync was signed to American record label RCA
in 1997. The group's first single, "I Want You Back" began receiving major radio play in the United States, and 'N Sync soon found themselves becoming an "overnight sensation", a period which Bass describes in his autobiography as "the death of my own innocence". Along with increasing fame and recognition in the United States the band also experienced a highly publicized legal battle with Pearlman, due to what the group believed were illicit business practices on his part. 'N Sync sued Pearlman and his record company, Trans Continental, for defrauding
the group of more than 50% of their earnings, rather than his original promise of only receiving one-sixth of the profits. The group threatened to leave and sign with Jive Records
, which prompted Pearlman and RCA to countersue 'N Sync for $150 million US, citing breach of contract
. The injunction was thrown out of court and, after winning back their earnings, 'N Sync signed with Jive. Bass has been estranged from Pearlman ever since.
In March 2000, 'N Sync released No Strings Attached, which became the fastest-selling record of all time, selling 1.1 million copies in its first day of release. In 2001, the group followed up with their Celebrity
album, which scored the second highest first-week album sales ever, trumped only by the group's previous album. 'N Sync went on to sell over 56 million records worldwide. In 2002, the group announced that they would be taking a "hiatus", during which Timberlake began to record solo material. 'N Sync has not recorded new material since, and Bass has stated that he feels the group has officially disbanded.
In 2007, Bass stated that he had faith Timberlake would return after six months off to record another album with 'N Sync, and that he felt betrayed by Timberlake's 2004 decision to pursue his solo career instead. Bass has also said that he has little hope for a reunion, since Timberlake has "made it clear that he wouldn't be interested in discussing another album any time soon." Despite these statements, Bass has denied that he harbors any ill feelings towards Timberlake, saying:
. Vowing to keep the company "a strictly family-run operation," Bass employed his parents and sister as talent scouts, and recruited childhood friend and aspiring country singer Meredith Edwards
for the company's first release. Edwards began touring with 'N Sync as an opening act in the fall of 2000, and Bass teamed up with MTV
to hold a nationwide talent search for more artists later that year. However, Free Lance soon folded after disappointing sales of Edwards's debut album, Reach
.
drama series 7th Heaven
, playing Rick Palmer, a love interest for Beverly Mitchell's character, Lucy. The following year, while 'N Sync was in the midst of recording Celebrity, Bass received his first starring role in the 2001 motion picture On The Line
. Bass played Kevin, a man who falls in love with a woman on a Chicago
train and begins a search to find her again. The film was produced by Bass's production company, A Happy Place (later renamed Bacon & Eggs), and featured appearances by Jerry Stiller
, Al Green
, Bon Jovi
guitarist Richie Sambora
, former WWE
wrestler Chyna, and Bass's bandmates Timberlake and Kirkpatrick. The film also featured a soundtrack which included previously unreleased songs by 'N Sync and Britney Spears
. Bass collaborated with Joey Fatone
, Mandy Moore
, Christian Burns
and True Vibe
(as the "On The Line Allstars") for the film's theme song, "On The Line".
Despite heavy marketing towards 'N Sync's teen fans, the film was a commercial failure, grossing only $4.2 million US domestically despite its $10 million US budget. The film, along with Bass's acting, was also poorly received by critics. Bass later said that he felt the film's success was greatly hindered by its release date, which came one week after the World Trade Center
attacks of September 11, 2001. In his 2007 autobiography, Bass wrote, "That was it – our film was finished... once the country went to war, there was no way our film was going to be on anyone's top-priority list."
After On The Line, Bass appeared in Zoolander
and Wes Craven
's Cursed as himself, and played a wedding singer in I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry
. Bass has also lent his voice to several animated television programs, such as Robot Chicken
and Disney's Kim Possible
, Handy Manny
and Higglytown Heroes
. In the video game realm, Bass voiced the Final Fantasy VII
character Sephiroth in Kingdom Hearts
. On August 14, 2007, Bass began a six-month stint playing Corny Collins in the Broadway
musical
Hairspray
, coinciding with the play's five year stage anniversary. Bass ended his run in Hairspray on January 6, 2008. Lance has also made an appearance in the movie Tropic Thunder
.
Bass was a contestant on Season 7 of Dancing with the Stars
, and was paired with swing dance champ Lacey Schwimmer
.
. After On The Line, A Happy Place changed its name to Bacon & Eggs and produced its second feature film, Lovewrecked
, in 2005. The film debuted on the ABC Family Channel in January 2007, and starred Amanda Bynes
, Chris Carmack
and Jamie-Lynn Sigler
, with Bass in a minor role. This too received mostly negative reviews.
Bass later formed a separate production company named Lance Bass Productions. On May 14, 2007, Brian Graden
announced that Lance Bass Productions will be working with the LOGO
network in executive producing a reality television show about the music business. It has been reported that the show will focus on the creation and development of an all-gay boy band
. In 2008, Bass co-produced The Grand
, and Bass's company is reported to be developing a music docudrama
about the life of rock band
s on tour.
In October 2011, Bass debuted his own boy band called Heart2Heart.
training in Star City, Russia
. Bass was originally supposed to be the host of a space competition show to be entitled The Big Mission, in which several contestants would go through rigorous training in order to win a seat on a Russian Soyuz
space capsule
. However, the game show concept fell apart when the producers of the show decided it would be a much better idea to shoot a documentary of a celebrity actually training and going into space, and airing it on a major network. The producers came up with the idea of using Bass when, while sitting with a friend and discussing the space project, the friend's daughter shouted out, "Lance Bass wants to go into space!" The girl, who was an 'N Sync fan, learned of Bass's lifelong dream of space travel when she read it in an online chat, and suggested Bass to the producers.
In order to be admitted into training, Bass agreed to undergo heart surgery to correct a type of cardiac arrhythmia, which was discovered in 1999 when he collapsed after a concert. After several months of training, Bass received cosmonaut certification and was scheduled to fly into space on the Soyuz TMA-1
mission that was to be launched on October 30, 2002. The capsule was scheduled to fly to the International Space Station
and land in a desert
in Kazakhstan
.
Several months before Bass was scheduled to fly, the original deal to air the documentary about Bass fell through. Bass's camp turned to MTV
, who initially agreed to sponsor the trip but then backed out over "payment, insurance, and indemnification issues". Shortly after, all of Bass's other sponsorships fell through, including one sponsor that pulled out because they worried about the image of their brand possibly being tarnished if Bass were to die on the mission. Bass was eventually rejected from the program, and was replaced on the flight by Russian cosmonauts Yuri Lonchakov
, Sergei Zalyotin
and Belgium’s Frank De Winne
.
's Youth Spokesman. Bass has stated that he believes young people becoming more interested in space exploration
"will help the future of our planet". From 2003 to 2005, Bass spent World Space Week traveling to American high schools speaking with students about space exploration and encouraging them to explore careers in the fields of science and mathematics. Bass is a member of the National Space Society
, a non-profit educational space advocacy
organization founded by Dr. Wernher Von Braun. Bass has served on the National Space Society's Board of Governors
since October 2004, alongside other space advocates such as actor
Tom Hanks
and author
and futurist Sir Arthur C. Clarke
. In a 2007 interview with GQ magazine, Bass stated that he "absolutely" still intends on going to space, and that he hopes to work on a space documentary
. Bass has also retained fluency in Russian, which he was required to learn during his training.
as gay
in a cover story for People
magazine on July 26, 2006. There had been considerable media speculation about his orientation due to numerous paparazzi
snapshots of him at gay bar
s and nightclubs, most notably during the preceding Independence Day
weekend in Provincetown, Massachusetts
. Celebrity gossip blog
ger Perez Hilton
had also been posting items on his website about Bass's orientation since September 2005, and New York gossip column Page Six ran a blurb on July 12, 2006, that reported a sighting of Bass at a gay bar with his then-boyfriend, Reichen Lehmkuhl
. Bass's publicist, Ken Sunshine
, chose to release the story exclusively to People magazine, who bumped actor Johnny Depp
off of that week's cover in favor of Bass. In his coming out interview, Bass stated,
Bass's announcement received a large amount of media attention. The American public's reaction was generally positive, with Bass receiving "overwhelming support" from many teenagers and young adults who grew up listening to 'N Sync. However, Bass received criticism from the LGBT
community when he referred to himself and his friends as "straight acting
" in his People interview, stating, "I call them the SAGs — the straight-acting gays. We're just normal, typical guys. I love to watch football and drink beer." This comment angered some members of the LGBT community, who believed that Bass not only implied that effeminate
gay men were not 'normal', but further enforced unneeded stereotype
s. In a 2007 interview with The Advocate
, Bass called his comment a "mistake" and noted that he was unaware of the negative implications surrounding the term. Bass stated, "Every community is hard to please. Our community is very fickle. It’s a touchy community because it’s the last civil rights
movement we have left here in America. So when someone new like myself comes along and says off-the-mark things, yeah, I can see how people would get pissed.”
Bass found himself in the midst of further controversy later that year when he, along with then-boyfriend Reichen Lehmkuhl
, was awarded the 2006 Human Rights Campaign
Visibility Award on October 7, 2006. The Washington Blade printed a guest editorial from a long-time HRC supporter who claimed that neither recipient had done enough to deserve the award and that The Human Rights Campaign was simply capitalizing on Bass's fame to sell tickets. The Human Rights Campaign stood by Bass and defended his award, responding to critics by saying, "Bass is the biggest music star since Melissa Etheridge
to come out, and maybe some people think HRC should just ignore these moments of cultural significance, but his declaration did initiate a positive, national conversation that continues today."
. The book, entitled Out Of Sync, was published on October 23, 2007. It was co-written by The New York Times
best-selling biographer Marc Eliot, who also wrote the book's introduction, and was published by Simon Spotlight Entertainment, a division of Simon & Schuster
. The 208-page book covers what Bass describes as "the first chapter" in his life, from his childhood growing up in rural Mississippi, to his efforts to obtain a seat on a Russian space capsule and the proceeding financial issues he had with his sponsors, and culminating with Bass's decision to go public with his sexuality. The book includes details about boyfriends that he kept from family and friends, and recounts 'N Sync's 2002 decision to go on an "extended hiatus". Bass stated that Justin Timberlake
was the sole reason Nsync did not get back together. Out of Sync debuted on the New York Times Best Seller list
for the week of November 11, 2007.
Endowment at The University of Southern Mississippi
. The endowment is in honor of his younger cousin, Amber Pulliam, who has Down's Syndrome, and was established to financially aid students from Mississippi's Pine Belt
who plan a career in special education.
After 2005's Hurricane Katrina
, Bass launched "uBid For Hurricane Relief", a celebrity auction to benefit victims of the hurricane, with uBid.com. Proceeds from the auction were split between the Child Welfare League of America, The Brett Favre
Fourward Mississippi Foundation, and Ashton Kutcher
's RockWorks Foundation. Many of Bass's family members in Mississippi were directly affected by the hurricane. That same year, Bass appeared on an episode of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition
, where he wrote a check for $50,000 US and presented it to a Russian
woman with Cerebral Palsy
who started a camp for disabled Russian children.
Bass is a member of the Environmental Media Association
's Board of Directors. He has also been involved with Animal Avengers, Shannon Elizabeth
's animal rescue organization, and has two dogs which he adopted from a rescue shelter. In August 2007, Bass wrote a guest commentary for LOGO
's "Visible Vote '08" blog
, in which he expressed support for gay marriage. In September 2007, Bass participated in a series of GLAAD television advertisements promoting tolerance for the LGBT community. Bass has also been involved in fundraising for the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network
.
of TV's Boy Meets World
throughout 1999 and 2000. Fishel stated that she was heavily invested in the relationship, commenting that she was "like, so in love" with Bass. Bass ended the relationship after one year, and continued to exclusively date women until he was 22.
In his autobiography, Bass documents two gay relationships that predated media speculation; one with a Miami, Florida
native named Jesse, with whom Bass lived for two years, and another with an Idaho
native named Joe. Bass began dating Amazing Race winner Reichen Lehmkuhl
in early 2006, a courtship that garnered tabloid
coverage and led to Bass's decision to come out
. Bass described his relationship with Lehmkuhl as "very stable"; however, the couple split several months later. Shortly after his split with Lehmkuhl, Bass briefly dated Brazil
ian model
and LXTV
host Pedro Andrade
. From August 2007 to March 2008, Bass dated New York
-based hairdresser
Ben Thigpen.
In a 2006 interview, Bass stated that he has Attention-Deficit Disorder. Bass's favorite music bands are Aerosmith
, The Goo Goo Dolls, and Journey
, and his favorite actress is Lucille Ball
, whom he grew up watching on I Love Lucy
re-runs. He is a self-described "huge Dr. Seuss
fan", devoting an entire room in his Jackson, Mississippi
, estate to Seuss memorabilia. Bass has said that he is a Christian
and that he regularly attends church, though he considers himself to be non-denominational. He is the godfather
of former bandmate Joey Fatone
's daughter, Brianna. Bass and Fatone are best friends.
Biographical or discographical
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
singer, dancer, actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
, film
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
and television producer
Television producer
The primary role of a television Producer is to allow all aspects of video production, ranging from show idea development and cast hiring to shoot supervision and fact-checking...
, and author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
. He grew up in Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
and rose to fame as the bass singer for the American pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
boy band
Boy band
A boy band is loosely defined as a popular music act consisting of only male singers. The members are expected to dance as well as sing, usually giving highly choreographed performances. More often than not, boy band members do not play musical instruments, either in recording sessions or on...
'N Sync
'N Sync
N Sync was an American boy band formed in Orlando, Florida, in 1995 and launched in Germany by BMG Ariola Munich, *NSYNC consisted of JC Chasez, Justin Timberlake, Lance Bass, Joey Fatone and Chris Kirkpatrick...
. 'N Sync's success led Bass to work in film and television. He starred in the 2001 film On the Line
On the Line (film)
On the Line is a 2001 American romantic comedy film starring Lance Bass and Emmanuelle Chriqui. The film was directed by Eric Bross and was written by Eric Aronson and Paul Stanton, based upon their short film of the same name.-Plot:...
, which his company, Bacon & Eggs, also produced. Bass later formed a second production company, Lance Bass Productions, as well as a now-defunct music management company, Free Lance Entertainment, a joint venture with Mercury Records
Mercury Records
Mercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group in the US; both are subsidiaries of Universal Music Group. There is also a Mercury Records in Australia, which is a local artist and repertoire division of Universal...
.
After completion of 'N Sync's Pop Odyssey Tour
Pop Odyssey Tour
The PopOdyssey Tour is the fourth concert tour by American boy band 'N Sync. Sponsored by Verizon Long Distance and Chili's, the tour promoted the band's third studio album, Celebrity. The tour's name is defined as "an adventurous journey towards popularity, beginning as just a dream and ending in...
, Bass moved to Star City, Russia
Star City, Russia
Star City is a common name of an area in Moscow Oblast, Russia, which has since the 1960s been home to the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center...
, in much publicized pursuit of a seat on a Soyuz
Soyuz spacecraft
Soyuz , Union) is a series of spacecraft initially designed for the Soviet space programme by the Korolyov Design Bureau in the 1960s, and still in service today...
space capsule
Space capsule
A space capsule is an often manned spacecraft which has a simple shape for the main section, without any wings or other features to create lift during atmospheric reentry....
. Bass was certified by both NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
and the Russian Space Program
Russian Federal Space Agency
The Russian Federal Space Agency , commonly called Roscosmos and abbreviated as FKA and RKA , is the government agency responsible for the Russian space science program and general aerospace research. It was previously the Russian Aviation and Space Agency .Headquarters of Roscosmos are located...
after several months of cosmonaut training, and planned to join the TMA-1
Soyuz TMA-1
-Mission parameters:*Mass: 7,220 kg , gross *Perigee: 193 km *Apogee: 235 km *Inclination: 51.6° *Period: 88.7 minutes-Docking with ISS:*Docked to ISS: November 1, 2002, 05:01 UTC...
mission to the International Space Station
International Space Station
The International Space Station is a habitable, artificial satellite in low Earth orbit. The ISS follows the Salyut, Almaz, Cosmos, Skylab, and Mir space stations, as the 11th space station launched, not including the Genesis I and II prototypes...
. However, after his financial sponsors backed out, Bass was denied a seat on the mission.
In July 2006, Bass revealed that he is gay
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
in a cover story for People
People (magazine)
In 1998, the magazine introduced a version targeted at teens called Teen People. However, on July 27, 2006, the company announced it would shut down publication of Teen People immediately. The last issue to be released was scheduled for September 2006. Subscribers to this magazine received...
magazine. He was awarded the Human Rights Campaign
Human Rights Campaign
The Human Rights Campaign is the United States' largest LGBT advocacy group and lobbying organization; according to the HRC, it has more than one million members and supporters...
Visibility Award in October 2006, and released an autobiography
Autobiography
An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
, Out of Sync
Out of Sync
Out of Sync: A Memoir is the autobiography of American pop singer Lance Bass, published October 23, 2007. It features an introduction by Marc Eliot, a New York Times best-selling biographer, and was published by Simon Spotlight Entertainment, a division of Simon & Schuster. The book debuted on The...
, in October 2007, which debuted on the New York Times Best Seller list
New York Times Best Seller list
The New York Times Best Seller list is widely considered the preeminent list of best-selling books in the United States. It is published weekly in The New York Times Book Review magazine, which is published in the Sunday edition of The New York Times and as a stand-alone publication...
.
Early life
James Lance Bass was born in Laurel, MississippiLaurel, Mississippi
Laurel is a city located in Jones County in Mississippi, a state of the United States of America. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 18,393 although a significant population increase has been reported following Hurricane Katrina. Located in southeast Mississippi, southeast of...
, to James Irvin Bass, Jr., a medical technologist
Medical technologist
A Medical Laboratory Scientist is a healthcare professional who performs chemical, hematological, immunologic, microscopic, and bacteriological diagnostic analyses on body fluids such as blood, urine, sputum, stool, cerebrospinal fluid , peritoneal fluid, pericardial fluid, and synovial...
, and Diane (née
NEE
NEE is a political protest group whose goal was to provide an alternative for voters who are unhappy with all political parties at hand in Belgium, where voting is compulsory.The NEE party was founded in 2005 in Antwerp...
Pulliam), a middle school
Primary education
A primary school is an institution in which children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as primary or elementary education. Primary school is the preferred term in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth Nations, and in most publications of the United Nations Educational,...
mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
and English teacher
Teacher
A teacher or schoolteacher is a person who provides education for pupils and students . The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a school or other place of formal education. In many countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain specified professional...
. Along with his older sister, Stacy, Bass grew up in nearby Ellisville, Mississippi
Ellisville, Mississippi
Ellisville is a city in Jones County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 3,465 at the time of the 2000 census.-History:The city is named for Powhatan Ellis, a former U.S. Senator for Mississippi and descendant of Chief Powhatan, father of Pocahontas...
, and was raised as a Southern Baptist. Bass has described his family as devoutly Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
and conservative and has said that his childhood was "extremely happy". As a young boy, Bass developed an interest in space
Outer space
Outer space is the void that exists between celestial bodies, including the Earth. It is not completely empty, but consists of a hard vacuum containing a low density of particles: predominantly a plasma of hydrogen and helium, as well as electromagnetic radiation, magnetic fields, and neutrinos....
, and at age 9 traveled to Cape Canaveral, Florida
Cape Canaveral, Florida
Cape Canaveral is a city in Brevard County, Florida, United States. The population was 8,829 at the 2000 census. As of 2008, the estimated population according to the U.S. Census Bureau was 10,147...
, with his father to watch his first live space shuttle
Space Shuttle
The Space Shuttle was a manned orbital rocket and spacecraft system operated by NASA on 135 missions from 1981 to 2011. The system combined rocket launch, orbital spacecraft, and re-entry spaceplane with modular add-ons...
launch. Of this experience Bass said, "I was certain from then on that my future was to be involved with space." Shortly after, Bass attended space camp in Titusville, Florida
Titusville, Florida
Titusville is a city in Brevard County, Florida in the United States. It is the county seat of Brevard County. Nicknamed Space City, USA, Titusville is on the Indian River, west of Merritt Island and the Kennedy Space Center and south-southwest of the Canaveral National Seashore...
, and aspired to attend college and study engineering
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
, with the hope that he would one day work for NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
.
When Bass was 10 years old, his father was transferred to a different hospital
Hospital
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....
, and the family moved to Clinton, Mississippi
Clinton, Mississippi
Clinton is a city in Hinds County, Mississippi, United States. Situated in the Jackson metropolitan area, it is the tenth largest city in Mississippi. The population was 23,347 at the 2000 United States Census.-History:...
. Bass began singing in his Baptist church choir, and was encouraged to audition for local performance groups by his childhood best friend, Darren Dale, the youngest child of former longtime Mississippi Insurance Commissioner George Dale. Bass joined the Mississippi Show Stoppers, a state-wide music group sponsored by the Mississippi Agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
and Forestry
Forestry
Forestry is the interdisciplinary profession embracing the science, art, and craft of creating, managing, using, and conserving forests and associated resources in a sustainable manner to meet desired goals, needs, and values for human benefit. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands...
Museum, and the Attaché Show Choir, a national-award-winning competitive show choir
Show choir
A show choir is a group of people who combine choral singing with dance movements, sometimes within the context of a specific idea or story.-History:...
group at Clinton High School. He was also a member of a seven-man vocal group named Seven Card Stud, which competed at state fairs and performed at several social and political events for Senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
Trent Lott
Trent Lott
Chester Trent Lott, Sr. , is a former United States Senator from Mississippi and has served in numerous leadership positions in the House of Representatives and the Senate....
.
At Clinton High School, Bass was elected vice president of his junior class, and has said that he performed well in math
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
and science
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
. However, Bass later stated that his primary focus during high school was singing, and when looking back, he remembers "hardly anything" about academia.
Success with 'N Sync
In 1995, during his junior year of high school, Bass received a call from Justin TimberlakeJustin Timberlake
Justin Randall Timberlake is an American pop musician and actor. He achieved early fame when he appeared as a contestant on Star Search, and went on to star in the Disney Channel television series The New Mickey Mouse Club, where he met future bandmate JC Chasez...
and his mother, Lynn Harless, who asked Bass if he would be interested in auditioning for a pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
group
Boy band
A boy band is loosely defined as a popular music act consisting of only male singers. The members are expected to dance as well as sing, usually giving highly choreographed performances. More often than not, boy band members do not play musical instruments, either in recording sessions or on...
that Timberlake was a part of. After the group's original bass singer, Jason Galasso, had quit, Timberlake's vocal coach (who had worked with Bass during his time as a Mississippi Show Stopper) recommended Bass as a replacement. Bass was accepted into the group, which was later named 'N Sync
'N Sync
N Sync was an American boy band formed in Orlando, Florida, in 1995 and launched in Germany by BMG Ariola Munich, *NSYNC consisted of JC Chasez, Justin Timberlake, Lance Bass, Joey Fatone and Chris Kirkpatrick...
, after auditioning in front of the other bandmembers and Lou Pearlman
Lou Pearlman
Louis Jay "Lou" Pearlman is a former impresario of the successful 1990s boy bands such as The Backstreet Boys, *NSYNC, Take 5, O-Town and US5. In 2006, it was discovered that Pearlman had perpetrated one of the largest and longest-running Ponzi schemes in American history, leaving more than $300...
, and soon left school to move to Orlando, Florida
Orlando, Florida
Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
, and rehearse full-time. Bass has said that he did not know how to dance
Dance
Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....
before he joined 'N Sync, and therefore found much of the group's choreography difficult to learn. According to an episode of VH1
VH1
VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...
's Driven, Jan Boltz, president of BMG's German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
division, offered 'N Sync a recording contract under the condition that they replace Bass, whose dancing, he felt, "wasn't at the same level as all the others." However, the other members of the group refused to accept the contract without Bass, and the group's manager, Johnny Wright, convinced Bolz that Bass's dancing would quickly improve. Bolz conceded, and the group soon moved to Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
, Germany to record their first album with BMG. 'N Sync began extensive touring in Europe, and Bass's mother quit her job to tour with the group as a chaperone, as Bass was still a minor
Minor (law)
In law, a minor is a person under a certain age — the age of majority — which legally demarcates childhood from adulthood; the age depends upon jurisdiction and application, but is typically 18...
.
After gaining significant notability in Europe, 'N Sync was signed to American record label RCA
RCA
RCA Corporation, founded as the Radio Corporation of America, was an American electronics company in existence from 1919 to 1986. The RCA trademark is currently owned by the French conglomerate Technicolor SA through RCA Trademark Management S.A., a company owned by Technicolor...
in 1997. The group's first single, "I Want You Back" began receiving major radio play in the United States, and 'N Sync soon found themselves becoming an "overnight sensation", a period which Bass describes in his autobiography as "the death of my own innocence". Along with increasing fame and recognition in the United States the band also experienced a highly publicized legal battle with Pearlman, due to what the group believed were illicit business practices on his part. 'N Sync sued Pearlman and his record company, Trans Continental, for defrauding
Fraud
In criminal law, a fraud is an intentional deception made for personal gain or to damage another individual; the related adjective is fraudulent. The specific legal definition varies by legal jurisdiction. Fraud is a crime, and also a civil law violation...
the group of more than 50% of their earnings, rather than his original promise of only receiving one-sixth of the profits. The group threatened to leave and sign with Jive Records
Jive Records
Jive Records was a record label based in New York City, operating under RCA Music Group. Jive was primarily known for a string of successes with hip hop artists in the 1980s, and in teen pop and boy bands in the late 1990s. The word "jive" was inspired by Township Jive, a form of South African...
, which prompted Pearlman and RCA to countersue 'N Sync for $150 million US, citing breach of contract
Breach of contract
Breach of contract is a legal cause of action in which a binding agreement or bargained-for exchange is not honored by one or more of the parties to the contract by non-performance or interference with the other party's performance....
. The injunction was thrown out of court and, after winning back their earnings, 'N Sync signed with Jive. Bass has been estranged from Pearlman ever since.
In March 2000, 'N Sync released No Strings Attached, which became the fastest-selling record of all time, selling 1.1 million copies in its first day of release. In 2001, the group followed up with their Celebrity
Celebrity (album)
Celebrity is the third and final studio album by the pop boy band 'N Sync. It was released on July 24, 2001, by Jive Records. The label was heavily criticized for releasing singles that involved Justin Timberlake on lead vocals, and none which involved JC Chasez performing or co-writing...
album, which scored the second highest first-week album sales ever, trumped only by the group's previous album. 'N Sync went on to sell over 56 million records worldwide. In 2002, the group announced that they would be taking a "hiatus", during which Timberlake began to record solo material. 'N Sync has not recorded new material since, and Bass has stated that he feels the group has officially disbanded.
In 2007, Bass stated that he had faith Timberlake would return after six months off to record another album with 'N Sync, and that he felt betrayed by Timberlake's 2004 decision to pursue his solo career instead. Bass has also said that he has little hope for a reunion, since Timberlake has "made it clear that he wouldn't be interested in discussing another album any time soon." Despite these statements, Bass has denied that he harbors any ill feelings towards Timberlake, saying:
Free Lance Entertainment
In 2000, Bass formed a music management company named Free Lance Entertainment, which was a joint venture with Mercury Nashville, a division of Mercury RecordsMercury Records
Mercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group in the US; both are subsidiaries of Universal Music Group. There is also a Mercury Records in Australia, which is a local artist and repertoire division of Universal...
. Vowing to keep the company "a strictly family-run operation," Bass employed his parents and sister as talent scouts, and recruited childhood friend and aspiring country singer Meredith Edwards
Meredith Edwards (country music singer)
Meredith Edwards is an American singer. She recorded an album, Reach, for Mercury Records Nashville in 2001...
for the company's first release. Edwards began touring with 'N Sync as an opening act in the fall of 2000, and Bass teamed up with MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
to hold a nationwide talent search for more artists later that year. However, Free Lance soon folded after disappointing sales of Edwards's debut album, Reach
Reach (Meredith Edwards album)
Reach is the debut album by American country music artist Meredith Edwards. It was released in 2001 by Mercury Nashville and peaked at #24 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart...
.
Acting career
Bass also guest-starred on the WBThe WB Television Network
The WB Television Network is a former television network in the United States that was launched on January 11, 1995 as a joint venture between Warner Bros. and Tribune Broadcasting. On January 24, 2006, CBS Corporation and Warner Bros...
drama series 7th Heaven
7th Heaven
7th Heaven is an American family drama television series, created and produced by Brenda Hampton. The series premiered on August 26, 1996, on the WB, the first time that the network aired Monday night programming, and was originally broadcast from August 26, 1996 to May 13, 2007...
, playing Rick Palmer, a love interest for Beverly Mitchell's character, Lucy. The following year, while 'N Sync was in the midst of recording Celebrity, Bass received his first starring role in the 2001 motion picture On The Line
On the Line (film)
On the Line is a 2001 American romantic comedy film starring Lance Bass and Emmanuelle Chriqui. The film was directed by Eric Bross and was written by Eric Aronson and Paul Stanton, based upon their short film of the same name.-Plot:...
. Bass played Kevin, a man who falls in love with a woman on a Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
train and begins a search to find her again. The film was produced by Bass's production company, A Happy Place (later renamed Bacon & Eggs), and featured appearances by Jerry Stiller
Jerry Stiller
Gerald Isaac "Jerry" Stiller is an American comedian and actor.He spent many years in the comedy team Stiller and Meara with his wife Anne Meara...
, Al Green
Al Green
Albert Greene , better known as Al Green, is an American gospel and soul music singer. He reached the peak of his popularity in the 1970s, with hit singles such as "You Oughta Be With Me", "I'm Still In Love With You", "Love and Happiness", and "Let's Stay Together"...
, Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi is an American rock band from Sayreville, New Jersey. Formed in 1983, Bon Jovi consists of lead singer and namesake Jon Bon Jovi , guitarist Richie Sambora, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, as well as current bassist Hugh McDonald...
guitarist Richie Sambora
Richie Sambora
Richard Stephen "Richie" Sambora is an American rock guitarist, producer, musician, singer, and songwriter who is the longtime lead guitarist of the rock band, Bon Jovi. He and frontman Jon Bon Jovi form the primary songwriting unit of the band...
, former WWE
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
wrestler Chyna, and Bass's bandmates Timberlake and Kirkpatrick. The film also featured a soundtrack which included previously unreleased songs by 'N Sync and Britney Spears
Britney Spears
Britney Jean Spears is an American recording artist and entertainer. Born in McComb, Mississippi, and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana, Spears began performing as a child, landing acting roles in stage productions and television shows. She signed with Jive Records in 1997 and released her debut album...
. Bass collaborated with Joey Fatone
Joey Fatone
Joseph Anthony "Joey" Fatone, Jr. is an American singer, dancer, actor and television personality. He is best known as a member of the boyband, 'N Sync, in which he sang baritone. In 2007, he came in second place on the ABC reality show Dancing with the Stars...
, Mandy Moore
Mandy Moore
Amanda Leigh "Mandy" Moore is an American singer-songwriter, actress and fashion designer. Moore became famous as a teenager in the late 1990s, after the release of her teen pop albums So Real, I Wanna Be with You, and Mandy Moore. In 2007, she took an adult pop-folk direction with the release of...
, Christian Burns
Christian Burns
Christian Burns is an English musician and the son of Tony Burns of "The Signs", a Liverpool-based rock band signed to Decca Records in the 1960s.-Career:...
and True Vibe
True Vibe
True Vibe was a CCM group that was active from 1999-2003. composed of members Jonathan Lippmann, Nathan Gaddis, Jason Barton, and Jordan Roe, was born out of Lippmann's desire to pursue musical excellence without watering down his Christian faith....
(as the "On The Line Allstars") for the film's theme song, "On The Line".
Despite heavy marketing towards 'N Sync's teen fans, the film was a commercial failure, grossing only $4.2 million US domestically despite its $10 million US budget. The film, along with Bass's acting, was also poorly received by critics. Bass later said that he felt the film's success was greatly hindered by its release date, which came one week after the World Trade Center
World Trade Center
The original World Trade Center was a complex with seven buildings featuring landmark twin towers in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. The complex opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks. The site is currently being rebuilt with five new...
attacks of September 11, 2001. In his 2007 autobiography, Bass wrote, "That was it – our film was finished... once the country went to war, there was no way our film was going to be on anyone's top-priority list."
After On The Line, Bass appeared in Zoolander
Zoolander
Zoolander is a 2001 American satirical comedy film directed by and starring Ben Stiller. The film contains elements from a pair of short films directed by Russell Bates and written by Drake Sather and Stiller for the VH1 Fashion Awards television specials in 1996 and 1997. The short films and the...
and Wes Craven
Wes Craven
Wesley Earl "Wes" Craven is an American actor, film director, writer, producer, perhaps best known as the director of many horror films, particularly slasher films, including the famed A Nightmare on Elm Street and Wes Craven's New Nightmare, featuring the iconic Freddy Krueger character, the...
's Cursed as himself, and played a wedding singer in I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry
I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry
I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry is a 2007 comedy film directed by Dennis Dugan, written by Barry Fanaro, and starring Adam Sandler and Kevin James as the title characters. The film was released on July 20, 2007, in the U.S., August 16, 2007, in Australia and on September 21, 2007, in the UK and...
. Bass has also lent his voice to several animated television programs, such as Robot Chicken
Robot Chicken
Robot Chicken is an American stop motion animated television series created and executive produced by Seth Green and Matthew Senreich along with co-head writers Douglas Goldstein and Tom Root. Green provides many voices for the show...
and Disney's Kim Possible
Kim Possible
Kim Possible is an American animated television series about a teenage crime fighter who has the task of dealing with worldwide, family, and school issues every day. The show is action-oriented, but also has a light-hearted atmosphere and often lampoons the conventions and clichés of the...
, Handy Manny
Handy Manny
Handy Manny is a Disney animated children's television program that premiered on September 16, 2006. The program was originally part of the Playhouse Disney daily block intended for preschoolers...
and Higglytown Heroes
Higglytown Heroes
Higglytown Heroes is a children's television series currently airing on the Disney Junior portion of the Disney Channel, or, on some cable networks, the Playhouse Disney channel...
. In the video game realm, Bass voiced the Final Fantasy VII
Final Fantasy VII
is a role-playing video game developed by Square and published by Sony Computer Entertainment as the seventh installment in the Final Fantasy series. It was originally released in 1997 for the Sony PlayStation and was re-released in 1998 for Microsoft Windows-based personal computers and in 2009...
character Sephiroth in Kingdom Hearts
Kingdom Hearts
is an action role-playing game developed and published by Square in 2002 for the PlayStation 2 video game console. The first game in the Kingdom Hearts series, it is the result of a collaboration between Square Enix and The Walt Disney Company. The game combines characters and settings from Disney...
. On August 14, 2007, Bass began a six-month stint playing Corny Collins in the Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
musical
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
Hairspray
Hairspray (musical)
Hairspray is a musical with music by Marc Shaiman, lyrics by Scott Wittman and Shaiman and a book by Mark O'Donnell and Thomas Meehan, based on the 1988 John Waters film Hairspray. The songs include 1960s-style dance music and "downtown" rhythm and blues...
, coinciding with the play's five year stage anniversary. Bass ended his run in Hairspray on January 6, 2008. Lance has also made an appearance in the movie Tropic Thunder
Tropic Thunder
Tropic Thunder is a 2008 American action satire comedy film written, produced, and directed by Ben Stiller, and starring Stiller, Robert Downey, Jr., and Jack Black. The main plot revolves around a group of prima donna actors who are making a Vietnam War film...
.
Bass was a contestant on Season 7 of Dancing with the Stars
Dancing with the Stars
Dancing with the Stars is the name of several international television series based on the format of the British TV series Strictly Come Dancing, which is distributed by BBC Worldwide – the commercial arm of the BBC. Currently the format has been licensed to over 35 countries...
, and was paired with swing dance champ Lacey Schwimmer
Lacey Schwimmer
Lacey-Mae Schwimmer is an American competitive ballroom dancer, singer, and the winner of multiple youth championships. She is best known as the fourth place finalist of the third season of So You Think You Can Dance...
.
Producing career
In January 2001, Bass formed his first film production company, A Happy Place, with film producers Rich Hull, Wendy Thorlakson and Joe Anderson. The company was geared towards family-friendly films, and received the Movieguide award for "Excellence in Family-Oriented Programming" for its first feature film, On The LineOn the Line (film)
On the Line is a 2001 American romantic comedy film starring Lance Bass and Emmanuelle Chriqui. The film was directed by Eric Bross and was written by Eric Aronson and Paul Stanton, based upon their short film of the same name.-Plot:...
. After On The Line, A Happy Place changed its name to Bacon & Eggs and produced its second feature film, Lovewrecked
Lovewrecked
Love Wrecked is a 2005 romantic comedy film directed by Randal Kleiser and starring Amanda Bynes. It was originally produced as a feature film by Media 8 Entertainment, but ended up as an ABC Family television film...
, in 2005. The film debuted on the ABC Family Channel in January 2007, and starred Amanda Bynes
Amanda Bynes
Amanda Laura Bynes is an American actress, comedian, singer, and fashion designer. Bynes appeared in several successful television series, such as All That and The Amanda Show, on Nickelodeon in the mid to late 1990s and early 2000s, and in 2002, she starred in the TV series, What I Like About You...
, Chris Carmack
Chris Carmack
James Christopher "Chris" Carmack is an American actor and former fashion model.-Early life:Carmack was born in Washington, D.C., and grew up in Derwood, Maryland. He has two siblings, a brother and sister. As a young boy, he enjoyed participating in all types of sports: baseball, basketball,...
and Jamie-Lynn Sigler
Jamie-Lynn Sigler
Jamie-Lynn Sigler is an American actress and singer. She is best known for her role as Meadow Soprano on the HBO television series The Sopranos.-Early life:...
, with Bass in a minor role. This too received mostly negative reviews.
Bass later formed a separate production company named Lance Bass Productions. On May 14, 2007, Brian Graden
Brian Graden
-Biography:Graden grew up in Illinois and graduated from Hillsboro High School in 1981. He graduated from Oral Roberts University in 1985 with a degree in business, and later graduated with an MBA from Harvard University....
announced that Lance Bass Productions will be working with the LOGO
Logo (TV channel)
Logo is an American digital cable television channel owned by Viacom's MTV Networks division. Launched in June 2005, the channel's programs are geared towards the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender community...
network in executive producing a reality television show about the music business. It has been reported that the show will focus on the creation and development of an all-gay boy band
Boy band
A boy band is loosely defined as a popular music act consisting of only male singers. The members are expected to dance as well as sing, usually giving highly choreographed performances. More often than not, boy band members do not play musical instruments, either in recording sessions or on...
. In 2008, Bass co-produced The Grand
The Grand (film)
The Grand is an improv comedy film directed by Zak Penn. The film has an ensemble cast including Ray Romano, Woody Harrelson, Chris Parnell, Werner Herzog, Jason Alexander, Dennis Farina, David Cross, Gabe Kaplan, Michael Karnow and Cheryl Hines along with several real Las Vegas poker...
, and Bass's company is reported to be developing a music docudrama
Docudrama
In film, television programming and staged theatre, docudrama is a documentary-style genre that features dramatized re-enactments of actual historical events. As a neologism, the term is often confused with docufiction....
about the life of rock band
Rock Band
Rock Band is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems, published by MTV Games and Electronic Arts. It is the first title in the Rock Band series. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions were released in the United States on November 20, 2007, while the PlayStation 2 version was...
s on tour.
In October 2011, Bass debuted his own boy band called Heart2Heart.
Spaceflight plans
In August 2002, Bass entered cosmonautAstronaut
An astronaut or cosmonaut is a person trained by a human spaceflight program to command, pilot, or serve as a crew member of a spacecraft....
training in Star City, Russia
Star City, Russia
Star City is a common name of an area in Moscow Oblast, Russia, which has since the 1960s been home to the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center...
. Bass was originally supposed to be the host of a space competition show to be entitled The Big Mission, in which several contestants would go through rigorous training in order to win a seat on a Russian Soyuz
Soyuz programme
The Soyuz programme is a human spaceflight programme that was initiated by the Soviet Union in the early 1960s, originally part of a Moon landing project intended to put a Soviet cosmonaut on the Moon...
space capsule
Space capsule
A space capsule is an often manned spacecraft which has a simple shape for the main section, without any wings or other features to create lift during atmospheric reentry....
. However, the game show concept fell apart when the producers of the show decided it would be a much better idea to shoot a documentary of a celebrity actually training and going into space, and airing it on a major network. The producers came up with the idea of using Bass when, while sitting with a friend and discussing the space project, the friend's daughter shouted out, "Lance Bass wants to go into space!" The girl, who was an 'N Sync fan, learned of Bass's lifelong dream of space travel when she read it in an online chat, and suggested Bass to the producers.
In order to be admitted into training, Bass agreed to undergo heart surgery to correct a type of cardiac arrhythmia, which was discovered in 1999 when he collapsed after a concert. After several months of training, Bass received cosmonaut certification and was scheduled to fly into space on the Soyuz TMA-1
Soyuz TMA-1
-Mission parameters:*Mass: 7,220 kg , gross *Perigee: 193 km *Apogee: 235 km *Inclination: 51.6° *Period: 88.7 minutes-Docking with ISS:*Docked to ISS: November 1, 2002, 05:01 UTC...
mission that was to be launched on October 30, 2002. The capsule was scheduled to fly to the International Space Station
International Space Station
The International Space Station is a habitable, artificial satellite in low Earth orbit. The ISS follows the Salyut, Almaz, Cosmos, Skylab, and Mir space stations, as the 11th space station launched, not including the Genesis I and II prototypes...
and land in a desert
Desert
A desert is a landscape or region that receives an extremely low amount of precipitation, less than enough to support growth of most plants. Most deserts have an average annual precipitation of less than...
in Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
.
Several months before Bass was scheduled to fly, the original deal to air the documentary about Bass fell through. Bass's camp turned to MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
, who initially agreed to sponsor the trip but then backed out over "payment, insurance, and indemnification issues". Shortly after, all of Bass's other sponsorships fell through, including one sponsor that pulled out because they worried about the image of their brand possibly being tarnished if Bass were to die on the mission. Bass was eventually rejected from the program, and was replaced on the flight by Russian cosmonauts Yuri Lonchakov
Yuri Lonchakov
Yury Valentinovich Lonchakov is a Russian cosmonaut and a veteran of three space missions. He has spent 200 days in space and has conducted two career spacewalks.- Personal :...
, Sergei Zalyotin
Sergei Zalyotin
Sergei Viktorovich Zalyotin is a Russian cosmonaut and a veteran of a two space missions.Zalyotin was born in Tula and attended the Borisoglebsk Higher Military School before becoming a fighter pilot in the Russian Air Force. He also holds a degree in ecological management. Zalyotin was selected...
and Belgium’s Frank De Winne
Frank De Winne
Frank, Viscount De Winne is a Belgian Air Component officer and an ESA astronaut. He is Belgium's second person in space . He was the first ESA astronaut to command a space mission when he served as commander of ISS Expedition 21.-Education:De Winne graduated in 1979 from the Royal School of Cadets...
.
Space advocacy
In 2003, Bass began serving as World Space WeekWorld Space Week
World Space Week is an annual observance held from October 4 to October 10 established by the United Nations General Assembly to be an international celebration of science and technology and their contribution to the betterment of the human condition...
's Youth Spokesman. Bass has stated that he believes young people becoming more interested in space exploration
Space exploration
Space exploration is the use of space technology to explore outer space. Physical exploration of space is conducted both by human spaceflights and by robotic spacecraft....
"will help the future of our planet". From 2003 to 2005, Bass spent World Space Week traveling to American high schools speaking with students about space exploration and encouraging them to explore careers in the fields of science and mathematics. Bass is a member of the National Space Society
National Space Society
The National Space Society is an international nonprofit 501, educational, and scientific organization specializing in space advocacy...
, a non-profit educational space advocacy
Space advocacy
Space advocacy can be described as the general position supporting, pleading or arguing for the idea or cause of space exploration and settlements...
organization founded by Dr. Wernher Von Braun. Bass has served on the National Space Society's Board of Governors
Board of governors
Board of governors is a term sometimes applied to the board of directors of a public entity or non-profit organization.Many public institutions, such as public universities, are government-owned corporations. The British Broadcasting Corporation was managed by a board of governors, though this role...
since October 2004, alongside other space advocates such as actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
Tom Hanks
Tom Hanks
Thomas Jeffrey "Tom" Hanks is an American actor, producer, writer, and director. Hanks worked in television and family-friendly comedies, gaining wide notice in 1988's Big, before achieving success as a dramatic actor in several notable roles, including Andrew Beckett in Philadelphia, the title...
and author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
and futurist Sir Arthur C. Clarke
Arthur C. Clarke
Sir Arthur Charles Clarke, CBE, FRAS was a British science fiction author, inventor, and futurist, famous for his short stories and novels, among them 2001: A Space Odyssey, and as a host and commentator in the British television series Mysterious World. For many years, Robert A. Heinlein,...
. In a 2007 interview with GQ magazine, Bass stated that he "absolutely" still intends on going to space, and that he hopes to work on a space documentary
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
. Bass has also retained fluency in Russian, which he was required to learn during his training.
Sexual orientation
Bass came outComing out
Coming out is a figure of speech for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people's disclosure of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity....
as gay
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
in a cover story for People
People (magazine)
In 1998, the magazine introduced a version targeted at teens called Teen People. However, on July 27, 2006, the company announced it would shut down publication of Teen People immediately. The last issue to be released was scheduled for September 2006. Subscribers to this magazine received...
magazine on July 26, 2006. There had been considerable media speculation about his orientation due to numerous paparazzi
Paparazzi
Paparazzi is an Italian term used to refer to photojournalists who specialize in candid photography of celebrities, politicians, and other prominent people...
snapshots of him at gay bar
Gay bar
A gay bar is a drinking establishment that caters to an exclusively or predominantly gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender clientele; the term gay is used as a broadly inclusive concept for LGBT and queer communities...
s and nightclubs, most notably during the preceding Independence Day
Independence Day (United States)
Independence Day, commonly known as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain...
weekend in Provincetown, Massachusetts
Provincetown, Massachusetts
Provincetown is a New England town located at the extreme tip of Cape Cod in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 3,431 at the 2000 census, with an estimated 2007 population of 3,174...
. Celebrity gossip blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
ger Perez Hilton
Perez Hilton
Mario Armando Lavandeira, Jr. , better known as Perez Hilton , is an American blogger and television personality. His blog, Perezhilton.com , is known for posts covering gossip items about celebrities...
had also been posting items on his website about Bass's orientation since September 2005, and New York gossip column Page Six ran a blurb on July 12, 2006, that reported a sighting of Bass at a gay bar with his then-boyfriend, Reichen Lehmkuhl
Reichen Lehmkuhl
Reichen Lehmkuhl, , is an American former reality show winner, model, and occasional actor...
. Bass's publicist, Ken Sunshine
Ken Sunshine
Kenneth Mark Sunshine is an American public relations consultant. He grew up in Long Island and attended Cornell University. Sunshine started his career working for the ASCAP and then moved on to politics, serving as chief of staff for David Dinkins during his time as Mayor of New York City...
, chose to release the story exclusively to People magazine, who bumped actor Johnny Depp
Johnny Depp
John Christopher "Johnny" Depp II is an American actor, producer and musician. He has won the Golden Globe Award and Screen Actors Guild award for Best Actor. Depp rose to prominence on the 1980s television series 21 Jump Street, becoming a teen idol...
off of that week's cover in favor of Bass. In his coming out interview, Bass stated,
Bass's announcement received a large amount of media attention. The American public's reaction was generally positive, with Bass receiving "overwhelming support" from many teenagers and young adults who grew up listening to 'N Sync. However, Bass received criticism from the LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
community when he referred to himself and his friends as "straight acting
Straight acting
Straight-acting is a term used to describe an LGBT person who does not exhibit the appearance or mannerisms of the gay stereotype. Although the label is used by and reserved almost exclusively for gay and bisexual men, it may also be used to describe a lesbian or bisexual woman with stereotypical...
" in his People interview, stating, "I call them the SAGs — the straight-acting gays. We're just normal, typical guys. I love to watch football and drink beer." This comment angered some members of the LGBT community, who believed that Bass not only implied that effeminate
Effeminacy
Effeminacy describes traits in a human male, that are more often associated with traditional feminine nature, behaviour, mannerisms, style or gender roles rather than masculine nature, behaviour, mannerisms, style or roles....
gay men were not 'normal', but further enforced unneeded stereotype
Stereotype
A stereotype is a popular belief about specific social groups or types of individuals. The concepts of "stereotype" and "prejudice" are often confused with many other different meanings...
s. In a 2007 interview with The Advocate
The Advocate
The Advocate is an American LGBT-interest magazine, printed monthly and available by subscription. The Advocate brand also includes a web site. Both magazine and web site have an editorial focus on news, politics, opinion, and arts and entertainment of interest to LGBT people...
, Bass called his comment a "mistake" and noted that he was unaware of the negative implications surrounding the term. Bass stated, "Every community is hard to please. Our community is very fickle. It’s a touchy community because it’s the last civil rights
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
movement we have left here in America. So when someone new like myself comes along and says off-the-mark things, yeah, I can see how people would get pissed.”
Bass found himself in the midst of further controversy later that year when he, along with then-boyfriend Reichen Lehmkuhl
Reichen Lehmkuhl
Reichen Lehmkuhl, , is an American former reality show winner, model, and occasional actor...
, was awarded the 2006 Human Rights Campaign
Human Rights Campaign
The Human Rights Campaign is the United States' largest LGBT advocacy group and lobbying organization; according to the HRC, it has more than one million members and supporters...
Visibility Award on October 7, 2006. The Washington Blade printed a guest editorial from a long-time HRC supporter who claimed that neither recipient had done enough to deserve the award and that The Human Rights Campaign was simply capitalizing on Bass's fame to sell tickets. The Human Rights Campaign stood by Bass and defended his award, responding to critics by saying, "Bass is the biggest music star since Melissa Etheridge
Melissa Etheridge
Melissa Lou Etheridge is an American rock singer-songwriter and musician.Etheridge is known for her mixture of confessional lyrics, pop-based folk-rock, and raspy, smoky vocals...
to come out, and maybe some people think HRC should just ignore these moments of cultural significance, but his declaration did initiate a positive, national conversation that continues today."
Autobiography
Following public response surrounding his coming out, Bass announced that he was releasing an autobiographyAutobiography
An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
. The book, entitled Out Of Sync, was published on October 23, 2007. It was co-written by The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
best-selling biographer Marc Eliot, who also wrote the book's introduction, and was published by Simon Spotlight Entertainment, a division of Simon & Schuster
Simon & Schuster
Simon & Schuster, Inc., a division of CBS Corporation, is a publisher founded in New York City in 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. It is one of the four largest English-language publishers, alongside Random House, Penguin and HarperCollins...
. The 208-page book covers what Bass describes as "the first chapter" in his life, from his childhood growing up in rural Mississippi, to his efforts to obtain a seat on a Russian space capsule and the proceeding financial issues he had with his sponsors, and culminating with Bass's decision to go public with his sexuality. The book includes details about boyfriends that he kept from family and friends, and recounts 'N Sync's 2002 decision to go on an "extended hiatus". Bass stated that Justin Timberlake
Justin Timberlake
Justin Randall Timberlake is an American pop musician and actor. He achieved early fame when he appeared as a contestant on Star Search, and went on to star in the Disney Channel television series The New Mickey Mouse Club, where he met future bandmate JC Chasez...
was the sole reason Nsync did not get back together. Out of Sync debuted on the New York Times Best Seller list
New York Times Best Seller list
The New York Times Best Seller list is widely considered the preeminent list of best-selling books in the United States. It is published weekly in The New York Times Book Review magazine, which is published in the Sunday edition of The New York Times and as a stand-alone publication...
for the week of November 11, 2007.
Philanthropy and causes
Bass has been involved with a number of charities during his career. In 2001, Bass founded The Lance Bass Foundation, a non-profit organization that was designed to meet the health needs of low-income children. In 2003, Bass donated $30,000 US to establish the Amber Pulliam Special EducationSpecial education
Special education is the education of students with special needs in a way that addresses the students' individual differences and needs. Ideally, this process involves the individually planned and systematically monitored arrangement of teaching procedures, adapted equipment and materials,...
Endowment at The University of Southern Mississippi
The University of Southern Mississippi
The University of Southern Mississippi, informally known as Southern Miss, is a large public research university located in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, United States. It is situated north of Gulfport, Mississippi and northeast of New Orleans, Louisiana...
. The endowment is in honor of his younger cousin, Amber Pulliam, who has Down's Syndrome, and was established to financially aid students from Mississippi's Pine Belt
Pine Belt (Mississippi)
The Pine Belt, also known as the "Piney Woods", is a region in Southeast Mississippi. The region gets its name from the longleaf pine trees that are abundant in the region.- Geography :The Longleaf Pine belt covers 36 counties in Mississippi...
who plan a career in special education.
After 2005's Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
, Bass launched "uBid For Hurricane Relief", a celebrity auction to benefit victims of the hurricane, with uBid.com. Proceeds from the auction were split between the Child Welfare League of America, The Brett Favre
Brett Favre
Brett Lorenzo Favre is a former American football quarterback who spent the majority of his career with the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League . He was a 20-year veteran of the NFL, having played quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons , Green Bay Packers , New York Jets and Minnesota...
Fourward Mississippi Foundation, and Ashton Kutcher
Ashton Kutcher
Christopher Ashton Kutcher , best known as Ashton Kutcher, is an American actor, producer, former fashion model and comedian, best known for his portrayal of Michael Kelso in the Fox sitcom That '70s Show...
's RockWorks Foundation. Many of Bass's family members in Mississippi were directly affected by the hurricane. That same year, Bass appeared on an episode of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition is a reality television series providing home renovations for less fortunate families and community schools etc...
, where he wrote a check for $50,000 US and presented it to a Russian
Russians
The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
woman with Cerebral Palsy
Cerebral palsy
Cerebral palsy is an umbrella term encompassing a group of non-progressive, non-contagious motor conditions that cause physical disability in human development, chiefly in the various areas of body movement....
who started a camp for disabled Russian children.
Bass is a member of the Environmental Media Association
Environmental Media Association
The Environmental Media Association is a non-profit organization which was founded in 1989 by Cindy and Alan Horn and Lyn and Norman Lear. EMA works with the entertainment industry to encourage green production and raise the public's environmental awareness. The group provides a "Green Seal" to...
's Board of Directors. He has also been involved with Animal Avengers, Shannon Elizabeth
Shannon Elizabeth
Shannon Elizabeth is an American actress and former fashion model. Elizabeth is well known for her roles in comedy films such as Scary Movie, American Pie, and Jay And Silent Bob Strike Back. She is also well known for her work in horror films such as Thirteen Ghosts, Cursed, and Night of the Demons...
's animal rescue organization, and has two dogs which he adopted from a rescue shelter. In August 2007, Bass wrote a guest commentary for LOGO
Logo (TV channel)
Logo is an American digital cable television channel owned by Viacom's MTV Networks division. Launched in June 2005, the channel's programs are geared towards the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender community...
's "Visible Vote '08" blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
, in which he expressed support for gay marriage. In September 2007, Bass participated in a series of GLAAD television advertisements promoting tolerance for the LGBT community. Bass has also been involved in fundraising for the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network
Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network
The Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network is an organization in the United States that seeks to end discrimination, harassment, and bullying based on sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression in K-12 schools. GLSEN is headquartered in New York City and the District of Columbia...
.
Personal life
Bass dated actress Danielle FishelDanielle Fishel
Danielle Christine Fishel is an American actress and television personality best known for her role as Topanga Lawrence on the 1990s TV sitcom Boy Meets World and as the host of Style Network's The Dish...
of TV's Boy Meets World
Boy Meets World
Boy Meets World is an American comedy-drama series that chronicles the events and everyday life lessons of Cory Matthews, played by Ben Savage, a kid from suburban Philadelphia who grows up from a young boy to a married man. The show aired for seven seasons from 1993 to 2000 on ABC, part of the...
throughout 1999 and 2000. Fishel stated that she was heavily invested in the relationship, commenting that she was "like, so in love" with Bass. Bass ended the relationship after one year, and continued to exclusively date women until he was 22.
In his autobiography, Bass documents two gay relationships that predated media speculation; one with a Miami, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
native named Jesse, with whom Bass lived for two years, and another with an Idaho
Idaho
Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....
native named Joe. Bass began dating Amazing Race winner Reichen Lehmkuhl
Reichen Lehmkuhl
Reichen Lehmkuhl, , is an American former reality show winner, model, and occasional actor...
in early 2006, a courtship that garnered tabloid
Tabloid journalism
Tabloid journalism tends to emphasize topics such as sensational crime stories, astrology, gossip columns about the personal lives of celebrities and sports stars, and junk food news...
coverage and led to Bass's decision to come out
Come Out
Come Out may refer to:*Come Out , a music piece by Steve Reich*Coming out, disclosing one's homosexuality or bisexuality.*"Come Out", a song by Camper van Beethoven from New Roman Times...
. Bass described his relationship with Lehmkuhl as "very stable"; however, the couple split several months later. Shortly after his split with Lehmkuhl, Bass briefly dated Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian model
Model (person)
A model , sometimes called a mannequin, is a person who is employed to display, advertise and promote commercial products or to serve as a subject of works of art....
and LXTV
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
host Pedro Andrade
Pedro Andrade
Pedro Andrade is a Brazilian journalist-actor-model raised in Rio de Janeiro. He began his acting career at the early age of 7 in Brazil. A student of journalism, Pedro originally came to the United States on a Poetry scholarship. He lives in the West Village in New York City...
. From August 2007 to March 2008, Bass dated New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
-based hairdresser
Hairdresser
Hairdresser is a term referring to anyone whose occupation is to cut or style hair in order to change or maintain a person's image. This is achieved using a combination of hair coloring, haircutting, and hair texturing techniques...
Ben Thigpen.
In a 2006 interview, Bass stated that he has Attention-Deficit Disorder. Bass's favorite music bands are Aerosmith
Aerosmith
Aerosmith is an American rock band, sometimes referred to as "The Bad Boys from Boston" and "America's Greatest Rock and Roll Band". Their style, which is rooted in blues-based hard rock, has come to also incorporate elements of pop, heavy metal, and rhythm and blues, and has inspired many...
, The Goo Goo Dolls, and Journey
Journey (band)
Journey is an American rock band formed in 1973 in San Francisco by former members of Santana. The band has gone through several phases; its strongest commercial success occurred between the 1978 and 1987, after which it temporarily disbanded...
, and his favorite actress is Lucille Ball
Lucille Ball
Lucille Désirée Ball was an American comedian, film, television, stage and radio actress, model, film and television executive, and star of the sitcoms I Love Lucy, The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour, The Lucy Show, Here's Lucy and Life With Lucy...
, whom he grew up watching on I Love Lucy
I Love Lucy
I Love Lucy is an American television sitcom starring Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance, and William Frawley. The black-and-white series originally ran from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, on the Columbia Broadcasting System...
re-runs. He is a self-described "huge Dr. Seuss
Dr. Seuss
Theodor Seuss Geisel was an American writer, poet, and cartoonist most widely known for his children's books written under the pen names Dr. Seuss, Theo LeSieg and, in one case, Rosetta Stone....
fan", devoting an entire room in his Jackson, Mississippi
Jackson, Mississippi
Jackson is the capital and the most populous city of the US state of Mississippi. It is one of two county seats of Hinds County ,. The population of the city declined from 184,256 at the 2000 census to 173,514 at the 2010 census...
, estate to Seuss memorabilia. Bass has said that he is a Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
and that he regularly attends church, though he considers himself to be non-denominational. He is the godfather
Godparent
A godparent, in many denominations of Christianity, is someone who sponsors a child's baptism. A male godparent is a godfather, and a female godparent is a godmother...
of former bandmate Joey Fatone
Joey Fatone
Joseph Anthony "Joey" Fatone, Jr. is an American singer, dancer, actor and television personality. He is best known as a member of the boyband, 'N Sync, in which he sang baritone. In 2007, he came in second place on the ABC reality show Dancing with the Stars...
's daughter, Brianna. Bass and Fatone are best friends.
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Longshot | Flight Engineer | |
| 7th Heaven 7th Heaven 7th Heaven is an American family drama television series, created and produced by Brenda Hampton. The series premiered on August 26, 1996, on the WB, the first time that the network aired Monday night programming, and was originally broadcast from August 26, 1996 to May 13, 2007... |
Rick Palmer | Television guest role | |
| All That All That All That is an American live-action, sketch comedy-variety show that aired on the Nickelodeon cable television network featuring short comedic sketches and weekly musical guests. The theme song for All That was performed by TLC... |
Himself | Guest | |
| 2001 | On The Line On the Line (film) On the Line is a 2001 American romantic comedy film starring Lance Bass and Emmanuelle Chriqui. The film was directed by Eric Bross and was written by Eric Aronson and Paul Stanton, based upon their short film of the same name.-Plot:... |
Kevin | Grossed: $4,201,288 |
| Zoolander Zoolander Zoolander is a 2001 American satirical comedy film directed by and starring Ben Stiller. The film contains elements from a pair of short films directed by Russell Bates and written by Drake Sather and Stiller for the VH1 Fashion Awards television specials in 1996 and 1997. The short films and the... |
Himself | Cameo appearance | |
| The Simpsons The Simpsons The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie... |
Himself | Episode: New Kids on the Blecch New Kids on the Blecch "New Kids on the Blecch" is the fourteenth episode from the twelfth season of The Simpsons. In the episode, a music producer selects Bart, Nelson, Milhouse and Ralph to be members of the next hit boyband, who record subliminal songs about joining the Navy.... , Guest Voice |
|
| 2002 | Kingdom Hearts Kingdom Hearts is an action role-playing game developed and published by Square in 2002 for the PlayStation 2 video game console. The first game in the Kingdom Hearts series, it is the result of a collaboration between Square Enix and The Walt Disney Company. The game combines characters and settings from Disney... |
Sephiroth | Voice only, video game |
| 2004 | Kim Possible Kim Possible Kim Possible is an American animated television series about a teenage crime fighter who has the task of dealing with worldwide, family, and school issues every day. The show is action-oriented, but also has a light-hearted atmosphere and often lampoons the conventions and clichés of the... |
Robbie | Voice only, television appearance |
| Higglytown Heroes Higglytown Heroes Higglytown Heroes is a children's television series currently airing on the Disney Junior portion of the Disney Channel, or, on some cable networks, the Playhouse Disney channel... |
Electrician Hero | Voice only, television appearance Credited as James Lance Bass |
|
| 2005 | Cursed | Himself | Cameo appearance |
| Robot Chicken Robot Chicken Robot Chicken is an American stop motion animated television series created and executive produced by Seth Green and Matthew Senreich along with co-head writers Douglas Goldstein and Tom Root. Green provides many voices for the show... |
Himself | Voice only, television appearance | |
| Lovewrecked Lovewrecked Love Wrecked is a 2005 romantic comedy film directed by Randal Kleiser and starring Amanda Bynes. It was originally produced as a feature film by Media 8 Entertainment, but ended up as an ABC Family television film... |
Dan | ||
| 2006 - present | Handy Manny Handy Manny Handy Manny is a Disney animated children's television program that premiered on September 16, 2006. The program was originally part of the Playhouse Disney daily block intended for preschoolers... |
Elliot | Voice only, animated program |
| 2007 | I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry is a 2007 comedy film directed by Dennis Dugan, written by Barry Fanaro, and starring Adam Sandler and Kevin James as the title characters. The film was released on July 20, 2007, in the U.S., August 16, 2007, in Australia and on September 21, 2007, in the UK and... |
Himself (Band Leader) | |
| 2008 | Tropic Thunder Tropic Thunder Tropic Thunder is a 2008 American action satire comedy film written, produced, and directed by Ben Stiller, and starring Stiller, Robert Downey, Jr., and Jack Black. The main plot revolves around a group of prima donna actors who are making a Vietnam War film... |
Himself | Cameo appearance |
External links
OfficialBiographical or discographical