Steven Craig Banks (born November 27, 1954) is an American actor, musician, comedian, and writer of television, plays, books and cartoons, including CatDog, Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi, and SpongeBob SquarePants.
Banks hit it big when he developed (and starred in) a one-man theatrical show titled Home Entertainment Center – a comedic play about an easily distracted procrastinator trying to meet a work deadline.
On May 14, 1989, he appeared (with Penn Jillette) on the Dr. Demento radio program (that year's Mother's Day Special) and performed a number of his songs live on-air.
The plot of the show was much the same as his one-act play: Banks portrayed Steven Brooks – an underachieving, chronic procrastinator fascinated by trivia and cursed with a penchant for comedic songs.
They filmed and aired The Steven Banks Show that summer – the first original sitcom ever produced and run by PBS.
A CD album for the show was also released, consisting of original songs written and performed by Banks.
In one episode, Penn Jillette sang and played guitar, Teller on the keyboard, joining Steven Banks.
Banks performed as "Billy the Mime" in the 2005 comedic documentary The Aristocrats which was created by Penn Jillette and Paul Provenza.
[1] Other appearances include Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Penn & Teller's Bullshit!, Parks & Recreation (his scene was cut out), and The Green Room with Paul Provenza.
He continued working for Nickelodeon, penning several SpongeBob books (including The Big Halloween Scare, which actually charted on The New York Times bestseller list).
In 2004, he wrote for Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi, an animated series from the Cartoon Network about the adventures of real-life J-pop music stars Ami Onuki and Yumi Yoshimura.
His play, Looking at Christmas, opened in New York at The Flea Theater on November 20, 2010, and was filmed by a local television station WNET.
In April 2021, Banks served as a head writer on the animated streaming series Stan Lee's Superhero Kindergarten writing all 26 episodes.