It's a "demi-semi-quasi-pseudo-autobiographical comedy." It's the adaptation of his tour de force, Tony-nominated, one-man Broadway show. It's his third HBO solo special, and it's directed by Spike Lee. It's JOHN LEGUIZAMO'S FREAK, debuting SATURDAY, OCT. 10 (10:00-11:30 p.m. ET), during Hispanic History Month, exclusively on HBO.

Other playdates: Oct. 15 (1:00 a.m.), 20 (9:45 p.m.), 26 (2:20 a.m.) and 28 (11:30 p.m.), and Nov. 1 (12:20 a.m.).

Alternately funny, raunchy and poignant, JOHN LEGUIZAMO'S FREAK spotlights the Tony nominee's gift for storytelling, as he effortlessly slips in and out of a wide range of characters from his dysfunctional childhood in Queens, New York. Taped before a live audience at New York's Cort Theatre, the special includes such scenarios as:

• Family barbecues at Flushing Meadow Park, where Leguizamo's ailing grandfather would try to get him to disconnect his life-support system, and his grandmother would attempt to exorcise the demons from him.
  
  
• Breaking the antenna to his father's beloved television set and shifting the blame to his younger brother. Later, after drinking with his father on the fire escape, the alcohol impairs his judgement and he admits the truth, with regrettable consequences.
  
  
• How he managed to get his family kicked out of several different ethnic neighborhoods.
  
  
• His 16th birthday present from his father: losing his virginity to a German woman working in a fast-food restaurant as his dad waited outside.
  
  
• Leguizamo's father visiting him backstage when he was finally getting regular work as an actor, and letting him know, in his own way, how he really felt about his son.

JOHN LEGUIZAMO'S FREAK follows his other two acclaimed HBO specials, which were also adaptations of his stage work. 1991's "HBO Comedy Hour: Mambo Mouth" garnered an Outer Critic Circle and Obie Award in its stage version, as well as a CableACE Award. 1993's "HBO Comedy Hour: John Leguizamo's 'Spic-O-Rama' " won four CableACE Awards.

"Freak," his Broadway debut, received two 1998 Tony nominations, for Best Play and Best Actor. It premiered in March 1997 at Chicago's Goodman Theatre (as did "Spic-O-Rama"), moved to the Theatre on the Square in San Francisco in May and June 1997, and came to New York's P.S. 122 in August 1997. It premiered on Broadway in February 1998, immediately becoming one of the season's hottest tickets until the end of its run in July. Described as "compellingly watchable" by The New York Times, "Freak" sold out to audiences that included Latinos and younger theatergoers, as well as more traditional Broadway crowds.

John Leguizamo was born in Bogota, Columbia, and raised in Queens, New York. He studied drama at NYU, appearing in an award-winning student film that landed him a role on "Miami Vice." His subsequent films include "The Fan," "To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar," "William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet," "Die Hard 2: Die Harder" and "Regarding Henry." Leguizamo's other theatre credits include "A Midsummer Night's Dream," "La Puta Vida" and "Parting Gestures." He also hosted the 1995 TV series "House of Buggin'."

Director Spike Lee is one of today's most acclaimed filmmakers. His HBO documentary "4 Little Girls" received a Best Documentary Feature Oscar(r) nomination earlier this year; he also received a nomination for original screenplay for "Do the Right Thing." Lee's other credits include "She's Gotta Have It," "Malcolm X," "Jungle Fever," "Clockers" and the recent "He Got Game." He is currently directing "Summer of Sam."

JOHN LEGUIZAMO'S FREAK is executive produced by John Leguizamo and Robert Morton; co-executive producer, David Bar-Katz; producer, Denis Biggs; director, Spike Lee.

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