Kevin Smith presents YSU Skeggs Lecture July 5

Filmmaker, actor and comedian Kevin Smith presents Youngstown State University’s Skeggs Lecture 7 p.m. Friday, July 5, in Stambaugh Auditorium on Fifth Avenue in Youngstown.

Admission is free, but tickets are required and available on a first-come, first-served basis at www.stambaughauditorium.com or at the Stambaugh Auditorium box office. For more information, call 330-941-2136 or email jmleviseur@ysu.edu.

Smith came to prominence for writing, directing and acting in the low-budget 1994 comedy film Clerks, which won the Filmmaker’s Trophy at the Sundance Film Festival and the Prix de la Jeunesse Award at the Cannes Film Festival. His other films include Mallrats, Chasing Amy, Dogma, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back and Clerks 2, as well as Red State, Tusk and Yoga Hosers. He’s also won awards from the Edinburgh International Film Festival, Woodstock Film Festival, the Hawaii International Film Festival and the Independent Spirit Awards, and he won the “The Orbit Dirtiest Mouth Moment” award from MTV. He has four honorary degrees, has published five books (including Tough Sh*t: Life Advice from a Fat, Lazy Slob Who Did Good) and 14 comics, including comics on Batman, Green Hornet and Spiderman. He writes the online blog called “My Boring-Ass Life,” created the anti-movie review series “Spoilers” and has appeared before sold out audiences at Carnegie Hall and the Sydney Opera House.