The term gay was originally used to refer to feelings of being "carefree", "happy", or "bright and showy"; it had also come to acquire some connotations of "immorality" as early as 1637.

The term's use as a reference to homosexuality may date as early as the late 19th century, but its use gradually increased in the 20th century. At about the same time, a new, pejorative use became prevalent in some parts of the world. In the Anglosphere, this connotation, among younger speakers, has a derisive meaning equivalent to rubbish or stupid (as in "That's so gay."). In this use the word does not mean "homosexual", so it can be used, for example, to refer to an inanimate object or abstract concept of which one disapproves. This usage can also refer to weakness or unmanliness. When used in this way, the extent to which it still retains connotations of homosexuality has been debated.

History

Overview

in 1857 illustrating the use of "gay" as a euphemism for being a prostitute. One woman says to the other (who looks glum), "How long have you been gay?" The poster on the wall is for La Traviata, an opera about a courtesan.]]The word "gay" arrived in English during the 12th century from Old French gai, most likely deriving ultimately from a Germanic source. also illustrates this connotation. It was apparently not until the 20th century that the word began to be used to mean specifically "homosexual", although it had earlier acquired sexual connotations.

Sexualization

The word had started to acquire associations of immorality by 1637 This was by extension from the primary meaning of "carefree": implying "uninhibited by moral constraints." A gay woman was a prostitute, a gay man a womanizer and a gay house a brothel. or in the title of the book and film The Gay Falcon (1941), which concerns a womanizing detective whose first name is "Gay." Well into the mid 20th century a middle-aged bachelor could be described as "gay", indicating that he was unattached and therefore free, without any implication of homosexuality. This usage could apply to women too. The British comic strip Jane was first published in the 1930s and described the adventures of Jane Gay. Far from implying homosexuality, it referred to her free-wheeling lifestyle with plenty of boyfriends (while also punning on Lady Jane Grey).

A passage from Gertrude Stein's Miss Furr & Miss Skeene (1922) is possibly the first traceable published use of the word to refer to a homosexual relationship. According to Linda Wagner-Martin (Favored Strangers: Gertrude Stein and her Family (1995)) the portrait, "featured the sly repetition of the word gay, used with sexual intent for one of the first times in linguistic history," and Edmund Wilson (1951, quoted by James Mellow in Charmed Circle (1974)) agreed. For example:

The 1929 musical Bitter Sweet by Noël Coward contains another use of the word in a context that strongly implies homosexuality. In the song "Green Carnation", four overdressed, 1890s dandies sing:

The song title alludes to Oscar Wilde, who famously wore a green carnation, and whose homosexuality was well known. However, the phrase "gay nineties" was already well-established as an epithet for the decade (a film entitled The Gay Nineties; or, The Unfaithful Husband was released in the same year). The song also drew on familiar satires on Wilde and Aestheticism dating back to Gilbert and Sullivan's Patience (1881). Because of its continuation of these public usages and conventions in a mainstream musical the precise connotations of the word in this context remain ambiguous.

Other usages at this date involve some of the same ambiguity as Coward's lyrics. Bringing Up Baby (1938) was the first film to use the word gay in apparent reference to homosexuality. In a scene where Cary Grant's clothes have been sent to the cleaners, he must wear a lady's feathery robe. When another character inquires about his clothes, he responds "Because I just went gay...all of a sudden!" However, since this was a mainstream film at a time when the use of the word to refer to homosexuality would still be unfamiliar to most film-goers, the line can also be interpreted to mean "I just decided to do something frivolous." There is much debate about what Grant meant with the ad-lib (the line was not in the script). The word continued to be used with the dominant meaning of "carefree", as evidenced by the title of The Gay Divorcee (1934), a musical film about a heterosexual couple. It was originally to be called "The Gay Divorce" after the play on which it was based, but the Hays Office determined that while a divorcee may be gay, it would be unseemly to allow a divorce to appear so.

Shift to homosexual

By the mid-20th century, gay was well-established in reference to hedonistic and uninhibited lifestyles and its antonym straight, which had long had connotations of seriousness, respectability, and conventionality, had now acquired specific connotations of heterosexuality. In the case of gay, other connotations of frivolousness and showiness in dress ("gay apparel") led to association with camp and effeminacy. This association no doubt helped the gradual narrowing in scope of the term towards its current dominant meaning, which was at first confined to subcultures. Gay was the preferred term since other terms, such as queer, were felt to be derogatory. Homosexual is perceived as excessively clinical, since the sexual orientation now commonly referred to as "homosexuality" was at that time a mental illness diagnosis in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM).

In mid-20th century Britain, where male homosexuality was illegal until the Sexual Offences Act 1967, to openly identify someone as homosexual was considered very offensive and an accusation of serious criminal activity. Additionally, none of the words describing any aspect of homosexuality were considered suitable for polite society. Consequently, a number of euphemisms were used to hint at suspected homosexuality. Examples include "sporty" girls and "artistic" boys, all with the stress deliberately on the otherwise completely innocent adjective.

By 1963, a new sense of the word gay was known well enough to be used by Albert Ellis in his book The Intelligent Woman's Guide to Man-Hunting. However, later examples of the original meaning of the word being used in popular culture include the theme song to the 1960–1966 animated TV series The Flintstones, whereby viewers are assured that they will "have a gay old time." Similarly, the 1966 Herman's Hermits song "No Milk Today", which became a Top 10 hit in the UK and a Top 40 hit in the U.S. and included the lyric "No milk today, it was not always so / The company was gay, we had turn night into day." In June 1967, the headline of the review of the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album in the British daily newspaper The Times stated, "The Beatles revive hopes of progress in pop music with their gay new LP". As late as 1970, the first episode of The Mary Tyler Moore Show has the demonstrably straight Mary Richards' downstairs neighbor, Phyllis, breezily declaiming that Mary is, at age 30, still "young and gay."

There is little doubt that the homosexual sense is a development of the word's traditional meaning, as described above. It has nevertheless been claimed that gay stands for "Good As You", but there is no evidence for this: it is a folk etymology backronym.

Homosexuality

Sexual orientation, identity, behaviour

The American Psychological Association states that sexual orientation "describes the pattern of sexual attraction, behavior and identity e.g. homosexual (aka gay, lesbian), bisexual and heterosexual (aka straight). ... Sexual attraction, behavior and identity may be incongruent. For example, sexual attraction and/or behavior may not necessarily be consistent with identity. Some individuals may identify themselves as homosexual or bisexual without having had any sexual experience. Others have had homosexual experiences but do not consider themselves to be gay, lesbian, or bisexual. Further, sexual orientation falls along a continuum. In other words, someone does not have to be exclusively homosexual or heterosexual, but can feel varying degrees of both. Sexual orientation develops across a person's lifetime-different people realize at different points in their lives that they are heterosexual, bisexual or homosexual."

According to Rosario, Schrimshaw, Hunter, Braun (2006), "the development of a lesbian, gay, or bisexual (LGB) sexual identity is a complex and often difficult process. Unlike members of other minority groups (e.g., ethnic and racial minorities), most LGB individuals are not raised in a community of similar others from whom they learn about their identity and who reinforce and support that identity. Rather, LGB individuals are often raised in communities that are either ignorant of or openly hostile toward homosexuality."

The British gay rights activist Peter Tatchell has argued that the term gay is merely a cultural expression which reflects the current status of homosexuality within a given society, and claiming that "Queer, gay, homosexual ... in the long view, they are all just temporary identities. One day, we will not need them at all."

If a person engages in same-sex sexual encounters but does not self-identify as gay, terms such as 'closeted', 'discreet', or 'bi-curious' may be applied. Conversely, a person may identify as gay without engaging in homosexual sex. Possible choices include identifying as gay socially while choosing to be celibate or while anticipating a first homosexual experience. Further, a bisexual person can also identify as "gay" but others might consider gay and bisexual to be mutually exclusive. There are some who are drawn to the same-sex, and may not have sex, and also not identify as gay; these could have the term 'asexual' applied, even though an 'asexual' generally can mean no attraction, and includes heterosexual attraction that is not sufficient to engage in sex, or where the sex act is not desirable, even though titillation may occur.

Terminology

Some people reject the term homosexual as an identity-label because they find it too clinical-sounding; they believe it is too focused on physical acts rather than romance or attraction, or too reminiscent of the era when homosexuality was considered a mental illness. Conversely, some reject term gay as an identity-label because they perceive the cultural connotations to be undesirable or because of the negative connotations of the slang usage of the word.

Style guides, like the following from the Associated Press, call for gay over homosexual:

}}

Sociological theory

While the gay movement has been based on encouraging people to identify themselves as gay and "come out," there have been many who have argued that the approach is self-defeating. Among those are the advocates of labeling theory who argue that gay identity is a stigmatic role created by society to control and limit the behavior.

Strong defense of labeling theory also arose within the gay community. Many advocate dropping the label entirely. While adopted as a strategy for dealing with the oppression, gay identity comes with its own set of problems.

Gay community vs. LGBT community

Just as the word "gay" is sometimes used as a shorthand for the term LGBT, so is "gay community" sometimes a synonym for the "LGBT community." In other cases, the speaker may be referring only to homosexual men. Starting in the mid-1980s in the United States, a conscious effort was underway within what was then called the gay community, to add the term 'lesbian' to the name of all gay organizations that catered to both male and female homosexuals, and to use the terminology of gay and lesbian, or lesbian/gay when referring to that community. So, organizations like the National Gay Task Force became the National Lesbian/Gay Task Force. For many ardent feminist lesbians, it was also important that the 'L' come first, lest an 'L' following a 'G' become another symbol of male dominance over women. In the 1990s, this was followed by another equally concerted push to include the terminology specifically pointing out the inclusion of bisexuals and transgender people, reflecting an end to the intra-community debate as to whether these other sexual minorities were part of the same sexual liberation movement. Most news organizations have formally adopted this use, following the example and preference of the GLBT organizations, as reflected in their press releases and public communications. Today, many people interpret the phrase "gay community" to mean "the population of LGBT people."

Cultural relativity of the term

The concept of a "gay identity" and the use of the term gay itself may not be used or understood the same way in non-Westernised cultures since modes of sexuality may differ from those prevalent in the West.

Descriptor

in Seattle, United States.]]

The term "gay" can also be used as an adjective to describe things related to homosexuals or things which are part of the said culture. For example, while a gay bar is not itself homosexual, using the term "gay" as an adjective to describe the bar indicates that the bar is either homosexually oriented, caters primarily to a homosexual clientèle, or is otherwise part of homosexual culture.

Using it to describe an object, such as an item of clothing, suggests that it is particularly flamboyant, often on the verge of being gaudy and garish. This usage pre-dates the association of the term with homosexuality, but has acquired different connotations since the modern usage developed.

Using the term "gay" as an adjective where the meaning is akin to "related to homosexual people, culture, or homosexuality in general" is a widely accepted use of the word. By contrast, using "gay" in the pejorative sense, to describe something solely as negative, can cause offense.

Use as noun

The label "gay" was originally used purely as an adjective ("he is a gay man" or "he is gay"). The term has been in use as a noun with the meaning "homosexual man" since the 1970s, as in "gays are opposed to that policy." Although some dislike this usage, it is common particularly in the names of various organizations such as Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) and Children Of Lesbians And Gays Everywhere (COLAGE). It is sometimes used as a singular noun, as in "he is a gay", such as in its use to comic effect by the Little Britain character Dafydd Thomas.

Generalized pejorative use

When used with a derisive attitude (e.g. "that was so gay"), the word gay is pejorative. While retaining its other meanings, it has also acquired "a widespread current usage" amongst young people, as a general term of disparagement. This pejorative usage has its origins in the late 1970s. Beginning in the 1980s and especially in the late 1990s, the usage as a generic insult became common among young people.}}

The BBC's ruling was heavily criticised by the Minister for Children, Kevin Brennan, who stated in response that "the casual use of homophobic language by mainstream radio DJs" is:

}}

Shortly after the Moyles incident a campaign against homophobia was launched in Britain under the slogan "homophobia is gay", playing on the double meaning of the word "gay" in youth culture.

Usage in other language

The German equivalent for gay, schwul, which is etymologically derived from schwuel (hot, humid), also acquired the pejorative meaning within youth culture.

Given name

The first name Gay is still occasionally encountered, as is the spelling Gaye. (795th and 1295th most common in the United States, according to the 1990 U.S. census). It was also used as a male first name. The first name of the popular male Irish television presenter Gabriel Byrne was always abbreviated as "Gay", as in the title of his radio show The Gay Byrne Show. It can also be used as a short form of the female names Gaynell and Gaynor and as a short form of the male names Gaylen and Gaylord. The writer Gay Talese's name is derived from Gaetano, his grandfather's name.

See also

Anti-LGBT slogans

Gender identity disorder

Gay bashing

Hate speech

Stigma

Deviance (sociology)

Labeling theory

Heterosexism

Human Rights Campaign

LGBT rights opposition

List of gay, lesbian or bisexual people

LGBT themes in mythology

National Gay and Lesbian Task Force

Human male sexuality

Religion and sexuality

Sexuality and gender identity-based cultures

Notes

Further reading

External links

2 Category:LGBT terms Category:Sexual orientation

Name	Russell Peters
Caption	Russell Peters in 2009
Birth name	Russell Dominic Peters
Birth date	September 29, 1970
Birth place	Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Medium	stand-up, television, film, radio
Nationality	Canadian
Genre	Satire, Improvisational comedy, Observational comedy
Active	1989–present
Subject	racism, race relations, stereotypes, multiculturalism, Indian culture
Influences	George Carlin, Steve Martin, Cheech and Chong, Don Rickles, Eddie Murphy
Signature	Russell Peters Autograph.svg
Website	RussellPeters.com
Spouse	Monica Diaz (2010–present)

Russell Dominic Peters (born September 29, 1970) is a Canadian comedian and actor. He began performing in Toronto in 1989 and has been nominated for four Gemini Awards.

Early life and background

Russell Peters was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada to Eric and Maureen Peters. The family later moved to Brampton, Ontario. His family is Christian. His father was born in Bombay, India and worked as a federal meat inspector and his mother was born in Calcutta, India. He has an older brother named Clayton who was also born in Calcutta.

He went to Georges Vanier Catholic Elementary School from kindergarten to grade 8, Chinguacousy Secondary School for grades 9–10 and North Peel Secondary School for grades 11–12 in Brampton.

Career

Peters began performing in Toronto in 1989. Peters participated in a USO tour of Iraq, Afghanistan, Germany, Africa and Greenland in November 2007 with Wilmer Valderrama and Mayra Veronica. Peters' latest DVD/CD combo was recorded on February 2, 2008, at The WAMU Theatre at Madison Square Garden. Peters and his brother, Clayton Peters, who is also his manager, self-produced and financed Red, White and Brown. It was released in Canada in September 2008 and in the US on January 27, 2009. Peters also currently produces and stars on the radio situation comedy series, Monsoon House, on CBC Radio One.

Peters was the host of the 2008 Juno Awards televised ceremonies in Calgary on April 6, 2008, for which he won a Gemini Award for "Best Performance or Host in a Variety Program or Series". The 2008 awards broadcast received the second-highest ratings ever for the program. He was asked to host the Juno Awards for a second year in a row. The 2009 Juno Awards took place in Vancouver on March 29, 2009.

Between June 2008 and June 2009, Peters earned $10 million, making him one of the highest-paid comedians during that twelve-month period.

Between June 2009 and June 2010, Peters earned $15 million, continuing his run as one of the highest-paid comedians.

Popularity

Peters' popularity extends to several countries. In Canada, Peters became the first comedian to sell out Toronto's Air Canada Centre, with more than 15,000 tickets in two days for the single show. He ended up selling over 30,000 tickets nationally over the two-day sales period. A total of over 60,000 tickets were sold across six cities. In Sydney, Peters had a record breaking audience of 13,880, making the event the largest stand-up comedy show in Australian history

Personal life

Peters proposed to girlfriend Monica Diaz on July 10, 2010 at the Los Angeles International Airport. He announced the engagement via Twitter. The couple married on August 20, 2010 at A Little White Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas. The wedding was attended by about 20 guests, including an Elvis impersonator. Peters and Diaz are expecting their first child, a girl, due February 23, 2011. When announcing the pregnancy, Peters told The Canadian Press, "Did I get married because she was knocked up? I would say that expedited it."

Awards and recognition

at the Juno Awards]] He has been nominated for four Gemini Awards, the Canadian television awards. He has also been nominated for Best Male Comic at the Canadian Comedy Awards. Peters has been featured at such shows as Montreal's Just for Laughs (Juste pour rire) Comedy Festival, the Winnipeg Comedy Festival, and the Edinburgh Festival. 1997 – Nomination for the Gemini Award in the category "Best Individual Performance in a Comedy Program or Series". This was for Show Me The Funny, from the TV-series Comics! (1997)

2004 – Nomination for a Gemini Award for his Comedy Now! special.

2008 – Nomination for a Gemini Award for hosting The Junos.

2008 – Winner of a Gemini Award for 'Best Performance or Host in a Variety Program or Series'.

Filmography

{| class="wikitable" |- ! align="ledt" style="vertical-align:top; width:240px;"| Title ! style="vertical-align:top; text-align:left; width:50px;"| Year |- | style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"| "Show Me The Funny" | style="text-align:center; vertical-align:top;"| 1997 |- | style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"| "Comedy Now!" | style="text-align:center; vertical-align:top;"| 2004 |- | style="text-align:left;"| "Intense Comedy Night" | style="text-align:center; vertical-align:top;"| 2004 |- | style="text-align:left;"| "Outsourced" | style="text-align:center; vertical-align:top;"| 2006 |- | style="text-align:left;"| "" | style="text-align:center; vertical-align:top;"| 2008 |}

Notable roles played

Peters has appeared in a few films, most recently Senior Skip Day also starring Larry Miller, Tara Reid, and Gary Lundy. Besides this, he has also had short appearances in the 1994 film Boozecan as Snake's Friend, the 1999 film Tiger Claws III as Detective Elliott, the 1999 film Analyze This, the 2004 film My Baby's Daddy as the obstetrician, the 2006 film Quarter Life Crisis as Dilip Kumar, the 2007 film The Take as Dr. Sharma, and the 2008 film Senior Skip Day as Uncle Todd.

Peters is scheduled to star as "Pervius" in National Lampoon's The Legend of Awesomest Maximus. He has also acted in Duncan Jones' upcoming movie Source Code. ;Acting roles – television

"Comics Without Borders" (2008)

Russell Peters: Red, White and Brown (2008)

Senior Skip Day/High School's Day Off (Australia title) (2008)- Uncle Todd

;Appearances on television

"Lopez Tonight" - Himself (February 2, 2010)

"The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" – Himself (2009)

"The 9th Annual Canadian Comedy Awards" (2008)- Himself (Winner – Best Large Venue Stand-up)

"CBC News: The Hour" .... Himself – Episode dated 18 September 2008 (2008) TV episode .... Himself

"The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" – Himself – Episode dated 15 February 2008 (2008)

"Def Comedy Jam" – Episode #8.4 (2008) TV episode – Himself/Comedian

"" – Episode #1.9 (2007) TV episode – Himself

"Video on Trial" – Episode #3.3 (2007) TV episode – Himself

"Comics Unleashed" – Episode #1.6 (2006) TV episode- Himself

The 4th Annual Canadian Comedy Awards (2003) – Himself

The 5th Annual Canadian Comedy Awards (2004) – Nominee (Male Stand-up)

MTV Cribs

;Self

Heckler (2007)

Let's All Hate Toronto (2007)

References

External links

Official website

Russell Peters at Facebook

Russell named first Toronto ambassador

Category:1970 births Category:Living people Category:Actors from Ontario Category:Anglo-Indian people Category:Canadian expatriates in the United States Category:Canadian film actors Category:Canadian radio actors Category:Canadian stand-up comedians Category:Canadian people of Indian descent Category:People from Brampton Category:Gemini Award winners Category:Date of birth missing (living people) Category:Comedians

Caption	Gervais at the 2007 BAFTAs
Birth name	Ricky Dene Gervais
Birth date	June 25, 1961
Birth place	Reading, England
Medium	Stand-up, television, film, music, books, radio, podcast
Nationality	British
Genre	Observational comedy, Improvisational comedy, Cringe humor
Subject	British culture, American culture, everyday life, self-deprecation, obesity, body image, race relations, relationships, current events, religion
Influences	Garry Shandling, Jerry Seinfeld, Larry David, Louis C.K., Woody Allen
Active	1983–present
Domesticpartner	Jane Fallon(1982–present)
Notable work	David Brent in The OfficeAndy Millman in ExtrasHimself in The Ricky Gervais ShowDr. Bertram Pincus in Ghost TownDr. McPhee in Night at the Museum
Website	http://www.rickygervais.com/}}

Ricky Dene Gervais (; born 25 June 1961) is an English comedian, actor, director, producer, musician and writer. Gervais achieved mainstream fame with his television series The Office and the subsequent series Extras, both of which he co-wrote and co-directed with friend and frequent collaborator Stephen Merchant. Besides writing and directing the shows, Gervais played the lead roles of David Brent in The Office and Andy Millman in Extras. Gervais has starred in a number of Hollywood films, assuming leading roles in Ghost Town and The Invention of Lying. Gervais has performed on four sell-out stand-up comedy tours, written the best-selling Flanimals book series and starred with Merchant and Karl Pilkington in the most downloaded podcast in the world as of March 2009, The Ricky Gervais Show.

He has won a multitude of awards and honours, including seven BAFTA Awards, two British Comedy Awards, two Emmy Awards, one Golden Globe Award and the 2006 Rose d'Or, as well as a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination. In 2007 he was voted the 11th greatest stand-up comic on Channel 4's 100 Greatest Stand-Ups and again in the updated 2010 list as the 3rd greatest stand-up comic. In 2010, he was named on the Time 100 list of the world's most influential people. Gervais hosted the 2010 Golden Globe Awards and has been signed by NBC to host the 2011 Globes as well.

Early life

Gervais, along with siblings Larry (born 1945), Marsha (born 1948), and Bob (born 1950), was born and raised in the suburb of Whitley in Reading, Berkshire. Gervais's father, Lawrence Raymond 'Jerry' Gervais (1919–2002), a Franco-Ontarian, emigrated while on foreign duty during the Second World War from London, Ontario, Canada. Jerry met Gervais's mother, Eva Sophia M. (née House; 1925–2000), during a blackout, and they settled in Whitley. She died aged 74 of lung cancer.

During Xfm London's The Ricky Gervais Show and in further newspaper interviews with The Independent, Gervais noted that he believes his birth was unplanned due to the age difference between his youngest sibling and himself. During one interview with The Independent, Gervais tells the author that even his mother admitted his birth was unplanned. He has claimed that his father was "drunk when he filled in the birth certificate", leading to the unusual spelling of his middle name.

Gervais has stated that his upbringing and childhood were stable and trauma-free, with a high level of honesty and openness between his family members. He claims that his family, "much like The Waltons", made fun of each other regularly.

Gervais attended Whitley Park Infants and Junior Schools and received his secondary education at Ashmead Comprehensive School, before moving on to University College London in 1979. He arrived to study biology but changed to philosophy after only two weeks and earned degree in the subject. During his first and second years at UCL he stayed at Canterbury Hall, one of the University of London halls of residence in Bloomsbury. It was also during his time at UCL that he met Jane Fallon, with whom he has been in a relationship since 1982.

Career

Music

In his final year as a student at UCL (University College London), in 1983, Gervais and his friend Bill Macrae formed a pop duo, Seona Dancing. They were signed by London Records, which released two of their singles—"More to Lose" and "Bitter Heart". The singles failed to break the top 40—with "More to Lose" charting at number 117 and "Bitter Heart" peaking at 70 in the UK singles charts.

According to the 20 December 2003 Ricky Gervais Show, Gervais later had a band called the Sacred Hearts, which Ian Camfield described as Gervais's Bon Jovi phase.

Radio

Gervais later worked as an events manager for the University of London Union (ULU), where he continued working until he took a similar job as "head of speech" at Xfm London.

Needing an assistant, Gervais interviewed the first person whose curriculum vitae he saw. The CV belonged to Stephen Merchant. During the interview at a local pub, Merchant agreed to do "all the boring stuff" because of his experience in media studies while Gervais "mess[ed] around". In 1998, Gervais was made redundant when the station was taken over by the Capital Radio group.

Gervais was music adviser for the BBC drama This Life, which was being produced by his girlfriend, Jane Fallon. He and Merchant also contributed sketches to BBC Radio 1's The Breezeblock in 1999 and 2000.

After the first series of The Office, Gervais and Merchant returned to Xfm in November 2001 for a Saturday radio show. The show ran intermittently until January 2004 with breaks of 1–3 months between new shows. This was their first time working with Karl Pilkington, who produced the shows and later collaborated with them on their series of podcasts.

Podcast

On 5 December 2005 Guardian Unlimited began offering free weekly podcasts featuring Gervais, Merchant, and Pilkington. Throughout January and February 2006, the podcast was consistently ranked the number-one podcast in the world; it appeared in the 2007 Guinness World Record for the world's most-downloaded podcast, having gained an average of 261,670 downloads per episode during its first month. The Guardian's Chris Tryhorn explained the "few gripes" he had with Extras, "particularly in the second series". "You can forgive Gervais a certain arrogance after the success of The Office, but..." He remarks on the confused tone of the series, taking in the clash between the broad comedy of characters Barry (Shaun Williamson) and Darren (Stephen Merchant), and the apparent parody of this style with When The Whistle Blows, and "given their total indulgence of Gervais, the BBC is portrayed as interfering, its comedy department run by a rather crudely stereotyped gay couple".

Gervais guest-starred in an episode of The Simpsons entitled "Homer Simpson, This Is Your Wife", which aired on 26 March 2006 in the United States, on 23 April 2006 in the United Kingdom, and on 18 July 2006 in Australia. He is the only British comic to write and star in a Simpsons episode. The episode was the highest rated in Sky One's history, arguably because of its extensive promotion, which revolved around the angle that Gervais was the episode's sole writer (and the first guest star on the show to also receive a writing credit for the episode of his appearance). Gervais clarified the extent of his input in a joint interview (with Christopher Guest) for Dazed and Confused magazine (January 2006): "No, all I did was put down a load of observations on an email and they made it look like a Simpsons script. I'm going to get the credit, but I think everyone in the industry knows it was a joint effort". Asked in a separate interview about how his idea for the episode (in which Homer swaps Marge on a game show) came about, Gervais replied:

I've always been fascinated with reality game shows but I think it was my girlfriend's idea. We watch Celebrity Big Brother at the moment, we watch I'm a Celebrity, Get Me out of Here... we watch all those reality TV shows — The Office came out of those docu-soaps".

Gervais, a longstanding Simpsons fan, presented a segment to mark the show's 20th anniversary on BBC Two's The Culture Show on 16 June 2007.

Gervais has also guest-starred on Alias (appearing in the third-season episode "Façade") as Daniel Ryan, a former Royal Navy bomb-disposal specialist turned rogue Irish Republican Army bomb-maker. He has said about the appearance, "I did an episode of Alias, and I can't watch it. Me being serious. I can't watch it".

Gervais made a cameo appearance on Saturday Night Live in a Digital Short during which he claims that The Office was adapted from a Japanese program of the same name (with Steve Carell reprising his role as Michael Scott). The sketch re-creates scenes from the American and British pilot episode with Japanese elements (although in an exaggerated way). "It's funny", Gervais laughs at the end, "because it's racist".

In January 2009, Gervais was interviewed by James Lipton for Season 15 of BravoTV's Inside the Actors Studio.

In January 2010, Gervais hosted the 67th Golden Globe Awards, making him the first master of ceremonies since 1995. He stated:

"I have resisted many other offers like this, but there are just some things you don't turn down."

His performance as host received a mixed response with positive reviews from the New York Daily News and The Associated Press, but also some negative comments from industry bible, The Hollywood Reporter.

Gervais was a guest judge/panelist on Jerry Seinfeld's NBC show The Marriage Ref alongside Larry David and Madonna. On 1 April 2010, Gervais made his first appearance on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on NBC.

As of December 2010, he has made 17 guest appearances on The Late Show With David Letterman on the CBS network.

In April 2010 it was announced that Gervais and Stephen Merchant will be writing a new show, called Life's Too Short, which they described as, "A cross between Extras and Curb your Enthusiasm and One Foot in the Grave but with a dwarf. That is out and out funny.” The show will star actor Warwick Davis as himself, as well as Gervais and Merchant.

In June 2010 it was announced that Gervais had been cast in the upcoming Season 8 of Curb Your Enthusiasm playing himself.

The Office

In August 1999, while on a BBC production course, Stephen Merchant had to make his own short film. He chose to make a docu-soap parody, set in an office. This sketch later formed the basis of the interview episode. With help from Ash Atalla, Merchant passed this tape on to the BBC's Head of Entertainment Paul Jackson at the Edinburgh Fringe, who then passed it on to Head of Comedy Jon Plowman, who eventually commissioned a full-pilot script from Merchant and Gervais. However the BBC at first misunderstood the true concept of the series. They were keen for the series to have a narration akin to many of the docusoaps that were being screened in the UK at this time. They also favoured a laughter track the like of which Gervais and Merchant despised. To top things off the corporation wished to pack the series with established names: John Thomson or Neil Morrissey as David Brent, Reece Shearsmith or Alan Davies as Tim, and as mentioned by Lucy Davis on a DVD extra feature, Nadia Sawalha as Dawn. Gervais and Merchant balked at all the suggestions, and, inspired by Sylvester Stallone's determination not to sell the rights to Rocky without the promise of playing the role himself, Gervais held out to play the role of Brent himself, have total casting control, the narration and laughter track scrapped, and of course he and Merchant would direct every episode themselves.

The first six-episode series of The Office aired in the UK in July and August 2001 to little fanfare or attention. Word-of-mouth, repeats, and DVDs helped spread the word, building up huge momentum and anticipation for the second series, also comprising six episodes, in September 2002. The second series topped the BBC Two ratings, and the show then switched to BBC One in December 2003 for its final two special episodes.

The Office has since been remade for audiences in France, Germany, Quebec, Brazil, and the United States. Gervais and Merchant are producers of the American version, and they also co-wrote the episode "The Convict" for the show's third season. The show is currently airing on Adult Swim on Fridays, and prior to the show's airing, Gervais appears as himself talking about the episode that will air in moments. In one of those segments, Gervais claimed the episode "Training" to be his favourite.

Extras

Extras had its debut on the BBC on 21 July 2005; it received its premiere on HBO in the United States in September 2005. Written and directed by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, the sitcom ran for twelve episodes and starred Gervais as Andy Millman, a background artist. Millman is more self-aware and intentionally humorous than Gervais's The Office character David Brent.

Guest stars on the first series of Extras include Ross Kemp, Les Dennis, Patrick Stewart, Vinnie Jones, Samuel L. Jackson, Ben Stiller, Kate Winslet, and Francesca Martinez. A second series began on 14 September 2006 in the UK and featured appearances by Daniel Radcliffe, Dame Diana Rigg, Orlando Bloom, Sir Ian McKellen, Chris Martin, Keith Chegwin, Robert Lindsay, Warwick Davis, Ronnie Corbett, Stephen Fry, Richard Briers, Patricia Potter, Sophia Myles, Moira Stuart, David Bowie, Kate Winslet, Robert De Niro, and Jonathan Ross.

at Live 8 in July 2005.]] A Christmas special of Extras aired on 27 December 2007 in the UK and on 16 December 2007 in the US, featuring guest appearances by George Michael, Clive Owen, Gordon Ramsay, Jonathan Ross, and David Tennant.

On 10 June 2006, Gervais and Merchant were seen in a specially filmed promotional sketch for Extras 2 in the middle of BBC One's World Cup football coverage. This time, Gervais did not perform his famous dance. Instead, Merchant did a take-off of the Crouch Dance, recently popularised by England striker Peter Crouch.

Some have suggested that Gervais is influenced by Curb Your Enthusiasm and The Larry Sanders Show in making Extras, particularly in the format of celebrities making fools of themselves or subverting their public personas, and in the Gervais joke of someone making inappropriate remarks in front of a member of a minority. He has interviewed both Larry David and Garry Shandling, creators of these shows, on Ricky Gervais Meets... .

Extras was awarded the Golden Globe award for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy on 14 January 2008.

In February 2007, British ventriloquist Keith Harris refused an invitation to appear on the second series of Extras, claiming that Gervais "wanted me to be a racist bigot" and describing the script as "pure filth". When asked about Harris's refusal on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross, Gervais claimed that Harris simply "didn't get it". Keith Chegwin, who assumed the role offered to Harris, said "the people who didn't get it probably think Johnny Depp really is a pirate."

The Ricky Gervais Show (HBO / Channel 4 Animated Series)

The Ricky Gervais Show is an animated TV show that debuted on US cable network HBO on 19 February 2010. In the UK, the first season began airing on 23 April 2010 on Channel Four. The show was developed using original podcast recordings from The Ricky Gervais Show starring Gervais, Stephen Merchant, and Karl Pilkington. After receiving a loyal and enthusiastic following in the US, Cable channel HBO recommissioned the show for a second season, due to air in 2011.

The original audio show was broadcast in November 2001 on radio station Xfm, and aired in weekly periods for months at a time throughout 2002, 2003, 2004, and mid-2005. In November 2005, Guardian Unlimited offered the show as a podcast series of 12 shows. Throughout January and February 2006, the podcast was consistently ranked the number one podcast in the world; it appeared in the 2007 Guinness World Record for the world's most downloaded podcast, having gained an average of 261,670 downloads per episode during its first month. According to the BBC, by September 2006, the podcasts of the series had been downloaded "nearly 8 million" times.

Stand-up comedy

Gervais made a few attempts at stand-up in the late 1990s, but his first successful show took place at the Cafe Royal, as part of the 2001 Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Titled Rubbernecker, the show also featured Jimmy Carr, Robin Ince, and Stephen Merchant.

Gervais later toured the UK in 2003 with his stand-up show Animals. The Politics tour followed a year later. Both of these shows were recorded for release on DVD and television broadcast. The third part of the themed live trilogy, Fame, took place in 2007. It started in Glasgow in January and ended in Sheffield in April. Blackpool reported selling out of tickets within 45 minutes of them going on sale. More dates were added. Newsnight Review's panel saw Animals during its Bloomsbury run and covered it in January 2003. They were not favourable, with Private Eye editor Ian Hislop being the most explicit in his criticism. After this, Gervais closed each show by calling Hislop an "ugly little pug-faced cunt". Further coverage on Newsnight Review has been overwhelmingly favourable, with the panelists playing themselves in promos for the second series of Extras. Panel regulars Germaine Greer, Mark Kermode, and Mark Lawson also appeared as themselves reviewing When The Whistle Blows in a series episode. Critic Mark Lawson is a great admirer of Gervais and Merchant, having interviewed them extensively for television, print Front Row, and the Edinburgh International Television Festival.

Fame was the subject of some controversy in January 2007, when Gervais told a story, ostensibly about how people will do anything to become famous, to a Scottish audience. The story referred to a question asked of Gervais five years earlier by a reporter: what could someone do to become famous like you? To which he replied, "Go out and kill a prostitute". He followed up with the punchline, "I won't do that bit in Ipswich", referring to the December 2006 murders of five prostitutes in Ipswich. The joke drew criticism from the father of victim Tania Nicol: "These days, they want to make a joke out of anything. I feel he’s just being uncaring, quite honestly". Gervais defended himself: "I do want people to know that that happened five years ago and is not related to anything now. That is the problem with comedy, a joke that is funny today can be a terrible faux pas tomorrow".

He has performed stand-up in the U.S. three times—he performed two warm-up shows at the TriBeCa Performing Arts Center and headlined David Bowie's High Line Festival in May 2007.

Gervais's latest show is entitled Science, with an eleven date tour that commenced in August 2009 at the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre in Glasgow. The DVD for this show was released on 15 November 2010. In November 2009, he headlined the sixth annual New York Comedy Festival at Carnegie Hall, New York.

On the This Morning show Gervais revealed that he had already began writing his fifth stand up routine and is titled People.

DVD releases

Books

Flanimals

Gervais released a children's book in 2004, Flanimals (illustrated by his friend Rob Steen), which depicted nonsense animals. After the success of this book, he released its sequel More Flanimals in 2005, with Flanimals of the Deep coming the next year. A new Flanimals book, Day of the Bletching, was released in October 2007. Flanimals: Pop Up is to be published later this year.

There is a wide range of Flanimals merchandise available, including dolls and gift cards. A six-part Flanimals TV series has been commissioned by ITV, although Gervais had previously claimed signing a Hollywood movie deal so that a franchise could be developed. "That way it stands a chance of being the next Dr. Seuss or Mr. Men".

Other books

The Office scripts have been released in book form, with Series 1 issued in 2002, and the remaining episodes following in 2003.

In late 2006, the Extras script book was released, as well as The World of Karl Pilkington presented by Gervais and Merchant. These were essentially transcripts of Xfm/podcast routines performed by the three.

Film

Gervais's film career has included small roles as the voice of a pigeon in 2005's Valiant, as a studio executive in 2006's For Your Consideration, as museum director Dr. McPhee in 2006's Night at the Museum and its sequel , and as "Ferdy the Fence" in the 2007 film Stardust. His role in Night at the Museum has proven to be one of Gervais's most popular roles, with the movie grossing $570 million worldwide.

Gervais starred in Ghost Town, which was released on 19 September 2008, and was in Lowell, Massachusetts during May 2008 filming his next project, The Invention of Lying, starring himself, Jennifer Garner, Rob Lowe, and Jason Bateman, with appearances by Louis C.K., Tina Fey, Jeffrey Tambor, Roz Ryan, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, and Edward Norton. The comedy, released in 2009, was co-written and co-directed by Gervais and Matt Robinson. The film was released in April 2010.

Other appearances

On 2 July 2005, Gervais appeared at the Live 8 event held in Hyde Park, London, where he performed his famous dance. He produced a series of short films for the cause, linked acts from the studio with Jonathan Ross, and also introduced the group R.E.M..

Gervais also has a role in the video game Grand Theft Auto IV, as himself, appearing in his role as a comedian in a comedy club, and as an interviewee on radio station We Know The Truth. For this, a special 3-minute act was written, recorded and fully motion-captured.

Boxing

In 2002, Gervais took part in a charity boxing match against entrepreneur Grant Bovey — known largely by the public due to his relationship with TV personality Anthea Turner. On his Saturday afternoon radio show on Xfm London Gervais and partners Merchant and Pilkington had discussions on both Gervais's attitude towards boxing and training in general, as well as his likelihood of victory against Bovey. Initially, Merchant had questions as to why Gervais was participating in the event, due to his dislike of slight pain and his inexperience with fitness in general.

In the weeks before the event was scheduled to take place both Merchant and Pilkington voiced their doubts as to his fitness due to illness which he had suffered weeks before the event, humorously, by stating that both they and Gervais's family had written up a petition to the BBC stating "Please do not let this man box."

Gervais was trained for the three-round contest by famous boxing trainer brothers Frank and Eugene Maloney, at their Fight Factory gymnasium. It was the second televised charity boxing match, the first being Bob Mortimer against Les Dennis, for Comic Relief. The fight was televised by the BBC, and Gervais came out on top by a split decision verdict. Gervais later said that the experience was the 'most difficult thing' he had ever done. He donated his £5,000 prize money to the training of a Macmillan nurse.

Concert for Diana and Live Earth

On 1 July 2007, Gervais performed at the Concert for Diana in Wembley Stadium, a music event celebrating the life of the late Princess of Wales. Towards the end of the event — after a pre-recorded introduction from Ben Stiller - Gervais appeared along with fellow Office star Mackenzie Crook. They performed Freelove Freeway, a song previously heard in the fourth episode of series one of The Office. Due to a technical problem, Gervais then had to fill time until he was able to re-introduce Elton John to close the show, so he did the David Brent dance again, as well as singing the "Little Fat Man" song as performed by David Bowie in episode two of the second series of Extras.

On 7 July 2007, Gervais appeared at the UK leg of Live Earth at Wembley Stadium, London. Gervais introduced Rob Reiner appearing in the guise of spoof film director Marty Di Bergi, who in turn introduced Spinal Tap. At the start of the concert, Radio 1 DJ Chris Moyles, who was acting as compère for part of the event, announced that Gervais would be appearing and performing an 'extended 25-minute set', which ultimately failed to happen. It is unclear whether this was meant as a joke, perhaps referring to the time Gervais had to fill at the Concert for Diana the previous Sunday, or if it was simply cut because of time constraints, but in an off-stage segment later Moyles actually expressed disappointment that it had not occurred. Gervais himself however did reference his appearance at the Diana concert the previous week, saying, 'Now listen, we're running late, so I'm gonna be off this stage in 30 seconds, whether Elton John is fucking ready or not,' making him one of a number of people to swear on live TV at the event.

In July 2007, following Gervais's appearance at the memorial concert for Diana, Princess of Wales, The Guardian ran a column by Daily Mirror television critic Jim Shelley entitled "Call Me Crazy... But Has Ricky Gervais Lost It?" The following week, The Guardian noted that Gervais had responded with "an exhilaratingly foul-mouthed tirade" on his website, concluding with the words, "Yes I am resting on my fucking laurels you cunt!" In this video Gervais mocked Jim Shelley typing the words "Resting on his laurels" as Gervais jokingly lashed out by stating he was resting on his laurels and that he was not going to make another show for television, quipping "What's the point? What is there to beat?".

Personal life

Gervais currently lives in Hampstead, having moved from Bloomsbury, with his girlfriend of 28 years, producer and screenwriter Jane Fallon. He says they chose not to legally marry because "there’s no point in us having an actual ceremony before the eyes of God because there is no God" or have children because they "didn’t fancy dedicating 16 years of our lives. And there are too many children, of course". In August 2008, they bought a second home on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City.

Gervais is a fervent supporter of animal rights, and has been a fan of wildlife documentaries since he was a child. He has spoken out against fox hunting and bull fighting, and has even written to Gordon Brown urging him to stop the use of black bear fur as caps for the Foot Guards.

He told Kirsty Young that he is an atheist during a 2007 interview for Desert Island Discs, later stating he lost his faith at age eight, and in June 2008 he became an Honorary Associate of the National Secular Society. In December 2010, he wrote an editorial for the Wall Street Journal defending his lack of faith. He is also a close friend of American comedian Jon Stewart and is a frequent guest on his programme, The Daily Show.

His main friends are fellow The Office and Extras co-writer and co-director and podcaster, Stephen Merchant; fellow The Ricky Gervais Show star, Karl Pilkington; Flanimals' illustrator Rob Steen; and comedian and warm-up act, Robin Ince.

Accolades

Gervais has received many awards for his work on The Office, most notably two Golden Globes (one for acting, one for the show itself), as well as numerous British Academy Television Awards and British Comedy Awards, amongst others.

Gervais received an honorary award at the annual Rose d'Or ceremony in Switzerland on 29 April 2006. The award is given to "an individual who has made an exceptional contribution to the global entertainment business".

On 16 September 2007, Gervais won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for his role of Andy Millman on Extras.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

Interviews

Time Magazine (2008). Renaissance Man: Ricky Gervais by Joel Stein

The Independent, et al. (2005). Ricky Gervais: My life as a superstar Electronic Version Independent News Media: United Kingdom

The Guardian Newspaper, et al. (2005). "Second Coming" Guardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited 2007: United Kingdom

External links

in 2004

Ricky Gervais at the Oxonian Society video

Behind the scenes of The Office on BBC

Ricky Gervais's video interview on Big Think

Category:1961 births Category:Living people Category:20th-century actors Category:21st-century actors Category:20th-century writers Category:21st-century writers Category:Alumni of University College London Category:BAFTA winners (people) Category:Best Musical or Comedy Actor Golden Globe (television) winners Category:British people of French-Canadian descent Category:English atheists Category:English comedians Category:English comedy writers Category:English film actors Category:English film directors Category:English people of Canadian descent Category:English people of French descent Category:English podcasters Category:English radio DJs Category:English radio personalities Category:English screenwriters Category:English television actors Category:English television directors Category:English television producers Category:English television writers Category:English voice actors Category:Emmy Award winners Category:People from Reading, Berkshire Category:The Office (U.S. TV series) Category:Writers Guild of America Award winners

Name	Dean Cain
Caption	Cain in Iraq, May 13, 2005
Birth date	July 31, 1966
Birth place	Mount Clemens, Michigan, U.S.
Occupation	Actor, presenter, producer, writer, voice actor, director
Years active	1976–present

Dean Cain (born Dean George Tanaka July 31, 1966) is an American actor. He is most widely known for his role as Clark Kent/Superman in the popular American television series .

Early life

Cain was born as Dean George Tanaka in Mount Clemens, Michigan, the son of actress Sharon Sarah Thomas and U.S. Army serviceman Roger Tanaka, who left the family before he was born. Cain is of French Canadian, Irish, Welsh, and Japanese (from his paternal grandfather) descent. In 1969, Cain's mother married film director Christopher Cain, who adopted Dean and his brother (musician Roger Cain), and the family moved to Malibu, California. The couple later had a daughter, Dean's half-sister, actress Krisinda Cain. Both attended Santa Monica High School, where he excelled in sports. He played on the baseball team, and Chad and Rob Lowe and Charlie Sheen—who played on the baseball team—were among his schoolmates. Cain graduated from high school in 1984 and was offered athletic scholarships to 17 universities, but decided to attend Princeton University. At Princeton, he was captain of the volleyball team and played free safety (Defensive Back) on the football team, where he had record-setting 12 interceptions in a single season. He was also a member of the Zeta Psi fraternity and the Cap & Gown eating club. Cain graduated from Princeton in 1988 with a BA in History; his senior thesis was titled "The History and Development of the Functions of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences."

Career

Immediately after graduating, Cain signed on as a free agent with the Buffalo Bills, an NFL football team, but a knee injury during training camp ended his football career before it began. With little hope of returning to sports, he turned to screenwriting and then acting, shooting dozens of commercials and appearing on popular television shows like Grapevine, A Different World and Beverly Hills, 90210. In 1993, Cain took on his biggest role to date as Superman in the television series . At the height of its popularity it would bring in an average of at least 15 million viewers per episode. The series ran for four seasons, ending in 1997.

In 1998, Cain started the Angry Dragon Entertainment production company, which produced the TBS Superstation television series Ripley's Believe It or Not!. He has also starred in several films, including The Broken Hearts Club (2000), Out of Time (2003) and Bailey's Billions (2004). In 2004, he portrayed Scott Peterson in the fact-based made for television movie . He has also appeared in a recurring role as Casey Manning in the television series Las Vegas. Recently, Cain made a return to the Superman franchise, with a special guest role in a seventh season episode of Smallville as the immortal Dr. Curtis Knox. He's #33 on VH1's 40 Hottest Hotties of the '90s. Cain has also made an appearance in the new comical Internet Explorer 8 commercials.

Personal life

at the 45th Emmy Awards, September 19, 1993]] Dean has a son named Christopher Dean Cain (b. June 11, 2000) with former girlfriend and Playboy Playmate Samantha Torres. His son is named after his stepfather, film director Christopher Cain. He was previously engaged to country singer Mindy McCready in the late 1990s.

While promoting the television show, Ripley's Believe It or Not, on the Howard Stern Show on January 10, 2001, Cain said that his biological father lied to the National Enquirer by saying that Dean's mother left him while he was serving in the Vietnam War. Dean stated that the truth is his father never served in the war but instead cheated on his mother, with this being the real reason why they divorced.

Cain is a registered Republican.

Filmography

{| border="2" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 95%;" |- bgcolor="LightSteelBlue" align="center" ! Year !! Film !! Role !! Notes |- | 1976 || Elmer || Dean Russell || |- | 1979 || Charlie and the Talking Buzzard || Joe || |- | 1984 || The Stone Boy || Eugene Hillerman || |- | 1989 || Christine Cromwell: Things That Go Bump in the Night || || TV |- |rowspan=2| 1990 || Write to Kill || Parking Valet || |- | Going Under || Guy in Bar || |- |rowspan=3| 1992 || Grapevine || Brian || TV |- | Miracle Beach || Volleyball Player #1 || |- | Beverly Hills, 90210 || Rick || TV |- | 1993 || Touchdown: Football Goes to the Movies || Himself - Host || |- | 1993–1997 || || Clark Kent/Superman || TV Series |- | 1995 || Off Camera with Dean Cain || Himself - Host || TV Series / Host / Also Produced and Directed |- | 1996 || Cutty Whitman || Clark Kent || TV / Uncredited |- |rowspan=3| 1997 || Rag and Bone || Tony Moran || TV / Also produced |- | Eating Las Vegas || Frank || |- | Best Men || Sergeant Buzz Thomas || |- |rowspan=2| 1998 || Dogboys || Julian Taylor || TV |- | Futuresport || Tremaine 'Tre' Ramzey || TV |- | 1999–2003 || Ripley's Believe It or Not! || Himself - Host|| TV Series / Host / Also produced |- |rowspan=6| 2000 || || Cole || |- | No Alibi || Bob Valenz || |- | Flight of Fancy || Clay Bennett || |- | Militia || Ethan Carter || |- | For the Cause (a.k.a. Final Encounter) || Gen. Murran || |- | The Runaway || Sheriff Frank Richards || TV |- |rowspan=5| 2001 || Just Shoot Me! || Chris Williams || TV |- | Phase IV || Simon Tate || |- | Firetrap || Jack/Max Hooper || Also produced |- | Rat Race || Shawn Kent || |- | A Christmas Adventure From a Book Called Wisely's Tales || Donner || Voice |- |rowspan=7| 2002 || Grandia Xtreme || Evann || Video game; Voice |- | Gentle Ben || Jack Wedloe || TV |- | New Alcatraz (Boa) || Dr. Robert Trenton || |- | Dark Descent || Will Murdack || |- | The Glow || Matt Lawrence || TV |- | Christmas Rush || Lt. Cornelius Morgan || TV |- | ''Frasier || Rick || TV |- |rowspan=3| 2003 || Dragon Fighter || Capt. David Carver || Also produced |- | Gentle Ben 2: Danger on the Mountain || Jack Wedloe || TV |- | Out of Time || Chris Harrison || |- | 2003–2004 || The Division || Insp. Jack Ellis || TV series |- |rowspan=6| 2004 || Grandpa's Place || Special Appearance || Short |- | Post Impact || Sargent/Captain Tom Parker || |- | I Do (But I Don't) || Nick Corina || TV |- | Clubhouse || Conrad Dean || TV Series |- | Lost || Jeremy Stanton || |- | || Scott Peterson || TV |- |rowspan=6| 2005 || Truth || Peter || |- | Bailey's Billion$ || Theodore Maxwell || |- | Movie Adaptation|Mayday || Cmdr. James Slan || TV |- | Wrinkles || || |- | || Dr. Mike Jergens || TV |- | Las Vegas || Casey Manning || TV |- |rowspan=5| 2006 || || Brad || TV |- | Max Havoc: Ring of Fire || Roger Tarso || |- | Dead & Deader || Lt. Bobby Quinn || TV |- | September Dawn || Joseph Smith || |- | A Christmas Wedding || Tucker || TV |- |rowspan=6| 2007 || Urban Decay || Stan || |- | Hidden Camera || Dan Kovacs || TV |- | Crossroads: A Story of Forgiveness || Bruce Murakami || TV |- | Final Approach || Jack Bender || TV |- | Smallville || Dr. Curtis Knox || TV |- | || Roger Partney || TV |- |rowspan=3| 2008 || Making Mr. Right || Eddie || TV |- | Ace of Hearts || Daniel Harding || |- | $5 a Day || Rick Carlson || |- |rowspan=5| 2009 || Aussie and Ted's Great Adventure || Michael Brooks || |- | The Gambler, the Girl and the Gunslinger || Shea McCall || TV |- | Maneater || Harry || |- | The Dog Who Saved Christmas || Ted Stein || TV |- | The Three Gifts || Jack Green || TV (Hallmark) |- |rowspan=11| 2010 || The Way Home || Randy Simpkins || |- | Frost Giant || JC || TV |- | Circle of Pain || Wyatt || |- | Abandoned || Kevin Peterson || |- | Hole in One || Repo Man || |- | Kill Katie Malone || Robert || |- | Pure Country 2: The Gift || Director || |- | A Nanny for Christmas || Danny Donner || |- | The Dog Who Saved Christmas Vacation || Ted Stein || TV Sequel |- | Subject: I Love You || James Trapp || |- | Bed & Breakfast || Jake || |- |rowspan=8| 2011 || 5 Days of August || Chris Bailot || |- | At the Top of the Pyramid || Jefferson Parker || |- | Home Run Showdown || Rico Deluca || |- | Dirty Little Trick || Michael || |- | The Fallen || Cole || |- | Latin Quarter || Appolinaire || |- | Vacation || Bryce || |- | The Sandy Creek Girls || Jared || |}

References

External links

Dean Cain on Yahoo movies

Category:1966 births Category:Actors from California Category:Actors from Michigan Category:American actors of Japanese descent Category:American actors of Welsh descent Category:American adoptees Category:American film actors Category:American football safeties Category:American people of French-Canadian descent Category:American people of Irish descent Category:American people of Japanese descent Category:American television actors Category:Living people Category:People from Macomb County, Michigan Category:Princeton Tigers football players Category:Princeton University alumni

Name	Cosmo Jarvis
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Harrison Cosmo Krikoryan Jarvis
Born	September 01, 1989 Ridgewood, New Jersey
Origin	Totnes, Devon, United Kingdom
Instrument	Vocals, Guitar, Ukulele, Piano
Genre	AlternativeIndie RockPop Rock
Occupation	Singer-songwriter, Musician, Filmmaker
Years active	2008–present
Label	Wall of Sound, 25th Frame
Url	www.cosmojarvis.com

Harrison Cosmo Krikoryan Jarvis (born September 1, 1989), better known by his stage name Cosmo Jarvis, is an English-American singer-songwriter and filmmaker. In early 2008 he signed to indie label Wall of Sound and his debut album Humasyouhitch/Sonofabitch was released on 16 November 2009. His first official single "She's Got You" received airplay on BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 2 as well as being amongst NME's "10 Tracks you have to hear this week". Between 2008 and 2010 he performed shows alongside acts including Muse, Gabriella Cilmi, Gym Class Heroes, Panic at the Disco, The Sunshine Underground, Reverend and the Makers and The Holloways.

Early life

Born in New Jersey, United States Jarvis made the move to Devon, United Kingdom as a child. Jarvis first started writing and recording music in his bedroom where he also began making his first films on VHS when he was barely twelve. His storytelling demonstrated an advanced level of sophistication, as was clear from the lengths that he would go to tell his tales; film the television and then film out of the window because that way he knew that he was telling a story. At the age of 16, he left school to pursue a career in music and film.

Discography

Albums

Singles

{|class="wikitable" !rowspan="2"| Year !rowspan="2"| Single !colspan="4"| Peak Chart Positions !rowspan="2"| Album |- style=font-size:smaller !style="width:4em;font-size:75%;"| UK !style="width:4em;font-size:75%;"| IRL !style="width:4em;font-size:75%;"| EU !style="width:4em;font-size:75%;"| US |- |rowspan="2"|2009 |"She's Got You" |align="center"|— |align="center"|— |align="center"|— |align="center"|— |rowspan="2"|Humasyouhitch/Sonofabitch |- |"Problems/You Got Your Head" |align="center"|— |align="center"|— |align="center"|— |align="center"|— |- |rowspan="1"|2010 |"Crazy Screwed Up Lady" |align="center"|— |align="center"|— |align="center"|— |align="center"|— |rowspan="2"|Humasyouhitch/Sonofabitch |- |align="center" colspan="6" style="font-size: 8pt"| "—" denotes a release that did not or has yet to chart. |}

References

Category:Living people Category:American pop musicians Category:British pop musicians Category:1989 births