Caption	Apatow at Hollywood Life Magazine’s 7th Annual Breakthrough Awards, 2007
Name	Judd Apatow
Birthdate	December 06, 1967
Birthplace	Flushing, New York, U.S.
Education	Syosset High School University of Southern California
Occupation	Film producerWriter Director
Nationality	American
Genre	Comedy
Period	1985–present
Notableworks	The 40-Year-Old Virgin Knocked Up SuperbadForgetting Sarah MarshallPineapple ExpressFunny People
Spouse	Leslie Mann (1997–present, 2 daughters)
Influences	Hal Ashby, Garry Shandling, Steve Martin, Cameron Crowe, James L. Brooks, David Chase, Harold Ramis, Kevin Smith, Jay Leno
Influenced	Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, Nicholas Stoller, Jason Segel, Jonah Hill
Website	http://www.myspace.com/juddapatow

Judd Apatow (; born December 6, 1967) is an American film producer, director, and screenwriter. He is well known for his work in comedy, especially for films he has been involved with throughout the latter half of the 2000s. He is the founder of Apatow Productions, a film production company that also developed the critically acclaimed cult television series Freaks and Geeks and Undeclared.

Early life and education

Apatow was born in Flushing, New York to a Jewish family, Apatow has an older brother, Robert, and a younger sister, Mia; When Apatow was twelve years old, his parents divorced. Robert went to live with his maternal grandparents, and Mia went to live with her mother. As a child, Apatow lived mainly with his father, and visited his mother on weekends.

Apatow's sense of humor provided access to friends during his teen years; obsessed with comedy, his childhood hero was Steve Martin.

Career

Early work

Apatow began performing stand-up comedy at age seventeen, during his senior year of high school. While at USC, he organized and hosted a number of on-campus "Comedy Night" events, featuring headliners such as Saturday Night Live performer Kevin Nealon. Apatow introduced the acts at these events with short standup routines of his own. He also began volunteering at Comic Relief and introducing comedians at the Improv.

After finding little success as a performer himself, Apatow began writing jokes for others, Also that year, Apatow produced The Ben Stiller Show for Fox; Apatow had met Stiller outside of an Elvis Costello show in 1990, and they became friends. It was during the shooting of the film, however, that Apatow met his wife, actress Leslie Mann. He additionally wrote and produced three television pilots that were never aired: "North Hollywood", "Sick in the Head", and "Life on Parole" (with Brent Forrester). Apatow has screened and introduced them at "The Other Network", a festival of un-aired TV pilots produced by Un-Cabaret.

2004–2007

In 2004, Apatow produced the hit comedy , starring Will Ferrell and directed by Adam McKay, marking his first major comedy hit after a string of critically acclaimed but relatively obscure shows. The 40-Year-Old Virgin was a sleeper hit, Industry insiders claimed Apatow was now a brand unto himself, creating movies geared toward older audiences, who would watch his movies even when the films delved into the teen genre.

Apatow has vowed to include a penis in every one of his movies. He explained his position as, "I like movies that are, you know, uplifting and hopeful...and I like filth!". Apatow has helped to foster the acting careers of Steve Carell, Paul Rudd, Seth Rogen, Jonah Hill, and Jason Segel, and also tends to work with his close friends. In 2010, Apatow served as producer on the Forgetting Sarah Marshall spin-off Get Him to the Greek with Russell Brand reprising his role and Jonah Hill returning from the original film, albeit as a different character.

New York Magazine noted that [former Apatow associate] Mike White ... was "disenchanted" by Apatow's later films, "objecting to the treatment of women and gay men in Apatow's recent movies", saying of Knocked Up, "At some point it starts feeling like comedy of the bullies, rather than the bullied." Apatow has claimed to strive to avoid marginalizing women in his work and to develop authentic female characters. Following many of these accusations, in a highly publicized Vanity Fair interview, lead actress Katherine Heigl admitted that though she enjoyed working with Apatow, she had a hard time enjoying Knocked Up itself, calling the movie, "a little sexist," claiming that the film "paints the women as shrews, as humorless and uptight." In response to accusations of sexism, Apatow did not initially deny the validity of such accusations, saying flippantly, "I'm just shocked she [Heigl] used the word 'shrew.' I mean, what is this, the sixteen-hundreds?"

Upcoming films

Apatow will also provide the voice of an elephant in Kevin James' Zookeeper, where Adam Sandler is also voicing an animal.

It was recently announced that Apatow is producing a yet-untitled comedy based around Sherlock Holmes and his partner Watson, which was written by Etan Cohen. Sacha Baron Cohen will play Holmes while Will Ferrell is set to play Watson.

He is reportedly producing an upcoming musical comedy with internet comedian Bo Burnham.

Five Year Engagement is an upcoming comedy starring Jason Segel and directed by Nicholas Stoller. It is about a couple and their rocky five year engagement.

Bill Hader will be writing and starring in an upcoming horror/comedy film that he says it will be a mixture of Halloween, Home Alone, The Monster Squad and Straw Dogs. Apatow encouraged Hader to write the screenplay.

He recently signed a deal with Aziz Ansari and Jason Woliner to produce three of their films. The first, tentatively titled Let's Do This, is “a road movie about two guys who work for a motivational speaking company.” The second stars Ansari as a disgraced cosmonaut who’s forced to return to space. The third apparently came out of Ansari’s role in Funny People.

Apatow has also stated the possibility for a sequel to Pineapple Express.

He is also set to produce Wanderlust, starring Jennifer Aniston and Paul Rudd, in which a married couple decides to leave New York City to live in a hippie commune.

It was recently announced that Apatow is in works to produce another Pee-wee Herman film.

Apatow's next, currently untitled directorial effort has been set by Universal Pictures for a June 1, 2012 release. It will star Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann reprising their roles from Knocked Up.

Personal life

He admires filmmakers James L. Brooks, Hal Ashby, Robert Altman and John Cassavetes. The couple have two daughters, Maude and Iris. Both girls appeared in Knocked Up and Funny People as Leslie Mann's character's daughters. He currently resides in Los Angeles, California with his family. | | | | |- | Business Trip | | | | |- | 2012 | Untitled Knocked Up Companion | | | | |}

Short Films

Television

References

External links

E-mail exchange with Mark Brazill — published in Harper's

The Other Network

;Interviews

Bullz-Eye.com Interview — 6 August 2005

NPR: Morning Edition Sunday audio interview — 21 August 2005

LA Times Article — 15 May 2007

Knocked Up press junket interview (transcript and audio) — 18 May 2007

NPR Fresh Air Interview w/ Seth Rogen — 31 May 2007

Wired Magazine Story — May 2007

Elvis Mitchell The Treatment Interview — 6 June 2007

Rolling Stone Interview — 7 June 2007

LA Weekly Story — 5 June 2007

Peter Bart Essay In Variety — 31 August 2007

A.V. Club - 30 July 2009

Category:1967 births Category:Actors from New York City Category:American film actors Category:American film directors Category:American Jews Category:American screenwriters Category:American stand-up comedians Category:American television actors Category:American television directors Category:American television producers Category:American television writers Category:Jewish American writers Category:Jewish writers Category:Living people Category:People from Nassau County, New York Category:People from Queens

Name	Seth Rogen
Caption	Rogen in August 2007
Birthdate	April 15, 1982
Birthplace	Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Occupation	Actor, comedian, voice artist, producer, screenwriter
Yearsactive	1995–present

Seth Rogen (born April 15, 1982) is a Canadian actor, comedian, voice artist, screenwriter, and film producer. Rogen began his career doing stand-up comedy for four years during his teens, coming in second place in the Vancouver Amateur Comedy Contest in 1998. While still living in his native Vancouver, he landed a supporting role in Freaks and Geeks. Shortly after Rogen moved to Los Angeles for his role, Freaks and Geeks was canceled after one season due to poor ratings. He then got a part on the equally short-lived Undeclared, which also hired him as a staff writer.

After landing a job as a staff writer on the final season of Da Ali G Show, for which Rogen and the other writers received an Emmy nomination, he was guided by film producer Judd Apatow toward a film career. Rogen was cast in a major supporting role and credited as a co-producer in Apatow's directorial debut, The 40-Year-Old Virgin. After receiving critical praise for that performance, Universal Pictures agreed to cast him as the lead in Apatow's next directorial feature, Knocked Up.

Rogen has appeared in the films Donnie Darko, You, Me and Dupree, Zack and Miri Make a Porno, Observe and Report, and The Green Hornet, and also in the Apatow-produced comedies The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up, Superbad, Pineapple Express, and Funny People. He and his comedy partner Evan Goldberg co-wrote the comedy films Superbad and Pineapple Express, for which he originally intended to headline while in high school. Rogen has provided voice talents in the animated films Horton Hears a Who!, Kung Fu Panda, and Monsters vs. Aliens. He also supports Crowdrise, a charitable networking site.

Early life

Rogen was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, to Sandy, a social worker, and Mark Rogen, who works for non-profit organizations and as an assistant director of a Workmen's Circle. He has one older sister, Danya, who is a social worker. Rogen attended Vancouver Talmud Torah Elementary School and Point Grey Secondary School (although he never graduated), incorporating many of his classmates into his writing. He was also known for the stand-up comedy he performed at Camp Miriam, a Habonim Dror camp. Rogen got his start in show business at age 13, after signing up for a comedy class. At the age of 14, with his friend Evan Goldberg, he co-wrote Superbad, reflecting pieces from their childhood and dad. With his deadpan humor, he placed second in the Vancouver Amateur Comedy Contest at 16 years old, then headed south of the border to continue stand-up and acting.

Career

Early career

Rogen's first exposure to the entertainment field began with commercial work in Canada at the age of 13. After trying his hand as a standup comic for a few years, Rogen obtained his first starring role in the series Freaks and Geeks with only two auditions. He played cynical, acerbic "freak" Ken Miller. Judd Apatow, the show's co-producer, was very impressed with Rogen's improvisational skills. After the show was cancelled in the middle of its first season, Rogen was cast in a similar role in Apatow's second, also short-lived series, Undeclared, and went on to write several episodes. In 2001, Rogen also had a minor role in Donnie Darko (playing Ricky Danforth) and in 2003 on an episode of Dawson's Creek called "Rock Bottom" as "Bob" in their last season, that he also claims he never saw. Following the cancellation of his second series in 2002, Rogen developed a soured attitude toward television, not wanting to act on another show unless Apatow was involved.

Writing career

Rogen's first major writing job was for Apatow's second short-lived television series, Undeclared, for which he was hired as a writer before he was offered an acting role. During the show's run, Rogen wrote one episode by himself and co-wrote four others.

Rogen's experience with Undeclared paid off when he and his writing partner, Evan Goldberg, joined the writing staff of Da Ali G Show for its second and ultimately final season. In 2005, the Ali G Show writing staff, including Rogen and Goldberg, received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination in the Writing For A Variety, Music Or Comedy Program category. Rogen's association with the show's star, Sacha Baron Cohen, who had belonged to the same Jewish youth group, Habonim Dror, was not over, however; in a recent interview with Tokion (#55), Rogen claimed to have made uncredited contributions to Cohen's film version of , and he is credited with providing additional material for Brüno.

In 2008 Rogen won the Best Writing (Film) Canadian Comedy Award for Superbad. He had written the script for this 2007 comedy years earlier, as a starring role for himself. The Superbad team then looked for "an 18-year-old version" of Rogen and chose frequent Rogen collaborator Jonah Hill (who is slightly less than two years younger). Rogen also wrote the screenplay for the Owen Wilson movie Drillbit Taylor, which is based on a 70-page scriptment written by John Hughes.

Acting roles

Rogen returned to the big screen in 2005 with a major supporting role in Apatow's directorial debut The 40-Year-Old Virgin alongside Steve Carell. The film was a success, grossing $109,449,237 domestically ($177,358,395 worldwide). Apatow then cast Rogen as the lead in the 2007 film Knocked Up. Upon completing The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Apatow had approached Rogen about potential starring roles, but the actor suggested many high-concept science fiction ideas. After Apatow insisted that Rogen would work better in real life situations, the two agreed on the accidental pregnancy concept that became Knocked Up, for which Rogen was nominated for Best Actor at the 2008 Canadian Comedy Dundies, losing to Michael Cera for his role in Superbad which was co-written by Rogen.

In USA Today's recent profile of the so-called "frat pack" group of contemporary actors, they mention those actors' rising salaries makes it financially wiser to cast newcomers like Rogen as supporting characters, citing his roles in The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Dupree as successful examples. When asked in an interview if he is in the group, Rogen has stated that he is not sure.

Rogen and Apatow were behind the 2007 teen comedy Superbad at Sony Pictures. Rogen and Goldberg wrote the film, with Apatow as one of the producers. While Rogen did pen Owen Wilson's Drillbit Taylor, he did not appear in it since the script mostly involved high school students. Freaks and Geeks co-star James Franco reunited with Rogen for the Rogen/Goldberg-written comedy, Pineapple Express. Rogen hosted Saturday Night Live on October 6, 2007 and again on April 4, 2009. Rogen's next release was Kevin Smith's Zack and Miri Make a Porno, in which he co-starred with Elizabeth Banks. It was the first film Rogen has co-headlined in that grossed under $100 million at the domestic box-office. Rogen also appeared along-side Kevin Smith on the October 18th, 2008 episode of the movie review podcast Scene Unseen.

He starred in the Jody Hill-directed mall cop comedy Observe and Report, which opened in theaters on April 10, 2009.

Later in 2009, Rogen starred in Apatow's third directorial feature, Funny People, with Adam Sandler. Rogen played a young, inexperienced comic while Sandler played a mentor of sorts to Rogen's character; the film had more dramatic elements in it than Apatow's previous directorial efforts. Other co-stars included Eric Bana and Apatow's wife Leslie Mann.

In April 2008, Empire reported that Rogen and Evan Goldberg would write an episode for the animated television series The Simpsons. He also voiced a character in the episode. The episode was titled Homer the Whopper and was the season premiere.

After years of speculation, a feature film adaptation of The Green Hornet will be handled by Rogen and Evan Goldberg with a theatrical release of January 2011. To prepare for his role, Rogen's physical appearance has been changed through fitness routines. In 2007, in a strategy to garner interest and funding, Rogen created a pre-pre-production trailer for Jay and Seth vs. The Apocalypse, a film he is now working on with Goldberg, and is set to produce and take a supporting role in the film Live With It, from Mandate Pictures. The film is based on an autobiographical comedy script by screenwriter Will Reiser.

In June 2010, Executive Producer of Entourage, Doug Ellin, admitted that he once considered casting Rogen for the program.

Improvisation

Though Rogen has penned scripts for both film and television, his comedic stylings tend to rely heavily on improvisational dialogue. Apatow noticed this improvisation talent on the set of Freaks and Geeks, which influenced his decision to have Rogen write for Undeclared and pitch jokes for The 40-Year-Old Virgin. As with most Apatow projects, the dialogue in Rogen's films is usually not what it was on paper. Because Apatow never stops rolling after takes, allowing his actors to improvise differently each time, Rogen's three largest film roles to date (The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up, and Pineapple Express) all achieved the rare milestone of shooting over a million feet of film, almost unprecedented for comedies. In an interview with MTV, he said of Smith "I feel like my strengths were always kind of ripping off a Kevin Smith movie anyway. It's not a far departure." Of Smith and his films, Rogen has gone as far as to say (to Smith) "I wouldn't be a writer if it wasn't for you and your movies."

Personal life

Rogen moved to Los Angeles at the age of 16, after Apatow discovered him in Vancouver. During his late teens, Rogen's parents moved from Canada with him, but by the time he landed his second television series, his parents would live in both Canada and the United States. Rogen and Miller became engaged in September 2010.

He is a big fan of The Simpsons and has always wanted to work with Matt Groening on a movie. According to "Rotten Tomatoes", his five favorite films are: The Big Lebowski (1998), Ghost Busters (1984), The Last Detail (1973), Total Recall (1990) and Goodfellas (1990).

Filmography

|- 1994 ll "Romeo and Juliet" (Movie Series) ll cast and crew ll | 1999 || Freaks and Geeks || Ken Miller || TV Series: 18 Episodes |- |rowspan="2"| 2001 || Undeclared || Ron Garner || TV Series: 17 EpisodesWriter |- |Donnie Darko || Ricky Danforth || |- | 2003 || Dawson's Creek || Bob || TV Series: 1 Episode |- | 2004 || '' || Scottie || |- | 2005 || The 40-Year-Old Virgin ||Cal|| Co-Producer |- | 2006 || You, Me and Dupree||Neil|| |- | rowspan="3" | 2007 || Knocked Up || Benjamin Stone || Executive Producer |- | Jay and Seth vs. The Apocalypse || Seth || Writer |- | Superbad || Officer Michaels || Writer/Executive Producer |- |rowspan="8" | 2008 || The Spiderwick Chronicles || Hogsqueal || |Voice only |- | Horton Hears a Who! || Morton the Mouse || Voice Only |- | Strange Wilderness ||Ranger In The Helicopter'' || Voice Only |- | Drillbit Taylor || || Writer Only |- | Kung Fu Panda || Master Mantis || Voice only |- | Step Brothers || Sporting Goods Manager || |- | Pineapple Express || Dale Denton || Writer/Executive Producer |- | Zack and Miri Make a Porno || Zack Brown || |- |rowspan="7"| 2009 || Fanboys || Admiral SeasholtzMr Roach "The Pimp"Star trek alien || |- | Monsters vs. Aliens || B.O.B. || Voice Only |- | Observe and Report || Ronnie Barnhardt || |- | Funny People || Ira Wright || Executive Producer |- | Paper Heart || Himself || Interview |- |Family Guy || Himself || TV Series: 2 EpisodesVoice Only |- | The Simpsons || Lyle McCarthy || TV Series:One episodeVoice OnlyWriter |- |rowspan="5"| 2011 || | The Green Hornet || Britt Reid/The Green Hornet || Writer/Executive Producer |- | Paul || Paul || Voice OnlyPost-Production |- | || Master Mantis || Voice OnlyPost-production |- | Live With It || Kyle || ProducerPost-Production |- | Take This Waltz || Lou ||Post-Production |}

Awards

References

Further reading

External links

The Education of A Comic Prodigy on Time.com (a division of Time Magazine)

The Onion A.V. Club interview

Seth Rogen Interview in Complex Magazine

Telegraph.co.uk Interview with Seth Rogen

"Irony Man" ELLE magazine

Category:1982 births Category:Canadian comedians Category:Canadian expatriate actors in the United States Category:Canadian film actors Category:Canadian film producers Category:Canadian Jews Category:Canadian television actors Category:Canadian television writers Category:Canadian voice actors Category:Jewish actors Category:Jewish comedians Category:Jewish writers Category:Living people Category:People from Vancouver

Name	Howard Stern
Caption	Howard Stern in 1996.
Birth name	Howard Allan Stern
Birth date	January 12, 1954
Birth place	Jackson Heights, New York, U.S.
Occupation	Radio personality, humorist, television host, author, actor
Years active	1975–present
Spouse	Alison Berns (1978–2001; div.)Beth Ostrosky (2008–present)
Website	www.howardstern.com

Howard Allan Stern (born January 12, 1954) is an American radio personality, humorist, television host, author and actor, best known for his long-running radio show, The Howard Stern Show. He gained national recognition in the 1990s when he was labelled a "shock jock" for his outspoken and sometimes controversial style. Stern wished for a radio career since he was five; his father, a recording and radio engineer, being a big influence. While studying at Boston University, Stern worked at its campus station WTBU before making his professional début in 1975 at WNTN.

In 1977, Stern worked at WRNW in Briarcliff Manor, New York performing on-air, production and managerial duties. After his departure in 1979 he began to develop a more open personality working mornings at WCCC in Hartford, Connecticut. In 1980, he moved to WWWW in Detroit, Michigan, where he earned his first Billboard radio award. Stern relocated to WWDC in Washington, D.C. in 1981, where he was paired with current show newscaster and co-host Robin Quivers. He moved to WNBC in New York City to host afternoons until his firing in 1985. Stern returned to the city's airwaves on WXRK for the next 20 years until his move to Sirius XM in December 2005. In this time, The Howard Stern Show would be syndicated to 60 markets while reaching a peak audience of 20 million listeners. The show was the highest-rated morning program from 1994 to 2001 in the New York market. Stern is an eight-time winner of the Billboard Nationally Syndicated Air Personality of the Year award (1994–2002). He is the highest-paid radio figure, including the most fined, after a history with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) over alleged indecency resulted in $2.5 million being issued to station owners that carried his show.

Stern describes himself as the "King of All Media" for his work outside radio. Since 1987, he has hosted numerous late night television shows, pay-per-view events and home video releases. His two books, Private Parts (1993) and Miss America (1995), spent 20 and 16 weeks respectively on The New York Times Best Seller list. The former was adapted into Private Parts (1997), a biographical comedy film starring Stern and his radio show staff as themselves, which made a domestic gross of $41.2 million. The film's topped the the Billboard 200 chart.

Early life and education

Stern was born into a Jewish family who resided in Jackson Heights, Queens in New York City. His parents Ben and Ray (née Schiffman) are children of Austro-Hungarian immigrants, and his sister Ellen is four years his senior.

Stern developed an interest in radio at the age of five. While Ray was a homemaker and later an inhalation therapist, Ben was a co-owner of Aura Recording, Inc., a recording studio in Manhattan where cartoons and commercials were produced. When he made visits with his father, Stern saw the likes of Wally Cox, Don Adams and Larry Storch voice his favourite cartoon characters, influencing the young Stern to talk on the air, rather than playing records. Ben was also an engineer at WHOM, a radio station in Manhattan. The family moved to nearby Rockville Centre in June 1969, and Stern was transferred to South Side High School. After his graduation in 1972, he began the first two of four years at Boston University in the College of Basic Studies. In 1973, he worked up the courage to work at WTBU, the campus radio station where he spun records, read the news and hosted interviews. Stern gained admission to the School of Public Communications in 1974. The diploma he earned in July 1975 at the Radio Engineering Institute of Electronics in Fredericksburg, Virginia, allowed him to apply for a first class FCC radio-telephone license. With the certificate, Stern made his professional debut at WNTN in Newton, Massachusetts, performing airshift, newscasting and production duties between August and December. Stern graduated magna cum laude in May 1976 with a Communications degree,

Career

Early professional radio career (1976–1981)

After graduating in May 1976, Stern declined an offer to work evenings at WRNW, a progressive rock station in the village of Briarcliff Manor in Westchester County, New York. He was unsure of his talent, and questioned his future in the professional industry. For a while, Stern took creative and media planning roles at Benton & Bowles, a New York advertising agency, followed by a job in trading radio advertising time. Realising his mistake in declining on-air work, Stern contacted WRNW a second time, agreeing to work midday cover shifts over the Christmas holiday period. He was soon hired full time, working a four-hour midday shift for six days for $96 a week.

In 1979, Stern spotted an advertisement for a "wild, fun morning guy" at WCCC, a rock station in Hartford, Connecticut. He showcased a more wild audition tape, playing Robert Klein and Cheech and Chong records mixed with flatulence routines and one-liners. Stern was hired with no change in salary, but a busier schedule. After four hours on the air, he voiced and produced commercials for another four. On Saturdays, following a six-hour show, he did production work for the next three. In addition, as the public affairs director, he hosted a Sunday morning talk show, which he favoured. Fred Norris, the overnight disc jockey, became Stern's producer and writer in late 1981. In the summer of the 1979 energy crisis, Stern held a two-day boycott of Shell Oil Company which attracted media attention. Stern left the station in early 1980 after he was declined a $25 weekly pay increase.

Management at rock outlet WWWW in Detroit, Michigan praised Stern's audition tape for a new morning man. Accepting a salary of $30,000, Stern began on April 21, 1980. He learned to become more open on the air. "I decided to cut down the barriers...strip down all the ego...and be totally honest", he later told Newsday. Stern's efforts earned him a Billboard award for "Album-Oriented Rock Personality of the Year For a Major Market" and the Drake-Chenault "Top Five Talent Search" title. The station however, was declining in listenership. A fall in Stern's Arbitron ratings, in addition to tough competition with other rock stations, led to WWWW switch to a country music format on January 18, 1981. Much to his dislike, Stern left the station soon after.

Washington and WNBC New York (1981–1985)

While considering offers at WXRT in Chicago and CHUM in Toronto, Stern moved to Washington, D.C. to host mornings at WWDC, starting on March 2, 1981. Stern, intent on developing his show further, realised the importance of news segments for satire and topical humor. He looked for a co-worker with a sense of humor to riff with on current events. The station paired Stern with Robin Quivers, a newscaster and consumer affairs reporter from WFBR in Baltimore. Though he felt restricted and controlled by management who enforced a strict format, Stern had the second highest rated morning show in January 1982. Impressed with his ratings success, Stern was approached by NBC with an offer to work afternoons at WNBC in New York City. In March 1982, after signing a five-year contract worth $1 million, Stern's relationship with WWDC management worsened. On June 25, 1982, Stern's contract was terminated indefinitely. He had more than tripled the station's morning ratings during his stay. Stern released 50 Ways to Rank Your Mother, a comedy album of his radio bits. The record was re-released as Unclean Beaver in November 1994.

On April 2, 1982, a news report by Douglas Kiker on raunch radio featuring Stern aired on NBC Magazine. The piece stimulated discussion among NBC management to withdraw Stern's contract. When he began his afternoon program in September, management closely monitored Stern, telling him to avoid talk of a sexual and religious nature. In his first month, Stern was suspended for several days for "Virgin Mary Kong", a segment featuring a video game where a group of men pursued the Virgin Mary around a singles bar in Jerusalem. On September 30, Stern and Quivers were fired for what management claimed were "conceptual differences." said program director John Hayes, who Stern nicknamed "The Incubus". In 1992, Stern believed Thornton Bradshaw, chairman of WNBC's owner RCA, heard his "Bestiality Dial-a-Date" segment ten days earlier and ordered his firing.

K-Rock, early television endeavors and Fartman (1985–1992)

Stern returned to afternoons on New York City rock station WXRK on November 18, 1985. On February 18, 1986, Stern moved to the morning shift and entered national syndication on August 18 when the show was simulcast on WYSP in Philadelphia. In the New York market, The Howard Stern Show was the highest-rated morning program from 1994 to 2001. In 1994, Billboard magazine added the "Nationally Syndicated Air Personality of the Year" category to its annual radio awards, based on entertainment value, creativity and ratings success. Stern was awarded the title from 1994 to 2002. Stern retained his morning position until December 16, 2005, where he began his contract at Sirius in 2006. In this 20-year period, he would be heard in over 60 markets across the United States and Canada while gaining a peak audience of around 20 million.

In May 1987, Stern recorded five television pilots of The Howard Stern Show for Fox when the network planned to replace The Late Show hosted by Joan Rivers. The series was never picked up; one executive having described the show as "poorly produced", "in poor taste" and "boring". Stern hosted his first pay-per-view event on February 27, 1988, Howard Stern's Negligeé and Underpants Party. On September 7, 1989, over 16,000 fans packed out Nassau Coliseum for Howard Stern's U.S. Open Sores, a live event that featured a tennis match between Stern and his radio show producer, Gary Dell'Abate. In February 1991, Stern released Crucified by the FCC, a collection of censored radio segments following the first fine issued to Infinity by the FCC. Stern released his third video tape, Butt Bongo Fiesta, in October 1992 that sold 260,000 copies.

Stern appeared at the 1992 MTV Video Music Awards as Fartman, a fictional superhero that first appeared in the National Lampoon magazine in the mid-1970s. He rejected multiple scripts for a proposed 1993 release of The Adventures of Fartman, until a verbal agreement was reached with New Line Cinema. Screenwriter J. F. Lawton had prepared a script before relations soured over the film's rating, content and merchandising rights. The project was then cancelled.

Private Parts, E! show and run for Governor (1993–1994)

In early 1993, Stern signed a $1 million advance contract with Simon & Schuster to publish his first book. Co-authored with Larry Sloman and edited by Judith Regan, Private Parts was released on October 7, 1993. The book sold its first printing of 225,000 copies within hours of going on sale. After five days, it became the fastest-selling title in Schuster's history. Two weeks later, in its eighth printing, over one million copies had been distributed. Sales were supported by Stern's book signing tour. His first at a Barnes & Noble store on Fifth Avenue attracted an estimated 10,000 fans. Around 400,000 households purchased Stern's event that grossed an estimated $16 million. In early 1994, the event was released on VHS as Howard Stern's New Year's Rotten Eve 1994. Between his book royalties and pay-per-view profits, Stern's earnings in the latter months of 1993 totalled around $7.5 million. In its 20th anniversary issue in 1993, Radio & Records named Stern the most influential air personality of the past two decades.

On March 21, 1994, Stern announced his candidacy for Governor of New York under the Libertarian Party ticket, challenging Mario Cuomo for re-election. He planned to reinstate the death penalty, stagger highway tolls to improve traffic flow, and limiting road work to night hours. At the party's nomination convention in Albany on April 23, Stern won the required two-thirds majority on the first ballot, receiving 287 of the 381 votes cast (75.33%). James Ostrowski finished second with 34 votes (8.92%). To place his name on the November ballot, Stern was obliged to state his home address and to complete a financial disclosure form under the Ethics in Government Act of 1987. Arguing the law violated his right to privacy and freedom of association, Stern was denied an injunction on August 2. He withdrew his candidacy two days later. Cuomo was defeated in the gubernatorial election on November 8 by George Pataki, whom Stern backed. In 1995, Pataki signed "The Howard Stern Bill" which limited construction on state roads to night hours in New York and Long Island.

In June 1994, six robot cameras were installed in Stern's radio show studio to film a condensed half-hour program on the E! network. Howard Stern ran for 11 years, until the last taped episode was broadcast on July 8, 2005. In conjunction with his move to Sirius, Stern launched Howard Stern on Demand, a subscription video-on-demand service, on November 18, 2005. The service was fully launched as Howard TV on March 16, 2006.

Miss America and Private Parts film (1995–1997)

On April 3, 1995, three days after the shooting of singer Selena, Stern's comments regarding her death and Mexican Americans caused an uproar in the Hispanic community. He criticized her music with added gunfire sound effects. "This music does absolutely nothing for me. Alvin and the Chipmunks have more soul...Spanish people have the worst taste in music. They have no depth". On April 6, Stern responded with a statement in Spanish, stressing his comments were made in satire and not intended to hurt those who loved her. A day later, Justice of the Peace Eloy Cano of Harlingen, Texas issued an arrest warrant on Stern for disorderly conduct.

Stern signed an advance contract with ReganBooks worth $3 million in 1995 to write his second biographical book, Miss America. Stern wrote about his cybersex experiences on the Prodigy service, a private meeting with Michael Jackson, and his past suffering with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The book sold 33,000 copies at Barnes & Noble stores on November 7, the day of its release, setting a new one-day record. Publishers Weekly reported over 1.39 million hardcover copies were sold by the end of 1995, ranking it the third best-seller of the year. Miss America spent a total of 16 weeks on The New York Times best-seller list. The film premiered at The Theatre at Madison Square Garden on February 27, 1997, where Stern performed "The Great American Nightmare" with Rob Zombie. Private Parts made its general release on March 7, 1997, where it topped the box office in its opening weekend with a gross of $14.6 million, and $41.2 million in total. Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a score of 79%. For his performance, Stern won a Blockbuster Entertainment Award for "Favorite Male Newcomer" and nominated for a Golden Satellite Award for "Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture (Comedy)" and a Golden Raspberry Award for "Worst New Star".

On October 8, 1997, Stern filed a $1.5 million lawsuit against Ministry of Film Inc., claiming it recruited him for a film titled Jane starring Melanie Griffith, while knowing it had insufficient funds. Stern, who was unpaid when production ceased, accused the studio of breach of contract, fraud and negligent representation. A settlement was reached in 1999, with Stern receiving $50,000.

Return to Saturday night television and productions (1998–2004)

On April 1, 1998, Stern announced his return to Saturday night television with The Howard Stern Radio Show. Broadcast across the country on CBS affiliates, it featured radio show highlights along with material unseen in his nightly E! show. The show was a direct competitor with NBC's Saturday Night Live and Fox's MADtv for ratings. Concerned with its risqué content, the show began to lose affiliates after two episodes. Making its launch on 79 stations on August 22, 1998, this number was reduced to 55 by June 1999. A total of 84 episodes were broadcast. The final re-run aired on November 17, 2001, to around 30 markets.

In 1994, Stern launched the Howard Stern Production Company for original and joint production and development ventures. He intended to make a film adaptation of Brother Sam, the biography of the late comedian Sam Kinison. In September 1999, UPN announced the production of Doomsday, an animated science-fiction comedy series executively produced by Stern. Originally set for a 2000 release, Stern starred as Orinthal, a family dog. The project was eventually abandoned. From 2000 to 2002, Stern was the executive producer of Son of the Beach, a sitcom which ran for three seasons on FX. In late 2001, Howard Stern Productions was reportedly developing a new sitcom titled Kane. The pilot episode was never filmed. In 2002, Stern acquired the rights to comedy films Rock 'n' Roll High School (1979) and Porky's (1982). Neither has yet been re-made. In March 2003, Stern filed a $100 million lawsuit against ABC and the producers of Are You Hot?, claiming the series was based on a radio show segment known as "The Evaluators". A settlement was reached on August 7.

Stern announced in early 2004 of talks with ABC to host a prime time interview special, which never materialized. In August 2004, cable channel Spike picked up 13 episodes of Howard Stern: The High School Years, a second animated series Stern was to executive produce. On November 14, 2005, Stern announced the completion of episode scripts and 30 seconds of test animations. Stern eventually gave the project up. On September 10, 2007, he explained the episodes could have been produced "on the cheap" at $300,000 each, though the quality he demanded would have instead cost over $1 million. Actor Michael Cera was cast as the lead voice.

Satellite radio and CBS lawsuit (2004–present)

On October 6, 2004, Stern announced his contract with Sirius Satellite Radio, a medium free of FCC regulations, starting from January 2006. The move followed a crackdown on perceived indecency in broadcasting that occurred following the controversy surrounding the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show in February. The incident prompted tighter control over content by station owners and managers, leading to Stern feeling "dead inside" creatively. The five-year deal allows Stern to produce up to three channels on Sirius with a $100 million per year budget for all production, staff and programming costs including the construction of a dedicated studio. On January 9, 2006, the day of his first broadcast, Sirius issued 34.3 million shares of stock worth $218 million to Stern and his agent for exceeding a subscriber target set in 2004. A second stock incentive was paid on January 9, 2007, with Stern earning 22 million shares worth $82.9 million. Following his move, Time magazine included Stern in the Time 100 list in May 2006. He also ranked seventh in Forbes' "World's Most Powerful Celebrities" list a month later.

On February 28, 2006, CBS Radio (formerly Infinity Broadcasting) filed a 43-page lawsuit against Stern, his agent and Sirius. The suit claimed Stern had misused CBS broadcast time to promote Sirius for unjust enrichment during his last 14 months on terrestrial airwaves. In a press conference held hours before the suit was filed, Stern said it was nothing more than a "personal vendetta" against him by CBS president Leslie Moonves. A settlement was reached on May 25, with Sirius paying $2 million to CBS for control of Stern's broadcast archives since 1985.

On December 9, 2010, Stern announced the signing of a new five-year contract with Sirius which ends in 2015.

FCC fines

From 1990 to 2004, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has fined owners of radio stations that carried The Howard Stern Show a total of $2.5 million for indecent programming.

Personal life

Stern married Alison Berns on June 4, 1978 at Temple Ohabei Shalom in Brookline, Massachusetts, both 24 years old. They have three daughters – Emily Beth (b. 1983), Debra Jennifer (b. 1986) and Ashley Jade (b. 1993). On October 22, 1999, Stern announced their decision to separate. The marriage ended in 2001 with an amicable divorce and settlement. Stern began a period of single living, dating actresses Angie Everhart and Robin Givens. In 2000, Stern began to date model Beth Ostrosky, co-host of Casino Cinema from 2004 to 2007. She also frequently appeared in the American edition of FHM. On February 14, 2007, after seven years, Stern announced their engagement.

While attending Boston University, Stern developed an interest in Transcendental Meditation, which he practices to this day. He credits it with aiding him in quitting smoking and achieving his goals in radio. Stern has interviewed Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the founder of the technique, twice in his career. Stern also plays on the Internet Chess Club, and has taken lessons from Dan Heisman, a chess master from Philadelphia.

Filmography

Films

{|class="wikitable" style="font-size: 90%;" border="2" cellpadding="4" background: #f9f9f9; |- align="center" ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Year ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Film ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Role ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Notes |- | 1986 | Ryder, P.I. | Ben Wah | |- | 1997 | Private Parts | Himself | Blockbuster Entertainment Award for "Favourite Male Newcomer" (1998)Nominated – Golden Raspberry Award for "Worst New Star" (1998)Nominated – Golden Satellite Award for "Best Male Actor Performance in a Comedy or Musical" (1998) |}

Home video releases

{|class="wikitable" style="font-size: 90%;" border="2" cellpadding="4" background: #f9f9f9; |- align="center" ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Year ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Title ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Role ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Notes |- | 1988 | Howard Stern's Negligeé and Underpants Party | rowspan="4"| Himself/Host |- | 1989 | Howard Stern's U.S. Open Sores | |- | 1992 | Butt Bongo Fiesta | |- | 1994 | Howard Stern's New Year's Rotten Eve 1994 | |}

Television

{|class="wikitable" style="font-size: 90%;" border="2" cellpadding="4" background: #f9f9f9; |- align="center" ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Year ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Title ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Role ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Notes |- | 1981 | Petey Greene's Washington | Himself | |- | 1987 | Nightlife | Himself | |- | 1987 | The Howard Stern Show | Himself - Host | Series of 5 pilot episodes that never aired |- | 1988 | The New Hollywood Squares | Announcer - Guest | |- | 1990–1992 | The Howard Stern Show | Himself - Host | |- | 1992 | 1992 MTV Video Music Awards | Fartman | |- | 1992–1993 | The Howard Stern "Interview" | Himself - Host | |- | 1993 | The Larry Sanders Show | Himself | Season 2, episode 18 |- | 1993 | The John Stewart Show | Himself | Season 1, episode 1 |- | 1994–2005 | Howard Stern | Himself - Host | |- | 1997 | Saturday Night Live | Himself | Season 22, episode 14 |- | 1998 | The Magic Hour | Himself | |- | 1998 | The Roseanne Show | Himself | Season 1, episode 54 |- | 1998–2001 | The Howard Stern Radio Show | Himself - Host |- | 2001 | The Concert for New York City | Himself |- | 2004 | Extra | Himself | |- | 2005–present | Howard Stern On Demand | Himself - Host | Known as Howard TV since March 2006 |}

Discography

{|class="wikitable" style="font-size: 90%;" border="2" cellpadding="4" background: #f9f9f9; |- align="center" ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Year ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Album ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Label ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Notes |- | 1982 | 50 Ways to Rank Your Mother | Wren Records | Re-released as Unclean Beaver (1994) on Ichiban and Citizen X labels |- | 1991 | Crucified By the FCC | Infinity Broadcasting | |- | 1997 | | Warner Brothers | Billboard 200 Number-one album from March 15–21, 1997 |}

Bibliography

Notes

References

External links

The Howard Stern Show on Sirius XM

The Howard Stern Show and Howard Stern Official Site

Category:1954 births Category:Actors from New York City Category:American actor-politicians Category:American comedians Category:American actors Category:American Jews Category:American libertarians Category:American radio personalities Category:American talk radio hosts Category:American television personalities Category:American television producers Category:American television talk show hosts Category:American writers Category:Free speech activists Category:Boston University alumni Category:Jewish comedians Category:Jewish comedy and humor Category:Living people Category:Obscenity controversies Category:People from Jackson Heights, Queens Category:People from Nassau County, New York Category:People from New York City Category:Radio personalities from New York City Category:Sirius Satellite Radio Category:Transcendental Meditation practitioners

Name	Katherine Heigl
Caption	Heigl at the premiere of 27 Dresses, January 2008
Birth name	Katherine Marie Heigl
Birth date	November 24, 1978
Birth place	Washington, D.C., U.S.
Occupation	Actress,Producer
Years active	1992–present
Spouse	1 child

Katherine Marie Heigl (; born November 24, 1978) is an American actress and producer. She is best known for her role as Dr. Izzie Stevens on ABC's Grey's Anatomy and her starring role in the movies Knocked Up, 27 Dresses, and The Ugly Truth.

Heigl started her career as a child model with Wilhelmina Models before she turned her attention to acting. She made her debut in the coming-of-age film That Night. Heigl co-starred as Isabel Evans in the television series Roswell and movies including My Father the Hero before landing her break-out role in Grey's Anatomy. Heigl has established herself as a cover model appearing on numerous publications including Maxim, Vanity Fair and Cosmopolitan.

Heigl married Josh Kelley in Park City, Utah, on December 23, 2007.

Early life and family

Heigl was born in Washington, D.C., at Columbia Hospital for Women, the daughter of Nancy (née Engelhardt) – a personnel manager – and Paul Heigl, a financial executive and accountant. Heigl has German and Irish ancestry, and was raised in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She is the youngest of four children (her siblings are Meg, Jason(deceased), and Holt). Heigl lived in Virginia and then Denver before her family settled in Connecticut, when they moved into a large, old Victorian-style farmhouse in the wealthy town of New Canaan, where she spent most of her childhood.

In 1986, her older brother Jason died of injuries suffered in a car accident, after being thrown from the back of a pickup truck while out for lunch with some of his high school classmates. Following his death, the family decided to donate his organs. Heigl was unnerved by this at the time but became a strong proponent of organ donation, working as a spokesperson for Donate Life America. Afterward, their parents converted to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (prior to that her mother was Lutheran and her father Catholic). Although she is no longer a "strong practicing Mormon", she stated that she hopes to "...find my way back as I get older and a little less selfish".

Career

Early work, 1986–1998

When Heigl was nine, an aunt visiting the family decided to take a number of photographs of her. After returning to her home in New York, her aunt sent the photos to a number of modeling agencies, with the permission of Heigl's parents. Within a few weeks, Heigl was signed with Wilhelmina Models as a child model. Soon after signing with the agency, a client slated Heigl for use in a magazine advertisement where she made her debut. At the time, she was earning $75 an hour posing for Sears and Lord & Taylor catalogs. Heigl appeared in her first national television spot for Cheerios cereal.

She made her acting debut in the 1992 movie That Night. Heigl appeared as Christina Sebastian in Steven Soderbergh's Depression-era drama King of the Hill before being cast in her first leading role in the 1994 comedy My Father the Hero. During this time, Heigl continued to attend New Canaan High School, balancing her film and modeling work with her academic studies. Heigl dropped out of New Canaan High School after her sophomore year to pursue her career in Hollywood.

In 1995, she starred in the Steven Seagal action thriller . Heigl portrayed a 16-year-old travelling on a train across a mountain pass to visit the grave of her deceased father with uncle Casey Ryback (Seagal), an ex-SEAL counter-terrorist expert. The main plotline has the train hijacked by mercenaries in Colorado, keeping her as a hostage. Much of her work in the film was opposite Morris Chestnut, Sandra Taylor and Everett McGill.

Despite an increased focus on acting, she still modeled extensively, appearing regularly in magazines such as Seventeen. She took the lead role in Disney's made-for-television film Wish Upon a Star in 1996. Also in 1996, Heigl's parents divorced and her mother was diagnosed with cancer.

Heigl was frequently featured in photo essays in magazines such as Life, TV Guide, and Teen as well as FHM. She appeared in the FHM and Maxim calendars, FHM's annual "100 Sexiest Women in the World", and was featured in the Girls of Maxim Gallery. In May 2006, Maxim awarded her #12 on their annual Hot 100List as well as voted the 19th "Sexiest Woman in the World" by readers of FHM magazine. While Roswell was in production, Heigl worked on several films, including 100 Girls, an independent 2001 film, and Valentine, a horror film starring David Boreanaz and Denise Richards.

Heigl accepted a role in Ground Zero, a television thriller scheduled to be telecast that fall which was based on the bestselling James Mills novel The Seventh Power, in the spring of 2001. She co-starred as a brilliant and politically-concerned college student who helps to build a nuclear device to illustrate the need for a change in national priorities. The device ends up in the hands of a terrorist following betrayal by a fellow student. However, after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the film was shelved when its plot was considered inappropriate. It reemerged in 2003 under the title Critical Assembly. After the attacks, Heigl recorded a public service announcement for the American Red Cross in an effort to help raise money for victims.

In 2003, Heigl appeared in three television movies. She returned to the horror genre with Evil Never Dies, a modern-day variation on the Frankenstein story co-starring Thomas Gibson. Love Comes Softly, for Hallmark Entertainment, found Heigl starring as Marty Claridge, a young, pregnant newlywed traveling west. (She reprised the role of Marty in the sequel Love's Enduring Promise the next year.) Heigl played Isabella Linton in MTV's modern revamp of Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights. In October 2003, Heigl was cast opposite Johnny Knoxville in The Ringer, a Farrelly brothers comedy that was released in December 2005. Heigl starred as Romy in the 2005 television movie , a prequel to the 1997 film Romy and Michele's High School Reunion.

Breakthrough, 2005–present

In 2005, Heigl was cast in what would become her most high-profile role to date, as medical intern Dr. Isobel "Izzie" Stevens on Grey's Anatomy, an ABC medical drama. The show, originally introduced as a mid-season replacement, became a huge ratings success and is still one of the highest-rated television series on broadcast television. The same year, Heigl landed the starring role in the independent film, Side Effects, a romantic comedy about marketing and the pharmaceutical industry, where she was also executive producer. In late 2006, Heigl was nominated for a Golden Globe award in the category Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Mini-series, or Motion Picture Made for Television for her work on Grey's Anatomy. Also in 2006, she filmed Knocked Up, a comedy from writer/director Judd Apatow, starring opposite Seth Rogen, Paul Rudd, and Apatow's real life wife, Leslie Mann. Upon its June 2007 theatrical release, the film received largely positive reviews from critics, and proved to be a box office success. Despite her run of success, she also starred in the box office bomb Zyzzyx Road which despite being filmed in 2004, was not released until 2006. It has been cited as the lowest grossing film of all time. She has been on FHM's "100 Sexiest Women in the World" list twice as of 2007.

On September 16, 2007, Heigl won an Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her role as Izzie Stevens. In her acceptance speech she acknowledged that even her mother did not believe she would win, and when her name was called, she had to be censored vocally by the telecast's producers, due to her saying "Shit!" when she reacted to the win. Earlier, she had corrected telecast announcer Rebecca Riedy, who had been given an incorrect phonetic spelling of Heigl's name, when she mispronounced her name as Hi-jell before the presentation of the award with Kyle Chandler for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Movie. She starred in the film, 27 Dresses which was released in January 2008, playing alongside James Marsden.

Katherine Heigl was announced the Most Desirable Woman of 2008, according to AskMen.com.

There was some speculation that Heigl might be leaving Grey's Anatomy after the end of the 2008-2009 season. This speculation revolved around her refusal to put her name in for Emmy Award consideration and the time she had devoted to producing a film version of Carolyn Jessop's book Escape. Grey's showrunner Shonda Rhimes said she was not insulted by Heigl's Emmy withdrawal, but also noted that Heigl's character Izzy had less to do during the season because Heigl asked for a light work schedule. However, despite Heigl's reported displeasure with the previous season as well as suggestions that her character had died, Heigl's return for the sixth season of Grey's has been confirmed by ABC.

In 2009, Heigl starred opposite Gerard Butler in The Ugly Truth, which opened July 24.

Heigl starred in the Lionsgate comedy-thriller Killers, opposite Ashton Kutcher, which was released June 4, 2010. She next starred in and produced the big-screen drama Life As We Know It. The film revolved around a woman and a man whose respective best friends die in a car accident; following the tragedy, they are left to share in caring for the deceased's orphaned daughter. Everwood creator Greg Berlanti directed the film.

Whether or not Heigl would leave Grey's Anatomy remained to be seen for the bigger part of season six. However, on March 11, 2010, Heigl reportedly did not show up for work when she was supposed to, and she and Shonda Rhimes had apparently come to an agreement to release her from her contract immediately. Therefore, Heigl's last appearance on the January 21 episode of Grey's Anatomy is also her final appearance on the season. Heigl said that her departure was not about advancing her film career but that she wanted to focus more on her family.

Salary

Heigl won greater financial success after Knocked Up (2007). The movie grossed $148,761,765 in the U.S., for which she earned a salary of $300,000 USD. Heigl got higher wages in the film 27 Dresses (2008), for which she received $6 million USD, and for the films Killers (2010) and Life as We Know It (2010), for which she was paid $12 million each. Movie Entertainment called Heigl a complex individual with many contrasts, referring to her as an "ex-model with a strong feminist streak" and an "actress known for her dramatic roles who really wants to do comedy".

In the wake of widespread media attention to accusations of sexism (including articles in New York, The New Yorker, Slate, The Los Angeles Times, USA Today, The Guardian, Vanity Fair and People) against director and producer Judd Apatow and his film Knocked Up, Heigl has been tagged as a potentially important and assertive modern proponent of women's rights. In his review for The Guardian, humorist Joe Queenan called Knocked Up "the latest in a new genre of romantic comedies in which an unappealing hero gets together with a gorgeous, successful woman".

Heigl's comments spurred widespread reaction in the media, primarily consisting of personal attacks in which she was called "an ungrateful traitor", "hypocrite", and "assertive, impatient go-getter who quickly tired of waiting for her boyfriend to propose", in some cases debasing her religious beliefs and criticizing her private relationships. Heigl clarified her remarks to People magazine, stating that, "My motive was to encourage other women like myself to not take that element of the movie too seriously and to remember that it's a broad comedy", adding that, "Although I stand behind my opinion, I'm disheartened that it has become the focus of my experience with the movie".

The Guardian noted that Heigl's comments "provoked quite a backlash, and Heigl was described as ungrateful and a traitor. Some people even suggested she would never work again", remarks which in retrospect were not only proved demonstrably wrong but the publicity and promotion in the wake of her comments may well have propelled Heigl's career.

Following the release of 27 Dresses, the New York Post expressed some disappointment with the mismatch of Heigl's talent with the "chick-flick" triviality of the film, suggesting that Heigl might be more compatible "with female directors such as Kimberly Peirce (Boys Don't Cry) or Tamara Jenkins (The Savages)...".

Animal welfare projects

Heigl has worked with Best Friends Animal Society on several projects including their Pup My Ride program. The program transports small dogs from high-kill animal shelters to other parts of the US where there is a greater demand for such dogs. Her involvement in this led her to give Best Friends a grant which would fund a year of the program.

Heigl and her mother, Nancy, then started Heigl's Hounds of Hope which operates as part of the Jason Debus Heigl Foundation. The Foundation was created in honor of Katherine's brother, who was killed in a car accident in 1986 at the age of fifteen. Heigl's Hounds of Hope rescues larger dogs with behavior problems from shelters with a high kill rate and rehabilitates them through training and other adjustments to make them suitable for re-homing. They were married on December 23, 2007 in Park City, Utah. During a taping of Live With Regis and Kelly, Heigl stated that she and Kelley chose not to live together before they were married, saying, "I think I just wanted to save something for the actual marriage... I wanted there to be something to make the actual marriage different than the dating or the courtship." Her brother-in-law is Charles Kelley, of the Grammy Award winning country music trio Lady Antebellum.

On September 9, 2009, Heigl's representative confirmed that the couple had started the process of adopting a baby girl from South Korea. Later that month, the couple adopted a baby girl with special needs they named Nancy Leigh (named after Heigl's mother and sister), nicknamed Naleigh. Heigl's sister is also Korean-born and was adopted before Heigl was born.

Filmography

{|class="wikitable" style="font-size: 90%;" border="2" cellpadding="4" background: #f9f9f9; |- align="center" ! colspan=4 style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Film |- align="center" ! style="background: #CCCCCC;" | Year ! style="background: #CCCCCC;" | Film ! style="background: #CCCCCC;" | Role ! style="background: #CCCCCC;" | Notes |- | 1992 | That Night | Kathryn | |- | 1993 | King of the Hill | Christina Sebastian | |- | 1994 | My Father the Hero | Nicole | Nominated — Young Artist Award — Best Performance by a Young Actress Starring in a Motion Picture |- | 1995 | | Sarah Ryback |- | rowspan="2"|1997 |Prince Valiant | Princess Ilene | |- | Stand-ins | Taffy-Rita Hayworth's Stand-in | |- | rowspan="2"|1998 | Bug Buster | Shannon Griffin | |- | Bride of Chucky | Jade | |- | 2000 | 100 Girls | Arlene | |- | 2001 | Valentine | Shelley Fisher | |- | rowspan="2"|2003 | Descendant | Ann Hedgerow/Emily Hedgerow | |- | Critical Assembly | Aizy Hayward | |- | rowspan=2|2005 | Side Effects | Karly Hert | Executive producer |- | The Ringer | Lynn Sheridan | |- | rowspan="2"|2006 | Zyzzyx Road | Marissa | Box Office $30 |- | Caffeine | Laura | |- | 2007 | Knocked Up | Alison Scott | Box Office: $219 million USD Nominated — Empire Award — Best Actress Nominated — MTV Movie Award for Best Performance Nominated — Satellite Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy Nominated — St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated — Teen Choice Award — Choice Movie Actress: Comedy |- | 2008 | 27 Dresses | Jane Nichols | Box Office: $159 million |- | 2009 | The Ugly Truth | Abby Richter | Box Office: $205 million Executive producer Nominated — Satellite Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy Nominated — Teen Choice Award — Choice Summer Movie Star: Female |- | rowspan="2"|2010 | Killers | Jen Kornfeldt | Box Office: $92 million |- | Life as We Know It | Holly Berenson | Box office: $88 million to date Executive producer |- | 2011 | Adaline | | |- | 2011 | One for the Money | Stephanie Plum | |- align="center" ! colspan=4 style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Television |- align="center" ! style="background: #CCCCCC;" | Year ! style="background: #CCCCCC;" | Show ! style="background: #CCCCCC;" | Role ! style="background: #CCCCCC;" | Notes |- | 1996 | Wish Upon a Star | Alexia Wheaton/Hayley Wheaton | Television movie |- | 1998 | The Tempest | Miranda Prosper | Television movie |- | 1999–2002 | Roswell | Isabel Evans | 61 episodes Nominated — Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress on TelevisionNominated — Teen Choice Award — Choice Television Actress |- | 2001 | The Twilight Zone | Andrea Collins | Episode: "Cradle of Darkness" |- | rowspan="4"|2003 | Vegas Dick | | Television movie |- | Love Comes Softly | Marty Claridge | Television movie CAMIE Award |- | Wuthering Heights | Isabel Linton | Television movie |- | Evil Never Dies | Eve | Television movie |- | 2004 | Love's Enduring Promise | Marty Claridge Davis | Television movie CAMIE Award |- | 2005 | | Romy White | Television movie |- | 2005–2010 | Grey's Anatomy | Dr. Isobel "Izzie" Stevens | 109 episodes Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress – Drama Series (2007) Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama SeriesNominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film (2007, 2008)Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series (2006, 2008)Nominated — Teen Choice Award — Choice Television Actress |- |}

References

External links

Category:Actors from Connecticut Category:Actors from Washington, D.C. Category:American child actors Category:American female models Category:American film actors Category:American film producers Category:American Latter Day Saints Category:American television actors Category:Emmy Award winners Category:American actors of German descent Category:American people of Irish descent Category:Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series Screen Actors Guild Award winners Category:1978 births Category:Living people

Caption	Segel at the World of Color premiere, 2010
Birthname	Jason Jordan Segel
Birth date	January 18, 1980
Birth place	Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actor, screenwriter, musician
Yearsactive	1998–present

Jason Jordan Segel (born January 18, 1980) is an American television and film actor, screenwriter, musician, known for his work with producer Judd Apatow on the short-lived television series Freaks and Geeks and Undeclared, the movies Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Knocked Up, I Love You, Man, and Gulliver's Travels, and also for his role as Marshall Eriksen in the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother.

Early life

Segel was born in Los Angeles, California, the son of a lawyer, and was raised in Pacific Palisades, California. His father is Jewish and his mother is Christian; he was raised in his father's religion, but also attended a Christian school. He has stated that he and his older brother were not close while growing up.

Following elementary school, Segel completed his middle and high school studies at Harvard-Westlake School, where his 6' 4" (193 cm) frame helped him as an active member of the state champion boys' basketball team. He had hopes of becoming a professional actor while in college, and acted in local theater productions at Palisades Playhouse.

Career

He is known for his role "Freak" Nick Andopolis on the short-lived NBC comedy-drama series Freaks and Geeks, about a group of suburban Detroit high school students circa 1980. He also personally wrote a song for his character, Nick, to sing to the lead female character, Lindsay (Linda Cardellini), in an episode of Freaks and Geeks. She and Segel dated for a few years following the show's cancellation. It was rumored that she broke up with him for gaining twenty pounds, but it has since emerged that the statement was in fact a joke taken out of context.

Segel had recurring roles on as Neil Jansen and on Undeclared as Eric. He currently plays Marshall on the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother. Feature film appearances include Slackers, SLC Punk!, The Good Humor Man, and Dead Man on Campus. In 2007, he appeared in Knocked Up, directed by Freaks and Geeks director Judd Apatow. Segel starred in the lead role of 2008's Forgetting Sarah Marshall, a film he wrote and Apatow produced with Shauna Robertson for Universal Pictures. He also starred in I Love You, Man, which was released on March 20, 2009 by Dreamworks.

Along with director Nicholas Stoller, Segel has recently been enlisted by Disney to write the next Muppets film. In Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Segel's character writes a "Dracula" musical performed by puppets. During an interview with Opie and Anthony, when they were on 104.1 WBCN in Boston, he stated that the Dracula musical with puppets, as well as being broken up with while naked, were real experiences he wrote into the movie. Those cloth creatures were custom-made by the Henson puppeteers, and the experience emboldened Segel to pitch his concept for a Muppets movie. Segel performed his Dracula's Lament on the 1000th episode of Craig Ferguson's show, The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson.

For the 2010 comedy Get Him to the Greek, Segel co-wrote most of the soundtrack's music which was performed by the fictional band Infant Sorrow. He also appeared on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson and sang an original song entitled "Wonky Eyed Girl". |- | rowspan="4"| 2011 || The Muppets || Gary || Director; Writer; filming |- | Bad Teacher || || Post-production |- | Jeff Who Lives At Home || Jeff || Post-production |- | Friends With Benefits || || |} Disney Princess; A Christmas Of Enchantment 2 GooBlob

Television

References

External links

in 2009

Bio on Freaks and Geeks official website

Bio on How I Met Your Mother official website

Spontaneously singing a duet from the musical Les Misérables with How I Met Your Mother co-star Neil Patrick Harris while the cast were guests on The Megan Mullally Show in December 2006.

Jason Segel Interview

Category:1980 births Category:Actors from California Category:American film actors Category:American Jews Category:American television actors Category:Living people Category:Jewish actors Category:Jewish American musicians Category:Jewish writers Category:People from Los Angeles, California

Name	Erica "Rikki" MongeonVictoria "Vikki" Mongeon
Birth name	Erica Mongeon andVictoria Mongeon
Birth date	February 18, 1981
Birth place	Greensburg, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Other names	Ikki Twins
Occupation	Reality television stars;Models
Years active	2004–present
Website	http://ikkitwins.com/
Known for	A Double Shot at Love

Erica "Rikki" Mongeon and Victoria "Vikki" Mongeon (born February 18, 1981

Career

Modeling

The twins started their career working as waitresses at a local Hooters restaurant, and were featured in Hooters calendars. They gained recognition when they were asked to model on a motorcycle website. The twins have appeared in several magazines, including Import Tuner, Performance Auto and Sound, Fast and Sexy, and Playboy. They have also modeled for calendars including Umbrella Girls USA, Sexy Corvettes, and Playboy's Leather Catalog. They have worked as a runway models for Playboy, as well as Playboy Cyber Girls, and have won the title of Super Cyber Girl. Import Tuner voted the twins two of the top 25 Hottest Girls of All Time.

Television

The twins starred in the reality television spin-off of A Shot at Love With Tila Tequila, called A Double Shot at Love. The show featured 12 men and 12 women seeking the affections of the twins. The twins have served as co-hosts for Steve Harvey's Big Time Television Show and Criss Angel's television show. and lived in nine different states

On March 2, 2010, Rikki was in a medically induced coma after emergency surgery when doctors found blood on her brain following a car accident when they were clipped by a semitruck in Bakersfield, California. On March 6, she was released from her coma.

References

External links

Official website

Category:Living people Category:Identical twins Category:American female models Category:Bisexual models Category:LGBT people from the United States Category:LGBT television personalities Category:Participants in American reality television series Category:American television personalities Category:American bloggers Category:American television actors Category:1981 births

Name	Andrew Dice Clay
Pseudonym	"Dice," "Diceman"
Birth name	Andrew Clay Silverstein
Birth date	September 29, 1957
Birth place	Brownsville, New York, U.S.
Religious beliefs	Jewish
Medium	Stand-up, television, film
Nationality	United States
Active	1978 – present
Genre	Character comedy, black comedy, satire, insult comedy
Subject	human sexuality, sexism, race|
Spouse	Kathleen Swanson (1984-1986) (divorced)Kathleen Monica (1992-2002) (divorced) 2 childrenValerie Vasquez (2010-present)
Notable work	The Day the Laughter DiedFord Fairlane in The Adventures of Ford Fairlane
Website	andrewdiceclay.com

Andrew Dice Clay (born Andrew Clay Silverstein; September 29, 1957) is an American comedian. He is known for a style of comedy that has sparked controversy and much media coverage. He is loved by some and reviled by others, who feel that his act is crude, misogynistic, and degrading. Clay has been widely opposed by female rights groups and he has been banned from many radio and television shows for his explicit language and politically incorrect humor.

He has been in a number of radio fights with established names such as Howard Stern and been pronounced "finished" many times, but as he approaches his 25th year as a comedian, he is still appearing in Las Vegas on a daily basis. He has been in more than 15 movies and has put out 7 stand-up albums, including the triple-album Filth. He is the only comedian in history to sell out Madison Square Garden two nights in a row, a feat he accomplished in 1990. The performance was later released on the album Dice Rules.

Early life and career

Clay was born in the Brownsville neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, the son of Doris and Fred Silverstein, who worked in real estate sales. Clay was doing impressions and entertaining his family in the living room by the time he was 5. He was a fairly proficient drummer at James Madison High School, and played bar mitzvahs and casual dates as "Clay Silvers."

In 1978, he auditioned at Pips, a local comedy club in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, doing comedic impressions, then headlined there the following week as "Andrew Clay." His act at the time included an impression of John Travolta in Grease and Jerry Lewis as The Nutty Professor. Clay graduated to the major Manhattan comedy clubs, including Budd Friedman's The Improv, Catch a Rising Star and Rodney Dangerfield's. His move to Los Angeles came in 1980. He was "adopted" there by Mitzi Shore, owner of the famed Comedy Store. His work at the Store led to sitcom appearances on M*A*S*H and Diff'rent Strokes. He later landed roles in movies such as Making the Grade (1984), Pretty In Pink (1986).

He had a regular role on Crime Story from 1986 – 1988. That was followed by a series of less-notable films. He eventually turned from acting to pursue a career in stand-up comedy, focusing on the character "Dice" from Pretty in Pink. His big break came in 1988 when he did a 7 minute set at Dangerfield's during the Rodney Dangerfield special "Nothing Goes Right." It was there that he met his agent Dennis Arfa and later got his first HBO Special.

Later works

Clay again retreated from the media spotlight for a couple of years. 1995 saw him try to reclaim his fame with the broadcast of the HBO special Assume the Position. Although a great success for Clay and the network, the special failed to reignite Clay's career.

In 1998, Clay released the triple-live album "Filth" via the internet. Not long after, Clay aligned himself with New York City-based talk program The Opie and Anthony Show.

To coincide with the release of 2000's "Face Down, Ass Up," Opie and Anthony teamed up with Clay to allow him to perform at Madison Square Garden.

In 2002, he divorced his wife and focused in part on raising his two sons.

In 2005, Clay signed a deal with Sirius to produce and broadcast his own show, Out of the Cage.

In 2007, he staged a comeback with the reality TV series .

He appeared as a part of NBC's The Celebrity Apprentice 2 and was the first celebrity to be fired, after he openly entertained the idea of quitting while in Donald Trump's presence. On The Howard Stern Show, Clay stated that the show was edited to exclude situations where Trump treated Clay poorly based on his comic treatment of women rather than his accomplishments. Throughout the season, each celebrity was raising money for a charity of their choice; Clay had selected StandUp For Kids.

Discography

Dice, 1990

The Day the Laughter Died, 1990

Dice Rules, 1991

40 Too Long, 1992

The Day the Laughter Died, Part II, 1993

Filth, 1999

Face Down, Ass Up, 2000

Recordings featuring Andrew Dice Clay samples

"A Gangsta's Fairytale" on Ice Cube's album AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted (Priority Records, 1990): Clay is heard saying "Good old Mother Goose, remember her? I fucked her." from "Nursery Rhymes" at the end of the song.

"Just Don't Bite It" on N.W.A's EP 100 Miles and Runnin' (Ruthless/Priority Records, 1990): Clay asking the question, "But does she suck a good dick?!" from "Couples In Love", is part of the song's chorus.

"Unbelievable (Theme from Ford Fairlane)" by Yello: Contains loads of samples from The Adventures of Ford Fairlane.

"Unbelievable" by EMF: Clay's "Oh!" and phrase "It's unbelievable" are sampled throughout.

"Special Ladies" by Cage: Clay's routine about meeting women is sampled.

Filmography

M*A*S*H, Cpl. Hrabosky in "Trick Or Treat" Episode (1982)

Diff'rent Strokes, recurring character, named Larry, in Willis' and Kimberly's high school (1982–83)

Night Patrol (1984)

Making the Grade (1984)

Private Resort (1985) Starring Johnny Depp

Pretty in Pink (1986)

Amazon Women on the Moon (1987)

Casual Sex? (1988)

Crime Story (1986 – 1988)

The Adventures of Ford Fairlane (1990)

Dice Rules (1991)

Brainsmasher... A Love Story (1993)

No Contest (1994)

Bless This House (1995)

National Lampoon's Favorite Deadly Sins (1995)

Hitz (1997)

Foolish (1999)

My 5 Wives(2000)

One Night at McCool's (2001)

Dice Undisputed (2007)

References

External links

Official Website

Andrew Dice Clay on MySpace

Rotten.com: Andrew Dice Clay biography

Category:1957 births Category:American film actors Category:American stand-up comedians Category:American television actors Category:Living people Category:Participants in American reality television series Category:People from Brooklyn Category:The Apprentice (U.S. TV series) contestants

Name	Denis Leary
Caption	Leary in June 2010
Birth name	Denis Colin Leary
Birth date	August 18, 1957
Birth place	Worcester, Massachusetts, U.S.
Medium	Stand up comedy, music, television, film
Active	1987–present
Genre	Observational comedy, black comedy, satire, musical comedy
Subject	American culture, , libertarianism, recreational drug use, drinking culture
Influences	Lenny Bruce, George Carlin,Richard Pryor, Bill Hicks
Spouse	Ann Lembeck (1989-present; 2 children)
Notable work	No Cure for CancerLock 'n LoadGus in The RefMichael McCann in The Thomas Crown AffairDiego in Ice AgeTommy Gavin in Rescue Me"Bill" in "The Sandlot"
Website	http://denisleary.com

Denis Colin Leary (Gaelic: Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire; born August 18, 1957) is an Irish-American actor, comedian, writer, and director. He is known for his often biting comedic style and his chain smoking. Leary is the star and co-creator of the television show Rescue Me, which began its sixth season in June 2010.

Early life

Leary was born in Worcester, Massachusetts, the son of Irish Catholic immigrants. His mother, Nora, was a maid, and his late father, John Leary, was an auto mechanic. As both of his parents are from Killarney, County Kerry, Ireland, Leary holds both Irish and American citizenship. Through marriage, Leary is a third cousin of talk show host Conan O'Brien, and has jokingly said on Late Night with Conan O'Brien that "all Irish people are related." He graduated from Saint Peter-Marian High School, in Worcester.

Leary is a graduate of Emerson College, in Boston, where he was classmates with fellow comic Mario Cantone, who remains his close friend. Comedian Steven Wright and actress Gina Gershon also attended Emerson at the same time as Leary. At the school, he and Jodi Haffner co-founded the Emerson Comedy Workshop, a troupe that continues on-campus to this day. After graduating with the Emerson Class of 1979, he took a job at the school teaching comedy writing classes and maintained the job for five years. Leary was honored with an honorary doctorate and spoke briefly at his alma mater's undergraduate commencement ceremony on May 16, 2005; he is thus credited as "Dr. Denis Leary" on the cover of his 2009 book, Why We Suck.

Career

Leary began working as a comedian in the Boston comedy scene of the 1980s, where he hosted his own show at the underground club "Play It Again Sam's". He also wrote and appeared on a local comedy series, Lenny Clarke's Late Show, hosted by his friend Lenny Clarke and written by Boston comedy writer Martin Olson. Leary and Clarke both spoke about their early affiliations and influences in the Boston comedy scene in the documentary film When Standup Stood Out (2006). It was during this time that he developed his stage persona. He also appeared in skits on the MTV game show Remote Control, playing such characters as Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones, the "brother" of co-host Colin Quinn, and artist Andy Warhol.

Leary first earned fame when he ranted about R.E.M. in an early 1990s MTV sketch. Several other commercials for MTV quickly followed, in which Leary would rant at high speeds about a variety of topics, playing off the then-popular and growing alternative scene. He released two records of his stand-up comedy: No Cure for Cancer (1993) and Lock 'n Load (1997). In late 2004, he released the EP Merry F#%$in' Christmas, which included a mix of new music, previously unreleased recordings, and some tracks from Lock 'n Load.

In 1993, his sardonic song about the stereotypical American male, "Asshole", achieved much notoriety. It was voted #1 in an Australian youth radio poll (the Triple J Hottest 100). The video also became a staple of MTV's late-night programming. Due to its explicit and controversial content, it received limited airplay on mainstream American radio stations, with the exception of multiple Top 9 Tonight spins on 107.3 WAAF, Boston. At the 2004 Comics Come Home event in Boston, Massachusetts, Leary performed a new version of the song directed at the New York Yankees baseball team, and as the song concluded, Bronson Arroyo walked on stage with the World Series trophy. The song was also used as part of the Holsten Pils series of ads in the UK, in which Leary was participating, with adapted lyrics criticizing a drunk driver.

Leary has appeared as an actor in over 40 movies, including The Sandlot, as Scott's stepfather Bill, Monument Ave., The Matchmaker, The Ref, Suicide Kings, Dawg, Wag the Dog, Demolition Man, The Thomas Crown Affair and Operation Dumbo Drop. He had a small part in Oliver Stone's Natural Born Killers, playing a ranting inmate during a prison riot; his part was eventually cut, but can be seen on the Special Edition DVD. He has had the lead role in two television series, The Job and Rescue Me. In addition, Leary has provided voices for characters in animated films, such as a fire-breathing dragon named Flame in the The Agents series, a prehistoric saber-toothed cat named Diego in the Ice Age film trilogy, and the pugnacious ladybug Francis in A Bug's Life. He has produced numerous movies, television shows, and specials through his production company Apostle; these include Comedy Central's Shorties Watchin' Shorties, the stand-up special Denis Leary's Merry F#$%in' Christmas, and the movie Blow. As a Boston Red Sox fan, he narrated the official 2004 World Series film. In 2006, Leary and Lenny Clarke appeared on television during a Red Sox telecast and, upon realizing that Red Sox first baseman Kevin Youkilis is Jewish, delivered a criticism of Mel Gibson's antisemitic comments. As an ice hockey fan, Leary also hosted the National Hockey League video NHL's Greatest Goals. In 2003, Comedy Central honored Leary with the Comedy Central Roast of Denis Leary. Friend Jeff Garlin acted as roastmaster. Roasters included Mario Cantone, Adam Ferrara, Dane Cook, Jim Breuer, Nick DiPaolo, Don Gavin, Christopher Walken, Lenny Clarke, Gina Gershon, Conan O'Brien, Jon Stewart, Gilbert Gottfried, Colin Quinn, and Michael J. Fox.

As of 2004, Leary is the star and co-creator of the FX cable-network series Rescue Me. He plays Tommy Gavin, a New York City firefighter dealing with alcoholism, family dysfunction, and other issues in post-9/11 New York City. Leary received Emmy nominations in 2006 and 2007 for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for his performance. For this TV series, he turned down roles in two films: The Departed (Mark Wahlberg got the role after Leary turned down the role) and Bobby, which his close friend Emilio Estevez directed.

Leary did the TV voiceover for MLB 2K8 ads, where he used his trademark rant style in baseball terms, and ads for the 2009 Ford F-150 pickup truck. He has also appeared in commercials for Hulu and DirecTV's NFL Sunday Ticket package. Leary was a producer of the Fox Broadcasting series Canterbury's Law and wrote and directed its pilot episode. Canterbury's Law aired in the spring of 2008 and was canceled after eight episodes.

On September 9, 2008, Leary hosted the sixth annual Fashion Rocks event, which aired on CBS. During one part of the show, Leary came onstage dressed in a long gold halter dress and wearing diamond earrings and a bracelet; he carried a purse and a pair of high heels. In another segment, he let out a controversial rant about Britney Spears, the birth of Ricky Martin's twins, and David Duchovny going to rehab for sex addiction.

In December 2008, Leary appeared in a video on funnyordie.com critiquing a list of some of his "best" films, titled "Denis Leary Remembers Denis Leary Movies".

In 2008, Leary was a guest star on The Simpsons. In this episode titled "Lost Verizon", the second episode of season 20, Leary was called a "very epic" superstar.

On March 21, 2009 Leary began the "Rescue Me Comedy Tour" in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The 11-date tour, featuring Rescue Me co-stars Lenny Clarke and Adam Ferrara, was Leary's first stand-up comedy tour in 12 years.

On January 1, 2010, both Leary and Lenny Clarke sang the Neil Diamond song "Sweet Caroline" at the 2010 NHL Winter Classic at Fenway Park, flanked by members of the Boston and Worcester Fire Departments. On January 10, 2010, Denis sang at Road Recovery at New York City's The Bowery along with Peter Frampton, John Varvatos and Leary's band The Enablers.

A new Comedy Central special, "Douchebags and Donuts", filmed during the Rescue Me Tour, debuted on American television Jan. 16, 2011 with a DVD release on Jan. 18.

Personal life

Leary has been married to writer Ann Lembeck Leary since 1989. During the 2010 NHL Winter Classic he appeared with his friend Lenny Clarke and members of the Worcester Fire Department and the Boston Fire Department and led the crowd in singing "Sweet Caroline". He is also a diehard Boston Red Sox fan, as well as a fan of the Green Bay Packers.

He has said, "I'm more interested in my issues than I am in the guy" and "I was a life-long Democrat, but now at my age, I've come to realize that the Democrats suck, and the Republicans suck, and basically the entire system sucks. But you have to go within the system to find what you want." Leary supported Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential election.

Leary considers himself a lapsed Catholic. He said about his religious beliefs; "I'm a lapsed Catholic in the best sense of the word. You know, I was raised with Irish parents, Irish immigrant parents. My parents, you know, prayed all the time, took us to mass. And my father would sometimes swear in Gaelic. It doesn't get more religious than that. But, no, after a while, they taught us wrong. I didn't raise my kids with the fear of God. I raised my kids with the sense of, you know, to me, Jesus was this great guy...".

Allegations of plagiarism

For many years, Leary had been friends with fellow comedian Bill Hicks. When Leary's comedy album No Cure for Cancer was released, many people believed Leary had stolen Hicks' act and material. The friendship ended abruptly as a result. Hicks once famously told an interviewer: "I have a scoop for you. I stole his [Leary's] act. I camouflaged it with punchlines, and to really throw people off, I did it before he did".

At least three stand-up comedians have gone on the record stating they believe Leary stole Hicks' material, comedic persona and attitude. One similar routine was about the band Judas Priest, during which Hicks says "I don’t think we lost a cancer cure."

During a 2003 roast of Denis Leary, comedian Lenny Clarke, a friend of Leary's, said there was a carton of cigarettes backstage from Bill Hicks with the message, "Wish I had gotten these to you sooner." This joke was cut from the final broadcast.

The feud is also mentioned in Cynthia True's biography American Scream: The Bill Hicks Story:

:Leary was in Montreal to host the "Nasty Show," at Club Soda, and Colleen was coordinating the talent so she was standing backstage when she heard Leary doing material that sounded incredibly similar to old Hicks riffs, including his perennial Jim Fixx joke: ("Keith Richards outlived Jim Fixx, the runner and health nut dude. The plot thickens."). When Leary came offstage, Colleen, more stunned than angry, said, "Hey, you know that's Bill Hicks' material! Do you know that's his material?" Leary stood there, stared at her without saying a word and briskly left the dressing room.

She reportedly said, upon hearing a tape of Leary's album No Cure for Cancer, "Bill was furious. All these years, aside from the occasional jibe, he had pretty much shrugged off Leary's lifting. Comedians borrowed, stole stuff and even bought bits from one another. Milton Berle and Robin Williams were famous for it. This was different. Leary had, practically line for line, taken huge chunks of Bill's act and recorded it." On a later episode of the same show, Leary challenged this assertion by claiming that he (Leary) co-wrote the song with Chris Phillips.

Awards

Filmography

Films

TV shows

TV commercials

Quaker State Motor Oil

MTV promos (1991–93)

Lotus Notes

Holsten O'Pils beer

2009, 2010 Ford F-150 (voice only)

Hulu (2009)

Direct TV Sunday Ticket (2009)

Discography

1993: No Cure for Cancer

1997: Lock 'n Load

2004: Merry F#%$in' Christmas

Bibliography

2008: Why We Suck: A Feel Good Guide to Staying Fat, Loud, Lazy and Stupid, Viking ISBN 978-0-670-03160-3

References

External links

DenisLeary.com - Official Site.

Leary Firefighters Foundation

http://www.annleary.com

Category:1957 births Category:Actors from Massachusetts Category:American comedians Category:American comedians of Irish descent Category:American film actors Category:American people of Irish descent Category:American stand-up comedians Category:American television actors Category:Emerson College alumni Category:Emerson College faculty Category:Irish comedians Category:Irish film actors Category:Irish people of American descent Category:Irish stand-up comedians Category:Irish television actors Category:Living people Category:People from Worcester, Massachusetts

Name	Adam Sandler
Caption	Sandler at the premiere of Funny People in Berlin, 2009
Birth name	Adam Richard Sandler
Birth date	September 09, 1966
Birth place	Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Occupation	Actor, comedian, musician, songwriter, screenwriter, film producer
Years active	1987–present
Instrument	Vocals, guitar, drums, piano, bass
Spouse	Jackie Sandler (2003–present)
Website	AdamSandler.com

Adam Richard Sandler (born September 9, 1966) is an American actor, comedian, singer, screenwriter, musician, and film producer. After becoming a Saturday Night Live cast member, Sandler went on to star in several Hollywood feature films that grossed over $100 million at the box office. He is best known for his comedic roles, such as in the films Billy Madison (1995), Happy Gilmore (1996), Big Daddy (1999), and Mr. Deeds (2002), though he has ventured into more dramatic territory. In 1999, Sandler founded Happy Madison, a film and television production company that has produced numerous films and developed the 2007 television series Rules of Engagement.

Early life

Adam Sandler was born in Brooklyn, New York to a Jewish family, the son of Judy, a nursery school teacher, and Stanley Sandler, an electrical engineer. When he was five, his family moved to Manchester, New Hampshire, where he attended Manchester Central High School. He found he was a natural comic, and nurtured his talent while at New York University by performing regularly in clubs and on campuses. Sandler graduated from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts in 1988.

Later in his career, he would draw on his earliest experiences for material for his comedy and movies. The song "Lunchlady Land" from his debut album They're All Gonna Laugh at You! is dedicated to Emalee, the lunchlady at Hayden Dining Hall at New York University.

Acting career

In the mid to late 1980s, Sandler played Theo Huxtable's friend, Smitty, on The Cosby Show (1987–1988). He was a performer for the MTV game show Remote Control, on which he made appearances as the characters "Trivia Delinquent" or "Stud Boy". Early in his career, Sandler performed in comedy clubs, taking the stage at his brother's urging when he was only 17. He was discovered by comedian Dennis Miller, who caught Sandler's act in Los Angeles. Miller recommended him to Saturday Night Live producer Lorne Michaels. Sandler was hired as a writer for SNL in 1990 and became a featured player the following year, making a name for himself by performing amusing original songs on the show, including "The Chanukah Song". Sandler told Conan O'Brien on The Tonight Show that NBC fired him and Chris Farley from the show in 1995.

Sandler's first starring role was in 1989, in the film Going Overboard. In 1994 he co-starred in Airheads with Brendan Fraser, and Steve Buscemi. He starred in Billy Madison (1995) as a grown, though uneducated, man repeating grades 1–12 to earn back his father's respect, along with the right to inherit his father's multi-million-dollar hotel empire. In At the Movies, Siskel and Ebert gave the film a very bad review, and said of Sandler "...Not an attractive screen presence, he might have a career as a villain or a fall guy or the butt of a joke, but as the protagonist his problem is he creates the fingernails on the blackboard" with Siskel adding "...you don't have a good motivation for the character's behavior". He followed this film with other financially successful comedies such as Bulletproof (1996), Happy Gilmore (1996) and The Wedding Singer (1998). He was initially cast in the bachelor-party-themed comedy/thriller Very Bad Things (1998), but had to back out due to his involvement in The Waterboy (1998) one of his first hits.

Although his earlier films did not receive critical praise, his more recent films, beginning with Punch-Drunk Love (2002), have received more positive reviews. Roger Ebert, in his review of Punch-Drunk Love, concluded that Sandler had been wasted in earlier films with poorly written scripts and characters with no development. Sandler has moved outside the genre of slapstick comedy to take on more serious parts such as the aforementioned Punch-Drunk Love (for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe), Spanglish (2004) and Reign Over Me (2007). He played a loving father figure in Big Daddy (1999). During filming, he met Jacqueline Samantha Titone—his future wife and mother of his two daughters -— who was cast as the waitress from The Blarney Stone Bar.

.]]

At one point, Sandler was considered for the part that went to Jamie Foxx in Collateral (2004). He also was one of the finalists along with Jim Carrey and Johnny Depp for the role of Willy Wonka in Tim Burton's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005). He returned to more dramatic fare with Mike Binder's Reign Over Me (2007), a drama about a man who loses his entire family in 9/11 and rekindles a friendship with his old college roommate (played by Don Cheadle). He starred in the film I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry (2007) alongside Kevin James, as a New York City fireman pretending to be gay to keep up an insurance scam so that his best friend's children can have benefits. Sandler headlined You Don't Mess with the Zohan (2008), a comedy about a Mossad agent who fakes his own death and moves to the United States to become a hair stylist. The film was written by Sandler, The 40-Year-Old Virgin writer-director Judd Apatow (who was an old roommate of Sandler's when both were starting out), and Triumph, the Insult Comic Dog creator Robert Smigel, and was directed by Happy Gilmore director Dennis Dugan.

"Like Will Ferrell, Sandler has layers of tenderness under layers of irony under layers of tenderness—plus a floating anger like Jupiter’s great red spot," wrote David Edelstein of New York magazine in a review of You Don't Mess with the Z. "Some performers become stars because we can read them instantly, others—like Sandler—because we never tire of trying to get a fix on them."

Sandler starred in Bedtime Stories (2008), a fantasy film directed by Bringing Down the House director Adam Shankman, about a stressed hotel maintenance worker whose bedtime stories he reads to his niece and nephew begin to come true. This marked Sandler's first family film and first film under the Walt Disney banner. Keri Russell and English comedian Russell Brand co-starred.

In 2009, Sandler starred in Judd Apatow's third directorial feature Funny People. He played a very successful stand up comedian who finds out he has a terminal illness and he takes a young inexperienced comic, played by Seth Rogen, under his wing. Other co-stars included Eric Bana and Apatow's wife, Leslie Mann. The film contained more dramatic elements than Apatow's previous efforts. Filming began in October 2008 and finished in January 2009. The film was released on July 31, 2009. At one point, Sandler was in talks to star in Quentin Tarantino's World War II film Inglourious Basterds, which he confirmed, but he did not appear in it due to a scheduling conflict with Funny People. Following the release of Funny People, it, along with Punch-Drunk Love were cited in the June 2010 announcement that Sandler was one of 135 people (including 20 actors) invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Sandler appeared in Grown Ups, teaming up with Kevin James, Chris Rock, Rob Schneider, and David Spade (all of whom have worked with Sandler before) for a film about five best friends from high school who reunite 30 years later on the 4th of July weekend. Other costars include Salma Hayek (playing Sandler's wife), Maria Bello (playing James' wife), and fellow SNL alumna Maya Rudolph (playing Rock's wife), Colin Quinn, Tim Meadows, and Norm MacDonald. Sandler and Dickie Roberts scribe Fred Wolf wrote the script and Dennis Dugan directed the film.

Sandler finished filming Just Go with It with Jennifer Aniston, a romantic comedy written by Allan Loeb and Tim Dowling and directed by Dennis Dugan. He plays a plastic surgeon who asks his office manager, played by Aniston, to pose as his wife in order to prove his honesty to his much younger girlfriend, played by Brooklyn Decker, after telling her he's been married to avoid commitment. Sandler will also provide the voice of a capuchin monkey in Kevin James' Zookeeper, set to be released on July 8, 2011.

Happy Madison Productions

.]] Sandler formed his film production company, Happy Madison Productions, in 1999, first producing fellow SNL alumnus Rob Schneider's film . Happy Madison has produced all of Sandler's subsequent films to date with the exceptions Punch Drunk Love and Spanglish. Reign Over Me and Funny People were produced by Happy Madison but under the subsidiary label "Madison 23".

Sandler is known for consistently working with a core group of friends and associates through Happy Madison, frequently casting fellow SNL performers in various roles in his films. Sandler and Happy Madison produced SNL contemporary Rob Schneider's vehicles (1999), The Animal (2001), The Hot Chick (2002), and (2005), and The Benchwarmers (2006), with Sandler making cameo appearances in the middle three. Meanwhile, Schneider has appeared in cameo roles in Sandler films The Waterboy, Little Nicky, Mr. Deeds, Click, The Longest Yard, I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, and Bedtime Stories. Schneider had larger roles in Sandler films Big Daddy, 50 First Dates, Eight Crazy Nights, You Don't Mess with the Zohan, and Grown Ups.

Happy Madison produced David Spade's Joe Dirt, , and The Benchwarmers, which also featured Rob Schneider.

In June 2008, it was announced that Sandler will be executive producer for a horror thriller titled The Shortcut under a nascent genre label for Happy Madison called "Scary Madison".

In October 2009, it was announced that Sandler and Happy Madison will produce the Richard Pryor biopic Richard Pryor: Is It Something I Said? for Sony, the company's first major dramatic production. The film was written by Bill Condon, who is set to direct, and Pryor will be played by Marlon Wayans, who is replacing Eddie Murphy.

Personal life

On June 22, 2003, Sandler married actress Jacqueline Samantha Titone, and they are the parents of two daughters, Sadie Madison Sandler and Sunny Madeline Sandler. Sandler lives with his family in Los Angeles, although he also has a home in New York.

In 2007, Sandler made a $3 million donation to the Boys and Girls Club in his hometown, Manchester, New Hampshire. He also donated $2,100 to Republican Rudy Giuliani's presidential campaign the same year, and is a registered Republican.

Filmography

{|class="wikitable" style="font-size: 90%;" border="2" cellpadding="4" background: #f9f9f9; |- align="center" ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Year ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Film ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Role ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Notes |- |1989 |Going Overboard |Schecky Moskowitz |First film role |- |1992 |Shakes the Clown |Dink the Clown | |- |1993 |Coneheads |Carmine | |- |rowspan="2"|1994 |Airheads |Pip | |- |Mixed Nuts |Louie | |- |1995 |Billy Madison |Billy Madison |Also writerNominated — MTV Movie Award for Best Comedic Performance |- |rowspan="2"|1996 |Happy Gilmore |Happy Gilmore |Also writerMTV Movie Award for Best FightNominated — MTV Movie Award for Best Comedic Performance |- |Bulletproof |Archie Moses | |- |rowspan="3"|1998 |The Wedding Singer |Robbie Hart |Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Actor – Comedy (Also for The Waterboy)MTV Movie Award for Best KissNominated — American Comedy Award for Funniest Actor in a Motion Picture (Leading Role)Nominated — MTV Movie Award for Best Comedic PerformanceNominated — MTV Movie Award for Best On-Screen Duo |- |Dirty Work |Satan |Cameo (uncredited) |- |The Waterboy |Robert "Bobby" Boucher Jr. |Also executive producer and writerBlockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Actor – Comedy (also for The Wedding Singer)Kids' Choice Award for Favorite Movie Actor |- |rowspan="2"|1999 |Big Daddy |Sonny Koufax |Also executive producer and writerBlockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Actor – ComedyKids' Choice Award for Favorite Movie Actor, MTV Movie Award Winner - Best Comedic Performance |- | |Robert Justin |Cameo (voice only) |- |2000 |Little Nicky |Nicky |Also executive producer and writer |- |2001 |The Animal |Townie |Cameo executive producer |- |rowspan="5"|2002 |Mr. Deeds |Longfellow Deeds |Also executive producerKids' Choice Award for Favorite Movie Actor |- |Punch-Drunk Love |Barry Egan |Gijón Internation Film Festival Award for Best ActorNominated — Chlotrudis Award for Best ActorNominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or ComedyNominated — MTV Movie Award for Best KissNominated — Satellite Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy |- |Eight Crazy Nights |Davey Stone |VoiceAlso producer and writerKids' Choice Award for Favorite Voice from an Animated Movie |- |A Day with the Meatball |Himself |Short film |- |The Hot Chick |Mambuza Bongo Guy (uncredited) |Cameo executive producer |- |rowspan="4"|2003 |Anger Management |Dave Buznik |Also executive producer |- |Pauly Shore Is Dead |Himself |Documentary |- |Stupidity |Himself |Documentary |- |The Couch |Couch Testing Guy |Short Film |- |rowspan="2"|2004 |50 First Dates |Henry Roth |Also executive producerKids' Choice Award for Favorite Movie Actor |- |Spanglish |John Clasky | |- |rowspan="2"|2005 |The Longest Yard |Paul Crewe |Also executive producer |- | |Javier Sandooski (uncredited) |Cameo Producer |- |2006 |Click |Michael Newman |Also producerKids' Choice Award for Favorite Male Movie Star |- |rowspan="2"|2007 |Reign Over Me |Charlie Fineman | |- |I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry |Chuck Levine |Also executive producer |- |rowspan="2"|2008 |You Don't Mess with the Zohan |Zohan Dvir |Also producer and writer |- |Bedtime Stories |Skeeter Bronson |Also producerNominated- Kids' Choice Award for Favorite Movie Actor |- |rowspan="1"|2009 |Funny People |George Simmons | |- |rowspan="1"|2010 |Grown Ups |Lenny Feder |Also producer and writer |- |rowspan="3"|2011 |Just Go with It |Dr. Danny Maccabee |Finished |- |Jack & Jill |Jack Murray/Jill Bristow |Filming started in October 2010 |- |Zookeeper |Capuchin Monkey |Release date: July 8, 2011 Voice only Also producer |}

Television

{|class="wikitable" style="font-size: 90%;" border="2" cellpadding="4" background: #f9f9f9; |- align="center" ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Year ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Title ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Role ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Notes |- |1987–1990 |Remote Control | | |- |1987–1988 |The Cosby Show |Smitty |Episodes: "The Locker Room""Dance Mania""The Prom""The Visit" |- |rowspan="2"|1990 |The Marshall Chronicles |Usher |Episode: "Brightman SATyricon" |- |ABC Afterschool Special |Drug Dealer |Episode: "Testing Dirty" |- |1991–1995 |Saturday Night Live |Various | |- |2001 |Undeclared |Himself |Episode: "The Assistant" |- |2003 |Couch |Couch Testing Guy | |- |2005 |Getaway |Henry Roth |Episode: "Found" |- |2007 |The King of Queens |Jeff "The beast" Sussman |Episode: "Mild Bunch" |}

Discography

{|class="wikitable" style="font-size: 90%;" border="2" cellpadding="4" background: #f9f9f9; |- align="center" ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Title ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Year ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Notes |- |They're All Gonna Laugh at You! | 1993 | 2x Platinum |- |What the Hell Happened to Me? | 1996 | 2x Platinum |- |What's Your Name? | 1997 | Gold |- |Stan and Judy's Kid | 1999 | Gold |- |Shhh...Don't Tell | 2004 | |}

References

External links

Official website

Category:1966 births Category:1990s singers Category:2000s singers Category:20th-century actors Category:20th-century writers Category:21st-century actors Category:21st-century writers Category:Actors from New Hampshire Category:Actors from New York City Category:American comedians Category:American comedy musicians Category:American film actors Category:American film producers Category:American Jews Category:American male singers Category:American musicians Category:American singers Category:American screenwriters Category:American stand-up comedians Category:American television actors Category:American television producers Category:American television writers Category:American voice actors Category:Former pupils of Manchester Central High School Category:Jewish actors Category:Jewish American musicians Category:Jewish comedians Category:New York University alumni Category:Living people Category:People from Brooklyn Category:People from Manchester, New Hampshire