name	Anna Paquin
birth name	Anna Helene Paquin
birth date	July 24, 1982
birth place	Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
years active	1993–present
occupation	Actress
spouse	Stephen Moyer (2010–present) }}

Anna Helene Paquin (; born July 24, 1982) is a Canadian-born New Zealand actress. Paquin's first critically successful film was ''The Piano'', for which she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1994 at the age of 11 – the second youngest winner in history. Her acting career took off almost half a decade later when she appeared in a string of successful films including ''She's All That'', ''Almost Famous'' and the X-Men franchise.

Paquin has received critical acclaim for her role as Sookie Stackhouse in the HBO series ''True Blood'', for which she won the 2008 Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama.

Early life

Paquin was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, the daughter of Mary Paquin (née Brophy), an English teacher and native of Wellington, New Zealand, and Brian Paquin, a high school physical education teacher. Paquin is the youngest of three children; she has two older siblings: a brother, Andrew, a director, born in 1977, and a sister, Katya, born in 1980. Paquin's family moved to New Zealand when she was four. She attended the Raphael House Rudolf Steiner School until she was eight or nine. Her musical childhood hobbies in New Zealand included playing the viola, cello and piano. She also participated in gymnastics, ballet, swimming and downhill skiing, though she did not have any hobbies related to acting.

While in New Zealand, Paquin attended Hutt Intermediate School from 1994–95. Having begun her secondary education in Wellington at Wellington Girls' College, she completed her high school diploma at Windward School in Los Angeles, where she moved with her mother following her parents' divorce in 1995. She graduated from Windward School in June 2000 and completed the school's community service requirement by working in an LA soup kitchen and at a special education center. She studied at Columbia University for one year, but has since been on a leave of absence to continue her acting career.

Career

Child actress

It was in New Zealand in 1991 that Paquin became an actress by chance. Director Jane Campion was looking for a little girl to play a key role in ''The Piano'', set to film in New Zealand, and a newspaper advertisement was run announcing an open audition. Paquin's sister read the ad and went to try out with a friend; Paquin herself tagged along because she had nothing better to do. When Campion met Paquin—whose only acting experience had been as a skunk in a school play—she was very impressed with the nine-year-old's performance of the monologue about Flora's father, and she was chosen from among the 5000 candidates.

When ''The Piano'' was released in 1993 it was lauded by critics, won prizes at a number of film festivals, and eventually became a popular movie among a wide audience. Paquin's debut performance in the film earned her an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress at the age of eleven, making her the second-youngest Oscar winner in history after Tatum O'Neal. ''The Piano'' was made as a small independent movie and wasn't expected to be widely known, and Paquin and her family did not plan to continue in the acting circles. However, she was invited to the William Morris Agency, and she kept receiving offers for new roles. She systematically refused them, but she did appear in three commercials for the phone company MCI (now Verizon) in 1994. She later made a series of television commercials for Manitoba Telecom Systems in her birth city of Winnipeg. She also appeared as a voice in an audio book entitled ''The Magnificent Nose'' in 1994.

In 1996, she appeared in two movies. The first role was as young Jane in ''Jane Eyre''. The other was a lead part in ''Fly Away Home'' playing a young girl who, after her mother dies, moves in with her father and finds solace in taking care of orphaned goslings.

As a teenager, she had roles in films including ''A Walk on the Moon'', ''Amistad'', ''Hurlyburly'', ''She's All That'' and ''Almost Famous''.

''X-Men'' and beyond

Paquin returned to worldwide prominence with her role as the mutant superheroine Rogue in the Marvel Comics movie ''X-Men'' in 2000, its sequel ''X2'' in 2003, and its third installment, ''X-Men: The Last Stand'', in 2006.

In the fall of 2006, she completed filming ''Blue State''. She was the executive-producer of the film, the film having been made by ''Paquin Films'', a production company formed by both her and her brother, Andrew Paquin. In November 2006, she completed the film ''Margaret''.

In 2007, Paquin received an Emmy Award nomination for Supporting Actress In A Miniseries Or A Movie for her role as Elaine Goodale in HBO's made-for-TV movie ''Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee'', based on Dee Brown's bestseller. She also received Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award nominations in similar categories.

In 2008, Paquin appeared as waitress Sookie Stackhouse in the HBO series ''True Blood'', her first role in a TV series. The show is based on ''The Southern Vampire Mysteries'' series of novels by Charlaine Harris, set in the fictional town of Bon Temps, LA. Paquin won a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Television Drama Series for her role in the show, and also won a Satellite Award in a similar category. She was also nominated for the same category in the 2009 Golden Globe Awards. The second season of ''True Blood'' premiered in the US in June 2009. Season three premiered in June 2010, and season 4 in June 2011.

In 2009, Paquin played Irena Sendler, a Polish woman hailed as a heroine of the Holocaust, in ''The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler'', a CBS TV film biopic based on the book ''Mother of the Children of the Holocaust: The Irena Sendler Story'', by Anna Mieszkowska. The film was made in Latvia, and was a Hallmark Hall of Fame presentation for the network. Paquin's performance earned her a 2010 nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Television Film.

Paquin's film ''The Romantics'', a romantic comedy with Josh Duhamel and Katie Holmes, was released in the US at selected theaters in September 2010.

In 2010, Paquin was cast in a cameo role in ''Scream 4'', which was released in 2011.

Theatrical career

Paquin made her stage debut in 2001 in a production of ''The Glory of Living'' at the MCC Theater. She won a 2001–2002 Theatre World Award for her performance. She has since appeared in a number of other plays, but only once outside the USA, when she appeared on the West End stage in London in a production of ''This is Our Youth'' in 2002.

Personal life

On August 5, 2009, it was announced that Paquin was engaged to her ''True Blood'' co-star Stephen Moyer, whom she had been dating since filming the series pilot in 2007. On August 21, 2010, Paquin and Moyer married at a private residence in Malibu, California. Through her marriage to Moyer, Paquin has a step-son, Billy, born in 2000, and a step-daughter, Lilac, born in 2002. Paquin and Moyer reside in Venice, Los Angeles.

On April 1, 2010, Paquin came out as bisexual in a public service announcement for the Give a Damn campaign as part of the True Colors Fund, an advocacy group organized by Cyndi Lauper dedicated to LGBT equality.

Filmography

+ Feature films
! Year	! Film	! Role	Notes
		1993	''''	Flora McGrath
1996
1996	''Fly Away Home''	Amy Alden
1997	''''	Frankie Addams
1997
1998		Donna
1998	''Castle in the Sky''	Sheeta (voice)
1999		Annabel Lee	TV movie
1999	''She's All That''	Mackenzie Siler
1999	''''	Alison Kantrowitz
2000			Nominated—Blockbuster Entertainment Award
2000	''[[Almost Famous''	Polexia Aphrodisia	Online Film Critics Society Award for Best CastNominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
2000	''Finding Forrester''	Claire Spence
2001		Robyn Lee
2002		Regina
2002	''25th Hour''	Mary D'Annunzio
2003
2003	''Castle in the Sky''	Sheeta (voice)
2004	''Steamboy''	James Ray Steam (voice)
2005	''''	Lili Thorn
2005	''Joan Of Arc''		TV movie
2006	''X-Men: The Last Stand''
2006	''Hannibal Rising''	Chamber Maid
2007		Chloe Hamon
2007		Maggie Nelson (voice)
2007		Elaine Goodale	Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie
2008	''[[Trick 'r Treat''	Laurie
2009	''''	Irena Sendler	Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Miniseries or Television Film
2010	''''	Jennie
2010	''''	Lila
2011		Lisa Cohen
2011	''Scream 4''	Rachel	Cameo appearance

+ Television
! Year	! Title	! Role	Notes
2008–present	''True Blood''	Sookie Stackhouse

Theatre credits

''The Glory of Living''; MCC Theater, New York, 2001 – Lisa (Won Theatre World Award (Outstanding Actress) in 2002 for the role)

''This is Our Youth''; Garrick Theatre, London, 2002 – Jessica Goldman (nominated for Drama Desk Award (Outstanding Actress) for the role)

''Manuscript'' (Reading); Falmouth Academy, New York, 2003 – Elizabeth Hawkins

''Drug Buddy'' (Reading); Manhattan Theater Club, 2003 – Wendy

''Roulette''; Ensemble Studio Theatre, New York, 2004 – Jenny

''The Distance From Here''; MCC Theater, New York, 2004 – Shari (Won Drama Desk Award (Outstanding Cast Ensemble) in 2004)

''The 24 Hour Plays'', South Of The Border; MCC Theater, 2004 – Maylene

''After Ashley''; Vineyard Theatre, New York, 2005 – Julie Bell

''Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead''; (Reading); Westside Theatre, New York, 2005 – Marcy

''The 24 Hour Plays'', The Blizzard; MCC Theater, 2006 – Jenny

References

External links

Category:1982 births Category:Actors from Manitoba Category:Best Drama Actress Golden Globe (television) winners Category:Best Supporting Actress Academy Award winners Category:Bisexual actors Category:Canadian emigrants to New Zealand Category:Canadian film actors Category:Former students of Wellington Girls' College Category:LGBT people from Canada Category:LGBT people from New Zealand Category:Living people Category:New Zealand child actors Category:New Zealand film actors Category:New Zealand people of Canadian descent Category:People from Winnipeg Category:Waldorf school alumni

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name	Graham Norton
birth name	Graham William Walker
birth date	April 04, 1963
birth place	Clondalkin, Dublin, Ireland
medium	Television, radio, stand-up
nationality	Irish
active	1992–present
genre	Observational comedy
subject	Everyday life, pop culture, current events, celebrities, sex
awards
notable work	''So Graham Norton''''V Graham Norton''''The Graham Norton Effect''''Graham Norton's Bigger Picture''''The Graham Norton Show'' }}

Graham William Walker, known by his stage name Graham Norton, (born 4 April 1963) is an Irish actor, comedian, television presenter and columnist. He is the host of comedy chat programme ''The Graham Norton Show'' on BBC One in the UK. ''Hot Press'' has described him as "the 21st century's answer to Terry Wogan", with both men sharing an Irish background and the common link of being a BBC Radio 2 presenter and the BBC television commentator of the Eurovision Song Contest.

Early life and career

Norton was born in Clondalkin, a suburb of Dublin, but grew up in Bandon, County Cork, Ireland. He was educated at Bandon Grammar School, in County Cork and then University College Cork but did not complete his studies.

In 1992 his stand-up comedy drag act in the Edinburgh Festival Fringe as a tea-towel clad Mother Teresa of Calcutta made the press when Scottish Television's religious affairs department mistakenly thought he represented the real Mother Teresa.

His first appearances in broadcasting were in his spot as a regular comedian and panellist on the BBC Radio 4 show ''Loose Ends'', when the show ran on Saturday mornings, in the early 1990s. His rise to fame began as one of the early successes of Channel 5, when he won an award for his performance as the stand-in host of a late-night TV talk show usually presented by Jack Docherty. This was followed by a comic quiz show on Channel 5 called ''Bring Me the Head of Light Entertainment'', which was not well received as a programme, but did further enhance Norton's individual reputation as a comic and TV host. In 1996, Norton co-hosted the late-night quiz show ''Carnal Knowledge'' on ITV with Maria McErlane.

In 1996, Norton played the part of Father Noel Furlong in three episodes ("Hell", "Flight Into Terror", "The Mainland") of the Channel 4 series ''Father Ted''. Father Noel Furlong was often seen taking charge of a small youth folk-group.

Channel 4

After this early success, Norton moved to Channel 4 to host his own chat shows including ''So Graham Norton'' and ''V Graham Norton''. As a performer who is not only openly gay, but also camp and flamboyant, it was here that Norton's act was fully honed as a cheeky, innuendo-laden joker.

In 2003, he was the subject of controversy when, on his show on Channel 4, he made a comedic reference to the recent death of Bee Gees singer Maurice Gibb. The Independent Television Commission investigated after complaints about this insensitivity were forwarded to it and eventually Channel 4 had to make two apologies: one in the form of a caption slide before the show, another from Norton in person.

Also in 2003, he was listed in ''The Observer'' as one of the 50 funniest acts in British comedy (though Norton is Irish, the bulk of his television career has been in the UK).

In the summer of 2004, Norton moved across the Atlantic to start a new venture in American television. ''The Graham Norton Effect'' debuted on 24 June 2004 on Comedy Central, and was also broadcast in the UK on BBC Three. In the midst of controversy surrounding Janet Jackson's Super Bowl performance, Norton was wary of moving into the market.

BBC

In 2005, Norton moved to the BBC and began hosting the Saturday evening reality TV series ''Strictly Dance Fever'' on BBC One, as well as a new comedy chat show, ''Graham Norton's Bigger Picture''. He also read stories some nights on the BBC children's channel CBeebies as part of ''Bedtime Hour''.

In 2006, Norton hosted the BBC One series ''How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?'' in which Andrew Lloyd Webber tried to find a lead actress for his West End version of ''The Sound of Music''. Norton has subsequently presented the 3 follow-up series: ''Any Dream Will Do'' in 2007, in which a group of males competed to win the role of Joseph in the West End production of ''Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat''; ''I'd Do Anything'' in 2008, in which Andrew Lloyd Webber seeks to find the part of Nancy and Oliver for Sir Cameron Mackintosh's production of Lionel Bart's ''Oliver!''; and ''Over the Rainbow'' in 2010, following a similar format to find a new Dorothy for a ''Wizard of Oz'' West end Production.

Norton hosted various other shows for the BBC during this time, including ''When Will I Be Famous?'' (2007), ''The One and Only'' (2008) and ''Totally Saturday'' (2009). Since 2007, Norton has also been a regular host of The British Academy Television Awards. On 7 July 2007, Norton presented at Live Earth and undertook a trip to Ethiopia with the Born Free Foundation to highlight the plight of the Ethiopian wolf – the rarest canid in the world. In the same year, he was the subject of an episode of the BBC1 genealogy documentary ''Who Do You Think You Are?''.

Norton's chat show, ''The Graham Norton Show'', began on 22 February 2007 on BBC Two. Although in a format that he had not been involved in for 4 years, it is very similar to his previous Channel 4 shows. On 6 October 2009, the show moved to BBC One, in a new one-hour format.

In May 2010, he stood in for Chris Evans' breakfast show on BBC Radio 2. Later that month, it was confirmed that he would be replacing Jonathan Ross's Saturday morning slot on the same station.

In December 2011, the panel show ''Would You Rather...? with Graham Norton'' premiered on BBC America in the time slot immediately following ''The Graham Norton Show''. Recorded in New York, it is one of BBC America's earliest efforts at producing original programming, and is also the first panel game the channel has shown, either of British or American origin.

In January 2012, he called on listeners to his Radio 2 show to help find his car hours after it was stolen. He called it "The Great Car Hunt" and told listeners to “Keep your eyes out for it. It was filthy by the way."

Eurovision

Norton hosted the first annual ''Eurovision Dance Contest'' alongside Claudia Winkleman which was held on 1 September 2007 in London, England. The format was based on the BBC's ''Strictly Come Dancing'' and the EBU's ''Eurovision Song Contest''. Norton and Winkleman also hosted the 2008 Contest in Glasgow, Scotland.

In October 2008, it was confirmed by the BBC that Norton would replace Terry Wogan as the BBC's presenter for the UK heats of the ''Eurovision Song Contest'', in a show to be called ''Your Country Needs You''.

On 5 December 2008 it was announced that Norton would also take over from Wogan as the presenter of the main Eurovision Song Contest. The 54th Eurovision Song Contest was held in the Olimpiyskiy (Olympic) Stadium, Moscow on 16 May 2009.

Norton's jokes during his debut received some positive reviews from the British media. ''The Guardian'' noted his comments on Iceland's entry, which finished in second place, had "rooted around in a cupboard and found an old bridesmaid dress from 1987" and the Armenian singers, who finished in tenth place, were sporting traditional dress, "which would be true if you come from the village where Liberace is the mayor."

His comment “The bad news is you’re about to watch Albania. She’s only 17 so please bear that in mind. Where was her mother? Why didn’t she step in and say no?” which was made just before Albanian singer Kejsi Tola was set to take the stage dubbed an insult by many, sent ripples of outrage through not only Albania, but also the Albanian population in Britain.He then announced that Albania should get no points and that he didn't care what anybody else thought. There was a petition circling the net calling for a formal apology from Norton. The petition, which called his comment “very rude and insulting,” had drawn over 1,000 signatures.He never responded.

In 2011, he snarked that if Jedward's entry into the competition that year won, the twins would never sleep again. In the end, they were eighth. Earlier in that year's televote, he joked "Quick, someone take a picture", when The British entry that year went temporarily in the lead early on after high votes from Russia(4), Bulgaria(12) and Italy(10). In the end, the song dropped down the 11th, earning 100 points. Very annoyed, Norton claimed 'We were better than Jedward'.

Other

In July 2000 Graham was one of three judges of the Miss Lesbian Beauty Contest 2000 held at The Talk of London, Dury Lane. The contest was won by 42 year old Carol Hutchins who wowed the audience with her sit-down comedy routine from a wheelchair. Graham described Carol as a "very bright, funny lady."

Graham Norton played Mr. Puckov in the 2006 American comedy spoof film ''Another Gay Movie''. In 2007, Norton played Taylor in the romantic comedy film ''I Could Never Be Your Woman''.

Norton was involved in a high-publicity advertising campaign for the UK National Lottery as an animated unicorn, the stooge to a character based on Lady Luck (played by Fay Ripley). He has also advertised McVitie's biscuits.

In 2007, Norton featured in Girls Aloud and Sugababes' Comic Relief video for the single "Walk This Way."

In January 2009, Norton made his West End stage debut in a revival of ''La Cage Aux Folles'' at the Playhouse Theatre.

Since 2009, Norton has been the host of the comedy game-show ''Most Popular'' on US cable television channel WE tv.

Norton currently writes an advice column in ''The Daily Telegraph'' newspaper. In October 2010, these columns were made into a book entitled ''Ask Graham'', published by John Blake Publishing.

Personal life

Norton has stated that he felt "out of place" growing up in Ireland; his family are Protestant yet the Republic of Ireland is overwhelmingly Catholic. Norton took part in the TV programme, ''Who Do You Think You Are?'', to trace his ancestry. It was discovered that his family were originally planters sent over from England to take over Irish land. Some members of his family had fought for the British Monarchy during the Irish Rebellion of 1798 and taken part in a massacre of Catholics in Carnew Castle. Another member of his family was later killed in battle by the United Irishmen. Norton said he was comforted to find out that his family had resided in Ireland for generations.

In 1989 while living in London, Norton was mugged, beaten and stabbed by a group of attackers on the street. He says he lost half his blood and nearly died, and he was hospitalised for two and a half weeks.

Norton is openly gay.

Norton suffers from vitiligo, a skin disorder in which patches of depigmented skin occur.

Norton caused controversy on 7 October 2006, when he described ecstasy as "fantastic."

Immediately after hosting the BAFTAs in 2009, he said he returned home only to fall down his stairs and break two ribs. Some sources claimed that he presented the next Graham Norton Show on crutches, but this is not true, although he did make a comment about it, related to ''Pushing Daisies'', by saying "in ''Pushing Daisies'' people die in all sorts of bizarre ways... someone else was killed by a man dressed as a crash-test dummy, and some idiot almost died when he got drunk and fell down the stairs after presenting the BAFTAs. As if that could happen in real life!"

TV appearances

Main presenting credits

''Carnal Knowledge'' (TV series, co-presenter) (1996, 27 one hour shows)

''Bring Me the Head of Light Entertainment''

''So Graham Norton'' (1998–2002)

''V Graham Norton'' (2002–2003)

''NY Graham Norton'' (2004)

''The Graham Norton Effect'' (2004–2005)

''Graham Norton's Bigger Picture'' (2005–2006)

''Strictly Dance Fever'' (2005–2006)

BBC/Andrew Lloyd Webber musical theater talent searches (2006–present)

* ''How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?'' (2006)

* ''Any Dream Will Do'' (2007)

* ''I'd Do Anything'' (2008)

* ''Over the Rainbow'' (2010)

''The Big Finish'' (2006–)

''When Will I Be Famous?'' (2007)

''The Graham Norton Show'' (2007–present)

''The British Academy Television Awards'' (2007)

''Live Earth'' (2007)

''Eurovision Dance Contest'' (2007)

''The One and Only'' (2008)

''Eurovision Dance Contest'' (2008)

''Eurovision: Your Country Needs You'' (2009–present)

''Eurovision Song Contest'' (UK commentator, 2009–present)

''Totally Saturday'' (2009)

''Most Popular'' (2009–present)

''Would You Rather...? with Graham Norton'' (BBC America, 2011–present)

Other television credits

''Rex the Runt'': A Crap Day Out ''Absolutely Fabulous'': Gay ''Who Do You Think You Are? (British TV series)

!Year!!Title!!Character!!Broadcaster
1996–98	''Father Ted'':	* Hell	* Flight into Terror	* The Mainland	Father Noel Furlong	Channel 4
rowspan=3	2001	|	The Plants voice	BBC
''Rex the Runt'': Patio	Osvalde Halitosis voice
''The Kumars at No. 42''	Himself
2002	|	Himself	BBC
rowspan=4	2007	Who Do You Think You Are?'' ||	Himself	BBC
''Saving Planet Earth''	*Saving Wolves	Himself	BBC
''Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List''
''Robbie the Reindeer'' in Close Encounters of the Herd Kind	Computer voice

Radio

''Just a Minute''

Sitting in for Steve Wright August 2009 BBC Radio 2

Sitting in for Chris Evans May /July 2010 BBC Radio 2

On 2 October 2010, he began his weekly BBC Radio 2 Saturday show taking over from Jonathan Ross. The show airs from 10.00am-1.00pm and combines a mixture of music, chat and celebrity guests.

2011/12 Radio 2 Saturday mornings

Filmography

''Stargay'' ''Another Gay Movie'' ''I Could Never Be Your Woman''

!Year!!Title!!Character!!Production
1999	|	Graham Solex	Canal+
2006	|	Mr. Puckov	Luna Pictures
2007	|	Taylor	The Weinstein Company

Stand-Up videos

''Live At The Roundhouse'' (19 November 2001)

Awards

1999 : Gaytime Award for ''Gay Entertainer of the Year''

2000, 2001, 2002 : BAFTA Award for Best Entertainment Performance - ''So Graham Norton''

2001 : RTS Television Award for Best Presenter - ''So Graham Norton''

2001 : TRIC Award TV Personality of the Year

2011 : BAFTA Award for Best Entertainment Performance - ''The Graham Norton Show''

References

External links

Category:1963 births Category:Living people Category:Alumni of University College Cork Category:BBC Radio 2 presenters Category:Gay actors Category:Irish columnists Category:Irish expatriates in the United Kingdom Category:Irish male comedians Category:Irish people of English descent Category:Irish television talk show hosts Category:LGBT comedians from Ireland Category:LGBT people from Ireland Category:LGBT radio personalities from Ireland Category:LGBT television personalities from Ireland Category:People from County Cork Category:People from Dublin (city) Category:Survivors of stabbing Category:United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest

cy:Graham Norton de:Graham Norton es:Graham Norton fy:Graham Norton ga:Graham Norton nl:Graham Norton no:Graham Norton pl:Graham Norton ro:Graham Norton sv:Graham Norton

name	Alexander Skarsgård
birth name	Alexander Johan Hjalmar Skarsgård
birth date	August 25, 1976
birth place	Stockholm, Sweden
occupation	Actor, director
years active	1984–present
partner	}}

Alexander Johan Hjalmar Skarsgård (; born August 25, 1976) is a Swedish actor. He is best known for his roles as vampire Eric Northman on the HBO series ''True Blood'', Meekus in ''Zoolander'' and Brad Colbert in the HBO miniseries ''Generation Kill''.

Early life

Skarsgård was born in Stockholm, Sweden. He is the son of Swedish actor Stellan Skarsgård and his first wife My Skarsgård. He has six younger siblings: Gustaf Skarsgård (born 1980), Sam Skarsgård (born 1982), Bill Skarsgård (born 1990), Eija Skarsgård (born 1992), Valter Skarsgård (born 1995) and half-brother Ossian (born 2009). A director friend of his father's gave him his first film role in 1983 when he was seven years old. He played Kalle Nubb in ''Åke och hans värld'' (''Åke and His World''). In 1989 the lead role in the Swedish television production ''Hunden som log'' (''The Dog That Smiled'') made him famous in Sweden at the age of 13. Uncomfortable with being recognized, he quit acting for the next seven years.

At age 19, he applied to do his national service. He served in the Swedish military for 18 months, in a unit that dealt with anti-sabotage and anti-terrorism in the Stockholm archipelago. After completing his service in 1996 he left Sweden and attended Leeds Metropolitan University in England for six months. He enrolled to study English but admits he did not study much and "had a blast" instead.

After seven years away from acting, he started to consider it again. In 1997 he enrolled in a theater course at Marymount Manhattan College and moved to New York City. He returned to Stockholm after six months, but the time he spent studying theater showed him that he wanted to act.

Career

Upon his return to Sweden, Skarsgård began picking up acting jobs, working in film, television and theatrical productions. While on vacation in the United States, he auditioned for and landed the role of Meekus in the 2001 film ''Zoolander''. In 2003 his work in ''Hundtricket-the Movie'' (''The Dog Trick'') earned him a ''Guldbagge'' nomination for Best Supporting Actor. He was also named the Sexiest Man in Sweden five times.

He moved to Los Angeles in 2004 but continued to work in Sweden. His break came when he was cast as Sergeant Brad "Iceman" Colbert in the critically acclaimed HBO miniseries ''Generation Kill''. An adaptation of journalist Evan Wright's book of the same name, ''Generation Kill'' follows the 1st Reconnaissance Battalion of the United States Marine Corps during the early part of the Iraq War. The part of Brad Colbert was the closest to a "lead" in ''Generation Kill'', and director Susanna White and executive producer David Simon at first disagreed about casting Skarsgård. White wanted to cast him but Simon was not convinced he could pull off the American accent. After four auditions in three cities, Skarsgård learned the part was his just 36 hours before he had to board a plane for Namibia where the project was filming. The cast and crew filmed for seven months in the desert, shooting six days a week. Skarsgård worked with a dialect coach to master the American accent.

Just before leaving to shoot ''Generation Kill'', Skarsgård heard about ''True Blood'', a new series HBO was developing based on the ''Southern Vampire Mysteries'' series of novels by Charlaine Harris. At first he was unsure about playing a vampire, but when he learned that Alan Ball, creator of the HBO series ''Six Feet Under'' and Academy Award winning screenwriter of ''American Beauty'', was behind the project, he sent in an audition tape. The audition was for the role of Bill Compton, which eventually went to Stephen Moyer. Skarsgård was later cast as Eric Northman, a 1000-year-old, Viking vampire sheriff, local bar owner and potential love interest of heroine Sookie Stackhouse. ''True Blood'' is in its fourth season.

In 2009 Skarsgård appeared in the music video for pop singer Lady Gaga's "Paparazzi". He was the voice of Stefan in the 2009 animated film ''Metropia'', directed by Tarik Saleh. In 2010 Skarsgård portrayed Terje, a gay Norwegian trekking to the North Pole, in the British mockumentary ''Beyond the Pole''.

Suit maker Hickey Freeman chose Skarsgård to model a new look it debuted in 2010. Annie Leibowitz photographed the ad campaign which appeared in magazines such as ''The Wall Street Journal Magazine'', ''GQ'' and ''Details''. He covered the September 2010 issue of ''Rolling Stone'' with his ''True Blood'' co-stars Anna Paquin and Stephen Moyer.

Skarsgård has two films set to be released in 2011. ''Melancholia'', an apocalyptic movie directed by Lars von Trier starring Kirsten Dunst, Charlotte Gainsbourg and Kiefer Sutherland, premiered at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival. Skarsgård will appear in ''Straw Dogs'', a remake of the 1971 film of the same name, as Charlie Venner. The remake's director, Rod Lurie, has transferred the setting from a rural English town to Mississippi, and he describes Skarsgård's character as "an ex-football star gone to seed". The film co-stars James Marsden and Kate Bosworth. It is set to be released September 16, 2011.

Skarsgård will appear alongside Taylor Kitsch and Rihanna in Peter Berg's ''Battleship'', an adaptation of the Hasbro game. It will be released in May 2012.

Personal life

In addition to his father, Skarsgård's brothers Gustaf, Bill and Valter are also actors.

Skarsgård is a fan of Swedish football and supports Hammarby IF, a club based in his birth city. In October 2010, he participated in "Bajen Aid" by donating several items he had autographed and auctioning them off to raise money for the Hammarby football club.

In July 2011, Skarsgård received an honorary degree from Leeds Metropolitan University where he was formerly a student.

Filmography

+ Film
! Year	! Title	! Role	Notes
1984	''Åke and His World''	Kalle Nubb
1989	''The Dog That Smiled''	Jojjo
1999		Bamse Viktorsson
2000	''The Dog Trick''	Micke	Remade as ''Hundtricket - The movie'' in 2002
2000	''The Diver''	Ingmar
2000	''White Water Fury	Anders
2000	''Wings of Glass	Johan
2001	''Kites Over Helsinki	Robin Åström
2001	''Zoolander''	Meekus
2004	''Heartbeat''	The pilot
2005	''Double Shift''	Nisse
2005	''The Last Drop''
2005	''Om Sara''	Kalle Öberg
2006	''Never Be Mine''	Christopher
2006	''Kill Your Darlings''	Geert
2006	''Score''	Micke
2006	''Exit''	Fabian von Klerking
2007	''Järnets änglar''	Stefan
2009		Stefan	Voice
2009	''Beyond the Pole''	Terje
2010		Alex	Also known as ''Puss'' in Sweden
2010		Jack
2011		Charlie Venner	''Post-production''
2011		Michael
2012		Stone Hopper	''Filming''

+ Television
! Year	! Title	! Role	Notes
1987	''Idag röd''	Fred
1999	''Vita lögner''	Marcus Englund	10 episodes
2000	''D-dag''	Lise's stepson	Released as a movie in 2001
2000	''Judith''	Ante Lindström
2005		Gunnar Eklind
2006	''Cuppen''	Micke
2007	''Golden Brown Eyes''	Boogey Knights singer
2008
2008–present	''True Blood''	Eric Northman

+ As a director
! Year	! Title	Notes
2003	''To Kill a Child''	Co-directing with Björne Larson

+ Music videos
! Year	! Role	! Video
2009	Boyfriend

Awards and nominations

{|class="wikitable sortable" ! Year ! Award ! Work ! Category ! Result |- | 2003 | Odense International Film Festival | ''Att Döda Ett Barn'' | Grand Prix | Won |- | 2003 | Odense International Film Festival | ''Att Döda Ett Barn'' | Press Award | Won |- | 2003 | Guldbagge Awards | ''Hundtricket - The Movie'' | Best Supporting Actor | Nominated |- | 2009 | Scream Award | ''True Blood'' | Best Villain | Won |- | 2009 | Satellite Awards | ''True Blood'' | Best Television Ensemble | Won |- | 2010 | SAG Awards | ''True Blood'' | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series | Nominated |- | 2010 | Saturn Award | ''True Blood'' | Best Supporting Actor in Television | Nominated |- | 2010 | NewNowNext Awards | ''True Blood'' | Brink of Fame: Actor | Nominated |- | 2010 | Scream Award | ''True Blood'' | Best Television Performance | Nominated |- | 2010 | Scream Award | ''True Blood'' | Best Horror Actor | Won |}

References

External links

Alexander Skarsgård interview on ''True Blood''

Alexander Skarsgård interviewed about Lady Gaga and True Blood

Alexander Skarsgård: Millennium Man interview at Los Angeles Times Magazine

Alexander Skarsgård: Millennium Man video interview at Los Angeles Times Magazine

Category:1976 births Category:Living people Category:People from Stockholm Category:Swedish actors Category:Swedish expatriates in the United States Category:Swedish film directors Category:Swedish television actors Category:Alumni of Leeds Metropolitan University Category:Marymount Manhattan College alumni Category:True Blood

ca:Alexander Skarsgård da:Alexander Skarsgård de:Alexander Skarsgård el:Αλεξάντερ Σκάρσγκαρντ es:Alexander Skarsgård fr:Alexander Skarsgård it:Alexander Skarsgård he:אלכסנדר סקארסגארד hu:Alexander Skarsgård nl:Alexander Skarsgård ja:アレクサンダー・スカルスガルド no:Alexander Skarsgård pl:Alexander Skarsgård pt:Alexander Skarsgård ru:Скарсгорд, Александр simple:Alexander Skarsgård fi:Alexander Skarsgård sv:Alexander Skarsgård th:อเลกซานเดอร์ สกาส์กอร์ด

name	Stephen Moyer
birth name	Stephen John Emery
birth date	October 11, 1969
birth place	Brentwood, Essex, England
occupation	Actor
yearsactive	1980s–present
spouse	Anna Paquin (2010–present) }}

Stephen Moyer (born Stephen John Emery; 11 October 1969) is an English actor who has starred as vampire Bill Compton in the HBO series ''True Blood'' since 2008.

Early life and career

Moyer was born in Brentwood, Essex. He attended St Martin's School, a comprehensive school in Hutton, Essex, and graduated from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.

He became Brentwood Theatre's first patron in October 2007, especially supporting their "Reaching Out, Building On" campaign to help fund the 2008 completion of backstage facilities.

After graduating from LAMDA, Stephen Moyer worked in theatre for five years. He worked with the National Theatre of Wales, the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Oxford Stage Company, work which included going on tour and playing Romeo in productions of ''Romeo and Juliet''. He then made the transition to television and film.

Personal life

On 5 August 2009, it was confirmed that Moyer had become engaged to Anna Paquin, who plays his character's love interest in the HBO series ''True Blood''. They had been dating since filming the series pilot in 2007. On 21 August 2010, Moyer and Paquin married at a private residence in Malibu, California. They reside in Venice, Los Angeles.

Moyer has a son, Billy, born in 2000, and a daughter, Lilac, born in 2002, from previous relationships.

Filmography

Film

Year	! Film	! Role	! Notes	−2001
1997		Prince Valiant
1998	''Comic Act''	Danny
2000		Prouix, the Architect
2001		Brach
2004		Alex Randal
	2005	''Undiscovered''	Mick Benson
	''88 Minutes''	Guy LaForge
	Editor
2008		Andrew
		Josh
		Owen Pace
	John Guidi
	Russian assassin

Television

! Year	! Series	! Role	! Notes
1993–1994	''Conjugal Rites''	Philip Masefield	13 episodes
1995		Martin Franks	16 episodes
		Olly	TV movie
''Cadfael''	Godwin	Episode: "A Morbid Taste for Bones"
	''A Touch of Frost''	D.C. Burton	Episode: "Penny for the Guy"
	Stephen Bannerman	8 Episodes
1998		Jack Beresford	Episode: "Habeas Corpus" Episode: "Persona Non Grata"
	''Highlander: The Raven''	Jeremy Dexter	Episode: "Thick as Thieves"
''Midsomer Murders''	Christopher Wainwright	Episode: "Death in Disguise"
	Dr. Tom Scott	Unknow episodes
''Cold Feet''	Nick Marsden	Episode: #2.5
		Marcel Birkstead	TV movie
	Trevor Watts	Episode: #2.1
''Peak Practice''	Chris Rhodes	Episode: "Hit and Run"
	''Princess of Thieves''	Prince Philip	TV movie
	Jason	TV movie
	''Simcha Rotem'' (nom de guerre: Kazik)	TV movie
2002		Mark	TV movie
		Mark	TV movie
''Entrusted''	David Quatermain	TV movie
	''NY-LON''	Michael Antonioni	7 Episodes
''The Final Quest''	Young Danny Duke	TV movie
2005		Steven Hunt	Episode: "Undertow: Part 1"
2006		Dr. Mark Ellis	Episode: "Waste of Space"
		Mr. Brazendale	8 Episodes
	Sam	6 Episodes
	Jimmy Collins	TV movie
	''True Blood''	Bill Compton	Regular
	''Ice''	Peterson	4 episodes

Awards

2009 – Won, Satellite Award for Best TV Ensemble for ''True Blood.''

2009 – Won, Scream Award for "Best Actor in a Horror Movie or TV Show," for ''True Blood.'' 2009 – Nominated, Teen Choice Award for "Choice Summer TV Star: Male," for ''True Blood.''

2010 – Nominated, Saturn Award for "Best Actor in Television" for ''True Blood.''

2010 – Nominated, Teen Choice Award for "Choice Summer TV Star: Male," for ''True Blood.''

2010 – Nominated, Scream Award for "Best Horror Actor" for ''True Blood.''

2010 – Won, Scream Award for "Holy Sh*t! Scene of the Year" for ''True Blood.''

2010 – Nominated, Satellite Award for "Best Actor in a TV Drama Series" for ''True Blood.''

2011 – Won, Saturn Award for "Best Actor in Television" for ''True Blood.''

References

External links

Category:1969 births Category:Alumni of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art Category:English film actors Category:English stage actors Category:English television actors Category:Living people Category:People from Brentwood, Essex

ca:Stephen Moyer da:Stephen Moyer de:Stephen Moyer es:Stephen Moyer fr:Stephen Moyer it:Stephen Moyer he:סטיבן מוייר hu:Stephen Moyer nl:Stephen Moyer no:Stephen Moyer pl:Stephen Moyer pt:Stephen Moyer ru:Мойер, Стивен fi:Stephen Moyer sv:Stephen Moyer tr:Stephen Moyer

name	David Letterman
pseudonym	Earl Hofert
birth date	April 12, 1947
birth place	Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.
medium	Stand-up, talk show
nationality	American
genre	Observational comedy, surreal humor, deadpan
subject	Self-deprecation, everyday life
influences	Steve Allen, Johnny Carson, Jack Paar, Paul Dixon
influenced	Jimmy Kimmel, Jim Gaffigan, Jon Stewart, Conan O'Brien, Jimmy Fallon
website	CBS.com/latenight/lateshow
active	1974–present
domesticpartner	Regina Lasko (1986-2009)
spouse	Michelle Cook (1969–1977)Regina Lasko (2009–present)
Religion	Lutheran
notable work	Host of ''Late Night with David Letterman'' (NBC)Host of ''Late Show with David Letterman'' (CBS)
signature	David Letterman Autograph.svg

}} David Michael Letterman (born April 12, 1947) is an American television host and comedian. He hosts the late night television talk show, ''Late Show with David Letterman'', broadcast on CBS. Letterman has been a fixture on late night television since the 1982 debut of ''Late Night with David Letterman'' on NBC. Letterman recently surpassed friend and mentor Johnny Carson for having the longest late-night hosting career in the United States.

Letterman is also a television and film producer. His company Worldwide Pants produces his show as well as its network follow-up ''The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson''. Worldwide Pants has also produced several prime-time comedies, the most successful of which was ''Everybody Loves Raymond'', currently in syndication.

In 1996, David Letterman was ranked #45 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Stars of All Time.

Early life and career

Letterman was born in Indianapolis, Indiana. His father, Harry Joseph Letterman (April 1915 – February 1973), was a florist of British descent; his mother Dorothy Letterman (''née'' Hofert, now Dorothy Mengering), a Presbyterian church secretary of German descent, is an occasional figure on the show, usually at holidays and birthdays.

Letterman lived on the north side of Indianapolis (Broad Ripple area), not far from Speedway, IN, and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and he enjoyed collecting model cars, including racers. In 2000, he told an interviewer for ''Esquire'' that, while growing up, he admired his father's ability to tell jokes and be the life of the party. Harry Joseph Letterman survived a heart attack at age 36, when David was a young boy. The fear of losing his father was constantly with Letterman as he grew up. The elder Letterman died of a second heart attack at age 57.

Letterman attended his hometown's Broad Ripple High School at the same time as Marilyn Tucker Quayle (wife of the former Vice President) and worked as a stock boy at the local Atlas supermarket. According to the ''Ball State Daily News'', he originally had wanted to attend Indiana University, but his grades weren't good enough, so he decided to attend Ball State University, in Muncie, Indiana. He is a member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity, and he graduated from what was then the Department of Radio and Television, in 1969. A self-described average student, Letterman endowed a scholarship for what he called "C students" at Ball State.

Though he registered for the draft and passed his physical after graduating from college, he was not drafted for service in Vietnam due to receiving a draft lottery number of 352 (out of 365).

Letterman began his broadcasting career as an announcer and newscaster at the college's student-run radio station—WBST—a 10-watt campus station which now is part of Indiana Public Radio. He was fired for treating classical music with irreverence.

Letterman then became involved with the founding of another campus station—WAGO-AM 570 (now WWHI, 91.3).

Letterman credits Paul Dixon—host of the ''Paul Dixon Show'', a Cincinnati-based talk show also shown in Indianapolis while Letterman was growing up—for inspiring his choice of career: :"I was just out of college [in 1969], and I really didn't know what I wanted to do. And then all of a sudden I saw him doing it [on TV]. And I thought: That's really what I want to do!"

Weatherman

Letterman began his career as a radio talk show host on WNTS (AM), and on Indianapolis television station WLWI (now called WTHR) as a local anchor and weatherman. He received some attention for his unpredictable on-air behavior, which included congratulating a tropical storm for being upgraded to a hurricane and predicting hail stones "the size of canned hams." He would also occasionally report the weather and the day's very high and low temps for fictitious cities ("Eight inches of snow in Bingree and surrounding areas.") while on another occasion saying that a state border had been erased. ("From space you can see the border between Indiana and Ohio has been erased. I'm not in favor of this.") He also starred in a local kiddie show, made wisecracks as host of a late night TV show called "Freeze-Dried Movies" (he once acted out a scene from "Godzilla" using plastic dinosaurs), and hosted a talk show that aired early on Saturday mornings called "Clover Power," in which he interviewed 4-H members about their projects.

In 1971, Letterman appeared as a pit road reporter for ABC Sports' tape-delayed coverage of the Indianapolis 500. David is initially introduced as Chris Economaki in his job as a corner reporter. He interviews Mario Andretti who has just crashed out of the race and asks him a question about traffic on the course.

Move to Los Angeles

In 1975, encouraged by his then-wife Michelle and several of his Sigma Chi fraternity brothers, Letterman moved to Los Angeles, California, with hope of becoming a comedy writer. He started off by writing material for comedian Jimmie Walker. He also began performing stand-up comedy at The Comedy Store, a proving ground for unknown comics.

Letterman appeared in the summer of 1977 on the short-lived ''Starland Vocal Band Show''. He has since joked about how fortunate he was that nobody would ever see his performance on the program (due to its low ratings).

Letterman had a stint as a cast member on Mary Tyler Moore's variety show, ''Mary''; a guest appearance on ''Mork & Mindy'' (as a parody of EST leader Werner Erhard); and appearances on game shows such as ''The $20,000 Pyramid'', ''The Gong Show'', ''Password Plus'' and ''Liar's Club''. He also hosted a 1977 pilot for a game show entitled ''The Riddlers'' that was never picked up. He was also screen tested for the lead role in ''Airplane!'', a role that eventually went to Robert Hays.

His dry, sarcastic humor caught the attention of scouts for ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'', and Letterman was soon a regular guest on the show. Letterman became a favorite of Carson's and was a regular guest host for the show beginning in 1978. Letterman credits Carson as the person who influenced his career the most.

NBC

Morning show

On June 23, 1980, Letterman was given his own morning comedy show on NBC, ''The David Letterman Show''. It was originally 90 minutes long, but was shortened to 60 minutes in August 1980. The show was a critical success, winning two Emmy Awards, but was a ratings disappointment and was canceled in October 1980.

''Late Night with David Letterman''

NBC kept Letterman under contract to try him in a different time slot. ''Late Night with David Letterman'' debuted February 1, 1982; the first guest on the first show was Bill Murray. Murray also guested on January 31, 2012 - 30 years later. The show ran Monday through Thursday at 12:30 a.m. Eastern Time, immediately following ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' (a Friday night broadcast was added in June 1987. It was seen as being edgy and unpredictable, and soon developed a cult following (particularly among college students). Letterman's reputation as an acerbic interviewer was borne out in verbal sparring matches with Cher (who even called him an asshole on the show), Shirley MacLaine, Charles Grodin, and Madonna. The show also featured comedy segments and running characters, in a style heavily influenced by the 1950s and '60s programs of Steve Allen. Although Ernie Kovacs is often cited as an influence on the show, Letterman has denied this.

The show often featured quirky, genre-mocking regular features, including "Stupid Pet Tricks", dropping various objects off the roof of a five-story building, demonstrations of unorthodox clothing (such as suits made of Alka-Seltzer, Velcro and suet), a recurring Top 10 list, the Monkey-Cam (and the Audience Cam), and a facetious letter-answering segment. The Top 10 list, several "Film[s] by My Dog Bob" in which a camera was mounted on Letterman's own dog (often with comic results), Stupid Human Tricks, Small Town News, and Stupid Pet Tricks (which had its origins on Letterman's morning show) all eventually moved with Letterman to CBS.

Other memorable moments included Letterman using a bullhorn to interrupt a live interview on ''The Today Show'', announcing that he was the NBC president while not wearing any pants; interrupting Al Roker on WNBC-TV's broadcast of ''Live at Five'' by walking into their studio (which occupied the same floor of 30 Rockefeller Plaza as Letterman's studio); and staging "elevator races", complete with commentary by NBC Sports' Bob Costas. In one infamous appearance, in 1982, Andy Kaufman (who was already wearing a neck brace) appeared to be slapped and knocked to the ground by professional wrestler Jerry Lawler (though Lawler and Kaufman's friend Bob Zmuda later revealed that the event was staged.) In another memorable exchange, sex expert Dr. Ruth Westheimer included cucumbers in a list of handy sex objects that women could find at home. The following night, guest Ted Koppel asked Letterman "May I insert something here?" and Dave responded "OK, as long as it's not a cucumber."

''Late Show with David Letterman''

In 1992, Johnny Carson retired, and many fans believed that Letterman would become host of ''The Tonight Show''. When NBC instead gave the job to Jay Leno, Letterman departed NBC to host his own late-night show on CBS, opposite ''The Tonight Show'' at 11:30 p.m., called the ''Late Show with David Letterman''. The new show debuted on August 30, 1993 and was taped at the historic Ed Sullivan Theater, where Ed Sullivan taped his eponymous variety series from 1948 to 1971. For Letterman's arrival, CBS spent $8 million in renovations. In addition to that cost, CBS also signed Letterman to a lucrative three-year, $14 million/year contract, doubling his ''Late Night'' salary. The total cost for everything (renovations, negotiation right paid to NBC, signing Letterman, announcer Bill Wendell, Shaffer, the writers and the band) was over $140 million.

But while the expectation was that Letterman would retain his unique style and sense of humor with the move, ''Late Show'' was not an exact replica of his old NBC program. Recognizing the more formal mood (and wider audience) of his new time slot and studio, Letterman eschewed his trademark blazer with khaki pants and white sneakers wardrobe combination in favor of expensive shoes, tailored suits and light-colored socks. The monologue was lengthened and Paul Shaffer and the "World's Most Dangerous Band" followed Letterman to CBS, but they added a brass section and were rebranded the "CBS Orchestra" as a short monologue and a small band were mandated by Carson while Letterman occupied the 12:30 slot. Additionally, because of intellectual property disagreements, Letterman was unable to import many of his ''Late Night'' segments verbatim, but he sidestepped this problem by simply renaming them (the "Top Ten List" became the "Late Show Top Ten", "Viewer Mail" became the "CBS Mailbag", etc.)

Popularity

The main competitor of ''The Late Show'' is NBC's ''The Tonight Show'', which was hosted by Jay Leno for nearly 16 years, but from June 1, 2009, to January 22, 2010, was hosted by Conan O'Brien. In 1993 and 1994, ''The Late Show'' consistently gained higher ratings than ''Tonight''. But in 1995, ratings dipped and Leno's show consistently beat Letterman's in the ratings from the time that Hugh Grant came on Leno's show after Grant's arrest for soliciting a prostitute. ; Leno typically attracted about 5 million nightly viewers between 1999 and 2009. ''The Late Show'' lost nearly half its audience during its competition with Leno, attracting 7.1 million viewers nightly in its 1993–94 season and about 3.8 million per night as of Leno's departure in 2009. In the final months of his first stint as host of ''The Tonight Show'', Leno beat Letterman in the ratings by a 1.3 million viewer margin (5.2 million to 3.9 million), and ''Nightline'' and ''The Late Show'' were virtually tied. Once O'Brien took over ''Tonight'', however, Letterman closed the gap in the ratings. O'Brien initially drove the median age of ''Tonight Show'' viewers from 55 to 45, with most older viewers opting to watch ''The Late Show'' instead.

Following Leno's return to ''The Tonight Show'', however, Leno has regained his lead.

Letterman's shows have garnered both critical and industry praise, receiving 67 Emmy Award nominations, winning 12 times in his first 20 years in late night television. From 1993–2009, Letterman ranked higher than Leno in the annual Harris Poll of ''Nation's Favorite TV Personality'' 12 times. For example, in 2003 and 2004 Letterman ranked second in that poll, behind only Oprah Winfrey, a year that Leno was ranked fifth. Leno was higher than Letterman on that poll three times during the same period, in 1998, 2007, and 2008.

Hosting the Academy Awards

On March 27, 1995, Letterman acted as the host for the 67th Academy Awards ceremony. Critics blasted Letterman for what they deemed a poor hosting of the Oscars, noting that his irreverent style undermined the traditional importance and glamor of the event. In a joke about their unusual names (inspired by a similar joke by Woody Allen), he started off by introducing Uma Thurman to Oprah Winfrey, and then both of them to Keanu Reeves: "Oprah...Uma. Uma...Oprah," "Have you kids met Keanu?" This and many of his other jokes fell flat. Although Letterman attracted the highest ratings to the annual telecast since 1983, many felt that the bad publicity garnered by Letterman's hosting caused a decline in the ''Late Show'''s ratings.

Letterman recycled the apparent debacle into a long-running gag. On his first show after the Oscars, he joked, "Looking back, I had no idea that thing was being televised." He lampooned his stint two years later, during Billy Crystal's opening Oscar skit, which also parodied the plane-crashing scenes from that year's chief nominated film, ''The English Patient''.

For years afterward, Letterman recounted his hosting the Oscars, although the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences continued to hold Letterman in high regard and they had invited him to host the Oscars again. On September 7, 2010, he made an appearance on the premiere of the 14th season of ''The View'', and confirmed that he had been considered for hosting again.

Heart surgery hiatus

On January 14, 2000, a routine check-up revealed that an artery in Letterman's heart was severely obstructed. He was rushed to emergency surgery for a quintuple bypass.

During the initial weeks of his recovery, reruns of the ''Late Show'' were shown and introduced by friends of Letterman including Drew Barrymore, including Dr. O. Wayne Isom and physician Louis Aronne, who frequently appears on the show. In a show of emotion, Letterman was nearly in tears as he thanked the health care team with the words "These are the people who saved my life!" The episode earned an Emmy nomination. For a number of episodes, Letterman continued to crack jokes about his bypass, including saying, "Bypass surgery: it's when doctors surgically create new blood flow to your heart. A bypass is what happened to me when I didn't get ''The Tonight Show!'' It's a whole different thing." In a later running gag he lobbied his home state of Indiana to rename the freeway circling Indianapolis (I-465) "The David Letterman Bypass." He also featured a montage of faux news coverage of his bypass surgery, which included a clip of Dave's heart for sale on the Home Shopping Network. Letterman became friends with his doctors and nurses. In 2008, a ''Rolling Stone'' interview stated "he hosted a doctor and nurse who'd helped perform the emergency quintuple-bypass heart surgery that saved his life in 2000. 'These are people who were complete strangers when they opened my chest,' he says. 'And now, eight years later, they're among my best friends.' "

Additionally, Letterman invited the band Foo Fighters to play "Everlong", introducing them as "my favorite band, playing my favorite song." During a later Foo Fighters appearance, Letterman said that Foo Fighters had been in the middle of a South American tour which they canceled to come play on his comeback episode.

Letterman again handed over the reins of the show to several guest hosts (including Bill Cosby, Brad Garrett, Elvis Costello, John McEnroe, Vince Vaughn, Will Ferrell, Bonnie Hunt, Luke Wilson and bandleader Paul Shaffer) in February 2003, when he was diagnosed with a severe case of shingles. Later that year, Letterman made regular use of guest hosts—including Tom Arnold and Kelsey Grammer—for new shows broadcast on Fridays. In March 2007, Adam Sandler—who had been scheduled to be the lead guest—served as a guest host while Letterman was ill with a stomach virus.

Re-signing with CBS

In March 2002, as Letterman's contract with CBS neared expiration, ABC offered him the time slot for long-running news program ''Nightline'' with Ted Koppel. Letterman was interested as he believed he could never match Leno's ratings at CBS due to Letterman's complaint of weaker lead-ins from the network's late local news programs, but was reluctant to replace Koppel. Letterman addressed his decision to re-sign on the air, stating that he was content at CBS and that he had great respect for Koppel.

On December 4, 2006, CBS revealed that Letterman signed a new contract to host ''The Late Show with David Letterman'' through the fall of 2010. "I'm thrilled to be continuing on at CBS," said Letterman. "At my age you really don't want to have to learn a new commute." Letterman further joked about the subject by pulling up his right pants leg, revealing a tattoo, presumably temporary, of the ABC logo.

"Thirteen years ago, David Letterman put CBS late night on the map and in the process became one of the defining icons of our network," said Leslie Moonves, president and CEO of CBS Corporation. "His presence on our air is an ongoing source of pride, and the creativity and imagination that the ''Late Show'' puts forth every night is an ongoing display of the highest quality entertainment. We are truly honored that one of the most revered and talented entertainers of our time will continue to call CBS 'home.'"

According to a 2007 article in ''Forbes'' magazine, Letterman earned $40 million a year. A 2009 article in ''The New York Times'', however, said his salary was estimated at $32 million per year. In June 2009, Letterman's Worldwide Pants and CBS reached agreement to continue the ''Late Show'' until at least August 2012. The previous contract had been set to expire in 2010, and the two-year extension is shorter than the typical three-year contract period negotiated in the past. Worldwide Pants agreed to lower its fee for the show, though it had remained a "solid moneymaker for CBS" under the previous contract.

On the February 3, 2011, edition of the ''Late Show'', during an interview with Howard Stern, Letterman said he would continue to do his talk show for "maybe two years, I think."

2007–2008 writers' strike

The Late Show went off air for eight weeks during the months of November and December because of the Writers Guild of America strike. Letterman's production company—Worldwide Pants—was the first company to make an individual agreement with the WGA, thus allowing his show to come back on air on January 2, 2008. On his first episode since being off air, he surprised the viewing audience with his newly grown beard, which signified solidarity with the strike. His beard was shaved off during the show on January 7, 2008.

Letterman and Carson

NBC's decision to select Jay Leno and not Letterman to succeed Johnny Carson as host of ''The Tonight Show'' was an embarrassment to Carson, who had all but promised the succession to Letterman. Letterman maintained a close relationship with Carson through his break with NBC. Three years after he left for CBS, HBO produced a made-for-television movie called ''The Late Shift'', based on a book by ''New York Times'' reporter Bill Carter, chronicling the battle between Letterman and Leno for the coveted ''Tonight Show'' hosting spot. Letterman would mock the film for months afterward, specifically on how the actor playing him, John Michael Higgins, did not resemble him in the least. ("They took a guy who looked nothing like me and with make-up and special camera angles, turned him into a guy who looked nothing like me, with red hair.")

Carson later made a few cameo appearances as a guest on Letterman's show. Carson's final television appearance came May 13, 1994, on a ''Late Show'' episode taped in Los Angeles, when he made a surprise appearance during a 'Top 10 list' segment. The audience went wild as Letterman stood up and proudly invited Carson to sit at his desk. The applause was so protracted that Carson was unable to say anything, and he finally returned backstage as the applause continued (it was later explained that Carson had laryngitis, though Carson can be heard talking to Letterman during his appearance).

In early 2005, it was revealed that Carson still kept up with current events and late-night TV right up to his death that year, and that he occasionally sent jokes to Letterman, who used these jokes in his monologue; according to CBS senior vice president Peter Lassally (a onetime producer for both men), Carson got "a big kick out of it." Letterman would do a characteristic Johnny Carson golf swing after delivering one of Carson's jokes. In a tribute to Carson, all of the opening monologue jokes during the first show following Carson's death were written by Carson.

Lassally also claimed that Carson had always believed Letterman, not Leno, to be his "rightful successor." Letterman also frequently employs some of Carson's trademark bits on his show, including "Carnac the Magnificent" (with Paul Shaffer as Carnac), "Stump the Band" and the "Week in Review."

Letterman and Oprah Winfrey

On September 10, 2007, Letterman made his first appearance on ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'' at Madison Square Garden in New York City. He shared pictures of his son and live-in girlfriend. The so-called feud between Letterman and Winfrey apparently ended in 2005 when Winfrey appeared on CBS's ''Late Show with David Letterman'' on December 2, in an event Letterman jokingly referred to as "the Super Bowl of Love". Winfrey had previously appeared on Letterman's show when he was hosting NBC's ''Late Night'' on May 2, 1989.

Winfrey and Letterman also appeared together in a Late Show promo that aired during CBS's coverage of Super Bowl XLI in February 2007, with the two sitting next to each other on the couch watching the game. Since the game was played between the Indianapolis Colts and Chicago Bears, the Indianapolis-born Letterman wears a Peyton Manning jersey, while Winfrey—who tapes her show in Chicago—is in a Brian Urlacher jersey. Three years later, during CBS's coverage of Super Bowl XLIV, the two appeared again, this time with Winfrey sitting on a couch between Letterman and Jay Leno. The appearance was Letterman's idea: Leno flew to New York City in an NBC corporate jet, sneaking into the Ed Sullivan Theater during the ''Late Show'''s February 4 taping wearing a disguise, meeting Winfrey and Letterman at a living room set created in the theater's balcony where they taped their promo.

Response to Internet death threat

On August 17, 2011, it was reported that a Muslim militant had posted a death threat against Letterman on a website frequented by Al-Qaeda supporters, calling on American Muslims to kill Letterman for making a joke about the death of an Al-Qaeda leader killed in a drone strike in Pakistan in June 2011. In his show on August 22, Letterman joked about the threat, saying "State Department authorities are looking into this. They're not taking this lightly. They’re looking into it. They're questioning, they're interrogating, there's an electronic trail — but everybody knows it's Leno."

Appearances in other media

Letterman appeared in issue 239 of the Marvel comic book ''The Avengers'', in which the title characters are guests on ''Late Night''. A parody of Letterman, named "David Endochrine," is gassed to death along with his bandleader named "Paul" and their audience in Frank Miller's ''The Dark Knight Returns''.

Letterman appeared in the pilot episode of the short-lived 1986 series "Coach Toast", and he appears with a bag over his head as a guest on Bonnie Hunt's ca. 1993 sitcom ''The Building''. He also appears in The Simpsons, as himself in a couch gag when The Simpsons find themselves (and the couch) in "Late Night with David Letterman." He had a cameo in the feature film ''Cabin Boy'', with Chris Elliott, who worked as a writer on Letterman's show. In this and other appearances, Letterman is listed in the credits as "Earl Hofert", the name of Letterman's maternal grandfather. He also appeared as himself in the Howard Stern biopic Private Parts as well as the 1999 Andy Kaufman biopic ''Man on the Moon'', in a few episodes of Garry Shandling's 1990s TV series ''The Larry Sanders Show'' and in "The Abstinence", a 1996 episode of the sitcom ''Seinfeld''. Letterman also made an uncredited appearance in the first episode of the third season of the sitcom The Nanny.

Letterman provided vocals for the Warren Zevon song "Hit Somebody" from ''My Ride's Here'', and provided the voice for Butt-head's father in the 1996 animated film ''Beavis and Butt-head Do America''.

In 2010, a documentary ''Dying to Do Letterman'' was released directed by Joke Fincioen and Biagio Messina featuring Steve Mazan, a stand up comic, who has cancer and wants to appear on the Letterman Show. The film won Best Documentary and Jury Awards at the Cinequest Film Festival. Steve Mazan published a same-titled book (full title, ''Dying to Do Letterman: Turning Someday into Today'' about his own saga.

Other projects

Worldwide Pants

Letterman started his own production company—Worldwide Pants Incorporated—which produced his show and several others, including ''Everybody Loves Raymond'', ''The Late Late Show'', and several critically acclaimed, but short-lived television series for Bonnie Hunt. Worldwide Pants also produced the dramedy program ''Ed'', which aired on NBC from 2000–2004. It was Letterman's first association with NBC since he left the network in 1993. During ''Ed's'' run, the star, Tom Cavanagh, appeared as a guest on ''The Late Show'' several times.

In 2005, Worldwide Pants produced its first feature film, ''Strangers with Candy'', which was a prequel to the Comedy Central TV series of the same title. In 2007, Worldwide Pants produced the ABC comedy series, ''Knights of Prosperity''.

Worldwide Pants made significant news in December 2007 when it was announced that Letterman's company had independently negotiated its own contract with the Writers Guild of America, East, thus allowing Letterman, Craig Ferguson, and their writers to return to work, while the union continued its strike against production companies, networks and studios who had not reached an agreement.

Record company

In late April 2010, several music industry websites reported that Letterman started a record label named Clear Entertainment/C.E. Music and signed his first artist, Runner Runner. Lucy Walsh announced on her MySpace page that she has been signed by Letterman and Clear Entertainment/C.E. Music and is working on her album.

Rahal Letterman Racing

Rahal Letterman Racing (RLR) is an auto racing team that currently races in the American Le Mans Series, and part-time in the Indy Racing League. It is co-owned by 1986 Indianapolis 500 winner Bobby Rahal and Letterman himself, and is based in Hilliard, Ohio. The team won the 2004 Indianapolis 500 with driver Buddy Rice. Letterman was a pit reporter for ABC in the 1971 Indianapolis 500.

American Foundation for Courtesy and Grooming

American Foundation for Courtesy and Grooming is Letterman's private foundation. Through it, Letterman has donated millions of dollars to charities and other non-profits in Indiana and Montana, celebrity-affiliated organizations such as Paul Newman's Hole in the Wall Gang Camp, universities such as Ball State, and other organizations such as the American Cancer Society, Salvation Army, and Doctors Without Borders.

Personal life

Marriages and long-term relationships

In 1969, Letterman married Michelle Cook; the marriage ended by divorce in 1977. He also had a long-term relationship with former head writer and producer on ''Late Night'', Merrill Markoe. Markoe was the mind behind several ''Late Night'' staples, such as "Stupid Pet/Human Tricks".

Letterman has a son, Harry Joseph Letterman (born on November 3, 2003), with Regina Lasko. Harry is named after Letterman's father. In 2005, police discovered a plot to kidnap Harry Letterman and ransom him for $5 million. Kelly Frank, a house painter who had worked for Letterman, was charged in the conspiracy.

Letterman and Lasko, who had been together since 1986, wed on March 19, 2009, during a quiet courthouse civil ceremony in Choteau, Montana, where he purchased a ranch in 1999. Letterman announced the marriage during the taping of his March 23 show, shortly after congratulating Bruce Willis for getting married the previous week. Letterman told the audience he nearly missed the ceremony because his truck became stuck in mud two miles from their house. The family resides in North Salem, New York, on a estate.

Stalking incident

Beginning in May 1988, Letterman was stalked by Margaret Mary Ray, a woman suffering from schizophrenia. She once stole his Porsche, repeatedly broke into his house, and camped out on his tennis court. Her exploits drew national attention, and Letterman occasionally joked about her behavior in his show, although never mentioning her name. After she committed suicide in 1998, Letterman told the ''New York Times'' that he had had great compassion for her, and publicly expressed sympathy.

Extortion attempt and revelation of affairs

On his October 1, 2009, show, Letterman announced that he had been the victim of an extortion attempt by someone threatening to reveal that he had had sex with several of his female employees, confirming the relationships. He stated that three weeks earlier (on September 9, 2009) someone had left a package in his car with material he said he would write into a screenplay and a book if Letterman did not pay him $2 million. Letterman said that he contacted the Manhattan District Attorney's office, ultimately cooperating with them to conduct a sting operation involving giving the man a phony check. Subsequently, Robert J. "Joe" Halderman, a producer of the CBS true crime journalism series ''48 Hours'', was arrested after trying to deposit the check. He was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury and pleaded not guilty to a charge of attempted grand larceny on October 2, 2009. Eventually, on March 9, 2010, he pleaded guilty to this same felony and served a 6-month jail sentence, followed by probation and community service.

A central figure in the case and one of the women Letterman had had a sexual relationship with was his longtime personal assistant Stephanie Birkitt who often appeared with him in his show. She had also worked for ''48 Hours''. Until a month prior to the revelations she had shared a residence with Halderman, who allegedly had copied her personal diary and used it, along with private emails, in the blackmail package.

On October 3, 2009, a former CBS employee, Holly Hester, announced that she and Letterman had engaged in a year-long "secret" affair in the early 1990s while she was his intern and a student at New York University.

In the days following the initial announcement of the affairs and the arrest, several prominent women, including Kathie Lee Gifford, co-host of NBC's ''Today Show'', and NBC news anchor Ann Curry questioned whether Letterman's affairs with subordinates created an unfair working environment. A spokesman for Worldwide Pants said that the company's sexual harassment policy did not prohibit sexual relationships between managers and employees. According to business news reporter Eve Tahmincioglu, "CBS suppliers are supposed to follow the company's business conduct policies" and the CBS 2008 Business Conduct Statement states that "If a consenting romantic or sexual relationship between a supervisor and a direct or indirect subordinate should develop, CBS requires the supervisor to disclose this information to his or her Company's Human Resources Department..."

On October 5, 2009, Letterman devoted a segment of his show to a public apology to his wife and staff. Three days later, Worldwide Pants announced that Birkitt had been placed on a "paid leave of absence" from the ''Late Show''. On October 15, CBS News announced that the company's Chief Investigative Correspondent, Armen Keteyian, had been assigned to conduct an "in-depth investigation" into Halderman's blackmail of Letterman.

Awards and honors

Awards

In his capacities as either a writer, producer, performer, or as part of a writing team, Letterman is among the most nominated people in Emmy Award history with 52 nominations, winning two Daytime Emmys and five Primetime Emmys since 1981. His nomination record is second only to producer Jac Venza, who holds the record for the most Emmy nominations for an individual (57). Letterman has been nominated every year since 1984, when he first appeared on late night television as the host of ''Late Night with David Letterman.'' Additionally, he has won four American Comedy Awards. Letterman was the first recipient of the Johnny Carson Award for Comedic Excellence at The Comedy Awards in 2011.

David Letterman Communication and Media Building

On September 7, 2007, Letterman visited his alma mater, Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana, for the dedication of a communications facility named in his honor for his dedication to the university throughout his career as a comedian. The $21 million, David Letterman Communication and Media Building opened for the 2007 fall semester. It features state-of-the-art recording equipment and facilities. Thousands of Ball State students, faculty, and local residents welcomed Letterman back to Indiana. Letterman's emotional speech touched on his struggles as a college student and his late father, and also included the "top ten good things about having your name on a building", finishing with, "if reasonable people can put my name on a $21 million building, anything is possible."

At the same time, Letterman also received a Sagamore of the Wabash award given by Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels, which recognizes distinguished service to the state of Indiana.

References

External links

David Letterman's Feb. 24, 1978 appearance on ''90 Minutes Live''

Official ''Late Show'' biography

1999 article on Letterman from Salon.com

Tape of Letterman announcing affairs/extortion attempt on Late Show

Category:1947 births Category:Living people Category:American entertainment industry businesspeople Category:American television talk show hosts Category:Ball State University alumni Category:Daytime Emmy Award winners Category:Emmy Award winners Category:Indianapolis, Indiana television anchors Category:Indy Racing League owners Category:People from Indianapolis, Indiana Category:Weather presenters

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