This text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
name | Adam Levine |
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birth name | Adam Noah Levine |
landscape | Yes |
background | solo_singer |
birth date | March 18, 1979 |
birth place | Los Angeles, California, United States |
instrument | Vocals, guitar, drums, bass, piano |
genre | Alternative rock, funk rock, pop rock, soul, rhythm & blues |
occupation | Musician, songwriter |
years active | 1994–present |
label | A&M; Octone |
associated acts | Maroon 5, Kara's Flowers, Kanye West, Natasha Bedingfield, Ying Yang Twins, Alicia Keys, K'naan, Rihanna, Slash, Gym Class Heroes, Christina Aguilera |
website | |
notable instruments | First Act Signature Beginner model }} |
Levine attended French Woods Festival of the Performing Arts Camp (Hancock, NY) with best friend Jesse Carmichael, guitar player of the band known at that time as Kara's Flowers. He graduated from Brentwood School in 1997.
Levine is Jewish (like his father and maternal grandfather).
Levine and Carmichael left Los Angeles to study at Five Towns College, a small music and performing arts school in Dix Hills, Long Island, New York. This was the first time the two Los Angeles natives were exposed to a completely different music scene, a cultural awakening for the young men. On ''MTV News'', in 2002, Levine said, "That's when I started waking up to the whole hip hop, R&B; thing. We had friends named Chaos and shit. It was ''not'' Brentwood High."
Levine has made several notable comic appearances on television. During 2007, he appeared on the 33rd season premiere of Saturday Night Live in an SNL Digital Short called ''Iran So Far'' with Andy Samberg, Fred Armisen and Jake Gyllenhaal. Levine played himself while singing a humorous bridge to a "love song" for Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. In 2008, he appeared on Comedy Central's "Night Of Too Many Stars". Levine also had a cameo on Jimmy Kimmel Live for the night of stars and endorsed Barack Obama in the 2008 Presidential Election.
In October 2008, Levine collaborated with First Act to create the First Act 222 Guitar, fashioned to Levine's specifications. The guitar was made available for purchase at Target retail stores.
Levine has stated in various interviews that he does not plan on continuing in Maroon 5 forever, and may stop after the tour for Maroon 5's third album.
Levine made a guest appearance as himself on the season three finale of 30 Rock in the episode Kidney Now!.
In 2009, Levine recorded "Gotten", a song for Slash's first solo album ''Slash'' released in April 2010. "Gotten" was premiered at amazon.com on March 29, 2010.
Levine is also featured as a singer for his band's song "She Will be Loved" in the music rhythm game ''Band Hero''.
In February 2010, he was among approximately 80 musicians who sang on the charity-single remake of "We Are the World" called "We Are the World 25 for Haiti".
Levine is one of the contestant judges and coach mentors on the singing TV show, The Voice. The winner, Javier Colon, was on Levine's team.
Levine is a "car junkie", his favorite car being his 1971 Mercedes 280 SE 3.5 Cabriolet.
In 2006, Levine broke his sternum while lifting weights, what he called "one of the most painful things I’ve ever experienced." He began using spotters while lifting weights before giving up weightlifting completely when he began yoga in 2007.
In September 2010, Levine said on the ''Howard Stern Show'' he had been dating Russian ''Sports Illustrated'' swimsuit and Victoria's Secret model Anne Vyalitsyna seriously for about eight months. The couple met when Maroon 5 performed at the 2010 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue release party in Las Vegas.
Levine stripped naked for testicular cancer awareness for a centerfold in ''Cosmopolitan'' UK's February 2011 issue.
Category:1979 births Category:American Jews Category:American male singers Category:American pop singers Category:American rhythm and blues singers Category:American rock guitarists Category:American rock singers Category:American singers Category:American singer-songwriters Category:American tenors Category:Blue-eyed soul singers Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Jewish American musicians Category:Living people Category:Maroon 5 members Category:Musicians from California Category:People from Los Angeles, California Category:Songwriters from California Category:The Voice judges
az:Adam Levin bg:Адам Лавин de:Adam Levine es:Adam Levine fr:Adam Levine hy:Ադամ Լևին it:Adam Levine he:אדם לוין lv:Ādams Levins nl:Adam Levine ja:アダム・レヴィーン ko:애덤 리바인 no:Adam Levine pl:Adam Levine pt:Adam Levine ro:Adam Levine ru:Левин, Адам simple:Adam Levine fi:Adam Levine sv:Adam Levine th:อดัม เลวีน tr:Adam Levine vi:Adam Levine zh:亞當·列維This text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
{{infobox musical artist | name | Myles Kennedy | image MylesKennedy.jpg | caption Myles Kennedy performing with Alter Bridge in Barcelona in 2008. | background solo_singer | birth_name Myles Richard Bass | Born November 27, 1969Boston, Massachusetts,United States | origin Spokane, Washington,United States | instrument Vocals, guitar, keyboards, piano, bass, trumpet, violin | genre Alternative metal, blues rock, hard rock, heavy metal, jazz, post-grunge | occupation Musician, singer-songwriter, record producer, actor | years_active 1990–2002, 2004–present | label Epic, Wind-up, Universal Republic, Roadrunner, EMI | associated_acts Alter Bridge, Slash, The Mayfield Four, Citizen Swing, Cosmic Dust | website }} |
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Kennedy was raised in Spokane, Washington, where he attended Spokane Falls Community College to study music theory. He began his music career in 1990 as the lead guitarist of the instrumental jazz ensemble Cosmic Dust, with which he released one studio album. His second band, Citizen Swing, released two studio albums before disbanding in 1995. He then became the lead vocalist and lead guitarist of the Spokane-based rock band The Mayfield Four in 1996, releasing two studio albums with the band, of which he was a founding member. While he was in the band, he made an appearance in the drama film ''Rock Star'' starring Mark Wahlberg and Jennifer Aniston. The Mayfield Four disbanded a year later in 2002. After declining an offer to audition as the lead vocalist of Velvet Revolver, he was asked to join Alter Bridge by former Creed members. He has released three studio albums with Alter Bridge: ''One Day Remains'', ''Blackbird'', and the band's most recent, ''AB III'', which debuted at #17 on the ''Billboard'' 200. Kennedy has been touring since 2010, switching between tours with his two main projects, Alter Bridge and Slash. He also has a solo album with a tentative 2012 release, as well as a collaboration album with Slash to be released also in the future.
After the release of ''Journey'', Kennedy left Cosmic Dust to begin working on a new band that would become Citizen Swing, for which Kennedy provided both lead vocals and lead guitar. They were described as "a band that combined the sounds of funk, soul, R&B;, blues and alternative into a unique and cohesive sound" and as "Stevie Ray Vaughn
Following the ''Fallout'' tour, Kennedy made an appearance in the 2001 drama film ''Rock Star'' starring Mark Wahlberg and Jennifer Aniston. He said that he got a call from his manager telling him that the filmmakers needed someone who could sing high and that his name was suggested. On the set of the film, he met Wahlberg along with Zakk Wylde and Jason Bonham, who also appeared in the movie alongside several other notable musicians. Kennedy was the only actor in the movie whose actual singing voice was used. In the movie, directly paralleling a scene at the beginning of the film, Kennedy's character (Mike, also known as "Thor") is noticed by Wahlberg's character, Chris "Izzy" Cole, the lead singer of Thor's favorite band, Steel Dragon. Izzy pulls Thor onstage and sings the rest of the song with him, eventually telling him to finish the rest of the band's concert. The film was met with mostly mixed reviews, garnering a 52% "Rotten" score on Rotten Tomatoes.
The Mayfield Four's second and final album, ''Second Skin'', was released in June 2001. Kennedy has since said that it is one of the most personal records he has made. The album has been critically acclaimed and Kennedy has commented on how it and ''Fallout'' are much more popular now than when they were released.
Though popular, The Mayfield Four never garnered enough exposure to break into the mainstream. In 2002, the future of the band began to look unlikely, and Kennedy began recording new music, which he described as "Daniel Lanois meets Massive Attack." The band went on hiatus that year, and would ultimately disband. In an interview with ''Pulse Weekly'' in 2004, Kennedy said that it was because he was "burned out with the whole rock industry at that point." However, three previously unreleased songs appeared on a fan-run Myspace page dedicated to and approved by The Mayfield Four in early 2010, causing rumors of a possible reunion to begin circulating. However, when asked about this during an interview, Kennedy replied that he does not see it happening for the time being.
Following a successful tour in support of the album, Alter Bridge announced plans for a second release. The album, ''Blackbird'', was released in 2007 on Universal Republic. Unlike ''One Day Remains'', which was largely written by Tremonti, ''Blackbird'' featured Kennedy's guitar playing as well as more of his songwriting contributions. It received positive reviews and is generally considered the band's best album. Alter Bridge toured in support of ''Blackbird'' throughout 2007 and 2008, recording a concert film titled ''Live from Amsterdam'' and releasing it via Amazon.com. It would later be released in stores in early 2011 after several delays.
Alter Bridge took a temporary break in early 2009 with its members began working on other projects but continued writing music throughout the year. The band regrouped later that year to begin work on their third album, ''AB III'', which was released in 2010 on Roadrunner Records worldwide, except for North America where the album was self-released on Alter Bridge Recordings via EMI. For the album, Kennedy chose to write lyrics based on his own personal experiences with faith and believing. As such, it is lyrically the band's darkest album, with Kennedy calling it the most personal album he had made since The Mayfield Four's ''Second Skin''. ''AB III'' has been met with critical acclaim.
Having joined Alter Bridge primarily as lead vocalist, Kennedy began to play rhythm guitar during live performances following the release of ''One Day Remains''. He has since played rhythm guitar on the band's subsequent studio releases, and also played lead tracks on a number of songs and during live performances.
The rumors continued when it was reported that Page, Jones, and Bonham had attended an Alter Bridge concert. It was also supposedly confirmed by Twisted Sister frontman Dee Snider, who said that Page, Jones, and Bonham were offering Kennedy to join Led Zeppelin in order to persuade Plant to reconsider. Alter Bridge guitarist Mark Tremonti also addressed the rumors, saying that Kennedy "deserves" to play with Led Zeppelin. Kennedy remained silent about the rumors for the most part until January 2009. He denied that he would be performing with or fronting a group with them, saying, "I am not singing in Led Zeppelin or any offshoot of Led Zeppelin, but I did have a great opportunity and it was something that I'm very grateful for. But Alter Bridge will go on, and that's that." He later confirmed, however, that he had actually written songs and rehearsed with Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, and Jason Bonham. He also said that it was Bonham who "got the ball rolling" since the two had met on the set of the 2001 film ''Rock Star''. It is unconfirmed if the songs he wrote with Page, Jones, and Bonham will ever be released.
When asked if the record would be a departure from his previous work, he replied that it is different and again referred to the singer-songwriter approach that would be featured on it and that it would not be a hard rock album. He also said that "it was maybe the most difficult thing I've ever done in the sense that I didn't have a band." He also said that the music is very intimate and that it features piano as well. In an interview with ''Guitarist'' UK magazine, he said that some of the songs will feature jazz, blues, and R&B; influences, while others still "get quite atmospheric and ethereal," comparing the sound to Daniel Lanois and Massive Attack, while assuring fans that the rock style will still be present. In the same ''Guitarist'' interview, he confirmed the titles of three songs that will appear on his record: "The Light of Day," "Complicated Man," and "The Bar Fly." Most recently, he confirmed that another song will be titled "Love Rain Down." He said in an interview with CraveOnline that "Love Rain Down" differs from anything else he has ever written. It is unknown if this album has anything to do with the project he was working on in 2002.
Kennedy has performed two solo benefit concerts: one hosted by Paul Reed Smith and PRS Guitars to benefit cancer patients, and another to benefit abused children. The latter was called Bofest 2009 and was headlined by Kennedy on October 17, 2009.
On February 3, 2010, Slash announced that Kennedy would be the lead vocalist for his band on tour. On tour, Kennedy performs a number of songs found throughout Slash's catalog. Slash and Kennedy are the supporting act on Ozzy Osbourne's current tour. The other members of Slash's band, in addition Slash himself, are rhythm guitarist Bobby Schneck, bassist Todd Kerns (formerly of Age of Electric), and drummer Brent Fitz (formerly of Theory of a Deadman).
In late 2010, Kennedy and Slash appeared on ''That Metal Show'', a talk show on VH1 Classic.
Kennedy's favorite singers also include Jeff Buckley, Robert Plant, Bon Scott, Chris Whitley, and k.d. lang. He has stated on several occasions that Jeff Buckley was, and is, a major influence on him as a singer. When asked to describe his vocal style, he said, "I wanted to fuse together my favorite elements of rock and soul singers into something I could call my own. The inflections of Stevie Wonder with the soaring qualities of someone like Buckley." He states that Buckley's "emotional intensity" was one of the most inspirational things for him when it came to singing, and that it made him accept and embrace the fact that he is a tenor. He often performs Buckley's famous cover of "Hallelujah" (originally by Leonard Cohen) during acoustic performances. At one point, he received lessons from Ron Anderson, a bel canto vocal coach who has worked with a wide range of singers, including Axl Rose, Shania Twain, Enrique Iglesias, Chris Cornell, Ozzy Osbourne, Eddie Vedder, Kelly Clarkson, and several others. When asked about his number one secret when it came to singing, Kennedy replied, "Dig deep into your soul and sing as if your life depends on it. Leave your mark. People react to emotion more than technique." Kennedy, who possesses a four-octave vocal range, has been praised for his ability as a singer. Velvet Revolver guitarist Slash, whose touring band consists of Kennedy, has called him "fucking amazing," calling his style "surreal." About Kennedy's ability to recreate Guns N' Roses songs on tour, Slash said, "Myles is fucking amazing. It's very surreal how he handles the stuff he sings. I'm doing GN'R songs I've never done solo before, and Myles manages to own them without changing the style or trajectory of the song. Which is a fantastic fucking ability." He was also listed as the 86th greatest male rock vocalist of all time by Digital Dream Door.
Kennedy, a former guitar instructor, is also recognized as an accomplished guitarist. He began learning how to play the guitar by listening to Led Zeppelin records and mimicking Jimmy Page's guitar parts. He said in an interview, "I started off strictly as a lead guitar player. When I first started playing 25 years ago, that was all I’d do is sit in my room and learn solos." He also recalled being inspired by Eddie Van Halen: "When I was in my early teens, I heard 'Eruption' one day and was like, 'That is the most incredible thing I’ve ever heard,' and I begged my mother to give me an advance on my allowance for the next month and go buy that record." Over the next few years, and throughout the 1990s, Kennedy played primarily lead guitar. His early work with Cosmic Dust and Citizen Swing featured a jazz-influenced rock flavor, combining several advanced techniques used in jazz. He would later join Alter Bridge primarily as a lead vocalist, but began playing rhythm guitar on the band's first tour. Mark Tremonti said, "We knew Myles was an amazing singer, that’s why we hired him. What we found out when we toured the first record was that he’s also an incredibly gifted guitar player and songwriter, as well as a vocalist." In an interview with Ultimate Guitar Archive, Tremonti said:
}}
Kennedy played rhythm guitar on ''Blackbird'' and has since played co-lead on several Alter Bridge tracks. Doug Clark, a writer for ''The Spokesman-Review'' and one of Kennedy's former guitar students, wrote that "his six-string skills are pyrotechnically brilliant." Kennedy notes that his job as a guitar player, especially recently with Alter Bridge, is to add texture and colors to the music. ''Second Skin'' is also the only album to feature lyrics written by Kennedy that contain profanity.
The topic of Kennedy's spiritual beliefs has become common in discussions amongst fans as it served as the inspiration for the general theme of Alter Bridge's 2010 album, ''AB III''. According to Alter Bridge's lead guitarist, Mark Tremonti, Kennedy does not believe in a God, although in an article titled ''Losing My Religion'' from a November 2010 issue of ''Kerrang!'' magazine, Kennedy said that he is agnostic, placing himself "somewhere in the middle" between being a Christian and an atheist. In an interview on the ''Blairing Out with Eric Blair Show'' at NAMM 2009, Kennedy mentioned that despite being raised in a Christian household, he is not a religious person and he does not believe in any organized religion. In an interview with CraveOnline, he said: "I would consider myself a part of the growing segment of people who question authority and scrutinize concepts that no longer seem as logical as they once did. [...] I don't find peace in the same concepts that many hold as truth. Believe me, I tried. It's not like I didn't spend most of my life submersed in the bosom of doctrine or dogma."
Kennedy has been identified as an avid reader and he says that he especially enjoys the work of John Irving, describing Irving's ''A Prayer for Owen Meany'' as one of his favorite novels. When asked about his hobbies, he replied: "I guess I have been pretty fortunate since I have turned what was a hobby into a living. Music pretty much consumes me. If I’m not writing, performing or listening I am probably trying to learn more about its history. I’m kind of a geek at the end of the day." He also joked, "Oh, I also like Curious George."
style="background:#dde; width:50px;" | Year | Artist | Album |
1991 | Cosmic Dust (band)>Cosmic Dust | ''Journey'' | |
1993 | Citizen Swing | ||
1995 | ''Deep Down'' | ||
1998 | rowspan="2"The Mayfield Four ||''Fallout'' | ||
2001 | Second Skin (album)>Second Skin'' | ||
2004 | Alter Bridge | ||
2007 | Blackbird (album)>Blackbird'' | ||
2010 | ''AB III'' | ||
Films | |||
Year | Film | Role | ! Notes |
2001 | Mike | Minor role | |
Television appearances | |||
! Year | ! Title | ! Role | ! Notes |
2005 | ''WWE Raw'' | Himself | 1 episode; guest appearance |
Category:1969 births Category:Living people Category:People from Spokane, Washington Category:American musicians of Irish descent Category:Singers with a four octave vocal range Category:Rhythm guitarists Category:Musicians from Washington (state) Category:American heavy metal singers Category:American heavy metal guitarists Category:Roadrunner Records artists Category:American agnostics
cs:Myles Kennedy de:Myles Kennedy es:Myles Kennedy fr:Myles Kennedy gl:Myles Kennedy ko:마일즈 케네디 it:Myles Kennedy hu:Myles Kennedy nl:Myles Kennedy pl:Myles Kennedy pt:Myles Kennedy ru:Кеннеди, Майлз fi:Myles Kennedy sv:Myles KennedyThis text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
name | Eric Prydz |
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background | non_vocal_instrumentalist |
alias | Sheridan, Cirez D, Pryda, Moo, Fitzy, A&P; Project, AxEr, Hardform, Dukes of Sluca, Groove System... |
birth date | July 19, 1976 |
origin | Täby, Stockholm, Sweden |
residence | London, England, United Kingdom |
genre | House, Electro, Progressive House, Tech House, Techno |
occupation | Musician, Producer, Disc Jockey |
instrument | TurntablesKeyboardGuitar |
years active | 2001–present |
label | Pryda, Pryda Friends, Mouseville |
website | }} |
Eric Sheridan Prydz (born July 19, 1976) is a Swedish DJ and producer based in London, United Kingdom. The pronunciation of his surname is often questioned; it is pronounced "prids", but when under his alias, Pryda, it is pronounced "pride-ah". In October 2010, ''DJ Magazine'' announced the results of their annual Top 100 DJ Poll, where Prydz placed at #30.
On Armin van Buuren's radio show "A State of Trance" in February 2011, it was announced that Prydz recently became a father.
Year | Title | Chart positions | Album |
!width="35" | |||
2006 | "Remember" ''(as Pryda)'' | ||
2007 | "Genesis" ''(as Pryda)'' | ||
; 2005
; 2006
; 2007
; 2008
; 2009
; 2010
;2011
Category:1976 births Category:Club DJs Category:Living people Category:Remixers Category:Swedish dance musicians Category:People from Stockholm Category:Swedish house musicians Category:Ministry of Sound Category:Swedish musicians
bg:Ерик Придс cs:Eric Prydz da:Eric Prydz de:Eric Prydz es:Eric Prydz eo:Eric Prydz fa:اریک پریدز fr:Eric Prydz is:Eric Prydz it:Eric Prydz he:אריק פרידץ ka:ერიკ პრაიდზი lv:Ēriks Prīdss nl:Eric Prydz ja:エリック・プライズ no:Eric Prydz pl:Eric Prydz ru:Придз, Эрик sk:Eric Prydz sr:Ерик Придс fi:Eric Prydz sv:Eric Prydz tr:Eric PrydzThis text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
name | Conan O'Brien |
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birth name | Conan Christopher O'Brien |
alias | Coco |
birth date | April 18, 1963 |
birth place | Brookline, Massachusetts, United States |
medium | Television |
nationality | American |
active | 1985–present |
genre | Improvisational comedy, sketch comedy, physical comedy, surreal humor, self-deprecation |
subjects | Self-deprecation, pop culture |
influences | Johnny Carson, David Letterman, Robert Smigel |
spouse | Elizabeth Ann Powel (since 2002; 2 children) |
notable work | ''The Simpsons''(writer, producer, 1991–1993)''Late Night with Conan O'Brien''(host, 1993–2009)''The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien''(host, 2009–2010) ''Conan'' (host, 2010–present) |
education | Harvard University |
signature | Conan O'Brien Signature.svg |
O'Brien was born in Brookline, Massachusetts and raised in an Irish Catholic family. He served as president of the ''Harvard Lampoon'' while attending Harvard University, and was a writer for the sketch comedy series ''Not Necessarily the News''. After writing for several comedy shows in Los Angeles, he joined the writing staff of ''Saturday Night Live'', and later of ''The Simpsons''. He hosted ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' from 1993 to 2009, followed by seven months hosting ''The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien'', the only person to serve as host for both NBC programs.
O'Brien attended Brookline High School, where he served as the managing editor of the school newspaper. In his senior year, O'Brien won the National Council of Teachers of English writing contest with his short story, "To Bury the Living". After graduating as valedictorian in 1981, he entered Harvard University. At Harvard, O'Brien lived in Holworthy Hall during his freshman year and Mather House during his three upper-class years. He concentrated in history and literature and graduated ''magna cum laude'' in 1985. His senior thesis concerned the use of children as symbols in the works of William Faulkner and Flannery O'Connor. Throughout college, O'Brien was a writer for the ''Harvard Lampoon'' humor magazine. He also briefly served as the drummer in a band called "The Bad Clams". During his sophomore and junior years, he served as the ''Lampoon'''s president. At this time, O'Brien's future boss at NBC, Jeff Zucker, was serving as President of the rival ''The Harvard Crimson''.
O'Brien moved to Los Angeles after graduation to join the writing staff of HBO's ''Not Necessarily the News''. He was also a writer on the short-lived ''The Wilton North Report''. He spent two years with that show and performed regularly with improvisational groups, including The Groundlings. In January 1988, ''Saturday Night Live'''s executive producer, Lorne Michaels, hired O'Brien as a writer. During his three years on ''Saturday Night Live (SNL)'', he wrote such recurring sketches as "Mr. Short-Term Memory" and "The Girl Watchers"; the latter was first performed by Tom Hanks and Jon Lovitz. O'Brien also co-wrote the sketch, "Nude Beach", with Robert Smigel, in which the word "penis" was said or sung at least 42 times. While on a writers' strike from ''Saturday Night Live'' following the 1987–88 season, O'Brien put on an improvisational comedy revue in Chicago with fellow ''SNL'' writers Bob Odenkirk and Robert Smigel called ''Happy Happy Good Show''. While living in Chicago, O'Brien briefly roomed with Jeff Garlin. In 1989, O'Brien and his fellow ''SNL'' writers received an Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy or Variety Series.
O'Brien, like many ''SNL'' writers, occasionally appeared as an extra in sketches; his most notable appearance was as a doorman in a sketch in which Tom Hanks was inducted into the SNL "Five-Timers Club" for hosting his fifth episode. O'Brien returned to host the show in 2001 during its 26th season. O'Brien and Robert Smigel wrote the television pilot for ''Lookwell'' starring Adam West, which aired on NBC in 1991. The pilot never went to series, but it became a cult hit. It was later screened at ''The Other Network'', a festival of unaired TV pilots produced by Un-Cabaret; it featured an extended interview with O'Brien and was rerun in 2002 on the Trio network.
In his speech given at Class Day at Harvard in 2000, O'Brien credited ''The Simpsons'' with saving him, a reference to the career slump he was experiencing prior to his being hired for the show.
During his time at ''The Simpsons'', O'Brien also had a side project working with former writing partner Robert Smigel on the script for a musical film based on the "Hans and Franz" sketch from ''Saturday Night Live''. The film was never produced.
Beginning in 1996, O'Brien and the ''Late Night'' writing team were nominated annually for the Emmy Award for Best Writing in a Comedy or Variety Series, winning the award for the first and only time in 2007. In 1997, 2000, 2002, 2003, and 2004, he and the ''Late Night'' writing staff won the Writers Guild Award for Best Writing in a Comedy/Variety Series. In 2001, he formed his own television production company, Conaco, which subsequently shared in the production credits for ''Late Night''.
A long-running joke, which stems from the recurring segment "Conan O'Brien Hates My Homeland", is that O'Brien resembles the first female president of Finland, Tarja Halonen. After joking about this for several months (which led to his endorsement of her campaign), O'Brien traveled to Finland, appearing on several television shows and meeting President Halonen. The trip was filmed and aired as a special.
O'Brien ad-libbed the fictional website name "hornymanatee.com" on December 4, 2006, after a sketch about the fictional manatee mascot and its inappropriate webcam site. NBC opted to purchase the website domain name for $159, since the website did not previously exist. The network was concerned that the Federal Communications Commission would hold NBC liable for promoting inappropriate content if a third party were to register the domain and post such material. For a period of time, the website hosted material concerning Conan's initial manatee joke and other ''Tonight Show'' references, but today the site just redirects to NBC's main web page.
A popular recurring bit on the show was "Pale Force", a series of animated episodes in which comedian Jim Gaffigan and O'Brien are superheroes who fight crime with their "paleness". As Gaffigan introduced each new episode, O'Brien protested the portrayal of his character as cowardly, weak, and impotent. , ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' had for eleven years consistently attracted an audience averaging about 2.5 million viewers. O'Brien is an avid guitarist and music listener. When Bruce Springsteen and the Sessions Band appeared on the show as musical guests, O'Brien joined the 17-piece band, along with the Max Weinberg 7 and guests Jimmy Fallon and Thomas Haden Church, playing acoustic guitar and contributing backup vocals for the song "Pay Me My Money Down". On the June 13, 2008, episode of ''Late Night'', O'Brien simply walked onto the stage at the start of the show. Instead of his usual upbeat antics and monologue, O'Brien announced that he had just received news about the sudden death of his good friend, fellow NBC employee and frequent ''Late Night'' guest, Tim Russert. O'Brien proceeded to show two clips of his favorite Russert ''Late Night'' moments. On February 20, 2009, NBC aired the last episode of ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien''. The show consisted of a compilation of previous ''Late Night'' clips and included a surprise appearance by former sidekick, Andy Richter. Will Ferrell, John Mayer, and the White Stripes also appeared. O'Brien ended the episode by destroying the set with an axe, handing out the pieces of the set to the audience, and thanking a list of people who helped him get to that point in his career. Among those thanked were Lorne Michaels, David Letterman, Jay Leno, and O'Brien's wife and children.
During the taping of the Friday, September 25, 2009, episode of ''The Tonight Show'', O'Brien suffered from a mild concussion after he slipped and hit his head while running a race as part of a comedy sketch with guest Teri Hatcher. He was examined at a hospital and released the same day. A rerun was aired that night, but O'Brien returned to work the following Monday and poked fun at the incident.
On January 12, O'Brien released this statement: "I sincerely believe that delaying ''The Tonight Show'' into the next day to accommodate another comedy program will seriously damage what I consider to be the greatest franchise in the history of broadcasting. ''The Tonight Show'' at 12:05 simply isn’t ''The Tonight Show.''" On January 21, 2010, it was announced that Conan had reached a deal with NBC that would see him exit ''The Tonight Show'' the next day. The deal also granted him $45 million, of which $12 million was designated for distribution to his staff, who had moved with Conan to Los Angeles from New York when he left ''Late Night''.
The final ''Tonight Show'' with Conan aired January 22, 2010, and featured guests Tom Hanks, Steve Carell (who did an exit interview and shredded Conan's ID badge), Neil Young (singing "Long May You Run"), and Will Ferrell. For Ferrell's appearance, Conan played guitar with the band and Ferrell sang "Free Bird" while reprising his ''SNL'' cowbell. Ferrell's wife, Viveca Paulin, together with Ben Harper, Beck, and ZZ Top guitarist Billy Gibbons, also joined the band for this final performance.
Jay Leno returned to ''The Tonight Show'' following NBC's coverage of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. Under the $45 million deal with NBC, Conan was allowed to start working for another network as soon as September 2010. Conan's rumored next networks ranged anywhere from Fox to Comedy Central.
On February 24, 2010, O'Brien attracted media attention for starting a Twitter account. His tweets, although primarily jokes, amounted to his first public statements since leaving ''The Tonight Show'' one month earlier. After about one hour, O'Brien's subscriber list had rocketed to over 30,000 members and approximately 30 minutes later, he was on the brink of passing 50,000 followers, already 20,000 more than the verified @jayleno account. After 24 hours, O'Brien had well over 300,000 followers. In late May 2010, he surpassed the one million mark for number of Twitter followers, and he has over 3.3 million followers.
O'Brien has been named to the 2010 Time 100, a list compiled by TIME of the 100 most influential people in the world as voted on by readers. After being prohibited from making television appearances of any kind until May, O'Brien spoke about the ''Tonight Show'' conflict on the CBS newsmagazine ''60 Minutes'' on May 2, 2010. During the interview with Steve Kroft, O'Brien said the situation felt "like a marriage breaking up suddenly, violently, quickly. And I was just trying to figure out what happened." He also said he "absolutely" expected NBC to give him more of a chance and that, if in Jay Leno's position, he would not have come back to ''The Tonight Show''. However, Conan said he did not feel he got shafted. "It's crucial to me that anyone seeing this, if they take anything away from this, it's I'm fine. I'm doing great," said O'Brien. "I hope people still find me comedically absurd and ridiculous. And I don't regret anything."
On April 12, 2010, O'Brien opened his two-month comedy tour in Eugene, Oregon, with a crowd of 2,500 and no TV cameras. The tour traveled through America's Northwest and Canada before moving on to larger cities, including Los Angeles and New York City, where he performed on the campuses that house both of the NBC-owned studios he formerly occupied. The tour ended in Atlanta on June 14. With ticket prices starting at $40, "The Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television Tour" was effectively sold out.
Other networks that were reportedly interested in O'Brien include TBS' sister networks TNT and HBO, Fox, FX, Comedy Central, Showtime, Revision3, and even the NBC Universal-owned USA Network.
On September 1, 2010, O'Brien announced via his Twitter account and Team Coco YouTube page that the title of his new show on TBS would simply be ''Conan''.
O'Brien has made multiple voice appearances on the Adult Swim series ''Robot Chicken'', including the specials ''Robot Chicken: Star Wars'', and ''Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode II'' as the voice of the bounty hunter Zuckuss. On the TV show ''30 Rock'', O'Brien is depicted as an ex-boyfriend of lead character Liz Lemon, who works in the same building. In the episode "Tracy Does Conan," Conan appears as himself, awkwardly reunited with Lemon and coerced by network executive Jack Donaghy into having the character Tracy Jordan on ''Late Night'', despite having been assaulted in Jordan's previous appearance.
O'Brien made an appearance on ''Futurama'' in the second-season episode "Xmas Story". O'Brien plays himself as a head in a jar and still alive in the year 3000. O'Brien performs a stand-up routine at a futuristic ski lodge while being heckled by Bender the robot.
O'Brien also made a cameo appearance on the U.S. version of ''The Office''. In the episode "Valentine's Day", Michael believes that he spots former ''SNL'' cast member, Tina Fey, but has actually mistaken another woman for her. In the meantime, Conan has a quick walk-on and the camera crew informs Michael, when he returns from talking to the Tina Fey lookalike.
In January 2010, O'Brien appeared in ''The Simpsons 20th Anniversary Special – In 3-D! On Ice!'' to honor the show he had written for in the early 1990s.
O'Brien created a superhero character with veteran DC Comics animator Bruce Timm during one episode of ''Conan''. Named "The Flaming C", the superhero bears a likeness to O'Brien, with a typically muscular superhero body and costume with chest insignia, but also with idiosyncrasies arbitrarily suggested by O'Brien like an oven mitt, a jai alai glove, marijuana leaf buckle, golf shoes, sock garters and fishnet stockings. O'Brien later aired a clip in which the character appears in ''Young Justice''.
While O'Brien has done few commercials, he "does do plenty of promoting, weaving product pitches into his show"; he has said "it's increasingly incumbent to help with tie-ins [but] if it can't be funny, I'd rather go hungry."
One of O'Brien's trademarks is to perform the "string dance." He also does intentionally poor and exaggerated impressions of celebrities that are often reduced to a specific characteristic, phrase, or gesture that represents that person.
O'Brien repeatedly affirms his Irish Catholic heritage on his show. On a 2009 episode of ''Inside the Actors Studio'', he stated that both sides of his family moved to America from Ireland in the 1850s, subsequently marrying only other Irish Catholics, and that his lineage is thus 100% Irish Catholic.
He has been a staunch Democrat since casting his first vote for President in 1984 for Walter Mondale, although he considers himself a moderate on the political spectrum. O'Brien's longtime friend and former roommate at Harvard is Father Paul B. O' Brien, with whom he founded ''Labels Are For Jars'', an antihunger organization based in Lawrence, Massachusetts, and helped open the ''Cor Unum'' meal center in 2006. The two are not related.
In January 2008, after his show was put on hold for two months owing to the strike by the Writers Guild of America, he reemerged on late-night TV sporting a beard, which guest Tom Brokaw described as making him look like "a draft dodger from the Civil War." After leaving ''The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien'' on Jan. 22, 2010, O'Brien again grew a beard, which he kept until May 2, 2011, when it was partially shaved on the set of his TBS talk show, ''Conan'', by Will Ferrell with battery-operated clippers (and completely shaved off-screen by a professional barber). The event was dubbed on the show as "Beardocalypse," and included a contest for fan-submitted artwork.
O'Brien purchased a $10.5-million mansion in Brentwood, Los Angeles, California, to prepare for his move there in 2009 from New York City to host ''The Tonight Show'' at Universal Studios Hollywood. As part of a long running gag, he brought his 1992 Ford Taurus SHO with him to California, showcasing it on both the inaugural episodes of ''The Tonight Show'' and ''Conan''.
In a March 23, 2011, interview with WWE Champion The Miz on ''Conan'', The Miz dubbed Conan "The Ginja Ninja", a reference to Conan's red hair and the fact that he came back fighting to get his new late-night talk show. A week later, "Team Ginja Ninja" T-shirts were available on TeamCoco.com.
;Other shows:
Year | Award | Work | Category | Result |
1989 | Emmy Award | Outstanding Writing in a Variety or Music Program | ||
1990 | Emmy Award | Outstanding Writing in a Variety or Music Program | ||
1991 | Emmy Award | Outstanding Writing in a Variety or Music Program | ||
1996 | Emmy Award | Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing for a Variety or Music Program | ||
Emmy Award | Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing for a Variety or Music Program | |||
Writers Guild of America Award | Comedy/Variety (Including Talk) – Series | |||
1998 | Emmy Award | Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing for a Variety or Music Program | ||
Emmy Award | Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing for a Variety or Music Program | |||
Writers Guild of America Award | Comedy/Variety (Including Talk) – Series | |||
Emmy Award | Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing for a Variety or Music Program | |||
Writers Guild of America Award | Comedy/Variety (Including Talk) – Series | |||
Emmy Award | Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing for a Variety or Music Program | |||
Writers Guild of America Award | Comedy/Variety (Including Talk) – Series | |||
Emmy Award | Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing for a Variety or Music Program | |||
Writers Guild of America Award | Comedy/Variety (Including Talk) – Series | |||
Emmy Award | Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing for a Variety or Music Program | |||
Writers Guild of America Award | Comedy/Variety (Including Talk) – Series | |||
Emmy Award | Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing for a Variety or Music Program | |||
Writers Guild of America Award | Comedy/Variety (Including Talk) – Series | |||
Emmy Award | Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing for a Variety or Music Program | |||
People's Choice Award | Favorite Late Night Talk Show Host | |||
Telvis Award | For the color spot of the year | Special Telvis | ||
Writers Guild of America Award | Comedy/Variety (Including Talk) – Series | |||
Emmy Award | Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing for a Variety or Music Program | |||
People's Choice Award | Favorite Late Night Talk Show Host | |||
Writers Guild of America Award | Comedy/Variety (Including Talk) – Series | |||
Emmy Award | Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing for a Variety or Music Program | |||
Writers Guild of America Award | Comedy/Variety (Including Talk) – Series | |||
2008 | Emmy Award | Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing for a Variety or Music Program | ||
Emmy Award | Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing for a Variety or Music Program | |||
Writers Guild of America Award | Comedy/Variety (Including Talk) – Series | |||
Outstanding Comedy, Music or Variety Series | ||||
Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Series | ||||
Writers Guild of America Award | Comedy/Variety (Including Talk) – Series | |||
People's Choice Award | rowspan="4" | Favorite TV Talk Show Host | ||
Outstanding Comedy, Music or Variety Series | ||||
Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Series | ||||
Outstanding Lighting Design/Lighting Direction for a Variety, Music or Comedy Series | ||||
American Express | Outstanding Commercial |
Category:1963 births Category:Living people Category:American comedians Category:American television talk show hosts Category:American television writers Category:Emmy Award winners Category:The Groundlings Category:Harvard Lampoon people Category:Harvard University alumni Category:American comedians of Irish descent Category:American people of Irish descent Category:American writers of Irish descent Category:Late night television talk show hosts Category:Late Night with Conan O'Brien Category:People from Brookline, Massachusetts Category:Writers from Massachusetts Category:Massachusetts Democrats
ar:كونان أوبراين bg:Конан О'Брайън ca:Conan O'Brien da:Conan O'Brien de:Conan O’Brien et:Conan O'Brien es:Conan O'Brien eo:Conan O'Brien eu:Conan O'Brien fa:کونن اوبراین fr:Conan O'Brien ga:Conan O'Brien id:Conan O'Brien it:Conan O'Brien he:קונאן או'בריין hu:Conan O’Brien nl:Conan O'Brien ja:コナン・オブライエン no:Conan O'Brien pl:Conan O'Brien pt:Conan O'Brien ru:О’Брайен, Конан sq:Conan O'Brien simple:Conan O'Brien fi:Conan O’Brien sv:Conan O'Brien tl:Conan O’Brien th:โคแนน โอ'ไบรอัน tr:Conan O'Brien zh:康納·歐布萊恩This text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
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