{{infobox person |image

Robert Downey Jr. 2011 AA.jpg |caption Downey, Jr. at the 83rd Academy Awards in 2011 |birth_name Robert John Downey, Jr. |birth_date April 04, 1965 |birth_place New York City, U.S. |occupation Actor, producer, screenwriter, singer, songwriter |years_active 1970–present |nationality American |website |spouse |parents Robert Downey, Sr.Elsie (née Ford) |children Indio Downey (son), born September 7, 1993 }}

Robert John Downey, Jr. (born April 4, 1965) is an American actor. Downey made his screen debut in 1970 at the age of five when he appeared in his father's film ''Pound'', and has worked consistently in film and television ever since. During the 1980s he had roles in a series of coming of age films associated with the Brat Pack. ''Less Than Zero'' (1987) is particularly notable, not only because it was the first time Downey's acting would be acknowledged by critics, but also because the role pushed Downey's already existing drug habit one step further. After ''Zero'', Downey started landing roles in bigger films such as ''Air America'' (1990), ''Soapdish'' (1991) and ''Natural Born Killers'' (1994). He played Charlie Chaplin in the 1992 film ''Chaplin'' for which he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor.

Between 1996 and 2001, Downey was frequently arrested on drug-related charges and went through several drug treatment programs, but had difficulty staying clean. After being released from the California Substance Abuse Treatment Facility and State Prison in 2000, Downey joined the cast of the hit television series ''Ally McBeal'' playing the new love interest of Calista Flockhart's title character. His performance was praised and received accolades, but his character was written out when Downey was fired after two drug arrests in late 2000 and early 2001. After one last stay in a court-ordered drug treatment program, Downey finally achieved lasting sobriety and his career began to take off again. He appeared in semi-independent films such as ''The Singing Detective'' (2003), ''Kiss Kiss Bang Bang'' (2005), and ''A Scanner Darkly'' (2006). He also had supporting roles in the mainstream films ''Gothika'' (2003) and ''Zodiac'' (2007). In 2004, Downey released his debut studio album ''The Futurist''.

In 2007, Downey was cast as the title character in the comic book adaptation ''Iron Man''. The film was a huge success; the opening weekend for ''Iron Man'' is still in the top 20 openings of all time. He reprised the role of Tony Stark in the 2010 sequel, ''Iron Man 2'', and will again in 2012 in ''The Avengers'' and in the third movie of the planned trilogy, ''Iron Man 3'', due to open in 2013. In addition to receiving commercial success, Downey's performance in the first ''Iron Man'' film received rave reviews. Downey was nominated for, and won, a number of end-of-year awards from critics and film associations around the world. Downey's other 2008 films included ''Charlie Bartlett'' and the Ben Stiller-directed ''Tropic Thunder'', in which he portrayed an Australian method actor overly engrossed in his role as an African-American soldier. He received his second Oscar nomination for the film in the category of Best Supporting Actor. In 2009, Downey starred as the titular lead character in Guy Ritchie's adaptation of ''Sherlock Holmes'', released Christmas 2009. Soon after, Downey won a Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy for that portrayal of the famous detective.

Early life and family

Downey was born in Manhattan, New York, the younger of two children. His father, Robert Downey, Sr., is an actor, writer, producer, cinematographer, and director of underground films, and his mother, Elsie (née Ford), is also an actress and appeared in Downey Sr.'s films. His father is of half Irish and half Russian Jewish ancestry, and his mother is of German and Scottish descent. His father was born "Robert Elias" but changed his last name to "Downey" (after his stepfather James Downey) when he was a minor and wanted to enlist in the Army. He and his older sister, Allyson, grew up in Greenwich Village.

As a child, Downey was "surrounded by drugs". His father, a drug addict, allowed Downey to use marijuana at age six, an incident which his father has said that he now regrets. Downey stated that drug use became an emotional bond between him and his father: "When my dad and I would do drugs together, it was like him trying to express his love for me in the only way he knew how." Eventually, Downey began spending every night abusing alcohol and "making a thousand phone calls in pursuit of drugs".

During his childhood Downey had minor roles in his father's projects. He made his acting debut at the age of five playing a sick puppy in the absurdist comedy ''Pound'' (1970), and then at age seven he appeared in the surrealist ''Greaser's Palace'' (1972). At the age of 10, he was living in England and studied classical ballet as part of a larger curriculum. He grew up in Greenwich Village and attended the Stagedoor Manor Performing Arts Training Center in upstate New York as a teenager. When his parents divorced in 1978, Downey moved to California with his father, but in 1982 he dropped out of Santa Monica High School and moved back to New York to pursue an acting career full-time.

Career

Beginnings and critical acclaim

Downey began building upon theater roles, including the short-lived off-Broadway musical "American Passion" at the Joyce Theater in 1983, produced by Norman Lear. In 1985, at age 20, Downey joined the cast of the weekly television comedy show ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL''), but was fired in 1986 following a cast overhaul that was done in order to save the show from cancellation due to low Nielsen ratings and critics panning the show for its mediocre cast at the time. In 1985, Downey had his breakthrough when he played James Spader's sidekick in ''Tuff Turf'' and then a bully in John Hughes' ''Weird Science''. He was considered for the role of Duckie in John Hughes' film ''Pretty in Pink'' (1986), but his first lead role would be with Molly Ringwald in ''The Pick-up Artist'' (1987). Because of these and other coming-of-age films Downey did during the 1980s, he is sometimes named as a member of the Brat Pack.

In 1987 Downey played Julian Wells, a drug-addicted rich boy whose life rapidly spirals out of his control, in the film version of the Bret Easton Ellis novel ''Less Than Zero''. His performance, described by Janet Maslin in ''The New York Times'' as "desperately moving", was widely praised, though Downey has said that for him "the role was like the ghost of Christmas Future" since his drug habit resulted in his becoming an "exaggeration of the character" in real life. ''Zero'' drove Downey into films with bigger budgets and names, such as ''Chances Are'' (1989) with Cybill Shepherd and Ryan O'Neal, ''Air America'' (1990) with Mel Gibson, and ''Soapdish'' (1991) with Sally Field, Kevin Kline and Whoopi Goldberg.

In 1992, he starred as Charlie Chaplin in ''Chaplin'', a role for which he prepared extensively, learning how to play the violin and tennis left-handed. He even had a personal coach in order to imitate Chaplin's posture and way of carrying himself. The role garnered Downey an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor at the Academy Awards 65th ceremony, losing to Al Pacino in ''Scent of a Woman''. His other films in the 1990s included ''Heart and Souls'', ''Only You'', ''Natural Born Killers'', ''Restoration'', ''Two Girls and a Guy'', ''Black and White'', ''Short Cuts'', ''Richard III'', and ''The Last Party'', a documentary written by Downey.

Substance abuse and arrests

From 1996 through 2001, Downey was arrested numerous times on drug-related charges including cocaine, heroin and marijuana and went several times through drug treatment programs unsuccessfully, explaining in 1999 to a judge: "It's like I've got a shotgun in my mouth with my finger on the trigger, and I like the taste of the gun metal." He explained his relapses by claiming to have been addicted to drugs since the age of eight, due to the fact that his father, also an addict, had been giving them to him.

In April 1996, Downey was arrested for possession of heroin, cocaine and an unloaded .357-caliber Magnum handgun while he was speeding down Sunset Boulevard.

A month later, while on parole, he trespassed into a neighbor's home while under the influence of a controlled substance and fell asleep in one of the beds. He was sentenced to three years of probation and required to undergo mandatory drug testing.

In 1997, he missed one of the court-ordered drug tests and had to spend four months in the Los Angeles County jail.

After Downey missed another required drug test in 1999, he was arrested once more. Despite Downey's lawyer, John Stewart Holden, assembling for his client's 1999 defense the same team of lawyers that successfully defended O. J. Simpson during his criminal trial for murder, Downey was sentenced to a three-year prison term at the California Substance Abuse Treatment Facility and State Prison in Corcoran, California (a.k.a. "Corcoran II"). At the time of the 1999 arrest, all of Downey's film projects had wrapped and were close to release, with the exception of ''In Dreams'', which he was allowed to complete filming. He had also been hired for voicing "The Devil" on the NBC animated television series ''God, the Devil and Bob'', but was fired when he failed to show up for rehearsals.

After spending nearly a year in California Substance Abuse Treatment Facility and State Prison in Corcoran, California, Downey, on condition of posting $5,000 bail, was unexpectedly freed when a judge ruled that his collective time in incarceration facilities (spawned from the initial 1996 arrests) had qualified him for early release. A week after his 2000 release, Downey joined the cast of the hit television series ''Ally McBeal'', playing the new love interest of Calista Flockhart's title character. His performance was praised and the following year he was nominated for an Emmy Award in the Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series category and won a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor in a mini-series or TV Film. He also appeared as a writer and singer on Vonda Shepard's ''Ally McBeal: For Once in My Life'' album, and he sang with Sting a duet of "Every Breath You Take" in an episode of the series. Despite the apparent success, Downey claims that his performance on the series was overrated and that, "It was my lowest point in terms of addictions. At that stage, I didn't give a fuck whether I ever acted again." In January 2001, Downey was scheduled to play the role of ''Hamlet'' in a Los Angeles stage production directed by Mel Gibson.

Before the end of his first season on ''Ally McBeal'', over the Thanksgiving 2000 holiday, Downey was arrested when his room at Merv Griffin's Hotel and Givenchy Spa in Palm Springs, California was searched by the police, who were responding to an anonymous 911 call. Downey was under the influence of a controlled substance and in possession of cocaine and Valium. Despite the fact that, if convicted, he could face a prison sentence of up to four years and eight months, he signed on to appear in at least eight more ''Ally McBeal'' episodes.

In April 2001, while he was on parole, a Los Angeles police officer found him wandering barefoot in Culver City, in southwest Los Angeles. He was arrested for suspicion of being under the influence of drugs, but was released a few hours later, even though tests showed he had cocaine in his system. After this last arrest, producer David E. Kelley and other ''Ally McBeal'' executives ordered last-minute re-writes and re-shoots and dismissed Downey from the show, despite the fact that Downey's character had resuscitated ''Ally McBeal'''s ratings. The Culver City arrest also cost him a role in the high-profile film ''America's Sweethearts'', and the subsequent incarceration forced Mel Gibson to shut down his planned stage production of ''Hamlet'' as well. In July 2001, Downey pleaded no contest to the Palm Springs charges, avoiding jail time. Instead, he was sent into drug rehabilitation and put on a three-year probation, benefiting from the California Proposition 36, which had been passed the year before with the aim of helping non-violent drug offenders overcome their addictions instead of sending them to jail.

The book ''Conversations with Woody Allen'' reports that director Woody Allen wanted to cast Downey and Winona Ryder in his film ''Melinda and Melinda'' in 2005, but was unable to do so because he could not get insurance on them, stating, "We couldn't get bonded. The completion bonding companies would not bond the picture unless we could insure them. We were heartbroken because I had worked with Winona before [on ''Celebrity''] and thought she was perfect for this and wanted to work with her again. And I had always wanted to work with Bob Downey and always thought he was a huge talent."

In a 2000-12-18 article for ''People'' Magazine entitled "Bad to Worse", Downey's stepmother Rosemary told author Alex Tresnlowski that Downey had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder "a few years ago" and added that his bipolar disorder was "the reason he has a hard time staying sober. What hasn't been tried is medication and intensive psychotherapy." In the same article, Dr. Manijeh Nikakhtar, a Los Angeles psychiatrist and co-author of ''Addiction or Self-Medication: The Truth'' (ISBN 978-1883819576), says she received a letter from Downey in 1999, during his time at Corcoran II, asking for advice on his condition. She discovered that "no one had done a complete [psychiatric] evaluation [on him]...I asked him flat out if he thought he was bipolar, and he said, 'Oh yeah. There are times I spend a lot of money and I'm hyperactive, and there are other times I'm down.'" In an article for the March 2007 issue of ''Esquire'' Magazine, Downey told author Scott Raab that he wanted to address "this whole thing about the bipolar" after receiving a phone call from "the Bipolar Association" asking him about being bipolar. When Downey denied he had ever said he was bipolar, the caller quoted the ''People'' article, to which Downey replied, "'No! ''Dr. Malibusian'' said [I said I was bipolar]...', and they go, 'Well, it's been written, so we're going to quote it.'" Downey flatly denied being "depressed or manic" and that previous attempts to diagnose him with any kind of psychiatric or mood disorder have always been skewed because "the guy I was seeing didn't know I was smokin' crack in his bathroom. You can't make a diagnosis until somebody's sober."

Career comeback

After five years of substance abuse, arrest, rehab, and relapse, Robert Downey, Jr. was finally ready to work toward a full recovery from drugs and a return to his career. In discussing his failed attempts to control his own addictive behavior in the past, Downey told Oprah Winfrey in November 2004 that "when someone says, 'I really wonder if maybe I should go to rehab?' Well, uh, you're a wreck, you just lost your job, and your wife left you. Uh, you might want to give it a shot." He added that after his last arrest in April 2001, when he knew he would likely be facing another stint in prison or another form of incarceration such as court-ordered rehab, "I finally said, 'You know what? I don't think I can continue doing this.' And I reached out for help, and I ran with it.... You can reach out for help in kind of a half-assed way and you'll get it and you won't take advantage of it. It's not that difficult to overcome these seemingly ghastly problems...what's hard is to decide to actually do it."

Downey got his first post-rehab acting job in August 2001, lip-syncing in the video for the Elton John's single "I Want Love". Video director Sam Taylor-Wood shot 16 takes of the video and used the last one because, according to John, Downey looked completely relaxed, and, "The way he underplays it is fantastic."

Downey was able to return to the big screen only after Mel Gibson, who had been a close friend to Downey since both had co-starred in ''Air America'', paid Downey's insurance bond for the 2003 film ''The Singing Detective''. Gibson's gamble paved the way for Downey's comeback and Downey returned to mainstream films in the mid 2000s with ''Gothika'', for which producer Joel Silver withheld 40 percent of his salary until after production wrapped as insurance against his addictive behavior. Similar clauses have become standard in his contracts since then.

After ''Gothika'', Downey was cast in a number of leading and supporting roles, including well-received work in a number of semi-independent films: ''A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints'', ''Good Night, and Good Luck'', ''A Scanner Darkly'', and Steven Shainberg's fictional biopic of Diane Arbus, ''Fur'', where Downey's character represented the two biggest influences on Arbus' professional life, Lisette Model and Marvin Israel. Downey also received great notice for his roles in more mainstream fare such as ''Kiss Kiss Bang Bang'', Disney's poorly received ''The Shaggy Dog'', and David Fincher's 2007 take on one of the most famous unsolved serial killing cases ever, ''Zodiac''.

On November 23, 2004, Downey released his debut musical album, ''The Futurist'', on Sony Classical, for which he designed the cover art and designed the track listing label on the CD with his son Indio. The album received mixed reviews, but Downey stated in 2006 that he probably will not do another album, as he felt that the energy he put into doing the album was not compensated.

In 2006, Downey returned to his television roots when he guest-starred on ''Family Guy'' in the episode "The Fat Guy Strangler". Downey had previously telephoned the show's production staff and asked if he could produce or assist in an episode creation, as his son is a fan of the show. The producers of the show accepted the offer and created the character of Patrick Pewterschmidt, Lois Griffin's long lost, mentally disturbed brother, for Downey.

Downey signed on with publishers HarperCollins to write a memoir, which in 2006 was already being billed as a "candid look at the highs and lows of his life and career". In 2008, however, Downey returned his advance to the publishers and cancelled the book without further comment.

''Iron Man'' and beyond

With all of the critical success Robert Downey, Jr., had experienced throughout his career, he had never appeared in a "blockbuster" film. That changed in the summer of 2008 when Downey starred in two critically and commercially successful films, ''Iron Man'' and ''Tropic Thunder''. In the article Ben Stiller wrote for Downey's entry in the 2008 edition of ''The Time 100'', he offered an observation on Downey's commercially successful summer at the box office:

''Iron Man''

In 2007, Downey was cast as the title character in the film ''Iron Man'', with director Jon Favreau explaining the choice by stating: "Downey, Jr., wasn't the most obvious choice but he understood what makes the character tick. He found a lot of his own life experience in 'Tony Stark'." Favreau insisted in having Downey as he repeatedly claimed that Downey would be to ''Iron Man'' what Johnny Depp is to the ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' trilogy, a lead actor that could both elevate the quality of the film and increase the public's interest in it. For the role Downey had to gain more than 20 pounds of muscle in five months to look like he "had the power to forge iron."

''Iron Man'' was globally released between April 30 and May 3, 2008, grossing over $300 million in the United States and Canada and receiving rave reviews which cite Downey's performance as a highlight of the film. As a result, both Downey and Favreau stated their interest in making ''Iron Man'' a trilogy. By October 2008, Downey had agreed to appear as Iron Man in two ''Iron Man'' sequels and the future film ''The Avengers'', named after the superhero team that Stark joins. He also made a small appearance as Iron Man's alter ego Tony Stark in the 2008 film ''The Incredible Hulk'', as a part of Marvel Studios' attempt to depict the same Marvel Universe on film by providing continuity among the movies.

''Tropic Thunder

After ''Iron Man'', Downey appeared alongside Ben Stiller and Jack Black in another 2008 summer film, the Stiller-directed ''Tropic Thunder''. Each man plays a Hollywood archetype—self-absorbed multi-Oscar winning Aussie method actor Kirk Lazarus (Downey), aging action hero desperately looking to reinvent himself as a serious actor (Stiller), and overweight heroin-addicted self-destructive comic best known for portraying multiple characters in a franchise of comedies about a family that farts in every film (Black)—as they star in an extremely expensive Vietnam-era movie called ''Tropic Thunder''. Lazarus undergoes a "controversial skin pigmentation procedure" in order to take on the role of African-American platoon sergeant Lincoln Osiris, which required Downey to wear dark makeup and a wig. Both Stiller and Downey feared Downey's portrayal of the character could become controversial: }}

When asked by Harry Smith on CBS's ''The Early Show'' who his model was for Lazarus, Downey laughed before responding, "Sadly, my sorry-ass self."

Released in the United States on August 13, 2008, ''Tropic Thunder'' received good reviews with 83% of reviews positive and an average normalized score of 71, according to the review aggregator websites Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic, respectively. It earned US$26 million in its North American opening weekend and retained the number one position for its first three weekends of release. The film grossed $180 million in theaters before its release on home video on November 18, 2008. Downey was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal as Lazarus.

Post-''Iron Man'' career

Opening in late April 2009 was a film Downey finished in mid-2008, ''The Soloist''; the film was pushed out from a November 2008 release by Paramount Pictures due to the studio's tight end-of-year release schedule. Critics who had seen the movie in 2008 were mentioning it as a possible Academy Award candidate. Downey still picked up an Academy Award nomination for the 2008 release year for his role in ''Tropic Thunder'', but did not garner similar recognition for ''The Soloist'' after its delayed release.

The first role Downey accepted after ''Iron Man'' was the title character in Guy Ritchie's ''Sherlock Holmes''. Warner Bros. released on December 25, 2009. The film set several box office records in the United States for a Christmas Day release, beating the previous record holder, 2008's ''Marley & Me'', by nearly $10M, and finished second only to ''Avatar'' in a record-setting Christmas weekend release at the movies. ''Sherlock Holmes'' ended up being the 8th highest grossing film of 2009. When Downey won the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for his role as Sherlock Holmes, he noted in his acceptance speech that he had prepared no remarks because "my wife (''Sherlock Holmes'' producer Susan Downey) told me at 10:00 this morning that Matt Damon (nominated for his role in ''The Informant!'') was going to win." In 2011, Robert Downey, Jr. signed on to reprise his role as Sherlock Holmes in ''Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows''. Also, in 2012, Robert Downey, Jr. has signed on to reprise his role as Tony Stark in ''The Avengers'' and in 2013, in ''Iron Man 3''.

Music career

Robert Downey, Jr. has sung on several soundtracks in his films such as ''Chaplin'', ''Too Much Sun'', ''Two Girls and a Guy'', ''Friends and Lovers'', ''The Singing Detective'' and ''Kiss Kiss Bang Bang''. He released a CD in 2004 called ''The Futurist'', and while promoting his film ''Tropic Thunder'', he and his co-stars Ben Stiller and Jack Black were back up singers "The Pips" to Gladys Knight singing "Midnight Train to Georgia".

Awards and recognition

In 1992, Downey became the first cast member of ''Saturday Night Live'' to be nominated for a Best Actor Oscar, which he garnered for 1992's ''Chaplin''. Though he lost the award to Al Pacino in ''Scent of a Woman'', he won the BAFTA (the awards given by the British Academy for Film and Television Arts, the U.K. equivalent of the Oscars) for Best Actor for ''Chaplin'', in Chaplin's own native country.

In 1993, Downey won a Saturn Award for Best Male Actor (Film) for ''Heart and Souls'', an early sign of fan recognition of his talent leading to guild-level awards. He would later win a second in 2009 for his portrayal of the titular character in ''Iron Man''. Downey's 1993 film ''Short Cuts'', an ensemble piece directed by legendary filmmaker Robert Altman, received two "Best Ensemble Cast" awards, one from the Venice Film Festival, and the other from the 1993 Golden Globes.

As of 2010, Downey has three Golden Globe Awards to his name: A "Best Ensemble Cast" Globe for 1993's ''Short Cuts'', a "Best Supporting Actor – Television" Globe for his 2000 turn in ''Ally McBeal'', and a 2010 Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for his 2009 portrayal of the titular character in ''Sherlock Holmes''.

The Screen Actors Guild also recognized his 2000 ''Ally McBeal'' performance by giving him the Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series award.

In 2003, shortly after Downey returned to the acting world clean and sober, he received a Career Achievement Award from the Chicago International Film Festival. Also in 2003, Downey picked up the Best Actor award from the Sitges Film Festival for his work in ''The Singing Detective''. In 2004, Downey was named "Man of the Year" by Harvard's Hasty Pudding Theatricals. The 2006 large ensemble piece ''A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints'', a film Downey co-produced, received a special jury prize for Dramatic film from the Sundance Film Festival. In May 2008, Downey was named to the annual list of ''The Time Magazine 100 Most Influential People''. In October 2008, Paramount Pictures began advertising for Downey to receive an Academy Awards nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his role in ''Tropic Thunder''. In a November 2008 issue of ''Entertainment Weekly'', Downey's performance as self-important Australian method actor Kirk Lazarus was considered one of three sure contenders for the best supporting actor award. As a way of extending the film-within-a-film "universe" into real life, there had also been at least two online "For Your Consideration" ads touting Downey's character, Kirk Lazarus, for Best Supporting Actor; one of these contains "scenes" from the faux trailer for ''Satan's Alley'' that were not in the trailer as released in theaters. GetTheBigPicture.net has verified that at least one of these ads was definitely produced by Paramount and intended for early FYC awareness for Downey's role. In October 2008, Downey was ranked at No.4 on ''AskMen.com'' online magazine's 49 Most Influential Men in 2008. In November 2008, Downey was named by ''Entertainment Weekly'' as "Entertainer of the Year".

Throughout the end of 2008 and the beginning of 2009, Downey was repeatedly nominated for awards based on his 2008 body of work, most frequently garnering Best Supporting Actor nominations for his portrayal of Kirk Lazarus in ''Tropic Thunder''; however, Downey's ''Tropic Thunder'' performance usually finished behind Heath Ledger's star-turn as The Joker in ''The Dark Knight''.

On December 11, 2008, Downey picked up a nomination for one of the more significant awards, receiving a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actor in ''Tropic Thunder''. Downey picked up his first win of the 2008 award season as part of the Boston Society of Film Critics' Best Ensemble Cast for ''Tropic Thunder''. In December 2008, ShoWest Convention saluted him as "Actor of the Year". In early 2009, Downey won the COFCA Award for Best Actor in ''Iron Man'' from the Central Ohio Film Critics Association.

On January 22, 2009, Downey was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in ''Tropic Thunder''.

On 2009 Downey was nominated for three awards: Favorite Male Movie Star, Favorite Superhero, and Favorite Male Action Star at People's Choice Awards.

On February 15, 2009, Downey won best international actor for ''Iron Man'' at the Irish Film and Television Awards, his fourth win for the 2008 awards season.

In November 2009, Downey was number 5 in People Magazine's "The Sexiest Man Alive 2009".

On January 17, 2010, Downey won the Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Comedy Or Musical for his role in ''Sherlock Holmes''. However, he failed to earn an Academy Award nomination for the same performance.

On March 27, 2010, Downey was a guest at Nickelodeons' Kids Choice Awards.

On 25 June 2010 Downey was voted "Sexiest Man In The World" by the Hungarian magazine Periodika.

On October 14, 2011 Downey will be the 25th recipient of the American Cinematheque Award.

Production company

On June 14, 2010, Robert Downey, Jr. and his wife Susan, opened their own production company called Team Downey. Their first project will be the Steve McQueen script, ''Yucatan'', which is a heist film.

Personal life

Downey started dating actress Sarah Jessica Parker after meeting her on the set of ''Firstborn''. They separated in 1991 because of his drug addiction, according to Downey. He married actress/singer Deborah Falconer on May 29, 1992, after a 42-day courtship, and had a son with her, Indio Falconer Downey, born on September 7, 1993 in Los Angeles County, California. The strain on their marriage from Downey's repeated trips to rehab and jail finally reached a breaking point; in 2001, in the midst of Downey's last arrest and sentencing to an extended stay in rehab, Falconer left Downey and took Indio with her. Downey and Falconer finalized their divorce on April 26, 2004. Downey now sees his son frequently after settling custody arrangements with Falconer.

In 2003, on the set of ''Gothika'', Downey met producer Susan Levin, an Executive Vice President of Production at Joel Silver's movie company, Silver Pictures. Downey and Susan quietly struck up a romance during production, though Susan turned down his romantic advances twice. Despite Susan's worries that the romance would not last after the completion of shooting because "he's an actor; I have a real job", the couple's relationship continued after production wrapped on ''Gothika'', and Downey proposed to Susan on the night before her thirtieth birthday. The couple were married on August 27, 2005, in a Jewish ceremony at Amagansett, New York. He credits his wife with helping him kick his drug and alcohol habits."There's no understanding for me of the bigger picture in real time in a hands-on way without her. Because it was the perfect, perfect, perfect matching of personalities and gifts." One of his biceps reads "Suzie Q" in tribute to her. The couple are expecting their first child in February 2012.

Downey says he has been drug-free since July 2003, thanks to his family, therapy, meditation, twelve-step recovery programs, yoga and the practice of Wing Chun Kung Fu. He has described his religious beliefs as "Jewish-Buddhist" although he has been interested in the past in Christianity and the Hare Krishna ideology. In a panel discussion, Rachel McAdams, who co-starred with Downey in ''Sherlock Holmes'', called him a "superhero" for his "committed" work ethic. On the same panel, Downey described how he worked long hours and many weekends to ensure the accuracy of his portrayal of Holmes so as to help make the film a success.

Downey has been a close friend of Mel Gibson since they starred in ''Air America''. Downey defended Gibson during the controversy surrounding ''The Passion of the Christ'', and said "nobody's perfect" in reference to Gibson's DUI. Said Gibson of Downey:

Downey has indicated that his time in prison changed his political point of view somewhat, saying: "I have a really interesting political point of view, and it's not always something I say too loud at dinner tables here, but you can't go from a $2,000-a-night suite at La Mirage to a penitentiary and really understand it and come out a liberal. You can't. I wouldn't wish that experience on anyone else, but it was very, very, very educational for me and has informed my proclivities and politics ever since."

Filmography

! Year	! Title	! Role	Notes
1970		Puppy	Directed by Robert Downey, Sr.
1972	''Greaser's Palace''	uncredited	Directed by Robert Downey, Sr.
1975	''Moment to Moment''	uncredited	Directed by Robert Downey, Sr.
1980	''Up the Academy''	Caleb Yoon	Directed by Robert Downey, Sr.
1983		Stewart
1984		Lee
1985	''Deadwait''		Short subject
1985	''Tuff Turf''	Jimmy Parker
1985		Ian
1986	''Back to School''	Derek Lutz	Directed by Alan Metter
1986	''America''	Paulie Hackley	Directed by Robert Downey, Sr.
1987	''''	Jack Jericho
1987
1988	''Johnny Be Good''	Leo Wiggins	also stars Robert Downey, Sr.
1988		Ralph Karr
1988	''Rented Lips''	Wolf Dangler	Directed by Robert Downey, Sr.
1989	''That's Adequate''	Albert Einstein
1989		Roger Baron
1989		Alex Finch
1990		Billy Covington
1991	''Too Much Sun''	Reed Richmond	Directed by Robert Downey, Sr.
1991	''Soapdish''	David Seton Barnes
1992		Charlie Chaplin	BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading RoleLondon Film Critics Circle Award for Best ActorNominated—Academy Award for Best ActorNominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama
1993	''Heart and Souls''	Thomas Reilly	Saturn Award for Best Actor
1993	''''	Himself	documentary written by Downey
1993	''Short Cuts''	Bill Bush
1994		Jerry	also stars Robert Downey, Sr.
1994	''''		documentary
1994	''Natural Born Killers''	Wayne Gale
1994		Peter Wright, alias Damon
1995
1995		Tommy Larson
1995		Robert Merivel
1997		Jim Scott
1997		Charlie	Boston Society of Film Critics Award for (3rd place) Best Supporting Actor
1997	''Two Girls and a Guy''	Blake Allen
1997	''Hugo Pool''	Franz Mazur	Directed by Robert Downey, Sr.
1998	''	Clyde Pell
1998		Special Agent John Royce
1999		Vivian Thompson
1999		Hans
1999	''Bowfinger''	Jerry Renfro
1999		Terry Donager
2000		Terry Crabtree
2000	''Auto Motives''	Rob	short subject
2002	Lethargy	Animal therapist	short subject
2003	''Whatever We Do''	Bobby	short subject
2003	''''	Dan Dark
2003	''Charlie: The Life and Art of Charles Chaplin''	Himself	documentary
2003	''Gothika''	Pete Graham	Produced by Susan Downey
2004		Nick Penrose	segment "Equilibrium"
2005		Steven Schwimmer
2005	''''		documentary
2005	''Kiss Kiss Bang Bang''	Harry Lockhart	Produced by Susan DowneyCameo by Indio Falconer DowneyNominated—Satellite Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or ComedyNominated—Satellite Award for Best Original SongNominated—Saturn Award for Best Actor
2005	''Good Night, and Good Luck.''	Joseph Wershba	Nominated—Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best CastNominated—Gotham Award
2005	''[[Hubert Selby Jr: It/ll Be Better Tomorrow''		documentary
2006	''''	Dr. Kozak
2006	''''	James Barris	Nominated—Chlotrudis Award for Best Supporting Actor
2006	''''	Dito Montiel
2006		Lionel Sweeney
2007		Paul Avery
2007		Telephone Jack	Cameo
2008	''Charlie Bartlett''	Principal Nathan Gardner
2008			Saturn Award for Best Actor Central Ohio Film Critics Association Award for Actor of the Year (also for ''Tropic Thunder'')Irish Film & Television Award for Best International ActorNominated—Empire Award for Best ActorNominated—National Movie Award for Best ActorNominated—People's Choice Award for Favorite SuperheroNominated—Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Actor: Action Adventure
2008	''''		cameo
2008	''Tropic Thunder''	Kirk Lazarus/Sgt. Lincoln Osiris	Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Ensemble Cast Central Ohio Film Critics Association Award for Actor of the Year (also for ''Iron Man'')Nominated—Academy Award for Best Supporting ActorNominated—BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting RoleNominated—Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting ActorNominated—Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting ActorNominated—Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting ActorNominated—Detroit Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting ActorNominated—Houston Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting ActorNominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion PictureNominated—Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting ActorNominated—Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion PictureNominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role - Motion Picture
2009	''''	Steve Lopez
2009		Sherlock Holmes	Produced by Susan DowneyGolden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or ComedyIrish Film & Television Award for Best International ActorNominated—Empire Award for Best ActorNominated—MTV Movie Award for Best Fight (Shared with Mark Strong)Nominated—Saturn Award for Best ActorNominated—Teen Choice Award for Best Action Adventure Actor
2010	''Iron Man 2''		Co-writerExecutive Producer Susan DowneySpike Guy's Choice Award for Deadliest WarriorNominated—People's Choice Award – Favorite Action StarNominated—People's Choice Award – Favorite Movie ActorNominated—People's Choice Award – Favorite On-Screen Team (Shared with Don Cheadle)Nominated—Kids' Choice Award – Favorite ButtkickerNominated—Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Dance
2010	''Due Date''	Peter Highman
2011	''Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows''	Sherlock Holmes	Produced by Susan Downey; Post-production
2012			Filming
2013	''Iron Man 3		Pre-production

+ Television
! Year	! Title	! Role	Notes
1985–1986	''Saturday Night Live''	Cast member	18 episodes
1995	''Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree''	Mr. Willowby	television film
2000–2002	''Ally McBeal''	Larry Paul	15 episodesGolden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TelevisionScreen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy SeriesNominated—American Comedy Award for Funniest Supporting Male Performer in a TV SeriesNominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor – Comedy SeriesNominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy SeriesNominated—TV Guide Award for Best Supporting ActorNominated—Television Critics Association Award for Individual Achievement in Comedy
2005	''Family Guy''	Patrick Pewterschmidt	voice, episode "The Fat Guy Strangler"

References

External links

Robert Downey, Jr. Interview: The Game's Afoot at Los Angeles Times Magazine

Official site for "The Futurist" album

Robert Downey Jr interview at www.reviewgraveyard.com

Category:1965 births Category:Living people Category:Actors from California Category:Actors from New York City Category:American child actors Category:American people of German descent Category:American people of Russian-Jewish descent Category:American people of Irish descent Category:American people of Scottish descent Category:American film producers Category:American film actors Category:American musicians Category:American television actors Category:American Wing Chun practitioners Category:BAFTA winners (people) Category:Best Actor BAFTA Award winners Category:Best Musical or Comedy Actor Golden Globe (film) winners Category:Best Supporting Actor Golden Globe (television) winners Category:Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series Screen Actors Guild Award winners Category:People convicted of drug offenses Category:People from Los Angeles County, California Category:People from Manhattan Category:People self-identifying as substance abusers Category:Saturn Award winners

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name	Jimmy Kimmel
birth name	James Christian Kimmel
birth date	November 13, 1967
birth place	Brooklyn, New York, USA
medium	Radio, television, film
nationality	American
active	1989–present
genre	Observational comedy,Current events, Insult comedy
subject	American culture, Everyday life, Celebrities
influences	David Letterman, Howard Stern
spouse	Gina Kimmel (1988–2003) (divorced); 2 children
domesticpartner	Sarah Silverman (2002–2007; 2008–2009) Molly McNearney (2009–present)
notable work	Creator and Host of ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'' (ABC) Creator and Co-Host of ''The Man Show''co-host of ''Win Ben Stein's Money'' (Comedy Central)co-host of ''Crank Yankers''

}} James Christian "Jimmy" Kimmel (born November 13, 1967) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, voice artist, television host, and comedian.. He is the host of ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'', a late-night talk show that airs on ABC. Prior to that, Kimmel was best known as the co-host of Comedy Central's ''The Man Show'' and ''Win Ben Stein's Money''. Kimmel is also a television producer, having produced shows such as ''Crank Yankers'', ''Sports Show with Norm Macdonald'', and ''The Andy Milonakis Show''.

Early life

Kimmel was born in the Mill Basin neighborhood of the New York City borough of Brooklyn, the eldest of three children of Joann (née Iacono), a homemaker, and James Kimmel, an IBM executive. He is Roman Catholic and, as a child, served as an altar boy. Kimmel is of German and Irish descent on his father’s side and Italian descent on his mother’s side. His uncle, Frank Potenza, appeared on ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'' as a regular from 2003 until his death in 2011.

The family moved to Las Vegas, Nevada, when he was nine years old. He graduated from Ed W. Clark High School and then attended University of Nevada, Las Vegas for one year before attending Arizona State University for two years without completing a degree.

Career

Radio career

Kimmel began working in the radio industry while in high school, hosting a Sunday night interview show on UNLV's college station KUNV. While attending Arizona State University, he became a popular caller to the KZZP-FM afternoon show hosted by radio personalities Mike Elliott and Kent Voss in Phoenix, Arizona. In 1989, Kimmel landed his first paying job alongside Voss as morning drive co-host of ''The Me and Him Show'' at KZOK-FM in Seattle, Washington. Ten months later, Kimmel and Voss were fired by KZOK (for reasons unknown) and were fired again a year later at WRBQ-FM in Tampa, Florida. Kimmel went from Tampa to host his own show at KCMJ in Palm Springs, California, where Kimmel convinced a young Carson Daly to drop out of college and become his intern. After a morning stint at KRQQ In Tucson, Arizona, Kimmel landed at KROQ-FM in Los Angeles, California. He spent five years as "Jimmy The Sports Guy" for the Kevin and Bean morning show. During this time he met and befriended a struggling comedian named Adam Carolla.

Comedy Central

Kimmel began his television career as the comedic counterpart to Ben Stein on the game show ''Win Ben Stein's Money'', which began airing on Comedy Central in 1997. His quick wit and loutish everyman personality were counterpoints to Stein's monotone performing style and patrician demeanor. The combination earned the pair an Emmy award for Best Game Show Host.

In 1999, during his time with ''Win Ben Stein's Money'', Kimmel was also co-host with Adam Carolla and co-creator (with Daniel Kellison) of Comedy Central's ''The Man Show''. Kimmel permanently left ''Win Ben Stein's Money'' in 2001, replaced by comedian Nancy Pimental, who was eventually replaced by Kimmel's cousin Sal Iacono. ''The Man Show'''s success allowed Kimmel, Carolla and Kellison to create and produce, under the banner Jackhole Industries, ''Crank Yankers'' for Comedy Central (on which Kimmel plays the characters "Elmer Higgins", "Terrence Catheter", "The Nudge", "Karl Malone" and himself), and later ''The Andy Milonakis Show'' for MTV2. Kimmel also produced and co-wrote the feature film ''Windy City Heat'', which won the Comedia Award for Best Film at the Montreal Comedy Festival.

''Jimmy Kimmel Live!''

In January 2003, Kimmel permanently left ''The Man Show'' to host his own late-night talk show, ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'' on ABC. ''Jimmy Kimmel Live'' was briefly also broadcast on Irish digital TV channel 3e. In the April 2007 issue of Stuffmagazine.com, Kimmel was named the "biggest badass on TV". Kimmel said it was an honor but clearly a mistake.

Since the show's second season, it has not actually been broadcast live. This is due to an incident during the 2004 NBA Finals in Detroit, when Kimmel appeared on ABC's halftime show to make an on-air plug for his show. He suggested that if the Detroit Pistons defeated the Los Angeles Lakers, "they're gonna burn the city of Detroit down ... and it's not worth it." Officials with Detroit's ABC affiliate, WXYZ-TV, immediately announced that night's show would not air on the station. Hours later, ABC officials pulled that night's show from the entire network. Kimmel later apologized. The incident led ABC officials to force Kimmel to tape his show an hour before it airs in most of the country to check for offending content.

Kimmel usually ends his show with, "My apologies to Matt Damon, we ran out of time." When Matt Damon did actually appear on the show to be interviewed, he walked in and sat down only to be told just a few seconds later by Kimmel, "Sorry, but once again we are completely out of time." Damon seemed to become angry.

In February 2008 Kimmel showed a mock music video with a panoply of stars called, "I'm Fucking Ben Affleck", as "revenge" after his then-girlfriend Sarah Silverman and Matt Damon recorded a similar video, "I'm Fucking Matt Damon". Silverman's video originally aired on ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'', and became an "instant YouTube sensation." Kimmel's "revenge" video featured himself, Ben Affleck, and a large lineup of stars, particularly in scenes spoofing the 1985 "We Are the World" video: Brad Pitt, Don Cheadle, Cameron Diaz, Robin Williams, Harrison Ford, Dominic Monaghan, Benji Madden and Joel Madden from Good Charlotte, Lance Bass, Macy Gray, Josh Groban, Huey Lewis, Perry Farrell, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Pete Wentz, Meat Loaf, Rebecca Romijn, Christina Applegate, Dom Joly, Mike Shinoda, Lauren Conrad and Joan Jett, among others. After this Jimmy's sidekick, Guillermo, appeared in a spoof of The Bourne Ultimatum, which starred Damon. He was then chased down by Damon as Matt cursed about Kimmel being behind all this. Guillermo also stopped Damon on the red carpet one time and before he could finish the interview he said, "Sorry we are out of time." The most recent encounter was titled "The Handsome Men's Club" which featured Kimmel, along with other "Handsome Men" including Matthew McConaughey, Rob Lowe, Lenny Kravitz, and many more, speaking about being handsome and all the jobs that come with it. At the end of the skit Kimmel has a door slammed in his face by none other than Matt Damon, stating that they had run out of time and then Damon continues with a sinister laugh.

As a tradition, celebrities voted off ''Dancing with the Stars'' appear on ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'', causing Kimmel to describe himself as "the three-headed dog the stars must pass on their way to No-Dancing Hell". In the 2008 season of his show, Kimmel started another tradition of ceremonially burning the dancers' shoes after they were voted off ''DWTS''.

Other television work

In Spring 1996, Kimmel appeared as "Jimmy the Fox Guy" in promos on the Fox network.

Kimmel's other television work included being the on-air football prognosticator for ''Fox NFL Sunday'' for four years. He has had numerous appearances on other talk shows including, but not limited to, ''Live with Regis and Kelly'', ''The Howard Stern Show'', ''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'', and ''The Late Show with David Letterman''. Kimmel has appeared on ''The Late Show'' five times, most recently on April 21, 2008. Kimmel served as roastmaster for the New York Friars' Club Roast of Hugh Hefner and Comedy Central Roasts of ''Pamela Anderson''. He has appeared on ABC's Dancing with the Stars, along with his parking lot security guard Guillermo.

In August 2006, ABC announced that Jimmy Kimmel would be the host of their new game show ''Set for Life''. The show debuted on July 20, 2007. On April 6, 2007, Kimmel filled in for Larry King on ''Larry King Live''. That particular show was about the paparazzi and Kimmel reproached Emily Gould, an editor from Gawker.com, about the web site's alleged stalking of celebrities. On July 8, 2007, Kimmel managed the National League in the 2007 Taco Bell All-Star Legends and Celebrity Softball Game in San Francisco. He played in the game in 2004 and 2006 (Houston and Pittsburgh). On July 11, 2007, Kimmel along with basketball player LeBron James, hosted the 2007 ''ESPY Awards''. The show aired on ESPN on July 15, 2007. Kimmel hosted the American Music Awards on ABC four times, in 2004, 2006, 2007, and 2008.

Kimmel guest hosted ''Live with Regis and Kelly'' during the week of October 22, 2007 – October 26, 2007, commuting every day between New York and Los Angeles. In the process, he broke the Guinness Book of World Records for the longest distance () travelled in one work week.

Kimmel has performed in several animated films, often voicing dogs. His voice appeared in ''Garfield'' and ''Road Trip'', and he portrayed Death's Dog in the ''Family Guy'' episode "Mr. Saturday Knight"; ''Family Guy'' creator Seth McFarlane later presented Kimmel with a figurine of his character on ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!''. Kimmel also did voice work for ''Robot Chicken''. Kimmel's cousin "Sal" (Sal Iacono) has accepted and won a wrestling match with WWE superstar Santino Marella. On January 14, 2010, in the midst of the 2010 Tonight Show host and time slot conflict, Kimmel was the special guest of Jay Leno on ''The Jay Leno Show'''s "10 at 10" segment. Kimmel derided Leno in front of a live studio audience for taking back the 11:35 pm time slot from Conan O'Brien, and repeatedly insulted Leno. He ended the segment with a plea that Leno "leave our shows alone," as Kimmel and O'Brien had "kids" while Leno only had "cars".

Kimmel also made a brief appearance in the TV commercial "There's A Soldier In All Of Us" promoting the 2010 video game ''Call of Duty: Black Ops'', along with Kobe Bryant. He is seen taking cover from bullets, then firing an RPG-7 with the words ''PROUD N00b'' on it, with the aftershock from the weapon sending him tumbling backwards.

Personal life

Kimmel and his then fiancée, Gina, married in June 1988. They have two children, Katie (born 1991) and Kevin (born 1993). Katie Kimmel is an art student in Chicago. The marriage ended in separation in early 2002. Kimmel then dated comedian Sarah Silverman for five years, splitting with her in March 2009. He started dating current girlfriend, Molly McNearney, in October 2009. McNearney is also a co-head writer for ''Jimmy Kimmel Live''.

Kimmel plays the bass clarinet. He got a chance to showcase his talent during a July 20, 2008, concert in Costa Mesa, California, featuring the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, when he took the stage and played bass clarinet on their hit song "The Impression That I Get."

Kimmel has spoken publicly of being a narcoleptic.

Kimmel co-founded the annual LA Feast of San Gennaro, which celebrates Italian culture through entertainment, music and cuisine. The festival also honors outstanding members of the Los Angeles community and raises funds to aid needy children and families in the city. He hosted Los Angeles' eighth annual feast of San Gennaro from September 28 to 30, 2009. Kimmel served as Master of Ceremonies for the National Italian American Foundation's 34th Anniversary Gala in Washington, D.C., on October 24, 2009.

He resides across the street from actor John Krasinski (known for his role as Jim Halpert on ''The Office'') and his wife, actress Emily Blunt.

Awards

References

External links

ABC Jimmy Kimmel Live website

JimmyKimmel.Net

Jimmy Kimmel appears on Michael Eisner's talkshow on CNBC

Jimmy Kimmel interview

Appearance on HGTV's ''Designer's Challenge''

Jimmy is Maxim's #2 Dudeliest Dude 2007

Category:1967 births Category:Actors from New York City Category:American comedians Category:American film actors Category:American game show hosts Category:American radio personalities Category:American television actors Category:American television producers Category:American television writers Category:American television talk show hosts Category:American people of German descent Category:American people of Italian descent Category:American people of Irish descent Category:Living people Category:People from Brooklyn Category:Radio personalities from the Las Vegas metropolitan area Category:University of Nevada, Las Vegas alumni

ar:جيمي كاميل de:Jimmy Kimmel fi:Jimmy Kimmel fr:Jimmy Kimmel he:ג'ימי קימל id:Jimmy Kimmel it:Jimmy Kimmel no:Jimmy Kimmel pl:Jimmy Kimmel pt:Jimmy Kimmel ru:Киммел, Джимми simple:Jimmy Kimmel th:จิมมี คิมเมล

name	Mel Gibson
birth date	January 03, 1956
birth place	Peekskill, New York, U.S.
birth name
nationality
religion	Roman Catholicism
occupation	Actor, film director, producer, screenwriter
years active	1976–present
parents	Hutton GibsonAnne Patricia(née Reilly, deceased)
children	6 sons, 2 daughters
spouse	Robyn Moore Gibson(m. 1980–present) }}

Mel Colm-Cille Gerard Gibson, AO (born 3 January 1956) is an Australian-American actor, film director, producer and screenwriter. Born in Peekskill, New York, Gibson moved with his parents to Sydney, Australia when he was 12 years old and later studied acting at the Australian National Institute of Dramatic Art.

After appearing in the ''Mad Max'' and ''Lethal Weapon'' series, Gibson went on to direct and star in the Academy Award-winning ''Braveheart''. In 2004, he directed and produced ''The Passion of the Christ'', a controversial, yet successful, film portraying the last hours in the life of Jesus. In recent years, remarks by Gibson have generated accusations of homophobia, antisemitism, racism, and misogyny; he has apologised repeatedly for the statements and denied that they represent his real opinions.

Early life

Gibson was born in Peekskill, New York, the sixth of 11 children, and the second son of Hutton Gibson and Irish-born Anne Patricia (née Reilly, died 1990). His paternal grandmother was the Australian opera soprano, Eva Mylott (1875–1920). One of Gibson's younger brothers, Donal, is also an actor. Gibson's first name comes from Saint Mel, fifth-century Irish saint, and founder of Gibson's mother's native diocese, Ardagh, while his second name, Colm-Cille, is also shared by an Irish saint and is the name of the parish in County Longford where Gibson's mother was born and raised. Because of his mother, Gibson holds dual Irish and American citizenship.

Soon after being awarded US$145,000 in a work-related-injury lawsuit against New York Central Railroad on 14 February 1968, Hutton Gibson relocated his family to West Pymble, Sydney, Australia. Mel Gibson was 12 years old at the time. The move to Hutton's mother's native Australia was for economic reasons, and because Hutton thought the Australian Defence Forces would reject his oldest son for the draft during the Vietnam War.

Gibson was educated by members of the Congregation of Christian Brothers at St Leo's Catholic College in Wahroonga, New South Wales, during his high school years.

Career

Gibson gained very favorable notices from film critics when he first entered the cinematic scene, as well as comparisons to several classic movie stars. In 1982, Vincent Canby wrote that “Mr. Gibson recalls the young Steve McQueen... I can't define "star quality," but whatever it is, Mr. Gibson has it.” Gibson has also been likened to “a combination Clark Gable and Humphrey Bogart.” Gibson's roles in the "Mad Max" series of films, Peter Weir's ''Gallipoli'', and the "Lethal Weapon" series of films earned him the label of "action hero". Later, Gibson expanded into a variety of acting projects including human dramas such as ''Hamlet'', and comedic roles such as those in ''Maverick'' and ''What Women Want''. He expanded beyond acting into directing and producing, with: ''The Man Without a Face'', in 1993; ''Braveheart'', in 1995; ''The Passion of the Christ'', in 2004; and ''Apocalypto'', in 2006. Jess Cagle of ''TIME'' has compared Gibson to Cary Grant, Sean Connery, and Robert Redford. Connery once suggested Gibson should play the next James Bond to Connery's ''M''. Gibson turned down the role, reportedly because he feared being typecast.

Stage

Gibson studied at the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) in Sydney. The students at NIDA were classically trained in the British-theater tradition rather than in preparation for screen acting. As students, Gibson and actress Judy Davis played the leads in ''Romeo and Juliet'', and Gibson played the role of Queen Titania in an experimental production of ''A Midsummer Night's Dream.'' After graduation in 1977, Gibson immediately began work on the filming of ''Mad Max'', but continued to work as a stage actor, and joined the State Theatre Company of South Australia in Adelaide. Gibson’s theatrical credits include the character Estragon (opposite Geoffrey Rush) in ''Waiting for Godot'', and the role of Biff Loman in a 1982 production of ''Death of a Salesman'' in Sydney. Gibson’s most recent theatrical performance, opposite Sissy Spacek, was the 1993 production of ''Love Letters'' by A. R. Gurney, in Telluride, Colorado.

Australian television and cinema

While a student at NIDA, Gibson made his film debut in the 1977 film ''Summer City'', for which he was paid $400.

Gibson then played the title character in the film ''Mad Max'' (1979). He was paid $15000 for this role. Shortly after making the film he did a season with the South Australian Theatre Company. During this period he shared a $30 a week apartment in Adelaide with his future wife Robyn. After ''Mad Max'' Gibson also played a mentally slow youth in the film ''Tim''.

During this period Gibson also appeared in Australian television series guest roles. He appeared in serial ''The Sullivans'' as naval lieutenant Ray Henderson, in police procedural ''Cop Shop'',

Gibson joined the cast of the World War II action film ''Attack Force Z'', which was not released until 1982 when Gibson had become a bigger star. Director Peter Weir cast Gibson as one of the leads in the critically acclaimed World War I drama ''Gallipoli'', which earned Gibson another Best Actor Award from the Australian Film Institute. The film ''Gallipoli'' also helped to earn Gibson the reputation of a serious, versatile actor and gained him the Hollywood agent Ed Limato. The sequel ''Mad Max 2'' was his first hit in America (released as ''The Road Warrior''). In 1982 Gibson again attracted critical acclaim in Peter Weir’s romantic thriller ''The Year of Living Dangerously''. Following a year hiatus from film acting after the birth of his twin sons, Gibson took on the role of Fletcher Christian in ''The Bounty'' in 1984. Playing Max Rockatansky for the third time in ''Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome'', in 1985, earned Gibson his first million dollar salary.

Hollywood

Early Hollywood years

Mel Gibson's first American film was Mark Rydell’s 1984 drama ''The River'', in which he and Sissy Spacek played struggling Tennessee farmers. Gibson then starred in the Gothic romance ''Mrs. Soffel'' for Australian director Gillian Armstrong. He and Matthew Modine played condemned convict brothers opposite Diane Keaton as the warden's wife who visits them to read the Bible. In 1985, after working on four films in a row, Gibson took almost two years off at his Australian cattle station. He returned to play the role of Martin Riggs in ''Lethal Weapon'', a film which helped to cement his status as a Hollywood "leading man". Gibson's next film was Robert Towne’s ''Tequila Sunrise'', followed by ''Lethal Weapon 2'', in 1989. Gibson next starred in three films back-to-back: ''Bird on a Wire'', ''Air America'', and ''Hamlet''; all were released in 1990.

1990s

During the 1990s, Gibson alternated between commercial and personal projects. His films in the first half of the decade were ''Forever Young'', ''Lethal Weapon 3'', ''Maverick'', and ''Braveheart''. He then starred in ''Ransom'', ''Conspiracy Theory'', ''Lethal Weapon 4'', and ''Payback''. Gibson also served as the speaking and singing voice of John Smith in Disney’s ''Pocahontas''.

After 2000

In 2000, Gibson acted in three films that each grossed over $100 million: ''The Patriot'', ''Chicken Run'', and ''What Women Want''. In 2002, Gibson appeared in the Vietnam War drama ''We Were Soldiers'' and M. Night Shyamalan’s ''Signs'', which became the highest-grossing film of Gibson’s acting career. While promoting ''Signs'', Gibson said that he no longer wanted to be a movie star and would only act in film again if the script were truly extraordinary. In 2010, Gibson appeared in ''Edge of Darkness'', which marked his first starring role since 2002 and was an adaptation of the BBC miniseries, ''Edge of Darkness''. In 2010, following an outburst at his ex-girlfriend that was made public, Gibson was dropped from the talent agency of William Morris Endeavor.

Producer

After his success in Hollywood with the ''Lethal Weapon'' series, Gibson began to move into producing and directing. With partner Bruce Davey, Gibson formed Icon Productions in 1989 in order to make ''Hamlet''. In addition to producing or co-producing many of Gibson's own star vehicles, Icon has turned out many other small films, ranging from ''Immortal Beloved'' to ''An Ideal Husband''. Gibson has taken supporting roles in some of these films, such as ''The Million Dollar Hotel'' and ''The Singing Detective''. Gibson has also produced a number of projects for television, including a biopic on The Three Stooges and the 2008 PBS documentary ''Carrier''. Icon has grown from being just a production company to also be an international distribution company and film exhibitor in Australia and New Zealand.

Director

Mel Gibson has credited his directors, particularly George Miller, Peter Weir, and Richard Donner, with teaching him the craft of filmmaking and influencing him as a director. According to Robert Downey, Jr., studio executives encouraged Gibson in 1989 to try directing, an idea he rebuffed at the time. Gibson made his directorial debut in 1993 with ''The Man Without a Face'', followed two years later by ''Braveheart'', which earned Gibson the Academy Award for Best Director. Gibson had long planned to direct a remake of ''Fahrenheit 451'', but in 1999 the project was indefinitely postponed because of scheduling conflicts. Gibson was scheduled to direct Robert Downey, Jr. in a Los Angeles stage production of ''Hamlet'' in January 2001, but Downey's drug relapse ended the project. In 2002, while promoting ''We Were Soldiers'' and ''Signs'' to the press, Gibson mentioned that he was planning to pare back on acting and return to directing. In September 2002, Gibson announced that he would direct a film called ''The Passion'' in Aramaic and Latin with no subtitles because he hoped to "transcend language barriers with filmic storytelling." In 2004, he released the controversial film ''The Passion of the Christ'', with subtitles, which he co-wrote, co-produced, and directed. The film went on to become the highest grossing rated R film of all time with $370,782,930 in U.S. box office sales. Gibson directed a few episodes of ''Complete Savages'' for the ABC network. In 2006, he directed the action-adventure film ''Apocalypto'', his second film to feature sparse dialogue in a non-English language.

Honors

On 25 July 1997, Gibson was named an honorary Officer of the Order of Australia (AO), in recognition of his "service to the Australian film industry". The award was honorary because substantive awards are made only to Australian citizens. In 1985, Gibson was named "The Sexiest Man Alive" by ''People'', the first person to be named so. Gibson quietly declined the Chevalier des Arts et Lettres from the French government in 1995 as a protest against France's resumption of nuclear testing in the Southwest Pacific. ''TIME'' magazine chose Mel Gibson and Michael Moore as Men of the Year in 2004, but Gibson turned down the photo session and interview, and the cover went instead to George W. Bush.

Films

''Mad Max'' series

Gibson got his breakthrough role as the leather-clad post-apocalyptic survivor in George Miller's ''Mad Max''. The independently financed blockbuster helped to make him an international star everywhere but in the United States, where the actors' Australian accents were dubbed with American accents. The original film spawned two sequels: ''Mad Max 2'' (known in North America as ''The Road Warrior''), and ''Mad Max 3'' (known in North America as ''Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome''). A fourth movie, ''Mad Max 4: Fury Road'', is in development, but both Gibson and George Miller have indicated that the starring role would go to a younger actor.

''Gallipoli''

Gibson played the role of the cynical Frank Dunne alongside co-star Mark Lee in the 1981 Peter Weir film. ''Gallipoli'' is about a group of young men from rural Western Australia who enlist in the Australian Imperial Force during World War I. They are sent to the Ottoman Empire, where they take part in the Gallipoli Campaign. During the course of the movie, the young men slowly lose their innocence about the war. The climax of the movie occurs at the brutal attack during Battle of the Nek. According to Gibson, “Gallipoli was the birth of a nation. It was the shattering of a dream for Australia. They had banded together to fight the Hun and died by the thousands in a dirty little trench war." The critically acclaimed film helped to further launch Gibson's career. He won the award for Best Actor in a Leading Role from the Australian Film Institute.

''The Year of Living Dangerously''

Gibson played a naïve but ambitious journalist opposite Sigourney Weaver and Linda Hunt in Peter Weir’s atmospheric 1982 film ''The Year of Living Dangerously'', based on the novel of the same name by Christopher Koch. The movie was both a critical and commercial success, and the upcoming Australian actor was heavily marketed by MGM studio. In his review of the film, Vincent Canby of ''The New York Times'' wrote, "If this film doesn't make an international star of Mr. Gibson, then nothing will. He possesses both the necessary talent and the screen presence." According to John Hiscock of ''The Daily Telegraph'', the film did, indeed, establish Gibson as an international talent.

Gibson was initially reluctant to accept the role of Guy Hamilton. "I didn't necessarily see my role as a great challenge. My character was, like the film suggests, a puppet. And I went with that. It wasn't some star thing, even though they advertised it that way." Gibson saw some similarities between himself and the character of Guy. "He's not a silver-tongued devil. He's kind of immature and he has some rough edges and I guess you could say the same for me." Gibson has cited this screen performance as his personal favorite.

''The Bounty''

Gibson followed the footsteps of Errol Flynn, Clark Gable, and Marlon Brando by starring as Fletcher Christian in a cinematic retelling of the mutiny on the Bounty. The resulting 1984 film ''The Bounty'' is considered to be the most historically accurate version. However, Gibson thinks that the film's revisionism did not go far enough. He stated that his character should have been portrayed as more of a villain and described Anthony Hopkins's performance as William Bligh as the best aspect of the film.

''Lethal Weapon'' series

Gibson moved into more mainstream commercial filmmaking with the popular buddy cop ''Lethal Weapon'' series, which began with the 1987 original. In the films he played LAPD Detective Martin Riggs, a recently widowed Vietnam veteran with a death wish and a penchant for violence and gunplay. In the films, he is partnered with a reserved family man named Roger Murtaugh (Danny Glover). Following the success of ''Lethal Weapon'', director Richard Donner and principal cast revisited the characters in three sequels, ''Lethal Weapon 2'' (1989), ''Lethal Weapon 3'' (1993), and ''Lethal Weapon 4'' (1998). With its fourth installment, the ''Lethal Weapon'' series embodied "the quintessence of the buddy cop pic".

''Hamlet''

Gibson made the unusual transition from the action to classical genres, playing the melancholic Danish prince in Franco Zeffirelli's ''Hamlet''. Gibson was cast alongside such experienced Shakespearean actors as Ian Holm, Alan Bates, and Paul Scofield. He described working with his fellow cast members as similar to being "thrown into the ring with Mike Tyson".

''Braveheart''

Mel Gibson directed, produced, and starred in ''Braveheart'', an epic telling of the legend of Sir William Wallace, a 13th century Scottish patriot. Gibson received two Academy Awards, Best Director and Best Picture for his second directorial effort. In winning the Academy Award for Best Director, Gibson became only the sixth actor-turned-filmmaker to do so. ''Braveheart'' influenced the Scottish nationalist movement and helped to revive the film genre of the historical epic; the Battle of Stirling Bridge sequence is considered by critics to be one of the all-time best directed battle scenes.

''The Passion of the Christ''

Gibson directed, produced, co-wrote, and funded the 2004 film ''The Passion of the Christ,'' which chronicled the passion and death of Jesus (Jim Caviezel). The film was shot exclusively in Aramaic, Latin, and Hebrew. Although Gibson originally intended to release the film without subtitles; he eventually relented for theatrical exhibition. The film sparked divergent reviews, ranging from high praise to criticism of the violence.

The Anti-Defamation League further accused Gibson of anti-semitism over the film's unflattering depiction of Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin. Among those to defend Gibson were Orthodox Jewish Rabbi Daniel Lapin and radio personality Michael Medved. Referring to ADL National Director Abraham Foxman, Rabbi Lapin said that by calling ''The Passion of the Christ'' anti-Semitic, "what he is saying is that the only way (for Christians) to escape the wrath of Foxman is to repudiate (their own) faith."

In an interview with the ''Globe and Mail'', Gibson stated, "If anyone has distorted Gospel passages to rationalize cruelty towards Jews or anyone, it's in defiance of repeated Papal condemnation. The Papacy has condemned racism in any form... Jesus died for the sins of all times, and I'll be the first on the line for culpability".

Eventually, the continued media attacks began to anger Gibson. After his father's Holocaust denial was sharply criticized in print by ''The New York Times'' writer Frank Rich, Gibson retorted, "I want to kill him. I want his intestines on a stick.... I want to kill his dog."

Gibson's Traditionalist Catholic upbringing was also the target of criticism. In a 2006 interview with Diane Sawyer, Gibson stated that he feels that his "human rights were violated" by the often vitriolic attacks on his person, his father's beliefs, and his religious beliefs which were sparked by ''The Passion''.

The movie grossed US$611,899,420 worldwide and $370,782,930 in the US alone, surpassing any motion picture starring Gibson. In US box offices, it became the eighth (at the time) highest-grossing film in history and the highest-grossing rated R film of all time. The film was nominated for three Academy Awards and won the People's Choice Award for Favorite Dramatic Motion Picture.

''Apocalypto''

Gibson received further critical acclaim for his directing of the 2006 action-adventure film ''Apocalypto''. Gibson's fourth directorial effort is set in Mesoamerica during the early 16th century against the turbulent end times of a Maya civilization. The sparse dialogue is spoken in the Yucatec Maya language by a cast of Native American descent.

''The Beaver''

Gibson starred in ''The Beaver'', a film directed by former ''Maverick'' co-star, Jodie Foster. ''The Beaver'' premiered at The South by Southwest Festival in Austin on 16 March 2011 The opening weekend in 22 theaters was considered a flop: it made $104,000 which comes to a per-theater average of $4,745. The film's distributor, Summit Entertainment, had originally planned for a wide release of ''The Beaver'' for the weekend of , but after the initial box-office returns for the film, the company changed course and decided instead to give the film a "limited art-house run". Michael Cieply of the ''New York Times'' observed on 5 June 2011, that the film had cleared just about $1 million, making it a certified "flop". Director Jodie Foster opined that the film did not do well with American audiences because it was a dramedy and “And very often Americans are not comfortable with (that).”

Future films

In March 2007, Gibson told a screening audience that he was preparing another script with Farhad Safinia about the writing of the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (OED). Gibson's company has long owned the rights to ''The Professor and the Madman'', which tells the story of the creation of the OED.

Gibson has dismissed the rumors that he is considering directing a film about Spanish explorer Vasco Núñez de Balboa. Asked in September 2007 if he planned to return to acting and specifically to action roles, Gibson said: "I think I’m too old for that, but you never know. I just like telling stories. Entertainment is valid and I guess I’ll probably do it again before it's over. You know, do something that people won’t get mad with me for."

In 2005, the film ''Sam and George'' was announced as the seventh collaboration between director Richard Donner and Gibson. In February 2009, Donner said that this Paramount project was “dead,” but that he and Gibson were planning another film based on an original script by Brian Helgeland for production in fall 2009.

He has also expressed an intention to direct a movie set during the Viking Age, starring Leonardo DiCaprio. The as-yet untitled film, like ''The Passion of the Christ'' and ''Apocalypto'', will feature dialogue in period languages. However, some sources have speculated that DiCaprio might opt out of the project.

In June 2010, Gibson was in Brownsville, Texas, filming scenes for another movie, tentatively titled ''How I Spent My Summer Vacation'', about a career criminal put in a tough prison in Mexico.

In October 2010, it was reported that Gibson would have a small role in ''The Hangover: Part II'', but he was removed from the film after the cast and crew objected to his involvement.

Personal life

Family

Gibson met Robyn Denise Moore in the late 1970s soon after filming ''Mad Max'' when they were both tenants at a house in Adelaide. At the time, Robyn was a dental nurse and Mel was an unknown actor working for the South Australian Theatre Company. On 7 June 1980, Mel and Robyn Gibson were married in a Roman Catholic church in Forestville, New South Wales. They currently have one daughter, six sons, and two grandchildren.

After 26 years of marriage, Mel and Robyn Gibson separated on 29 July 2006. In a 2011 interview, Gibson stated that the separation began the day following his arrest for drunk driving in Malibu. Robyn Gibson filed for divorce on 13 April 2009, citing irreconcilable differences. In a joint statement, the Gibsons declared, "Throughout our marriage and separation we have always strived to maintain the privacy and integrity of our family and will continue to do so." The divorce filing followed the March 2009 release of photographs appearing to show him on a beach embracing Russian pianist Oksana Grigorieva.

On 28 April 2009, Gibson made a red carpet appearance with Grigorieva. Grigorieva, who had previously had a son with actor Timothy Dalton, gave birth to Gibson's daughter Lucia on 30 October 2009. In April 2010, it was made public that Gibson and Grigorieva had split. On 21 June 2010, Grigorieva filed a restraining order against Gibson to keep him away from her and their child. The restraining order was modified the next day regarding Gibson's contact with their child. Gibson obtained a restraining order against Grigorieva on 25 June 2010. In response to claims by Grigorieva that an incident of domestic violence occurred in January 2010, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department launched a domestic violence investigation in July 2010.

Investments

Gibson is a property investor, with multiple properties in Malibu, California, several locations in Costa Rica, a private island in Fiji and properties in Australia. In December 2004, Gibson sold his Australian farm in the Kiewa Valley for $6 million. Also in December 2004, Gibson purchased Mago Island in Fiji from Tokyu Corporation of Japan for $15 million. Descendants of the original native inhabitants of Mago, who were displaced in the 1860s, have protested the purchase. Gibson stated it was his intention to retain the pristine environment of the undeveloped island. In early 2005, he sold his Montana ranch to a neighbour. In April 2007 he purchased a ranch in Costa Rica for $26 million, and in July 2007 he sold his Tudor estate in Connecticut (which he purchased in 1994 for $9 million) for $40 million to an unnamed buyer. Also that month, he sold a Malibu property for $30 million that he had purchased for $24 million two years before. In 2008, he purchased the Malibu home of David Duchovny and Téa Leoni.

Prankster

Gibson has a reputation for practical jokes, puns, Stooge-inspired physical comedy, and doing outrageous things to shock people. As a director he sometimes breaks the tension on set by having his actors perform serious scenes wearing a red clown nose. Helena Bonham Carter, who appeared alongside him in ''Hamlet'', said of him, "He has a very basic sense of humor. It's a bit lavatorial and not very sophisticated." During the filming of ''Hamlet'', Gibson would relieve pressure on the set by mooning the cast and crew, directly following a serious scene. In addition to inserting several homages to the Three Stooges in his ''Lethal Weapon'' movies, Gibson produced a 2000 television movie about the comedy group which starred Michael Chiklis as Curly Howard. As a gag, Gibson inserted a single frame of himself smoking a cigarette into the 2005 teaser trailer of ''Apocalypto''.

Philanthropy

Gibson and his former wife have contributed a substantial amount of money to various charities, one of which is Healing the Children. According to Cris Embleton, one of the founders, the Gibsons gave millions to provide lifesaving medical treatment to needy children worldwide. They also supported the restoration of Renaissance artwork and gave millions of dollars to NIDA.

Gibson donated $500,000 to the El Mirador Basin Project to protect the last tract of virgin rain forest in Central America and to fund archeological excavations in the "cradle of Mayan civilization." In July 2007, Gibson again visited Central America to make arrangements for donations to the indigenous population. Gibson met with Costa Rican President Óscar Arias to discuss how to "channel the funds." During the same month, Gibson pledged to give financial assistance to a Malaysian company named Green Rubber Global for a tire recycling factory located in Gallup, New Mexico. While on a business trip to Singapore in September 2007, Gibson donated to a local charity for children with chronic and terminal illnesses.

Religious and political views

Faith

Gibson was raised a Traditionalist Catholic. When asked about the Catholic doctrine of "''Extra Ecclesiam nulla salus''", Gibson replied, "There is no salvation for those outside the Church ... I believe it. Put it this way. My wife is a saint. She's a much better person than I am. Honestly. She's... Episcopalian, Church of England. She prays, she believes in God, she knows Jesus, she believes in that stuff. And it's just not fair if she doesn't make it, she's better than I am. But that is a pronouncement from the chair. I go with it." When he was asked whether John 14:6 is an intolerant position, he said that "through the merits of Jesus' sacrifice... even people who don't know Jesus are able to be saved, but ''through'' him." Acquaintance Father William Fulco has said that Gibson denies neither the Pope nor Vatican II. Gibson told Diane Sawyer that he believes non-Catholics and non-Christians can go to heaven.

Politics

Gibson has been described as “ultraconservative”.

Gibson complimented filmmaker Michael Moore and his documentary ''Fahrenheit 9/11'' when he and Moore were recognized at the 2005 People's Choice Awards. Gibson's Icon Productions originally agreed to finance Moore's film, but later sold the rights to Miramax Films. Moore said that his agent Ari Emanuel claimed that "top Republicans" called Mel Gibson to tell him, "don’t expect to get more invitations to the White House". Icon's spokesman dismissed this story, saying "We never run from a controversy. You'd have to be out of your mind to think that of the company that just put out ''The Passion of the Christ''."

In a July 1995 interview with ''Playboy'' magazine, Gibson said President Bill Clinton was a "low-level opportunist" and someone was "telling him what to do". He said that the Rhodes Scholarship was established for young men and women who want to strive for a "new world order" and this was a campaign for Marxism. Gibson later backed away from such conspiracy theories saying, "It was like: 'Hey, tell us a conspiracy'... so I laid out this thing, and suddenly, it was like I was talking the gospel truth, espousing all this political shit like I believed in it." In the same 1995 ''Playboy'' interview, Gibson argued against ordaining women to the priesthood.

In 2004, he publicly spoke out against taxpayer-funded embryonic stem-cell research that involves the cloning and destruction of human embryos. In March 2005, he condemned the outcome of the Terri Schiavo case, referring to Schiavo's death as "state-sanctioned murder".

Gibson questioned the Iraq War in March 2004. In 2006, Gibson said that the "fearmongering" depicted in his film ''Apocalypto'' "reminds me a little of President Bush and his guys."

In a 2011 interview, Gibson stated,

"The whole notion of politics is they always present you with this or this or this. I’ll get a newspaper to read between the lines. Why do you have to adhere to prescribed formulas that they have and people argue over them and they’re all in a box. And you watch Fox claw CNN, and CNN claw Fox. Sometimes I catch a piece of the news and it seems insanity to me. I quietly support candidates. I’m not out there banging a drum for candidates. But I have supported a candidate and it’s a whole other world. Once you’ve been exposed to it, once or twice or however many times, if you know the facts and see how they’re presented, it’s mind-boggling. It’s a very scary arena to be in, but I do vote. I go in there and pull the lever. It’s kind of like pulling the lever and watching the trap door fall out from beneath you. Why should we trust any of these people? None of them ever deliver on anything. It’s always disappointing."

Controversy

Alleged homophobia

The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) accused Gibson of homophobia after a December 1991 interview in the Spanish newspaper ''El País'' in which he made derogatory comments about homosexuals. Gibson later defended his comments and rejected calls to apologise. However, Gibson joined GLAAD in hosting 10 lesbian and gay filmmakers for an on-location seminar on the set of the movie ''Conspiracy Theory'' in January 1997. In 1999 when asked about the comments to ''El País'', Gibson said, "I shouldn't have said it, but I was tickling a bit of vodka during that interview, and the quote came back to bite me on the ass."

Alleged anti-semitism in ''The Passion of the Christ''

Gibson's 2004 film ''The Passion of the Christ'' sparked a fierce debate over alleged antisemitic imagery and overtones. Gibson denied that the film was antisemitic, but critics remained divided. Some agreed that the film was consistent with the Gospels and traditional Catholic teachings, while others argued that it reflected a selective reading of the Gospels.

Sexism and domestic violence

In July 2010, it was alleged that Gibson had been recorded during a phone call with Oksana Grigorieva suggesting that if she got "raped by a pack of niggers," she would be to blame. Gibson was barred from coming near Grigorieva or her daughter due to a domestic violence-related restraining order. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department has launched a domestic violence investigation against Gibson. Gibson's estranged wife, Robyn Gibson, has filed a court statement declaring that she never experienced any abuse from Gibson, while forensic experts have questioned the validity of some of the tapes. In March 2011, Mel Gibson agreed to plead no contest to a misdemeanor battery charge.

In a subsequent interview, Gibson stated,

"I was allowed to end the case and still maintain my innocence. It’s called a West Plea and it’s not something that prosecutors normally allow. But in my case, the prosecutors and the judge agreed that it was the right thing to do. I could have continued to fight this for years and it probably would have come out fine. But I ended it for my children and my family. This was going to be such a circus. You don’t drag other people in your life through this sewer needlessly, so I’ll take the hit and move on."

Racism

On 8 July 2010, Gibson was alleged to have made an ethnic slur against Latinos using the term "wetbacks" as he suggested turning in one of his employees to immigration authorities. On 9 July 2010, some audio recordings alleged to be of Gibson were posted on the internet. The same day Gibson was dropped by his agency, William Morris Endeavor.

The July 2010 reports of voice-mail recordings also included alleged racist remarks, with Gibson using the word "niggers". Civil rights activists commented that Gibson had shown patterns of racism, sexism and anti-Semitism and called for a boycott of Gibson's movies.

In April 2011, Gibson finally broke his silence about the incident in question. In an interview with Deadline.com, Gibson expressed gratitude to longtime friends Whoopi Goldberg and Jodie Foster, both of whom had spoken publicly in his defense. About the recordings, Gibson said,

"I’ve never treated anyone badly or in a discriminatory way based on their gender, race, religion or sexuality – period. I don’t blame some people for thinking that though, from the garbage they heard on those leaked tapes, which have been edited. You have to put it all in the proper context of being in an irrationally, heated discussion at the height of a breakdown, trying to get out of a really unhealthy relationship. It’s one terribly, awful moment in time, said to one person, in the span of one day and doesn’t represent what I truly believe or how I’ve treated people my entire life."

Alcohol abuse and legal issues

Gibson has said that he started drinking at the age of thirteen. In a 2002 interview about his time at NIDA, Gibson said, "I had really good highs but some very low lows. I found out recently I'm manic depressive."

Gibson was banned from driving in Ontario for three months in 1984, after rear-ending a car in Toronto while under the influence of alcohol. He retreated to his Australian farm for over a year to recover, but he continued to struggle with drinking. Despite this problem, Gibson gained a reputation in Hollywood for professionalism and punctuality such that ''Lethal Weapon 2'' director Richard Donner was shocked when Gibson confided that he was drinking five pints of beer for breakfast. Reflecting in 2003 and 2004, Gibson said that despair in his mid-30s led him to contemplate suicide, and he meditated on Christ's Passion to heal his wounds. He took more time off acting in 1991 and sought professional help. That year, Gibson's attorneys were unsuccessful at blocking the ''Sunday Mirror'' from publishing what Gibson shared at AA meetings. In 1992, Gibson provided financial support to Hollywood's Recovery Center, saying, "Alcoholism is something that runs in my family. It's something that's close to me. People do come back from it, and it's a miracle."

DUI incident with antisemitic remarks

On 28 July 2006, Gibson was arrested for driving under the influence (DUI) while speeding in his vehicle with an open container of alcohol. A leaked report revealed that during Gibson's 28 July 2006 arrest for driving under the influence he made antisemitic remarks to arresting officer James Mee, who is Jewish, saying "Fucking Jews... the Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world." Gibson issued two apologies for the incident through his publicist, and in a later interview with Diane Sawyer, he affirmed the accuracy of the quotations. He admitted to making antisemitic remarks during his arrest and apologized for his "despicable" behavior, saying the comments were "blurted out in a moment of insanity" and asked to meet with Jewish leaders to help him "discern the appropriate path for healing." After Gibson's arrest, his publicist said he had entered a recovery program to battle alcoholism.

On 17 August 2006, Gibson pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor drunken-driving charge and was sentenced to three years probation. He was ordered to attend self-help meetings five times a week for four and a half months and three times a week for the remainder of the first year of his probation. He was also ordered to attend a First Offenders Program, was fined $1,300, and his license was restricted for 90 days.

At a May 2007 progress hearing, Gibson was praised for his compliance with the terms of his probation and his extensive participation in a self-help program beyond what was required.

Filmography

Gibson's acting career began in 1976, with a role on the Australian television series ''The Sullivans''. In his career, Gibson has appeared in 43 films, including the ''Mad Max'' and ''Lethal Weapon'' film series. In addition to acting, Gibson has also directed four films, including ''Braveheart'' and ''The Passion of the Christ''; produced 11 films; and written two films. Films either starring or directed by Mel Gibson have earned over US$2.5 billion, in the United States alone. Gibson's filmography includes television series, feature films, television films, and animated films.

Awards and accomplishments

Academy Award: Best Picture, for ''Braveheart'' (1995) Academy Award: Best Director, for ''Braveheart'' (1995) People's Choice Awards: Favorite Motion Picture Actor (1991, 1997, 2001, 2003, 2004) People's Choice Awards: Favorite Motion Picture Star in a Comedy (2001) ShoWest Award: Male Star of the Year (1993) ShoWest Award: Director of the Year (1996) American Cinematheque Gala Tribute: American Cinematheque Award (1995) Hasty Pudding Theatricals: Man of the Year (1997) Australian Film Institute: Global Achievement Award (2002) Honorary Doctorate Recipient and Undergraduate Commencement Speaker, Loyola Marymount University (2003) World's most powerful celebrity by US business magazine ''Forbes'' (2004) Hollywood Reporter Innovator of the Year (2004) Honorary fellowship in Performing Arts by Limkokwing University (2007) Outstanding Contribution to World Cinema Award at the Irish Film and Television Awards (2008) Sexist Pig Award from the Alliance of Women Film Journalists (2011)

References

Bibliography

External links

"Exclusive: Mel Gibson's Apocalyto Now" (sic), by Tim Padgett/Veracruz, ''TIME'' magazine

Category:1956 births Category:Living people Category:20th-century actors Category:21st-century actors Category:21st-century writers Category:Actors from New York Category:American film actors Category:American film directors Category:American emigrants to Australia Category:American people of Australian descent Category:American people of Irish descent Category:American philanthropists Category:American Roman Catholics Category:American screenwriters Category:American stage actors Category:American television actors Category:American television producers Category:American Traditionalist Catholics Category:American voice actors Category:Best Director Academy Award winners Category:Best Director Golden Globe winners Category:Honorary Officers of the Order of Australia Category:People educated at the National Institute of Dramatic Art Category:People from Sydney Category:People from Westchester County, New York Category:People self-identifying as alcoholics Category:People with bipolar disorder Category:Producers who won the Best Picture Academy Award Category:Racism in the United States

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name	Jonathan Ross
birth name	Jonathan Stephen Ross
birth date	November 17, 1960
birth place	Camden, London, England
nationality	British
occupation	Broadcaster, film critic
years active	1987–present
spouse
children	2 daughters, 1 son
parents	Martha Ross }}

Jonathan Stephen Ross, OBE (born 17 November 1960) is an English television and radio presenter, best known for presenting the BBC One chat show ''Friday Night with Jonathan Ross'' from 2001 until he left the BBC in 2010. Ross began hosting a new chat show on ITV1 starting 3 September 2011. Ross also hosted his own radio show on BBC Radio 2, and acted as a film critic and presenter of the ''Film'' programme. Other regular roles have included being a regular panellist on the comedy sports quiz ''They Think It's All Over'' from 1999 to 2006, and presenting the annual British Comedy Awards from 1991 to 2007, and 2009 onwards.

Ross began his television career as a programme researcher, before débuting as a television presenter for ''The Last Resort with Jonathan Ross'' on Channel 4 in 1987. Over the next decade he had several radio and television roles, many through his own production company, Channel X. In 1995 he sold his stake in Channel X, and embarked on a career with the BBC. In 1999, Ross took over presenting the ''Film'' programme from Barry Norman, and also began presenting his own radio show, while two years later he began hosting ''Friday Night with Jonathan Ross''. For the chat show, Ross won three British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) awards for Best Entertainment Performance, in 2004, 2006 and 2007. By 2006 Ross was believed to be the BBC's highest paid star. In 2005, Ross was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to broadcasting. Ross has been involved in controversies throughout his broadcasting career. As a result, in 2008 he wrote a semi-autobiographical work titled ''Why Do I Say These Things?'', detailing some of his life experiences.

Ross has been married to the author, journalist and broadcaster Jane Goldman since 1988; they have three children. Ross and Goldman have together established the television production company Hotsauce TV. Ross is known as an avid fan and collector of comic books and memorabilia, and has written his own comic book, ''Turf''. Ross is known for his distinctive voice, flamboyant style of dress, and his light-hearted banter. He is also known for his characteristic difficulty in pronouncing the sound 'r'.

Personal

Ross was born in Camden, London, England on 17 November 1960, a son of British actress and radio presenter Martha Ross. He grew up in Leytonstone and is the brother of journalist, television editor, and media personality Paul Ross; TV producer/actor Miles Ross; TV producer Simon Ross, and music industry professional Adam Ross. He was educated at Norlington School for Boys, a comprehensive school at the same time as his elder brother Paul, and at Leyton County High School for Boys, a comprehensive school. He also attended Southampton College of Art, now known as Southampton Solent University. He then studied Modern European History at the School of Slavonic and East European Studies (SSEES), University of London.

Ross married author/journalist/broadcaster Jane Goldman, nine years his junior, in 1988, when Goldman was 18. They have since had three children: Betty Kitten (named after Bettie Page), Harvey Kirby (named after Jack Kirby, a comic book creator whom Ross especially admires), and Honey Kinney. The family lives in Hampstead Garden Suburb.

Ross and others have used his rhotacism for comic effect and he is sometimes known as "Wossy," including on his Twitter feed (@wossy).

Ross is known for owning exotic pets. He is a big music fan and the first band he saw live was punk rockers X-Ray Spex at Islington's Hope and Anchor pub in North London. He is a big fan of David Bowie, Roxy Music and Bryan Ferry, Queen (he was in the audience for Queen at Wembley), British punk rock, Spandau Ballet, Sparks, ''Star Trek'', ''Doctor Who'' (his favourite Doctor was Jon Pertwee), and comic books. Ross has even co-owned a comic shop in London with Paul Gambaccini and released ''Turf'', his first comic book, in 2010, with American artist Tommy Lee Edwards. He was also the visual inspiration for the main character in the comic book ''Saviour''. Ross is also greatly interested in Japan, presenting a BBC-TV series on many different aspects of Japanese culture, ''Japanorama'', for three series between 2002–07. He was a regular at London's ''Blitz'' club during the early 1980s (famous for the Blitz Kids). He is a fan and friend of the singers Morrissey and George Michael.

He is a close friend of comedian Ricky Gervais and bought him a kitten after Gervais' previous cat, Colin, had died. The cat's name is Ollie and was presented to him on an episode of Ross' talk show ''Friday Night With Jonathan Ross''. He was one of the special celebrity guests in the final episode of Gervais's second season of ''Extras'', in which Gervais's character, Andy Millman, and Ross were shown to be the best of friends after a fictional appearance on ''Friday Night With Jonathan Ross''.

He is also a friend of author Neil Gaiman, and he and his wife appear in Gaiman's short story "The Facts in the Case of the Departure of Miss Finch", collected in ''Fragile Things''.

In 2005, Ross was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the Queen's Birthday Honours for services to broadcasting. He celebrated the news by playing "God Save the Queen" by the Sex Pistols on his Radio 2 show.

When talking to Colin Farrell on ''Friday Night with Jonathan Ross'' on 19 February 2010, Ross claimed not to have consumed alcohol for ten years.

Ross has attended a fund raiser for the James Randi Educational Foundation called ''The Amazing Meeting'' in London in 2009 and 2010. Interviewed by Rebecca Watson, Ross described himself as a big fan of James Randi and the other speakers – who were mainly prominent sceptics – and said that he and his wife had come to have a sceptical view of the world. Ross has been supportive of Simon Singh's efforts to defend an accusation of libel by the British Chiropractic Association and Ross has posed for the ''Geek Calendar 2011'', a fund raiser for the libel reform in the UK.

At a book signing event in Central London in September 2010, Ross stated that as a youngster he went to school in Leyton (Leyton Senior High School) and supports Leyton Orient F.C.

On 6 June 2011, it was announced that Ross' beloved pug Mr Pickle had been killed in an accident on board a train while Ross was filming a new travelogue show for ITV. Mr Pickle was well known to both viewers and listeners of Ross' TV and radio shows.

Career

Child actor

Following the acting lead of his mother, who appeared as an extra on television shows such as ''East Enders'', Ross appeared in television ads as a child actor. His first, for the breakfast cereal Kellogg's Rice Krispies, gave him his television debut in 1970, when he was 10 years old. He also appeared in an ad for the laundry detergent Persil.

Early career

Ross began his adult career as a researcher on the Channel 4 show ''Loose Talk''. After leaving this, he worked on various other shows before beginning another research job on ''Soul Train'', which became ''Solid Soul''. It is believed his first appearance on television was as an extra in the 1981 ''It Ain't Half Hot, Mum'' episode, ''The Last Roll Call''.

Channel X: 1987–95

Whilst on ''Solid Soul'', he met fellow researcher Alan Marke, and the two devised what would prove to be a breakthrough hit for Ross in 1987, ''The Last Resort with Jonathan Ross''.

The pair based their concept on the successful American show ''Late Night with David Letterman'', and formed a new production company called Channel X, to produce a pilot. Ross was not originally slated as the show's host, but with little time to find one Jonathan Ross stepped in and made his television debut on the show in January 1987.

While the series was initially a co-production with Colin Calendar, ownership transferred to Marke and Ross, meaning that the latter retained a great deal of control as well as being presenter. The show proved popular for both Ross and for Channel 4, making him one of the major personalities on the channel.

A year later, his documentary series ''The Incredibly Strange Film Show'' introduced many to the works of cult filmmakers like Sam Raimi and Jackie Chan.

In 1989, he co-presented the biennial BBC charity telethon ''Comic Relief'', the same year he launched ''One Hour with Jonathan Ross'' a short lived chat show on Channel 4, most notable for the game show segment "Knock down ginger" which introduced comedians such as Vic Reeves, Bob Mortimer, Paul Whitehouse and Charlie Higson to television.

In 1991, he presented the annual ''British Comedy Awards'' on ITV. He has presented the event each year since, but in 2008 announced he would be stepping down from the role following his suspension from the BBC. In 1992 he presented an interview with Madonna about her ''Erotica'' album and ''Sex Book'' promotion.

In 1993, he was the narrator for ''FIA Formula One 1993 Season Review'' video.

Ross has appeared in numerous television entertainment programmes on several channels throughout the 1990s and 2000s. He was a regular panellist on the sports quiz ''They Think It's All Over'', and hosted the panel game ''It's Only TV...But I Like It''. Other projects include the BBC joke-quiz ''Gagtag'', the Channel 4 variety show ''Saturday Zoo'', new-acts showcase ''The Big Big Talent Show'', and the ITV programme ''Fantastic Facts''.

In 1995 he left Channel X, despite its profitable nature. He was quoted in a 1998 article as stating:

Television 1995–2006

In 1995 he presented ''Mondo Rosso'', a programme about old ''cult'' films. He took over presenting of the Film programme, the BBC's long-running cinema review series, in 1999 after Barry Norman left the show. Ross himself has made a number of cameo appearances in films, playing himself in the Spice Girls' film ''Spice World'' (1997) and voicing the character of Doris in the UK version of ''Shrek 2'' (2004). He also played himself in ''Only Fools and Horses'', presenting ''Goldrush'', a fictional television quiz on which the main character, Del, was a contestant. In 2001 he voiced characters in two episodes of the animated comedy series ''Rex the Runt''. In the 30 October episode of ''Film 2006'', Ross also claimed that he had appeared as an extra in the 1981 film 'The Rise and Fall of Idi Amin', as an Israeli soldier raiding Entebbe Airport. He also appeared on the first pilot show for ''Shooting Stars'', acting as a team captain.

BBC Radio: 1999–2010

Ross began presenting a Saturday morning show on BBC Radio 2 in 1999. He has also presented radio shows for BBC Radio 1 and Virgin Radio (having previously worked on Richard Branson's earlier venture, ''Radio Radio''), as well as the now-defunct commercial radio network service ''The Superstation'', where his producer was Chris Evans.

From 23 May 2009, Ross' BBC Radio 2 show was pre-recorded 24 hours before broadcast. This decision was made to make the show more watertight and, according to the press, to make sure any of Ross's off-the-cuff comments might be edited out.

Ross' show on Radio 2 last aired on 17 July 2010 when his contract at the BBC ended.

''Friday Night with Jonathan Ross'': 2001–10

On 2 November 2001, Ross began presenting his chat show ''Friday Night with Jonathan Ross''.

In 2005, Ross anchored the BBC television coverage of the Live 8 concerts. Later that year he was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the Queen's Birthday Honours for services to broadcasting. He celebrated the news by playing "God Save the Queen" by The Sex Pistols (which was banned by the BBC when released in 1977) on his BBC Radio 2 Saturday morning show. On 21 June 2006 Ross was made a Fellow of University College London, where he studied.

In early 2006, Ross announced that after eight years he was quitting his regular panellist seat on the sport/comedy quiz show ''They Think It's All Over'', stating:

However, after Ross' departure, only two more episodes of the show were made before it was cancelled.

In January 2006 he presented ''Jonathan Ross' Asian Invasion'', broadcast on BBC Four. The three-part documentary followed Ross as he explored the film industry in Japan, Hong Kong and South Korea, interviewing directors and showcasing clips. His interest in Asian culture and his self confessed love for anime and video games led him to making three series of BBC Three show ''Japanorama'', as well as producing another series for the same channel called ''Adam and Joe Go Tokyo'', starring Adam Buxton and Joe Cornish. He produced the latter programme through his own production company Hot Sauce.

In June 2006, a bidding war was sparked between BBC and other broadcasters for Ross' services. Although other broadcasters were unsuccessful in poaching Ross, it is believed that their bids were higher than the BBC during negotiations. ITV, who bid for Ross, poached chat host Michael Parkinson around the same time. Ross became the highest paid television personality in Britain, when a new BBC contract secured his services until 2010, for a reported £18 million (£6 million per year).

On 25 June 2006, he performed at the Children's Party at the Palace for the Queen's 80th birthday. In August 2006, Ross was enlisted to ask the first question since the transition from beta for the Yahoo Answers in UK and Ireland. On 16 March 2007, Ross hosted Comic Relief 2007 alongside Fearne Cotton and Lenny Henry. On 7 July 2007 Ross presented at the Live Earth concert.

Starting on 10 September 2007 he presented the BBC Four series ''Comics Britannia'', about the history of the British comic. This forms the core of a Comics Britannia season, which includes another documentary, ''In Search of Steve Ditko'', by Ross.

In May 2008, Ross won the Sony Gold Award "Music Radio Personality of the Year".

On 3 August 2008, on BBC1, he hosted ''Jonathan Ross Salutes Dad's Army''.

In 2010, Ross took part in ''Channel 4's Comedy Gala'', a benefit show held in aid of Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital, filmed live at the O2 Arena in London on 30 March.

On 7 April 2010, Ross' first comic book was published. Turf was written by Jonathan himself and drawn by artist Tommy Lee Edwards. In 2011, Ross wrote an introduction for ''The Steve Ditko Omnibus Vol. 1'', a collection of work by the American comics artist featured in Ross' 2007 documentary.

In one of his last appearances on the show, Ross was bundled on repeatedly by Gary Lineker, Ross Noble, Damon Albarn, Jamie Hewlett & Tinie Tempah, after a performance of Gorillaz' iconic song "Clint Eastwood" & "On Melancholy Hill".

Leaving the BBC (2010)

On 7 January 2010, Ross confirmed that he would leave the BBC in July 2010, having decided not to renegotiate his contract. This would see him leave all his regular BBC roles, namely his Friday night chat show, Radio 2 show and a film review programme, although he would be continuing with some specials, such as Comic Relief and the BAFTA Awards.

Explaining the decision, Ross said:

Although I have had a wonderful time working for the BBC, and am very proud of the shows I have made while there, over the last two weeks I have decided not to re-negotiate when my current contract comes to an end. While there, I have worked with some of the nicest and most talented people in the industry and had the opportunity to interview some of the biggest stars in the world, and am grateful to the BBC for such a marvellous experience. I would like to make it perfectly clear that no negotiations ever took place and that my decision is not financially motivated

The decision came a day after it was announced that Graham Norton had signed a two year deal with the BBC, and the BBC's media correspondent Torin Douglas speculated Norton would be a ready-made replacement for Ross's chat show role, while Mark Kermode of BBC Radio 5 Live was a potential successor in the film review role, but that "replacing Ross on radio will be harder". Ross last appeared on the film programme in Episode 10 of ''Film 2010 with Jonathan Ross'' aired on 17 March 2010. After Kermode publicly ruled himself out on 26 March, Claudia Winkleman was announced 30 March 2010 as his replacement as host of ''the Film programme'', who was to host Film 2010 from September 2010.

Ross's final ''Friday Night'' chat show episode aired on 16 July 2010, with David Beckham, Jackie Chan, Mickey Rourke and Roxy Music as guests. Ross ended the show with an affectionate tribute to his guests and to the audience, while mentioning that he had promised his friend Morrissey that he would remain composed and "wouldn't cry". His final Radio 2 show was broadcast the following day. Patrick Kielty initially took over Ross' Radio 2 slot from 24 July 2010 after which Graham Norton took over permanently.

2010 onwards (ITV and Cinemoi)

On 14 December 2010, Jonathan Ross announced his creative partnership with CineMoi, the UK's first and only independent French film channel. His deal with the company gives him a multi-faceted role as presenter, producer, creative director and shareholder in the company. A life long cinephile Ross has a unique perspective on French film and hopes to encourage 'first-timers' to explore a world of film that differs slightly from that of the regular Hollywood fare.

On 19 December 2010, Ross presented a three hour Channel 4 list show, ''100 Greatest Toys'', with the broadcaster describing Ross as a "huge toy enthusiast with a private collection that would rival any museum's."

In 2011, he presented ''Penn & Teller: Fool Us'' on ITV, a collaboration with magicians Penn & Teller.

Ross's new chat show ''The Jonathan Ross Show'' began on 3 September 2011 on ITV1, drawing an audience of 4.3m viewers, compared to the 4.6m for his finale on the BBC show. The first series will run for thirteen weeks. Speaking about the new show, Ross said: "I am thrilled and excited that after a short break I will be rolling up my sleeves and creating a brand new show for ITV1."

Controversies

BBC contract

In April 2006, Ross, along with other BBC personalities, had details of his fees leaked to the tabloid press. It was claimed at the time, by a then unidentified BBC mole, that Ross earned £530,000 (equivalent to £10,000 per show) per year for hosting his Radio 2 show. While refusing to comment specifically on the leak in line with the BBC policy on the matter, Ross did hint during his radio show that the figure was exaggerated; in addition to this, any pay highlighted as being 'his' would actually be split between himself and his producer/co-presenter on the show, Andy Davies.

David Cameron interview

In June 2006, when Conservative Party leader David Cameron appeared on ''Friday Night with Jonathan Ross'', Ross began a line of questioning relating to Conservative ex-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, culminating in the question "Did you or did you not have a wank thinking of Margaret Thatcher?". Ross was defended by the BBC publicly, but repeat showings of the interview have been banned.

Heather Mills comment

In 2006, Ross was criticised when he made a joke against Heather Mills, soon after she and Paul McCartney announced they were to divorce. He branded Mills, who only has one leg, a "fucking liar" and that he "wouldn't be surprised if we found out she's actually got two legs".

"1,000 journalists" comment

On 5 December 2007, Ross joked at the ''British Comedy Awards'' that his salary meant that he was "apparently worth 1,000 BBC journalists". His quip came shortly after the BBC had announced plans for more than 2,000 jobs cuts, and was condemned as "obscene" by the general secretary of the National Union of Journalists. Ross has denied this saying that he was commenting on a piece that was written in a newspaper about his salary being that of 1,000 journalists:

"You know where that came from? The newspapers. After the fee was announced, they said, 'The BBC says he's worth 1,000 journalists', so on the Comedy Awards I made a joke that began, 'Apparently I'm worth 1,000 journalists according to the newspapers.' Every time it's quoted, is the word 'apparently' ever used? Which does change the meaning somewhat."

The Russell Brand Show and Andrew Sachs

Following a guest appearance by Ross on ''The Russell Brand Show'' broadcast on 18 October 2008, Ross was suspended for 12 weeks without pay by the BBC on 29 October, after a series of answer phone messages were left for 79-year-old actor Andrew Sachs regarding Sachs' granddaughter Georgina Baillie, by Russell Brand and Ross, which were broadcast on the pre-recorded show. After little initial interest, a media story about the calls generated a high number of complaints. Brand resigned from the BBC, while Ross was suspended without pay. BBC director general Mark Thompson stated that Ross should take the disciplinary action as a "final warning". The BBC was later fined £150,000 by Britain's broadcast regulator for airing the calls.

On 21 November 2008, the BBC Trust said that the phone calls were a "deplorable intrusion with no editorial justification". The trust gave its backing to Ross's 12 week suspension but recommended that no further action be taken against him. He returned to work in January, and the first episode of a new series of ''Friday Night With Jonathan Ross'' with guests Tom Cruise, Stephen Fry and Lee Evans, and music from Franz Ferdinand, was broadcast on 23 January 2009.

Gwyneth Paltrow interview

The BBC Trust ruled that Ross’ interview with Gwyneth Paltrow, broadcast on 2 May 2008, breached editorial guidelines. They ruled that bad language in an episode of Ross's pre-recorded BBC1 chat show, ''Friday Night with Jonathan Ross'', in which the presenter told Hollywood actress Gwyneth Paltrow he "would fuck her" was "gratuitous and unnecessarily offensive". The trust said it disagreed with the judgement made by BBC management that the episode should be broadcast uncensored, adding that the comment was made in an "overly sexual way" and that it had upheld a number of complaints made about the edition of ''Friday Night with Jonathan Ross''. The trust reminded BBC staff that "the casual gratuitous use of the most offensive language is not acceptable on the BBC in accordance with the BBC's existing guidelines and practices", adding that "this particularly applies in entertainment programmes".

''Hannah Montana'' comment

On 13 May 2009, Ross was accused of homophobia after a comment he made on his radio show. In which he said,

If your son asks for a ''Hannah Montana'' MP3 player, then you might want to already think about putting him down for adoption in later life, when they settle down with their partner.

An incorrect version of this quote was also circulated, in which Ross was accused of saying:

If your son asks for a Hannah Montana MP3 player, you might want to already think about putting him down for adoption before he brings his … erm … partner home.

Ofcom received 61 complaints following the comment. A representative from the BBC defended Ross saying the comment was made "purely in jest" and that "Jonathan is not homophobic in any sense and never meant for his comments to be taken seriously." On 7 July 2009, Ofcom ruled that Ross did not breach the broadcasting code. They wrote in their opinion that "the comment was clearly presented as a joke intended to make light of the reactions that some parents may have if their child chooses a toy that is very widely recognised to be designed and marketed for the opposite sex" and that the nature of the joke and tone and manner in which it was presented "made clear that it was not intended to be hostile or pejorative towards the gay community in general." Stonewall criticised the ruling; saying "the fact that a comment is light-hearted does not absolve it from perpetuating the stereotypes that lead to homophobic bullying."

Video games

''Fable III''

Year	! Video game	! Role	! Notes
2007	''Halo 3''	UNSC Marine
2010	|	Barry Hatch

Honours and Awards

2006, made a Fellow of University College, London (UCL), into which his alma mater, SSEES, had been absorbed.

2012, Special Recognition award at the National Television Awards.

References

Further reading

''Jonathan Ross: The Biography'', Neil Simpson, John Blake Publishing Ltd (31 July 2007), ISBN 184454432X

''Why Do I Say These Things?'', Jonathan Ross, Bantam Press (16 October 2008), ISBN 0593060822

External links

''The Jonathan Ross Show'' on itv.com

Interactive video talk by Jonathan Ross on Ealing studios for the British Film Institute

Category:1960 births Category:Living people Category:20th-century actors Category:20th-century writers Category:21st-century actors Category:21st-century writers Category:Alumni of Southampton Solent University Category:Alumni of the UCL School of Slavonic and East European Studies Category:BAFTA winners (people) Category:English film actors Category:English film critics Category:English radio DJs Category:English television actors Category:English television presenters Category:English television producers Category:English television talk show hosts Category:English television writers Category:English voice actors Category:Friday Night with Jonathan Ross Category:Officers of the Order of the British Empire Category:People from Camden Town Category:People from Leytonstone

cy:Jonathan Ross de:Jonathan Ross (Moderator) es:Jonathan Ross fr:Jonathan Ross nl:Jonathan Ross pl:Jonathan Ross pt:Jonathan Ross simple:Jonathan Ross sv:Jonathan Ross

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
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 incidents

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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