Name	Flavor Flav
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	William Jonathan Drayton, Jr.
Alias	FlavMC DJ Flavor Flav.
Born	March 16, 1959
Origin	Roosevelt, Long Island, New York, United States
Instrument	Vocals, piano, guitar, bass, saxophone, clarinet, drums, triangle
Genre	Hip-hop
Occupation	Rapper, reality television star
Years active	1982–present
Associated acts	Public EnemyChuck DProfessor GriffDJ LordTerminator XSister SouljahS1W }}

William Jonathan Drayton, Jr. (born March 16, 1959), better known by his stage name Flavor Flav, is an American rapper and television personality who rose to prominence as a member of the rap group Public Enemy. He is also known for popularizing the role of the hype man and for yelling "Yeah boy!" and "Flavor Flav!" during performances.

After falling out of the public eye for a number of years, he reappeared as the star of several VH1 reality series, including ''The Surreal Life'', ''Strange Love'', and ''Flavor of Love''.

Early life

Drayton grew up in Freeport, Long Island, New York. His father owned a greasy spoon called the Soul Diner. Flav began playing the piano at age five; he claims to be self-taught. A musical prodigy, he sang in the youth choir at his church and mastered the piano, drums, and guitar at an early age. He eventually became proficient in 15 instruments. His childhood included legal trouble: he set a house on fire as a small child while playing with a lighter and, by the time he dropped out of school in the 11th grade, he had been in and out of jail for robbery and burglary.

He attended Adelphi University in Long Island where he met Carlton Ridenhour, who would become known as Chuck D. Flavor Flav took his stage name after his graffiti tag. They first collaborated on Chuck D's hip-hop college radio show, then began rapping together. The two worked for Chuck D's father's delivery service.

Career

Music

Flavor Flav came to prominence as a founding member of the rap group Public Enemy. In 1984, the group released a track, "Public Enemy #1", which brought them to the attention of Def Jam Records executive Rick Rubin. Rubin initially did not understand Flav's role in the act and wanted to sign Chuck D as a solo act; however Chuck D insisted that Flav be signed with them and the two were signed to Def Jam in 1986. The group's first album, ''Yo! Bum Rush the Show'', was released in 1987. Flav served as the comic foil to Chuck D's serious, politically charged style. The group gained much wider fame with their following release, 1988's ''It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back'', which went double platinum. By the time the political single "Fight the Power" was issued in 1989, the group had become mainstream superstars.

Along with Chuck D, the showman of the group and its promotional voice, Flav stood out among the members of Public Enemy as he often got the fans excited, appearing on stage and in public wearing big hats and glasses and a large clock dangling from his neck.

The first released track on which Flav rapped solo was "Too Much Posse" on ''Yo! Bum Rush the Show'', though the first hit on which he rapped solo would not come until the 1990s single "911 Is a Joke". During Public Enemy's first years of existence, Flav dealt with tensions with group-mate Professor Griff, who never liked Flav's flamboyant stance in what Griff felt to be a serious, politically-challenging group. In 1990, after allegedly making anti-Semitic comments, Professor Griff left Public Enemy.

In 2006, Flav put out his first solo album. It was released during the second season of ''Flavor of Love''.

Television

After a hiatus from the music scene, Flavor Flav was invited to participate on VH1 reality show ''The Surreal Life''. During this show, he developed a relationship with Brigitte Nielsen.

Following the conclusion of ''The Surreal Life'', VH1 gave Flav and Brigitte a show titled ''Strange Love'', which detailed their globetrotting adventure in love. At the end of ''Strange Love'' Brigitte decided to return to her fiancé, Mattia Dessi.

''Flavor of Love'', which aired for three seasons, is a reality show where Flavor Flav looks for love. The show's success led to spin-offs titled ''I Love New York'' and ''I Love Money''. It was revealed in the third season reunion show that Flav met a woman, not from the show, after taping had concluded. He proposed to her on air during the special. The two have a son together.

The Comedy Central roast of Flavor Flav aired on August 12, 2007. Guests appearing at the roast: Snoop Dogg, Brigitte Nielsen, Jimmy Kimmel, Carrot Top, Lisa Lampanelli, Ice T, Jeff Ross, Katt Williams, Patton Oswalt, Greg Giraldo, and Sommore.

Flav played Calvester Hill on the MyNetworkTV comedy ''Under One Roof'' starring alongside Kelly Perine.

Restaurateur

In 2011, Flav partnered with Nick Cimino to open Flav’s Fried Chicken in Cimino's hometown of Clinton, Iowa. Flav met Cimino through his brother Peter, who runs Mama Cimino's in Las Vegas. After enjoying the rapper's homemade fried chicken, Peter Cimino began selling 99¢ chicken wings using Flav's recipe. The founders hope that Flav's Fried Chicken will be the first of a national restaurant franchise; like KFC, it uses a secret recipe.. However, a mix of squabbling owners and bad business decisions led to Flavor Flav's Chicken to shut down 12 weeks after it opened.

Other TV and media appearances

In May 2005, Flav takes part in the UK reality show The Farm on Channel 5.

On June 14, 2006, Flav's participation, with WEVR-MRC, in the ''Lisa Tolliver Show'' celebration of National Safety Month, earned kudos from Surgeon General of the United States Richard Carmona.

Flav stars in Deon Taylor's horror anthology ''Nite Tales'' and ''Dark Christmas''.

On May 10, 2010, Flavor Flav guest hosted the wrestling show ''WWE RAW''.

On August 14th, 2011, Flavor Flav appeared as a host at the 12th annual Gathering of the Juggalos.

Personal life

After leaving the clinic, Flav began dating Angie Parker, with whom he has three more children.

After leaving the clinic, he began dating Beverly Johnson, and by 2000, he lived in a small apartment in the Bronx with her and her two kids from a previous marriage while making extra cash scalping baseball tickets.

Following his release from jail, Drayton broke up with Johnson and moved in with his mother on Long Island. Chuck D became concerned about his friend's well-being and, towards the end of 2003, suggested Flav move to Los Angeles. He moved into his friend Princess' apartment and within months met Cris Abrego and Mark Cronin, the creators and executive producers of the reality television series ''The Surreal Life''. The pair sought him as soon as they heard he had moved to Los Angeles. Seeing that he had indeed remained free from his previous addictions, they wanted to cast him. Initially Flav refused, feeling the show was for celebrities past their fame. He was eventually convinced to join by previous participant MC Hammer.

Family

Flav has eight children. Their names are Shaniq, Karen, Dazyna, Quanah, William, Jasmine, Kayla, and Karma. He also has two grandchildren, Brianna and Matthew. Both grandchildren belong to his daughter Shaniq. Three of his children were with ex-girlfriend Karen Ross, three children were with Angie Parker. His latest child, a boy named Karma, was born in January 2007 to his fiancée Liz. Flav was also once married to a woman named Beverly.

Substance abuse and legal issues

By the time he dropped out of school in the 11th grade, he had been in and out of jail for robbery and burglary.

In 1991, he pled guilty to assaulting his then-girlfriend Karen Ross and he served 30 days in jail, lost custody of his children, and sank deeper into addiction.

Two years later, he was charged with attempted murder and imprisoned for 90 days for shooting at his neighbor in 1993.

He was later charged with domestic violence, cocaine and marijuana charges; his family performed an intervention and he checked into the Betty Ford Center for crack addiction.

Because of his previous erratic behavior, Public Enemy had temporarily stopped performing and, without anything else to do, he began using drugs again.

After his father died of diabetes in 1997 he decided to re-enter rehabilitation, this time at the Long Island Center for Recovery. At one point, he broke both arms in a motorcycle crash.

In 2002, he spent nine weeks in Rikers Island jail for driving with a suspended license, numerous parking tickets and showing up late for appointments with his probation officer.

On May 2, 2011, Flav was arrested on four outstanding misdemeanor warrants for various driving offenses. Police said the rapper had two outstanding arrest warrants for driving without a license, one for driving without insurance and one related to a parking citation. Flav has since been released, but it's unclear when he is due back in court.

In June, 2011, he told Australian radio show ''The Kyle & Jackie O Show'' that when his drug problem was its worst, he would spend up to US$2,600 a day on crack cocaine.

Discography

;With Public Enemy

''Yo! Bum Rush the Show'' (1987)

''It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back'' (1988)

''Fight the Power...Live!'' (video and album, 1989)

''Fear of a Black Planet'' (1990)

''Apocalypse '91...The Enemy Strikes Black'' (1991)

''Greatest Misses'' 1986-1992 (1992)

''Muse Sick-n-Hour Mess Age'' (1994)

''He Got Game'' (1998)

''BTN 2000'' (online released mega-mix which initiated PE's leaving Def Jam Records) (1999)

''There's A Poison Goin On'' (1999)

''Revolverlution'' (2002)

''There's A Poison Goin On'' (worldwide re-release) (2004)

''Son of a Bush'' (EP) (released before the 2004 Presidential Election); contained the songs "Son of a Gun", "Get Your Dump Together" and the song featuring Fine Arts Militia (featuring Chuck D) entitled "Twisted Sense of God"

''New Whirl Odor'' (2005)

''Rebirth of a Nation'' (featuring Paris, Guerrilla Funk Recordings) (2006)

''How You Sell Soul to a Soulless People Who Sold Their Soul?'' (2007)

;Solo albums

''Flavor Flav'' (2006)

;Guest appearances

Anthrax, "Bring The Noise" (w/Chuck D)

Barshem, "Where's My $5 At?"

Chad Muska, "Flavor Man"

Crime Mob, "I'll Beat Yo Azz"

De La Soul, "Come On Down"

DJ Hurricane, "Freeze The Frame" (w/Chuck D & Money Mark)

DJ Tomekk, "1, 2, 3,...Rhymes Galore" (w/Grandmaster Flash, MC Rene & Afrob)

George Clinton, "Paint The White House Black" (w/Chuck D, Ice Cube, MC Breed, Kam, Yo-Yo & Dr. Dre), "Tweakin" (w/Chuck D)

Heavy D, "You Can't See What I Can See"

Ice Cube, "I'm Only Out For One Thang"

Living Colour, "Funny Vibe" (w/Chuck D)

Material, "Burnin" (w/DXT)

Moby, "MKLVFCKWR" (w/Chuck D)

Nigo, "From New York To Tokyo"

Paris, "Freedom (Remix)" (w/Chuck D & Dead Prez)

Prince Akeem, "Only We Can Do This"

Will Smith featuring Biz Markie and Slick Rick. "So Fresh" (Music Video)

Snoop Dogg, "Bad Bitch"

Various, "Self Destruction" (Public Enemy, Heavy D, Stetsasonic, MC Lyte, KRS-One, Kool Moe Dee, and others)

Wu-Tang Clan, "Soul Power"

P.Diddy, Music video for "P.E. 2000"

Taking Back Sunday, Music video for "You're So Last Summer"

Eric B & Rakim, music video for "I ain't no joke"

References

External links

Artist profile at VH1

Category:1959 births Category:Living people Category:Adelphi University alumni Category:African American rappers Category:American burglars Category:American people convicted of assault Category:American robbers Category:People from Freeport, New York Category:People from Nassau County, New York Category:Public Enemy members Category:Rappers from Long Island Category:The Surreal Life participants

da:Flavor Flav de:Flavor Flav es:Flavor Flav fr:Flavor Flav it:Flavor Flav he:פלייבור פלייב pl:Flava Flav pt:Flavor Flav simple:Flavor Flav fi:Flavor Flav sv:Flavor Flav

Name	Flavia Pennetta
Country
Residence	Verbier, Switzerland
Birth date	February 25, 1982
Birth place	Brindisi, Italy
Height
Weight
Turnedpro	25 February 2000
Plays	Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Careerprizemoney	US$ 5,360,604
Singlesrecord	469—287
Singlestitles	9 WTA, 7 ITF
Highestsinglesranking	No. 10 (17 August 2009)
Currentsinglesranking	No. 25 (29 August 2011)
Australianopenresult	4R (2011)
Frenchopenresult	4R (2008, 2010)
Wimbledonresult	4R (2005, 2006)
Usopenresult	QF (2008, 2009)
Doublesrecord	289—179
Doublestitles	14 WTA, 9 ITF
Highestdoublesranking	No. 1 (28 February 2011)
Currentdoublesranking	No. 4 (29 August 2011)
Grandslamsdoublesresults	yes
Australianopendoublesresult	W (2011)
Frenchopendoublesresult	QF (2010)
Wimbledondoublesresult	SF (2010)
Usopendoublesresult	F (2005)
Othertournamentsdoubles	Yes
Wtachampionshipsdoublesresult	W (2010)
Updated	29 August 2011 }}

Flavia Pennetta (born 25 February 1982 in Brindisi, Apulia) is an Italian professional tennis player. She became Italy's first top 10 female singles player on 17 August 2009 and also the first ever Italian Tennis player to be ranked No.1 in Doubles on 28 February 2011. As of 19 August 2011, Pennetta is ranked World No. 25 in singles and World No. 4 in doubles.

Pennetta has won nine career WTA singles titles, including back-to-back titles in Bogotá and Acapulco in 2005. She and her Italian teammates Mara Santangelo, Francesca Schiavone, and Roberta Vinci beat the Belgium team 3–2 in the 2006 Fed Cup final. Justine Henin had to retire in the fifth and final match due to an injury in her right knee, which let Italy win their first Fed Cup trophy. She was also a member of their winning team in 2009 and 2010, when they beat the United States on both occasions.

Pennetta has defeated multiple Grand Slam singles champions such as Justine Henin, Mary Pierce, Martina Hingis, Francesca Schiavone, Amélie Mauresmo, Venus Williams, Maria Sharapova, and former World No. 1 Jelena Janković. Pennetta is also one of only seven women to beat Williams three consecutive times. In doubles, Pennetta won her first Grand Slam title at the 2011 Australian Open with partner Gisela Dulko, and also reached the 2005 US Open final partnered with Elena Dementieva. She has also reached the US Open quarterfinals twice in singles.

Pennetta was pronounced a Knight of Order of Merit of the Republic on 24 January 2007 by the President of Italy.

Career

Early years

Pennetta was introduced to tennis at the age of five by her father. Aged seventeen, she won the 1999 French Open in girls' doubles with fellow Italian Roberta Vinci.

Pennetta began to play on the International Tennis Federation (ITF) circuit in 1997. The following year, she lost in the second round of her first qualifying tournament for a WTA Tour main draw, the Internazionali Femminili di Palermo. In 1999, Pennetta won two singles titles and two doubles titles on the ITF circuit. She was unsuccessful in her several attempts to qualify for WTA Tour main draws in 2000. The following year, she limited her play to the ITF circuit.

She played her first main draw WTA Tour match at the 2002 Cellular South Cup in Memphis, Tennessee, where she lost in the first round. She also lost in the first round in Palermo but reached the second round of the Idea Prokom Open in Sopot. Her ranking reached the Top 100 for the first time on 23 September 2002, when she reached World No. 100.

2003

In 2003, Pennetta lost in the semifinals of the Hyderabad Indian Open to eventual champion Tamarine Tanasugarn. She also reached the quarterfinals at the Canberra Women's Classic, Copa Colsanitas, and Abierto Mexicano Telcel. She also debuted in the main draws of all four Grand Slam tournaments. Her best result was the third round of the French Open, where she defeated 21st-seeded Lisa Raymond in the second round before losing to Petra Mandula.

2004

Pennetta started the year at the Tier V Canberra Women's Classic, where she lost in the quarterfinals to Julia Vakulenko. At the Australian Open, she lost in the first round to Italian player Antonella Serra Zanetti 7–5, 6–4.

Pennetta then lost in the first round of both the Cellular South Cup in Memphis, Tennessee and the Copa Colsanitas in Bogota, Colombia. These losses were followed by her first WTA Tour final at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel in Acapulco, when she was defeated by Iveta Benešová.

She played both of the Tier I spring time hard court tournaments in the United States. She beat Ľudmila Cervanová in the first round of the Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, California before losing to Maria Sharapova. She then lost in the first round of qualifying for the NASDAQ-100 Open in Key Biscayne, Florida.

Returning to clay courts, Pennetta lost in the second round of two consecutive WTA tour tournaments, the Grand Prix SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem in Casablanca and the Estoril Open in Portugal. At the Budapest Grand Prix, Pennetta lost in the semifinals to eventual champion Jelena Janković 6–3, 6–4. She then defeated World No. 6 Nadia Petrova in the second round of the Tier I Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome before falling to World No. 21 Anna Smashnova-Pistolesi in the third round 6–2, 6–2. At the French Open, Pennetta lost in the first round, once more to Smashnova-Pistolesi, 6–1, 6–4.

In the first grass court tournament of her career, she defeated Marion Bartoli in the first round of the DFS Classic in Birmingham, United Kingdom, before losing to World No. 32 Alicia Molik in the second round. Pennetta achieved the same result at the Ordina Open, falling to World No. 85 Barbara Schett. At Wimbledon, she was beaten by Petrova in the first round 6–3, 2–6, 6–4.

In July, she played yet another clay court tournament, where she was beaten in the final of the Internazionali Femminili di Palermo by Anabel Medina Garrigues. Returning to hard courts for the first time since April, she lost to Henrieta Nagyová in the first round of the Nordea Nordic Light Open in Stockholm. The following week at the clay court Orange Prokom Open in Sopot, Poland, Pennetta won her first WTA Tour title, defeating Klára Koukalová in the final. Pennetta then lost to former World No. 1 Lindsay Davenport in the quarterfinals of the Western & Southern Financial Group Women's Open in Cincinnati and to World No. 25 Magdalena Maleeva in the first round of the US Open 2–6, 6–4, 6–4.

Pennetta played four tournaments the remainder of the year. At the Wismilak International in Bali, Pennetta lost in the second round to eventual quarterfinalist Gisela Dulko. She then fell to María Vento-Kabchi in the first round of the China Open in Beijing and to Tamarine Tanasugarn in the second round of the Guangzhou International Women's Open. In her final event of the year, she lost to World No. 14 Ai Sugiyama in the second round of the Tier I Zürich Open 7–6(1), 6–1.

2005

In Pennetta's first event of the year, she reached the quarterfinals of the Uncle Tobys Hardcourts losing to Tatiana Golovin 6–7(5), 6–2, 6–4. She then lost in the first rounds of the Australian Open and the Open Gaz de France. In the next two weeks she bagged two titles in a row, the first one Copa Colsanitas defeating Lourdes Domínguez Lino in the finals 7–6(4), 6–4 and the second one in the Abierto Mexicano Telcel defeating Ľudmila Cervanová 3–6, 7–5, 6–3. She then lost early in her next tournaments. The second rounds of the Pacific Life Open, the Qatar Total German Open and the Rome Masters. She also lost in the first round of the Estoril Open and the third rounds of the Miami Masters and the French Open. She however bounced back in the Wimbledon Championships by reaching the fourth Round losing to Mary Pierce 6–3, 6–1 and the semifinals of both the Internazionali di Modena and the Internazionali Femminili di Palermo which were held in Italy. She followed it up with losses to Japanese players Akiko Morigami in Acura Classic and Aiko Nakamura in JPMorgan Chase Open. In the Rogers Cup she was crushed by eventual champion Kim Clijsters 6–0, 6–1. In the US Open she was upset by German Julia Schruff 6–4, 3–6, 7–5 in the first round. She also lost early in the China Open in the first round and the Kremlin Cup in the second round to eventual champion Mary Pierce. She ended the year with quarterfinal appearances in the Wismilak International, the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, and the Zurich Open. She ended the year ranked no. 23 in the world

2008

Pennetta started the year by losing in the second round of the Mondial Australian Women's Hardcourts in Gold Coast to Dinara Safina 6–4, 2–6, 6–4. Pennetta then reached the semifinals of the Moorilla Hobart International, where she lost to eventual champion Eleni Danilidou 6–4, 6–3. At the Australian Open, she defeated Dominika Cibulková of Slovakia in the first round but fell to the 30th-seeded Virginie Razzano in the second round 6–2, 5–7, 6–3. Pennetta then played for Italy's Fed Cup team versus Spain. She played one singles match versus Anabel Medina Garrigues and lost 6–2, 6–3. Pennetta won her first title of the year at the Cachantún Cup in Viña del Mar, Chile, defeating Klára Zakopalová in the final. However, she lost in the first round of the Copa Colsanitas to Betina Jozami. Pennetta then won her second title of the year at the Acapulco Open, beating Alizé Cornet in the final.

As the 30th seed, Pennetta received a bye in the first round of the Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, California. She then defeated Kaia Kanepi in the second round, but was defeated by fellow Italian Francesca Schiavone in the third round 6–3, 6–4. She also fell to defending champion Serena Williams at the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida in the third round 6–7(6), 6–3, 6–2. Pennetta then lost in the second round of the Estoril Open to Iveta Benešová. Pennetta defeated Olga Savchuk in the first round of the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome before losing to defending champion Jelena Janković in the second round 6–4, 6–1. She then withdrew from her quarterfinal match against Anabel Medina Garrigues at the Internationaux de Strasbourg. At the French Open, Pennetta defeated eighth-seeded Venus Williams in the third round before losing to Carla Suárez Navarro in the fourth round. Pennetta lost in the first round of her first tournament on grass at the Ordina Open, to Sania Mirza. She then defeated Julia Vakulenko in the first round of Wimbledon before losing to Ai Sugiyama in the second round 7–6(5), 2–6, 6–2. She then played at the Internazionali Femminili di Palermo and lost to eventual champion, fellow Italian Sara Errani, in the semifinals. Pennetta then lost in the final of the East West Bank Classic in Los Angeles to Dinara Safina. At the following tournament, the Rogers Cup, Pennetta was defeated by a qualifier, Michelle Larcher de Brito, in the second round. She was then the part of the Italian Olympic team at the Summer Olympics in Beijing; however lost to Kaia Kanepi in the first round. Pennetta also reached the second round of the Pilot Pen Tennis tournament in New Haven, Connecticut. At the US Open, she defeated Stefanie Vögele in the first round, Shuai Peng in the second round, former World No. 3 Nadia Petrova in the third round, and former World No. 1 Amélie Mauresmo in the fourth round before losing to Safina in the quarterfinals. That was Pennetta's best career performance at a Grand Slam tournament.

Pennetta then reached the quarterfinals of Commonwealth Bank Tennis Classic in Bali, losing to eventual runner-up Tamira Paszek. At the Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, she lost in the quarterfinals to former World No. 1 Jelena Janković. Pennetta then lost to Kateryna Bondarenko in the first round of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix; to World No. 1 Janković in the quarterfinals of the Kremlin Cup in Moscow; and to Venus Williams in the final of the Zürich Open. At her last tournament of the year, the Generali Linz Open, Pennetta defeated Ágnes Szávay in the first round and Dominika Cibulková in the second round before losing to former World No. 1 and eventual champion Ana Ivanović in the quartefinals 6–4, 6–4.

2009

Pennetta played her first tournament of the year at the Moorilla Hobart International(actually it was at the Hyundai Hopman Cup), where she was the first seed. She defeated Shahar Pe'er in the first round and then fell to Magdaléna Rybáriková in the second round. Pennetta was the thirteenth seed at the Australian Open, where she lost in the third round to Anabel Medina Garrigues 6–4, 6–1. Pennetta then played for Italy's Fed Cup team in the Fed Cup World Group stage versus France. Italy won 5–0. Pennetta won both her singles matches over Amélie Mauresmo (2–6, 7–6(6), 6–4) and Alizé Cornet (6–2, 6–2). At her first tournament of the year on clay, the Copa Sony Ericsson Colsanitas in Bogotá, Colombia, Pennetta fell to Maša Zec Peškirič in the first round 6–3, 4–6, 7–6(4). She then reached the final of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel in Acapulco for the sixth straight year but lost to Venus Williams 6–1, 6–2. Returning to hard courts at the Monterrey Open, Pennetta lost to Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová in the second round. She was the fifteenth seed at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California, the first Premier Mandatory event of the year, and lost in the fourth round to eventual runner-up Ana Ivanović 6–4, 4–6, 6–4. Pennetta lost in the third round of the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida, another Premier Mandatory event, to Mauresmo 6–7(5), 6–2, 6–2.

Pennetta then played a series of clay court events in preparation for the French Open. She lost to fellow Italian Roberta Vinci in the second round of the Barcelona Ladies Open 6–1, 6–2. She then played two matches for Italy's Fed Cup team in the World Group semifinals versus reigning champion Russia. She defeated Anna Chakvetadze and lost to Svetlana Kuznetsova, but the final result was 4–1 in favor of Italy. This will be the second Fed Cup final for Pennetta. The following week, she reached the semifinals of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart beating two top 10 players, Jelena Janković and Nadia Petrova, but fell to World No. 1 player Dinara Safina 3–6, 7–5, 6–0. At the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome, a Premier 5 event, Pennetta lost in the third round to Kuznetsova, 6–0 in the third set. The following week, she was upset by Ágnes Szávay in the first round of the Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open, the third Premier Mandatory event of the year, 6–3, 6–7(2), 6–2. Pennetta, as the 11th seed, lost in the first round of the 2009 French Open to Alexa Glatch. At Wimbledon, she advanced to the third round where she was ousted by the No. 17 Amélie Mauresmo 7–5, 6–3. Pennetta then played on her home soil in Palermo, defeating Sara Errani in the final 6–1, 6–2. She and partner Vinci advanced to the semifinals in doubles. On the hard courts of Los Angeles, Pennetta upset Vera Zvonareva en route to the semifinals where she would be extended to three sets by Maria Sharapova. In her second consecutive final at the event, she defeated Samantha Stosur 6–4, 6–3. At Cincinnati, a premier 5 event, she extended her winning streak to 15 matches, maintaining an impressive record against Venus Williams, whom she beat 7–6(2), 6–4. By virtue of her defeat over Daniela Hantuchová in the quarterfinals, she will rise into the Top 10 for the first time in her career, the first Italian woman ever to do so. Her run ended against World No. 1 Dinara Safina in the semis 6–2, 6–0.

Pennetta seeded 12th at Toronto but lost to Virginie Razzano in the second round. Her next tournament was New Haven, where she lost in the semis to Caroline Wozniacki. Pennetta started the 2009 US Open with a comprehensive 6–0, 6–4 win over Edina Gallovits. In the second round, she crushed Sania Mirza 6–0, 6–0. She advanced to the fourth round by defeating Aleksandra Wozniak 6–1, 6–1. She played Vera Zvonareva in the fourth round, and saved four match points at her serve at 5–6 in the second set; and then saved another two in the second set tie-break, before she won 3–6, 7–6, 6–0. She was defeated by Serena Williams in the quarterfinals 6–4, 6–3. After the US Open, Pennetta then lost again to Roberta Vinci 6–1, 6–2 in the first round of the Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo. At the China Open, Pennetta made the quarter finals losing to Zvonareva 7–5 in the third set. Pennetta, as the top seed at Generali Ladies Linz tournament in Linz, lost in the semi finals to 3rd seed Yanina Wickmayer in straight sets. In the following week, Pennetta was forced to retire at 4–6, 3–0 with a knee injury in the opening round.

2010

Pennetta started her season at the ASB Classic in Auckland as the number one seed where defeating Jill Craybas 6–2 6–4, Carla Suárez Navarro 6–2 6–2, Dominika Cibulková 6–1 6–2 and Francesca Schiavone 6–3 6–0 in the semi finals. She lost to 3rd seed Yanina Wickmayer 3–6 2–6. In the Medibank International she notched up two top 20 wins over Samantha Stosur 6–3 6–1 and Li Na 6–2, 7–6(7–5) before losing 6–3, 6–0 to unseeded Aravane Rezaï in the quarter finals. At the first slam of the year, the Australian Open, Pennetta was the 12th seed. In the opening round she defeated former top 10 player Anna Chakvetadze 6–3, 3–6, 6–2 before falling in the second round to qualifier and world number 16 Yanina Wickmayer 7–6(7–4), 6–1. The loss being her third consecutive straight set loss to Wickmayer. Pennetta was selected for Italy's first tie against Ukraine. She won both her singles matches in straight sets against the Bondarenko sisters to set up a 4–1 away victory in the tie. Pennetta received a wild card into Open GDF Suez in Paris where was the second seed. After receiving a first round bye she defeated Alisa Kleybanova 7–6, 6–1 and Tathiana Garbin to reach the semifinals where she fell in three sets to Lucie Šafářová.

At the Dubai Tennis Championships, Pennetta advanced to the third round, losing to No.7 seed Agnieszka Radwańska. Pennetta was forced to withdrew from the Abierto Mexicano Telcel due to a hip injury. Pennetta suffered two early upset defeats at the two premier events BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells and Sony Ericsson Open in Miami. After receiving first round byes, Pennetta lost in the third round of Indian Wells to Shahar Pe'er and in the second round of Miami to Andrea Petkovic. Despite her poor singles result in Miami, Pennetta was able to win the doubles title in Miami partnering Gisela Dulko and defeating Samantha Stosur and Nadia Petrova in the final. At the 2010 Andalucia Tennis Experience Pennetta won her first title of the year advancing to the finals without dropping a set and defeating Carla Suárez Navarro 6–2, 4–6, 6–3.

At the 2010 French Open, Pennetta was seeded 14th. She defeated Anne Keothavong, Roberta Vinci, and Polona Hercog in the first three rounds. She was eliminated by No.3 seed Caroline Wozniacki in the round of 16. However, her performance moved her ranking back into the top ten, matching her career-high of world #10. This, in combination with countrywoman Francesca Schiavone winning the French Open, meant that on the week of 7 June 2010, two Italian woman were in the top 10 (Schiavone at world #6) at the same time, a feat never before accomplished. Pennetta was seeded 10th at the 2010 Wimbledon Championships. She advanced to the third round where she fell to Klára Zakopalová. She was seeded 5th at the 2010 Mercury Insurance Open in San Diego. In the quarterfinals she defeated Sam Stosur to advance to the semifinals, where she fell to Svetlana Kuznetsova.

2011

Pennetta began her year at the 2011 Medibank International Sydney, where in her first match she defeated qualifier Lucie Hradecká 6–4 6–3. In the second round, Flavia went on to defeat world number 2 Vera Zvonareva in a tough match 7–5 7–5. She went on to lose to Bojana Jovanovski in the quarterfinals.

At the 2011 Australian Open, Pennetta won her first round match against Anastasia Rodionova 6–2 6–1. In her second round match, she successfully defeated Lourdes Domínguez Lino 6–2 6–2. In her third round match, Pennetta came up victorious against Shahar Pe'er in a three-set battle 3–6 7–6 6–4, in which she rallied from deficits several times throughout the match. She lost to Czech player Petra Kvitová 6–3 3–6 3–6 in the fourth round. She did, however, capture her first career Grand Slam doubles title in the Doubles competition, again partnering Dulko and beating Victoria Azarenka and Maria Kirilenko in the final. In Fed Cup, she helped two-time reigning champion Italy defeat Australia with wins in two singles rubbers over Samantha Stosur and Jarmila Groth. She is currently on a ten-match singles winning streak in Fed Cup, dropping only one set in that span and has clinched four of Italy's last five ties. She has not lost in Fed Cup competition since 2009 against Svetlana Kuznetsova, and has compiled a stellar 20–4 overall singles record. At the Dubai Tennis Championships, Pennetta was 11th seeded. In the first round she defeated wildcard-receiver Jelena Dokić, 6–2, 6–2. She succeeded to the semifinal after defeating Klára Zakopalová, Victoria Azarenka and Alisa Kleybanova respectively. However, there she was defeated by Svetlana Kuznetsova, 4–6, 4–6.

In the Wimbledon Championships 2011 Flavia who was seeded 21st, eased past Chanelle Scheepers of South Africa 6–3 7–5 before seeing off Evgeniya Rodina of Russia 6–4 6–2 to reach to the third round. She then fell to Marion Bartoli of France, seeded 9th in a very close epic match with Bartoli edging the win 5–7 6–4 9–7.

On 28 February, Pennetta became the first-ever Italian tennis player (male or female) to be ranked World No. 1 in doubles.

Personal life

Flavia Pennetta was born on 25 February 1982 in Brindisi, to Oronzo and Concetta Pennetta. She has an older sister, Giorgia. Pennetta is the former girlfriend of Carlos Moyá, with whom she split up 2007 Wimbledon Championships.

Pennetta has stated that her most memorable experience was a "vacation with fellow Italians Tathiana Garbin and Rita Grande". She was introduced to tennis at age five, and has cited Monica Seles as her tennis idol.

Equipment

Coach: Gabriel Urpi Racquet: Wilson KBlade 98 Clothing: Adidas Shoes: Nike

Honours

Knight of Order of Merit of the Republic (24 January 2007—present)

Career statistics

See also

Italy Fed Cup team

Italy at the 2008 Summer Olympics

Italian orders of merit

References

External links

Flavia Penneta and Gisela Dulko on Twitter

Category:1982 births Category:Living people Category:Italian female tennis players Category:Olympic tennis players of Italy Category:People from Brindisi (city) Category:Tennis players at the 2008 Summer Olympics

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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

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birth name	Michael Thomas Green
birth date	July 30, 1971
birth place	Pembroke, Ontario, Canada
occupation	Actor, comedian, rapper
yearsactive	1992–present
spouse	Drew Barrymore (2001–2002) }}

Michael Thomas "Tom" Green (born July 30, 1971) is a Canadian actor, rapper, writer, comedian, talk show host and media personality. Best-known for his shock humour brand of comedy, Green found mainstream prominence via his MTV television show ''The Tom Green Show''. Green was also in the public eye for his short-lived marriage to actress Drew Barrymore, and for his roles in such films as ''Freddy Got Fingered'', ''Road Trip'', ''Stealing Harvard'' and ''Charlie's Angels''.

In June 2003, Green had the chance to guest-host the ''Late Show with David Letterman'' which led to him hosting his own late-night talk show on MTV entitled ''The New Tom Green Show''. Since 2006, he has hosted his internet talk show ''Tom Green's House Tonight'' from his living room and, as of January 2010, has started performing stand-up comedy.

Early life

Green was born in Pembroke, Ontario, the son of Mary Jane, a communications consultant, and Richard Green, a computer systems analyst and retired army captain. He grew up on a Canadian Army base near Pembroke, Ontario and later lived in Gloucester, Ontario (now part of the City of Ottawa) where he attended Colonel By Secondary School. Green studied television broadcasting at Algonquin College and graduated in 1994.

Early work (1986–1998)

Stand-up comedy

At age 15, Green started performing stand-up comedy at local clubs, most notably at Yuk Yuk's comedy club.

Radio

While attending Algonquin College, Green hosted an overnight call-in show on the University of Ottawa's campus radio station, CHUO. The show, originally a rap music show entitled ''The Rap Show'', was followed by an electronic music show hosted by Glenn Humplik. Through the proximity of their shows, Tom and Glenn met and became friends, based on a common love of zany antics. Tom's radio show soon shifted formats to a call-in show (upon the discovery of how to operate the studio's call-in lines) and the two joined forces to host ''The Midnight Caller Show''. The basic format of The Midnight Caller was to have listeners call-in with Tom and Glenn making fun of them (or "razzing" them) and soon after hanging-up on them. The show's novelty and originality made it an underground hit in the Ottawa area.

Rapper

In the early 1990s, Green had a short-lived career as a rapper in a group called Organized Rhyme under the alias "MC Bones". His fellow MCs include "Pin the Chameleon". The single "Check The O.R." was nominated for a Juno Award in 1993 for Best Rap Recording and won the MuchVibe Best Rap Video award in 1992.

In 1998, ''Not The Green Tom Show'' was released by Green's alter-ego MC Face. The theme of the album revolves around MC Face, a pugnacious and foul-mouthed rapper who is constantly angry with and taking verbal jabs at Tom Green, his square producer who brings on some of his buddies from ''The Tom Green Show''.

''The Tom Green Show''

Green soon had his own non-paid television show on public-access television on cable TV. The first incarnation of ''The Tom Green Show'' aired from September 1994 until 1996 as a one-hour no commercial public cable access program on Rogers Television 22 in the Ottawa region airing 50 episodes in two seasons. ''The Tom Green Show'' was a variety show format, where he would have guests visit the studio and bands play before a live audience. He also had taped segments that typically consisted of stunts played by Green on unsuspecting people. A number of them involved Green's parents, Richard and Mary Jane, who consistently appeared unamused and occasionally angered by Tom's antics. In October 1996, ''The Tom Green Show'' aired one time as a pilot on CBC. The show was later picked up in Canada by The Comedy Network in 1997 and aired 26 episodes over the course of two seasons.

Rise to mainstream (1999–2003)

MTV and ''The Tom Green Show''

''The Tom Green Show'' was then picked up by MTV in January 1999, where he gained popularity in the United States and worldwide. The format of the MTV version of the show was similar to his original show; it was hosted by Green and co-hosted by two of his long-time friends, Glenn Humplik, who occupied the couch, and Phil Giroux, who sat behind a window at the back of the set and became known as "the guy in the window" usually drinking cups of coffee. Derek Harvie, who co-wrote the show with Green, occasionally appeared in the segments. Many of the sketches were targeted at his parents, both of whom appear to be unimpressed and embarrassed by their son's antics.

''The Tom Green Show'' was renowned for Green's version of shock humour. Some of Green's most notable skits include pretending to "hump" a dead moose (also referenced by rapper Eminem in ''The Real Slim Shady''), having an X-rated lesbian scene painted on his father's car (labeled the "Slut Mobile"), drinking milk by sucking on a cow's teat, and putting a cow head in his parents' bed while they slept because his father was a fan of ''The Godfather'' films. Green also hung his own unauthorized piece of art in the National Gallery of Canada (which remained untouched for days) with the added twist of later coming back and vandalizing it to the horror of onlooking patrons.

In a segment, Green went to the press conference of ''Grey Owl'' where he serenaded and kissed Pierce Brosnan. Brosnan, thinking Green was a journalist, advised him not to give up his day job. Green also did many segments humiliating his co-host and longtime friend Glenn Humplik; even after the pair had become well-known, Humplik continued working at his phone company job, fearing that his entertainment career might not last. Green teased him about this often and once gave out Humplik's office phone number on the air.

Green eventually wrote a song called "Lonely Swedish (The Bum Bum Song)", which he composed during MTV's Spring Break while doing a show on a cruise ship. After airing the music video on his show and appealing to his audience to request it, the song became an instant number one hit on ''Total Request Live'' and was also referred to in Eminem's song The Real Slim Shady. He quickly called for the video to be retired because "it's not fair to 98 Degrees." Later, in his autobiography, he revealed that MTV had pressured him to do so in order to maintain the image that ''Total Request Live'' was, in fact, a live request show (the next week's episodes had been pre-taped on location, and the producers of the show were completely unaware of "The Bum Bum Song" at the time).

Green's increasing fame made it harder for him to ambush people during man-on-the-street segments, leading him to target mostly senior citizens and non-English speakers. After he was diagnosed with testicular cancer in March 2000, he stopped production on his TV show, but he continued to appear on the channel via reruns and other promotional materials. Green's popularity during this time led to him gracing the cover of the June 8, 2000 issue of ''Rolling Stone'' magazine.

Testicular cancer and hiatus from MTV

In early 2000, Tom Green was diagnosed with, and successfully treated for testicular cancer. In 2001, Green wrote, directed and starred in a one-hour MTV television special entitled ''The Tom Green Cancer Special'' which documented the time leading up to his surgery and also included graphic footage of his own surgery. The episode received wide critical acclaim for revealing a vulnerable, human side of an otherwise juvenile television personality.

Although it was Green's cancer that caused ''The Tom Green Show'' to cease production, a frequent rumor says that the show was cancelled because of an alleged segment where Green shows up at a bar mitzvah, or another Jewish event, dressed as Adolf Hitler. Green, however, has repeatedly denied that such a segment exists, and there is no evidence to suggest that such an event occurred. He mentions the rumor in his 2004 autobiography, ''Hollywood Causes Cancer'', stating that it apparently started when some Boston teenagers were caught videotaping themselves performing a similar stunt and when asked by security, they used the name "Tom Green." Green says, "I would never do a mean-spirited, anti-Semitic joke like that - it's both abhorrent and not funny. To this day I still get asked about it, and it's annoying. So again, for the record, it didn't happen. There is nobody on this planet that has ever seen this bit on tape because it does not exist. If it did exist, it would have certainly reared its ugly, hateful head on the Internet by now. But it won't, because it doesn't exist. I've never put on a Hitler costume. In fact, I've never even been to a Bar Mitzvah."

Film career

Green's fame soon netted him roles in several Hollywood movies, including ''Road Trip'', ''Charlie's Angels'', ''Freddy Got Fingered'' (which he also wrote and directed), and ''Stealing Harvard.'' Green continued the trend of his brand of comedy in ''Road Trip'' in a notable scene where he put a mouse in his mouth. In ''Freddy Got Fingered'', some controversial scenes involved his character swinging a newborn baby around his head by its umbilical cord as well as other scenes involving animals and animal genitalia.

''Freddy Got Fingered'' "won" in five categories at the 2001 Golden Raspberry Awards, given to the worst movies of the year. Green appeared at the ceremony to accept his awards, making him the first performer to do so in the award's twenty-year history, and the second recipient to do so following director Paul Verhoeven for ''Showgirls'' in 1995. Green arrived at the awards ceremony in a white Cadillac, wearing a tuxedo and rolled out his own red carpet. After accepting the awards, Green stated "When we set out to make this film we wanted to win a Razzie, so this is a dream come true for me". While onstage, he began to play the harmonica and did not stop until he was physically dragged off.

Marriage to Drew Barrymore and ''Saturday Night Live''

In July 2000, Tom Green became engaged to actress Drew Barrymore. Green and Barrymore met after Barrymore, who was a fan of Green's show, asked Green to appear in ''Charlie's Angels'', which Barrymore starred in and produced. Green and Barrymore married on July 7, 2001. Barrymore also appeared in her then-fiance's infamous 2001 film ''Freddy Got Fingered''.

During the build up to their wedding Green and Barrymore frequently joked with the media about when and where they were going to wed. The most notable incident came on November 18, 2000, when Green hosted the American television show ''Saturday Night Live''. During the monologue, Green brought Barrymore on stage and teased the audience about the couple marrying at the end of the episode. Ultimately, the stage was set for a wedding before Barrymore, in the end, got "cold feet" and left Green alone to end the show. The SNL incident initially left viewers and the media confused about whether the couple had actually planned to marry on live TV, or were simply staging a publicity stunt. Eventually, Green also went on ''The Tonight Show'' to toy with the public once again, this time claiming that his bride might be pregnant.

On February 18, 2001, there was a house fire at the residence shared by Green and Barrymore. Their dog Flossie woke them around 3:30 a.m. when she barked and "literally banged on their bedroom door." Firefighters estimated damage at $700,000 in the two-story, 3,500 square foot (325 m²) home located north of Beverly Hills at 9500 Cherokee Lane. The incident was soon spoofed on ''Saturday Night Live'' with guest host Katie Holmes playing Drew Barrymore and Jimmy Fallon playing Tom Green. On October 13, 2001, Barrymore hosted ''Saturday Night Live'' and Tom Green appeared in the audience wearing a gas mask.

Barrymore and Green filed for divorce on December 17, 2001, citing irreconcilable differences. Their divorce became official on October 15, 2002.

Return to MTV and ''The New Tom Green Show''

In 2002, Green starred in and directed a one-hour MTV special called ''The Tom Green Subway Monkey Hour'', where he tormented strangers in Japan. During 2002, Green also started his own production company called ''Bob Green Films''; he starred in and was executive producer for a half-hour special entitled ''The Skateboard Show'' on The WB.

In mid-2003, after Green guest-hosted ''The Late Show with David Letterman'', MTV gave him his own late-night talk show called ''The New Tom Green Show''. The critically acclaimed show lasted several months and the show consisted of a traditional monologue, segments, followed by interviews with guests. Green in numerous interviews has stated that David Letterman was one of his early influences.

A notable incident included Jesse James Dupree, the frontman of the Southern rock band Jackyl, when he made the ill-advised decision to take a chainsaw to Green's new desk on the show. The unplanned stunt clearly irritated Green and he made no attempt to hide his displeasure. He eventually began his planned musical performance (himself on drums and Dupree on guitar) but continued to verbally spar with Dupree for a short period before abandoning the drums mid-song in apparent disgust and walking off stage. Later on in the evening, he again insulted the band by holding up Jackyl's most recent album and advising viewers to "check it out if you like music that was cool fifteen years ago" and then proceeded to smash it with a hammer.

The show was eventually cancelled by MTV eleven weeks after its premiere due to MTV deciding that wasn't the direction they wanted to go in. In Green's book ''Hollywood Causes Cancer'', he stated that the show, "was very expensive to produce and not really the type of show that MTV has been traditionally known for." Reports indicate that ratings and viewers for the show averaged 889,000 viewers on the first week and then averaged 255,000 viewers on the last week for the reruns, which may have been the main reason for cancellation.

Post-MTV (2004–present)

Autobiography

On October 12, 2004, Green released his autobiography ''Hollywood Causes Cancer: The Tom Green Story'' which discussed in detail his Hollywood career, short-lived marriage to Drew Barrymore, and his experience dealing with testicular cancer.

Rap career

Name	Tom Green
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Michael Thomas Green
Alias	MC FaceMC Bones
Birth date	July 30, 1971
Origin	Pembroke, Ontario, Canada
Genre	Hip-hop
Occupation	Actor, comedian, rapper, talk show host
Years active	1992–present
Label	Ceiling Fan RecordsVik Recordings
Associated acts	Organized Rhyme }}

In 2005, Green returned to rap and started the group, ''The Keepin' it Real Crew'', featuring DJ EZ Mike of the Dust Brothers, where they did two Canadian live tours (June 2005 and January 2006). On December 6, 2005, Green released his second solo album in Canada entitled ''Prepare For Impact'', which included a bonus DVD featuring footage from his live tour. The album was also co-produced by Mike Simpson of the Dust Brothers. The album included comedic tracks (such as "My Bum Is On Ya Lips" and "I'm an Idiot") as well as serious tracks where he rapped about his Hollywood career.

He has performed with Too Short, Flava Flav, Grand Buffet, Mickey Avalon, People Under the Stairs, Xzibit, and other popular rap artists on his ''Tom Green Live'' show. In January 2008, a second solo rap album titled ''Basement Jams'' was released in download-only format on his website.

In March 2009, on ''Last Call with Carson Daly,'' Tom played a sample of his new song "It's Been A Long Time Coming." On his website, Green has stated intentions of releasing a new rap album in 2010 and talks about working with music producer Detail. In a February 2010 interview, Green mentioned an upcoming song entitled "Other Side Of The World" and stated that he was developing a television show following the progress of his first major American rap album. On a November 2010 answer to a fan question in the Forum section of tomgreen.com, Green said, "Expect some singles in the future. The album is dead, sadly."

In July 2011, Green recorded and posted a 2011 remix of "Check The O.R." and re-united Organized Rhyme at the Just For Laughs festival in Montreal.

More mainstream

In recent years, Green has tried to put some of his more controversial material behind him and become a more mainstream entertainer. During the Leno era of the Tonight Show, Green was a recurring contributor to ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno''; he has done many segments where he travels across America looking for "interesting people", typically bringing the most colourful person with him back to the studio. In these segments, the focus is more on the odd behavior of the interviewees, with Green generally playing the straight man.

In 2003, Green visited troops in Kosovo on a USO tour. He visited troops in the Persian Gulf on a 2004 tour. In early 2006, Green appeared in several commercials for the Canadian Cable Public Affairs Channel promoting both ''The Channel'' and encouraging voters to participate in the forthcoming federal elections, which took place on January 23, 2006.

On August 3, 2006, Green appeared on ''America's Got Talent''. He rode a skateboard through a flaming hoop, appeared to be on fire for a few seconds, and was put out with extinguishers. It was confirmed on the August 3 episode of ''Tom Green Live'' that it was a stunt man, not Green, that did the stunt.

Green has hosted a variety of special events, including the 2005 Canada's Walk of Fame induction ceremony, the Canadian Live 8 concert, and the 2005 CASBY Awards. In November 2008, Green hosted an environmental game show on the Discovery Planet Green television network titled ''Go For The Green!''.

Green has made several appearances as a celebrity contestant on the ABC reality game show ''Wanna Bet?'', including the show's premiere episode in July 2008. He was also a contestant on the 2009 season of ''The Celebrity Apprentice''. Throughout the season, each celebrity raised money for a charity of their choice; Green selected the "Butch Walts and Donald Skinner Urologic Cancer Research Foundation." He was fired by Donald Trump on the third episode, while acting as project manager, primarily due to waking up late on the day of the task - he had been out drinking with Dennis Rodman the night before. On August 4, 2009, Green made an appearance on the American version of ''Hell's Kitchen'' as a celebrity guest diner. In late 2009 and early 2010, he appeared on the first two seasons of ''For the Love of Ray J'' to judge the contestants on the show. On that show, Green has been credited for coining the popular catchphrase, "She smashed the homie."

From October - December 2010, Green did weekly podcasts interviewing guests at Kevin Smith's SModcastle.

Return to film

Green attempted to build his teen and child audience with more wholesome material. In 2005, he starred in a children's TV movie, ''Bob the Butler'', and made guest appearances on various kid's shows. Since then, Green has been starring in low-profile independent films such as the 2008 movies ''Shred'' and ''Freezer Burn: The Invasion of Laxdale''.

In February 2010, Green announced that he had finished editing an independent film titled ''Prankstar'', which he also starred in, wrote and directed. On a November 2010 answer to a fan question in the Forum section of tomgreen.com, Green stated that the film was going to be released sometime in 2011 as he has "just made a deal with a big time distributer so it's gonna be cool."

''Tomgreen.com: The Channel'' (2006–2011)

On June 5, 2006, ManiaTV.com announced they had formed a partnership with Green to host a live talk show from his own living room in the Hollywood Hills overlooking the San Fernando Valley. The first show aired live on June 15, 2006 at 11 pm EST, was originally called ''Tom Green Live!'', and was airing Mondays through Thursdays. In January 2008, shortly after Green's split from ManiaTV, the show was renamed ''Tom Green's House Tonight''. The shows are broadcast live at TomGreen.com. A pared-down version was later broadcast on The Comedy Network and various local channels in the United States, until Green stopped syndicating the show to television. On a 2009 blog, Green noted that he stopped his show from syndication on television due to dissatisfaction with his lack of creative control. He continues to broadcast the show from his website. Green later started a monthly subscription service that allowed subscribers to have full access to all the videos on his website.

Due to lack of an established term, Green often refers to his live streaming broadcast as "Web-o-Vision." He also jokingly says he is broadcasting to "The National Internet", despite the show having a worldwide audience. Green often refers to his show as, "The highest rated, longest running, and only talk show on the Internet."

From Green's website, ''Tom Green's House Tonight'' typically aired live on weeknights at 10 pm EST, although shows can begin at any time during the day and night. The shows were then archived on his website. The format of the show often includes Green taking live telephone calls and Skype video calls where viewers around the world are able to chat with Green and his guests. Green would often be a victim of prank calls due to the live nature of the show and would sometimes voice his frustration with the callers. On top of the live web show, Green has added many video segments from his past as well as present.

As host of the show, Green often plays the straight man while interviewing guests. There have been hundreds of shows with many notable guests including stars such as Adam Carolla, Val Kilmer, Thora Birch, Pamela Anderson, hip-hop artists Blackalicious and Xzibit, skateboarder Tony Hawk, former ''TRL'' host and talk show host Carson Daly, guitarist Dave Navarro, actor Crispin Glover, Digg.com founder Kevin Rose, comedic musician "Weird Al" Yankovic, as well as comedians Neil Hamburger, Andrew Dice Clay, Joe Rogan, and Andy Dick. The longest standard format show, in which Green interviewed Steve-O, ran for 3.5 hours and ended with Green drunk and Steve-O heavily intoxicated.

When Green does not have guests, he has done many unconventional shows such as playing the saxophone for an hour, having a week dedicated to performing karaoke, or updating the viewers about ''The Channel'' while taking telephone and Skype calls.

On his website, Green has talked about the substantial costs of continuing the online show and that ''The Channel'' may be gone in mid 2011 if it is not profitable by then. In 2011, Green ended the subscription service on his website and stated that his live show is on hiatus.

Stand-up comedy (2010–present)

On numerous interviews, Green has stated that he started doing stand-up comedy at the age of 15 but stopped after he started his public-access television show. Green said that going back to stand-up comedy was something he always wanted to do.

In September 2009, Green performed several stand-up comedy shows in Los Angeles, and later appeared at a MySpace secret stand-up event in New York. On November 10, 2009, he announced his first ever world stand-up comedy tour and as of January 2010, has been touring the world going to countries such as Canada, the United States, England, and Australia.

The format of Green's act is traditional stand-up comedy which includes rap performances. He voices his thoughts on social media, technology, his disliking of Facebook, and also talks about his career in show business. He often takes time to meet with people in the audience afterwards. In October 2010, he performed in Belleville, Ontario at the Empire Theatre with his parents and brother in attendance. Green dressed in a Belleville Bulls Jersey donated by a local movie studio he had visited earlier that day. He discussed the city's recent ordeal involving the sentencing of disgraced CFB Trenton Base Commander Russell Williams, stating that he hoped Williams "was having an awesome weekend".

On August 13, 2010, after being invited, Green performed stand-up comedy at the Gathering of the Juggalos. He was later involved in attempting to calm the audience down after Tila Tequila had rocks, excrement and urine thrown at her during her performance at the same event. In subsequent interviews, Green said he successfully calmed the audience down for ten minutes, but things got worse when he left the stage. Tequila continued performing for an additional twenty minutes and eventually suffered facial injuries after being struck in the face by a rock.

Personal life

Tom Green was married to actress Drew Barrymore from July 7, 2001 to October 15, 2002. Green filed for divorce in December 2001. In 2010 interviews, Green has stated that he has not seen Barrymore since the divorce.

In March 2006, Green broke two ribs in Costa Rica when a large wave swept him off of an outcrop where he had been fishing and onto rocks below. In 2009, as a contestant for The Celebrity Apprentice, Green played to benefit the ''Butch Walts and Donald Skinner Urologic Cancer Research Foundation''. On an episode of ''Tom Green's House Tonight'', he stated that he would not be alive today had it not been for Donald Skinner.

Tom Green resides in Los Angeles, California along with his two Siberian Huskies Annie and Steve (both female) and his Green-winged Macaw Rex Murphy.

Filmography

{|class="wikitable" border="2" cellpadding="4" background: #f9f9f9; |- align="center" ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Year ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Film ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Role ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Notes |- |rowspan=2|1998 |''The Chicken Tree (film)|The Chicken Tree'' |Bus Driver | |- |''Clutch'' |Computer Gimp | |- |1999 |''Superstar'' |Dylan Schmultz-Plutzker | |- |rowspan=2|2000 |''Road Trip'' |Barry Manilow | |- |''Charlie's Angels'' |Chad | |- |2001 |''Freddy Got Fingered'' |Gord Brody |Razzie Award for Worst ActorRazzie Award for Worst Screen Couple (with any animal he abuses)Razzie Award for Worst ScreenplayRazzie Award for Worst Director |- |2002 |''Stealing Harvard'' |Walter P. 'Duff' Duffy | |- |2003 |''Grind'' |Colorado Skate Shop Owner | |- |2005 |''Bob the Butler'' |Bob Tree | |- |rowspan=4|2008 |''Legacy'' |Det. Stras | |- |''Shred'' |Kingsley | |- |''Freezer Burn: The Invasion of Laxdale'' |Bill Swanson | |- |''The 1 Second Film'' |Himself | |- |rowspan=3|2009 |''Division III'' |Referee | |- |''Sweet Baby Jesus'' |Joe | |- |''Shred 2'' |Kingsley | |- |rowspan=1|2011 |''Prankstar'' |Himself | |- |}

Discography

Albums

!Year	!Albums
1992
1998	''Not The Green Tom Show'' (as MC Face)
2005	''Prepare For Impact''
2008	''Basement Jams''

Singles and music videos

Year	Artist	Music Videos
1992	Organized Rhyme	"Check The O.R."
1992	Organized Rhyme	"Luv 1"
1999	Tom Green	"Lonely Swedish (The Bum Bum Song)"
2005	Tom Green	"Teachers Suck"

References

External links

TomGreen.com: The Channel

Category:1971 births Category:Living people Category:Algonquin College alumni Category:Canadian bloggers Category:Canadian comedy musicians Category:Canadian expatriate actors in the United States Category:Canadian film actors Category:Canadian rappers Category:Canadian television comedians Category:Canadian television talk show hosts Category:Contestants on American game shows Category:Participants in American reality television series Category:People from Ottawa Category:People from Pembroke, Ontario Category:Pranksters Category:Testicular cancer survivors Category:The Apprentice (U.S. TV series) contestants Category:Canadian stand-up comedians

bg:Том Грийн da:Tom Green de:Tom Green es:Tom Green fr:Tom Green id:Tom Green it:Tom Green (attore) nl:Tom Green ja:トム・グリーン no:Tom Green pl:Tom Green pt:Tom Green ru:Грин, Том simple:Tom Green sl:Tom Green fi:Tom Green sv:Tom Green uk:Том Грін

Name	Chuck D
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Carlton Douglas Ridenhour
Birth date	August 01, 1960
Alias	Carl Ryder (as a member of production team The Bomb Squad), Mistachuck, Chucky D, Chuck Dangerous, The Hard Rhymer, The Rhyme Animal,
Origin	Roosevelt, New York, U.S.
Genre	Hip hop
Occupation	Rapper, publisher, lecturer, activist, record producer
Years active	1986–present
Associated acts	Public Enemy, Confrontation Camp, Fine Arts Militia Immortal Technique, Sonic Youth, Sister Souljah, KRS-One
Website	http://www.publicenemy.com
Notable instruments	}}

Carlton Douglas Ridenhour (born August 1, 1960), better known by his stage name, Chuck D, is an American rapper, author, and producer. He helped create politically and socially conscious rap music in the mid-1980s as the leader of the rap group Public Enemy.

Early life

Ridenhour was born in Roosevelt, New York, a hamlet on Long Island. After graduating from Roosevelt Junior-Senior High School, he went to Adelphi University in Long Island to study graphic design. He is the son of Lorenzo Ridenhour.

Career

Upon hearing Ridenhour's demo track "Public Enemy Number One", fledgling producer/mogul Rick Rubin insisted on signing him to his Def Jam label.

Their major label albums were: ''Yo! Bum Rush the Show'' (1987), ''It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back'' (1988), ''Fear of a Black Planet'' (1990), ''Apocalypse 91... The Enemy Strikes Black'' (1991), ''Greatest Misses'' (1992), and ''Muse Sick-n-Hour Mess Age'' (1994). They also released a full length album soundtrack for the film ''He Got Game'' in 1998. Ridenhour also contributed (as Chuck D) to several episodes of the PBS documentary series ''The Blues''. He has appeared as a feature artist on many other songs and albums, having collaborated with artists such as Janet Jackson, Kool Moe Dee, The Dope Poet Society, Run-DMC, Ice Cube, Rage Against The Machine, Anthrax, John Mellencamp and many others. In 1990, he appeared on "Kool Thing", a song by the alternative rock band Sonic Youth. In 1993, he executive produced ''Got 'Em Running Scared'', an album by Ichiban Records group "Chief Groovy Loo and the Chosen Tribe".

Later career

In 1996, Ridenhour released ''Autobiography of Mistachuck'' on Mercury Records. Chuck D made a rare appearance at the 1998 MTV Video Music Awards, presenting the Video Vanguard Award to the Beastie Boys, whilst commending their musicianship. He later stated that he would not have made the appearance for any other group. In November 1998, he settled out of court with Christopher "The Notorious B.I.G." Wallace's estate over the latter's sampling of his voice in the song "Ten Crack Commandments". The specific sampling is Ridenhour counting off the numbers one to nine on the track "Shut 'Em Down".

In September 1999, he launched a multi-format "supersite" on the web site Rapstation.com. A home for the vast global hip hop community, the site boasts a TV and radio station with original programming, many of hip hop's most prominent DJs, celebrity interviews, free MP3 downloads (the first was contributed by multi-platinum rapper Coolio), downloadable ringtones by ToneThis, social commentary, current events, and regular features on turning rap careers into a viable living. Since 2000, he has been one of the most vocal supporters of peer-to-peer file sharing in the music industry.

He loaned his voice to ''Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas'' as DJ Forth Right MC for the radio station Playback FM. In 2000, he collaborated with Public Enemy's Gary G-Whiz and MC Lyte on the theme music to the television show ''Dark Angel''. He appeared with Henry Rollins in a cover of Black Flag's "Rise Above" for the album ''Rise Above: 24 Black Flag Songs to Benefit the West Memphis Three''. He was also featured on Z-Trip's album Shifting Gears on a track called ''Shock and Awe''; a 12-inch of the track was released featuring artwork by Shepard Fairey. In 2008 he contributed a chapter to ''Sound Unbound: Sampling Digital Music and Culture'' (The MIT Press, 2008) edited by Paul D. Miller a.k.a. DJ Spooky, and also turned up on The Go! Team's album Proof of Youth on the track "Flashlight Fight." He also he fulfilled his childhood dreams of being a sports announcer by performing the play-by-play commentary in the video game ''NBA Ballers: Chosen One'' on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

In 2009, Ridenhour wrote the foreword to the book ''The Love Ethic: The Reason Why You Can't Find and Keep Beautiful Black Love'' by Kamau and Akilah Butler. He also appeared on Brother Ali's album, "Us".

In an interview on Conspiracy Worldwide Radio in late 2009, Chuck D spoke of his forthcoming projects and how he wanted to focus upon his label SlamJamz in 2010

In a follow-up October 31, 2010 interview on Conspiracy Worldwide Radio, Chuck discussed the importance of Public Enemy's tour in South Africa and his range of projects expected in 2011.

In March 2011, Chuck D re-recorded vocals with The Dillinger Escape Plan for a cover of Fight The Power.

Rapping technique

Chuck D has noted that he often comes up with a title for a song first, in the books ''How to Rap'' and ''Check the Technique'' and that he writes on paper, though he sometimes edits using a computer. He also prefers to not punch in vocals, and he prefers to not overdub vocals. Chuck D is known for his powerful rapping voice - ''How to Rap'' says, “Chuck D of Public Enemy has a powerful, resonant voice that is often acclaimed as one of the most distinct and impressive in hip-hop”, and Chuck D says this was based on listening to Melle Mel and sports-casters such as Marv Albert.

Politics

Ridenhour is politically active; he co-hosted ''Unfiltered'' on Air America Radio, testified before Congress in support of peer-to-peer MP3 sharing, and was involved in a 2004 rap political convention. He continues to be an activist, publisher, lecturer, and producer. Addressing the negative views associated with rap music, he co-wrote the essay book ''Fight the Power: Rap, Race, and Reality'', along with Yusuf Jah (ISBN 0-385-31868-5). He argues that "music and art and culture is escapism, and escapism sometimes is healthy for people to get away from reality", but sometimes the distinction is blurred and that's when "things could lead a young mind in a direction." He also founded the record company Slam Jamz and acted as narrator in Kareem Adouard's short film ''Bling: Consequences and Repercussions'', which examines the role of conflict diamonds in bling fashion.

In an interview with ''Le Monde'' published 29 January 2008, Chuck D stated that rap is devolving so much into a commercial enterprise, that the relationship between the rapper and the record label is that of slave to a master. He believes that nothing has changed for African-Americans since the debut of Public Enemy and, although he thinks that an Obama-Clinton alliance is great, he does not feel that the establishment will allow anything of substance to be accomplished. He also stated that French President Sarkozy is like any other European elite: he has profited through the murder, rape, and pillaging of those less fortunate and he refuses to allow equal opportunity for those men and women from Africa. In this article, he also defended a comment made by Professor Griff in the past that he says was taken out of context by the media. The real statement was a critique of the Israeli government and its treatment of the Palestinian people. Chuck D stated that it is Public Enemy's belief that all human beings are equal.

In an interview with the magazine ''N'Digo'' published in late June 2008, he spoke of today's mainstream urban music seemingly relishing in the addictive euphoria of materialism and sexism, perhaps being the primary cause of many people harboring resentment towards the genre and its future. However he has expressed hope for its resurrection, saying "It’s only going to be dead if it doesn’t talk about the messages of life as much as the messages of death and non-movement", citing artists such as NYOil, M.I.A. and the The Roots as socially conscious artists who push the envelope creatively. "A lot of cats are out there doing it, on the Web and all over. They’re just not placing their career in the hands of some major corporation."

Most recently Chuck D became involved in ''Let Freedom Sing: The Music of the Civil Rights'', a 3-CD box set from Time Life. He wrote the introduction to the liner notes and is visiting colleges across the nation discussing the significance of the set. He's also set to appear in a follow up movie called ''Let Freedom Sing: The Music That Inspired the Civil Rights Movement''.

In 2010 Chuck D released a track entitled “Tear Down That Wall.” He says, “I talked about the wall not only just dividing the U.S. and Mexico but the states of California, New Mexico and Texas. But Arizona, it's like, come on. Now they're going to enforce a law that talks about basically racial profiling.”

He is on the board of the TransAfrica Forum a Pan African organization that works for the right of Africa, Caribbean and Latin American issues.

Personal life

Chuck D is married to Gaye Theresa Johnson, an assistant professor in the Department of Black Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Chuck is a vegetarian.

TV appearances

Narrated and appeared on-camera for the 2005 PBS documentary ''Harlem Globetrotters: The Team That Changed the World''.

Appeared on-camera for the PBS program ''Independent Lens: Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes''.

Appeared in an episode of ''NewsRadio'' as himself.

He appeared on ''The Henry Rollins Show''.

He was a featured panelist (with Lars Ulrich) on the May 12, 2000 episode of the ''Charlie Rose'' show. Host Charlie Rose was discussing the Internet, copyright infringement, Napster Inc., and the future of the music industry.

He appeared on an episode of ''Space Ghost Coast to Coast'' with Pat Boone. While there, Space Ghost tried (and failed) to show he was "hip" to rap, saying his favorite rapper was M. C. Escher.

He appeared on an episode of ''Johnny Bravo''.

He appeared via satellite to the UK, as a panelist on BBC's ''Newsnight'' on 20 January 2009, following Barack Obama's Inauguration.

He Appeared on VH1 Ultimate Albums Blood Sugar Sex Magik talking about the Red Hot Chili Peppers

Film appearances

He is the narrator of the 2006 documentary ''Quilombo Country'', directed by Leonard Abrams.

He is prominently featured in ''Hip Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes'', a 2006 documentary by Byron Hurt.

He is prominently featured in the 2008 film ''The Black Candle'', directed by M.K. Asante, Jr. and narrated by Maya Angelou.

He is featured in a web- mini series called ''On The Real Off The Record'', produced by, The Real News Network, June 1, 2009 - .

He played a bank robber named "Malcolm Y" in an unused plotline for the movie ''Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy'', which was eventually released straight-to-DVD as ''Wake Up, Ron Burgundy: The Lost Movie''.

Music appearances

In 2010 Chuck D made an appearance on the album "Causa E Efeito in Português :pt:Causa e Efeito (In English: Cause And Effect)" in music Transformação (In English: Transformation) of Brazilian rapper MV Bill

In 1990, Chuck D appeared on the Sonic Youth song and video for "Kool Thing," from the album Goo.

Discography

With Public Enemy

Chuck D

1996: ''Autobiography of Mistachuck''

2010 (as Mistachuck): ''I Don't Rhyme for the Sake of Riddlin'''

References

External links

Public Enemy's official website

rapstation.com, Chuck D's official website

Entry on Chuck D at ''Rolling Stone'''s website

Category:1960 births Category:Living people Category:American talk radio hosts Category:African American rappers Category:Public Enemy members Category:People from Nassau County, New York Category:Adelphi University alumni Category:Musicians from New York Category:Rappers from Long Island Category:Pescetarians Category:African American Muslims

de:Chuck D es:Chuck D fr:Chuck D it:Chuck D sw:Chuck D nl:Chuck D no:Chuck D pl:Chuck D pt:Chuck D fi:Chuck D sv:Chuck D