Ellen DeGeneres

Ellen Lee DeGeneres (/dᵻˈdʒɛnərəs/; born January 26, 1958) is an American comedian, television host, actress, writer, and producer. She starred in the popular sitcom Ellen from 1994 to 1998, and has hosted her syndicated TV talk show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, since 2003.

Her stand-up career started in the early 1980s, culminating in a 1986 appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. Carson likened her to Bob Newhart, and invited her for an onscreen chat after her set; DeGeneres was the first female comedian invited by the iconic host to join him for such a discussion, at a time when such an invitation was widely regarded as one of the most influential endorsements available for a comic. As a film actress, DeGeneres starred in Mr. Wrong (1996), appeared in EDtv (1999), and The Love Letter (1999), and provided the voice of Dory in the Pixar animated film Finding Nemo (2003), for which she was awarded the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress, the first time an actress won a Saturn Award for a voice performance. In 2010 she was a judge on American Idol for its ninth season.

Dan Dunn

Dan Dunn was the first fictional character to make his debut in an American comic magazine, making him the forerunner of many comic book heroes. Created by Norman Marsh, he first appeared in Detective Dan, Secret Operative No. 48, a 1933 single issue one-shot by Humor Publications magazine.

Comic strip

Later in 1933, Dan Dunn made his newspaper debut in the Dan Dunn comic strip for Publishers Syndicate. He eventually appeared in Big Little Books, which are probably the most readily available source of the character's adventures for modern readers. In 1936, Dan Dunn became the title character of a pulp magazine that lasted for two issues. As noted by comics historian Don Markstein, the square-jawed Detective Dunn was a knock-off of Dick Tracy, blowing away evil criminals with the same no-nonsense resort to violence that fans liked seeing during an era of urban crime gangs. In newspapers, however, Dunn never approached Tracy's popularity.

Marsh both drew and wrote Dan Dunn, and many consider its artwork to be its weaker side. Phelps goes so far as to describe it as "arid," "presented a chronic, wintry aspect," with "cavernous spaces" and "huddled, stiff-jointed postures." Others describe Dan as a stocky character with a balding head and reddish beard. He has a fiery personality that did not deal well with criminals, bullies, or confrontation. However, other early crime strips (including the initial Dick Tracy, as Phelps concedes) also look primitive today compared to the photorealist standards of later adventure comics.

Dan Dunn (painter)

Dan Dunn (born 1957) is an American improvisational Speed Painter and the creator of Paintjam, a theatrical performance art show in which paintings are created in minutes on stage.

Biography

Studying painting at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas, Dunn specialized in oil painting and watercolor, also doing sculpture and life drawing. While a student, he started drew caricatures at Six Flags, Astroworld in 1977 as a college student; he continued through nine seasons.

Dunn worked in advertising and graphic design but left that field to devote himself to caricatures full-time in 1989 when he launched a caricature artist talent agency, Caricatures Ink. His numerous caricatures include George H. W. Bush, Sting, Jimmy Buffett, Joe Theisman, Fran Tarkenton, Ray Childress, Warren Moon and Houston Mayor Bob Lanier.

Paintjam

Dunn was inspired to create Paintjam, his live improvisational Speed painting performance, by the Speed Painter Denny Dent, who died at the age of 55 in the prime of his career. Deep in debt, Dunn was looking for a way to meet his family's growing needs. He had success as part of an Atlantic City stage show, and his daughter posted video from the show on YouTube, where it received millions of hits.

Dan Dunn (writer)

Dan Dunn (born July 14, 1968) is an American journalist and former host of the SiriusXM satellite radio program, "Dan Dunn's Happy Hour." He writes a comedic wine and spirits column called “The Imbiber” for the website Food Republic. He formerly penned "The Imbiber" for Playboy. He was also a columnist for Wine Access in Canada and a nightlife guide for Mutineer magazine.

He worked as a staff writer for the Emmy-nominated TV show Talk Soup and freelance joke writer for Saturday Night Live’s “Weekend Update”, Dunn’s semi-fictional memoir called Nobody Likes a Quitter (and other reasons to avoid rehab) was critically acclaimed, and was published in November 2007 by Perseus Books. His second book, Living Loaded: Tales of sex, salvation and the pursuit of the never-ending happy hour was published by Random House/Crown in February 2011. "Living Loaded" was developed into a scripted comedy series for Fox by Dunn and Rob McElhenney, creator of the FX series, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Glenn Howerton, star of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, cited Dunn as the "driving force" behind The 7 Secrets of Awakening the Highly Effective Four-Hour Giant, Today, a faux self-help which lists the show’s characters as authors. It was published by Dey Street Books/HarperCollins in January 2015.