birth date	September 17, 1948
death date
birth place	Burbank, California,United States
death place	Burbank, California,United States
Death cause	Aortic dissection
nationality	American
education	Hollywood High School
Alma mater	University of Southern California
birth name	}}

| other_names = Johnny Ritter | occupation = Actor, comedian, voice-over artist | website = | years_active = 1968–2003 | spouse = Nancy Morgan (1977–1996) Amy Yasbeck (1999–2003) (his death) }} Jonathan Southworth "John" Ritter (September 17, 1948 – September 11, 2003) was an American actor, voice over artist and comedian perhaps best known for having played Jack Tripper and Paul Hennessy in the ABC sitcoms ''Three's Company'' and ''8 Simple Rules'', respectively. He is also known for being the voice of the title character Clifford in the PBS television series ''Clifford the Big Red Dog''. Don Knotts called him the "Greatest physical comedian on the planet".

Ritter's final films—the screwball dark comedy ''Bad Santa'' and the two children's animated films ''Clifford's Really Big Movie'' and ''Stanley's Dinosaur Round-Up''—were all dedicated in his memory.

Early life

John Ritter was born in Burbank, California, the son of Dorothy Fay (née Southworth), an actress, and singing cowboy/matinee-star Tex Ritter. He attended Hollywood High School, where he was student body president. He went on to the University of Southern California, where he was a member of the Phi Gamma Delta (FIJI) fraternity, and majored in psychology and minored in architecture. In 1966 at the age of 18, Ritter was a contestant on ''The Dating Game''.

While still in college, Ritter traveled to England, Scotland, Holland and Germany to perform in plays. After his 1970 graduation from USC, his first TV acting experience was a campus revolutionary in the TV series, ''Dan August'', starring Burt Reynolds and Norman Fell. In 1971, Ritter landed his first movie role in ''The Barefoot Executive''.

Early television career

John did many guest appearances on early TV series, like ''Hawaii Five-O'', ''M*A*S*H'' (TV series) & others.

''The Waltons''

John Ritter was on ''The Waltons'' from October 26, 1972, to December 23, 1976, as Reverend Matthew Fordwick. Ritter appeared on a total of 18 episodes. As he was not a weekly cast member, he had the time to pursue other roles, which he did until December 1976, when he left for a permanent role on ''Three’s Company''.

''Three’s Company''

Ritter headlined several stage performances before he was made a star by appearing in the hit sitcom ''Three's Company'' (the Americanized version of the 1970s British Thames Television series ''Man About the House'') in 1977, playing a single ladies' man and culinary student, Jack Tripper, who lives with two female roommates. The females originally were Janet Wood (Joyce DeWitt) and Chrissy Snow (Suzanne Somers). While in later years the character of Janet remained, Somers was fired and other characters replaced her tenancy, including Chrissy's cousin, Cindy (Jenilee Harrison), and unrelated roommate Terri Alden (Priscilla Barnes). Jack pretended to be gay to keep the landlords appeased over their living arrangements. The show spent several seasons near the top of the TV ratings in the U.S. before ending in 1984. Ritter went on for one more year on the spin-off ''Three's a Crowd''. The original series has been seen continuously in reruns and is also available on DVD. During the run of the show, he appeared in the feature films ''Hero at Large'', ''Americathon'', and ''They All Laughed''. In 1978, he played Ringo Starr's manager on the television special ''Ringo'', and in 1982, played the voice of Peter Dickinson in ''Flight of Dragons''.

''Hooperman''

Hooperman was Ritter's next TV series, airing from 1987 to 1989. In the show he played Detective Harry Hooperman who inherits a run down apartment building in need of help. He hires Susan Smith (Debrah Farentino). A relationship follows and Hooperman must juggle work, love, plus the antics of Bijoux the dog. John was nominated for both an ''Emmy'' and a Golden Globe for his work on Hooperman in 1988. He won a People's Choice Award for this role.

''Hearts Afire''

In 1992-95 Ritter returned to TV for 3 seasons as John Hartman, aide to the Senator in "Hearts Afire". This series starred Markie Post (of ''The Fall Guy'' and ''Night Court'' fame) as Georgie Anne Lahti and Billy Bob Thorton as Billy Bob Davis.

Film career

After his time on TV he appeared in a number of movies, most notably ''Problem Child'' and its first sequel. He appeared in the Oscar-winning ''Sling Blade'' (playing a gay, kindhearted discount store manager) and ''Noises Off'' and played the lead role in Blake Edwards' 1989 film ''Skin Deep''.

He starred in many made-for-TV movies, including ''Gramps'' (1995), co-starring with Andy Griffith, Rob Hedden's The Colony (1995) with Hal Linden, Stephen King's ''It'', ''Danielle Steel's Heartbeat'' with Polly Draper, and ''It Came From the Sky'' in 1999 with Yasmine Bleeth, and made guest appearances on TV shows, such as ''Ally McBeal,'' ''Scrubs,'' ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' as well as an episode of Law and Order SVU where The case involves the beating of a seven-months-pregnant woman, whose unborn child has been torn from her body via a primitive cesarean section. Among the many witnesses questioned is the woman's husband, a psychiatrist with several devastating secrets and knows more about his wife's beating than he's willing to admit. Brian Rathjen. He also provided the voice of the title character in the PBS animated children's show ''Clifford the Big Red Dog'', a role for which he received two Emmy nominations. He starred alongside kickboxing actor Olivier Gruner for the buddy cop film ''Mercenary''.

Stage work

He played Claude Pichon in ''The Dinner Party'' (2000) at the Music Box Theatre on Broadway, which was written by Neil Simon. It ran for three hundred and sixty-four performances. Ritter won the Theatre World Award in 2001 for his performance in that work.

Later career

''8 Simple Rules''

In 2002, he made a TV comeback with the ABC family sitcom ''8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter'' (later retitled ''8 Simple Rules'' following his death). Other titles considered were "8 Simple Rules for Dating" and, simply, "8".)

In 2003, John Ritter suddenly fell ill and died while rehearsing for the second season of "8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter."

Final works

Ritter's final live action film appearance was as the store manager in ''Bad Santa'' (2003), starring personal friend Billy Bob Thornton and Bernie Mac. Ritter's last film ''Clifford's Really Big Movie'' was as his title character Clifford the Big Red Dog and released seven months after his death. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6631 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood.

Personal life

Ritter was married to actress Nancy Morgan from 1977 until they divorced in 1996; he married actress Amy Yasbeck in 1999. Yasbeck had variously played his wife and love interest in the first two ''Problem Child'' movies. Yasbeck also played Ritter's wife in two sitcom appearances. In 1991, both were guest stars on ''The Cosby Show'', where Yasbeck played the in-labor wife of Ritter's basketball coach character. In 1996, Ritter guest starred on Yasbeck's sitcom, ''Wings'', as the estranged husband of Yasbeck's character, Casey.

Ritter and Morgan had three children: Carly, Tyler, and Jason; he and Yasbeck had one daughter, Stella, born in 1998, a year before they were married.

Death

On September 11, 2003, Ritter felt ill while rehearsing scenes for the second season of ''8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter''. He was taken across the street to Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center, where he died later that evening, at approximately 10:45 pm PST from an aortic dissection caused by a previously undiagnosed congenital heart defect. His father Tex Ritter had died of a heart attack almost 30 years earlier. Ritter was interred at Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles. His mother died less than two months later.

Following his death, Yasbeck filed a $67 million wrongful death suit against radiologist Dr. Matthew Lotysch and cardiologist Dr. Joseph Lee. She accused Lee, who treated Ritter on the day of his death, of misdiagnosing his condition as a heart attack, and Lotysch, who had given him a full-body scan two years earlier, of failing at that time to detect an enlargement of Ritter's aorta. "Both sides agree that his true condition—an aortic dissection, which is a tear in the largest blood vessel in the body—was not identified until right before his death." The trial began on February 11, 2008, in Los Angeles County Superior Court. On March 14, 2008, the defendants were found not responsible for Ritter's death by a jury vote of 9–3. The family has already received more than $14 million in settlements, according to court records, including $9.4 million from Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, where he died.

Response and legacy

Many of Ritter's co-workers expressed deep sorrow and heartbreak following the news of his death. Suzanne Somers expressed immense despair for Ritter's family, "I'm so sad for the family. We lost a good one, it was so unfinished." Zach Braff, who worked with Ritter on ''Scrubs'', called Ritter a "comic hero" of his and said he had approached series creator Bill Lawrence to get Ritter to play his TV dad. Katey Sagal testified in the wrongful death lawsuit, calling Ritter a "funny man who was funny like nobody's business".

''8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter'' was later retitled ''8 Simple Rules'' following Ritter's death and continued for two more seasons until its cancellation on May 17, 2005. Ritter's character, Paul Hennessy, was said to have died after collapsing in a grocery store while buying milk. ABC aired the first three episodes of the show's second season that had been taped before his death. The remainder of the show dealt with the family trying to grapple with Paul's death. New male characters, played by James Garner and David Spade, were later added as the main cast. Shortly before his death, Ritter did a week-long taping with ''Hollywood Squares'', which was aired as a tribute to him, introduced by Henry Winkler, the executive producer of the show and very close friend of Ritter's.

In 2004, Ritter was posthumously given an Emmy nomination for playing Paul Hennessey in ''8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter'', but lost to Kelsey Grammer for playing the title character of ''Frasier''. Upon accepting his trophy, Grammer's remarks included comments made in tribute and remembrance of Ritter. His last films, ''Bad Santa'' and ''Clifford's Really Big Movie'', along with an episode of ''Scrubs'' (His character in this series died as well following Ritter's real life death) and ''King of the Hill'', were dedicated in his memory. On June 6, 2008, a mural of Ritter painted by Eloy Torrez was dedicated at Hollywood High School. In March 2010, the Thoracic Aortic Disease (TAD) Coalition, in partnership with Yasbeck, and the John Ritter Foundation, announced the creation of the Ritter Rules. The purpose of the charity is to help raise awareness among all of the public about aortic dissection so they can reduce their risk of the same kind of tragedy that took the life of Ritter.

Yasbeck has been working with the University of Texas Medical School at Houston Team, identifying genes that may lead to an aortic aneurysm, which are collected by a saliva sample along with many other samples. Those included in the study are all four of Ritter's children. Yasbeck is certain that once these genes are identifiable, such a tragedy should not repeat itself.

Filmography

+ Film
! Year	! Title	! Role	Notes
1971	''The Barefoot Executive''	Roger
1971	''Scandalous John''	Wandell
1972	''The Other''	Rider
1973	''The Stone Killer''	Officer Mort
1976		Franklin Frank
1978		Paul
1979	''Americathon''	President Chet Roosevelt
1980	''Hero at Large''	Steve Nichols
1980	''Wholly Moses!''	Satan (The Devil)
1981	''They All Laughed''	Charles Rutledge
1982	''The Flight of Dragons''	Peter Dickenson	Voice Direct-to-video
1983	''Sunset Limousine''	Alan O'Black
1985		Alex	TV Film
1986	''A Smoky Mountain Christmas''	Judge Harold Benton	(uncredited)
1987	''Real Men''	Bob Wilson/Agent Pillbox, CIA
1989		Zachary 'Zach' Hutton
1990		'Little' Ben Healy
1991	''The Real Story of O Christmas Tree''	Piney (Voice)	Direct-to-video release
1991	''Problem Child 2''	Ben Healy
1992		Garry Lejeune/Roger Tramplemain
1992		Roy Knable
1993	''Danielle Steel's Heartbeat''	Bill Grant
1994		Ward Nelson
1995		Rick Knowlton
1996	''Sling Blade''	Vaughan Cunningham
1997		Moses Helper
1997	''A Gun, a Car, a Blonde''	Duncan/The Bartender
1997		Hank
1998		Dr. Wexler
1998	''Shadow of Doubt''	Steven Mayer
1998	''I Woke Up Early the Day I Died''	Robert Forrest
1998	''Bride of Chucky''	Police Chief Warren Kincaid
2000		Dr. Josh Parks
2000	''Lost in the Perishing Point Hotel''	Christian Therapist
2000	''Tripfall''	Tom Williams
2000	''Terror Tract''	Bob Carter	Segment: Make Me an Offer
2001	''Nuncrackers''	Narrator	Direct-to-video
2002		Stanley Grubman
2002		Bill
2003		Eli
2003	''Bad Santa''	Bob Chipeska	Posthumously released
2004	''Clifford's Really Big Movie''	Clifford the Big Red Dog (Voice)	Posthumously released
2006	''Stanley's Dinosaur Round-Up''	Great Uncle Stew (Voice)	Direct-to-video releasePosthumously released

Television

+ Television
! Year	! Title	! Role	Notes
1968	''Crazy World, Crazy People''	Various characters
1970	''Dan August''		Episode: "Quadrangle for Death"
1971, 1977	''Hawaii Five-O''	Ryan Moore Mike Welles	2 episodes
1972 to 1976	''The Waltons''	Rev. Matthew Fordwick	18 episodes
1973		Ronnie	Episode: "End of the Line"
1973	''Bachelor-at-Law''	Ben Sykes
1973		Pvt. Carter	Episode: "Deal Me Out"
1974		Kenny Soames	Episode: "Deliver Us Some Evil"
1974	''Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law''	Greg	Episode: "To Keep and Bear Arms"
1974	''The Bob Newhart Show''	Dave	Episode: "Sorry, Wrong Mother"
1975		Casey	Episode: "Landslide"
1975	''Mannix''	Cliff Elgin
1975	''The Bob Crane Show''	Hornbeck	Episode: "Son of the Campus Capers"
1975	''Petrocelli''	John Oleson	Episode: "Chain of Command"
1975	''Barnaby Jones''	Joe Rockwell	Episode: "The Price of Terror"
1975	''The Streets of San Francisco''	John 'Johnny' Steiner	Episode: "Murder by Proxy"
1975	''The Night That Panicked America''	Walter Wingate
1975	''The Mary Tyler Moore Show''	Reverend Chatfield
1975	''The Rookies''	Hap Dawson	Episode: "Reluctant Hero"
1975 to 1976	''Rhoda''	Vince Mazuma Jerry Blocker	2 episodes
1976	''Starsky and Hutch''	Tom Cole
1976		Paul Jameson	Episode: "The New Job"
1976 to 1984	''Three's Company''	Jack Tripper	174 episodes
1977 to 1983	''The Love Boat''	Dale Riley/Reinhardt	3 episodes
1978	''Ringo''	Marty	TV film
1978	''Leave Yesterday Behind''	Paul Stallings	ABC TV film
1979	''The Ropers''	Jack Tripper	Episode: "The Party"
1980		Chick	Episode: "The Censors"
1980		Bubba Newman	ABC TV film
1981		Frankie	Episode: "Little Miseries"
1982		Tom McPherson	ABC TV film
1982	''In Love with an Older Woman''	Robert	CBS TV film
1983	''Sunset Limousine''	Alan O'Black	CBS TV film
1984	''Love Thy Neighbor''	Danny Loeb	ABC TV film
1984	''Pryor's Place''		Episode: "The Showoff"
1984 to 1985	''Three's a Crowd''	Jack Tripper	22 episodes
1985	''Letting Go''	Alex	ABC TV film
1986	''Living Seas''	Host	NBC TV film
1986	''Unnatural Causes''	Frank Coleman	NBC TV film
1986	''A Smoky Mountain Christmas''	Judge Harold Benton	ABC film
1986	''Life With Lucy''	Himself	Guest Appearance
1987	''The Last Fling''	Phillip Reed	ABC TV film
1987	''Prison for Children''	David Royce	CBS TV film
1987 to 1989	''Hooperman''	Det. Harry Hooperman	42 episodes
1988	''Mickey's 60th Birthday''	Dudley Goode	TV special
1988	''Tricks of the Trade''	Donald Todsen	Cameo CBS TV film
1989	''My Brother's Wife''	Barney	ABC TV film
1990		Adult Ben "Haystack" Hanscom	ABC TV film
1990	''The Dreamer of Oz: The L. Frank Baum Story''	L. Frank Baum	NBC TV film
1991	''The Cosby Show''	Ray Evans
1991	''The Summer My Father Grew Up''	Paul	NBC TV film
1991	''Anything But Love''	Patrick Serreau	5 episodes
1992		Inspector Gill	Voice
1992 to 1994	''Hearts Afire''	John Hartman	54 episodes
1993		Bill Grant	NBC TV film
1993	''The Only Way Out''	Jeremy Carlisle	ABC TV film
1993	''The Larry Sanders Show''	Himself	Episode: "Off Camera"
1994	''Dave's World''	John Hartman	Episode: "Please Won't You Be My Neighbor"
1995	''Gramps''	Clarke MacGruder	NBC TV film
1995	''The Colony''	Rick Knowlton	TV film
1995	''NewsRadio''	Dr. Frank Westford
1996	''Unforgivable''	Paul Hegstrom	CBS TV film
1996		Stuart Davenport	Episode: "Love Overboard"
1996	''For Hope''	Date #5	''uncredited'' ABC TV film
1996 to 1999	''Touched by an Angel''	Mike O'Connor Tom McKinsley	2 episodes
1997	''Loss of Faith''	Bruce Simon Barker	TV film
1997	''Mercenary''	Jonas Ambler	HBO TV film
1997	''A Child's Wish''	Ed Chandler	CBS TV film
1997	''Dead Man's Gun''	Harry McDonacle	Segment: "The Great McDonacle"
1997		Justin Talbot	Episode: "The Nemesis"
1997		Ted Buchanan
1997 to 2003	''King of the Hill''	Eugene Grandy (Voice)	4 episodes
1998	''Chance of a Lifetime''	Tom Maguire	CBS TV film
1998	''Ally McBeal''	George Madison	2 episodes
1998	''Dead Husbands''	Dr. Carter Elston	TV film
1999	''Veronica's Closet''	Tim
1999	''Holy Joe''	Joe Cass	CBS TV film
1999		Donald Bridges	TV film
1999	''Lethal Vows''	Dr. David Farris	CBS TV film
2000	''Chicago Hope''	Joe Dysmerski	Episode: "Simon Sez"
2000	''Batman Beyond''	Dr. David Wheeler (Voice)
2000		Father Andrews	Episode: "Possession is Nine Tenths of the Law"
2000 to 2003		Clifford	Voice
2000 to 2002		Mr. Andrew Covington	7 episodes
2001		Marty	Episode: "Homewrecker for the Holidays"
2002	''The Ellen Show''	Percy Moss
2002	''Law & Order: Special Victims Unit''	Dr. Richard Manning
2002		Lloyd Fuchs	Episode: "Pilot"
2002			2 episodes
2002 to 2003			31 episodes

Awards and nominations

Chlotrudis Awards

1997: Nominated, "Best Supporting Actor" – ''Sling Blade''

DVD Exclusive Awards

2003: Nominated, "Best Audio Commentary, Library Release" – ''High Noon'' (shared w/Maria Copper & Tim Zinnemann)

Daytime Emmy Awards

2001: Nominated, "Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program" – ''Clifford the Big Red Dog''

2002: Nominated, "Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program" – ''Clifford the Big Red Dog''

2003: Nominated, "Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program" – ''Clifford the Big Red Dog''

2004: Nominated, "Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program" – ''Clifford the Big Red Dog''

Emmy Awards

1978: Nominated, "Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series" – ''Three's Company''

1981: Nominated, "Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series" – ''Three's Company''

1984: Won, "Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series" – ''Three's Company''

1988: Nominated, "Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series" – ''Hooperman''

1999: Nominated, "Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series" – ''Ally McBeal''

2004: Nominated, "Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series" – ''8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter''

Golden Globe Awards

1979: Nominated, "Best TV Actor in a Musical/Comedy" – ''Three's Company''

1980: Nominated, "Best TV Actor in a Musical/Comedy" – ''Three's Company''

1984: Won, "Best TV Actor in a Musical/Comedy" – ''Three's Company''

1987: Nominated, "Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television" – ''Unnatural Causes''

1988: Nominated, "Best TV Actor in a Musical/Comedy" – ''Hooperman''

People's Choice Awards

1988: Won, "Favorite Male Performer in a New TV Program" – ''Hooperman''

Screen Actors Guild Awards

1997: Nominated, "Outstanding Performance by a Cast" – ''Sling Blade'' (shared w/co-stars)

Hollywood Walk of Fame

1983: "Star on the Walk of Fame" – 6627 Hollywood Boulevard; he and Tex Ritter were the first father-and-son pair to be so honored in different categories.

Trivia:

John Ritter played the role of "Dad" in the music video of "Innocent Eyes" by Graham Nash released off the album of the same name in 1986. The video centres around the theme of eternal youth and the characters proceed to dance at a Graham Nash concert.

Further reading

References

External links

John Ritter at Emmys.com

Category:1948 births Category:2003 deaths Category:American comedians Category:American film actors Category:American stage actors Category:American television actors Category:American voice actors Category:Best Musical or Comedy Actor Golden Globe (television) winners Category:Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills) Category:Cardiovascular disease deaths in California Category:Deaths from aortic dissection Category:Deaths onstage Category:People from Burbank, California Category:Actors from Los Angeles, California Category:University of Southern California alumni

de:John Ritter es:John Ritter eu:John Ritter fr:John Ritter gl:John Ritter it:John Ritter he:ג'ון ריטר nl:John Ritter ja:ジョン・リッター pl:John Ritter pt:John Ritter ro:John Ritter ru:Риттер, Джон simple:John Ritter sh:John Ritter fi:John Ritter sv:John Ritter tl:John Ritter tr:John Ritter uk:Джон Ріттер

name	Suzanne Somers
birth name	Suzanne Marie Mahoney
birth date	October 16, 1946
birth place	San Bruno, California, U.S.
occupation	Actress, author, businesswoman, singer
years active	1963–present
spouse	Bruce Somers (1965–1968)Alan Hamel (1977–present)
website	http://www.suzannesomers.com/ }}

Suzanne Somers (born as Suzanne Marie Mahoney on October 16, 1946) is an American actress, author, singer and businesswoman, known for her television roles as Chrissy Snow on ''Three's Company'' and as Carol Lambert on ''Step by Step''.

Somers later became the author of a series of best-selling self-help books, including ''Ageless: The Naked Truth About Bioidentical Hormones'' (2006), a book about bioidentical hormone replacement therapy. She has also released two autobiographies, four diet books, and a book of poetry entitled "Touch Me" (1980). She currently features items of her design on ShopNBC.

She is criticized for her views on some medical subjects and her advocacy of the Wiley Protocol, which has been labelled as "scientifically unproven and dangerous". Her promotion of alternative cancer treatments has received criticism from the American Cancer Society.

Personal life

Born Suzanne Marie Mahoney in San Bruno, California, Somers was the third of four children in an Irish Catholic family. Her mother, Marion Elizabeth (née Turner), was a medical secretary, and her father, Francis Mahoney, was a laborer (loading beer into boxcars) and gardener. Her family attended church at St. Robert's Catholic Church in San Bruno.

She attended Capuchino High School, then she was accepted at San Francisco College for Women (commonly referred to as "Lone Mountain College") a Catholic school that is now a campus of the University of San Francisco.

She was a contestant on ''Anniversary Game'' (1969–70), where she met host Alan Hamel for the first time; they were married in 1977.

In 2001 Somers announced that she had breast cancer, having a lumpectomy to remove the cancer followed by radiation therapy. She decided to forego chemotherapy in favor of alternative treatment.

On January 9, 2007, the Associated Press reported that a wildfire in Southern California had destroyed Somers' Malibu home.

Career

Early acting roles

She began acting in small roles during the late 1960s and early 1970s (including on various talk shows promoting her book of poetry, and bit parts in movies such as the "Blonde in the T-Bird" in ''American Graffiti'', and an episode of the American version of the sitcom ''Lotsa Luck'' as the femme fatale in the early 1970s). She appeared in ''The Rockford Files'' and had an uncredited role as a topless pool girl in ''Magnum Force'', both in 1974. She next guest starred on the 1977 episode "Cheshire Project" on ''The Six Million Dollar Man''. She later landed the role of the ditzy blonde "Chrissy Snow" on the ABC sitcom ''Three's Company'' in 1977. And also that year she was a celebrity panelist on ''Match Game''.

''Three's Company''

At the beginning of the fifth season, Somers demanded a hefty raise from $30,000 to $150,000 an episode and 10% ownership of the show's profit. Those close to the situation suggested that Somers' rebellion was due to husband Hamel's influences. When ABC denied her request, Somers boycotted the second and fourth shows of the season, due to several excuses such as a broken rib (which was false). She finished the remaining season on her contract, but her role was decreased to 60 seconds per episode. After her contract was terminated, she sued ABC for $2 million, claiming that her credibility in show business had been damaged. It went to an arbitrator who decided that Somers was owed only $30,000 due to a single missed episode for which she had not been paid. Other rulings favored the producers. Somers has said she was fired because she asked to be paid as much as male actors like Alan Alda of ''M*A*S*H'', and Carroll O'Connor of ''Archie Bunker's Place''.

Before the feud with ''Three's Company'' producers and ABC ended, rival network CBS knew that Somers was ultimately going to be available. They signed her to a contract and a development deal for her own sitcom, which was going to be called ''The Suzanne Somers Show'', in which she was to play an "over-the-top" airline stewardess. Once she was indeed available (after her firing from ''Three's Company''), CBS gave Somers – and the public – a timeframe in which to expect the show to hit the air, but due to a change in administration at CBS' entertainment division in early 1982, the brass ended up passing on the project. Also, Somers claimed in her book ''After the Fall'' (1998), that the producers of ''Three's Company'' kept sending cease and desist forms to CBS stating that Somers could not use any of her Chrissy Snow characterization, and that chilled the creative process.

''Playboy'' pictorials

Somers appeared in two ''Playboy'' cover-feature nude pictorials: in 1980 and 1984. The first set of photos was taken by Stan Malinowski in February 1970 when Somers was a struggling model and actress and did a test photoshoot for the magazine. She was accepted as a Playmate candidate in 1971, but declined to pose nude before the actual shoot. During a ''Tonight Show'' appearance, she denied ever posing nude (except for a ''High Society'' topless photo), which prompted Playboy into publishing the photos from the 1970 Malinowski shoot in February 1980. The second nude pictorial by ''Richard Fegley'' appeared in December 1984 in an attempt by Somers to regain her popularity after being terminated by ''Three's Company'' in 1982.

Spokeswoman for the Thighmaster

During the 1980s, Somers became a Las Vegas entertainer. She was the spokeswoman for the Thighmaster, a piece of exercise equipment that is squeezed between one's thighs. Thighmaster was one of the first products responsible for launching the infomercial concept. During this period of her career, she also performed for US servicemen overseas.

''She's the Sheriff''

At the height of her exposure as official spokesperson for Thighmaster infomercials, Somers made her first return to a series, although not on network television. In 1987, she starred in the sitcom ''She's the Sheriff'', which ran in first-run syndication. Somers portrayed a widow with two young kids who decided to fill the shoes of her late husband, a sheriff of a southern town. The show ran for two seasons.

''Step by Step''

In 1990, Somers returned to network TV, appearing in numerous guest roles and made-for-TV movies, mostly for ABC. Her roles in these, including the movie ''Rich Men, Single Women'', attracted the attention of Lorimar Television and Miller-Boyett Productions, who were developing a new sitcom. Somers had starred in the film with Heather Locklear, who inadvertently directed the focus of both production companies to Somers due to Locklear's starring role on ''Going Places'' (from Lorimar and Miller/Boyett). For Lorimar, this was asking Somers back, since they alone had produced ''She's the Sheriff''.

In September 1991, Somers returned to TV starring in the sitcom ''Step By Step'' (with Patrick Duffy), which ran for seven seasons. Playing off her rejuvenated career, Somers also launched a daytime talk show in 1994, albeit briefly, titled ''Suzanne Somers''. During ''Step By Step'''s final season, on CBS, she began co-hosting ''Candid Camera'' with Peter Funt.

''Candid'' cohost

From 1997–99, Somers cohosted the revised ''Candid Camera'' show, when CBS chose to bring it back with Peter Funt. Somers stayed for two years before PAX TV renewed the series without her.

''The Blonde in the Thunderbird''

In summer 2005, Somers made her Broadway debut in a one-woman show, ''The Blonde in the Thunderbird'', a collection of stories about her life and career. The show was supposed to run until September, but was cancelled in less than a week after poor reviews and disappointing ticket sales. Somers blamed the harsh reviews (''The New York Times'' referred to it as "''...a drab and embarrassing display of emotional exhibitionism masquerading as entertainment''") and told the ''New York Post'': ''"These men [New York critics] are curmudgeons, and maybe I went too close to the bone for them. I was lying there naked, and they decided to kick me and step on me, just like these visions you see in Iraq."''

''Breaking Through''

In 2012, Somers began an online talk show, ''Suzanne Somers Breaking Through,'' at CafeMom. Three of the episodes featured a reunion with Joyce DeWitt, the two speaking with each other for the first time in thirty years.

Views on medical subjects

Somers supports bioidentical hormone replacement therapy. Her book, ''Ageless'', includes interviews with 16 practitioners of bioidentical hormone therapy, but gives extra discussion to one specific approach, the 'Wiley Protocol'. Somers and T. S. Wiley, the originator of the Wiley Protocol, have been criticized for their advocacy of the Wiley Protocol. A group of seven doctors, all of whom utilize bioidentical hormone therapies to address health issues in women, issued a public letter to Somers and her publisher, Crown, in which they state that the protocol is "scientifically unproven and dangerous" and cite Wiley's lack of medical and clinical qualifications. its efficacy has never been tested and numerous groups have expressed concern over its safety and the misleading claims made by practitioners.

Her promotion of them, and Oprah Winfrey's support of her, has been the subject of an Associated Press article:

: ''The problem, for many doctors: These custom-compounded products are not approved by the Food and Drug Administration.''

: ''Somers, whose hormone regimen involves creams, injections and some 60 supplements daily, got a huge boost earlier this year from Oprah Winfrey. "Many people write Suzanne off as a quackadoo," Winfrey said when Somers appeared on her show. "But she just might be a pioneer."''

: ''Yet Winfrey's tacit support of Somers gave her some of the worst press of her career. "Crazy Talk," Newsweek headlined an article on the talk show host earlier this year. Another headline, on Salon.com: "Oprah's Bad Medicine."''

In 2001, Somers was diagnosed with breast cancer. She had a lumpectomy, and radiation, but declined to undergo chemotherapy. In November, 2008, Suzanne Somers announced she was diagnosed with inoperable cancer by six doctors, but Somers learned a week later that she was misdiagnosed. During this time, she interviewed doctors about cancer treatments and these interviews became the basis of her book, ''Knockout'', about alternative treatments to chemotherapy. In her book ''Knockout'', Somers promotes alternative cancer treatments, for which she has received criticism from the American Cancer Society:

: ''The American Cancer Society is concerned.''''"I am very afraid that people are going to listen to her message and follow what she says and be harmed by it," says Dr. Otis Brawley, the organization's chief medical officer. "We use current treatments because they've been proven to prolong life. They've gone through a logical, scientific method of evaluation. I don't know if Suzanne Somers even knows there IS a logical, scientific method."''''More broadly, Brawley is concerned that in the United States, celebrities or sports stars feel they can use their fame to dispense medical advice. "There's a tendency to oversimplify medical messages," he says. "Well, oversimplification can kill."''

She is also opposed to water fluoridation.

In the movie "Sex and the City 2" Samantha, one of the characters, advocates Suzanne Somers' book and method of bioidentical hormone replacement therapy

Television work

''Anniversary Game'' (1969–1970)

''Mantrap'' (1971–1973)

''Lotsa Luck'' (c1973)

''The Big Ripoff (The Rockford Files)'' (Aired Oct, 1974)

''Sky Heist'' (1975)

''Match Game'' ('77/PM) (1977)

''It Happened at Lakewood Manor'' (1977)

''Three's Company'' (cast member from 1977–1981)

''Happily Ever After'' (1978)

''Zuma Beach'' (1978)

''Hollywood Wives'' (1985) (miniseries)

''Goodbye Charlie'' (1985)

''She's the Sheriff'' (1987–1989)

''Rich Men, Single Women'' (1990)

''Step by Step'' (1991–1998)

''Keeping Secrets'' (1991)

''Exclusive'' (1992) (also co-executive producer)

''The Suzanne Somers Show'' (1994–1995)

''Seduced by Evil'' (1994)

''8-Track Flashback'' (1995-1998)

''Devil's Food'' (1996)

''Love-Struck'' (1997)

''No Laughing Matter'' (1998)

''Candid Camera'' (co-host from 1998–2000)

''The Darklings'' (1999)

''Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List'' (2009) (Guest appearance)

''ShopNBC

Filmography

''Bullitt'' (1968)

''Daddy's Gone A-Hunting'' (1969)

''American Graffiti'' (1973)

''Magnum Force'' (1973) (uncredited)

''Ants (1977)

''Billy Jack Goes to Washington'' (1977)

''Yesterday's Hero'' (1979)

''Nothing Personal'' (1980)

''Totally Minnie'' (1987)

''Serial Mom'' (1994) (cameo)

''Rusty: A Dog's Tale'' (1998) (voice)

''Say It Isn't So'' (2001) (cameo)

Bibliography

References

External links

Category:1946 births Category:American female models Category:American film actors Category:American health and wellness writers Category:American self-help writers Category:American television actors Category:Game show models Category:American people of Irish descent Category:Living people Category:People from San Mateo County, California Category:University of San Francisco alumni Category:Women comedians Category:People in alternative medicine Category:Breast cancer survivors Category:People from San Bruno, California

bg:Сюзан Самърс cs:Suzanne Somers da:Suzanne Somers de:Suzanne Somers es:Suzanne Somers fr:Suzanne Somers it:Suzanne Somers pl:Suzanne Somers ru:Сомерс, Сьюзан simple:Suzanne Somers fi:Suzanne Somers tl:Suzanne Somers

name	Joyce DeWitt
birth name	Joyce Anne DeWitt
birth date	April 23, 1949
birth place	Wheeling, West Virginia, U.S.
other names	Joycey
education	Ball State University
residence	Los Angeles, California, U.S.
occupation	Actress
years active	1972–present
website	JoyceDeWitt.com
tonyawards	}}

Joyce Anne DeWitt (born April 23, 1949) is an American actress most famous for playing Janet Wood on the ABC sitcom ''Three's Company''.

Early life

Joyce DeWitt, who is of no relation to actress Fay DeWitt, was born April 23, 1949 in Wheeling, West Virginia, and grew up in Speedway, Indiana, a suburb of Indianapolis. She is of Italian descent. She competed in speech and debate through the Indiana High School Forensic Association. After she received a bachelor's degree in theater from Ball State University, she moved to California to earn her master's degree from the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA).

Career

DeWitt began appearing on stage at the age of 13. While attending university, she worked as a secretary until her debut on ''Baretta''. Contrary to reports, she has never painted actor Abe Vigoda's garage doors, and has never met the man. While performing in summer stock in the year following her graduation, a director and UCLA Theater professor convinced her to go to California for the school's MFA program.

DeWitt is best known for her role as Janet Wood during the 1977–1984 run of the sitcom ''Three's Company'', a job she obtained after being cast in the show's second pilot.

After ''Three's Company'' ended in 1984, DeWitt appeared in an episode of ''Finder of Lost Loves'' in 1984, after which she quit acting for several years. She resumed acting with a part in a production of ''Noises Off'' at Michigan's Cherry County Playhouse in June 1991. She later appeared in the 1995 TV comedy film ''Spring Fling!'', and made appearances in "The Pinky Protocol", a 1997 episode of ''Pinky and the Brain'', an episode of ''Cybill'', and a cameo on the penultimate episode of ''Living Single''. Her 2000s works includes TV shows such as ''Hope Island'', ''18'', ''The Nick at Nite Holiday Special'', and ''Call of the Wild''.

DeWitt would go on to co-produce and host the 2003 NBC-TV television film ''Behind the Camera: The Unauthorized Story of Three's Company'', with actress Melanie Deanne Moore portraying her during her time on ''Three's Company''. In late 2008, she also earned a part in an independent film called ''Failing Better Now''.

As of 2011, DeWitt was starring in the play ''Miss Abigail's Guide to Dating, Mating & Marriage'' on in New York.

Charity work

DeWitt participated with members of the House and Senate at the Capitol Hill Forum on Hunger and Homelessness, and has hosted presentations for the Family Assistance Program of Hollywood. She hosted the International Awards Ceremony at the White House for the Presidential End Hunger Awards, and co-hosted, with Jeff Bridges, the World Food Day Gala at the Kennedy Center.

Legal issues

On July 4, 2009, DeWitt was arrested in El Segundo, California, and cited for drunken driving. According to press reports, police pulled her over after she drove past a barricade near a park. An officer arrested the actress after he observed signs she had been drinking and administered a field sobriety test. She was booked at the police station, cited, and released on her own recognizance. On May 27, 2010, she pleaded no contest to one count misdemeanor and was placed on three years' probation and ordered to undergo a nine-month alcohol program. She was also ordered to pay a $510 fine, plus penalty assessments. In exchange for her plea, a second misdemeanor count was dismissed.

Filmography

Film

''Airplane II: The Sequel'' (1982) - Juror

Television

''Baretta'' (1975) - Jill

''Most Wanted'' (1976)

''Three's Company'' (1977–1984) - Janet Wood/Dawson

''With This Ring'' (1978) - Jilly Weston

''Supertrain'' (1979) - Natalie Smithburne

''The Ropers'' (1979) - Janet Wood

''The Love Boat'' (1979) - Jackie Landers

''The B.B. Beegle Show'' (1980) - Herself

''Steve Martin: Comedy Is Not Pretty'' (1980) - Love God's Date

''Finder of Lost Loves'' (1984) - Lynn Powell

''The Berenstain Bears'' (1985–1987) - voices

''Spring Fling!'' (1995) - Linda Hayden

''Living Single'' (1998) - Herself

''Hope Island'' (2000) - Laetitia Barton, Laverne Cranston

''The Nick at Nite Holiday Special'' (2003) - Miss DeWitt, The Housekeeper

''The 3rd Annual TV Land Awards'' (2005) - Susan Mayer

As producer

''Behind the Camera: The Unauthorized Story of Three's Company'' (2003)

References

External links

Category:1949 births Category:Actors from Indiana Category:American film actors Category:American television actors Category:American people of Italian descent Category:Ball State University alumni Category:Living people Category:People from Indianapolis, Indiana Category:People from Wheeling, West Virginia Category:Actors from West Virginia

fr:Joyce DeWitt it:Joyce DeWitt pl:Joyce DeWitt

name	Conan O'Brien
birth name	Conan Christopher O'Brien
alias	Coco
birth date	April 18, 1963
birth place	Brookline, Massachusetts, United States
medium	Television
nationality	American
active	1985–present
genre	Improvisational comedy, sketch comedy, physical comedy, surreal humor, self-deprecation
subjects	Self-deprecation, pop culture
influences	Johnny Carson, David Letterman, Robert Smigel, Pee-Wee Herman
spouse	Elizabeth Ann Powel (since 2002; 2 children)
notable work	''The Simpsons''(writer, producer, 1991–1993)''Late Night with Conan O'Brien''(host, 1993–2009)''The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien''(host, 2009–2010) ''Conan'' (host, 2010–present)
education	Harvard University
signature	Conan O'Brien Signature.svg

}} Conan Christopher O'Brien (born April 18, 1963) is an American television host, comedian, writer, producer and performer. Since November 2010 he has hosted ''Conan'', a late-night talk show that airs on the American cable television station TBS.

O'Brien was born in Brookline, Massachusetts, and raised in an Irish Catholic family. He served as president of the ''Harvard Lampoon'' while attending Harvard University, and was a writer for the sketch comedy series ''Not Necessarily the News''. After writing for several comedy shows in Los Angeles, he joined the writing staff of ''Saturday Night Live'', and later of ''The Simpsons''. He hosted ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' from 1993 to 2009, followed by seven months hosting ''The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien'', the only person to serve as the permanent host for both NBC programs.

Early life

O'Brien was born in Brookline, Massachusetts (a suburb of Boston) to Thomas O'Brien, a physician, epidemiologist, and professor of medicine at Harvard, and Ruth O'Brien (née Reardon), an attorney and partner at the Boston firm Ropes & Gray. He is the third of six children. O'Brien's family is Irish Catholic and descends from pre-Civil War era immigrants. In a ''Late Night'' episode, O'Brien paid a visit to County Kerry, Ireland, where his ancestors originated.

O'Brien attended Brookline High School, where he served as the managing editor of the school newspaper. In his senior year, O'Brien won the National Council of Teachers of English writing contest with his short story, "To Bury the Living". After graduating as valedictorian in 1981, he entered Harvard University. At Harvard, O'Brien lived in Holworthy Hall during his freshman year and Mather House during his three upper-class years. He concentrated in history and literature and graduated ''magna cum laude'' in 1985. His senior thesis concerned the use of children as symbols in the works of William Faulkner and Flannery O'Connor. Throughout college, O'Brien was a writer for the ''Harvard Lampoon'' humor magazine. He also briefly served as the drummer in a band called "The Bad Clams". During his sophomore and junior years, he served as the ''Lampoon'''s president. At this time, O'Brien's future boss at NBC, Jeff Zucker, was serving as President of the rival ''The Harvard Crimson''.

Career

''Saturday Night Live'' (1987–1991)

O'Brien moved to Los Angeles after graduation to join the writing staff of HBO's ''Not Necessarily the News''. He was also a writer on the short-lived ''The Wilton North Report''. He spent two years with that show and performed regularly with improvisational groups, including The Groundlings. In January 1988, ''Saturday Night Live'''s executive producer, Lorne Michaels, hired O'Brien as a writer. During his three years on ''Saturday Night Live (SNL)'', he wrote such recurring sketches as "Mr. Short-Term Memory" and "The Girl Watchers"; the latter was first performed by Tom Hanks and Jon Lovitz. O'Brien also co-wrote the sketch, "Nude Beach", with Robert Smigel, in which the word "penis" was said or sung at least 42 times. While on a writers' strike from ''Saturday Night Live'' following the 1987–88 season, O'Brien put on an improvisational comedy revue in Chicago with fellow ''SNL'' writers Bob Odenkirk and Robert Smigel called ''Happy Happy Good Show''. While living in Chicago, O'Brien briefly roomed with Jeff Garlin. In 1989, O'Brien and his fellow ''SNL'' writers received an Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy or Variety Series.

O'Brien, like many ''SNL'' writers, occasionally appeared as an extra in sketches; his most notable appearance was as a doorman in a sketch in which Tom Hanks was inducted into the SNL "Five-Timers Club" for hosting his fifth episode. O'Brien returned to host the show in 2001 during its 26th season. O'Brien and Robert Smigel wrote the television pilot for ''Lookwell'' starring Adam West, which aired on NBC in 1991. The pilot never went to series, but it became a cult hit. It was later screened at ''The Other Network'', a festival of unaired TV pilots produced by Un-Cabaret; it featured an extended interview with O'Brien and was rerun in 2002 on the Trio network.

''The Simpsons'' (1991–1993)

From 1991 to 1993, O'Brien was a writer and producer for ''The Simpsons'' and was credited as writer or co-writer of four episodes. Of all the episodes he wrote, he considers "Marge vs. the Monorail" to be his favorite. Along with this episode, he has sole writing credits on "New Kid on the Block," "Homer Goes to College," and "Treehouse of Horror IV," on which he wrote the episode wraparounds. He was an active producer during seasons 4 and 5 as well, meaning he would frequently contribute to scripts from those seasons as well as come up with story ideas, plot points, and jokes. The style of the show's comedy during this period was also influenced by his sensibilities, with "Marge vs. the Monorail" being cited by several former writers as the turning point in the show's history where more absurd and visual comedy became acceptable. He also developed a reputation as a "room guy," or a writer who performs comedy bits throughout the day to entertain other writers.

In his speech given at Class Day at Harvard in 2000, O'Brien credited ''The Simpsons'' with saving him, a reference to the career slump he was experiencing prior to his being hired for the show.

During his time at ''The Simpsons'', O'Brien also had a side project working with former writing partner Robert Smigel on the script for a musical film based on the "Hans and Franz" sketch from ''Saturday Night Live''. The film was never produced.

''Late Night'' (1993–2009)

As executive producer, Lorne Michaels invited O'Brien to audition to host the successor show to ''Late Night with David Letterman''. Premiering on September 13, 1993, ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' received generally unfavorable critical reviews during its first few years. The show remained on multiweek renewal cycles while NBC decided its fate. O'Brien later poked fun at the first three years of the show, when on his 10th Anniversary Special Mr. T appeared to give O'Brien a gold necklace with a giant "7" on it. When O'Brien tried to point out that he had actually been on the air for ten years, Mr. T responded, "I know that, fool; but you've only been funny for seven!"

Beginning in 1996, O'Brien and the ''Late Night'' writing team were nominated annually for the Emmy Award for Best Writing in a Comedy or Variety Series, winning the award for the first and only time in 2007. In 1997, 2000, 2002, 2003, and 2004, he and the ''Late Night'' writing staff won the Writers Guild Award for Best Writing in a Comedy/Variety Series. In 2001, he formed his own television production company, Conaco, which subsequently shared in the production credits for ''Late Night''.

A long-running joke, which stems from the recurring segment "Conan O'Brien Hates My Homeland", is that O'Brien resembles the first female president of Finland, Tarja Halonen. After joking about this for several months (which led to his endorsement of her campaign), O'Brien traveled to Finland, appearing on several television shows and meeting President Halonen. The trip was filmed and aired as a special.

O'Brien ad-libbed the fictional website name "hornymanatee.com" on December 4, 2006, after a sketch about the fictional manatee mascot and its inappropriate webcam site. NBC opted to purchase the website domain name for $159, since the website did not previously exist. The network was concerned that the Federal Communications Commission would hold NBC liable for promoting inappropriate content if a third party were to register the domain and post such material. For a period of time, the website hosted material concerning Conan's initial manatee joke and other ''Tonight Show'' references, but today the site just redirects to NBC's main web page.

A popular recurring bit on the show was "Pale Force", a series of animated episodes in which comedian Jim Gaffigan and O'Brien are superheroes who fight crime with their "paleness". As Gaffigan introduced each new episode, O'Brien protested the portrayal of his character as cowardly, weak, and impotent. , ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' had for eleven years consistently attracted an audience averaging about 2.5 million viewers. O'Brien is an avid guitarist and music listener. When Bruce Springsteen and the Sessions Band appeared on the show as musical guests, O'Brien joined the 17-piece band, along with the Max Weinberg 7 and guests Jimmy Fallon and Thomas Haden Church, playing acoustic guitar and contributing backup vocals for the song "Pay Me My Money Down". On the June 13, 2008, episode of ''Late Night'', O'Brien simply walked onto the stage at the start of the show. Instead of his usual upbeat antics and monologue, O'Brien announced that he had just received news about the sudden death of his good friend, fellow NBC employee and frequent ''Late Night'' guest, Tim Russert. O'Brien proceeded to show two clips of his favorite Russert ''Late Night'' moments. On February 20, 2009, NBC aired the last episode of ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien''. The show consisted of a compilation of previous ''Late Night'' clips and included a surprise appearance by former sidekick, Andy Richter. Will Ferrell, John Mayer, and the White Stripes also appeared. O'Brien ended the episode by destroying the set with an axe, handing out the pieces of the set to the audience, and thanking a list of people who helped him get to that point in his career. Among those thanked were Lorne Michaels, David Letterman, Jay Leno, and O'Brien's wife and children.

The Colbert / O'Brien / Stewart mock feud

During the writers' strike in 2008, O'Brien staged a mock feud with Comedy Central's Jon Stewart (of ''The Daily Show'') and Stephen Colbert (of ''The Colbert Report'') over a dispute about which of the three were responsible for giving a "bump" to Mike Huckabee's campaign to become the Republican presidential nominee. This feud crossed over all three shows during the 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike.

''The Tonight Show'' (2009–2010)

In 2004, O'Brien negotiated a new contract with NBC. As part of the deal, O'Brien would take over ''The Tonight Show'' from Jay Leno in 2009. O'Brien was a guest on Jay Leno's final episode of ''The Tonight Show''. On June 1, 2009, Will Ferrell became Conan's first ''Tonight Show'' guest on the couch and Pearl Jam appeared as his first musical guest.

During the taping of the Friday, September 25, 2009, episode of ''The Tonight Show'', O'Brien suffered from a mild concussion after he slipped and hit his head while running a race as part of a comedy sketch with guest Teri Hatcher. He was examined at a hospital and released the same day. A rerun was aired that night, but O'Brien returned to work the following Monday and poked fun at the incident.

Departure from ''The Tonight Show''

On Thursday, January 7, 2010, NBC executive Jeff Zucker met with Jay Leno and Conan O'Brien to discuss how to get Leno out of prime time, where his ratings were lackluster, and back into late night. A proposal was made that would see O'Brien remain as host of ''The Tonight Show'', which would be moved to 12:05 am with Leno hosting a 30-minute show at 11:35 pm On January 10, NBC Universal Television Entertainment Chairman Jeff Gaspin confirmed that ''The Jay Leno Show'' would indeed end at the start of the Winter Olympics on February 12, 2010, and be moved to 11:35 pm following the Olympics coverage. Sources familiar with the situation told the ''New York Post'' that O'Brien was unhappy with NBC's plan.

On January 12, O'Brien released this statement: "I sincerely believe that delaying ''The Tonight Show'' into the next day to accommodate another comedy program will seriously damage what I consider to be the greatest franchise in the history of broadcasting. ''The Tonight Show'' at 12:05 simply isn’t ''The Tonight Show.''" On January 21, 2010, it was announced that Conan had reached a deal with NBC that would see him exit ''The Tonight Show'' the next day. The deal also granted him $45 million, of which $12 million was designated for distribution to his staff, who had moved with Conan to Los Angeles from New York when he left ''Late Night''.

The final ''Tonight Show'' with Conan aired January 22, 2010, and featured guests Tom Hanks, Steve Carell (who did an exit interview and shredded Conan's ID badge), Neil Young (singing "Long May You Run"), and Will Ferrell. For Ferrell's appearance, Conan played guitar with the band and Ferrell sang "Free Bird" while reprising his ''SNL'' cowbell. Ferrell's wife, Viveca Paulin, together with Ben Harper, Beck, and ZZ Top guitarist Billy Gibbons, also joined the band for this final performance.

Jay Leno returned to ''The Tonight Show'' following NBC's coverage of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. Under the $45 million deal with NBC, Conan was allowed to start working for another network as soon as September 2010. Conan's rumored next networks ranged anywhere from Fox to Comedy Central.

After ''Tonight''

On February 8, 2010, it was reported that O'Brien was attempting to sell his Central Park West penthouse in New York with an asking price of $35 million. He purchased the apartment in 2007 for $10 million. Two years earlier, O'Brien had purchased a home in the Brentwood section of Los Angeles for over $10.5 million. Some industry insiders have speculated that O'Brien had chosen to stay on the west coast in order to facilitate a return to late night television and because he did not want to put his children through another move.

On February 24, 2010, O'Brien attracted media attention for starting a Twitter account. His tweets, although primarily jokes, amounted to his first public statements since leaving ''The Tonight Show'' one month earlier. After about one hour, O'Brien's subscriber list had rocketed to over 30,000 members and approximately 30 minutes later, he was on the brink of passing 50,000 followers, already 20,000 more than the verified @jayleno account. After 24 hours, O'Brien had well over 300,000 followers. In late May 2010, he surpassed the one million mark for number of Twitter followers, and he has over 5.3 million followers.

O'Brien has been named to the 2010 Time 100, a list compiled by TIME of the 100 most influential people in the world as voted on by readers. After being prohibited from making television appearances of any kind until May, O'Brien spoke about the ''Tonight Show'' conflict on the CBS newsmagazine ''60 Minutes'' on May 2, 2010. During the interview with Steve Kroft, O'Brien said the situation felt "like a marriage breaking up suddenly, violently, quickly. And I was just trying to figure out what happened." He also said he "absolutely" expected NBC to give him more of a chance and that, if in Jay Leno's position, he would not have come back to ''The Tonight Show''. However, Conan said he did not feel he got shafted. "It's crucial to me that anyone seeing this, if they take anything away from this, it's I'm fine. I'm doing great," said O'Brien. "I hope people still find me comedically absurd and ridiculous. And I don't regret anything."

The Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television Tour

On March 11, 2010, O'Brien announced via his Twitter account that he would embark on a 30-city live tour beginning April 12, 2010, entitled "The Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television Tour". Co-host Andy Richter, along with members of the former Tonight Show Band, joined O'Brien on the tour. Max Weinberg, however, was not able to join, except for a guest appearance at one of Conan's New York City shows. VIP tickets for $695 offered the opportunity to meet O'Brien in person. On the same day, teamcoco.com—an apparently official website—was launched.

On April 12, 2010, O'Brien opened his two-month comedy tour in Eugene, Oregon, with a crowd of 2,500 and no TV cameras. The tour traveled through America's Northwest and Canada before moving on to larger cities, including Los Angeles and New York City, where he performed on the campuses that house both of the NBC-owned studios he formerly occupied. The tour ended in Atlanta on June 14. With ticket prices starting at $40, "The Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television Tour" was effectively sold out.

''Conan'' (2010–present)

On April 12, 2010, just hours before the start of his tour in Eugene, Oregon, O'Brien announced that he would host a new show on cable station TBS. The show debuted on November 8, 2010, and airs Monday through Thursday beginning at 11:00 pm ET/10:00 pm CT. O'Brien's addition moved ''Lopez Tonight'' with George Lopez back one hour to midnight ET/11:00 pm CT. Refusing at first to do to Lopez what had happened to him at NBC, O'Brien agreed to join the network after Lopez called to persuade him to come to TBS. In Canada, CTV will air the show and in Turkey, CNBC-e will air the show.

Other networks that were reportedly interested in O'Brien include TBS' sister networks TNT and HBO, Fox, FX, Comedy Central, Showtime, Revision3, and even the NBC Universal-owned USA Network.

On September 1, 2010, O'Brien announced via his Twitter account and Team Coco YouTube page that the title of his new show on TBS would simply be ''Conan''.

Television writer/producer (2002–present)

In 2004, O'Brien apologized to Canadians for engaging in Quebec bashing, something which some felt reflected prejudice against Francophones. On March 7, 2006, NBC announced a new adventure/comedy series entitled ''Andy Barker, P.I.'', starring O'Brien's former sidekick, Andy Richter. O'Brien was executive producer and co-wrote the pilot. After six episodes and low ratings, the show was canceled despite being named by ''Entertainment Weekly'' as one of the Top Ten Shows of 2007. USA Network has handed out a 90-minute, cast-contingent pilot order to the medical-themed ''Operating Instructions'' from O'Brien's production banner. O'Brien will serve as an executive producer through his Conaco label. The script comes from ''Just Shoot Me'' veterans Judd Pillot and John Peaslee who will also executive produce." NBC ordered two pilots from Conaco in January 2010, the one-hour courtroom drama, ''Outlaw'', and a half-hour comedy. ''Outlaw'' was produced in eight episodes and premiered on September 15, 2010.

Voice work and guest appearances

O'Brien's first guest appearance after beginning his late-night career was on the show he used to write for, ''The Simpsons''. He played himself in the season five episode "Bart Gets Famous", interviewing Bart Simpson during his rise to fame as a catchphrase comedian. The episode was produced after O'Brien's audition to replace David Letterman, but before he was hired for the show. O'Brien recorded his part after his own show went on the air, though he believed his show would be canceled by the time "Bart Gets Famous" aired. In 2006, he voiced himself in a short ''South Park'' scene as part of the opening of the 2006 Emmy Awards. In 2005, he provided the voice of Robert Todd Lincoln in the audio book version of ''Assassination Vacation'' by Sarah Vowell.

O'Brien has made multiple voice appearances on the Adult Swim series ''Robot Chicken'', including the specials ''Robot Chicken: Star Wars'', and ''Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode II'' as the voice of the bounty hunter Zuckuss. On the TV show ''30 Rock'', O'Brien is depicted as an ex-boyfriend of lead character Liz Lemon, who works in the same building. In the episode "Tracy Does Conan," Conan appears as himself, awkwardly reunited with Lemon and coerced by network executive Jack Donaghy into having the character Tracy Jordan on ''Late Night'', despite having been assaulted in Jordan's previous appearance.

O'Brien made an appearance on ''Futurama'' in the second-season episode "Xmas Story". O'Brien plays himself as a head in a jar and still alive in the year 3000. O'Brien performs a stand-up routine at a futuristic ski lodge while being heckled by Bender the robot.

O'Brien also made a cameo appearance on the U.S. version of ''The Office''. In the episode "Valentine's Day", Michael believes that he spots former ''SNL'' cast member, Tina Fey, but has actually mistaken another woman for her. In the meantime, Conan has a quick walk-on and the camera crew informs Michael, when he returns from talking to the Tina Fey lookalike.

In January 2010, O'Brien appeared in ''The Simpsons 20th Anniversary Special – In 3-D! On Ice!'' to honor the show he had written for in the early 1990s.

O'Brien created a superhero character with veteran DC Comics animator Bruce Timm during one episode of ''Conan''. Named "The Flaming C", the superhero bears a likeness to O'Brien, with a typically muscular superhero body and costume with chest insignia, but also with idiosyncrasies arbitrarily suggested by O'Brien like an oven mitt, a jai alai glove, marijuana leaf buckle, golf shoes, sock garters and fishnet stockings. O'Brien later aired a clip in which the character appears in ''Young Justice''.

In 2011, O'Brien hosted the ''Christmas in Washington'' special for TBS' sister network, TNT, featuring performances from Justin Bieber, Victoria Justice, Cee-Lo Green, The Band Perry and Jennifer Hudson; with a special appearance by the Obama family.

Emmy host

O'Brien hosted the 58th Primetime Emmy Awards on August 27, 2006, to critical acclaim. He had previously hosted the Primetime Emmys in 2002, and co-hosted in 2003.

Commercials and product placements

According to Marketing Evolutions, the company that produces Q Scores measuring the familiarity and appeal of celebrities and brands, almost 74% of U.S. consumers are familiar with O'Brien. In spite of that high score, O'Brien hasn't done many commercials for corporate America; two recent examples are a 2009 appearance in a Super Bowl XLIII commercial for Bud Light, and one for American Express, which debuted on the same day as ''Conan''. He donated his proceeds from the Super Bowl commercial to the Fresh Air Fund, a charity which sends inner-city New York children to the country for vacations. According to ''The Wall Street Journal'', O'Brien was paid more than one million dollars to do the American Express commercial, which required him to spend three days in Jaipur, India filming it.

While O'Brien has done few commercials, he "does do plenty of promoting, weaving product pitches into his show"; he has said "it's increasingly incumbent to help with tie-ins [but] if it can't be funny, I'd rather go hungry."

Comedy and mannerisms

On ''Late Night,'' O'Brien became known for his active and spontaneous hosting style, which has been characterized as "awkward, self-deprecating humor".

Personal life

O'Brien met Elizabeth Ann 'Liza' Powel in 2000 when she appeared on ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' in an advertising skit involving Foote, Cone & Belding, where she worked as senior copywriter. The couple dated for nearly 18 months before their 2002 marriage in Powel's hometown of Seattle. O'Brien and Powel have a daughter, Neve (born in 2003) and a son, Beckett (born in 2005).

O'Brien repeatedly affirms his Irish Catholic heritage on his show. On a 2009 episode of ''Inside the Actors Studio'', he stated that both sides of his family moved to America from Ireland in the 1850s, subsequently marrying only other Irish Catholics, and that his lineage is thus 100% Irish Catholic.

He has been a staunch Democrat since casting his first vote for President in 1984 for Walter Mondale, although he considers himself a moderate on the political spectrum. O'Brien's longtime friend and former roommate at Harvard is Father Paul B. O' Brien, with whom he founded ''Labels Are For Jars'', an antihunger organization based in Lawrence, Massachusetts, and helped open the ''Cor Unum'' meal center in 2006. The two are not related.

In January 2008, after his show was put on hold for two months owing to the strike by the Writers Guild of America, he reemerged on late-night TV sporting a beard, which guest Tom Brokaw described as making him look like "a draft dodger from the Civil War." After leaving ''The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien'' on Jan. 22, 2010, O'Brien again grew a beard, which he kept until May 2, 2011, when it was partially shaved on the set of his TBS talk show, ''Conan'', by Will Ferrell with battery-operated clippers (and completely shaved off-screen by a professional barber). The event was dubbed on the show as "Beardocalypse," and included a contest for fan-submitted artwork.

O'Brien purchased a $10.5-million mansion in Brentwood, Los Angeles, California, to prepare for his move there in 2009 from New York City to host ''The Tonight Show'' at Universal Studios Hollywood. As part of a long running gag, he brought his 1992 Ford Taurus SHO with him to California, showcasing it on both the inaugural episodes of ''The Tonight Show'' and ''Conan''.

On October 21, 2011, O'Brien was ordained as a minister by the Universal Life Church, allowing him to perform a same-sex marriage while back in New York (where gay marriage is legal) to tape a week's worth of shows. The wedding, between a member of O'Brien's staff and his partner, was held on the stage of the Beacon Theatre on November 3, 2011, and broadcast on ''Conan''.

Conan vs. Bear

Conan vs. Bear is a comedic website, lampooning the prospect of Conan O'Brien fighting bears. Artists from around the world have sent in images and videos with their own take on this theme. Currently the site boasts over 400 unique renderings, as well as several original videos inspired by the site. The website was noted by O'Brien on ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien''.

Victim of stalking

It was reported that since September 2006, O'Brien had allegedly been stalked by Father David Ajemian of the Archdiocese of Boston, who, despite multiple warnings to stop, had been sending O'Brien letters signed as "your priest stalker" and coming in contact with O'Brien's parents. Frustrated that he had been denied a spot in the ''Late Night'' audience, Ajemian sent a letter to O'Brien stating that he flew to New York "in the dimming hope that you might finally acknowledge me." He stated in another letter, "Is this the way you treat your most dangerous fans??? You owe me big time, pal." In another letter, Ajemian seemed to make a death threat, saying, "Remember Frank Costello once dodged a bullet in your building and so can you." Ajemian then tried to forcefully enter a taping of ''Late Night'' but was caught and arrested. He was previously warned by the NBC security team to stay away from the studio. After a psychological evaluation, he was deemed fit to stand trial. He has since been bailed out of jail. He was then reported missing by his father on November 10, 2007. He was found and underwent evaluation at a hospital. It is known that the two had attended Harvard University at the same time. He was found fit to stand trial on April 4, 2008. On April 8, 2008, Ajemian pleaded guilty to stalking, stating that he "never meant to cause anxiety or to upset anyone." He was ordered to pay a $95 US$ court charge and to sign a two-year restraining order barring him from coming near O'Brien. On September 11, 2008, Ajemian checked himself out of his treatment at a hospital against the wishes of his bishop, Seán Patrick O'Malley. Cardinal O'Malley then released a statement saying that because he violated his bishop's wishes, Ajemian could no longer serve as a priest in the Catholic Church. As of late 2010, Ajemian has moved on to stalking Anthony Everett.

Nicknames

Conan acquired the nickname "Coco" after its use in the first "Twitter Tracker" sketch during the second episode of his ''Tonight Show'' run. Guest Tom Hanks used the nickname during his subsequent interview, even getting the audience to chant it. In reaction to the moniker, Conan remarked to Hanks in jest, "If that catches on, I'll sue you."

In a March 23, 2011, interview with WWE Champion The Miz on ''Conan'', The Miz dubbed Conan "The Ginja Ninja", a reference to Conan's red hair and the fact that he came back fighting to get his new late-night talk show. A week later, "Team Ginja Ninja" T-shirts were available on TeamCoco.com.

Filmography

;Appearances on talk shows: Guest appearance on ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'' (1993, 2007, 2008, 2009)

Guest appearance on ''Late Night with David Letterman'' (1993)

Guest appearance on ''The Jon Stewart Show'' (1993)

''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' (1993–2009)

Guest appearance on ''Last Call with Carson Daly'' (2002)

Guest appearance on ''The Daily Show with Jon Stewart'' (2007, 2008)

Guest appearance on ''The Colbert Report'' (2007, 2008)

''Late Night with Jimmy Fallon'' (2009)

''The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien'' (2009–2010)

Guest appearance on ''Lopez Tonight'' (2010, 2011)

''Conan'' (November 8, 2010–)

Guest appearance on ''Late Night with Jimmy Fallon'' (2011)

;Other shows:

''Saturday Night Live'' (1991, 2001)

''The Simpsons'' (''as himself'') (1994)

''Space Ghost: Coast to Coast'' (''as himself'') (1999)

''Mr. Show with Bob and David'' (1995)

''The Single Guy'' (1996)

''Arli$$'' (1996)

''Spin City'' (1999)

''Futurama'' (1999)

''Storytelling'' (2001)

''Vanilla Sky'' (2001)

''Sugar & Spice'' (2001) ''(cameo in end credits)''

''Dr. Katz'' (''as himself'') (2002)

''Andy Richter Controls the Universe'' (2003)

''End of the Century'' (2003)

''Bewitched'' (''as himself'') (2005)

''Robot Chicken'' (2005)

''The Denial Twist (The White Stripes music video)'' (2005)

''O'Grady'' (2006)

''The Office'' ''(cameo)'' (2006)

''Queer Duck'' (''as himself'') (2006)

''30 Rock'' (''as himself'') (2007, 2009)

''Robot Chicken Star Wars'' (as ''Zuckuss'') (2007)

''Sesame Street'' (2008)

''Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode II'' (as ''Zuckuss'', Star Wars nerd) (2008)

''The Backyardigans'' (2009)

''60 Minutes'' (interview) (2010)

''Eagleheart'' (himself) (2010)

''How I Met Your Mother'' (cameo) (2012)

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Work	Category	Result
1989	Emmy Award		Outstanding Writing in a Variety or Music Program
1990	Emmy Award	Outstanding Writing in a Variety or Music Program
1991	Emmy Award	Outstanding Writing in a Variety or Music Program
1996	Emmy Award		Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing for a Variety or Music Program
	Emmy Award	Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing for a Variety or Music Program
Writers Guild of America Award	Comedy/Variety (Including Talk) – Series
1998	Emmy Award	Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing for a Variety or Music Program
	Emmy Award	Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing for a Variety or Music Program
Writers Guild of America Award	Comedy/Variety (Including Talk) – Series
	Emmy Award	Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing for a Variety or Music Program
Writers Guild of America Award	Comedy/Variety (Including Talk) – Series
	Emmy Award	Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing for a Variety or Music Program
Writers Guild of America Award	Comedy/Variety (Including Talk) – Series
	Emmy Award	Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing for a Variety or Music Program
Writers Guild of America Award	Comedy/Variety (Including Talk) – Series
	Emmy Award	Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing for a Variety or Music Program
Writers Guild of America Award	Comedy/Variety (Including Talk) – Series
	Emmy Award	Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing for a Variety or Music Program
Writers Guild of America Award	Comedy/Variety (Including Talk) – Series
	Emmy Award	Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing for a Variety or Music Program
People's Choice Award	Favorite Late Night Talk Show Host
Telvis Award	For the color spot of the year	Special Telvis
Writers Guild of America Award		Comedy/Variety (Including Talk) – Series
	Emmy Award	Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing for a Variety or Music Program
People's Choice Award	Favorite Late Night Talk Show Host
Writers Guild of America Award	Comedy/Variety (Including Talk) – Series
	Emmy Award	Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing for a Variety or Music Program
Writers Guild of America Award	Comedy/Variety (Including Talk) – Series
2008	Emmy Award	Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing for a Variety or Music Program
	Emmy Award	Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing for a Variety or Music Program
Writers Guild of America Award	Comedy/Variety (Including Talk) – Series
			Outstanding Comedy, Music or Variety Series
Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Series
Writers Guild of America Award	Comedy/Variety (Including Talk) – Series
	People's Choice Award	rowspan="4"	Favorite TV Talk Show Host
	Outstanding Comedy, Music or Variety Series
Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Series
Outstanding Lighting Design/Lighting Direction for a Variety, Music or Comedy Series
American Express	Outstanding Commercial
	People's Choice Award	rowspan="4"	Favorite TV Talk Show Host	Pending

References

Further reading

External links

in 2006 in 1998

I'm With Coco Facebook

Category:1963 births Category:Living people Category:American comedians Category:American television talk show hosts Category:American television writers Category:Emmy Award winners Category:The Groundlings Category:Harvard Lampoon people Category:Harvard University alumni Category:American comedians of Irish descent Category:American people of Irish descent Category:American writers of Irish descent Category:Late night television talk show hosts Category:Late Night with Conan O'Brien Category:People from Brookline, Massachusetts Category:Writers from Massachusetts Category:Massachusetts Democrats

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name	Gene Siskel
birthname	Eugene Kal Siskel
birth date	January 26, 1946
birth place	Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
death date	February 20, 1999
death place	Evanston, Illinois, U.S.
death cause	Complications of Surgery
resting place	Westlawn Cemetery
home town	Chicago, Illinois
residence	Chicago, Illinois
education	Culver Academies
alma mater	Yale University
years active	1969–1999
occupation	Television journalist, film critic
religion	Jewish
spouse	Marlene Iglitzen (1980–1999)
children	KateCallieWill
credits	''Opening Soon at a Theater Near You'' (1975–1977)''Sneak Previews'' (1977–1982)''At the Movies'' (1982–1986)''Siskel & Ebert'' (1986–1999)''CBS This Morning'' correspondent (1987–1992)''Good Morning America'' correspondent (1996–1999)
influenced	}}

Eugene Kal "Gene" Siskel (January 26, 1946February 20, 1999) was an American film critic and journalist for the ''Chicago Tribune''. Along with colleague Roger Ebert, he hosted the popular review show ''Siskel & Ebert At the Movies'' from 1975 until his death.

Early life and career

Born in Chicago, Illinois, Siskel was raised by his aunt and uncle after both his parents died when he was ten years old. He attended Culver Academies, graduated in Philosophy at Yale University in 1967, where he studied writing under Pulitzer Prize-winning author John Hersey, who helped him land a job at the ''Chicago Tribune'' in 1969. In 1975, Siskel teamed up with Roger Ebert, film reviewer for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'', to host a show on the local Chicago PBS station WTTW which eventually became ''Sneak Previews''. Their "thumbs-up, thumbs-down" system soon became an easily recognizable trademark, popular enough to be parodied on comedy shows such as ''In Living Color'', cartoon strips like ''Calvin and Hobbes'' (April, 1988) and in movies such as ''Hollywood Shuffle'' and ''Godzilla''. ''Sneak Previews'' gained a country-wide audience in 1978 when it was carried on PBS.

Siskel and Ebert left WTTW and PBS in 1982 for syndication. Their new show, ''At the Movies'', was produced and distributed by Tribune Broadcasting, the parent company that owned the ''Chicago Tribune'' and WGN-TV. ''Sneak Previews'' continued on PBS for 14 more years with other hosts. In 1986, Siskel and Ebert left Tribune Broadcasting to have their show produced by the syndication arm of The Walt Disney Company. The new incarnation of the show was originally titled ''Siskel & Ebert & the Movies'', but later shortened to ''Siskel & Ebert''. ''At the Movies'' also continued a few more years with other hosts.

A very early appearance of Siskel, taken from ''Coming Soon to a Theatre Near You'', predecessor to ''Sneak Previews'', is included in ''For the Love of Movies: The Story of American Film Criticism''. In this 2009 documentary film he is seen debating with Ebert over the merits of the film version of ''One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest''.

Normally, Siskel and Roger Ebert would refuse to guest star in movies or televisual series (except for talk shows) as they felt it would undermine their responsibility to the public. However, they both "could not resist" appearing on an episode of the animated television series ''The Critic'', the title character of which was a television film critic. In the episode, Siskel and Ebert split and each wants Jay Sherman, the titular critic, as his new partner. They also once appeared in an episode of ''Sesame Street''. Siskel also appeared as himself on an episode of ''The Larry Sanders Show''.

He was a member of the Army Reserve in the 1960s.

Death

In 1998, Siskel underwent surgery for a cancerous brain tumor. He announced on Wednesday, February 3, 1999 that he was taking a leave of absence but that he expected to be back by the fall, writing "I'm in a hurry to get well because I don't want Roger to get more screen time than me".

On Saturday, February 20, 1999, Siskel died from complications of another surgery at the age of 53. After Siskel's death, the producers of ''Siskel & Ebert'' hired other film critics and began using them on a rotating basis as an audition for a permanent successor. Ultimately, Ebert's ''Chicago Sun-Times'' colleague Richard Roeper was hired and the show was renamed ''Ebert & Roeper at the Movies''. The last film Siskel reviewed on television with co-host Ebert was ''The Theory of Flight'' on Saturday, January 23, 1999. The final film that he reviewed in print was the Sarah Michelle Gellar romantic comedy ''Simply Irresistible''. He gave it a thumbs-down.

Siskel was survived by his wife, Marlene, and their children, Kate, Callie, and Will and is interred at Westlawn Cemetery.

Legacy

At the 1999 Academy Awards ceremony, after its In Memoriam montage of deceased stars and film contributors (which did not include Siskel as he was not an Academy member), host Whoopi Goldberg gave a brief, impromptu tribute to Siskel which included the traditional "thumbs-up" gesture, to great audience applause.

The Film Center of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, which presents world-class independent, international and classic cinema, was renamed The Gene Siskel Film Center in honor of him in 2000.

When asked by a journalist to list his three favorite things about Chicago, Siskel named Michael Jordan, Mayor Daley, and the Film Center. Siskel was a member of the Film Center's Advisory Committee and a strong supporter of the Film Center mission. He wrote hundreds of articles applauding the Film Center's distinctive programming and he lent the power of his position as a well-known film critic to urge public funding and audience support. His favorite movies of all time were ''Saturday Night Fever'' (he even bought the famous white disco suit from it at a charity auction) and ''Dr. Strangelove''. Another favorite from childhood was ''Dumbo'', which he often mentioned as the first movie that made a mark on him.

He only walked out on three films during his professional career: the 1971 comedy ''The Million Dollar Duck'' starring Dean Jones; the 1980 horror film ''Maniac''; and the 1996 Penelope Spheeris film ''Black Sheep''. Only once during his long association with Ebert did Siskel ever change his vote on a movie. The film ''Broken Arrow'' had initially been given a "thumbs up," but after hearing Ebert's criticism, Siskel changed his mind to "thumbs down" to make it unanimous.

Siskel compiled "best of the year" movie lists from 1969 to 1998, which have helped to provide an overview of his critical preferences. His top choices were:

1969: ''Z''

1970: ''My Night at Maud's''

1971: ''Claire's Knee''

1972: ''The Godfather''

1973: ''The Emigrants''

1974: ''Day for Night''

1975: ''Nashville''

1976: ''All the President's Men''

1977: ''Annie Hall''

1978: ''Straight Time''

1979: ''Hair''

1980: ''Raging Bull''

1981: ''Ragtime''

1982: ''Moonlighting''

1983: ''The Right Stuff''

1984: ''Once Upon a Time in America''

1985: ''Shoah''

1986: ''Hannah and Her Sisters''

1987: ''The Last Emperor''

1988: ''The Last Temptation of Christ''

1989: ''Do the Right Thing''

1990: ''Goodfellas''

1991: ''Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse''

1992: ''One False Move''

1993: ''Schindler's List''

1994: ''Hoop Dreams''

1995: ''Crumb''

1996: ''Fargo''

1997: ''The Ice Storm''

1998: ''Babe: Pig in the City''

Siskel chose ''Kagemusha'' as his fifth-best film of 1980; at decade's end, his opinion was that it was the tenth-best film of the decade of the 1980s. From 1969 until his death in early 1999, Siskel and Ebert were in agreement on nine top selections: ''Z'', ''The Godfather'', ''Nashville'', ''The Right Stuff'', ''Do the Right Thing'', ''GoodFellas'', ''Schindler's List'', ''Hoop Dreams'', and ''Fargo''. There would have been a tenth, except that Ebert declined to rank the documentary ''Shoah'' as 1985's best film because he felt it was inappropriate to compare it to the rest of the year's candidates. Seven times, Siskel's #1 choice did not appear on Ebert's top ten list at all: ''Straight Time'', ''Ragtime'', ''Once Upon a Time in America'', ''The Last Emperor'', ''The Last Temptation of Christ'', ''Hearts of Darkness'', and ''The Ice Storm''. Six times, Ebert's top selection did not appear on Siskel's; these films were ''3 Women'', ''An Unmarried Woman'', ''Apocalypse Now'', ''Sophie's Choice'', ''Mississippi Burning'', and ''Dark City''.

Siskel was also a die-hard Chicago sports fan, especially of the NBA's Bulls, and would cover locker-room celebrations for WBBM-TV news broadcasts following Bulls championships in the 1990s.

Ebert once said of his relationship with Gene Siskel: :"Gene Siskel and I were like tuning forks. Strike one, and the other would pick up the same frequency. When we were in a group together, we were always intensely aware of one another. Sometimes this took the form of camaraderie, sometimes shared opinions, sometimes hostility."

When both men appeared together on ''The Tonight Show'', Johnny Carson conducted a "together and separately" interview with them, which at one point had each man wear Walkman-style headphones, playing loud music, while the other commented on his partner. When asked what he thought was the biggest difference between himself and Ebert, Siskel unhesitatingly replied: "I'm a better reviewer than he is." But a few moments later, he said that anyone who read a Roger Ebert review would read "an extremely well written review."

See also

List of notable brain tumor patients

References

External links

Gene Siskel Film Center in Chicago, named in memoriam

At the Movies site: includes archive of Siskel & Ebert television programs

FBI file on Gene Siskel

Gene Siskel: The Balcony is Closed Article on Legacy.com

Gene Siskel's Top Ten List By Year (1969–1998)

Siskel & Ebert's classic shows (1975–1999)

Category:1946 births Category:1999 deaths Category:American film critics Category:American television personalities Category:Cancer deaths in Illinois Category:Chicago Tribune people Category:Deaths from brain cancer Category:Jewish American writers Category:People from Chicago, Illinois Category:Yale University alumni Category:United States Army soldiers

de:Gene Siskel fr:Gene Siskel nl:Gene Siskel pt:Gene Siskel