The Scream Awards is an award show dedicated to the horror, sci-fi, and fantasy genres of feature films. Originally only having ''Scream Queen'' and ''Heroic Performance'' awards for actors, the personnel awards have expanded to include actors and actresses of all three recognized genres. In addition, comic books awards were also given and have been recently expanded. It is broadcast on Spike TV and has been branded in the past as the Spike TV Scream Awards. Recently, the show has become labeled simply ''Scream'' with the respective year, i.e. Scream 2009. The show was created by executive producers Michael Levitt, Cindy Levitt, and Casey Patterson.

Production

Award coverage includes the year between the previous awards show and the live ceremony in October of each year. The event is recorded on a Saturday evening and is aired on a later Tuesday. To condense the show into its two-hour running time, not all awards are aired; during the broadcast of the event for some categories only winners are announced, while some awards are skipped altogether.

Since 2006, the ceremony has been held at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles, California.

Live rock acts, including Ozzy Osbourne and Korn, have performed at various ceremonies. Other items of note include world premieres for trailers of upcoming films, behind the scenes videos, and outtakes from movies not yet released to home video.

Categories

Originally only having ''Scream Queen'' and ''Heroic Performance'' awards for actors, the personnel awards have expanded to include actors and actresses of all three recognized genres. In addition, comic books awards were also given and have been recently expanded.

Categories include, but are not limited to:

The Ultimate Scream

* Billed as the best genre film of the preceding year.

Best Horror Movie

Best Fantasy Movie

Best Science Fiction Movie

Best TV Show

Best Sequel

Best Remake

Best Superhero

Best Comic-to-Screen Adaptation

* Renamed "Best Comic Book Movie" beginning in 2008.

Most Memorable Mutilation

Most Vile Villain

* Renamed "Best Villain" beginning in 2008.

Breakout Performance

The Scene of the Year Award

* Called one of the alternative titles "Holy Sh!t" or "Jump-From-Your-Seat" in differing years.

Recently, new categories, including those recognizing lead performances in the three recognized genres were added. In 2009, awards for Best Song, Best Comic Writer, and Best F/X were also added. Alternatively, awards such as the Best Rack on the Rack, Scream Queen and Best Heroic Performance were discontinued.

Most recent awards

Held on October 17 and broadcast on October 19, 2010.

Winners

The Ultimate Scream: ''Inception''

Most Anticipated Movie: ''Green Lantern''

Best Science Fiction Movie: ''Inception''

Best Fantasy Movie: ''The Twilight Saga: Eclipse''

Best Horror Movie: ''Zombieland''

Best TV Show: ''True Blood''

Best Director: James Cameron - ''Avatar''

Best Scream-Play: ''Shutter Island'' - Laeta Kalogridis

Best Fantasy Actress: Kristen Stewart - ''The Twilight Saga: Eclipse''

Best Fantasy Actor: Robert Pattinson - ''The Twilight Saga: Eclipse''

Best Science Fiction Actress: Scarlett Johansson - ''Iron Man 2''

Best Science Fiction Actor: Leonardo DiCaprio - ''Inception''

Best Horror Actress: Anna Paquin - ''True Blood''

Best Horror Actor: Alexander Skarsgård - ''True Blood''

Best Villain: ''Iron Man 2'' - Mickey Rourke as Ivan Vanko

Best Superhero: ''Iron Man 2'' - Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man

Best Supporting Actor: Joseph Gordon-Levitt - ''Inception''

Best Supporting Actress: Anne Hathaway - ''Alice in Wonderland''

Best Breakout Performance - Female: Chloë Moretz - ''Kick-Ass''

Best Breakout Performance - Male: Tom Hardy - ''Inception''

Best Cameo: Bill Murray - ''Zombieland''

Best Ensemble: ''Zombieland''

Fight Scene of the Year: ''Inception'' - "Anti-Gravity Hotel Fight"

Holy Sh*t Scene of the Year: ''True Blood'' - "Head twisted 180 degrees during sex"

Most Memorable Mutilation: ''The Human Centipede'', The Human Centipede (First Sequence)

3-D Top Three: ''Avatar''

Best F/X: ''Avatar''

Best Television Performance: Matthew Fox - ''Lost''

Best Comic Book or Graphic Novel: ''The Walking Dead''

Best Comic Book Writer: Geoff Johns

Best Comic Book Artist: Frank Quitley - ''Batman and Robin: Batman''

Best Comic Book Movie: ''Kick-Ass''

See also

Saturn Award

References

External links

Category:Comics awards Category:American film awards Category:Media science fiction awards Category:American television awards Category:Horror fiction awards Category:Awards established in 2006

da:Scream Awards de:Scream Award fr:Scream Awards it:Scream Awards ja:スクリーム賞 pt:Scream Awards ru:Scream (премия)

Coordinates	33°51′35.9″N151°12′40″N
name	Colin Farrell
birth name	Colin James Farrell
birth date	May 31, 1976
birth place	Dublin, Ireland
occupation	Actor
years active	1996–present
spouse	Amelia Warner (2001; divorced)
partner	Kim Bordenave (2002–03; 1 child)Alicja Bachleda-Curus (2009–2010; 1 child)
website	Official site }}

Colin James Farrell (born 31 May 1976) is an Irish actor, who has appeared in films including ''Tigerland'', ''Daredevil'', ''Miami Vice'', ''Minority Report'', ''Phone Booth'', ''The Recruit'', ''Alexander'', ''S.W.A.T.'', and ''In Bruges''.

Early life

Farrell was born in Dublin, the son of Rita (née Monaghan), a housewife, and Eamon Farrell, a footballer who played for Shamrock Rovers FC and owned a company importing and exporting canned goods in Dublin City. He was raised Roman Catholic. His uncle Tommy Farrell also played for Rovers. Farrell has two sisters, Claudine (who is his personal assistant) and Catherine, and a brother, Eamon Jr. When he was ten, the Farrells moved to Castleknock, a Dublin suburb. Farrell was educated at St. Brigid's National School Castleknock followed by Castleknock College and Gormanston College. Farrell unsuccessfully auditioned for the Irish group Boyzone when he was still unknown. Farrell attended The Gaiety School of Acting, but dropped out and was cast in the part of Danny Byrne on ''Ballykissangel'', a BBC television drama. Farrell appeared on the show seven times from 1998 to 1999.

Career

Farrell had small parts in television shows and films, including the BBC drama ''Ballykissangel'' in 1998, and his film debut in Tim Roth's ''The War Zone''. In 2000, he was cast in the lead role of Private Roland Bozz in ''Tigerland'', an American film directed by Joel Schumacher. Farrell's next American films, ''American Outlaws'' (2001) and ''Hart's War'' (2002), were not commercially successful, but his 2003 films, including ''Phone Booth'', ''S.W.A.T.'', and ''The Recruit'' were well-received box office successes. Although he has a pronounced Irish accent, Farrell uses an American accent in some of his films including ''American Outlaws'' and his breakthrough role, ''Tigerland''.

Farrell roles as a supporting actor include his performances as an ambitious cop who chases after a potential criminal, played by actor Tom Cruise, in ''Minority Report'' (2002), and as the skilled villain Bullseye in ''Daredevil'' (2003). Matt Damon was originally offered the ''Minority Report'' role but he turned it down to appear in ''Ocean's Eleven''. Farrell said "he had no problem" that people knew he was the producer's fall back pick after Damon declined. The character of Bullseye is that of an assassin with perfect accuracy and deep-rooted pride of it. Farrell was attached to this role in December 2001, though initially he was considered for the lead role as Matt Murdock, aka Daredevil, until Ben Affleck signed. Farrell was encouraged to keep his Irish accent as this version of Bullseye is from Ireland. Farrell had to read into Frank Miller's Daredevil comics to understand Bullseye "because the expression on the character's faces in the comic books, and just the way they move sometimes, and the exaggerations of the character I'm playing […] he's so over-the-top that you do draw from that. But it's not exactly a character you can do method acting for... you know, running around New York killing people with paper clips."

In late 2003, Farrell starred as a criminal who plots a bank heist with Cillian Murphy in the comedy ''Intermission'', which held the record as highest-grossing Irish independent film in Irish box office history until 2006. In 2004, Farrell appeared in several independent films that received only a limited theatrical release in most countries, including ''A Home at the End of the World'', which received some positive reviews. Farrell appeared as a bisexual character in ''A Home at the End of the World''.

Farrell appeared in the title role of Alexander the Great in Oliver Stone's 2004 biopic ''Alexander'', which, while receiving some favorable reviews internationally, received mostly mediocre and negative reviews in the United States. It was marked by controversy for portraying the ancient conqueror as bisexual, and received criticism from some historians for its portrayal of the ancient Persians, though others praised it for its accuracy in these regards as well. The movie grossed a total of $167 million worldwide, despite its poor showing within the United States, just exceeding its budget of $155 million.

Farrell's next film was 2005's Academy Award-nominated ''The New World'', also a historical epic that was met with mixed reviews. Farrell played the leading role of captain John Smith, the founder of 17th century colonial Jamestown, Virginia who falls in love with a beautiful Native American princess, Pocahontas, played by Q'Orianka Kilcher. The film received positive reviews, despite being released in only 811 theaters worldwide and having a relatively low box office gross.

''The New World'' was followed by ''Ask the Dust'', a romance film set in period Los Angeles and co-starring Salma Hayek. It received a very limited theatrical release and was not a financial success. 2006 brought more success in Farrell's career, as he appeared opposite Jamie Foxx in Michael Mann's action-crime film ''Miami Vice''. The film was a box office success grossing a total of US $164 million worldwide. Farrell was next seen in Woody Allen's ''Cassandra's Dream'', which premiered in 2007 and was distributed in the U.S. in early 2008. Farrell's next film, Martin McDonagh's ''In Bruges'', opened the Sundance Film Festival in 2008; Farrell received his first Golden Globe nomination and win for his role as Ray, a hired hitman. Shortly thereafter, he appeared in ''Kicking It'', a documentary following six homeless men from different countries as they attempt to qualify for the Homeless World Cup. Farrell appeared on screen and provided narration. The film released simultaneously in theaters and television, airing on ESPN2 with a very short window to DVD release. Farrell received positive press for his involvement in the heartwarming true-life tale, and enthusiastic reviews for the two dramatic roles that preceded it.

On 11 January 2009, he won the Golden Globe award for Best Actor: Musical or Comedy for his role in ''In Bruges'', in which he co-starred with Brendan Gleeson. The same year, he starred in Terry Gilliam's film ''The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus'', alongside Christopher Plummer. He was one of the actors, along with Johnny Depp and Jude Law, who helped complete the late Heath Ledger's role after he died before filming ended. They all played "Imaginarium" versions of Ledger's character Tony. He also took a supporting role as Tommy Sweet in ''Crazy Heart'', alongside Academy Award-winning Jeff Bridges.

2010 saw the release of ''Ondine'', a fantasy-drama directed by Neil Jordan, which stars Farrell as a fisherman. It also saw him star opposite Keira Knightley in the crime / romance ''London Boulevard''. The film was directed by William Monahan, screenplay writer of ''The Departed'' and ''Body of Lies''.

Farrell starred in the 2011 comedy movie ''Horrible Bosses'', with Jennifer Aniston, Jason Bateman and Jason Sudeikis, directed by Seth Gordon. The film focuses on a trio of employees who plot to murder their titular tyrannical supervisors. Later that year, Farrell played the lead role in the ''Fright Night'' remake. Farrell joined Anton Yelchin, David Tennant, and Toni Collette in this story about a charismatic vampire who moves in next to a high school student. The film was released by Dreamworks, with Craig Gillespie having directed.

Upcoming films

Farrell is involved in a film adaptation of Flann O'Brien's metafictional novel ''At Swim-Two-Birds'' alongside Cillian Murphy and Gabriel Byrne. Actor Brendan Gleeson will direct the film, which was scheduled for release in 2010. In October 2009, however, Gleeson expressed fear that, should the Irish Film Board be abolished as planned by the Irish State, the production may fall through.

Additionally, Farrell began filming Columbia Pictures' ''Total Recall'' remake in May 2011, and will film until the end of September 2011 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Len Wiseman will direct the film, a new take on the Arnold Schwarzenegger sci-fi picture about a sleeper agent who is compelled to travel to a colony on Mars. Kurt Wimmer (Salt) wrote the script, which like the original is based on the Philip K. Dick story "We Can Remember It for You Wholesale."

Farrell has also been announced to be starring alongside Sam Rockwell, Mickey Rourke and Christopher Walken in ''Seven Psychopaths'', written and directed by Martin McDonagh (''In Bruges'').

Personal life

Colin Farrell was married to English actress Amelia Warner from July 2001 to November 2001. On his left ring finger, he has the name "Millie" tattooed. This tattoo was dedicated to Amelia.

Colin and US model Kim Bordenave became parents of James Padraig Farrell, who was born on 12 September 2003, in Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles. James was born weighing 7 lbs 9 oz. In October 2007, Farrell revealed that his son has Angelman Syndrome, a rare genetic disorder characterized by intellectual and developmental delay, speech impediment, sleep disturbance, seizures, hand flapping movements, and frequent laughter/smiling.

It was announced on 14 September 2009, that Farrell and ''Ondine'' co-star Alicja Bachleda-Curus were expecting a child. Their son, Henry Tadeusz Farrell, was born on 7 October 2009 and was baptised in the Catholic Church of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Krakow, Poland. It was reported on 15 October 2010 that Farrell left Bachleda a couple of months prior. Soon it was officially confirmed.

Friendship with Elizabeth Taylor

Farrell had reportedly grown very close to Elizabeth Taylor shortly before her death and was one of the few non-family members to attend her private funeral. He recited the poem ''The Leaden Echo and The Golden Echo'' by Gerard Manley Hopkins at her funeral, requested by Elizabeth herself.

Alleged proposition for sex

In 2005, Dame Eileen Atkins – who was 70 at the time – revealed on ''Loose Women'' that a "stunningly gorgeous big film star" spent nearly three hours propositioning her for "sex with no strings". The "star" was later revealed to be Farrell, whom Atkins had acted alongside in the film ''Ask the Dust''. Atkins claimed she was tempted, but turned him down because he is 42 years her junior. Farrell did not comment initially, although since he has admitted to and joked about it on chat show ''Friday Night with Jonathan Ross''.

Drug addictions

In December 2005, Farrell voluntarily checked into a rehabilitation treatment center for addictions to recreational drugs and painkillers. His publicist commented that Farrell had started taking painkillers due to a back injury. He was released in January 2006. In May 2006, Farrell started attending rehabilitation meetings.

Sex tape

In July 2006, Farrell filed a lawsuit suing his former girlfriend, ''Playboy'' model Nicole Narain, and the Internet Commerce Group (ICG) over the unauthorised public distribution of a 14-minute sex tape that Farrell made with Narain in 2003. Farrell claims he understood the tape as being "strictly private and confidential and will take legal court actions to anyone who tries to distribute it", but it was leaked to Schmidt and ICG who tried to release it publicly. A Los Angeles judge issued an injunction barring the sale, distribution, or display of the tape.

Narain claimed that she did not give the tape to anyone and was not sure if or how copies were taken from her. She originally said that she would work with Farrell to ensure that it remained private, but Farrell said that Narain, along with Schmidt, was trying to release it in order to damage his acting career and "make money out of it", which Narain denies.

In January 2006, the tape surfaced on a website named dirtycolin.com. The site was shut down on the same day because the server overloaded, but re-opened a week later. The tape was then pirated through file sharing systems. Both Farrell's and Narain's lawyers denounced the site, which was shut down again a few days later for unknown reasons. Farrell's legal team said it would take legal action against sites that hosted the tape. A trial date for the Narain lawsuit was set for 17 July 2006, but the judge allowed Farrell and Nicole to mediate until 20 April. On 16 April, the two reached a settlement with confidential terms. However, Farrell's lawsuit against ICG continued with a trial date set for 21 July 2006.

Dessarae Bradford's accusations

Farrell has been sued twice for alleged harassment and sending foul messages to telephone sex worker Dessarae Bradford. The lawsuits were later dismissed due to a lack of evidence provided by Bradford. Bradford, who has announced that she is "waging war on Colin Farrell", has recorded a song entitled "Colin Farrell is My Bitch" and has self-published a book called ''Colin Farrell: A Dark Twisted Puppy''.

Bradford took a lie detector test on an i TV program in an attempt to support her claims and stories. She failed the test.

On 20 July 2006, as Farrell was being interviewed by Jay Leno on the set of ''The Tonight Show'', Bradford evaded security, walked on stage as cameras were rolling, confronted Farrell, and threw her book on Leno's desk. In front of a silent, stunned audience, Farrell escorted her off the stage himself, told the camera crew to stop filming, and handed her over to security. As Bradford was led out of the studio, she shouted "I'll see you in court." Farrell's response was, "Darling, you're insane!" Outside the studio, NBC security handed her to Burbank police, who eventually released her. After Farrell apologised to the audience, describing Bradford as "my first stalker", the show then continued filming and the incident was edited out of the broadcast aired that night. The following day, Farrell obtained a restraining order against Bradford.

Celebrity status

Farrell was named one of ''People'' magazine's "50 Most Beautiful People" in 2003. He was also voted sixth in the World's "Sexiest Man" contest by ''Company'' magazine that same year.

In 2007, Farrell joined other celebrities including Bruce Willis, Muhammad Ali, Eva Mendes, Vanessa L. Williams and Arnold Schwarzenegger to become an official games spokesman for the Special Olympics World Games in Shanghai, China.

Filmography

''Falling for a Dancer'' ''Family Guy''

colspan="4" style="background: LightSteelBlue;"	Film
		! Film	! Role	! Notes
1996	''The Disappearance of Finbar''	Extra	Uncredited
1997	''Drinking Crude''	Click
1999	''The War Zone''	Nick	credited as Colin J. Farrell
	''Ordinary Decent Criminal''	Alec
''Tigerland''	Pvt. Roland Bozz
2001	''American Outlaws''
	''Hart's War''	Lt. Thomas W. Hart
	Danny Witwer
	Stu Shepard	Theatrical release was delayed due to the Beltway sniper attacks in October 2002.
	''The Recruit''	James Douglas Clayton
	Tattooed Boy	CameoBased on true story of Irish journalist Veronica Guerin
	Jim Street	Based on the 1970s television series ''S.W.A.T. (TV series)
	Lehiff	Nominated: [[European Film Awards
		Bobby Morrow (1982)	Based on the novel ''[[A Home at the End of the World'' (1990) by Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
	[[Alexander the Great	Directed by Oliver Stone
2005			Directed by Terrence Malick
		Arturo Bandini	Based on the novel ''Ask the Dust'' (1939) by John Fante.
	Det. James "Sonny" Crockett
2007	''Cassandra's Dream''	Terry	Directed by Woody Allen.
	''In Bruges''	Ray	Debuted at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2008.Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or ComedyNominated: British Independent Film Award for Best ActorNominated: Irish Film & Television Award for Best Actor
	Narrator (Himself)	Documentary
	Jimmy Egan
		Syracuse
	Mark Walsh	(Released on DVD in Europe under the title ''Shell Shock''.) Based on the novel ''Triage (novel)
''[[Crazy Heart''	Tommy Sweet
''The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus''	Tony (3rd Transformation)	Cast alongside Johnny Depp and Jude Law after the death of Heath Ledger to play different portrayals of Tony, Ledger's character.
	''The Way Back''	Valka	Directed by Peter Weir
''London Boulevard''	Mitchell	An ex-con from East London (Colin Farrell) is employed as a handyman for a reclusive actress Keira Knightley in a crime drama from William Monahan.
	''Horrible Bosses''	Bobby Pellitt
	Jerry Dandridge
		Doug Quaid / Hauser	Filming
colspan="4" style="background: LightSteelBlue;">Television
		! Title	! Role	! Notes
1998–1999	''Ballykissangel''	Danny Byrne
	1998	|	Daniel McCarthey	Adaptation of the Deirdre Purcell novel
rowspan="2">2005
''Saturday Night Live''	Himself
2005, 2007	|	Himself	Season 4, episode 8: Interviewed by Stewie during a cutaway gag.Season 6, episode 3: Murdered by Stewie during a cutaway gag.

Awards

Year	Award	Result	Category	Film
2000	Boston Society of Film Critics Awards		Best Actor	''Tigerland''
2002	Shanghai International Film Festival		Best Actor	''Hart's War''
	Irish Film and Television Awards		Best Actor in a Film (Public vote)	-
London Critics Circle Film Awards		British Newcomer of the Year	''Tigerland''
Teen Choice Awards		Choice Movie Villain	''Daredevil''
2004	MTV Movie Awards, Mexico		Best Actor in a Movie	''S.W.A.T.''
2009	Golden Globe Award			''In Bruges''
2010	Irish Film and Television Awards		Best Actor in a Film	''Ondine''

References

External links

Colin Farrell – biography, filmography

Category:Irish expatriates in the United States Category:Irish film actors Category:Irish television actors Category:People from County Dublin Category:1976 births Category:Living people Category:People self-identifying as alcoholics

ar:كولين فاريل bs:Colin Farrell bg:Колин Фарел ca:Colin Farrell cs:Colin Farrell cy:Colin Farrell da:Colin Farrell de:Colin Farrell et:Colin Farrell es:Colin Farrell eo:Colin Farrell eu:Colin Farrell fa:کالین فارل fr:Colin Farrell ga:Colin Farrell hr:Colin Farrell id:Colin Farrell it:Colin Farrell he:קולין פארל la:Colin Farrell hu:Colin Farrell nl:Colin Farrell ja:コリン・ファレル no:Colin Farrell pl:Colin Farrell pt:Colin Farrell ro:Colin Farrell ru:Фаррелл, Колин sk:Colin Farrell sr:Колин Фарел fi:Colin Farrell sv:Colin Farrell th:โคลิน ฟาร์เรล tr:Colin Farrell uk:Колін Фаррелл zh:科林·法雷尔

Coordinates	33°51′35.9″N151°12′40″N
name	Michael J. Fox OC
birth name	Michael Andrew Fox
birth date	June 09, 1961
birth place	Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
spouse	Tracy Pollan (1988–present; 4 children)
occupation	Actor, author, producer, activist, voice-over artist
years active	1973–present }}

Michael J. Fox, OC (born Michael Andrew Fox; June 9, 1961) is a Canadian–American actor, author, producer, activist and voice-over artist. With a film and television career spanning from the late 1970s, Fox's roles have included Marty McFly from the ''Back to the Future trilogy'' (1985–1990); Alex P. Keaton from ''Family Ties'' (1982-1989) for which he won three Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe Award; and Mike Flaherty from ''Spin City'' (1996–2000), for which he won an Emmy, three Golden Globes, and two Screen Actors Guild Awards.

Fox was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 1991, and disclosed his condition to the public in 1998. Fox semi-retired from acting in 2000 as the symptoms of his disease worsened. He has since become an activist for research toward finding a cure. This led him to create the Michael J. Fox Foundation, and on March 5, 2010, Sweden's Karolinska Institutet gave him a ''honoris causa'' doctorate for his work in advocating a cure for Parkinson's disease.

Since 2000 Fox has mainly worked as a voice over actor in films such as ''Stuart Little'' and ''Atlantis: The Lost Empire'', and taken minor TV roles such as in ''Boston Legal'', ''The Good Wife'' and ''Scrubs''. He has also released three books, ''Lucky Man: A Memoir'' (2002), ''Always Looking Up: The Adventures of an Incurable Optimist'' (2009) and ''A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Future: Twists and Turns and Lessons Learned'' (2010). He was inducted as an Officer of the Order of Canada on May 27, 2011 for his outreach and fundraising work.

Early life

Michael Andrew Fox was born in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, the son of Phyllis (née Piper), an actress and payroll clerk, and William Fox, a police officer and member of the Canadian Forces. Fox's family lived in various cities and towns across Canada because of his father's career. The family finally moved to the Vancouver suburb of Burnaby, British Columbia, when his father retired in 1971. He currently lives in Vancouver. Fox attended Burnaby Central Secondary School, and now has a theatre named after him in Burnaby South Secondary.

Fox starred in the Canadian television series ''Leo and Me'' at the age of fifteen, and in 1979, moved to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career at the age of eighteen. Shortly after his marriage, he decided to move back to Vancouver, BC. Fox is one of four members of the ''Leo and Me'' cast and crew who eventually developed Parkinson's disease in mid-life, an unusually high number that led to some investigation as to whether an environmental factor may have played a role.

Fox was discovered by producer Ronald Shedlo and made his American television debut in the television movie ''Letters from Frank'', credited under the name "Michael Fox". He intended to continue to use the name, but when he registered with the Screen Actors Guild, which does not allow duplicate registration names to avoid credit ambiguities, he discovered that Michael Fox, a veteran character actor, was already registered under the name. As he explained in his autobiography, ''Lucky Man: A Memoir'', and in interviews, he needed to come up with a different name. He did not like the sound of "Andrew" or "Andy" Fox, so he decided to adopt a new middle initial and settled on "J", as a homage to actor Michael J. Pollard.

Acting career

Early career

Fox's first feature film roles were in ''Midnight Madness'' (1980) and ''Class of 1984'' (1982), credited in both as Michael Fox. Shortly afterward, he began playing "Young Republican" Alex P. Keaton in the show ''Family Ties'' which aired on NBC for seven seasons, from 1982 to 1989. Fox only received the role after Matthew Broderick was unavailable. ''Family Ties'' had been sold to the television network using the pitch "hip parents, square kids," with the parents originally intended to be the main characters. However, the positive reaction to Fox's performance led to his character becoming the focus of the show following the fourth episode. At its peak, the audience for ''Family Ties'' drew one-third of America's households every week. Fox won three Emmy awards for ''Family Ties'' in 1986, 1987 and 1988 respectively. He also won a Golden Globe Award in 1989.

Brandon Tartikoff, one of the show's producers, felt that Fox was too short in relation to the actors playing his parents, and tried to have him replaced. Tartikoff reportedly said that "this is not the kind of face you'll ever find on a lunch-box". After his later successes, Fox presented Tartikoff with a custom-made lunch-box with the inscription "To Brandon, this is for you to put your crow in. Love and Kisses, Michael J. Fox". Tartikoff kept the lunch-box in his office for the rest of his NBC career.

While filming ''Family Ties'', Fox met his future wife, Tracy Pollan, when she portrayed his girlfriend, Ellen. When Fox left the TV series ''Spin City'', his final episodes made numerous allusions to ''Family Ties'': Michael Gross (who played Alex's father Steven) portrays Mike Flaherty's (Fox's) therapist, and there is a reference to an off-screen character named "Mallory". Also, when Flaherty becomes an environmental lobbyist in Washington D.C., he meets a conservative senator from Ohio named Alex P. Keaton, and in one episode Meredith Baxter played Mike's mother.

''Back to the Future'' trilogy

''Back to the Future'' tells the story of Marty McFly (Fox), a teenager who is accidentally sent back in time from 1985 to 1955. He meets his parents in high school, accidentally attracting his mother's romantic interest. Marty must repair the damage to history by causing his parents to fall in love, while finding a way to return to 1985. Robert Zemeckis, the director, originally wanted Fox to play Marty but Gary David Goldberg the creator of Family Ties, which Fox was working on at the time refused to allow Zemeckis to even approach Fox as he felt that as Meredith Baxter was on maternity leave at the time that Fox's character Alex Keaton was needed to carry the show in her absence. Eric Stoltz was cast and was already filming ''Back to the Future'', but Zemeckis felt that Stoltz was not giving the right type of performance for the humor involved. Zemeckis quickly replaced Stoltz with Fox whose schedule was now more open with the return of Meredith Baxter. During filming, Fox would rehearse for ''Family Ties'' from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m, then rush to the ''Back to the Future'' set where he would rehearse and shoot until 2:30 a.m. This schedule lasted for two full months. ''Back to the Future'' was both a commercial and critical success. The film spent 8 consecutive weekends as the number one grossing movie at the US box office in 1985, and eventually earned a worldwide total of $381.11 million. ''Variety'' applauded the performances, arguing Fox and Lloyd imbued Marty and Doc Brown's friendship with a quality reminiscent of King Arthur and Merlin. Two sequels, ''Back to the Future Part II'' and ''Back to the Future Part III'', were released in 1989 and 1990, respectively.

Mid-career

During and immediately after the ''Back to the Future trilogy'', Fox starred in ''Teen Wolf'' (1985), '' Light of Day'' (1987), ''The Secret of My Success'' (1987), ''Bright Lights, Big City'' (1988) and ''Casualties of War'' (1989).

In ''The Secret of My Success'', Fox played a recent graduate from Kansas State University who moves to New York City where he has to deal with the downs and ups of the business world. The film was successful at the box office, taking $110 million worldwide. Roger Ebert in ''The Chicago Sun Times'' wrote; "Fox provides a fairly desperate center for the film. It could not have been much fun for him to follow the movie's arbitrary shifts of mood, from sitcom to slapstick, from sex farce to boardroom brawls."

In ''Bright Lights, Big City'' Fox played a fact-checker for a New York magazine, who spends his nights partying with alcohol and drugs. The film received mixed reviews, with Hal Hinson in ''The Washington post'' criticizing Fox by claiming that "he was the wrong actor for the job". Meanwhile Roger Ebert praised the actor's performance: "Fox is very good in the central role (he has a long drunken monologue that is the best thing he has ever done in a movie)". During the shooting of ''Bright Lights, Big City'', Michael was reunited with his on-screen girlfriend Tracy Pollan from ''Family Ties''.

Fox then starred in ''Casualties of War'', a war drama about the Vietnam War, alongside Sean Penn. ''Casualties of War'' was not a box office hit, but Fox, playing a Private serving in Vietnam, received good reviews for his performance. Don Willmott on film critic’s website wrote; "Fox, only one year beyond his Family Ties sitcom silliness, rises to the challenges of acting as the film's moral voice and sharing scenes with the always intimidating Penn."

In 1991, he starred in ''Doc Hollywood'', a romantic comedy about a talented medical doctor who decides to become a plastic surgeon. While relocating from Washington D.C. to Los Angeles, California, he winds up as a doctor in a small southern town. Michael Caton-Jones, from ''Time Out'', described Fox in the film as "at his frenetic best". ''The Hard Way'' was also released in 1991, with Fox playing an undercover actor learning from police officer James Woods. Between 1992 and 1996, he continued making several films, such as ''For Love or Money'' (1993), ''Life With Mikey'' (1993) and ''Greedy'' (1994). Fox then played small supporting roles in political drama ''The American President'' (1995) and comedy ''Mars Attacks!'' (1996).

His last major film role was in ''The Frighteners'' (1996). ''The Frighteners'' tells the story of Frank Bannister (Fox), an architect who develops psychic abilities allowing him to see, hear, and communicate with ghosts. After losing his wife, he uses his new abilities by cheating customers out of money for his "ghosthunting" business. However, a mass murderer comes back from Hell, prompting Frank to investigate the supernatural presence. Fox's performance received critical praise, Kenneth Turan in ''The Los Angeles Times'' wrote; "The film's actors are equally pleasing. Both Fox, in his most successful starring role in some time, and Alvarado, who looks rather like Andie MacDowell here, have no difficulty getting into the manic spirit of things."

Fox has also done voice-over work providing the voice of Stuart Little in the ''Stuart Little'' movie and its sequel, both of which were based on the popular book by E. B. White. He also voiced the American Bulldog Chance in ''Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey'' and its sequel ''Homeward Bound II: Lost in San Francisco'', as well as Milo Thatch in ''Atlantis: The Lost Empire''.

''Spin City'' and later career

''Spin City'' ran from 1996 to 2002 on American television network channel ABC. The show was based on a fictional local government running New York City, originally starring Fox as Mike Flaherty, a Fordham Law graduate serving as the Deputy Mayor of New York. Fox won an Emmy award for ''Spin City'' in 2000, three Golden Globe Awards in 1998, 1999 and 2000 and two Screen Actors Guild Awards in 1999 and 2000. During the third season of ''Spin City'', Fox made the announcement to the cast and crew of the show that he had Parkinson's Disease. During the fourth season, he announced his retirement from the show to focus on spending more time with his family. He announced that he planned to continue to act and would make guest appearances on ''Spin City'' (he made three more appearances on the show during the final season). After leaving the show, he was replaced by Charlie Sheen, who portrayed the character Charlie Crawford. Altogether, 145 episodes were made. Fox also served as an executive producer during his time on the show, alongside co-creators Bill Lawrence and Gary David Goldberg.

In 2004, Fox guest starred in two episodes of the comedy-drama ''Scrubs'' as Dr. Kevin Casey, a surgeon with severe obsessive-compulsive disorder. The series was created by ''Spin City'' creator Bill Lawrence. In 2006, he appeared in four episodes of ''Boston Legal'' as a lung cancer patient. The producers brought him back in a recurring role for Season three, beginning with the season premiere. Fox was nominated for an Emmy Award for best guest appearance. In 2009, he appeared in five episodes of the television series ''Rescue Me'' which earned him an Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series. Since 2000 Fox has released three books, ''Lucky Man: A Memoir'' (2002), ''Always Looking Up: The Adventures of an Incurable Optimist'' (2009) and ''A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Future: Twists and Turns and Lessons Learned'' (2010). In 2010, Fox returned to television as a guest star in US drama ''The Good Wife''. Fox will make another guest-star appearance on ''The Good Wife'' in episode 13.

He made an appearance at the 2010 Winter Olympics closing ceremony in Vancouver, Canada and delivered comedic monologues, along with William Shatner and Catherine O'Hara, in the "I am Canadian" part of the show.

Along with Tatjana Patitz, Fox appears in the 2011 Carl Zeiss AG calendar, photographed by Bryan Adams in New York City in the summer of 2010.

Despite a soundalike voicing his character of Marty McFly in the 2011 ''Back to the Future'' episodic adventure game, Fox lent his likeness to the in-game version of McFly alongside Christopher Lloyd. Fox makes a special guest appearance in the final episode of the series as an elder version of Marty, as well as his great grandfather Willie McFly.

Personal life

Fox married actress Tracy Pollan on July 16, 1988, at West Mountain Inn in Arlington, Vermont. The couple have four children: Sam Michael (born May 30, 1989), twins Aquinnah Kathleen and Schuyler Frances (born February 15, 1995), and Esmé Annabelle (born November 3, 2001). Fox holds dual Canadian-U.S. citizenship. On February 28, 2010, Fox provided a light-hearted segment during the 2010 Winter Olympics' closing ceremony which took place in Vancouver, Canada wherein he expressed how proud he is to be Canadian. On June 4, 2010, the City of Burnaby, British Columbia honoured Fox by granting him the Freedom of the City.

Illness and activism

Fox started displaying symptoms of early-onset Parkinson's disease in 1990 while shooting the movie ''Doc Hollywood'', although he was not properly diagnosed until the next year. After his diagnosis, Fox began drinking more heavily than in the past; however, he sought help and stopped drinking altogether. In 1998, he decided to go public with his condition, and since then he has been a strong advocate of Parkinson's disease research. His foundation, The Michael J. Fox Foundation, was created to help advance every promising research path to curing Parkinson's disease, through embryonic stem cell studies.

Fox manages the symptoms of his Parkinson's disease with the drug Sinemet, and he also had a thalamotomy in 1998.

His first book, ''Lucky Man'' focused on how after seven years of unacceptance of the disease he set up the Michael J Fox Foundation, stopped drinking and began to be an advocate of PD sufferers.

In ''Lucky Man'', Fox wrote that he did not take his medication prior to his testimony before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee in 1998;

In an April 2002 NPR interview, Fox explained what he does when he becomes symptomatic during an interview;

In 2006, Fox starred in a campaign ad for then-Missouri State Auditor Claire McCaskill in her 2006 Senate campaign against incumbent Jim Talent, expressing her support for stem cell research. In the ad, he visibly showed the effects of his Parkinson's medication; ''The New York Times'' called it "one of the most powerful and talked about political advertisements in years" and polls indicated that the commercial had a statistical impact on the way voters voted, in an election that McCaskill won. His second book ''Always Looking Up: The Adventures Of An Incurable Optimist'' describes his life between 1999 and 2009, with much of the book centered on how Fox got into campaigning for stem cell research. On March 31, 2009, Fox appeared on ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'' with Dr. Oz to publicly discuss his condition as well as his book, his family and his prime time special which aired May 7, 2009 (''Michael J. Fox: Adventures of an Incurable Optimist'').

His work led him to be named one of the 100 people "whose power, talent or moral example is transforming the world" in 2007 by Time magazine. On March 5, 2010, Fox received an honorary doctorate in medicine from Karolinska Institutet for his contributions to research in Parkinson's disease. He also has received an honorary doctor of laws from the University of British Columbia.

Filmography

Actor

+ Film
! Year	! Film	! Role	Notes
1980		Scott Larson
1982	''Class of 1984''	Arthur
1985	''Back to the Future''	Marty McFly
1985	''Teen Wolf''	Scott Howard
1987	''Light of Day''	Joe Rasnick
1987	''''	Brantley Foster/Carlton Whitfield
1988		Jamie Conway
1989	''Casualties of War''	PFC. Eriksson
1989	''Back to the Future Part II''	Marty McFly, Marty McFly Jr, Marlene McFly
1990	''Back to the Future Part III''	Marty McFly, Seamus McFly
1991	''''	Nick Lang/Ray Casanov
1991	''Doc Hollywood''	Dr. Benjamin Stone
1993	''Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey''	Chance
1993	''Life with Mikey''	Michael "Mikey" Chapman
1993		Doug Ireland
1994	''Where the Rivers Flow North''	Clayton Farnsworth
1994		Daniel McTeague
1995	''Blue in the Face''	Pete Maloney
1995		Tim Alexander
1995	''''	Lewis Rothschild
1996	''Homeward Bound II: Lost in San Francisco''	Chance	Voice only
1996	''''	Frank Bannister
1996	''Mars Attacks!''	Jason Stone
1999		Stuart Little	Voice only
2001	''Atlantis: The Lost Empire''	Milo James Thatch	Voice only
2002	''Interstate 60''	Mr. Baker
2002	''Stuart Little 2''	Stuart Little	Voice only
2005	''Stuart Little 3: Call of the Wild''	Stuart Little	Voice onlyDirect-to-video

{| class = "wikitable sortable" |+ Television |- ! Year ! Title ! Role ! class = "unsortable" | Notes |- | 1977 | '''' | | Episode: "The Master" |- | 1979 | ''Letters from Frank'' | Ricky | CBS television film |- | 1979 | ''Lou Grant'' | Paul Stone | Episode: "Kids" |- | 1980 | ''Palmerstown, U.S.A.'' | Willy-Joe Hall | |- | 1980 | ''Family'' | Richard Topol | Episode: "Such a Fine Line" |- | 1980 | ''Trouble in High Timber Country'' | Thomas Elston | ABC television film |- | 1981 | ''Trapper John, M.D.'' | Elliot Schweitzer | Episode: Brain Child |- | 1981 | ''Leo and Me'' | Jamie | Produced in 1976; was not televised on CBC, until 1981Credited as "Mike Fox" |- | 1982–1989 | ''Family Ties'' | Alex P. Keaton | |- | 1983 | '''' | | Episode: "I Like to Be in America..." |- | 1983 | ''High School U.S.A.'' | Jay-Jay Manners | NBC television film/pilot |- | 1984 | ''Night Court'' | Eddie Simms | Episode: "Santa Goes Downtown" |- | 1984 | '''' | Host | NBC television special |- | 1985 | ''Poison Ivy'' | Dennis Baxter | NBC television film |- | 1986 | ''David Letterman's 2nd Annual Holiday Film Festival'' | | NBC television special Segment: The Iceman Hummeth |- | 1988 | ''Mickey's 60th Birthday'' | Alex P. Keaton (a flashback clip) | Television special |- | 1990 | ''Sex, Buys & Advertising'' | | Television special |- | 1991 | ''Saturday Night Live'' | Host | Episode: "Michael J. Fox/The Black Crowes" |- | 1991 | ''Tales from the Crypt'' | Prosecutor | Episode: "The Trap" |- | 1994 | ''Don't Drink the Water'' | Axel Magee | ABC television film |- | 1996–2001 | ''Spin City'' | Mike Flaherty | Seasons 1 – 4 |- | 2002 | ''Clone High'' | Gandhi's Remaining Kidney | Voice only"Escape to Beer Mountain: A Rope of Sand" |- | 2004 | ''Scrubs'' | Dr. Kevin Casey | Episode: "My Catalyst" Episode: "My Porcelain God" |- | 2006 | ''Boston Legal'' | Daniel Post | |- | 2009 | ''Rescue Me'' | Dwight | |- | 2010 | '''' | Himself | |- | 2010 | '''' | Louis Canning | |- | 2011 | ''Ace of Cakes'' | Himself | |- | 2011 | ''Curb Your Enthusiasm'' | Himself | Season 8 |}

;Video games :''Back to the Future: The Game'' (2011): Willie McFly, Future Marty McFly – Voice only, video game, Episode 5: "Outatime"

Producer

{| class = "wikitable sortable" |- ! Year ! Title ! Notes |- | 1995 | ''Coldblooded'' | Producer |- | 1996–2000 | ''Spin City'' | Executive producer |- | 1999 | ''Anna Says'' | Executive producer |- | 2002 | ''Otherwise Engaged'' | Executive producer |- | 2003 | ''Hench at Home'' | Executive producer |}

Awards and nominations

Canada's Walk of Fame 2000: Inducted, Canada's Walk of Fame

Hollywood Walk of Fame 2002: Star on the Walk of Fame – 7021 Hollywood Blvd.

Emmy Awards

1985: Nominated, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series – ''Family Ties''

1986: Won, Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series – ''Family Ties''

1987: Won, Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series – ''Family Ties''

1988: Won, Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series – ''Family Ties''

1989: Nominated, Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series – ''Family Ties''

1997: Nominated, Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series – ''Spin City''

1998: Nominated, Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series – ''Spin City''

1999: Nominated, Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series – ''Spin City''

2000: Won, Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series – ''Spin City''

2006: Nominated, Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series – ''Boston Legal''

2009: Won, Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series – ''Rescue Me''

2011: Pending, Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series- ''The Good Wife''

Golden Globe Awards

1986: Nominated, Best Performance by an Actor in a TV-Series — Comedy/Musical – ''Family Ties''

1986: Nominated, Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture — Comedy/Musical – ''Back to the Future''

1987: Nominated, Best Performance by an Actor in a TV-Series — Comedy/Musical – ''Family Ties''

1989: Won, Best Performance by an Actor in a TV-Series — Comedy/Musical – ''Family Ties''

1997: Nominated, Best Performance by an Actor in a TV-Series — Comedy/Musical – ''Spin City''

1998: Won, Best Performance by an Actor in a TV-Series — Comedy/Musical – ''Spin City''

1999: Won, Best Performance by an Actor in a TV-Series — Comedy/Musical – ''Spin City''

2000: Won, Best Performance by an Actor in a TV-Series — Comedy/Musical – ''Spin City''

Screen Actors Guild Awards

1999: Won, Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series – ''Spin City''

2000: Won, Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series – ''Spin City''

Saturn Awards 1985: Won, Best Actor – ''Back to the Future''

People's Choice Awards 1997: Won, Favorite Male Performer in a New Television Series

Satellite Awards 1997: Nominated, Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series — Comedy or Musical – ''Spin City'' 1998: Nominated, Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series — Comedy or Musical – ''Spin City'' 1999: Nominated, Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series — Comedy or Musical – ''Spin City''

Honorary Degrees 2008: Doctor of Fine Arts, ''honoris causa'', New York University 2008: Doctor of Laws, ''honoris causa'', University of British Columbia 2010: Honoris causa doctorate, Karolinska Institutet

Grammy Awards

2010: Won, Best Spoken Word Album – ''Always Looking Up: Adventures of An Incurable Optimist''

Influential Canadian Expat Award 2009: Awarded "Most Influential Canadian Expat", Canadian Expat Association

Goldene Kamera 2011: ''Goldene Kamera für Lebenswerk'' (Lifetime Achievement Award), German film and TV award.

Books

See also

1980 in film

References

External links

The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research

FRONTLINE: Interview with Michael J. Fox Fox's perspective on living with Parkinson's. Posted Jan. 29. 2009

Category:1961 births Category:20th-century actors Category:21st-century actors Category:Actors from Alberta Category:Actors from British Columbia Category:American film actors Category:American health activists Category:American people of Canadian descent Category:American television actors Category:American voice actors Category:Best Musical or Comedy Actor Golden Globe (television) winners Category:Canadian child actors Category:Canadian expatriate actors in the United States Category:Canadian film actors Category:Canadian emigrants to the United States Category:Canadian television actors Category:Canadian voice actors Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Living people Category:Naturalized citizens of the United States Category:Officers of the Order of Canada Category:Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series Screen Actors Guild Award winners Category:People from North Bay, Ontario Category:People self-identifying as alcoholics Category:People with Parkinson's disease

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Coordinates	33°51′35.9″N151°12′40″N
birth name	Christopher Allen Lloyd
birth date	October 22, 1938
birth place	Stamford, Connecticut, U.S.
years active	1952–present
occupation	Actor
spouse	Catherine Boyd (1959–1971)Kay Tornborg (1975–1987) Carol Ann Vanek (1988–1991) Jane Walker Wood (1992–2005) }}

Christopher Allen Lloyd (born October 22, 1938) is an American actor. He is best known for playing Emmett Brown in the ''Back to the Future'' trilogy, Uncle Fester in ''The Addams Family'' films, and Judge Doom in ''Who Framed Roger Rabbit''. He played Reverend Jim Ignatowski in the television series ''Taxi'' and most recently Mr. Goodman in the remake ''Piranha 3D''. He also starred in the short-lived television series ''Deadly Games'', and also was a regular in the short-lived TV series ''Stacked'', in the mid-2000s.

Lloyd has used his vocal talents in animation, frequently voicing villains. He currently voices the character Hacker on the animated PBS series ''Cyberchase''. Lloyd has won three Primetime Emmy Awards and an Independent Spirit Award, and has been nominated for two Saturn Awards and a Daytime Emmy Award.

Early life

Lloyd was born in Stamford, Connecticut, the son of Samuel R. Lloyd, a lawyer, and his wife Ruth (née Lapham), a singer and sister of San Francisco mayor Roger Lapham. His maternal grandfather, Lewis Lapham, was one of the founders of the Texaco oil company, and Lloyd is also a descendant of Mayflower passenger John Howland. Lloyd attended the Fessenden School, a preparatory school in Newton, Massachusetts. Lloyd was raised in New Canaan, Connecticut and Westport, Connecticut, where he graduated from Staples High School in 1958.

His mother, an heiress to the Lapham-Texaco oil fortune, donated her family's ancestral home, Waveny Park, to the town of New Canaan.

Career

He began acting by age 14 and started apprenticing in summer stock. He took acting classes in New York City at age 19, some at the Neighborhood Playhouse with Sanford Meisner. He appeared in several Broadway productions, including ''Happy End'', ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'', ''Red, White and Maddox'', ''Kaspar'', ''The Harlot and the Hunted'', ''The Seagull'', ''Total Eclipse'', ''Macbeth'', ''In the Boom Boom Room'', ''Cracks'', ''Professional Resident Company'', ''What Every Woman Knows'', ''And They Put Handcuffs on the Flowers'', ''The Father'', ''King Lear'', and ''Power Failure''.

His first major motion picture role was as a psychiatric patient in ''One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest''. Prior to this, he appeared uncredited in the 1970 film ''Airport''. However, he may be most remembered for his roles as Reverend Jim Ignatowski, the ex-hippie cabbie on the TV sitcom ''Taxi'', and the eccentric inventor Emmett "Doc" Brown in the ''Back to the Future'' trilogy of science fiction films, for which he was nominated for a Saturn Award. He portrayed the villain Maj. Bartholomew 'Butch' Cavendish in ''The Legend of the Lone Ranger'' a role he has played numerous times in various spin-offs and incarnations. He also played notable roles as Klingon Commander Kruge in ''Star Trek III: The Search for Spock'', Professor Plum in "Clue", Professor Dimple in an episode of ''Road to Avonlea'', the title role in ''The Pagemaster'', the villain Judge Doom in Disney/Amblin's ''Who Framed Roger Rabbit'', a wacky sound effects man named Zoltan in ''Radioland Murders'', and Uncle Fester in the big screen adaptations of ''The Addams Family''. In 1999 Lloyd was reunited onscreen with Michael J. Fox in an episode of ''Spin City'' titled "Back to the Future IV — Judgment Day" where Lloyd plays Owen Kingston, Mike Flaherty's (Fox's character) former mentor who stops by City Hall to see him, only to proclaim himself as God. That same year, he starred in the movie remake of the 1960s series ''My Favorite Martian''. Also in November 2007, Lloyd was reunited onscreen with his former ''Taxi'' co-star Judd Hirsch in the Season 4 episode "Graphic" of the TV series ''Numb3rs''.

Lloyd also acted as the star in the point-and-click adventure game ''Toonstruck'', which released in November 1996.

He played Ebenezer Scrooge in a 2008 production of ''A Christmas Carol'' at the Kodak Theatre with John Goodman and Jane Leeves. In 2009, he appeared in a trailer for a fake horror film, entitled ''Gobstopper'', where he played Willy Wonka as a horror movie villain.

In October 2009, he did a two-man show with comedy upcomer Joe Gallois in several Midwest cities.

In September 2010, he reprised his role as Doctor Emmett Brown in ''Back to the Future: The Game'', an episodic adventure game series being developed by Telltale Games.

In the summer of 2010, he starred as Willy Loman in a Weston Playhouse production of ''Death of a Salesman''.

On its January 21, 2011 episode, he appeared in the J.J. Abrams television series ''Fringe''.

Personal life

Lloyd seldom appears in public or gives interviews. Some of his best friends, co-stars and fans who have met him describe Lloyd as a very shy and quiet man. Lloyd has been married four times but he has never had children. His nephew, Sam Lloyd, is best known for playing Ted Buckland, the lawyer on ''Scrubs''. Lloyd's home was destroyed in the Tea Fire of November 2008 in Montecito, California.

At a Q&A; session at a ''Back to the Future'' trilogy showing in Hollywood in the summer of 2009, Lloyd was asked which of the ''Back to the Future'' films was his favorite. He responded "the third one, because for one thing it's a Western and I'm a fan of those, and second, it had a love story. I had always wanted to be in a love story and here I got a chance to be at the center of one". Nearly a year later on May 1, 2010, he appeared at the Tampa Theatre during a screening of ''Back to the Future'', where he participated in another Q&A.;

Filmography

! Year	! Film	! Role	! Notes
		Patron in diner	Uncredited
		Max Taber
	''Goin' South''	Deputy Towfield
	Reverend Jim Ignatowski	Emmy Award, Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series (1982, 1983)
''Three Warriors''	Steve Chaffey
		Jailhouse lawyer
	Frognose
	''The Legend of the Lone Ranger''	Maj. Bartholomew 'Butch' Cavendish
	''Mr. Mom''	Larry
	S.S. Captain Schultz
		Phillip Semenko	Episode “I'll Be Seeing You” (season 2, episode 21)
''Star Trek III: The Search for Spock''	Klingon Commander Kruge
''The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension''	John Bigbooté
''National Lampoon's Joy of Sex''	Coach Hindenberg
	''Back to the Future''		Nomination - Saturn Award, Best Supporting Actor
	Professor Plum
''Street Hawk'' (TV)	Anthony Corrido	Special guest star in pilot episode
		Harry
		Reggie Shand / Henry Shand
	''Track 29''	Henry Henry
''Who Framed Roger Rabbit''	Judge Doom	Nomination - Saturn Award, Best Supporting Actor
''Eight Men Out''
		Henry Sikorsky
''Back to the Future Part II''
	''Back to the Future Part III''
	Bruno Daley
''DuckTales the Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp''		Voice talent
	''Back to the Future: The Ride''		Simulator ride
Back to the Future: The Animated Series	Doc Emmett L. Brown	Human parts
''Suburban Commando''	Charlie Wilcox
	Uncle Fester Addams
		Professor B.O. Beanes
''Road to Avonlea'' (TV)	Professor Dimple-Guest star role
''T bone 'N' Weasel''	William 'Weasel' Weasler
''Dead Ahead: The Exxon Valdez Disaster	Frank Iarossi
		Switchblade Sam	''Switchblade Sam'' is the only character in the film never referred to by his name, and the main antagonist.
''Addams Family Values''	Uncle Fester Addams
''Twenty Bucks''	Jimmy	Won an Independent Spirit Award
		Al "The Boss" Angel
''Camp Nowhere''	Dennis Van Welker
''The Pagemaster''	Mr. Dewey / The Pagemaster
''In Search of Dr. Seuss''	Mr. Hunch
''Radioland Murders''	Zoltan: Eccentric sound designer
	''Rent-a-Kid''	Lawrence 'Larry' Kayvey
''Deadly Games''	Jordan Kenneth Lloyd / Sebastian Jackal
''Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead''	Pieces
	''Cadillac Ranch''	Wood Grimes
''Toonstruck''	Drew Blanc	Point-and-click adventure game
	''Quicksilver Highway''	Aaron Quicksilver
	Grigori Rasputin	Voice talent
''Angels in the Endzone''	Al "The Boss" Angel
''The Real Blonde''	Ernst
		Uncle Martin
	The White Knight
''Baby Geniuses''	Heep
''Convergence''	Morley Allen	Original film title: ''Premonition''
	Jim Ignatowski,Taxi Remake
''Spin City''	Owen Kingston
	Jarvis Moody
		Dr. Harvey Kelekian
''When Good Ghouls Go Bad''	Uncle Fred Walker
	Leo
	''Interstate 60''	Ray
''Wish You Were Dead''	Bruce
''Hey Arnold!: The Movie''	Coroner
''Cyberchase'' (TV)		Voice talent and lead role
''The Big Time'' (TV)	Doc Powers
	''Haunted Lighthouse''	Cap'n Jack
	Cletus Poffenberger
	''I Dream'' (TV)	Prof. Toone
''Malcolm in the Middle'' (TV)	Hal's Father
	''Stacked'' (TV)	Professor Harold March
''Here Comes Peter Cottontail: The Movie''	Seymour S. Sassafrass
''Bad Girls From Valley High''	Mr. Chauncey
	Lawrence Lessig	Portrayed the real life Lawrence Lessig
		Michael
''Valerie on the Stairs'' (TV)	Everett Neely	Episode of ''Masters of Horror''
	''Numb3rs'' (TV)	Ross Moore
	''Law & Order: Criminal Intent'' (TV)	Carmine
	Grandpa
	Hovis
		Dr. Lehman
''Knights of Bloodsteel'' (TV)	Tesselink
	'Grandpa' Bill Hale
''Foodfight!''	Mr. Clipboard
''Santa Buddies''	Stan Cruge
	''Piranha 3-D''	Mr. Goodman
	The Caretaker
	Dr. Leo Dreyfus	Episode S03E16: "''Chuck Versus the Tooth''"
	Headmaster
''Back to the Future: The Game''		Video game
''The Witches of Oz''
		Roscoe Joyce
''Piranha 3DD''	Mr. Goodman	''post-production''
	Pete	''post-production''
	''Thicker''	Augustine	''filming''
''Excuse Me For Living''	Lars	''filming''

Awards

Awards and Honors

! Award	! Category	! Result	! Year
Primetime Emmy Awards	Comedy Series		1982
Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series		1982
Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series/''Road to Avonlea''		1992
Saturn Awards	Best Supporting Actor/''Back to the Future''		1986
Saturn Awards	Best Supporting Actor / ''Who Framed Roger Rabbit''		1990
Independent Spirit Awards	Best Supporting Male/''Twenty Bucks''		1994
DVD Exclusive Awards	Best Actor/''When Good Ghouls Go Bad''		2001
Daytime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program/''Cyberchase''		2008
Drama Desk Award	Best Performance/''Kaspar''		1973

Further reading

''Chelsea on the Edge: The Adventures of an American Theater,'' Davi Napoleon. Includes discussion of Lloyd's early work off-Broadway, including the production of ''Happy End'' at the Chelsea Theater Center and on Broadway, ''Kaspar'', and ''Total Eclipse''. Iowa State University Press. ISBN-0-8138-1713-7, 1991.

References

External links

Category:1938 births Category:American film actors Category:American television actors Category:American voice actors Category:Actors from Connecticut Category:Darrow School alumni Category:Independent Spirit Award winners Category:Living people Category:Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre alumni Category:People from Stamford, Connecticut Category:Writers Guild of America Award winners

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Coordinates	33°51′35.9″N151°12′40″N
birth name	Paul Rubenfeld
birth date	August 27, 1952
birth place	Peekskill, New York, U.S.
website	Peewee.com
occupation	Actor, comedian, writer
years active	1978–present
relatives	Abby (sister, b.1953)Luke (brother, b.1958) }}

Paul Reubens (born Paul Rubenfeld; August 27, 1952) is an American actor, writer, film producer, and comedian, best known for his character Pee-wee Herman. Reubens joined the Los Angeles troupe The Groundlings in the 1970s and started his career as an improvisational comedian and stage actor. In 1982, Reubens put up a show about a character he had been developing during the last few years. The show was called ''The Pee-wee Herman Show'' and it ran for five sellout months with HBO producing a successful special with it. Pee-wee became an instant cult figure and for the next decade Reubens would be completely committed to his character, doing all of his public appearances and interviews as Pee-wee. In 1985 ''Pee-wee's Big Adventure'', directed by the then-unknown Tim Burton, was a financial success and, despite receiving mixed reviews, it developed into a cult film. ''Big Top Pee-wee'', 1988's sequel, was less successful than its predecessor. Between 1986 and 1990, Reubens starred as Pee-wee in the CBS Saturday-morning children's program ''Pee-wee's Playhouse''.

In July 1991, after deciding to take a few years' sabbatical from Pee-wee, Reubens was arrested for indecent exposure in an adult theater in Sarasota, Florida. The arrest set off a chain reaction of national media attention that changed the general public's view of Reubens and Pee-wee. The arrest postponed Reubens's engagement in big projects until 1999, when he appeared in the big-budget ''Mystery Men'' and ''Blow'' and started giving interviews as himself rather than as Pee-wee.

Since 2006, Reubens has been making cameos and guest appearances in numerous projects, such as ''Reno 911!'', ''30 Rock'', ''Dirt'', and ''Pushing Daisies''. Since the 1990s, he has worked on two possible Pee-wee films — one dark and adult, dubbed ''The Pee-wee Herman Story'', and one a family-friendly epic adventure called ''Pee-wee's Playhouse: The Movie''. In 2010, he starred on Broadway in ''The Pee-wee Herman Show''.

Early life and education

Reubens was born Paul Rubenfeld in Peekskill, New York, and grew up in Sarasota, Florida, where his parents, Judy and Milton, owned a lamp store. His mother was a teacher and his father an automobile salesperson who had flown for Britain's Royal Air Force and for the U.S. Army Air Forces in World War II, later becoming one of the founding pilots of the Israeli Air Force during the 1948 Israeli War of Independence. Paul has two younger siblings, Luke (born 1958), who is a dog trainer, and Abby (born 1953), who is an attorney, and board member of the American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee.

Reubens spent a significant amount of his childhood in Oneonta, New York. As a child, Reubens frequented the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, whose winter headquarters was in Sarasota. The circus's atmosphere sparked Reubens's interest in entertainment and influenced his later work. Reubens also loved to watch reruns of ''I Love Lucy'', which made him want to make people laugh. At age five, Reubens asked his father to build him a stage, where he and his siblings would put on plays.

Reubens attended Sarasota High School, where he was named president of the National Thespian Society. He also got in Northwestern University's summer program for gifted high-school students and joined the local Asolo Theater and Players of Sarasota Theater, appearing several plays. After graduation, he attended Boston University and began auditioning for acting-schools. He was turned down by several schools, including Juilliard, and twice by Carnegie-Mellon, before being accepted at the California Institute of the Arts and moving to California, where he worked in restaurant kitchens and as a Fuller Brush salesman.

In the 1970s, Reubens performed at local comedy clubs and made four guest appearances on ''The Gong Show'' as part of a boy–girl act he had developed with Charlotte McGinnis, called ''The Hilarious Betty and Eddie''. He soon joined the Los Angeles–based improvisational comedy team The Groundlings and remained a member for six years, working with Bob McClurg, John Paragon, Susan Barnes, and Phil Hartman. Hartman and Reubens became friends, often writing and working on material together. In 1980, he had a small part as a waiter in ''The Blues Brothers''.

Pee-wee Herman

The character of "Pee-wee Herman" first originated during a 1978 improvisation exercise with The Groundlings, where Reubens came up with the idea of a man who wanted to be a comic, but was so inept at telling jokes that it was obvious to the audience that he would never make it. Fellow Groundling Phil Hartman would afterwards help Reubens develop the character while another Groundling, John Paragon, would help write the show. Despite having been compared to other famous characters, such as Hergé's Tintin and Collodi's Pinocchio, Reubens says that there is no specific source for "Pee-wee" but rather a collection of ideas. Pee-wee's voice originated in 1970 when Reubens appeared in a production of ''Life With Father'', where he was cast as one of the most obnoxious characters in the play, for which Reubens adopted a cartoon-like way of speaking that would become Pee-wee's. Pee-wee's name is a mixture of a one-inch Pee Wee brand harmonica Reubens had as a child while Herman was the surname of an energetic boy Reubens knew from his youth. The first small grey suit Pee-wee ever wore had been handmade for director and founder of the Groundlings Gary Austin, who passed it on to Reubens, while "someone" handed him the "little-kid bow tie" before a show.

''The Pee-wee Herman Show'': 1981–1984

Reubens auditioned for ''Saturday Night Live'' for the 1980–1981 season, but Gilbert Gottfried, who was a close friend of the show's producer and had the same acting style as Reubens, got the place (ironically, Gottfried would later get in trouble for joking about Reubens's indecent exposure arrest as an award presenter at the Emmys). Reubens was so angry and bitter that he decided he would borrow money and start his own show in Los Angeles using the character he had been developing during the last few years, "Pee-wee Herman".

With the help of other Groundlings like John Paragon, Phil Hartman and Lynne Marie Stewart, Pee-wee acquired a small group of followers and Reubens took his show to The Roxy Theatre where "''The Pee-wee Herman Show''" ran for five sellout months, doing midnight shows for adults and weekly matinees for children, moving into the mainstream when HBO aired ''The Pee-wee Herman Show'' in 1981 as part of their series ''On Location''. Reubens also appeared as Pee-wee in the 1980 film ''Cheech & Chong's Next Movie''. Reubens's act had mainly positive reactions and quickly acquired a group of fans, despite being described as "bizarre", and Reubens being described as "the weirdest comedian around". Pee-wee was both "corny" and "hip", "retrograde" and "avant-garde".

When Pee-wee's fame started growing, Reubens started to move away from the spotlight, keeping his name under wraps and making all his public appearance and interviews in character while billing Pee-wee as playing himself; Reubens was trying to "get the public to think that that was a real person". Later on he would even prefer his parents be known only as Honey Herman and Herman Herman. In the early and mid 1980s, Reubens made several guest appearances on ''Late Night with David Letterman'' as Pee-wee Herman which gave Pee-wee an even bigger following. During the mid 1980s, Reubens traveled the United States with a whole new ''The Pee-wee Herman Show'', playing notably at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, Caroline's in New York City and, in 1984, in front of a full Carnegie Hall.

''Pee-wee's Big Adventure'': 1985

The success of ''The Pee-wee Herman Show'' prompted Warner Bros. to hire Reubens to write a script for a full-length Pee-wee Herman film. Reubens's original idea was to do a remake of ''Pollyanna'', which Reubens claims is his favorite film. Half-way through writing the script, Reubens noticed everyone at Warner Bros. had a bike with them, which inspired Reubens to start on a new script with Phil Hartman. When Reubens and the producers of ''Pee-wee's Big Adventure'' saw Tim Burton's work on ''Vincent'' and ''Frankenweenie'', they decided Burton would be an excellent director for their film. The film tells the story of Pee-wee Herman embarking on nation-wide adventure in search of his stolen bicycle and it went on to gross $40,940,662 domestically, recouping five times of its $7 million budget, making it a financial success. At the time of release in 1985, the film received mixed reviews, but ''Pee-wee's Big Adventure'' developed into a cult film.

''Pee-wee's Playhouse'': 1986–1990

After seeing the success of ''Pee-Wee's Big Adventure'', the CBS network approached Reubens with an ill-received cartoon series proposal. In 1986, CBS agreed to sign Reubens to act, produce, and direct his live-action children's program, ''Pee-wee's Playhouse'', with a budget of $325,000 per episode, the same price as a prime-time sitcom, and no creative interference from CBS; although CBS did request a few minor changes throughout the years. After casting actors like Laurence Fishburne and S. Epatha Merkerson, production began in New York City. The opening credits of the show were sung by Cyndi Lauper. ''Playhouse'' was designed as an educational yet entertaining and artistic show for children and, despite being greatly influenced by 1950s shows Reubens watched as a child like ''The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show'', ''The Mickey Mouse Club'', ''Captain Kangaroo'' and ''Howdy Doody'', it quickly acquired a dual audience of kids and grownups. Reubens, always trying to make of Pee-wee a positive role model, was after making a significantly moral show, one that would teach children the ethics of reciprocity. Reubens believed that children liked the ''Playhouse'' because it was fast-paced, colorful and "never talked them down"; while parents liked the ''Playhouse'' because it reminded them of the past.

In 1987, Reubens provided the voice of REX, the main robot in the George Lucas produced Disneyland attraction, Star Tours, and reprised the role of Pee-wee Herman in a cameo appearances in the film ''Back to the Beach'' and TV show ''Sesame Street'', the latter of which made a cameo in ''Playhouse''.

Right after the success of ''Pee-wee's Big Adventure'' Reubens began working with Paramount Pictures on a sequel entitled ''Big Top Pee-wee''. Reubens and George McGrath's script was directed by ''Grease'''s director Randal Kleiser. The film was not as successful as its predecessor, receiving mild reviews and doing half as well in the box office, earning only $15 million.

Reubens attended 1988 Academy Awards with ''Top'' co-star Valeria Golino, which stirred rumours that the two were dating. The following year Reubens exchanged vows at a mock wedding, presided by Imelda Marcos, in Shangri-La, Doris Duke's mansion in Honolulu, Hawaii with Duke's adopted daughter Chandi Heffner.

''Pee-wee's Playhouse'' aired from September 13, 1986 until November 10, 1990. Reubens had originally agreed to do two more seasons after the third, and when CBS asked Reubens about the possibility of a sixth season he declined, wanting to take a couple of sabbatical years. Reubens had been suffering from burnout from playing Pee-wee full time and for the last few years had been warning reporters that Pee-wee was temporary and that he had other ideas he would like to work on. Both parties mutually agreed to end the show after five seasons, which included 45 episodes and a Christmas Special. ''Playhouse'' garnered 15 Emmy Awards, all of them in the Creative Arts Emmy Award category.

Pee-wee's legacy

Reubens had not always thought of his character as one for children, but sometime during the mid-1980s, he started forming Pee-wee into the best role model he possibly could, making of his show a morally positive show that cared about issues like racial diversity. Reubens was also careful on what should be associated to Pee-wee. Being a heavy smoker, he went to great lengths never to be photographed with a cigarette in his mouth, he even refused to endorse candy bars and other kinds of junk food, while trying to come out with his own sugar-free cereal "Ralston Purina Pee-wee Chow cereal", a project that died after a blind test. With his positive attitude and quirkiness, Pee-wee became an instant cult figure earning a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame by 1989, and successfully building a Pee-wee franchise, with toys, clothes and other items generating more than $25 million at its peak in 1988. Reubens also published a book as Pee-wee in 1989 called "Travels with Pee-Wee". CBS aired reruns of the ''Playhouse'' until July 1991, when Reubens was arrested, pulling out from their schedule the last two remaining reruns. Fox Family Channel briefly aired reruns of the ''Playhouse'' in 1998. In early July 2006, Cartoon Network began running a teaser promo during its Adult Swim lineup. A later press release and many other promos confirmed that the show's 45 original episodes would nightly air from Monday to Thursday starting on that date. ''Playhouse'' attracted 1.5 million viewers nightly. In 2007 TV Guide named the ''Playhouse'' one of its top 10 cult classics of all time. Several children's television personas cite Pee-wee Herman as inspiration, including Blue's Clues's Steve Burns and SpongeBob SquarePants's Stephen Hillenburg.

In November 2004, all 45 episodes of the ''Playhouse'', plus six episodes that had never before been released in home video, were released on DVD split between two box set collection. Reubens planned to re-release the DVDs with audio commentary by the following year, but this has yet to materialize.

Pee-wee's small glen plaid suits seemed ridiculous during the 1980s, but since the late 1990s they have made him a "style icon", with fashion houses and designers like Christopher Bailey, Ennio Capasa, Miuccia Prada, Viktor & Rolf, and Thom Browne creating cut tight suits with high armholes and short trousers that have been compared to Pee-wee's. In early 2007 Nike released a collection of Nike SB sneakers called "Fallen Heroes". The collection was loosely inspired by Milli Vanilli, MC Hammer, Vanilla Ice, and Pee-wee Herman. Pee-wee's sneakers use a grey and white color scheme with red detail, and an illustration on the insole of a man in suit sitting alone in a theatre with his hand on his lap, suggesting Reubens's 1991 theatre arrest.

Reubens has mentioned he has plans for a museum, which would contain many of the ''Playhouse'' sets and props he still owns.

1991 arrest and retreat from public eye

In July 1991, while visiting relatives, Reubens was arrested in Sarasota, Florida for masturbating while secluded in a darkened adult theater. Detectives would periodically visit pornographic theatres and observe the audience, arresting those engaged in indecent exposure. After arresting a number of other men, a detective who had been observing Reubens stopped him on his way out. While detectives examined his driver's license, Reubens told them, "I'm Pee-wee Herman", and offered to do a children's benefit for the sheriff's office, "to take care of this". The next day, after a local reporter recognized Reubens's name, Reubens's attorney made the same offer to the ''Sarasota Herald-Tribune'' in exchange for withholding the story. This was not Reubens's first arrest in the county; in 1971 he was arrested for loitering and prowling near an adult theater, though charges were later dropped. His second arrest was in 1983 when Reubens was placed on two years' probation for possession of marijuana, although adjudication was withheld. The night of the arrest Reubens fled to Nashville, where his sister and lawyer lived, and then to New Jersey, where he would stay for the following months at his friend Doris Duke's estate. Reubens had not been in character for a year and a half, but because CBS was still running reruns of ''Pee-wee's Playhouse'', Reubens's infamous mugshot, which did not depict the clean-cut look Reubens had shown for the last decade, shocked the public, and many assumed that the show had been canceled because of the arrest. The arrest was widely covered, and both Reubens and his character became the subject of ridicule. CBS stopped airing ''Playhouse'', and Disney-MGM Studios suspended a video that showed Pee-wee explaining how voice-over tracks were made from its studio tour. Toys-R-Us removed Pee-wee toys from its stores. Reubens released a statement denying the charges, which was largely ignored by the media. Reubens's attorneys agreed to a plea in which Reubens plead no contest, while maintaining his innocence, so as to avoid what would have been a highly publicized trial. The plea kept the charge off Reubens's record and obligated him to spend seventy-five hours performing community service, by making an anti-drug public service announcement that he would write, produce and finance. Despite the negative publicity, many artists who knew Reubens, such as Cyndi Lauper, Annette Funicello, Zsa Zsa Gabor, and Valeria Golino, spoke out in his support. Bill Cosby defended Reubens, saying "Whatever (Reubens has) done, this is being blown all out of proportion." Other people who knew Reubens, such as ''Playhouse'' production designer Gary Panter, S. Epatha Merkerson, and ''Big Top Pee-wee'' director Randal Kleiser, also spoke out against the way Reubens was treated by the media. Reubens's fans organised support rallies after CBS canceled the scheduled reruns, with several dozens of "Pee-weeites" picketing in Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco. The general public also appeared to sympathise with Reubens - the TV newsmagazine ''A Current Affair'' received "tens of thousands" of responses to a Pee-wee telephone survey, in which callers supported Reubens in a nine-to-one majority. He remained in a state of shock for weeks, and was haunted by the arrest for several years, refusing to give interviews or appear on talk shows.

He made a subsequent public appearance as Pee-wee at the 1991 MTV Video Music Awards, where he asked the audience, "Heard any good jokes lately?" After he received a standing ovation, Reubens said, "Ha, that's so funny I forgot to laugh!" He appeared as Pee-wee once more in 1992, when he participated in a Grand Ole Opry tribute to Minnie Pearl.

1990s and comeback in ''Blow''

During the 1990s, Reubens kept a low profile, dedicating himself to write and collect a variety of things, "everything from fake food, to lamps", although he did do some dubbing and took small parts in films such as 1992's ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' and Tim Burton's ''Batman Returns'' (Reubens portrayed the Penguin's father) and 1996's ''Matilda'' and ''Dunston Checks In''. In 1993, he dubbed for Lock in another one of Burton's productions, ''The Nightmare Before Christmas''. (Reubens would later dub Lock for the video game ''The Nightmare Before Christmas: Oogie's Revenge'' in 2004.) During the mid-1990s Reubens landed a recurring role on the hit TV series ''Murphy Brown''. The role earned him positive reviews and his first and only non-Pee-wee Emmy nomination in the Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series. He appeared six times on the show between 1995–1997. The show brought Reubens a new interest in acting and he embarked in his first big project since the ''Playhouse'', a pilot for NBC entitled ''Meet the Muckles'', a show that would be based on ''You Can't Take It with You''. The show got stuck in development hell, and was later dropped, when Reubens's ideas grew too elaborate and expensive, although Philip Rosenthal blamed NBC's negative on Reubens being on the "blacklist".

His several appearances on TV's ''Murphy Brown'' opened the door for Reubens come-back. By 1999, he gave several interviews as himself and made public appearances while promoting ''Mystery Men'', the first being on ''The Tonight Show'' in 1999. He also starred in Dwight Yoakam's western ''South of Heaven, West of Hell'' as a rapist and cold-blooded killer. In 2001, Reubens had his first extended television role since ''Playhouse'' as the host of the short-lived ABC TV show ''You Don't Know Jack'', based on the game of the same name. Reubens had doubts about the show, which was considered a risk, but eventually agreed to do it. The show was cancelled after six episodes due to low ratings.

Reubens's comeback seemed definitive when he played a flamboyant hairdresser turned drug dealer in Ted Demme's drama ''Blow'', which starred Penelope Cruz and Johnny Depp. His performance was praised and he began receiving scripts for potential movie projects from various sources.

Reubens dated actress Debi Mazar in 1993 after he started attending film premieres with her. From 1994 until 1999 Reubens was rumored to be engaged to Mazar. Reubens has since credited Mazar with ending his depression from his arrest.

Pornography arrest: 2002

In November 2002, while filming David La Chapelle's video for Elton John's "This Train Don't Stop There Anymore", Reubens learned that policemen were at his house with a search warrant, acting on a tip from a witness in the pornography case against actor Jeffrey Jones, finding among over 70,000 items of kitsch memorabilia, two grainy videotapes and dozens of photographs that the city attorney's office characterized as a collection of child pornography. Kelly Bush, Reubens's personal representative at the time, said the description of the items was inaccurate and claimed the objects were "Rob Lowe's sex videotape, and a few 30- to 100-year-old kitsch collectible images." Reubens turned himself in to the Hollywood division of the LAPD and was charged with possession of obscene material improperly depicting a child under the age of 18 in sexual conduct. The District Attorney looked at Reubens's collection and computer and found no grounds for bringing any felony charges against him, while the city attorney, Rocky Delgadillo brought misdemeanor charges against Reubens "on the very last day" that the statute would allow. Reubens was represented by Hollywood criminal defense lawyer Blair Berk. In December he pleaded not guilty through Berk, who also complained that the city attorney failed to turn over evidence to the defense, which City Attorney Richard Katz countered that prosecutors were not required to do until after arraignment, after which they did; neither side disclosed the contents. In March 2004, child pornography charges were dropped. For the next three years he had to register his address with the sheriff's office and could not be in the company of minors without their parents' permission. Reubens later stated that he was a collector of erotica, including films, muscle magazines and a sizable collection of mostly homosexual vintage erotica, such as photographic studies of teen nudes. Reubens claimed that what the city attorney's office viewed as pornography, he considered innocent art and that what they described as people underage engaged in masturbation or oral copulation was in fact a judgmental point of view of the nudes that Reubens described as people "one hundred percent not" performing sexual acts. Being a big collector, Reubens had often bought in bulk, with one of his vintage magazines dealers declaring that "there's no way" he could have known the content of each page in the publications he bought and that he recalled Reubens asking for "physique magazines, vintage 1960s material, but not things featuring kids".

He spent the next two years caring for his terminally ill father in Florida, who died in February 2004 of cancer.

Recent career

2004–2008

Reubens has made cameos and guest appearances in numerous projects. He played Rick of the citizen's patrol on the popular Comedy Central show ''Reno 911!'', which gained him a small role in the 2007 movie ''Reno 911!: Miami''. That same year he appeared in the second music video version of The Raconteurs song "Steady, As She Goes". The video has the band engaging in a comical soapbox car race, with Reubens playing the bad guy who sabotages the race.

In 2007, Reubens attended his own tribute at the SF Sketchfest, where he talked about his career with Ben Fong-Torres. He also signed with NBC to make a pilot on a show called ''Area 57'', a sitcom about a passive-aggressive alien, but it was not picked up for the 2007–2008 season. Reubens did however appear on the hit NBC show ''30 Rock'' as an inbred Austrian prince, a character Tina Fey created for him. He also made three guest appearances on FX's show ''Dirt''. This time he was recommended for the role by ''Dirt'' star and close friend Courteney Cox. Cox's husband, David Arquette, would then cast Reubens for his directorial debut, the 2007 film ''The Tripper''.

Reubens has also had small parts dubbing or making cameos in a series of Cartoon Network projects such as the 2006 television film ''Re-Animated'', the animated cartoon series ''Chowder'', ''Tom Goes to the Mayor'', and ''Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!''.

In 2008, Reubens was slated to appear as homeopathic antidepressant salesman Alfredo Aldarisio in the third episode of ''Pushing Daisies'', but the role was recast with Raúl Esparza. Reubens instead appeared in the role of Oscar Vibenius in the series' 7th and 9th episodes.

Also during 2008, Reubens did a PSA for Unscrew America, a website that aims to getting people to change regular light bulbs for more energy-efficient ones in the form of CFLs and LED. He has also been working on David O. Russell's ''Nailed'' and Todd Solondz's ''Life During Wartime''.

In 2009, Reubens voiced Bat-Mite in the ''Batman: The Brave and the Bold'' episode "Legends of the Dark Mite."

2009–present: the new ''Pee-wee Herman Show'' and future films

In January 2009 Reubens hinted that negotiations were under way for his stage show to come back, and in August the return of ''The Pee-wee Herman Show'' was announced. Reubens said he felt Pee-wee calling, “I just got up one day and felt like I’m gonna come back, that was it". The show is also a way to "introduce Pee-wee to the new generation that didn't know about it", preparing the way for Reubens's main project, the Playhouse movie. Before this comeback, Reubens's present age and shape had been pointed out as a possible issue, since Pee-wee's slim figure and clean skin have been one of his trademarks. But after appearing for the first time since 1992 as Pee-wee at Spike TV's 2007 Guys' Choice Awards, Reubens had remained optimistic and had jokingly said he's no longer nervous about being young Pee-wee again thanks to digital retouching.

The show was originally scheduled to begin November 8 and continue until the 29th at the Music Box Theater in Hollywood. Due to high demand, the show moved to Club Nokia @ LA Live and was scheduled to run between January 12, 2010 and February 7. To promote the show Reubens once again gave interviews in character, appearing as a guest on ''The Jay Leno Show'', ''The Tonight Show with Conan O' Brien'' (as well as O'Brien's subsequent Legally Prohibited Tour) and ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'' among others. A Twitter account, a Facebook account and a new website were made for Pee-wee after the show changed venues.

On November 11, 2010, the show relocated to New York for a limited run at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre, selling over $3 million in advanced tickets. An extra performance was taped for the HBO network on January 6, 2011 and debuted March 19.

On Jan 15, 2011, Reubens appeared on ''Saturday Night Live'' as Pee-Wee in an extended and well received segment depicting Andy Samberg and Pee-wee getting drunk, taking a ride on a mechanical bull, doing the tequila dance and ambushing Anderson Cooper in an alley way with a chair.

Upcoming Pee-wee ventures

Ever since Reubens started giving interviews again after his 2002 arrest, he has talked about the two scripts he has written for future Pee-wee Herman films.

Reubens once called his first script ''The Pee-wee Herman Story'', describing it as a black comedy. He has also referred to the script as "dark Pee-wee" or "adult Pee-wee", with the plot involving Pee-wee becoming famous as a singer after making a hit single and moving to Hollywood, where "he does everything wrong and becomes a big jerk". Reubens further explained the film has many "''Valley of the Dolls'' moments". Reubens thought this script would be the first one to start production, but in 2006 Reubens announced he was to start filming his second script in 2007.

The second film, a family friendly adventure, is called ''Pee-wee's Playhouse: The Movie'' by Reubens, and follows Pee-wee and his ''Playhouse'' friends on a road-trip adventure, meaning that they would leave the house for the first time and go out into "Puppetland". All of the original characters of the show, live-action and puppets, are included in Reubens' script. The story happens in a fantasy land that would be reminiscent of ''H.R. Pufnstuf'' and ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz''. In January 2009, Reubens told Gary Panter that the rejected first script of "Pee-wee's Big Adventure" (which they co-wrote) could have a movie deal very soon, and that it would be "90 minutes of incredible beauty". On December 2009, while in character, Reubens said this film is “already done, the script is already fully written; It’s ready to shoot." Most of the film will take place in Puppetland and claymation might be used.

Although he hasn't revealed much about the scripts, he has said that one of the two films opens in prison. He has also said that using CGI for "updating" the puppets' looks could be an option, but it all depended on the budget the films would have. Reubens once mentioned the possibility of doing one of the two as an animated film along the lines of ''The Polar Express'', which uses performance capture technology, incorporating the movements of live actors into animated characters.

Reubens approached ''Pee-wee's Big Adventure'' director Tim Burton with one of the scripts and talked to Johnny Depp about the possibility of having him portray Pee-wee, but they both declined.

In January 2010, Reubens reprised his role as Pee-wee and reused the set of ''Pee-wee's Playhouse'' (albeit slightly modified) for a short sketch on ''Funny or Die''. In the sketch, Pee-wee comes home and shows off a brand-new iPad given to him by Steve Jobs. This leads to a long argument between him and his puppet friends, who point out all of the iPad's disadvantages - even Conky himself points out its flaws by stating that "it looks like a giant iPhone". In the end, Pee-wee uses the iPad as a serving tray to hold glasses of milk and lemonade during a party being held at the Playhouse hours later. All the voices of the puppet characters are dubbed in by different actors than the TV series, all except for Globey whose voice is still done by George McGrath.

In June 2010, various film news sites reported that Paul Reubens was working with Judd Apatow on a new Pee-wee Herman feature film. The new film is said to follow Pee-wee Herman on a road trip.

References

External links

Official website

2004 Interview, KCRW's The Treatment

2005 Interview, KCRW's The Treatment

2004 Interview, WHYY-FM's Fresh Air

Category:1952 births Category:American comedians Category:American voice actors Category:American game show hosts Category:American Jews Category:American television actors Category:American television writers Category:Daytime Emmy Award winners Category:The Groundlings Category:Jewish actors Category:Jewish comedians Category:Living people Category:Actors from New York Category:Pee-wee Herman Category:People from Los Angeles, California Category:People from Sarasota, Florida Category:People from Westchester County, New York Category:American SubGenii

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