Coordinates	53°11′″N19°29′″N
name	Al Jean
alt	A man with glasses and a red shirt sits in front of a microphone.
birth date	January 09, 1961
birth place	Detroit, Michigan, United States
known for	''The Simpsons''
occupation	Screenwriter and producer
footnotes	}}

Al Jean (born January 9, 1961) is an award-winning American screenwriter and producer, best known for his work on ''The Simpsons''. He was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan and graduated from Harvard University in 1981. Jean began his writing career in the 1980s with fellow Harvard alum Mike Reiss. Together, they worked as writers and producers on television shows such as ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'', ''ALF'', and ''It's Garry Shandling's Show''.

Jean was offered a job as a writer on the animated sitcom ''The Simpsons'' in 1989, alongside Reiss, and together they became the first members of the original writing staff of the show. They served as show runners during the show's third (1991) and fourth (1992) seasons, though they left ''The Simpsons'' after season four to create ''The Critic'', an animated show about film critic Jay Sherman. It was first broadcast on ABC in January 1994 and was well-received by critics, but did not catch on with viewers and only lasted for two seasons.

In 1994, Jean and Reiss signed a three-year deal with The Walt Disney Company to produce other television shows for ABC and the duo created and executive produced ''Teen Angel'', which was canceled in its first season. Jean returned full-time to ''The Simpsons'' during the tenth season (1998). He became show runner once again with the start of the thirteenth season in 2001, this time without Reiss, and has held that position since then. Jean was also one of the writers and producers that worked on ''The Simpsons Movie'', a feature-length film based on the series that was released in 2007.

Personal life and education

Al Jean was born on January 9, 1961. He was raised in Detroit, Michigan and is of Irish ancestry. Jean arrived at Harvard University when he was sixteen years old and graduated in 1981 with a bachelor's degree in mathematics. Daryl Libow, one of Jean's freshman roommates, said he was a "math whiz" when he arrived at Harvard but "soon blossomed and found his comedic feet." In Holworthy Hall at Harvard, Jean met fellow freshman Mike Reiss; they befriended one another and collaborated their writing efforts for the humor publication ''Harvard Lampoon''. Jeff Martin, another writer for the ''Lampoon'', said "they definitely loomed large around the magazine. They were very funny guys and unusually polished comedy writers for that age. We were never surprised that they went on to success." Jean has also stated that the duo spent most of their time at the ''Lampoon'', adding that "it was practically my second dorm room." He eventually became vice-president of the publication.

Jean currently lives in Los Angeles, California with his wife, television writer Stephanie Gillis. The two were wed in Enniskerry, Ireland in 2002. Jean also has two daughters. They were nineteen and five years old respectively in January 2010.

Career

Early career and ''The Simpsons''

The humor magazine ''National Lampoon'' hired Jean and Reiss after they graduated in 1981. During the 1980s, the duo began collaborating on various television material. During this period they worked as writers and producers on television shows such as ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'', ''ALF'', and ''It's Garry Shandling's Show''. In 1989, Jean was offered a job as a writer on the animated sitcom ''The Simpsons'', a show created by Matt Groening, James L. Brooks, and Sam Simon that continues to air today. Many of Jean's friends were not interested in working on ''The Simpsons'' because it was a cartoon and they did not think it would last long. Jean, however, was a fan of the work of Groening, Brooks, and Simon, and therefore took the job together with Reiss.

The duo became the first members of the original writing staff of ''The Simpsons'' and worked on the thirteen episodes of the show's first season (1989). While watching the first episode of the show, "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire", premiering on television in December 1989, Jean opined to himself that the series was the greatest project he had been involved with and desired to continue working on it for the rest of his professional career. What he enjoyed most about ''The Simpsons'' at the time was something he recognized from Brooks' previous work: although the show was largely based on humor, it had depth and warmth. The show would later go on to become a cultural phenomenon with over 400 episodes as of 2007, and Jean has been involved in it more or less every year that it has been on the air. Although Jean has been credited as the sole writer of several episodes of the show, he considers the process to be mainly collaborative: "the principle writer [of an episode] has, at most, written 40% of the script. It's a real team effort." The person who is credited as the writer in the episode's closing credits is the person that came up with the idea for the episode and wrote the first draft, even if he or she only contributed to a small part of the final script. Jean has stated that Lisa Simpson is one his favorite characters to write for. She is the character he relates the most to because of their similar childhoods and due to the fact that he has a daughter.

Jean became show runner of ''The Simpsons'' at the start of the third season (1991) together with Reiss. A show runner has the ultimate responsibility of all the processes that an episode goes through before completion, including the writing, the animation, the voice acting, and the music. When Jean began his tenure as show runner, the only thing he thought to himself every day was "Don't blow it and screw up this thing everyone loves." The first episode Jean and Reiss ran was "Mr. Lisa Goes to Washington" (aired September 19, 1991), and they felt a lot of pressure on them to make it good. They were so pressured that they did six to seven rewrites of the script in order to improve its humor. Jean said he "kept thinking 'It's not good enough. It's not good enough.'" Reiss added that "we were definitely scared. We had never run anything before, and they dumped us on this."

Jean and Reiss served as show runners until the end of the fourth season in 1993. Since the show had already established itself in the first two seasons, they were able to give it more depth during their tenure. Jean believes this is one of the reasons that many fans and critics regard season three and four as the best seasons of ''The Simpsons''. Bill Oakley, another writer on ''The Simpsons'', has commented that "Mike and Al are responsible for the best thing that ever appeared on television, which was the third season of ''The Simpsons''." Comedy writer Jay Kogen has said that "those years with Al Jean and Mike Reiss running it were pretty darn good. And then the ones after that maybe not so much. Some people ran it better than others."

''The Critic'' and Disney

Jean and Reiss left ''The Simpsons'' after its fourth season in order to create ''The Critic'', an animated show about film critic Jay Sherman (voiced by Jon Lovitz); the show was executive produced by Brooks. It was first broadcast on ABC in January 1994 and was well-received by critics, but did not catch on with viewers and was put on hiatus after six weeks. It returned in June 1994 and completed airing its initial production run. ''The Critic'' was moved to the Fox network for its second season. Since ''The Simpsons'' also aired on that network, Brooks was able to create a crossover between it and ''The Critic.''

This crossover occurred through the ''Simpsons'' episode "A Star is Burns" (1995). Groening was not fond of the crossover, publicly citing it as a thirty-minute advertisement for ''The Critic''. Brooks said, "for years, Al and Mike were two guys who worked their hearts out on this show, staying up until 4 in the morning to get it right. The point is, Matt's name has been on Mike's and Al's scripts and he has taken plenty of credit for a lot of their great work. In fact, he is the direct beneficiary of their work. 'The Critic' is their shot and he should be giving them his support." Reiss stated that he was a "little upset" by Groening's actions and that "this taints everything at the last minute. [...] This episode doesn't say 'Watch ''The Critic'' all over it." Jean added "What bothers me about all of this, is that now people may get the impression that this ''Simpsons'' episode is less than good. It stands on its own even if 'The Critic' never existed." On Fox, ''The Critic'' was again short-lived, broadcasting ten episodes before its cancellation. A total of only 23 episodes were produced, and it returned briefly in 2000 with a series of ten Internet broadcast webisodes. The series has since developed a cult following thanks to reruns on Comedy Central and its complete series release on DVD.

In 1994, Jean and Reiss signed a three-year deal with The Walt Disney Company to produce other television shows for ABC. The duo created and executive produced ''Teen Angel'', which was canceled in its first season. Reiss said "It was so compromised and overworked. I had 11 executives full-time telling me how to do my job." The pair periodically returned to work on ''The Simpsons''— for example, while under contract at Disney they were allowed to write and produce four episodes of the show, including season eight's "Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala(Annoyed Grunt)cious" (1997).

Further work on ''The Simpsons''

Jean returned full-time to ''The Simpsons'' during the tenth season (1998). He once again became show runner with the start of the thirteenth season in 2001, this time without Reiss. Jean called it "a great job with a lot of responsibility," and cited "the fact that people love it so much" as "great." He adds, however, that "the hardest thing at this point is just thinking of fresh ideas. People are so on top of things that we've done before, so the challenge now is to think of an idea that's good, but hasn't been seen." Jean's return was initially welcomed, with MSNBC's Jon Bonné stating: "Jean, who took the show's helm from executive producer Mike Scully in 2001, has guided the show away from its gag-heavy, Homer-centric incarnation...these are certainly brighter days for the show's long-time fans." However, some critics have argued that the quality of the show has declined in recent years during Jean's tenure. Jean has responded to this criticism by saying: "Well, it's possible that we've declined. But honestly, I've been here the whole time and I do remember in season two people saying, 'It's gone downhill.' If we'd listened to that then we would have stopped after episode 13. I'm glad we didn't."

Jean was one of the writers and producers who worked on ''The Simpsons Movie'', a feature-length film that was released in 2007. The show's voice cast was signed on to do the film in 2001, and work then began on the script. The producers of ''The Simpsons'' were initially worried that creating a film would have a negative effect on the show, as they did not have enough crew to focus their attention on both projects. As the show progressed, additional writers and animators were hired so that both the show and the film could be produced at the same time. Groening and Brooks were therefore able to invite Jean (who continued to work as show runner on the television show) to produce the film with them.

Jean frequently appears on the ''Simpsons'' DVD audio commentaries for episodes which he has collaborated on. He told IGN that he enjoys doing them because he has not seen some of the episodes in ten to fifteen years, and "it's kind of like a reunion to see some of the people that I worked with before, so it's a really pleasant experience."

Awards

Jean has received eight Emmy Awards and a Peabody Award for his work on ''The Simpsons''. In 1997, he and Reiss won an Annie Award in the "Best Producing in a TV Production" category for the ''Simpsons'' episode "The Springfield Files". In 2006, the duo was given the Animation Writers Caucus Animation Award which is given by the Writers Guild of America to writers that "advanced the literature of animation in film and/or television through the years and who has made outstanding contributions to the profession of the animation writer."

References

External links

Category:American television producers Category:American television writers Category:American people of Irish descent Category:Harvard University alumni Category:Harvard Lampoon people Category:People from Detroit, Michigan Category:1961 births Category:Living people

cs:Al Jean es:Al Jean fr:Al Jean ja:アル・ジーン no:Al Jean pt:Al Jean simple:Al Jean fi:Al Jean sv:Al Jean tr:Al Jean

Coordinates	53°11′″N19°29′″N
Name	Hugh Laurie
Birth name	James Hugh Calum Laurie
Birth date	June 11, 1959
Birth place	Oxford, England, UK
Alma mater	Cambridge University Eton College
Occupation	Actor, comedian, musician, writer
Years active	1981–present
Spouse	(2 sons, 1 daughter) }}

James Hugh Calum Laurie, OBE (born 11 June 1959), better known as Hugh Laurie , is an English actor, voice artist, comedian, writer, musician, recording artist, and director. He first became well known in the media as one half of the Fry and Laurie double act, along with his friend and comedy partner Stephen Fry, whom he joined in the cast of ''Blackadder'' and ''Jeeves and Wooster'' from 1987 until 1999. Since 2004, he has played Dr Gregory House, the protagonist of ''House'', for which he received two Golden Globe awards, two Screen Actors Guild awards and several Emmy nominations.

Laurie has also featured in films, including ''Sense and Sensibility'' (1995), adapted by and starring Emma Thompson, Disney's ''101 Dalmatians'' (1996), ''The Borrowers'' (1997), ''Flight of the Phoenix'' (2004), ''Monsters vs. Aliens'' (2009), and the three ''Stuart Little'' films.

As of August 2010, Laurie is the highest paid actor in a drama series on US television. He has been listed in the 2011 ''Guinness Book of World Records'' as the highest paid actor ever in a TV Drama—earning US$ 700,000 per episode in ''House''—and for being the most watched leading man on television.

Early life and education

Laurie was born in Oxford, Oxfordshire, England. The youngest of four children, Laurie has an older brother named Charles and two older sisters named Susan and Janet. He had a somewhat strained relationship with his mother, Patricia (née Laidlaw). His father, Ran Laurie, was a medical doctor who also won an Olympic gold medal in the coxless pairs (rowing) at the 1948 London Games.

Although Laurie was brought up in the Presbyterian church as a child, he has declared: "I don't believe in God, but I have this idea that if there were a God, or destiny of some kind looking down on us, that if he saw you taking anything for granted he'd take it away." He was brought up in Oxford and attended the Dragon School. He later went on to Eton and then to Selwyn College, Cambridge, where he studied for a degree in archeology and social anthropology. While at Cambridge he was a member of Footlights, the university dramatic club that has produced many well known actors and comedians, and he was club president in 1981. He was also a member of the Hermes Club and the Hawks' Club.

Like his father, Laurie was an oarsman at school and university; in 1977, he was a member of the junior coxed pair that won the British national title before representing Britain's Youth Team at the 1977 Junior World Rowing Championships. In 1980, Laurie and his rowing partner, J. S. Palmer, were runners-up in the Silver Goblets coxless pairs for Eton Vikings rowing club. Later, he also achieved a Blue while taking part in the 1980 Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race. Cambridge lost that year by 5 feet. During this time Laurie was training for up to 8 hours a day and was on course to become an Olympic standard rower. Laurie is a member of Leander Club, one of the oldest rowing clubs in the world.

Forced to abandon rowing during a bout of glandular fever (mononucleosis), he joined the Cambridge Footlights, which has been the starting point for many successful British comedians. There he met Emma Thompson, with whom he had a romantic relationship; the two remain good friends. She introduced him to his future comedy partner, Stephen Fry. Laurie, Fry and Thompson later parodied themselves as the ''University Challenge'' representatives of "Footlights College, Oxbridge" in "Bambi", an episode of ''The Young Ones'', with the series' co-writer Ben Elton completing their team. In 1980–81, his final year at university, besides rowing, Laurie was also president of the Footlights, with Thompson as vice-president. They took their annual revue, ''The Cellar Tapes'', to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and won the first Perrier Comedy Award. The revue was written principally by Laurie and Fry, and the cast also included Thompson, Tony Slattery, Paul Shearer and Penny Dwyer.

Acting career

The Perrier Award led to a West End transfer for ''The Cellar Tapes'' and a television version of the revue, broadcast in May 1982. It resulted in Laurie, Fry and Thompson being selected, along with Ben Elton, Robbie Coltrane and Siobhan Redmond to write and appear in a new sketch comedy show for Granada Television, ''Alfresco'', which ran for two series.

Fry and Laurie went on to work together on various projects throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Among them were the ''Blackadder'' series, written by Ben Elton and Richard Curtis, starring Rowan Atkinson, with Laurie in various roles, but most notably Prince George and Lieutenant George. Other projects followed, of which one was their BBC sketch comedy series ''A Bit of Fry & Laurie''; another project was ''Jeeves and Wooster'', an adaptation of P. G. Wodehouse’s stories, in which Laurie played Jeeves’s employer, the amiable twit Bertie Wooster. He and Fry worked together at various charity stage events, such as ''Hysteria! 1, 2 & 3'' and Amnesty International’s ''The Secret Policeman’s Third Ball'', Comic Relief TV shows and the variety show ''Fry and Laurie Host a Christmas Night with the Stars''. They collaborated again on the film ''Peter's Friends'' and came together for a retrospective show in 2010 titled ''Fry and Laurie Reunited''.

Laurie starred in the Thames Television film "Letters from a Bomber Pilot" (1985) directed by David Hodgson. This was a serious acting role, the film being dramatised from the letters home of Pilot Officer J.R.A. "Bob" Hodgson, a pilot in RAF Bomber Command, who was killed in action in 1943.

Laurie appeared in the music videos for the 1986 single "Experiment IV" by Kate Bush, and the 1992 single "Walking on Broken Glass" by Annie Lennox, in full Georgian-period costume, a toned-down version of his Prince George character from ''Blackadder the Third'', opposite John Malkovich, similarly reprising his role of the Vicomte Valmont from ''Dangerous Liaisons''.

Laurie’s later film appearances include ''Sense and Sensibility'' (1995), adapted by and starring Emma Thompson; the Disney live-action film ''101 Dalmatians'' (1996), where he played Jasper, one of the bumbling criminals hired to kidnap the puppies; Elton’s adaptation of his novel ''Inconceivable'', ''Maybe Baby'' (2000); ''Girl From Rio''; the 2004 remake of ''The Flight of the Phoenix''; and the three ''Stuart Little'' films.

In 1996, Laurie’s first novel, ''The Gun Seller'', an intricate thriller laced with Wodehouseian humour, was published and became a best-seller. He has since been working on the screenplay for a movie version and on a second novel, ''The Paper Soldier''. In 1998, Laurie had a brief guest-starring role on ''Friends'' in "The One with Ross's Wedding, Part Two".

Since 2002, Laurie has appeared in a range of British television dramas, guest-starring that year in two episodes of the first season of the spy thriller series ''Spooks'' on BBC One. In 2003, he starred in and also directed ITV's comedy-drama series ''fortysomething'' (in one episode of which Stephen Fry appears). In 2001, he voiced the character of a bar patron in the ''Family Guy'' episode "One If by Clam, Two If by Sea". Laurie voiced the character of Mr. Wolf in the cartoon ''Preston Pig''. He was a panellist on the first episode of ''QI'', alongside Fry as host. In 2004, Laurie guest-starred as a professor in charge of a space probe called ''Beagle'', on ''The Lenny Henry Show''.

Laurie's fame expanded to the American public in 2004, when he first starred as the acerbic physician specialising in diagnostic medicine, Dr Gregory House in the popular Fox medical drama ''House''. For his portrayal, Laurie assumes an American accent. Laurie was in Namibia filming ''Flight of the Phoenix'' and recorded the audition tape for the show in the bathroom of the hotel, the only place he could get enough light. His US accent was so convincing that executive producer Bryan Singer, who was unaware at the time that Laurie is English, pointed to him as an example of just the kind of compelling American actor he had been looking for. Laurie also adopts the accent between takes on the set of ''House'', as well as during script read-throughs, although he used his native accent when directing the ''House'' episode "Lockdown".

Laurie was nominated for an ''Emmy Award'' for his role in ''House'' in 2005. Although he did not win, he did receive a Golden Globe in both 2006 and 2007 for his work on the series and the Screen Actors Guild award in 2007 and 2009. Laurie was also awarded a large increase in salary, from what was rumoured to be a mid-range five-figure sum to $350,000 per episode. Laurie was not nominated for the 2006 Emmys, apparently to the outrage of Fox executives, but he still appeared in a scripted, pre-taped intro, where he parodied his ''House'' character by rapidly diagnosing host Conan O'Brien and then proceeded to grope him as the latter asked him for help to get to the Emmys on time. He would later go on to speak in French while presenting an Emmy with Dame Helen Mirren, and has since been nominated in 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010. Laurie's success on the show extends to the financial: in August 2010, ''TV Guide'' identified him as the highest-paid actor in a drama, saying he's paid over $400,000 per episode.

Laurie was initially cast as Perry White, the editor of the ''Daily Planet'', in Singer's film ''Superman Returns'' but had to bow out of the project because of his involvement in ''House''. In July 2006, Laurie appeared on Bravo!'s ''Inside the Actors Studio'', where he also performed one of his own comic songs, "Mystery", accompanying himself on the piano. He hosted NBC's ''Saturday Night Live'', in which he appeared in drag in a sketch about a man (Kenan Thompson) with a broken leg who accuses his doctor of being dishonest. Laurie played the man’s wife.

In August 2007, Laurie appeared on BBC Four's documentary ''Stephen Fry: 50 Not Out'', filmed in celebration of Fry’s 50th birthday.

In 2008, Laurie appeared as Captain James Biggs in ''Street Kings'', opposite Keanu Reeves and Forest Whitaker, and then in 2009 as the eccentric Dr. Cockroach, PhD in DreamWorks' ''Monsters vs. Aliens''. He also hosted ''Saturday Night Live'' for the second time on the Christmas show in which he sang a medley of three-second Christmas songs to close his monologue.

In 2009, Laurie returned to guest star in another ''Family Guy'' episode, "Business Guy", parodying Gregory House and himself assuming an American accent.

In 2010, Laurie filmed an independent feature called ''The Oranges'' and played piano on a track of ''Meat Loaf's'' CD ''Hang Cool Teddy Bear''.

In 2010, Laurie guest starred in ''The Simpsons'' "Treehouse of Horror XXI" as Roger, a castaway who is planning a murder scheme on a ship during Homer and Marge's second honeymoon.

Music career

From the age of six, Laurie took piano lessons with a Mrs. Hare. He plays the piano, guitar, drums, harmonica and saxophone. He has displayed his musical talents in episodes of several television series, most notably ''A Bit of Fry & Laurie'', ''Jeeves and Wooster'', ''House'' and when he hosted ''Saturday Night Live'' in October 2006. He is a vocalist and keyboard player for the Los Angeles charity rock group Band From TV. Additionally, following Meat Loaf's appearance in the ''House'' episode "Simple Explanation," Laurie played piano as a special guest on the song "If I Can't Have You" from Meat Loaf's 2010 album ''Hang Cool Teddy Bear''.

On episodes of ''House'' he has played several classic rock 'n roll instruments including Gibson Flying V and Les Paul guitars. His character has a Hammond B-3 organ in his home and on one episode performed the introduction to Procol Harum's classic "Whiter Shade of Pale". Laurie appears as a scientist/doctor in the pop video to accompany Kate Bush's song ''Experiment IV''. On 1 May 2011, Laurie and a jazz quintet closed the 2011 Cheltenham Jazz Festival to great acclaim.

On 15 May 2011 Laurie was the subject of the ITV series ''Perspectives'', explaining his love for the music of New Orleans and playing music, from his album ''Let Them Talk'', at studios and live venues in the city itself. He was the subject of PBS Great Performances ''Let them Talk'', also about New Orleans jazz, first broadcast on September 30, 2011.

Personal life

Laurie's mother, Patricia (née Laidlaw), died from motor neurone disease in Oxfordshire at the age of 73 in 1989, when Laurie was 30. According to Laurie, it took her two years to die, and she suffered "painful, plodding paralysis" while being cared for by Laurie's father, whom he called "the sweetest man in the whole world".

Laurie married theatre administrator Jo Green in June 1989 in Camden, London. They live in Belsize Park, London with sons Charlie and Bill and daughter Rebecca. They had planned to move the whole family to Los Angeles in 2008 due to the strain of being mostly separated for 9 months each year, but ultimately decided against it. Charlie had a cameo in ''A Bit of Fry & Laurie'' in the last sketch of the episode entitled ''Special Squad'', as baby William (whom Stephen and Hugh begin to "interrogate" about "what he's done with the stuff", calling him a scumbag and telling him that he's been a very naughty boy) during his infancy, while Rebecca had a role in the film ''Wit'' as five-year-old Vivian Bearing.

Lauries's best friend is long time comedy partner Stephen Fry, who was best man at his wedding and is godfather to his children. Laurie is good friends with his ''House'' co-star Robert Sean Leonard and continues his friendship with actress Emma Thompson.

On 23 May 2007 Laurie was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 2007 New Year Honours List, for his services to drama, by Queen Elizabeth II.

Laurie has periodically struggled with severe clinical depression, and continues to receive regular treatment from a psychotherapist. He stated in an interview that he first concluded he had a problem while driving in a charity demolition derby in 1996, during which he realised that driving around explosive crashes caused him to be neither excited nor frightened, but instead bored. "Boredom," he commented in an interview on ''Inside the Actors Studio'', "is not an appropriate response to exploding cars."

Laurie admires the writings of P.G. Wodehouse, explaining in a 27 May 1999 article in ''The Daily Telegraph'' how reading Wodehouse novels had saved his life.

Laurie is an avid motorcycle enthusiast. He has two motorcycles, one at his London home and one at his Los Angeles home. His bike in the United States is a Triumph Bonneville, his "feeble attempt to fly the British flag".

Discography

Albums

On 26 July 2010, it was announced that Laurie would be releasing a blues album after signing a contract with Warner Bros. The album, called ''Let Them Talk'', was released in France on 18 April 2011 and in Germany on 29 April. The album features collaborations from well known artists such as Tom Jones, Irma Thomas, and Dr. John.

Year

Album details

Peak chart positions

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2011

''[[Let Them Talk">Music recording sales certifications

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2011

''[[Let Them Talk''

* Released: 18 April 2011

* Label: Warner Bros.

Music download>digital download

Argentine Chamber of Phonograms and Videograms Producers>ARG: Gold

British Phonographic Industry>UK: Gold

Singles

Year	Single	Peak chartpositions	Album
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		164	47
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Other charting songs

Year	Single	Charts	Album
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	style="text-align:left;"	92	—	—
	—	58	39
	67	—	—

Appearances

Year	Song	Album

Filmography

{|class="wikitable sortable" |- ! Year ! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |- | 1981 | '''' | various characters | also writer |- | 1983 | ''Alfresco'' | various characters | also writer |- | 1983 | '''' | Max Belhavenvarious characters | |- | 1984 | '''' | Lord Monty | episode: "Bambi" |- | 1985 | '''' | Pilot Officer Bob Hodgson | Thames Television film |- | 1985 | ''Plenty'' | Michael | |- | 1985 | ''Mrs. Capper's Birthday'' | Bobby | |- | 1985 | ''Happy Families'' | Jim | |- | 1986 | ''Blackadder II'' | Simon Partridge (also known as Mr Ostrich & Farters Parters)Prince Ludwig the Indestructible | |- | 1987 | ''Filthy Rich & Catflap'' | N'Bend | |- | 1987 | ''Blackadder the Third'' | George, Prince of Wales, The Prince Regent | |- | 1988 | ''Blackadder's Christmas Carol'' | Prince GeorgeLord Pigmot (future) | |- | 1989–1995 | '''' | various characters | also writer |- | 1989 | ''Blackadder Goes Forth'' | Lt. the Honourable George Colhurst St. Barleigh | |- | 1989 | ''Strapless'' | Colin | |- | 1989 | '''' | Waiter | |- | 1990–1993 | ''Jeeves and Wooster'' | Bertie Wooster | |- | 1992 | ''Peter's Friends'' | Roger Charleston | |- | 1993 | ''All or Nothing at All'' | Leo Hopkins | television film |- | 1993–1995 | '''' | Squire Trelawney | voice |- | 1994 | '''' | Uncle | television film |- | 1995 | ''Sense and Sensibility'' | Mr. Palmer | |- | 1996 | ''Tracey Takes On...'' | Timothy Bugge | season 1 |- | 1996 | ''101 Dalmatians'' | Jasper | |- | 1997 | ''Spiceworld'' | Poirot | |- | 1997 | '''' | Police Officer Oliver Steady | |- | 1997 | '''' | Tarquin | voice |- | 1998 | ''Friends'' | Gentleman on the Plane | Episode: "The One with Ross's Wedding", season 4 episode 23 |- | 1998 | '''' | Harrap, a Barrister | |- | 1998 | '''' | Pierre, The King's Advisor | |- | 1998 | ''Cousin Bette'' | Baron Hector Hulot | |- | 1999 | ''Blackadder: Back & Forth'' | Viscount George Bufton-Tufton/Georgius | |- | 1999 | ''Stuart Little'' | Mr. Frederick Little | |- | 2000 | ''Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased)'' | Dr. Lawyer | episode: "Mental Apparition Disorder" |- | 2000 | ''Maybe Baby'' | Sam Bell | |- | 2000 | ''Carnivale'' | Cenzo |Voice |- | 2001 | ''Chica de Río'' | Raymond Woods | alternate title: ''Girl from Rio'' |- | 2001 | ''Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows'' | Vincente Minnelli | |- | 2001 | ''Family Guy'' | Bar patron | voiceepisode: "One If by Clam, Two If by Sea" |- | 2001 | ''Discovering the Real World of Harry Potter'' | Narrator | voice |- |2001 | Second Star to the Left – A Christmas Tale |Archie | voicework |- | 2002 | ''The strange case of Penny Allison'' | Various characters | |- | 2002 | ''Stuart Little 2'' | Mr. Frederick Little | |- | 2002 | ''Spooks'' | Jools Siviter | |- | 2003 | ''The Young Visiters'' | Lord Bernard Clark | |- | 2003 | ''Fortysomething'' | Paul Slippery | |- | 2003 | ''Stuart Little: The Animated Series' | Mr. Frederick Little (Voice) | episode: "The Meatloaf Bandit" |- | 2004–present | ''House'' | Dr. Gregory House | lead actoralso directed episode: ''Lockdown'' |- | 2004 | ''Fire Engine Fred'' | | |- | 2004 | ''Flight of the Phoenix'' | Ian | |- | 2005 | ''Valiant'' | Wing Commander Gutsy | voice |- | 2005 | '''' | Doctor No. 5 | |- | 2006 | ''Stuart Little 3: Call of the Wild'' | Mr. Frederick Little | voice |- | 2006, 2008 | ''Saturday Night Live'' | Hostvarious characters | season 32, episode 4season 34, episode 11 |- | 2008 | ''Street Kings'' | Captain Biggs | |- | 2009 | ''Monsters vs. Aliens'' | Dr. Cockroach, PhD | voice |- | 2009 | ''Monsters vs. Aliens: Mutant Pumpkins from Outer Space'' | Dr. Cockroach, PhD | voice |- | 2010 | ''Family Guy'' | Gregory House/himself | voiceepisode: "Business Guy" |- | 2010 | '''' | Roger | voiceepisode: "Treehouse of Horror XXI" |- | 2010 | ''Fry and Laurie Reunited'' | himself | |- | 2011 | ''Hop'' | Mr. Bunny | voice |- | 2011 | ''The Oranges'' | David Walling | |- | 2011 | ''Later... with Jools Holland'' | himself | Performed "You Don't Know My Mind" and "Swanee River" (both from his album ''Let Them Talk'' ) |- | 2011 | ''Arthur Christmas'' | Steve | voice |}

Awards

All of the following are nominations or wins for Laurie's role on ''House'':

;Emmy Awards

2005 – Nominated – Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series

2007 – Nominated – Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series

2008 – Nominated – Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series

2009 – Nominated – Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series

2010 – Nominated – Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series

2011 – Nominated – Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series

;Golden Globe Awards 2005 – Winner – Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Drama

2006 – Winner – Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Drama

2007 – Nominated – Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Drama

2008 – Nominated – Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Drama

2009 – Nominated – Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Drama

2010 – Nominated – Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Drama

;Satellite Awards

2005 – Winner – Outstanding Actor in a Series, Drama

2006 – Winner – Outstanding Actor in a Series, Drama

2007 – Nominated – Outstanding Actor in a Series, Drama

;Screen Actors Guild Awards

2006 – Nominated – Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series

2007 – Winner – Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series

2008 – Nominated – Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series

2009 – Winner – Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series

2010 – Nominated – Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series

2011 – Nominated – Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series

;Television Critics Association

2005 – Winner – Individual Achievement in Drama

2006 – Winner – Individual Achievement in Drama

2007 – Nominated – Individual Achievement in Drama

;Teen Choice Award

2006 – Nominated – TV Actor: Drama

2007 – Winner – TV Actor: Drama

People's Choice Awards

2008 – Winner – Favorite Male TV Star

2009 – Winner – Favorite Male TV Star

2010 – Winner – Favorite TV Drama Actor

2011 – Winner – Favorite TV Drama Actor

2011 – Winner – Favorite TV Doctor

Other Awards

2011 - Winner – GQ Music Man Of The Year

Writing

Hugh Laurie has written one full-length novel, ''The Gun Seller'', which has undergone multiple printings from several publishers. His second novel, ''Paper Soldiers'' (US: ''The Paper Soldier''), was scheduled for September 2009, but has yet to appear.

''The Gun Seller'' UK (HB) (William Heinemann Ltd (May 1996)) ISBN 0-434-00297-6 (PB) (William Heinemann Ltd (May 1996)) ISBN 0-434-00375-1

* (PB) (Arrow Books Ltd (November 2000); New Ed (October 2004)) ISBN 0-09-941927-0 & ISBN 0-09-946939-1

''The Gun Seller'' US (HB) (Soho Press (May 1997)) ISBN 1-56947-087-1 (PB) (Mandarin (March 1997)) ISBN 0-7493-2385-X

* (PB) (Washington Square Press (November 1998)) ISBN 0-671-02082-X

''Paper Soldiers'' UK (PB) (Michael Joseph (24 September 2009)) ISBN 0-7181-4391-4

''The Paper Soldier'' US (HB) (Michael Joseph (27 September 2009)) ISBN 0-7181-4390-6

* (PB) (Penguin Books (28 September 2009)) ISBN 0-14-028210-6

References

External links

Hugh Laurie interview with the Guardian

Hugh Laurie Interview with the Daily Telegraph

Hugh Laurie interview with Time Out

Hugh "Laurie 'snubbed' after US success" – BBC News

Hugh Laurie at Emmys.com

Category:1959 births Category:Living people Category:English comedians Category:English film actors Category:English pianists Category:English atheists Category:English male singers Category:English blues singers Category:English blues musicians Category:English novelists Category:English screenwriters Category:English television actors Category:English voice actors Category:Alumni of Selwyn College, Cambridge Category:Cambridge University Boat Club rowers Category:Members of Leander Club Category:Officers of the Order of the British Empire Category:Old Dragons Category:Old Etonians Category:Warner Bros. Records artists Category:People from Oxford Category:Best Drama Actor Golden Globe (television) winners Category:Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series Screen Actors Guild Award winners Category:British atheists

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Coordinates	53°11′″N19°29′″N
name	Mara Davis
birth name	Mara Davis
birth date	July 28, 1969
birth place	New York, USA
medium	radio, television, comedy
nationality	American
occupation	Radio host
genre	radio, women in radio, Atlanta radio, comedy
subject	radio, music, hot topics, celebrity gossip, everyday life
website	http://www.maradavis.com }}

Mara Davis (born July 28, 1969 in New York) is an American radio personality.

Career

The beginning

She began her career in 1987 at WMLN-FM, Curry College radio. Upon graduation Davis worked in promotions at WZOU-FM Boston. She was fired, due to budget cuts, in 1992. She moved to Rochester, New York where she landed a late-night job at WRQI-FM. Davis soon found herself in the same slot in Atlanta at WZGC FM, Z-93. In 1996, she was moved to mid-days where she created the ''Out to Lunch'' hour. In 2003, Davis launched the ''Mara Davis and Dunham Morning Show'' on Z-93 with co-host Jeff Dunham.

Present

Mara is the award winning mid-day DJ at WZGC 92.9 "dave fm" in Atlanta. Davis hosts a show called ''Radio Free Lunch'' where she comes up with a daily topic and listeners call and request songs relating to the theme. The show has a mix of rock n’ roll, talk and interviews.

Awards and honors

Davis was voted ''Creative Loafing''’s “Best Radio DJ” in 2000, 2001, 2007,2008 and 2009. She also was honored as “Woman of the Month” by ''Atlanta Woman'' magazine in 2004.

Personal life

Davis lives in the Virginia-Highland neighborhood of Atlanta, with her husband Mike Kane and son.

External links

Mara's official website

References

Access Atlanta Article

Creative Loafing Article

American Jewish Life Magazine Article

Mindspring Article

The Biscuit Blog Interview

Atlanta Magazine

The Atlanta Jewish Times Online

Sunday Paper Article

Atlanta Magazine

Category:1969 births Category:Living people Category:Radio personalities from Atlanta, Georgia Category:Curry College alumni

Coordinates	53°11′″N19°29′″N
name	Matt Groening
alt	A man in glasses and a plaid shirt sits in front of a microphone.
birth date	February 15, 1954
birth place	Portland, Oregon, United States
| known for	''The Simpsons''''Futurama''''Life in Hell''Bongo Comics''
occupation	Cartoonist
spouse	Deborah Caplan (1986–1999)
children	Homer, Abe
religion	Agnostic| website MattGroening.com
signature	Matt Groening Signature.svg
footnotes	}}

Matthew Abram "Matt" Groening ( ; born February 15, 1954) is an American cartoonist, screenwriter, and producer. He is the creator of the comic strip ''Life in Hell'' as well as two successful television series, ''The Simpsons'' and ''Futurama''.

Groening made his first professional cartoon sale of ''Life in Hell'' to the avant-garde ''Wet'' magazine in 1978. The cartoon is still carried in 250 weekly newspapers. ''Life in Hell'' caught the attention of James L. Brooks. In 1985, Brooks contacted Groening with the proposition of working in animation for the Fox variety show ''The Tracey Ullman Show''. Originally, Brooks wanted Groening to adapt his ''Life in Hell'' characters for the show. Fearing the loss of ownership rights, Groening decided to create something new and came up with a cartoon family, The Simpsons, and named the members after his own parents and sisters — while Bart was an anagram of the word brat. The shorts would be spun off into their own series: ''The Simpsons'', which has since aired over 486 episodes. In 1997, Groening, along with former ''Simpsons'' writer David X. Cohen, developed ''Futurama'', an animated series about life in the year 3000, which premiered in 1999. After four years on the air, the show was canceled by Fox in 2003, but Comedy Central commissioned 16 new episodes from four direct-to-DVD movies in 2008. Then, in June 2009, Comedy Central ordered 26 new episodes of ''Futurama'', to be aired over two seasons.

Groening has won 11 Primetime Emmy Awards, ten for ''The Simpsons'' and one for ''Futurama'' as well as a British Comedy Award for "outstanding contribution to comedy" in 2004. In 2002, he won the National Cartoonist Society Reuben Award for his work on ''Life in Hell''. He will receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2012.

Early life

Groening was born on February 15, 1954 in Portland, Oregon, the middle of five children. His Norwegian American mother, Margaret Ruth (née Wiggum), was once a teacher, and his German American father, Homer Philip Groening (December 30, 1919 – March 15, 1996), was a filmmaker, advertiser, writer and cartoonist. Homer, born in Main Centre, Saskatchewan, Canada, grew up in a Mennonite, Plautdietsch-speaking family. He has Dutch Mennonite ancestors.

Matt's grandfather Abram Groening was a professor at Tabor College, a Mennonite Brethren liberal arts college in Hillsboro, Kansas before moving to Albany College (now known as Lewis and Clark College) in Oregon in 1930.

Groening grew up in Portland, and attended Ainsworth Elementary School and Lincoln High School. From 1972 to 1977, Groening attended The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington, a liberal arts school that he described as "a hippie college, with no grades or required classes, that drew every weirdo in the Northwest." He served as the editor of the campus newspaper, ''The Cooper Point Journal'', for which he also wrote articles and drew cartoons. He befriended fellow cartoonist Lynda Barry after discovering that she had written a fan letter to Joseph Heller, one of Groening's favorite authors, and had received a reply. Groening has credited Barry with being "probably [his] biggest inspiration." He has also cited the Disney animated film ''One Hundred and One Dalmatians'' as what got him interested in cartoons, as well as ''Peanuts'' and its creator Charles M. Schulz as inspirations.

Career

Early career

In 1977, at the age of 23, Groening moved to Los Angeles to become a writer. He went through what he described as "a series of lousy jobs," including being an extra in the film ''When Every Day Was the Fourth of July'', bussing tables, washing dishes at a nursing home, landscaping in a sewage treatment plant, and chauffeuring and ghostwriting for a retired Western director.

''Life in Hell''

Groening described life in Los Angeles to his friends in the form of the self-published comic book ''Life in Hell'', which was loosely inspired by the chapter "How to Go to Hell" in Walter Kaufmann's book ''Critique of Religion and Philosophy''. Groening distributed the comic book in the book corner of Licorice Pizza, a record store in which he worked. He made his first professional cartoon sale to the avant-garde ''Wet'' magazine in 1978. The strip, titled "Forbidden Words," appeared in the September/October issue of that year.

Groening gained employment at the ''Los Angeles Reader'', a newly formed alternative newspaper, delivering papers, typesetting, editing and answering phones. He showed his cartoons to the editor, James Vowell, who was impressed and eventually gave him a spot in the paper. ''Life in Hell'' made its official debut as a comic strip in the ''Reader'' on April 25, 1980. Vowell also gave Groening his own weekly music column, "Sound Mix," in 1982. However, the column would rarely actually be about music, as he would often write about his "various enthusiasms, obsessions, pet peeves and problems" instead. In an effort to add more music to the column, he "just made stuff up," concocting and reviewing fictional bands and non-existent records. In the following week's column, he would confess to fabricating everything in the previous column and swear that everything in the new column was true. Eventually, he was finally asked to give up the "music" column. Amongst the fans of the column was Harry Shearer, who would later become a voice on ''The Simpsons''.

''Life in Hell'' became popular almost immediately. In November 1984, Deborah Caplan, Groening's then-girlfriend and co-worker at the ''Reader'', offered to publish "Love is Hell", a series of relationship-themed ''Life in Hell'' strips, in book form. Released a month later, the book was an underground success, selling 22,000 copies in its first two printings. ''Work is Hell'' soon followed, also published by Caplan. Soon afterward, Caplan and Groening left and put together the Life in Hell Co., which handled merchandising for ''Life in Hell''. Groening also started a syndicate, Acme Features Syndicate, which syndicated ''Life in Hell'', Lynda Barry and John Callahan, but now only syndicates ''Life in Hell''. ''Life in Hell'' is still carried in 250 weekly newspapers and has been anthologized in a series of books, including ''School is Hell'', ''Childhood is Hell'', ''The Big Book of Hell'' and ''The Huge Book of Hell''. Groening has stated, "I'll never give up the comic strip. It's my foundation."

''The Simpsons''

Creation

''Life in Hell'' caught the eye of Hollywood writer-producer and Gracie Films founder James L. Brooks, who had been shown the strip by fellow producer Polly Platt. In 1985, Brooks contacted Groening with the proposition of working in animation on an undefined future project, which would turn out to be developing a series of short animated skits, called "bumpers," for the Fox variety show ''The Tracey Ullman Show''. Originally, Brooks wanted Groening to adapt his ''Life in Hell'' characters for the show. Groening feared that he would have to give up his ownership rights, and that the show would fail and would take down his comic strip with it. Groening conceived of the idea for The Simpsons in the lobby of James L. Brooks's office and hurriedly sketched out his version of a dysfunctional family: Homer, the overweight father; Marge, the slim mother; Bart, the bratty oldest child; Lisa, the intelligent middle child; and Maggie, the baby. Groening famously named the main Simpson characters after members of his own family: his parents, Homer and Margaret (Marge or Marjorie in full), and his younger sisters, Lisa and Margaret (Maggie). Claiming that it was a bit too obvious to name a character after himself, he chose the name "Bart," an anagram of brat. However, he stresses that aside from some of the sibling rivalry, his family is nothing like the Simpsons. Groening also has an older brother and sister, Mark and Patty, and in a 1995 interview Groening divulged that Mark "is the actual inspiration for Bart."

Maggie Groening has co-written a few ''Simpsons'' books featuring her cartoon namesake.

''The Tracey Ullman Show''

The family was crudely drawn, because Groening had submitted basic sketches to the animators, assuming they would clean them up; instead, they just traced over his drawings. The entire Simpson family was designed so that they would be recognizable in silhouette. When Groening originally designed Homer, he put his own initials into the character's hairline and ear: the hairline resembled an 'M', and the right ear resembled a 'G'. Groening decided that this would be too distracting though, and redesigned the ear to look normal. He still draws the ear as a 'G' when he draws pictures of Homer for fans. Marge's distinct beehive hairstyle was inspired by ''The Bride of Frankenstein'' and the style that Margaret Groening wore during the 1960s, although her hair was never blue. Bart's original design, which appeared in the first shorts, had spikier hair, and the spikes were of different lengths. The number was later limited to nine spikes, all of the same size. At the time Groening was primarily drawing in black and "not thinking that [Bart] would eventually be drawn in color" gave him spikes that appear to be an extension of his head. Lisa's physical features are generally not used in other characters; for example, in the later seasons, no character other than Maggie shares her hairline. While designing Lisa, Groening "couldn't be bothered to even think about girls' hair styles". When designing Lisa and Maggie, he "just gave them this kind of spiky starfish hair style, not thinking that they would eventually be drawn in color". Groening storyboarded and scripted every short (now known as ''The Simpsons shorts''), which were then animated by a team including David Silverman and Wes Archer, both of whom would later become directors on the series.

The Simpsons shorts first appeared in ''The Tracey Ullman Show'' on April 19, 1987. Another family member, Grampa Simpson, was introduced in the later shorts. Years later, during the early seasons of ''The Simpsons'', when it came time to give Grampa a first name, Groening says he refused to name him after his own grandfather, Abraham Groening, leaving it to other writers to choose a name. By coincidence, they chose Abraham, unaware that it was the name of Groening's grandfather.

Half-hour

Although ''The Tracey Ullman Show'' was not a big hit, the popularity of the shorts led to a half-hour spin-off in 1989. A team of production companies adapted ''The Simpsons'' into a half-hour series for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The team included what is now the Klasky Csupo animation house. James L. Brooks negotiated a provision in the contract with the Fox network that prevented Fox from interfering with the show's content. Groening said his goal in creating the show was to offer the audience an alternative to what he called "the mainstream trash" that they were watching. The half-hour series premiered on December 17, 1989 with "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire", a Christmas special. "Some Enchanted Evening" was the first full-length episode produced, but it did not broadcast until May 1990, as the last episode of the first season, because of animation problems.

The series quickly became a worldwide phenomenon, to the surprise of many. Groening said: "Nobody thought ''The Simpsons'' was going to be a big hit. It sneaked up on everybody." ''The Simpsons'' was co-developed by Groening, Brooks, and Sam Simon, a writer-producer with whom Brooks had worked on previous projects. Groening and Simon, however, did not get along and were often in conflict over the show; Groening once described their relationship as "very contentious." Simon eventually left the show in 1993 over creative differences.

Like the main family members, several characters from the show have names that were inspired by people, locations or films. The name "Wiggum" for police chief Clancy Wiggum is Groening's mother's maiden name. The names of a few other characters were taken from major street names in Groening's hometown of Portland, Oregon, including Flanders, Lovejoy, Powell, Quimby and Kearney. Despite common fan belief that Sideshow Bob Terwilliger was named after SW Terwilliger Boulevard in Portland, he was actually named after the character Dr. Terwilliker from the film ''The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T''.

Although Groening has pitched a number of spin-offs from ''The Simpsons'', those attempts have been unsuccessful. In 1994, Groening and other ''Simpsons'' producers pitched a live-action spin-off about Krusty the Clown (with Dan Castellaneta playing the lead role), but were unsuccessful in getting it off the ground. Groening has also pitched "Young Homer" and a spin-off about the non-Simpsons citizens of Springfield.

In 1995, Groening got into a major disagreement with Brooks and other ''Simpsons'' producers over "A Star Is Burns", a crossover episode with ''The Critic'', an animated show also produced by Brooks and staffed with many former ''Simpsons'' crew members. Groening claimed that he feared viewers would "see it as nothing but a pathetic attempt to advertise ''The Critic'' at the expense of ''The Simpsons''," and was concerned about the possible implication that he had created or produced ''The Critic''. He requested his name be taken off the episode.

Groening is credited with writing or co-writing the episodes "Some Enchanted Evening", "The Telltale Head", "Colonel Homer" and "22 Short Films About Springfield", as well as ''The Simpsons Movie'', released in 2007. He has had several cameo appearances in the show, with a speaking role in the episode "My Big Fat Geek Wedding". He currently serves at ''The Simpsons'' as an executive producer and creative consultant.

''Futurama''

After spending a few years researching science fiction, Groening got together with ''Simpsons'' writer/producer David X. Cohen (still known as David S. Cohen at the time) in 1997 and developed ''Futurama'', an animated series about life in the year 3000. By the time they pitched the series to Fox in April 1998, Groening and Cohen had composed many characters and storylines; Groening claimed they had gone "overboard" in their discussions. Groening described trying to get the show on the air as "by far the worst experience of [his] grown-up life." The show premiered on March 28, 1999. Groening's writing credits for the show are for the premiere episode, "Space Pilot 3000" (co-written with Cohen), "Rebirth" (story) and "In-A-Gadda-Da-Leela" (story).

After four years on the air, the show was canceled by Fox. In a similar situation as ''Family Guy'', however, strong DVD sales and very stable ratings on Adult Swim brought Futurama back to life. When Comedy Central began negotiating for the rights to air ''Futurama'' reruns, Fox suggested that there was a possibility of also creating new episodes. When Comedy Central committed to sixteen new episodes, it was decided that four straight-to-DVD films—''Bender's Big Score'' (2007), ''The Beast with a Billion Backs'' (2008), ''Bender's Game'' (2008) and ''Into the Wild Green Yonder'' (2009)—would be produced. Since no new ''Futurama'' projects were in production, the movie ''Into the Wild Green Yonder'' was designed to stand as the Futurama series finale. However, Groening had expressed a desire to continue the ''Futurama'' franchise in some form, including as a theatrical film. In an interview with CNN, Groening said that "we have a great relationship with Comedy Central and we would love to do more episodes for them, but I don't know...We're having discussions and there is some enthusiasm but I can't tell if it's just me." Comedy Central commissioned an initial 26 new episodes, and began airing them in 2010. They since renewed the show through to 2013.

Other pursuits

In 1994, Groening formed Bongo Comics Group (named after the character Bongo from ''Life in Hell'') with Steve Vance, Cindy Vance and Bill Morrison, which publishes comic books based on ''The Simpsons'' and ''Futurama'' (including ''Futurama Simpsons Infinitely Secret Crossover Crisis'', a crossover between the two), as well as a few original titles. According to Groening, the goal with Bongo is to "[try] to bring humor into the fairly grim comic book market." He also formed Zongo Comics in 1995, an imprint of Bongo that published comics for more mature readers, which included three issues of Mary Fleener's ''Fleener'' and seven issues of his close friend Gary Panter's ''Jimbo'' comics.

Groening is known for his eclectic taste in music. His favorite band is Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention and his favorite album is ''Trout Mask Replica'' by Captain Beefheart (which was produced by Zappa). He guest-edited Da Capo Press's ''Best Music Writing 2003'' and curated a US All Tomorrow's Parties music festival in 2003. In May 2010, he curated another edition of All Tomorrow's Parties in Minehead, England. He also plays the drums in the all-author rock and roll band The Rock Bottom Remainders (although he is listed as the cowbell player), whose other members include Dave Barry, Ridley Pearson, Scott Turow, Amy Tan, James McBride, Mitch Albom, Roy Blount Jr., Stephen King, Kathi Kamen Goldmark, Sam Barry and Greg Iles.

Awards

Groening has been nominated for 25 Emmy awards and has won eleven: ten for ''The Simpsons'' and one for ''Futurama'' in the "Outstanding Animated Program (for programming one hour or less)" category. Groening received the 2002 National Cartoonist Society Reuben Award, and had been nominated for the same award in 2000. He received a British Comedy Award for "outstanding contribution to comedy" in 2004. In 2007, he was ranked fourth (and highest American by birth) in a list of the "top 100 living geniuses", published by British newspaper ''The Daily Telegraph''. He will receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2012.

Personal life

Groening and Deborah Caplan married in 1986 and had two sons together, Homer (who goes by Will) and Abe, both of whom Groening occasionally portrays as rabbits in ''Life in Hell''. The couple divorced in 1999 after thirteen years of marriage. He is the brother-in-law of ''Hey Arnold!'' creator, Craig Bartlett, who is married to Groening's sister, Lisa. Arnold used to appear in Simpsons Illustrated.

Groening identifies himself as agnostic and a liberal and has often made campaign contributions to Democratic Party candidates. His first cousin, Laurie Monnes Anderson, is a member of the Oregon State Senate representing eastern Multnomah County.

Notes

References

External links

Incomplete list of Matt Groening appearances on ''The Simpsons'' at The Simpsons Archive

The Story (1969) – Matt Groening tells a story to his sisters Lisa & Maggie in this film by father, Homer

The Simpsons – a Norwegian/German success (in Norwegian)

Forvo: Matt Groening Pronunciation

Category:1954 births Category:Living people Category:American satirists Category:American television producers Category:American people of Dutch descent Category:Artists from Oregon Category:The Evergreen State College alumni Category:Comic strip cartoonists Category:American artists of German descent Category:American people of German descent Category:American people of Norwegian descent Category:American agnostics Category:People from Portland, Oregon Category:Reuben Award winners Category:Writers from Oregon Category:Futurama Category:Lincoln High School (Portland, Oregon) alumni Category:Rock Bottom Remainders members Category:Oregon Democrats

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Coordinates	53°11′″N19°29′″N
name	Perez Hilton
birth name	Mario Armando Lavandeira, Jr.
birth date	March 23, 1978
birth place	Miami, Florida, U.S.
occupation	Blogger, television personality
years active	2001–present
website	PerezHilton.com }}

Mario Armando Lavandeira, Jr. (born March 23, 1978), better known as Perez Hilton (a play on "Paris Hilton"), is an American blogger and television personality. His blog, ''Perezhilton.com'' (formerly ''PageSixSixSix.com''), is known for posts covering gossip items about musicians, actors and celebrities. He is also known for posting tabloid photographs over which he has added his own captions or "doodles." His blog has garnered negative attention for its attitude, its active "outing" of alleged closeted celebrities and its role in the increasing coverage of celebrities in all forms of media.

Early life

Hilton was born in Miami, Florida to parents from Cuba. He graduated in 1996 from Miami's Belen Jesuit Preparatory School and received his BFA in drama from New York University. In 2002, Hilton moved to Los Angeles, where he currently resides.

PerezHilton.com

After graduation from New York University in 2000, and before beginning his blogging career, Hilton attempted a career as an actor. He briefly worked as a media relations assistant for LGBT rights organization GLAAD, was a freelance writer for gay publications, worked as a receptionist for NYC gay events club Urban Outings, and was briefly the managing editor of ''Instinct'', a gay men's magazine. He says he started blogging "because it seemed easy."

Hilton's angle on celebrity gossip includes an unapologetic desire to mingle with and be a part of celebrity culture. He often describes celebrity awards shows, clubs, and private events he has attended, and posts photographs of himself with the celebrities he writes about under the "Personally Perez" category of his blog. Although Hilton has an affinity for some celebrities, such as Lady Gaga and Sophia Bush, he also has a "vendetta" against certain stars, such as Disney Channel star Vanessa Hudgens and Gossip Girl teen actress Taylor Momsen. Teen phenomenon Miley Cyrus publicised her personal disapproval of Hilton over Twitter to which he replied. Some have suggested, however, that Hilton's proximity to the celebrities about whom he writes has led to biased coverage on his blog. He purports to have befriended Paris Hilton, the source of his nickname and frequent subject of his posts. It has been noted, for example, that he rarely reports on stories or rumors casting Paris Hilton in a negative or unflattering light, and that, unlike most gossip blogs, he often acknowledges and praises her positive achievements. Additionally, Hilton has been known to speak out publicly against the discriminatory behavior of celebrities and other public figures. For instance, he called for the firing of Isaiah Washington from ABC television series ''Grey's Anatomy'' for making homophobic remarks and called for his readers to do the same. However, in early 2007, he was criticized by the blog ''The Hollywood Gossip'' for ignoring racist and homophobic remarks made by Paris Hilton.

Hilton often promotes his favorite up-and-coming musicians by posting streams of their songs under the "Listen To This" category of his blog. London-based singer Mika's 2007 rise to popular success in North America has been partially attributed to Hilton's frequent support. Hilton and Mika also claim to be friends.

Blogging success

On March 11, 2005, within the first six months of Hilton's blogging career, ''PageSixSixSix.com'' was named "Hollywood's Most-Hated Website" by ''The Insider'', catalyzing an initial surge in its popularity which temporarily crippled its server. Hilton claimed that on July 30, 2007, a seemingly "ordinary day," ''Perezhilton.com'' had over 8.82 million page views in a 24 hour period. Other sources dispute the reliability of Hilton's traffic claims.

Pop singer Fergie has confirmed that she is referring to Hilton in her 2006 song "Pedestal," in which she criticizes an unidentified person for making negative remarks about her on the internet.

On August 17, 2007, citing exclusive sources, Hilton announced the death of Cuban President Fidel Castro, and claimed that he was the first media outlet in the world to break the news. Although Hilton claimed that U.S. officials would be making an announcement within hours, no announcement was made, and no major media outlets verified Castro's death. The Associated Press later determined that rumors were sparked by a meeting of Miami officials who were to discuss the city's plans when Castro dies. Rumors were further fueled by a road closure in the Florida Keys that was due to a police standoff. Castro appeared in an interview on Cuban television on September 21, 2007, "looking frail but sounding lucid," and mocking rumors of his death. On September 9, 2009, Perez appeared on The Tyra Banks Show and cited his premature reporting of Castro's death as his "one regret."

On September 15, 2008, Terra.com named Perez Hilton as the Hispanic of the Year in Honor of Hispanic Heritage Month.

As of April 2009 PerezHilton.com was ranked by Alexa as the 491st most trafficked website on the Internet (143rd within the United States) with 2/3 of users being American and strongest demographic being females between the ages of 18 and 24.

Civil litigation

A suit against Hilton for copyright infringement was filed by Zomba Label Group on October 11, 2007, stating that Hilton illegally posted recordings by Britney Spears on PerezHilton.com. The illegal postings include at least 10 completed songs and unfinished recordings leaked over a period of three months. The suit asks for real and punitive damages in an unspecified amount as well as legal costs. Spears is not a party to the suit. In March 2008, Hilton announced on his blog that he would no longer blog about artists signed to Sony BMG (which owns Zomba). However, when the lawsuit was settled in November of that year, Hilton ended his boycott and resumed regular blogging about Sony BMG artists.

On October 11, 2007, a judge cleared the way for Hilton to be deposed in an on-going defamation suit brought against him by DJ Samantha Ronson, after a post on PerezHilton.com claimed that she had planted cocaine in friend Lindsay Lohan's car and set Lohan up to be photographed while under the influence of alcohol and drugs. Hilton's report was a repetition of gossip initially posted on CelebrityBabylon.com. The judge was informed in court that the owner of that site has already settled the case with Ronson. On January 23, 2008, Perez Hilton was awarded $85,000 by Superior Court Judge Elihu Berle in this lawsuit filed by Ronson.

Hilton has attracted lawsuits due to his use of video footage of celebrities on his blog. He was named as a defendant in a lawsuit filed by attorneys for Irish actor Colin Farrell on July 18, 2005, after posting a link to Farrell's sex tape with then-girlfriend Nicole Narain on his site and on February 20, 2007, a lawsuit filed against him by Universal City Studios Productions LLP for posting a topless image of actress Jennifer Aniston that was allegedly "misappropriated and illegally copied" from unreleased footage from her 2006 motion picture ''The Break-Up''.

Bloggers, journalists, news agencies and photographers alike have charged that Hilton posts paparazzi photographs and other copyrighted content from their sites. On November 30, 2006, celebrity photo agency X17Online filed a lawsuit against L Hilton in federal court, seeking over US$7.5 million in damages for copyright infringement. X17's co-owner Robin Navarre told the ''LA Times'' that the sale value of their photographs has been significantly reduced because the photos have appeared on PerezHilton.com before they could be published in magazines to which exclusivity is important. Navarre said,

"X17 can make as much as tens of thousands of dollars from one magazine on an exclusive story. In the case of the Spears smooch shot, X17 sold a two-page spread to Us Weekly, but the magazine decided to shrink the photo play (which lowered the price by $10,000, to $15,000)...because the images had already been on Hilton's site and others."

Hilton defends his use of this material by claiming it falls under the fair use exception to the Copyright Act; that is, according to the ''LA Times'', the photos are altered "to achieve a satiric or humorous end." On March 9, 2007, a judge ruled that Hilton could continue operating his website while the lawsuit remained before the courts. On April 23, 2007, a consortium of five celebrity photo agencies filed a joint lawsuit in federal district court in California against Hilton, claiming more than US$7 million in damages from 25 instances of alleged copyright infringement. Just days later, on April 26, 2007, upon arriving at the Sydney Airport in Sydney, Australia to attend the MTV Australia Video Music Awards, Hilton was served with a lawsuit by celebrity photo agency PhotoNews claiming C$4,200 in damages for his alleged unauthorized use of a single copyrighted paparazzi photograph of John Mayer and Jessica Simpson.

On June 20, 2007, ''Variety'' reported that Hilton's web host had dropped his site upon threats of liability in the cases outlined above. Francois Navarre, co-owner of X17, told Variety, "It's the first victory, and we put a lot of work into trying to get this to happen." He added, "It's a precedent that's huge. When we were talking to Crucial Paradigm they were saying they were not responsible, dragging their feet. We had to threaten them and show them they were liable. His new host is Blogads, and we're contacting them already."

On June 26, 2007, Hilton posted an open call on his blog to all of X17's photographers, both past and present, to contact him if they have not been adequately compensated for working overtime or pictures submitted in the past. Hilton has not used photos by X17 on his website since the suit.

According to an August 2009 ''Los Angeles Times'' profile of Hilton, X17's lawsuit against Hilton was ultimately settled out of court. The terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

"Outing" celebrities

On his blog, Hilton is open about his homosexuality and about his desire to "out" those who he claims are closeted gay celebrities. When former 'N Sync member Lance Bass officially came out as gay on July 26, 2006, Hilton received criticism for having been partially responsible in the outing. "It upsets me that people think what I'm doing is a bad thing," Hilton told ''Access Hollywood''. "I don't think it's a bad thing. If you know something to be a fact, why not report it? Why is that still taboo?" On November 2, 2006, another celebrity often questioned by Hilton for remaining closeted, actor Neil Patrick Harris, revealed that he is gay.

Prominent members of the gay community who have criticized Hilton's outing tactics include Arts & Entertainment Editor of ''The Advocate'' Corey Scholibo, AfterElton.com editor Michael Jensen, and Damon Romine, spokesperson for the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. Kim Ficera, contributing writer for AfterEllen.com, wrote,

"I have to question the character of a man who attacks others on such deeply personal levels, without provocation and for self-benefit, monetary or otherwise....If he's emotionally incapable of exhibiting even the tiniest bit of compassion for closeted people, if he can't be sensitive to the fact that coming out is a very personal decision and that the process can be difficult for some — especially celebrities — I feel sorry for him. If his juvenile behavior is his shtick, I think it makes him a much more pathetic figure, and one the gay and lesbian community should not support...If we support behavior like Hilton's, we applaud shallowness, arrogance, rage and invasion of privacy, and risk becoming what we despise."

Some of Hilton's fellow gossip bloggers have also objected to his approach. Trent Vanegas, who runs "Pink Is the New Blog," told Salon.com, "I do not outright call people gay. I do not feel it is my place, or anyone else's place, to make people come out of the closet. Being shockingly hurtful just to get attention is not my style." David Hauslaib of gossip blog Jossip.com stated, "The rationale that he's doing this for the good of that gay community is tantamount to saying that there is a gay agenda. Is this a positive for the gay community? I'd say, 'No.'" Author, screenwriter, and former friend Japhy Grant has also questioned his motives, writing on Salon.com, "Spreading gossip is just your average pedestrian variety of immorality. Claiming that you're doing it to further civil rights is an outright sham."

When questioned on ''Midweek Politics'' about whether reporting on celebrities' sexual orientation incites homophobia by making it news, Hilton indicated that he did not believe so. He said that coming out in Hollywood is not necessarily a bad thing, citing Ellen DeGeneres and Rosie O'Donnell as examples: "I know there is some controversy about outing people, but I also believe the only way we're gonna have change is with visibility. And if I have to drag some people screaming out of the closet, then I will. I think that lots of celebrities have an archaic fear that being gay will hurt their career but look at Rosie. Look at Ellen."

Some prominent gay rights advocates disagree. GLAAD spokesperson Damon Romine told Salon.com, "Media speculation about a celebrity's orientation is not something we support. This kind of gossip can lead some people to the decision to come out, as we've seen recently, or it may drive others further into the closet. People are going to become more guarded and secretive and not less, because they don't want to create any opportunities [for anyone to out them]." Actor Bruce Vilanch said, "What purpose does it serve? These [people like Perez] are professional homosexuals. They are gay people for a living. They have to respect the rights of homosexuals who aren't professional." In an article entitled "Just How Dangerous is Perez Hilton?", AfterElton.com suggested that Hilton's actions put people's careers at risk, because anti-gay bias is still a prominent part of American culture. He continued, "Both as a gay man and a journalist, I question whether the gay community should approve of Hilton's actions....Being associated with someone who publishes photos of panty-less starlets and scribbles dirty notes....makes us look infantile and ridiculous."

Controversy

Miss USA 2009

Hilton served as a judge for the Miss USA 2009 pageant in Las Vegas, Nevada on April 19, 2009.

During the Q&A; portion of the contest, Hilton asked the Miss California USA representative, Carrie Prejean whether she believed every state should legalize same-sex marriage. She responded that she believes marriage is between a man and a woman due to her religious upbringing. After the pageant Perez Hilton made derogatory comments about the contestant and told ABC news "She lost it because of that question. She was definitely the front-runner before that," leading some to believe that the answer directly had caused her to lose the competition. Prejean stated that Miss California USA officials had pressured her to apologize for her statement and "not talk" about her Christian faith.

After the pageant, Hilton posted a video blog on his website, where he called Prejean a "dumb bitch" and said her answer was the worst in pageant history. Several politicians and commentators, including gay rights activists, assailed Hilton and defended Prejean for promoting her personal beliefs.

Post MMVA 2009 incident in Toronto

In June 2009, Hilton alleged in a video blog that he was assaulted by The Black Eyed Peas' operation manager Polo Molina following the 2009 MuchMusic Video Awards after-party where the Black Eyed Peas' front man will.i.am was DJing. Hilton reported in his video that he was "clocked" in the eye by Molina. will.i.am also released a video statement in which he claimed he had approached Hilton regarding derogatory comments made by the blogger concerning bandmate Fergie and the group's latest release ''The E.N.D.''. During the incident, Hilton called will.i.am a "faggot" (Hilton later admitted in an interview with The Advocate that he originally considered using the word "nigger" instead) in order to get a reaction out of him, and it was at this point that Molina allegedly attacked Hilton. will.i.am claimed the attacking party was a fan, although Molina has been detained and will appear in a Toronto court concerning the incident. Hilton would later file a civil lawsuit against Molina, seeking an unspecified amount over $25,000 US to cover medical costs and as compensation for the "humiliation, mental anguish, and emotional and physical distress" that Hilton suffered as a result of the attack.

The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation called upon Hilton to apologize for using an anti-gay slur against will.i.am during the incident, saying "We have reached out to Hilton and asked him to apologize . . . and we would ask media outlets to avoid repetition of the slur in their coverage of this story." Hilton initially refused to apologize, saying, "I am saddened GLAAD chose to victimize me further by criticizing me for how I non-violently dealt with a very scary situation that, unfortunately, turned violent." On June 25, 2009, however, Hilton did apologize, stating "I am NOT apologizing to GLAAD...I am apologizing to the gay community, to anyone who was hurt by my choice of words, and to all the people who have ever emailed me to thank me for all that I have done to fight for gay rights over the last few years." In addition, he pledged to donate any money won in the lawsuit against Molina to the Matthew Shepard Foundation. In a statement released on its website, Judy Shepard, Chair of the MSF, declined the gift, saying that "because the lawsuit presumably involves the physical attack prompted by Mr. Hilton's admitted use of an anti-gay slur, the Foundation will be unable to accept any funds obtained in such a manner."

Hilton received little sympathy in the media over the incident, a fact he addressed in his video blog. John Mayer made comments ridiculing Hilton and the incident on his Twitter page, resulting in a volley of insults between the two. Gawker viewed Hilton's public apology with skepticism, being of the opinion that it was just an attempt to rebuild his "brand" and a possible attempt to prevent Canadian authorities from filing criminal charges against him for his use of hate speech during the Toronto incident.

Michael Jackson's death

On June 25, 2009, shortly after Michael Jackson had gone into cardiac arrest, Hilton posted an article about the star's illness, claiming it was a publicity stunt. Hilton's original post featured sarcastic comments such as "Get your money back, ticket holders!!!!" and "Jacko pulled a similar stunt when he was getting ready for his big HBO special in ‘95 when he “collapsed” at rehearsal!", in response to Jackson's recently sold out tour through March of 2010. Upon realizing Michael Jackson's death was not a hoax, Hilton immediately deleted the original news post and replaced it with a shorter message that linked to a story at entertainment news site TMZ, which said the singer had in fact gone into cardiac arrest. Hilton has received backlash for the incident, becoming entangled in a Twitter argument with Pete Wentz about the situation.

Miley Cyrus upskirt picture

On June 13, 2010, Hilton posted a Twitter message linking to an upskirt picture of Miley Cyrus, which allegedly showed the singer without underpants. Since Cyrus was still underage at the time, Hilton could have arguably faced child pornography charges for distributing the image. The site that was been linked removed the picture in question. Perez responded to the accusations by claiming that the controversy was "fake" and that Cyrus did wear underwear in the photo in question. Hilton did not re-post the photo for proof. Instead, he linked to another image of Cyrus, supposedly taken on the same occasion, to prove that she had been wearing underwear.

Television appearances

In 2001, Hilton made an appearance in ''The Sopranos'' episode 3.29, "Fortunate Son". His character, hands over the proceeds of a Jewel benefit concert at Rutgers University, whose ticket office Christopher Moltisanti and Benny Fazio rob at gunpoint.

In 2004, a then- 206 lb. Hilton appeared as a contestant on the "Madonna Style" episode of VH1's reality weight loss show, ''Flab To Fab''. At the time, Hilton had 30% body fat and a 41” waist. Hilton lost a total of 45 lbs. in three months and dropped 13” around his waist, leaving him at 160 lbs and a 28” waist for his 6’0” frame, and a greatly reduced level of body fat.

On July 13, 2007, Hilton announced on the TV show ''The View'' that he would star in his own reality television show on VH1. The series of six one-hour episodes, titled ''What Perez Sez'', aired its first part on September 11, 2007.

Hilton appeared as a contestant on MTV's ''Celebrity Rap Superstar'', which debuted August 30, 2007. He was eliminated in week 6 of the contest by judges' vote. On September 29, 2007, he hosted a ''Best of MADtv'' episode featuring pop culture parody sketches from previous seasons. He has appeared in music videos such as Simple Plan's "When I'm Gone", The Pussycat Dolls's "Hush Hush; Hush Hush" and Rihanna's "S&M;". Hilton has also appeared in reality shows such as ''Victoria Beckham: Coming To America'', ''MTV Cribs'', ''The-N's Queen Bees'', ''Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List, Tori Spelling THS'' and ''Paris Hilton's My New BFF''. In addition to reality television Lavendeira has guest starred as himself in scripted shows such as and Privileged.

Hilton is also a regular on TV Series ''TRL'', ''Much Music'', and ''Extra'' where he appears via satellite from his closet studio to talk about gossip.

He co-hosted the 2008 MTV Europe Music Awards and after Rick Astley did not show up to collect his award for best act ever at the MTV Europe Music Awards, Perez Hilton collected the prize on Rick's behalf.

On June 21, 2009, Hilton was a presenter at the 2009 MuchMusic Video Awards in Toronto, Ontario.

On December 2, 2009, Hilton was a guest on the TV show ''The View''.

In 2010, Hilton guest starred as himself in the episode "Wi-Fi in the Sky" on ''Victorious''.

Radio

Hilton premiered his nationally syndicated radio show, ''Radio Perez'', which included updates from his blog, on May 5, 2008. He has also appeared on ''The Howard Stern Show'' on Sirius Satellite Radio. Most recently on January 8, 2009.

Personal life

During an interview in Cliché Magazine's June/July 2010 issue, Hilton said that he only started blogging as a hobby. "What set my site apart is that prior to PerezHilton.com, most blogs were mainly online journals and diaries, but that never interested me. I wanted to talk about celebrities because they're far more entertaining."

Hilton is openly gay.

Discography

Hilton has a song called "The Clap", which is about Gonorrhea. The song is composed and produced by Lucian Piane.

{|class="wikitable" border="1" |- !Year !Title !Album !Producer !Composer !Notes |- |rowspan="2"| 2008 |"The Clap"

Released: 4 September 2008

|— |Lucian Piane |Lucian Piane |The song is about Gonorrhea. |- |"The Clap" (Remix)

Released: 17 October 2008

|— |Lucian Piane |Lucian Piane |This is a remix of the original song. |}

Other appearances

{|class="wikitable" border="1" |- ! Year ! Artist ! Song ! Release |- |rowspan="2"|2009 |Larry Tee feat. Perez Hilton |"My Penis" (Edu K Schlong Dong Silver Remix) |''Club Badd'' |- |Larry Tee feat. Perez Hilton |"My Penis" (Original Version / Remixes)

(Original Version)

(Edu K Schlong Dong Silver Video Edit)

(Edu K Schlong Dong Silver Mix)

(Act Yo Age Refixxx)

(UltraViolet Sound Remix)

(Aout6 Mix)

(Tom Budiansky Remix)

|''My Penis (feat. Perez Hilton) / My Pussy (feat. Amanda Lepore)'' |}

Special appearances

Hilton appears in Britney Spears's tour, The Circus Starring Britney Spears. Hilton appears dressed as Queen Elizabeth I.

Hilton appears in the 2010 Vengaboys video "Rocket To Uranus".

Hilton appears in the 2011 Rihanna video ''S&M;'', "on a leash as Rihanna's pet."

Filmography

Film

! Year	! Title	! Role	! Notes
	''Another Gay Sequel: Gays Gone Wild''	Himself	Shot in Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Television

! Year	! Title	! Role	! Notes
	''The Sopranos''	Male Student	Credited as Mario Lavandeira (Episode 3.3).
	''From Flab to Fab''	Himself (as Mario)	VH1's reality weight-loss show.
	''Pepper Dennis''	Gay Club Goer	Credited as Perez Hilton (Episode 1.9).
	''MuchOnDemand''	Himself	Occasional guest via web-cam to discuss daily gossip.
	''Celebrity Rap Superstar''	Himself	Eliminated week 6 by judges vote.
	''What Perez Sez''	Himself	A series of specials airing on VH1.
	''MADtv''	Himself	Guest Appearance.
	''The 100 Most Annoying People Of 2007''	Himself	BBC.
		Himself	Appears Every Week To Talk About Gossip (Via Web Cam From His Closet Studio).
		Himself	Interviewed the queen bees.
	''Paris Hilton's My New BFF: Casting Special''	Himself	MTV Reality Series.
	''Fido Awards	Himself	Opened for the Most Outrageous poop nominees.
		Himself	Appears Every Week To Talk About Gossip (Via Web Cam From His Closet Studio).
	''The Martha Stewart Show	Himself	Guest appearance to discuss blogging.
		Himself
	''Mtv's My Super Sweet 16 UK SEASON 2	Himself	*Freddy's Sweet 15 * Present VT.
		Himself	Reunion Host.
		Himself	Guest Appearance (Episode 818 to Episode 822, Titled ''Paradise City'').
		Himself	Reunion Host.
2010	''When I Was 17''	Himself
2010	''America's Next Top Model''	Himself	Guest appearance in episode 1402
2010	''Tosh.0''	Himself	Guest Appearance in episode 38
2010	''Victorious''	Himself	Guest appearance on the episode ''Wi-Fi in the Sky''

References

External links

Official website

Perez Hilton in Trouble at ''Variety.com''

Perez Hilton is Terra's Hispanic of the Year

Category:1978 births Category:American bloggers Category:American Internet personalities Category:American talk radio hosts Category:Galician people Category:Gay writers Category:Gossip columnists Category:American infotainers Category:LGBT American people of Cuban descent Category:LGBT television personalities Category:LGBT writers from the United States Category:LGBT rights activists from the United States Category:New York University alumni Category:Living people Category:People from Miami, Florida

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