name	The Webby Awards
description	"Excellence on the Internet including Websites, Interactive Advertising, Online Film & Video and Mobile content."
presenter	International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences
year	1996 - Present (International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences)
website	webbyawards.com }}

A Webby Award is an international award presented annually by The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences for excellence on the Internet with categories in websites, interactive advertising, online film and video, and mobile.

Two winners are selected in each category, one by members of The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, and one by the public who cast their votes during Webby People’s Voice voting.

The award is one of the older and better-known internet-oriented awards and has come to be associated with the phrase "The Oscars of the Internet".

History

The Webby Awards were founded by Glenn Davis of Cool Site of the Day, who inaugurated them under the name Cool Site Of The Year Award. The award was first presented in Hollywood, California, in August 1995, and was given to The Spot. On October 3, 1996, the second Cool Site of the Year Awards ceremony was held at Webster Hall, a nightclub in the East Village, Manhattan. The third ceremony, the first to be sponsored by ''The Web Magazine'', which was published by IDG, was held in San Francisco in 1997, was produced by Tiffany Shlain. After ''The Web Magazine'' closed in 1998, the ceremonies continued as an independent operation.

The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, which selects the winners of The Webby Awards, was established in 1998. Members of the Academy include David Bowie, Martha Stewart, Harvey Weinstein, Arianna Huffington, Matt Groening, Biz Stone, Internet inventor Vint Cerf, Virgin Group Chairman Richard Branson, and R/GA Chairman and CEO Bob Greenberg.

Since 2005, The Webby Awards has been operated and owned by Recognition Media, which also operates the Telly Awards and other awards programs. In 2006, The Webby Awards launched new categories honoring interactive advertising and original film and video that premiered on the Internet.

In 2007, The Webby Awards launched new categories honoring mobile Websites.

In 2009, the thirteenth Annual Webby Awards received nearly 10,000 entries from all 50 states and over 60 countries. That same year, over 500,000 votes were cast in The Webby People's Voice Awards.

Nominative Procession

Thousands of entries are submitted during the Call for Entries procession, and each is first rated by Associate Members of the International Academy of Digital Arts & Sciences. Entries that receive the highest marks during this first round of voting are included on category-specific shortlists and further evaluated by Executive Members of the Academy.

Executive Academy Members with category-specific expertise evaluate the shortlisted entries based on the appropriate Website, Interactive Advertising & Media and Film & Video criteria, and cast ballots to determine Webby Honorees, Nominees and Webby Winners. Price Waterhouse Coopers audits the results.

In addition to the award given in each category by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, another winner is selected in each category as determined by the general public during People’s Voice voting. Winners of both the Academy-selected and People’s Voice-selected awards are invited to the Webbys.

Awards granted

The Webby Awards are presented in over a hundred categories among all four types of entries. A website can be entered in multiple categories and receive multiple awards.

In each category, two awards are handed out: a Webby Award selected by The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, and a People's Voice Award selected by the general public.

Past winners include Amazon.com, eBay,SimplyHired.com, Kayak.com, Yahoo!, iTunes, Google, FedEx, BBC News, CNN, MSNBC, The New York Times, Annie Lennox, NPR, Salon Magazine, Facebook, Meetup, Wikipedia, Flickr, ESPN, Comedy Central, PBS, The Onion News Network, The Office Webisodes, and My Damn Channel.

Each year, the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences also honors individuals with Webby Special Achievement Awards. Past Webby Special Achievement winners include Al Gore, Prince, David Bowie, Meg Whitman, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, Lorne Michaels, Craig Newmark, Thomas Friedman, Stephen Colbert, Michel Gondry and the Beastie Boys.

Ceremony

Since 2005, The Webby Awards has been presented in New York City. Comedian Rob Corddry hosted the ceremony from 2005 to 2007. Seth Meyers of Saturday Night Live hosted in 2008 and 2009, and in 2010 the host was B.J. Novak of NBC's The Office.

The Webbys are famous for limiting recipients to five-word speeches, which are often humorous, although some exceed the limit. In 2005 when accepting his Lifetime Achievement Award, former Vice President Al Gore's speech was "Please don't recount this vote." He was introduced by Vint Cerf who used the same format to state, "We all invented the Internet." In 2008, Stephen Colbert shouted “Me. Me. Me. Me. Me” when accepting his award for Webby Person of the Year. Accepting the award for Best Political Blog in 2008, Arianna Huffington’s speech was “President Obama ... Sounds good, right?"

Other popular speeches include "Can anyone fix my computer?" (the Beastie Boys); "Everything you think is true" (Prince); "Thank God Conan got promoted" (Jimmy Fallon), "Free, open... Keep one Web" (Sir Tim Berners Lee), “Holy - Fucking - Shit, Buzz Aldrin" (Jake Hurwitz), and "Holocaust. Did it happen? Yes." (Sarah Silverman).

Criticism

The Webbies have been criticized for their pay-to-enter and pay-to-attend policy (winners and nominees also have to pay to attend the award ceremony), and thus for not taking most websites into consideration before distributing their awards. Gawker, its Valleywag column, and others, have called the awards a scam, with Valleywag saying, ''"...somewhere along the way, the organizers figured out that this goofy charade could be milked for profit."''

In response, Webby Awards Executive Director David-Michel Davies told the Wall Street Journal that entry fees “provide the best and most sustainable model for ensuring that our judging process remains consistent and rigorous and is not dependent on things like sponsorships that can fluctuate from year to year.”

See also

Interactive Media Awards

International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences

Streamy Awards

WebAwards

References

Further reading

Joanna Glasner, "Usual Suspects Dominate Webbys" - ''Wired News'', May 9, 2006

Jack Shafer, "What? You've Not Been Honored by the Webbys?", ''Slate'' Magazine, April 9, 2008

Leslie Walker, "Webby Awards Salute Online Originality", ''Washington Post, June 8, 2003

External links

Webby Awards at ''YouTube''

2007 Acceptance speeches

Current winners

Category:Computer-related awards Category:Web awards Category:Blog_awards Category:History of the Internet Category:Web development Category:Internet film festivals Category:Awards established in 1995

ar:جوائز ويبي ca:Webby Awards de:Webby Awards es:Premios Webby fr:Webby Award it:Webby Award nl:Webby Awards ja:ウェビー賞 pl:Webby Awards ru:Webby Awards fi:Webby-palkinto sv:Webby Awards tr:Webby ödülleri zh:威比奖

name	Alan Cumming
birth date	January 27, 1965
birth place	Aberfeldy, Perthshire, Scotland
website	http://www.alancumming.com
occupation	Actor, director, producer, writer
years active	1980–present
spouse	Hilary Lyon (1985–1993) Grant Shaffer (2006–present) }}

Alan Cumming, OBE (born 27 January 1965) is a Scottish stage, television and film actor, singer, comedian, director, producer and author. His roles have included the Emcee in ''Cabaret'', Boris Grishenko in ''GoldenEye'', Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler in ''X2: X-Men United'', Mr. Elton in ''Emma'', and Fegan Floop in the ''Spy Kids'' trilogy. He has also appeared in independent films like ''The Anniversary Party'', which he co-wrote, co-directed and co-starred in; and Ali Selim's ''Sweet Land'', for which he won an Independent Spirit award as producer. His London stage appearances include ''Hamlet'', the Maniac in Dario Fo's ''Accidental Death of an Anarchist'', for which he received an Olivier award, the lead in Martin Sherman's ''Bent'', and as Dionysus in The National Theatre of Scotland's ''The Bacchae''. On Broadway he has appeared as Mac the Knife in ''The Threepenny Opera,'' the Emcee in ''Cabaret'', for which he won the Tony in 1998, and ''Design for Living''. Cumming also introduces ''Masterpiece Mystery!'' for PBS. He currently appears as a regular on ''The Good Wife'', a role for which he was nominated for an Emmy.

He has also written a novel, ''Tommy's Tale'', had a cable talk show ("Eavesdropping with Alan Cumming") and produced a line of perfumed products labelled "Cumming". He has contributed opinion pieces to many publications and performed a cabaret show ''I Bought A Blue Car Today''. Retaining his British citizenship, Cumming also became a U.S. citizen in November 2008.

Early life

Cumming was born in Aberfeldy, in Perthshire, Scotland, the son of Mary (née Darling), an insurance company secretary, and Alex Cumming, a forester. He has stated that his father was physically and emotionally abusive towards him. He has one older brother, Tom, and a niece and nephew. Brought up in Angus, Cumming attended Monikie Primary School and Carnoustie High School and originally aspired to a career in veterinary medicine, but a personality clash with his biology teacher prevented him from taking a related elective and he subsequently set his sights on becoming an actor. Following graduation, he spent a year and a half employed as an editor and columnist for the Scottish pop magazine TOPS before entering the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow. On graduation from Drama school he married fellow student Hilary Lyon; they divorced 8 years later and had no children.

Film

Cumming played Sean Walsh, an unwanted suitor of Minnie Driver's character, in ''Circle of Friends'', an Irish film released in 1995. In 1995 he played Boris Ivanovich Grishenko in the James Bond film ''GoldenEye''. Cumming co-wrote, co-directed, co-produced, and co-starred in the ensemble film ''The Anniversary Party'' with friend and former ''Cabaret'' co-star Jennifer Jason Leigh, in 2001. The two starred in the movie as a Hollywood couple. Cumming starred in and directed ''Suffering Man's Charity'', later released as ''Ghost Writer''. He had prominent roles in the ''Spy Kids'' trilogy, ''X-Men 2'' (as Nightcrawler), and was in ''Spice World'', as well as Stanley Kubrick's ''Eyes Wide Shut'', ''Josie and the Pussycats'' and ''Son of the Mask'', along with acting in the Flintstones movie ''Viva Rock Vegas''. He played Saturninus in the 1999 Julie Taymor film production of ''Titus''. Cumming played a psychotic ex-amusement park employee in David Munro's ''Full Grown Men'', which was shown in theaters throughout the U.S. in summer 2008.

In ''Gray Matters'', a 2007 romantic comedy film directed by Sue Kramer, Cumming, plays cab driver Gordy who had a crush on Gray (Heather Graham). It premiered on October 21, 2006 at the Hamptons International Film Festival and had a U.S. theatrical release on February 23, 2007. In ''Burlesque'', Cumming played the host, Alexis. In 2010, Cumming will provide the voice of Adolf Hitler in the film ''Jackboots on Whitehall'' as well as co-star in "Boogie Woogie". During his career, Cumming has also directed two short films, ''Butter'' and ''Burn Your Phone''. The latter began its life as a one-off drama on BBC Radio 4. He most recently provided the voice of Scottish Smurf, Gutsy Smurf, in the live-action/CGI film adaptation of the Smurfs.

Television

United Kingdom

In the mid-1980s Cumming made brief appearances in Scottish television shows including ''Take The High Road'' and ''Taggart''. His first major television role was in the Christmas 1991 comedy ''Bernard and the Genie'', a Richard Curtis-scripted one-off show where he starred alongside Lenny Henry and Rowan Atkinson. Cumming starred as Sebastian Flight in the Scottish sitcom ''The High Life'' in 1994-5. The series was written by Cumming and co-star Forbes Masson, continuing an acting-writing partnership the two had developed since their drama school days. Masson and Cumming also formed a cult Kelvinside musical double act "Victor and Barry", which was filmed for an stv show and were nominated for a Perrier Award in the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 1988, toured Australia in 1989, playing the Sydney Opera House, released a record ("See Victor and Barry and Faint") but were killed off onstage at the London Palladium in the early 1990s.

United States

In 2001, he guest starred in the HBO comedy ''Sex and the City'' as O the designer in the episode, 'The Real Me'. Also in 2001 Cumming starred in ''[Spy Kids]''. 2003 saw him playing a cameo role in the American sitcom ''Frasier'', playing Niles' yoga instructor. He also guest starred on ''3rd Rock from the Sun''. In 2004, he starred in Showtime's ''Reefer Madness: The Movie Musical'' in which he played the role of The Lecturer – a versatile character who narrates the story and transforms himself into several other minor characters. Shortly afterward, he had a short role in Richard Bell's feature film ''Eighteen''. In 2005 Alan played as Loki in ''Son of the Mask''. He appeared in BBC show, ''Shoebox Zoo'' as the humble, kind-hearted Bruno.

Cumming played the role of Bill Blaikie, a gay drag queen party promoter hired by Kit Porter to manage her café ''cum'' nightclub, in season 3 of The L Word. His character had an affair with Max, a transgendered female-to-male character in the show. He appeared in episodes 2 to 7, which originally aired on Showtime in 2006. In 2007, Cumming played Glitch/Ambrose, an inventor whose brain had been partially removed, in the TV miniseries, ''Tin Man''. He also provided the voice of Chuck Masters, a 50 year-old, paralyzed, HIV-positive gay man in Logo's ''Rick and Steve'', a stop animation sitcom created by Q. Allan Brocka. He is also the host of the 2008–2010 seasons of the PBS Masterpiece ''Mystery!'' series.

Cumming also appeared as the third celebrity hijacker in ''Big Brother: Celebrity Hijack'', giving the housemates a method acting task in which they had to stay in character all day and then produce an improvised play. He plays Eli Gold on the CBS television show ''The Good Wife'', becoming a series regular in the show's 2010–2011 season, and Desrae, a transvestite, on the British series ''The Runaway''. Cumming also hosted short-lived US cable television shows, "Eavesdropping with Alan Cumming," in which he interviewed female co-stars of his movie roles, and "Midnight Snack," where he and his dogs introduced cult movies. Cumming has also appeared on numerous US, UK and Australian talk shows.

Theatre

Cumming played the Emcee in the 1998 Broadway revival of ''Cabaret'', for which he won a Tony and NY Drama Critics award. He had previously played the role in a production at London's Donmar Warehouse theatre, for which he had been nominated for an Olivier Award. He recorded the song, "Baby, It's Cold Outside" with Liza Minnelli for the Broadway Cares: Home for the Holidays album in 2001.

Other stage roles have included Otto in the 2001 Broadway production of ''Design for Living'' by Noel Coward, Valere in David Hirson's ''La Bete'', the title role in the 1993 English Touring Theatre's ''Hamlet'' (playing opposite his then-wife, Hilary Lyon, in the role of Ophelia), and The Madman in the 1990 Royal National Theatre production of ''Accidental Death of an Anarchist'' by Dario Fo, for which he won an Olivier Award. In 2002, Cumming and then-boyfriend British director Nick Philippou formed the production company ''The Art Party''. The company's first and only play was the first English production of Jean Genet's play ''Elle'', which Cumming had adapted from a literal translation by Terri Gordon. The company folded in 2003.

In 2006, Cumming returned to the stage, firstly performing in a poorly-received revival of the Bertolt Brecht-Kurt Weill musical ''The Threepenny Opera'' opposite Cyndi Lauper. They later performed at the Tony Awards. In late 2006, he appeared in the West End playing the lead role in ''Bent'', a play about homosexuals in Germany under the Nazis. In 2007 he took the lead role in the National Theatre of Scotland's production of ''The Bacchae'', which premiéred at the Edinburgh Festival in August, transferring to the Lyric Theatre in London and then to Lincoln Center, New York. Cumming performed alongside Dianne Wiest in Classic Stage Company's production of Anton Chekhov's ''The Seagull'', directed by Viacheslav Dolgachev. He was optioned to play the Green Goblin in the new musical adaptation of the Spider-Man comics, but was replaced by Patrick Page.

Other work

Cumming wrote a novel, ''Tommy's Tale'', published in 2002. He has also written articles for magazines, notably as a contributing editor for ''Marie Claire'' magazine, writing on the haute couture shows in Paris, as well as what it was like for him dressing as a woman for a day. Cumming recorded a duet of "Baby, It’s Cold Outside" with Liza Minnelli to raise money for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS and the September 11 Fund. In 2005 he released a fragance called "Cumming," and a related line of scented bath lotion and body wash. They were sold exclusively at Sephora (which did not renew its distribution agreement) and a website which he dismantled in 2009 because of hackers defrauding customers.

Cumming served as a delegate for the Creative Coalition during the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston. and contributed to ''If You Had Five Minutes with the President'', a collection of 55+ essays by members or supporters of The Creative Coalition. He was subsequently widely quoted for stating that he wished to see Obama naked. On 1 September 2009, Cumming released his first solo album based around his one man show, I Bought a Blue Car Today. On 13 September 2010 Cumming was featured in an episode of ''Who Do You Think You Are?'', the BBC series that explores the family background and ancestors of famous figures. He investigated his grandfather Thomas Darling, who he discovered had died playing russian roulette while serving as a police officer in Malaya.

Personal life

Cumming lives in New York City with his partner (via UK civil partnership), graphic artist Grant Shaffer, and their dogs, Honey and Leon. The couple dated for two years before entering into a civil partnership at the Old Royal Naval College Greenwich on January 7, 2007. After his civil partnership, when asked if he was monogamous, he stated "I don’t believe that monogamy is feasible".

Once described as "a frolicky pansexual sex symbol for the new millennium", Cumming has stated that he considers himself bisexual, "although the pendulum has obviously swung". Prior to the civil union, Cumming dated both men and women. Previous relationships include a two-year relationship with actress Saffron Burrows, a six-year relationship with theater director Nick Philippou, and a 1985 marriage to actress Hilary Lyon that lasted eight years.

He used to be a member of the Church of Scotland until his mother received a letter from them saying they had "read something about me being an atheist and would I like to leave". He said he had attended out of tradition but realized being a part of it was "only condoning and validating lots of things I disapprove of: oppression, guilt, shame, etc".

In a profile for ''The Times'', Cumming stated that he "would dearly like to adopt a child" but subsequently stated his life was "too hectic" for children. Once he outed himself as bisexual in 1998, Cumming promoted LGBT rights, emceeing and attending fundraisers for organizations such as the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) and the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), as well as several AIDS charities, including the American Foundation for AIDS Research (AMFAR) and Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.

Cumming is a patron of NORM-UK, an English-registered charity concerned with foreskin health and matters related to circumcision; he has revealed that he is not circumcised. Referring to the high prevalence of routine infant circumcision in the United States, Cumming told ''The Sunday Times'' in 2007: "I think it's insane that an entire nation is ignorant about a part of their body they have lost. ... The sanitation issue, especially, always comes up when I am in America. But you know what? I am very clean. I shower frequently. I am very proud of my foreskin. I believe it's there for a purpose. And I just want people to stop and think for a second before they decide to get a big bit of their newborn son's cock cut off."

In March 2005, Cumming received the Vito Russo Award at the 16th Annual GLAAD Media Awards for outstanding contributions toward eliminating homophobia. In July of the same year he was also presented with the HRC's Humanitarian Award in San Francisco, also for his LGBT public stance. In November 2006, Cumming received a Doctor of Arts honorary degree from the University of Abertay Dundee. He is also a patron of the Scottish Youth Theatre, Scotland's National Theatre 'for and by' young people. Cumming was appointed an OBE in the 2009 Queen's Birthday Honours List for services to film, theatre and the arts and activism for LGBT rights. On November 7, 2008, Cumming became a dual-national and was sworn in as a citizen of the United States of America at a ceremony in New York City.

Filmography

! Year	! Film	! Role	! Notes
1987	''Shadow of the Stone''	Tom Henderson	TV Series
1991	''Bernard and the Genie''	Bernard Bottle
1992		Alexander Novak
	''Micky Love''	Greg Deane	TV Movie
''Mr. Bean''	Bachelor #2	UncreditedTV Series
		Bernard
	Black Beauty	Voice
		Sean Walsh
''GoldenEye''
	Sebastian Flight	TV Series
		Mr. Elton
''3rd Rock From The Sun''	Angus: "The Hole" McDuff- Hole expert	Season 5, Episode 18 Dick and Harry Fall Into a Hole
	''Romy and Michele's High School Reunion''	Sandy Frink
	Piers Cuthbertson-Smyth
	Dick Croner, Trudy's Assistant
		Saturninus
''Plunkett & Macleane''	Lord Rochester
''Eyes Wide Shut''	Hotel Desk Clerk
	Rooster	Musical
		Brett
''God, the Devil and Bob''	The Devil	TV Series
''The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas''	Mick Jagged/Gazoo
	Jeremy Kinnear
	''The Anniversary Party''	Joe Therrian	Writer/Producer/DirectorNominated — Independent Spirit Award for Best First Featureshared with Jennifer Jason LeighNominated — Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplayshared with Jennifer Jason Leigh
''Sex and the City''	O	TV Series
''Investigating Sex''	Sevy
	Wyatt Frame
''Spy Kids''	Fegan Floop
''Company Man''	General Batista
	''Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams''	Fegan Floop
	Mr. Folair	National Board of Review Award for Best Cast
''Foyle's War''	Host	TV series
''Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over''	Fegan Floop
	''Shoebox Zoo''	Bruno the Bear	TV Series
''Garfield: The Movie''	Persnikitty	Voice
	Father Chris
	''Son of the Mask''	Loki	Nominated – Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actor
	Lecturer/Goat-Man/FDR
	Jeff Constant
''Neverwas''	Jake
''Sweet Land''	Frandsen	ProducerIndependent Spirit Award for Best First Feature
	''The L Word''	Billie Blaikie	TV Series
''Full Grown Men''	The Hitchhiker	Co-Producer
	''Gray Matters''	Gordy
	John Vandermark	Executive Producer
		TV miniseries
		Dewey
	Grant Matson
	Himself	Documentary
		Sebastian
''Jackboots on Whitehall''	Adolf Hitler	Voice
	Eli Gold	TV Series (Recurring Season 1; Main Cast Season 2-present)Nominated — Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
	Judas Caretake
	Alexis
		Gutsy Smurf
''Spy Kids: All the Time in the World''	Fegan Floop

Bibliography

References

External links

2006 Article on Alan Cumming on Theatre.com

Alan Cumming – ''Downstage Center'' interview at American Theatre Wing.org

TonyAwards.com Interview with Alan Cumming

Knightatthemovies.com 2007 interview with Alan Cumming

Out of bounds, interview by Bryce Hallett in ''The Sydney Morning Herald'', February 7, 2009.

Category:Genital integrity activists Category:1965 births Category:American comedians Category:American film actors Category:American musical theatre actors Category:American screenwriters Category:American stage actors Category:American television actors Category:American voice actors Category:Bisexual actors Category:Drama Desk Award winners Category:LGBT writers from the United States Category:LGBT rights activists from the United States Category:LGBT writers from Scotland Category:LGBT rights activists from Scotland Category:Naturalized citizens of the United States Category:Officers of the Order of the British Empire Category:People from Perth and Kinross Category:People from Angus Category:Alumni of the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama Category:Scottish actors Category:Scottish atheists Category:Scottish comedians Category:Scottish film actors Category:Scottish emigrants to the United States Category:Scottish voice actors Category:Scottish musical theatre actors Category:Scottish screenwriters Category:Scottish stage actors Category:Scottish television actors Category:Tony Award winners Category:Living people Category:GLAAD Media Awards winners

da:Alan Cumming de:Alan Cumming es:Alan Cumming fr:Alan Cumming id:Alan Cumming it:Alan Cumming he:אלן קאמינג la:Alanus Cumming nl:Alan Cumming ja:アラン・カミング pl:Alan Cumming pt:Alan Cumming ro:Alan Cumming ru:Камминг, Алан fi:Alan Cumming sv:Alan Cumming zh:亞倫·甘明

name	Cenk Uygur
birth date	March 21, 1970
birth place	Istanbul, Turkey
residence	Los Angeles
ethnicity	Turkish American
education	Attorney
alma mater	Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania (B.S.), Columbia Law School (J.D.)
occupation	Internet and radio talk show host, political pundit
spouse	Wendy Lang
children	Prometheus Maximus Uygur (b. 2010)
religion	Agnostic
known for	''The Young Turks''
height
weight
movement	Progressive

Cenk Kadir Uygur (; born March 21, 1970), is the main host and co-founder of the Internet and talk radio show, ''The Young Turks''. Born in Turkey and raised in the United States, the Turkish-American Uygur worked as an attorney in Washington D.C. and New York after graduating from Columbia Law School. He was a political commentator on the cable television channel MSNBC in late 2010, and hosted an MSNBC prime time talk show from January 2011 through July of that same year.

Early life, education, and career

Uygur was born in Istanbul, Turkey and emigrated with his family to the United States when he was eight years old. He grew up in East Brunswick Township, New Jersey and graduated from East Brunswick High School. He attended the University of Pennsylvania where he majored in management and was on the Student Activities Council representing the Turkish Students Association. He earned a B.S. in management from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and a J.D. from Columbia Law School. He worked as an associate attorney at the law firms of Drinker Biddle & Reath in Washington, D.C. and Hayes & Liebman in New York City.

Uygur first appeared as a talk show host on a weekend radio show on WWRC in Washington, D.C. and on WRKO in Boston. He later wrote for, produced, and appeared on the WAMI-TV news show ''The Times'' in Miami, then started ''The Young Turks'' on Sirius Satellite Radio.

Political views

Early (1980s-1990s)

Uygur has described himself as a former "Northeast moderate Republican". He was a supporter of President Ronald Reagan, a member of the Republican student group at the University of Pennsylvania, and the conservative Federalist Society.

While in college, he wrote a column in the ''Daily Pennsylvanian'' decrying the lack of affirmative action recruiting for white Christian students at the university and suggesting that all students should be "judged on their merits rather than their physical characteristics." He supported the pro-life position on the abortion issue, criticized aspects of the feminist movement, and felt Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas was treated unjustly during his Senate confirmation hearings. He also criticized organized religion as based on mythology and as a divisive force between peoples.

He has stated that he worked for a time for Republican former New York Congressman Joe DioGuardi. and voted for George H. W. Bush in the 1992 presidential election and for Bob Dole in 1996.

Uygur supported the Gulf War of 1990-1991, and supported the War in Afghanistan from its beginning in 2001 until 2009—though he has strongly opposed the Iraq War.

Later views

On social issues, Uygur is now pro-choice on abortion, and supports LGBT rights, including same-sex marriage. In 2009, he advocated the liberalization of drug laws, arguing that the War on Drugs has been a failure, as shown by the continuing violence in Mexico and the border region. He also opposes imprisoning non-violent drug offenders for marijuana possession. He previously supported capital punishment in the United States, but now opposes it largely due to multiple exonerations of death row inmates since the reinstatement of the death penalty.

Uygur has expressed support for a return to Clinton-era income tax brackets and has criticized the 2010 Obama–GOP compromise which provided for a temporary extension of the Bush tax cuts. Uygur has stated that he favored welfare reform as enacted under Bill Clinton. He has been critical of excessive regulation, but has argued that in recent decades, regulation of the financial sector has been inadequate. In particular, he faults the deregulatory policies of Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush. He views the repeal (which Clinton signed into law} of the Glass–Steagall Act, as a major contributor to the late-2000s recession. However on many issues Uygur maintains that many of his Economic positions have not moved ( He describes himself as a fiscal Conservative in many cases) in instead the right wing has shifted has moved to the more extreme right even since the end of Bush's presidency, describing Rick Perry ( Former Texas Governor and 2012 presidential candidate) as "George Bush on Steroids".

Personal life

Though Uygur was born and raised in a Sunni Muslim family, he considers himself agnostic. He is married to Wendy Lang Uygur, a social worker by education. The Uygurs are the parents of one son, Prometheus Maximus Uygur, born July 2010. He was introduced live on MSNBC by Dylan Ratigan.

References

External links

''The Young Turks''

Category:1970 births Category:American agnostics Category:American former Muslims Category:American lawyers

Category:American political pundits Category:American talk radio hosts Category:Columbia Law School alumni Category:Living people Category:MSNBC Category:Naturalized citizens of the United States Category:People from East Brunswick Township, New Jersey Category:People from Istanbul Category:The Young Turks (talk show) Category:Turkish emigrants to the United States Category:Wharton School alumni

fi:Cenk Uygur tr:Cenk Uygur

birthname	Daniel Keenan Savage
birth date	October 07, 1964
birth place	Chicago, Illinois
spouse	Terry Miller
children	D.J.
other names	Keenan Hollahan
education	B.A., Theater, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
occupation	Author, media pundit, journalist, newspaper editor and sex advice columnist }}

Daniel Keenan "Dan" Savage (born October 7, 1964) is an American author, media pundit, journalist and newspaper editor. Savage writes the internationally syndicated relationship and sex advice column ''Savage Love''. Its tone is frank in its discussion of sexuality, often humorous, and hostile to social conservatives, as in the Santorum controversy regarding homosexuality. Savage, who is gay, has often been the subject of controversy regarding some of his opinions that pointedly clash with cultural conservatives and those put forth by what Savage has been known to call the "gay establishment". He has also worked as a theater director, both under his real name and under the name Keenan Hollahan, using his middle name and his grandmother's maiden name. In 2010, Savage and his husband Terry Miller began the It Gets Better Project to help prevent suicide among LGBT youth.

Early life and college

Dan Savage was born to William and Judy Savage in Chicago, Illinois. He is of Irish ancestry. The third of four children, Savage was raised as a Roman Catholic and attended Quigley Preparatory Seminary North, which he has described as "a Catholic high school in Chicago for boys thinking of becoming priests." Though Savage has stated that he is now "a wishy-washy agnostic" and an atheist, he has said that he still considers himself "culturally Catholic."

Savage attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he studied theater and history. As a theater director, Savage (working under the name "Keenan Hollahan") was a founder of Seattle's Greek Active Theater. Much of the group's work has been queer recontextualizations of classic works, such as a tragicomic ''Macbeth'' with both the title character and Lady Macbeth played by performers of the opposite sex. In March 2001, he directed his own ''Egguus'' at Consolidated Works, a parody of Peter Shaffer's 1973 play ''Equus'' which exchanged a fixation on horses for a fixation on chickens. Savage has not directed, produced, or performed in any productions since a 2003 production of ''Letters from the Earth'', also at Consolidated Works, his trimmed version of Mark Twain's ''The Diary of Adam and Eve'', which received scathing reviews, including one from his own paper, "My Boss's Show Stinks".

Savage Love

In 1991, Savage was living in Madison, Wisconsin, and working as a manager at a local video store that specialized in independent film titles. There, Savage befriended Tim Keck, co-founder of ''The Onion'', who announced that he was moving to Seattle to help start an alternative weekly newspaper titled ''The Stranger''. Savage "made the offhand comment that forever altered [his] life: 'Make sure your paper has an advice column — everybody claims to hate 'em, but everybody seems to read 'em'." Savage typed up a sample column, and to Savage's surprise Keck offered him the job.

Savage stated in a February 2006 interview in ''The Onion'''s ''A.V. Club'' (which publishes his column) that he began the column with the express purpose of providing mocking advice to heterosexuals. Savage wanted to call the column "Hey Faggot!" His editors at the time refused his choice of column name, but for the first several years of the column, he attached "Hey Faggot!" at the beginning of each printed letter as a salutation. According to Savage: In his February 25, 1999 column, Savage announced that he was retiring the phrase: "Lo many columns later, it feels strange to begin every column with a joke about a debate that ended years ago."

He has written in a number of columns about "straight rights" concerns, such as the HPV vaccine and the morning-after pill, stating in his November 9, 2005, column that "[t]he right-wingers and the fundies and the sex-phobes don't just have it in for the queers. They're coming for your asses too."

Radio and journalism

thumb|right|Dan Savage speaking at Illinois Wesleyan University, 2007In addition to maintaining his weekly column and authoring four books, Savage has been involved in several other projects.

From 1994 until 1997, he had a weekly three-hour call-in show called ''Savage Love Live'' on Seattle's KCMU (now KEXP). From 1998 to 2000, he ran the biweekly advice column ''Dear Dan'' on the news website abcnews.com.

He is now the editorial director of the weekly Seattle newspaper ''The Stranger'', a promotion from his former position as ''The Stranger''s editor-in-chief. Savage is currently a contributor to ''This American Life'', an hour-long radio show on Chicago's WBEZ syndicated by PRI, as well as a frequent contributor to ''Out'' magazine and a "Real Time Real Reporter" on HBO's ''Real Time with Bill Maher''. He has also made multiple appearances on MSNBC's ''Countdown with Keith Olbermann'' and CNN's ''Anderson Cooper 360'' discussing LGBT politcal issues such as same-sex marriage and Don't Ask Don't Tell.

Podcast

The Savage Lovecast is a weekly audio podcast based on Savage's column ''Savage Love'', available via iTunes and at the ''Stranger'''s website for free download. It features Savage doing a call-in version of his sex advice column.

iPhone App

In 2010, the Savage Love iPhone App was released. The app features a "Question of the Day" pulled from "Slog," the Stranger's blog, as well as archived and indexed advice from ''Savage Love''s archives. The app also provides access to The Savage Lovecast podcast and videos of Savage's speaking appearances, among other features.

Opinions and points of view

It Gets Better Project

On September 21, 2010, Savage started the It Gets Better Project in light of the suicide of 15-year-old Billy Lucas, who was bullied for his perceived sexual orientation. The project encourages adults, both LGBT and otherwise, to submit videos assuring gay teenagers that life can improve after bullying in early life. As of January 3, 2011, the project had over 5,000 user created testimonials.

Political advocacy

Savage has written about his interest in political matters. His political leanings are primarily liberal, with pronounced contrarian and libertarian streaks. For example, he wrote that in 2000, suffering from the flu while on an assignment for salon.com to cover the Iowa caucuses, he was so angered by televised remarks in opposition to same-sex marriage by conservative Republican presidential hopeful Gary Bauer that he abandoned his original plan "to follow one of the loopy conservative Christian candidates around — Bauer or Alan Keyes — and write something insightful and humanizing about him, his campaign, and his supporters." Instead, he volunteered for the Bauer campaign with the intent to infect the candidate with his flu. He wrote that he licked doorknobs and other objects in the campaign office, and handed Bauer a saliva-coated pen, hoping to pass the virus on to Bauer and his supporters (though he later said that much of the article had been fictitious). He also registered and participated in the caucus, which was illegal, as Savage was not an Iowa resident. He was charged and pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of fraudulent voting in a caucus, and was sentenced to a year's probation, 50 hours of community service, and a $750 fine.

Savage frequently mentions political issues in his column, particularly issues that affect family planning, birth control, and sexuality. He often encourages readers to get involved and/or voice a positive or negative opinion about a politician or public official.

After Rick Santorum, then a United States senator from Pennsylvania, made comments to a reporter comparing homosexual sex to bestiality and incest in 2003, Savage assailed Santorum in his column. Later, he sponsored a contest that led to the term ''santorum'' being used to refer to "the frothy mixture of lube and fecal matter that is sometimes a byproduct of anal sex". Savage set up a website to spread the definition. In 2010, Savage offered to remove his website if Rick Santorum would agree to donate US$5 million to a gay rights group. The organization, Freedom to Marry, advocates on behalf of same-sex marriage in the United States. Savage told ''Mother Jones'' in 2010, "If Rick Santorum wants to make a $5 million donation to [the gay marriage group] Freedom to Marry, I will take it down. Interest starts accruing now." Evan Wolfson, executive director of Freedom to Marry, responded in a statement to ''Metro Weekly'': "Support for Freedom to Marry's national campaign would be welcome—and a good way for Rick Santorum to start cleaning up the discriminatory mess he and his companions have made."

Savage continued the tradition in 2009 by having his readers vote to define ''saddlebacking'' as "the phenomenon of Christian teens engaging in unprotected anal sex in order to preserve their virginities", as a protest against the vocal support given to California Proposition 8 by Rick Warren (pastor of Saddleback Church), and President Barack Obama's invitation to Warren to give the invocation at his inauguration. When Savage vowed to boycott Utah due to strong Mormon support for Proposition 8 ("Fuck you, Utah – we’re going to big, blue Colorado"), the ''Salt Lake City Weekly'' dropped Savage's column: "all Utahns aren’t to blame."

Savage strongly supported the war in Iraq in the pages of ''The Stranger'' in October 2002. By the time of the U.S. invasion in March 2003, however, he had somewhat softened his argument.

Savage has also been a vocal opponent of state legislation proscribing the sale of sex toys. After an exposé by Kandiss Crone from WLBT (Jackson, Mississippi) precipitated the arrest and fining of an adult video store owner, Savage suggested that readers send any sex toys that they needed to dispose of to Crone.

Personal opinions

Savage initially supported the Iraq war and advocated military action against other Middle Eastern states, including Iran and Saudi Arabia, saying, "Islamo-fascism is a regional problem, like European fascism – and the Middle East [has] to be remade just as Europe was remade." One week before the war began, Savage spoke against it, citing the inability of President George W. Bush to form a convincing case and sway the UN and NATO allies. By 2005 he deemed the situation "hopeless" and advocated an immediate troop withdrawal. He describes his view toward family as "conservative", and his husband, Terry Miller, is a "stay-at-home dad" for the couple's adopted son. He has, however, expressed skepticism of "simplistic" views of monogamy. In response to a letter asking "Is the AIDS crisis over?" Savage, in his October 22, 1997 column, answered simply, "Yes." Several weeks of columns were devoted in whole or in part to discussion of the issue. In an interview with the ''Daily Pennsylvanian'', Savage stated that then-Green Party Senate candidate Carl Romanelli, whom Savage claimed was partially funded by state Republicans for a spoiler effect against Democrat Bob Casey, "should be dragged behind a pickup truck until there's nothing left but the rope." In the same interview, he stated, "Mr. Romanelli should go fuck himself." Immediately after the interview, Savage wrote, "I regret using that truck metaphor, and didn't mean it literally, and it was in poor taste, and I regret it." He opposes the tactics of the War on Drugs, and opposes the prohibition of certain controlled substances. On HBO's ''Real Time With Bill Maher'' July 15, 2011, during a panel discussion of the debt limit increase negotiations between the U.S. Congress and President Barack Obama, Savage said in a stand-alone remark, "I wish the Republicans were all fucking dead." He apologized for his remarks on his blog later the same night saying in part, "I don't feel that way. My dad is a Republican. (Well, he says he's an independent, but he hasn't voted for a Democrat since JFK. My dad is a Republican.)"

Views on outing

Savage stated in a column that he favors outing in some cases, specifically mentioning anti-gay activist Tyler Whitney. However, in the same column he noted that "I recently talked someone ''out'' of outing a public figure. A ''Savage Love'' reader was contemplating outing an innocuous celebrity back in April. I advised him against it because, as I wrote to him privately, outing is brutal and it should be reserved for brutes."

Local issues

Savage's editorship of ''The Stranger'' has established him as a voice in local Seattle politics. His most high-profile commentary has been as an outspoken critic of the Teen Dance Ordinance and other crackdowns on all-ages events.

Savage argues that closing down supervised all-ages dance venues drives teens to boredom and reckless activities: "Places like Ground Zero and the Kirkland Teen Center are invaluable from a law enforcement point of view. They keep kids out of, say, 7-Eleven parking lots or the homes of friends whose parents are away."

Ann Landers

On December 3, 2002, Savage announced in an article that he had purchased columnist Ann Landers's desk; she died on June 22 of that year. Savage has facetiously referred to Landers as his "college roommate" and said "I like to think of myself as a gay Ann Landers."

Family and marriage

Savage's home state of Washington allows same-sex couples to adopt children and enter civil unions, but does not legally recognize same-sex marriage. In March 2004, Savage wrote about an action that he took to highlight what he saw as being indicative of same-sex couples' lack of legal right to marry. After his co-worker Amy Jenniges was denied a license to marry her girlfriend Sonia, Jenniges and Savage obtained a license to marry one another. He wrote at the time, "We emphasized to the clerk and her manager that Amy and I don't live together, we don't love each other, we don't plan to have kids together, and we're going to go on living and sleeping with our same-sex partners after we get married. So could we still get a marriage license?" According to Savage, the license-department manager replied, "Sure. If you've got $54, you can have a marriage license."

Savage and his husband, Terry, have one adopted son, D.J., and were married in Vancouver, BC in 2005.

Awards

!Year !! Work !! Award !! Organization !! Result
1999	''The Kid: What Happened After My Boyfriend and I Decided to Go Get Pregnant''	PEN West Award for Excellence in Creative Nonfiction	PEN Center USA
2003	rowspan="2"	Lambda Literary Award	Lambda Literary Foundation
2004	''The Best American Sex Writing 2004''	Running Press
			International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences
Anthony Giffard "Make the Change" Award

Bibliography

In addition to his advice column, Savage has written four books, edited one book, and authored various op-ed pieces in ''The New York Times''.

References

External links

Savage Love – Savage's weekly sex advice column

* Savage's podcasts

It Gets Better Project

Category:1964 births Category:American advice columnists Category:American agnostics Category:American memoirists Category:American political pundits Category:American political writers Category:American relationships and sexuality writers Category:American Roman Catholics Category:American writers of Irish descent Category:Gay writers Category:Lambda Literary Award winners Category:LGBT memoirists Category:LGBT writers from the United States Category:LGBT journalists Category:LGBT parents Category:Living people Category:People from Chicago, Illinois Category:People from Madison, Wisconsin Category:People from Seattle, Washington Category:Sex columnists Category:Sex educators Category:University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign alumni Category:Writers from Chicago, Illinois Category:Writers from Washington (state) Category:Writers from Wisconsin *

de:Dan Savage es:Dan Savage fr:Dan Savage la:Daniel Keenan Savage simple:Dan Savage

Position	Point Guard
Height ft	6 |height_in 4
Weight lbs	180
Number	2, 20, 42
Birth date	July 23, 1968Oakland, California
League
Debutyear	1990
Finalyear	2007
Draftyear	1990
Draftround	1
Draftpick	2
Draftteam	Seattle SuperSonics
High school	Skyline (Oakland, California)
College	Oregon State (1986-1990)
Teams
years1	– |team1Seattle SuperSonics
years2	|team2Milwaukee Bucks
years3	|team3Los Angeles Lakers
years4	|team4Boston Celtics
years5	– |team5Miami Heat
Stat1label	Points
Stat1value	21,813
Stat2label	Assists
Stat2value	8,966
Stat3label	Steals
Stat3value	2,445
Highlights	NBA Champion (2006) NBA Defensive Player of the Year (1996) 9× NBA All-Star (1994–1998, 2000–2003) 2× All-NBA First Team (1998, 2000) 5× All-NBA Second Team (1995–1997, 1999, 2002) 2× All-NBA Third Team (1994, 2001) 9× NBA All-Defensive First Team (1994–2002) NBA All-Rookie Second Team (1991) NCAA All-America First Team (1990)
Letter	p
Bbr	paytoga01 }}

}}

Gary Dwayne Payton (born July 23, 1968) is a former American professional basketball point guard. He is best known for his 13-year tenure with the Seattle SuperSonics, and holds Seattle franchise records in points, assists, and steals. He has also played with the Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Lakers, Boston Celtics and Miami Heat, the last with whom he won an NBA Championship.

The only point guard ever to win the NBA Defensive Player of the Year award, Payton is widely considered one of the greatest of all time at that position. He was selected to the NBA All-Defensive First Team nine times, an NBA record he shares with Michael Jordan, Kevin Garnett and Kobe Bryant. Payton got his nickname "The Glove" when Payton's cousin called him during the 1993 Western Conference Finals series against Phoenix and told him, "you're holding Kevin Johnson like a baseball in a glove," and the nickname was born.

Considered the "NBA's reigning high scorer among point guards" in his prime, Payton is referred to as "probably as complete a guard as there ever was" by NBA Hall of Famer Gail Goodrich.

High school and college career

Payton was born in Oakland, California. He played high school basketball at Skyline High School in Oakland, California, along with former NBA player Greg Foster, before attending Oregon State University in Corvallis, Oregon. In his sophomore year, his grades plummeted and was declared academically ineligible. His dad encouraged him to focus on school, and he was allowed to play again. Throughout his four-year career at OSU, he became one of the most decorated basketball players in OSU history. During his senior year, Payton was featured on the March 5, 1990 cover of ''Sports Illustrated'' magazine as the nation's best college basketball player. He was a consensus All-American in 1990; three-time All-Pac-10 selection, and named the Pac-10 conference's 1987 Freshman of the Year. He was the MVP of the Far West Classic tournament three times and was the Pac-10 Player of the Week nine times. He also was named to the Pac-10's All-Decade Team. At the time of his graduation, he held the school record for points, field goals, three-point field goals, assists, and steals — the only record which he still holds today. During his career at OSU, the Beavers made three NCAA Tournament appearances and one NIT appearance. He was elected into OSU's Sports Hall of Fame in 1996.

NBA career

Payton was the second overall pick in the 1990 NBA Draft by the Seattle SuperSonics, and spent his first 12½ seasons with the Sonics. Entering the league to star-studded expectations, Payton struggled during his first two seasons in the league, averaging 8.2 points per game during that span. However, he soon proved himself to be one of the league's top point guards, while, during the 90s Payton, alongside Shawn Kemp formed the "Sonic Boom" – one of the most thrilling tandems of all time. He earned his first of 9 consecutive All-NBA team selections when he was chosen to the All-NBA Third team in 1994. Payton would go on to make the All-NBA First-Team in 1998 and 2000, All-NBA Second Team in 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, and 2002, and All-NBA Third Team in 1994 and 2001. He was selected to the NBA All-Defensive First Team a record nine consecutive seasons (1994–2002), and won the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award in 1996, the first guard to have won the award in 8 years. He has been selected to the NBA All-Star Team nine times and was voted as a starter in 1997 and 1998. He was a member of the gold medal-winning 1996 and 2000 U.S. Men's Olympic Basketball Teams. In 1996, Payton and the SuperSonics, under coach George Karl, reached the NBA Finals after winning a franchise record 64 games and lost in six games to Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls. In the middle of the 2002–03 season at the trade deadline, Payton was sent to the Milwaukee Bucks in a five-player deal that sent Ray Allen to Seattle. Payton played the remaining 28 games with the Bucks. As an unrestricted free agent prior to the 2003–04 season, Payton, along with Karl Malone, signed with the Los Angeles Lakers to make a run at the NBA Championship. According to his agent, he turned down a $35 million contract with the Portland Trail Blazers to sign with the Lakers for the mid-level exception. In reality, the Blazers had a huge payroll at the time and could not have offered more than the same mid-level exception. Despite injuries to Malone, Shaquille O'Neal, and Kobe Bryant during the regular season, the Lakers won 56 games and the Pacific Division. The Lakers then beat Houston, San Antonio, and Minnesota on the way to the Finals, where they lost to Detroit four games to one.

Prior to the 2004–05 season, the Lakers traded Payton and Rick Fox to the Boston Celtics for center Chris Mihm, small forward Jumaine Jones and point guard Chucky Atkins. While Payton expressed displeasure with the trade, he ultimately did report to Boston and began the 2004–05 season as the Celtics' starting point guard. On February 24, 2005 Payton was traded to the Atlanta Hawks in a deal that brought former Celtic Antoine Walker back to Boston. The Hawks then waived Payton immediately following the trade, and he returned a week later to Boston as a free agent. Payton started all 77 games he played for the Celtics and they won the Atlantic Division before losing in the first round to the Indiana Pacers.

On September 22, 2005, he signed a one-year $1.1 million contract with Miami, reuniting with Walker (who was acquired seven weeks earlier by the Heat), as well as former Lakers' teammate Shaquille O'Neal. Payton finally won his first NBA Championship in his sixteenth season in the league when, on June 20, 2006, the Heat defeated the Dallas Mavericks in game six of the 2006 NBA Finals for a four to two series victory. Payton hit two crucial shots in that series: a game-winning shot in game three that ignited the Heat's comeback in the series (after being down 0–2) and, in game five, the Heat's final field goal in a one-point victory.

On September 6, 2006, the 38-year old Payton re-signed with the defending champion Miami Heat on a one-year, $1.2 million contract. During the subsequent 2006-07 NBA season, Payton continued to climb up several NBA all-time lists: he moved from 17th to 8th in all-time NBA games played, passed John Havlicek and Robert Parish to move into 7th in all-time minutes played, and passed Hal Greer and Larry Bird to become the 21st-highest scorer in NBA history.

Personality

Payton is well-known for his trash-talk. His trademark open-mouth, bobbing-head style on the court (combined with his 17 years in the league) led to Payton receiving the third-most technical fouls of all time (behind Jerry Sloan and Rasheed Wallace). This, along with other factors, earned Payton a reputation as a difficult, volatile, and somewhat egotistical presence in the locker room, which was further fueled by various fines and suspensions handed out to him by team management during Payton's last few years in Seattle.

However, Payton became much less volatile in his later years, and many players, including Shaquille O'Neal and Antoine Walker, have greatly enjoyed playing with Payton. In Los Angeles, Boston, and Miami, he was recognized as a psychological leader and mentor for many of the younger players. Of his trash talking, Payton has stated "I never take it too far...I just try to talk and get their mind off the game, and turn their attention on me", adding that "sometimes I get accused of trash talking even though I'm not...[referees and spectators] immediately figure you're trash talking. But I could be talking to a guy about what's going on or asking about his family." One of Payton's major beliefs is that "mental toughness" is as much a part of the game as on-court play. In addition, All-Star point guard Jason Kidd has referred to Payton as a "mentor" for the way he treated Kidd growing up in the same neighborhood of Oakland. Payton has said that his own mental toughness was developed in his days learning to play basketball in Oakland: "You learned that you can be friends before the game and after the game. But once the game starts, it's all about business. No jive."

Payton has appeared in many movies and television shows, and in 2001, gave a humorous, televised "motivational speech" to his team during the NBA All-Star Game.

Playing style

Since Payton's career ended in 2007, he has been mentioned among the all-time greatest point guards. Gail Goodrich, who played with hall of fame guard Jerry West, said "Gary Payton is probably as complete a guard as there ever was." Legendary point guard Kevin Johnson considers Payton "certainly...amongst the best ever" and "just as intimidating...maybe even more so than all-time greats Magic Johnson, Isiah Thomas, Tiny Archibald and Maurice Cheeks." When asked to classify the best players in each position of the late 1990s and early 21st century, NBA coach George Karl said of Payton, "I don't know who else you'd take at point guard. Some say Jason Kidd. Well, every time Gary went nose-to-nose with Kidd, Gary won that matchup."

Payton's all-time rankings for points (31st) and assists (8th) highlight the tremendous offensive contributions he made throughout his career, but he is most widely recognized for his defensive contributions. ''The Sporting News'' said in 2000 that Payton was "building a case as the best two-way point guard in history", and asked "If you weigh offense and defense equally, is Payton the best ever?" When comparing Payton to the all-time greats, it has been said that "Payton arguably is the best defender of them all, and his offensive game is better than most."

His defensive prowess was once described by Kevin Johnson:

"You think of guys with great hands, like Maurice Cheeks and Derek Harper. Gary is like that. But he's also a great individual defender and a great team defender. He has all three components covered. That's very rare."

Offensively, Payton was not a particularly strong shooter but was much more physical than most point guards of his era, preferring to use his 6'4 body frame and strength to shield defenders on his way to the basket or posting up his opponent in an isolation play. Nonetheless, in his prime, Payton was the "NBA's reigning high scorer among point guards."

He is the only guard to have won the NBA Defensive Player of the Year award since Michael Jordan in 1988. Also, he, Jordan and Kobe Bryant share the record for most career NBA All-Defensive First Team selections, with 9. He is currently third all-time in career steals. A strong all-around player, Payton also ranks fifth all-time among guards in defensive rebounds, 12th in offensive rebounds, and 10th in total rebounds for a guard. Among players considered point guards, Payton ranks 3rd in defensive rebounds, 5th in offensive rebounds, and 4th in total rebounds, behind Jason Kidd, Oscar Robertson and Magic Johnson.

Payton vs. Jordan

Payton is also considered one of the best defensive opponents of Michael Jordan, and the two players had a high-profile rivalry that culminated in the 1996 NBA Finals. Jordan and Payton are the only two guards to have won the NBA Defensive Player of the Year award since 1989, and despite their different positions (shooting guard and point guard respectively), they were well matched for other reasons. Both were prodigious "trash talkers" (Larry Johnson once named Payton, Jordan and himself the best three trash talkers in the league), had legendary competitiveness, and as the 1997 ''NBA Preview'' magazine stated, "Payton [was] quick, and strong as an ox", making him the kind of player who could frustrate Jordan defensively. Payton, at 6'4" and with a tough physique, was one of a handful of point guards with the size and body type to guard Jordan.

Midway through the 1996 NBA Finals, Seattle coach George Karl made the decision to assign Payton to play defense as a shooting guard instead of his normal point guard assignment in order to defend Jordan. Though the Bulls won the series, Seattle's (and especially Payton's) defense held Jordan and the Bulls to their lowest offensive output in an NBA finals and "frustrated the best player in the game." In his first three NBA Finals, Jordan averaged 36.3 points per game and had scored at least 30 points in 14 of his 17 games. However, in the 1996 Finals, Jordan averaged 27.3 points per game and scored more than 30 points in only 1 of the 6 games. In a game 5 preview after Payton had held Jordan to a career NBA Finals low of 23, an NBA pregame show described the rivalry of two strong defensive players renowned for their competitiveness.

"[In Game 4, Jordan had his] lowest output in a Finals game, much of it with Payton guarding him. Though afterwards, Jordan refused to give Payton credit, saying 'No one can stop me, I can only stop myself. I missed some easy shots.' The truth is, Jordan finds the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year [Payton] annoying. He views the [young Payton] as impudent, and he would love to have a big game at [Payton's] expense." (NBA on NBC Preview, Game 5)

The Sonics won that game by 21 points and Payton held Jordan to 26 points – Jordan's second-lowest-scoring Finals game in his career up to that point. In game 6, which the Bulls would win to capture the Championship, Payton played 47 minutes and Jordan missed 14 of his 19 shots, getting a career Finals low 22 points. By the end of the series, Michael Jordan had been held under 30 points in 5 of the 6 games, including his three lowest-scoring Finals games up to that point (26 in Game 5, 23 in Game 4, 22 in Game 6). Bill Walton, commentating for NBC at the time, said Payton "outplayed" Jordan during the second half of the series, and that Seattle coach George Karl would "rue" the decision to "hide [Payton] from 'the king'" in the early games of the series. During this series, Payton and his Sonics also held Jordan's Bulls to the lowest-scoring quarter in their NBA Finals history. Michael Jordan would never score fewer points in an NBA Finals game than his 22 points in game 6, and would never be held under 30 points more than twice in a Finals series, which the Sonics did five times.

Heart of a Champion

Many attribute his greatness to the tremendous work ethic and courage he displayed throughout his career. In his 17-year career, Payton missed only 25 games, and at one point held the longest active streak for consecutive games played, with over 300. Of those games he did miss, many were due to suspensions or coaches' decisions (particularly in his final season), as Payton was highly capable (and highly willing) of playing through injury. ''The Sporting News'' noted in a 2000 article, "Durability always has been one of Payton's strong suits. He has missed only two games in 10 seasons and is generally counted on for nearly a full game's worth of nonstop motion, despite chronic back pain that requires extensive stretching and regular applications of heating packs." The hard working and well-conditioned Karl Malone was the only player to log more minutes of playing time than Payton in the 1990s, and since the 1990–91 season when Payton joined the league, no player has logged more total minutes. ''Sports Illustrated'' labeled Payton's 2003–04 season as the best season ever by a point guard aged 35 or older, with the exception of John Stockton's later years, and Payton continued to play at a high level even as he advanced in age.

In his later years, Payton gained recognition as a clutch performer, hitting several key shots during the Miami Heat's 2006 championship run. In 2006, he was referred to as "obviously...one of the greatest clutch shooters of our time".

Charity and community involvement

Payton has made numerous well-regarded contributions of both time and money to the community. He set up ''The Gary Payton Foundation'' in 1996 to provide safe places for recreational activity, and to help underprivileged youth in his hometown of Oakland stay in school. He hosts an annual charity basketball game as part of his foundation. Payton and his wife, Monique, have been active in fundraising endeavors for HIV awareness, and Payton has lent many hours and provided tremendous financial support to the Boys & Girls Club of America and the Make-a-Wish Foundation. Payton has also donated Miami Heat tickets to underprivileged children. For the Christmas of 2003 he took 10 families from the Ronald McDonald house in Los Angeles and let each of the over 40 children have a $100 shopping spree at FAO Schwarz. For Christmas, 2005, he gave 60 children $100 Toys-R-Us shopping sprees as part of the Voices For Children program. In 1999 he wrote an autobiographical children's book entitled ''Confidence Counts'' as part of the "Positively for Kids" series, illustrating the importance of confidence through events in his own life. In July 1999, Payton was named to The Sporting News' "Good Guys In Sports" list. Payton hosted a radio show in early 1998 on Seattle's KUBE 93.3 station. He played hip-hop including The Roots, Raekwon, Outkast, and Cam'ron. He did it for charity during the NBA lockout.

Support of Seattle basketball

Due to the Seattle SuperSonics moving to Oklahoma City, Payton has openly expressed his desire not to have his retired jersey number in Oklahoma City as part of that team's history. He wishes instead for it to remain in Seattle, where he enjoyed the majority of his career's success and popularity. This seems likely as the SuperSonics' team name, colors, uniforms and trophies are remaining in Seattle for a possible future team to adopt upon arrival.

Payton is featured in the documentary Sonicsgate, which covers the team's relocation from Seattle to Oklahoma City.

Payton is currently working on bringing the NBA back to Seattle. He also stated when the NBA comes back to Seattle he wants to be part of the team so the team won't be relocated again.

Personal

Payton is the son of Al and Annie Payton. He married Monique James on July 26, 1997. They live in Oakland and Las Vegas, NV and have three kids: Gary Jr., Julian, and Raquel, a sophomore at St John's University. Payton also has another son named Gary Payton II with a different mother. His brother, Brandon played in New Zealand for a period of time, playing for the Manawatu Jets.

Post NBA career

During the 2008–09 season, Payton served as a studio analyst for NBA TV and as an occasional substitute analyst on ''The NBA on TNT''. He was replaced with Kevin McHale for the 2009–10 season.

Movie and TV appearances

Payton has appeared in ''White Men Can't Jump'' (1992), ''Eddie'' (1996), Like Mike, and also performed a speaking role in the 1999 comedy film ''The Breaks''.

Payton appeared on ''Onion SportsDome''.

Awards/accomplishments

NBA highlights

NBA Champion: 2006

NBA Defensive Player of The Year: 1996 (only point guard ever to win the award, and only guard to win the award in the 1990s)

9-time NBA All-Star: 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003

9-time All-NBA:

:* First Team: 1998, 2000 :* Second Team: 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2002 :* Third Team: 1994, 2001 9-time All-Defensive First Team member: 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999*, 2000*, 2001, 2002 (shares record for selections with Michael Jordan)

* Highest vote getter in 1999 and 2000, second highest in 1998 and 2002

NBA All-Rookie Second Team: 1991

Led NBA in Assists: 1999–2000 (732)

Led NBA in Steals: 1995–96 (231)

Led NBA in Three-Pointers Made: 1999–2000 (177)

NBA milestones

When Payton retired after the 2007 season, he was ranked in the all-time NBA top 10 in many categories:

:* 21st in points (21,813) :* 7th in assists (8,966) :* 3rd in steals (2,445) :* 7th in minutes played (47,117) :* 8th in games played (1,335) :* 15th in overall win shares (417)

Only player in NBA history to accumulate 20,000 points, 5,000 rebounds, 8,000 assists and 2,000 steals in a career

:* Along with John Stockton and Jason Kidd, Payton is one of only three players to compile 8,000 assists and 2,000 steals in his career

Between 1990–91 and 2005–06, Payton was first in the league in total minutes played, games played, and steals, was second in total assists (behind John Stockton), and was third in points (Karl Malone, Shaquille O'Neal). During this span, Payton also led all guards in offensive rebounds.

Seattle SuperSonics Records

:* ranks 1st all-time in points (18,207), assists (7,384), steals (2,107), games played (999), minutes played (36,858), field goals made (7,292), field goals attempted (15,562), three pointers attempted (2,855) and triple-doubles (14) :* ranks 2nd in free throws attempted (3,726) and three pointers made (917) :* ranks 3rd in total rebounds (4,240), free throws made (2,706) and defensive rebounds (3,043)

Other

2 Olympic Gold Medals with USA: 1996 Olympic Games (Atlanta) and 2000 Olympic Games (Sydney).

Ranked #38 on SLAM's Top 50 NBA Players of All Time in 2009.

Ranked #10 on ESPN's Top 10 NBA Point Guards of All Time.

*In a 2006 poll of 86,000 ESPN.com readers who were asked to rank the ESPN top 10 on various aspects of the game, Payton was considered "best defender" by 48.1% of respondents. Walt "Clyde" Frazier was second, with 11.8% of the vote. Payton and Frazier are the only two point guards to be selected to more than 5 NBA All-Defensive First Teams (9 and 7, respectively), and two of only four players who were selected to 5 or more All-Defensive teams without ever being on an All-Defensive 2nd team (Michael Jordan and Dave Debusschere are the others).

In 2005, Payton was #1 on the list of best college point guards of the past 15 years by a reporter for College Hoops Net In a 2008 Espn.com article, Payton was named the best #2 draft pick in NBA history during the "lottery era" (1985–present), ahead of Jason Kidd Payton, who is tied for 31st with 9 NBA All-Star game appearances, has been a solid performer in All-Star games, leading his team in assists three times (1995, 1997 and 1998), and in points once (1996). Payton had the two highest single-game assist totals for NBA All-Star games in the 1990s (15 in 1995, and 13 in 1998). He is currently #6 all-time in All-Star game assists and is #10 in All-Star game steals. He is also tied for #1 in All-Star game free throw percentage, having never missed a free throw in any of his 8 attempts. Payton was runner-up to Mitch Richmond for the 1995 NBA All-Star Game MVP award.

In 2006, in commemoration of the NBA's 60th anniversary, TNT selected Payton among the "Next 10" players to be added to the list of 50 Greatest Players in NBA History, essentially recognizing Payton as one of the 60 Greatest Players in NBA History.

In the ''NBA's 100 Greatest Plays'', Payton was responsible for the 4th greatest play in the "Hustle" category, passed to Kemp in the NBA's 5th greatest Alley Oop, and was also featured in the NBA's greatest steals segment. Payton has been on the cover of ''Sports Illustrated'' six times: three times as the featured cover story (in 1990, 1994, and 1996), and three times in a secondary role.

Payton has appeared on the cover of SLAM Magazine two times – June 1998 and March 2003.

The Seattle Mayor's Office declared June 6, 2000 as "Gary Payton Day".

Payton was mentioned in JR Writer's song, I'm a Real OG, for his superb crossover dribble.

He has had two streaks of 350+ consecutive games played. Payton played 354 consecutive games between January 16, 1992 and March 13, 1996. Five days later, Payton began his second iron-man streak playing in 356 consecutive games between March 18, 1996 and Jan. 17, 2001. In 1999, Charles Barkley called Payton "the greatest player in the world."

See also

List of National Basketball Association players with 1000 games played

List of National Basketball Association career scoring leaders

List of National Basketball Association career assists leaders

List of National Basketball Association career steals leaders

List of National Basketball Association career turnovers leaders

List of National Basketball Association career playoff assists leaders

List of National Basketball Association career playoff steals leaders

List of NCAA Division I men's basketball career assists leaders

List of NCAA Division I men's basketball career steals leaders

References

External links

Gary Payton at NBA.com

Category:1968 births Category:Living people Category:African American basketball players Category:Basketball players at the 1996 Summer Olympics Category:Basketball players at the 2000 Summer Olympics Category:Basketball players from California Category:Boston Celtics players Category:Los Angeles Lakers players Category:Miami Heat players Category:Milwaukee Bucks players Category:NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award winners Category:Olympic basketball players of the United States Category:Olympic gold medalists for the United States Category:Oregon State Beavers men's basketball players Category:Sportspeople from Oakland, California Category:Point guards Category:Seattle SuperSonics draft picks Category:Seattle SuperSonics players Category:United States men's national basketball team members Category:Olympic medalists in basketball

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