Ian Drew is a Senior Editor (music) for American celebrity magazine, Us Weekly. He speaks about celebrities, music and fashion on television shows including CNN,^[1] Good Morning America,^[2] The Early Show,^[3] MSNBC,^[4] and Fox News.^[5] He interviewed Janet Jackson for one of Us Weekly's best-selling issues.^[6]

References[link]

Jason Segel
Segel in September 2011
Born	Jason Jordan Segel (1980-01-18) January 18, 1980 (age 32) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actor, screenwriter, composer, musician, singer
Years active	1998–present

Jason Jordan Segel (born January 18, 1980) is an American television and film actor, screenwriter, composer, puppeteer, musician, and singer, known for his work with producer Judd Apatow on the cult classic, short-lived television series Freaks and Geeks and Undeclared, the films Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Knocked Up, I Love You, Man, Gulliver's Travels, Bad Teacher, Despicable Me, and The Muppets, and also for his role as Marshall Eriksen in the CBS hit sitcom How I Met Your Mother.

Early life[link]

Segel was born in Los Angeles, the son of Jillian (née Jordan), a homemaker, and Alvin G. Segel, a lawyer,^[1][2] and grew up in Pacific Palisades, California. His father is Jewish and his mother is Christian.^[3] He has stated that he was raised Jewish,^[4] as well as "a little bit of everything":^[5] he went to Hebrew school and had a Bar Mitzvah, and also attended St. Matthew's Parish School, a private Episcopal school.^[6][7] He has an older half-brother, Adam, and a younger sister, Alison.^[8] He has stated that he and Adam were not close while growing up.^[9]

Following elementary school and middle school, Segel completed his high school studies at Harvard-Westlake School, where his 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) frame helped him as an active member of the 1996 and 1997 CIF state champion boys' basketball team. He was a backup for the team's star centers, twin brothers Jarron and Jason Collins.^[10] Segel had hopes of becoming a professional actor while in college, although he ultimately chose not to go to college. Rather, he acted in local theater productions at Palisades Playhouse.^[11]

Career[link]

Segel at the World of Color premiere in 2010

He is known for his role "Freak" Nick Andopolis on the short-lived NBC comedy-drama series Freaks and Geeks, about a group of suburban Detroit high school students circa 1980. He also personally wrote a song for his character, Nick, to sing to the lead female character, Lindsay (Linda Cardellini), in an episode of Freaks and Geeks.^[12] She and Segel dated for a few years following the show's cancellation.^[13][14] It was rumored that she broke up with him for gaining twenty pounds,^[15] but it has since emerged that the statement was in fact a joke taken out of context.^[16]

Segel had recurring roles on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation as Neil Jansen and on Undeclared as Eric. He currently plays Marshall Eriksen on the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother. Feature film appearances include Slackers, SLC Punk!, The Good Humor Man, and Dead Man on Campus. In 2007, he appeared in Knocked Up, directed by Freaks and Geeks creator Judd Apatow. Segel starred in the lead role of 2008's Forgetting Sarah Marshall, a film he wrote and Apatow produced with Shauna Robertson for Universal Pictures. In it, he appeared fully nude on camera. He also starred in I Love You, Man, which was released on March 20, 2009^[17] by Dreamworks.

In Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Segel's character writes a "Dracula" musical performed by puppets. In an interview^[18], he stated that the Dracula musical with puppets, as well as being broken up with while naked, were real experiences he wrote into the movie. Those cloth creatures were custom-made by the Jim Henson Company, and the experience emboldened Segel to pitch his concept for a Muppets movie.^[19] Segel performed his Dracula's Lament on the 1000th episode of Craig Ferguson's show, The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson.

For the 2010 comedy Get Him to the Greek, Segel co-wrote most of the soundtrack's music which was performed by the fictional band Infant Sorrow. He also appeared on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson and sang an original song entitled "Wonky Eyed Girl".^[9]

In 2010, he voiced main character Gru's arch-rival Vector in the Universal hit CGI movie Despicable Me. Later in the same year, Segel appeared as "Horatio" in a fantasy comedy film Gulliver's Travels directed by Rob Letterman and very loosely based on Part One of the 18th-century novel of the same name by Jonathan Swift. Segel appeared in Bad Teacher, starring Cameron Diaz, which opened in June 2011. He played gym teacher and thwarted suitor Russell Gettis.^[20] Along with Nicholas Stoller, Segel approached Disney in 2007 to write the latest Muppets film. Disney was unsure on how to take the request, as Segel had just done frontal nudity in Forgetting Sarah Marshall, but after realizing that he was an avid fan, the project was approved. Segel stated that he wanted to do the film because the last film in the series to be released in theaters was Muppets from Space in 1999, and he felt that the younger generation was missing out on enjoying one of his childhood favorites.^[21] He has stated that he will not star in the sequel to The Muppets.^[22]

He filmed The Five-Year Engagement, with Emily Blunt, in spring 2011, in Michigan, and the film was released on April 27, 2012.

Personal life[link]

Segel is currently dating actress Michelle Williams.^[23]

Filmography[link]

Segel with Rashida Jones and Paul Rudd at the I Love You, Man premiere, March 2009

Segel with Joss Whedon and Neil Patrick Harris in September 2011

Film[link]

Television[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Jason Segel

• Jason Segel at the Internet Movie Database
• Jason Segel on National Public Radio in 2009
• Bio on Freaks and Geeks official website
• Bio on How I Met Your Mother official website
• Spontaneously singing a duet from the musical Les Misérables with How I Met Your Mother co-star Neil Patrick Harris while the cast were guests on The Megan Mullally Show in December 2006.
• Jason Segel Interview

Joy Behar
Behar attending the 21st Annual GLAAD Media Awards, March 13, 2010
Born	Josephina Victoria Occhiuto (1942-10-07) October 7, 1942 (age 69) Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Occupation	Actress Comedian Writer Co-host on The View Host on The Joy Behar Show
Years active	1984–present
Religion	None (agnostic)
Spouse	Joe Behar (1965–1981) Steve Janowitz (2011–present)

Joy Behar (born Josephina Victoria Occhiuto; born October 7, 1942)^[1] is an American comedian, writer, actress, and a co-host of the talk show The View. Behar had a commentary program, entitled The Joy Behar Show, on CNN's sister network, HLN.^[2] It was cancelled on November 17, 2011.^[3]

Early life[link]

Behar, an Italian-American, was born Josephina Victoria Occhiuto in Williamsburg, Brooklyn on October 7, 1942. Her mother, Rose (née Carbone), was a seamstress, and her father, Gino Occhiuto, was a truck driver for Coca-Cola.^[4][5] Her grandfather was Giuseppe Occhiuto born in Fagnano Castello, Cosenza, Calabria, Italy.^[6] She started off her career as a teacher at Lindenhurst High School. There she taught English class.^[7]

Career[link]

[edit] The early years & The View

Joy Behar got her start in show business in the early 1980s as a stand up comedian, including appearances on ABC's Good Morning America, and The New Show, a short lived Lorne Michaels NBC project. In 1987 she had a talk show on Lifetime Television called 'Way Off Broadway'. From there she continued to work the comedy club circuit, was a regular on NBC's Baby Boom, and had minor film rolls including Cookie, This Is My Life, and Manhattan Murder Mystery. She also was a WABC (AM) radio talk show host, and made appearances on HBO Comedy Specials 'One Night Stand' and 'Women Of The Night 2',

In 1997 Behar became one of the original cast members of Barbara Walters's ABC television creation, The View. Originally, Behar appeared only on the days when Walters was away from the show; ultimately, Behar became a regular co-host, with the panel expanding to five when Walters rejoined. Behar often hosts a segment called "Joy's Comedy Corner" in which she presents up-and-coming comedians.

Star Jones, former co-host on The View, and Behar had well-publicized disputes. On March 27, 2006, Star Jones called in to the show to discuss a recent operation that she had undergone. After talking with the show's co-hosts, Behar abruptly stated to Jones, "OK, Star. That's enough about you. On to us. Bye. Keep your [breasts] perky!"^[8] Jones then responded, "Even today, you [Behar] are still a bitch."^[8]

In August 2009 Behar, alongside her co-hosts Whoopi Goldberg, Sherri Shepherd, Barbara Walters and Elisabeth Hasselbeck, won the 36th Annual Daytime Emmy award for Outstanding Talk Show Host. It follows over a decade of nominations for The View. None of the co-hosts of the show traveled from New York to Los Angeles to attend the ceremony, however.^[9]

Other work[link]

Behar has also made theater appearances in The Food Chain and The Vagina Monologues. Behar wrote a book of humorous essays and stories called Joy Shtick — Or What is the Existential Vacuum and Does It Come with Attachments?, published in 1999. She has also written a children's book called Sheetzucacapoopoo: My Kind of Dog, published in 2006.

Behar frequently incorporates her Italian-American culture into her comedy and once told Charlie Rose on his PBS program that her grandmother kept a picture of Mussolini in her home.

She appeared on the eighth season of Bravo's Celebrity Poker Showdown and finished in fourth place, behind Robin Tunney, Christopher Meloni and Macy Gray, but ahead of Andy Dick. She played for the U.S. Fund for UNICEF.

Beginning in 2007, she has occasionally filled in as a guest host on Larry King Live. On June 11, 2009, Behar announced that she would be hosting her own news/talk program on CNN's HLN beginning in the fall of 2009, titled The Joy Behar Show. She did not leave The View, but worked on both shows simultaneously.^[2] The final broadcast of the The Joy Behar Show was on December 15, 2011.

Behar played the part of "Dr. Lucy" in the 2011 comedy film Hall Pass.^[10]

Personal life[link]

Occhiuto married Joe Behar in January 1965; they divorced in 1981. They have one daughter, Eve (b. 1970).^[11] Joy Behar has been in a relationship with Steve Janowitz since July 10, 1982, whom she called her 'spousal equivalent'. On March 17, 2009, Behar announced on The View that she might eventually marry Janowitz.^[12] Behar called off the engagement three months later^[13] because she wanted people to stop talking about it. On August 11, 2011, Behar married Janowitz.^[14]

Behar holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology from Queens College (class of 1964), and a Master of Arts degree in English education from the State University of New York at Stony Brook (class of 1966). She taught English in the late 1960s and early 1970s at Lindenhurst High School on Long Island, New York. She has identified herself as agnostic.^[15] She resides in Manhattan. Behar became a grandmother on February 28, 2011 when her daughter had a son, Luca.^[16] Behar is a member of the Delta Zeta sorority.^[17]

Filmography[link]

• Ice Age: Continental Drift (2012) ... Eunice (post-production)
• Hall Pass (2011) ... Dr. Lucy
• Buzz Lightyear of Star Command (2001) ... 42 (1 episode)
• Love Is All There Is (1996) ... Mary
• Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist (1996) ... Joy (2 episode)
• 'M' Word (1996) ... Carol
• Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993) ... Marilyn
• This Is My Life (1992) ... Rudy
• It's Gary Shandling's Show (1989–1990) ... Joy Mull/Joy Smith
• Baby Boom (1988–1989) ... Helga Von Haput (13 episodes)
• Cookie (film) (1989) ... Dottie
• Hiding Out (1987) ... Gertrude

Awards and nominations[link]

GLAAD Media Award

• 2010 Excellence in Media Award

Daytime Emmy Award

• 1998 Nomination for Outstanding Talk Show (The View)
• 1999 Nomination for Outstanding Talk Show (The View)
• 2000 Nomination for Outstanding Talk Show (The View)
• 2001 Nomination for Outstanding Talk Show (The View)
• 2002 Nomination for Outstanding Talk Show (The View)
• 2003 Nomination for Outstanding Talk Show (The View)
• 2003 Award for Best Talk Show (The View)
• 2004 Nomination for Outstanding Talk Show (The View)
• 2005 Nomination for Outstanding Talk Show (The View)
• 2006 Nomination for Outstanding Talk Show (The View)
• 2007 Nomination for Outstanding Talk Show (The View)
• 2008 Nomination for Outstanding Talk Show (The View)
• 2009 Award for Outstanding Talk Show Host(s) (The View)
• 2010 Nomination for Outstanding Talk Show Host(s) (The View)

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Rozen, Leah (July 9, 2010). "After Work With Joy Behar:Stand Up; Sit Down; Talk, Talk, Talk". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/11/fashion/11WITH.html. 
• Mitchell, Russ (March 28, 2010). "Joy Behar: Left Front Center". CBS News. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/03/28/sunday/main6341367.shtml. 

External links[link]

• Joy Behar at the Internet Movie Database
• Joy Behar at AllRovi
• The Joy Behar Show
• The View Official Profile