Greg may refer to:

• Greg (comics), the pen name of Belgian comic book artist Michel Regnier

People

• Greg Camarillo, American football player with the Minnesota Vikings
• Greg Graffin, American punk rock musician, college professor, and author
• Greg Hoard, American journalist and sports commentator
• Gregg (surname), origin and list of people with the surnames Greg and Gregg

People in fiction

• Dharma & Greg, an ABC situation comedy, starring Jenna Elfman and Thomas Gibson
• Greg the Bunny, puppet in a FOX situation comedy of the same name
• Greg Flemming, character in the webcomic User Friendly
• Greg House, protagonist of the FOX series, House, played by Hugh Laurie
• Greg Sanders, character in the CBS series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, played by Eric Szmanda
• Greg Brady (Brady Bunch), character in The Brady Bunch, a popular 1970s TV show, played by Barry Williams
• Greg Heffley, protagonist of Diary of a Wimpy Kid
• Greg Warner, character in the CBS series yes, dear, played by Anthony Clark

See also[link]

• All pages beginning with "Greg"
• Greig (disambiguation)
• Gregory (disambiguation)

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Curb Your Enthusiasm is an American comedy television series produced and broadcast by HBO, which premiered on October 15, 2000. As of 2011, it has completed 80 episodes over eight seasons. The series was created by Seinfeld co-creator Larry David, who stars as a fictionalized version of himself. The series follows David in his life as a semi-retired television writer and producer in Los Angeles and later New York City. Also starring are Cheryl Hines as David's wife Cheryl, Jeff Garlin as David's manager Jeff, and Susie Essman as Jeff's wife Susie. Curb Your Enthusiasm often features guest stars, and many of these appearances are by celebrities playing versions of themselves fictionalized to varying degrees.

The plots and subplots of the episodes are established in an outline written by David and the dialogue is largely improvised by the actors themselves.^[1] Much like Seinfeld, the subject matter in Curb Your Enthusiasm often involves the minutiae of daily life, and plots often revolve around Larry David's many faux pas, and his problems with certain social conventions and expectations, as well as his annoyance with other people's behavior. The character has a hard time letting such annoyances go unexpressed, which leads him often into awkward situations.

The series was developed from a 1999 one-hour special titled Larry David: Curb Your Enthusiasm, which David and HBO originally envisioned as a one-time project. This special was shot as a mockumentary, where the characters were aware of the presence of cameras and a crew. The series itself is not a mock documentary, but it is shot in a somewhat similar cinéma vérité-like visual style.^[1]

Curb Your Enthusiasm has been nominated for 34 Primetime Emmy Awards, and Robert B. Weide received an Emmy for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series, for the episode "Krazee Eyez Killa". The show won the 2002 Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy.^[2]

Concept[link]

The series stars Larry David as an extreme fictionalized version of himself. Similar to the real-life David, the character is well known in the entertainment industry as the co-creator and main co-writer of the highly successful sitcom Seinfeld. Throughout most of the series, the Larry David character is living a married life in Los Angeles with his wife Cheryl (played by Cheryl Hines), without children. David's main confidant on the show is his manager, Jeff Greene (played by Curb executive producer Jeff Garlin), who has a temperamental wife Susie (Susie Essman). A large portion of the show's many guest stars are various celebrities and public figures, such as actors, comedians, sportspeople and politicians, who play themselves. These include David's long-time friend Richard Lewis, as well as Ted Danson and his wife Mary Steenburgen, who all have recurring roles as fictionalized versions of themselves.

The show is set and filmed in various affluent Westside communities of (and occasionally downtown) Los Angeles, as well as the adjacent incorporated cities of Beverly Hills, Culver City and Santa Monica. David's hometown of New York City is also featured in some episodes, most prominently in the eighth season of the series.

Although David maintains an office, he leads a semi-retired life in the series, and is rarely shown working regularly, other than in season four, which centered on his being cast as the lead in the Mel Brooks play The Producers, and in season seven, writing a Seinfeld reunion show. Most of the series revolves around Larry's interactions with his friends and acquaintances, with Larry often at odds with the other characters (usually to Larry's detriment). Despite this, the characters do not seem to harbor ill feelings toward each other for any extended period and the cast has stayed stable throughout the show.

Title[link]

David has explained the meaning of the show's title in TV interviews: it reflects his perception that many people seem to live their lives projecting false enthusiasm, which he believes is used to imply that "they are better than you." This conflicts with his style, which is very droll and dry. The title also urges the audience not to expect too much from the show; at the time of the premiere, David wanted to lower expectations after the phenomenal success of Seinfeld.^[3]

Characters[link]

Creator Larry David stars as a fictional version of himself. He also serves as executive producer and writes the story for each episode.

Jeff Garlin also serves as an executive producer and has directed an episode of the series.

Main cast[link]

• Larry David (Larry David) – Candid, neurotic, but generally disposed to pursue what he perceives to be the right course, Larry often finds himself in awkward situations that arise as a result of his obstinate belief in his own ethical principles and codes of conduct, which he is nevertheless prepared to bend when it suits him. He usually has good intentions but often finds himself a victim of circumstance and social convention, as many of the people around him are also self-centered and stubborn; the character's unintentional tactlessness has resulted in the term "Larry David Moment" entering the American pop culture lexicon as a slang term for an inadvertently created socially awkward situation.^[4] He often centers on petty details, and stubbornly holds to his opinion to the extent of aggravating everyone around him just to prove an insignificant point. The real life Larry David has commented that although he secretly wishes to be more like his fictionalized version on the series, he could never be that way because he is a lot more cautious when it comes to social tension.^[5] Larry's trademark behaviors are his probing stare when he doesn't think somebody is telling the truth, fondly saying something is "prett-ay, prett-ay, prett-ay, pretty good" and, when caught up short in a moment of poor or contrary behavior, quizzically and mock-innocently inquiring, often of his wife, Cheryl, or of a close friend, "No good?" Among Larry's characteristics are his love of playing golf and his annoyance at having to engage in small talk ("stop and chat"), especially with people he deals with in commercial sitautions, such as waiters and tradesmen.

• Jeff Greene (Jeff Garlin) – One of Larry's closest friends, Jeff is his sympathetic manager whose marital problems and adulterous misadventures entangle Larry in embarrassing situations. Jeff often helps Larry with his problems, but that usually leads to Jeff getting entangled in the mess. Jeff and his wife, Susie (Susie Essman), have a daughter named Sammi (Ashly Holloway). While they ultimately love each other, his wife constantly criticizes him on his decisions and weight, while his daughter at times is neutral about her love for her father. Jeff Garlin stated that he truly does not empathize with his character at all and described him as a "pretty evil guy" who has "no morals, no scruples".^[6]

• Cheryl David (Cheryl Hines) – Cheryl is Larry's long-suffering wife and later ex-wife, who often expresses annoyance with his behavior, even in situations beyond his control. She often serves as a voice of reason for him, and helps define the social guidelines that he may have overlooked. While her adventures never led her far off from Larry, she has various activities outside day-to-day married life, including an acting stint, and, more sustainably, as an advocate of environmental issues, including being a member of and fundraiser for the NRDC. Her affection for Larry has been tested, even resulting in her leaving him for a time; upon learning that he had put together the Seinfeld reunion just to have a chance to get back with her, she sees it as a sign of their "belong[ing] together", but soon decides to file for divorce when Larry concentrates on a coffee stain incident rather than the fact that they are back together, refusing yet again to listen to her. They divorce in the season eight premiere episode (which is Cheryl Hines' final appearance on the series to date).

• Susie Greene (Susie Essman) – Jeff's wife, who has a very explosive temper and a filthy mouth. Consequently her reactions to Larry range from near violence via benign grievances to occasionally fonder repartee. She routinely berates Larry and Jeff with profanity-laced tirades after uncovering one of their hare-brained shenanigans. Susie and Jeff have an "on-again, off-again" relationship. She often uses Larry as a scapegoat for her marital problems. She is known to refer to Larry as "Larry Fucking David" and "Four-Eyed Fuck" and when he crosses her, she is known to respond "Fuck you, Larry David!", while her common expletive to her husband is "You fat piece of shit!" She often serves to enforce traditional moral standards such as the sanctity of marital vows and fealty to hearth and home, at times versus her husband, at others versus Larry and usually versus both. Susie Essman is upgraded from guest star billing to main cast billing beginning with season eight.

Recurring roles[link]

Among the show's many recurring roles, Richard Lewis and Ted Danson play versions of themselves as old friends of Larry's with whom he frequently butts heads. Shelley Berman plays Larry's father, Nat David. Bob Einstein frequently appears as Marty Funkhouser, another of Larry's oldest friends. Beginning with season six, J. B. Smoove appears as Leon Black, and in seasons six and seven, Vivica A. Fox appears as Loretta Black, members of a family of hurricane evacuees who stay in Larry's house.

Notable guest appearances[link]

Celebrities, including actors, comedians, authors, musicians and athletes, often make guest appearances on the show, with a large portion of them playing themselves, or fictional versions thereof. Some of the guest stars who have appeared as themselves include Mel Brooks, Michael York, Martin Scorsese, Ben Stiller, David Schwimmer, Shaquille O'Neal, Rosie O'Donnell, Ricky Gervais, Michael J. Fox, and the main cast of Seinfeld. Notable people who filled in fictional roles include Bob Odenkirk, Bea Arthur, Dustin Hoffman, Sacha Baron Cohen, Stephen Colbert, and Steve Coogan.

Plots and episodes[link]

Curb Your Enthusiasm episodes are typically named after an event, object, or person which figures prominently in the plot, similarly to how Seinfeld episodes were named. Many episodes concern breaches of intricate aspects of social conventions, such as the various details of tipping at restaurants,^[a][b][c] the obligation to "stop and chat" upon meeting an acquaintance,^[d] the allowed amount of caviar one may put on a cracker at a house party,^[e] whether a house guest needs the permission of the homeowner before taking a soft drink from the refrigerator.^[f] Others involve more significant issues, such as if and when a white person may say the racially sensitive word "nigger".^[g] And some involve the etiquette of extremely complex and unique circumstances, such as the occasion when Larry discovered at a wake that the deceased was to be buried with his favorite golf club—borrowed from Larry.^[h] Another involved Larry picking up a prostitute for the sole purpose of using the carpool lane on the freeway.^[i] In many episodes, Curb—like its predecessor Seinfeld—tied together apparently unrelated events woven throughout a given episode into an unforced climax that resolves the story lines simultaneously, either to Larry's advantage or detriment.

Season overview[link]

While each episode has a distinct individual plot, story arcs between episodes are also fairly common, and most seasons have a major overarching arc. These season-long story arcs are stretched across most of the season's ten episodes, and culminate in a season finale.

• In season one (2000), the style and the characters of the show are introduced across a series of mostly isolated episodes, as it is the only season without a major story arc.

• In season two (2001), Cheryl is tired of Larry not working, so he begins to develop a new television show, first with guest stars Jason Alexander and Julia Louis-Dreyfus (George and Elaine on Seinfeld, respectively) as themselves. However, Larry's constant social faux pas ruin all of their chances with every major television network.

• In season three (2002), Larry invests in a restaurant enterprise which finally opens despite many mishaps, most of which are Larry's fault.

• In season four (2004), Mel Brooks casts Larry as the lead in his hit musical The Producers. Cheryl also gives Larry the opportunity to have sex with another woman before their tenth anniversary as an anniversary-gift.

• In season five (2005), Larry's friend Richard Lewis gets very ill and requires a kidney transplant. Larry is a match, but he spends the season looking for other sources of a kidney for Lewis. Also in season five, Larry suspects he may be adopted and embarks on a search to find his biological parents.

• Season six (2007) is built around Cheryl persuading Larry to take in a family that is left homeless after a major Gulf Coast hurricane. Later in the season, Cheryl leaves Larry, mimicking Laurie David's real-life divorce from Larry. He spends the rest of the season either fighting for her to come back or looking for a replacement.

• Most of season seven (2009) is centered on creating a Seinfeld reunion show with the original cast, while Larry is either dating or trying to get back together with Cheryl.

• Season eight (2011) continues to follow Larry's single life after he and Cheryl get divorced. At the midpoint of the season, the main characters all travel to New York City, where the rest of the season is set.

HBO has said that it is "cautiously optimistic" that Larry David will begin work on a ninth season. The network's president of programming Michael Lombardo commented, "For the first time ever after this season Larry didn't say 'I never want to do this again'.^[7]

Critical response[link]

Since its 2000 debut, the show has enjoyed wide critical acclaim and a steadily growing, dedicated audience that has helped it emerge from its early "cult" status. On Metacritic, the fifth season scored 91 out of 100 based on five reviews,^[8] the seventh season scored 81 out of 100 based on 18 reviews^[9] and the eighth season scored 85 out of 100 based on six reviews.^[10]

Online publication Slate Magazine named the characters of Cheryl David and Susie Greene as two of the best on television and as reasons they were looking forward to the return of the show in the fall of 2007.^[11] Curb Your Enthusiasm has also received praise from Galus Australis magazine for being even more unashamedly Jewish than the Seinfeld series.^[12]

Curb Your Enthusiasm asserts the Jewish identity of its characters in ways that no other show has. By incorporating episodes that deal directly with Jewish identity and tradition, the show offers a commentary on what it means to be a Jew in modern American society.

On the show's depiction of Jewish characters, academic Vincent Brook stated, "Curb's commitment to Jewish identification greatly enhances its storytelling capacity, as it lends greater realism and dimension to the characters and opens the show up to episodes with meaningful Jewish themes."^[13]

The character of Larry on the show is in many ways reminiscent of the schlemiel character often present in traditional Yiddish folklore. The schlemiel is usually a comic character whose actions lead to his inevitable downfall, but also stands as a form of resistance to social and cultural values and norms. David Gillota wrote: "As a true schlemiel, Larry's failure serves as a direct challenge to the status quo and encourages viewers to question the myriad unwritten rules that we follow in our everyday lives." Gillota also observed: "Whereas the schlemiel of Eastern Europe encountered problems that mostly affected Eastern European Jews (such as anti-Semitism and economic survival), Larry encounters problems that affect contemporary middle- to upper-class American Jews, namely, Jewish assimilation, secularism, intermarriage, and, as all of these suggest, the Jews' precarious ethnic identity in an increasingly multicultural environment."^[14]

Awards and nominations[link]

The series has received a total of 34 Primetime Emmy Award nominations with one win, for Outstanding Directing in a Comedy Series for Robert B. Weide for the episode "Krazee-Eyez Killa". The series has received six nominations for Outstanding Comedy Series. Larry David has received four nominations for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series. Cheryl Hines has received two nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. The series has also received many nominations for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series.^[15]

It has received five Golden Globe Award nominations and won for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy in 2002, while being nominated in 2005. Larry David has been nominated for three Golden Globes for Best Performance by an Actor in a TV Series – Musical or Comedy.^[16] It has been nominated for five Producers Guild of America Awards and has won twice.^[17] It has been nominated for four Screen Actors Guild Awards, two for Larry David and two for the ensemble cast.^[18][19] It has been nominated for four Writers Guild of America Awards and has won once.^[20] It has been nominated for nine Directors Guild of America Awards and has won once for Bryan Gordon for the episode "The Special Section".^[21]

Juan Catalan incident[link]

In 2003, Juan Catalan, a resident of Los Angeles, was cleared of premeditated murder charges against a material witness (a crime eligible for capital punishment) after outtake footage shot for the "Carpool Lane" episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm showed him and his daughter attending the Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Atlanta Braves baseball game some 20 miles from the crime-scene at the time of the murder, resulting in a $320,000 settlement against the City of Los Angeles.^[22] Larry David joked afterwards "I like to tell people that I've now done one good thing in my life, albeit inadvertently".

Syndication[link]

On June 2, 2010, the series premiered on the TV Guide Network, making its network television debut (without the TV-MA scenes). The network also recorded a series of related discussions with high-profile guest stars, media pundits, and prominent social figures called "Curb: The Discussion" debating the moral implications depicted in each episode.^[23] The show was also syndicated on local stations and WGN America,^[24] but has been removed from syndication and WGN America due to low ratings.^[25]

Media[link]

DVD releases[link]

Curb Your Enthusiasm seasons come in a two-disc DVD set with ten episodes, with the exception of the release of season one encoded for region two, that contains three discs.

Book[link]

A Curb Your Enthusiasm book was released October 19, 2006, published by Gotham Books. The book contains stories from Larry David's past, original interviews and commentary, episode outlines, episode guide, and over 100 full-color photographs. The contents of the book span the first five seasons of the show.^[26]

Music[link]

The show is punctuated between scenes with music orchestrated by Wendell Yuponce (first season), and from a music library company called Killer Tracks (seasons two to five).^[27] Frequently heard are instrumental arrangements of the whimsical "Three Little Maids From School Are We" from The Mikado, and the rhythmic Gypsy dance "Les tringles des sistres tintaient" from Carmen. The opening and closing theme song (not mentioned in the credits) is "Frolic" by Italian composer Luciano Michelini. Larry David heard the music used in a bank commercial years before the show was created and thought it had a lighthearted, joyful quality.^[28] An unofficial soundtrack was released by Mellowdrama Records in 2006.^[29]

Notes[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Curb Your Enthusiasm

• Official website
• Curb Your Enthusiasm at the Internet Movie Database
• Curb Your Enthusiasm at TV.com

Greg Jennings

Greg Jennings with the Packers
No. 85     Green Bay Packers
Wide receiver
Personal information
Date of birth: (1983-09-21) September 21, 1983 (age 28)
Place of birth: Kalamazoo, Michigan
Height: 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) Weight: 198 lb (90 kg)
Career information
College: Western Michigan
NFL Draft: 2006 / Round: 2 / Pick: 52
Debuted in 2006 for the Green Bay Packers
Career history
Green Bay Packers (2006–present)
Career highlights and awards
NFL All Rookie team (2006) Led Packers in receiving touchdowns (2007) 2× Pro Bowl (2010, 2011) Super Bowl champion (XLV) Ranked #56 in the Top 100 Players of 2012
Career NFL statistics as of Week 14, 2011
Receptions 389 Receiving yards 6,171 Receiving touchdowns 49 Stats at NFL.com

Gregory Jennings, Jr. (born September 21, 1983 in Kalamazoo, Michigan) is a professional American football wide receiver for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League. He was drafted out of Western Michigan University in the second round, 52nd overall, of the 2006 NFL Draft.

High school career[link]

Jennings attended Kalamazoo Central High School where he was all conference in three sports—football, basketball and track. Jennings played wide receiver, running back, outside linebacker and defensive back as a three-time letterman for the football team. He was listed 11th on the "Fab 50" rankings of the Detroit Free Press as a senior.^[1] Jennings finished seventh in voting for Mr. Basketball of Michigan in 2000–01^[2] and scored a school record 50 points in a losing effort against Benton Harbor as a senior.^[1]

College career[link]

Greg Jennings attended Western Michigan University. He finished his career there with 238 receptions for 3539 yards and 39 touchdowns. When Jennings was a redshirt freshman, he missed 8 games due to a broken ankle bone. In the 8 games he did play, he caught 10 passes for 138 yards. In 2003, he was second on the Broncos with 56 catches for 1,050 yards and 14 touchdowns. He finished the 2003 season with 1,734 all-purpose yards. He was named to the second team All-Mid American team. In 2004, he led the Broncos with 74 catches for 1,092 yards and 11 touchdowns. He tallied 1,415 all-purpose yards. He was named to the All-MAC team. In 2005, he had 98 catches, and led the nation in catches per game, with 8.91. He had 1,259 yards with 14 touchdowns, and earned the 2005 MAC Offensive Player of the Year Award. His 5,093 all-purpose yards is a WMU record, and ranks 8th in MAC history. Jennings became only the 11th player to gain over 1,000 yards in at least three seasons of a college career.^[3] Jennings graduated from WMU in 2010 after completing the 16 credits he needed through self-instructional classes.^[4]

Professional career[link]

Green Bay Packers[link]

The Green Bay Packers drafted Jennings in the 2nd round (52nd pick overall) of the 2006 NFL draft. Jennings signed to a four-year contract on July 25, 2006. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported the deal was worth $2.85 million, including a $1.24 million signing bonus.

Jennings was named the starting wide receiver, along with Donald Driver, which put Robert Ferguson in the slot, for his first professional regular season game Green Bay Packers by head coach Mike McCarthy on September 2, 2006. Jennings led the NFL in receiving yardage during the 2006 preseason. He had 1 catch for 5 yards in his first game.

On September 24, 2006, he caught a 75-yard TD pass from Brett Favre against the Detroit Lions. It was Favre's 400th TD pass for his career, a milestone reached only by Favre and Dan Marino. This was also Jennings' first 100-plus yard game, as he finished with 3 catches, 101 yds and 1 touchdown. Jennings was voted NFL Rookie of the Week for games played September 24–25, 2006, the only time he received this honor. Jennings was also named to the NFL All Rookie team at the end of the season.

On September 23, 2007, Jennings caught a game-winning 57-yard TD pass from Favre with less than two minutes to play to help beat the San Diego Chargers 31–24 at Lambeau Field and improve the team's record to 3–0 in 2007. This was Jennings' 1st touchdown catch in 2007, as well as Favre's 420th career touchdown pass, tying him with Dan Marino for the most TD passes in NFL history.

A week later on September 30, 2007, during a 23–16 victory over the Minnesota Vikings, Jennings caught a 16-yard pass from Brett Favre that opened the scoring 10 minutes into the first quarter, and broke the all-time touchdown pass record Favre had shared with Dan Marino.^[5] On October 29, 2007, Jennings caught an 82-yard touchdown pass from Favre to defeat the Denver Broncos 19–13 in overtime, tying him for the second longest overtime touchdown in NFL history. Then the following week, he caught the game-winning touchdown pass that went for 60 yards to beat the Chiefs in Kansas City. Against the Cowboys on November 29, 2007, in a game broadcast on the NFL network, Jennings hauled in the first ever touchdown pass by quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

Jennings and running back Ryan Grant each had a touchdown during a 33–14 victory over the St. Louis Rams on December 16, 2007, making it the first time two Packers players have each scored a touchdown in the same four consecutive games.^[6] Jennings collected 80 receptions for 1292 yards and 9 touchdowns in the 2008 season.

On June 23, 2009 Jennings received a new three year extension which will pay him $26.35 million and includes $16M guaranteed. It also includes a $11.25 million signing bonus.^[7] Jennings caught a game winning pass on September 13, 2009 on a 3rd and two play, where the Packers ran a play action fake and rolled Aaron Rodgers out to the left, who then threw a long 50 yard pass to Greg Jennings to defeat the Chicago Bears in the season opener.^[8] In the Packers 2009 Wild Card game against the Arizona Cardinals, Jennings had 8 receptions for 130 yards, scoring 1 touchdown. In the 2010-2011 season, Jennings helped the Packers go 10-6 in the regular season. In Super Bowl XLV, on February 6, 2011, Jennings caught four passes for 64 yards and scored two touchdowns in the Packers' 31–25 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers.^{[9][10] [11]}

Jennings played the first 13 games of the 2011 season before going down with a sprained MCL week 13 against the Oakland Raiders during the season he collected 69 receptions for 949 yards. Including a season high 149 yards on 7 receptions, and a TD in a week 7 game at the Minnesota Vikings. He returned for the Packer's divisional round playoff game against the New York Giants and recorded 4 receptions for 40 yards in a Packers' loss.

Career Statistics[link]

Regular season[link]

Playoff Games[link]

Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com

Greg Jennings Foundation[link]

This is a foundation started by Greg Jennings to attempt to benefit underprivileged children and youth organizations. The entire charity organization raises money through organizational events, donations, and fund raisers. The organization allows people, groups, and organizations from either Michigan or Wisconsin to apply for grant money. The headquarters of the foundation are in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

Acting career[link]

On May 5, 2010, Jennings made an appearance on the CBS prime time hit show Criminal Minds. He portrayed a lab technician working at a crime scene.^[12] Jennings is also in discussions to appear on BET's The Game.^[13] He appeared as himself on the July 6, 2011, episode of Royal Pains.

Family[link]

Greg Jennings is married to Nicole Jennings, also of Kalamazoo, and they have three daughters named Amya, Alea and Ayva.^[14]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Greg Jennings

• Greg Jennings Official website
• Greg Jennings on Twitter
• Greg Jennings on Facebook
• Greg Jennings at the Internet Movie Database
• Green Bay Packers bio
• Pro Football Reference stats
• [1]

Greg Howe
Background information
Birth name	Gregory Howe[1]
Born	(1963-12-08) December 8, 1963 (age 48) New York City, New York, United States
Genres	Instrumental rock, jazz fusion, hard rock
Occupations	Musician, composer, producer
Instruments	Guitar
Years active	1982–present
Labels	Shrapnel, Tone Center
Associated acts	Howe II, Michael Jackson, Enrique Iglesias, *NSYNC, Justin Timberlake
Website	greghowe.com

Gregory "Greg" Howe (born December 8, 1963) is an American guitarist and composer. As an active musician for nearly thirty years, he has released nine studio albums in addition to collaborating with a wide variety of artists.^[2]

Recording career[link]

After leaving high school and playing the club circuit around the New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania areas with his brother Albert (a singer) for most of the 1980s, Greg Howe officially began his solo career after sending a demo tape to Shrapnel Records in 1987, upon which he was immediately signed by founder Mike Varney. His self-titled debut album was released in 1988, during the popular shred era, and went on to become his highest-selling album;^[1] a Guitar World article in 2009 would rank it as tenth in the all-time top ten list of shred albums.^[3]

The following year, he joined with Albert to form a Van Halen-inspired hard rock group named Howe II. Through Shrapnel, they released two studio albums: High Gear (1989) and Now Hear This (1991).^[4] His second solo album, Introspection, was released in 1993. At this point his style had changed radically from the straightforward instrumental rock of both his debut and the Howe II albums, to a more jazz fusion-laden approach which remains unique and identifiable to this day; some of his signature traits being fast left-hand legato passages (having been influenced greatly by jazz fusion guitarist Allan Holdsworth),^[5] and the frequent use of tapping and odd time signatures.

A trio of albums spanning the middle part of the decade—Uncertain Terms (1994), Parallax (1995) and Five (1996)—were all a consistent evolution of the sound he had adopted on Introspection. During this time he collaborated twice with fellow guitarist Richie Kotzen for the albums Tilt and Project in 1995 and 1997, respectively.^[1] He then briefly dabbled with a heavier, neo-classical metal style for his 1999 release, Ascend, which featured keyboardist Vitalij Kuprij. However, he has since spoken of his dissatisfaction for that project, as well as an earlier collaboration on Kuprij's own album, High Definition (1997).^[1]

After switching labels to Shrapnel's jazz-oriented counterpart, Tone Center Records, he returned to his familiar style with Hyperacuity (2000), which still stands as some of his most prominent experimentation with jazz fusion. After a highly troubled recording process for Extraction (2003), which featured drummer Dennis Chambers and bassist Victor Wooten,^[6][7] he took an extended hiatus from recording solo material until the release of his ninth studio album, Sound Proof, in 2008.

Currently residing in Long Beach, California (having previously lived in Easton, Pennsylvania until around 2006),^[8] Howe continues to work as a session musician and producer, as well as providing online guitar lessons through his official website.^[9] From 2010 onwards he has toured Europe for the first time, having long stated a desire to tour the continent as a solo artist. According to a 2011 interview, he is working on a new studio album which will feature vocals for the first time since the days of Howe II.^[10]

Session and touring career[link]

Amidst his solo career, Howe has continuously made himself available as a session musician for many of the world's biggest pop stars. Most recently he has played with artists such as Christina Aguilera, Rihanna, Lady Antebellum, P Diddy, T-Pain and Salt-n-Pepa. In 1996, he replaced Jennifer Batten as primary guitarist during the Asian and European legs of singer Michael Jackson's HIStory World Tour. He would later provide guitar duties for singer Enrique Iglesias in 2000, which culminated in a series of high-profile televised performances and a European tour. The following two years saw Howe recruited as lead guitarist for boy band *NSYNC during two tours of the United States. After singer Justin Timberlake left *NSYNC, Howe continued to tour with him in 2003.

Eight years later, Howe teamed up again with Timberlake, as well as rapper T.I., for a performance at the 2009 Grammy Awards.^[11] In the same year, Howe played as part of keyboardist/violinist Eddie Jobson's Ultimate Zero Project, in a line-up which included bassists Tony Levin and John Wetton, and drummers Marco Minnemann and Simon Phillips.^[12] In 2011, Howe toured Italy and Israel with drummer Dennis Chambers and bassist Stu Hamm.^[13] In November of that year, Michael Jackson's second posthumous album, Immortal, featured Howe's playing on "Dancing Machine" and "Beat It".^[14]

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

• 1988: Greg Howe
• 1993: Introspection
• 1994: Uncertain Terms
• 1995: Parallax
• 1996: Five
• 1999: Ascend
• 2000: Hyperacuity
• 2003: Extraction
• 2006: Collection: The Shrapnel Years (compilation)
• 2008: Sound Proof

Collaborations[link]

• 1989: High Gear – with Howe II
• 1991: Now Hear This – with Howe II
• 1995: Tilt – with Richie Kotzen
• 1997: Project – with Richie Kotzen

Other appearances[link]

• 1996: Convergence – James Murphy
• 1997: High Definition – Vitalij Kuprij
• 2001: Gentle Hearts – Tetsuo Sakurai
• 2004: Rhythm of Time – Jordan Rudess
• 2004: A Guitar Supreme – various guitarists compilation
• 2004: The Spirit Lives On – Jimi Hendrix tribute
• 2004: Gentle Hearts Tour 2004 – Tetsuo Sakurai
• 2005: Visions of an Inner Mounting Apocalypse: A Fusion Guitar Tribute – various guitarists compilation
• 2006: Io Canto – Laura Pausini
• 2008: Collection – Jason Becker
• 2008: Clean – Dave Martone
• 2010: Vital World – Tetsuo Sakurai
• 2011: Immortal – Michael Jackson

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Audio interview with Greg Howe at Jemfest Radio

Greg Giraldo
Giraldo at his final performance, September 24, 2010 in New Brunswick, New Jersey
Born	(1965-12-10)December 10, 1965 New York City, New York, United States
Died	September 29, 2010(2010-09-29) (aged 44) New Brunswick, New Jersey, United States
Medium	Stand-up, television
Nationality	American
Years active	1992–2010
Genres	Observational comedy, black comedy, surreal humor, roast comedian
Subject(s)	Current events, everyday life, self-deprecation, marriage, parenting, pop culture
Spouse	? (1989–1991) Maryann Giraldo (1998–2009) (divorced) 3 children
Notable works and roles	Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn Stand-Up Nation Comedy Central Roasts Lewis Black's Root of All Evil

Greg Giraldo (December 10, 1965 – September 29, 2010) was an American stand-up comedian, television personality, and retired lawyer. Giraldo was best known for his appearances on Comedy Central's televised roast specials, and for his work on that network's television shows Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn, Lewis Black's Root of All Evil, and the programming block Stand-Up Nation, the last of which he hosted.

Early life[link]

Gregory C. Giraldo was born in The Bronx and was raised in a predominantly Irish lower-middle-class neighborhood in Queens.^[1] His father, Alfonso, was from Colombia and worked for Pan Am, and his mother, Dolores, was from Spain. Giraldo was the oldest of three children (brother John and sister Elizabeth) and was raised Roman Catholic.^[2]

Giraldo was an excellent student and was accepted into the prestigious Regis High School in Manhattan. He then went on to earn a bachelor's degree in English from Columbia University in 1987^[3] and a law degree from Harvard Law School in 1990.^[4] While at Columbia, he was an active member of the Psi Upsilon Fraternity.

Before becoming a comedian, Giraldo worked as a lawyer, spending eight months as an associate for Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom before changing his occupation.^[5]

One of the cases that Giraldo handled was an inciting a riot charge, which was brought against his friend and fellow comedian, Jeffrey Ross, in 1993. Ross was performing at a comedy club on Long Island, when a member of the audience produced a toy gun, which looked very similar to a real gun. Ross then grabbed the gun and started fighting with the audience member, and ended up getting arrested.

Said Ross of the incident: "I had to go to court and Greg volunteered to be my attorney as a favor. I remember we slept in his parents' basement in Queens. We drove to court in a Jeep and had dirty blue sport jackets on. It took him two tries, but he got the case dismissed."

Giraldo stated that at the time of the case, he had never done anything in a courtroom before, and nearly ended up sending Ross to jail, when the case was upgraded to a weapons charge and he had nearly told Ross to plead guilty. "The judge called us over...and I had to plead, 'I have no idea what I'm doing here.' We ended up having to get a real lawyer and come back a month later," said Giraldo.^[6]

Giraldo said of his decision to leave the legal profession: "My family was disappointed. But I always wanted to do something creative. I've always had real trouble knowing what my actual desires and goals are. I've just been dragged along by fate. I can't even tell you why I thought to go to law school."^[7]

He also stated: "Because I went to Harvard Law School it seemed like I had my shit together, but I did only because it’s not hard. Everyone is so self motivated that they leave you alone. You get study outlines and just cram, but then when you get out into the real world, it gets tricky. Most comedians are people who couldn’t really work in the real world, they’re too disorganized, too lazy, too fucked up, too erratic, too unstable. If you could work in the real world you would have stayed there because it is so many years of misery in comedy before you really start popping."^[8]

In August 2000, Giraldo was featured in an Esquire magazine article, which profiled several members of the Harvard Law School Class of 1990, who ended up choosing different career paths other than the legal profession.^[9][10] Despite his prior career, Giraldo rejected that persona and very rarely discussed his days as a lawyer.

Career[link]

Giraldo performed regularly at the Comedy Cellar comedy club in Manhattan. He was a regular panelist on Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn. Additionally, he was the star of the short-lived sitcom Common Law.^[11] Giraldo also starred in several pilots, including Drive for CBS, The Greg Giraldo Show for NBC, and Adult Content and Gone Hollywood for Comedy Central.^[12] In 2004, he was featured in the spoken-word Lazyboy song, "Underwear Goes Inside the Pants."

Giraldo performed more than a dozen times on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Late Show with David Letterman, and Jimmy Kimmel Live!, and appeared regularly on The Howard Stern Show. He also appeared as a member of the panel in the NBC show The Marriage Ref.^[13]

He appeared on The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn, Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher, The View, Fox News Channel's The Full Nelson and Beyond The News, Louie Anderson's Comedy Showcase, Comedy Central's Comic Cabana, Showtime's Latino Comedy Festival and Funny is Funny, as well as on the BBC's Live at Jongleurs.^{[14] [15]} Giraldo also performed at the United States Naval Base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba as part of a USO tour in 2002.^[16]

He had two half-hour specials on Comedy Central Presents, wrote segments for Last Call with Carson Daly, and was a panelist on Comedy Central's 100 Greatest Stand-ups of All Time special. In 2004 his stand up material was featured in Comedy Central's animated series Shorties Watchin' Shorties. Giraldo also appeared on the IFC show Z Rock, playing an angry record producer.^[17]

Giraldo said on Late Night with Conan O'Brien on July 7, 2005, that he had quit drinking alcohol. His series Friday Night Stand-Up with Greg Giraldo began on Comedy Central in late 2005 and ran until 2006. His CD Good Day to Cross a River was released in 2006 by Comedy Central Records.

Giraldo appeared in Comedy Central's annual roasts,^[13] roasting Chevy Chase, Pam Anderson, William Shatner, Jeff Foxworthy, Flavor Flav, Bob Saget, Joan Rivers, Larry the Cable Guy, and David Hasselhoff, as well as the TBS roast of Cheech & Chong.

Giraldo was a regular on Comedy Central's television series Lewis Black's Root of All Evil and was one of the advocates lobbying for his side to be considered the "root of all evil." He won in two of his nine appearances. Giraldo served as a judge during season seven of the NBC reality competition show Last Comic Standing.^[13]

In 2008, Giraldo appeared in venues across the United States as the headlining act of the Indecision '08 Tour, produced by Comedy Central. Midlife Vices, his only one-hour special for Comedy Central, was released in 2009. In June of 2010, Giraldo performed at the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in Tennessee.^[18] That same month, he hosted The Nasty Show in Chicago, and in July, The Nasty Show in Montreal.^[19]

Personal life[link]

Giraldo was married twice. His first marriage was at the age of 23, and lasted for two years.^[2][20] In a 2005 interview, Giraldo stated that he had been married for seven years to his second wife, a former Carolines comedy club waitress, and that they had three sons, ages five, three and nearly two. Giraldo and his second wife separated in 2008. At the time of Giraldo's death, he was divorced.

Giraldo was very candid about his struggles with drug and alcohol addiction, and the challenges of life on the road, stating in 2005: “I would go on the road and live like a fucking maniac, that’s just the way it was. And then eventually it starts bleeding into your regular life. At first, it starts out on the road and it’s no big deal. So you keep denying that you’re about to destroy your children’s lives because it’s happening in Phoenix as opposed to home. Slowly but surely though, it starts impacting everything and then you have decisions to make. There’s part of me that wants to be an uninhibited, unrestrained lunatic doing whatever I want. Frankly, that was a lot of the fun of it at the beginning. You hear people make grand artistic statements about why they love stand-up. But really, you’re choosing to tell dick jokes in a nightclub for a living. So if you go on the road and get fucked up all the time, you have to take everything that comes with that. You can’t have it both ways. You have to be a reasonable adult or a maniacal party road machine.”^[21]

Death[link]

On September 25, 2010, Giraldo accidentally overdosed on prescription medication.^[22] After he failed to appear for a scheduled performance at the Stress Factory, police officers found him in his hotel room at the Hyatt Hotel in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and rushed him to nearby Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital.^[23] TMZ reported that he had been in a coma for five days when his family had life support removed.^[24] He died on September 29, 2010.^[23][25][26]

Tributes[link]

On September 29, 2010 on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Jon Stewart honored Giraldo by playing a clip of his stand-up, in a one-time segment deemed "Moment of Greg".^[27] Blues Traveler lead singer, John Popper, who had worked with Giraldo on the TV show Z Rock, dedicated the song "The Mountains Win Again" to him, during the band's concert the evening of September 29th.^[28] On September 30, 2010, multiple comedians and celebrities expressed their sorrow for Giraldo's death on Twitter,^[29] and Comedy Central posted a series of clips from Greg Giraldo past works titled "The Best of Greg Giraldo" on their website.^[30]

On October 9, 2010, Comedy Central aired a special titled Comics Anonymous, which had been filmed prior to Giraldo's death and featured several comedians who had been sober for 10 years or more. Executive producer, comedian Mike DeStefano, dedicated the special to Giraldo.^[31] On October 12, 2010, on the series premiere of Nick Swardson's Pretend Time, Swardson dedicated the episode to Giraldo.^[32]

On November 2, 2010, Comix comedy club in New York hosted the Jim Florentine roast, which Giraldo had originally been scheduled to perform at. Throughout the show, many of the comedians on the dais paid tribute to Giraldo, in roast-style fashion. Host Rich Vos joked: “I wasn’t the first choice to host. Greg Giraldo was asked, but he said he’d rather be dead than host this.”^[33]

Seth MacFarlane, Anthony Jeselnik, and Jeff Ross paid tribute to Giraldo during the Comedy Central Roast of Donald Trump in March 2011.

On March 18, 2011, Comedy Central aired Give It Up for Greg Giraldo, a two-hour television special honoring his memory in which multiple comedians, including Jon Stewart, Nick Swardson, Colin Quinn, Jeffrey Ross, Denis Leary, Sarah Silverman, Dave Attell, Tom Papa, Lewis Black, Bill Burr, Daniel Tosh, Conan O'Brien, and Whitney Cummings, talked about his life and career. It also contained short clips of his roasts and other acts.^[34] Coincidentally, Mike DeStefano, who was featured in the special and whose Comics Anonymous special had aired 11 days after Giraldo's death, died 12 days before Give It Up For Greg Giraldo aired, also at the age of 44.^[35]

Discography[link]

• Good Day to Cross a River (2006) Comedy Central Records
• Midlife Vices (2009) Comedy Central Records

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Greg Giraldo

• Greg Giraldo at the Internet Movie Database
• Greg Giraldo at The Comedy Hall of Fame
• Greg Giraldo's MySpace Site
• Greg Giraldo Official Website [site is no longer active]
• Archive of "Giraldo's World: Interview", The DePaulia, 2007, n.d.
• "Comedian Discusses Cornell and his Specialty in Candy" (interview), The Cornell Daily Sun, April 25, 2007
• "Court Jester: Greg Giraldo states his case" [1] (interview), Philly City Paper, October 9, 2007
• Greg Giraldo on Failure, Psychology Today, May 13, 2009
• Greg Giraldo at Find a Grave
• "Opie and Anthony: Greg Giraldo Interview with Patrice O'Neal and Jim Norton", May 6, 2009

v t e Greg Giraldo Albums Good Day to Cross a River (2006) · Midlife Vices (2009) Featured in Common Law  · Comedy Central Roasts  · Lewis Black's Root of All Evil  · Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn  · Last Comic Standing Related "Underwear Goes Inside the Pants"  · Friday Night Stand-Up with Greg Giraldo Wikiquote