Gary Hart
United States Senator from Colorado
In office January 3, 1975 – January 3, 1987
Preceded by	Peter H. Dominick
Succeeded by	Tim Wirth
Personal details
Born	Gary Warren Hartpence (1936-11-28) November 28, 1936 (age 75) Ottawa, Kansas
Nationality	American
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Lee Ludwig Hart
Alma mater	Bethany Nazarene University Yale University St. Anthony's College (Oxford University)

Gary Hart (born Gary Warren Hartpence; November 28, 1936) is an American politician, lawyer, author, professor and commentator. He served as a Democratic Senator representing Colorado (1975–1987), and ran in the U.S. presidential elections in 1984 and again in 1988, when he was considered a frontrunner for the Democratic nomination until various news organizations reported that he was having an extramarital affair. Since retiring from the Senate, he has emerged as a consultant on national security, and continues to speak on a wide range of issues, including the environment and homeland security. In 2001, he earned a doctorate in politics from Oxford. In 2006, Hart accepted an endowed professorship at the University of Colorado at Denver. He also serves as Chairman for Council for a Livable World. He has written or co-authored numerous books and articles, including four novels, two under the pen name John Blackthorn.

Early life and legal career[link]

Hart was born in Ottawa, Kansas, the son of Nina (née Pritchard) and Carl Riley Hartpence, a farm equipment salesman.^[1] He changed his last name to "Hart" in 1961. He attended Bethany Nazarene College in Bethany, Oklahoma, graduating in 1958. He graduated from Yale Divinity School in 1961 and Yale Law School in 1964.

Hart became an attorney for the United States Department of Justice from 1964 to 1965, and was admitted to the Colorado and District of Columbia bars in 1965. He was special assistant to the solicitor of the United States Department of the Interior from 1965 to 1967. He then entered private law practice in Denver, Colorado, on and off over the next seven years.

George McGovern's 1972 presidential campaign[link]

Hart occasionally calls himself the inventor of the Iowa caucuses.^{[citation needed]} Following the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, U.S. Senator George McGovern of South Dakota co-chaired a commission that revised the Democratic presidential nomination structure, weakening the influence of such old-style party bosses as Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley, who were once able to hand pick national convention delegates and dictate the way they voted. The new rules made caucuses a process in which relative newcomers could participate without paying dues to established party organizations.

In the 1972 election, McGovern named Hart his campaign manager. Along with Rick Stearns, an expert on the new system, they decided on a strategy to focus on the newly important Iowa caucuses.^{[citation needed]} They predicted that a strong showing in Iowa would give the campaign momentum that would propel them toward the nomination and weaken the Democratic Party establishment's favored candidate, Edmund Muskie. Indeed, the strategy worked — setting a trend of focusing on the Iowa caucuses that has continued to this day — and the McGovern campaign took advantage of the Iowa results to win the nomination.^{[citation needed]} However, Hart could not steer McGovern to the presidency. In the general election, McGovern carried only Massachusetts and the District of Columbia.

United States Senator[link]

In 1974, Hart ran for the United States Senate, challenging two-term incumbent Republican Peter Dominick. Hart was aided by the state's trend towards Democrats during the early 1970s, as well as Dominick's continued support for the unpopular President Richard Nixon and concerns about the Senator's age and health. In the general election, Hart won by a wide margin (57.2% to Dominick's 39.5%) and was immediately labeled as a rising star. He got a seat on the Armed Services Committee and was an early supporter of reforming the bidding for military contracts, and also was an advocate the military using smaller, more mobile weapons and equipment, as opposed to the traditional large scale items. He also served on the Environment and Public Work Committee and the Senate Intelligence Committee.

In 1980, he sought a second term. In something of a surprise, his Republican opponent was Colorado Secretary of State Mary Estill Buchanan, a moderate candidate who had defeated the more conservative choice, Howard "Bo" Callaway in the party primary. Fourteen years earlier, Callaway had been the Republican gubernatorial nominee in his native Georgia. Hart distanced himself from U.S. President Jimmy Carter, a former Georgia political rival of Callaway's. Carter's weak showing in Colorado nearly cost Hart reelection, but he prevailed 51 to 49 percent over Buchanan.

1984 presidential campaign[link]

Hart (on the right) accepting his US Naval Reserve commission from Secretary of the Navy Edward Hidalgo, December 4, 1980

In February 1983, during his second term, Hart announced his candidacy for president in the 1984 presidential election. At the time of his announcement, Hart was a little-known senator and barely received above one percent in the polls against better-known candidates such as Walter Mondale, John Glenn, and Jesse Jackson. To counter this situation, Hart started campaigning early in New Hampshire, making a then-unprecedented canvassing tour in late September, months before the primary. This strategy attracted national media attention to his campaign, and by late 1983, he had risen moderately in the polls to the middle of the field, mostly at the expense of the sinking candidacies of Glenn and Alan Cranston. Mondale won the Iowa caucus in late January, but Hart polled a respectable 16 percent. Two weeks later, in the New Hampshire primary, he shocked much of the party establishment and the media by defeating Mondale by 10 percentage points. Hart instantly became the main challenger to Mondale for the nomination, and appeared to have the momentum on his side.

However, Hart's campaign could not overcome Mondale's financial and organizational advantages, especially among labor union leaders in the Midwest and industrial Northeast. Hart was chronically in debt, to a final count of $4.75 million.^[2] In states like Illinois, where delegates were elected directly by primary voters, Hart often had incomplete delegate slates. Hart's ideas were criticized as too vague and centrist by many Democrats. Shortly after he became the new frontrunner, it was revealed that Hart had changed his last name, had often listed 1937 instead of 1936 as his birth date, and had changed his signature several times. This, along with two separations from his wife, Lee, caused some to question Hart's "flake factor". Nonetheless, he and his wife have remained married for 50 years.

The two men swapped victories in the primaries, with Hart getting exposure as a candidate with "new ideas" and Mondale rallying the party establishment to his side.^[3] The two men fought to a draw in the Super Tuesday, with Hart winning states in the West, Florida, and New England. Mondale fought back and began ridiculing Hart's campaign platform. The most famous television moment of the campaign was during a debate when he mocked Hart's "new ideas" by quoting a line from a popular Wendy's television commercial at the time: "Where's the beef?" Hart's campaign could not effectively counter this remark, and when he ran negative TV commercials against Mondale in the Illinois primary, his appeal as a new kind of Democrat never entirely recovered. Hart lost the New York and Pennsylvania primaries, but won those of Ohio and Indiana.

Mondale gradually pulled away from Hart in the delegate count, but the race was not decided until June, on "Super Tuesday III".^[4] Decided that day were delegates from five states: South Dakota, New Mexico, West Virginia, California and New Jersey.^[5] The proportional nature of delegate selection meant that Mondale was likely to obtain enough delegates on that day to secure the stated support of an overall majority of delegates, and hence the nomination, no matter who actually "won" the states contested. However, Hart maintained that unpledged superdelegates that had previously claimed support for Mondale would shift to his side if he swept the Super Tuesday III primary.^[6] Once again, Hart committed a faux pas, insulting New Jersey shortly before the primary day. Campaigning in California, he remarked that while the "bad news" was that he and his wife Lee had to campaign separately, "[t]he good news for her is that she campaigns in California while I campaign in New Jersey." Compounding the problem, when his wife interjected that she "got to hold a koala bear", Hart replied that "I won't tell you what I got to hold: samples from a toxic waste dump."^[6] While Hart won California, he lost New Jersey after leading in polls by as much as 15 points.

By the time the final primaries concluded, Mondale had a considerable lead in total delegates, though he was 40 delegates short of clinching victory. Superdelegates voted overwhelmingly for Mondale at the Democratic National Convention in San Francisco on July 16, making him the presidential nominee. Hart, already aware that the nomination was all but Mondale's after the final primaries, lobbied for the Vice Presidential slot on the ticket, claiming that he would do better than Mondale against President Ronald Reagan (an argument undercut by a June 1984 Gallup poll that showed both men nine points behind the president). While Hart was given serious consideration, Mondale chose Geraldine Ferraro instead.

Nonetheless, this race for the nomination was the closest in two generations, and it has been the most recent occasion that a major party presidential nomination has gone all the way to the convention. Mondale was later defeated in a landslide by the incumbent Reagan, winning only his home state of Minnesota and the District of Columbia. Many felt that Hart and other similar candidates, younger and more independent-minded, represented the future of the party.

1988 presidential campaign and the Donna Rice affair[link]

Hart declined to run for re-election to the Senate, leaving office when his second term expired with the intent of running for president again. In January 1987, he was the clear frontrunner for the Democratic nomination in the 1988 election.^[7]

Hart officially declared his candidacy on April 13, 1987.^[8] Rumors began circulating nearly immediately that Hart was having an extramarital affair. In an interview that appeared in the New York Times on May 3, 1987, Hart responded to the rumors by daring the press corps: "Follow me around. I don't care. I'm serious. If anybody wants to put a tail on me, go ahead. They'll be very bored."^[9] The Miami Herald had been investigating Hart's alleged womanizing for weeks before the "dare" appeared in the New York Times. Two reporters from the Miami Herald had staked out his residence and observed a young woman leaving Hart's Washington, D.C., townhouse on the evening of May 2. The Herald published the story on May 3, the same day Hart's dare appeared in print, and the scandal spread rapidly through the national media. Hart and his allies attacked the Herald for rushing the story into print, claiming that it had unfairly judged the situation without finding out the facts. Hart said that the reporters had not watched both entrances to his home and could not have seen when the young woman entered and left the building. The Miami Herald reporter had flown to Washington, D.C. on the same flight as the woman, identified as 29-year-old model Donna Rice. Hart was overwhelmed with questions regarding his views on marital infidelity. His wife, Lee, supported his position that the relationship with the young woman was innocent.^[10] A poll of voters in New Hampshire for the New Hampshire primary showed that Hart's support had dropped in half, from 32% to 17%, placing him suddenly ten points behind Massachusetts governor Michael Dukakis.

On May 5, the Herald received a further tip that Hart had spent a night in Bimini on a yacht called the Monkey Business with a woman who was not his wife.^[11] The Herald obtained a photograph of Hart sitting on a dock wearing a Monkey Business T-shirt, with Rice sitting on his lap. The photograph did not appear in print until it was published on the cover of the National Enquirer on June 2, 1987.^[12] On May 8, 1987, a week after the story broke, Hart dropped out of the race. At a press conference, he lashed out at the media, saying "I said that I bend, but I don't break, and believe me, I'm not broken." A Gallup Poll found that nearly two-thirds (64 percent) of the U.S. respondents it surveyed thought the media treatment of Hart was "unfair." A little over half (53 percent) responded that marital infidelity had little to do with a president's ability to govern.

Not everyone was impressed with Hart's diatribe against the press. Television writer Paul Slansky noted that Hart had tried to deflect blame for his downfall from himself to the media, and that he offered no apology to betrayed supporters who now suddenly had to find other candidates to back. To many observers, the press conference was redolent of Richard Nixon's "Last Press Conference" of November 7, 1962, in which Nixon blamed the media for his loss in the 1962 California gubernatorial election. Hart, in fact, received a letter from Nixon himself commending him for "handling a very difficult situation uncommonly well".^[13]

Former National Security Council member Roger Morris suggests in his book Partners in Power, the Clintons and Their America that the alleged Hart-Rice sex scandal was really an intelligence operation to deny Hart the presidency. CIA agent Chip Tatum claims to have been tasked with "neutralizing" Hart. Hart's biggest offense, according to Morris, was his advocacy of "further investigation and exposure of the alliance between the mob and the US intelligence community."^[14] The Miami Herald's account of how it researched and produced the Gary Hart-Donna Rice story was said to be closely examined by investigative reporters from the national media after allegations were made that the story may have been initiated by conspirators to eliminate Hart as a viable candidate. Since then, no story has ever been published by the national media challenging The Herald's account of how one of Ms Rice's own girl friends called the paper with the original tip that Rice was planning to meet with Hart at his home in Washington. According to The Herald, after the original tip, no one outside The Herald's reporting team influenced the surveillance and reporting that produced the story.

In December 1987, Hart returned to the race, declaring "Let's let the people decide!"^[15] He competed in the New Hampshire primary and received 4,888 votes, approximately four percent. After the Super Tuesday contests on March 8, he withdrew from the campaign a second time.

Later career[link]

After his Senate service and presidential races, Hart resumed his law practice. He remained moderately active in politics, serving on the bipartisan US Commission on National Security/21st Century, also known as the Hart–Rudman Commission, commissioned on behalf of Bill Clinton in 1998 to study U.S. homeland security. The commission issued several findings calling for broad changes to security policy, but none was implemented until after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.^[16] He earned a D.Phil. in politics from the University of Oxford in 2001, where he was a member of St Antony's College.

Hart gave a speech before the American international law firm Coudert Brothers on September 4, 2001, exactly one week before the September 11 attacks, warning that within the next 25 years a terrorist attack would lead to mass deaths in the U.S.^[17] In an interview with Salon.com, Hart accused President George W. Bush and other administration officials of ignoring Hart's warnings.^[16]

In late 2002, urged by former Oxford classmates, Hart began testing the waters for another run for the presidency, launching a website at GaryHartNews.com and a related speaking tour to gauge reactions from the public. He started his own blog in the spring of 2003, the first prospective presidential candidate to do so. After a few months of speaking, Hart decided not to run for president and instead endorsed Democrat John Kerry. According to an October 23, 2004, National Journal article and later reports in the Washington Post, Hart was mentioned as a probable Cabinet appointment if Kerry won the presidency. He was considered a top candidate for either Director of National Intelligence, Secretary of Homeland Security, or Secretary of Defense.

Since May 2005 he has been a contributing blogger at The Huffington Post. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations (better known as the CFR). Hart also sits on the Advisory Board of Operation USA, a Los Angeles-based international relief and development agency. It was announced in January 2006 that Hart will hold an endowed professorship at the University of Colorado. He is the author of James Monroe, part of the Times Books series on American presidents, ISBN 0-8050-6960-7, published in October 2005. Hart is an Honorary Fellow of the Literary & Historical Society of University College Dublin. He is an Advisory Board member for the Partnership for a Secure America, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to recreating the bipartisan center in American national security and foreign policy.

In September 2007, The Huffington Post published Hart's letter, "Unsolicited Advice to the Government of Iran", in which he stated that "Provocation is no longer required to take America to war" and warns Iran that "for the next sixteen months or so, you should not only not take provocative actions, you should not seem to be doing so." He went on to suggest that the Bush-Cheney administration was waiting for an opportunity to attack Iran. ("Don't give a certain vice president we know the justification he is seeking to attack your country.")

Hart linked American energy policy with national security in an essay published in 5280, the Denver city magazine, in November 2007. Hart wrote, "In fact, we do have an energy policy: It’s to continue to import more than half our oil and sacrifice American lives so we can drive our Humvees. This is our current policy, and it is massively immoral." Hart currently sits on the board of directors for the Energy Literacy Advocates. He founded the American Security Project in 2007 and he started a new blog, "Matters of Principle", in 2009. He and his wife, Lee, are residents of Kittredge, Colorado.

Publications[link]

• The Thunder and the Sunshine: Four Seasons in a Burnished Life (Fulcrum Publishing, 2010);
• Under The Eagle's Wing: A National Security Strategy of the United States for 2009 (Speaker's Corner, 2008);
• The Courage of Our Convictions: A Manifesto for Democrats by Gary Hart (Time Books/Henry Holt, 2006);
• The Shield and The Cloak: The Security of the Commons (Oxford University Press, 2006);
• God and Caesar in America: an essay on religion and politics (Fulcrum Books, 2005);
• The Presidency of James Monroe, in the American Presidency series edited by Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. (Time Books/Henry Holt, 2005);
• The Fourth Power: a new grand strategy for the United States in the 21st century (Oxford University Press, 2004);
• Restoration of the Republic: the Jeffersonian Ideal in 21st Century America (2002), for which he received a D. Phil. degree from Oxford University;
• The Minuteman: Restoring an Army of the People (1998);
• The Patriot: An Exhortation to Liberate America from the Barbarians (1996);
• The Good Fight: The Education of an American Reformer (a New York Times Notable Book) (1995);
• Russia Shakes the World: The Second Russian Revolution (1991);
• America Can Win: The Case for Military Reform (1985);
• A New Democracy : new approaches to the challenges of the 1980s (1983);
• Right from the Start: A Chronicle of the McGovern Campaign (1973);

Four novels:

• I, Che Guevara (2000) (under the pseudonym John Blackthorn)
• Sins of the Fathers (1999) (under the pseudonym John Blackthorn)
• The Strategies of Zeus (1985)
• The Double Man (with former Senator and Secretary of Defense William Cohen, 1984)

In January 2000, Hart revealed that he is the political thriller writer John Blackthorn, whose books include Sins of the Fathers and I, Che Guevara.^[18]

Electoral history[link]

Colorado United States Senate election, 1974 (Democratic primary)^[19]:

• Gary Hart – 81,161 (39.92%)
• Herrick S. Roth – 66,819 (32.86%)
• Martin P. Miller – 55,339 (27.22%)

Colorado United States Senate election, 1974^[20]

• Gary Hart (D) – 471,688 (57.23%)
• Peter H. Dominick (R) (inc.) – 325,526 (39.50%)
• John M. King (I) – 16,131 (1.96%)
• Joseph Fred Hyskell (Prohibition) – 8,404 (1.02%)
• Henry John Olshaw (Independent American) – 2,394 (0.29%)

Colorado United States Senate election, 1980^[21]:

• Gary Hart (D) (inc.) – 590,501 (50.34%)
• Mary E. Buchanan (R) – 571,295 (48.70%)
• Earl Higgerson (Prohibition) – 7,265 (0.62%)
• Henry John Olshaw (I) – 4,081 (0.35%)

1984 Democratic presidential primaries^[22]:

• Walter Mondale – 6,952,912 (38.32%)
• Gary Hart – 6,504,842 (35.85%)
• Jesse Jackson – 3,282,431 (18.09%)
• John Glenn – 617,909 (3.41%)
• George McGovern – 334,801 (1.85%)
• Unpledged delegates – 146,212 (0.81%)
• Lyndon LaRouche – 123,649 (0.68%)
• Reubin O'Donovan Askew – 52,759 (0.29%)
• Alan Cranston – 51,437 (0.28%)
• Ernest Hollings – 33,684 (0.19%)

1984 Democratic National Convention^[23]:

• Walter Mondale – 2,191 (56.41%)
• Gary Hart – 1,201 (30.92%)
• Jesse Jackson – 466 (12.00%)
• Thomas Eagleton – 18 (0.46%)
• George McGovern – 4 (0.10%)
• John Glenn – 2 (0.05%)
• Joe Biden – 1 (0.03%)
• Martha Kirkland – 1 (0.03%)

1988 Democratic presidential primaries^[24]:

• Michael Dukakis – 9,898,750 (42.47%)
• Jesse Jackson – 6,788,991 (29.13%)
• Al Gore – 3,185,806 (13.67%)
• Dick Gephardt – 1,399,041 (6.00%)
• Paul M. Simon – 1,082,960 (4.65%)
• Gary Hart – 415,716 (1.78%)
• Unpledged delegates – 250,307 (1.07%)
• Bruce Babbitt – 77,780 (0.33%)
• Lyndon LaRouche – 70,938 (0.30%)
• David Duke – 45,289 (0.19%)
• James Traficant – 30,879 (0.13%)
• Douglas Applegate – 25,068 (0.11%)

1988 Democratic National Convention^[25]:

• Michael Dukakis – 2,877 (70.09%)
• Jesse Jackson – 1,219 (29.70%)
• Richard Stallings – 3 (0.07%)
• Joe Biden – 2 (0.05%)
• Dick Gephardt – 2 (0.05%)
• Lloyd Bentsen – 1 (0.02%)
• Gary Hart – 1 (0.02%)

See also[link]

• Atari Democrat
• Buie Seawell

References[link]

External links[link]

• Source material: Biographical Database of the U.S. Congress: HART, Gary Warren, 1936–
• Ferguson, Andrew (January 24, 2000). "Time Magazine Gary Hart comes out". http://www.time.com/time/archive/preview/0,10987,995924,00.html?internalid=related. Retrieved September 24, 2010. 
• "Senator Gary Hart Challenges the Unholy Alliance of 'Faith' and Government". http://www.buzzflash.com/interviews/05/12/int05047.html. Retrieved September 24, 2010. 
• "Transcript and audio of interview with Hart conducted by Democracy Now!". http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/03/28/1431259. Retrieved September 24, 2010. 
• "Video interviews/conversations with Hart by Robert Wright of Bloggingheads.tv". http://bloggingheads.tv/search/?participant1=Hart,%20Gary. Retrieved September 24, 2010. 

v t e United States Senators from Colorado Class 2 Teller Chilcott Tabor Bowen Wolcott Patterson Guggenheim Shafroth Phipps Costigan Johnson Allott Haskell Armstrong Brown Allard Udall Class 3 Chaffee Hill Teller Hughes Thomas Nicholson Adams Means Waterman Walker Schuyler Adams Millikin Carroll Dominick Hart Wirth Campbell Salazar Bennet

City of Gary
—  City  —
Downtown Gary
Official seal of City of Gary Seal
Nickname(s): City in Motion, City of the Century, GI, Magic City of Steel, The Steel City, The G
Motto: We Are Doing Great Things
Location of Gary in Lake County (left, shaded in red), and within the state of Indiana, U.S.
Coordinates: 41°35′44″N 87°20′43″W / 41.59556°N 87.34528°W / 41.59556; -87.34528Coordinates: 41°35′44″N 87°20′43″W / 41.59556°N 87.34528°W / 41.59556; -87.34528[1]
Country	United States
State	Indiana
County	Lake
Founded	July 14, 1906
Government
• Type	Council-Strong Mayor
• Mayor	Karen Freeman-Wilson (D)
Area
• Total	57.18 sq mi (148.1 km2)
• Land	49.86 sq mi (129.1 km2)
• Water	7.31 sq mi (18.9 km2)
Elevation[1]	607 ft (185 m)
Population (2010)
• Total	80,294
• Density	1,598.5/sq mi (617.2/km2)
Time zone	CST (UTC–6)
• Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC–5)
ZIP codes	46401-46411
Area code(s)	219
FIPS code	18-27000[2]
GNIS feature ID	2394863[1]
Website	http://www.gary.in.us/

Gary is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The city is in the southeastern portion of the Chicago metropolitan area and is 25 miles from downtown Chicago. The population is 80,294 at the 2010 census, making it the seventh-largest city in the state. It borders Lake Michigan and is known for its large steel mills and as the birthplace of the Jacksons singing family. Gary is adjacent to the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore.

History[link]

Early history[link]

The city was founded in 1906 by the United States Steel Corporation as the home for its new plant. The city was named after the lawyer and founding chairman of U.S. Steel, Elbert Henry Gary.

Gary's fortunes have risen and fallen with those of the steel industry. The growth of the steel industry brought prosperity to the community. Broadway Avenue was known as a commercial center for the region. Department stores and architecturally significant movie houses were built in the downtown area and the Glen Park neighborhood.

In the 1960s, like many other American urban centers reliant on one particular industry, Gary entered a spiral of decline. Gary's decline was brought on by the growing overseas competitiveness in the steel industry, which had caused U.S. Steel to lay off many workers from the Gary area. As the city declined, crime increased.

Rapid racial change occurred in Gary during the late 20th century. These population changes resulted in political change which reflected the racial demographics of Gary. Gary had one of the nation's first African-American mayors, Richard G. Hatcher, and hosted the ground-breaking 1972 National Black Political Convention.

In the 1960s through 1980s, surrounding suburban localities such as Merrillville and Crown Point experienced rapid growth including new homes and shopping districts. Due to white flight, economic distress, and skyrocketing crime, many middle-class and affluent residents moved to other cities in the metro area such as Chicago and surrounding areas in Lake and Porter counties in Indiana.

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Gary had the highest percentage of African Americans of U.S. cities with a population of 100,000 or more, 84% (as of the 2000 U.S. census). This no longer applies to Gary since the population of the city has now fallen well below 100,000 residents.

U.S. Steel continues to be a major steel producer, but with only a fraction of its former level of employment. While Gary has failed to reestablish a manufacturing base since its population peak, two casinos opened along the Gary lakeshore in the 1990s although this has been aggravated by the state closing of Cline Avenue, an important access to the area. Today, Gary faces the difficulties of a rust belt former steel town turned urban dumping ground, including unemployment, decaying infrastructure, low literacy and educational attainment levels.

Recent history[link]

2006[link]

Three-term Democratic mayor Scott King resigned from office in March 2006, citing a desire to return to private law practice.^[3] Then-deputy mayor and former Calumet Township trustee Dozier T. Allen Jr. became acting mayor pending a formal election by local Democratic party officials. On April 4, 2006, local officials chose former Lake County commissioner and King rival Rudolph Clay to fill the remaining 21 months of King's term.

The Gary Chicago International Airport (IATA code: GYY) secured nearly $100 million in grants and private donations. The Federal Aviation Administration approved GYY's master plan which includes the expansion of runways, land acquisition for a larger terminal, an integrated transportation center, and provision for a third runway. The first part of the plan requires that the Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway line, which runs at the end of the runway, be relocated.

Dallas-based HomeVestors of America released its "Top 10 Markets for Real Estate Investing" list on December 9, 2006. Gary earned the number one position on this list, which represents activity of investors who purchase homes below market and then sell.^[4]

After celebrating its centennial anniversary in 2006, the city of Gary presented several examples of progress and economic rebound, after years of economic depression. Many buildings that have been left vacant for years are now finally slated for demolition and development.^[5] Many new homes were built through the HOPE VI grant from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

2007[link]

Gary was rated the 17th most dangerous city in the United States according to Morgan Quitno's 2007 analysis of crime rates (City Crime Rankings, 14th Edition), down from 10th highest in the 2006 edition. The city recorded 51 homicides in 2006, a 13.5 percent decrease from the previous year.

2008[link]

Forbes Magazine listed Gary 39th on their Top 100 Best Cities for Jobs in 2008. The ranking was up from 89th in 2006 and 84th in 2007.^[6]

In March 2008 the Chief of Police, Deputy Chief and a police sergeant were all indicted by the federal court for violating the civil rights of a Gary resident.^[7]

2011[link]

Property tax limitations implemented for the entire state of Indiana have left Gary in a financially difficult situation.^[8] The city is one of the few in the US that uses cash based accounting, a system usually limited to use in very small businesses and not municipalities with budgets greater than $80 million.^[9] Gary currently is under temporary reprieve from full implementation of the state tax caps, an implementation that is scheduled to be applied to Gary in 2012. At that point Gary's property tax revenue of approximately $60 million is projected to be cut to approximately $30 million. The budget changes necessary at that point are widely viewed to be devastating.^[10] Due to its cash accounting system, there is difficulty determining what Gary's one-time liabilities are. In late 2009, they are at least $34 million in debts and unpaid judgments by the city to various parties in addition to the upcoming projected structural deficit due to mandatory tax caps.

In April 2011, 75 year-old mayor Rudy Clay announced that he would be suspending his campaign for re-election, owing to ongoing treatments for prostate cancer. After exiting from the race, Clay endorsed rival Karen Freeman-Wilson, who won the Democratic mayoral primary in May.^[11]

On November 8, 2011, Freeman-Wilson won election to the office of mayor of Gary with 87 percent of the vote. Her term began January 2012; she is the city's first female mayor.^[12]

Neighborhoods[link]

West[link]

Ambridge Mann is located on Gary's near west side along 5th Avenue. Ambridge was developed for workers at the nearby steel plant in the 1910s and 1920s, and is named after the American Bridge Works, which was a subsidiary of U.S. Steel. The neighborhood is home to a huge stock of prairie style and art deco homes. The Gary Masonic Temple is located in the neighborhood along with the Ambassador Apartment building. Located just south of Interstate 90, the neighborhood can be seen while passing Buchanan Street.

Lake County, Indiana Superior Court Building

Brunswick is located on Gary's far west side. The neighborhood is located just south of Interstate 90 and can be seen from the expressway. The Brunswick area includes the Tri-City Plaza shopping center on West 5th Avenue (U.S. 20). The area is south of the Gary Chicago International Airport.

Gary Centennial Landmark

Downtown Gary was developed in the 1920s and houses several pieces of impressive architecture, including several structures designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. A 6,000-seat minor league baseball stadium for the Gary SouthShore RailCats, U.S. Steel Yard, was constructed in 2002, along with contiguous commercial space. A significant number of older structures have been demolished in recent years, but a number of abandoned buildings remain in the downtown area, including historic structures like Union Station and City Methodist Church. A large area of the downtown neighborhood (including City Methodist) was devastated by fire on October 12, 1997.^[13][14] Interstate 90 divides downtown Gary from the United States Steel Plant.

Tolleston is one of Gary's oldest neighborhoods, predating much of the rest of the city. It was plated out by George Tolle in 1857, when the railroads came to the area. The area is to the west of Midtown and south of Ambridge Mann. Tarrytown is a subdivision located in Tolleston between Whitcomb Street and Clark Road.

South[link]

Black Oak is located on the far southwest side of Gary, in the vicinity of the Burr Street exit to the Borman Expressway. It was annexed in the 1970s. Prior to that, Black Oak was an unincorporated area informally associated with Hammond, and the area has Hammond telephone numbers. The community was convinced (after three previously failed attempts) by Mayor Hatcher that its residents would benefit from better services, provided by the city, than those provided by the county. It is the only majority-white neighborhood in Gary.

Glen Park is located on Gary's far south side, and is made up mostly of mid-twentieth century houses. Glen Park is divided from the remainder of the city by the Borman Expressway. The northern portion of Glen Park is home to Gary's Gleason Park Golf Course and the campus of Indiana University Northwest. The far western portion of Glen Park is home to the Village Shopping Center. Glen Park includes the 37th Avenue corridor at Broadway.

Midtown is located to the south of Downtown Gary, along Broadway. This was, traditionally, the original "black" neighborhood in the pre-1960s days of segregation.

Old Miller School, District #8

North and East[link]

Aetna is located on Gary's far east side along the Dunes Highway. Aetna predates the city of Gary. It was a company town founded in 1881 by the Aetna Powder Works, an explosives company, which closed with the end of World War I. The Town of Aetna was annexed in 1928 around the same time Gary annexed the Town of Miller. A building boom happened shortly afterward in the late 1920s and early 1930s making Aetna home to an impressive collection of art deco architecture. The rest of the community was built throughout the 1950s after the Korean War in a series of phases. On its south and east, Aetna borders the undeveloped floodplain of the Little Calumet River.

Miller Beach, also known through the years as Miller Station or just simply as Miller, is on Gary's far east side. Incorporated as an independent town in 1907, Miller was annexed by the city of Gary in 1918. Miller developed around the old stagecoach stop and train station known, as early as the 1840s, as Miller's Junction. The Miller Beach area has remained somewhat separated from the rest of Gary both culturally and geographically. Miller Beach continues to be racially and economically diverse, and attracts investor interest due to the many year-round and summer homes within walking distance of Marquette Park and Lake Michigan. Prices for lakefront property are affordable compared with Illinois suburban communities. Lake Street provides shopping and dining options for Miller Beach visitors and residents. East Edge, a development of 28 upscale condominium, townhome, and single-family homes, began construction in 2007 at the eastern edge of Miller Beach along County Line Road, one block south of Lake Michigan.^[15]

Lake Street Beach in Miller

Lake County Superior Court House and US Steel Gary Works

Geography and climate[link]

Geography[link]

The city sits on the southern end of the former lake bed of the prehistoric Lake Chicago, and the current Lake Michigan. Most of the city's soil nearly one foot below the surface is pure sand. The sand beneath Gary, and on its beaches, is of such high quality that in years past it was mined for the manufacture of glass. Gary has many statues of Elbert H. Gary in the city. It also has a lot of historical sites to visit.

According to the 2010 census, the city has a total area of 57.18 square miles (148.1 km²), of which 49.86 square miles (129.1 km²) (or 87.20%) is land and 7.31 square miles (18.9 km²) (or 12.78%) is water.^[16]

Gary is "T" shaped, with its northern border on Lake Michigan. At the Northwesternmost section Gary borders Hammond and East Chicago. Miller Beach, its easternmost neighborhood, borders Lake Station and Portage. Gary's southernmost section borders Griffith, Hobart, Merrillville, and unincorporated Ross.^{[citation needed]} Gary is about 40 miles (64 km) from the Chicago Loop.^[17]

Climate[link]

Although Gary is located at a roughly similar latitude as New York City, the climate is colder in the winter because of a more continental influence. In July and August, the warmest months, high temperatures average 84 °F (29 °C) and peak just above 100 °F (38 °C) and low temperatures average 63 °F (17 °C). In January and February, the coldest months, high temperatures average around 29 °F (−2 °C) and low temperatures average 13 °F (−11 °C), with at least a few days of temperatures dipping below 0 °F (−18 °C). The weather of Gary is greatly regulated by its proximity to Lake Michigan, as it sits at the lake's southernmost point. Weather varies yearly. In summer months Gary is humid. The city's yearly precipitation averages about 40 inches. Summer is the rainiest season. Winters vary but are predominantly snowy with regular blizzards. Snowfall in Gary can average 24 to 36 inches per winter, but sometimes large blizzards hit because of "lake effect snow", a phenomenon wherein large amounts of water evaporated from the lake deposits onto the shoreline areas inordinate amounts of snow.

Demographics[link]

As of the census of 2000, there were 102,746 people, 38,244 households, and 25,623 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,045.5 people per square mile (789.8/km²). There were 43,630 housing units at an average density of 868.6 per square mile (335.4/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 84.03% African American, 11.92% White, 0.21% Native American, 0.14% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 1.97% from other races, and 1.71% from two or more races. 4.93% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. Non-Hispanic Whites were 8.9% of the population in 2010,^[19] down from 39.1% in 1970.^[20]

The U.S. census figures show that Gary had a population of 80,294 for the 2010 census, a nearly 22% drop compared to the 2000 census.

There were 38,244 households out of which 31.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 30.2% were married couples living together, 30.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.0% were non-families. 28.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.66 and the average family size was 3.28.

In the city the population was spread out with 29.9% under the age of 18, 10.1% from 18 to 24, 25.1% from 25 to 44, 22.2% from 45 to 64, and 12.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 84.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 78.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $27,195, and the median income for a family was $32,205. Males had a median income of $34,992 versus $24,432 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,383. About 22.2% of families and 25.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 37.9% of those under age 18 and 14.1% of those age 65 or over.

City and community services[link]

Parks[link]

• Brunswick Park
• Marquette Park
• Pittman Square
• Gleason Park
• Jefferson Park
• Buffington Park
• Hillman Park
• Borman Square

Medical facilities[link]

• Gary Community Health Center and Adult and Children's General Dentist 1021 West 5th Avenue, Gary, IN 46402
• Methodist Hospital 600 Grant Street, Gary, IN 46402-6099
• Rainbow Medical Center 1465 West 16th Avenue, Gary, IN 46407-1025

Education[link]

There are three school districts serving the city and multiple charter schools located within the city.

Public schools[link]

Most public schools in Gary are administered by the Gary Community School Corporation. The other public schools within the city are administered by Lake Ridge Schools Corporation, which is the school system for the Black Oak neighborhood and unincorporated Calumet Township. Due to annexation law, Black Oak residents retained their original school system and were not required to attend Gary public schools. Some Gary residents in the eastern edge of the community attend schools administered by the River Forest Community School Corporation.

Charter schools[link]

Charter schools in Indiana, including those in Gary, are granted charters by one of a small number of chartering institutions. Indiana charter schools are generally managed in cooperation between the chartering institution, a local board of parents and community members, salaried school administrators, and a management company. Charter schools in Gary as of 2011 include KIPP Lead College Prep Charter School, Thea Bowman Leadership Academy, Charter School of the Dunes, Gary Lighthouse Charter School, 21st Century Charter , and West Gary Lighthouse Charter School.

Higher education[link]

Gary is home to two regional state college campuses:

• Indiana University Northwest
• Ivy Tech Community College Northwest

Public libraries[link]

Downtown Library

The Gary Public Library System consists of the main library at 220 West 5th Avenue and several branches: Brunswick Branch, W. E. B. DuBois Branch, J. F. Kennedy Branch, Tolleston Branch, and Woodson Branch.^[21] In March 2011, the Gary Library Board voted to close the main library on 5th Avenue and the Tolleston branch in what officials said was their best economic option. The main library will close by the end of 2011.^[22] Lake County Public Library operates the Black Oak Branch at 5921 West 25th Avenue in the Gary city limits.^[23] In addition Indiana University Northwest operates the Indiana University Northwest Library on its campus.^[24]

Public safety[link]

Gary is served by the Gary Police Department and Gary Fire Department. Gary is also served by the Lake County Sheriff's Department.

Transportation[link]

• NICTD (Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District) operates the South Shore Line, a commuter rail system (one of the United States' last original operating interurban railway systems), running between Chicago and South Bend.

• GPTC (Gary Public Transportation Corporation) a commuter bus system that offers service to numerous stops throughout the city and neighboring suburbs. GPTC also has express service to locations outside of the city including connections to Chicago transit. Front door pickup is available for disabled citizens at no extra cost.

• GYY (Gary/Chicago International Airport) is operating as the "third airport" for the Chicago area. It is undergoing much federally funded expansion, and the administration is courting airlines aggressively. Boeing already bases its corporate fleets here.^{[citation needed]} The National Guard is intending to base its Chicago area air operation there as well,^[25] which would add much needed security to the airport, taking away some of the stigma of an airport in Gary.

• Interstate 90 (Indiana Toll Road), Interstate 80, Interstate 94, and Interstate 65 run through Gary, as well as U.S. Routes 12 and 20, Indiana State Road 912/Cline Avenue and a former stretch of Indiana State Road 312 now decommissioned.

Culture[link]

Arts and film[link]

The 1996 urban movie Original Gangstas was filmed in the city. The movie starred Gary native Fred Williamson, Pam Grier, Jim Brown, Richard Roundtree and Isabel Sanford, among others. Since the early 2000s Gary has experienced a surge of Hollywood filmmakers wishing to shoot movies in the city. In 2009 scenes for the remake of A Nightmare On Elm Street were filmed in Gary.^[26] Scenes from Transformers: Dark of the Moon wrapped up filming on August 16, 2010.^[27]

Nightmare on Elm Street being filmed in Gary

The History channel documentary Life After People was filmed in run-down and derelict parts of Gary, Indiana.^[28]

Meredith Willson's 1957 Broadway musical The Music Man featured the song "Gary, Indiana", and described Gary Conservatory as the alleged alma mater of lead character Professor Harold Hill ("Gary Music Conservatory, Class of '05!"). The joke in Hill's claim, of course, is that the City of Gary was not founded until 1906. Willson's musical, set in 1912, later was the basis of a film (1962) and a made-for-television film (2003).

Sports[link]

The U.S. Steel Yard, home of the Gary SouthShore RailCats

The following sports franchises are based in Gary:

• The Gary SouthShore RailCats are an American Association, professional baseball team. The team plays in Gary's U.S. Steel Yard baseball stadium. The RailCats played in the Northern League from 2002 until 2010 and were the 2005 and 2007 Northern League Champions.

• The Gary Splash are an International Basketball League, professional basketball team. The team plays in Gary's Genesis Convention Center. Formerly the Gary Steelheads played in the IBL, CBA, USBL and IBL.

Sister city[link]

• Fuxin, People's Republic of China^[29]

Notable natives and residents[link]

Michael Jackson's childhood home in Gary, Indiana shortly after the singer's death

Frank Borman

Gary is the hometown of the Jackson family, a family of musicians who influenced the sound of modern popular music. Joe and Katherine Jackson originally moved into their two bedroom house at 2300 Jackson St. in Gary, Indiana, after they got married on November 5, 1949. The famous siblings would later record a song entitled "2300 Jackson Street" in the 1990s.

• Members of the Jackson family include:
  • Maureen Reillette "Rebbie" Jackson (born May 29, 1950)
  • Sigmund Esco "Jackie" Jackson (born May 4, 1951)
  • Toriano Adaryll "Tito" Jackson (born October 15, 1953)
  • Jermaine La Jaune Jackson (born December 11, 1954)
  • La Toya Yvonne Jackson (born May 29, 1956)
  • Marlon David Jackson (born March 12, 1957)
  • Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009)
  • Steven Randall "Randy" Jackson (born October 29, 1961)
  • Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966)

Other notables include

• Dan Barreiro, sports radio talk show host
• Albert M. Bielawski, former Michigan State Representative
• Frank Borman (born 1928), astronaut on Gemini 7 and Apollo 8, former CEO of Eastern Air Lines
• John Brim, bluesman.
• Avery Brooks (born 1948), (born in Evansville) actor, director, best known for Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
• Karen Freeman-Wilson, former Indiana Attorney General, attorney, politician
• Freddie Gibbs, rapper
• Tom Harmon 1940 University of Michigan Heisman Trophy winner
• LaTroy Hawkins (born December 21, 1972) MLB Pitcher for the Milwaukee Brewers
• Gerald Irons, former NFL star, Oakland Raiders
• Tank Johnson, NFL star
• Alex Karras, former NFL star, actor in Blazing Saddles
• Robert Kearns, inventor of the intermittent windshield wiper systems.
• Ron Kittle, former Chicago White Sox outfielder and 1983 American League Rookie of the Year recipient
• Bob Kuechenberg, former NFL star, guard on 1972 Miami Dolphins perfect season team
• Karl Malden (1912–2009), (born in Chicago) Oscar winning actor
• William Marshall, actor
• Brandon Moore (born 1980), NFL guard for the New York Jets
• Dan Plesac (born 1962), former Major League Baseball pitcher with an 18-year career, now a MLB Network analyst
• Glenn Robinson (born 1973), former NBA basketball player
• Paul Samuelson (1915–2009), economist, recipient of the John Bates Clark Medal (1947) and the Nobel prize (1970)
• Joseph Stiglitz (born 1943), economist, recipient of the John Bates Clark Medal (1979) and the Nobel prize (2001)
• Hank Stram, NFL head coach 1960-1977
• Ernest Lee Thomas, actor
• Deniece Williams (born 1950), Grammy Award winning R&B artist
• Fred Williamson, former NFL star, actor, director, producer
• Tony Zale (1913–1997), twice middleweight world champion

Business and industry[link]

Media[link]

• Newspapers – Gary is served by two major newspapers based outside the city, and by a Gary-based, largely African-American interest paper. These papers provide regional topics, and cover events in Gary.
  • The Post-Tribune, originally the Gary Post-Tribune, is now based in Merrillville, a suburb of Gary.
  • The Times, previously known as the Hammond Times. Offices and facilities for The Times are in nearby Munster.
  • The Gary Crusader, based in Gary and largely focused on black or African-American interests and readership.
  • The INFO Newspaper, based in Gary and largely focused on black or (African-American) interests and readership.
• The Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Sun-Times are also distributed in Gary.

• Broadcast – Gary is served by five local broadcasters plus government access and numerous Chicago area radio and TV stations, and by other nearby stations in Illinois and Indiana.
  • WHNW-LD (Channel 18) a repeater of LeSEA's WHME in South Bend.^[30]
  • WPWR-TV (Channel 50) is the Chicago My Network TV affiliate, but is licensed to Gary. Studios and transmitters are co-located with WFLD's in Chicago, and like WFLD, WPWR is owned by Fox Television Stations.
  • WYIN (Channel 56) is a PBS affiliate licensed to Gary. Their studios are in Merrillville.
  • WGVE (FM 88.7) is owned by the Gary Community School Corporation, and is used primarily as a teaching facility. Programming is maintained by students in the broadcast program at the Gary Career Center. WGVE also carries limited NPR programming.
  • WLTH (AM 1370) carries syndicated talk programming, and is owned by Pluria Marshall Jr.
  • WWCA (AM 1270) is a Relevant Radio owned-and-operated radio station, carrying programming from the Catholic-oriented Relevant Radio network.

See also[link]

	Chicago portal
	Indiana portal

• List of tallest buildings in Gary
• Northwest Indiana

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Gary, Indiana

• City of Gary, Indiana website
• Photos of abandoned buildings in Gary, IN 2011
• Photos galleries of Gary, Indiana from 2005
• U.S. Steel Gary Works Photograph Collection, 1906–1971
• MillerBeachDays
• Dave's Den – providing extensive coverage on the history and development of the City of Gary
• More current photos of Gary's buildings
• Gary at night

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Bill Maher
Maher at a ceremony to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in September 2010
Birth name	William Maher, Jr.
Born	(1956-01-20) January 20, 1956 (age 56) New York, New York, U.S.
Medium	Stand-up, television, film, books
Nationality	American
Years active	1979–present
Genres	Satire, Political satire, News satire, Observational comedy
Subject(s)	American politics, current events, American culture, pop culture, freedom of speech, environmentalism, religion, human sexuality, recreational drug use, libertarianism, American liberalism, American conservatism
Influences	Steve Allen, George Carlin, Johnny Carson, David Frost, Robert Klein, Don Rickles, Gore Vidal, Lenny Bruce
Notable works and roles	Elliot on Charlie Hoover Host of Politically Incorrect Host of Real Time with Bill Maher Religulous
Website	BillMaher.com

William "Bill" Maher, Jr. ( /ˈmɑːr/; born January 20, 1956) is an American stand-up comedian, television host, political commentator, author, and actor. Before his current role as the host of HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher, Maher hosted a similar late-night talk show called Politically Incorrect originally on Comedy Central and later on ABC.

Maher is known for his political satire and sociopolitical commentary, which targets a wide swath of topics including religion, politics, bureaucracies of many kinds, political correctness, the mass media, greed among people and persons in positions of high political and social power, and the lack of intellectual curiosity in the electorate.^[1] He supports the legalization of marijuana and same-sex marriage, and serves on the board of PETA.^[2] He is also a critic of religion and is an advisory board member of Project Reason, a foundation to promote scientific knowledge and secular values within society.^[3] In 2005, Maher ranked at number 38 on Comedy Central's 100 greatest stand-up comedians of all time.^[4] Bill Maher received a Hollywood Walk of Fame star on September 14, 2010.^[5]

Early life and education[link]

Maher was born in New York City, the son of Julie (née Berman), a nurse, and William Maher, Sr., a network news editor and radio announcer.^[6] He was raised in his Irish American father's Catholic religion, remaining unaware that his mother was Jewish until his early teenage years.^{[7][8][9][10]} Due to Maher's father's disagreement with the Catholic Church's position on birth control, he stopped taking Maher and his sister to Catholic church services when Maher was thirteen.^[11]

Maher was raised in River Vale, New Jersey, and graduated from Pascack Hills High School in Montvale in 1974. He received a B.A. in English and history from Cornell University in 1978.^[12]

Early career[link]

Maher began his career as a stand-up comedian and actor. He was host of the New York City comedy club Catch a Rising Star in 1979. Thanks to Steve Allen, he began appearing on Johnny Carson's and David Letterman's shows in 1982. He made limited television appearances including a recurring role in Sara (1985), appeared in Max Headroom (1987), two separate appearances on Murder, She Wrote (1989, 1990), a recurring role in Charlie Hoover (1991) and other productions. He has also appeared in several films, usually in a comic role. His feature film debut was in D.C. Cab (1983), and he also appeared in Ratboy (1986) Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death (1988) and Pizza Man (1991), among others.

Television career[link]

[edit] Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher

Maher assumed the host role Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher, a late-night political talk show that ran on Comedy Central from 1993 to 1997 and on ABC from 1997 to 2002. The show regularly began with a topical monologue by Maher preceding the introduction of four guests, usually a diverse group of individuals from show business, popular culture, political pundits, political consultants, authors, and occasionally news figures. The group would discuss topical issues selected by Maher, who also participated in the discussions.^[13] Jerry Seinfeld, a regular guest on the show, stated that Politically Incorrect reminded him of talk shows from the 1950s and 60s "when guests interacted with each other as much as with the host."^[14]

Politically Incorrect won an array of awards, including an Emmy Award for Outstanding Technical Direction, two CableACE awards for Best Talk Show Series, and a Genesis Award for Best Television Talk Show. Maher earned numerous award nominations for his producing, writing and hosting of Politically Incorrect, including ten Emmy nominations, two TV Guide nominations, and two Writers Guild nominations. ABC decided against renewing Maher's contract for Politically Incorrect in 2002, after he made a controversial on-air remark shortly after the September 11 attacks.^[15] He agreed with his guest, conservative pundit Dinesh D'Souza, that the 9/11 terrorists did not act in a cowardly manner (in rebuttal to President Bush's statement calling 9/11 hijackers cowards). Maher said, "We have been the cowards. Lobbing cruise missiles from two thousand miles away. That's cowardly. Staying in the airplane when it hits the building. Say what you want about it. Not cowardly. You're right." Maher later clarified that his comment was not anti-military in any way whatsoever, referencing his well-documented longstanding support for the American military.^[16][17][18]

In the context of the attacks, some corporate advertisers found the comment too insensitive and controversial. Several companies, including FedEx and Sears Roebuck, pulled their advertisements from the show, costing the show more than it returned.

The show was cancelled on June 16, 2002, and the Sinclair Broadcast Group had dropped the show from its ABC-affiliated stations months prior. On June 22, 2002, just six days after the cancellation of Politically Incorrect, Maher received the Los Angeles Press Club president's award (for "championing free speech"). Maher was on the board of judges one year for the PEN/Newman's Own First Amendment Award.

Maher's remarks after 9/11 were not the first time he had sparked controversy on Politically Incorrect. In the same year, Maher was widely criticized for comparing dogs to retarded children. He apologized for his comments.^[19]

[edit] Real Time with Bill Maher

In 2003, Maher became the host, co-producer and co-writer of Real Time with Bill Maher, a weekly hour-long political comedy talk show on the cable television network HBO. During an interview, Maher told Terry Gross (on NPR's Fresh Air) that he much prefers having serious and well-informed guests on his program, as opposed to the random celebrities that fleshed out his roundtable discussions on Politically Incorrect.^[20]

As with his previous show, Politically Incorrect, Maher begins Real Time with a comic opening monologue based upon current events and other topical issues. He proceeds to a one-on-one interview with a guest, either in-studio or via satellite. Following the interview, Maher sits with three panelists, usually consisting of pundits, authors, activists and journalists, for a discussion of the week's events. In the segment "New Rules" at the end of each show, Maher delivers a humorous editorial on popular culture and American politics.

In late May 2005, Alabama Congressman Spencer Bachus sent a letter to Time Warner's board of directors requesting Real Time be cancelled after remarks Maher made after noting the military had missed its recruiting goals by 42 percent. Bachus said he felt the comments were demeaning to the military and treasonous. Maher stated his highest regard and support for the troops and asked why the congressman criticized him instead of doing something about the recruitment problem.^[21]

Real Time has earned widespread praise. It has been nominated for more than ten Primetime Emmy Awards and six Writer's Guild awards. In 2007, Maher and his co-producers were awarded the Television Producer of the Year Award in Variety Television by the Producers Guild of America.^[22] Maher holds the record for the most Emmy nominations without a win, having been nominated on 22 occasions and not winning once. Eleven of the nominations were for Politically Incorrect, while nine were for Real Time. The other two were nominations for two of his HBO comedy specials: Bill Maher: I'm Swiss and Bill Maher: The Decider.^[23]

HBO announced in July 2011 the show was renewed for a tenth season.^[24]

Christine O'Donnell[link]

On September 17, 2010, Maher aired a clip of Delaware Republican Senatorial candidate Christine O'Donnell from the October 29, 1999 episode of his old show Politically Incorrect on his current show Real Time with Bill Maher,^[25][26] where she discussed that she had "dabbled in witchcraft." This was one of the most notable of numerous controversial statements by O'Donnell that made her the most covered candidate in the 2010 mid-term election cycle.^[27][28]

Political commentator[link]

Maher is a frequent commentator on various cable news networks, namely CNN, MSNBC, and HLN. Maher has regularly appeared on CNN's The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer^[29] and has also been a frequent guest on MSNBC's Hardball with Chris Matthews,^[30] The Rachel Maddow Show^[31] and Countdown with Keith Olbermann.^[32] Maher has also appeared as a guest on HLN's The Joy Behar Show.^[33]

Maher hosted the January 13, 2006 edition of Larry King Live, on which he was a frequent guest. Maher appeared as a special guest on the June 29, 2010 edition of the show, on which CNN anchor Larry King announced his retirement.^[34] Maher co-emceed the final show of Larry King Live on December 16, 2010 with Ryan Seacrest.^[35]

Since May 2005, he has been a contributing blogger at The Huffington Post.

Views and beliefs[link]

Politics[link]

Maher and Ingrid Newkirk, founder of PETA. Maher is on the board of directors of the animal rights group.

Maher eschews political labels, referring to himself as "practical".^[36] In the past, he has described himself as a libertarian and has also referred to himself "as a progressive, as a sane person".^[37][38]

Maher favors a partial privatization of Social Security, ending corporate welfare and federal funding of non-profits, and legalization of gambling, prostitution, and marijuana. Maher is a member of the advisory boards for both the NORML and Marijuana Policy Project, organizations which support regulated legalization of marijuana.^[39][40] He describes himself as an environmentalist, and he has spoken in favor of the Kyoto treaty on global warming on his show Real Time. He often criticizes industry figures involved in environmental pollution.^[41]

Maher is a board member of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

Before the 2004 U.S. presidential election, Maher became candid in his stated opposition to the re-election of George W. Bush and in his support for John Kerry.^[42]

Known for protesting against the demonization of the word "liberal", during the campaign Maher criticized Kerry for being ashamed of the word. On his show, the comedian has noted the paradox of people claiming they distrusted "elite" politicians while at the same time wanting elite doctors to treat them and elite lawyers to represent them in court.^[43] Maher supports the death penalty. Since the 9/11 attacks, he has endorsed the use of racial profiling at airports.^[44]

He was originally against the Iraq War, and has summarized his opinion by saying that the United States and the world have had to pay too high a price for the war. He is skeptical of Iraq surviving without civil war.^[45]

In the 2008 U.S. presidential election, Maher announced his support for Barack Obama.^[46] Although Maher welcomed Obama's electoral victory, he has subjected him to criticism once in office for not acting boldly on health care reform and other progressive issues.^[47]

On February 23, 2012, after his 'Crazy Stupid Politics' special streamed on Yahoo! Screen, Maher announced that he was contributing $1 million to Priorities USA, the Obama SuperPAC.^[48][49]

Religion[link]

Maher is highly critical of religion, and views it as not worth the bother. He has referred to himself as an apatheist - a pragmatic atheist - on Scarborough Country on April 24, 2007, and again in July 2011.^[50][51] He has reiterated this stance in subsequent interviews, rejecting both the certitude of the existence, as well as the certitude of nonexistence of deities, concluding, "I'm saying that doubt is the only appropriate response for human beings."^[52] He is an advisory board member of author Sam Harris's Project Reason, a foundation that promotes scientific knowledge and secular values within society.

Maher and director Larry Charles teamed up to make the feature film Religulous (2008), described by trade publication Variety as a documentary "that spoofs religious extremism across the world." It was released on October 3, 2008.^[53][54]

While Maher is critical towards Christianity, he is an outspoken critic of religion as a whole, including Islam. On October 29, 2010, during a Real Time segment, Maher commented on a news story saying that the name Mohammed had become the most popular baby name in the United Kingdom. He asked, "Am I a racist to feel alarmed by that? Because I am. And it’s not because of the race, it’s because of the religion. I don’t have to apologize, do I, for not wanting the Western world to be taken over by Islam in 300 years? Sharia law is being institutionalized in England? Well, then I am right, I should be alarmed."^[55] He later defended his comments on CNN, saying, "And when I say Westerner, I mean someone who believes in the values that Western people believe in that a lot of the Muslim world does not. Like separation of church and state. Like equality of the sexes. Like respect for minorities, free elections, free speech, freedom to gather. These things are not just different from cultures that don’t have them. ... It’s better. ... I would like to keep those values here." ^[56]

Maher received the Richard Dawkins Award for 2009 from Atheist Alliance International "for his efforts to further the values science and reason in the world."^[57]

Maher was ranked first by MormonVoices, a group associated with Foundation for Apologetic Information & Research, on its Top Ten Anti-Mormon Statements of 2011 list for saying "By any standard, Mormonism is more ridiculous than any other religion".^[58]

Health care[link]

Maher has stated that the AMA is a powerful lobbying group and one of the primary reasons why the United States had failed to enact health care reform.^{[59][dead link][60]}

On August 24, 2009, Maher was a guest on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien. On the topic of getting health care reform legislation passed, Maher stated that Obama should forget about trying to get 60 votes for it, "he only needs 51." "Forget getting the sixty votes or sixty percent — sixty percent of people don't believe in evolution in this country — he just needs to drag them to it, like I said, they're stupid; get health care done, with or without them."^[61]

Maher has expressed the view that most illness is generally the result of poor diet and lack of exercise, and that medicine is often not the best way of addressing illness. In an episode of his show about the 2008 presidential candidates' health plans, Maher stated that poor nutrition is a primary cause of illness, and that "the answer isn't another pill."^[62] He also has said:" If you believe you need to take all the pills the pharmaceutical industry says you do, then you're already on drugs!"^[63]

He has expressed his distaste for the pharmaceutical and health care industries in general, on the grounds that they make their money out of curing people who are made sick by consuming unhealthy food that corporations urge upon the public. He maintains that mass consumption of high-fructose corn syrup is a contributor to the rise in frequency of obesity in the United States.^[64]

In a discussion with Michael Moore about the film Sicko, Maher said, "The human body is pretty amazing; it doesn't get sick, usually, for no reason. I mean, there's some genetic stuff that can get to you, but, basically, people are sick in this country because they're poisoned. The environment is a poisoning factor, but also, we gotta say, they poison themselves. They eat shit. People eat shit, and that's, to my way of thinking, about 90 percent of why people are sick, is because they eat shit. Would you agree?"^[65]

On October 9, 2009, on his HBO show, Maher debated the effectiveness of flu vaccinations with Bill Frist and stated, "Why would you let them be the ones to stick a disease into your arm? I would never get a swine flu vaccine or any vaccine. I don’t trust the government, especially with my health." Maher also expressed skepticism about the seriousness of the swine flu and whether completely healthy people could die from it. His comments have generated criticism, and his remarks have been called unscientific and even harmful.^[66]

Maher responded to the criticism, noting, "What I've read about what they think I'm saying is not what I've said. I'm not a germ theory denier. I believe vaccinations can work. Polio is a good example. Do I think in certain situations that inoculating Third World children against malaria or diphtheria, or whatever, is right? Of course. In a situation like that, the benefits outweigh costs. But to me living in Los Angeles? To get a flu shot? No."^[67]

He supports the current abortion laws and giving the terminally ill the right to assisted suicide.

Criticism of 9/11 conspiracy theories[link]

Maher has been a critic of 9/11 conspiracy theories. On October 19, 2007, Maher confronted several 9/11 truthers and had them ejected from his show audience after they interrupted the live show numerous times by calling out from the audience. The incident drew significant media attention and praise from Fox News talk show host and frequent critic John Gibson.^[68]

Personal life[link]

Maher has never married. In 2003, he began dating former Playboy Cyber Girl Coco Johnsen. In November 2004, at the end of their 17-month relationship, she sued him for USD $9 million for "pain and suffering" for alleged "insulting, humiliating and degrading racial comments." Her suit^[69] stated that Maher promised to marry her and father her children, support her financially, and purchase a Beverly Hills home. Her suit also alleged that she quit her job as a flight attendant and occasional model to be with him. Maher's lawyers in their response filed on November 23, 2004, in Los Angeles Superior Court said Maher is a "confirmed bachelor, and a very public one at that" who "never promised to marry [Johnsen] or to have children with her."^[70]

Maher's filing stated that, after the relationship had ended, Johnsen "launched a campaign to embarrass, humiliate, and extort ridiculous sums of money from Bill Maher." Johnsen accused another former boyfriend of rape and kidnapping in 1997, and the charges were later dismissed for lack of evidence.^[71] Her lawsuit against Maher was dismissed on May 2, 2005.

Maher next to his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in September 2010

Maher enjoys his bachelor status and states that he does not want to get married. On his website, he is quoted as saying, "I'm the last of my guy friends to have never gotten married, and their wives — they don't want them playing with me. I'm like the escaped slave — I bring news of freedom."^[72]

In 2005, he began dating Karrine Steffans, best-selling author and former hip hop model.^[73][74][75] When commentators suggested there was a pattern to his dating because both his girlfriend and former girlfriend were black, Maher said, "People say I'm into black women. Robert De Niro is into black women. I'm just into women who are real, and they happen to be black."^[74]

From 2009 to 2011, Maher dated the neuroscientist and science educator Cara Santa Maria.^[76]

Credits[link]

Bibliography[link]

• True Story : A Novel, 1994 (ISBN 0-7432-4251-3)
• Does Anybody Have a Problem With That? Politically Incorrect's Greatest Hits, 1996 (ISBN 0-679-45627-9)
• Does Anybody Have a Problem with That? The Best of Politically Incorrect, 1997 (ISBN 0-345-41281-8)
• When You Ride Alone You Ride With Bin Laden: What the Government Should Be Telling Us to Help Fight the War on Terrorism, 2003 (ISBN 1-893224-90-2)
• Keep the Statue of Liberty Closed: The New Rules, 2004 (ISBN 1-932407-47-2)
• New Rules: Polite Musings from a Timid Observer, 2005 (ISBN 1-59486-295-8)
• The New New Rules: A Funny Look at How Everybody but Me Has Their Head Up Their Ass, 2011 (ISBN 0-39915-841-3)

Filmography[link]

References[link]