Peter Berg
Berg speaking at Wondercon 2012 in Anaheim, California on March 17, 2012
Born	(1962-03-11) March 11, 1962 (age 50) New York City, New York, U.S.
Occupation	Actor, director, producer, writer
Years active	1988–present
Spouse	Elizabeth Rogers (1993-1997; 1 child)

Peter Berg (born March 11, 1962)^[1] is an American actor, film director, producer and writer. He is known for directing films such as Friday Night Lights, The Kingdom, The Rundown, Hancock and Battleship. He also developed the television series Friday Night Lights, which was adapted from the film he directed. As an actor he is best known for his role as Dr. Billy Kronk on the CBS medical drama Chicago Hope.^[2]

Early life[link]

Berg was born in New York City, New York. He is the son of Sally and Laurence "Larry" Berg.^[3] Berg's father was Jewish and his mother Christian. He is the cousin of writer H. G. Bissinger, whose book Friday Night Lights provides the basis for the film and TV series of the same name.^[4][5] His mother co-founded a youth group named Catalog for Giving and worked at a psychiatric hospital when Berg was growing up.^[1] He has a younger sister, Mary. After graduating high school from The Taft School in 1980,^[6] Berg attended Macalester College in Saint Paul, Minnesota, where he majored in theater arts and theater history. He graduated in 1984, and in 1985 moved to Los Angeles to pursue his film career.

Career[link]

Berg put his acting aspirations on hold when he first arrived in Los Angeles, choosing instead to learn about the film business as a production assistant. In 1992 Berg gained recognition for playing a World War II soldier in the film A Midnight Clear. In 1998, Berg made his feature directorial debut with Very Bad Things, a black comedy starring Jon Favreau, Christian Slater, Jeremy Piven, Daniel Stern, and Leland Orser as a group of men behaving badly. The film, which was shown at the Toronto and San Sebastian Film Festivals, received a fairly mixed critical reception. Nonetheless, Berg continued to be a presence behind the camera. In 2000, he created Wonderland, an edgy dramatic television series set in an asylum. While the ABC show received rave reviews and garnered a cult following, it failed to deliver ratings and was quickly canceled.

Berg in 2003 directed The Rundown. Starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Seann William Scott, the Berg-helmed action comedy received mixed reviews from critics and disappointed at the box office, only grossing 80 million of its reported 85 million budget. In 2004, Berg began work on his third directorial effort, Friday Night Lights, a football film based on the New York Times bestseller written by Buzz Bissinger.^[7]

In 2006, Berg developed and became executive producer of NBC’s Peabody and Emmy Award-winning drama Friday Night Lights, based on the novel and film of the same name.

Berg followed up in 2007 with The Kingdom, a Michael Mann-produced political thriller set in Saudi Arabia, starring Academy Award winners Jamie Foxx and Chris Cooper, also with Jennifer Garner whom Berg met when he appeared in a two-part episode of Alias where he played Garner's ex-boyfriend. Berg’s film Hancock, starring Will Smith, Charlize Theron and Jason Bateman, was one of the biggest grossing films of 2008.

Berg directed the Hulu.com commercial featuring Alec Baldwin, which both The New York Times and Time magazine named best spot of Super Bowl XLIII.^[8] In 2009, Berg directed a two-hour pilot movie for a Fox television series Virtuality. Even though the show was not picked up for a full season, the pilot was released on DVD exclusively through Best Buy. Berg also directed the ESPN documentary "Kings Ransom" in 2009. Berg also wrote the 2010 film The Losers.

Berg also directed the 2012 science-fiction/action film Battleship, and is developing a sequel to Hancock, the film adaptation of Marcus Lutrell's book Lone Survivor,^[9] and a live-action version of the graphic novel Hercules: The Thracian Wars.^[10]

Personal life[link]

On August 28, 1993, Berg married long-time girlfriend Elizabeth Rogers; they divorced in 1998. Berg has a son, Emmett, who was born November 1999. Berg dated actress and model Estella Warren^[11] for four years until spring 2006 when they ended their relationship.

Filmography[link]

In development[link]

• Hercules: The Thracian Wars (2011)^[10]
• Lone Survivor (2013)^[9]
• Untitled Jon Roberts Project (announced)^[12]

Director[link]

• Chicago Hope (1997) (TV series, episode "Colonel of Truth")
• Very Bad Things (1998)
• Wonderland (2000) (TV series, episode "Pilot")
• The Rundown (2003)
• Addicted (Enrique Iglesias music video)
• Friday Night Lights (2004)
• Friday Night Lights (2006) (TV series, episodes "Pilot" and "East of Dillon")
• The Kingdom (2007)
• Keeps Gettin' Better (2008) (Christina Aguilera music video)
• Hancock (2008)
• 30 for 30 (2009) (TV series, episode "Kings Ransom")
• Virtuality (2009) (TV movie)
• Prime Suspect (2011) (TV series)
• Battleship (2012)

Writer[link]

• Chicago Hope (1994) (TV Series) (1 episode: "Quiet Riot" as Peter W. Berg)
• Very Bad Things (1998)
• Wonderland (2000) (TV series) (1 episode: "Pilot")
• Friday Night Lights (2004)
• Friday Night Lights (2006) (TV Series) (1 episode: "Pilot")
• The Losers (2010)

Producer[link]

• Wonderland (2000) (Creator, Executive Producer)
• Pu-239 (2006)
• Friday Night Lights (TV Series) (Creator, Executive Producer)
• Lars and the Real Girl (2007) (Executive Producer)
• Trauma (TV Series) (2009) (Executive Producer)
• 30 for 30 (2009) (1 episode: "Kings Ransom")
• Virtuality (2009) (TV movie)
• The Losers (2010)
• Prime Suspect (TV Series) (2011) (Executive Producer)
• Battleship (2012)^[13]

Actor[link]

• Never on Tuesday (1989) Eddie
• 21 Jump Street (1988) Jerome Sawyer in "Champagne High"
• Miracle Mile (1989) Band Member
• Quiet Victory: The Charlie Wedemeyer Story (1988) Bobby
• Race For Glory (1989) Chris Washburn
• Shocker (1989) Jonathan Parker
• Heart of Dixie (1989) Jenks
• Tale of Two Sisters (1989) Gardener
• Going Overboard (1989) (as Pete Berg) Mort Ginsberg
• Genuine Risk (1990) Henry
• Forradalom után (1990)
• Late For Dinner (1991) Frank Lovegren
• Crooked Hearts (1991) Tom
• A Midnight Clear (1992) Bud Miller
• A Case for Murder (1993) Jack Hemmet
• Fire in the Sky (1993) David Whitlock
• Aspen Extreme (1993) Dexter Rutecki
• Across the Moon (1994) Lyle
• Uneviled (1994) Drug Dealer
• F.T.W. aka The Last Ride (1994) Clem Stuart
• The Last Seduction (1994) Mike Swale
• Rise and Walk: The Dennis Byrd Story (1994) Dennis Byrd
• Fallen Angels (1995) 2 episodes
• Chicago Hope (1995–1999) Dr. Billy Kronk in 106 episodes
• The Great White Hype (1996) Terry Conklin
• Girl 6 (1996) Caller No 1—Bob
• The Naked Truth (TV series) (1996) 1 episode
• Cop Land (1997) Joey Randone
• Very Bad Things (1998) Doctor
• Dill Scallion (1999) Nate Clumson
• Corky Romano (2001) Paulie Romano
• The King of Queens (2002) Lil' Eddie in "Kirbed Enthusiasm"
• Alias (2002) - Agent Noah Hicks in "Snowman" and "Masquerade"
• Collateral (2004) Richard Weidner
• Smokin' Aces (2006) "Pistol" Pete Deeks
• Friday Night Lights (2007) Morris "Mo" MacArnold in "May The Best Man Win"
• Lions for Lambs (2007) Lt. Col. Falco
• The Kingdom (2007) FBI Agent (Uncredited)
• Entourage (2008) Himself in Season 5 and Season 7
• Hancock (2008) Doctor (Uncredited)
• Californication (2012) Himself in Season 5 Episode 2

Composer[link]

• Very Bad Things (1998) (song "Walls Come Down")

References[link]

External links[link]

• Peter Berg at the Internet Movie Database
• Peter Berg at AllRovi
• Peter Berg's Guest DJ Set on KCRW KCRW Guest DJ Set
• NYTimes: Wonderland

Brooklyn Decker
Decker at the 2012 premiere of What to Expect When You're Expecting
Born	Brooklyn Danielle Decker (1987-04-12) April 12, 1987 (age 25) Kettering, Ohio, U.S.
Years active	2006–present
Height	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Hair color	Blonde
Eye color	Blue
Measurements	34C-24.5–35
Manager	Marilyn Agency
Spouse	Andy Roddick (m. 2009) «start: (2009-04)»"Marriage: Andy Roddick to Brooklyn Decker" Location: (linkback:http://en-wiki.pop.wn.com/index.php/Brooklyn_Decker)

Brooklyn Danielle Decker^[1] (born April 12, 1987)^[2] is an American fashion model and actress best known for her appearances in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, including the cover of the 2010 issue. In addition to working for Victoria's Secret for the 2010 "Swim" collection, she has ventured into television with guest appearances on Chuck, Ugly Betty, and Royal Pains. She made her feature film debut in Just Go with It, and later starred in Battleship and What to Expect When You're Expecting. Decker is also known for her marriage to tennis player Andy Roddick.

Early life[link]

Decker was born in Kettering, Ohio, the daughter of Tessa (née Moore), a nurse, and Stephen Decker, a pacemaker salesman. She has one brother, Jordan, who is three years younger.^[3][4][5] She and her family moved to Middletown, Ohio, then to Matthews, North Carolina, a suburb of Charlotte. She was discovered in a Charlotte shopping mall as a teenager. Decker began her modeling career as the face of Mauri Simone, a popular prom dress maker. She won the 2003 Model of the Year award at the Connections Model and Talent Convention.^[6] In a January 2011 interview with Self magazine, Decker stated that she suffered from an eating disorder and states, "My father did an intervention and got me to stop obsessing about everyone else and wrecking my body."^[7]

Career[link]

Decker at the Battleship Australian Premiere 2012

Decker has been featured in pictorials in Teen Vogue, Cosmopolitan, FHM, and Glamour, and has modeled for The Gap, Intimissimi and Victoria's Secret. She has appeared in music videos for Jimmy Buffett and the band 3 Doors Down. She is also an avid Tar Heel basketball and Carolina Panthers fan.

In 2005, within two months of moving to New York City, Decker auditioned for the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition, in which she first appeared in 2006.^[8] She was again featured in the 2007 edition, and hosted the 2007 behind-the-scenes television special. She returned for a third consecutive time in 2008. Decker was chosen cover girl for the 2010 edition, shot on location in the Maldives islands. In 2007, she had a recurring feature on the CNN/SI website called "She Says, Z Says," along with Paul Zimmerman, discussing NFL football games of the week. Decker appeared in the 2007 made-for-television Lipshitz Saves the World.^[9] She worked for a period in Australia. She joined the cast of Sports New York to discuss the 2010 NCAA basketball tournament.^[10] In 2008, Decker rang the New York Stock Exchange bell with other Sports Illustrated models.^[11]

Decker in March 2012.

Decker is represented by Marilyn Agency.^[12]

Decker made a guest appearance on NBC's Chuck, where she played a model applying to be a "Buy More Girl." She made a guest appearance on USA Network's Royal Pains on July 30, 2009. Decker played swimsuit model Rachel, while Peter Jacobson played Alan, her nebbish husband.^[13]

On February 8, 2010, David Letterman announced on Late Show with David Letterman that Decker had been chosen as the 2010 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit covermodel.^[14] Calling her selection "the news of a lifetime," Decker admitted that her mother cried when she heard her daughter would grace the cover.^[15]

Decker served as a guest judge in the 5th cycle from Germany's Next Topmodel.

She was reportedly considered for the lead female role in Transformers: Dark of the Moon.^[16]

Decker won Esquire magazine's 2010 "Sexiest Woman Alive" bracket challenge.^[17]

MTV Networks' NextMovie.com named her one of the 'Breakout Stars to Watch for in 2011'.^[18]

In 2011, Decker was cast as the female lead, Samantha Shane, daughter of a naval officer who works as a physical therapist, in the film Battleship, which was based on the board game of the same name. The role allowed her to spend some time with the Wounded Warriors Project. She also traveled to medical hospitals in Pearl Harbor and San Antonio and worked with troops who came back injured from overseas.^[19] She was also part of the ensemble cast of the comedy What to Expect When You're Expecting (2012), based on the book of the same name. She played the wife of Dennis Quaid's character.^[20]

She was named one of the "100 Hottest Women of All-Time" by Men's Health.^[21]

Personal life[link]

Decker married American tennis player Andy Roddick in April 2009.^[22][23]

Filmography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Find more about Brooklyn Decker on Wikipedia's sister projects:
	Images and media from Commons

• Official website
• Brooklyn Decker on Twitter
• Brooklyn Decker at the Fashion Model Directory
• Brooklyn Decker at the Internet Movie Database

Tavis Smiley
Tavis Smiley, 2011
Born	(1964-09-13) September 13, 1964 (age 47) Gulfport, Mississippi United States
Education	Indiana University (B.A., public affairs, 2003)
Occupation	Talk show host Author Entrepreneur Advocate Philanthropist
Notable credit(s)	Tavis Smiley host (2004–present) The Tavis Smiley Show from PRI (radio) host (2005–present) "Smiley & West" co-host (2010–present) BET Tonight with Tavis Smiley host (1996–2001)
Religion	Christian
Website
http://www.tavistalks.com/

Tavis Smiley (pronounced /ˈtævɨs/; born September 13, 1964) is a talk show host, author, liberal political commentator, entrepreneur, advocate and philanthropist.^[1][2] Smiley was born in Gulfport, Mississippi, and grew up in Kokomo, Indiana. After attending Indiana University, he worked during the late 1980s as an aide to Tom Bradley, the mayor of Los Angeles. Smiley became a radio commentator in 1991, and starting in 1996, he hosted the talk show BET Talk (later renamed BET Tonight) on BET. Controversially, after Smiley sold an exclusive interview of Sara Jane Olson to ABC News in 2001, BET declined to renew Smiley's contract that year. Smiley then began hosting The Tavis Smiley Show on NPR from 2002 to 2004 and currently hosts Tavis Smiley on PBS on the weekdays and "The Tavis Smiley Show" from PRI. In 2010 Smiley and Dr. Cornel West have joined forces for their own radio talk show, Smiley & West. They were featured together interviewing musician Bill Withers in the 2009 documentary film Still Bill.^[3]

Early years[link]

Tavis Smiley was born in Gulfport, Mississippi, the son of Joyce Marie Roberts, a single mother who first became pregnant at age 18.^[4] On September 13, 1966, just shy of his second birthday, his mother married Emory Garnell Smiley, a non-commisioned officer in the U.S. Air Force.^[5] It would not be until a few years later that Tavis would learn the identity of his biological father, whom he identifies in his autobiography, What I Know For Sure: My Story of Growing Up in America only as "T."^[6]

His family soon moved to Indiana because his stepfather had been transferred to Grissom Air Force Base near Peru, Indiana. Upon arriving in Indiana, the Smiley family took up residence in a crowded mobile home in the small town of Bunker Hill, Indiana.^[7] Smiley's immediate family size was increased following the homicide of his aunt, whose death left five children with no stable home. Smiley's parents agreed to take in and raise their five orphaned nieces and nephews. Joyce and her husband also had eight children of their own over the years, resulting at one point in 13 children and Mr. and Mrs. Smiley all living in the trailer-home. Smiley's mother was a very religious person, and the family attended the local New Bethel Tabernacle Church, part of the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World.^[8] The Smiley children were forbidden from listening to secular music at home and going to the movie theater and could watch television shows that their parents felt were family-friendly.^[9] When Tavis Smiley was in seventh grade, New Bethel pastor Elder Rufus Mills accused Tavis and his siblings of "running wild, disobeying their teacher, disrespecting their teacher, disrespecting the sanctity of this building, and mocking the holy message being taught" during Sunday School.^[10] According to Smiley's account of the incident, Smiley's Sunday School teacher became more confused as she was asking questions about the Book of John, and while other students "responded by giggling and acting a little unruly", he and his sister Phyllis "remained quiet".^[11] Garnell whipped Tavis and Phyllis with an extension cord, wounding the two children.^[12] The next day at school, administrators found out about the children's injuries.^[13] The local newspaper in Kokomo reported on the beating and the legal proceedings against Garnell, and Tavis and Phyllis were sent to foster care temporarily,^[14] Garnell told his children that the judge decided that he had "overreacted" and found he and Joyce as "concerned parents who were completely involved in our children's lives and well-being".^[15]

Smiley became interested in politics at age 13 after attending a fundraiser for U.S. Senator Birch Bayh.^[8] At Maconaquah High School in Bunker Hill, Indiana, a school that Smiley described as "98 percent white",^[16] Smiley was active in student council and the debate team, even though his parents were "skeptical of all non-church extracurricular activities".^[17]

College and political career[link]

In 1982, Smiley enrolled in Indiana University Bloomington (IU). Because Smiley's parents refused to complete financial aid papers, Smiley entered Indiana University with only $50 and a small suitcase.^[18] Administrators let Smiley complete the paperwork to become a full-time student.^[19] The summer after his freshman year, Smiley worked, attended summer classes, and lived off campus with Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball players, then being coached by Bob Knight.^[20] Smiley was accepted into the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity during his sophomore year and became business manager of his dormitory, a member of the student senate, and director of minority affairs.^[21] After his friend Denver Smith was killed by Indiana police officers who claimed to have acted in self-defense, Smiley helped lead protests to defend Smith, whom he believed had been wrongfully killed.^[22] Those protests led Smiley to a work-study internship at the office of Bloomington mayor Tomilea Allison. Being paid $5 an hour, Smiley wrote letters to local residents, researched for Mayor Allison, and helped write positions on local issues. Mayor Allison rebuked Smiley for padding his time sheets and had Smiley work off the extra hours without pay.^[23] During his first semester of junior year, Smiley was under academic probation and blamed his extracurricular activities for interfering with his studies.^[24] When Smiley visited Los Angeles to attend a national student leaders' convention, the cousin of his roommate introduced Smiley to football star Jim Brown. Brown introduced Smiley to fellow football player George Hughley, who worked for Los Angeles mayor Tom Bradley and connected Smiley to Mayor Bradley's staff.^[25] Every week since meeting Bradley's staff, Smiley wrote a letter to the mayor's office asking for an internship and once personally flew to Los Angeles to appeal. However, by summertime he received a letter from the city stating that all internship positions were filled.^[26] Smiley then handwrote a letter to the mayor that he said represented his feeling "from the heart", and Bradley called Smiley to say that he had a position available for Smiley.^[27] As the internship was unpaid but counted for college credit, the Bloomington Community Progress Council funded Smiley with $5,000 for living expenses in Los Angeles, and Brown allowed Smiley to live as a houseguest during September 1985. Starting the next month, Smiley lived in the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity house in the University of Southern California. At City Hall, Smiley worked at the Office of Youth Development on the 22nd floor.^[28]

Twice, Smiley considered quitting college, first during junior year,^[29] and then after finishing his internship with Mayor Bradley. Bradley successfully convinced Smiley to return to college, and Smiley did.^[30] Smiley took the LSAT twice, as he was considering attending Harvard Law School.^[31] However, in his senior year, he failed a test in a computer class after being accused of copying another student's, so he failed that class and several others and lacked nine hours of credits and thus did not graduate from IU.^[32] Following a hiring freeze by the government of Los Angeles, Smiley served as an aide to Mayor Bradley until 1990.^[33] A 1988 article in the Los Angeles Times identified Smiley as "a Bradley administrative assistant who works in South Los Angeles".^[34] In 2003, Smiley officially received his degree from Indiana University in public affairs.^[35]

Radio and television career[link]

Campaigning for a seat on the Los Angeles City Council in 1991 against incumbent Ruth Galanter, Smiley finished fourth among 15 candidates. Smiley became a radio commentator, broadcasting one-minute daily radio segments called The Smiley Report on KGFJ radio.^[8] With Ruben Navarrette, Jr., Smiley co-hosted a local talk show in Los Angeles where his strongly held views on race and politics, combined with his arguments regarding the impact of institutional racism and substandard educational and economic opportunities for inner-city black youth, earned him attention on the Los Angeles Times. His commentaries focused on local and national current-affairs issues affecting the African-American community.^[36] For six months, Smiley worked on a community news program on a local cable network and spent six more months working on television in Montreal.^[37]

In 1996, Smiley became a frequent commentator on the Tom Joyner Morning Show, a nationally syndicated radio show broadcast on black and urban stations in the United States.^[38] He developed a friendship with host Joyner; together they began hosting annual town hall meetings beginning in 2000 called "The State of the Black Union", which were aired live on the C-SPAN cable television network. Each of these town hall meetings focused on a specific topic affecting the African-American community, featuring a panel of African-American leaders, educators, and professionals assembled before an audience to discuss problems related to the forum's topic, as well as potential solutions.^[39] Smiley also used his commentator status on Joyner's radio show to launch several advocacy campaigns to highlight discriminatory practices in the media and government and to rally support for causes such as the awarding of a Congressional Gold Medal to civil rights icon Rosa Parks. Smiley also began building a national reputation as a political commentator with numerous appearances on political discussion shows on MSNBC, ABC, and CNN.

Also in 1996, Smiley began hosting and executive producing BET Tonight (originally BET Talk when it first premiered), a public affairs discussion show on the Black Entertainment Television (BET) network. Smiley interviewed major political figures and celebrities and discussed topics ranging from racial profiling and police brutality to R&B music and Hollywood gossip. Smiley hosted BET Tonight until 2001, when in a controversial move, the network announced that Smiley's contract would not be renewed. This sparked an angry response from Joyner, who sought to rally his radio audience to protest BET's decision. Robert L. Johnson, founder of BET, defended the decision, stating that Smiley had been fired because he had sold an exclusive interview to ABC News without first offering the story to BET, even though Smiley's contract with BET did not require him to do so. Smiley countered with the assertion that he had offered the story — an interview with Sara Jane Olson, an alleged former member of the Symbionese Liberation Army — to CBS, which, along with BET, was owned by Viacom. Smiley ultimately sold the interview to rival network ABC, he said, only after CBS passed on the interview, and suggested that his firing was payback for the publicity he gained as a result of providing an exclusive interview to ABC.^[40] Ultimately BET and Viacom did not reverse their decision to terminate Smiley's contract.

Smiley was then offered a chance to host a radio talk show on National Public Radio. He served as host of The Tavis Smiley Show on NPR until December 2004 when he announced that he would be leaving his NPR show, citing the network's inability to reach a more diverse audience.^[41] Smiley launched a weekly version of his radio program The Tavis Smiley Show on April 29, 2005, distributed by NPR rival Public Radio International. On October 1, 2010, Tavis Smiley turned the second hour of his PRI program into Smiley & West co-hosted by his longtime collaborator Dr. Cornel West. Smiley also hosts Tavis Smiley, a late night talk show televised on the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) network and produced in association with WNET in New York.^[42]

Smiley moderated two live presidential candidate forums in 2007: a Democratic forum on June 28 at Howard University in Washington, D.C.,^[43] and a Republican forum on September 27 at Morgan State University in Baltimore.^[44]

Smiley appears on the Democracy Now! show.^[45]

Controversy over Presidential Candidate Barack Obama[link]

On April 11, 2008, Tavis Smiley announced that he would resign in June 2008 as a commentator on the Tom Joyner Morning Show. He cited fatigue and a busy schedule in a personal call to Joyner. However, Joyner, referring to several commentaries in which Smiley was critical of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, indicated otherwise on his program, stating: "The real reason is that he can't take the hate he's been getting regarding the Barack issue—hate from the black people that he loves so much."^[46] Prior to the public controversy and being elected President, Obama had been on Smiley's PBS show six times.

In 2012, Smiley participated in a "Poverty Tour" with Princeton University professor Cornel West in promoting their book The Rich and the Rest of Us: A Poverty Manifesto. The stated aim of the tour was to highlight the plight of the impoverished population of the United States prior to the 2012 Presidential Election, whose candidates Smiley and West stated had ignored the plight of the poor.^{[47][48][49][50]}

[edit] The Covenant with Black America

In March 2006, The Smiley Group and Third World Press published The Covenant with Black America, a collection of essays by black scholars and professionals edited by Smiley. The book covered topics ranging from education to healthcare. The book was a New York Times Bestseller.^[51]

Awards and contributions[link]

Smiley was honored with the NAACP Image Award for best news, talk, or information series for three consecutive years (1997–99) for his work on BET Tonight with Tavis Smiley.

Smiley's advocacy efforts have earned him numerous awards and recognitions including the recipient of the Mickey Leland Humanitarian Award from the National Association of Minorities in Communications.

In 1999, he founded the Tavis Smiley Foundation, which funds programs that develop young leaders in the black community. Since its inception, more than 6,000 young people have participated in the foundation's Youth to Leaders Training workshops and conferences.

His communications company, The Smiley Group, Inc., serves as the holding company for various enterprises encompassing broadcast and print media, lecturers, symposiums, and the Internet.

In 1994, Time named Smiley one of America's 50 Most Promising Young Leaders.^[52] Time would later honor him in 2009 as one of the "100 Most Influential People in the World". In May 2007, Smiley gave a commencement speech at his alma mater, Indiana University at Bloomington, Indiana (the university recently honored Smiley by naming the atrium of its School of Public and Environmental Affairs (SPEA) building, The Tavis Smiley Atrium).

In May 2008, he gave the commencement address at Connecticut College, where he was awarded an honorary doctorate. In May 2009, Smiley was awarded an honorary doctorate at Langston University after giving the commencement address there.

On December 12, 2008, Smiley received the Du Bois Medal from Harvard University's W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research.

He would also be awarded the 2009 Interdependence Day Prize from Demos in Istanbul, Turkey.

Smiley would be named No. 2 change agent in the field of media behind Oprah Winfrey in EBONY Magazine's POWER 150 list.

Bibliography[link]

• Just a Thought: The Smiley Report (ISBN 0-963-69523-1)
• Doing What's Right: How to Fight for What You Believe—And Make a Difference (ISBN 0-385-49931-0)
• Hard Left (ISBN 0-385-48404-6)
• Keeping the Faith: Stories of Love, Courage, Healing, and Hope from Black America (ISBN 0-385-72169-2)
• How to Make Black America Better: Leading African Americans Speak Out (ISBN 0-385-72087-4)
• On Air:The Best of Tavis Smiley on the Tom Joyner Morning Show (ISBN 1-890194-33-6)
• The Covenant with Black America (ISBN 0-88378-277-4)
• What I Know for Sure: My Story of Growing Up in America (ISBN 978-0-385-50516-1; ISBN 0-388-50516-7)
• Accountable: Making America As Good As Its Promise
• Fail Up (ISBN 1-401-93390-4)
• The Rich and the Rest of Us: A Poverty Manifesto (with Cornel West) (ISBN 1-401940-63-3)

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• LaRue, William. "Tavis Smiley: NPR Host Brings Latenight Talk to PBS". The Post-Standard (Syracuse, New York), 1 February 2004, STARS section, pp. 4–6.
• Slade, Scott. "Author Issues Wakeup Call". Kokomo Tribune (Indiana), 20 June 1996, p. 7.
• Smiley, Tavis (2006), What I Know For Sure: My Story of Growing Up in America, New York City, New York, United States: Doubleday, ISBN 0-385-50516-7, http://books.google.com/books?id=lBHwtgmBJ1IC </ref>

External links[link]

• Official website
• Tavis Smiley on Twitter
• Tavis Smiley on WNET/PBS
• Appearances on C-SPAN
  • Booknotes interview with Smiley on Doing What's Right, April 9, 2000.
  • C-SPAN Q&A interview with Smiley, October 29, 2006
• Tavis Smiley on Charlie Rose
• Tavis Smiley at NPR
• Works by or about Tavis Smiley in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
• Tavis Smiley: The State of the Black Union Interview
• Tavis Smiley on Rev. Martin Luther King and His Opposition to the Vietnam War - video by Democracy Now!

Taylor Kitsch
Kitsch at the John Carter premiere in Los Angeles, California, February 2012
Born	(1981-04-08) April 8, 1981 (age 31) Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada
Occupation	Actor, Model
Years active	2002–present

Taylor Kitsch (born April 8, 1981) is a Canadian actor and model. He is best known for his role as Tim Riggins in the NBC television series Friday Night Lights and for his role as Gambit in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. He also starred in big-budgeted films John Carter and Battleship.

Early life and modeling career[link]

Kitsch was born in Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada. His mother worked for the BC liquor board and his father in construction.^[1][2] He has two older brothers and two younger half sisters, and was raised by his single mother.^[3] He played junior ice hockey for the Langley Hornets in the British Columbia Hockey League before a knee injury ended his career.^[4]

Kitsch moved to New York in 2002 after receiving an opportunity to pursue modeling with IMG and studied acting there as well. While in New York, he became a nutritionist and a personal trainer.^[5] For a time in New York he was homeless and took to sleeping on subway trains in the middle of the night.^[6]

In 2004, he relocated to Los Angeles where he modeled for Diesel and Abercrombie & Fitch.^[6][7] He also appears in the limited edition coffee table book About Face by celebrity photographer John Russo.^[8][9]

Acting career[link]

Kitsch starred as football player Tim Riggins in the NBC series Friday Night Lights, which was created by Peter Berg.

He played Pogue Parry in The Covenant alongside Steven Strait, Sebastian Stan, Laura Ramsey, Toby Hemingway, Jessica Lucas and Chace Crawford.

In February 2008, he signed on to play Gambit in the X-Men franchise spinoff X-Men Origins: Wolverine, released in May 2009. Of the fan-favorite character of Gambit, Kitsch states, "I knew of him, but I didn't know the following he had. I'm sure I'm still going to be exposed to that. I love the character, I love the powers, and I love what they did with him. I didn't know that much, but in my experience, it was a blessing to go in and create my take on him. I'm excited for it, to say the least."^[10]

In 2009, Kitsch signed up for Steven Silver's The Bang Bang Club, a historical drama set in South Africa which documents the final bloody days of the apartheid.^[11] He had to lose 35 pounds in two months to play the role of photojournalist Kevin Carter, alongside Ryan Phillipe and Malin Åkerman.^[12]

In November 2010, The Hollywood Reporter named Kitsch as one of the young male actors who are "pushing – or being pushed" into taking over Hollywood as the new "A-List".^[13][14]

Kitsch's first lead role in a film was in Disney's John Carter, based on the novel A Princess of Mars, which was released in March 2012. He played the title role of John Carter, a Confederate soldier who gets transported to Mars. The film made back less than a third of its budget domestically, and worldwide grosses barely recouped its production and marketing costs.^[15] Despite this, Kitsch said, "I'm very proud of John Carter. Box office doesn't validate me as a person, or as an actor."^[16]

In May 2012, he starred in Peter Berg's Battleship, an adaptation of Hasbro's eponymous guessing game, as Naval commander Alex Hopper.^[17] It, too, failed at the domestic box office, boasting the worst opening in history for a fim that cost more than $200 million. Again, international revenues are expected to help mitigate its performance.^[18] The film marked his reunion with Berg and former co-star Jesse Plemons, who also starred in Friday Night Lights.^[19] In June 2012, he will play in Oliver Stone's Savages opposite Blake Lively, Salma Hayek and Uma Thurman.

Filmography[link]

References[link]