Ed Brubaker
Brubaker at a book signing at Midtown Comics Times Square on June 21, 2010.
Born	(1966-11-17) 17 November 1966 (age 45) Bethesda, Maryland
Nationality	American
Area(s)	writer, artist
Notable works	Captain America Daredevil Catwoman Criminal Incognito Gotham Central Sleeper
Awards	Harvey Award, 2006, 2007 Eisner Award, 2007, 2008, 2010
Official website

Ed Brubaker is an Eisner Award-winning comic book writer and cartoonist. Brubaker's first early comics work was primarily in the crime fiction genre with works such as Lowlife, The Fall, Sandman Presents: Dead Boy Detectives and Scene of the Crime. He later became known for writing superhero comics such as Batman, Daredevil, Captain America, Catwoman, Uncanny X-Men, and The Authority.

Career[link]

Alternative and independent comics work[link]

Brubaker’s first work in comics was as a cartoonist, writing and drawing Pajama Chronicles for Blackthorne Comics, Purgatory U.S.A. for Slave Labor Graphics, and the semi-autobiographical series Lowlife for Slave Labor and later Caliber Comics. At Caliber, he briefly edited the anthology series Monkey Wrench.^[1]

In 1991, he began contributing to the Dark Horse Comics anthology series Dark Horse Presents, a comic he would continue to contribute to intermittently throughout the decade. Among those contributions was the three part serial "An Accidental Death" (Dark Horse Presents #65–67), a collaboration with artist Eric Shanower, which garnered the two a 1993 Eisner Award nomination.

In 1997, he began to publish his cartoonist work through the small press publisher Alternative Comics. In the one-off At the Seams, a romantic triangle is explored through three stories which each depict a different participant’s point-of-view.^[2] The comic was a 1997 Ignatz Award nominee for Outstanding Graphic Novel or Collection. His other work for Alternative Comics, the humorous and experimental Detour #1, was to be the first issue of a series, though only one issue was ever published.^[3] Detour was nevertheless nominated for the "Best New Series" Harvey Award in 1998.

The Fall, a graphic novel that was written by Brubaker and illustrated by Berlin creator Jason Lutes was published by Drawn and Quarterly in 2001. This work had previously been anthologized in five parts in Dark Horse Presents in 1998. The story involved a convenience store clerk who gets involved in a ten-year-old murder mystery after he uses a stolen credit card. In 2004 IDW Publishing announced that Brubaker and artist Sean Phillips would collaborate on a creator owned pirate series titled Black Sails for them.^[4] That series has not yet materialized and The Fall is the last independent comic book work by Brubaker to date.

DC Comics[link]

Predating Brubaker's Alternative Comics work by two years, Vertigo Visions: Prez, Smells Like Teen President (1995) was Brubaker's first work for one of the two major American comic book publishers. Published by DC Comics’ "mature readers" imprint Vertigo, the comic was a broad political satire which revamped an obscure 1970s Joe Simon creation. Brubaker worked with his "An Accidental Death" collaborator, artist Eric Shanower, again on the comic.

Brubaker's next major work for Vertigo was the four issue limited series Scene of the Crime (1999), which marked his first collaboration with both Michael Lark and Sean Phillips, two artists who would frequently work with the writer in later years. A slacker detective story set in San Francisco, the series was critically acclaimed and the first to gain Brubaker attention from Hollywood producers.^{[dead link][5]}

In late 2000, Brubaker signed a one-year exclusive contract with DC Comics.^[6] The contract was renewed in 2001^{[citation needed]} That same year the writer began to do his first mainstream super-hero work, on the series Batman. He would continue to work on various series starring the Batman character until late 2003.

Returning to Vertigo in 2000, Brubaker and artist Warren Pleece produced the science fiction series Deadenders. The series lasted 16 issues before being canceled in 2001.^[7] Staying with Vertigo in 2001, Brubaker wrote the four issue Sandman Presents: Dead Boy Detectives, which was drawn by artist Bryan Talbot.

Also in 2001, Brubaker and artist Darwyn Cooke teamed up to revamp the Catwoman character. They started with the four issue serial "Trail of the Catwoman" which ran in Detective Comics #759-762. In the serial, private detective Slam Bradley attempts to investigate the death of Selina Kyle (aka Catwoman). The story led into a new Catwoman title in late 2001 by Brubaker and Cooke in which the character's costume, supporting cast and modus operandi were all redesigned and redeveloped. Brubaker stayed on the series, which was met with critical and fan acclaim, up until #37 (January 2004).

At the 2001 San Diego Comic Convention Brubaker and Marvel writer Brian Michael Bendis discussed co-writing a story which would team up DC's Batman with Marvel's Daredevil. The two writers were enthusiastic about their ideas, which included a fight between Batman and Marvel villain Bullseye as well as another between Catwoman and Elektra. DC editors Matt Idelson and Bob Schreck were also enthusiastic, but DC executive editor Paul Levitz objected to the project due to a prior disagreement with Marvel editor-in-chief Joe Quesada.^[8] The aborted project became controversial when Bendis publicly spoke about Levitz's decision at the 2002 Wizard World Chicago comic convention. Bendis later apologized for his comments, saying that he regretted ever discussing the project in public.^[9]

In early 2003, Brubaker and writer Greg Rucka created and co-wrote the Gotham Central series. Focusing on the activities of the Gotham City Police Department, the two writers either co-wrote storylines or wrote alternate arcs separately throughout the series, which featured artwork from Brubaker's Scene of the Crime collaborator Michael Lark. The title was cancelled in 2006, shortly after Brubaker's last issue.

Wildstorm[link]

In 2002 Brubaker did his first work for Wildstorm, (another DC imprint), with the series Point Blank which featured the artwork of New Zealand artist Colin Wilson. The series took existing concepts from the Wildstorm universe, such as Grifter (the star of the series), John Lynch and Tao and used them to set up his Sleeper series which debuted later that year.

A collaboration between artist Sean Phillips and Brubaker, Sleeper, featured a secret agent protagonist ("Holden Carver") who goes undercover in a super villain’s powerful organisation, only to have the only contact he has in law enforcement fall in to a coma. With the authorities believing him a dangerous criminal, Carver is caught between the two warring sides with unclear allegiances.

In December 2003, in a unique publicity stunt conceived to help promote the first trade paperback collection of Sleeper, Brubaker organized an "arm-wrestling competition" at San Francisco's "Isotope - the comic book lounge" comic book shop. If participants were able to beat Brubaker at arm wrestling they were awarded free signed comic books. According to Brubaker, the writer wrestled 40-50 people and won most of the time, losing only eight or nine times.^[10]

Although Sleeper was a success with critics and fans on the Internet, the series underperformed commercially, and so it was canceled after its 12th issue, only to be relaunched in 2004 with the same creators as Sleeper: Season Two.^[11] Season Two also ended with its twelfth issue, the story apparently concluded.

Brubaker's other work for Wildstorm during this period was the third volume of The Authority. Brubaker first tackled the characters with artist Jim Lee on the one issue special Coup D’état: Sleeper which showed how a series of events led the Authority (a powerful team of super-humans) to take over the United States. Later that year and throughout 2005 Brubaker and artist Dustin Nguyen produced the 12 issue The Authority: Revolution which explored the ramifications of the team's actions.

Marvel Comics[link]

Brubaker (left) at a Midtown Comics book signing in Manhattan with fellow writers (seated left to right) Christos Gage, Matt Fraction and Brian Michael Bendis.

In late 2004 Brubaker, no longer exclusive to DC, began to work for their main competitor Marvel Comics. His first major work for the publisher was the fifth relaunch of the Captain America series. Paired with artist Steve Epting, Brubaker's Captain America introduced new villains and resurrected the long dead character Bucky as "The Winter Soldier". The series was a sales and critical success from its first issue.

In February 2005 Brubaker signed his first exclusive contract with Marvel, the deal allowing the writer to finish out his prior commitments for DC on Gotham Central and Sleeper.^[12] In an interview with Newsarama, Brubaker attributed his shift of employer to the publisher's good treatment of him, the quality and high profile of the work Marvel was offering him and his lack of involvement in DC's "big plans" (DC's intercompany crossover "Infinite Crisis" was in the final planning stages at the time).^[13] Brubaker's Marvel exclusive contract was extended and expanded in April 2006.^[14]

In early 2006 Brubaker wrote two limited series for Marvel; with artist Pablo Raimondi, he wrote Books of Doom, which retold and expanded on the origin of Doctor Doom; and with artist Trevor Hairsine, he wrote X-Men: Deadly Genesis, ret-conning information about the origins of the "All New, All-Different X-Men" who first debuted in 1975.

In addition, that year Brubaker started on Daredevil, having already planned his run with Bendis.^[15] Once again teamed with artist Michael Lark, Brubaker followed Brian Michael Bendis' acclaimed stint on the title, exploring the ramifications of the character's imprisonment, which occurred at the close of Bendis' run.

He became the regular writer of Uncanny X-Men, working with artist Billy Tan and Clayton Henry, in July 2006.^[16]

A new creator-owned crime comic with Sean Phillips, Criminal, has been published by Marvel's Icon Comics imprint.^[17][18] It has generally received positive reviews.^[19] In 2007, Criminal won the Eisner Award for Best New Series for its first arc, "Coward." ^[20] In 2008, he and Phillips began a new Icon series called Incognito, which Brubaker says is "about a completely amoral guy with super-powers forced to pretend he's a normal law-abiding citizen, because he's in Witness Protection, and how that shapes what he becomes. It's also a brutal noir twist on the super-hero/super-villain genre that delves more into their roots in the pulps, and it's going to be pretty over-the-top and action-packed."^[21]

Brubaker, together with Matt Fraction, co-wrote a new Iron Fist ongoing series, The Immortal Iron Fist, which started in November 2006, and quickly became one of Marvel's most popular books.^[22]

During his run on Captain America, Brubaker wrote issues #25 - 30, the 2007 story in which Steve Rogers was assassinated.^[23][24] He later wrote the 2009 miniseries Captain America: Reborn, in which Rogers returned. He subsequently wrote an eight issue limited series titled The Marvels Project, as well as a new title Secret Avengers following the end of the "Siege" storyline.

In February 2010, Brubaker caused controversy with Captain America #602, which depicted a group of anti-tax protesters, understood by some readers to be a Tea Party, which was characterized by the Falcon as exclusively white and racist group. Brubaker and Marvel editor-in-chief Joe Quesada apologized for the matter, explaining that although the group was not intended by Brubaker to represent any particular real-life group, one of the signs depicted in the scene read, "Tea Bag The Libs Before They Tea Bag YOU!", which was not written by Brubaker, but was added by the letterer, who, under deadline pressures, added messages on signs that were found to still be blank, based on signs he saw on the Internet. Quesada further assured that that error would not appear in future reprints of the issue.^{[25][26][27][28]} In an interview following the controversy Brubaker stated that "I had to shut down my public email because I started getting death threats from, y'know, peaceful protesters."^[29]

[edit] Angel of Death

In March 2009 Brubaker premiered his web series Angel of Death on Crackle.^[30]

Awards and nominations[link]

Awards[link]

• 2000 Prism Award ("Disguises" from Catwoman #17-19)^[31]
• 2004 GLAAD Media Awards - Outstanding Comic Book (Catwoman by Ed Brubaker)^[32]
• 2006 Harvey Award Winner - Best Writer (Captain America)^[33]
• 2007 Eisner Award - Best Writer (Daredevil, Captain America, Criminal), Best New Series (Criminal with Sean Phillips)^[34]
• 2007 Harvey Award - Best Writer (Daredevil)^[35]
• 2008 Eisner Award - Best Writer (Captain America, Criminal, Daredevil and Immortal Iron Fist)
• 2010 Eisner Award - Best Writer (Captain America, Criminal, Daredevil, The Marvels Project, Incognito), Best Single Issue (Captain America #601, with artist Gene Colan)

Nominations[link]

• 1993 Eisner Award nominee - Best Writer-Artist Team ("An Accidental Death")^[36]
• 1997 Ignatz Award nominee - Outstanding Graphic Novel or Collection (At the Seams)^[37]
• 1998 Harvey Award nominee - Best New Series (Detour)
• 1999 Eisner Award nominee - Best Writer (Scene of the Crime) and Best Mini-Series (Scene of the Crime)^[38]
• 2007 Eisner Award nominee - Best Continuing Series (Daredevil with Michael Lark and Stefano Gaudiano, Captain America with Steve Epting)^[39]
• 2010 Eisner Award nominee - Best Limited Series or Story Arc (Incognito, with Sean Phillips)

Bibliography[link]

DC Comics[link]

Wildstorm[link]

Vertigo[link]

Marvel Comics[link]

Other[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Ed Brubaker at the Grand Comics Database
• Ed Brubaker at the Comic Book DB
• Complete work history at ComicBookRealm.com
• Ed Brubaker presented at Lambiek's Comiclopedia

Interviews[link]

• Around Comics (August 2006)^{[dead link]}
• Comic Geek Speak Podcast (February 2006)
• Comics Bulletin interview alongside Matt Fraction and Duane Swierczynski (Apr. 7, 2008)
• Comics Bulletin (Nov. 30, 2001)
• Comics Bulletin (July 21, 2000)

Morgan Webb
Born	(1978-10-05) October 5, 1978 (age 33)[1]
Occupation	Television presenter, producer
Spouse	Rob Reid

Morgan Ailis Webb (born October 5, 1978)^[1] is an American co-host and senior segment producer of the G4 show X-Play,^[2] and host of the show G4 Underground.^[3] She was previously the host of the podcast WebbAlert and a monthly columnist for the United States edition of FHM, where she contributed a monthly video game column titled "Tips from the Gaming Goddess".^[4]

Career[link]

Webb attended UC Berkeley from 1996 to 2000. She developed computer skills in her free time there, and after graduating from college, worked for a dot-com company as a website administrator. After the company went under during the dot-com bubble burst of 2000, her friend Catherine Schwartz got her hired at TechTV in 2001, and Webb became employed as the associate producer and web researcher for The Screen Savers. Throughout 2002 and 2003, she also regularly co-hosted TechTV's Call for Help with Chris Pirillo. In April 2003, Webb left The Screen Savers to co-host X-Play with Adam Sessler.

Webb is one of only six TechTV personalities, including Adam Sessler, Sarah Lane, Chi-Lan Lieu, Kevin Rose, and Brendan Moran, to survive the massive layoffs resulting from the May 2004 merger of G4 and TechTV. Only Sessler and Webb remained with the network after G4's change in format. After Sessler resigned in April 2012, Webb is now the only original TechTV personality remaining on the network.

In August 2005, Webb became a contributing game columnist for FHM, alongside her regular hosting duties on X-Play. Her monthly column was titled "Tips from the Gaming Goddess". Readers were encouraged to email Webb their video game-related inquiries; she would then answer one question each month. In February 2007, Webb wrote her final column for the magazine, which discontinued its U.S. publication in March. She also hosted the short-lived Free Stuff on G4.

From August 2, 2007, to January 25, 2009, Webb had a daily video blogging initiative called WebbAlert. These videos were 5–6 minutes in length, and each consisted of a recap of popular technology news of the day. On occasion, Webb departed from the regular news format in favor of an episode on one particular topic of interest. Examples included a recap of the annual TED Conference,^[5] a viral video special showcasing "future 'Darwin Award' winners",^[6] and tech-centric "Holiday Buyer's Guides".^[7] In January 2009, Webb suspended WebbAlert indefinitely due to issues with maintaining it on a daily basis concurrently with her hosting duties on X-Play.^[8]

On February 25, 2009, G4 announced that Webb would be the host of their new show, G4 Underground. A weekly series that profiles a wide range of people and topics that are of interest to the "internet generation," it premiered March 29, 2009.^[9]

Personal life[link]

Webb was born on October 5, 1978.^[1] Her birthplace has been reported as Toronto, Ontario,^[1] but she was born in the U.S.^[10] During the 2011 Comic-Con, Webb was asked what she missed about Canada. She answered, "I was born and raised in the United States".^[11]

As an infant and small child, Webb appeared in advertisements for Gerber baby food, Kenner Toys, and most famously, an ad for McDonald's, where she recited the ingredients of the Big Mac to a game of Pat-a-cake. Though Webb's parents refused to let her watch television, she made up for it by playing video games.^[12] She began with an Atari, primarily the game Combat, but as technology progressed, The Legend of Zelda and Phantasy Star became two of her favorite games.

After Webb graduated from high school, she left home to attend UC Berkeley. There she earned a bachelor's degree in rhetoric (with a minor in Italian) in 2000.^[13]

On August 19, 2006, Webb married Rob Reid in a service at City Hall in San Francisco, California.

Media appearances[link]

Throughout 2004 and beyond, Webb was featured in numerous issues of print publications. Maxim magazine spotlighted her in their July 2004 issue. FHM featured a five-page article in their November 2004 issue, and also had her listed in three consecutive years for their annual The 100 Sexiest Women in the World article: #73 in 2005, #62 in 2006, and #51 in 2007. Other magazines have featured her as well, voted "Hottest Woman of the Year" in RTD's 2006 Top 10 countdown and in an article in the Fall 2006 Edition of Colleges.com U Magazine.

In April 2004, Webb, along with fellow TechTV personalities Sarah Lane, Laura Swisher, Catherine Schwartz, and Melanie Kim, were included in the "TechTV's Sexiest Techie" poll sponsored by Playboy magazine. TechTV viewers could vote for their favorite girl via the Playboy website, and the winner of the poll would be offered a nude photo spread in a future issue of Playboy. Webb won the poll but she immediately refused, despite being "very flattered" by the photo shoot offer, citing her own personal reasons and her parents' objection to the idea.^[14]

Webb has appeared in the music video "Strange New Element" from the band Low Water.^[15] She makes her appearance near the end of the video alongside other fellow TechTV personalities, including Catherine Schwartz, Sarah Lane, Laura Swisher, Chi-Lan Lieu, and Sumi Das. In addition to appearing in Low Water's music video, Webb is featured in the artwork of the band's album, Hard Words in a Speakeasy. She additionally provided her own vocals for "X-Play: The Musical", which aired in February 2007. She is a frequent guest on various talk shows, including The Tyra Banks Show (in February 2008), Chelsea Lately (in early 2009), and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (on April 15, 2009).^[16] She is also a frequent guest-host on G4's Attack of the Show!. On June 17, 2009, Webb appeared on KCRW Radio, as part of the station's Guest DJ Project.^[17]

On June 21, 2008, Webb along with her X-Play co-host Adam Sessler, participated in the 50th Annual Hollywood Stars Celebrity Softball game at Dodger Stadium.^[18]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Morgan Webb's Official Myspace Page
• Morgan Webb at the Internet Movie Database
• Strange New Element at youtube.com
• Morgan Webb's X-Play Bio

Bill Hader
Hader at the Adventureland premiere in 2009
Birth name	William Hader
Born	(1978-06-07) June 7, 1978 (age 34) Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S.
Nationality	American
Years active	1998–present
Spouse	Maggie Carey (2006-present; 1 child)
Notable works and roles	Saturday Night Live, Superbad, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Doogal, Adventureland

William "Bill" Hader (born June 7, 1978) is an American actor, comedian, producer and writer. He is best known for his work as a cast member on Saturday Night Live and for his supporting roles in comedy films such as Superbad, Hot Rod, Tropic Thunder, Adventureland, Paul, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, and Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian.

Early life[link]

Hader was born and raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the son of Sherri and Bill Hader.^[1] He has two sisters, Katie and Kara.^[1] Hader attended Patrick Henry Elementary School, Edison Junior High, and Cascia Hall Preparatory School,^[2][3] before attending The Art Institute of Phoenix and Scottsdale Community College.^[4]

Early career[link]

Hader's comedic aspirations eventually led him to Los Angeles where he joined the Second City, a comedy troupe that has been a training ground for many SNL cast members since the 1970s. He performed at iO West in Los Angeles. During his time at Second City and iO West, Hader worked as a production assistant on the DVD Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy and Collateral Damage, as well as an assistant on VH1's The Surreal Life.

[edit] Saturday Night Live

Bill Hader was "discovered" by Megan Mullally of Will & Grace while working with the Los Angeles-based comedy troupe "Animals from the Future." Mullally brought him to the attention of SNL producer Lorne Michaels. Hader was hired as a "featured player" and made his debut on the show on October 1, 2005. His first role was as a psychologist giving his views about life and death during the emergency landing of JetBlue Airways Flight 292. Hader is known for his impressions of famous people, such as Vincent Price in the Variety Vault sketches, Al Pacino, Brian Grazer, Rick Perry, John Malkovich, James Carville, Julian Assange, Eliot Spitzer, Alan Alda and Charlie Sheen.

Hader recently finished his 7th season on SNL.

Recurring characters[link]

• Stefon, Weekend Update's flamboyant New York City Correspondent, whose recommendations consist solely of bizarre nightclubs involving nightmarish characters. He is in love with Seth Meyers. Writer John Mulaney often changes some jokes to the sketch right before it airs and many of the lines catch Hader off guard, leading him to burst into laughter.
• Usually the game show host in game show sketches.
• Vinny Vedecci, the Italian talk-show host who chain-smokes, insults his crew (Fred Armisen and Will Forte, later replaced by Paul Brittain), has a son (Bobby Moynihan), and speaks little English, even though his guests (played by the guest hosts as themselves) are English speakers.
• Greg the Alien, the co-host of a sports talk show who appears to be an alien despite co-host Randy Dukes (Kenan Thompson's) constant claims that Greg is not an alien.
• Nitro, in the SNL Digital Short Laser Cats
• One of the four guys (the others being Will Forte [later replaced by Andy Samberg], Jason Sudeikis and the host) who reveal crazy aspects about themselves while singing a song in the Song Memories sketches
• Lindsey Buckingham, from the skit "What's Up with That?"
• One half of the "2 Gay Guys from New Jersey." Is the only one whose real name was revealed. His real name is Tony DiNato.
• DJ Frontal Assault on Deep House Dish
• Danny, a guy who has the mutant "Kuato" (played by Andy Samberg) living in his stomach
• Mr. Triggs, the father of an ugly, socially inept girl named Stacia (played by Kristen Wiig)
• Jerry, a sleazy businessman who works with Carl (Will Forte). Both are often drunk and insulting to their co-workers
• One of the "Scared Straight" kids, three young trouble-makers (along with Andy Samberg and Bobby Moynihan) who are lectured by convict Lorenzo McIntosh (played by Kenan Thompson) and a fellow inmate played by the host
• Dwayne Vogelcheck: the brother in Kissing Family (his parents are played by Kristen Wiig and Fred Armisen) where another sibling, usually played by the celebrity host, brings a friend or girlfriend home to their overly affectionate family
• Brady Trunk: co-host of "Hollywood Dish", with Kristen Wiig
• Herb Welch: a senile, on-the-scene news reporter who keeps hitting his interviewees in the face with his microphone.
• One of the Merryville Brothers robots (along with Taran Killam; the third member has been played by Jim Carrey and Justin Timberlake)
• Leonard, the production assistant on advice shows produced by Roger Brush (Fred Armisen)
• Lyle Round, host of the 1960s game show, "Secret Word." He often gets annoyed with his celebrity contestants, particularly Mindy Gracin (Kristen Wiig)
• Vince Blight, the host for the game show, "What's That Name?" On the Alec Baldwin/Radiohead episode, Blight was the host of a game show called "Who's On Top?" and on the episode hosted by Anna Faris (with musical guest Drake), Blight hosted a Lifetime-based game show called "What's Wrong With Tanya?"

Impersonations[link]

This biographical section of an article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (March 2012)

Bill Hader has said that he performed impersonations of teachers and friends when he was growing up, but did not do impersonations of famous people until his Saturday Night Live audition.^[5] His Al Pacino impersonation came after watching the actor's Emmy acceptance speech for Angels in America. Hader's Vincent Price impersonation came from his love of Price's Edgar Allan Poe films, such as The Fall of the House of Usher. His Peter O'Toole impersonation came partly from O'Toole in My Favorite Year and Jack Lemmon's drunken Prince Hapnick from The Great Race and Cher from Burlesque.

Another one of Hader's impersonations from Saturday Night Live is his impersonation of former governor Eliot Spitzer. Hader has also impersonated Fleetwood Mac guitarist Lindsey Buckingham, Michael "The Situation" Sorrentino from MTV's Jersey Shore, Pearl Jam's frontman Eddie Vedder, Dave Matthews, John Boehner, Ben Mankiewicz, John Mayer, Conan O'Brien, Alan Alda, Dr. Oz, Rick Perry, Charlie Sheen, political strategist James Carville, Clint Eastwood and Tim Burton.

Hader is known^[where?] for his uncanny impression of Dateline NBC 's Keith Morrison, parodying his reporting style of being overly interested in horrific tales of tragedy and/or murder, and asking inane questions. After discovering that Morrison works at 30 Rockefeller Plaza, where both Dateline and Saturday Night Live are filmed, Hader half-jestingly said on the March 30, 2009, episode of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon that he lived in fear of getting into the same elevator as Morrison at 30 Rock.

In December 2010, he portrayed Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, who interrupts the broadcast from a British prison. In this sketch he hacks commercials for companies that are apologizing about WikiLeaks (such as MasterCard) and informs America about his status. He also performed a parody of TMZ with Assange playing the role of Harvey Levin.

Film roles[link]

He first appeared alongside Owen Wilson and Matt Dillon in You, Me and Dupree. Since then he's had a wide range of roles such as Katherine Heigl's editor at E! in Knocked Up, the acid-taking mechanic Dave in Hot Rod (alongside SNL castmate Andy Samberg), a recumbent biker in The Brothers Solomon (which featured SNL castmate Will Forte in one of the film's co-leading roles) and, most famously, as Officer Slater in the Judd Apatow produced Superbad. His role in Superbad helped boost his public awareness and allowed him to appear on mainstream programs like Total Request Live, The Tonight Show, and MTV's Video Music Awards.

Hader appeared in two other Apatow projects: Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Pineapple Express (with Seth Rogen). He appeared alongside Ben Stiller, Brandon T. Jackson, Jack Black, Robert Downey, Jr., Matthew McConaughey, Steve Coogan, Jay Baruchel, Tom Cruise, and Nick Nolte in Tropic Thunder.

He teamed back up with Superbad director Greg Mottola for the film Adventureland. He also appears in Mottola's feature Paul.

In addition to these films, Hader has made several short films, including Back in the Day, Sounds Good to Me: Remastering the Sting, and The Jeannie Tate Show with SNL writer Liz Cackowski and wife Maggie Carey.

Hader makes a small appearance in the 2009 film Year One with Jack Black and Michael Cera.

Hader lent his voice to the critically acclaimed^[6] 2009 Sony Pictures Animation film Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, playing the lead role of Flint Lockwood. He voiced a gazelle in Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs.

Hader appeared in Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian as Major General George Armstrong Custer.

He provided a voiceover in the 2010 film Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. He portrayed The Voice, the disembodied voice that pops up during certain moments of the film's video game-inspired fight scenes.

Hader has written a slasher film to be produced by Judd Apatow,^[7] which he will star in if the film is produced.^[8]

In April 2009, Hader was a part of Vanity Fair's list of "Comedy's New Legends".^[9]

Other work[link]

Hader was a creative consultant on the 12th season of South Park. He was a producer on the 13th season, which premiered March 11, 2009.^[10] Hader is among the series producers to win the 2009 Emmy Award for Best Animated Series. He also appeared on the commentary recorded for the 2009 Blu-ray edition of South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut, and the Comedy Central special "South Park: 6 Days to Air", a documentary filmed during production of the 2011 South Park episode HumancentiPad.

Hader won a Peabody Award for his participation in Saturday Night Live Political Satire, 2008

Hader voiced an array of different characters on the second season of the Adult Swim show Xavier: Renegade Angel.

Hader and SNL castmate Seth Meyers penned a Spider-Man one-shot, "The Short Halloween," the title of which is a reference to the Batman story arc "The Long Halloween." It was drawn by Kevin Maguire and came out May 29, 2009, to positive reviews.

Jackson Publick announced on his blog that Hader will be the new voice for Professor Impossible on the fourth season of The Venture Brothers The part was originated by Stephen Colbert.

In the game Grand Theft Auto IV he played Wilson Taylor Sr (On in-game radio show: Pacemaker)

Hader appeared on Tim and Eric Awesome Show impersonating the recurring character James Quall on the episode "Jazz."

In July 2008, Hader starred in, and co-wrote with Simon Rich, the web series The Line on Crackle.^[11]

Hader lent his voice to the audiobook of Sarah Vowell's The Wordy Shipmates.

Hader voiced the Pod in the Aqua Teen Hunger Force episode "IAMAPOD" as well as Hitler in the episode "Der Inflatable Fuhrer."

Hader played Kevin, Matt Damon's co-pilot, in the live episode of 30 Rock, recorded October 14, 2010.

Hader is hosting the 2011 season of Essentials, Jr. on Turner Classic Movies.

Personal life[link]

This section requires expansion.

In 2006, Hader married writer-director Maggie Carey.^[12] They have a daughter named Hannah Kathryn, born October 6, 2009.

Filmography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Bill Hader at the Internet Movie Database
• Interview with New York Times

John Roy (September 13, 1930–June 13, 2001) was a noted professor in the Art Department at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst from 1964 until his retirement in 1994. He continued to paint until his death in 2001. His work included pointillism and photorealism and he created a remarkable and highly original body of work that represents an important contribution to the history of late twentieth century American painting. ^[1]

A contemporary and colleague of Chuck Close, the two influenced each others' work considerably. Roy was the subject of one of Close's more noted paintings. ^[2]

References[link]

This article about a painter from the United States is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

Zoë Bell
Bell at a Grindhouse premiere in Austin, Texas
Born	Zoë E. Bell (1978-11-17) 17 November 1978 (age 33) Waiheke Island, New Zealand
Occupation	Actress Stuntwoman
Years active	1992–present

Zoë E. Bell (born 17 November 1978) is a stuntwoman and actress from New Zealand. Some of her most notable stunt work includes doubling for Lucy Lawless on Xena: Warrior Princess and for Uma Thurman in Kill Bill. As an actress, she has appeared both on television and in feature films and also starred in the web series Angel of Death. She is probably most recognized for playing herself in the Quentin Tarantino film, Death Proof.

Early life[link]

Bell was born in New Zealand to Tish, a nurse, and Andrew Bell, a doctor.^[1] She has a younger brother named Jake.^[2] She grew up on Waiheke Island in Auckland. At a young age, she participated in competitive gymnastics and at the age of 15, she began studying Taekwon-Do. She also participated in dance, high diving, scuba, and track and field activities. Bell attended Auckland Girls' Grammar School and Selwyn College.

Career[link]

Bell began her career in 1992 when her father treated a stuntman for a head injury and came home with a phone number for her to call. Her first stunt job was jumping out of a car in Shortland Street, a New Zealand soap opera.

She did stunts for Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and Xena: Warrior Princess, both of which were filmed in New Zealand; by the fourth season of Xena, she was the stunt double for Lucy Lawless. She fractured vertebrae in her back doing wire work on the show, but continued working for a week until another stunt, in which a breakaway chair was smashed on her back, incapacitated her.

After Xena, she did a number of small films and TV stunt work, including stunt coordinating and playing a small role in a short film Reflections with Adrienne Wilkinson (with whom she had previously worked on Xena). She then went on to double for Uma Thurman in Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill.

Though she was initially hired as Thurman's "crash and smash" double,^[3] the stunt team realized Bell would also make an ideal double for fight scenes and she was trained accordingly. Bell had to learn to fight in the wushu style.^[4] Near the end of filming for Kill Bill: Volume 2, she injured her ribs and the ligaments in her wrist while simulating being thrown backwards by a shotgun blast. Bell required surgery and spent several months recuperating.^[5] After production wrapped on Kill Bill, she received "The Bells" sign which hung outside the home of the Vernita Green character. She later gave it to her parents.

Tarantino was so impressed with her that he cast her in a leading role in his next film, Death Proof, in which she played herself and performed her own stunts, the most notable of which occurs when she hangs onto the hood of a speeding 1970 Dodge Challenger.^[6] After Death Proof, she did stunt work for the movie Catwoman, in which she performed high falls and acted as a double for Sharon Stone.

In 2004, the documentary Double Dare was released. It focused primarily on Bell and veteran stuntwoman Jeannie Epper, following them during their travails in Hollywood. The film presented a view of opposing ends of the stuntwoman spectrum, with the aging Epper continuing her search for work in an industry where age is not necessarily considered an asset and Bell, then a Hollywood newcomer, trying to break into the industry. The filming of Double Dare covered Zoë's career from the end of Xena to the beginning of her work on Kill Bill: Volume 1.

In 2004, Bell and Angela Meryl (Vivica A. Fox's stunt double) were nominated at the Taurus World Stunt Awards in the categories "Best Overall Stunt by a Woman" and "Best Fight" for their doubling of the knife fight between the characters Beatrix Kiddo and Vernita Green in Kill Bill: Volume 1.^[7] In 2005, Bell was nominated for a Taurus in the categories "Best Overall Stunt by a Woman," "Best Fight," and "Best High Work." She and Monica Staggs (Daryl Hannah's double) won Best Overall Stunt and Best Fight for their fight in Budd's trailer in Kill Bill 2. Her Best High Work nomination was for a fall of over 200 feet in the film Catwoman.

In August 2007, Bell confirmed she had signed on to play the lead role in a film about an American soldier who, upon returning to the US from a tour of duty in Iraq, helps a young girl in trouble.^[8] She told the New Zealand Herald she would do her own stunts in the as-yet untitled film, and that the American accent was "a big challenge". In October 2007, Variety reported that Bell would appear in the 2009 film Game, starring Gerard Butler; the movie was later renamed Gamer.^[9]

Bell was a guest star in the fourth season of Lost, playing the role of the freighter team's radio contact, Regina. She stated in interviews that the role required a little acting and some stunt work. She appeared on screen only in episode 7 of season 4, entitled "Ji Yeon."

In 2008, Bell starred alongside her former Xena colleague Lucy Lawless in Sony (Crackle)'s web series Angel of Death which debuted online in early 2009.^[10]

Bell also played a medical technician who moonlights as "Bloody Holly", a roller derby star, in Drew Barrymore's 2009 directorial debut, Whip It.^[11]

She appeared alongside Wesley Snipes in Italian director Giorgio Serafini's 2010 thriller, Game of Death.^[12] She can also be seen in the music video of Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds' 2012 single 'Dream On'.

Filmography[link]

Bell at the 2007 Scream Awards

• Shortland Street (1992–2005)
• Xena: Warrior Princess (1995) TV Series (stunt double) (unknown episodes)
• Hercules: The Legendary Journeys – (1995–1999 TV series) stunt work
• The Chosen (1998) stunt work
• Young Hercules (1998 TV)
• Jacksons Wharf (1999 TV)
• Amazon High (1999 TV) – background action stunt work
• Cleopatra 2525 Female betrayer (1 episode, 2000)
• Jack of All Trades (2000 TV)
• The Bunker Murders (2002 TV)
• Riverworld (2003 teleplay) stunt work
• The Extreme Team (2003) (stunt double) aka The X-Team (USA: TV title)
• Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003) (stunt double)
• Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004) (stunt double)
• Double Dare (2004)
• Catwoman (2004) (stunt double)
• Ultraviolet (2004)
• Alias (stunt double) (1 episode, 2005)
• Penny Dreadful (2006) (stunt double)
• The Devil's Den (2006) (stunt double)
• Poseidon (2006) (stunts)
• The Kingdom (2007) (stunts)
• Planet Terror (2007) (stunts)
• Death Proof (2007) (as herself)
• Reflections (2008) (Woman in Mirror, stunt coordinator)
• Lost (2008) (Regina) (Season 4)
• The Final Destination (2009) (stunt double)
• Inglourious Basterds (2009) (stunt double)
• Angel of Death (2009)
• Whip It (2009) (Bloody Holly)
• The Chronicles of Nerm (2009) (voice)
• The Collector (2009) (Stunt Double)
• Gamer (2009) (Sandra)
• Fallout: New Vegas (2010) (Melissa & Diane & Linda Schuler & Alice Hoestler)(video game voice-over)
• Game of Death (2010) (Floria)
• Gossip Girl (2011) (1 episode)
• Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters (2013)