Inc.

File:09INC-500-cover-twitter.jpg Inc. magazine, September 2009 issue
Editor	Jane Berentson
Categories	Business
Monthly
First issue	April 1979
Company	Mansueto Ventures
Country	United States
Language	English
Website	www.inc.com
ISSN	0162-8968

Inc. magazine, founded in 1979 and based in New York City, is a monthly publication focused on growing companies. The magazine publishes an annual list of the 500 fastest-growing private companies in the U.S., the "Inc. 500."

The magazine reports its paid circulation as 690,000 as of February 2007, with monthly newsstand sales topping 20,000.^[1]

History[link]

Inc. was founded in Boston by Bernie Goldhirsh and its first issue appeared in April 1979. Goldhirsh was an MIT-trained engineer who worked at Polaroid and on ballistic missiles before becoming an entrepreneur and founding Sail magazine, which he sold for $10 million, using the profits to found Inc.^[2] Goldhirsh kept a low profile, and longtime editor George Gendron was the "public face" of the magazine for two decades.^[3] Though long considered the younger upstart compared to most business publications, Inc. suffered following the dot-com era as titles like Fast Company seemed to grab more attention, but the tech crash and subsequent retrenchment saw the magazine stabilize its circulation and image.^[3] In 2000, widowed and battling cancer, Goldhirsh sold the magazine to Gruner + Jahr^[3] for a price reported over $200 million.^[2] The magazine was purchased in 2005 by Morningstar founder, Joe Mansueto, and Inc. and its sister magazine Fast Company constitute the publishing arm of Mansueto Ventures. The magazine is now based in New York City, and its chief editor is Jane Berentson.

Goldhirsh's devotion to the principles of entrepreneurism led him to create the Goldhirsh Foundation^[4] and a unique trust run by his children.^[5] Founder Bernie Goldhirsh's son, Ben Goldhirsh, is the founder of Good Magazine.^[2]

Inc. 500 and Inc. 5000[link]

The Inc. 500 is an annual list of the 500 fastest-growing private companies in the U.S., introduced in 1982. The Inc. 5000 is an expansion of the Inc. 500, which ranks the country’s top 5000 fastest-growing, private companies and also features a special ranking of the top 10 percent of the list as the Inc. 500.^[6]

The Inc. 5000 is ranked according to percentage revenue growth over a four year period. To qualify, companies must have been founded and generating revenue by the first week of the starting calendar year, and therefore able to show four full calendar years of sales. Additionally, they had to be U.S.-based, privately held, and independent—not subsidiaries or divisions of other companies—as of December 31 of the last year measured. Revenue in the initial year must have been at least $200,000, and revenue in the most recent year must have been at least $2 million.^[7]

The Inc.500 | 5000 Conference and Awards Ceremony is an annual event produced by Inc. magazine. It was created in 1982 to celebrate the fastest growing private companies in America. In its first issue in 1979, Inc. magazine published the Inc. 100 fastest growing publicly held small companies; in 1982, the list expanded to the Inc. 500, and in 2007, Inc. magazine, in conjunction with Inc.com, released the first Inc. 5000 list. This annual conference brings together the current year's class of Inc. 500|5000 honorees, the list's alumni, as well as entrepreneurs from the general public. The event has featured a number of well-known business and political figures and expert speakers including: Bill Clinton, Marshall Goldsmith, Scott Cook, Bernard Marcus, and Thomas Friedman.^[8][9][10]

See also[link]

• Inc India

References[link]

External links[link]

• Inc. magazine website
• 'Inc 500 Fastest Growing Companies in America List'

Elon Musk
Musk in 2008.
Born	(1971-06-28) June 28, 1971 (age 40) Pretoria, South Africa[1]
Residence	Bel Air, Los Angeles, California
Citizenship	United States[2]
Education	B.S. in Physics and B.A. Economics from University of Pennsylvania
Occupation	Engineer, inventor, entrepreneur
Known for	Co-founder of Zip2, PayPal, SpaceX, Tesla Motors
Salary	$1[3]
Net worth	$2 billion (2012)[2]
Title	CEO and CTO of SpaceX, Chairman of SolarCity, CEO of Tesla Motors
Political party	Independent[4]
Spouse	Justine Musk 2000–2008 Talulah Riley 2010–2012
Children	Five sons

Elon Musk (born June 28, 1971) is a South African-born American business magnate, engineer and inventor. He is best known for co-founding SpaceX, Tesla Motors and X.com, which later became Paypal after acquiring the service. He is currently the CEO and Chief Designer of SpaceX, CEO and Product Architect of Tesla Motors and Chairman of SolarCity. While at those companies, Musk co-designed the first viable electric car of the modern era^[5], the Tesla Roadster, a private successor to the Space Shuttle, Falcon 9/Dragon, and the world's largest Internet payment system, PayPal.

Early life[link]

Elon Musk was born in Pretoria, South Africa, the son of a Canadian-American mother and a South African father. His maternal grandfather was from Minnesota, and had moved to Saskatchewan, where Musk's mother was born. His father is an engineer and his mother is an author, nutritionist and model, appearing on the cover of New York Magazine in 2011 and a Time Magazine supplement in 2010^[6].

Musk bought his first computer at age 10 and taught himself how to program;^[7] by the age of 12 he sold his first commercial software for about $500, a space game called Blastar.^[7]

After matriculating at Pretoria Boys High School he left home in 1988 at the age of 17, without his parents' support and in part because of the prospect of compulsory service in the South African military: "I don't have an issue with serving in the military per se, but serving in the South African army suppressing black people just didn't seem like a really good way to spend time".^[7] He wanted to move to the US, saying: "It is where great things are possible".^[8]

In 1992, after spending two years at Queen's University, Elon left Canada, pursuing business and physics at the University of Pennsylvania on a full scholarship. From the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, he received an undergraduate degree, and stayed on another year to finish a second bachelor's degree in physics.^[9] His undergraduate degrees behind him, and drawing inspiration from innovators such as Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla,^[10] Musk then considered three areas he wanted to get into that were "important problems that would most affect the future of humanity", as he said later, "One was the Internet, one was clean energy, and one was space".^[7]

Career[link]

In 1995, Musk went on to a graduate program in applied physics and materials science at Stanford. He stayed two days before dropping out to start Zip2, which provided online content publishing software for news organizations, with his brother Kimbal Musk. In 1999, Compaq's AltaVista division acquired Zip2 for US$307 million in cash and US$34 million in stock options.^[11]

PayPal[link]

In March 1999, Musk co-founded X.com, an online financial services and e-mail payment company. One year later, in a 50/50 merger^[12], X.com acquired Confinity^[13], operator of the then largest auction payments service PayPal. Musk was a principal architect behind the purchase, which hinged on his belief in the emerging online-transfer, or “P2P” technology.^[13] Musk believed that the Confinity sub-brand would become the necessary vehicle to incorporate and develop a person-to-person payment platform within X.com.^[13] The combined company at first adopted X.com as the corporate name, but in February 2001, X.com changed its legal name to PayPal Inc. Musk was instrumental in the new PayPal’s focus on a global payment system and departure from the core financial offerings of X.com.^[14]

PayPal’s early growth was due in large part to a successful viral growth campaign created by Musk.^[15] In October 2002, PayPal was acquired by eBay for US$1.5 billion in stock.^[16] Before its sale, Musk, the company's largest shareholder, owned 11.7% of PayPal's shares.^[17]

SpaceX[link]

Musk with President Obama at the Falcon 9 launch site in 2010

In June 2002, Musk founded his third company, Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX),^[18] of which he is currently the CEO and CTO. SpaceX develops and manufactures space launch vehicles with a focus on advancing the state of rocket technology. The company's first two launch vehicles are the Falcon 1 and Falcon 9 rockets and its first spacecraft is Dragon^[19].

On 23 December 2008, SpaceX was awarded a $1.6 billion NASA contract for 12 flights of their Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station, replacing the Space Shuttle after it retired in 2011. Initially, Falcon 9/Dragon will replace the cargo transport function of the Shuttle and astronaut transport will be handled by the Soyuz. However, SpaceX has designed Falcon 9/Dragon with astronaut transport in mind and the Augustine commission has recommended that astronaut transport be handled by commercial companies like SpaceX.^[20]

Musk views space exploration as an important step in expanding—if not preserving—the consciousness of human life.^[21] Musk has said that multiplanetary life may serve as a hedge against threats to the survival of the human species. "An asteroid or a super volcano could destroy us, and we face risks the dinosaurs never saw: An engineered virus, inadvertent creation of a micro black hole, catastrophic global warming or some as-yet-unknown technology could spell the end of us. Humankind evolved over millions of years, but in the last sixty years atomic weaponry created the potential to extinguish ourselves. Sooner or later, we must expand life beyond this green and blue ball—or go extinct." Musk's goal is to reduce the cost of human spaceflight by a factor of 100. He founded SpaceX with $100 million of his early fortune. He remains chief executive officer and chief technology officer of the Hawthorne, Calif.-based company.

In seven years, SpaceX has designed the family of Falcon launch vehicles and the Dragon multi-purpose spacecraft from the ground-up. In September 2009, SpaceX's Falcon 1 rocket became the first privately funded liquid-fueled vehicle to put a satellite into Earth orbit. NASA selected SpaceX to be part of the first program that entrusts private companies to deliver cargo to the International Space Station. This contract, which has a minimum value of $1.6 billion and a maximum value of $3.1 billion, has become a cornerstone of the Space Station's continued access to cargo delivery and return. In addition to these services, SpaceX's goals include simultaneously lowering the price of orbital spaceflight and improving reliability, both by an order of magnitude, while creating the first fully reusable orbital launch vehicle. In the coming years, Musk will focus on delivering astronauts to the International Space Station, but has stated his personal goal of eventually enabling human exploration and settlement of Mars. In a 2011 interview, he said he hopes to send humans to Mars' surface within 10–20 years.^[22]. On May 25, 2012, the SpaceX Dragon vehicle docked with the ISS, making history as the first commercial company to launch and dock a vehicle to the International Space Station.

Tesla Motors[link]

Musk is also co-founder and head of product design at Tesla Motors, where he led development of the Tesla Roadster, the first production electric sports car. Musk's interest in electric vehicles extends long before the creation of Tesla. He originally went to Silicon Valley to do a PhD in Applied Physics and Materials Science at Stanford, where his goal was to create ultracapacitors with enough energy to power electric cars.

Musk provided almost all of the capital for Tesla's first two funding rounds and continued to invest in every subsequent financing round. As a result of the financial crisis in 2008 and a forced layoff at Tesla,^[23] Musk agreed to assume the additional responsibility of CEO.

Tesla Motors previously built an electric sports car, the Tesla Roadster, and has shipped over 2,200 vehicles to 31 countries. Tesla expects to be in production with its four-door Model S sedan by July 2012 and unveiled its third product the Model X, aimed at the SUV/minivan market, on February 9, 2012. Model X is scheduled to begin production in late 2013.

In addition to its own cars, Tesla sells electric powertrain systems to Daimler for the Smart EV and Mercedes A Class, and to Toyota for the upcoming electric RAV4. Musk was also able to bring in both companies as long term investors in Tesla.

Musk is principally responsible for an overarching business strategy that aims to deliver affordable electric vehicles to mass-market consumers. His vision was to create the Tesla Roadster as a means to that end—a car aimed specifically at affluent early adopters, whose purchase of the sports car would subsidize the research and development costs of lower priced models of electric vehicles. From the start of Tesla, Musk has been a champion of the Model S, a four-door family sedan with an anticipated base price of half that of the Roadster. Musk has also favored building a sub-$30,000 subcompact and building and selling electric vehicle powertrain components so that other automakers can produce electric vehicles at affordable prices without having to develop the products in house.^[24] Several mainstream publications have compared him with Henry Ford for his revolutionary work on advanced vehicle powertrains.^[25]

He is reported to have a 29% stake in Tesla, which is currently valued above $1 billion, as of March 2012.^[26][27]

SolarCity[link]

Musk provided the initial concept for SolarCity, where he remains the largest shareholder and chairman of the board. SolarCity is the largest provider of solar power systems in the United States. His cousin Lyndon Rive is the CEO and co-founder.^[28][29] The underlying motivation for funding both SolarCity and Tesla is to help combat global warming.^[30]

Philanthropy[link]

Musk is Chairman of the Musk Foundation, which focuses its philanthropic efforts on science education, pediatric health and clean energy. He is a trustee of the X Prize Foundation, promoting renewable energy technologies. He sits on the boards of The Space Foundation, The National Academies Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board, The Planetary Society, and Stanford Engineering Advisory Board. Musk is also a member of the board of trustees of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech).

In 2010, Musk began a multi-million dollar program through his foundation to donate solar power systems for critical needs in disaster areas. The first such solar power installation occurred on a hurricane response center in Alabama that had been neglected by state and federal aid. To make it clear that this was not serving Musk's commercial interests, SolarCity noted that it had no present or planned business activity in Alabama.^[31]

In 2001, Musk had plans for a "Mars Oasis" project, which would land a miniature experimental greenhouse on Mars, containing food crops growing on Martian regolith.^[32][33] He put this project on hold when he came to the conclusion that the fundamental problem preventing humanity from becoming a true spacefaring civilization was the lack of advancement in rocket technology. He has sought to address this by founding SpaceX to create revolutionary new interplanetary rockets.

His long term goal is to help humanity through SpaceX by creating a true spacefaring civilization.^[34] Musk's philosophy and description of what is needed to solve the problem are provided in the IEEE podcast "Elon Musk: a founder of Paypal, Tesla Motors, and SpaceX"^[35] and article "Risky Business."^[33]

In April 2012 Musk joined The Giving Pledge, offering a moral commitment to donate the majority of his fortune to philanthropy.^[36] Musk became a member of the campaign first popularized by Warren Buffett and Bill Gates with a class of 12 of America’s wealthiest families and individuals, which included Arthur Blank and Michael Moritz.^[36]

Awards and recognition[link]

Listed as one of Time Magazine's 100 people who most affect the world in 2010. Jon Favreau, director of the Iron Man movies, describes in his article how Musk was the inspiration for Favreau's film depiction of genius billionaire Tony Stark.^[37]

The world governing body for aerospace records, Fédération Aéronautique Internationale, presented Musk in 2010 with the highest award in air & space, the FAI Gold Space Medal, for designing the first privately developed rocket to reach orbit. Prior awardees include Neil Armstrong, Burt Rutan of Scaled Composites and John Glenn.

Named as one of the 75 most influential people of the 21st century by Esquire magazine.^[21]

In June 2011, Musk was awarded the $500,000 Heinlein Prize for Advances in Space Commercialization^[38]

In February 2011, Forbes listed Musk as one of "America's 20 Most Powerful CEOs 40 And Under".^[39]

Recognized as a Living Legend in Aviation in 2010 by the Kitty Hawk Foundation for creating the successor to the Space Shuttle (Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft). Other awardees include Buzz Aldrin and Richard Branson.^[40]

American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics George Low award for the most outstanding contribution in the field of space transportation in 2007/2008. Musk was recognized for his design of the Falcon 1, the first privately developed liquid fuel rocket to reach orbit.^[41]

National Space Society's Von Braun Trophy in 2008/2009, given for leadership of the most significant achievement in space. Prior recipients include Burt Rutan and Steve Squyres.^[42]

National Wildlife Federation 2008 National Conservation Achievement award for Tesla Motors and SolarCity. Other 2008 awardees include journalist Thomas Friedman, U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy and Florida Governor Charlie Crist.^[43]

The Aviation Week 2008 Laureate for the most significant achievement worldwide in the space industry.^[44]

R&D Magazine Innovator of the Year for 2007 for SpaceX, Tesla and SolarCity.^[45]

Automotive Executive of the Year (worldwide) in 2010 for demonstrating technology leadership and innovation via Tesla Motors. Prior awardees include Bill Ford Jr, Bob Lutz, Dieter Zetsche and Lee Iacocca. Musk is the youngest ever recipient of this award.^[46]

Inc Magazine Entrepreneur of the Year award for 2007 for his work on Tesla and SpaceX.^[47]

2007 Index Design award for his design of the Tesla Roadster.^[48]

Global Green 2006 product design award for his design of the Tesla Roadster, presented by Mikhail Gorbachev.^[49]

Honorary doctorate in design from the Art Center College of Design ^[50]

Musk is a Director of the Planetary Society, a Trustee of The X-Prize Foundation and a member of the Stanford University Engineering Advisory Board. He has previously served as a member of the United States National Academy of Sciences Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board.^[51]

In a 2010 Space Foundation survey, Musk was ranked as the #10 (tied with rocketry pioneer and scientist Wernher von Braun) most popular space hero.^[52]

In 2010, Musk was elected to the board of trustees of the California Institute of Technology.^[53]

In 2011, Musk was honored as a Legendary Leader at the Churchill Club Awards.^[54]

Interests[link]

Musk has described himself as a workaholic who routinely invests 100 hours per week in running Tesla Motors and SpaceX, often flying in a fuel-efficient corporate jet.^[55]

The SpaceX factory was used as a shooting location for Iron Man 2 and Musk has a cameo in the movie.^[56] In addition, Jon Favreau, director of the Iron Man movies, describes in his article how Musk was the inspiration for Favreau's film depiction of genius billionaire Tony Stark.^[37]

Musk previously owned and later sold a McLaren F1 sports car and a Czech made jet trainer aircraft Aero L-39.^[57] The 1994 model Dassault Falcon 900 aircraft used in the film Thank You for Smoking is registered to Musk (N900SX). Musk executive-produced the film and had a small cameo role as the pilot.^[58]

Family[link]

Musk lives in Bel-Air, California. He recently ended a four year relationship with his second wife, British actress Talulah Riley.^[59] Musk has five sons with his first wife, the Canadian-born author Justine Musk, whom he met while both were students at Queen's University and whom he married in 2000.^[60]

Musk's sister Tosca is the founder of Musk Entertainment and producer of various movies.^[61][62] Musk himself was the executive producer of her first movie, called Puzzled.^[63] His brother Kimbal is the CEO of a social search company OneRiot and owner of The Kitchen restaurant in Boulder, Colorado.^[64]

Controversies[link]

In October 2008, after Musk had confirmed an earlier report^[65] that Tesla Motors had only $9 million in cash,^[66] he was reported to have hired an outside IT contractor to go through all of the company's email and instant messages, then had a forensic investigator lift fingerprints from a printout discarded near a copier used to leak the email. The email implicated employee Peng Zhou as the source of the company's reported financial status. Zhou had sought to frame other employees at Tesla by claiming in his leaked emails that he was a four-year employee. Musk offered Zhou the option of apologizing to the company and resigning, which he did, rather than face prosecution.^[67]

On May 26, 2009, former Tesla Motors CEO Martin Eberhard filed suit in San Mateo County, California, against Tesla Motors and Musk for slander, libel, and breach of contract. The case hinged on the question of who could rightly be called a "founder" of Tesla.^[68] On July 29, 2009, a San Mateo County Superior Court judge struck down a claim by Eberhard, who asked to be declared one of only two founders of the company.^[68] Tesla said in a statement that the ruling is "consistent with Tesla's belief in a team of founders, including the company's current CEO and Product Architect Elon Musk, and Chief Technology Officer JB Straubel, who were both fundamental to the creation of Tesla from inception."^[69] In early August, Eberhard withdrew the case.^[70] The parties reached a final settlement on September 21. The terms of the settlement are confidential, but the agreement includes a provision that the parties will consider Eberhard, Musk, JB Straubel, Marc Tarpenning, and Ian Wright to be the five co-founders.^[71]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Elon Musk

• Elon Musk Twitter
• The Musk Foundation web site
• Viral Marketing, MBAs and pesky governments, Elon talks at Stanford (October 8, 2003)
• Statement of Elon Musk at House Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee Hearings on the Future Market for Commercial Space (April 20, 2005)
• Gimien, Mark (August 17, 1999). "Fast Track". Salon.com. http://www.salon.com/tech/feature/1999/08/17/elon_musk/index.html. 
• Hoffman, Carl (June 2007). "Elon Musk Is Betting His Fortune on a Mission Beyond Earth's Orbit". Wired Magazine. http://www.wired.com/science/space/magazine/15-06/ff_space_musk. 
• Carlson, Nicholas (February 19, 2008). "Elon Musk's Tesla caught on video smoking Scoble and Calacanis". Valleywag. http://valleywag.com/358015/elon-musks-tesla-caught-on-video-smoking-scoble-and-calacanis. 
• Kanellos, Michael (February 15, 2008). "Elon Musk on rockets, sports cars, and solar power". CNET News.com. http://news.cnet.com/Elon-Musk-on-rockets%2C-sports-cars%2C-and-solar-power/2008-11389_3-6230661.html. 
• Chafkin, Max (December 2007). "Entrepreneur of the Year: Elon Musk". Inc. Magazine. http://www.inc.com/magazine/20071201/entrepreneur-of-the-year-elon-musk.html. 
• Bailey, Brandon (May 2010). "Elon Musk: Will his Silicon Valley story have a Hollywood ending?". San Jose Mercury News. http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_15138666. 
• History of PayPal

Interviews[link]

• "An interview with Elon Musk". HobbySpace. August 5, 2003. http://www.hobbyspace.com/AAdmin/archive/Interviews/Systems/ElonMusk.html. 
• "Lift off with Elon Musk". Carte Blanche. September 4, 2005. http://www.carteblanche.co.za/Display/Display.asp?Id=2879. 
• Bergin, Chris (January 20, 2006). "SpaceX's Musk and Thompson Q and A". nasaspaceflight.com. http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2006/01/spacexs-musk-and-thompson-q-and-a/. 
• Video interview of Elon Musk by Zadi Diaz of EPIC FU, weekly web show that covers online pop culture (June 17, 2008)
• Gray, Sadie (January 4, 2009). "Forget the bungalow, retire to Mars". Sunday Times (London). http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/men/article5433496.ece. 
• "Uber Entrepreneur: An Evening with Elon Musk" video at the Churchill Club via FORA.TV (January 4, 2009)
• onInnovation
• An interview at the Founders Showcase. (August 5, 2010)
• An interview on the Kevin Pollak Chat Show. (September 17, 2009)
• Elon Musk: 'I'm planning to retire to Mars' a video interview for the Guardian. (August 1, 2010)
• An interview about commercial space flights on 60 minutes. (March 18, 2012)
• A 20 minute interview about sending humans to Mars with BBC's Jonathan Amos. (March 20, 2012)
• Elon Musk on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart on April 10, 2012

Ziggy Marley
Ziggy Marley performing in 2007.
Background information
Birth name	David Nesta Marley
Also known as	Ziggy Marley
Born	(1968-10-17) 17 October 1968 (age 43) Kingston, Jamaica
Genres	Reggae
Occupations	Musician, Singer-songwriter, Guitarist, voice actor
Instruments	Guitar, vocals, Piano, percussion
Years active	1979–present
Labels	Tuff Gong Worldwide
Associated acts	Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers
Website	www.ziggymarley.com

David "Ziggy" Marley (born 17 October 1968, Trenchtown, Jamaica) is a Jamaican musician and leader of the band Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers. He is the oldest son of famed reggae musician Bob Marley. His father gave him the nickname "Ziggy"; he has stated that it means "a small joint".

Musical career[link]

In 1979, Ziggy and his siblings, Cedella, Stephen and Sharon made their recording debut with their father, "Children Playing in the Streets". The Melody Makers, as the group came to be known, played occasionally for several years, including at their father's funeral in 1981. Their debut LP was Play the Game Right, which was a very pop-oriented album, earning Ziggy some derision from critics. The band's label, EMI, wanted to market Ziggy as a solo act, and so the Melody Makers moved to Virgin Records, where they recorded Conscious Party (1988, produced by Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth). The album was critically and popularly successful, as was One Bright Day (1989) and Jahmekya (1991).

Ziggy Marley singing at Guilfest 2011

As the 1990s continued, the Melody Makers' sales slowly declined, beginning with Joy and Blues (1993) and continuing with Free Like We Want 2 B (1995).

Ziggy became politically active, working with the United Nations and creating a record label called Ghetto Youths Crew. A solo album, Dragonfly was released on 15 April 2003. On 2 July 2006, his second solo album, Love Is My Religion, was released on his independent record company Tuff Gong Worldwide. This album won a Grammy for best Reggae album and this was Ziggy's 4th Grammy win. On 5 May 2009, his third solo children's album Family Time, was released on his independent record company Tuff Gong Worldwide. Family Time features Family and Friends, Rita Marley, Cedella Marley, Judah Marley, Paul Simon, Willie Nelson, Jack Johnson, Toots Hibbert, Laurie Berkner, Elizabeth Mitchell and more. This album won a Grammy for "Best Musical Album for Children".

Some of his most popular singles include "True To Myself", "Drive", "People Get Ready", and his hit single "Tomorrow People", which reached #39 on the Billboard Hot 100.

In April 2011, Marley announced his fourth album, entitled Wild and Free would be released on 14 June. The title track, featuring Woody Harrelson, is available for free with the pre-order of Ziggy's first comic book, "Marijuanaman."

Personal life[link]

Ziggy Marley is the oldest son of Bob Marley. He is married to Orly Marley, who is a former vice-president of William Morris Agency. He also has 6 children, Daniel Marley, Justice Marley, Zuri Marley, Judah Victoria, Gideon Robert Nesta, and Abraham Selassie Robert Nesta. Most of the family resides in Miami.

Philanthropy[link]

• Ziggy Marley founded Unlimited Resources Giving Enlightenment (URGE), which works to help children (especially in Jamaica and Ethiopia).

• In 2007, Marley signed on as an official supporter of Little Kids Rock, a nonprofit organization that provides free musical instruments and free lessons to children in public schools throughout the United States. He has visited with children in the program and sits on the organization's board of directors as an honorary member.

Other work[link]

In 1991, Marley and the Melody Makers contributed the song "Give A Little Love" to the Disney album, For Our Children. The album is a collection of kid-friendly songs by popular artists (e.g. Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen, and Elton John), with proceeds given to the Pediatric AIDS Foundation.

Marley made guest appearances as himself on an episode of the sitcom Family Matters in 1995, and on the television series Charmed in season 6 (episode 14, "The Legend of Sleepy Halliwell"), performing "Rainbow in the Sky".

He and his Melody Makers made a guest appearance on the popular kids television show Sesame Street in the 1991-92 season, and sang a Sesame Street version of "Small People" from their 1991 album Jahmekya

In 1996, Marley and the Melody Makers recorded the reggae-style theme song for the children's television series Arthur called "Believe in Yourself".

He voiced Ernie, one of Sykes' (Martin Scorsese) Rasta jellyfish henchmen in the 2004 film Shark Tale. In the film when Oscar (Will Smith) tries to sing the Bob Marley song "Three Little Birds", Marley's character zaps Oscar on the head and says "That's not the way you sing that song, mon." The title song for the film was a cover version of "Three Little Birds" performed by Marley and Sean Paul.

Further voice acting includes "Crockadle" on an episode of My Gym Partner's a Monkey, the Cheshire Cat in a 2010 episode of Wonder Pets, and Reflux the Knaaren, in the Ubisoft video game Rayman 3.

Marley covered "Drive" by The Cars for the Adam Sandler movie 50 First Dates, and his father's song "Three Little Birds" for the Dora The Explorer soundtrack.

Ziggy is listed as the featured artist on Donna Summer's song, "Crayons," the title track from her 2008 album. He has also performed duets with Angelique Kidjo, Sting, Dora The Explorer, Taj Mahal, The Chieftains, Sean Paul and others.

Marley and his daughter Judah made an appearance in the 2009 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Ziggy Marley released a pro-marijuana song in support of California's Proposition 19 ballot initiative to legalize recreational marijuana. Voters rejected the ballot but backers said they would mount another legalization campaign in 2012.

In popular culture[link]

On an episode of Celebrity Deathmatch, Ziggy was mentioned while his father, Bob Marley (who was brought back to life via time machine), had his hands full with Shaggy. Shaggy first implies that Ziggy was merely a Bob impersonator ("Me? What about Ziggy? He sings all your songs - he even looks like you!"), while Bob answers that Ziggy is his son. Shaggy taunts Bob on how Ziggy might have got his name, on which Bob fight backs with comments on Scooby-Doo, where Shaggy got his nickname.

His song "Love Power" was played during the end credits of Muppet Treasure Island (1996), and "True To Myself" was featured on the TV show Scrubs (Season 8 Episode 14 - "My Soul On Fire", Pt. 1).

In the episode of South Park entitled Medicinal Fried Chicken, Randy Marsh wants to get a prescription for medicinal marijuana before the Ziggy Marley concert in Denver.

He is mentioned in holding a concert in Nevada in The Fresh Prince of Bel Air.

Discography[link]

• Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers albums

Solo albums[link]

• 2003: Dragonfly
• 2006: Love Is My Religion
• 2008: Love Is My Religion Live
• 2009: Ziggy Live From Soho
• 2009: Family Time
• 2011: Wild and Free

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Official Site of the Marley Brothers
• Official Melody Makers website
• Ziggy Marley at the Internet Movie Database

Woody Harrelson
Harrelson at the hempsters world premiere at Fantastic Fest, September 25, 2009
Born	Woodrow Tracy Harrelson (1961-07-23) July 23, 1961 (age 50) Midland, Texas, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1982–present
Spouse	Nancy Simon (1985–1986) Laura Louie (2008–present)
Parents	Charles Harrelson Diane Lou (née Oswald)

Woodrow Tracy "Woody" Harrelson^[1][2] (born July 23, 1961) is an American actor.

Harrelson's breakout role came in the television sitcom Cheers as bartender Woody Boyd. Some notable film characters include basketball hustler Billy Hoyle in White Men Can't Jump, bowler Roy Munson in Kingpin, serial killer Mickey Knox in Natural Born Killers, magazine publisher Larry Flynt in The People vs. Larry Flynt, country singer Dusty in A Prairie Home Companion, bounty hunter Carson Wells in No Country for Old Men, zombie killer Tallahassee in Zombieland, blind piano player/meat salesman Ezra Turner in Seven Pounds, conspiracy nut Charlie Frost in 2012, a delusional man who believes that he is a superhero named Defendor in Defendor and Cpt. Tony Stone in The Messenger. For The People vs. Larry Flynt and The Messenger, Harrelson earned Academy Award nominations for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor, respectively.^[3] He also appeared as Haymitch in the film The Hunger Games, which was released on March 23, 2012.

Early life[link]

Harrelson was born in Midland, Texas, the son of Diane Lou (née Oswald) and Charles Voyde Harrelson, who divorced in 1964; he has two brothers, Jordan and Brett. Harrelson's father, who was a contract killer, was arrested for the killing of Federal Judge John H. Wood, Jr. by rifle fire in 1979 in San Antonio.^[4] His father was convicted and eventually died during his life sentence in United States Penitentiary Administrative Maximum Facility.^[4]

In 1973, Harrelson moved to his mother's native city, Lebanon, Ohio, where he was raised.^[5] Harrelson attended Lebanon High School, working through much of high school as a wood-carver at Kings Island amusement park. He later attended Hanover College in Hanover, Indiana, where he became a brother of the Sigma Chi fraternity. He received a bachelor of arts in theater arts and English in 1983. He told Playboy Magazine in October 2009, "I was getting into theology and studying the roots of the Bible, but then I started to discover the man-made nature of it. I started seeing things that made me ask, ‘Is God really speaking through this instrument? ... My eyes opened to the reality of the Bible being just a document to control people. At the time I was a real mama’s boy and deeply mesmerized by the church."^[6]

Career[link]

Television[link]

Harrelson on the red carpet at the 40th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards, August 28, 1988

Harrelson is widely known for his work on the NBC sitcom Cheers. He played bartender Woody Boyd, who replaced Coach (played by Nicholas Colasanto, who died in February 1985). He joined the cast in 1985 for season four and lasted eight seasons (1985–1993) on the show. For this role, Harrelson was nominated for five Emmy Awards^[7], winning once in 1989. His character of Boyd was from Hanover, Indiana, the town where Harrelson attended college.

In 1999, Harrelson guest-starred in the Cheers spin-off success Frasier, in which he reprised the role of Woody Boyd. Harrelson was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for this performance.

He appeared in several 2001 episodes of Will and Grace as Grace's new boyfriend.

In the November 12, 2009 episode of the Comedy Central show The Colbert Report, Harrelson was interviewed by Stephen Colbert to promote his movie The Messenger. In response to Colbert's questioning of his support for the troops, Harrelson agreed to let Colbert shave his head on camera.

On June 6, 2010, Harrelson took part playing in Soccer Aid 2010 for UNICEF UK at Old Trafford in Manchester, UK. The match was broadcast live on UK's ITV television. After being brought on as a substitute for Gordon Ramsay, Harrelson took the final penalty in the penalty shootout, following a 2–2 draw after 91 minutes. Despite being initially unaware of exactly from where his kick had to be taken, Harrelson scored to win the game for "The Rest of the World" team, beating England for the first time since the tournament began. When later interviewed he claimed that he "didn't even remember the moment of scoring".^[3] Harrelson Will Also Take Part In Soccer Aid 2012

Film[link]

While still working on Cheers, Harrelson pursued a film career. His first movie had been Wildcats, a football comedy in 1986 with Goldie Hawn. Harrelson reunited and became friends with Wesley Snipes and starred with him in the box-office hit White Men Can't Jump and the box office bomb Money Train.

In 1993 he had a starring role opposite Robert Redford and Demi Moore in the drama Indecent Proposal, which earned him a worst supporting actor Razzie Award. After that film's success, Harrelson played Mickey Knox in Oliver Stone's Natural Born Killers and Dr. Michael Raynolds in the Michael Cimino film The Sunchaser. In 1996, he starred in the comedy Kingpin alongside Randy Quaid and Vanessa Angel.

Harrelson's career gained great momentum when he starred in the Milos Forman film The People vs. Larry Flynt, in which he played Larry Flynt, publisher of Hustler magazine. The film was a success and Harrelson's performance was nominated for a Golden Globe Award and an Academy Award for Best Actor.

After that, Harrelson was cast in more serious film roles. He starred in the 1997 war film Welcome to Sarajevo and also in 1997 had a featured role as Sergeant Schumann in Wag the Dog. In 1998, Harrelson starred in the thriller Palmetto and played Sergeant Keck in The Thin Red Line, a war film nominated for seven Academy Awards in 1999.

Harrelson made other films such as The Hi-Lo Country and portrayed Ray Pekurny in the comedy EDtv. Also in 1999, he appeared as boxer Vince Boudreau in the Ron Shelton film Play It to the Bone.

Harrelson did not appear in movies again until 2003 when he co-starred as Galaxia in the comedy film Anger Management. He appeared in the action film After the Sunset and the comedy She Hate Me.

In 2005, Harrelson was in The Big White and North Country. Also in 2005 he appeared as Kelly Ryan, husband of a contest-obsessed woman in the film The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio. Harrelson made two films in 2006, the animated film version of Free Jimmy and also A Scanner Darkly. In 2007 he played Carter Page III, gay escort of privileged Washington D.C. women, in the film The Walker.

Woody Harrelson, April 2007.

In the Oscar-winning 2007 crime thriller No Country for Old Men, Harrelson had a small but key role as Carson Wells, a bounty hunter. The film won Best Picture and Best Director for Joel Coen and Ethan Coen. Harrelson also won a Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Cast, along with Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin and Kelly Macdonald.

Also in a movie released in 2007, Battle in Seattle, Harrelson played another key role of a Seattle police officer whose pregnant wife loses her baby during the WTO protests in 1999. The film, also starring Andre 3000 of the hip hop group Outkast, depicts thousands of people peacefully protesting the WTO's attempts to broaden gaps between rich and poor while publicly promising a bridging of the gaps. These protests go wrong when members of an anarchist group tear the city to pieces with the help of provocateurs. Harrelson's role goes from a law abiding and enforcing Officer of the law, to a grief-stricken eye-for-an-eye man with a badge to justify his actions.

In 2008, Harrelson appeared in several films, among them the Will Ferrell basketball comedy Semi-Pro and the Will Smith stark drama Seven Pounds.

In 2009, Harrelson received significant praise for his performance as Captain Tony Stone in The Messenger. In what many critics considered to be his best role, Harrelson was nominated for a Satellite Award, an Independent Spirit Award, a Golden Globe Award a Screen Actors Guild Award, and an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Harrelson has also won the Best Supporting Actor award in the 2009 National Board of Review award ceremonies and received accolades from various critics' societies.

Also in 2009, he co-starred in the horror comedy Zombieland, and is to reprise his role in its upcoming sequel. In Roland Emmerich's 2012, he played Charlie Frost, a man who warns of the end of the world. In 2010 he starred as a bartender and mentor in the futuristic western martial arts film Bunraku. In 2011, he starred as Tommy in the movie Friends With Benefits. He was cast as Haymitch in 2012's The Hunger Games.^[3]

On February 3, 2012, he participated in an "Ask Me Anything" session^[8] on the social media website Reddit.^[9] The AMA turned into a PR disaster when Harrelson failed to make meaningful responses to any questions and soon specifically refused to respond to anything not directly related to the upcoming worldwide release of the movie Rampart, which he stars in.^[10][11][12]

Theatre[link]

In 1999 Harrelson directed his own play, Furthest from the Sun, at the theater de la Juene Luene in Minneapolis. He followed next in Roundabout's Broadway rival at the N. Richard Nash played The Rainmaker in 2000, Sam Shepard's The Late Henry Moss in 2001, John Kolvenbach's On an Average Day opposite Kyle MacLachlan in London's West End in the fall of 2002, and in the summer of 2003, Harrelson directed the Toronto premiere of Kenneth Lonergan's This is Our Youth at the Berkley Street Theater. In the winter of 2005/2006 Harrelson returned to London's West End, starring in Tennessee Williams' Night of the Iguana at the Lyric Theater. Currently, Harrelson is directing A Bullet for Adolf (a play written by himself in collaboration with Frankie Hyman) at the esteemed Hart House Theatre in Toronto, Ontario, which runs from April 21 to May 7, 2011.

Personal life[link]

Marriages and family[link]

In 1985, Harrelson married Nancy Simon, daughter of playwright Neil Simon, in Tijuana. The two intended to divorce the following day, but the storefront marriage/divorce parlor was closed when they had returned to it, and the two remained married for ten months.^[13]

On December 28, 2008, Harrelson married Laura Louie, his girlfriend since 1987. The couple have three daughters, Deni Montana (born February 28, 1993), Zoe Giordano (born September 22, 1996), and Makani Ravello (born June 3, 2006). When announcing Makani's birth, the couple referred to the three as their "goddess trilogy." Laura is his former assistant and a co-founder of Yoganics, an organic food delivery service.^[14]

Legal issues[link]

Harrelson was arrested in 1982 for disorderly conduct after he was found dancing in the middle of the street.^[15] He was also charged with resisting arrest after he ran from the police and assault after he hit one of the officers.^[15] Harrelson avoided jail time by paying a $390 fine.^[16]

On June 1, 1996, Harrelson was arrested in Lee County, Kentucky, after he symbolically planted four hemp seeds to challenge the state law which did not distinguish between industrial hemp and marijuana. Harrelson was acquitted of these charges in 2000.^[17]

In 2002, Harrelson was arrested in London after an incident in a taxi that ended in a police chase. Harrelson was taken to a London police station and later released on bail.^[18] The case was later dismissed after Harrelson paid the taxi driver involved in the incident £550 ($844).^[19]

In 2008, TMZ photographer Josh Levine filed a lawsuit against Harrelson for an alleged attack outside a Hollywood nightclub in 2006. A video of the incident appeared to show Harrelson grabbing a camera and clashing with the photographer. Los Angeles prosecutors declined to press charges against the actor, but Levine filed a suit that summer asking for $2.5 million in damages.^[20] The case was dismissed in April 2010.^[21]

Advocacy work[link]

Woody Harrelson in 2004

Drug Reform/Green Industry[link]

Harrelson is an enthusiast and supporter for the legalization of marijuana and hemp, but does not consider himself to be an activist for that cause.^[22][23] Harrelson was a guest on Ziggy Marley's track "Wild And Free," a song advocating the growing of cannabis. Since 2003, Harrelson serves as a member on NORML's advisory board.^[24]

Environmental[link]

Harrelson is also an environmental activist. He has attended environmental events such as the PICNIC'07 festival that was held in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, for three days in September 2007.^[25] PICNIC describes its annual festival as "three intensive days [when] we mix creativity, science, technology, media and business to explore new solutions in the spirit of co-creation."^[26] He once scaled the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco with members of North Coast Earth First! group to unfurl a banner that read, "Hurwitz, Aren't ancient redwoods more precious than gold?" in protest of Maxxam Inc/PALCO CEO Charles Hurwitz, who once stated, "He who has the gold, makes the rules."^[27]

He once traveled to the west coast in the U.S. on a bike and a domino caravan with a hemp oil-fueled biodiesel bus with The Spitfire Agency (the subject of the independent documentary, Go Further) and narrated the documentary Grass. Harrelson briefly owned an oxygen bar in West Hollywood called "O2." He is a peace activist, and has often spoken publicly against the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Harrelson is also an ethical vegan and raw foodist. He did not eat Twinkies for his movie Zombieland, replacing them with vegan faux-Twinkies made from cornmeal.^[28] He appeared on postage stamps issued in 2011 as one of PETA's 20 famous vegetarians.^[29] In October 2009, he was conferred an honorary degree by York University for his contributions in the fields of environmental education, sustainability, and activism.^[30]

UNICEF[link]

In June 2010, Harrelson took part in Soccer Aid at Old Trafford to raise money for UNICEF. Harrelson played for the "Rest of the World" team, playing in the last 15 minutes, and scored the winning kick in the penalty shootout following a 2–2 draw during normal time.^[31] He also played in the UNICEF game 2012, playing the last 10 minutes of the game for the "Rest of the World team", losing 3-1 to England.

Political views[link]

Harrelson is a supporter of the 9/11 truth movement and has supported reopening an investigation into the September 11 terrorist attacks.^[32]

Filmography[link]