TV Guide

Editor-in-Chief	Debra Birnbaum
Categories	Entertainment News
Weekly
Total circulation (2011)	2,024,092[1]
First issue	April 3, 1953
Country	United States
Based in	Radnor, Pennsylvania
Language	English
Website	www.tvguide.com
ISSN	0039-8543

TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.

In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles. Some issues have also featured horoscope listings.

History[link]

Prototype[link]

Lee Wagner (1910–1993) was circulation director of McFadden Publications in New York in the 1930s—and later for Cowles Media Co.—distributing movie celebrity magazines. In 1948, he printed The TeleVision Guide for the New York area. On the cover was silent film star Gloria Swanson, star of her short-lived "Gloria Swanson Hour." Wagner later added regional editions for New England and Baltimore-Washington areas. Five years later, he sold the editions to Walter Annenberg's Triangle Publications, but remained as a consultant until 1963.^[2]

Annenberg/Triangle era[link]

The national TV Guide's first issue was released on April 3, 1953. The cover featured a photograph of Lucille Ball's newborn son Desi Arnaz, Jr.. A small photo of Lucy was also placed in the top corner under the title of the issue which read: "Lucy's $50,000,000 baby".

TV Guide as a national publication resulted from Walter Annenberg's Triangle Publications' purchase of numerous regional television listing publications such as TV Forecast, TV Digest, Television Guide and TV Guide. The launch as a national publication with local listings in April 1953 became an almost instant success with the magazine becoming the most read and circulated magazine in the country by the 1960s. The initial cost was just 15¢ per copy. In addition to subscriptions, TV Guide was sold from grocery store counters nationwide. Until the 1980s, each issue's features were promoted in a television commercial. Under Triangle Publications, TV Guide continued to grow not only in circulation, but in recognition as the authority on television programming with articles from both staff and contributing writers. Over the decades the shape of the logo has changed to reflect the modernization of the television screen. At first, the logo had various color backgrounds (usually black, white, blue or green) until the familiar red background became a standard in the 1960s with occasional changes to accommodate a special edition.

Under Triangle Publications, TV Guide was first based in a small office in downtown Philadelphia until moving to more spacious national headquarters in Radnor, Pennsylvania in the late 1950s. The new facility, complete with a large lighted TV Guide logo at the building's entrance, was home to management, editors, production personnel, subscription processors as well as a vast computer system holding data on every show and movie available for listing in the popular weekly publication. Printing of the national color section of TV Guide took place at Triangle's Gravure Division plant adjacent to Triangle's landmark Philadelphia Inquirer Building on North Broad Street in Philadelphia. The color section was then sent to regional printers to be wrapped around the local listing sections. Triangle's Gravure Division was known for performing some of the highest quality printing in the industry with almost always perfect registration.

Triangle Publications in addition to TV Guide owned The Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia Daily News, 16 radio and television stations (WFIL AM-FM-TV Philadelphia, PA, WNHC AM-FM-TV New Haven, CT, KFRE AM-FM-TV Fresno, CA, WNBF AM-FM-TV Binghamton, NY, WFBG AM-FM-TV Altoona, PA and WLYH-TV Lancaster/Lebanon, PA) The Daily Racing Form, The Morning Telegraph, Seventeen, and various cable TV interests. It was under Triangle's ownership of WFIL in Philadelphia that Dick Clark and American Bandstand came to popularity. Triangle Publications sold its Philadelphia newspapers to Knight Newspapers in 1969, its radio and television stations during the early 1970s to Capital Cities Communications and various other interests retaining only TV Guide, Seventeen Magazine and the Daily Racing Form. Triangle Publications was sold to News America Corporation in 1988 for $3 billion, one of the largest media deals of the time.

News Corporation era[link]

The advent of cable TV was hard on TV Guide. Cable channels began to be listed in TV Guide in 1980 or 1981, depending on the edition. Channels were also different, depending on the edition. Each channel was designated by an oblong bullet of three letters; for example, ESN represented ESPN and NIK represented Nickelodeon. To save channel space, some cable channels (mainly pay channels) had an asterisk by them, which meant that it was only listed in the evening grid (and later the Pay-TV Movie Guide). Channels like Cinemax and Disney initially started only in the grids, but later expanded to the listings as well.

As the years went on, cable channels were added. To help offset this, the issue of May 11–17, 1985 introduced a smaller font with some other cosmetic changes; a show's length was listed after the show's title—not in the description as it was previously. Another listings change took place in 1996; the show's title was no longer listed in all-uppercase, but mixed case as well.

To commemorate the 50th anniversary of TV Guide as a national magazine, in 2002 the magazine published six special issues:

• TV We'll Always Remember (April 6–12): Our Favorite Stars Share Fifty Years of Memories, Moments and Magic
• 50 Greatest Shows of All Time (May 4–10): The Ultimate List of the 50 Best TV Series. (Just Try to Guess What's No. 1!)
  • Note: This was the only one to be presented on television itself and referenced in the book TV Guide: Fifty Years of Television, considering the magazine's purpose to present weekly listings of regularly scheduled series.
• Our 50 Greatest Covers of All Time (June 15–21): Fabulous Photos of Your Favorite Shows and Stars Plus: Amazing Behind-the-Scenes Stories
• 50 Worst Shows of All Time (July 20–26): Not Just Bad! Really Awful - And We Love Them That Way!
• 50 Greatest Cartoon Characters of All Time (August 3–9): Funny! Clever! Drawn to perfection! They're the tops in toons!
• 50 Sexiest Stars of All Time (September 28–October 4): Charisma, Curves, Confidence, Charm! Could We Be Having Any More Fun?

Because most cable systems published their own listing magazine reflecting their channel lineup, and now have a separate guide channel on the remote that opens up to available programming, a printed listing of programming in a separate magazine became less valuable. The sheer amount and diversity of cable TV programming made it hard for TV Guide to provide listings of the extensive array of programming that came directly over the cable system. TV Guide also could not match the ability of the cable box to store personalized listings. TV Guide's circulation went from almost 20 million in 1970 to less than three million in 2007.

By 2003, there was also a list of cable channels (also broadcast channels in some editions) that were listed in the grids only. From its inception until 2003, TV Guide offered listings for the entire week, 24 hours a day. Beginning with the June 21, 2003 issue (in just a few select markets), the 5am–5pm Monday–Friday listings were condensed down to four grids: 5am–8am, 8am–11am, 11am–2pm, 2pm–5pm. If programming differed from one weekday to the next, "Various Programs" was listed. This change became permanent in all TV Guide editions beginning with the 2003 Fall Preview issue. Beginning in January 2004, the midnight–5am listings (and also 5am–8am on the Saturday and Sunday listings) did not include any out-of-town broadcast stations, just the edition's home market. Starting in June 2004 in most editions the channel lineup page showing the stations for each local edition was dropped. Starting in July 2004 the overnight listings were taken out entirely, replaced by a grid that ran from 11pm–2am and had the edition's home market broadcast stations, with a handful of cable stations. It also listed a small selection of late-night movies on some channels. The daytime grids also changed from the 5am–5pm listings, to 7am–7pm. In early 2005 more channels were added to the prime-time and late night grids. The magazine also changed format to start the week's issue with Sunday listings, rather than Saturday listings, which had previously changed from beginning with Friday listings.

On May 18, 2005, TV Guide launched TV Guide Talk, a weekly podcast available for free. The podcast was headlined by TV Guide reporter/personality Michael Ausiello, and was co-hosted by his co-workers, Angel Cohn, Daniel Manu, and Maitland McDonagh. The podcast was discontinued in 2008 with Ausiello's move to Entertainment Weekly. TV Guide was purchased from News Corporation in 1999 by United Video Satellite Group, parent company of the Prevue Networks, which itself was later purchased by the maker of the VCR Plus+ device and schedule system, Gemstar-TV Guide International, partially owned by News Corp.

Gemstar era[link]

On July 26, 2005, Gemstar-TV Guide announced that TV Guide would change in format from its digest size format to a larger full-size national magazine that will offer more stories and fewer TV listings. All 140 local editions were also eliminated, being replaced by two editions, one for Eastern/Central time zones and one for Pacific/Mountain. The change in format was attributed to the increase in the Internet, cable TV channels (like TV Guide Network), electronic program guides and digital video recorders as the sources of choice for viewers' program listings.

The new version of TV Guide went on sale on October 17, 2005, and featured Ty Pennington from Extreme Makeover: Home Edition on the cover. The listings format, now consisting entirely of grids, also changed to start the week's issue with Monday listings rather than Sunday listings.

In September 2006, TV Guide launched a redesigned website with expanded original editorial and user-generated content not included in the print magazine.

On December 22, 2006, TV Guide introduced the magazine's first ever two-week edition. The edition, which has Rachael Ray on the cover, was issued for the week of December 25, 2006 to January 7, 2007. In early 2008, the daytime Monday-Friday and late night grids were eliminated from the listings section, and the television highlights section was compressed into a six-page review of the week, rather than the previous two pages for each night.

With the acquisition of Gemstar-TV Guide by Macrovision on May 2, 2008, that company, which purchased Gemstar-TV Guide to mostly take advantage of their lucrative and profitable VCR Plus and electronic program guide patents, stated they wanted to sell both the magazine and TV Guide Network, along with the company's TVG horse racing channel to other parties.

OpenGate Capital era[link]

On October 13, 2008, Macrovision sold the money-losing magazine to equity fund OpenGate Capital for $1.^[3] As part of the sale, however, the companion website was retained by Macrovision^[4] (who then sold it to One Equity Partners^[5][6]), with all editorial connections between the magazine and website severed, including the end of Matt Roush's presence on TVGuide.com.^[7] The editorial content of the magazine was launched on a new site, TVGuideMagazine.com, which didn't feature TV Guide's listings in any form. However, TVGuidemagazine.com was shut down on June 1, 2010 and TV Guide Magazine and TVGuide.com entered into a deal to restore content from the magazine to the TVGuide.com website,^[8] which Lionsgate bought along with the TV Guide Network in January 2009.^[9]

In January 2009, the magazine cut several networks from the grid listings, including DIY Network and MTV, citing "space concerns"; however, two cuts, those of The CW and TV Guide Network,^[10][11] were seen as suspicious and arbitrary, as the guide carries several channels which have the same schedule night after night or are low-viewed and could have easily been cut, while several Fox networks continue to be listed due to agreements with the former News Corporation ownership. It is likely that the network's removal from TV Guide listings was related to the "divorce" of the website and network from the magazine.

In early February 2009, the listings for The CW and MTV were readded after much protest to the magazine's email addresses, with the listings for several low-viewed networks removed as a consequence.^[12] The other listings were slowly re-added, until TV Guide Network's schedule returned to the listings pages in June 2010 with their logo prominent within the grids as part of the deal with Lionsgate's TV Guide division mentioned above.

U.S. TV[link]

In 1998, the TV Guide brand and magazine was acquired by United Video Satellite Group, parent company of the Prevue Channel (now TV Guide Network). Like its predecessor, the original TV Guide Channel scrolled TV listings on the bottom portion of the screen. Until around 2002, the programs on the TV Guide Channel generally only lasted from 30 seconds to a minute, and thus usually appeared once to twice per hour. For instance, a show might appear at 12:25 and again at 1:55. However, over the early 2000s, the channel's focus shifted to full-length programs featuring celebrity gossip and movie talk.

In May 2007, Gemstar Media, a subsidiary of Gemstar-TV Guide Inc., renamed the TV Guide Channel to the TV Guide Network, stating that the new name reflects a new direction towards more original content and entertainment features in addition to its traditional listings function.

Today, TV Guide Network runs programs such as the weekly entertainment news magazine, The 411, and red-carpet event coverage (originally hosted by Joan and Melissa Rivers). In mid-2007, the mother-daughter duo were unceremoniously dropped by TV Guide in favor of both Lisa Rinna and Joey Fatone, whose popularities had been on the rise in the wake of their recent appearances on Dancing With the Stars.

To further distinguish itself from other television guides, TV Guide re-branded itself as TV GUIDE Magazine. The original name is now capitalized and "Magazine" always follows.^{[citation needed]}

Listings Pattern History[link]

• Friday to Thursday: April 3, 1953—July 15, 1954
• Saturday to Friday: July 17, 1954—April 9, 2004
• Sunday to Saturday: April 11, 2004—October 15, 2005
• Monday to Sunday: October 17, 2005—present

[edit] Other usage of the TV Guide name

• The term "TV guide" has partly become a genericized trademark to describe other TV listings appearing on the web and in newspapers.^[13] Read/Write Web published "Your Guide to Online TV Guides: 10 Services Compared."^[14] Techcrunch in 2006 offered "Overview: The End of Paper TV Guides."^[15]
• TV Guides is also the name of an interactive video and sound installation produced in 1995 with assistance from the Canada Council and shown at SIGGRAPH 1999.^[16] National TV guides are also published in other countries, but none of these are believed to be affiliated with the North American publication.
• In Australia during the 1970s a version of TV Guide was published under license by Southdown Press. That version merged with competitor publication TV Week in 1980. TV Week has a very similar logo to the TV Guide logo.
• New Zealand has a digest-sized paper called TV Guide, not associated with the United States or Canadian publications. It has the largest circulation of any national magazine, and is published by Fairfax Media.^[17]
• Mexico offers a digest-sized publication called TV Guía, unrelated with the US publication. It is published by Editorial Televisa.
• In Italy, a digest-size Guida TV is published by Mondadori since September 1976.

See also[link]

• List of TV Guide covers
  • List of TV Guide covers (1950s)
  • List of TV Guide covers (1960s)
  • List of TV Guide covers (1970s)
  • List of TV Guide covers (1980s)
  • List of TV Guide covers (1990s)
  • List of TV Guide covers (2000s)
  • List of TV Guide covers (2010s)
• List of TV Guide editions
• TV Guide Canada
• TV Guide Network
• TV Guide's 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time
• TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• List of TV Guide Magazines

Kerry Washington
Washington at the Metropolitan Opera's 2010 opening night of Das Rheingold
Born	(1977-01-31) January 31, 1977 (age 35) The Bronx, New York, U.S.
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1994–present

Kerry Washington (born January 31, 1977)^[1] is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Ray Charles's wife, Della Bea Robinson, in the film Ray (2004), as Idi Amin's wife Kay in The Last King of Scotland, and as Alicia Masters, love interest of Ben Grimm/The Thing in the live-action Fantastic Four films of 2005 and 2007. She has also starred in the critically acclaimed independent films Our Song and The Dead Girl, and is the lead actress in the 2012 ABC drama Scandal, a Shonda Rhimes series where Washington plays Olivia Pope, a former crisis management expert to the President.^[2]

Early life[link]

Washington was born in the The Bronx, New York City, the daughter of Valerie, a professor and educational consultant, and a real estate broker father.^[3][4] She performed with the Tada theater teen group and attended the Spence School in Manhattan, graduating in 1994.^{[citation needed]} She attended The George Washington University, graduating in 1998.^{[citation needed]} She also studied at Michael Howard Studios^{[citation needed]} in New York City.

Career[link]

Washington made her screen debut in the ABC telefilm Magical Make-Over (1994). She was in the cast of the 1996 PBS sketch comedy-style educational series Standard Deviants, and she appeared in the short "3D" and the feature film Our Song in 2000. She went on to appear in several movies, including Save the Last Dance (2001), The Human Stain (2003), Spike Lee's She Hate Me (2004), Ray (2004), Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005), Little Man (2006), I Think I Love My Wife (2007), and as a wife of 1970s Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in the UK historical drama The Last King of Scotland (2006). Washington has also appeared in the recurring role of Chelina Hall on the ABC television series Boston Legal, and in several episodes of the A&E cable-TV series 100 Centre Street.

She is the new spokesperson for L'Oréal, appearing in commercials and ads alongside fellow actresses Scarlett Johansson and Eva Longoria, and model Doutzen Kroes.

She also co-directed and appeared in the music video for hip-hop artist Common's song, "I Want You", the fourth single off of his album Finding Forever.

Washington narrated the critically acclaimed documentary about the New Orleans-based teenage TBC Brass Band, From the Mouthpiece on Back. She also appears in Maxwell's "Bad Habits" video. In 2009, Washington performed in The People Speak a documentary feature film that uses dramatic and musical performances of the letters, diaries, and speeches of everyday Americans, based on historian Howard Zinn's "A People's History of the United States”.^[5]

In 2010, she made her Broadway debut in David Mamet's Race, alongside James Spader, David Alan Grier, and Richard Thomas. She also appeared in Tyler Perry's 2010 film For Colored Girls.

In October 2011 it was confirmed that she would be starring in Quentin Tarantino's new film Django Unchained.^[6]

Personal life[link]

Washington at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival

Washington was engaged to actor David Moscow from October 2004 to March 2007.^[7]

As a sort of souvenir or memento, she usually tries to keep something from every character that she plays, such as an item of wardrobe or a piece of furniture from the house the character lived in.^[8]

Politics[link]

She is at times referred to as a political activist and was a supporter of Barack Obama's presidential candidacy.^[9] Washington has also spent time volunteering through the Adopt-a-Classroom program in New York as well as with Co-Op America,^[10] now known as Green America.

Filmography[link]

Awards and nominations[link]

Washington at Hollywood Life Magazine’s 2007 Breakthrough Awards.

• BET Awards
  • 2007- Best Actress The Last King of Scotland: Nominated

• Black Reel Awards
  • 2011- Outstanding Supporting Actress For Colored Girls: Nominated
  • 2011- Outstanding Actress Night Catches Us: Won
  • 2011- Outstanding Ensemble Night Catches Us: Nominated
  • 2011- Outstanding Ensemble For Colored Girls: Won
  • 2009- Outstanding Ensemble Miracle at St. Anna: Nominated
  • 2007- Outstanding Supporting Actress The Last King of Scotland: Nominated
  • 2005- Outstanding Actress, Drama Ray: Nominated
  • 2003- Outstanding Actress, Network/Cable Lift : Nominated
  • 2002- Outstanding Independent Actor Lift: Nominated
  • 2002- Outstanding Supporting Actress Theatrical, Save the Last Dance: Nominated
• Image Awards
  • 2011- Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture Night Catches Us: Nominated
  • 2007- Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture The Last King of Scotland: Nominated
  • 2006- Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series Boston Legal: Nominated
  • 2005- Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture Ray: Won

• Independent Spirit Awards
  • 2002- Best Female Lead Lift: Nominated

• Satellite Awards
  • 2005- Best Actress in a Comedy/Musical Ray: Nominated

• Screen Actors Guild Awards
  • 2005- Outstanding Cast in a Motion Picture Ray: Nominated

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Kerry Washington

• Kerry Washington at the Internet Movie Database
• Kerry Washington on Twitter

Tony Goldwyn
Goldwyn in Denver in August 2008
Born	Anthony Howard Goldwyn (1960-05-20) May 20, 1960 (age 52) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actor/Director
Years active	1986–present
Spouse	Jane Musky (1989–present)

Anthony Howard "Tony" Goldwyn (born May 20, 1960) is an American actor and director. He portrayed the villain Carl Bruner in Ghost, Colonel Bagley in The Last Samurai, and the voice of the title character of the Disney animated Tarzan. He stars in the ABC drama Scandal, as Fitzgerald Grant III, President of the United States.^[1]

Early life[link]

Goldwyn was born in Los Angeles, California, the son of actress Jennifer Howard and film producer Samuel Goldwyn, Jr. Goldwyn's paternal grandparents were mogul Samuel Goldwyn and actress Frances Howard,^[2] while his maternal grandparents were playwright Sidney Howard and actress Clare Eames. Goldwyn attended Hamilton College in Clinton, New York, Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts (where he received his B.F.A), and the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.

Career[link]

Goldwyn's best remembered role is most likely that of Carl Bruner, friend-turned-betrayer of Patrick Swayze's character Sam Wheat in Ghost. He is also well known for his turn on the comedy series, Designing Women in which he played a young interior designer named Kendall Dobbs who was HIV positive, and asked the women of Sugarbakers to design his funeral. In the HBO miniseries From the Earth to the Moon, Goldwyn played astronaut Neil Armstrong, commander of Apollo 11. He also provided the voice of the title character from 1999 animated feature film, Tarzan, produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation. He reprised the role in the video games Disney's Tarzan Untamed and Kingdom Hearts. He also had a recurring role on the NBC-Universal drama Law & Order: Criminal Intent as Frank Goren, brother of lead character Robert Goren, played by Vincent D'Onofrio.

Acting and directing duties for the first season of "Dexter" for Showtime (Brother John Goldwyn is Executive Producer).

Also a stage actor, Goldwyn has appeared twice in Off-Broadway shows at Second Stage Theatre and on Broadway at Circle in the Square Theatre. At Second Stage he appeared in Theresa Rebeck's Spike Heels (1992) alongside Kevin Bacon and Julie White. Most recently, in the summer of 2006 at Second Stage Theatre he starred opposite Kate Burton in another Rebeck play, The Water's Edge. Goldwyn is currently playing J.D. Sheldrake, the philandering business executive, in the Broadway musical Promises, Promises starring Sean Hayes and Kristin Chenoweth.^[3] The cast recording was released on June 23, 2010, with Goldwyn in three tracks.^[4][5]

Personal life[link]

Goldwyn is married to production designer Jane Musky. The couple have two daughters, Anna and Tess.

Filmography[link]

• Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives (1986)
• Gaby: A True Story (1987)
• Ghost (1990)
• Kuffs (1991)
• Traces of Red (1992)
• The Pelican Brief (1993)
• Nixon (1995)
• Reckless (1995)
• Trouble on the Corner (1997)
• Kiss the Girls (1997)
• The Lesser Evil (1998)
• A Walk on the Moon (1999) (director)
• Tarzan (1999) (voice)
• Pocahontas: The Legend (1999)
• The 6th Day (2000)
• An American Rhapsody (2001)
• Bounce (2000)
• Joshua (2002)
• Kingdom Hearts (2002) (voice of Tarzan)
• The Last Samurai (2003)
• Without a Trace (2004) (actor in two episodes and director of one episode)
• The Godfather of Green Bay (2005)
• The Last Kiss (2006) (director)
• Grey's Anatomy (2006) (director of two episodes: 1.03 and 2.24)
• Dexter (2006) (actor in one episode and director of four episodes: 1.06, 1.08, 2.01 and 2.03)
• Private Practice (2007) (director of one episode: 1.02)
• The Last House on the Left (2009)
• The Good Wife (2009) (as Judge Henry Baxter in Season 1 Episode "Lifeguard")
• Conviction (2010) (director)
• Promises, Promises (2010) (actor)
• The Mechanic (2011) (actor)
• Scandal (2012) (as Fitzgerald Grant III, President of the United States)

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Tony Goldwyn

• Tony Goldwyn at the Internet Movie Database

Johnny Galecki
Johnny Galecki, July 2008
Born	John Mark Galecki (1975-04-30) April 30, 1975 (age 37) Bree, Belgium
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1987–present
Partner	Kelli Garner

John Mark "Johnny" Galecki (born April 30, 1975 - Bree, Belgium) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as David Healy in the ABC sitcom Roseanne, Rusty Griswold in National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, and as Leonard Hofstadter in the CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory.

Early life[link]

Galecki was born in Bree, Belgium, to American parents of Polish, Irish, and Italian descent.^[1] His mother, Mary Lou (née Noon), was a mortgage consultant, and his father, Richard Galecki, was a member of the U.S. Air Force stationed in Belgium and also worked as a rehabilitation teacher.^[2] He has a younger brother, Nick, whom he describes as a mechanical genius in the automotive industry,^[3] and a younger sister, Allison.^[4] Galecki moved to Oak Park, Illinois, with his family when he was three years old.

During an interview with New Zealand radio station 'ZM', Galecki jokingly recalled his childhood relationship with his mother. As a child, he was well known for making up long, epic stories and tales. In such situations his mother used to make him play the "quiet game" where he had to see how long he could go without talking. He also recalled that despite being a loving mother, she was also very tough. One phrase she would lovingly use was, "I love you, now get out."^[5]

Career[link]

Galecki made his acting debut in the 1987 CBS miniseries Murder Ordained with JoBeth Williams and future Roseanne co-star John Goodman. In 1989 Galecki portrayed Rusty Griswold in National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. One of his best known roles was as David Healy (first introduced as Kevin Healy) in the U.S. sitcom Roseanne. Galecki was cast in the 1997 summer slasher I Know What You Did Last Summer and the 1998 dark comedy The Opposite of Sex. In the year 2000, Galecki reunited with Opposite of Sex director Don Roos, who cast him in Bounce.

Galecki continued his film streak with roles in Suicide Kings and brief bit parts in high-profile films such as Bean and a minor supporting part in Vanilla Sky. Galecki played a young delinquent in A Family Torn Apart, a TV movie based on a true story about a serial killer.

Galecki appeared in a first-season episode of My Name Is Earl as a golfer. Without his knowledge, Earl and Randy improve his golf score by making it appear that he got numerous holes-in-one, taking advantage of a custom that a player scoring a hole-in-one must buy a round of drinks. His obsession with improving his golf game without Earl and Randy's assistance destroys his life — he loses his job and girlfriend and is forced to live in his car.

He played a character named Trouty on TBS's sitcom My Boys. He also played the half-brother of the main characters, sisters Hope Shanowski and Faith Fairfield, in the TV sitcom Hope & Faith. In late 2006/early 2007, Galecki starred in the Broadway play The Little Dog Laughed as Alex, a male prostitute. In this role, he was required to do a full-frontal nude scene, the first of his acting career. "At its core, the play is about what we all sacrifice to be successful, whatever our careers or goals," he explains.^[6] Galecki originated the role earlier in 2006 at Second Stage Theatre. The widely popular comedy by Douglas Carter Beane had a successful run at Second Stage and moved to the Cort Theatre. The play closed on February 18, 2007, with Galecki taking home a 2007 Theater World Award for his performance.

Galecki currently plays the part of Leonard Hofstadter in the CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory, which debuted September 24, 2007. He works alongside two of his former Roseanne cast members, Sara Gilbert, who during his role as David Healy played the role of his longtime girlfriend and later his wife, Darlene Conner, as well as Laurie Metcalf, formerly cast as the role of Roseanne Barr's fictionalized character's sister Jackie. Both have since appeared as recurring characters. Galecki is a cellist and has played cello on the show.

Galecki appeared briefly in the 2008 superhero comedy Hancock, alongside Will Smith and Jason Bateman. He also appears in the music video for the Dave Matthews Band song "Satellite".

In July 2011 Galecki played himself on three episodes of Entourage.^{[episode needed]}

Personal life[link]

Galecki owns 360 acres of land in Santa Margarita, California. There is a log cabin and vineyards on his property. He is also a vegetarian.^[7]

While working on The Big Bang Theory, Galecki dated co-star Kaley Cuoco for two years. They kept their relationship private until they broke up.^[8][9]

In March 2012, it was revealed that Galecki is currently dating actress Kelli Garner.^[10]

Filmography[link]

Film[link]

Television[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Find more about Johnny Galecki on Wikipedia's sister projects:
	Images and media from Commons

• Johnny Galecki at the Internet Movie Database
• USA Today article from 1998
• Playbill article about the end of The Little Dog Laughed's run at The Cort Theatre
• Movieline interview with Johnny Galecki

Jim Parsons
Parsons at Comic Con in 2009
Born	James Joseph Parsons (1973-03-24) March 24, 1973 (age 39) Houston, Texas, U.S.
Alma mater	University of Houston (BA) University of San Diego (MA)
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1994–present

James Joseph "Jim" Parsons (born March 24, 1973) is an American television and film actor. He is best known for playing Sheldon Cooper on the CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory, with his performance often cited as a significant reason for the program's success.^[1][2][3] He has received several awards for his performance, including the Television Critics Association award for the highest individual achievements in comedy,^[4] the National Association of Broadcasters Television Chairman's Award for a significant breakthrough in a specific art discipline,^[5] two consecutive Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series^[6] and the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Television Series Musical or Comedy.

Early life[link]

Parsons was born and raised in Houston, Texas, the older of two children.^[7] After playing the role of the Kola-Kola bird in a school production of The Elephant's Child at age six, Parsons was determined to become an actor.^[7][8] The young Parsons was heavily influenced by sitcoms, particularly Three's Company, Family Ties, and The Cosby Show.^[9] He attended Klein Oak High School in Spring, Texas, a northern suburb of Houston. Parsons points to a role in Noises Off during his junior year as the first time "I fully connected with the role I was playing and started to truly understand what it meant to be honest on stage".^[7]

After graduating from high school, Parsons received an undergraduate degree from the University of Houston. He was prolific during this time, appearing in 17 plays in 3 years. He was a founding member of Infernal Bridegroom Productions, and regularly appeared at the Stages Repertory Theatre.^[10] Parsons enrolled in graduate school at the University of San Diego in 1999.^[10] He was one of seven students accepted into a special two-year course in classical theater, taught in partnership with the Old Globe Theater. Program director Rick Seer recalled having reservations about admitting Parsons, saying, "Jim is a very specific personality. He's thoroughly original, which is one reason he's been so successful. But we worried, ‘Does that adapt itself to classical theater, does that adapt itself to the kind of training that we're doing?' But we decided that he was so talented that we would give him a try and see how it worked out."^[11] Parsons enjoyed school, and told an interviewer that he would have pursued a doctorate in acting if possible: "school was so safe!...you frequently would surprise yourself by what you were capable of, and you were not surprised by some things."^[12] Parsons graduated in 2001^[11] and moved to New York.^[10]

Career[link]

In New York, Parsons worked in Off-Broadway productions and made several television appearances. In a much-discussed 2003 Quiznos commercial, Parsons played a man who had been raised by wolves and continued to nurse from his wolf "mother".^[10] He had a recurring role on the television show Judging Amy^[13] and appeared on the television series Ed.^[10] Parsons also had minor roles in several movies, including Garden State and School for Scoundrels.^[14]

Parsons has estimated that he auditioned for between 15 and 30 television pilots, but on many of the occasions when he was cast, the show failed to find a television network willing to purchase it.^[10] The exception came with The Big Bang Theory. After reading the pilot script, Parsons felt that the role of Sheldon Cooper would be a very good fit for him.^[7] Although he did not feel any sort of relationship with the character, he was enchanted by the dialogue structure, the way the writers "brilliantly use those words that most of us don't recognize to create that rhythm. And the rhythm got me. It was the chance to dance through that dialogue, and in a lot of ways still is."^[9]

In his audition, Parsons so impressed series creator Chuck Lorre that Lorre insisted on a second audition to see if Parsons could replicate the performance.^[10] Parsons was cast as Sheldon Cooper, a genius physicist with nonexistent social skills who interacts with his other nerdy friends and the attractive waitress who lives across the hall.^[10] The role requires Parsons to "rattle off line after line of tightly composed, rhythmic dialogue, and then do something with his face or body during the silence that follows."^[10] Parsons credits his University of San Diego training with giving him the tools to break down Sheldon's lines.^[7]

Television critic Andrew Dansby compares Parsons' physical comedy to that of Buster Keaton and other silent film stars. Lorre praises Parsons' instincts, saying that "You can't teach that."^[10] Lorre describes Parsons' "great sense of control over every part of his body, the way he walks, holds his hands, cocks his head, the facial tics" as "inspired".^[14] Reviewer Lewis Beale describes Parsons' performance as "so spot-on, it seems as if the character and the actor are the same person."^[9] Parsons admits that the work is "more effort than I ever thought a sitcom would take. And that's really the fun of it."^[9]

In August 2009, Parsons won the Television Critics Association award for individual achievement in comedy, beating Alec Baldwin, Tina Fey, Steve Carrell, and Neil Patrick Harris.^[9][15] He was nominated for Emmy awards in 2009 and 2010, winning in 2010 for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series.^[16] In September 2010, Parsons and costars Johnny Galecki and Kaley Cuoco signed new contracts, guaranteeing each of them $200,000 per episode for the fourth season of The Big Bang Theory, with substantial raises for each of the next three seasons. The three were also promised a percentage of the show's earnings.^[17] In January 2011, he won the Golden Globe award for Best Actor in a Television Series – Comedy (the award was presented by co-star Cuoco).

In 2011, Parsons appeared with Jack Black, Owen Wilson, Steve Martin, and Rashida Jones in the comedy film The Big Year. It was released in October.^[18] That same year, he appeared as the human alter ego of Walter, the newest Muppet introduced in The Muppets.^[19]

On May 18 2012, Parsons began appearing on Broadway as Elwood P. Dowd in a revival of Harvey.^[20][21]

Personal life[link]

Parsons lives in Los Angeles.^[22] In an interview for a New York Times article in May 2012, he said he is gay, having been in a relationship for ten years.^[23][24]

Stage appearances[link]

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (July 2011)

• The Balcony
• Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (1994) .... Rosencrantz
• La Ronde (1995)
• Endgame (1995) .... Clov (Infernal Bridegroom Productions)^[25]
• Marat/Sade (1995) (Infernal Bridegroom Productions)^[25]
• Guys and Dolls (1996) .... Rusty Charlie (Infernal Bridegroom Productions)^[25]
• Eddie Goes to Poetry City (1996) .... Eddie (New York Theatre)
• Jack and the Future Is In Eggs (1996) .... Father Jack
• Othello (1996) (Infernal Bridegroom Productions)^[25]
• Suicide in B-flat (1996) (Infernal Bridegroom Productions)^[25]
• Woyzeck (1996) .... Doctor / Horse's Head (Infernal Bridegroom Productions)^[25]
• The Cherry Orchard (1997) .... Yasha, a young man servant (Infernal Bridegroom Productions)^[25]
• Chili Queen (1997) .... Buddy (Stages Repertory Theatre, World Premiere)^[25]
• Camino Real (1997) .... Baron (Infernal Bridegroom Productions)^[25]
• Last Rites (1997) .... Tiger Clean (Infernal Bridegroom Productions, World Premiere)^[25]
• Threepenny Opera (1998) .... MacHeath (Infernal Bridegroom Productions)^[25]
• Below the Belt (1998) .... Dobbitt
• In the Jungle of the Cities (1998) .... J. Finnay (Infernal Bridegroom Productions)^[25]
• Tamalalia 3: The Cocktail Party (1998) .... Psychotic psychiatrist (Infernal Bridegroom Productions, World Premiere)^[25]
• King Ubu is King (1998) .... Tom, Mister Nice Guy (Infernal Bridegroom Productions, World Premiere)^[25]
• The Pitchfork Disney (1998) .... Presley Stray (Stages Repertory Theatre)
• Marie and Bruce (1999) .... Herb / Fred / Waiter (Infernal Bridegroom Productions)^[25]
• Tamalalia 4: The Camp-Out (1999) (Infernal Bridegroom Productions, World Premiere)^[25]
• Da (2001) (Old Globe Theatre)^[26]
• What Happened Was (2002) .... Jackie (The Paradise Theatre)
• The Castle (2002) .... Jeremiah (Manhattan Ensemble Theatre)^[27]
• Tartuffe (2002) .... Valère (La Jolla Playhouse)^[28]
• The Love for Three Oranges (Gozzi) (2004) .... Prince Tartaglia (La Jolla Playhouse)^[29]
• The Normal Heart (2011) .... Tommy Boatwright (John Golden Theatre)^[30]

Filmography[link]

Film[link]

Television[link]