Charlie Tuna

Art Ferguson (born April 18, 1944), known professionally as Charlie Tuna, is a radio personality and former game show announcer based in Los Angeles, California.

Career

Radio

At age 16, Ferguson began working at his hometown's radio station, KGFW. Then, he went to work at KLEO in Wichita, Kansas for a year with the air name "Billy O'Day". He then worked for KOMA Radio in Oklahoma City in 1966, where he took over the "Charlie Tuna" pseudonym from Chuck Riley, who had used it for one show the week prior to Ferguson's arrival. Ferguson then moved on to WMEX in Boston for the first 9 months of 1967.

In late 1967, KHJ in Los Angeles offered Ferguson the 9 to noon slot, where he debuted on Thanksgiving Day 1967. On February 9, 1971, he had just commenced his morning show at 6:00 a.m. when the San Fernando earthquake occurred. In 1972 he became one of the original DJs at KROQ AM, a new Top 40 station (formerly Country KBBQ). In 1973 be moved to KKDJ as program director and morning personality. He presided over its 1975 call-letter change to KIIS-AM, and broadcast the first show at KIIS-FM as it began its AM-FM simulcast. He also worked at KTNQ, KHTZ (later KBZT), KRLA, KODJ (later KCBS-FM), KMPC, KIKF, and KLAC.

Chali 2na

Charles Stewart (born June 26, 1971, in Chicago, Illinois), better known as Chali 2na, is an American rapper and hip hop artist, associated with the groups Jurassic 5 and Ozomatli.

Personal life

Early life

As a young boy, Stewart moved to South Central Los Angeles, which had been the home base of Jurassic 5 since the group's inception in 1993. He was raised by his grandmother, a practicing Muslim, who raised him in the Islamic faith. His stage name is a reference to Charlie the Tuna, the deep-voiced animated mascot of StarKist Tuna. He and Cut Chemist became friends in high school. Together with Mark 7even, they were part of a seven-man group called Unity Committee. The Unity Committee crew would often spend Thursday nights performing at the Good Life Café, where rappers and spoken word poets showed off their skills in an open mic format. They were, along with another three-person troupe called the Rebels of Rhythm, routinely chosen as the crowd's favourite performers. The two crews also appreciated one another's styles, and they teamed to record a 12" single, "Unified Rebelution", in 1995. The Rebels of Rhythm were MCs Akil and Daakir (also known as Soup); the men banded together to form Jurassic 5. In 2006, Cut Chemist elected to split from the group to pursue a solo career, and the Jurassic 5 group split up altogether in 2007.

Harmony Project

The Harmony Project is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in Los Angeles, California, that provides free music instruction and instruments to youth in underserved areas of LA. Programming consists of year-round music lessons, orchestra and ensemble participation, and a peer mentorship program influenced by El Sistema,Venezuela's highly successful music education program. Harmony Project currently serves over 1400 students in the Los Angeles area, and expanded in 2011 with its first affiliate program, Harmony Project of Ventura County.

History

Harmony Project was founded by Dr. Margaret Martin in April 2001. It has many different teaching sites all over the Los Angeles area. The first site launched in Hollywood with 36 students and $9000 in funding from the Rotary Club of Hollywood. In 2006, a second site opened in South LA at EXPO center, and the following year Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles (YOLA) was formed in partnership with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and to be conducted by famed conductor, Gustavo Dudamel. Harmony Project partnered with LAUSD's Beyond the Bell program in 2009 and in the fall of that year launched the Hip Hop Orchestra, a string ensemble that performs contemporary popular music under the direction of composer and conductor Diane Louie. Harmony Project currently operates at 17 sites across LA and serves over 1,400 students.

Charlie the Tuna

Charlie the Tuna is the cartoon mascot and spokes-tuna for the StarKist brand. He was created by Tom Rogers of the Leo Burnett Agency after StarKist hired Leo Burnett in 1961. StarKist Tuna is the name of a brand of tuna currently owned by Dongwon Industries, a South Korea-based conglomerate. StarKist itself is based in Pittsburgh, the home of its former parent company, H. J. Heinz Company, sharing its headquarters on the site of Three Rivers Stadium with another former parent company, Del Monte Foods' Pittsburgh headquarters.

History

Creation

As reported in news stories about Rogers, Charlie the Tuna was based on Rogers' friend, the actor-songwriter Henry Nemo. B-movie actress Maila Nurmi claims that the character was originally sketched six years earlier by the actor James Dean while she was sitting with him one night in Googie's coffee shop in Los Angeles. However, StarKist and Burnett both give full credit to Rogers, and there is no actual evidence for Nurmi's claim.

Campaign

Tuna

A tuna is a saltwater finfish that belongs to the tribe Thunnini, a sub-grouping of the mackerel family (Scombridae) – which together with the tunas, also includes the bonitos, mackerels, and Spanish mackerels. Thunnini comprises fifteen species across five genera, the sizes of which vary greatly, ranging from the bullet tuna (max. length: 50 cm (1.6 ft), weight: 1.8 kg (4 lb)) up to the Atlantic bluefin tuna (max. length: 4.6 m (15 ft), weight: 684 kg (1,508 lb)). The bluefin averages 2 m (6.6 ft), and is believed to live for up to 50 years.

Tuna and mackerel sharks are the only species of fish that can maintain a body temperature higher than that of the surrounding water. An active and agile predator, the tuna has a sleek, streamlined body, and is among the fastest-swimming pelagic fish – the yellowfin tuna, for example, is capable of speeds of up to 75 km/h (47 mph). Found in warm seas, it is extensively fished commercially, and is popular as a game fish. As a result of over-fishing, stocks of some tuna species such as the southern bluefin tuna have been reduced dangerously close to the point of extinction.