UXL Newsmakers - Volumes 5 & 6 (UXL Newsmakers)

U•X• L newsmakers contents . volume 5 Mahmoud Abbas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Iyad All...

Author: UXL

652 downloads 1438 Views 17MB Size Report

This content was uploaded by our users and we assume good faith they have the permission to share this book. If you own the copyright to this book and it is wrongfully on our website, we offer a simple DMCA procedure to remove your content from our site. Start by pressing the button below!

Report copyright / DMCA form

DOWNLOAD PDF

U•X• L newsmakers

contents . volume 5

Mahmoud Abbas .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Iyad Allawi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Julia Alvarez . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21 Lance Armstrong . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31 Christian Bale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Kristen Bell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 Carlos Beltran . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 Pope Benedict XVI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 Gail Berman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83 Meg Cabot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93 Ryan Cabrera . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103 Nick Cannon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111 John Carmack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121 Hugo Cha´vez . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131 Richard Clarke . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143 Eileen Collins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153 Luisa Diogo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163 Sharon Draper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171 Jamie Foxx . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181 Deborah Gregory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191 Freddie Highmore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201 Scarlett Johansson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209 JoJo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219 Cynthia Kadohata . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227 Hamid Karzai . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237 Rem Koolhaas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247

. .

U X L newsmakers

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii Reader’s Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xv Newsmakers by Field of Endeavor

Index

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xix v

field of. endeavor by .

. volume 5

. .

U X L newsmakers

Italic type indicates volume number.

Art/Design

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5: 121 Olafur Eliasson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1: 181 Frank Gehry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2: 259 Deborah Gregory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5: 191 Rem Koolhaas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5: 247 Daniel Libeskind . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2: 409 Stella McCartney . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2: 427 Mike Mignola . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3: 441 Isaac Mizrahi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3: 451 Takashi Murakami . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3: 475 Zac Posen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6: 373 Burt Rutan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4: 647

John Carmack

Business

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5: 121 Michael Dell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1: 139 Michael Eisner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1: 171 Carly Fiorina . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2: 221 Helen Grenier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2: 293 Steve Jobs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2: 357

John Carmack

vii

newsmakers by field of endeavor

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2: 393 Betsy McLaughlin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3: 435 Jenny Ming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6: 307 Elon Musk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6: 335 Indra Nooyi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3: 513 Larry Page and Sergey Brin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3: 535 Richard Parsons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3: 561 Michael Ramsay and James Barton . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3: 607 Terry Semel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4: 681 Russell Simmons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4: 699 Jeff Skoll . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6: 431 Margaret Whitman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4: 799 Dean Kamen

Entertainment

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1: 9 Avi Arad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1: 15 Christian Bale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5: 43 Kristen Bell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5: 53 Gail Berman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5: 83 Jack Black . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1: 33 Orlando Bloom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1: 43 Mark Burnett . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1: 81 Nick Cannon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5: 111 Keisha Castle-Hughes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1: 101 Sophia Coppola . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1: 117 Paige Davis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1: 125 Ellen DeGeneres . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1: 131 Hilary Duff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1: 145 Anthony Anderson

viii

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

newsmakers by field of endeavor

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1: 171 Tina Fey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1: 205 Jamie Foxx . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5: 181 Brian Graden . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2: 277 Freddie Highmore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5: 201 Hugh Jackman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2: 329 Peter Jackson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2: 339 Scarlett Johansson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5: 209 Dwayne ‘‘The Rock’’ Johnson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2: 375 JoJo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5: 219 Beyonce´ Knowles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2: 401 Shia LaBeouf . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6: 259 Lindsay Lohan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2: 421 Michael Moore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3: 459 Frankie Muniz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3: 469 Chad Michael Murray . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6: 325 Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3: 519 Queer Eye for the Straight Guy cast . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3: 587 Daniel Radcliffe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3: 597 Dan Rather . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6: 383 Raven . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3: 615 Josh Schwartz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4: 655 Arnold Schwarzenegger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4: 663 Ryan Seacrest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4: 673 Jessica Simpson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4: 707 Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4: 737 Amber Tamblyn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4: 751 Gabrielle Union . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4: 775 Christopher Wheeldon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6: 469

Michael Eisner

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

ix

newsmakers by field of endeavor

Government

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5: 1 Iyad Allawi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5: 11 Jean-Bertrand Aristide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1: 23 Hugo Cha´vez . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5: 131 Richard Clarke . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5: 143 Luisa Diogo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5: 163 Sonia Gandhi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2: 247 Saddam Hussein . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2: 319 Hamid Karzai . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5: 237 Gavin Newsom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3: 497 Barack Obama . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6: 343 Nancy Pelosi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3: 571 Condoleezza Rice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3: 623 Arnold Schwarzenegger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4: 663 Viktor Yushchenko . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6: 479 Jose´ Luis Rodrı´ guez Zapatero . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4: 829 Mahmoud Abbas

Music Ryan Cabrera .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5: 103 Nick Cannon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5: 111 Coldplay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1: 109 Hilary Duff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1: 145 Missy Elliott . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1: 189 50 Cent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2: 213 Jamie Foxx . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5: 181 Josh Groban . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2: 303 JoJo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5: 219 x

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

newsmakers by field of endeavor

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2: 383 Beyonce´ Knowles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2: 401 Avril Lavigne . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6: 269 Maroon 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6: 299 OutKast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3: 527 Raven . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3: 615 Rilo Kiley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6: 393 Jessica Simpson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4: 707 Joss Stone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6: 439 Justin Timberlake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4: 767 Kanye West . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6: 459 White Stripes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4: 791

Norah Jones

Religion Pope Benedict XVI

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5: 73

Science

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1: 91 Eileen Collins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5: 153 Deborah Estrin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1: 197 Julie Gerberding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2: 269 Brian Green . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2: 285 Helen Grenier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2: 293 Dean Kamen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2: 393 Larry Page and Sergey Brin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3: 535 Burt Rutan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4: 647

Benjamin Solomon Carson

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

xi

newsmakers by field of endeavor

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4: 759 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4: 783

Lonnie Thompson Peter Vitousek

Social Issues

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1: 51 Shirin Ebadi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1: 161 Wangari Maathai . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6: 279 Gavin Newsom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3: 497 Nisha Sharma . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4: 691 Wes Boyd and Eli Pariser

Sports

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1: 1 Lance Armstrong . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5: 31 Carlos Beltran . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5: 63 Tom Brady . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1: 61 Larry Brown . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1: 71 Dale Earnhardt Jr. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1: 153 Tony Hawk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2: 311 LeBron James . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2: 349 Dwayne ‘‘The Rock’’ Johnson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2: 375 Peyton Manning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6: 289 Yao Ming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4: 821 Dave Mirra . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6: 315 Emeka Okafor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6: 353 Terrell Owens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6: 363 Michael Phelps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3: 579 Andy Roddick . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3: 631 Freddy Adu

xii

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

newsmakers by field of endeavor

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4: 639 Angela Ruggiero . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6: 411 Maria Sharapova . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6: 421 Annika Sorenstam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4: 721 Patricia Head Summitt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4: 745 Ichiro Suzuki . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6: 449 Michelle Wie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4: 807 Serena Williams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4: 813

Alex Rodriguez

Writing

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5: 21 Meg Cabot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5: 93 Richard Clarke . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5: 143 Sharon Draper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5: 171 Cornelia Funke . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2: 229 Neil Gaiman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2: 237 Deborah Gregory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5: 191 Angela Johnson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2: 367 Cynthia Kadohata . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5: 227 Mike Mignola . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3: 441 Walter Dean Myers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3: 483 Donna Jo Napoli . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3: 491 Jenny Nimmo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3: 505 Christopher Paolini . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3: 543 Linda Sue Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3: 551 Meg Rosoff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6: 403 Lemony Snicket (Daniel Handler) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4: 715 Gary Soto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4: 727

Julia Alvarez

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

xiii

reader’s guide . volume 5

. .

U X L newsmakers

U .X.L Newsmakers is the place to turn for information on personalities active on the current scene. Containing fifty biographies, U.X.L Newsmakers covers contemporary figures who are making headlines in a variety of fields, including entertainment, government, literature, music, pop culture, science, and sports. Subjects include international figures, as well as people of diverse ethnic backgrounds.

Format Biographies are arranged alphabetically across two volumes. Each entry opens with the individual’s birth date, place of birth, and field of endeavor. Entries provide readers with information on the early life, influences, and career of the individual or group being profiled. Most entries feature one or more photographs of the subject, and all entries provide a list of sources for further reading about the individual or group. Readers may also locate entries by using the Field of Endeavor table of contents listed in the front of each volume, which lists biographees by vocation.

Features A Field of Endeavor table of contents, found at the front of each volume, allows readers to access the biographees by the category for which they are best known. Categories include: Art/Design, Business, Entertainment, Government, Music, Science, Social Issues, Sports, and Writing. When applicable, subjects are listed under more than one category for even greater access. Sidebars include information relating to the biographee’s career and activities (for example, writings, awards, life milestones), brief biographies of related individuals, and explanations of movements, groups, and more, connected with the person.

xv

reader’s guide

Quotes from and about the biographee offer insight into their lives and personal philosophies. More than 100 black-and-white photographs are featured across the volumes. Sources for more information, including books, magazine articles, and Web sites, are provided at the end of each entry. A comprehensive and cumulative subject index quickly points readers to the people and subjects discussed in all six volumes of U X L Newsmakers.

. .

Comments and Suggestions The individuals chosen for these volumes were drawn from all walks of life and from across a variety of professions. Many names came directly from the headlines of the day, while others were selected with the interests of students in mind. By no means is the list exhaustive. Suggestions for subjects to be profiled in future volumes of U X L Newsmakers as well as comments on this work itself should be sent to: Editor, U X L Newsmakers, U X L, 27500 Drake Road, Farmington Hills, Michigan 483313535; call toll-free: 1-800-877-4253; or send an e-mail via www.gale.com.

. .

. .

. .

xvi

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

U•X• L newsmakers

Mahmoud Abbas

.

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

AP/ Wide World Photos.

March 26, 1935 Safed, British Mandate of Palestine

President of Palestinian National Authority

S

ince the 1970s Mahmoud Abbas has been a key player in Middle East politics, but until the early 2000s he primarily worked in the shadow of Palestinian leader Yassar Arafat (1929–2004). Although a popular and charismatic leader, Arafat was also known for his terrorist tactics and his resistance to working for a peaceful settlement of the Arab-Israeli conflict that had been brewing in the region for decades. (Arab Palestinians had been fighting Jewish Israelis over land rights ever since the Jewish state had been created in 1948.) Abbas, on the other hand, was considered a man of compromise who was devoted to nonviolent negotiation. In 2003 he briefly served as prime minister of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), and in January 2005, in the first democratic Arab election, Abbas was voted PNA president. Western nations, including the United States, viewed the newly elected president as a hopeful symbol of peace. Feelings among his

1

mahmoud abbas

own people were mixed as Abbas was confronted with fractured political parties and continued violence during his first months in office.

Born into conflict In the Middle East, ownership involving the region between the Mediterranean Sea and the banks of the River Jordan has been hotly contested for centuries. It is an area considered to be holy by both Jews and Muslims, and over time it has been occupied by both, with borders shifting based on

...................................................................................................................

‘‘We are trying to lead our people to peace and to security, and we want to pave the way for the next generations.’’ various pacts. After World War I (1914–18; war in which Great Britain, France, the United States, and their allies defeated Austria-Hungary, Germany, and their allies) the region was placed under the mandate (or control) of Great Britain. Until the 1940s the British Mandate of Palestine was bordered by Jordan, Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, and the Mediterranean Sea. Throughout World War II (1939–45; war in which Great Britain, France, the Soviet Union, the United States, and their allies defeated Germany, Italy, and Japan), Jews were persecuted and believed the only way to escape violence and discrimination was to create their own Jewish state and began to migrate to Palestine to be near the Jewish holy city of Jerusalem. As a result the United Nations (an international peace-keeping organization formed after World War II) created the Partition Plan of 1947, which called for Palestine to be divided into two states: Palestine to be occupied by the Arab population and a separate state of Israel for Jews.

2

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

mahmoud abbas

Palestinians refused to acknowledge the plan and in 1948 attacked the state of Israel. During what became known as the Arab-Israeli War, pieces of Palestine were taken over by the neighboring countries of Israel, Jordan, and Egypt. By the war’s end, Palestine proper ceased to exist. Mahmoud Abbas began his life during this historic and turbulent period. He was born on March 26, 1935, in Safed, a town then part of the British Mandate of Palestine, but now an Israeli city. During the war of 1948 his family fled the area and settled in Syria. Abbas grew up in the capital city of Damascus where, as an adult, he taught school while earning a law degree from the University of Damascus. He then attended the Oriental College in Russia, where he earned a Ph.D. in history. According to Abbas’s CNN.com profile, he is one of only a few Palestinians to have formally studied Israeli history and politics. In the 1950s Abbas became involved in underground (secret) Palestinian politics. While living in Qatar (an independent Arab state located in the Persian Gulf) he, along with other exiled Palestinians, including Yassar Arafat, formed Fatah, a political group that eventually became the leading party in the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). The PLO was established in 1964 with the goal of creating an independent Arab state in the region by reclaiming land from Israel. It is composed of various Palestinian movements and is recognized by the United Nations as a legitimate representative body of the Palestinian people.

Early proponent of peace Both Abbas and Arafat rose in the ranks of the PLO. Arafat took a more public role when he became chairman of the group in 1969. Abbas worked behind the scenes as a security adviser and a fund-raiser. He spent much of his time traveling to Arab countries where wealthy Palestinians were eager to support the PLO cause. Abbas also became known as a peacemaker, preferring to distance himself from PLO military actions. Even before official negotiations began between the PLO and Israel, Abbas worked in secret with representatives from various Jewish groups to come up with peaceful methods of resolution. In 1977, in a major break

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

3

mahmoud abbas

with Arafat and PLO policy, he publicly announced that he was in favor of establishing a two-state (Arab and Jewish) compromise. For most members of the PLO, this was not an option; instead they promoted totally abolishing the Jewish state of Israel. In the early 1990s, peace talks began in earnest between the prime minister of Israel, Yitzhak Rabin (1922–1995), and Chairman Arafat. The result was the signing of the 1993 Oslo Accords. According to the provisions of the pact, Palestine officially recognized Israel and agreed to put an end to attacks on Israelis. In return, Israel officially recognized the status of the PLO and allowed Arab rule under the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) along the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. The Gaza Strip is a highly Arab-populated strip of land that runs along the Mediterranean Sea and is bordered by Israel and Egypt. The West Bank is another territory densely populated by Arabs; it is situated between Israel and Jordan. Both of these territories had been under Israeli control since the Six-Day War of 1967. In 1994 Arafat, along with Rabin, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, which is given annually to individuals or organizations who are key instruments of peace. Although Arafat received the award, many believed that it was Abbas who was truly the mastermind behind the peace accords. In fact, when Chairman Arafat signed the Oslo Accords in Washington, D.C., he was accompanied by Abbas. In 1996 Arafat was elected president of the Palestinian Authority. At the same time, Abbas had gained increasing power within the PLO, becoming secretary general of its executive committee. The two worked in close conjunction, although more and more Abbas started to become the public face of the PLO, in part because of his continued diplomatic duties. In addition President Arafat faced the problem of trying to control the various PLO groups. Although he had promised an end to violence through the Oslo Accords, several radical PLO military factions, including Hamas, denounced the agreement, claiming Arafat had betrayed his people. As a result, conflict continued between PLO and Israeli militants.

4

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

mahmoud abbas

Peace unravels Conflict continued to escalate, and peace negotiations began to unravel as the twenty-first century approached. When Benjamin Netanyahu (1949–) was elected prime minister of Israel in 1996, he attempted to stall Palestinian statehood; when Ehub Barak (1942–) took over as prime minister in 1999, negotiations were again attempted, but without success. At the 2000 Camp David Middle East Peace Summit in America, Barak proposed a compromise: he offered to give Arafat all of the Gaza Strip, but only portions of the West Bank, which would be used as a Palestinian state. Under Barak’s proposal Israel would maintain control of Palestine’s defense, borders, customs, and water supplies. Arafat refused the proposal, and in September 2000 the al-Aqsa Infitada, or Second Infitada, was launched. In Arabic infitada means ‘‘uprising’’ or ‘‘shaking off.’’ In this case the Palestinians felt they were justified in using excessive force to rid themselves of Israeli occupiers who had supposedly taken their land. As a result there were almost daily eruptions of violence, including suicide bombings, aimed at both civilians and political leaders. New Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon (1924–; elected 2001) accused Arafat of supporting PLO acts of terrorism and refused to negotiate with him any further. Since Abbas had become well known and respected for his middle-ofthe-road views, the United States and Israel pressured Arafat to appoint him prime minister. Arafat reluctantly appointed Abbas prime minister of the Palestinian National Authority on March 19, 2003; the two did not work together well. Arafat refused to share any real political power with the new prime minister and Abbas openly denounced the infitada and pushed for a massive restructuring of Arafat’s administration, which had for years been accused of corruption. There were tentative steps toward peace resolution with Israel when Abbas met with Prime Minister Sharon for a summit in June 2003. The negotiations, however, were cut short when PLO terrorist groups, including Hamas, continued to wage covert attacks on Israel—attacks that were supposedly supported by Arafat. Regardless of whether Arafat was behind the attacks, he

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

5

mahmoud abbas

prevented Abbas from using Palestinian military forces to suppress the uprisings. A frustrated Abbas turned for help to the Palestinian parliament (the rule-making segment of government), claiming he would resign if members would not help enforce a cease-fire. On September 4, 2003, just six months into his term, Abbas made good on his promise and submitted his resignation. He maintained that because of constant opposition from Arafat and members of parliament he could not move forward. In later interviews Abbas also revealed that death threats had been mounting and fear for his own safety prompted his decision. He also feared for the safety of his family; Abbas is married and has three sons.

Arafat’s successor According to a 2004 Time magazine article, shortly before his resignation a friend asked Abbas when he thought the Palestinian situation would improve. He supposedly replied, ‘‘When that man in there changes out of his khaki uniform.’’ Abbas was referring to Arafat, who was known as a showman in public and who typically wore a trademark military outfit and a kaffiyeh, the traditional Arab headdress. Abbas, on the other hand, tended to steer clear of the spotlight, and when in public dressed in understated Western-style suits. Although he resigned Abbas did not disappear entirely from politics. He maintained contact with key PLO leaders and continued his attempts to work with various Jewish groups. In a surprising turn of events, he was forced back into public view when President Arafat suddenly died on November 11, 2004. Abbas was viewed as Arafat’s natural successor, and shortly after the president’s death he was named chairman of the PLO. Not all PLO representatives, however, agreed with the choice. At a memorial service given for Arafat on November 14, gunfire erupted through the crowd, killing two bystanders and injuring four. Abbas emerged unharmed, but the event was considered an assassination attempt. Despite personal peril, when Fatah approached Abbas and asked him to be their candidate in the upcoming January 2005

6

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

mahmoud abbas

presidential election, the new chairman agreed. Over the next few months the world waited in anticipation for the results of what the press called the first truly democratic election held in the Arab world. More than one million Palestinians registered to vote, and on January 9, a reported 65 percent turned out at the polls. On January 10, after the ballots were counted, Abbas was announced president of the Palestinian National Authority, having taken approximately 66 percent of the vote. Although he was the decided winner, controversy still surrounded the election since many PLO factions, including Hamas, had refused to participate.

Frustrating first months Western nations, including the United States, saw Abbas’s victory as a hopeful sign for the future of the Middle East, but they also acknowledged that the new president faced an uphill battle. PLO militant groups openly resisted his authority. They made a strong statement on January 16, 2005, the day of Abbas’s swearing in, by launching a mortar attack against an Israeli outpost along the Egyptian border. Faced with such bold opposition, Abbas was forced to act fast, a quality he was not known for. According to a 2005 Time magazine article, one senior Palestinian official described him as a very careful planner: ‘‘He’s Mr. Calculator every time he makes a move.’’ During his first month in office, however, Abbas went against character and showed quick daring and resolve. On February 8, 2005, he attended a summit with Prime Minister Sharon, hosted by Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak (1928–) in Sharm-el-Sheik, Egypt. Both sides agreed to a cease-fire, with Abbas promising to crack down on Palestinian terrorists. Encouraged by the truce, the United States announced that international meetings would take place to move the Middle East peace process along smoothly. Sponsors of what was being called the Mideast Road Map included the United States, Russia, and the United Nations. The goals of the Road Map were to secure an official end to Israeli-Palestinian violence and to fully institute an independent Palestinian state. As a sign of good faith, U.S. president George W. Bush (1946–) pledged $350 million in

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

7

mahmoud abbas

Israel’s prime minister Ariel Sharon, left, meets Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, right, and Palestinian prime minister Ahmed Qurie, second right, in Jerusalem for summit discussions on Israeli pullout from Gaza and prospects for peace. ª Amos Ben Gershom/GPO/ Reuters/Corbis.

aid to help rebuild Palestinian territories that had been ravaged during the many years of conflict. As part of the summit pact, Israel agreed to release Palestinian prisoners, evacuate Israelis from cities along the Gaza Strip, and transfer more control to Palestinians in the West Bank. Sharon was clear, however, that peace talks would not move forward unless Abbas disarmed the Hamas militants. Shortly after the summit, Hamas terrorists launched an attack on Israeli communities along the Gaza Strip and Hamas gunmen raided a military base in Gaza City. In response Abbas fired twenty-five top security officials and visited Hamas leaders in person, demanding an immediate end to the aggression. On June 21, 2005, Sharon and Abbas met again for renewed summit talks, but reached a virtual stalemate over the future of the region. Following the cease-fire agreement made in February with Hamas, other PLO militant factions, including Islamic Jihad, continued to launch attacks against Israelis. As a result, Sharon accused Abbas of not holding up his end of the bargain.

8

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

mahmoud abbas

In response, Abbas countered that Israelis were not handing over control of Palestinian territories as promised. According to a report issued by the Economist, some positive changes had occurred: the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli soldiers had decreased by 80 percent; more work permits had been issued to Palestinians; and more than thirty roadblocks had been removed in the West Bank, which opened up access for Palestinian work and travel. On the other hand, according to the same report, ‘‘children continue periodically to be shot and life continues to be oppressively restricted.’’

Just getting started Despite a perceived sense of hope, political analysts and members of the press wondered just how effective Abbas would be. Mortimer Zuckerman of U.S. News & World Report claimed that in his first months as president, Abbas proved to be a ‘‘weak leader on all fronts.’’ Zuckerman pointed out that corrupt politicians were allowed to remain in office, terrorist attacks continued almost unchecked, and Abbas was bowing to Hamas leaders by allowing them to participate in government policies. In addition, some wondered whether or not Abbas was truly that different from Arafat, who ultimately pursued an independent Palestinian state at all costs. Representatives from the United States, however, remained positive. As one State Department official told Lisa Stein of U.S. News & World Report, ‘‘[Abbas] is doing pretty well, but he’s just getting started.’’

For More Information Books Abbas, Mahmoud. Through Secret Channels: The Road to Oslo. Reading, UK: Garnet Publishing, 1995.

Periodicals Rees, Matt, and Jamil Hamad. ‘‘Escaping Arafat’s Shadow.’’ Time (March 14, 2005): p. 24. Rees, Matt, Jamil Hamad, Amany Radwan, and Elaine Shannon. ‘‘From the Shadows to Center Stage: Palestinian Leader Mahmoud Abbas.’’ Time (February 21, 2005): p. 26.

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

9

mahmoud abbas Ross, Dennis.‘‘Mahmoud Abbas: A Palestinian Plans for Peace.’’ Time (April 18, 2005): p. 67. Stein, Lisa. ‘‘W’s New Best Pal—Abu Mazen.’’ U.S. News & World Report (June 6, 2005): p. 14. ‘‘There You Don’t Go Again: Israel and Palestine.’’ Economist (June 25, 2005): p. 43. Zuckerman, Mortimer B. ‘‘History Holds Its Breath.’’ U.S. News & World Report (May 9, 2005): p. 75.

Web Sites Raz, Guy, and Ben Wedeman. ‘‘Palestinian Moderate Abbas Claims Victory.’’ CNN.com: World (January 10, 2005). http:// www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/01/09/palestinian.elections/ index.html (accessed on August 22, 2005). Vause, John, and Guy Raz. ‘‘Who is Mahmoud Abbas?’’ CNN.com: World (January 15, 2005). http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/ meast/01/10/who.is.abbas/index.html (accessed on August 22, 2005). Wedeman, Ben, Guy Raz, and Andrea Koppel. ‘‘Palestinian, Israeli Leaders Announce Cease-Fire.’’ CNN.com: World (February 9, 2005). http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/02/08/mideast/ (accessed on August 22, 2005).

10

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

Iyad Allawi

. .

U X L newsmakers

ª Faleh Kheiber/Reuters/Corbis.

. volume 5

1945

. Adhamiyah, Iraq

Former prime minister of Iraq

F

or nearly thirty years Iraq-born Iyad Allawi lived in Great Britain, where he was known for his skills as a neurologist (brain doctor). At the same time, he was an important player in Iraqi underground (secret) politics. In the 1960s Allawi was a leader in the Ba’ath Party, a coalition of Arabic groups that worked to establish unity among Arab nations. Disillusioned by the direction the Ba’ath Party began to take, and especially distrustful of Ba’athist Saddam Hussein (1937–), who rose to power in 1979, Allawi defected and formed his own group, the Iraqi National Accord (INA), in 1990. In 2003, when the Hussein government was toppled, Allawi returned to Iraq to help rebuild his country. He served as part of the Iraqi Governing Council, which was established to temporarily run the war-torn nation. In June 2004, Allawi was appointed prime minister, a temporary position until the first post-Hussein free elections were held in January 2005. Allawi’s ten-month tenure was controversial, with many

11

iyad allawi

believing the strong-willed former exile was simply a substitute for the dominating Hussein. On April 7, 2005, Allawi’s rocky term ended after members of the newly elected National Assembly chose Ibrahim al-Jaafari (1947–) to be the next prime minister of Iraq.

Young revolutionary Iyad Allawi was born in 1945 in Adhamiyah, a wealthy district of northwestern Baghdad, the capital city of Iraq. Both of his parents were well educated and came from very powerful

...................................................................................................................

‘‘I want to see Iraq unified and strong.’’ families. For example, Allawi’s grandfather helped negotiate Iraq’s independence from Great Britain when it became an independent state in 1932. Allawi’s father, who was a doctor, served as a member of the Iraqi parliament. Both of Allawi’s parents were Shia Muslims, members of a branch of Islam that believes that the caliph, or leader of Islam, has to be a direct descendent of Muhammad. Islam is the national religion of Iraq, with 60 percent of the Muslim population following the Shiite tradition; the remaining 40 percent of Muslims belong to the Sunni sect, which believes that the caliph should be elected from among members of Muhammad’s tribe. Allawi led a sheltered life among the elite of Baghdad, attending the best schools in the country and spending his summer holidays in Europe. His world, however, was upset in 1958 when Abdul Karim Kassem (1914–1963) led a bloody revolution that overthrew the monarchy, or rule, of King Faisal II (1935–1958) of Iraq. Members of the privileged class who had been favored by the monarchy were frequent targets of persecution, and as a result many of Allawi’s cousins left the country. Allawi’s family, however, remained in Iraq where the young man became active in the Ba’ath Party, which openly opposed the

12

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

iyad allawi

Kassem government. As one of Allawi’s relatives told Jon Lee Anderson of the New Yorker, ‘‘The fact that Iyad became a Ba’athist when he did was not all that unusual for an Iraqi boy of his age and class. He became a street fighter, an organizer.’’ In the mid- to late-1960s Allawi remained active in the Ba’ath Party while he studied medicine at Baghdad University. At the same time he met a young man named Saddam Hussein, a rising leader in the Ba’ath Party. In 1968, when the Ba’aths forcibly took control of the Iraqi government, Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr (1914–1982), a distant relative of Hussein, assumed the role of president. Saddam Hussein was named vice president, but over the next decade it became apparent that he was the true leader of the country.

Controversial split In 1971 Allawi took up residence in London, England, although the reason for his move remains a controversy. In interviews Allawi admits that he was integral in facilitating Hussein’s brutal rise to power, but he also claims that he quickly distanced himself from the Ba’ath Party once he realized that Hussein was creating a dangerous and dictatorial political climate. Allawi claims to have moved in order to physically separate himself from the party and continue his medical studies. He obtained his master’s degree at University College in London and completed his residency (advanced training in a medical specialty) at Guy’s Hospital. Former colleagues of Allawi, however, claim that he moved to London for another reason—to continue to serve the Ba’ath Party in Europe as president of the Iraqi Student Union. On the surface, Allawi’s job was to promote the party and to organize Arab students who were attending elite London universities. In addition, he was supposedly tasked with keeping tabs on Arab students, weeding out any enemies of the Hussein regime, and acting as an informant for the Mukhabarat, the Iraqi secret police. Some intelligence officers even claim that Allawi was involved with the assassination of Arab students who openly opposed Iraq’s vice president.

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

13

iyad allawi

Allawi did eventually break ties with the Ba’ath Party in the mid-1970s while in London. At first Hussein attempted to persuade Allawi to rejoin the party. Upon his refusal to rejoin, Allawi became a targeted enemy, and in 1978 Hussein sent an axe-wielding assassin to Allawi’s suburban London home. Allawi and his wife barely escaped with their lives, and Allawi spent a better part of the next year recuperating in the hospital.

The Iraq National Accord While he was recovering, Allawi began to rethink his involvement in politics. As he explained to Jon Lee Anderson, ‘‘When I was lying in the hospital, I thought to myself, is it worth it, to continue and to fight Saddam, or is it not? And I decided ultimately my destiny and my country and whatever I stand for required me to fight. On the day I left the hospital, a Thursday, I went to see some of my friends, and I told them, ‘We have to consolidate now and we have to work actively to overthrow the regime.’’’ Throughout the 1980s Allawi worked hard to organize such a network, making connections with other Arabs in exile as he traveled on business for the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). Because he was a successful physician, Allawi was employed as a part-time consultant by the UNDP to establish medical training programs in developing countries. By the end of the decade, Allawi’s network extended around the globe and was composed of former military and political leaders who had defected from Iraq. In 1990, boosted by the strength of his numbers, the physician-in-exile formally announced the formation of the Iraq National Accord (INA), an organization that had the sole purpose of toppling the Hussein regime. The INA was further strengthened by the support of several international bodies, including the British intelligence agency, M.I.6, and the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Both organizations shared the same goal as Allawi: to remove Saddam Hussein from power. According to Anderson, the relationship between M.I.6 and the INA was particularly profitable for both parties: ‘‘For

14

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

iyad allawi

the British, Allawi was a powerful Iraqi whose knowledge and contacts offered a potential means of future influence there. For Allawi, the relationship with M.I.6 assured him of continued sanctuary in Britain and provided funds for him to build his own political operation while living in exile.’’ As a result, throughout the 1990s Allawi’s intelligence agents stationed in Iraq supplied top-secret information to Great Britain and the United States; in return both countries funneled millions of dollars of aid to the INA.

End of Hussein era INA intelligence was particularly sought after following the attacks of September 11, 2001, when terrorist hijackers crashed planes into the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. Although the attacks were never directly linked to Saddam Hussein, President George W. Bush (1946–) insisted that Hussein was a threat to the United States. In particular he accused Hussein time and again of concealing weapons of mass destruction. (Weapons of mass destruction are high-powered weapons, including nuclear, biological, and chemical, that can cause enormous amounts of damage.) Although Hussein denied having a weapons’ stockpile, President Bush demanded that UN inspectors be allowed in Iraq to look into the situation. In 2002 inspectors visited Iraq and found nothing; however, President Bush was not satisfied. In January 2003, he sent an ultimatum to Hussein: Totally disarm the country or voluntarily leave Iraq. If the demands were not met, the United States would invade. Even though there was no proof that Hussein was concealing weapons, Great Britain and the United States did have intelligence reports from the INA. An INA insider, who was also an officer in the Iraq army, claimed to have seen boxes of weapons that could be launched by Hussein within forty-five minutes. Although the claim was later found to be false, at the time it fueled enough support for the United States to invade Iraq on March 20, 2003. Three weeks later, Baghdad was captured and the Hussein regime was toppled. On December 13, 2003 Saddam Hussein was captured by U.S. soldiers.

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

15

iyad allawi

The INA had finally gotten its wish, but rebuilding Iraq in the aftermath of war was not an easy task. As a temporary measure, the United States established the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) to serve as an administrative body until June 2004 when power would be transferred to the Iraq government. The first task of the CPA was to identify top Iraqis willing to step into future leadership roles once the transfer took place. In July 2003 the CPA created the Iraqi Governing Council (IGC), which was populated by prominent Iraqis, many of whom had been in exile for years. Since Iyad Allawi was a longtime ally, he was one of the first to be appointed to the council. After a nearly thirty-year absence, Allawi returned to Baghdad to serve as the chairman of the IGC’s security committee, which was responsible for resurrecting Iraq’s army, intelligence services, and police force.

Allawi helps with rocky rebuild Allawi served as chairman of the IGC until May 2004, when the council unanimously voted him to be Iraq’s interim (temporary) prime minister. On June 28, 2004, the CPA officially recognized the government of Iraq. Allawi and thirty-one members of the new governing council were sworn in by Iraqi judges. Some Iraqis were surprised by Allawi’s appointment, given his long absence from the country. But the majority saw him as a man whose experience in intelligence and security would be beneficial in the crucial months ahead. And, as one women’s rights activist told Luke Harding of the Guardian Unlimited, ‘‘[Allawi’s] past as a Ba’athist and nationalist gives him credibility with the Arab people.’’ In his first official speech as prime minister, Allawi promised to bring unity to the country, specifically to negotiate peace among the three major ethnic groups: the Shiites, the Sunnis, and the Kurds (a nomadic people who are Muslim, but not Arabic, and who occupy the northern region of Iraq). After decades of political unrest, however, peace was not forthcoming. Internal tensions increased throughout 2004, and terrorist acts, such as car bombings, became daily occurrences. Allawi was

16

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

iyad allawi

forced to focus attention on forming a well-trained army and strengthening Iraq’s security. In the summer of 2004 Allawi created the General Security Directorate, an agency that was charged with counteracting local terrorist groups. Many members were former agents of Saddam Hussein’s secret police. Allawi also reinstated the death penalty for terrorists. There were rumors that Allawi himself had participated in executing seven suspects. In interviews Allawi denied involvement, although he did gain a reputation for being a strict ruler. Members of the press speculated that by perpetuating such rumors Allawi felt he would gain the confidence of his people. One of Allawi’s close friends reinforced this belief when he described a conversation he had with the prime minister to Jon Lee Anderson, ‘‘[Allawi] said Iraqis only respected brute force, and that was how he had to deal with them.’’ In November 2004 brute force reached a peak level when Allawi ordered a military strike of Fallujah, a city just west of Baghdad that was supposedly a terrorist center of operations. On November 7, 2004, thousands of U.S. Marines and Iraqi soldiers stormed the town, and over the next several days house-to-house searches were made to uncover terrorist activity. When the city was finally subdued, over a thousand people had been killed, including many civilians, and nearly ten thousand buildings were destroyed. Terrorist operations, however, continued to spring up in and around Baghdad. In response, Allawi closed down television and radio stations, declared martial (or military) law, and furthered his stronghold on Iraq.

Loses bid for prime minister Many people wondered if Allawi was just a Saddam Hussein substitute. Andrew Gilligan of The Spectator commented, ‘‘There are few signs that Iyad Allawi has been able to break free from the authoritarian habits of the past.’’ However, Allawi also had his defenders, especially in the United States and Great Britain. As Toby Dodge, a British expert on Iraq, explained to Johanna McGeary of Time, ‘‘Allawi was dealt a very bad hand: a collapsed state, a nonexistent army, a police force that kept

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

17

iyad allawi

Iyad Allawi and U.S. president George W. Bush shake hands after delivering a press conference at the White House in September 2004. AP/ Wide World

getting shot at and an insurgency that kept getting better. He had no choice but to focus all his energy on subduing the insurgency.’’

Photos.

Despite such mixed opinions and the fact that his time as the temporary leader of Iraq was turbulent, Allawi agreed to run for a seat on the Iraq National Assembly during the January 30, 2005, election. The focus of the election was to choose representatives for the 275-member Iraq National Assembly. Members of the assembly would draft Iraq’s new constitution to be voted on by Iraqis in October of 2005, and select a president and two vice presidents who would then appoint a prime minister and a cabinet. ‘‘Of course I want to be part of the process,’’ he told Jon Anderson. ‘‘I’ll press on with whatever I believe is right for the country.’’ Allawi waged an all-out campaign blitz, spending millions of dollars to spread his slogan, ‘‘A powerful government leads to a safe state.’’

18

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

iyad allawi

Iraq’s Revolutionary New Prime Minister: Ibrahim al-Jaafari

When Ibrahim al-Jaafari was named prime minister of Iraq in April 2005, it was a revolutionary moment for many reasons. For the first time in history an Arab country would be ruled by a Shiite Muslim. Although the Shiite sect is prominent in Iraq, Shiites are a minority in the rest of the Islamic world. According to Fareed Zakaria of Newsweek, al-Jaafari will be watched carefully and how he performs could have a major effect on every Arab nation. Ibrahim al-Jaafari was born in 1947 in Karbala, a holy Shia city located southwest of the Iraq capital of Baghdad. He came from a very conservative and religious family, and to this day al-Jaafari is a strict follower of Islam. For example, he does not drink, smoke, play cards, or go to the movies. In 1974, al-Jaafari graduated with a medical degree from Mosul University in Baghdad, and although he practiced family medicine he was also active in the Dawa Party, a Shiite political party formed in Iraq in the late 1950s to counter the rising Ba’athist and Communist movements. During the 1970s, when Saddam Hussein and his secular (nonreligious) Sunni regime took power, Hussein ordered a crackdown on Dawaists. Thousands were killed and al-Jaafari, who barely escaped assassination, fled to Iran in 1980. He remained in Iran for nine years, then moved to Great Britain, where he continued to practice medicine and work as a spokesman for the Dawa Party. In 2003 when the Hussein regime was toppled, al-Jaafari returned to Iraq to join the newly formed

Iraqi Governing Council (IGC). He served as the council’s first chairman and in 2004 became one of the IGC’s two vice presidents. According to a 2004 opinion poll reported by Martin Asser of the BBC al-Jaafari was rated Iraq’s most popular politician. The fifty-eight-year-old doctor was responsible for bringing the Dawa Party into the coalition of Shiite parties called the United Iraqi Alliance (UIA) and when the UIA took the majority of votes in the January 30, 2005, election he became a front-runner for the post of prime minister. In February 2005, before his nomination was confirmed, al-Jaafari, who is unusually shy and modest, spoke with Rory Carroll of the Guardian Unlimited. ‘‘I did not expect to be in this position,’’ he commented to Carroll, ‘‘but I will respond if I am called to serve my country.’’ Since formally taking office in April 2005, many have wondered if al-Jaafari is perhaps too mild-mannered to tackle such a hazardous and high-profile job. He does not have the boisterous and harsh personality of Saddam Hussein or the hard-edged demeanor of former prime minister Iyad Allawi; instead he is soft-spoken and moderate in interviews. Such a switch may prove that Iraq is ready for a change, especially since al-Jaafari’s early message was one of inclusion, not of retaliation or revenge. As he told Fareed Zakaria, ‘‘Ours will be a civilized and modern agenda that accommodates all Iraqis. We suffered from factional aggression and do not wish to replace it with a new one.’’

Eight million citizens cast their votes, which represented a 59 percent turnout. A coalition of Shiite parties called the United Iraqi Alliance won the majority of seats in the assembly, taking 48 percent of the vote and filling 140 of the 275 national assembly seats. Allawi’s party, the Iraqi List, came in third, with 14 percent.

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

19

iyad allawi

In February 2005 the United Iraqi Alliance nominated Ibrahim al-Jaafari, a longtime politician and medical doctor like Allawi, to be Iraq’s next prime minister. Following the election of the Presidency Council on April 6, 2005, al-Jaafari was named prime minister of Iraq on April 7; he was officially approved by the assembly on April 28. Allawi retained his seat in the national assembly, but it was doubtful that he or his Iraqi National Accord would wield much influence in the future. As Abdul Mahdi, another contender for the post of prime minister, commented to Johanna McGeary, ‘‘Allawi faced a terrible mess, and he used his power to give what momentum he could. But he was just a caretaker.’’

For More Information Periodicals Allbritton, Christopher. ‘‘A Talk with Iraq’s Prime Minister: Iyad Allawi.’’ Time (August 23, 2004): p. 32. McGeary, Johanna. ‘‘The Candidate: Iyad Allawi Says He’s the Tough Leader Iraq Needs. Do Voters Believe Him?’’ Time (January 31, 2005): p. 30. Zakaria, Fareed. ‘‘In Search of the Real New Iraq.’’ Newsweek (May 2, 2005): p. 35.

Web Sites Anderson, John Lee. ‘‘A Man of the Shadows.’’ New Yorker (January 17, 2005). http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/ ?050124fa_fact1 (accessed on August 10, 2005). Asser, Martin. ‘‘Profile: Ibrahim Jaafari.’’ BBC News: World Edition (April 7, 2005). http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/middle_east/ 4268143.stm (accessed on August 10, 2005). Carroll, Rory. ‘‘The Man To Heal Iraq.’’ Guardian Unlimited (UK) (February 24, 2005). http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/ 0,,1423829,00.html (accessed on August 10, 2005). Colwill, Richard. ‘‘Profile: Iyad Allawi.’’ Times Online (UK) (May 28, 2004). http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,1-1126480,00.html (accessed on August 10, 2005). Gilligan, Andrew. ‘‘The Strongman of Baghdad.’’ The Spectator (UK) (November 13, 2004). http://www.antiwar.com/spectator2/ spec509b.html (accessed on August 10, 2005). Harding, Luke. ‘‘Liberal Iraqis Welcome ‘Compromise’ Appointment of Temporary Prime Minister.’’ Guardian Unlimited (UK) (May 29, 2004). http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/ 0,3604,1227176,00.html (accessed on August 10, 2005).

20

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

Julia Alvarez

. .

U X L newsmakers

Jerry Bauer. Reproduced by permission.

. volume 5

March 27, 1950

. New York, New York Author

A

lthough she has been a writer of prose and poetry for most of her life, Julia Alvarez did not have a significant impact until 1991, when at the age of forty-one her first novel, How the Garcı´a Girls Lost Their Accents, was released. With the publication of Garcı´a Girls, Alvarez was viewed not only as an emerging Latina writer; critics also lauded her as an important new voice in American literature. In 2000, Alvarez broke into children’s literature, where she enjoyed equal success. By the mid-2000s, younger audiences were embracing Alvarez, who in true-to-life, and often heart-wrenching stories, depicts the struggle of young people who are torn between cultures. All of Alvarez’s children’s books received critical praise. In 2004, her second young adult novel, Before We Were Free (2002), was honored with the Pura Belpre´ Award. According to the American Library Association (ALA), the award is given biennially (every two years) to a Latina writer

21

julia alvarez

‘‘whose work best portrays, affirms, and celebrates the Latino cultural experience.’’

Island girl Julia Alvarez was born on March 27, 1950, in New York City, the second daughter of parents who were natives of the Dominican Republic, an island nation located in the Caribbean Sea. When she was just three months old, the Alvarez family returned to their homeland, where they lived on her mother’s family compound. The family enjoyed a comfortable lifestyle since Alvarez’s

...................................................................................................................

‘‘I am more who I am when I’m down on paper than anywhere else.’’ grandparents were rather wealthy and quite influential. Alvarez and her three sisters were raised along with numerous cousins by her mother, aunts, and many maids. Alvarez’s father, a doctor, was in charge of running the local hospital. Although they lived in the Dominican Republic, the Alvarezes maintained close ties to the United States. All of Alvarez’s uncles went to school in the United States, and the whole family was greatly influenced by American trends and attitudes. The Alvarez children ate American food, wore American-made clothing, and attended American schools. According to Alvarez’s biography on the Las Mujeres Web site, ‘‘the entire family was obsessed with America; to the children it was a fantasyland.’’ Life in the Dominican Republic was not always pleasant, however. During the 1950s, the country was headed by Rafael Trujillo Molina (1891–1961), a ruthless dictator who ruled through force and violence. Because of their grandparents’ social and government connections, the Alvarez family was generally safe from persecution. But Alvarez’s father was secretly involved

22

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

julia alvarez

in an underground movement to remove Trujillo from power, which put his family at risk. When his participation was discovered, the family was forced to flee the country and resettle permanently in the United States.

Transplanted American In 1960, the Alvarez family arrived in the United States with just four suitcases and moved into a tiny, cramped apartment in Brooklyn, New York. It was a far cry from the family’s magnificent home in the Dominican Republic, and the fantasy of life in America was soon shattered. Alvarez missed her cousins, and for the first time in her life she faced prejudice because she was ‘‘different,’’ a foreigner whose skin was a different color and who spoke a different language. As she told Las Mujeres, ‘‘The feeling of loss caused a radical change in me. It made me an introverted [shy, withdrawn] little girl.’’ A homesick Alvarez sought comfort in books. As she told Jonathan Bing of Publishers Weekly, ‘‘I fell in love with books, which I didn’t have at all growing up. In the Dominican Republic, I was a nonreader ::: and I hated books, school, anything that had to do with work.’’ One reason for Alvarez’s aversion to books in the Dominican Republic was that she was a self-described tomboy who preferred physical activity to reading. The other reason was that owning books was dangerous under the dictatorship of Trujillo. Words and correspondence were heavily censored and readers were considered to be intellectuals and potential troublemakers. The move to the United States not only sparked Alvarez’s interest in reading, it also ignited her interest in becoming a writer. Having to learn English caused the ten-year-old to fall in love with words. As Alvarez recounts on her author Web site, ‘‘Not understanding the language, I had to pay close attention to each word—great training to a writer.’’ Alvarez also claims that her cultural heritage, with its emphasis on oral tradition (telling stories rather than writing them down), made her a natural storyteller. ‘‘My family was full of great storytellers,’’ she explained in a 2004 AudioFile interview. ‘‘My father was always telling stories

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

23

julia alvarez

when I was growing up. It was how we all learned about the past and how we planned for the future.’’

Migrant writer Alvarez began putting her own stories down on paper when she was just fifteen years old. After graduating in 1967 from Abbott Academy, a private boarding school, she decided to immerse herself in the study of literature and writing so she enrolled in Connecticut College, located in New London. While there, she won the school’s poetry prize. Alvarez transferred to Middlebury College in Vermont in 1969, where she earned a bachelor of arts degree in 1971. Alvarez pursued her graduate studies at Syracuse University in New York and earned a master of fine arts degree in 1975. She also studied creative writing at the Bread Loaf School of Middlebury from 1979 to 1980. During this time Alvarez also became a much-published writer, with poems and essays appearing in a number of small literary reviews. Following graduation from college, Alvarez took a number of teaching jobs in order to pay the bills. In a 2000 Library Journal article, she called herself a ‘‘migrant writer’’ since she traveled all over the United States in her little Volkswagen, taking jobs wherever there were openings. Over the next thirteen years, Alvarez had over fifteen addresses. She taught creative writing to children in Kentucky, to bilingual students in Delaware, and to senior citizens in New Hampshire. She has also been an instructor at the university level, teaching at the University of Vermont, George Washington University in Washington, D.C., and the University of Illinois. Despite her teaching demands, Alvarez never stopped writing. By the 1980s her essays were appearing in national magazines such as the New Yorker, she was winning countless poetry prizes, and in 1984 her first book of poetry, Homecoming, was published by Grove Press. Alvarez really had no intention of becoming a fiction writer, but after the release of Homecoming, she was approached by Susan Bergholz, one of the most influential agents of Latino fiction. Bergholz took one look at some of Alvarez’s story ideas and immediately signed her as a client. She

24

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

julia alvarez

then began to send Alvarez’s work around to various publishers. In 1991, Bergholz found a publishing house, Algonquin Books, willing to take a chance on her talented client. Later that same year, Alvarez’s first novel, How the Garcı´a Girls Lost Their Accents, was published.

Strong Dominican women Garcı´a Girls is actually composed of fifteen interconnected stories that focus on the lives of four sisters, who like Alvarez, moved to New York from the Dominican Republic. According to a collection of literary criticism titled Voices from the Gap, the book recounts how the girls ‘‘struggle to find their place somewhere between the two distinct cultures to which they belong— that of the American mainstream and the old world from which they came.’’ Garcı´a Girls made Alvarez an acclaimed writer and remains her most recognized novel. The book also won critical acclaim, taking home the PEN-Oakland/Josephine Miles Literary Award, given annually to promising new multicultural authors. Alvarez followed Garcı´a Girls with the novels In the Time of Butterflies (1994), ¡Yo! (1997), and In the Name of Salome´ (2000). ¡Yo! is a contemporary collection of stories that revisits the characters introduced in Garcı´a Girls; Butterflies and Salome´ are works of historical fiction. In the Time of Butterflies introduces readers to the legendary Mirabel sisters who devoted their lives to fighting the cruel dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo. Called ‘‘Las Mariposas’’ (The Butterflies), three of the four sisters were murdered for their political activism just three months before the Alvarez family fled the Dominican Republic. In 2001, the novel was made into a film starring Mexican actress Salma Hayek (1968–). Alvarez delves even deeper into the history of the Dominican Republic in In the Name of Salome´, which takes place in the late nineteenth century and focuses on another female heroine. This time the central figure is Salome´ Uren˜a (1850–1897), whose poetry written during the Dominican

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

25

julia alvarez

Coffee and Literacy

What is the connection between coffee and literacy? Well, for Julia Alvarez one has naturally led to helping the other. In the late 1990s, Alvarez and her husband, Bill Eichner, purchased a 60-acre farm in the Dominican Republic. They named the farm Alta Gracia, which means ‘‘high grace’’; the name also refers to La Altagracia, the patron saint of the country. The rich, volcanic soil of the farm proved perfect for growing organic Arabica coffee, which is produced and sold all over the world.

Alvarez and Eichner used proceeds from the sale of Cafe` Alta Gracia to form the Foundation Alta Gracia. The foundation supports a school and a small library that serves the local farming community, which has a 90 percent illiteracy rate. Students from around the globe, including those from Middlebury in Vermont, have traveled to Altagracia where they spend part of the day working on the farm and part of the day attending workshops and teaching. According to the Cafe` Alta Gracia Web site, Alvarez and Eichner sell ‘‘coffee with a conscience.’’

Republic revolution made her a literary and political legend. Both Butterflies and Salome´ received high praise from critics and earned many awards, including the American Library Association’s Notable Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award.

From footprints to miracles Whether her books are based on fact or fiction, at the core of Alvarez’s work is the story of the Dominican Republic. As she explained in a 2000 Bookreporter interview, ‘‘Because of who I am, where I come from, what my heritage is, the stories I have to tell come out of a certain history, background and a certain spot on this earth.’’ According to Alvarez, however, although her characters tend to be from the Dominican Republic, any reader can relate to them because they share universal experiences. In the same interview, the author reinforced that what she writes about is the ‘‘human experience.’’ Alvarez continued to explore her Dominican roots when she branched out into the children’s market and released a picture book in 2000 called The Secret Footprints. At the heart of the story are the ciguapas, a secret tribe found in Dominican legend, who live underwater ‘‘in cool blue caves hung with seashells and seaweed.’’ Footprints was followed by

26

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

julia alvarez

Julia Alvarez and husband Bill Eichner look over coffee beans grown on their farm, Alta Gracia, in the Dominican Republic. AP/Wide World Photos.

the publication of How Tı´a Lola Came to (Visit) Stay in 2001, a novel for readers of middle-school age (eight to twelve), which centers on a young Dominican boy who experiences culture shock when his family moves from New York City to Vermont. In 2002, Alvarez published her first young adult novel, the acclaimed Before We Were Free. According to the author

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

27

julia alvarez

she considers the novel to be her best work. It also may be the most autobiographical. The story focuses on twelve-year-old Anita whose family lives under the Trujillo regime in the Dominican Republic. Told in a diary format, Anita’s entries recount watching her cousins, the Garcia girls, escape to America and the subsequent terrors that she and her parents must endure. Although Alvarez’s own family fled the country during the turbulent period of the 1960s, as she told AudioFile, ‘‘I wanted young people to know what life was like for the families who stayed.’’ Critics applauded Alvarez for her warmth and sensitivity in handling a difficult subject. Publishers Weekly called the novel ‘‘a stirring work of art’’ and declared that ‘‘Alvarez’s pitch-perfect narration will immerse readers in Anita’s world.’’ In 2004, Before We Were Free was awarded the Pura Belpre´ Award. That same year Alvarez published her second young adult novel, Finding Miracles, the story of Milly Milagros Kaufman who, according to a 2004 Publishers Weekly review, is a girl with ‘‘two names and two identities.’’ Once again Alvarez tackles the subject of a young person torn between cultures who struggles to carve out her own identity. When she is less than a year old, Milly is adopted by two Peace Corps volunteers who are living in her unidentified Latin American country. She grows up in Vermont and although she loves her adopted family, she is curious about where she comes from. She reconnects with her birthplace when she meets Pablo, a young refugee from her homeland. Miracles, like Before We Were Free, was well received, especially in the Latino community. According to Resource Center of the Americas, ‘‘Finally, a book for adopted Latin teens about their journey growing up in Caucasian families!’’

Not just a Latina writer By the mid-2000s Alvarez was no longer a migrant writer. She was a full-time author who made her home on an eleven-acre farm in Vermont with her husband, Bill Eichner. Alvarez continued to teach at her alma mater, Middlebury College, serving as

28

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

julia alvarez

writer-in-residence, teaching the occasional creative writing course, and giving readings. She also continued to produce in a variety of genres: The Woman I Kept to Myself, Alvarez’s first poetry collection in nine years was published in 2004, and a book for young readers, titled A Gift of Gracias, was released in 2005. Although she is considered to be a Latina writer, Alvarez balks at being labeled. As she explained to Voices From the Gap, ‘‘My main goal in writing is to make meaning through the telling of stories and to ‘remind us’.’’

For More Information Books Alvarez, Julia. Before We Were Free. New York: Knopf, 2002. Alvarez, Julia. Finding Miracles. New York: Knopf, 2004. Alvarez, Julia. How Tı´a Lola Came to (Visit) Stay. New York: Knopf, 2001.

Periodicals Alvarez, Julia. ‘‘Noah’s Ark Choices.’’ Library Journal (September 1, 2000): p. 168. Bing, Jonathan. ‘‘Julia Alvarez: Books that Cross Borders.’’ Publishers Weekly (December 16, 1996): p. 38. Review of Before We Were Free. Publishers Weekly (July 22, 2002): p. 180. Review of Finding Miracles. Publishers Weekly (November 29, 2004): p. 41. Rich, Charlotte. ‘‘Talking Back to El Jefe.’’ MELUS (Winter 2002): p. 165.

Web Sites Cafe` Alta Gracia Web Site. http://www.cafealtagracia.com (accessed on August 10, 2005). ‘‘Julia Alvarez Biography.’’ Las Mujeres. http://www.lasmujeres.com/ juliaalvarez/profile.shtml (accessed on August 10, 2005). ‘‘Julia Alvarez Biography and Criticism.’’ Voices from the Gap: Women Writers of Color. http://voices.cla.umn.edu/vg/Bios/entries/ alvarez_julia.html (accessed on August 10, 2005). ‘‘Julia Alvarez Interview.’’ Bookreporter.com (September 22, 2000). http://www.bookreporter.com/authors/au-alvarez-julia.asp (accessed on August 10, 2005). Julia Alvarez Official Author Web Site. http://www.juliaalvarez.com (accessed on August 10, 2005).

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

29

julia alvarez Legwold, Jane and Kate. ‘‘Review of Finding Miracles.’’ Resource Center of the Americas. http://americas.org/item_17545 (accessed on August 10, 2005). ‘‘Talking with Julia Alvarez: Julia Alvarez Interview.’’ AudioFile. http://www.audiofilemagazine.com/features/A1445.html (accessed on August 10, 2005).

30

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

Lance Armstrong

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

Joel Saget/AFP/Getty Images.

September 18, 1971

. Plano, Texas Cyclist

Lance Armstrong is one of the most celebrated athletes in the world, making history in 2005 by winning the prestigious Tour de France bicycle race for the seventh consecutive year. But he is more than just an amazing cyclist with phenomenal endurance; he is also a survivor who has inspired millions of people around the world. In 1996, Armstrong was diagnosed with cancer, and with the same fierce focus he brings to competition he tackled his illness and won. Since then, Armstrong has become a leader in the cancer community through the Lance Armstrong Foundation, which focuses on educating the public about early cancer detection and raising money to find a cure for the disease that kills more than half a million people in the United States each year. As Bill Saporito commented in a 2004 Time article, ‘‘Given Armstrong’s insane commitment to winning, cancer had better watch out.’’

31

lance armstrong

Cycling phenom Lance Armstrong was born on September 18, 1971, in Plano, Texas, a suburb of Dallas. His parents divorced when he was just a baby, and his mother, Linda, who was only seventeen years old when she had Lance, was left to raise her son alone. When Lance was three, Linda married Terry Armstrong, who formally adopted him. Linda and Terry later divorced, once again leaving mother and son on their own. Linda was devoted to her only child, and although money was tight she worked long hours as a secretary to make ends meet. Her determination and dedication proved to have a lasting impact on young Armstrong, who

...................................................................................................................

‘‘If you worried about falling off the bike, you’d never get on.’’ today credits his mother for instilling in him his drive and motivation. Linda bought Armstrong his first bike, a Schwinn Mag Scrambler, when he was seven years old. He immediately began to ride it every day and soon proved that he was a natural athlete. In addition to biking, Armstrong took up running. When he was in the fifth grade he began running six miles a day after school, and soon was entering long-distance competitions on weekends. Armstrong also tried team sports like football, baseball, and basketball, but found that he was better at activities, like swimming, that required endurance. When he joined the local swim club, Armstrong would ride his bike ten miles to early morning practices, then pedal to school. After school he would jump back on his bike and ride ten miles back to the club to swim more laps. Barely in his teens, Armstrong was already competing in amateur cycling races. He also began to enter triathlons, contests that combine swimming, biking, and running—all of his favorite activities. At age thirteen, the skilled Armstrong took home the

32

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

lance armstrong

top prize at the IronKids Triathlon, which includes swimming 200 meters, cycling 6.2 miles, and running 1.2 miles. In 1987, when he was sixteen, Armstrong turned professional in the triathlon. Because of his amazing success, that same year he was invited to be tested by the Cooper Institute for Aerobic Research in Houston, Texas. Researchers measured the amount of oxygen his lungs consumed during exercise and discovered that he truly was a phenomenon: Armstrong’s oxygen levels were the highest the clinic ever recorded, which meant that his lung capacity, so critical for endurance, made him a natural athlete. Although he was taking home top prizes as a triathlete, and raking in almost $20,000 per year by age seventeen, Armstrong’s real love was biking. He began training with more-experienced riders and quickly rose in the amateur ranks of cycling. Armstrong drew so much attention that when he was a senior at Plano East High School he was approached by the U.S. Olympic development team and invited to train in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Going to Colorado for six weeks would mean that he might risk not graduating, but the opportunity was too tempting. After taking private make-up classes, Armstrong did graduate from high school on time in 1989.

Professional cyclist Armstrong did not remain an amateur for long. In 1990, he became the U.S. National Amateur Champion. The following year Armstrong competed in the Tour DuPont, which covers 1,085 miles over eleven days, and finished somewhere in the middle of the pack, which was admirable given his young age. Later that year he won Italy’s eleven-day Settimana Bergamasca race, and in 1992, Armstrong competed in the Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. Although he came in a disappointing fourteenth, scouts and sports analysts predicted great things from the American newcomer. In 1992, when he turned professional, Armstrong was asked to join the Motorola cycling team. Life as a professional cyclist was not without its speed bumps. In his first pro race, Spain’s San Sebastian Classic, Armstrong came in last out of a field of 111 participants.

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

33

lance armstrong

Two weeks later, however, he wowed the racing circuit when he placed second in the World Cup, held in Zurich, Switzerland. Armstrong went on to have an impressive year in 1993. He earned the Triple Crown of cycling when he won victories at the Thrift Drug Classic, the Kmart West Virginia Classic, and the CoreStates Race, which is the U.S. Professional Championship. In July of that year, the young cyclist made his debut (first appearance) at the race that would make him a future celebrity, the Tour de France. The Tour de France is a three-week, 2,287-mile race that takes place in twenty stages, with competitors winding through the French countryside and pedaling up and down steep mountain landscapes. It is considered to be the most prestigious cycling event in the world and is a grueling physical challenge. According to Mark Gorski, manager of the U.S. Postal Service cycling team who spoke with Thomas Sancton of Time, ‘‘The Tour de France is like running a marathon every day for twenty days. Very few sporting events are that demanding.’’ The twenty-one-year-old cyclist, however, felt up to the challenge. Although he did not finish the race, Armstrong did win one of the stages, making him the third-youngest participant ever to do so. In August 1993, Armstrong easily took the title of World Champion at the World Road Race Championship in Oslo, Norway. He was the youngest person, and only the second American, to hold the title. Over the next few years, Armstrong’s star continued to rise in the cycling world. He placed high in race after race, and in 1995, he took home the prize from the Tour DuPont. That same year, although he came in thirty-sixth place, Armstrong finished his first Tour de France.

A different kind of battle By 1996, the twenty-four-year-old Armstrong was at the top of his game: He won his second Tour DuPont, and he signed a $2 million contract with the French-based Cofidis racing team. A bout of bronchitis (a lung infection) forced him to drop out of the Tour de France in early summer, and a weakened Armstrong had a disappointing twelfth-place finish at the 1996

34

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

lance armstrong

Yellow ‘‘Livestrong’’ bracelets, sold to raise funds for the Lance Armstrong Foundation, could be seen on the wrists of millions of young and old alike. Stephen Chernin/Getty Images.

Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. By the fall of 1996, he was still feeling tired and weak. He complained of pain in his testicles, and when he began to cough up blood Armstrong became alarmed. On October 2, 1996, just weeks after his twenty-fifth birthday, the young cyclist was diagnosed with testicular cancer that had also spread to his lungs, abdomen, lymph nodes, and brain. Doctors predicted a slim a chance for recovery—less than 40 percent. Armstrong, however, was not ready to give up. He read everything he could about the disease and changed his diet, giving up coffee, dairy products, and red meat. After consulting his doctors, Armstrong decided to forego the traditional treatment for brain tumors, which is radiation. Side effects

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

35

lance armstrong

from radiation can include a loss of balance and a scarring of the lungs, which would mean that he would probably never race again. Instead doctors performed surgery to remove the tumors, and then administered an alternative and aggressive form of chemotherapy. Between rounds of chemotherapy Armstrong continued to ride his bicycle as much as he could, and he never lost his determination to return to professional racing. At the same time, he was on an emotional roller coaster. As he told Time in 1999, ‘‘I had the same emotions when I was sick as I have as a competitive athlete. At first I was angry, then I felt motivated and driven to get better. And then when I knew I was getting better, I knew I was winning.’’ Armstrong’s determination to win paid off when, in February of 1997, he was declared cancer-free. Still physically and emotionally weak, Armstrong returned to training with a vengeance, but getting back on his bike proved harder than he imagined. His spirits especially dropped when he found out that his contract had been cancelled by Cofidis, who considered him to be a public relations risk because of his illness. Armstrong was fortunate to sign with the U.S. Postal Service cycling team, but his salary dropped from $600,000 (pre-cancer) to $200,000 per year. In his autobiography, Armstrong halfjokingly called his pay cut, ‘‘an 80 percent cancer cut.’’

Back in the game By 1998, Armstrong was again a dominant force in the cycling world. He placed high in several competitions and won the Cascade Classic, the Rheinland Pfalz Rundfardt, the Spring 56K Criterium, and the Tour de Luxembourg. In the summer of 1999, Armstrong was once again ready to tackle the biggest of them all, the Tour de France. The fact that he was able to compete at all was amazing, but the world was stunned when it became evident from the very first day of the race that Armstrong was a strong contender to actually win. In what many considered to be an awe-inspiring finish, Armstrong crossed the finish line 7 minutes and 37 seconds ahead of his nearest competition. He clocked in an average

36

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

lance armstrong

Tour of Hope

Lance Armstrong’s two greatest loves are cycling and the fight against cancer. Both of these are combined in a unique event called the Tour of Hope, a 3,500-mile bicycling trek across the United States. The event was founded in 2003 by Armstrong, in partnership with Bristol-Myers Squibb, the pharmaceutical company that made the medicines used in the cyclist’s cancer treatment. The goal of the event is to educate the public about the importance of early cancer detection, to raise funds for cancer research, and to show that there is hope for a cure. In 2004, twenty riders participated in the eightday relay that began on October 1 in Los Angeles, California. All of them had been touched by cancer in

some way: Some were survivors, others were researchers or caregivers or patient advocates. Members of the team made pit stops in such states as Nevada, Kansas, Nebraska, and Iowa to share their personal stories and to communicate the importance of cancer prevention and research. On October 9, greeted by thousands of cheering supporters, the riders reached their final destination, Washington, D.C. When the tired but enthusiastic team members joined Armstrong at the finish line, he declared the journey a success. According to Armstrong, as quoted on the event Web site, ‘‘The Tour of Hope is over for these riders, but what will never be over is hope.’’

speed of 25 miles per hour, breaking the previous record set in 1998. He also cemented his role as a national treasure, becoming the second American ever to win the contest. As part of the U.S. Postal Team, he was also the first American to take home the prize while riding for an American-sponsored team. Armstrong was happy with this win, but pushed himself for more. He went on to conquer every Tour de France over the next five years. And on July 25, 2004, he set a new Tour de France record by taking home the top prize for the sixth consecutive year. Tens of thousands of well-wishers, many waving American and Texas flags, gathered at both sides of the finish line to cheer on Armstrong when he coasted to victory. When he mounted the podium to accept his win, Armstrong’s most important supporter, his mother, Linda, was by his side. Sports analysts speculated whether or not Armstrong would try for a seventh Tour de France victory in 2005. At thirty-four he was a man in his prime, but as a cyclist he was decidedly middleaged. In February 2005, however, all speculations were put to rest when Armstrong officially announced that he would defend his

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

37

lance armstrong

title, this time riding for the Discovery Channel cycling team. On July 24, 2005, Armstrong conquered the 23-day race for the seventh year in a row, finishing 4 minutes and 40 seconds ahead of his nearest competitor. As he stood on the winner’s podium, Armstrong expressed his gratitude; he also revealed that he had completed his last Tour de France. As he addressed the crowd, he explained (as quoted on CNN.com), ‘‘I need a period of quiet and peace and privacy. I’ve had an unbelievable career. There’s no reason to continue. I don’t need more.’’ Opposite page

The 2004 Ride for the Roses event raised $5.5 million and drew sixty-five hundred cyclists, among them such celebrities as Robin Williams (center), Will Ferrell (behind Armstrong), and Sheryl Crow (right). ª Erich Schlegel/Corbis.

Race for a cure Armstrong is certainly one of the most famous athletes in the world. In fact, according to a 2004 Sports Illustrated poll, he was voted the ‘‘All-Time Greatest Sportsman.’’ His popularity, however, may have more to do with his life off of his bicycle. Armstrong is a devoted family man who has three children with his former wife, Kristin, to whom he was married five years. Since his bout with cancer, he has also become a symbol of hope for cancer survivors everywhere. According to Armstrong, in a quote that appears on his Web site, ‘‘Cancer was the best thing that ever happened to me.’’ Strange as that sounds, Armstrong claims that the disease had a ‘‘humanizing’’ effect on him. ‘‘Cancer is my secret because none of my rivals has been that close to death and it makes you look at the world in a different light and that is a huge advantage.’’ Since forming the Lance Armstrong Foundation (LAF) in 1997, the Texas-based cyclist has emerged as a leading spokesman and activist in the fight against cancer. And because of its many fund-raising and education-based initiatives, the foundation has become recognized throughout the world. According to the official LAF Web site, Armstrong’s belief is that ‘‘in your battle with cancer, knowledge is power and attitude is everything.’’ The foundation carries out its mission through four program areas: education (providing information and resources); advocacy (representing cancer patients and survivors in Washington, D.C.); public health (after-treatment support); and research (in 2005 the foundation funded twenty research projects through grants totaling $3.3 million).

38

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

lance armstrong

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

39

lance armstrong

One of the most well-known LAF-sponsored events is the annual Ride for the Roses, which began in 1997. The cycling event, held in Austin, Texas, has grown bigger each year, expanding into a weekend full of activities, including a health and sports expo and a rock concert known as Rock for the Roses. The 2004 Ride for the Roses raised $5.5 million and drew sixty-five hundred cyclists, among them such celebrities as Armstrong’s longtime acting friends Robin Williams (1941–) and Will Ferrell (1968–), as well as Armstrong’s girlfriend, pop singer Sheryl Crow (1963–). On October 2, 2004, to celebrate eight years of being cancerfree, Armstrong declared the day Livestrong Day. Five months earlier, in May, the foundation had the slogan imprinted on yellow rubber wristbands, and together with Nike launched the Wear Yellow Live Strong campaign. By the end of 2004, over twenty million people worldwide had purchased the bracelets, which sell for one dollar each. Profits go directly to raise funds for LAF programs. ‘‘I wear my Live Strong wristband every day,’’ Armstrong revealed on his foundation’s Web site, ‘‘I think the color yellow stands for hope and courage and inspiration, and that’s why I’m never taking mine off.’’ Whether or not he takes off his wristband, Armstrong will remain a symbol of survival. And, according to his Web site biography, ‘‘No matter what his path, he will travel it with the sure knowledge that every day is precious and that every step matters.’’

For More Information Books Armstrong, Lance. Every Second Counts. New York: Broadway, 2003. Armstrong, Lance, and Sally Jenkins. It’s Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life. New York: Putnam, 2000.

Periodicals Murphy, Austin. ‘‘Seventh Heaven? Not Satisfied with Six Tour de France Titles, Lance Armstrong Will Return.’’ Sports Illustrated (February 28, 2005): p. 21. Murphy, Austin. ‘‘Why Lance Is Doing It Again.’’ Sports Illustrated Online (February 23, 2005). This article is also available online at http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/writers/austin_murphy/02/23/ lance.email (accessed on August 10, 2005).

40

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

lance armstrong Sancton, Thomas. ‘‘The Ride of His Life.’’ Time (July 26, 1999). Saporito, Bill. ‘‘Lance Armstrong: A Commitment to Winning.’’ Time (April 26, 2004).

Web Sites ‘‘Armstrong Is Crowned Tour Champion.’’ CNN.com: World Sport (July 25, 2004). http://www.cnn.com/2004/SPORT/07/25/tour. armstrong/index.html (accessed on August 10, 2005). ‘‘Armstrong Wants Peace and Privacy.’’ CNN.com: World Sport (July 24, 2005). http://www.cnn.com/2005/SPORT/07/25/cycling.armstrong.ap/index.html (accessed on August 10, 2005). ‘‘Lance Armstrong Biography.’’ Kidzworld.com. http://www.kidzworld.com/site/p3667.htm (accessed on August 10, 2005). Lance Armstrong Foundation. http://www.laf.org (accessed on August 10, 2005). Lance Armstrong Web Site. http://www.lancearmstrong.com (accessed on August 10, 2005). ‘‘My Way: Six and Counting for Armstrong.’’ Cyclingnews.com (October 26, 2004). http://www.cyclingnews.com/riders/2004/ interviews/?id=lance_armstrong043a (accessed on August 10, 2005). Tour of Hope Web Site. http://www.tourofhope.org (accessed on August 10, 2005).

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

41

Christian Bale

January 30, 1974

. Pembrokeshire,

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

ª Axel/Zuma/Corbis.

Wales

Actor

Christian Bale has performed a feat that is astonishing for most Hollywood actors. Although he became a professional performer at age ten and a star at age thirteen when he played the lead in Steven Spielberg’s World War II epic Empire of the Sun, Bale did not follow the usual path of the child actor. Many fall prey to the temptations of early fame and quite a few struggle to make the transition to adult movie roles—not the Welsh-born Bale, who shunned the limelight and instead focused on building an impressive body of work. Acting steadily since the late 1980s, Bale has appeared in over twenty-five films, most notably American Psycho (2000), and the critically acclaimed independent film, The Machinist (2004). Even as an adult, the modest actor steers clear of the spotlight; but considering he donned a flowing black cape to appear in Batman Begins (2005), he may not be able to maintain his usual low profile. After all, everyone wants to know the man behind the mask.

43

christian bale

Born into show biz Christian Charles Philip Bale was born on January 30, 1974, in Pembrokeshire, Wales, into a family with a long history in entertainment. His grandfather was a stand-up comic and children’s entertainer; his great-uncle, Rex, was an actor; and his mother, Jenny, was a former circus performer. Two of Bale’s three older sisters even joined the business eventually: Erin is a musician and Louise is a director and actress. Only Sharon managed to escape the lure of Hollywood; she is a computer analyst.

...................................................................................................................

‘‘I don’t want to know about the lives of other actors and I don’t want people to know too much about me.’’ Because Bale’s father, David, was a commercial pilot, the family moved around quite a bit, which meant that young Christian was raised in several countries, including Portugal, England, and the United States. To this day, Bale credits this constant change as one reason he became an actor. ‘‘I not only inherited an aversion to the nine-to-five routine,’’ he commented to Graham Fuller of Interview magazine in 2004, ‘‘but the sense from my parents that being bored and boring is the worst thing that you can be.’’ When he was not traveling with his family, Bale was trying his own hand at acting. In 1983, at the age of nine, he landed his first job—a British television commercial for Pac-Man cereal. The following year Bale made his professional debut on the London West End stage, starring in The Nerd, opposite British comedian Rowan Atkinson (1955–). In 1986, Bale made the jump to California and straight into his first U.S. television appearance, in the NBC miniseries Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna. Several other miniseries followed, but it was Bale’s role in Anastasia that first caught the eye

44

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

christian bale

of the acclaimed Hollywood director of such films as Jaws and E.T., Steven Spielberg (1946–), who was casting a new movie called Empire of the Sun. The fact that Spielberg’s first wife, Amy Irving (1953–), starred in Anastasia may have had something to do with Bale’s good fortune. The young Welsh actor was not simply handed a role in Empire, however. He auditioned for the role along with four thousand other hopefuls, and was eventually cast in the lead as Jim Graham.

Conquers an Empire Empire of the Sun (1987) is an epic story that follows the harrowing adventures of a twelve-year-old spoiled, British aristocrat who is separated from his parents during the 1941 Japanese invasion of Shanghai. (From 1937 until 1945 there was on ongoing conflict between Japanese and Chinese forces to control China; Shanghai was an important Chinese seaport.) He is captured and imprisoned in Soo Chow confinement camp, where he grows up fast as he struggles to survive. The role of Jim would have been difficult for even the most experienced actor. Because he was at the heart of the story, Bale had to appear in almost every scene of the movie, which runs two-and-a-half hours. In addition, the role called for an incredible depth of emotion. But young Bale proved up to the task and received critical praise for his performance. He was even given a special award by the National Board of Review for Best Performance by a Juvenile Actor. The board is a prestigious New York-based film society composed of teachers, actors, writers, and movie-production workers. Along with the praise came a lot of attention, which the thirteen-year-old did not particularly enjoy. As Bale told E!Online, ‘‘I was very young and not ready for any level of fame and found that I disliked it. I felt like I was letting people down if I acted like a 13-year-old. That, I felt, was very unhealthy.’’ Bale frequently ducked out on interviews and avoided talking about himself in any depth. He even thought about quitting the business. ‘‘I suddenly started feeling like a freak because everyone was treating me differently,’’ Bale explained to Graham Fuller in 2001. ‘‘It was very confusing, and I did wonder if acting was for me anymore.’’

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

45

christian bale

But acting was in Bale’s blood, and Hollywood continued to call. In 1989, he was tapped by British-born actor and director Kenneth Branagh (1960–) to appear in the film adaptation of William Shakespeare’s play Henry V, and in 1990 Bale starred as Jim Hawkins in the television movie Treasure Island. In the early 1990s, Bale continued to take roles in films that were historic in nature. He costarred in the musical Newsies (1992) about a group of newsboys in New York City, circa 1899, who band together to form a union strike; and in 1993, Bale starred in Swing Kids, which focuses on young people in Nazi-occupied Germany who listen to banned swing music from the United States. Both movies required a great deal of physical effort and Bale spent months taking dance and martial arts lessons. His dedication foreshadowed future roles that would require even greater physical stamina.

Cyber pinup Bale worked steadily through the 1990s, making at least one movie a year. Again, he seemed drawn to period-style films, only now he was a grown-up, and he was being repeatedly cast as a mild-mannered gentleman. Such roles included the male lead Laurie in Little Women (1994), Stevie in The Secret Agent (1996), and Edward Rosier in The Portrait of a Lady. In the late 1990s Bale branched out and began to take on parts that were more edgy and challenging. For example, in 1998 he played a gay journalist exploring the 1970’s world of glam rock in the indie movie Velvet Goldmine. That same year Bale earned praise for his portrayal of Bobby Platt, a mentally challenged young man who is abused by his father, in All the Little Animals. By the end of the 1990s, Bale was in his mid-twenties and had successfully made the transition from spirited boy actor to a full-fledged adult performer. Critics considered him an up-andcoming force, and his fan base was enormous. At six-feet-twoinches, the young Welshman had sprouted into a handsome hunk who had a devoted following. And although he did not seek out the press, and he tried to stay under the radar, his fans, who called themselves Bale-heads, made him into a cyber pinup.

46

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

christian bale

In 1998, Bale was one of the most downloaded celebrities on the Web, and there were several sites devoted to all-things Bale, including CBFC, the Christian Bale Fan Club (currently non-operational), led by a Toronto-based man named Harrison Cheung. Cheung and members of CBFC launched a publicity campaign for Bale, contacting magazines, producers, and Hollywood executives to dig up projects and score interviews. In one amazing move, the CBFC even raised money to adopt a gorilla for the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, one of the charities that Bale supports. Bale felt the reason for his popularity was that he was basically a man of mystery. As he explained to interviewer Brendan Lemon, ‘‘I’ve only done interviews when it’s for a film, and tend to talk about the film and avoid talking about myself.’’

A man obsessed Legions of fans appreciated the power of Bale’s acting in the 1990s, but his real breakthrough came in 2000 when he was handpicked by director Mary Harron to star in the screen adaptation of American Psycho, a book written in 1991 by author Bret Easton Ellis (1964–). American Psycho caused quite a bit of controversy when it was published since its main character is a Wall Street executive named Patrick Bateman who is a brutal murderer. Critics predicted that the film would be equally controversial. Bale, however, was willing to take the risk. Because the character of Bateman is obsessed with his body, the actor prepared himself physically by weight lifting for weeks. Although the movie received mixed reviews, the buff Bale was universally applauded. According to Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly, ‘‘The strapping and virile Bale acts with a newly potent leading-man danger.’’ Following his performance in Psycho, Bale began popping up on many industry lists, including Entertainment Weekly’s Hottest Leading Men Under 30 and the The Most Creative People in Entertainment. The actor, however, had yet to truly become a household name. In the early 2000s, he did appear in some big-budget mainstream films, including Shaft (2000) and Reign of Fire (2002), but it was another physically challenging role that thrust him back into the spotlight.

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

47

christian bale

The Caped Crusader in the Movies

When Christian Bale starred in Batman Begins in 2005, he became the seventh actor to play the caped crusader on film. The story of Batman, however, began in May 1939 when the superhero appeared for the first time in a DC Comic called ‘‘The Case of the Chemical Syndicate,’’ written by legendary authors Bob Kane (1916–1998) and Bill Finger (1914–1974). Taking their cues from detective films from the 1930s, Kane and Finger created a hero who was part crime fighter and part sleuth, a regular mortal whose skills were developed through years of study and training. The origin of Batman was explained in Detective Comics number 33, published in December 1939: After young Bruce Wayne witnessed the murder of his parents he vowed to devote his life to fighting crime. Batman first appeared on the big screen in 1943 as a movie serial, which ran in theaters from July 16 through October 22. Lewis Wilson was the first Batman; his sidekick Robin was played by Douglas Croft. Robin the Boy Wonder, also known as Dick Grayson, was introduced by Kane and Finger in Detective Comics number 38. Grayson’s parents, like those of Bruce Wayne, died as a result of foul play. Wayne just happens to witness their murders, and afterward he adopts the young orphan and becomes his mentor. Batman and Robin appeared again on screen in 1949, featured in a movie serial that ran from May 26 through September 1. Robert Lowery was the second man to sport the black cape; Johnny Duncan played the tights-wearing Robin. It was almost twenty years before Batman returned to the silver screen. This time he was played by Adam West (1938–), who also starred in the television series Batman, which ran on ABC from 1966 through 1968. Like the cult TV series, the movie was a more comical light-hearted version of

48

. .

the original comic book characters. It also featured Burt Ward (1946–) as Robin, and a gallery of villains, including the Joker and the Penguin. In the 1980s, Warner Brothers (WB) purchased the rights to Batman from DC Comics, intending to make a film early in the decade. The project, however, floundered for years until executives finally tapped quirky American director Tim Burton (1958–) to take the reins. Michael Keaton (1951–) was cast as Batman, which caused some controversy since he was mostly known for his comic roles in such movies as Mr. Mom (1983) and Beetlejuice (1988). When Batman was released in 1989, all doubts disappeared. The movie raked in an astounding $251 million at the box office and ‘‘Batmania’’ swept the United States. The next three sequels in the series did not fare as well. In 1992, Keaton reprised his role in Batman Returns, which was a moneymaker, but not a critical success. When Warner Brothers replaced Tim Burton with director Joel Schumacher (1939–), Keaton declined to make a third go-round as the caped crusader. As a result actor Val Kilmer (1959–) stepped into the Batsuit in 1995’s Batman Forever. The cast also featured up-and-comer Chris O’Donnell (1970–) as Robin and comedian Jim Carrey (1962–) as the Riddler. Again, the movie did well at the box office, but fans and critics were disappointed by both the performances and the lack of story. In 1997, when Batman and Robin was released, not even Hollywood heartthrob George Clooney (1961–) as Batman, could save the day. The film did miserably at the box office and Warner Brothers shelved the Batman series for almost a decade. Batman Begins starring Bale opened in first place and earned over $183 million in its first month in theatres.

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

christian bale

Bale read the script for The Machinist (2004) and was immediately drawn to the main character of Trevor Reznik, a lathe operator who is so guilt-ridden over a secret that he suffers from insomnia for over a year. According to Stephen Applebaum of The Independent, the actor felt that he could ‘‘throw himself into [the role] body and soul.’’ And that is literally what Bale did. Reznik is a haunted soul and the constant lack of sleep begins to take its toll on his body. To play such a tormented man, Bale wanted to lose weight, so he began running every day and started a diet regimen with the help of a nutritionist. He was not satisfied with his weight loss, however, so he began to eat less and less. By the time he started filming, Bale was drinking one cup of coffee and eating an apple a day. He looked like a skeleton. He had lost more than 60 pounds and was weighing in at 121 pounds. Critics were astonished by Bale’s gaunt appearance. They were equally amazed by his stunning portrayal of Reznik, calling it precise and intense. ‘‘Bale’s haunted, aggressive and finally wrenching performance gives The Machinist a strong anchor,’’ observed Todd McCarthy of Variety.

Bale as Batman The praise Bale received for The Machinist were overshadowed by personal tragedy. In December of 2003, the twenty-nine-yearold actor lost his father to cancer. The distraught Bale was not even sure he was emotionally capable of taking on another role, but as chance would have it, he was offered a script that again appealed to him personally. And, again, he would have to put himself through another physical roller coaster. This time he needed to bulk up in order to play one of the most well-known superheroes of all time: Batman. Bale was not a comic-book fan, nor was he a particular fan of the previous Batman movies. ‘‘What attracted me was Chris,’’ Bale explained to Jennifer Armstrong of Entertainment Weekly, ‘‘and the knowledge that what was being aimed for was a reinvention of the Batman lore.’’ The Chris Bale refers to is young English director Christopher Nolan (1970–), known for such

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

49

christian bale

Christian Bale as Batman in the 2005 movie Batman Begins. ª Warner Bros/ Zuma /Corbis.

unconventional dramas as Memento (2000) and Insomniac (2002). In Nolan’s hands, Batman Begins (2005) promised to be a more intense film, more faithful to the original character, and with a full exploration of how Bruce Wayne, Batman’s alter ego, evolved into the cape-wearing crime fighter. This included how the Batmobile came to be, how Bruce Wayne’s parents died, and why Wayne is so close to his butler, Alfred, and his contact on the Gotham City police force, Lieutenant Gordon.

50

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

christian bale

Nolan pored over sixty-five years of comic books that featured the caped crusader and came up with a gritty story that fully focused on Batman as a tortured superhero. Because of the demanding role, Nolan needed just the right actor. As he commented to Entertainment Weekly in 2005, ‘‘Batman has no superpowers. So everything that he achieves has to be credible, believable, that a normal man could do it. I think that puts an enormous burden on the performer. Christian was able to deliver because he’s just got an incredibly focused presence on screen.’’ To prepare for his role, Bale, too, delved into the history of Batman, reading through various graphic novels, including Arkham Asylum (1997) and Dark Victory (2002). He also had to put on weight and go through intense physical training in order to endure acting in a rubber Batsuit for hours at a time. The shoot, however, did have its perks, especially since Bale got to work with so many Bat gadgets. His favorite was the Batmobile, which was a twenty-first-century monster of a car. ‘‘My heart was pounding every time I stepped out of that thing,’’ the actor revealed.

Staying power When the $150 million Batman Begins opened in June of 2005, Christian Bale proved not only that he had staying power as an actor, but that he was truly one of Hollywood’s most versatile stars. And as the star of a blockbuster, it was doubtful as to whether or not he could remain reclusive. Stephen Applebaum questioned the thirty-something actor about how he would react to the inevitable hype surrounding Batman Begins. ‘‘My hope is that I won’t have to put myself everywhere and become some sort of soulless, empty being by the end of it. But I have to wait and see. I may detest it and run a mile, or maybe I will be able to deal with it.’’ In the meantime, Bale finished wrapping up two more movies, The New World (2005) and Harsh Times (2006). In what little downtime he has, the former child actor devotes his energies to a number of charities, including Greenpeace, the World Wildlife Foundation, and the Redwings Sanctuary.

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

51

christian bale

A devoted animal lover, Bale and his wife, Sibi Blasic, have two dogs and three cats, all of whom were rescued strays.

For More Information Periodicals Armstrong, Jennifer. ‘‘Christian Bale: Movies.’’ Entertainment Weekly (June 25, 2004): p. 50. Cochran, Jason. ‘‘Christian Coalition.’’ Entertainment Weekly (October 11, 1996): p. 48. Fuller, Graham. ‘‘Christian Bale: He Has a Worldwide Cult Following and Critical Credibility, yet He Remains an Outsider. So What Drives This Shape-Shifting Individualist?’’ Interview (November 2004): pp. 98–101. Fuller, Graham. ‘‘Christian Bale Interview.’’ Interview (February 2001): p. 143. Gleiberman, Owen. ‘‘Chopping Spree: A Sharp Performance by Christian Bale as a Status-Obsessed Killer Makes American Psycho a Cut Above.’’ Entertainment Weekly (April 14, 2000): p. 46. Gordon, Devin. ‘‘Bat Out of Hell.’’ Newsweek (June 21, 2004): p. 64. Lemon, Brendan. ‘‘On the Trail of Christian Bale.’’ Interview (February 1998): p. 62. McCarthy, Todd. ‘‘Movie Review: The Machinist.’’ Variety (February 2, 2004): p. 82.

Web Sites Applebaum, Stephen. ‘‘Christian Bale: Cinema’s Extremist.’’ The Independent (February 25, 2005). http://enjoyment.independent. co.uk/film/interviews/article12667.ece (accessed on August 10, 2005). ‘‘Christian Bale Live: Take a Stab at the Star of American Psycho.’’ E!Online. http://www.eonline.com/Features/Live/Bale/ (accessed on August 10, 2005).

52

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

Kristen Bell

July 18, 1980

. Huntington Woods,

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

Vince Bucci/Getty Images.

Michigan

Actress

By the time she was twenty-four years old, actress Kristen Bell had a resume that most seasoned performers would envy. She had starred on Broadway while still in college and had several film credits under her belt by the early 2000s. But it was thanks to the small screen and her debut as a teen supersleuth on cable channel UPN’s hit drama, Veronica Mars, that shot Bell from obscurity to stardom. Although the show, which premiered in September 2004, did not fare well in the ratings, it struck a chord with a core group of watchers who immediately launched hundreds of fan sites. And even the most cynical critics were wowed by the quirky new program, its interesting dialogue, and especially the smart and sassy Bell.

From Detroit to New York Kristen Bell was born on July 18, 1980, in Huntington Woods, a suburb of Detroit, Michigan, to mom, Lorelei, a registered

53

kristen bell

nurse, and dad, Tom, a TV news director. Although her parents divorced when she was still a toddler, in interviews Bell recalls that her childhood was a happy one. Her father remarried when she was four years old but still remained close to his only child. Bell formed a bond with her new stepmother and two stepsisters. ‘‘I really feel close to both families,’’ the actress revealed to Michelle Caruso in a New York Daily News interview, ‘‘because I was split pretty evenly between the two.’’ It was apparent from early on that Bell had a talent for performing. From kindergarten through eighth grade, she

...................................................................................................................

‘‘Veronica has this inner strength that says, ‘I am woman, hear me roar!’’’ attended Detroit’s Burton International, a multicultural school for gifted children. She also took singing lessons and tap-dancing lessons. Bell admitted to Caruso that her initial attempts at acting were less than spectacular. When she auditioned for her first part in a community theater production of Raggedy Ann and Andy, the would-be performer ‘‘flipped out’’ and cried. Regardless, Bell joined the cast ‘‘in the complex dual role of the banana in the first act and the tree in the second act.’’ While attending Shrine High School in Royal Oak, another Detroit suburb, Bell continued to sharpen her acting skills by performing with Stagecrafters, a community theater troupe based in the same city. By age fourteen, Bell even had her own agent but, as she told the Detroit News, the budding actress chose to remain in metro Detroit so that she could ‘‘live like a real kid.’’ Plus, Bell was starting to make a name for herself locally. According to her high school principal, Thomas Kirkwood, ‘‘[Kristen] was very enthusiastic, driven and entertaining. It was clear that she would be an entertainer.’’ Shortly before high school graduation Bell was accepted to the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University (NYU). Her

54

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

kristen bell

joy, however, was short-lived. In 1998, right before her eighteenth birthday, Bell’s best friend, Jenny DeRita, was killed in a car accident. Jenny had been a fellow Stagecrafter, and she was the one who really pushed Bell to pursue acting. ‘‘My whole world was turned upside down,’’ Bell told Michelle Caruso. The heartbroken teen stayed in her room for days and even considered not going to NYU. With the help of her family Bell managed to pull herself together and headed for New York in the fall of 1998, a different person. As she told Caruso, ‘‘I realized my perspective had changed. I don’t take things for granted anymore. That was literally the start of my adulthood.’’

From stage to screen A trained soprano (high-pitched vocals), Bell studied musical theater at NYU, appearing in several campus productions, including the musical Hair. In 2001, during her senior year, she was lured to the Broadway stage when she was tapped for the role of Becky Thatcher in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Bell decided to quit school just four credits shy of graduating with her degree. As she commented to Jennifer Armstrong of Entertainment Weekly, ‘‘The weird thing is they gave me credit for bringing people coffee as an intern, but they wouldn’t give me credit for being on a Broadway stage every night.’’ In 2002, Bell continued her Broadway acting, appearing in The Crucible with Oscar-nominated actors Liam Neeson (1952–) and Laura Linney (1964–). She also starred in an off-Broadway production of Reefer Madness. Later that year, at the urging of friends, Bell decided to head for Los Angeles. Within weeks, she landed a part in the season premier of the police drama The Shield; she also had a costarring role as Alison Dodge in the Hallmark Hall of Fame television movie The King and Queen of Moonlight Bay (2003). After that, Bell’s career skyrocketed. In early 2004, having been in California for little over a year, she took the title role in the Lifetime original movie Gracie’s Choice, the story of a courageous high-school student who fights to adopt her younger siblings after their drug-addicted mother abandons them. The role was Bell’s

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

55

kristen bell

Kristen Bell poses with other members of the cast of Veronica Mars at an autograph session. Thos Robinson/Getty Images.

first big break, and the character of Gracie touched her heart. The twenty-three-old Bell turned in a mesmerizing performance, and critics predicted she would be an actress to be reckoned with.

Lands in Neptune Bell also began 2004 with a recurring role as Flora Anderson in HBO’s wild west drama, Deadwood. Bell’s next leap was to the big screen, where she appeared in the thriller Spartan, written and directed by legendary American playwright David Mamet (1947–). Although her role as Laura Newton, the kidnapped daughter of the president of the United States, was relatively small, it brought Bell a good deal of exposure. In fact, the film drew the attention of producer and writer Rob Thomas (1965–), who was casting a new television series called Veronica Mars.

56

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

kristen bell

Bell, however, was not a clear choice for the role of the lively seventeen-year-old detective. When Thomas created the series, he had not envisioned a five-foot-two, perky blonde with a sunny smile. Instead, he thought much darker. According to Bell, who spoke with Craig Byrne’s NeptuneSite, Thomas describes Veronica as a cross between Twin Peaks, an edgy drama from the early 1990s, and Dawson’s Creek, the teen soap opera that Thomas wrote for in the late 1990s. Regardless of her blonde, girl-next-door looks, Bell beat out seventy other hopefuls and won the part of the teen sleuth who is wise beyond her years. And Thomas was glad he cast her. As he told Jennifer Armstrong, ‘‘Without Bell, Veronica wouldn’t be the wry delight that it is.’’ The show is set in the upper-class, seaside town of Neptune, California, where everything is not as pictureperfect as it seems. Veronica’s best friend, Lilly Kane, is killed, and her sheriff dad, Keith Mars, accuses Lilly’s powerful tycoon father of being the killer. Veronica’s world is shattered. Her mother abandons the family, and Veronica, once one of the most popular girls at school, is suddenly an outcast. By day she bravely stands up to the taunts of her cruel classmates with the help of her new sidekick, nerdy Wallace Fennell. By night she turns into a savvy sleuth who helps her father in his new private investigation business. Her biggest case is figuring out who really killed Lilly. When Veronica Mars debuted on September 22, 2004, critics went wild and heaped praise on Thomas for his intricate plot twists and clever characters. Barry Garron of the Hollywood Reporter called it ‘‘one of TV’s only bright spots.’’ He further enthused that the show ‘‘has comedy, deathly serious drama, parody and danger, ingredients not typically mixed together. The result is a new TV flavor, and it’s delicious.’’ The press was especially kind to newcomer Bell. According to Variety’s Phil Gallo, Bell ‘‘gives a multilayered performance, and is as charismatic as she is tough and intelligent.’’ After only a few episodes, Kristen Bell was a huge hit on television.

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

57

kristen bell

The Original Teen Detective: Nancy Drew

Veronica Mars may be the new girl sleuth of the twenty-first century, but the original teen detective, Nancy Drew, is now over seventy-five years old. Although Nancy Drew originally appeared in print in 1929 she still shares many similarities with her 2005 counterpart. Like Veronica, Nancy was originally a blonde; she comes from a single-parent home; she works closely with her father, Carson Drew, a wellknown attorney; and she frequently solves cases assisted by her two friends, Bess Marvin and George Fayne. More importantly, according to ‘‘The History of Nancy Drew,’’ Nancy, like Veronica, is ‘‘the embodiment of independence, pluck, and intelligence.’’ Nancy Drew was the product of American author Edward Stratemeyer (1862–1930) and his Edward Stratemeyer Syndicate, a writing company that churned out popular series for young people. Favorite characters, such as the Rover Boys, Tom Swift, and the Bobbsey Twins, appeared in book after book, and eventually became literary heroes. Because readers gobbled up the stories, and Stratemeyer could not possibly keep up with the demand, he hired a crew of ghostwriters (authors whose work is credited to someone else) who fleshed out his original outlines. Young female heroines were featured in previous Stratemeyer series, but they were usually fairly traditional. With the introduction of Nancy Drew, a

new kind of independent woman was born. The credit is given primarily to Mildred A. Wort Benson (1905–2002), who wrote twenty-three of the original thirty Nancy Drew stories. (Although the name ‘‘Carolyn Keene’’ appears on the book covers, it was simply the pen name [alias] shared by the many writers the Nancy Drew series had over the years.) According to ‘‘The History of Nancy Drew,’’ Benson was tired of what she called the ‘‘namby-pamby style of girls’ series books, and she had no intention of characterizing Nancy as namby-pamby.’’ The feisty ghostwriter believed that girls could do anything boys could do, and she instilled that same feistiness in her character. Benson was twenty-four when she wrote the very first Nancy Drew mystery in 1929, The Secret of the Old Clock, and she continued to breathe life into her favorite girl detective for the next thirty years. When she quit the syndicate in 1959, Edward Stratemeyer’s daughter, Harriet, took up the pen and wrote the majority of the original series, which consists of 175 books. The early Nancy Drew mysteries are still being reissued by Simon & Schuster, which purchased the Stratemeyer Syndicate in 1984. The company also produces a modern-day version of the series called Nancy Drew: Girl Detective, as well as other spin-off series, including The Nancy Drew Notebooks and The Nancy Drew Files.

Fan favorite When the show moved to its permanent time slot on Tuesday nights, more and more viewers started tuning in until there was a loyal following. Hundreds of Web sites, such as The Temple of Veronica Mars, sprang up almost overnight. UPN launched the Official Veronica Mars Site, where fans could log on to chat

58

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

kristen bell

with their favorite teen detective. By the end of 2004, however, the fate of the show was in question. Although over 2.7 million viewers were watching the show every week, it was not doing well in the Nielsen ratings, coming in a disappointing 122 out of 133 programs. (Nielsen ratings were developed by the Nielsen Media Research firm in the early 1960s, and are used to gauge what television shows Americans watch during what times.) Despite the lukewarm ratings, UPN gave the green light to a full season of episodes. A gleeful Bell celebrated by buying her very first house, located in Los Angeles. And although committing to a weekly series meant long hours, sometimes stretching into fifteen-hour work days, the twenty-something actress was not complaining. ‘‘I just feel very lucky to be where I am right now,’’ she told Ray Richmond of the Hollywood Reporter. Bell felt especially fortunate to be working with such a wonderful cast and crew. She became particularly close to actor Enrico Colantoni (1963–), who plays her father on the show. ‘‘He’s one of the most generous individuals I’ve ever met,’’ Bell told Craig Byrne, ‘‘and has really like taken on the role of father in my life.’’ Bell also felt lucky to be playing Veronica, whom she considered to be a strong female character and a definite role model for young girls. ‘‘Veronica Mars is not like anything else on television,’’ she commented during a chat on E!Online. ‘‘It’s rare to see girls that empowered. She’s so scrappy and such the firecracker. It’s nice to be able to hold your own in a ‘man’s world’.’’

Feet still planted on the ground Like Veronica, Bell is frequently described as energetic in her own right. And in 2005, she was setting the entertainment world ablaze. In addition to her television program, she starred in two feature films, Fifty Pills, a college comedy, and the thriller Deepwater. Bell also appeared in Showtime’s musical comedy Reefer Madness. As she told Michelle Caruso, however, her priority was to ‘‘act her heart out to make Veronica Mars a hit.’’ Given her hectic work schedule, Bell has little time for anything else, but she does enjoy getting together with friends

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

59

kristen bell

to sing karaoke. She is devoted to her dog, Lola, who perches under the director’s tent while she is working. She also carves out time to spend with her boyfriend, Kevin Mann, a high school swim coach and independent film producer. And, despite all the celebrity hype, the actress remains grounded. I’m not involved in the business of becoming famous,’’ Bell told the Detroit News, ‘‘And that’s the advice I give to younger aspiring actors. Work onstage and do the little roles. In the end it’s not important to be seen. It’s important to do.’’

For More Information Periodicals Armstrong, Jennifer. ‘‘Bell of the Fall.’’ Entertainment Weekly (December 10, 2004): p. 36. Flynn, Gillian. ‘‘Life on ‘Mars’.’’ Entertainment Weekly (October 29, 2004): p. 59. Gallo, Phil. ‘‘Review of ‘Veronica Mars’.’’ Variety (September 20, 2004): p. 70. Garron, Barry. ‘‘Review of ‘Veronica Mars’.’’ Hollywood Reporter (September 20, 2004): p. 20. Richmond, Ray. ‘‘Spotlight: Kristen Bell (UPN’s Veronica Mars).’’ Hollywood Reporter (December 2004): p. 26.

Web Sites Byrne, Craig. ‘‘Interview with Kristen Bell (Veronica Mars).’’ NeptuneSite (January 10, 2005). http://www.neptunesite.com/ bellinterview.htm (accessed on August 10, 2005). Caruso, Michelle. ‘‘Kristen Bell Rings True: Why Star of ‘Veronica Mars’ Could Take TV by Storm.’’ New York Daily News (September 12, 2004). http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/story/230876p-198293c.html (accessed on August 10, 2005). ‘‘The History of Nancy Drew.’’ The Nancy Drew Sleuth Unofficial Web Site. http://www.nancydrewsleuth.com/history.html (accessed on August 10, 2005). Madden, Mekeisha. ‘‘Huntington Woods Native Is Over the Moon Starring in UPN’s ‘Veronica Mars’.’’ Detroit News (September 22, 2004). http://www.detnews.com/2004/screens/ 0409/22/d01-280930.htm (accessed on August 10, 2005). Nguyen, Lan N. ‘‘Kristen Bell’s a Tough Act to Follow.’’ iVillage Entertainment. http://entertainment.ivillage.com/celebs/interview/ 0,,73r3smcc,00.html (accessed on August 10, 2005).

60

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

kristen bell ‘‘Veronica Mars’ Kristen Bell Chats You Up!’’ E!Online (November 8, 2004). http://www.eonline.com/Gossip/Kristin/Trans/Veronica Mars/index.html (accessed on August 10, 2005). Veronica Mars Web Site. http://www.upn.com/shows/veronica_mars (accessed on March 26, 2005).

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

61

Carlos Beltran

April 24, 1977

. Manati, Puerto Rico

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

ª Mike Segar/Reuters/Corbis.

Baseball player

In baseball circles outfielder Carlos Beltran is known as a five-tool player. He has amazing fielding skills and a finetuned throwing arm; he has a high batting average and is a power hitter; and to top it all off, he can steal bases in the blink of an eye. During the 2004 Major League play-offs, Beltran utilized all of his tools, performing almost horizontal leaps to make tough catches and hitting at least one home run in five straight games to set a new play-off record. Although his team, the Houston Astros, did not make it to the World Series, Beltran emerged a star. Many teams in both the National and American Leagues courted the twenty-seven-year-old prized player, making him the most sought-after man in baseball. Finally, in January 2005, Beltran decided to sign with the New York Mets for $119 million over seven years.

63

carlos beltran

From Puerto Rico to Kansas City Carlos Ivan Beltran was born on April 24, 1977, in Manati, Puerto Rico. His parents are Wilfredo, a pharmaceutical salesman, and Carmen, a homemaker. Even as a youngster Beltran excelled in sports, especially baseball and volleyball. When he turned seventeen, however, his father encouraged him to give up the volleyball court in order to concentrate on baseball. Volleyball was fun and challenging, Wilfredo told his son, but with baseball he had a chance to make a good living.

...................................................................................................................

‘‘I truly believe God has me here at the right time. The Mets are the team I’m supposed to play for.’’ In 1995, after graduating from Fernando Callejas High School in Puerto Rico, the eighteen-year-old was signed by the Kansas City Royals to play in their minor league on the Double A Wichita Wranglers. An awestruck Beltran spent that first year learning everything he could from the many veteran players around him. The next year, feeling a little more confident, Beltran decided to teach himself a few tricks. A natural right-handed hitter, the rookie trained to bat lefthanded. Although it was a difficult task, and his batting average plummeted, Beltran felt the price was worth paying. He hoped that by becoming a switch-hitter, his move to the majors would be that much faster. In September 1998, Beltran’s hard work paid off when the Royals called him up from the minors. In his first shot at the big leagues, Beltran played fourteen games with a batting average of .276. Despite a disappointing start, he showed up at spring training ready for action. Beltran impressed Kansas City manager Tony Muser so much with his determination that he was

64

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

carlos beltran

kept on the roster for the 1999 season. In fact, Beltran was made the starting center fielder and the leadoff batter.

Rookie of the Year During his first full season with Kansas City, Beltran was on fire, and by mid-summer he had been moved to third in the batting order. (The player who bats third usually has one of the highest batting averages on the team; it is his job to move players forward who are already on base and to load the bases.) By the end of the season he had scored 102 runs and 108 runs batted in (RBI), making him the first rookie in over twenty years to top 100 runs and 100 RBI in a single season. For his impressive achievements Beltran was named the American League Rookie of the Year. Three days before receiving the honor he married his longtime sweetheart, Jessica Lugo. Beltran’s second season with the Royals was not a sweet repeat. A sprained wrist caused him to miss most of spring training, and a dejected Beltran fell into a batting slump. Then he suffered a bone bruise to his right knee, which was so disabling that Beltran was benched from July to September. As a result, the center fielder lost his starting position to fellow Royal Johnny Damon (1973–). When he returned to the lineup in early September he was sent to left field and dropped to number seven in the batting order. By season’s end, Beltran’s stats were less than spectacular. He was batting .247 (down from .293 in 1999) and he made a measly eight home runs compared to twenty-two the previous year. The Royals, however, remained confident that Beltran would overcome his sophomore slump. When Damon was traded to the Oakland Athletics in 2001, Beltran again took over center field— and he returned with a vengeance. During the next three seasons the power hitter came out swinging, surpassing even his rookie year stats. In 2003 Beltran was batting .307 and had connected for twenty-six home runs and 100 RBI. Despite Beltran’s success, at the end of the 2003 season the Royals finished almost last in the American League, and rumors that the star center fielder would be traded began circulating. The

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

65

carlos beltran

rumors were coming from both the Kansas City clubhouse and from Beltran fans. Kansas City is a small-market franchise in the world of baseball, and Beltran had essentially become too big of a star. According to Albert Chen of Sports Illustrated, ‘‘Beltran was an immense talent stuck playing in front of sparse crowds in Kansas City. He was Al Pacino playing at a local dinner theater, Bruce Springsteen jamming in a high school gymnasium.’’ (Pacino and Springsteen are respected as among the best in their professions: Pacino in acting and Springsteen in music.)

Ignites the Astros At the same time, Allard Baird, general manager of the Royals, announced plans to dismantle the team and start fresh in 2005. Knowing that he had no chance of keeping the now high-profile Beltran, who was wanted by almost every team in baseball, Baird made a three-team deal and traded his star outfielder to the Houston Astros. ‘‘The nearly desperate Astros got what many consider the best young all-around player in baseball,’’ noted John Donovan of Sports Illustrated. ‘‘The switch-hitting Beltran can do it all, both at the plate and in the field. He will instantly spark an Astros lineup that, curiously, has lost its way.’’ When Beltran moved to Houston in June 2004, the Astros were fifth in the Central Division of the National League, and the chance of them going to the World Series was slim. In fact, the team had never once been league champions. With Beltran on the roster, however, their luck was about to change. By October the Astros were the Central Division champs and they faced the St. Louis Cardinals in the best-of-seven game showdown. Sports analysts agreed that basically Beltran had carried the team on his back to within striking distance of the World Series. In postseason play, the Astros’ star center fielder racked up an amazing number of records. He set a new record by slamming a home run in five consecutive play-off games. When he cracked his eighth home run, he tied a record with superstar Barry Bonds (1964–) for the most home runs during a single

66

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

carlos beltran

post season. As a result Beltran found himself at the center of media hype. The modest outfielder, who is unusually polite with the press, shooed away all the publicity. In an October 17, 2004, interview posted on ASAP Sports, Beltran remarked, ‘‘It feels great just to be able to do something that Barry Bonds did. But at the same time, I’m just going out there and trying to do my job.’’ Although the Astros eventually lost to the Cardinals in game seven, Beltran had his best season ever. His batting average was .435 and during forty-five attempted stolen bases, he was caught only three times. Beltran also chalked up some impressive year-end stats. He became the only player in baseball history to have four consecutive seasons of twenty or more home runs, one hundred or more RBI, one hundred or more runs scored, and thirty or more stolen bases. Albert Chen commented, ‘‘There may not be a more thrilling player on the field.’’

Another trade At the end of the 2004 season, Beltran became a free agent for the first time, which meant he was free to sign with any team he liked. He considered staying with the Astros, but he was also being heavily courted by almost every other major league team. Beltran was represented by Scott Boras, considered to be one of the smartest and most clever sports agents in the business. Knowing that his client was the hottest property around, Boras made an astonishing announcement to the press shortly after the World Series: Beltran would only accept a contract worth $200 million over ten years. This would make him the highestpaid player in baseball history next to Alex Rodriguez (1975–) of the New York Yankees. Facing such a high price tag most teams bowed out, leaving only three contenders: the Astros, the New York Mets, and the New York Yankees. The Mets pursued the center fielder aggressively and quickly became the front-runners. As Boras told ESPN, ‘‘Starting at Thanksgiving, they called me 31 straight days. They checked in every day asking where Carlos was at [in his thinking], saying they wanted Carlos.’’ After a whirlwind courtship, which included a trip by managers to see Beltran

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

67

carlos beltran

Carlos Beltran steps up to bat at the beginning of the 2005 baseball season. ª Michael Kim/Corbis.

in person in San Juan, Puerto Rico, the twenty-seven-year-old finally made his decision. On January 9, 2005, Beltran signed a seven-year, $119 million contract with the Mets. In addition to his salary, Beltran’s contract came with a number of perks, including a hotel suite on all road trips, a fifteen-person luxury suite for all home games, and the lease of an ocular enhancer machine, a device that shoots colored tennis balls to batters at 150 miles per hour. But, for Beltran, the real

68

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

carlos beltran

draw was that his contract included a no-trade clause. After moving from Kansas City to Houston, the young man was looking for some stability. ‘‘When I was in Kansas City, I was always worried about being traded for five years,’’ he commented to ESPN. ‘‘When I was traded to Houston, it was not a good feeling. I didn’t want to go through that anymore. I would not sign without a no-trade clause.’’

Lights up Shea Stadium Signing Beltran was the richest deal in Mets history, but for them it was worth it. The team had not been to the play-offs since 2000 and they were losing their credibility in the eyes of fans. With Beltran they had a chance to turn their luck around. According to Alex Young of FantasyInfoCentral.com, ‘‘He would be the crown jewel of the organization. The marketing icon of New York. The man who can single-handedly restore the Mets to their glory.’’ In March 2005, it seemed that Beltran was already proving his marketing power. Ticket sales at Shea Stadium (home of the Mets) were up 25 percent over 2004 and corporations were snapping at the chance for sponsorships. By mid-2005, more than fifteen new sponsors had signed with the Mets, including Kellogg’s and Subway. Mets general manager Omar Minaya was ecstatic. He was also pleased with the amount of press the organization was receiving. Although not known for being overly charismatic, Beltran was always willing to give interviews and pose for pictures. In addition, in the sometimes rough world of sports, the young Puerto Rican was a welcome change. He never swears, he is always well dressed, and he is courteous and respectful. ‘‘He’s a gentleman,’’ Minaya told Peter Abraham of TheJournalNews.com. ‘‘Carlos is never going to do anything to embarrass the organization.’’ Some critics wondered if Beltran had not been grossly overpaid, claiming that his skills were overrated. They pointed to the fact that prior to the 2004 season he had never hit more than thirty home runs and that overall he was only a .280 hitter. Still others doubted whether Beltran could make it on the ‘‘big stage’’ of New York. Willie Randolph, general manager of the Mets,

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

69

carlos beltran

dismissed such concerns, citing the fact that just months after joining the team Beltran had emerged as a leader. ‘‘Guys watch how certain players handle themselves, and I think that has been the case with Carlos,’’ Randolph explained to Abraham, ‘‘The younger guys especially are paying attention to what he does and what he says.’’ And Beltran, himself, remained positive. As he told ESPN, ‘‘I have said this and I believe this: I can play anywhere I go. I know I can play anywhere because I have confidence in myself and my abilities.’’ Halfway through his first season in New York, however, Mets’ fans also wondered whether or not Beltran’s price tag had been too high. In July 2005 he was batting only .266, and when he returned to Shea Stadium following the All-Star break fans actually booed him. The All-Star game is played between two teams (one from the American League and one from the National League) midway through the baseball season. Players are voted on to the teams by fans. According to David Lennon, sportswriter for Newsday.com, a slow performance during the first half of the season was typical for Beltran, who throughout his career, tended to play his best games later in the year. And Randolph remained positive, remarking to Lennon, ‘‘We need him to have a monster second half, that’s the bottom line. And I feel pretty confident he’s going to do that.’’

For More Information Periodicals Clarkin, Greg. ‘‘Mets Bank on New Players to Cash In.’’ New York Post Online Edition: (March 13, 2005).

Web Sites Abraham, Peter. ‘‘Beltran’s Style a Hit with Mets.’’ The Journal News.com: Sports (March 9, 2005). http://www.thejournalnews. com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050309/SPORTS01/ 503090350/1108 (accessed on August 10, 2005). Chen, Albert. ‘‘The Real Thing.’’ SI.com (October 19, 2004). http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2004/writers/albert_chen/10/19/ astros.game5/ (accessed on August 10, 2005). Donovan, John. ‘‘Everybody’s Happy.’’ SI.com (June 25, 2004). http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2004/writers/john_donovan/06/ 25/ friday.ebag/index.html (accessed on August 10, 2005).

70

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

carlos beltran Lennon, David. ‘‘Beltran Hoping for Huge Second Half.’’ Newsday.com (July 14, 2005). http://www.newsday.com/sports/ baseball/mets/ny-spmside144342887jul14,0,3602272.story?coll=nymets-print (accessed on August 10, 2005). ‘‘Like Pedro, Beltran Gets Suite on the Road.’’ ESPN.com: Baseball (January 18, 2005). http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id =1969134 (accessed on August 10, 2005). ‘‘National League Championship Series: Carlos Beltran.’’ ASAP Sports (October 17, 2004). http://www.asapsports.com/baseball/ 2004nlcs/101704CB.html (accessed on August 10, 2005). ‘‘With $119 Million Deal Comes Stadium Tour.’’ ESPN.com: Baseball (January 12, 2005). http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id =1964440 (accessed on August 10, 2005). Young, Alex. ‘‘Carlos Beltran Recap.’’ FantasyInfoCentral.com (December 30, 2004). http://www.fantasyinfocentral.com/baseball/ mlb/team-news/20041230_the_carlos_beltran_recap_1230.php (accessed on August 10, 2005).

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

71

Pope Benedict XVI

April 16, 1927

. Marktl am Inn,

. .

U X L newsmakers

Peter MacDiarmid/Getty Images.

. volume 5

Bavaria, Germany

Roman Catholic Pope

For twenty-seven years, from 1978 until his death in 2005, John Paul II (1920–2005) served as pope of the Roman Catholic Church, the Christian church consisting of bishops and priests with the pope as its head. (Christianity is a religion based on the teachings of Jesus Christ, a prophet who lived between approximately 6 BCE and 30 BCE. In 2005 there were approximately 1.2 billion Catholics worldwide.) The pope also serves as the head of Vatican City, the smallest independent nation in the world, located in the heart of Rome, Italy. During Pope John Paul’s tenure his closest confidant and adviser was Joseph Ratzinger, a German cardinal (senior church official) who helped the pope create many of the Church’s public documents and stances on important issues. When Pope John Paul II died on April 2, 2005, Ratzinger was considered a front-runner to replace him, and on April 19 he was elected almost unanimously by the 115 cardinals who were part of the voting process.

73

pope benedict xvi

For years, because of his conservative views on such controversial topics as abortion (the deliberate ending of a pregnancy), Ratzinger was called ‘‘the Enforcer’’ by the press and members of the Church. Many feared that his call for a return to traditional values would divide believers in the Catholic faith. According to Andrew Sullivan of Time magazine, however, Ratzinger’s supporters ‘‘viewed him as the Vatican’s intellectual powerhouse, a man who rescued a drifting church from the sirens of modern life.’’

...................................................................................................................

‘‘Dear

brothers and sisters, after the great Pope John Paul II, the Cardinals have elected me, a simple and humble labourer in the vineyard of the Lord.’’ Early life in Nazi Germany Joseph Aloysius Ratzinger was born on April 16, 1927, in Marktl am Inn, a small village in the state of Bavaria, Germany. Bavaria is one of sixteen German states and is located on the southern border between Germany and Austria. Ratzinger’s mother, Maria, was a cook; his father, Joseph, who was in his fifties when his youngest child was born, served as a policeman for the state of Bavaria. Ratzinger’s childhood was a difficult one since he grew up during the era of Adolf Hitler (1889–1945) and Nazism. Hitler was the chancellor (leader) of Germany who came to power in 1933, when Ratzinger was just seven years old. He ruled brutally, and through the National Socialist Workers Party, known as the Nazi Party, he gained control of much of Europe during World War II (1939–45; war in which Great Britain, France,

74

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

pope benedict xvi

the Soviet Union, the United States, and their allies defeated Germany, Italy, and Japan). At the same time, Hitler created an oppressive atmosphere in Germany, targeting and exterminating specific groups such as people of the Jewish faith. The Nazi regime was also hostile toward the Catholic Church. The Ratzingers were devout Catholics, and Joseph Sr. became an outspoken opponent of both Hitler and his government. As a result, he was demoted from state police officer to rural law enforcer. In 1937 Joseph Sr. retired to the town of Traunstein, located in southeastern Bavaria. It was there that Joseph Ratzinger and his older siblings Georg and Maria spent their formative years. From the time he was very young, Ratzinger expressed his desire to become a Catholic priest. (A priest is a church official who serves at the local parish level.) The young Ratzinger began studying for the priesthood when he was only twelve years old, but his studies were cut short when he was forced to join the Hitler Youth in 1941, at age fourteen. Membership in the organization was mandatory for young German men. Ratzinger was a reluctant member and refused to attend meetings or participate in youth activities. However, he was required to do his part in the war effort. One of his jobs was to dig tank traps (deep ditches) along the Austrian border.

Road to the priesthood In 1943, when Ratzinger was sixteen, he was drafted into the German military. He was never involved in actual fighting; instead, as part of the anti-aircraft artillery corps he was assigned with guarding aircraft engine plants and various army bases. In 1945, along with other members of his unit, Ratzinger was sent for infantry (foot soldier) training, which prepared him to fight in actual combat. In mid-1945, however, just weeks before Germany surrendered, Ratzinger deserted (left without permission) the army and returned home to Traunstein. He was captured by American troops and was briefly held in a U.S. prisoner of war camp.

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

75

pope benedict xvi

After the war ended Ratzinger resumed his studies. He and his brother Georg, who also intended to become a priest, entered Saint Michael Seminary in Traunstein in 1945. On June 29, 1951, after completing work at the University of Munich, both men were ordained, which means they officially became members of the priesthood. Ratzinger pursued advanced studies and received his Ph.D. in philosophy in 1953, with the intent of becoming a professor of philosophy and theology (study of religion). For the next twenty years he held posts at several universities, including the University of Bonn, the University of Tubingen, and the University of Regensburg. From the start of his teaching career, Ratzinger earned a reputation as a learned scholar and a gifted lecturer. His classes were overflowing and, as one former student explained to Christopher Dickey of Newsweek, ‘‘He fascinated all of us with his wonderful, angelic voice, his clear language, his deep intellect and powerful faith.’’ Ratzinger was also viewed with respect by his colleagues, and by the early 1960s he was already an influential theologian. In 1962 his status increased when he was asked to serve as a consultant during the Second Vatican Council. Sessions of the Vatican Council were held between 1962 and 1965, with the goal of modifying Church policies and structures so they would be more in line with changes in contemporary society. At the end of the council sessions Ratzinger was known as a reformer, who felt that the Church was too bound by rules, and that control of the Church government was held too tightly by the Pope. He expressed these views in one of his most important works, Introduction to Christianity, which was published in 1968. Although Ratzinger was an advocate of structural reform, he also was a firm believer in adhering to traditional Catholic teachings. As a result, during the late 1960s he found himself at odds with radical Christian groups that were springing up in Germany. In particular, there was a call among German students for gay rights, which led to frequent uprisings at the University of Tubingen. Ratzinger denounced such beliefs, and he left Tubingen in 1969. Later that year he became the dean of theology at the University of Regensburg.

76

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

pope benedict xvi

From Servant of God to Patron Saint

In the Roman Catholic Church a saint is someone who lived an exceptionally holy life on Earth. After his death, this person acts as a mediator between the living and God. For example, Saint Christopher is the patron saint of travelers. According to legend, during the third century Christopher was a giant of a man who performed so many miracles that he converted a great number of people to Christianity. The Roman Emperor Decius (c. 201–251) was so enraged that he had Christopher tortured and killed. Christopher was made a saint, and today many people wear Saint Christopher medals as protection during trips. The process of becoming a saint, which means being formally recognized, or canonized, by the Church is often quite lengthy. It can sometimes take years or even centuries. The individual’s life is thoroughly scrutinized by Church officials and there must be extensive proof that he or she lived a truly holy life. Any person being considered for sainthood is given the title Servant of God. This title is usually not bestowed until someone has been dead for five years. However, when Pope John Paul II died in

April 2, 2005, he was so enormously popular that during his funeral mourners called out ‘‘Saint now!’’ On May 14, in an unprecedented move, Benedict XVI ignored the five-year waiting period and began the process of canonization for John Paul II. Once there is legitimate proof that an individual has performed truly heroic feats, such as being martyred (killed) for his beliefs, the title of Venerable is bestowed. The next step is to prove that an individual, while living, performed at least one miracle, which then earns them the title Blessed. When someone achieves this stage, they are beatified, which means they are recognized as a patron in a local region and are celebrated on a particular day of the calendar year known as a feast day. Once an individual is recognized universally by the Church he or she becomes a saint. According to Jeff Israely of Time magazine, Pope John Paul II was considered to be head of a ‘‘saintmaking factory.’’ Between 1978 and 2005 he beatified 1,340 individuals and canonized 482 saints. In that twenty-seven year period he processed more saints than in the previous five centuries combined.

Becomes trusted confidant Through the mid-1970s Ratzinger’s reputation continued to grow. In 1972 he cofounded the religious journal Communio, which eventually became one of the most influential publications devoted to Catholic philosophy. In March 1977 he took the first step on the ladder to the papacy when he was named Archbishop of Munich. Just three months later Ratzinger was made a cardinal by Pope Paul VI (1897–1978). In the Catholic Church hierarchy, the order of authority includes: priest at the local level; bishop (head of a larger territory, called a diocese); archbishop (elevated bishop who presides over a particularly important diocese); and cardinal (cardinals rank just below the pope and are appointed by the pope).

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

77

pope benedict xvi

Two of the primary duties of a cardinal are to serve as an adviser to the pope on religious matters and to vote during papal elections, called a conclave. On August 6, 1978, when Pope Paul VI died, Ratzinger participated in his first conclave, which elected John Paul I (1912–1978). John Paul I served as pope for only thirty-three days and then died of a heart attack—one of the shortest papacies in history. In October 1978, the conclave of cardinals elected John Paul II, who presided over the Catholic Church for over twenty-five years. During that time Ratzinger became the pope’s special ally and trusted confidant. The two had known each other since their days on the Second Vatican Council and they both shared the same conservative religious views. In 1981 Pope John Paul II called Ratzinger to Rome to serve as prefect (head) of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which is the main body in the Church that makes decisions on Catholic teachings and beliefs. Throughout his tenure Ratzinger became a spokesman for maintaining conservative religious beliefs. For example, he was an opponent of abortion, sex outside of marriage, gay rights, and any type of birth control. At one point, according to People, he even denounced rock music as a ‘‘vehicle of antireligion.’’ When theologians or church officials took a more open view, Ratzinger frequently suspended or fired them. As a result, he became known as the Enforcer. In the early 1990s Ratzinger suffered a stroke (a blockage of blood to the brain), which affected his eyesight and weakened his heart. Because of his health problems he tried to resign from his post at least twice, but both times Pope John Paul II refused his resignation. Ratzinger remained in Rome partly because of his extreme devotion to John Paul II, and, as George Weigel of Newsweek commented, he was a man ‘‘who long ago handed his life over to the will of God.

Conclave of 2005 In 1998 Pope John Paul II named Ratzinger vice-dean of the College of Cardinals; he was appointed dean in 2002. The College of Cardinals is composed of all the cardinals in the Catholic

78

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

pope benedict xvi

Church. The number of cardinals at any given time depends on the pope’s discretion; in 2005 there were 183. According to religious commentators John Paul II had strategic motives for placing his adviser in such an important position. Knowing that his health was failing, the pope wanted to be sure that his successor would be someone who shared his traditional beliefs. Even if Ratzinger was not elected, he would be key in the decision-making process. In February 2005, eighty-four-year-old Pope John Paul II, who had been ill for several years, was hospitalized at least twice. In March the press reported that he was near death, and on April 2, 2005, the Vatican officially announced that Pope John Paul II had died. Millions kept vigil outside his apartment in the Vatican, and Catholics worldwide mourned the loss of the pope who had been particularly loved by followers throughout his life. In the days following John Paul II’s death, Ratzinger was in the public eye a great deal. He presided over the pope’s funeral and made himself available to all the cardinals who were gathering in Rome for the papal conclave. Fluent in several languages, he spoke to them in Spanish, German, French, English, and Italian. He also led the meetings leading up to the official papal election. As one Vatican expert commented to Jeff Israely of Time, ‘‘Ratzinger seems to have grabbed the ball and run with it for two weeks.’’ On April 18, 2005, the 117 cardinals who were eligible to vote (those under the age of eighty) met to decide on the next pope. During the first round of ballots, Ratzinger emerged as the front-runner but did not take a majority of votes. The indecision was announced to the world via black smoke rising from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel, which is the chapel located in the Vatican palace. On April 19, Ratzinger inched closer to becoming pope during the second and third rounds of voting. That evening, after the fourth round of ballots was counted, he had reached 95 out of 117 votes. Only 77 were required to ensure him the papacy. At 6:00 PM white smoke billowed out of the chimney of the chapel and the bells of St. Peter’s Basilica (a church in Rome) rang out confirming that a new pope was officially in place.

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

79

pope benedict xvi

Pope Benedict XVI surrounds himself with local children on a visit to Introd, Italy. Giuseppe Cacace/Getty Images.

Filling the pope’s shoes

80

U X L newsmakers

Although it is not required, it is customary for popes to change names upon taking office. Immediately after the votes were confirmed, Jorge Cardinal Arturo Medina Estevez, who was charged with introducing the new pope, asked Ratzinger what name he would assume. According to the press he did not hesitate and replied ‘‘Benedict XVI.’’ One Vatican expert, who spoke with Jeff Israely, commented, ‘‘In the past there’s been a wait while the new Pope pondered the question for 10 minutes or so. Not so this time. Ratzinger ::: was prepared.’’ Later in April, during one of his first public appearances, the new pope explained his name choice. He acknowledged Pope Benedict XV (1854–1922), who reigned during the turbulent years of World War I (1914–18; war in which Great Britain, France, the United States, and their allies defeated Germany, Austria-Hungary, and their allies), and Saint Benedict of Norcia (c. 480–543), one of the patron saints of Europe.

. .

. volume 5

pope benedict xvi

In the months following his inauguration, many seemed divided over what they could expect during the reign of the latest Pope Benedict. Until his last years, Pope John Paul II was an extremely dynamic man, and despite his conservative views, he was beloved by people both inside and outside the Catholic Church. Prior to becoming pope, Ratzinger was known for possessing a warm sense of humor, but he was also a studious man who protected his privacy. Since assuming the role of pope he made it a priority to appear frequently in the press and to interact regularly with the public. In fact, he tended to travel in an open popemobile (a specially designed papal car) so that he could visit more freely. The greatest concern remained whether or not his ultraconservative position would divide the over one billion Catholics who lived around the world, many of whom were Christian in their beliefs, but who wanted to see Church teachings reflect the ever-changing, more-accepting society. During several early public statements, the new pope made it clear that he remained steadfast in his convictions and that change would not be forthcoming. In May 2005 he condemned a Spanish law that would allow for gay adoptions, and in a conference held in Rome in June he condemned same-sex marriages and abortion. Benedict XVI had many supporters. The cardinals who elected him considered him to be a capable manager and leader. And, according to one American theology student who spoke with Jay Tolson of U.S. News & World Report, the German pope is just what the Church needed: ‘‘He will be clear and forceful, and he will bring integrity to the church. There is nothing more attractive than a faith that is strong.’’

For More Information Books Allen, John L. The Rise of Benedict XVI: The Inside Story of How the Pope was Elected and Where He Will Take the Catholic Church. New York: Doubleday, 2005.

Periodicals ‘‘The Cardinals’ Choice: Joseph Ratzinger—Now Benedict XVI— Takes on the Legacy of John Paul II.’’ People (May 2, 2005): p. 62.

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

81

pope benedict xvi Dickey, Christopher, and Melinda Henneberger. ‘‘The Vision of Benedict XVI.’’ Newsweek (May 2, 2005): p. 40. Israely, Jeff. ‘‘The Conquest of Rome.’’ Time (May 2, 2005): p. 32. Israely, Jeff. ‘‘The Man Who Would Be Ratzinger.’’ Time (May 23, 2005): p. 18. ‘‘Pope Pledges Dialogue to Serve Humanity.’’ America (May 9, 2005): p. 5. Scherer-Emunds, Meinrad. ‘‘How Will Benedict Rule? An Interview with Dietmar Mieth.’’ U.S. Catholic (June 2005): pp. 30–35. Sullivan, Andrew. ‘‘Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger: The Pope’s Theological Enforcer.’’ Time (April 18, 2005): p. 58. Tolson, Jay. ‘‘Defender of the Faith.’’ U.S. News & World Report (May 2, 2005): pp. 26–30. Weigel, George. ‘‘Perspective: The Real Benedict.’’ Newsweek (May 2, 2005): p. 48.

Web Sites ‘‘Biography of His Holiness Benedict XVI.’’ The Vatican Web site. http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/biography/ documents/hf_ben-xvi_bio_20050419_short-biography_en.html (accessed on August 23, 2005). ‘‘Pope Benedict XVI—In Depth.’’ BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/ 1/hi/in_depth/world/2005/pope_benedict_xvi/default.stm (accessed on August 23, 2005).

82

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

Gail Berman

. .

U X L newsmakers

Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images.

. volume 5

1956

Television and film executive

By the mid-2000s, despite a constant roller coaster ride in the ratings, the Fox channel emerged as one of the edgiest and most innovative networks on television. The reason for its success was a dedicated and creative staff, led by the charismatic Gail Berman. In 2000, Berman was named president of Fox Broadcasting, becoming the first female to hold the position. Given the cutthroat nature of television, and the fact that executives tended to change jobs often at Fox, many wondered just how long she would last. During her tenure with Fox, Berman helped resurrect the struggling network by introducing such Nielsen chart-toppers as American Idol, 24, and The O.C. In early 2004, in a not-so-surprising move, Berman was promoted to chairman of Fox Television Entertainment Group, a subsidiary of Fox Entertainment, a company worth a reported $31 billion. Even before she was put in charge of Fox’s TV programming Berman was considered to be one of television’s

83

gail berman

heavyweights. And soon Hollywood came calling: in March 2005 Berman left Fox and the world of television to become president of Paramount Pictures.

Broadway bound Fox chairman Gail Berman was born circa 1956 and attended the University of Maryland in College Park. Her first love was drama, and in 1978 she graduated with a major in theater. ‘‘I was a big Broadway snob,’’ Berman told Kevin Downey of Broadcasting & Cable, ‘‘and I thought my life

...................................................................................................................

‘‘One has to expect challenges, and then, at the end of the day, you’ll have to be able to kick back and laugh at it all.’’ would only be in the theater. That was everything I dreamed about.’’ Shortly after graduation Berman got a call from one of her college friends, Susan Rose, who had a plan to break into the business. Rose had just seen a production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat in Baltimore, and she proposed that Berman join forces with her to bring the play to Washington, D.C. Although the plan was ambitious Berman did not hesitate, and she and Rose formed their own mini production company to raise funds. When they approached financiers, to appear more professional they pretended they had a secretary who was handling their correspondence. The show did so well in Washington that Berman and Rose moved it to New York, where it eventually opened on Broadway. In 1982, Joseph snagged seven Tony nominations, including the award for Best Musical. (Tony Awards are considered the most prestigious honor in American theater.) Berman had conquered Broadway just four years out of college; she was only twenty-five years old.

84

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

gail berman

Berman and Rose continued their collaboration throughout the 1980s, producing both failures, such as Almost an Eagle (1982), and an array of Tony-nominated hits, including Hurlyburly (1984), Blood Knot (1985), and The Nerd (1987). Although Berman was passionate about the theater, and she was enjoying an enormous amount of success, the constant hours spent fund-raising started to take their toll. As she commented to Downey, ‘‘I got to Broadway very quickly and had good fortune getting me there. But, after having done it for a decade, I was completely burned out.’’ When Berman was offered a job at a new cable venture that was just getting off the ground, she jumped at the opportunity for a change.

Berman the network slayer The upstart cable venture was called the Comedy Channel and was an offshoot of the HBO (Home Box Office) network. Although Berman had absolutely no experience in television production, as she told Downey, she ‘‘was a huge television watcher and loved television.’’ Berman’s time with the Comedy Channel was short, but it proved to be an important testing ground. She learned the basics of the business and went from supervising producer to executive producer in just a few years. In the mid-1990s, when the Comedy Channel merged with MTV’s Comedy Network to become Comedy Central, Berman again felt it was time to move on. It was not only time for a career change, but also a location change. Berman’s husband, Bill Masters, was a successful sitcom writer who worked on such hit shows as Murphy Brown and Seinfeld. Increasingly his work kept him on the West Coast, so the family decided to pack things up and move to Los Angeles. Once in L.A., Berman went to work for a television company called Sandollar, where she would first make her mark as a TV innovator. The industry newcomer pitched an unusual idea to the WB (Warner Brother’s) network for a show about a high school vampire hunter named Buffy Summers. Based on an unsuccessful movie penned by a then-unknown Joss Whedon (c. 1965–) in 1992, executives were skeptical that a failed movie would attract viewers.

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

85

gail berman

But Berman was persistent, a trait that she would quickly become known for, and in March of 1997 Buffy the Vampire Slayer debuted on the small screen. Over the next six years Buffy was a hit on both the WB and UPN networks, garnering a huge following and making a star out of the show’s lead, Sarah Michelle Gellar (1977–). Berman, along with Whedon, served as executive producer of Buffy and the show’s successful spinoff, Angel. According to future boss Sandy Grushow, who spoke with Michael Freeman of Electronic Media, Berman proved that she had ‘‘an innate ability to create programming that taps into what appeals to younger viewers. Simply put, Gail has her finger on very contemporary sensibilities.’’

From Regency to Fox Based on her success with infusing new life into the WB, in 1998 Berman was tapped to head a new company called Regency Television, a joint venture of New Regency Enterprises and Fox Television Studios. During her two-year stint as president of Regency, Berman proved that Buffy was not a one-hit wonder. She was drawn to projects whose creators had a unique vision and real commitment, and she spearheaded such hits as the sciencefiction cult drama Roswell for UPN and the quirky Malcolm in the Middle, which debuted in January of 2000 on Fox. Like Buffy, Malcolm was not your run-of-the-mill program. Though it did feature a middle-class family, America had never before seen the likes of Malcolm Wilkerson, a boy with a genius IQ who lives with off-beat parents, Hal and Lois, and siblings, Francis, Reese, Dewey, and eventually, Jamie. Although unusual, Malcolm did become a hit both with critics and fans, making Regency into one of the hottest production companies in Hollywood. And almost overnight Berman became known as a risk-taker whose risks paid off. Fox Television executives took notice and set their sights on the maverick producer to help them full-time with their struggling network. At first Berman ignored the company’s job offers but when Fox president Doug Herzog resigned in mid-2000, she finally decided to take the leap. The decision, however, was not an easy one. ‘‘This was a tough, emotional decision to make,’’ Berman admitted to Joe Schlosser of Broadcasting & Cable. ‘‘When you

86

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

gail berman

Gail Berman with American Idol stars Ryan Seacrest, Randy Jackson, and Simon Cowell. Kevin Winter/Getty Images.

are making a big, life-changing move, you want to make sure everything is considered and all of the bases are covered. But I think it was time for me to move on.’’

Madame president When Berman took over the reins in May 2000 she became Fox’s first female president and the fourth executive to hold the position in the past six years. As president she was put in charge of programming and scheduling, reporting directly to Fox chairman Sandy Grushow, whose focus was on overall network strategy. During her first year at Fox, life was difficult for Berman. Although she had several years experience in television, she was now in charge of an army of executives. In addition, Fox was a tired network with sagging ratings. As a result, it was firmly entrenched in the number-three slot.

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

87

gail berman

The Original American Idol: Kelly Clarkson

In 2003 fans swooned over the smooth styling of Ruben Studdard (1978–) and Clay Aiken (1978–), and in 2004 they put their phones on speed-dial for Fantasia Barrino (1984–), but it was a fresh-faced girl named Kelly Clarkson who won the very first American Idol title in 2002. Kelly Brianne Clarkson was born on April 24, 1982, in Fort Worth, Texas, but grew up in Burleson, Texas. While still in middle school she caught the attention of one of her teachers, who encouraged her to join the chorus. From then on Clarkson set her sights on a singing career. In 2002 Clarkson, along with ten thousand other hopefuls, auditioned for a new Fox show called American Idol, which promised the winner a contract with a major record label. Because of her bubbly personality and strong vocals, the twenty-year-old

Clarkson easily landed the audition. When she made it in the top thirty, Clarkson wowed the judges by belting out an impressive rendition of Respect, originally made famous by legendary singer Aretha Franklin (1942–). The performance pushed her into the final top ten. On September 4, 2002, after more than fifteen million Americans voted, Clarkson won the competition. Clarkson’s first single, ‘‘A Moment Like This,’’ was released on October 5, 2002, and it set a music-industry record, shooting from number fifty-two to number-one on the Billboard charts in just one week. Six months later, on April 15, 2003, RCA launched Clarkson’s first album, titled Thankful. The album debuted at number one and sold over two million copies. Throughout 2003 Clarkson continued her American Idol

Under Grushow’s tutelage Berman further sharpened her programming skills. She also brought her own unique style of management to the plate, becoming known as a real team player. Berman credits her management skills to her on-the-job experience as a mother of twins. As she told the Hollywood Reporter, ‘‘One of the great things about motherhood for me has been . . . that it puts everything in life in perspective. It reminds you that the highs (at work) are great, but they’re not the highest achievements in life; the lows are sad, but they’re not the lowest. If you can instill that sentiment in yourself and your staff—then as much as you want them to go out and be aggressive and competitive on the job, you have a better vantage point to go about it.’’ In addition, Berman gained a reputation for being a major advocate of writers and creators and someone who would give everything to protect the shows that she believed in. ‘‘Working for Gail is like being a baby cub behind a very, very strong mama bear,’’ Linwood Boomer commented to Dulce Zamora of Variety. ‘‘She’s incredibly protective and incredibly courageous.’’

88

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

gail berman duties by touring with other Idol contestants and competing in the World Idol talent contest, where she placed second. She even appeared in a movie with fellow contestant Justin Guarini called Justin and Kelly, which bombed at the box office. At the same time, Clarkson was making a name for herself in her own right. In 2004 she received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for her single, ‘‘Miss Independent.’’ That same year she released her second album, Breakaway, which debuted at number three on the Billboard charts, and generated several top-ten singles, including ‘‘Since U Been Gone’’ and ‘‘Behind These Hazel Eyes.’’ Clarkson also broke into television, appearing on the NBC drama American Dreams and as the musical guest on the late-night comedy Saturday Night Live in February 2005. Kelly Clarkson. ª Chris Pizzello/Reuters/Corbis.

This courage helped Berman revamp the Fox lineup by pushing through a variety of shows, including the family-oriented Bernie Mac and the groundbreaking thriller 24, both of which premiered in November 2001. Berman also developed a number of reality-based series for Fox, including the hugely popular American Idol, a singing competition that allows viewers to vote for the next pop superstar. More than ten thousand hopefuls auditioned for the first show, which aired in June 2002. Over the next eleven weeks, the thirtytwo semifinalists were whittled down to twelve contenders, who competed against each other for votes in front of millions of viewers and three celebrity judges, including 1980’s pop singer and dancer Paula Abdul (1962–), record producer Randy Jackson (1956–), and British record executive Simon Cowell (1959–). At the end of the first season over one hundred million viewers had called in to cast their votes, and on September 4, 2002, Kelly Clarkson was crowned the first American Idol, taking home a $1 million recording contract with RCA.

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

89

gail berman

Flying solo The continued success of American Idol and Fox’s next reality hit, Joe Millionaire, which premiered in January 2003, helped rocket Fox to the top of the Nielsen rankings. By mid-2003 Berman had boosted Fox from number-three to the numberone most watched network on television. Berman continued to pump life into the network by introducing hit after hit, including the nighttime soap opera The O.C. (debuted August 2003), the comedy Arrested Development (debuted November 2003), and a bizarre reality show starring socialite Paris Hilton (1981–) called The Simple Life (debuted December 2003). In January 2004, with Fox still competing closely with NBC for the number-one network slot, Sandy Grushow announced that he was stepping down as chairman. His natural replacement was Berman. Even though she had proved her staying power as president, insiders wondered if she could fill the shoes of a man like Grushow, who was known in the industry for his energetic style. Grushow, however, expressed no doubts. ‘‘This is a great opportunity for Gail to step up and demonstrate that she’s capable of leading the company without anybody above her,’’ the former chairman told Paige Albiniak of Broadcasting & Cable. ‘‘Frankly, I think she is capable. I’m going to be rooting for her every step of the way.’’ Flying solo for Berman proved to be a bit bumpy. After a series of successes, Fox was plagued by a number of misses during Berman’s first year as chairman. The reality show My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiance´ was a flop early in 2004, and several dramas didn’t succeed, including Wonderfalls, cancelled in March 2004, and The Jury, which was cancelled in August that same year. Berman fared no better with comedies. For example, Oliver Beene, which was reminiscent of Malcolm, was cancelled in September 2004 after only twenty-two episodes. Berman, however, remained unfazed into year two of her tenure. She told the Hollywood Reporter, ‘‘The philosophy of going for the fences remains a good philosophy that we must live by here at Fox. We need to be ambitious and adventurous and noisy . . . and with that you’re going to get some major successes, and you’re also going to have some bruising failures.’’

90

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

gail berman

Another failure came in January 2005 when Fox launched the supernatural drama Point Pleasant, which focused on a mysterious orphan who just happens to be the daughter of the devil. Unfortunately, this show failed and was cancelled after only seven episodes. Berman remained committed and continued to help develop existing shows such as Arrested Development, which had become a favorite with both fans and critics. In March 2005, the program took home the Emmy Award for Best Comedy Series. The show was also nominated for the 2006 Emmy Award.

Television to movies In March 2005 Berman’s future swerved in a different direction when she made the move from television to film, taking the position of president of Paramount Pictures. As president, her duties would include all aspects of film development, including budgeting and casting. In a press release broadcast on PRNewswire, Brad Grey, chairman and chief executive officer of Paramount, was enthusiastic about having Berman join his team: ‘‘Gail is one of the most respected and talented executives in the entertainment industry, and her work as a producer has earned her enormous admiration among the creative community. She has a brilliant eye for compelling stories and a long track record of inspiring creativity and excellence.’’

For More Information Periodicals Adalian, Josef. ‘‘Fox Fire: Net’s Entertainment Prexy Eschews the Comfort Zone in Helping Guide Fox to New High.’’ Daily Variety (November 12, 2003): p. A6. Adalian, Josef, and Michael Schneider. ‘‘Berman Settles in for Solo Run at Fox.’’ Daily Variety (January 8, 2004): p. 11. Albiniak, Paige. ‘‘Can Berman Make Fox Run?’’ Broadcasting & Cable (January 12, 2004): p. 1. ‘‘Dialogue with Gail Berman.’’ MediaWeek (April 12, 2004): p. 26. Downey, Kevin. ‘‘Seeking that Singular Vision: Berman Has Kept Fox a Staunchly Innovative Network.’’ Broadcasting & Cable (January 19, 2004): p. 6A. Freeman, Michael. ‘‘Berman Moving to Fox.’’ Electronic Media (May 29, 2000): p. 2.

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

91

gail berman Schlosser, Joe. ‘‘Berman Aims for Stability.’’ Broadcasting & Cable (May 29, 2000): p. 10. Zamora, Dulce. ‘‘Gail Berman: TV Topper Choreographs Own Fox Trot.’’ Variety (June 2, 2003): p. A10.

Web Sites ‘‘Gail Berman Appointed President of Paramount Pictures.’’ Themovieinsider.com (March 31, 2005). http://www.themovie insider.com/news/nid/1670/Gail_Berman_Appointed_President_of _Paramount_Pictures (accessed on August 10, 2005). ‘‘Gail Berman, Fox Broadcasting.’’ HollywoodReporter.com (December 2, 2003). http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr/ interviews/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=2049659 (accessed on August 10, 2005).

92

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

Meg Cabot

February 1, 1967

. Bloomington,

. .

U X L newsmakers

Meg Cabot. Reproduced by permission.

. volume 5

Indiana

Author

Author Meg Cabot is a one-woman marketing sensation. She is a publisher’s dream because she is able to produce novels with amazing frequency. At one point, Cabot, who began publishing in 1998, was pumping out a novel almost every month; by early 2006 she had published forty-four works of fiction. She is also a diverse writer who has found equal success in a multitude of genres, including historical romance, young adult fiction, and contemporary adult fiction. In 2000, however, Cabot hit the jackpot when she penned The Princess Diaries, a young adult novel that quickly caught on with readers primarily because the wryly humorous author was able to accurately capture ‘‘teen-speak.’’ In 2001, The Princess Diaries was adapted for the big screen by Disney and its popularity catapulted Cabot from writer to celebrity. In 2004, the movie The Princess Diaries 2 was released, which further followed the escapades of Mia, the Princess of Genovia. A few months prior, Cabot signed a

93

meg cabot

seven-figure deal with her publisher, HarperCollins, to continue writing the Princess series and to build on her other young adult series. As Cabot told Teenreads.com, ‘‘I hope to write about [Mia] as long as people want to keep reading about her.’’

Princess Meg Meg Cabot was born on February 1, 1967, in Bloomington, Indiana. She was an avid reader from a very early age, at first gobbling up comic books and science fiction at the local library. In many interviews, Cabot claims that she found her way to the

...................................................................................................................

‘‘I am living proof that it is possible to profit from being a high school freak.’’ library during the summer months because she was looking for air-conditioning. While cooling off in the library, Cabot soon discovered classic literature, such as To Kill a Mockingbird, by southern writer Harper Lee (1926–), and Jane Eyre, written by English novelist Charlotte Bronte¨ (1816–1855). Jane Eyre, the story of the romance between a man and his daughter’s nanny, in particular, had a lasting effect on young Cabot. As she explained in a 2004 interview with Christina Nunez, ‘‘It introduced me to the world of romance, which I have never left.’’ In addition to reading, Cabot was also obsessed with princesses. ‘‘I was a traditional Disney-princess worshipper,’’ she told Trudy Wyss of Borders. ‘‘You know, I had the Snow White birthday cake when I was six, drew Cinderella endlessly on my notepads.’’ Cabot read about princesses (her favorite fairy tale is Beauty and the Beast) and fantasized about being a real-life princess, often telling her mom and dad that her ‘‘real’’ parents, the king and queen, would arrive one day in Indiana to find her. In 1977, after seeing the movie Star Wars, the ten-year-old’s mania for royalty grew to new heights. ‘‘I became obsessed with Princess Leia,’’ Cabot explained to Wyss. ‘‘It’s one thing to be

94

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

meg cabot

princess of a kingdom; it is quite another to be princess of an entire planet!’’ While in high school Cabot began to write her own stories because, as she claimed in an Onion Street online interview, there was absolutely nothing else to do. ‘‘That was back in the days before cable and VCRs were popular, so there really was nothing to do but write stories of our own.’’ In addition, Cabot wrote for the high school newspaper and kept detailed journals. She also was active in after-school activities, including choir, theater, and the art club. Although she enjoyed writing Cabot never planned on becoming a professional author. Instead, she dreamed of being an actress or a veterinarian. Unfortunately, she flunked algebra and did rather poorly on the math portion of her SATs. (As part of admissions requirements most universities require a student to take SAT examinations; they are divided into two sections— verbal and math reasoning—and help assess what a student has learned throughout their school years.) Following graduation from high school, Cabot decided to study art at the University of Indiana, where she could attend tuition-free since her father was a professor. In 1991, with a bachelor of fine arts degree in hand, the budding artist moved to New York City to pursue a career as an illustrator. Instead, she landed a job as a freshman dormitory assistant manager at New York University. It was not exactly her dream job, but there were periods when work was slow, which gave her plenty of free time to return to her early love: writing.

Meg and Mia Success, however, did not come overnight. Seven years and thousands of rejection letters later (Cabot claims she has a mail bag full of rejections), her first novel was finally published. It was an historical romance called Where Roses Grow Wild (1998), and it was written under the pen name, or alias, of Patricia Cabot. Several more romances followed in 1999 and 2000. At the same time, Cabot was busy trying her hand at a novel, called The Princess Diaries, that was aimed at younger readers. Even though

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

95

meg cabot

she was a published author, Cabot’s young adult novel was rejected seventeen times before it was finally purchased by HarperCollins and released in 2000. The inspiration for Princess came from an event that happened in Cabot’s own life. After her father died her mother began dating her daughter’s former art teacher. Cabot was so horrified that she began keeping a diary. She expanded the diary entries into a story about a ninth-grader named Amelia Mignonette Grimaldi Thermopolis Renaldo, also known as Mia, whose mother is dating her algebra teacher. Cabot also visited her old high school diaries to add a true teen voice to her character, a gangly, shy freshman being raised by her single mom in a Greenwich Village loft in New York City. In addition to facing the trials and tribulations of teenage life, Mia’s world is turned upside-down when she discovers that her father is actually the prince of a tiny European country called Genovia and that she is next in line to inherit the throne. Suddenly Mia is a celebrity, and her worries about boys take backseat to princess lessons, bodyguards, and fending off the paparazzi.

Critics and fans Critics gave mixed reviews to the The Princess Diaries, claiming that at times it was over the top and cartoonish. Publishers Weekly called it a ‘‘classic makeover tale souped up on imperial steroids.’’ On the other hand, Cabot was praised for her ability to faithfully capture the angst and emotions of contemporary teens. According to her BookEnds profile, ‘‘Cabot writes about the minutiae, the finer points, the ins and outs and the trivia of teen existence—all in an eerily accurate voice.’’ For Cabot, the appeal of the book lies in its diary-entry format. ‘‘There is a feeling that you’re eavesdropping,’’ she commented in a BookEnds interview. ‘‘The reason girls are drawn to the book is an element of naughtiness—ooh, I’m reading something that’s not supposed to be read.’’ A few reviewers, however, were troubled by some of the questionable situations that appear in the book. For example,

96

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

meg cabot

Mia’s parents were never married, and her mother has a boyfriend who sleeps over. In her All About Romance interview, Cabot speaks to the objection by saying The Princess Diaries is timely. ‘‘It really does reflect modern-day popular culture, as well as modern-day teen problems and concerns. Many librarians (and parents, as well as teachers) have pointed to those scenes in particular as examples of timely issues, considering how many kids now have single parents or have friends with single parents.’’ Regardless of the critics, readers were drawn to the book in huge groups. By 2001, The Princess Diaries was selling in seventeen countries and HarperCollins had signed Cabot to write at least three more titles in the Princess series. Perhaps biggest of all, however, was that in August 2001 Disney released the feature film The Princess Diaries, starring newcomer Anne Hathaway (1982–; see sidebar) as the reluctant princess and veteran actor Julie Andrews (1935–) as Grandmere. Cabot did not write the screenplay, but she did work closely with one of the movie’s producers, who explained to her why some changes were necessary to translate Mia’s story from page to screen. As the author commented in her All About Romance interview, ‘‘The essence of the story, or the message, of staying true to yourself, no matter what, still comes through loud and clear.’’ Critics generally panned the movie, calling the characters bland and the story ‘‘sweet but schmaltzy’’ (Catholic News Service). Still, fans flocked to theaters, and in its opening weekend The Princess Diaries took in a whopping $22.9 million. It eventually made $108 million in box office revenue, an amazing feat given the fact that an established star did not appear in the lead role. Disney had enough faith in Cabot’s story that in 2004, The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement was released.

The Cabot dynasty In just a few short years The Princess Diaries had become a minidynasty with Meg Cabot as its queen. By March of 2006, Cabot had penned seven titles in the series, as well as several spin-off books, including Princess Lessons (2003), filled with fashion and beauty tips, and The Princess Diaries Engagement Calendar

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

97

meg cabot

The Real-Life Mia: Anne Hathaway

The Princess Diaries movies may not have been quite as successful if eighteen-year-old newcomer Anne Hathaway had not been chosen to play Mia Thermopolis, the nerdy American who is transformed into European royalty. In fact, even critics who panned the film consistently praised the fresh-faced, fledgling actress. As David DiCerto of the Catholic News Service wrote, ‘‘The mediocre material is elevated somewhat by the buoyant and beautiful Hathaway, whose sunny smile could light up a small kingdom of two.’’ Anne Hathaway was born on November 12, 1982, in Brooklyn, New York, the middle child and only daughter of Gerald Hathaway, an attorney, and Kate McCauley, a singer and actress. Hathaway was introduced to theater at a very early age since she traveled with McCauley, who starred in the touring company of the musical Les Miserables. McCauley later left show business to raise her three children. Hathaway, however, had already caught the acting bug. While in grade school, she appeared in local theater productions of Gigi and Once Upon a Mattress. She also studied acting at New York City’s prestigious The Barrow Group. Hathaway attended Millburn High School in New Jersey, where she sang in the chorus. When not in school, she auditioned for parts on Broadway and in television. She appeared in several commercials, but got her first big break in 1999 when she landed the role

of Meghan Green on the Fox TV series Get Real. Despite critical praise, the show was canceled after one season due to low ratings. After graduating from high school, Hathaway set her sights on attending Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York, to study English and women’s studies. Her entrance, however, was put on hold after she auditioned for The Princess Diaries. A very nervous Hathaway actually fell off her chair during her audition with veteran director Garry Marshall (1934–). But since Mia is a bit of a klutz, the accident proved lucky, and Hathaway won the part that day. The Princess Diaries was released in 2001, and Hathaway reprised her role as the reluctant royal in the movie’s 2004 sequel The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement. In between Princess productions she also appeared in several other films, including The Other Side of Heaven (2001), Nicholas Nickleby (2002), Ella Enchanted (2004), and Brokeback Mountain (2005). In addition, Hathaway lit up Broadway in late 2001 playing the orphan Lili in the musical Carnival. When not acting, Hathaway continues her studies at Vassar. And when interviewers ask her about her many princess roles (Ella Enchanted is a modern-day retelling of Cinderella), she just takes it in stride. She told PBS, ‘‘Hopefully my career is going to be longer and bigger than a tiara.’’

(2005). Her efforts were rewarded in November 2003, when the author signed a seven-figure deal with her publisher, HarperCollins. In addition to continuing the Princess series, HarperCollins signed Cabot to expand two other young adult series, Mediator and 1-800-WHERE-R-YOU. As Christina Nunez explained, both series are like Princess in that the main characters are young

98

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

meg cabot

Anne Hathaway (left), as Mia, and Julie Andrews, as Grandmere, brought Meg Cabot’s book The Princess Diaries to life in the movies. ª Jim Ruymen/ Reuters/Corbis.

girls ‘‘who have extraordinary powers that carry extraordinary burdens.’’ Another similarity is that the inspiration for each series came from an experience in Cabot’s own life. The Mediator series focuses on sixteen-year-old Suze Simon who thinks the biggest problem in her life is that her mother has remarried—that is until she discovers she has the unique ability to talk to the dead. The idea for Mediator was sparked after the death of Cabot’s father. During a conversation with her brother, he revealed that he thought he could periodically see their father out of the corner of his eye. Cabot wondered, ‘‘What if you could see the ghosts of every dead person?’’; thus, the character of Suze Simon was born. The first Mediator title, Shadowland, was

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

99

meg cabot

released in 2000; the sixth title in the series, Twilight, was published in December 2004. The 1-800-WHERE-R-YOU series was launched in 2001 with When Lightning Strikes. The inspiration for the books came when Cabot and a friend were literally almost struck by lightning. They were caught in a storm and the scaffolding under which they stood was hit by a lightning bolt. Although it was a frightening situation, the two friends got excited that perhaps the close call would give them psychic powers. Of course it did not, so instead Cabot gave psychic abilities to her WHERE-R-YOU heroine, sixteen-year-old Jess Mastriani, who uses her gift to find missing children. Cabot’s dynasty also consists of several separate young adult (YA) novels, including All-American Girl (2002) and Teen Idol (2004). In addition, she has never abandoned her love of writing novels for adults—both historical romance and contemporary. Her most recent contemporary adult novel is called Size 12 Is Not Fat, and is scheduled to be released in January 2006. Cabot is quick to point out, however, that her adult romances are a little too racy for the younger set. Instead, she steers teen readers to a line of YA historical romances published by HarperCollins. In 2002, Cabot released Nicola and the Viscount under the HarperCollins/Avon banner; the following year Victoria and the Rogue was published.

Worth the wait In 1997, at the age of thirty, a dejected Meg Cabot was ready to throw in the towel as a writer. Less than a decade later she had become one of the most well-known YA authors in America. Hundreds of thousands of readers eagerly awaited each new installment in her many celebrated series, Hollywood was knocking on her door, and girls around the world clamored to share her princess secrets. Cabot was only too eager to oblige them. The dedicated writer puts in full workdays at the computer, snuggled comfortably in bed and wearing her pajamas. She frequently takes time out to answer the many e-mails she receives from fans and to monitor her online book club.

100

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

meg cabot

Cabot writes in her pajamas in two homes: one located in New York City, the other in Key West, Florida. She shares both homes with her husband, Ben, a poet and financial marketer, and their one-eyed cat, Henrietta.

For More Information Books Cabot, Meg. All-American Girl. New York: HarperCollins, 2003. Cabot, Meg. The Princess Diaries. New York: HarperCollins, 2001. Cabot, Meg. The Princess Diaries: Party Princess. New York: HarperCollins, 2006. Cabot, Meg. Shadowland. New York: HarperCollins, 2000. Cabot, Meg. Teen Idol. New York: HarperCollins, 2004.

Web Sites ‘‘It’s My Life: Anne Hathaway.’’ PBS Kids Go! http://pbskids.org/ itsmylife/celebs/interviews/anne.html (accessed on August 10, 2005). Megcabot.com. http://www.megcabot.com/ (accessed on August 10, 2005). ‘‘Meg Cabot’s Interview.’’ BBC: Onion Street. http://www.bbc.co.uk/ schools/communities/onionstreet/liveguests/interviews/megcabot. shtml (accessed on August 10, 2005). ‘‘Meg Cabot: Video Interview.’’ Teenreads.com (April 23, 2002). http:// www.teenreads.com/authors/au-cabot-meg.asp (accessed on August 10, 2005). Nunez, Christina. ‘‘Meet the Writers: Meg Cabot.’’ Barnes & Noble. com (September 2004). http://www.barnesandnoble.com/writers/ writerdetails.asp?userid=LF8zzTzA1G&cid=980291£bio (accessed on August 10, 2005). Wyss, Trudy. ‘‘Sleeping Beauty, Snow White ::: and Mia: Meg Cabot’s Modern-Day Princess.’’ Borders. http://www.bordersstores.com/ features/feature.jsp?file=cabot (accessed on August 10, 2005).

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

101

Ryan Cabrera

. .

U X L newsmakers

ª Lisa O’Connor/Zuma/Corbis.

. volume 5

July 18, 1982

. Dallas, Texas

Singer, songwriter, musician

In

the mid-2000s there was a slew of young musicians climbing their way to the top of the music charts. Some were studio-created products, but others were serious musicians who penned their own songs, played their own instruments, and helped produce their own albums. In the latter category, one young man in particular emerged from the pack in 2005 and was on the verge of hitting it big in the industry. Ryan Cabrera, the personable singer-songwriter known for his halo of spiky, bleached-blonde hair, released his debut album in late 2004 and then hit the road on a whirlwind concert tour. Along the way he connected with fans who responded by snatching up his CD and firmly entrenching it on Billboard’s Top 100. According to Linda Laban of the Boston Herald, ‘‘MTV adores him, daytime TV is eating him up. Cabrera is this year’s mainstream teen pop hero.’’

103

ryan cabrera

Picks up the guitar Ryan Frank Cabrera was born on July 18, 1982, in Dallas, Texas. His father is a native of Columbia, and although Cabrera speaks only a little Spanish, he was influenced by Latino culture while growing up. As a boy he spent summers and holidays with his father’s family in Miami, Florida, and listened to salsa musicians like Grupo Niche and Jerry Rivera (1973–). No one in his immediate family, however, was a musician and it was by chance that Cabrera learned how to play guitar. ‘‘I started playing guitar kind of by accident,’’ he admitted on the Ryan Cabrera Web site. While in middle school he was inexplicably drawn to a beat-up

...................................................................................................................

‘‘I sometimes feel I can move mountains with my music.’’ guitar he found at a friend’s house. One day he picked it up out of sheer boredom and began to experiment. Soon he was picking out chords to tunes by the Beatles. He eventually began playing with friends and after many late-night jam sessions he formed his first band, a high-school punk group called Caine. ‘‘The music was just as bad as our name was,’’ Cabrera confessed on his Web site. Cabrera fronted the band, which he claimed was a horrible mistake, since he was not a trained singer. It seemed that his music career would be shortlived, but then the budding singer had a kind of awakening after hearing the music of the Dave Matthews Band. Cabrera was specifically impressed by Matthews’s guitar styling, and considered him to be a singer/songwriter with an edge. As a result, he decided that music was not just a hobby, it was something he wanted to devote himself to. Cabrera remarked on his Web site, ‘‘I said okay, this is going to be my life now. I have to start playing this music.’’ Cabrera put down his electric guitar, abandoned the fastdriving sounds of Caine, and formed a new acoustic-based band

104

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

ryan cabrera

called Rubix Groove. With the help of his older brother, the band began playing gigs in and around Dallas, quickly becoming a favorite with audiences. According to Cabrera they played anywhere and everywhere, from restaurants to fraternity houses to birthday parties. Eventually, however, the band formed a loyal following and landed jobs at top Dallas venues, including the Gypsy Tea Room and the Curtain Club. While still in high school they also opened for such big name groups as Cheap Trick and Third Eye Blind. Just as learning the guitar happened by accident, Cabrera went solo as a result of chance. For a surprise birthday present his brother bought a block of studio time. He only had enough money, though, for one person to record. While Cabrera was hesitant to record without his band, the opportunity was too tempting to resist. He went into the studio with three songs he had written, and the studio engineer was so impressed he offered to produce an entire album for Cabrera for free. The nineteenyear-old musician jumped at the chance, gathered up two years’ worth of songs, and holed up at Deep Ellum Studios to create his first album, the independently produced Elm Street (2001). Cabrera played all the guitars on the CD, as well as keyboards, drum beats, and beatbox (creating beats, rhythms, and musical instruments using the human voice).

Joins the Simpson clan Elm Street quickly sold out in local Dallas stores, and requests were coming in on the Internet from all over the world. Based on his album’s success Cabrera decided to take the plunge and officially pursue a solo career. The first thing he did was quit the University of North Texas, which did not please his parents. But Cabrera was determined to make it in the music business, which meant aggressively focusing on learning how to sing. He found a respected Dallas-based vocal coach and began a grueling regimen of voice lessons. The lessons included exercises to strengthen his abdominal muscles by lifting and holding chairs while he sang scales. Cabrera continued studying for months, both with his coach and on his own, sometimes singing for four or five hours a day.

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

105

ryan cabrera

When he felt confident enough, Cabrera resumed touring, this time as a headline solo performer. Shortly thereafter he drew the attention of Joe Simpson, father and manager of pop superstar Jessica Simpson (1980–), who also happened to share the same vocal coach as Cabrera. Simpson signed Cabrera on with his management company, and the ambitious young singer moved to Los Angeles and into the Simpson home. It was there that he met Ashlee Simpson (1984–), Jessica’s younger sister, and a would-be singer and actress. The two became fast friends and eventually started dating. Joe Simpson took Cabrera to New York, where he made the rounds to all the top record companies. Unfortunately, not one seemed interested. A determined Cabrera returned to the West Coast and devoted himself to writing songs every day for three months. With fifty songs in hand, Cabrera again auditioned for record executives, and this time he landed a multi-record contract with Atlantic Records and a song-publishing deal with EMI Publishing. Now it was time to work on his first album.

Take It All Away Cabrera co-wrote eleven of the twelve songs that were slated to appear on his CD, and he wrote number twelve on his own. Partnering with such established songwriters as Sabelle Breer and Curt Frasca (who worked with singer Avril Lavigne [see entry]) was a unique experience for the fledgling writer, who felt that his own style matured as a result. Cabrera particularly connected with one of his collaborators—John Rzeznik (1965–) of the Goo Goo Dolls. So when it came time to find a producer for his album Take It All Away, Cabrera tapped Rzeznik, whom he felt would help polish the final product without stripping away Cabrera’s own sound. ‘‘Johnny brings such a unique quality to my songs,’’ Cabrera commented on the Ryan Cabrera Web site, ‘‘and he’s able to capture so much more than I thought was possible.’’ Take It All Away features an eclectic mix of songs, ranging from romantic acoustic ballads like ‘‘True’’ to rock anthems such as ‘‘On the Way Down’’ and the catchy ‘‘40 Kinds of Sadness,’’

106

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

ryan cabrera

Ryan Cabrera rocks out before a crowd in Los Angeles, California. Kevin Winter/Getty Images.

which became a regularly played tune on radio stations. The album received mixed reviews, with many critics, like Chuck Arnold of People, dismissing it as ‘‘pop rock that’s as generic as it gets.’’ Still, reviewers noted that the Dallas native had potential, frequently comparing him to John Mayer (1977–), an already popular singer-songwriter. Cabrera welcomed the comparison, but was quick to set himself apart as his own artist. As he told Allison Corneau, ‘‘I think each artist that’s coming out now kind of has their own sound. John’s a little more mellow and my music’s more like singer/songwriter with an edge.’’

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

107

ryan cabrera

Despite reviews, Cabrera’s debut album hit the Billboard charts with a bang, eventually making it to the top ten by early 2005; by mid-2005 it was nearing the million mark in sales. Part of the reason for the success of the CD was that Cabrera has a very appealing stage presence thanks to his youthful good looks. When Lizz Carroll of Latina asked about his unique hairstyle, Cabrera laughingly replied, ‘‘I don’t really have a name for my style, but if I had to, I’d call it the jungle nest of the hedges.’’ Cabrera’s shows are also high energy, with the young musician jumping from instrument to instrument and frequently joking with the crowd. Fans were given a taste of the Cabrera road show in late 2004 and early 2005 when he toured extensively throughout the United States. At first he opened for other entertainers, including Jessica Simpson and Jewel (1974–), but eventually he headlined his own tour.

Under the camera’s glare Another reason for brisk album sales may be that Cabrera was introduced to America before his CD was even released. Beginning in late 2004 he regularly appeared on two MTV reality-based shows: Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica, which followed the first years of marriage between Jessica Simpson and husband Nick Lachey (1973–), and The Ashlee Simpson Show, a close-up look at Simpson, who was about to release her own debut album. Because cameras followed every move the celebrities made, and since Cabrera was dating Simpson, he frequently popped up on episodes. As a result, before his album debuted Cabrera’s claim to fame was being Ashlee Simpson’s boyfriend. Although Cabrera tired of being asked about Simpson in interviews, he tried to view his appearance on both shows in a positive light. ‘‘Anytime people can get to see you, it’s a good thing,’’ he explained to Gary Graff of The Plain Dealer. ‘‘I think the TV shows allowed people to get to see a little bit of my personality. They could connect better and knew who I was when my album came out.’’ On the flip side, Cabrera was not eager to be put under that kind of scrutiny again. In 2005 MTV

108

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

ryan cabrera

did build a reality program around the singer, but it was focused on his music. Called Score, the show had contestants working with Cabrera’s band to create a song in order to win a date. Cabrera and Simpson were definitely an item during the filming of Simpson’s show, but since then the couple has parted ways. Cabrera claimed that they remained close friends, but because of their hectic schedules it was nearly impossible to have a relationship. As Cabrera told Larry Rodgers of The Arizona Republic, ‘‘We decided the best thing to do, so nobody gets hurt, was just be friends and do our music thing for a while. It’s the best way right now because I’ve been on the road for 2 and a half years.’’

Just a dork Cabrera spent most of 2005 promoting his album, making television appearances on programs like Last Call with Carson Daly, and playing to sold-out crowds across the United States. He even performed at the inauguration of President George W. Bush (1946–) in January 2005. One day he hopes to write film scores and maybe even try his hand at acting. In the meantime, more than anything he enjoys touring. For Cabrera it is all about performing live. As he remarked on his Web site, ‘‘When people come up to me and say how something I wrote or a performance I gave changed them or moved them in a great way, it truly makes me feel alive.’’ And although he has thousands of screaming, young fans, the singer-songwriter remains modest about being a heartthrob. ‘‘Before I was just a dork,’’ he told Teen People, ‘‘but now I’m a dork with a guitar.’’ Cabrera’s second solo album was released in the fall of 2005 with a simultaneous tour to promote the album.

For More Information Periodicals Arnold, Chuck. ‘‘Review of Ryan Cabrera ‘Take It All Away’.’’ People (September 6, 2004): p. 46. Carroll, Lizz. ‘‘De nino en Dallas.’’ Latina (February 2005): p. 63.

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

109

ryan cabrera Graff, Gary. ‘‘Making His Connections: Friends Helped but Cabrera’s Fans Take It from Here.’’ The Plain Dealer (Cleveland, Ohio): p. 4. Laban, Linda. ‘‘Teen Pop Star Ryan Cabrera Strikes Up the Bland.’’ Boston Herald (February 22, 2005): p. 42. Liu, Marian. ‘‘Now a Headliner, Ryan Cabrera Can Play As Long As He Wants.’’ San Jose Mercury News (December 1, 2004). ‘‘What’s Next: The Hottest New Stars in Music, Movies and TV.’’ Teen People (February 1, 2005): p. 95.

Web Sites Campo, Lisa. ‘‘Ryan Cabrera: Ready to Answer the Tough Questions.’’ The Maroon: Life and Times (March 18, 2005). http://maroon. loyno.edu/news/2005/03/18/LifeTimes/Ryan-Cabrera-897075.shtml (accessed on August 10, 2005). Ryan Cabrera Web Site. http://www.ryancabrera.com/ (accessed on August 10, 2005).

110

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

Nick Cannon

October, 1980

. San Diego,

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

ª Paul Mounce/Corbis.

California

Actor, singer, musician, producer

In today’s Hollywood it is not enough for young celebrities to be merely actors or just recording artists. Teen stars like Lindsay Lohan (1986–) and Hilary Duff (1987–) have made the transition from television, to film, to music, becoming crossover stars and making millions of dollars. But there is one young entertainer that poses a quadruple threat: Nick Cannon, who is an actor, a comedian, a rapper/singer, and an executive producer. In fact, Cannon is considered by many to be the hottest young African American star on the horizon. Cannon got his big break in the late 1990s by becoming a regular on the Nickelodeon network, writing and starring in several programs, including the self-titled Nick Cannon Show. From Nickelodeon, Cannon appeared in such films as Drumline (2002), Love Don’t Cost a Thing (2003), and The Underclassman (2005), which he co-wrote and produced. The multitalented Cannon also found time to release his first album in 2003 and to hit the road on a comedy tour in 2004. Thomas Chau of

111

nick cannon

Cinema Confidential News noted, ‘‘Nick Cannon is flying through his career with nothing but smoke and heat in his trail.’’

Minister’s kid turns comedian Although he lives in Hollywood spotlight, Nick Cannon remains a grounded young man, primarily because he had positive role models growing up. Nicholas Scott Cannon was born on October 8, 1980, in San Diego, California. He was raised by his paternal grandparents in California, but spent part of his childhood living in North Carolina with his father, who was a minister. ‘‘I was

...................................................................................................................

‘‘Never let anyone put you down about things you really aspire to do. People told me that I wasn’t funny, or that I couldn’t write, or that I wasn’t a good musician. Just me being myself and motivating myself got me through those obstacles.’’ raised by my grandmother.’’ Cannon told Wilson Morales of Blackfilm.com. ‘‘She instilled everything into me. She taught me right from wrong from day one.’’ Cannon also credits his father for being a stable influence. As he commented to Morales, ‘‘My father instilled in me how to be a man.’’ But growing up as the minister’s son was a challenge for young Cannon. In elementary school and junior high school he was not allowed to watch television or listen to the radio or wear the clothes the popular kids wore. Cannon, however, was a born entertainer and found his own voice at a very early age. When he was just eight years old, he performed as a stand-up comic on his father’s evangelical public access television show. That same year he recorded his first song at home on his boom box radio.

112

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

nick cannon

By high school Cannon was known as the class clown. He was the smallest boy in school (about five feet two inches) and he did not play sports, so the best way to get attention was to crack jokes. ‘‘I had the gift of gab,’’ Cannon revealed to Julian Roman of Latino Review, ‘‘and was able to talk my way into popularity.’’ When he was sixteen the young comedian decided to take his show on the road, and he began driving to Los Angeles on the weekends to perform at comedy clubs. Cannon eventually landed gigs at such famous venues as The Improv, The Laugh Factory, and The Comedy Club. He was so determined to make it that he even slept in his car during his overnight jaunts.

Nick on Nickelodeon Before too long Cannon landed a manager who put him in touch with executives at the kids’ television network Nickelodeon. In 1995 the teen became the warm-up act for the long-running Nickelodeon series All That, eventually becoming a series regular by 1998. Producers recognized that Cannon definitely had on-screen appeal, so he hopped from one Nick program to another. He was the co-host of the All That Music Festival and More Tour, as well as Snick House and TEENick in Concert. He also was tapped to write for Nickelodeon programs, including Kenan and Kell (1996) and Cousin Skeeter (1998). In 2002, the ever-popular Cannon was finally given his own self-titled television program, which he starred in, wrote for, and produced. He was barely twenty-one years old. Although the show lasted only one year, Cannon was praised for his on-air antics, which included him traveling across America and ‘‘taking over’’ in a number of situations. For example, in one episode he ‘‘takes over’’ a California high school, disguising himself as a math teacher for a day. According to the Hollywood Reporter, ‘‘Cannon comes across as an undeniably talented dude with charm to burn.’’ His hectic schedule on television, however, did not stop the comic from performing stand-up, and he was making a lot of connections in the entertainment business. In particular, Cannon caught the eye of entertainer Will Smith (1968–), who would become his mentor.

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

113

nick cannon

Smith started out as a young rapper and then eventually moved to television and film. By the 2000s he was a superstar in all areas of show business. People frequently compare Cannon to Smith, which makes the young comedian more than happy. ‘‘Will has been such a positive force in my life,’’ Cannon admitted in an Ebony interview. ‘‘He told me that I remind him of himself when he was younger. That’s the most incredible compliment anyone could ever give me.’’

Crossover star Smith gave Cannon his first film break, casting him in a small role in the hit movie Men in Black II (2002). Shortly after, Cannon broke out on his own by landing his first starring role in the 2002 movie Drumline. Cannon plays Devon Miles, a young drummer from Harlem, New York, who receives a scholarship to attend an African American college in Atlanta, Georgia. Miles is talented but headstrong, which leads to a rivalry between him and his conservative band director. The film received general praise from critics, and Cannon was singled out by many, including Michael Rechtshaffen of the Hollywood Reporter, for his ‘‘assured feature debut.’’ Cannon followed up Drumline with Love Don’t Cost a Thing (2003), a remake of the 1987 teen hit Can’t Buy Me Love. Both movies have the same premise: an awkward teen plots to become the big man on campus by paying the most popular girl in school to hang out with him. As a result, he is transformed from nerd to super hunk. Cannon was drawn to the part because he was a big fan of the original movie. He also enjoyed the prospect of playing two roles in one: the bookish Alvin Johnson and the obnoxious Al, the popular version of Alvin. ‘‘I like doing characters,’’ Cannon told Cinema Confidential News. ‘‘I got to be a super-duper nerd and then a cocky, crazy guy at the same time so it was cool.’’ Love received only lukewarm reviews, but Cannon was generally applauded for his charming and flexible performance. He also emerged from his two first films as a young heartthrob. The tiny Cannon had sprouted to a lanky six feet tall, and with his baby face and friendly grin he attracted a number of female

114

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

nick cannon

Cannon’s Multitalented Costar: Christina Milian

Although in many interviews Nick Cannon claimed that he was ‘‘as single as a slice of American cheese,’’ in 2005 rumors were confirmed that he did have a significant other in his life. The lucky lady was Christina Milian, his costar in Love Don’t Cost a Thing, and a multitalented woman in her own right. Singer, actress, and songwriter Christina Milian was born Christina Flores on September 26, 1981, in Jersey City, New Jersey, the daughter of Cuban American parents. At the age of four Milian already knew she wanted to be a performer, and when she turned thirteen she moved with her family to Los Angeles to pursue a career. Her first major role came in 1998 when she appeared as a regular on the Disney TV show Movie Surfers. Then came small roles on other television programs, including Charmed and Clueless, as well as parts in such films as A Bug’s Life (1998) and American Pie (1999). In 2000, Milian branched out into music, singing vocals on the album Rule 3:36 by rapper Ja Rule (1976–). She also co-wrote a song called ‘‘Play’’ for Jennifer Lopez’s 2001 album J.Lo. Both songs were hits on the pop charts and started a buzz for the young actress-singer. In 2001 Milian’s self-titled debut album was released. Several songs, including ‘‘AM to PM’’ and ‘‘When You Look at Me,’’ ranked on the international charts. In the States Milian was perhaps best known for penning and singing the theme song to the Disney animated series Kim Possible. In 2004 she released her first U.S. album, titled It’s About Time, which sparked the number-one hit ‘‘Dip It Low.’’ Meanwhile, Milian’s film career was moving in fast forward. In 2002, while hosting MTV’s Wannabes, she met music-video director Joseph Kahn, who was about to direct his first feature movie, Torque (2004).

. .

Christina Milian. ª Steve Azzara/Corbis.

He suggested that Milian audition for the female lead, which she easily landed. At the same time, Milian was tapped to play opposite Nick Cannon in the teen hit Love Don’t Cost a Thing (2003). Her performances led to role after role, making her one of the most soughtafter young stars in Hollywood. In 2005, she appeared in the comedy Man of the House; she also costarred with John Travolta (1954–) in Be Cool, a sequel to the popular 1995 hit Get Shorty. In Cool, Milian played a feisty young singer named Linda Moon. She also costars in the 2006 thriller Pulse.

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

115

nick cannon

fans. In addition, Hollywood executives saw him as a bankable star with major crossover appeal, meaning his movies were a hit with a variety of audiences. This meant that Cannon almost had his pick of film roles. In 2004, Cannon costarred opposite Richard Gere (1949–) and Jennifer Lopez (1970–) in Shall We Dance, playing a bizarre private investigator. Then came a starring role in The Underclassman (2005), which cast Cannon as a police officer who goes undercover into an elite, private high school. The actor also wrote the first draft of the screenplay and served as executive producer. Two more films followed in 2005: the 1970s-themed Roll Bounce and the political thriller The Beltway, in which Cannon portrays a young Capitol Hill intern who uncovers a government plot. Cannon not only starred in Beltway, he again served as executive producer.

Part spiritual, part sizzle While Cannon’s film star was rising, he did not ignore his music career. The young musician, who plays drums, drum machine, synthesizer, and harmonica, wrote the theme song to his Nick television series and also contributed a song, ‘‘Shorty Put It to the Floor,’’ to the soundtrack of Love Don’t Cost a Thing. In December 2003 the ambitious Cannon released his first album, titled Nick Cannon, with Jive Records. Cannon penned all the lyrics, co-produced four tracks, and had the opportunity to work with seasoned music personalities, including the Neptunes, R. Kelly (c. 1968–), and Mary J. Blige (1971–). Most of the tunes on the album are party jams, including ‘‘Feelin’ Freaky,’’ ‘‘Your Pops Don’t Like Me,’’ and ‘‘Gigolo,’’ a particular favorite because of its sizzling video that appeared regularly on music channels. Cannon’s favorite cut, however, was the romantic ballad, ‘‘My Rib,’’ which reflects the spiritual nature of the young rapper. As Cannon told Wilson Morales, the album is ‘‘a reflection of every aspect from the spiritual side to the gigolo side.’’ Cannon is also quick to comment on the fact that his music, although popular and fun, has relatively clean lyrics. ‘‘I try to make music that my grandmother could listen to,’’

116

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

nick cannon

Nick Cannon wows the audience during the 2005 Soul Train Music Awards. Vince Bucci/Getty Images.

he admitted to Lynn Barker of TeenHollywood.com. ‘‘That’s always like my gauge.’’ This too is reminiscent of Will Smith, who throughout his career has avoided swearing in his rap lyrics. Cannon made thousands of fans swoon in 2004 when he joined the Scream 3 tour, an annual summer concert event featuring hip-hop artists such as B2K and Marques Houston (1981–). And in 2005 he impressed audiences when he performed live at the Soul Train Music Awards.

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

117

nick cannon

The Cannon express By the mid-2000s Nick Cannon was an unstoppable force. He had no less than three movies slated for release in 2006, including the horror film Monster House, a crime drama called Jump Shot, and a project costarring Lindsay Lohan tentatively titled Blind Date. Cannon also continued to sharpen his comedic chops. In late 2004 he embarked on a multi-city comedy tour sponsored by Milton Bradley to promote an updated version of its popular board game Twister. And in the summer of 2005 Cannon hosted his own program on MTV called Wild ‘‘n’’ Out, a game show that had new comedians competing in a variety of improvisational games. Although only in his twenties, the multitalented Cannon had achieved a level of maturity beyond his years. Instead of partying and spending his money recklessly, he remained low-key, preferring to wear jeans and T-shirts and only the occasional bit of extravagant jewelry. Cannon also remains focused on his career. He is a self-described workaholic and go-getter; someone who is not about to sit still and wait for things to come his way. He told Latino Review, ‘‘Because there is a lack of roles in Hollywood for young black men, especially positive roles, different from gang banging shoot ‘em up movies, you have to create your own.’’ Considering Cannon heads two companies, a music label called Cannonball Entertainment, and In the Can—a television and film venture— he should have many opportunities to develop projects in the future. Cannon may concentrate his energies on his entertainment career, but one day he hopes to take some seminary classes (classes in religious instruction), perhaps ultimately following in his father’s ministerial footsteps. In the meantime, he works with his father for the Nick Cannon Youth Foundation, which hosts inspirational conventions for young men. Cannon’s goal is to inspire other young people to reach for their dreams and to maintain a positive lifestyle. And, according to Jet magazine, ‘‘He has the looks, talent and intelligence to be a star for as long as he wants.’’

118

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

nick cannon

For More Information Periodicals Hughes, Zondra. ‘‘Hunk Attack: Nick Cannon.’’ Ebony (April 2003): p. 54. ‘‘Multi-talented Performer Nick Cannon is a Hit on TV, in Movies and on CD.’’ Jet (January 12, 2004): p. 65. ‘‘On the March: Drumline’s Nick Cannon Could Be the Next Will Smith.’’ People (January 20, 2003): p. 86. Rechtshaffen, Michael. ‘‘Movie Review: ‘Drumline’.’’ Hollywood Reporter (December 9, 2002): p. 39. Small, Jonathan. ‘‘Nick Cannon: Triple Threat.’’ Teen People (June 1, 2004): p. 137.

Web Sites Barker, Lynn. ‘‘Nick Cannon: Doin’ It All.’’ TeenHollywood.com (December 4, 2003). http://www.teenmusic.com/d.asp?r=54457 &pg=1£ (accessed on August 22, 2005). Chau, Thomas. ‘‘Interview: Nick Cannon of ‘Love Don’t Cost a Thing’.’’ Cinema Confidential News (December 2, 2003). http:// www.cinecon.com/news.php?id=0312021 (accessed on August 22, 2005). Long, Colleen. ‘‘Just Call Nick Cannon a Renaissance Man.’’ Yahoo! Music (December 12, 2003). http://music.yahoo.com/read/news/ 12174627 (accessed on August 22, 2005). McGee, Tiffany. ‘‘Nick Cannon: All Grown Up.’’ Vibe Magazine Online. http://www.vibe.com/news/online_exclusives/2003/08/ nick_cannon_all_grown_up/ (accessed on August 22, 2005). Morales, Wilson. ‘‘Love Don’t Cost a Thing: An Interview with Nick Cannon.’’ blackfilm.com (December 2003). http://www. blackfilm.com/20031205/features/nickcannon.shtml (accessed on August 22, 2005). Murray, Rebecca. ‘‘How Do You Spell Overachiever: N-I-C-K-C-AN-N-O-N.’’ About: Hollywood Movies. http://romanticmovies. about.com/od/irobot/a/robotnc070704.htm (accessed on August 22, 2005). ‘‘Nick Cannon: New Triple Threat.’’ AccessHollywood-Movies (August 4, 2004). http://www.accesshollywood.com/movies/ 3616620/detail.html (accessed on August 22, 2005). Roman, Julian. ‘‘An Interview with Nick Cannon.’’ Latino Review. http://www.latinoreview.com/films_2003/wb/lovedontcostathing/ nick-interview.html (accessed on August 22, 2005).

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

119

John Carmack

August 20, 1970

. Shawnee Mission, Kansas

Video-game developer, director of id Software

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

V

ideo games are one of the fastest growing industries in the United States, worth a reported $7 billion, and escalating year after year. One man in particular is almost wholly responsible for the boom—a quirky, skinny, programmer extraordinaire named John Carmack. In 1993, Carmack and his peers at id Software revolutionized gaming when they introduced Doom, a state-of-the-art video game with a technology that allowed a player to be a very real part of the action. Suddenly, video games went from cult use to mainstream, and users clamored for more. Carmack and company responded by releasing Quake, Quake II, and Doom 2. In the summer of 2004 the muchanticipated Doom 3 was launched, and within months had sold more than one million copies. Carmack has legions of fans who view him as a coder supreme, but he also has critics who denounce his games because they are perceived as ultra-violent. The techie from Texas, however, cares little about public

121

john carmack

opinion. He lives and breathes computers and is always looking for the next challenge. As one of his coworkers commented to the Dallas Morning News, ‘‘The things that motivate John are the things that put him out on the edge of discovery.’’ Carmack’s next frontier: Space.

Rebel coder The man known as Carmack the Magnificent was born on August 20, 1970, in Shawnee Mission, Kansas, a suburb of Kansas City. He had what he described as ‘‘a normal, gifted-

...................................................................................................................

‘‘There’s something fundamentally interesting about the world in a box. If somebody can be an emperor in a virtual world, with only a cheap computer, is that really a bad thing?’’ geek childhood.’’ Carmack tinkered with chemistry sets, built model rockets, read science fiction, and played the fantasy role-playing game Dungeons and Dragons. Then personal computers came along, and he was hooked for life. Carmack and his friends became obsessed with computers, but the school they attended could not afford them. As a result, when he was fourteen years old, Carmack and some buddies broke into a school in a wealthier neighborhood to steal an Apple II computer. They were caught, and Carmack spent the next year in juvenile detention. When released, Carmack became a bit of a rebellious teen and threw himself into programming He holed up in his room for days, fueled by pizza and caffeinated soda and taught himself to write code. (Code is the language that creates a computer program.) Carmack’s parents knew their son was extremely bright and had a good deal of potential. When he graduated

122

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

john carmack

with a 4.0 grade point average from Shawnee East Mission High School, they pushed him to go to college. Carmack reluctantly agreed, and in 1988 he enrolled at the University of Missouri near Kansas City. He took only computer classes, and after two semesters dropped out to devote himself full time to programming. Carmack worked briefly as an independent contractor for Apple II, but earned very little money. He finally landed a steady programming job with Softdisk in Shreveport, Louisiana. One of his first jobs was developing a two-dimensional video arcade game called Invasion of the Vorticons. Carmack’s collaborators on Invasion were two fellow computer fanatics, John Romero (1967–) and Adrian Carmack (no relation to John). By day they developed games for Softdisk; at night they would load up their cars with company equipment and stay up until the early morning hours experimenting with coding. They soon created their own video game called Commander Keen, which was distributed by Apogee Software. Spurred by the game’s success the three quit Softdisk in 1991 to form their own company, id Software, which was first based in Madison, Wisconsin. Later that year the company moved to its current headquarters located in the Dallas, Texas, suburb of Mesquite.

The magic of id: Doom and Quake While tossing around ideas for their first id venture, Carmack and Romero both remembered a game they used to play as kids on the Apple II called Castle Wolfenstein. The maze-based game involved gunning down Nazis and collecting treasure. The id version, called Wolfenstein 3-D, became an overnight success when it was released in 1991. One reason it was such a hit was that the game allowed players for the first time to actually feel like they were participating in the on-screen adventure. Known as first-person perspective, a player looked down the barrel of his gun and aimed at targets, including Nazi guards and attack dogs. Response to the game was phenomenal, thanks in part to its unique brand of marketing. Wolfenstein was not sold in stores; instead customers downloaded the first installment free-ofcharge from the Web and then paid forty-five dollars for the

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

123

john carmack

remainder of the game. This was the beginning of share-ware. Share-ware involves using software on a limited, or trial basis, and then paying a fee later for full access or a complete upgrade. Wolfenstein was so popular that each of its creators were making about $120,000 per month, and Carmack, the college dropout, was a wealthy man at the age of twenty-one. The dedicated programmer, however, did not rest on his success alone. He remained as driven as ever, continuing to work more than eighty hours per week in order to tweak and perfect his coding. In the world of id, the cool and collected Carmack was the coding king in charge of the programming that transformed ideas to three-dimensional reality. The more outgoing John Romero was the concept mastermind, in charge of designing the games and creating the fantastic worlds and characters. Their greatest hit came in 1993 with the much-anticipated release of Doom, which according to Lev Grossman of Time, ‘‘Created a three-dimensional virtual world so powerful, compelling, and disturbing that it would change the real world around it.’’ The plot of the game was not really important: A space Marine posted on a research facility on Mars fights off demon attackers. What was truly unique were the sophisticated and very realistic graphics. Prior to Doom, most video games were rather flat and unrealistic; Carmack’s programming fleshed out a more natural-looking fantasy world. ‘‘You could have fun with those old games,’’ Carmack told Grossman, ‘‘but it was more of a detached, abstract sort of fun.’’ Customers couldn’t get enough of Doom, which reached sales of more than $7 million in 1994 alone. It eventually became one of the best-selling video game of all time and led to a Doom series. The success of Doom also cemented id’s reputation as the top game producer in the country, and Carmack and Romero became legends. In 1996, the duo followed up Doom with Quake, which offered an even higher level of gritty realism. A multiplayer game with the sole goal of blasting enemies as quickly as possible, Quake became both a best-seller and a cult favorite. Quake II was released later in 1996; Quake III Arena came out in 2000. Quake III is an Internet-based game that lets a large number of participants play at once.

124

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

john carmack

Master of Doom Despite their phenomenal success, tempers flared between Carmack and Romero, primarily because they had such different personalities. Romero had achieved a sort of rockstar celebrity and Carmack felt that his partner’s work was suffering as a result. In 1996 Romero left id to form his own company, called Ion Storm Inc., which proved to be an unsuccessful venture; the company folded in 2005. Carmack became the director of id, and the company continued to thrive by putting out a more advanced and super-charged game every few years. The buzz surrounding each new release was enormous, especially in chat rooms on the Internet. By 2004 the buzz reached a fever pitch as gamers anticipated the latest in the Doom series, Doom 3. The latest Doom offering was officially released in the summer of 2004, and in the first six months the company sold more than one million copies. Carmack spent four years experimenting with a new highspeed engine and studying optics (the science of light) in order to make his latest brainchild the most realistic fantasy game on the market. He thoroughly succeeded. According to Lev Grossman the world of Doom 3 is ‘‘meticulously detailed,’’ populated by a gallery of rogues, gargoyles, and cherubs. And as players wind their way through the Martian landscape, steam ripples, boulders cast shadows, and light fixtures swing and flicker. ‘‘There is a crispness to details,’’ Grossman enthused, ‘‘a weight and solidity to objects and figures, a lifelike sheen to surfaces in Doom 3 that is unlike anything we’ve seen before.’’ No doubt the technology that Carmack created will be copied by other programmers since he is considered the pioneer of the industry. And as he continues to push the computer engine envelope, computer manufacturers scurry to make faster and more powerful personal computers (PCs). Carmack’s impact, however, goes far beyond video games. The U.S. military has used Doom to train soldiers for combat and architects use the graphics technology of Quake to construct virtual buildings. On the other side, critics worry about the more wide-reaching, cultural impact of Carmack’s universe.

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

125

john carmack

QuakeCon 2005

John Carmack and the owners of id Software are considered to be heroes in the world of video games, and thousands of fans congregate each year to meet them at a gathering in North Texas called QuakeCon. The annual event was launched in 1996 by a group of gamers who had been communicating over a chat network. Fewer than one hundred people attended the first convention, but those who did were ecstatic at the opportunity to talk to Carmack and other id idols in person. Participants also indulged in multiplayer video game marathons.

chief executive office of id, promised it would be

The 2005 QuakeCon marked the tenth anniversary of the event, and Todd Hollenshead,

four days and included ninety-six hours of nonstop

spectacular. ‘‘QuakeCon’s 10th anniversary is a historic milestone,’’ Hollenshead was quoted as saying on the FrontLine Web site, ‘‘and a time to celebrate the volunteers, fans, sponsors and games that have driven QuakeCon to become the largest event of its kind. We’re going to have the party of the decade, and we want everyone to be there.’’ More than six thousand eager gamers were expected to attend QuakeCon 2005, which was held in a 150,000-square-foot convention space, allowing plenty of room for workshops, contests, exhibits, and parties. The event lasted for video-game playing.

Carmack’s creations are gory, bloody, and undeniably violent, prompting parents to fear that their children are being somewhat brainwashed. Some even blamed the wave of high school shootings that took place in the late 1990s on id games. Specifically, one of the shooters involved in the highly publicized 1999 Columbine High School tragedy, in which two students opened fire on their high school killing twelve students and one teacher, was quoted as referencing Doom. Several lawsuits were filed against the company but proved to be unsuccessful. Regardless, as Grossman noted, ‘‘We don’t have to be happy about it . . . but it is no longer possible to deny that Americans passionately enjoy pretending to shoot one another with guns.’’

The next frontier Just as he is passionate about computers, Carmack is equally enthralled by rockets. And just as he taught himself how to code, the technology genius learned everything he could about rocketry on his own. ‘‘I can trace back my interest in

126

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

john carmack

space to the end of the development of Quake,’’ Carmack told Computer Gaming World in 2003, ‘‘I borrowed a bunch of Robert Heinlein [science fiction writer; 1907–1988] books. A year later, I started reading up on everything about space travel. Now I’m building what amounts to the world’s biggest roller coaster.’’ In 2000 Carmack spent some of his own millions in order to make his dream of traveling to space a reality. He purchased a cavernous warehouse in Mesquite, along with a 100-acre testing ground, and formed a group called Armadillo Aerospace. Carmack is the undisputed ringleader and is assisted by a half-dozen rocket enthusiasts at Armadillo’s fully equipped machine shop and laboratory. All of the workers are unpaid, volunteering their time every Tuesday and Saturday night. While Carmack is the rocket science expert, each team member contributes something. Some have built rockets before; others have become versed in space travel testing and space regulations. They all, however, share the same goal: to one day make space travel accessible to the average citizen. The first step toward that goal was to win the Ansari X Prize, a $10-million race to launch a privately funded, manned spacecraft on a sixty-mile orbital mission. More than two dozen teams had been competing for the prize, which is funded by a St. Louis-based nonprofit organization, since it was first announced in 1996. Unfortunately, Armadillo ran into a few snags, including licensing issues and problems obtaining the right kind of fuel for their engine. As a result, in October 2004, another team won the competition. Carmack remained undaunted. As he told Alexandra Witze, ‘‘It’s not about swinging at the fences for the grand slam. It’s about chipping away at the problem.’’

Boy genius Although John Carmack is a multimillionaire, and his company brings in close to $20 million a year, he is still a self-described workaholic. ‘‘I still work 80 hours a week,’’ he admitted to Mark Lisheron of the Austin American-Statesman. ‘‘It used to be 80 hours on software, now it’s 40 hours on software and

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

127

john carmack

40 hours on Armadillo.’’ Carmack did ease up a bit after he and his wife, Anna Kang, had their first child in 2004—he was getting home from the office at about midnight instead of 2:00 AM or 3:00 AM. Kang, however, insists that Sunday is family day, so Carmack compromises by reading technical manuals to his infant son. In 2005 the head of id was thirty-five years old and had been writing computer programs for almost twenty years. This made him practically an old man in the youth-geared video game industry, and rumors were flying that Carmack was thinking about retiring. He quickly dismissed them. Carmack was actually hard at work on the engine for id’s next game, which is not scheduled for release until the late 2000s. What he has up his sleeve is anyone’s guess. As he told Computer Gaming World in 2003, ‘‘To a degree, we’re past the hurdles of computer limitations. Thanks to new tools there are fewer restrictions to the imagination.’’ And while he may be ancient by gaming standards, Carmack looks like someone half his age. He has flyaway, palered hair; wears baggy shorts, T-shirts, and striped high tops. According to Lisheron, ‘‘Carmack seems happy to play the role of boy genius.’’

For More Information Books Kushner, David. Masters of Doom: How Two Guys Created an Empire and Transformed Pop Culture. New York: Random House, 2004.

Periodicals Brown, Ken. ‘‘John Carmack: An Interview with Gaming’s Greatest Technologist.’’ Computer Gaming World (March 1, 2001): p. 36. Grossman, Lev. ‘‘The Age of Doom: In 1993 Six Geeks Had a Digital Nightmare That Changed the Culture. It’s About to Get Far Creepier.’’ Time (August 9, 2004): p. 82. ‘‘John Carmack and Doom 3.’’ Computer Gaming World (November 26, 2003). Lisheron, Mark. ‘‘Space: The Final Frontier.’’ Austin AmericanStatesman (Texas) (September 26, 2004): p. A1. Witze, Alexandra. ‘‘Video Game Pioneer Now Eyes Space Flight.’’ Dallas Morning News (January 11, 2005).

128

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

john carmack

Web Sites Armadillo Aerospace Web Site. http://www.armadilloaerospace.com (accessed on August 22, 2005). QuakeCon Web Site. http://www.quakecon.org/ (accessed on August 22, 2005).

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

129

Hugo Cha´vez

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

ª Horacio Villalobos/Corbis.

July 28, 1954

. Sabaneta, Venezuela

President of Venezuela

Venezuela

is a South American country rich in natural resources, especially oil. In fact, outside of the Middle East it is the number one supplier of oil to the world. Despite that, during the latter half of the twentieth century the country experienced a devastating recession (decline in the economy), the majority of Venezuelans lived in poverty, and most of the country’s power was held by a handful of the elite. When former paratrooper Hugo Cha´vez took over the presidency in 1998 he promised widespread change; he set about establishing a multitude of reforms, including literacy campaigns, subsidized food programs, land redistribution, and political party reorganization. As a result, the charismatic Cha´vez attracted legions of loyal fans among the Venezuelan lower classes, which angered the wealthy business class. Venezuela essentially became a country divided, and Cha´vez’s opposition vowed to remove him from power at all costs. Cha´vez, however, has proved to be

131

hugo cha´vez

unstoppable. He was reelected by an overwhelming majority in 2000, survived an attempted takeover in 2002, and emerged victorious from a recall vote in August 2004.

From baseball to revolutionary Hugo Rafael Cha´vez Frias was born on July 28, 1954, in Sabaneta, Venezuela, a small farming village located in the western state of Barinas. Even though both of his parents were schoolteachers, the family, like most Venezuelans, was poor and struggled to make ends meet. Eventually Cha´vez’s father, Hugo

...................................................................................................................

‘‘I am convinced that the path to a new, better and possible world is not capitalism, the path is socialism.’’ de los Reyes, gained political power when he became regional director of education and later the governor of Barinas. Young Cha´vez escaped a life of poverty thanks to his skill as a baseball player. Baseball is the leading sport in Venezuela. The country has major leagues and national tournaments just like in the United States. There are also several competitions in which players from Central and South American countries participate. Following high school the talented player was given a scholarship to the Venezuelan Academy of Military Sciences, a prestigious college, where he earned a degree in military science and engineering. From there Cha´vez joined the army and quickly rose through the ranks to become head of an elite paratrooper unit. While in the army Cha´vez was troubled by the corruption he saw among high-ranking military officers. Actually, the regime in power at the time, headed by Carlos Andre´s Pe´rez (1922–), was notorious for widespread bribery and

132

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

hugo cha´ vez

payoffs. Deciding to take a stand, Cha´vez organized a group of like-minded soldiers and secretly formed an anticorruption organization called the Bolivarian Revolutionary Movement. In 1992, Cha´vez and his band of over twelve thousand attempted to overthrow the Pe´rez government in a bloody coup that cost hundreds of lives. Although the coup was unsuccessful and Cha´vez ended up going to prison for the next two years, he became a national hero thanks to the media. In televised broadcasts he came across as a passionate speaker determined to make a change.

El Comandante´ When Cha´vez was released from prison two years later, a new president was at the helm, but the plight of Venezuelans was no better. Prices of goods and unemployment were high, 80 percent of the population was living in poverty, the foreign debt was staggering, and corruption among government officials continued unchecked. Cha´vez decided to make a bid for the presidency and formed the Polo Patriotico (Patriotic Pole), which was composed of fourteen small political parties representing a wide variety of views. Disillusioned by the current administration, and tired of having political power in the hands of the upper classes, millions of poor Venezuelans rallied in support of Cha´vez, who they called El Comandante´ (The Commander). In rousing speeches Cha´vez condemned the two major political parties of Venezuela, accusing leaders of dishonesty, bowing to foreign investors, and mismanaging the country’s oil revenues. He stressed that the nation was desperate for change and he vowed that changes would be made if he was elected. For example, he promised to put an end to government corruption and to revamp the Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), the staterun oil company, which was responsible for exporting billions of barrels of oil per year. Hundreds of thousands of citizens attended political rallies where the charismatic Cha´vez delivered speeches peppered with quotes from the Bible and from his hero Simon Bolı´ var (1783–1830), the nineteenth-century revolutionary leader of Venezuela.

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

133

hugo cha´vez

On December 6, 1998, Cha´vez was elected president by 56 percent of the vote, becoming the youngest elected president in Venezuelan history. On the night of his win, El Comandante´ addressed the throngs of people in the streets, and according to U.S. News & World Report, he shouted, ‘‘You are the future owners of Venezuela.’’ He went on to tell reporters, ‘‘People voted for a profound transformation, and they will have one.’’ The transformation began immediately as Cha´vez set about overhauling the entire government structure of Venezuela. He formed a constitutional assembly that drastically reduced the powers of Congress; the assembly also reviewed the judicial branch in an attempt to rid the courts of corrupt judges. In the biggest move, Cha´vez and his assembly reworked the Venezuelan constitution; the new version was approved by 75 percent of voters on December 15, 1999. The changes enacted were broad in scope: The country’s name was changed to the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela; the term of office of the president was extended from five to six years; the Congress was replaced by a unicameral (single body) National Assembly; and the power of political parties was slashed. Social reforms were also added, including free university-level education.

Diablo or savior? The new constitution called for elections to be held in 2000. Cha´vez easily won the presidency with 60 percent of the vote; his supporters also won the majority of seats in the new unicameral assembly. As a result, Cha´vez succeeded in concentrating power in his own hands—and he stretched that power to the limit. In 2001 he passed a set of forty-nine economic laws, including the Hydrocarbons Law, which brought control of the PDVSA under the direction of the Minister of Energy, who, of course, was part of Cha´vez’s cabinet. The most dramatic law was a land reform program called the Ley de Tierras (Land Law). At the time nearly 70 percent of Venezuela’s farmable land was owned by less than 3 percent of the population. In addition, according to national statistics, only 4 percent of useable land was being farmed. Under the new law, land that was not being used would be given to poor farmers.

134

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

hugo cha´ vez

Wealthy landowners and middle-class business owners were outraged, fearing that privately held property would be confiscated by the government. Cha´vez further angered wealthy Venezuelans in two more ways: He attempted to consolidate all existing labor unions into one state-controlled Bolivarian Labor Force; and he was using oil revenues to implement his many social programs. Such programs included literacy campaigns in the poorest regions of the country, new health clinics, and paved roads in rural areas. The most high-profile programs were the Chavista Missions, outreach programs directed at groups of citizens who had historically been ignored. For example, a public health mission called Barrio Adentro employed over ten thousand doctors dedicated to serving in areas of Venezuela where no doctors were available before. Cha´vez kept in contact with his adoring public thorough his weekly radio broadcast, Alo President, a call-in program where he answered questions about public policy and helped average citizens with their problems. On the other hand, the press became increasingly wary of the new president when, in an attempt to gain overall control, he tried to pass laws that would censor the media. The opposition accused Cha´vez of going too far; they also claimed he was a kind of diablo, or devil, who was undermining the democratic state of Venezuela. In an interview with Lally Weymouth, Cha´vez dismissed such charges: ‘‘Some sectors, from ignorance or prejudice, keep saying that in Venezuela there is a process of concentration of power underway. The truth is we are doing away with an authoritarian model that was disguised as a democracy. Representative democracy failed completely in the past. Party leaders who said they represented the people, betrayed them. I want you to understand the battle we are waging. It’s a revolution.’’

Country revolts: 2002 By 2002, despite Cha´vez’s many social reforms, the economy of Venezuela was in worse shape than it was in 1998 when he first took office. Unemployment rates were still in the double digits and decreasing oil prices were putting a strain on the national budget. To make matters worse Cha´vez had essentially cornered himself: He

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

135

hugo cha´vez

could not cut social spending without losing the support of the lower classes and he could not cut military spending without losing the loyalty of his military troops. In mid-2002, with no economic policy forthcoming, groups of protesters began storming the streets of Caracas, the nation’s capital. The protests were military-backed, but some demonstrators were average citizens who banged pots and pans and called for Cha´vez to resign. During the week of April 8, 2002, the protests took a violent turn. On April 11, fighting broke out between protesters, the national guard (controlled by Cha´vez), and the military police, which was controlled by the opposition. Guns were fired, resulting in the deaths of a least seventeen people; hundreds more were wounded. Feeling he had no choice, Cha´vez resigned on April 12, and was taken into custody by members of Fedeca´maras, Venezuela’s business federation. That same day the president of Fedeca´maras, Pedro Carmona Estanga, took over leadership of the country. He disbanded the National Assembly and called for a presidential election during the coming year. Support for El Comandante´, however, was still strong. Thousands took to the streets, rioting, looting, and demanding that Cha´vez be reinstated. On April 14, Carmona resigned, thus ending the shortest presidency in Venezuelan history. Although Cha´vez returned to power only two days after being ousted, his victory was short-lived. Problems continued to plague his presidency throughout 2002, and they reached a climax in December when oil workers went on strike. The country virtually stopped all oil exports during the two-month ordeal, sending the Venezuelan economy into a tailspin from which it never fully recovered. In retaliation Cha´vez fired the upper management of the PDVSA, as well as eighteen thousand PDVSA employees. He replaced the workers with his own associates and appointed Ali Rodriguez, a former revolutionary from the 1960s, to act as chief executive officer of the PDVSA. Cha´vez’s actions further fueled the animosity of the opposition, who continued to claim that although he was democratically elected, Cha´vez was becoming a dangerous dictator who needed to be stopped. They pointed to his mismanagement of domestic policies, but also to his questionable foreign policy. The international

136

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

hugo cha´ vez

community, in general, viewed Cha´vez with disapproval when he virtually overhauled the political workings of Venezuela in 1999. Suspicions continued to grow when Cha´vez began to seek alliances with controversial dictators, including Fidel Castro (c. 1927–) of Cuba and Saddam Hussein (1937–) of Iraq. In particular, the relationship between Venezuela and the United States had become shaky at best. During the administrations of both Bill Clinton (1946–) and George W. Bush (1946–), Cha´vez spoke out publicly against U.S. economic and foreign policies. He also denounced the United States as being an imperialist power, meaning the United States often inserted its influence—either economic or military—in areas of the world where help was not asked for or needed.

Survives recall By 2003 Cha´vez’s opposition had grown into a coalition called the Democratic Coordinating Committee, which included the Fedeca´maras and many of Venezuela’s unions. Once again the opposition decided to try and remove the president from power—this time through legal means. Venezuela’s constitution, rewritten by Cha´vez and his assembly, contained a clause allowing the population to recall elected officials, including the president. The opposition spend months collecting over three million signatures on a petition calling for Cha´vez’s removal from office. They presented the petition to Venezuela’s National Electoral Council in November of 2003. Although anti-Cha´vez demonstrations were waged from late 2003 until voting took place in August, the Venezuelan president still maintained a strong following among the lower classes, which accounted for about eighteen or nineteen million voters. Cha´vez himself was not silent during this period, traveling across the country on a campaign trail and using the slogan ‘‘Cha´vez no se va´’’ (Cha´vez will not go). On August 15, 2004, a record number of the population turned out to vote, so many that officials extended the polling hours until after midnight. Streams of people waited for hours to vote, standing in lines that sometimes stretched for over half a mile. The wait, however, did not bother most citizens. As one Venezuelan told Elizabeth DiNovella, a reporter for the Progressive, ‘‘We are defending our right to democracy.’’

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

137

hugo cha´vez

How Is an American President Recalled?

Just as Venezuela’s constitution contains a clause allowing a president to be recalled from office, so too, does the U.S. Constitution. In the United States, however, the process is started with something called impeachment and American citizens are not given the opportunity to vote. According to Article II, Section 4 of the Constitution, ‘‘The President, Vice President, and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other High Crimes and Misdemeanors.’’ Impeachment does not mean removal from office; it refers to serious charges brought against an official that may lead to his removal from office. According to the U.S. Constitution, the House of Representatives has the sole power to bring impeachment charges against the president. If the majority of representatives pass the impeachment resolution, meaning they feel the charges are justified, the matter

is turned over to the Senate. In the Senate there is a trial, which is presided over by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. After all testimony is heard, a vote is taken. If two-thirds of the Senate finds the president guilty as charged, he is impeached. If an official is found to be guilty he may be banned from ever running for public office again, and depending on the ‘‘crime,’’ he may be tried in a regular court of law. In U.S. history only two presidents have been impeached by the House of Representatives: Andrew Johnson (1808–1875) in 1868 and Bill Clinton (1946–) in 1998. Johnson was accused of, among other things, misuse of the presidential veto power and election tampering. In the Senate Johnson came one vote short of being found guilty and so remained president. Bill Clinton was found guilty by representatives of committing perjury (lying) during a grand jury trial and of obstructing justice. In 1999, the Senate voted him innocent on all charges.

When all the ballots were tallied Hugo Cha´vez remained president, taking 59 percent of the vote. On the night of his win, a triumphant Cha´vez remarked to DiNovella, ‘‘The no of the campaign is the no of Cristo [Christ] against imperialism. It’s the no of Christ against leaving behind the poor. This is an ancient no. And today it is reborn by this flood of people.’’ But the opposition was far from satisfied, and after the election they cried fraud, making accusations that there had been discrepancies both in voter registration and at the polls. The entire process, however, had been overseen by two impartial groups: the Carter Center, headed by former U.S. president Jimmy Carter (1947–), and the Organization of American States. In statements made during a press conference on August 17, and reported in the the Progressive, Carter claimed that Cha´vez had won the election fair and square:

138

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

hugo cha´ vez

Venezuelan president Hugo Cha´vez meets with Cuban president Fidel Castro during an official visit to Cuba in 2004. ª Claudia Daut/Reuters/

‘‘We have no reason to doubt the integrity of the electoral system or the accuracy of the referendum results. There is no evidence of fraud, and any allegations of fraud are completely unwarranted.’’

Corbis.

A country divided Although Hugo Cha´vez emerged victorious from his 2004 recall election, Venezuela emerged as a country clearly divided. According to Fred Rosen in a NACLA Report on the Americas, no political middle ground exists: citizens are either adamantly pro-Cha´vez or intensely anti-Cha´vez. Such division will make the remaining two years of his presidency very difficult ones. In addition, Cha´vez continues to foster a hostile relationship with many Western countries, especially the United States. At a January 2005 world conference held in Porto Alegre, Brazil, the Venezuelan leader spoke out vehemently against the

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

139

hugo cha´vez

Bush administration, and talked of an ‘‘open aggression’’ between the two nations. He claimed, however, that the aggression was directed at Venezuela from the United States. Several weeks prior to the conference, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice (1954–) asserted that the Venezuelan leader was ‘‘a negative force in the region.’’ Cha´vez said that such claims were unfounded. ‘‘The most negative force in the world today,’’ Cha´vez contended, ‘‘is the government of the United States.’’ Cha´vez ended his speech on a positive note, echoing the sentiments with which he began his political career: ‘‘We must start talking again about equality.’’ And a month later, it seemed that perhaps small steps were being taken toward healing relations between Venezuela and the United States. According to CNN.com, while speaking to an assembly of the Organization of American States, Foreign Minister Ali Rodriguez said that Venezuela ‘‘had only one enemy: poverty.’’ ‘‘We extend our hand in friendship,’’ Rodriguez added, ‘‘since we know that peace, based on mutual respect, is the best path toward achieving prosperity.’’

For More Information Periodicals DiNovella, Elizabeth. ‘‘Chavez’s Staying Power.’’ The Progressive (October 2004): pp. 31–35. ‘‘From Prisoner to President.’’ U.S. News & World Report (December 21, 1998): pp. 40–42. Karon, Tony. ‘‘Chavez May Survive Venezuela’s Strike.’’ Time (December 18, 2002). Rosen, Fred. ‘‘Chavez Confirmed, Venezuela Still Divided.’’ NACLA Report on the Americas (November/December 2004): pp. 8–11. Weymouth, Lally. ‘‘The Battle We Are Waging: Interview with Hugo Chavez.’’ (October 23, 2000): p. 45.

Web Sites Labott, Elise, and Juan Carlos Lopez. ‘‘Venezuelan Official Hints at Possible U.S. Attack.’’ CNN.com: World (February 23, 2005). http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/americas/02/23/venezuela. attack/index.html (accessed on August 22, 2005). Newman, Lucia. ‘‘Record Turnout for Chavez Vote.’’ CNN.com: World (August 16, 2004). http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/

140

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

hugo cha´ vez americas/08/15/venezuela.recall/index.html (accessed on August 22, 2005). Sojo, Cleto A. ‘‘Venezuela’s Chavez Closes World Social Forum with Call to Transcend Capitalism.’’ Venezuelanalysis.com (January 31, 2005). http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/news. php?newsno=1486 (accessed on August 22, 2005). Sullivan, Kevin. ‘‘Chavez Casts Himself as the Anti-Bush.’’ Washington Post (March 15, 2005). http://www.washingtonpost. com/wp-dyn/articles/A35193-2005Mar14.html (accessed on August 22, 2005).

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

141

Richard Clarke

1951

. Dorchester, Massachusetts

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

AP/ Wide World Photos.

Counterterrorism expert, author

F

or thirty years Richard Clarke was a central figure in the U.S. federal government, serving seven presidential administrations and acting as a key advisor on national security issues to four presidents: Ronald Reagan (1911–2004), George H. W. Bush (1924–), Bill Clinton (1946–), and George W. Bush (1946–). He was especially integral during the George W. Bush administration when, because of his expertise, he was appointed special assistant to the president following the terrorist attacks on Washington, D.C., and New York City on September 11, 2001. Despite being such a high-profile figure in Washington, D.C., Clarke maintained a low personal profile. In fact, few outsiders had ever heard of the civil servant. That changed in March of 2004 when Clarke released a tell-all book called Against All Enemies: Inside America’s War on Terror. In the book, in subsequent interviews, and in testimony before the 9-11 Commission Clarke openly blasted President Bush for his mismanagement of

143

richard clarke

the investigation of the September 11 attacks. Overnight, Clarke became a media celebrity; he also became the target of criticism. The American public wondered if Richard Clarke was a heroic whistle-blower or a disgruntled government official who was simply clouding the facts.

Begins lifelong government service Richard A. Clarke was born in 1951, the son of a chocolate factory worker and a nurse. After his parents divorced, he was raised in Boston, Massachusetts, by his mother. Clarke

...................................................................................................................

‘‘Your government failed you. Those entrusted with protecting you failed you. And I failed you.’’ studied briefly at the Boston Latin School, and then in 1972 received a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Pennsylvania. In 1973 he took his first job with the federal government, working for the Department of Defense as an analyst on European security issues. Except for a brief period in 1978 when he took time off to earn a management degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Clarke held a number of high-ranking government positions until 2003. By 1985, Clarke was working in the Department of State, serving as the Assistant Secretary of State for Intelligence. Essentially he was the second-ranked intelligence officer in the State Department. Known even then as an aggressive worker with a fierce focus, in 1986 Clarke was given the task of dismantling the government of Libya, which was headed by President Muammar al-Qadhafi (1942–), a dictator known for his terrorist activities in the Middle East. Clarke’s strategy involved the use of psychological warfare. For example, the United States planned to

144

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

richard clarke

fly spy planes over Libya that would emit sonic booms (shock waves caused by aircraft traveling at immense speeds, sometimes causing damage to structures on the ground and often audible as loud explosive sounds). The hope was that Libyan citizens would believe there was an actual military strike, and as a result they would turn on Qadhafi and overthrow him. Clarke’s plan was never actually implemented, but he got his first taste of scandal. The media found out that the Reagan administration was going to publish a false report claiming Libyan officials were advocates of terrorism. It was Clarke’s job to face the press and handle the media deal with the situation. Clarke stayed with the State Department until 1992, when he left because of another controversy; this time he was the one accused of wrongdoing. Clarke allegedly ignored the fact that Israel was transferring American military technology to China. In his defense, the intelligence officer claimed that his department had looked into the matter; that one instance of technology transfer had been intercepted; and that it had been dealt with. Regardless, in 1993, following the investigation, Clarke took a position with the U.S. National Security Council (NSC).

Clinton’s right-hand man Clarke moved to the National Security Council at the beginning of the Clinton administration. As the 1990s progressed, it was also a time of increased terrorist activities aimed at the United States. For example, in 1996 there was a terrorist attack on military personnel housed in Saudi Arabia, and U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania were bombed in 1998. Clarke was right in the thick of things, and he soon became known as an expert in counterterrorism. As a result, he became a special confidante of the president, with Clinton frequently relying on Clarke for briefings. According to Newsweek, ‘‘[Clinton] got his intelligence from Clarke, who collected it from the various spy agencies. Clarke was not a ‘principal’ on the National Security Council, but he might as well have been, wandering into top-level meetings and even the Oval Office.’’

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

145

richard clarke

In 1998, as part of his commitment to fight terrorism, President Clinton created the Office of the National Coordinator for Security, Infrastructure Protection, and Counterterrorism. He had so much faith in his right-hand man’s abilities that Clarke became the first executive to hold the position. Among his duties, Clarke was responsible for overseeing policies and programs involving national security and chairing several agencies, including the Counterterrorism Sub-Group, which coordinates U.S. response to terrorist attacks. One of the key policies that Clarke enacted was the National Plan for Information Systems Protection, designed to protect cyberspace security. The plan’s goal was to prevent computer hackers from basically shutting down U.S. information systems during emergency situations. When George W. Bush took over the presidency in 2001 Clarke retained his position of national coordinator, but much of his power was deflated and his access to the Oval Office was diminished. President Bush was a by-the-books boss who followed the rules. This meant that, like past presidents, he received his morning briefings from the director of the CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) and not Clarke. Clarke was ordered to report directly to the National Security Advisor, Condoleezza Rice (1954–). To make matters worse, the former insider was asked to vacate his maze of offices in the White House to make room for other NSC staffers.

Insider tells all A bitter Clarke felt that he had been demoted, and he quickly earned a reputation for sparring with his superiors, especially Rice. He refused to attend team meetings and wrote openly in e-mails to colleagues about his hostility for Rice. But Clarke remained dedicated to his job, and in the fall of 2001 he was tapped to head the newly formed Office of Cyberspace Security. On September 11, 2001, however, government priorities changed when Islamic suicide hijackers crashed planes into the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. (a third crashed into a rural section of Pennsylvania). Rice immediately put Clarke in charge of handling the fallout

146

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

richard clarke

from this act of terrorism. He responded by closing the nation’s borders, grounding all commercial flights, and putting the military on high alert. Clarke spent the next year serving as special advisor to the president on national security issues. In January 2003, after thirty years with the federal government, Clarke retired to work on a book about his many experiences. When Against All Enemies: Inside America’s War on Terror was released in March 2004, it sent ripples of outrage throughout Washington. Although Clarke may have been viewed as brusque, stubborn, and sometimes strict, he had always been fiercely loyal. But his tell-all book was filled with harsh criticism. Clarke made accusations that past and current administrations had made disastrous decisions when handling terrorist activities. The bulk of the book, however, was a scathing attack of President George W. Bush. According to a BBC News profile, Clarke accused President Bush of ‘‘doing a terrible job fighting terrorism, ignoring the al-Qaeda threat before September 11, 2001, and distorting it afterward.’’ (Al-Qaeda, who claimed responsibility for the 9-11 attacks, is a militant network of Islamic organizations that is headed by the Saudi Arabian revolutionary Osama bin Laden [1957–]). In Against All Enemies, Clarke claims that since the beginning of his administration President Bush and his team ignored warnings that al-Qaeda and bin Laden were serious threats. In fact, he asserts that before leaving office Sandy Berger (1945–), the National Security Advisor under Bill Clinton, specifically briefed Condoleezza Rice that bin Laden had to be carefully watched. In January 2001 Clarke presented a briefing to Rice outlining a strategy to ‘‘deter, defeat, and respond vigorously’’ to al-Qaeda, but it was dismissed. In the summer of 2001, Clarke claims that he continued to file numerous intelligence reports predicting an imminent attack by bin Laden, but the reports were never acted upon. Basically, according to Newsweek, Clarke charged the Bush administration of being ‘‘half-asleep when the terrorist threats began spiking.’’ Perhaps the most controversial section of Clarke’s book is where the former security advisor discusses President Bush’s

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

147

richard clarke

Richard Clarke testifies before the 9-11 Commission in March 2004. Mannie Garcia/Getty Images.

reaction after the 9-11 attacks. Clarke asserts that instead of focusing on al-Qaeda, Bush was obsessed with proving that Saddam Hussein (1937–), the radical leader of Iraq, was behind the hijackings. Supposedly on September 12, 2001, Clarke was called in to a private meeting with the president, who ordered him to ‘‘go over everything, everything. See if Saddam did this.’’ A stunned Clarke responded, ‘‘Al Qaeda did this.’’ ‘‘I know, I know,’’ President Bush purportedly answered, ‘‘but see if Saddam was involved.’’

Accusations escalate The day after Against All Enemies was published, Clarke gave an exclusive televised interview to Leslie Stahl of 60 Minutes. He revisited many of the same issues he brought up in his book, but members of the press criticized him for dramatically embellishing the facts. For example, when Clarke discussed his private meeting with President Bush on September 12, he described it in very

148

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

richard clarke

graphic terms: ‘‘The president dragged me into a room with a couple of other people, shut the door, and said ‘I want you to find whether Iraq did this.’ Now he never said, ‘Make it up.’ But the entire conversation left me in absolutely no doubt that George Bush wanted me to come back with a report that said Iraq did this.’’ Clarke further claimed that he felt pressured and very intimidated. Clarke also pushed the point that the Bush administration never took the al-Qaeda threat seriously and that they could have perhaps prevented the events of 9-11. ‘‘Frankly,’’ he told Stahl, ‘‘I find it outrageous that the president is running for re-election on the grounds that he’s done such great things about terrorism. He ignored it. He ignored terrorism for months, when maybe we could have done something to stop 9-11. Maybe. We’ll never know.’’ White House officials vehemently disagreed with Clarke’s accusations, and when Stahl contacted them for a statement, a note from the Pentagon read: ‘‘Any suggestion that the president did anything other than act aggressively, quickly and effectively to address the al-Qaeda and Taliban threat is absurd.’’ (The Taliban is an Afghanistan-based Islamic military movement similar to, and with connections to, al-Qaeda.) But the controversial Clarke was not finished talking. From March 24 through March 25 he provided nearly twenty hours of testimony before the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States. The group, also known as the 9-11 Commission, was composed of ten government officials charged with investigating the events of September 11, 2001, including how well the U.S. government prepared for and responded to the attacks. They were also asked to make recommendations on how to better guard against future attacks. Again, in no uncertain terms, Clarke accused the federal government of failing to protect American citizens against terrorism. According to U.S. News & World Report, his testimony was ‘‘one of the most riveting episodes of political theater in recent years.’’ Clarke’s opening statement, in particular, ‘‘sent chills throughout the room.’’ The families of victims of 9-11 were present, and when Clarke addressed them he poignantly

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

149

richard clarke

declared: ‘‘Your government failed you. Those entrusted with protecting you failed you. And I failed you. We tried hard, but that doesn’t matter because we failed. And for that failure, I would ask, once all the facts are out, for your understanding and for your forgiveness.’’

Hero or not? The fallout from Clarke’s testimony was enormous and White House officials scrambled for equal media attention. In Newsweek, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (1952–) accused Clarke of grandstanding in order to sell books. He went on to say that Clarke’s testimony was an ‘‘act of supreme arrogance and manipulation.’’ In U.S. News & World Report, Vice President Dick Cheney (1941–) went further, claiming that the security advisor ‘‘may have a grudge to bear.’’ Leslie Stahl brought up the same issue in her 60 Minutes interview, wondering if perhaps Clarke was bitter over being demoted when President Bush took office. He responded: ‘‘If I had been so upset that the National Coordinator for Counterterrorism had been downgraded from a Cabinet-level position to stafflevel position, if that had bothered me enough, I would have quit. I didn’t quit.’’ Others contended that Clarke had timed his book release and media appearances just before the presidential elections in order to gain favor with democratic Senator John Kerry (1943–) who was running against the republican President Bush. Clarke denied the charge. He also defended himself against accusations that he was being disloyal to President Bush. During his testimony, Clarke explained that he had three choices: resign, lie, or ‘‘put the best face’’ possible on the facts. He claimed he chose the third option—to be as open and honest as he could. And, as he told Stahl, ‘‘When the president starts doing things that risk American lives, then loyalty to him has to be put aside.’’ Many of Clarke’s former colleagues came to his defense, insisting that throughout his government service he had been a dedicated man wholly devoted to his job. In fact, Clarke was

150

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

richard clarke

a workaholic who never married and frequently spent his holidays holed up in meetings. Clarke advocates also claim that money has never been a priority for the frugal civil servant. In his book, the security expert describes his home as an ‘‘old Sears-catalog house.’’ And Amanda Ripley of Time wrote, ‘‘Every footprint Clarke has left leads back to his obsession with terrorism—not money.’’ Still, opinions remained mixed. In a Newsweek poll conducted in April 2004, 50 percent of Americans believed that Clarke was ‘‘motivated by personal and political reasons.’’

No rest for Clarke Whether or not Clarke was motivated by money, following his 60 Minutes interview and 9-11 testimony, sales of Against All Enemies skyrocketed. Within ten days after his CBS appearance more than one hundred seventy thousand copies were sold and the book zoomed to number-one on almost every major bestseller list. Life as an author seemed to agree with Clarke, who signed a deal with Putnam in 2004 to pen a work of fiction titled The Scorpion’s Gate. Putnam executives enthusiastically praised Clarke in statements released via PR Newswire. ‘‘I’m extremely excited to be publishing Richard Clarke’s novel,’’ Putnam Senior Vice President Neil Nyren commented, ‘‘The extraordinary wealth of inside knowledge, combined with a swift, sure writing style. It’s going to make quite an impact.’’ Described as a geopolitical thriller, The Scorpion’s Gate was scheduled to be released in October 2005. Clarke himself continued to make an impact throughout the rest of 2004, appearing on countless news programs, including Larry King Live on CNN and ABC’s Good Morning America. He also served as an on-air consultant for ABC News and formed his own security consulting service called Good Harbor. Clarke tackled his new roles with the same ferocity and focus that he exhibited while working for the U.S. government. And he remained unfazed by the many accusations against him. Clarke commented to Romesh Rotnesar of Time, ‘‘It pains me to have Condoleezza Rice and the others mad at me, but I think the American people needed to know the facts, and they weren’t out. And now they are.’’

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

151

richard clarke

For More Information Books Clarke, Richard A. Against All Enemies: Inside America’s War on Terror. New York: Free Press, 2004. Clarke, Richard A. The Scorpion’s Gate. New York: Putnam, 2005.

Periodicals Kaplan, David E. ‘‘Clarke: A Man on a Mission.’’ U.S. News & World Report (April 5, 2004): p. 26. Maryles, Daisy. ‘‘Clarke Hits the Mark.’’ Publishers Weekly (April 5, 2004): p. 15. ‘‘Richard A. Clarke, #1 New York Times Bestselling Author and Former Official in the White House, the State Department and the Pentagon, to Publish Debut Novel With G.P. Putnam’s Sons in Fall 2005.’’ PR Newswire (October 4, 2004). Ripley, Amanda. ‘‘How Credible Is Clarke?’’ Time (April 5, 2004): p. 30. Thomas, Evan, Michael Isikoff, and Tamara Lipper. ‘‘Town Crier.’’ Newsweek (April 5, 2004): p. 20. Whitelaw, Kevin, David E. Kaplan, Kenneth T. Walsh, and Angie C. Marek. ‘‘Seeing Red.’’ U.S. News & World Report (April 5, 2004): p. 20. Zuckerman, Mortimer P. ‘‘The High Price of Hindsight.’’ U.S. News & World Report (April 19, 2004): p. 86.

Web Sites ‘‘Clarke’s Take on Terror: Interview.’’ CBSNews.com: 60 Minutes (March 21, 2004). http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/03/19/ 60minutes/main607356.shtml (accessed on August 23, 2005). ‘‘Profile: Richard Clarke.’’ BBC News: World Edition (March 22, 2004). http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3559087.stm (accessed on August 23, 2005). Ratnesar, Romesh. ‘‘Richard Clarke, at War with Himself.’’ Time.com (March 25, 2004). http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/ 0,8599,604598,00.html (accessed on August 23, 2005).

152

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

Eileen Collins

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

AP/ Wide World Photos.

November 19, 1956

. Elmira, New York Astronaut

T

hroughout her career as an astronaut, Eileen Collins achieved several firsts in the history of space travel. In 1995, when she took the helm of the Discovery, she became the first woman to pilot a space shuttle. A space shuttle is a manned spacecraft used to transport crews and materials into orbit on short missions that have a particular purpose. For example, part of the 1995 Discovery mission was to retrieve an astronomy satellite (an instrument that orbits in space and sends clear astral images back to Earth for observation). Collins was the first woman to command a space shuttle in 1999; and in July 2005 she commanded the muchanticipated launch of the first space shuttle since the disastrous Columbia voyage in 2003, during which all seven astronauts were killed on board. Collins’s 2005 mission was considered key to the future of manned space flight, since the focus was to test out new safety measures and repair techniques. When the shuttle returned to Earth on August 10, 2005, with the seven-person crew safe and sound, watchers the world over breathed a sigh of relief.

153

eileen collins

Born to soar Eileen Marie Collins was born on November 19, 1956, in Elmira, New York, an appropriate birthplace for a would-be pilot since the city is known as the ‘‘soaring capital’’ of the United States. It is home to the Harris Hill Soaring Center, where pilots congregate to fly gliders (motorless airplanes). In fact, some of Collins’s earliest and fondest memories are of visiting Harris Hill and watching the sleek planes soar off the ridges of the city. Another favorite memory is going to the local airport with her parents and watching planes take off while sitting on the hood of their car. Such family moments, however, were short-lived.

...................................................................................................................

‘‘My daughter just thinks that all moms fly the space shuttle.’’ When Collins was nine years old, her mother, Rose, and father, James, separated. ‘‘It hit me like a ton of bricks,’’ she commented to Al Weisel of Us magazine. It was an emotionally difficult time in Collins’s life, made only worse by economic hardship. Her father lost his job at the post office, and her mother was looking for work. For a time Collins, her mother, and three siblings lived in low-income housing and relied on food stamps (government-funded coupons used to redeem groceries). James eventually became a surveyor and Rose took a job at a correctional facility, or prison, which made their financial situation better—but there was still little room for luxuries. The thing that Collins wanted most was flying lessons. During high school she worked nights at a pizza parlor to save up the $1,000 needed for private lessons. At age nineteen she stepped on her first plane and knew immediately that she wanted to be a professional pilot. At the same time, Collins spent a good deal of time studying about military flying. ‘‘I had been reading about pilots, and it fascinated me,’’ she explained to Weisel. ‘‘The first time

154

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

eileen collins

women were accepted as pilots in the military was in 1974, just as I was reading about it. The timing was perfect.’’ After high school Collins enrolled at Corning Community College in New York, where she received an associates degree in mathematics in 1974. She then took her first step toward the military by joining the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC). The ROTC is a collegebased program that prepares individuals for advanced military careers. Thanks to an ROTC scholarship, Collins attended Syracuse University in New York and graduated in 1978 with bachelor’s degrees in mathematics and economics.

A string of military firsts Although the U.S. Navy accepted women as pilots in 1974, the U.S. Air Force did not until 1976. In 1978, when Collins set her sights on attending Undergraduate Pilot Training school at Vance Air Force Base in Oklahoma, she was among the first group of 120 females to apply. She was one of only four women chosen; the rest of her classmates (320 total) were men. After a year of training, the twenty-three-old Collins became the U.S. Air Force’s first female flight instructor. From 1979 until 1990 Collins taught flying at bases in Oklahoma, California, and Colorado. She also served as an assistant professor of mathematics at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. In addition to teaching, Collins continued her own studies by attending classes at the Air Force Institute of Technology in Ohio, and earning a master of science degree in operations research from California’s Stanford University in 1986, and a master of arts degree in space systems management from Webster University, St. Louis, Missouri. By 1989, at the age of thirty-two, Collins was, according to Guy Gugliotta of the Seattle Times, ‘‘as hot a property as the Air Force had.’’ Having logged in over fifteen hundred hours of flight time and secured several advanced degrees, Collins became the second woman ever to be accepted to the prestigious Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base in California. While there she held her own in the maledominated ranks of the military and cemented a reputation for being a cool, level-headed pilot.

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

155

eileen collins

Citizens in Space

In the early 2000s, the future of the NASA space program remained in question, but the outlook for commercial space tourism was in full swing. After space exploration became a reality in the early 1960s, many predicted that in the near future the average citizen would be able to take trips to space. Visionaries dreamed of space vacations, hotels on other planets, and families taking up residence on the moon. In 1990, the first private citizen, Japanese reporter Toyohiro Akiyama (1942–), was allowed to accompany a Russian crew on a week-long mission to the Mir space station. The fee was $28 million. Ten years later, in 2000, administrators of the Mir space station again offered would-be tourists the opportunity to travel to space. The reason was to offset the high cost of maintaining the station. On April 28, 2001, U.S. businessman Dennis Tito (1940–) paid a whopping $20 million for a seven-day mission to visit the International Space Station. South African entrepreneur Mark Shuttleworth (1973–) became the third space tourist on April 25, 2002, traveling aboard the Russian Soyuz TM-34 mission for ten days. He, too, paid $20 million for the opportunity and spent a year prior to the launch undergoing extensive training. After the 2003 Columbia mission disaster, which resulted in the deaths of seven astronauts, commercial spaceflight was temporarily halted. Privately funded companies, however, continued to reach for the stars. The most well known was the Scaled Composites aviation company headed by U.S. aircraft designer Burt Rutan (1943–). Rutan’s crew of

engineers succeeded in building an experimental aircraft called SpaceShipOne, capable of suborbital flight. In a suborbital flight a craft reaches just to the edge of space, and requires less velocity (speed and power) than a craft going into actual orbit. On June 21, 2004, SpaceShipOne performed its first successful manned spaceflight; it also became the first privately funded human spaceflight. On October 4 of that same year SpaceShipOne’s creators took home the coveted Ansari X Prize, a competition funded by the X Prize Foundation, a nonprofit organization that encourages private space exploration. Several other private companies had been vying for the $10 million prize for several years, but Rutan was the first to fully satisfy the competition criteria. The rules specified that the winner would be the first privately funded, piloted spacecraft to reach an altitude of at least 62.14 miles (the boundary of space). The launch had to be successfully performed twice in two weeks. Based on SpaceShipOne’s success Rutan predicted that commercial space travel for the average citizen was inevitable. Passengers onboard a suborbital flight would be taken on a short trip, but they would fully experience the weightlessness of space and a spectacular view of Earth. The cost would also be relatively less expensive than previous commercial flights, expecting to run approximately $100,000. As Rutan commented to Brad Stone of Newsweek, ‘‘After this flight, I don’t think it will be hard to convince anyone that space tourism is within the grasp of normal people.’’

After graduating in 1990, Collins was chosen by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to become an astronaut. NASA was formed in 1958 and is the government agency responsible for monitoring the U.S. space program.

156

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

eileen collins

In 2005 there were approximately 439 astronauts worldwide. Astronauts usually have military backgrounds and are experienced test pilots. Because of the rigorous physical, mental, and scientific demands, they are among an elite group.

Enters the space race Collins’s basic astronaut training included several courses in land and water survival, parachute training, and field trips to various NASA centers and geological sites. There were also classes in such things as the history of the space program, weather, medicine, and mechanics. Perhaps the most difficult part of training was the simulator, which puts pilots through practice launches. During eight-minute sessions, instructors bombard trainees with a series of mechanical malfunctions that might take place during a mission. The pilot may have mere seconds to make a life-ordeath decision. Collins’s initial assignments were to provide engineering support for unmanned orbiting systems. Over the next five years she also served as a spacecraft communicator, and then as the Astronaut Office Spacecraft Systems Branch Chief, Chief Information Officer, Shuttle Branch Chief, and Astronaut Safety Branch Chief. All of this experience prepared Collins for her first mission as a space shuttle pilot in 1995. The mission was the first leg of a new joint space program between Russia and the United States and involved a rendezvous between the U.S. shuttle Discovery and the Russian Mir space station. The Mir space station was the first long-standing orbiting research station in space; it existed until 2001. Collins remembered the feeling of her first flight in an interview with Al Weisel in 1999: ‘‘The launch sounds like you’re standing in a room that’s on fire. The engines turn off at eight and a half minutes, and you’re immediately in zero gravity. I pulled out my pen and it floated. I thought, I’m here—I’m in space.’’ Collins was the first woman to pilot a shuttle, and upon her return she was awarded the Harmon Trophy, which each year honors the highest achievement in space flight. In 1997 Collins piloted her second Discovery-Mir mission, and in 1999 she

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

157

eileen collins

reached another space history milestone by becoming the first woman to command a space shuttle. The focus of the five-person Columbia crew was to launch the Chandra X-Ray Observatory, the largest X-ray telescope ever established in space. The mission, however, did not begin smoothly. During the launch, faulty wiring blew out two of the shuttle’s three main engines. Although the backup engine kicked in, another problem arose when a fuel line began to leak. Throughout the ordeal Commander Collins remained calm and collected, and she successfully guided the craft through launch, its five-day mission, and a safe landing. According to Jeremy Manier of the Chicago Tribune, her cool-headed response to the perilous situation ‘‘helped seal the admiration of her colleagues.’’

Most important mission Throughout her career Collins lived in the spotlight because of her many accomplishments. In 2005 that spotlight became very bright as her next, and perhaps most important command mission, approached. The purpose of the fourteen-day Discovery mission was to improve safety features for future shuttle missions, a particularly vital task since the credibility of the U.S. space program had plummeted during the late 1990s and early 2000s. The primary reason was that federal budget cuts forced NASA administrators to look for ways to reduce costs. In 1999, after two unmanned orbiters (Mars Climate Orbiter and Mars Polar Lander) disintegrated, the press began to severely criticize the effects of the cuts. The most serious blow to the space program came on February 1, 2003, when the space shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into the Earth’s atmosphere. The entire sevenperson crew died in the explosion. The shuttle program was halted for the next two years while researchers investigated the cause. Ultimately it was discovered that falling foam debris from the fuel tank struck the Columbia during launch, causing unseen damage that made it fall apart during reentry. One of the Discovery crew’s tasks during its 2005 mission was to do the first-ever complete nose-over-tail spin, which would allow the underside of the shuttle to be photographed and inspected for problems. Any problems detected could then be fixed to assure a safe reentry.

158

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

eileen collins

The Discovery crew, including Stephen Robinson, left, Eileen Collins, center, and James Kelly, spent much of their fourteen days in space docked and working at the International Space Station. AP/ Wide World Photos.

Prior to the July 26, 2005, launch of the Discovery, reporters hounded Collins, asking her if she feared for her safety or if she felt pressured that the future of manned spaceflight depended on her success. Collins responded with her usual calm reserve. She told Marcia Dunn of the Los Angeles Times, ‘‘We are staying focused on the mission and we know we are good hands with the people on the ground.’’ During their fourteen days in space, the majority of the crew’s time was spent docked at the International Space Station (ISS), which is an orbiting station sponsored by six international agencies from the United States, Japan, Russia, Canada, Brazil, and members of the European Space Agency. They delivered supplies to the ISS and made routine inspections and maintenance. In addition, Collins and crew carefully scrutinized their shuttle to ensure that no damage would prevent them from making a safe return.

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

159

eileen collins

On August 10, after a brief weather delay, the Discovery and its crew landed unharmed at Edwards Air Force Base. NASA officials gave cheers of joy, and at a CNN news conference, program manager Bill Parson commented, ‘‘It’s a good day to be us.’’ During that same conference, one senior official acknowledged Collins for the success: ‘‘There isn’t any of this that is easy . . . but Eileen made it look like a cake walk.’’

Celebrity and mom Although the Discovery mission was a success, it still suffered from falling foam during its launch. As a result NASA officials suspended future shuttle flights until engineers fully fixed the problem. Collins had no doubt, however, that the space program was back on track and looked forward to the future of manned trips to Mars and the moon. She explained to Cathy Booth Thomas of Time magazine, ‘‘We’ve got to constantly remind the generation that follows about the lessons we’ve learned.’’ Whether Collins would be back in space remained to be seen, although her public image as a celebrity was secured. In her hometown of Elmira she had achieved almost mythic status, and an Eileen Collins Observatory was established at nearby Corning Community College. Collins has also been honored with numerous awards, including the Distinguished Flying Cross, the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal, and NASA Space Flight Medals. In addition, after her first flight in 1995 she joined the ranks of America’s top female achievers when she was added to the National Women’s Hall of Fame in Seneca Falls, New York. Despite her national celebrity, Collins remained very private about her personal life and kept her family out of the limelight. She is married to fellow pilot Pat Youngs, whom she met in the 1980s when they were both flight instructors in California. They have two young children, Bridget and Luke. Bridget was nine years old at the time of the 2005 Discovery mission, and prior to the flight Collins felt it was necessary to help her daughter understand how

160

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

eileen collins

spaceflight works. The two visited the shuttle flight simulator together and discussed all the safety measures that were in place. During the mission, Collins e-mailed her children every day. In her spare time, Commander Collins has a difficult time unwinding and separating work from leisure. For fun she reads thick technical manuals and revisits feedback from flight training, all so that she can learn more about spaceflight. Her colleagues, however, wonder if there is anything left for her to learn. But, as the driven pilot revealed to Jeremy Manier, ‘‘I gotta tell you, I came back from my last flight and I tried to read a novel, and it was boring. I couldn’t get into it. My life was like, way above anything I could read in a book.’’

For More Information Periodicals Gugliotta, Guy. ‘‘Rocket Woman: A Commander’s Rise in the Ranks.’’ Seattle Times (July 6, 2005): p. A3. Manier, Jeremy. ‘‘Shuttle Leader: Low-Key, Persistent, Unflappable.’’ Chicago Tribune (July 11, 2005). Podesta, Jane Sims, Anne-Marie O’Neill, and Laurel Calkins. ‘‘Command Performance: Astronaut Eileen Collins.’’ People (May 11, 1998): p. 225. Stone, Brad. ‘‘Space Travel: Great Space Coaster?’’ Newsweek (June 28, 2004): p. 12. Thomas, Cathy Booth. ‘‘Mom Will Be Away for a While.’’ Time (April 18, 2005): p. 20.

Web Sites ‘‘Astronaut Bio: Eileen Collins.’’ NASA Web site. http://www.jsc. nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/collins.html (accessed on August 23, 2005). Dunn, Marcia. ‘‘7 Astronauts Marvel at Reception at Home.’’ Los Angeles Times (August 10, 2005). http://www.latimes.com/ news/science/wire/sns-ap-back-from-space,1,1431844.story?coll= sns-ap-science-headlines&ctrack=1&cset=true (accessed on August 23, 2005). Patterson, Tom. ‘‘‘Discovery Is Home’: Shuttle Completes First Mission Since Loss of Columbia.’’ CNN.com: Science & Space (August 10, 2005). http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/space/08/ 09/space.shuttle/index.html (accessed on August 23, 2005).

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

161

eileen collins Patterson, Tom. ‘‘NASA Eyes Shuttle’s Future.’’ CNN.com: Science & Space (August 10, 2005). http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/space/ 08/09/shuttle.future/index.html (accessed on August 23, 2005). Weisel, Al. ‘‘Miss Universe: Astronaut Eileen Collins.’’ Us Weekly (April 1999). http://home.nyc.rr.com/alweisel/useileencollins.htm (accessed on August 23, 2005).

162

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

Luisa Diogo

April 11, 1958

. Tete province, Mozambique

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

AP/ Wide World Photos.

Prime Minister of Mozambique

Located in southeastern Africa, the tiny country of Mozambique is one of the poorest in the world, with approximately 70 percent of the population living below the poverty line. It is also a country frequently devastated by drought and floods, and in the early 2000s it was still recovering from a civil war that rocked the nation for nearly seventeen years (1975–92). Despite its problems, however, Mozambique is fortunate to have a visionary leader at its helm: Prime Minister Luisa Diogo. Diogo served as Mozambique’s minister of finance for five years, from 1999 until 2004, and during her tenure the country experienced a slow but steady recovery. In February 2004, she was appointed prime minister, becoming the first woman ever to hold the post. Diogo has earned a reputation as a progressive reformer, a passionate advocate, and a savvy businesswoman. According to Time, which ranked Diogo as one of the top leaders and revolutionaries in the world, she ‘‘leads a government that was once written off as a failed state but that now posts economic-growth rates of an Asian tiger.’’

163

luisa diogo

A rocky history Luisa Dias Diogo was born on April 11, 1958, in the western Mozambique province of Tete. She attended Dona Maria Primary School in Tete City until she was twelve years old and the Tete Commercial School until she was fourteen. Diogo’s high school years were spent at Maputo Commercial Institute. Following high school Diogo went on to study economics at Maputo’s Eduardo Mondlane University. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in 1983, she continued her studies at the University of London, where she earned a master’s degree in financial economics in 1992.

...................................................................................................................

‘‘Working and struggling are things that do not scare us.’’ In 1980, while still in college, Diogo began working in Mozambique’s Finance Ministry. It was a rocky time in the country’s history; Mozambique was embroiled in political and military upheaval. In 1975, the nation won its independence from Portugal and became the People’s Republic of Mozambique. Peace, however, was short-lived. A civil war erupted between two Mozambique factions: the Mozambique Liberation Front (FREMILO), a coalition of anti-Portuguese, Communist-backed, liberation groups that helped the country win its freedom from colonial Portuguese rule; and the Mozambique National Resistance (RENAMO), an antiCommunist political organization. (Communists believe in a system of government in which the state plans and controls the economy and a single party holds power.) Hostilities between the groups lasted for the next seventeen years, resulting in the deaths of millions. When Diogo joined the Finance Ministry the country was in year five of its civil war. The FREMILO party was in power, having established a one-party, socialist government, but it faced constant opposition from members of RENAMO. Guerrilla

164

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

luisa diogo

units (small bands of fighters that make surprise attacks) burned bridges, cut power lines, and blocked roadways. This resulted in food and medical shortages and increased unemployment and poverty. The economy of Mozambique was basically in shambles, and the government needed an infusion of new blood. Twenty-two-year-old Diogo proved to be just the answer, and she quickly rose through the ranks of the ministry, becoming a department head in 1986; in 1989 she was named national budget director.

Road to recovery Diogo remained in the position of director for four years, but after she earned her master’s degree she went to work for the World Bank, serving as program officer in Mozambique. The World Bank is an international organization composed of member nations whose primary goal is to assist developing countries. After the 1994 Mozambique elections, President Joaquim Chissano (1939–) invited Diogo to leave the World Bank and join the FREMILO government as deputy finance minister. This marked the economist’s entry into the upper level of the Mozambique federal government. Diogo was just thirty-six years old. As deputy finance minister, Diogo was a key player in drafting and rolling out the government’s first five-year development plan. Because the country was still reeling from civil war, the main focus of the plan was on cementing peace within Mozambique’s borders. By 1999, the second five-year development plan had room to focus on economic reform. That same year Diogo was promoted to minister of finance and she immediately tackled Mozambique’s biggest problems: poverty and economic growth. The answer was financial aid. Because of her growing reputation as an able negotiator, Diogo was able to secure numerous grants from international finance institutions, including the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. By the early 2000s financial aid accounted for nearly 60 percent of Mozambique’s government revenues. In addition, according to the January 1, 2004, issue of The Banker, by 2004 $7 billion in direct foreign assistance had poured into the country.

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

165

luisa diogo

In 2004 alone Diogo was able to secure $790 million in aid from the World Bank. Such an infusion of funds helped finance much-needed initiatives, including advances in telecommunications, increased agriculture production, and HIV/AIDS (viruses that attack a person’s immune system) programs. Although most of the nation’s citizens remained poor, Mozambique’s economy was starting to revive slowly but steadily. Analysts primarily chalked up the success to Diogo. In the same January 2004 issue of The Banker, she was named Finance Minister of the Year for Africa. According to the article, ‘‘It is possibly an overstatement to say that all reform roads lead back to Ms. Diogo, but only just.’’

Madam prime minister In February 2004 the Prime Minister of Mozambique, Pascoal Mocumbi (1941–), resigned his post to take a senior position with the World Health Organization (WHO). WHO is an international health agency of the United Nations based in Geneva, Switzerland. (The United Nations was founded in 1945 and is an international organization composed of most of the countries in the world.) It came as no real surprise when President Chisanno tapped Diogo to be Mocumbi’s replacement; she would also retain the position of finance minister until the December 2004 elections. According to the constitution of Mozambique, the president is the head of the government; the presidency is an elected position with elections taking place every five years. The president is responsible for appointing the prime minister, who assists him or her in leading the nation. According to Bonifacio Antonio, in a Regional Economic Development and Integration report, Diogo’s ‘‘appointment [was] viewed as passing the baton from the generation that fought for independence to the one that has been trained since independence.’’ Mocumbi was sixty-three when he left the prime minister post, which meant he was entrenched in Mozambique’s fight for freedom. Diogo was just seventeen years old in 1975, and as part of a new generation of leaders she was more forwardthinking and more willing to take risks.

166

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

luisa diogo

Gordon Brown, finance minister of Great Britain, and Luisa Diogo visit a sugar plant near Maputo, Mozambique, in early 2005. Britain agreed to pay $150 million of Mozambique’s debt to the World Bank over the next ten years. ª Juda Ngwenya/Reuters/Corbis.

One of Diogo’s first moves was to address the problem of AIDS, a disease that had ravaged the country for more than two decades. In 2004, an estimated 1.4 million of Mozambique’s 18 million citizens were infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS; approximately 500 people contract the virus every day. In July 2004, Diogo officially launched an AIDS Emergency Programme. The goals of the program included educating citizens about AIDS prevention, providing income for people infected with HIV and their families, and giving assistance and home care to people living with AIDS and for children who have been orphaned by the disease. The program came with a hefty price tag: $8.6 million. But the ever-resourceful Diogo assured the nation that funds were already forthcoming from the World Bank and the Common Fund against AIDS. In a press conference reported on the Africa News Service, Diogo declared,

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

167

luisa diogo

‘‘Despite all the measures so far taken to control the epidemic, the disease continues to spread. We can never accept the situation that is now happening in Mozambique.’’ Diogo spent the majority of 2004 fine-tuning the government’s next five-year development plan. She was committed to expanding health and education services, promising to annually recruit six thousand new teachers, eight thousand literacy workers, and almost two thousand health workers. In addition, Diogo proposed reforms in several areas, including an overhaul of the judicial system, which had been plagued by accusations of corruption during the Chissano years (1986–2004). There was also a need for a revamped police force; open sales of drugs were prevalent in many Mozambique military neighborhoods. Above all, however, as Diogo explained in a press conference reported in the Africa News Service on March 15, 2005, ‘‘Our central objective remains the same. It is the combat against absolute poverty.’’

A new era Following the December 2004 elections, President Chissano was replaced by FREMILO candidate Armando Guebuza (1943–), who ushered in a new era in Mozambique politics. Diogo remained in her post of prime minister, but she was relieved of her minister of finance duties so she could concentrate on more extensive government leadership. Her participation in international affairs was also growing because, according to Time, ‘‘Her achievements were increasingly attracting global attention.’’ In October 2004 she was personally invited to attend an annual meeting of general directors of the United Nations. Diogo was the sole prime minister chosen to represent all of the world’s developing countries. The tireless leader of Mozambique is also a wife and mother of three. She is married to Albano Silva, one of the country’s leading attorneys. Her duties, however, keep her constantly on the go as she fights to resurrect the nation to which has devoted most of her life. One of her primary goals is to make Mozambique, and all developing countries, self-sufficient. Part of the 2004 five-year plan, which was approved in April 2005,

168

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

luisa diogo

included funding for technical and professional education. As Diogo stressed in the January 1, 2004, issue of The Banker, ‘‘Developing countries must deepen their knowledge and innovate, design, implement, assess, adjust and exercise ownership over their poverty reduction policies, plans, programmes and projects. Only if they do this serious work will they be able to formulate feasible strategies that have a chance of being successfully implemented.’’ The people of Mozambique will hold their prime minister accountable for the promises she has made. Diogo established what she calls a ‘‘poverty observatory,’’ a forum composed of citizens and members of the media who periodically assess government strategies. ‘‘The media often detects government failings more quickly than government does,’’ the prime minister admitted to The Banker in 2004. She went on to add, ‘‘Democracy in Mozambique is irreversible. People are increasingly accustomed to government delivering.’’

For More Information Periodicals Brown, Mark Malloch. ‘‘Luisa Diogo: Advocate for Africa.’’ Time (April 26, 2004): p. 60. Eedes, James. ‘‘Middle East & Africa: Mozambique—Ready for Stage Two Reforms.’’ The Banker (July 1, 2004). ‘‘Finance Ministers of the Year.’’ The Banker (January 1, 2004). ‘‘Government Determined to Speed Things Up: Diogo.’’ Africa News Service (March 15, 2005). ‘‘HIV/AIDS: We Are All Vulnerable.’’ Africa News Service (July 12, 2004).

Web Sites Antonio, Bonifacio. ‘‘Mozambique: Luisa Diogo, New Prime Minister.’’ REDI News Features. http://www.sardc.net/Editorial/ Newsfeature/04110204.htm (accessed on August 23, 2005). ‘‘First Female Prime Minister in Mozambique.’’ afrol News (February 17, 2004). http://www.afrol.com/articles/11288 (accessed on August 23, 2005).

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

169

Sharon Draper

. .

Sharon M. Draper. Reproduced by permission.

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

April 11, 1952

. Cleveland, Ohio

Author, educator

For thirty years Sharon Draper was an English teacher in the Cincinnati, Ohio, public school system, instilling her love of reading and writing in generations of children, and inspiring them to reach for their greatest dreams. In 1997 she received the highest honor an educator can be given when President Bill Clinton (1946–) named her the U.S. Teacher of the Year. As a result Draper became a spokesperson for the teaching profession, crisscrossing the globe to talk about the importance of excellence in the classroom. In 1994 the dedicated teacher became an author, releasing her first children’s book, Ziggy and the Black Dinosaurs. Since then she has penned numerous books geared toward children and young adults; Draper is also a poet and nonfiction writer. Her books have won countless prizes, including the Coretta Scott King Award, given annually by the American Library Association to authors and illustrators of African American descent. Draper’s most recent young adult

171

sharon draper

novel, The Battle of Jericho (2003), was named the Coretta Scott King Honor Book of 2004.

Young bookworm In interviews Sharon Draper credits her parents for introducing her to the world of books. Draper was born in 1952 in Cleveland, Ohio, the oldest child of Victor Mills, a hotel maitre’d (headwaiter), and Catherine Mills, who worked as a classified advertising manager for the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Books filled the Mills’s home, and Catherine Mills read to her three children each

...................................................................................................................

‘‘I write because I care about young people. I write because I teach.’’ night starting when they were very young; by the time Draper began school she was already a self-described bookworm. ‘‘I inhaled books and knowledge,’’ the author commented on her Web site. Draper explained that for her parents, education was a precious commodity. Victor and Catherine encouraged their children to study and work hard, and as a result they could reach whatever goal they set for themselves: ‘‘When I was a little girl, my parents saw me, and my brother and sister, as one of those bright flames of possibility. It never even occurred to me not to do well, not to continue to shine.’’ Draper did shine brilliantly, becoming a straight-A student and going through almost every single book in her school library. While still in elementary school Draper also realized that one day she wanted to become a teacher. ‘‘I was probably born to be a teacher,’’ she revealed on her Web site. ‘‘As a child, I taught my dolls, my dogs, and the kids next door.’’ She singles out one woman, in particular, who served as a special role model: her fifth grade teacher, Mrs. Kathadaza Mann. According to Draper, Mann taught her students about Black history long before it was an accepted part of the curriculum. She also

172

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

sharon draper

introduced them to classic literature, art, and music. ‘‘She was one of the first teachers,’’ Draper recalled, ‘‘who taught me to read analytically, to think critically, and to speak fearlessly.’’ Draper breezed through high school, taking advanced and honors courses, and graduated a National Merit Scholar. National Merit Scholarships are awarded each year to a handful of students who achieve excellence on the college placement examination, the SAT. With scholarship in hand, Draper enrolled at Pepperdine University, located in Malibu, California. In 1971, when she was just twenty years old, Draper graduated with a degree in English. Pepperdine offered her a teaching position while she pursued a master’s degree, but Draper chose to return to Ohio where she enrolled at Miami University of Ohio. She earned a master’s degree in 1974. During this same period, she married her husband, Larry Draper, who is also a teacher. The couple has four children.

Teacher of the year As an English teacher in the Cincinnati Public School system, Draper earned a reputation as a no-nonsense educator who challenged her students to the limit. ‘‘I demand the best from them,’’ she explained on her Web site, ‘‘and they expect the best from me.’’ Draper introduced students to classic and contemporary literature through seminar-like classes where kids were encouraged to discuss what they read in conjunction with current events. Draper also guaranteed parents that their children would emerge better writers from her classroom. One of Draper’s writing assignments, in particular, became legendary. As part of their final grade, seniors at Walnut Hills High School were asked to produce a well-researched term paper. Draper’s expectations were so high that the task was eventually dubbed ‘‘The Draper Paper.’’ T-shirts were even designed and given only to those students who successfully met the challenge. Their shirts proudly boasted: ‘‘I Survived the Draper Paper.’’ Draper’s classes were in high demand through the 1980s and 1990s, and in 1997 she was named Ohio’s Teacher of the Year. In April 1997 the Cincinnati educator scored an even bigger honor when she earned the title U.S. Teacher of the

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

173

sharon draper

Year. In the award ceremony held in Washington, D.C., President Bill Clinton applauded Draper for her many years of service. Jet magazine reprinted part of his speech: ‘‘For 27 years she has inspired students with her passion for literature and life. Sharon Draper is more than a credit to her profession, she is a true blessing to the children she has taught.’’ When she accepted the award, Draper gave a nod to those who shared her profession. ‘‘I am so proud to be a teacher,’’ she commented. ‘‘I’m proud of my colleagues, 3 million of us, who strive every day in the classrooms across the country to make a difference in the lives of students.’’ Following her win, Draper took a one-year leave of absence from the classroom to tour the United States as a teaching ambassador. She spoke at schools and at conferences, offering encouragement to educators and lecturing about quality teaching. She also reached out to businesses and community groups, reinforcing the need both to support education in general, and also support the contributions made by individual teachers every day. In addition, Draper became part of the National Board for Teaching Standards and contributed to a number of professional publications to push the need for teacher accountability and development. Essentially, Draper became a one-woman teacher advocate.

Teacher turns author Being the Teacher of the Year ambassador kept Draper on the road more than twenty days a month. For the average person, such a hectic schedule would have been draining, but for Draper it must have been grueling considering she also had a second career as a published author. Her writing career began in 1990 on a whim. Draper had always encouraged her students to submit stories and poems to writing contests. One day, Draper explains on her Web site, a bold young man handed her a crumpled application form and said, ‘‘You think you so bad— why don’t you write something! Enter this contest!’’ Draper accepted his challenge and submitted a short story to Ebony magazine’s annual Gertrude Johnson Williams Literary Competition.

174

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

sharon draper

Months went by and Draper promptly forgot that she had even entered a contest. One day, however, she received a phone call that her short story, ‘‘One Small Torch,’’ had taken first prize. Almost overnight the astonished Draper was in the national spotlight, and she began receiving letters and calls of congratulations—some from very famous writers. More importantly, the win ignited a spark in Draper, who decided to try her hand at a longer work of fiction. Ever the teacher, she had her students’ best interest in mind. As she commented on her Web site, ‘‘I wanted to write something that young people could read that would be contemporary and exciting.’’ She further explained, ‘‘I couldn’t find anything they really liked to read, so I started writing for them myself.’’ The busy Draper wrote during any spare moment she could find, which meant stealing time on weekends, at night, and during study hall periods. Finally, at the end of a year she completed her first young adult novel, Tears of a Tiger. Success, however, did not come overnight. The manuscript was rejected by twentyfour different publishers before it was finally accepted by Simon & Schuster. As luck would have it, while she was waiting for Tears to be published, Draper was contacted by her agent who said that another publishing house, the African American-run Just Us Books, had inquired whether Draper had anything in the works for younger readers. The fledgling writer went back to work and churned out a mystery called Ziggy and the Black Dinosaurs. In November 1994 both of Draper’s books appeared on bookstore shelves on the same day.

Tigers and dinosaurs Tears of a Tiger focuses on an African American teen named Andy Jackson, who struggles to come to terms with the death of his best friend, Robert. The two had been drinking, celebrating a high school basketball game victory, when they got into an automobile accident; Andy was driving the car. Draper uses a variety of devices to move the story along. Through journal entries, school writing assignments, and letters, readers are given insight into Andy’s feelings and the reaction of his friends and family. As Draper told David Marc Fischer of Writing!, ‘‘For

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

175

sharon draper

young people, the largest part of the day is spent in school. School is their world. So I make school assignments and activities vital parts of my stories.’’ Tears was the first book in what would become the Hazelwood High trilogy. The main character in the second title in the series, Forged by Fire (1997), is Gerald Nickelby, one of Andy’s basketball teammates. Darkness Before Dawn (2001) follows Andy’s girlfriend, Keisha, through her senior year of high school. Ziggy and the Black Dinosaurs also ended up being a trilogy, with all three books following the adventures of ten-year-old Ziggy, who forms a club called the Black Dinosaurs with his three best friends. Draper penned the series with African American boys in mind, drawing from the adventures of her own sons when they were children. And, just as she did in the Hazelwood High books, the teacher-turned-author mixes some ‘‘lessons’’ in with the adventure. In book two, Lost in the Tunnel of Time (1996), Ziggy and friends discover a tunnel once used as a station for the Underground Railroad. The Underground Railroad was a secret network used by African slaves during the nineteenth century as they traveled from southern slave states to freedom in the North. Shadows of Caesar’s Creek (1997), which is the third title in the series, introduces Ziggy and readers to rituals and rites of the Shawnee Indian tribe. Teachers latched on to Draper’s books for making lesson plans, parents praised her for helping their children turn off the television and start turning pages, and kids raced to the library begging for more. In fact, as one teacher told Kelly Starling of Ebony, ‘‘Few books have elicited such strong emotion in my students as Tears of a Tiger. It’s the only book some of them have read completely.’’ Tears went on to become the 1995 American Library Association (ALA) Best Book for Young Adults; it also took home the Coretta Scott King Genesis Award, given annually to new African American authors. In 1998, Draper won her second Coretta Scott King award for Forged by Fire. According to the Seattle Times, the ALA jury commended Draper ‘‘for tackling troubling contemporary issues, and providing concrete options and positive African American role models.’’

176

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

sharon draper

Fun Facts about Sharon Draper

Teacher-turned-author

Sharon Draper is as

by young readers are posted on Draper’s Web site

dedicated to her readers as she was to her students

and give a glimpse into the life of the famous author.

during her thirty years spent in the classroom. She

There are some questions that she will not answer

enjoys speaking to kids across the country who

because they are too personal (like how old she

enthusiastically ask her questions about the writing

is); others Draper refuses to answer when she feels it

process, the characters in her books, and how

would be completing kids’ homework assignments

they can one day become writers themselves. In

(for example, discussing the themes found in her

April 2005, Draper visited Whittier Middle School in

books). Here are some fun answers to some interes-

Sioux Falls, South Dakota, where she read excerpts

ting questions posed to award-winning author Sharon

from her books and fielded questions from her

Draper:

young fans. As one thirteen-year-old told Brenda Schmidt of the Argus Leader, ‘‘You do feel like you know her. It’s a lot of fun to actually meet her and see her personality.’’ According to Draper, who spoke with Teri Lesesne of Teacher Librarian, ‘‘It’s an awesome

1. What do you usually have for breakfast? Yogurt and walnuts and bananas. 2. If you could eat lunch with one famous person, who would it be? Denzel Washington. 3. What would you hate to be left in a room with? No books!

responsibility to have so much response to what I’ve written.’’ As a result, she takes correspondence

4. What inspires you? Honesty. Sincerity. Love.

from fans very seriously and she reads every piece

5. What annoys you? People who don’t try. People who give up.

of e-mail she receives. Many of the questions posed

Trouble and controversy Many of Draper’s novels deal with topics that may be controversial, but that are a very real part of everyday life for some people. For example, 1999’s Romiette and Julio takes on interracial dating and gang life, and Double Dutch, published in 2002, tackles illiteracy and child abandonment. When asked why she explores such tough subjects, Draper told David Marc Fischer, ‘‘Perhaps reading about the difficulties of others will act like an armor and protect my readers from the personal tragedies of their own lives.’’ Draper believes that her books help her readers in many ways. Gerald, the main character in Forged by Fire, lives in a violent home situation where he must protect his sister from their abusive father. Draper included phone numbers in the book for

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

177

sharon draper

the National Child Abuse Hotline and the National Domestic Abuse Hotline. She explained to Fischer that she has received many letters from teens who have thanked her for including the numbers: ‘‘One girl wrote, ‘I called that number and it saved my life.’ It still gives me chills.’’ In 2004, Draper received her third Coretta Scott King Award for The Battle of Jericho (2003), which takes a frank look at yet another controversial topic: hazing rituals. Jericho is a talented high school trumpet player who is asked to join the prestigious community service organization called the Warriors of Distinction. In order to join the group new members must survive pledge initiation week. At first the tasks are harmless, but as the week progresses things start to take a negative turn. Ultimately, Jericho must decide whether staying with the group is worth losing his self-respect. According to critics the book is gripping and the plot full of twists and turns. Publishers Weekly called it ‘‘timely,’’ and congratulated Draper for ‘‘driving home an important message about peer pressure.’’

Always the educator By 2005 Draper had retired from teaching to pursue writing full time, but the dedicated professional could never truly stop being an educator. She currently serves on the Board of the National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future, and she continues to travel around the world lecturing to groups of all ages about the power of education and the importance of literacy and reading. Draper is also a frequent guest on many U.S. television and radio programs. For Draper, however, the best opportunities are when she visits schools and spends some one-on-one time with students. Draper told Teri Lesesne of Teacher Librarian, ‘‘I started writing as a result of my teaching, and now, my writing has become a teaching tool. I wrote for my students, for the kids I knew who didn’t like to read, who weren’t inspired by books or literature. Now the books are used in schools all over the country, teachers use them as learning tools for their classes, and when I speak to students at schools, all I really do is an extended version of what I’ve always done, which is teach.’’

178

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

sharon draper

For More Information Books Draper, Sharon. The Battle of Jericho. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2003. Draper, Sharon. Forged by Fire. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1997. Draper, Sharon. Tears of a Tiger. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1994. Draper, Sharon. Ziggy and the Black Dinosaurs. East Orange, N.J.: Just Us Books, 1994. Draper, Sharon. Ziggy and the Black Dinosaurs: Lost in the Tunnel of Time. East Orange, N.J.: Just Us Books, 1996.

Periodicals Fischer, David Marc. ‘‘The Words Come So Easily: Interview with Sharon Draper.’’ Writing! (November–December 2001): pp. 18–21. ‘‘King, Caldecott, Newbery Honors Given.’’ Seattle Times (January 13, 1998): p. E5. Lesesne, Teri S. ‘‘To Instruct, To Inspire, To Entertain: The World of Sharon Draper.’’ Teacher Librarian (October 2002): pp. 47–50. Review of The Battle of Jericho. Publishers Weekly (June 9, 2003): p. 53. Review of Double Dutch. Publishers Weekly (June 17, 2002): p. 66. Starling, Kelly. ‘‘Ebony Contest-Winner Scores in Education and Art.’’ Ebony (May 1998): pp. 126–129. Zonnenberg, Arina. Review of Romiette and Julio. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy (April 2002): p. 660.

Web Sites Schmidt, Brenda Wade. ‘‘Author’s Stops Put Face Behind the Novels.’’ Argus.com (April 15, 2005). http://www.argusleader.com/ apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050414/NEWS06/504140305/1001/ NEWS (accessed on August 23, 2005). Sharon Draper Web Site. http://sharondraper.com/ (accessed on August 23, 2005).

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

179

Jamie Foxx

. .

U X L newsmakers

Alexander Tamargo/Getty Images.

. volume 5

December 13, 1967

. Terrell, Texas

Actor, comedian, musician

Although he worked as an actor and comedian for many years, it wasn’t until 2005 that Jamie Foxx became hugely famous. In the 1990s Foxx was primarily known as a stand-up comic with an uncanny knack for mimicking almost anyone. He was also a regular on television, appearing on the comedy-sketch show In Living Color and starring in his own self-titled top-rated sitcom from 1996 to 2001. Foxx eventually branched out into film, at first appearing in low-budget, forgettable fare like 1997’s Booty Call. But there was more to Foxx than slapstick, and he proved it beginning in 1999 with a head-turning performance in director Oliver Stone’s Any Given Sunday. In 2005 Foxx made unlikely Hollywood history by becoming the first African American performer to be nominated for two Academy Awards in the same year. He was in the running for Best Supporting Actor for his work in the suspense-thriller Collateral; he was also a contender for Best Actor for his performance in the movie Ray. The thirty-seven-year-old

181

jamie foxx

Foxx nabbed the Best Actor Oscar, making him only the third African American male to take home the coveted gold statue.

Bittersweet childhood America’s foremost funnyman and Oscar winner had a bittersweet childhood. Jamie Foxx was born Eric Bishop on December 13, 1967, in the tiny town of Terrell, Texas, population fourteen thousand. His father and mother, Shaheed Abdullah and Louise Annette Talley, were very young when they had their son and soon felt overwhelmed by the burden of parenthood. When Foxx

...................................................................................................................

‘‘Everything is right under your finger in life; all you have to do is take time out to find which notes to play to make music. The music will be your life. You just have to put the work to it.’’ was just seven months old he was officially adopted by his maternal grandparents, Mark and Esther Talley. Esther Talley had a profound impact on her adopted son, and in interviews Foxx credits her as being his inspiration. ‘‘My grandmother was 60 years old when she adopted me,‘‘ Foxx remarked to Josh Tyrangiel of Time. ‘‘She ran a nursery school and had a library in the house. She saw me reading early, saw I was smart and believed I was born to achieve truly special things.’’ A devout Christian, Talley did not allow nonreligious music in her house, but she did push Foxx to take piano lessons from an early age. The boy showed such talent that when he was thirteen years old he was making up to three hundred dollars a month playing piano at events around town. By the time he was fifteen, Foxx was musical director and choir leader at Terrell’s New Hope Baptist Church. The budding musician also showed he had talent on the gridiron. In high school he played quarterback

182

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

jamie foxx

on the Terrell Tiger’s football team, and he became a local hero when he was the first player to pass for more than one thousand yards. Foxx was a shining star, but his biological parents did not take part in the glory. Although they lived only twenty-eight miles away in Dallas, they rarely visited their son. ‘‘I was making the Dallas Morning News, and my father never came down,’’ Foxx told Tyrangiel, ‘‘That’s weird. That absence made me angry. It made me want to be something.’’ After high school the talented teen won a piano scholarship from the United States International University in San Diego, California. During the week, Foxx studied under Russian teachers alongside top phenomenons from around the world. He spent his weekends in Los Angeles shopping for a record deal and haunting local comedy clubs. In 1989, Foxx felt confident enough to try his hand at stand-up. He started out doing deadon impersonations of some of his favorite comedians, such as Bill Cosby (1937–) and Richard Pryor (1940–), who he had watched on television while growing up. Soon Foxx became a regular on the comedy club open-mic circuit, and he dropped out of college to pursue a career full time. To make ends meet, he worked parttime as a janitor and as a shoe salesman at Thom McCann.

Trades keyboard for comedy One night Foxx literally had a life-altering experience when he signed up to be a fill-in at a comedy club called the Improv in Santa Monica, California. A television crew was on-hand filming an HBO special, and to ensure that he would be called on, the ambitious comedian wrote four different made-up names on the sign-up sheet—all girls’ names, since he had noticed that girls tended to be chosen by the emcees. When Jamie Foxx was called, the name Eric Bishop was relegated to the past. ‘‘Eric Bishop is Clark Kent,’’ Foxx told Josh Young of Variety, ‘‘Jamie Foxx is Superman.’’ The newly named Foxx became successful enough to quit his day jobs and devote himself to performing seven nights a week. After making it on the local scene, it was time for Superman to take the next step and conquer television. In 1991, along with hundreds of other hopefuls, Foxx auditioned for a new TV series called In Living Color, a comedy-sketch program that was a

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

183

jamie foxx

launching pad for other top-notch performers, including Jim Carrey (1962–), Jennifer Lopez (1970–), and Damon (1961–) and Keenan Ivory Wayans (c. 1958–). Foxx appeared on the critically acclaimed show until 1994, when the series was cancelled, and became known not only for his impersonations, but for his wildly original and outrageous characters, especially one called Ugly Wanda. While working on In Living Color, Foxx branched out into other areas of television. He played a recurring character named Crazy George on the Fox sitcom Roc; he was also a featured performer on various network comedy specials. Foxx was even asked by HBO to star in his own one-man comedy concert, which aired in 1993 as Jamie Foxx: Straight From the Foxxhole. Foxx was on such a roll that after Color was cancelled he went into the recording studio and produced a twelve-track rhythm and blues album called Peep This. He not only produced the 1995 album, Foxx also wrote and sang each of the songs. Peep This topped at number twelve on the Billboard charts. Foxx’s hiatus from comedy, however, was short lived. In 1996 he helped create and produce a self-titled, half-hour sitcom for the WB network. The show, loosely based on Foxx’s own life, centered on Jamie King, an aspiring actor from Terrell, Texas, who moves to Hollywood to seek fame and fortune. While struggling to make it big, King works in a shady hotel owned by his aunt and uncle. For the next five years Foxx fans were treated to a weekly dose of their favorite comedian; Foxx also expanded his fan base since his television show, unlike his stand-up, was geared toward audiences of all ages. During its run, The Jamie Foxx Show was the highest-rated series on WB; in 1998 it also earned Foxx an NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series. The Image Awards are given annually for outstanding achievement and performances of people of color.

Beamen to Bundini His television show opened up a world of opportunities for Foxx. People in the entertainment industry got a glimpse of his versatility as an actor, a writer, and a musician. For example, during a

184

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

jamie foxx

final-season episode, Foxx, as Jamie King, sang a duet with legendary performer Gladys Knight (1941–). His television exposure also led Foxx to roles on the big screen, although the actor admitted that his early films were less than memorable. Pigeonholed as a comedian, Foxx found himself cast in light fare like Toys (1992) and low-budget, slapstick comedies such as Booty Call (1997). ‘‘Booty Call was not a choice,’’ Foxx explained to Time magazine’s Josh Tyrangiel. ‘‘It was what I did because I couldn’t get work in anything better.’’ In 1999, thanks to another actor’s loss, Foxx finally gained a chance to sink his teeth into a dramatic role when he was cast in Any Given Sunday, the latest offering from top Hollywood director Oliver Stone (1946–). Sean ‘‘P. Diddy’’ Combs (1971–) was Stone’s original choice to play Willie Beamen, the cocky thirdstring quarterback, in his revealing look at the lives of professional football players, but when Combs backed out, he agreed to let Foxx audition. ‘‘I had strong feelings about [Foxx] the moment he read for us,’’ Stone commented to Allison Samuels of Newsweek. ‘‘There was anger there that was needed, but also humor. Both worked perfectly together, and Willie got the edge he needed.’’ Despite giving what Samuels called a ‘‘winning, charismatic turn’’ in Sunday, other directors were not knocking down Foxx’s door following the film’s release. Foxx essentially spent 2000 turning down one mediocre role after another, knowing that he had to make a careful next move. When he auditioned for the role of trainer Drew ‘‘Bundini’’ Brown in 2001’s Ali, Foxx knew he was a long shot. Ali director Michael Mann (1943–) also had his doubts, considering Bundini, who was the lifetime supporter of heavyweight boxing champ Muhammad Ali (1942–), was a balding, potbellied, older man. But Foxx proved up to the challenge, and the muscular, thirty-four-year-old literally transformed himself into the stoop-shouldered, fast-talking Brown. As Oliver Stone wrote in Time, ‘‘The physicality was absolutely genuine.’’

Hits the right chord with Ray Foxx received his first bit of Oscar buzz for his performance in Ali, although he was passed over for a nomination. He did,

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

185

jamie foxx

however, catch the attention of director Taylor Hackford (1944–), who was casting for his upcoming movie, Ray, an in-depth look into the life of legendary musician Ray Charles (1930–2004). The movie was a labor of love for Hackford, who had spent fifteen years working on the script and trying to find backers for the project. When he finally got the green light, the director needed just the right man for the lead. He found that man in Jamie Foxx. ‘‘I thought, this guy’s got talent,’’ Hackford told Josh Young of Variety. ‘‘I don’t know whether he can carry a whole movie. I wouldn’t know until we worked together, but he had the potential. He had the look, and once I realized he was a consummate musician, I never went anywhere else.’’ Foxx threw himself into the role, methodically preparing for months to fill Brother Ray’s shoes. He dropped thirty pounds to achieve a lean look, worked at mastering Charles’s keyboard technique, talked to the musician’s family and close friends, and watched hours of videotaped interviews. ‘‘I used that as the DNA [genetic building block] to get the young Ray as we moved through the film,’’ Foxx explained to Aldore Collier of Ebony. ‘‘It was just taking him, studying him and then crushing it down to where it’s not an impersonation, but the nuances, how he talked to his kids, how he talked to his wife.’’ One of the most difficult hurdles was effectively portraying a man who had been blind since the age of seven. Foxx practiced being blind by gluing his eyes shut and during the entire filming of the movie he wore a prosthetic device over his eyes, which really did render him blind for up to fourteen hours a day. Perhaps the biggest thrill for Foxx came when he got the chance to spend some one-on-one time with Charles, who died just four months before the movie’s October 2004 release. The two jammed together on the piano for almost an hour, and Foxx described the experience as incredible. By the end of the meeting Ray Charles had given his blessing to the film. According to the film’s producer, Stuart Benjamin, who spoke with Clarissa Cruz of Entertainment Weekly, ‘‘It was a complete lovefest. Ray really, really embraced Jamie. He was comfortable that Jamie had the musical chops.’’

186

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

jamie foxx

Jamie Foxx earned the 2004 Academy Award for Best Actor for his stunning portrayal of singer Ray Charles in Ray. ª Nicola Goode/Universal Pictures/ Zuma/Corbis.

Audiences agreed and when Ray hit movie theaters they turned out in droves, helping the film rake in more than $20 million its opening weekend. Critics who previously doubted that the unproven comedian could handle such a weighty film had nothing but praise for Foxx’s superior performance. Entertainment Weekly claimed that ‘‘Foxx energized the entire picture, quietly capturing the late musician’s mannerisms, his tentative walk, and reflexive smile.’’ And Ebony enthused, ‘‘Foxx effortlessly nailed down the nuances, the voice and the thrills and tears of the great singer’s life.’’ The biggest note of approval for Foxx, however, came from Charles’s children. When they saw Foxx in character he reminded them so much of their father that they often had to leave the set. ‘‘That’s when we knew we had something special,’’ he told Ebony.

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

187

jamie foxx

African Americans at the Oscars

Every year since 1929 the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has honored individuals for outstanding achievement in film. In the entertainment industry these Academy Awards, also known as Oscars, are considered to be very prestigious since winners are voted on by their peers. There are twenty-four categories, ranging from editing to writing, costuming to directing. The most anticipated categories for moviegoers, however, may be the acting categories, perhaps because celebrities have become such a mainstay in American culture. The history of African Americans at the Oscars is a controversial one. Although Hattie McDaniel (1898–1952) won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in 1939, an African American was not nominated in the Best Supporting Actor category until 1969, when Rupert Crosse (1927–1973) was singled out, but did not win, for his performance in The Reivers. The first African American nominees in the Best Actor and Actress categories would not be tapped until the 1950s: Sidney Poitier (1927–) was nominated in 1958 for The Defiant Ones, Dorothy Dandridge (c. 1922–1965) in 1959 for Carmen Jones. As the twenty-first century progresses more African Americans have been honored at the Academy Awards, but the list of winners is still relatively small. Actor; Year; Category; Film Hattie McDaniel; 1939; Best Actress; Gone with the Wind

Supporting

Morgan Freeman. ª Robert Galbraith/Reuters/Corbis.

Denzel Washington; 1989; Best Supporting Actor; Glory Whoopi Goldberg; 1990; Best Supporting Actress; Ghost Cuba Gooding Jr.; 1996; Best Supporting Actor; Jerry Maguire Halle Berry; 2001; Best Actress; Monster’s Ball

Rita Moreno; 1961; Best Supporting Actress; West Side Story

Denzel Washington; 2001; Best Actor; Training Day

Sidney Poitier; 1963; Best Actor; Lilies of the Field

Morgan Freeman; 2004; Best Supporting Actor; Million Dollar Baby

Louis Gossett Jr.; 1982; Best Supporting Actor; An Officer and a Gentleman

188

. .

Jamie Foxx; 2004; Best Actor; Ray

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

jamie foxx

Foxx on fire From the moment Ray was released, Foxx was the top contender for a Best Actor Oscar, and on February 27, 2005, he proved predictions right when he took home the prize. He became only the third African American man, after Sidney Poitier (1927–) and Denzel Washington (1954–), to snag a Best Actor award. Foxx also made history by becoming the first African American to be nominated for an acting Oscar in two categories in the same year. For his role as Max, the mellow cabbie who is held hostage by a contract killer in Collateral, Foxx was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor award. He lost out to veteran actor Morgan Freeman (1937–)—another popular African American actor— who won for his performance in Million Dollar Baby. Foxx gave a poignant acceptance speech, thanking first and foremost his grandmother, who passed away in October 2004 at the age of ninety-five. According to Jet magazine, the talented entertainer from Texas called his adopted mother his first acting teacher since she always told him to ‘‘act like you got some sense.’’ Foxx also thanked his eleven-year-old daughter, Corrine, and special thanks, of course, went out to Ray Charles. Following his Oscar win Jamie Foxx was on fire. He had two movies slated for release in 2005: the war drama Jarhead and Stealth, an action-adventure blockbuster. Foxx also remained one of the top-grossing stand-up comedians in the United States, and in October of 2004 he signed a deal with J Records to release his next solo music album. ‘‘I will never do this much publicity in my life,’’ he commented to Tyrangiel, ‘‘But this is kind of my moment here.’’ Foxx enjoys reaping the benefits of his fame, which included maintaining residences in both Las Vegas and Los Angeles. He also enjoyed a reputation as a playboy who loved to party with his posse of pals. At the same time, Foxx is a devoted family man. He shares his Los Angeles home with his two half-sisters, one of whom has Down syndrome (a form of mental retardation). Foxx also believes that he has a responsibility to serve as a role model for young African Americans, and in the future is

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

189

jamie foxx

eager to take parts that can make a political statement. For example, in 2004 he appeared in the original television movie Redemption, which explored the inequality of treatment between African Americans and whites in prison. Foxx was nominated for a Golden Globe for his performance. (The Golden Globes are awarded each year by members of the Hollywood Foreign Press for outstanding achievement in film and television.) ‘‘For African American stars it’s more than just getting our money and riding in our cars and getting behind those gates,’’ Foxx explained to Variety magazine. ‘‘We have to give something. I know it sounds cliche´, ‘to give something back,’ but it’s really true—and you have to do it at your hottest.’’

For More Information Periodicals Collier, Aldore. ‘‘Jamie Foxx: The Thrills and Tears of the Ray Charles Story.’’ Ebony (November 2004): pp. 96–101. Cruz, Clarissa. ‘‘Jamie Foxx: Ray.’’ Entertainment Weekly (February 4, 2005): p. 26. ‘‘Jamie Foxx and Morgan Freeman Win Best Acting Awards at Oscars.’’ Jet (March 14, 2005): pp. 6–11. ‘‘Jamie Foxx Tells How He Became Jamie Foxx.’’ Jet (March 24, 1997): pp. 32–36. Lynch, Jason. ‘‘Jamie Foxx: What You Need to Know.’’ People (February 14, 2005): p. 79. Mitchell, Elvis. ‘‘Jamie Foxx: Underestimated from the Start, He Always Had Something Special up His Sleeve.’’ Interview (November 2004): pp. 92–99. Samuels, Allison. ‘‘Crazy Like a Foxx.’’ Newsweek (August 2, 2004): p. 54. Stone, Oliver. ‘‘Mastering Any Given Part: Jamie Foxx.’’ Time (April 18, 2005): p. 114. Tyrangiel, Josh. ‘‘The Art of Being a Confidence Man.’’ Time (October 18, 2004): p. 76. Young, Josh. ‘‘Jamie Foxx’s Oscar Hunt.’’ Variety (October 4, 2004): pp. S46–52.

190

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

Deborah Gregory

. .

U X L newsmakers

Johnny Nunez/ WireImage.com.

. volume 5

Brooklyn, New York

Author, designer

D

eborah Gregory had already achieved success in several careers, including working as a fashion model, entertainer, and magazine columnist, when she was approached in 1999 by Disney to create a series of books aimed at young African American girls. Because of her flamboyant personality and her flair for words, Gregory was just the right person to reach a marketing segment that had been traditionally overlooked. The first in what would come to be called the Cheetah Girls series, Wishing on a Star, was released in September 1999. Since then thirteen more books have been published—one almost every six months—with each following the adventures of five hip New York teens who are trying to break into show business. Gregory has essentially created a Cheetah Girls dynasty. In addition to books, there has been a Cheetah Girls movie, which was released on the Disney Channel in 2003. There are also numerous Cheetah Girl products, including CDs, T-shirts, and fashion accessories, all guaranteed to give young girls ‘‘growl power.’’

191

deborah gregory

From foster care to fashionista Out of the five Cheetah Girls, Deborah Gregory relates most to Dorinda because, like her character, the author grew up in the foster-care system. Gregory was born in Brooklyn, New York, where she, her mother, and five siblings lived a homeless existence on the streets. When she was just three years old the family was picked up by the police; Gregory’s mother was institutionalized and the children were separated and placed in various foster homes. As an adult, Gregory never managed to locate her mother, but she remained close to several of her sisters.

...................................................................................................................

‘‘There is a little Cheetah Girl in every girl, no matter how big or small her dreams are.’’ While she was growing up Gregory lived with four different families. She also lived for a time in a group home. To combat feelings of loneliness the young Gregory looked inward and found a fabulous world of fantasy. She would create outrageous outfits, all sewn by hand, and practice in front of the mirror for hours pretending to be a famous singer. ‘‘My dreams were never dreams that I thought could come true,’’ Gregory explained on her Web site. ‘‘They served more of an escape from the extremely painful existence of growing up in foster homes with people who were mean to me and other foster kids.’’ When she was eighteen Gregory finally left the foster system and struck out on her own. Realizing she had a flair for fashion she worked her way through school at the Fashion Institute of Technology, which is part of the State University of New York. Following graduation she headed for Europe, where she spent a year as a model. Upon returning to the United States, Gregory attended Empire State College in New York, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in English in 1986.

192

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

deborah gregory

Flair for writing A born and bred New Yorker, Gregory settled down in SoHo, an artsy district of Manhattan, and opened her own fashion boutique. The boutique flourished for a few years, but after her business partner pulled out, Gregory was forced to close the shop. Jobless, she turned to some of the many contacts she had made over the years. One of them was the fashion editor for Essence, a leading magazine geared toward African American women. The editor had frequently used Gregory’s designs in fashion shoots, and she suggested that the former boutique owner try her hand at writing. After a successful trial run, Gregory became a contributing writer for Essence in 1992. Eventually she was given a monthly entertainment-news column called ‘‘Chit Chat and All That,’’ where she frequently covered stories about female singing groups. Gregory recalled her own early ambitions when she spoke with Linda Jones of the Dallas Morning News: ‘‘When I was younger I wanted to sing. I had all the clothes, I had the flamboyant quality, but I just didn’t have the voice.’’ That flamboyance served Gregory well in her writing career, however, and soon she was contributing to a number of top magazines, including Vibe, More, Us, and Entertainment Weekly. While Gregory was making her mark in the magazine world, Disney Publishing was tossing around an idea for a new book series that would center around five teen girls who form a singing group. Throughout the 2000s the teen-girl market had proven lucrative for Disney, a company that produced hit TV series, such as Lizzie McGuire, starring pop star Hilary Duff (1987–), and big-screen offerings, including Freaky Friday (2003) and Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen (2004), featuring break-out teen Lindsay Lohan (1986–). This time around, however, Disney specifically wanted their teen characters to have a different flavor. They approached Gregory to pen the series, knowing she had her finger on the pulse of girl-group trends, plus they thought she had just the right sense of fun and flair.

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

193

deborah gregory

The jiggy jungle of the Cheetah Girls On her Web site Gregory claims she came up with the idea for the Cheetah Girls while lounging on her leopard-print bedspread, wearing leopard-print pajamas, and propped up against leopardprint pillows. ‘‘I realized I had the answer all along, right at my heels,’’ she explained. ‘‘I guess you could say I created the Cheetah Girls right out of my leopard lair.’’ Gregory’s five teen characters all wear leopard and cheetah prints, and according to Linda Jones, they are ‘‘divas-in-training.’’ Following Disney’s request, Gregory made sure her five ninth-graders were from a diverse mix of backgrounds, although according to Gregory the publishing company had originally indicated that the girls should all be African American. ‘‘That’s not my reality,’’ she told Jones. ‘‘To me it was very important that the characters be multicultural because that is the reality of the world.’’ Therefore, Galleria is African American and Italian; Chanel is of Dominican, Puerto Rican, and Cuban heritage; Anginette and Aquanette are African American twins who originally hail from Houston, Texas; and Dorinda, who grew up as a foster child, is not quite sure what her ethnic origins are. Although fashion, fame, and fortune are uppermost in the minds of the Cheetah Girls, Gregory felt it was important to fill her characters with a sense of morals. According to Essence, ‘‘These sisters are not all glitz and glare, they do have solid-gold values.’’ In fact, Gregory created what is known as the Cheetah Girls Credo, a code of conduct that gives the teens strength and empowerment. Among other things, Cheetah Girls must show respect for their parents and others in authority; they support their family and friends at all costs; and they embrace, rather than judge, people who are different. A big part of the code is self-reliance. Gregory says: ‘‘A true Cheetah Girl doesn’t spend more time doing her hair than her homework. Hair extensions may be career extensions, but talent and skills will pay my bills.’’ Gregory does feel that the Cheetah Girls serve as good role models, but she does not want to appear preachy. ‘‘We want to be

194

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

deborah gregory

Deborah Gregory beams at the premiere party for the made-for-TV movie The Cheetah Girls. Theo Wargo/ WireImage.com.

silly,’’ she commented to Linda Jones. ‘‘The Cheetah Girls don’t litter, they glitter. Sil-li-ness.’’ To get her message across, Gregory built an entire Cheetah universe, filled with her own unique lingo. The girls struggle to make it in the ‘‘jiggy jungle,’’ which is the place where dreams can come true, and they fantasize about making buckets of ‘‘duckets,’’ or money. Most important, each girl has to tap into her own ‘‘growl power,’’ to become a success.

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

195

deborah gregory

Real-Life Cheetah Girls: Adrienne Bailon and Kiely Williams

Two of the cast members of The Cheetah Girls

group that would showcase her daughter’s talents.

movie, Adrienne Bailon and Kiely Williams, know what it

Denise Williams became the group’s manager and

is like to be part of a singing group since they are two-

3LW was officially launched.

thirds of the real-life R&B trio 3LW (Three Little Women).

Adrienne Eliza Bailon adds a Latin flavor to the group since her parents are of Puerto Rican and Ecuadorian descent. She was born on October 24, 1983, in Ecuador, but she was raised in New York City when her singer-songwriter father, Freddy Bailon, immigrated to the United States to seek fame and fortune. Even as a young girl Bailon performed for family and friends; she also sang in the church choir. In 1999, Bailon’s choir appeared at Madison Square Garden, where the sixteen-year-old was singled out by Latin pop star Ricky Martin (1974–), who was also on the bill. Martin invited Bailon to sing back-up vocals at his performance later that night.

The original third member of 3LW was Naturi Noughton (1984–); Noughton was replaced in 2002 by Jessica Benson (1988–). The group was formed by Williams’s mother, Denise, who was looking for an outlet for her talented daughter. Kiely Alexis Williams was born on July 9, 1986, in Alexandria, Virginia, but was raised in Annandale, New Jersey, along with her four sisters. She was surrounded by music from a very early age since her mother Denise was a music manager. Williams’s first big break, however, was as an actress. When she was just five years old, she appeared in a television pilot directed by acclaimed actor Robert DeNiro (1943–). But by her early teens it became apparent that Williams’s first love was singing. As a result, her mother Denise held auditions and hand-picked two other girls to be part of a

Williams, Bailon, and Noughton spent the early part of 2000 perfecting their sound and trying to land a record deal. They were quickly signed by Epic Records, and in a whirlwind of promotion their first album was

As Gregory explains on her Web site, ‘‘Talent is only one part of a very big equation out there in the jiggy jungle. You have to have growl power to show the world that you got it going on!’’

From page to screen The first book in the series, Wishing on a Star, was released in September 1999 and was received with such enthusiasm that Disney signed Gregory to produce a new volume every six months. By 2005 there were thirteen Cheetah Girls books, including Growl Power (2000), Oops, Doggy Dog (2002), and Growl Power Forever (2004). There were also several Cheetah spin-offs, such as The Cheetah Girls Quiz Book (2005) and The Cheetah Girls Supa-Star Scrapbook (2005).

196

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

deborah gregory released in December. 3LW’s self-titled debut album sold more than one million copies and spawned such chart-toppers as ‘‘No More (Baby I’ma Do Right)’’ and ‘‘Playas Gon’ Play.’’ That same year 3LW contributed a song, ‘‘Til I Say So,’’ to the soundtrack of the hit teen movie Bring It On; they also made their acting debut, appearing as a fictional group called Blue Mascara on the Nickelodeon series Taina. In 2002, 3LW released their second album, A Girl Can Mack; just a few months short of the fall release, however, Noughton announced she was leaving the group. After auditioning thousands of hopefuls, Jessica Benson won Noughton’s slot. For the next two years 3LW traveled the United States on promotional concerts, and their videos became staples on the MTV series TRL (Total Request Live). In 2004, the group contributed a number of songs to the movie soundtracks of Love Don’t Cost a Thing and Barbershop 2. Bailon also took time out to appear in another Disney movie, playing a disc jockey in 2004’s Buffalo Dreams. The trio plans to release their third album, titled The Point of No Return, in October 2005.

3LW, from left to right: Adrienne Bailon, Jessica Benson, and Kiely Williams. Ray Tamarra/Getty Images.

In 2003 Disney decided to cash in on the Cheetah craze by producing a made-for-television movie based on Gregory’s bestselling books. To guarantee plenty of girl appeal, top teen celebrities were cast in the leads: Raven (1985–), star of the Disney series That’s So Raven, played Galleria; Sabrina Ryan (1986–), fresh from the CBS soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful, was cast as Dorinda; and two members of the R&B girl group 3LW, Adrienne Bailon (1983–) and Kiely Williams (1986–), played Chanel and Aquanette. Aqua’s twin sister Angie was not featured in the film. The Cheetah Girls movie was not generally accepted by critics, who dismissed it as shallow and rather cliche´. Marilyn Moss of the Hollywood Reporter called it a ‘‘noisy,

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

197

deborah gregory

seen-it-all-before’’ film that is ‘‘frenetic from start to finish.’’ But Gregory did not have critics in mind; she was writing for her audience—tween girls, who are aged nine to twelve and just on the brink of being teenagers. Tweens loved the movie, just as they loved Gregory’s books, and as Disney hoped, the Cheetah Girls proved to be profitable business. Fans snatched up CDs featuring music from The Cheetah Girls and bought DVDs and T-shirts— anything Cheetah-inspired. There was even talk of a television series based on the film, which would be co-produced by Gregory and pop sensation Whitney Houston (1963—).

The cheetah-licious Deborah Gregory The Cheetah Girls may be fictional role models for young girls, but Deborah Gregory is a living, breathing inspiration. Through hard work and perseverance she survived the hardships of her Brooklyn childhood to become a bona fide star. In between churning out tween books, she is working on her first adult novel. She also recently launched her own design company called Cheetahrama, which offers original cheetah-licious creations. Despite her success, however, Gregory never forgets her roots. She is putting together a one-woman show called Leopard Lives that focuses on her personal recollections of growing up in the foster-care system. Gregory has also worked tirelessly as an advocate for other foster children. She is a member of the National Association of Former Foster Children, has been recognized by the New York City Human Resources Administration for her efforts on behalf of children, and has received a citation from the New York Association of Black Journalists for writing about the foster system in the United States. And she will continue to empower young girls through her Cheetah books. It is a good thing, since, as Gregory comments on her Web site, ‘‘Unless a girl lives in a glass house with glass slippers on her feet, life will require her to call upon her Cheetah Girl powers—her strength, vulnerability, and courage on countless occasions.’’

198

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

deborah gregory

For More Information Books Gregory, Deborah. The Cheetah Girls: Growl Power. New York: Jump at the Sun, 2000. Gregory, Deborah. The Cheetah Girls: Growl Power Forever. New York: Jump at the Sun, 2004. Gregory, Deborah. The Cheetah Girls: Oops, Doggy Dog. New York: Jump at the Sun, 2002. Gregory, Deborah. The Cheetah Girls: Wishing on a Star. New York: Jump at the Sun, 1999.

Periodicals Jones, Linda. ‘‘Deborah Gregory’s Cheetah Series Provides a Plot Twist for Kids’ Books.’’ Dallas Morning News (May 3, 2000). Powell, Imani. ‘‘Books to Film: The Cheetah Girls.’’ Essence (April 2003): p. 118. ‘‘What’s New on the Bookshelf?’’ Essence (September 1999): p. 168.

Web Sites Cheetahrama Web site. http://www.cheetahrama.com/ (accessed on August 23, 2005). 3LW Online. http://www.3lwonline.cjb.net/ (accessed on August 23, 2005).

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

199

Freddie Highmore

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

ª Frank Trapper/Corbis.

June 9, 1992

. England Actor

British

performer Freddie Highmore began his acting career in 1999 at the age of seven. In 2005 he was only twelve years old and had already built up a pretty impressive resume´. Highmore landed his first movie role at the age of seven in Women Talking Dirty, playing opposite veteran actress Helena Bonham Carter (1966–). From then on the plucky lad with the big, brown eyes and adorably large ears became a familiar face to Brits who caught him in small parts on television and in film. In 2004, alone, Highmore appeared in three movies, but it was his standout performance in the critically acclaimed Finding Neverland that brought him worldwide attention.

A star at seven Freddie Highmore was born on June 9, 1992, in England. Perhaps it was not surprising that he entered show business,

201

freddie highmore

considering his father, Edward Highmore, is an actor, and his mother is one of the country’s top talent agents. In fact, it was thanks to his mother that he snagged his first auditions. ‘‘I thought it would be a fun thing to do,’’ Highmore commented to Jenelle Riley of Back Stage. ‘‘I started off doing small parts on TV, and then the movies came along.’’ Highmore’s first film role was in the British comedy Women Talking Dirty (1999), in which he played Sam, the young son of an outspoken single mother played by Helena Bonham Carter. He then took small parts in several television productions, including Happy Birthday Shakespeare (2000) and I Saw You (2002), both

...................................................................................................................

‘‘I hope that I’m sort of a normal boy.’’ British exports. The steadily working Highmore also played young King Arthur in the American television miniseries The Mists of Avalon (2001). His first real break came in 2004 when he was cast in the family drama Two Brothers, the story of two tiger cubs separated at birth. Highmore played Raoul, a young boy who adopts one of the cubs. Since the movie had a worldwide release, it was the first time audiences on a large scale had the opportunity to see the fledgling actor at work. Highmore had already completed another role, however, that would catapult him from cute kid actor to bona fide film star. In early 2002, when he was just nine years old, Highmore was cast in the movie, Finding Neverland, directed by German-born filmmaker Marc Forster (1969–). Neverland was based on the stage play The Man Who Was Peter Pan and chronicles an episode in the life of Scottish writer J.(James) M.(Matthew) Barrie (1860–1937), creator of the world-famous character Peter Pan.

The boy who would be Peter Pan The play and the movie delve into a relationship that blossoms between Barrie and a family he meets while strolling through

202

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

freddie highmore

Kensington Gardens in 1904 London, England. The author strikes up a friendship with Sylvia Davies, a beautiful young widow, and her four sons, Jack, George, Michael, and Peter, all of whom are devastated by the death of their father. Peter, in particular, has been hard hit and is becoming more and more emotionally withdrawn. During their outings in the park, Barrie begins to weave elaborate stories for the boys, eventually creating an imaginary place called Neverland where children never grow up. Inspired by the innocence and wonder of his young friends, Barrie puts pen to paper and creates the story of Peter Pan. Forster nabbed Oscar-nominated actors Johnny Depp (1963–) and Kate Winslet (1976–) to play Barrie and Sylvia Davies, but he had a harder time casting the roles of the young Davies brothers—that is, until it was time to cast Peter and in walked Freddie Highmore. ‘‘I think Freddie is pure magic,’’ Neverland producer Richard Gladstein told Lisa Hirsch of Variety. ‘‘He was the first actor that read for Marc and I, and he defined the character. We went on to see a few others but by the end of the day we knew we had found our Peter.’’ Gladstein even remarked that casting Highmore was central to the movie’s success. Although Forster had complete confidence in his young star, some of the Neverland cast had their doubts. As a result, on his second day of filming Forster purposefully shot a pivotal scene where an emotionally tortured Peter tears up a book and demolishes a playhouse. Highmore acted with such maturity and gut-wrenching realism that afterward no one questioned his abilities. In fact, some of his heartiest congratulations came directly from his costars. As Winslet (best known for her starring role in the film Titanic) commented to Jenelle Riley of Back Stage, ‘‘ [Freddie] is quite something else. I would literally get hairs up on the back of my neck watching this kid act.’’ Audiences and critics agreed. While Depp received high marks for his portrayal of the eccentric Barrie, young Highmore was applauded over and over for capturing the pain and angst of the troubled boy who served as the inspiration for Peter Pan. According to Riley, ‘‘He has several emotionally wrenching scenes in the film that he carries off with the

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

203

freddie highmore

Lemony Snicket Star: Liam Aiken

In the early 2000s there seemed to be a run of movies based on classic and popular children’s books. In 2004 Freddie Highmore appeared in Finding Neverland, which explored the real-life inspiration for Peter Pan, and the film Five Children and It, adapted from the book of the same name by E.(Edith) Nesbit (1858–1924). In 2005 Highmore starred in yet another page-to-screen vehicle—Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, based on the Roald Dahl (1916–1990) story. Another rising young star named Liam Aiken, who is just two years older than Highmore, also gave life to a literary character when he costarred in the 2004 screen adaptation of Lemony Snicket’s Series of Unfortunate Events, an enormously popular contemporary children’s book written by Daniel Handler (1970–). Liam Padraic Aiken was born on January 7, 1990, in New York City. Like Highmore, Aiken came from a

show business family—his father, Bill Aiken, was a producer for MTV and the children’s television network Nickelodeon. Unfortunately, Bill Aiken died of cancer when young Liam was not quite three years old. Another Highmore similarity is that Aiken, too, made his acting debut at the age of seven: he appeared on the Broadway stage in the play A Doll’s House, written by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen (1828–1906); he also had a small part in the 1997 movie Henry Fool. From then on, Aiken landed roles in film after film, appearing in at least one movie per year with some of Hollywood’s biggest names. His filmography includes The Object of My Affection (1998), which starred Jennifer Aniston (1969–); Stepmom (1998), featuring Susan Sarandon (1946–); Sweet November (2001) with Keanu Reeves (1964–); and Road to Perdition, where Aiken portrayed the youngest son of the film’s star, Tom

experience of an actor twice his age.’’ Highmore ‘‘steals scenes from his costars Kate Winslet and Johnny Depp,’’ commented Donna Freydkin of USA Today. And after enthusiastically praising Depp’s characterization, Paul Clinton of CNN.com wrote: ‘‘But it’s 12-year-old Freddie Highmore as Peter . . . who will break your heart.’’

Famous Freddie When Finding Neverland was released in the fall of 2004 it generated immediate Oscar buzz for the film’s lead actors and director, with many predicting that Highmore would surely be nominated for a supporting actor award. The movie was nominated in a number of categories, including best picture, art direction, and costume design; Depp was given a nod in the best actor category, but Winslet, Forster, and Highmore did not receive nominations. Had he been nominated,

204

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

freddie highmore Hanks (1956–). Aiken’s breakthrough role, however, came in 2003, when he nabbed the lead in Good Boy!, a family comedy about a dog from outer space who visits planet Earth. Good Boy! paved the way for Aiken’s first big blockbuster movie, Lemony Snicket’s Series of Unfortunate Events, based on the quirky and dark children’s series written by Daniel Handler. Aiken was cast as bookish twelve-year-old Klaus Baudelaire, who has the amazing ability to remember everything he reads. Many members of the press compare Aiken to his Snicket costar Jim Carrey (1962–), primarily because of his wide grin and animated facial features. Perhaps one day he will be as famous as Carrey, but if the kid who now hails from New Jersey does not make it as an actor, he can always fall back on one of his two other interests—performing magic or playing acoustic guitar. Aiken is an enthusiastic punk rock fan and particularly admires Rage Against the Machine’s Tom Morello (1964–), who is considered to be one of the most influential guitarists of modern rock.

Liam Aiken. Fernando Leon/Getty Images.

Highmore would have become the fourth-youngest actor to be considered for an Academy Award. The twelve-year-old was nominated for several other honors, including a Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Award for male supporting actor. SAG Awards are particularly coveted honors because they are given out annually by members of the Screen Actors Guild, which is the premier professional actors’ organization in the United States. Considering the publicity hype surrounding Neverland was enormous, reporters claimed that in interviews Highmore spoke maturely and articulately, and that he did not behave at all like a pampered Hollywood star. In fact, he tended to downplay his incredible acting abilities, claiming that tapping into his character’s gloominess was rather easy. As Highmore explained to Donna Freydkin, ‘‘When you think about it, your dad’s dead and your mum’s dying, so yes, it is quite sad.’’

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

205

freddie highmore

Freddie Highmore as Charlie Bucket (middle) and Johnny Depp as Willy Wonka (left) in a scene from the 2005 movie Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. ª Warner Bros/Zuma/Corbis.

Interviewers also noted that although he sometimes appeared mature beyond his years, Highmore also displayed the enthusiasm of a regular twelve-year-old. For example, when discussing the emotional scene where his character tears down his playhouse, he focused on the fun. ‘‘Smashing up the playhouse, that was really great,’’ Highmore gleefully told Dave Karger of Entertainment Weekly. ‘‘Sometimes they’d say, ‘Oh, sorry, there was a problem with the lights.’ And I’d say, ‘Yes! I get to smash it up again!’’’

Just a normal guy Amid the seemingly endless round of print and television interviews, Highmore still found time to appear in a third movie in 2004: a screen adaptation of the children’s classic Five Children and It, written in 1902 by British author E.(Edith) Nesbit

206

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

freddie highmore

(1858–1924). He also began filming another page-to-screen movie, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, based on the book of the same name by famous British children’s writer Roald Dahl (1916–1990). Charlie featured Highmore’s Neverland castmate Johnny Depp as the eternally youthful candy maker Willy Wonka. When Depp’s friend director Tim Burton (1958–) tapped the actor to play Wonka, Depp specifically requested that Highmore be cast as the boy lead, Charlie Bucket. ‘‘It’s neat,’’ Highmore told Jenelle Riley of Backstage.com, ‘‘because in the film Charlie has a dream to visit the chocolate factory, and it comes true. My dream was to work with Johnny again, and it also came true.’’ After only ten days in movie theaters the movie had received critical acclaim and earned over $114 million. Highmore’s dreams for the future are a little less clear. He is vague about whether or not he wants to act as an adult. ‘‘I’m not really sure,’’ he admitted frankly to Riley. ‘‘I really think I’d like to travel the world, see the rainforests. We’ll see how it goes.’’ In the meantime, when not on a movie set Highmore is your run-ofthe-mill boy who enjoys playing the clarinet and loves to kick a soccer ball around with his friends. In fact, in most interviews he is just as excited to talk about his favorite soccer team, Britain’s Arsenals, than his own profession. It is also apparent that Highmore’s head has not been turned by his fame. As Johnny Depp commented to USA Today, ‘‘He’s an amazing kid. Beyond that, he’s an amazing guy. Very pure. Very honest. Very normal. That’s very refreshing.’’ Highmore has two films slated for release in 2006: the animated film Arthur and the Minimoys and the drama August Rush.

For More Information Periodicals Freydkin, Donna. ‘‘This Kid Is Hanging with the Big Boys.’’ USA Today (November 12, 2004): p. 0E3. Galloway, Stephen. ‘‘Acting Up: Their Roles Are Meaty, Their Talent Apparent.’’ Hollywood Reporter (November 17, 2004): p. S-48. Koberdanz, Kristin. ‘‘Q & A: Freddie Highmore.’’ Time (November 29, 2004): p. 155.

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

207

freddie highmore

Web Sites Clinton, Paul. ‘‘Finding Neverland: A Joy to See.’’ CNN.com: Entertainment (November 19, 2004). http://www.cnn.com/2004/ SHOWBIZ/Movies/11/19/review.neverland/index.html (accessed on August 23, 2005). ‘‘Freddie Highmore: The Next Big Star.’’ Young Star News (November 21, 2004). http://www.youngstarnews.com/news/ 041121-001-highmore.htm (accessed on August 23, 2005). Hirsch, Lisa. ‘‘Freddie Highmore: Finding Neverland.’’ Variety.com (January 4, 2005). http://www.variety.com/ac2005_article/ VR1117915691?nav=actor&categoryid=1809 (accessed on August 23, 2005). Hirsch, Lisa. ‘‘Freddie Highmore, 12.’’ Variety.com (November 18, 2004). http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117913724?categoryid= 1853&cs=1&s=h&p=0 (accessed on August 23, 2005). ‘‘Liam Aiken Biography.’’ Independent Movie Database. http:// www.imdb.com/name/nm0014582/ (accessed on August 23, 2005). Riley, Jenelle. ‘‘Finding Freddie.’’ Backstage.com (January 7, 2005). http://www.backstage.com/backstage/features/article_display.jsp? vnu_content_id=1000748684 (accessed on August 23, 2005).

208

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

Scarlett Johansson

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

ª Bill Davila/Reuters/Corbis.

November 22, 1984

. New York, New York Actress

With her tousled blonde hair, full lips, and porcelain complexion, twenty-year-old Scarlett Johansson has become one of the hottest talents in Hollywood. In the mid-2000s her luminous features graced the cover of every fashion magazine, and in late 2004 she became the face of Calvin Klein, tapped to plug a new perfume for the famous designer. But Johansson is more than just a pretty face. Acting since the age of eight, she has appeared in more than twenty films over the course of twelve years ranging from the independent Manny & Lo (1996) and Ghost World (2000), to the Academy Award-nominated Lost in Translation (2003), to 2005’s summer blockbuster The Island. Regardless of the size of the film or how well the movie does at the box office or with critics, Johansson is regularly singled out for her compelling performances. She is widely regarded as one of the most promising young stars of her generation, and according to Carlo

209

scarlett johansson

Cavagna of AboutFilm.com, ‘‘Johansson is positioned for a huge career, with no foreseeable expiration date.’’

Scarlett the big ham Scarlett Johansson is a native New Yorker, born on November 22, 1984, to Karsten Johansson, a Danish architect, and Melanie Johansson, a homemaker who would one day become her famous daughter’s manager. Scarlett and her twin brother, Hunter (who is younger by three minutes), have an older sister, Vanessa, who is also an actress, and an older brother Adrian.

...................................................................................................................

‘‘Being a movie star is a quality that somebody sort of embodies, and being a celebrity is something that people give to you. I just hope to make good movies.’’ When Scarlett was about seven a friend of her mother’s suggested that the young Johanssons would be perfect for commercials, so Melanie packed up the whole family and took them on the round of casting calls. For Johansson it was a completely overwhelming experience. ‘‘It was like being in a beauty pageant,’’ she told Polly Vernon of the Guardian Unlimited. ‘‘The other moms were really scary, and it was awful.’’ But the tough little New Yorker was not discouraged even when casting agents expressed interest in her brother Adrian and not her because Johansson knew that, more than anything else, she wanted to be an actress. ‘‘I have always been a big ham,’’ she went on to tell Vernon. ‘‘It’s like I hopped out of the womb and said: I will perform!’’ In fact, even before auditioning for commercials, Johansson would put on shows for her family and charge them each a dollar to watch. The budding actress’s career was officially launched in 1993 when she appeared in an

210

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

scarlett johansson

off-Broadway production of a play called Sophistry, which starred a young Ethan Hawke (c. 1970–), who later became an acclaimed actor in Hollywood. After Johansson’s brief venture into theater, she began to audition for film roles and never looked back. She explained to Karen Schneider of People, ‘‘I started doing movies and that was that.’’ Johansson’s first role was a small one playing the daughter of actor John Ritter (1948–2003) in the 1994 comedy North. During the next two years, she was given better parts with more dialogue in several mainstream movies, including the thriller Just Cause (1995) and the 1996 Sarah Jessica Parker (1965–) comedy If Lucy Fell. It was in a small, independent, movie, however, called Manny & Lo (1996) that the youngster received her first taste of critical acclaim. Johansson was praised for her portrayal of streetwise, eleven-year-old Manny, who escapes a foster home with her older, pregnant sister, Lo. The pair ends up kidnapping a quirky woman they meet to help them deliver the baby. For her performance twelve-year-old Johansson earned an Independent Spirit Award nomination. The Independent Spirit Awards are given annually to honor small films that are made outside the large Hollywood system.

Thirteen going on thirty In 1997 Johansson did appear in one bit of family fare, Home Alone 3, where she played Molly Pruitt, sister of the movie’s child star, Alex Linz. But even at the age of thirteen Johansson exhibited a quiet, intense style of acting, and she already had a raspy, edgy quality to her voice that would eventually become her trademark. Thanks to this maturity Johansson landed a role in The Horse Whisperer (1998), directed by and starring Hollywood legend Robert Redford (1937–). Although the movie focused on the romance between the two adult leads, Johansson played the pivotal role of Grace, a young girl who loses her leg in a riding accident and is severely traumatized. The film was considered to be visually stunning, but in general it was panned as slow-moving and sentimental. Critics, however,

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

211

scarlett johansson

applauded its young star, claiming she gave a breakthrough performance. According to Scott Lyle Cohen of Interview, ‘‘Johansson’s presence kept the film from the Hollywood glue factory.’’ In the press, interviewers observed that off-screen Johansson exhibited a maturity beyond her years. And Redford frequently commented that his young star was ‘‘thirteen going on thirty.’’ This maturity was evident as Johansson sifted through scripts that were coming her way. She wisely chose not to accept roles in slasher movies or fluffy teen films and for awhile Johansson laid low, waiting for just the right part. She told David Ansen of Newsweek, ‘‘I thought, ‘I’m in high school, I don’t need to support myself or my family, I’m gonna wait until something better comes along.’’’ For the next two years Johansson focused on high school, becoming an honor student at the Professional Children’s School in Manhattan. And she did typical high school things like attending prom, shopping, and eating pizza with her friends. In 2000 Johansson returned to her independent film roots to costar in the offbeat comedy Ghost World, based on the cult comic-book novel of the same name by Daniel Clowes (1961–). The story follows two best friends whose friendship starts to unravel during the summer following their graduation from high school. Fellow child-star Thora Birch (1982–) took the larger role of Enid, an outspoken, wacky misfit. Johansson played Rebecca, the more subdued and practical of the duo. Critics overwhelmingly praised the film, with Ken Eisner of Variety calling it ‘‘by sharp turns poignant, disturbing and hysterically funny.’’ Johansson in particular was singled out for delivering yet another subtle, masterful performance. For her work, she was honored with a best supporting actress award by the Toronto Film Critics Association.

Anything but lost Johansson followed Ghost World with small parts in the dramas An American Rhapsody (2001), The Man Who Wasn’t There (2001), and 2002’s horror-comedy Eight Legged Freaks. She

212

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

scarlett johansson

was acting steadily, but nothing could prepare Johansson for 2002, which would turn out to be both a whirlwind of work and a major turning point in her career as she graduated to fullfledged adult roles. After just one brief lunch meeting, Sofia Coppola (1971–), daughter of famed director Francis Ford Coppola (1939–), signed eighteen-year-old (and just graduated from high school) Johansson for her upcoming independent movie, Lost in Translation (2003). Set in Tokyo, Japan, the film focuses on Charlotte, a young newlywed who is left alone by her photographer husband. Charlotte seeks the companionship of a washedup, older actor played by Bill Murray (1950–). The two strangers in a strange land form an immediate bond, and according to David Ansen, ‘‘Their brief, wondrous encounter is the soul of this subtle, funny, melancholy film.’’ Critics felt that Johansson clearly held her own playing opposite Murray, who was thirty-four years her senior. And, according to Coppola, who spoke with Eve Epstein of Variety, ‘‘Scarlett has a talent for conveying depth and thoughtfulness without doing too much, for being still and simple, which is hard to do.’’ Lost in Translation earned a great deal of critical acclaim for its director and its stars, and was nominated for countless awards. In 2004, Johansson took home a Best Actress award from the Boston Society of Film Critics and the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA). She was also nominated for a Golden Globe best actress award. The Golden Globes are awarded each year by members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for outstanding achievement in film and television.

The girl with the pearls Ten days after shooting wrapped on Translation, Johansson was whisked off to Luxembourg to begin work on her next film, The Girl with a Pearl Earring (2003). The movie is based on the best-selling novel by Tracy Chevalier (1964–) that gives a fictionalized account of the relationship between seventeenthcentury Dutch artist Jan Vermeer (1632–1675) and the girl who

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

213

scarlett johansson

appears in his famous Pearl Earring painting. Once again Johansson was paired with a much older, seasoned actor, this time in the form of Colin Firth (1960–), who was cast as Vermeer. Pearl did not receive the same acclaim as Translation. Although critics acknowledged that the scenery was stunning and the movie visually appealing, it was generally ignored. Leah Rozen of People did point out that Johansson, as Vermeer’s muse and model Griet, ‘‘gleams quietly.’’ And Carlo Cavagna remarked that with Pearl, ‘‘Johansson proves she belongs firmly in the top tier of film actors.’’ For her performance the young star nabbed a best actress nomination from both BAFTA and the Hollywood Foreign Press. Polly Vernon of the Guardian Unlimited agreed with Cavagna and wrote that 2004 belonged to Johansson in a ‘‘highoctane sort of way. . . . She graduated from exquisitely promising starlet-on-the-verge, to fully blown movie establishment.’’ Thanks to her success in 2004 Johansson was, indeed, firmly established in the Hollywood system and she virtually had her pick of parts. In 2004, alone, she released four movies, including The Perfect Score, A Good Woman, and In Good Company, which costarred up-and-comer Topher Grace (1978–). Johansson also found time to lend her voice to Mindy in The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie. The most important film for Johansson in 2004 was A Love Song for Bobby Long, since it garnered the actress her third Golden Globe nomination in two years. Long was another small film that featured a big name, costar John Travolta (1954–), and again Johansson overshadowed her costar. The movie did not fare well at the box office or with critics, but Johansson as Pursy Hominy Will, a young woman who returns to New Orleans to reclaim her childhood home, received her usual round of applause. Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly claimed that Johansson instills in Pursy an ‘‘unflustered intelligence,’’ and that the ‘‘arresting actress is a welcome to this otherwise unmemorable party.’’

214

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

scarlett johansson

Scarlett Johansson was thrilled to have the opportunity to work with famed director Woody Allen, pictured, on the 2005 film Match Point. AP/ Wide World Photos.

Navigating the shores of stardom Johansson’s manager-mother, Melanie, received a producer credit for Bobby Long, primarily because she helped to get the project off the shelf and into production. This probably will not be her last producer credit, since Johansson now has the clout to push her favorite projects forward. For example,

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

215

scarlett johansson

since she received a copy of the book Marjorie Morningstar for her seventeenth birthday, the young actress has been trying to launch a remake of the 1958 movie of the same name. The book was written in 1955 by American author Herman Wouk (1915–); the 1958 movie starred legendary screen actress Natalie Wood (1939–1981). In the meantime Johansson’s plate is more than full. In 2005, she released two movies: Match Point, a film by celebrated director Woody Allen (1935–), and The Island, a futuristic thriller that centers on two clones on the run from a high-tech cloning facility. When asked why she decided to do her first action movie, Johansson explained to Paul Fischer of Moviehole.com, ‘‘It was just a great script. Exciting and fun. I love genre movies when they’re done really well and I think they accomplish what a film is trying to do, which is allow you to escape your life for a couple of hours.’’ The busy Johansson also had three movies slated for a 2006 release: The Black Dahlia, directed by famous filmmaker Brian DePalma (1940–), the drama A View from the Bridge, and a second Woody Allen offering. In addition, there were rumors that British composer Andrew Lloyd Webber (1948–) was eyeing the film star to play Maria in a London stage revival of the musical The Sound of Music. According to Peter Webber, the director of Girl with a Pearl Earring, who spoke with Eve Epstein, ‘‘There’s something of the classic movie star in [Johansson], but the hard part will be navigating the treacherous shores of stardom.’’ So far, the former child actress has managed to keep herself afloat quite well, taking her fame in stride. In late 2004 she was chosen as the face of a new perfume by designer Calvin Klein (1942–) called Eternity Moment. As reported on PR Newswire, Calvin Klein executive Kim Vernon commented that ‘‘Scarlett is a talented young force that exudes sophistication and confidence that is not readily seen today, and she balances it all with a relaxed attitude and a sense of humor.’’ As sophisticated as she appears, Johansson is still a kid at heart. When she turned twenty in December 2004, part of her celebration included a stop at Disneyland, where she got

216

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

scarlett johansson

Mickey Mouse’s autograph. Later that night her mother threw her a party at a top Hollywood nightspot decorated with Eeyore and Little Mermaid balloons. As for her future, Johansson faces it with her usual calm and frank demeanor. And she remains committed to the career she took up when she was in elementary school. ‘‘Making movies is all I ever wanted,’’ Johansson admitted to People. ‘‘I don’t plan on retiring until I die.’’

For More Information Periodicals Ansen, David. ‘‘Scarlett Fever: Meet Ms. Johansson, an 18-year-old Who Doesn’t Act Her Age.’’ Newsweek (September 15, 2003): p. 64. Cohen, Scott Lyle. ‘‘Scarlett Johansson: Making the Competition See Red.’’ Interview (July 2001): p. 22. Eisner, Ken. ‘‘Review of Ghost World.’’ Variety (June 25, 2001): p. 22. Epstein, Eve. ‘‘Scarlett Fever.’’ Variety (December 8, 2003): p. S38–47. Fuller, Graham. ‘‘Scarlett Johansson: We Live in a New Age That Needs New Love Stories, and New Presences to Tell Them. Here Is an Actress Born for these Roles.’’ Interview (September 2003): pp. 188–94. Jensen, Jeff. ‘‘The New Ingenues.’’ Entertainment Weekly (November 14, 2003): p. 56. Lynch, Jason. ‘‘Scarlett Fever.’’ People (January 24, 2005): p. 95. Rozen, Leah. ‘‘Review of Girl with a Pearl Earring.’’ People (January 26, 2004): p. 27. ‘‘Scarlett Johansson Signed as Face for Calvin Klein Fragrance.’’ PR Newswire (February 17, 2004). Schneider, Karen S. ‘‘Real Attitude: A Movie Vet at 18, Lost in Translation’s Scarlett Johansson Can Still Use a Hug.’’ People (October 6, 2003): p. 113. Schwarzbaum, Lisa. ‘‘Review of A Love Song for Bobby Long.’’ Entertainment Weekly (January 28, 2005): p. 64.

Web Sites Cavagna, Carlo. ‘‘Profile & Interview: Scarlett Johansson.’’ AboutFilm. com. http://www.aboutfilm.com/features/girlwithapearlearring/ johansson.htm (accessed on August 23, 2005). Fischer, Paul. ‘‘Interview: Scarlett Johansson.’’ Moviehole.com (May 31, 2005). http://www.moviehole.net/news/5702.html (accessed on August 23, 2005).

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

217

scarlett johansson Kligman, Barbara. ‘‘Scarlett Johansson.’’ Indexmagazine.com (2001). http://www.indexmagazine.com/interviews/scarlett_johansson. shtml (accessed on August 23, 2005). Vernon, Polly. ‘‘Scarlett Fever.’’ Guardian Unlimited (UK) (December 28, 2003). http://film.guardian.co.uk/interview/interviewpages/ 0,6737,1112975,00.html (accessed on August 23, 2005).

218

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

JoJo

December 20, 1990

. Foxboro,

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

Ralph Notaro/Getty Images.

Massachusetts

Singer, songwriter, actress

I

n the mid-2000s a bevy of young, female singers, including Ashlee Simpson (1984–) and Hilary Duff (1987–), comfortably dominated the music charts. The youngest member of the growing pack was a supreme talent out of Massachusetts named Joanna Levesque, better known to fans as JoJo. Belting out tunes since she was two years old, JoJo caught the attention of industry executives and celebrities with her unusual vocal range and mature song-stylings. Her self-titled debut album, which included a unique blend of soulful ballads and catchy dance tunes, zoomed up the charts throughout 2004. Her hit singles, ‘‘Leave (Get Out)’’ and ‘‘Baby, It’s You,’’ received constant airplay on the radio and MTV. Both the album and JoJo received a slew of award nominations, and the singer broke a number of records, including becoming the youngest solo artist after Stevie Wonder (c. 1950–) to have a number-one hit in the United States.

219

jojo

Musical mom and dad Joanna Noelle Levesque (pronounced luh-VEK), better known as JoJo, was born on December 20, 1990, in Foxboro, Massachusetts, a tiny town with a population of less than fifteen thousand, located in the outskirts of Boston. The Levesque home was filled with music: JoJo’s father was a blues singer, and her mother, Diane, had a background in musical theater and was a church soloist. One of the teen’s earliest memories is watching her mother perform in the choir and practice hymns at home. As she told Know Your World Extra, ‘‘I just listened and learned.’’

...................................................................................................................

‘‘Age is just a number.’’ At the age of two JoJo was already imitating her mother’s incredible range; she also imitated the singers she heard on her parents’ stereo, an eclectic mix that included the rock group the Beatles, the ‘‘Queen of Soul’’ Aretha Franklin (1940–), and legendary jazz artist Ella Fitzgerald (1918–1996). As a result, JoJo sang nursery rhymes, but with a very different twist. ‘‘I would do riffs on them,’’ she explained to Know Your World Extra, ‘‘and make them jazzy.’’ JoJo’s life changed when she was four years old and her parents divorced. She went to live with her mother in a onebedroom apartment and the pair often struggled to make ends meet. Diane Levesque took on cleaning jobs to make sure that her daughter would not go without, but the young singer always felt different from her friends, who seemed to have so much more. In just a few years, however, she would use those early memories to pen one of the songs on her first album.

One of America’s most talented By the time she was six, JoJo had outgrown performing in her living room and she auditioned for the CBS television program Kids Say the Darndest Things, which was broadcasting on the

220

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

jojo

road from Boston. She wowed the show’s producers, who immediately gave her a spot. The tiny six-year-old faced a packed studio audience and fearlessly belted out an astonishing rendition of Aretha Franklin’s ‘‘Respect.’’ The show’s host Bill Cosby (1937–) was practically speechless and members of the audience gave JoJo a thunderous round of applause. Not long after, the little girl with the powerful voice received a phone call from executives of The Oprah Winfrey Show, asking JoJo to appear on an upcoming episode. Thanks to the endorsement by talk show host Oprah Winfrey (1954–), offers began to pour in for JoJo to appear on various television programs and to perform at an assortment of live venues, including a Boston Celtics basketball game and the Republican National Convention. Her big break, however, came in 2003 while performing on America’s Most Talented Kids, a televised talent program that showcased entertainers under the age of fifteen. A member of the audience introduced her to Vincent Herbert, producer and owner of Da Family Entertainment, who signed the teen songstress to a recording contract with Blackground Records. Just a few months after her thirteenth birthday, JoJo traveled with her mother between New York, Miami, and Los Angeles to record tracks for her first album. She had the opportunity to work closely with well-known Blackground producers as Soulshock & Karlin, Mike City, and The Underdogs, who had been previously associated with established performers including Whitney Houston (1963–), Ruben Studdard (1978–), and Aaliyah (1979–2001). ‘‘Everyone had such an incredible vibe,’’ JoJo explained on her Web site, ‘‘and that comes through in the songs.’’ When discussing her studio experience, however, JoJo’s less serious side also tended to creep into interviews. As she told Danielle Oberdier of Time for Kids, ‘‘It’s fun working with producers because we have secret handshakes and we eat junk food and it’s like family.’’

Keeps on keepin’ on In addition to singing on the album, JoJo wrote three of the tracks: ‘‘Yes or No,’’ ‘‘Sunshine,’’ and ‘‘Keep On Keepin’ On,’’ which the young singer claims is her favorite. ‘‘Keep On’’

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

221

jojo

may be her favorite because it deals with growing up poor but still knowing there is hope. In her interview with Oberdier, JoJo opened up and explained how she came to write the song: ‘‘I was sitting by the pool where I live now, thinking ‘Well, I didn’t always have a pool to sit by. It wasn’t always good like this.’ So I was thinking that it can’t be bad for so long, because I grew up poor. Things will get better soon so you have to Keep On Keepin’ On.’’ The remaining songs on the album are an eclectic mix of soulful ballads, such as ‘‘Use My Shoulder,’’ which show off JoJo’s five-octave range; party jams like ‘‘City Lights’’; and catchy pop numbers like ‘‘The Happy Song.’’ JoJo insisted that the variety was intentional and that the CD would appeal to listeners of all ages. In interviews she bristled at being labeled a pop princess and adamantly denied that her album was intended just for teenagers. ‘‘I am not doing bubblegum pop,’’ she told Know Your World Extra. ‘‘This is real music that is not just for young kids or for older people. It is for everybody.’’ When JoJo’s self-titled album was released on June 24, 2004, it received mixed reviews, with most critics commenting understandably on the tender age of the singer. Chuck Arnold of People observed that the thirteen-year-old ‘‘has yet to really grow into her big voice,’’ and that ‘‘she may still be a little young to play with the big girls.’’ But, he also noted that ‘‘she’s no average JoJo,’’ and that the first single released from the album, ‘‘Leave (Get Out),’’ with its ‘‘sassy girl-power lyrics’’ was truly a guilty pleasure. Raymond Fiore of Entertainment Weekly offered up a similar review. While he criticized JoJo for her over-the-top deliveries, he also commented that her CD was ‘‘brimming with sizzling hooks’’ and that the songstress ‘‘exhibited remarkable promise.’’ JoJo’s prediction that her CD would appeal to a wide audience proved true. Fans snapped up her CD, which quickly cracked the Billboard Top 20 and remained there through the end of 2004, ultimately peaking at number four. The single ‘‘Leave (Get Out)’’ reached number-one on the charts, and the video was a staple on MTV’s Total Request Live during the summer and fall of 2004 and was the most requested video for months. As a result, JoJo was nominated for an MTV Video

222

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

jojo

JoJo became the youngest solo artist after R&B sensation Stevie Wonder to have a number-one hit in the United States. Ralph Notaro/Getty Images.

Music Award for best new artist—she was the youngest performer ever to receive a nomination.

The JoJo whirlwind Following her album’s release, JoJo was off and running on a whirlwind of interviews, concert dates, and television appearances. She was the opening act for Usher (1979–) during his

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

223

jojo

Norwegian Teen Songstress: Maria Mena

When JoJo released her self-titled debut CD in June 2004, another teen singer-songwriter named Maria Mena hit the music charts with her first U.S. album. Although Mena was Norwegian and five years older than JoJo, the two shared a number of similarities. Maria Viktoria Mena was born on February 19, 1986, in Oslo, Norway. Like JoJo, both her parents were musically inclined. Her father, Charles, was a drummer in a band and her mother was a playwright. Music was such a part of the Mena household that Maria and her brother Tony were named after the main characters in the musical West Side Story. Mena’s parents split up when she was very young, which had a very traumatic effect on the nine-year-old. She developed an eating disorder and became severely depressed, turning to her diary to write down her feelings. When Mena was thirteen years old she went to live with her father and, as part of her therapy, he helped turn some of her diary entries into lyrics. One of them ended up being a song called ‘‘My Lullaby,’’ which captures the pain the young girl experienced as

her parents were divorcing. Mena begged her father to let her record. Seeing that his young daughter exhibited an amazing maturity and talent, Charles called some of his contacts in the music industry to make a demo (a sample recording). He then shopped the demo around, and the sixteen-year-old Mena was signed by Sony Music, who felt that her powerful vocal stylings were similar to Canadian pop singer Alanis Morissette (1974–). Mena’s first album, titled Another Phase, was released in 2002 in Great Britain, where it rose to number nine on the U.K. charts. ‘‘My Lullaby,’’ which appeared on the album, became a number-one hit. In June 2004 Mena landed on the American charts when her second album, White Turns Blue, debuted in the United States. With her ‘‘bare-it-all’’ lyrics and teenageangst appeal, critics called her a combination of Morissette, Fiona Apple (1978–), and Tori Amos (1964–). According to Raymond Fiore of Entertainment Weekly, Mena was a new force to be reckoned with, claiming ‘‘she’s got hooks you could hum for days.’’

summer 2004 European tour, and later in the year she performed with Bow Wow (1987–) on Steve Harvey’s Big Time, schmoozed with guests on Live with Regis and Kelly, and sang before a presidential audience on TNT’s ‘‘Christmas in Washington.’’ JoJo also made a brief appearance on the NBC drama American Dreams, portraying a young Linda Ronstadt (1946–). In addition she made time to record the song ‘‘Secret Love’’ for the soundtrack to the animated feature Shark Tale. Although she admitted that her schedule was more than hectic and that she missed some ‘‘normal’’ kid things like hanging out with her friends, JoJo also acknowledged that she loves what

224

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

jojo

she is doing. As she explained in a Kidzworld interview, ‘‘That passion and that drive just keep me going. If I didn’t want to do this, it would be a different story.’’ One big change is that instead of attending regular school JoJo is homeschooled by a tutor supplied by the School for Young Performers. Her favorite subjects are social studies (because she likes learning about different cultures) and some science, but she lamented to Danielle Oberdier, ‘‘math is just my enemy.’’ Like many young female singers, JoJo made the leap from music to movies in February 2005 when shooting began on her first feature film, Aquamarine. The movie is based on the novel of the same name written in 2001 by American writer Alice Hoffman (1952–), and centers on two teenage girls who find a mermaid in their beach club’s swimming pool. Before filming had completed, JoJo had already signed on for a second movie, this time a comedy called R.V. starring veteran actors Robin Williams (1941–) and Jeff Daniels (1955–). Music, however, remained JoJo’s first love, introduced to her by her family and fostered by her mother, Diane. JoJo remains very close to her mother, who is also her manager. ‘‘Even though you feel like you can do anything when you’re a teenager,’’ she told Kidzworld, ‘‘you still need your parents.’’ JoJo remains humble and realistic when it comes to her age and admits that she has a long way to go. As she wisely remarked to Know Your World Extra, ‘‘I think that as you grow and your audience grows, you have to change and evolve.’’

For More Information Periodicals Arnold, Chuck. ‘‘Review of JoJo.’’ People (July 19, 2004): p. 41. Fiore, Raymond. ‘‘Review of JoJo.’’ Entertainment Weekly (June 25, 2004): p. 162. ‘‘JoJo: At Thirteen Years Old, the Singer Is Making a Name for Herself.’’ Know Your World Extra (November 5, 2004): pp. 12–15.

Web Sites ‘‘Interview: JoJo’’ Kidzworld.com. http://www.kidzworld.com/site/ p4436.htm (accessed on August 23, 2005).

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

225

jojo ‘‘JoJo Debut CD Is Bling Bling.’’ TeenMusic.com (November 13, 2004). http://www.teenmusic.com/d.asp?r=84065&cat=1020£ (accessed on August 23, 2005). ‘‘JoJo: Don’t Call Me Baby.’’ BBC Radio News: Chart News (November 3, 2004). http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/news/chartnews/ 041103_jojo.shtml (accessed on August 23, 2005). Oberdier, Danielle. ‘‘Get to Know JoJo.’’ TimeforKids.com (July 2, 2004). http://www.timeforkids.com/TFK/kidscoops/story/0,14989, 660897,00.html (accessed on August 23, 2005). Official JoJo Web Site. http://www.jojoonline.com/main.html (accessed on August 23, 2005).

226

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

Cynthia Kadohata

1956

. Chicago, Illinois

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

AP/ Wide World Photos.

Author

S

ince publishing her first novel, The Floating World, in 1989, Cynthia Kadohata has been viewed as one of the most compelling novelists in the United States. At the same time, she has tended to be described as a Japanese American writer, a distinction the author feels is both flattering and misleading. In her work Kadohata does explore the complications that come with having a ‘‘hyphenated heritage,’’ or two heritages, however she believes that her novels have a more universal appeal. One reason is that all of her books are coming-of-age stories that explore such common themes as feeling different and struggling to find an identity. Another reason that Kadohata’s books are so appealing is that she draws from her own childhood experiences. In 2004 she mined those memories to pen Kira-Kira, her first novel aimed at a younger audience. For her efforts Kadohata was awarded the 2005 Newbery Award for excellence in children’s writing. It was an amazing feat for a first-time children’s author.

227

cynthia kadohata

Early desire to travel Cynthia Kadohata is a second-generation Japanese American. This means her parents, although of Japanese descent, were also born in the United States. Specifically, Kadohata was born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1956 or 1957. Even though she hailed from Chicago, most of her childhood was spent on the road. The wandering Kadohatas moved from Illinois to Arkansas, where Cynthia’s brother was born, then on to Georgia, Michigan, and back to Chicago, where her sister was born. When Kadohata was fifteen years old the family put down roots in Los Angeles, California—although by that time her parents had divorced and established separate households.

...................................................................................................................

‘‘Just thinking about the American landscape and focusing on it puts me in touch with what I think of as the real, essential me. I have to be in touch with the real, essential me whenever I sit down to write.’’ Such a nomadic upbringing had a lasting impact on Kadohata, who developed a strong urge to travel as an adult. In interviews she describes herself as the ultimate ‘‘road hog.’’ And, ultimately, traveling the country and writing became permanently linked for her. As the author explains on her Web site, ‘‘I love to travel around this amazing country. The beautiful landscape, the highways—I love it. Traveling, seeing the country, is one of the things from which I derive my ‘writing energy.’’’ While Kadohata’s parents were married her mother was a homemaker; after the divorce her mother took various clerical jobs and eventually earned a degree in sociology. Kadohata’s father grew up working on tenant farms in southern California, helping to pick celery and attending very little school. After

228

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

cynthia kadohata

a brief stint in the U.S. Army, he became a chicken ‘‘sexer’’ at a poultry plant, meaning he separated male and female chickens. ‘‘It was a horrible, backbreaking job,’’ Kadohata recalled to Bob Minzesheimer of USA Today, ‘‘and for some reason, all the chicken sexers were Japanese, and all the Japanese Americans in town worked at the poultry plant.’’ Being only one of a few families of Japanese descent in small southern towns gave the young girl an early sense of being an outsider, a feeling that as an adult Kadohata would explore in her writing.

Life-changing event Kadohata was an intense and dedicated student. An avid reader, she was especially drawn to any books that featured animals. Among her early favorites were Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White (1899–1977) and White Fang by Jack London (1876–1919). Although she enjoyed reading, Kadohata had no interest in becoming a writer. Actually, her plan was to become an astronaut, which she claims never would have worked out because she gets severe motion sickness. While in Chicago the studious youngster attended an alternative high school, but when the family moved to Los Angeles and Kadohata entered Hollywood High, many of her credits did not transfer. She eventually dropped out of school, partly because she felt she simply did not fit in. ‘‘I became intensely shy,’’ Kadohata admitted to Lisa See Kendall of Publishers Weekly. ‘‘It got to the point that going to the grocery store and talking to the cashier really made me nervous.’’ After leaving school the teen took a job as a clerk in a department store and then flipped hamburgers at a fast-food restaurant. When she was eighteen years old Kadohata was admitted to Los Angeles City College. She later transferred to the University of Southern California, where she received a bachelor of arts degree in journalism. After graduation, twenty-one-year-old Kadohata had a life-changing experience when a car jumped a curb and barreled into her as she was walking down a street in Los Angeles. The accident left her with a broken collarbone and a severely

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

229

cynthia kadohata

damaged right arm. It also made Kadohata realize that anything could happen at any moment. She told Kendall, ‘‘Life is unpredictable.’’ During her recovery Kadohata went to live with her sister in Boston, Massachusetts. It was there, while wandering through the city’s many bookstores that she rediscovered her love of reading, a hobby she had abandoned as she grew older. Kadohata devoured dozens of books of short stories, finally concluding, as she told Kendall, that ‘‘you could say things with fiction that you couldn’t say any other way.’’ While working at various temporary jobs Kadohata began writing her own stories and submitting them to national magazines, including the Atlantic and the New Yorker. The first story she submitted had an offbeat plot featuring a world that was inhabited by onelegged ducks.

The Floating World Over the next four years the struggling writer submitted over forty stories to magazines and was rejected time and time again. Kadohata was persistent, however, and finally, in 1986, the New Yorker accepted a short story called ‘‘Charlie O.’’ Several other stories were subsequently purchased by other magazines, including The Pennsylvania Review. All of the tales would eventually end up becoming chapters in Kadohata’s first novel. While submitting stories, Kadohata honed her writing skills by taking classes at the University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania and New York’s Columbia University. Her advanced education was cut short, however, when she was discovered in 1988 by literary super-agent Andrew Wylie. Wylie had read one of Kadohata’s New Yorker stories and was so intrigued he wrote two letters asking to represent her. A stunned Kadohata agreed and soon after Wylie sold The Floating World to the publishing company Viking Press. Even after the book was released in 1989 the fledgling writer had a hard time believing she was truly a published author. Although not specifically aimed at younger readers, the narrator of The Floating World is a twelve-year-old

230

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

cynthia kadohata

Japanese American girl named Olivia whose family, like Kadohata’s own, live a transient existence crisscrossing the United States, in the years following World War II (1939–45; war in which Great Britain, France, the Soviet Union, the United States, and their allies defeated Germany, Italy, and Japan). As Olivia grows to become a young adult she must do so in very close quarters and under the watchful eyes of her parents, because the family does everything together, including sometimes sleeping in the same room. Olivia must also contend with her grouchy grandmother, who is frequently physically and emotionally abusive. The family does eventually leave ‘‘the floating world’’ of gas stations, motels, and truck stops to settle permanently in Arkansas, where Olivia, finally in a stable home, has the freedom to grow up. The Floating World was enthusiastically received by critics, who praised Kadohata for her vivid and stark writing style. In particular, Michiko Kakutani of the New York Times commented on the author’s ability to ‘‘handle painful moments with humor and sensitivity.’’ He wrote that ‘‘The Floating World marks the debut of a luminous new voice in fiction.’’ Within the Asian American community, however, reviews were mixed, with some claiming that Kadohata was not always historically accurate or that she was sometimes being socially irresponsible, especially in her depiction of Olivia’s grandmother. Kadohata took such criticism in stride, claiming she was writing from her own experiences and that her characters could not be expected to represent all Japanese Americans. As she explained to Kendall, ‘‘I think all Asian American writers are just writing from their hearts. Why should their work or my work stand for all Asians? That’s impossible.’’

The glittering world of Kadohata For her next novel, In the Heart of the Valley of Love (1992), Kadohata traveled much further ahead in time, setting her story in Los Angeles in 2052. In Kadohata’s fictional world the city is in shambles with tension constantly erupting between two groups: the haves, who live in ‘‘richtowns,’’ and the have-nots.

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

231

cynthia kadohata

Although it is a futuristic novel, it also tackles contemporary issues (at the time the book was published, L.A. was experiencing a series of race riots). At the center of the story is nineteen-yearold Francie, a girl of mixed Asian and African background. Creating the character was a very personal journey for Kadohata (Francie’s arm is crushed during a car accident). The author revealed, ‘‘I thought this was a way for me to come out of the closet, in a sense. I have friends who have never even seen my arm.’’ Reviews of In the Heart were mixed, with some critics claiming Kadohata’s second major effort lacked originality and imagination. Others applauded the author for her lyrical language and felt that Francie’s story was poignantly realistic and that Kadohata remained a consistently powerful storyteller. Ten years later, in 1992, Kadohata released another novel, called The Glass Mountains, which was also in the science-fiction/fantasy genre. It was published in print format, but it was initially offered as an e-book, meaning that for a fee a reader could download it from the Internet. Because Kadohata consistently featured younger heroines in her novels, her editor at Viking Press suggested she attempt a children’s book. The author read boxes of books that her editor sent her and then went to the library to research even more. The result was the widely acclaimed Kira-Kira, which Kadohata released in 2004. The story focuses on ten-year-old Katie Takeshima, a first-generation Japanese American whose family moves from Iowa to Georgia after their grocery store goes out of business. Once again Kadohata returns to memories of her childhood in describing life for a Japanese American in a small, southern town. Kadohata describes Katie’s first taste of discrimination in such vivid and frank detail that it is easy to believe that she is writing from first-hand experience. The author also draws on her own father’s past (Katie’s father is forced to work grueling hours in the town’s poultry plant). The biggest problem Katie must face, however, is watching her older sister, Lynn, struggle with cancer. Because their parents work long hours the two girls are particularly close; in fact, Lynn taught Katie her first word, kira-kira, which means ‘‘glittering.’’

232

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

cynthia kadohata

Japanese Internment during World War II

During World War II (1939–45) the United States and its allies were fighting against Germany, Italy, and Japan. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882–1945) signed Executive Order 9066 on February 19, 1942, calling for the relocation of Japanese Americans to internment camps. Internment camps are areas created to detain certain individuals, usually of a specific ethnic or religious background; such camps are usually created during periods of war. The reason for the order was supposedly to protect the United States against any type of espionage or terrorist attack. Since then, however, the act has been viewed as a major violation of civil rights and the period a bleak time in U.S. history. Following President Roosevelt’s order, Japanese Americans were directed to report to control stations to register. From there they were required to relocate their entire families to one of ten internment camps located in California, Arizona, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, and Arkansas. Cynthia Kadohata’s father was interned in the Poston camp on the Colorado River Indian Reservation in the Sonoran Desert. Since they were only allowed to bring what they could carry, most Japanese Americans had to sell the majority of their belongings. Many people took advantage of the situation and purchased items, such as cars, at greatly undervalued prices. Their

possessions were also stolen and their homes vandalized, which ultimately resulted in millions of dollars of property loss. Between 1942 and 1945, approximately 120,000 people, many of whom were American citizens, or Nisei, lived in the internment camps, which were sometimes called concentration camps. All detainees were required to sign an oath of loyalty to the United States even though they were not released upon signing. The majority readily agreed to sign because they wanted to show their loyalty. Some, however, refused, and as a result approximately eight thousand Japanese were deported, returned to their country. Those who remained continued to show their allegiance to America by flying the American flag and saluting the flag each morning and evening. In 1943, as the war effort escalated, Japanese American males were even drafted into the U.S. Army. Two allJapanese American units were created, including the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, which is considered to be one of the most honored military units in U.S. history. In 1988, the U.S. Congress created a bill that formally apologized to all Japanese American internees and their families. Any individual who had been interned in one of the ten camps was offered a onetime compensation of $20,000.

Katie uses the term to describe anything she really likes. Reviewers unanimously applauded Kadohata for the work. Jennifer Brabander of The Horn Book Magazine claimed that ‘‘the novel captures both the specific experience of being Japanese American in the 1950s and the wider experience of illness and loss.’’ Time for Kids commented on Kadohata’s particularly strong female characters, and Publishers Weekly claimed that the book fairly shines.

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

233

cynthia kadohata

Kira-Kira On January 17, 2005, a fifteen-member committee of librarians and children’s literature experts announced that Kira-Kira had won the 2005 John Newbery Award. Kadohata was alerted by phone at 4:26 A.M., and as she told Bob Minzesheimer, she ‘‘jumped up and down like an idiot,’’ waking up her seventeenmonth-old ‘‘who was cranky the rest of the morning.’’ According to the Seattle Times, committee head Susan Faust sang praises for Kira-Kira at the awards ceremony held on January 19 in Boston: ‘‘What’s really compelling here is the quietude of the book, in that there’s both pathos [arousing feelings of sympathy] and humor, and I think the book kind of radiates a sense of hope from the inside out.’’ Following her Newbery win Kadohata got a chance to do her favorite thing—travel the country—as she visited schools and libraries across the United States to speak about Kira-Kira and life as an author. Her traveling days had to be limited, however, because she had her young son, who she adopted in 2004, waiting for her at home. Kadohata lives in Los Angeles with son, Sammy, and the other love of her life, her Doberman dog, Shika Kojika, whose name means ‘‘deer, little deer.’’ When she was asked by Aminah Sallam of Time for Kids about what she considers to be kira-kira, Kadohata responded, ‘‘My son’s eyes, my boyfriend, my dog, sitting outside when the sky is blue, traveling by road, and seeing the sky in the countryside where the stars are bright.’’ In 2005, Kadohata was hard at work on her next children’s book, Weedflower, slated to be released in 2006. Like her previous novels, Weedflower was inspired by her family’s history. Kadohata’s father’s family lived in an internment camp on the Colorado River Indian Reservation during World War II, and the story provides a fictionalized look at a friendship that springs up between a Japanese American girl living at the camp and a young American Indian boy. When researching Weedflower, Kadohata spoke with her father to get details. As she explained to USA Today, her father asked, ‘‘Who cares about that now?’’ Kadohata’s response: ‘‘I do, Dad.’’ And, given the amount of acclaim her previous books have received, soon thousands of others will know the story and share the care.

234

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

cynthia kadohata

For More Information Periodicals Brabander, Jennifer. ‘‘Review of Kira-Kira. The Horn Book Magazine (March–April 2004): p. 183. Emery, Theo. ‘‘Top Honors in Kids Books Announced.’’ The Seattle Times (January 19, 2005): p. F3. Kakutani, Michiko. ‘‘Review of The Floating World.’’ New York Times (June 30, 1989): p. B4. Kendall, Lisa See. ‘‘Interview: Cynthia Kadohata.’’ Publishers Weekly (August 3, 1992): p. 48. Minzesheimer, Bob. ‘‘Kadohata Knows Sense of ‘Standing Out’.’’ USA Today (January 18, 2005): p. O3D. ‘‘Review of Kira-Kira.’’ Publishers Weekly (February 9, 2004): p. 81. Roback, Diane. ‘‘First-time Winners for Newbery, Caldecott.’’ Publishers Weekly (January 24, 2005): pp. 22–24.

Web Sites Home Page of Cynthia Kadohata. http://www.kira-kira.us/ (accessed on August 23, 2005). Sallam, Aminah. ‘‘TFK Talks with Cynthia Kadohata.’’ TimeforKids.com (February 28, 2005). http://www.timeforkids. com/TFK/kidscoops/story/0,14989,1028042,00.html (accessed on August 23, 2005).

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

235

Hamid Karzai

December 24, 1957

. Karz,

Kandahar, Afghanistan

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

ª Brooks Kraft/Corbis.

President of Afghanistan

For most of his life Hamid Karzai has dedicated himself to bringing peace and unity to his homeland of Afghanistan, a nearly impossible task because the country has been plagued by internal tensions and external threats for decades. During the 1980s, when Afghanistan was controlled by Soviet forces, Karzai fled to Pakistan, where he served as director for the Afghan National Liberation Front. In the early 1990s, following Soviet expulsion, Karzai filled several political posts in the newly installed Burhanuddin Rabbani government. For the remainder of the decade he traveled around the world, working tirelessly to raise awareness of his war-torn country and to raise funds to help his people, who had been ravaged by years of constant struggle. Afghanistan did eventually find itself the focus of international attention, but unfortunately it was because Taliban extremists, who had taken control of the country, were linked with the terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001. Karzai rallied internal forces and joined with U.S. troops to oust

237

hamid karzai

the Islamic faction from power. After the fall of the Taliban, Karzai served as both the chairman and interim president of the transitional government. In December 2004, despite predictions to the contrary, the Afghani people filed to the polls to vote in their first presidential election. On December 7, 2004, the charismatic and devoted Karzai was officially named Afghanistan’s first democratically elected leader.

Royal legacy Hamid Karzai was born on December 24, 1957, in Karz, a small village near Kandahar in southern Afghanistan. His

...................................................................................................................

‘‘It is our humanity that ultimately brings us together, while the pursuit of narrow interests divides us all.’’ was a royal birth since members of the Karzai family, who belong to the Populzai clan, have been rulers of the country for over six hundred years. The Populzai clan is part of the Pashtun tribe, which is the largest Islamic ethnic group in Afghanistan, numbering close to half a million. Karzai’s grandfather was president of the national council under King Mohammed Zahir Shah (1914–; ruled 1933–73); his father served as a senator in the king’s parliament. Karzai has seven siblings—six brothers and one sister—five of whom live in the United States, where they run a chain of Afghan restaurants called Helmand. Although he spent most of his early years in Kandahar, Karzai attended high school in Kabul, the capital city of Afghanistan. He also attended the Habibia School in Kabul, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in political science. In 1979, after the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan, the entire Karzai family fled the country and settled in Quetta, Pakistan. Meanwhile Karzai continued his education in political science at

238

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

hamid karzai

the Himachal Pradesh University in Simla, India. In 1985 the studious Karzai traveled to Paris, France, to study journalism at the Ecole Superieure. By the age of twenty-eight, the future diplomat was fluent in seven languages and had racked up an impressive number of professional degrees. During his years of self-imposed exile, Karzai retained close ties to his homeland. While living in Pakistan he was director of the Afghan National Liberation Front and worked for the mujahedin, a force of anti-Soviet guerillas (small bands of fighters who make surprise attacks) that funneled weapons and supplies from the United States to Afghanistan. In 1989, when Soviet forces were finally overthrown, the country was left in shambles. According to United Nations’ estimates, nearly one million Afghanis had died during the decade of occupation and resistance. (The United Nations is an international organization founded in 1945 and composed of most of the countries in the world.) Various factions fought to gain control of the Afghan government, and in 1992 a coalition of Islamic groups known as the Seven Party Alliance named Burhanuddin Rabbani (1940–) president of the interim, or temporary, Islamic Council.

Taliban takes control From 1992 through 1994 Karzai returned to Afghanistan and served as the deputy foreign minister in the Rabbani government. But life under Rabbani rule was chaotic, riddled by infighting within the Rabbani government and rife with corruption. A disillusioned Karzai resigned his post and left for Pakistan, where, for a time, he allied himself with a newly formed group called the Taliban. The Taliban was composed of conservative Islamic students and clerics who wanted to establish religious rule in Afghanistan. Some felt the Taliban were extremists, almost fanatical, but Karzai believed them to be allies since they were part of the Pashtun tribe. As he told Justin Huggler of the Independent, ‘‘The Taliban were good, honest people. I had no reservations about helping them.’’ Karzai’s support of the Taliban, however, was short-lived. After the Taliban took control of the government in 1996 they

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

239

hamid karzai

used Islamic law to impose severe restrictions, especially on women, and their treatment of Afghani citizens was often brutal. When Taliban followers from outside the country began to establish terrorist camps throughout Afghanistan, Karzai distanced himself from the group, and he and his father, Abdul Mohamed, became outspoken opponents. In 1999, while walking home from a mosque (an Islamic house of worship), Abdul Mohamed was assassinated. Karzai blamed the Taliban, and he resolved to rid the country of the extremists. As the new khan, or head, of the Populzai clan, he also vowed to devote himself to his father’s dream of creating a wholly unique Afghan government that would embrace all clans, tribes, and ethnicities. From his outpost in Pakistan, Karzai organized a Taliban resistance movement. He also traveled frequently to the United States to plead for support against the Taliban, even appearing before the U.S. Senate. Following the attacks of September 11, 2001, when terrorists hijacked U.S. planes and crashed them into buildings in New York City and Washington, D.C., the United States began to take Karzai and the Taliban threat more seriously. The September 11 attacks were directly linked to Taliban extremists, and U.S. troops were immediately sent out in full force. The U.S. military worked with the Northern Alliance— Afghani factions united to remove the Taliban; Karzai slipped into southern Afghanistan to supply intelligence reports and to rally southern tribes. In October 2001, after a month of massive attacks, the Taliban was finally toppled.

Transitional authority In December 2001 exiled Afghanistan politicians and Afghani tribal leaders met in Bonn, Germany, to discuss a new government structure. Karzai communicated via satellite telephone, and by unanimous vote, he was named interim president for six months, after which a loya jirga (a traditional council of Afghani elders) would be assembled to decide on future leadership. On December 22, 2001, Karzai was sworn in as president, along with a thirty-person cabinet, including representatives of various clans, two of whom were women.

240

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

hamid karzai

In June 2002 the loya jirga gathered to choose new government leadership until elections could be held in 2004. Taking 1,295 out of 1,575 votes, Karzai was elected president of the Afghan Transitional Administration. Twenty-eight cabinet members were named and three vice presidents, representing multiple ethnic backgrounds, were installed. Violence erupted almost immediately. Just weeks after taking office, on July 6, 2002, Vice President Haji Abdul Qadir was assassinated. Karzai, himself, narrowly escaped being killed in September 2002 when a gunman opened fire as he was getting into his car. In addition car bombings and grenade attacks became everyday occurrences, aimed at both Afghani heads of state and foreign leaders stationed in the country on peacekeeping missions. Despite threats to his safety, Karzai launched himself into his new post of president with tireless zeal. Given the constant skirmishes between the various clan warlords his first priority was to focus on security by re-establishing a strong national army and a unified police force. In an attempt to maintain control over the scattered provinces Karzai also fired more than twenty regional officials who were accused of drug trafficking, excessive taxation, and countless other types of corruption. At the most basic level, the new president was faced with the problem of providing his citizens with the simplest necessities. After years of being ravaged by war, many Afghanis had no access to safe drinking water, electricity, or passable roads. To rally international support Karzai traveled to over fifteen countries, ultimately acquiring nearly $5 billion in aid. According to analysts and members of the press, Karzai was so successful because he charmed world leaders with his mild manner, his intelligent persuasiveness, and his stylish way of dressing. Wearing business suits mixed with colorful capes and wool fezzes, the Afghanistan president struck just the right balance between a modern-day politician and a traditional nationalist (someone who feels devotion and pride in his country and who advocates for strong national independence).

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

241

hamid karzai

Hamid Karzai, pictured here with U.S. secretary of state Condoleezza Rice, was inaugurated as president of Afghanistan in December 2004. ª Yuri Gripas/ Reuters/Corbis.

242

Democracy arrives In late 2004, despite continued personal peril (by this time he had round-the-clock protection by U.S. bodyguards), Karzai was the top contender in the first presidential race in Afghanistan history. Analysts claimed that there was a lack of national interest and many were worried the elections would not take place given vocal threats of violence issued by Taliban representatives. On October 9, 2004, however, despite the threats, eight million Afghanis headed to the polls to cast their ballots. When the votes were counted, Karzai had defeated twenty-two opponents by taking 55.4 percent. According to William Safire of the New York Times, ‘‘The biggest winner is the cause of democracy in the world, and especially in this region, which much of the West assumed was too culturally backward to express a longing for freedom.’’

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

hamid karzai

Karzai’s inauguration took place on December 7, 2004, at the presidential palace in Kabul, Afghanistan. With his hand placed on the Koran (the holy book of Islam) he recited this oath, as quoted on the Radio Free Afghanistan Web site: ‘‘I will safeguard the rights and interests of the Afghan people. And by the help of Almighty God—and the support of the nation—I will continue my efforts for the welfare and the development of the country. Almighty God, help me.’’ The crowd in attendance, which included such foreign dignitaries as Vice President Dick Cheney (1941–), gave Karzai a standing ovation as he proceeded to give his acceptance speech. Lisa Stein of U.S. News & World Report described a particularly heartfelt moment when the newly elected president proclaimed, ‘‘We have now left a hard and dark past behind us, and today we are opening a new chapter in our history. On this day of a new, peaceful, prosperous era for our country, I would like to wish the best for Afghanistan.’’

No easy answers Despite Karzai’s sincere intentions, rebuilding Afghanistan would prove to be a difficult task. In an attempt to further rein in regional warlords who relied on illegal drug trafficking, the new president announced he would put an end to the production of opium-poppy, which is used to create heroin. According to statistics issued by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 87 percent of opium sold in the worldwide drug trade originates in Afghanistan. Critics, however, claim that since taking office Karzai had done little to address the drug issue, in part because there was no easy solution, and also because the drug trade has been central to the country’s economy for so long. As Isobel Coleman of the Council on Foreign Relations told Nikola Krastev of Radio Free Europe, ‘‘It’s very destabilizing in the country to take away people’s only livelihood. And I think the Karzai government ::: has soft-pedaled on this issue for that reason.’’ The biggest hurdle remained the constant outbreaks of violence among various ethnic groups, with the biggest threat

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

243

hamid karzai

The Taliban

In

the early 1990s, after Soviet forces were driven out from Afghanistan, the country experienced a civil war as various warlords of several ethnic tribes fought for control. One of the groups that emerged was known as the Taliban, a word that comes from the Arabic term for ‘‘seeker’’ or ‘‘student.’’ The term was appropriate because most of the Taliban members were Islamic clerics and students who were refugees studying at seminars in nearby Pakistan. Members of the Taliban were strict followers of Islam and belonged to the Pashtun tribe, which early on offered them considerable support. The Taliban’s first leader, Mohammed Omar (1959–), emerged in 1994 and quickly rose to prominence after organizing a sophisticated military unit of over 1,500 men. Omar’s followers continued to increase, and over the next few years they overtook Afghanistan, beginning in the western regions. On September 26, 1996, the Taliban captured the capital city of Kabul; President Burhanuddin Rabbani fled and Omar established the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, with himself as the new head of state. Although the Taliban essentially ruled the majority of the country

through 2001, only three nations recognized their authority: Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. Until the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the United States and the rest of the world took a hands-off approach to the Taliban, considering the amount of friction among other ethnic Afghan tribes seemed to be under control. For most Afghani citizens, however, life under Taliban rule was often brutal. Since Taliban members were strict followers of Islam, Islamic law was firmly enforced. For example, all television, music, and sports were banned; men were expected to trim their beards to a specific length; and criminals were severely punished. A person found guilty of robbery might have a hand cut off by the Taliban police. The treatment of women under Taliban rule was particularly harsh. Women were forbidden to work outside the home; girls’ schools were closed; and women were regularly prohibited from coming into direct contact with men. The Taliban also enforced a strict dress code: Women were not allowed in public unless their faces were completely covered by a veil known as a burqa.

coming from the Taliban, not official heads of government anymore, but still an active militant group. After the presidential elections many believed that the Taliban movement had been suppressed, but throughout 2005 tensions continued to increase. Almost daily there were attacks by Taliban forces in southern Afghanistan. Taliban terrorists staged kidnappings of several foreign visitors, and heated demonstrations against the Karzai government popped up on a regular basis. On June 28, 2005, the violence reached a climax when a U.S. military helicopter carrying seventeen Americans was shot down over Kabul. Once again Karzai turned to the international

244

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

hamid karzai

community to come to the assistance of his country, pleading, in particular, for the United States and Australia to bring in more troops. According to Carlotta Gall of the Houston Chronicle, just months after his country had enjoyed its first taste of freedom Karzai’s people were ‘‘feeling uneasy about the future.’’

For More Information Periodicals Fang, Bay. ‘‘After the Election, What? Afghan Elections.’’ U.S. News & World Report (November 8, 2004): p. 38. ‘‘The Final Results.’’ National Review (November 8, 2004): p. 10. Huggler, Justin. ‘‘Hamid Karzai: Steel in an Afghan Cloak.’’ The Independent (UK) (May 21, 2002). Moreau, Ron, and Sami Yousafzai. ‘‘Taliban Are Welcome: Interview with President Karzi.’’ Newsweek (December 20, 2004): p. 32. Safire, William. ‘‘The Best Political News of 2004: The Afghan Election.’’ New York Times (November 29, 2004): p. 20. Starr, S. Frederick. Silk Road to Success. The National Interest (Winter 2004): pp. 65–73. Stein, Lisa. ‘‘A New, Peaceful Era.’’ U.S. News & World Report (December 20, 2004): p. 14.

Web Sites ‘‘Karzai Sworn in as Afghan President.’’ Radio Free Afghanistan: Weekly Report (December 8, 2004). http://www.azadiradio.org/ en/weeklyreport/2004/12/08.asp (accessed on August 23, 2005). Krastev, Nikola. ‘‘Afghanistan: UN Highlights Long-Term Drug Threat.’’ Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.com (June 29, 2005). http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2005/06/62e936a9-8a35-4a329f4b-fc384c67c507.html (accessed on August 23, 2005).

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

245

Rem Koolhaas

November 17, 1944

. Rotterdam,

. .

U X L newsmakers

ª Gustau Nacarino/Reuters/Corbis.

. volume 5

Netherlands

Architect

R

em Koolhaas is considered by his many followers to be the coolest, hippest, and most cutting-edge architect on the planet. But, like all things cutting-edge, Koolhaas is difficult to classify. Since the late 1970s the Dutch designer has earned acclaim as an author, a theorist, an urban planner, a cultural researcher, and a professor at Harvard. And, of course, he has amassed an array of projects ranging in size from small—The Bordeaux House (1998)—to large—the CCTV Headquarters in Beijing, China (begun 2004)—to extra large—the Euralille complex, located in Lille, France (1994). Although his projects are viewed as visionary by most, they are also unusual and frequently constructed using inexpensive, everyday materials. As a result they have been described as inspired, weird, or downright ugly. A prime example of Koolhaas’s mixture of beautiful and bizarre is the Seattle Central Library, located in

247

rem koolhaas

Washington and completed in 2004. Some consider it to be a revolutionary structure that taps into Seattle’s urban energy; others call it a blight on the city skyline. Regardless, it is the largest U.S. Koolhaas project to date, and it marks the clear beginning of his American phase. And, despite his critics, there is no doubt that the breakthrough designer is changing the face of contemporary architecture. As U.S. architect Frank Gehry (1929–) told Belinda Luscombe of Time, ‘‘I would say he’s the most comprehensive thinker in the profession today. He’s the hope for the cities.’’

...................................................................................................................

‘‘The word ‘architecture’ embodies the lingering hope—or the vague memory of a hope— that shape, form, coherence could be imposed on the violent surf of information that washes over us daily.’’ From filmmaker to builder Rem Koolhaas was born on November 17, 1944, in Rotterdam, Netherlands, just four years after the major seaport city was destroyed by German bombing during World War II (1939–45; war in which Great Britain, France, the Soviet Union, the United States, and their allies defeated Germany, Italy, and Japan). His father, Anton, was a well-known Dutch writer and film critic, who, when Koolhaas was eight years old, traveled to Indonesia to serve as the director of a newly formed cultural institute. At the time, Indonesia had just broken ties with the Dutch, who had dominated the region since the seventeenth century. From age eight to twelve Koolhaas and his two younger siblings lived with their father in Jakarta, Indonesia. While there, the young boy developed a fascination with Asia that would continue into adulthood.

248

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

rem koolhaas

After returning to the Netherlands Koolhaas eventually took up journalism as a career, writing for the Haagse Post. At the same time, he began socializing with film students and even dabbled in film school for a bit. In 1969 Koolhaas co-wrote a script called The White Slave, which was produced by Dutch director Rene Daalder. In interviews Koolhaas calls this early film a commentary on modern Europe using clips from B-movies (low-budget movies). The would-be filmmaker even wrote several screenplays for Hollywood directors, which were never produced. One day, while speaking about film to a group of architect students at the University of Delft, Koolhaas realized that what he truly wanted to do was build. Actually, the idea was not so farfetched because his maternal grandfather had been an architect, and that particular career option had always been lurking in the back of his mind. So, Koolhaas packed his bags and headed for London, where he studied at the Architecture Association School. He quickly became known for being an unconventional thinker, especially after he published several controversial papers, one of which proposed walling off portions of London and asking citizens to decide on which side of the wall they wanted to live.

Founds the Office for Modern Architecture Because of his innovative ideas Koolhaas was given a Harkness Fellowship in 1972, which allowed him to study at the Institute for Architecture and Urban Studies in New York City. The Harkness Fellowship is administered by the Commonwealth Fund, a charitable foundation established in 1918 by U.S. philanthropists Anna and Edward Harkness; it allows academics and artists from outside the United States to study in the country for two years. While in New York, Koolhaas trained under noted American architect Peter Eisenman (1932–) and famed German architect O. M. Ungers (1926–). The thirty-four-year-old also became enthralled by what he viewed as the dynamics of New York City. Contrary to the popular notion of the time of urban sprawl (moving to and building in the outskirts of cities), New

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

249

rem koolhaas

York was jam-packed with people living in what Koolhaas termed in many interviews as ‘‘the culture of congestion.’’ In 1978, based on his observations, Koolhaas penned Delirious New York, which he frequently described as a ‘‘manifesto for Manhattan,’’ and which discusses in detail patterns of urban growth. The book became an instant classic, and according to CNN.com, ‘‘Critics hailed it as a must-read on the subject of modern architecture and society.’’ Therefore, oddly enough, before he laid a single brick on a single project the Dutch designer had achieved a level of fame that takes most architects years to achieve. When he was traveling and studying in the United States, Koolhaas was accompanied by his wife, Madelon Vriesendorp, an architect and painter. In fact, the two were professional partners as well as life partners. The dust jacket of Delirious New York features a Vriesendorp painting, and a few years earlier, in 1975, Koolhaas, Vriesendorp, and two friends, Elia and Zoe Zenghelis, formed their own design company called the Office for Modern Architecture. Known as OMA, which happens to mean ‘‘grandmother’’ in Dutch, the company was originally based in London, but eventually moved to Rotterdam in the West Netherlands. Marcus Fairs of Icon Magazine described it as a ‘‘hot-house research laboratory,’’ and in 2004 OMA employed 85 staff members, with some 1,400 hopeful architects applying for employment each year. In its first decade OMA’s designs were theoretical, meaning they were captured on paper but never actually built. Koolhaas submitted many striking and innovative ideas to several highprofile architectural companies and entered a number of competitions, but no one seemed interested. Finally, in 1987 Koolhaas was hired to design and build the Netherlands Dance Theater in The Hague. Composed of three areas, including a stage and auditorium; a rehearsal studio; and a complex of offices and dressing rooms, the theater garnered Koolhaas immediate acclaim. According to Koolhaas’s profile featured on the Syracuse University Web site, it is considered by Phyllis Lambert of the Canadian Centre for Architecture to be one of the top nine buildings of the twentieth century.

250

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

rem koolhaas

Small scale Following the dance theater commission Koolhaas was off and running, designing and constructing one-of-a-kind buildings of various size and scope all around the world. Some were smallscale residences, commissioned by individuals, such as the Villa Dall’Ava, located in Paris, and completed in 1991. The clients instructed Koolhaas to build a glass house with a swimming pool on the roof, with enough space to accommodate them and their daughter in separate areas. The result was a glass pavilion with two hovering apartments, one on top of another, each offering a panoramic view of the Paris skyline. Of course Koolhaas added his own brand of uniqueness by encircling the pool with orange, plastic webbing—the kind found at construction sites. Belinda Luscombe commented, ‘‘The clients asked for a masterpiece, and they got an adventure.’’ Other Koolhaas-designed residences include the Nexus housing project (Fukuoka, Japan, 1991) and The Dutch House (Netherlands, 1995), but one of the architect’s most important smaller projects is Maison a` Bordeaux (The Bordeaux House), located in France. The house was named the best design for 1998 by Time magazine. Koolhaas designed the residence for a man who was wheelchair bound and who felt trapped by his traditionally structured home. To allow freedom of movement the architect created a glass elevator to travel between the house’s three levels. The bottom level was the most amazing, consisting of a series of caverns carved out of the side of a hill. Each of Koolhaas’s projects is truly unique and the architect is openly pleased that buildings are not easily identified as Koolhaas-designed. One element that remains consistent, however, is his use of everyday, often inexpensive materials, whether the structure is residential like the Villa Dall’Ava, or public, like the Kunsthal Gallery (1992) in Rotterdam. For the walls of the gallery Koolhaas used unfinished concrete and corrugated, or ridged, plastic; metal grids serve as the floor; and tree trunks are used as pillars. As the Dutch designer explained to Belinda Luscombe, ‘‘Architecture is always the encounter of vision and circumstance. The Dutch don’t believe in spending a lot of money on buildings so there’s no choice but to build with really cheap materials.’’

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

251

rem koolhaas

Extra-large scale In 1994 Koolhaas released his second major book, S, M, L, XL, an eight-pound, dense collection of essays, photos, observations, and designs that summarizes OMA’s progress through the mid1990s. The title refers to the way the architect decided to arrange the book: instead of a chronological timeline, it is organized by project size. That same year Koolhaas had his first exhibition at New York’s Museum of Modern Art (MOMA). The exhibition drew sold-out crowds, and the six-foot-five, dapperly dressed Koolhaas graced the covers of such glossy magazines as Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar. Thanks to his MOMA exposure, Koolhaas became a celebrity outside the world of architecture. But the true reason that 1994 marked a milestone year for him was the completion of the largest European urban planning project to date: Euralille. Euralille is the train hub in northern France that is the exchange between the Chunnel (the rail tunnel beneath the English Channel that connects England and France) and the European railway system. Koolhaas served as the city’s master planner and faced the overwhelming problem that fifty million travelers passed through the hub each year, while 175,000 residents lived in the city year-round. The designer hired other architects to build commercial and business centers, but Koolhaas himself tackled the crowning pinnacle of the complex, the Grand Palais. Conceived as a convention center, the rambling structure served multiple purposes; it housed a convention hall, an exhibition hall, and a congressional hall under the same oval-shaped roof. In an attempt to add a feeling of warmth to the vast expanse of concrete walls and air-conditioning ducts, Koolhaas laid a square of carpet in the lobby, arranged a few chairs in the center, and suspended a wooden ceiling over the area, creating essentially a meeting space without walls.

Tackles the American landscape By 2000, although he had been building for only thirteen years (which is a short time in the slow-moving world of architecture), Koolhaas had completed projects in many countries, including

252

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

rem koolhaas

the Netherlands, France, Portugal, Korea, Japan, and Germany. For his accomplishments he was named the Pritzker Prize Laureate for 2000, becoming the first Dutchman to be so honored. Named for the Pritzkers, a Chicago-based family of businessmen and philanthropists, according to CNN.com the prize ‘‘honors living architects whose collective work has shown unique talent and influence.’’ The laureate receives a bronze medallion and $100,000, but more importantly the Pritzker is considered to be the highest achievement an architect can attain. According to Pritzker Prize jury chairman J. Carter Brown, as quoted on the Pritzker Web site, ‘‘Rem Koolhaas is widely respected as one of the most gifted and original talents in world architecture today. The leader of a spectacularly irreverent generation of Dutch architects, his restless mind, conceptual brilliance, and ability to make a building sing have earned him a stellar place in the firmament of contemporary design.’’ Although he had scaled to the peak of the architectural profession Koolhaas had yet to conquer one final frontier—the American landscape. He received his first U.S. commission in 1996, a $3 billion plan to expand offices for MCA-Universal Studios in Universal City, California. The project, however, came to a halt in 1999 after funding fell through. Similar budget crunching put the brakes on other U.S.-based projects, including plans to expand the Whitney Museum in New York City and refurbishing the Los Angeles Museum of Art. In 1998 Koolhaas finally won his first U.S. commission when he was selected from an array of architects to design a new Campus Center at the Illinois Institute of Technology (ITT) in Chicago. The ITT campus is considered to be one of the premier architectural sites in the United States because twenty of its buildings were originally designed by renowned German architect Mies van der Rohe (1886–1969). Known as the McCormick Tribune Campus Center, the building was completed in September 2003, with Richard Lacayo of Time magazine calling it ‘‘another instant icon.’’ Its most remarkable outside feature is an enormous corrugated steel tube that sits atop the v-shaped roof; Koolhaas designed the tube to muffle the noise of trains that zoom by overhead.

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

253

rem koolhaas

254

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

rem koolhaas

Wild Seattle ride

Opposite page

Rem Koolhaas’s design of the Seattle Central Public Library, which opened in 2004, took six years and $165.5 million to complete. ª Anthony Bolante/ Reuters/Corbis.

Koolhaas may have received a great deal of press for his ITT center, but the project that placed him firmly in the minds of Americans and brought him international acclaim was the Seattle Central Public Library in 2004. The $165.5-million project was approved by Seattle, Washington, citizens in 1998, and they waited in anticipation for six years to see what the innovative designer would deliver. The result was a 362,987-square-foot labyrinth that soars fifteen stories and has the capacity to hold 1.4 million books. Instead of the floors being stacked one on top of the other, Koolhaas created a series of five irregularly placed platforms that jut out forward and backward and sideways, giving the outside of the structure a maze-like look. Time magazine described the platforms as ‘‘flying carpets,’’ claiming that patrons feel as though they’re ‘‘suspended in midair.’’ Instead of being housed neatly in different sections, the library’s books are arranged in a continuous spiral that flows through the four central floors. Patrons move through the spiral along zigzagging ramps, which, according to city librarian Deborah Jacobs, who spoke with American Libraries, gives them ‘‘the freedom to move throughout the entire collection without dependence on stairs, escalators, and elevators.’’ Interspersed along the spiral are four open areas featuring a children’s library, reading rooms, reference desks, and a fifthlevel ‘‘mixing chamber,’’ that houses four hundred computer stations. Each section is carefully color-coded in sometimes shockingly brilliant hues. For example, men’s restrooms are bright green; the elevators are pea-green; and the fourth-level meeting room is fire engine red, and according to Lawrence Cheek of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, ‘‘resembles the digestive tract of a giant sea mammal.’’ Like all of Koolhaas’s projects, the Seattle Library sparked all kinds of conversation and debate. Some reviewers raved, like Charles Mudede, who was quoted in the Seattle PostIntelligencer: ‘‘What the downtown library did on the day its doors were opened is activate Seattle’s urbanity.’’ And, an American Libraries article included a quote by noted critic

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

255

rem koolhaas

Herbert Muschamp, who remarked: ‘‘In more than 30 years of writing about architecture, this is the most exciting new building it has been my honor to review.’’ Even those who work in the building sang its praises. As librarian Linda Saunto told American Libraries, ‘‘It is so beautiful, and it is such a joy to work in a building that is so full of light.’’ Of course, the library was not without its critics. The August 2004 issue of American Libraries included a comment by Barb Guy of the Salt Lake City Tribune, who claimed the structure ‘‘looks like a gargantuan ventilation duct plunked into downtown.’’ Ultimately, however, the most important critics were the patrons. As of June 2005 book circulation was up 50 percent over the old library, and the number of visitors patronizing the library was up 60 percent. In addition the glass-and-steel structure was drawing tourists to Seattle in droves, and it was becoming a regular gathering place for city residents. The library was so popular and unique that a couple actually held a wedding there. On the Pritzker Web site, a prize jury member commented that Seattle had to brace itself ‘‘for a wild ride with a man famous for straying outside the bound of convention.’’

The Koolhaas way Despite his triumph in Seattle, in the mid-2000s Koolhaas began to turn his attention toward Asia, where the population and expansion explosion guaranteed an increasing number of projects. His biggest commission came in 2002 from the Chinese government to design and build a new headquarters for the state-run China Central Television (CCTV) in Beijing. A massive undertaking, the project is expected to be completed in 2008. When not designing, overseeing a project, or globetrotting from his Rotterdam offices to his home in London, Koolhaas works as a professor on the faculty of Harvard University. Instead of simply teaching design Koolhaas established a research unit that studies contemporary cities. The research findings were being published in a series of books that focus on topics such as shopping and urban conditions in China and

256

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

rem koolhaas

Nigeria. The first in the series, Harvard Guide to Shopping, was published in 2002. In May 2004, Koolhaas also published a follow-up to S, M, L, XL, called Content, which chronicles recent OMA projects and includes essays and commentaries by Koolhaas on the state of twenty-first century architecture. Rem Koolhaas may be well known for his writings and commentaries on the future of architecture, but many believe that Koolhaas himself is the future in the now. According to Marcus Fairs of Icon Magazine, ‘‘Koolhaas has established himself as architecture’s most prolific, influential and extreme oracle [visionary].’’ And, as the unconventional Dutchman told Fairs, he has no intention of slowing down. ‘‘There is no plateau of resting or stabilizing,’’ Koolhaas explained. ‘‘Once you are interested in how things evolve, you have a kind of never-ending perspective, because it means you are interested in articulating the evolution, and therefore the potential change, the potential redefinition.’’

For More Information Periodicals Critics Rave over Koolhaas Design.’’ American Libraries (August 2004): p. 12. Lacayo, Richard. ‘‘One for the Books.’’ Time (April 26, 2004). Luscombe, Belinda. ‘‘Making a Splash: Rem Koolhaas.’’ Time (April 8, 1996).

Web Sites Barrie, Andrew. ‘‘Freed Architecture.’’ Japan Times Online (November 5, 2003). http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle. pl5?fa20031105a2.htm (accessed on August 23, 2005). Cheek, Lawrence. ‘‘On Architecture: New Library Is Defining Seattle’s Urban Vitality.’’ Seattle Post-Intelligencer (June 28, 2005). http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/visualart/230248_architecture28.html (accessed on August 23, 2005). Fairs, Marcus. ‘‘Rem Koolhaas: Interview.’’ Icon magazine (UK) (June 2004). http://www.icon-magazine.co.uk/issues/013/rem.htm (accessed on August 23, 2005). ‘‘Koolhaas Receives ‘Nobel of Architecture’ in Jerusalem.’’ CNN.com: Arts and Style (May 29, 2000). http://archives.cnn.com/2000/ STYLE/design/05/29/pritzker/index.html (accessed on August 23, 2005).

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

257

rem koolhaas Office for Metropolitan Architecture Web Site. http://www.oma.nl/ Oma.htm (accessed on August 23, 2005). ‘‘Profile of Rem Koolhaas.’’ Harvard University: Harvard Design School. http://www.gsd.harvard.edu/people/faculty/koolhaas/ index.html (accessed on August 23, 2005). ‘‘Profile of Rem Koolhaas.’’ Syracuse University: Lecture Series. http://provost.syr.edu/lectures/koolhaas.asp (accessed on August 23, 2005). ‘‘Rem Koolhaas: Pritzker Architecture Prize Laureate 2000.’’ Pritzker Prize Web Site. http://www.pritzkerprize.com/2000annc.htm (accessed on August 23, 2005).

258

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 5

U•X• L newsmakers

contents . volume 6

. .

U X L newsmakers

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii Reader’s Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xv Newsmakers by Field of Endeavor

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259 Avril Lavigne . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269 Wangari Maathai . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279 Peyton Manning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289 Maroon 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299 Jenny Ming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307 Dave Mirra . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315 Chad Michael Murray . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 325 Elon Musk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335 Barack Obama . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 343 Emeka Okafor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 353 Terrell Owens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 363 Zac Posen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 373 Dan Rather . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 383 Rilo Kiley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 393 Meg Rosoff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 403 Angela Ruggiero . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 411 Maria Sharapova . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 421 Jeff Skoll . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 431 Joss Stone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 439 Ichiro Suzuki . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 449 Kanye West . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 459 Christopher Wheeldon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 469 Viktor Yushchenko. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 479 Shia LaBeouf

Index

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xix v

field of. endeavor by .

. volume 6

. .

U X L newsmakers

Italic type indicates volume number.

Art/Design

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5: 121 Olafur Eliasson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1: 181 Frank Gehry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2: 259 Deborah Gregory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5: 191 Rem Koolhaas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5: 247 Daniel Libeskind . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2: 409 Stella McCartney . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2: 427 Mike Mignola . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3: 441 Isaac Mizrahi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3: 451 Takashi Murakami . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3: 475 Zac Posen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6: 373 Burt Rutan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4: 647

John Carmack

Business

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5: 121 Michael Dell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1: 139 Michael Eisner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1: 171 Carly Fiorina . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2: 221 Helen Grenier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2: 293 Steve Jobs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2: 357

John Carmack

vii

newsmakers by field of endeavor

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2: 393 Betsy McLaughlin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3: 435 Jenny Ming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6: 307 Elon Musk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6: 335 Indra Nooyi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3: 513 Larry Page and Sergey Brin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3: 535 Richard Parsons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3: 561 Michael Ramsay and James Barton . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3: 607 Terry Semel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4: 681 Russell Simmons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4: 699 Jeff Skoll . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6: 431 Margaret Whitman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4: 799 Dean Kamen

Entertainment

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1: 9 Avi Arad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1: 15 Christian Bale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5: 43 Kristen Bell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5: 53 Gail Berman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5: 83 Jack Black . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1: 33 Orlando Bloom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1: 43 Mark Burnett . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1: 81 Nick Cannon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5: 111 Keisha Castle-Hughes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1: 101 Sophia Coppola . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1: 117 Paige Davis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1: 125 Ellen DeGeneres . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1: 131 Hilary Duff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1: 145 Anthony Anderson

viii

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

newsmakers by field of endeavor

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1: 171 Tina Fey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1: 205 Jamie Foxx . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5: 181 Brian Graden . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2: 277 Freddie Highmore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5: 201 Hugh Jackman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2: 329 Peter Jackson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2: 339 Scarlett Johansson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5: 209 Dwayne ‘‘The Rock’’ Johnson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2: 375 JoJo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5: 219 Beyonce´ Knowles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2: 401 Shia LaBeouf . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6: 259 Lindsay Lohan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2: 421 Michael Moore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3: 459 Frankie Muniz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3: 469 Chad Michael Murray . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6: 325 Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3: 519 Queer Eye for the Straight Guy cast . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3: 587 Daniel Radcliffe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3: 597 Dan Rather . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6: 383 Raven . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3: 615 Josh Schwartz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4: 655 Arnold Schwarzenegger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4: 663 Ryan Seacrest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4: 673 Jessica Simpson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4: 707 Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4: 737 Amber Tamblyn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4: 751 Gabrielle Union . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4: 775 Christopher Wheeldon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6: 469

Michael Eisner

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

ix

newsmakers by field of endeavor

Government

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5: 1 Iyad Allawi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5: 11 Jean-Bertrand Aristide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1: 23 Hugo Cha´vez . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5: 131 Richard Clarke . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5: 143 Luisa Diogo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5: 163 Sonia Gandhi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2: 247 Saddam Hussein . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2: 319 Hamid Karzai . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5: 237 Gavin Newsom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3: 497 Barack Obama . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6: 343 Nancy Pelosi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3: 571 Condoleezza Rice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3: 623 Arnold Schwarzenegger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4: 663 Viktor Yushchenko . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6: 479 Jose´ Luis Rodrı´ guez Zapatero . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4: 829 Mahmoud Abbas

Music Ryan Cabrera .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5: 103 Nick Cannon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5: 111 Coldplay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1: 109 Hilary Duff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1: 145 Missy Elliott . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1: 189 50 Cent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2: 213 Jamie Foxx . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5: 181 Josh Groban . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2: 303 JoJo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5: 219 x

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

newsmakers by field of endeavor

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2: 383 Beyonce´ Knowles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2: 401 Avril Lavigne . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6: 269 Maroon 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6: 299 OutKast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3: 527 Raven . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3: 615 Rilo Kiley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6: 393 Jessica Simpson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4: 707 Joss Stone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6: 439 Justin Timberlake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4: 767 Kanye West . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6: 459 White Stripes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4: 791

Norah Jones

Religion Pope Benedict XVI

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5: 73

Science

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1: 91 Eileen Collins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5: 153 Deborah Estrin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1: 197 Julie Gerberding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2: 269 Brian Green . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2: 285 Helen Grenier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2: 293 Dean Kamen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2: 393 Larry Page and Sergey Brin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3: 535 Burt Rutan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4: 647

Benjamin Solomon Carson

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

xi

newsmakers by field of endeavor

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4: 759 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4: 783

Lonnie Thompson Peter Vitousek

Social Issues

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1: 51 Shirin Ebadi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1: 161 Wangari Maathai . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6: 279 Gavin Newsom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3: 497 Nisha Sharma . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4: 691 Wes Boyd and Eli Pariser

Sports

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1: 1 Lance Armstrong . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5: 31 Carlos Beltran . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5: 63 Tom Brady . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1: 61 Larry Brown . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1: 71 Dale Earnhardt Jr. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1: 153 Tony Hawk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2: 311 LeBron James . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2: 349 Dwayne ‘‘The Rock’’ Johnson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2: 375 Peyton Manning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6: 289 Yao Ming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4: 821 Dave Mirra . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6: 315 Emeka Okafor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6: 353 Terrell Owens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6: 363 Michael Phelps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3: 579 Andy Roddick . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3: 631 Freddy Adu

xii

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

newsmakers by field of endeavor

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4: 639 Angela Ruggiero . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6: 411 Maria Sharapova . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6: 421 Annika Sorenstam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4: 721 Patricia Head Summitt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4: 745 Ichiro Suzuki . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6: 449 Michelle Wie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4: 807 Serena Williams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4: 813

Alex Rodriguez

Writing

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5: 21 Meg Cabot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5: 93 Richard Clarke . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5: 143 Sharon Draper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5: 171 Cornelia Funke . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2: 229 Neil Gaiman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2: 237 Deborah Gregory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5: 191 Angela Johnson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2: 367 Cynthia Kadohata . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5: 227 Mike Mignola . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3: 441 Walter Dean Myers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3: 483 Donna Jo Napoli . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3: 491 Jenny Nimmo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3: 505 Christopher Paolini . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3: 543 Linda Sue Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3: 551 Meg Rosoff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6: 403 Lemony Snicket (Daniel Handler) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4: 715 Gary Soto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4: 727

Julia Alvarez

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

xiii

reader’s guide . volume 6

. .

U X L newsmakers

U .X.L Newsmakers is the place to turn for information on personalities active on the current scene. Containing fifty biographies, U.X.L Newsmakers covers contemporary figures who are making headlines in a variety of fields, including entertainment, government, literature, music, pop culture, science, and sports. Subjects include international figures, as well as people of diverse ethnic backgrounds.

Format Biographies are arranged alphabetically across two volumes. Each entry opens with the individual’s birth date, place of birth, and field of endeavor. Entries provide readers with information on the early life, influences, and career of the individual or group being profiled. Most entries feature one or more photographs of the subject, and all entries provide a list of sources for further reading about the individual or group. Readers may also locate entries by using the Field of Endeavor table of contents listed in the front of each volume, which lists biographees by vocation.

Features A Field of Endeavor table of contents, found at the front of each volume, allows readers to access the biographees by the category for which they are best known. Categories include: Art/Design, Business, Entertainment, Government, Music, Science, Social Issues, Sports, and Writing. When applicable, subjects are listed under more than one category for even greater access. Sidebars include information relating to the biographee’s career and activities (for example, writings, awards, life milestones), brief biographies of related individuals, and explanations of movements, groups, and more, connected with the person.

xv

reader’s guide

Quotes from and about the biographee offer insight into their lives and personal philosophies. More than 100 black-and-white photographs are featured across the volumes. Sources for more information, including books, magazine articles, and Web sites, are provided at the end of each entry. A comprehensive and cumulative subject index quickly points readers to the people and subjects discussed in all six volumes of U X L Newsmakers.

. .

Comments and Suggestions The individuals chosen for these volumes were drawn from all walks of life and from across a variety of professions. Many names came directly from the headlines of the day, while others were selected with the interests of students in mind. By no means is the list exhaustive. Suggestions for subjects to be profiled in future volumes of U X L Newsmakers as well as comments on this work itself should be sent to: Editor, U X L Newsmakers, U X L, 27500 Drake Road, Farmington Hills, Michigan 483313535; call toll-free: 1-800-877-4253; or send an e-mail via www.gale.com.

. .

. .

. .

xvi

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

U•X• L newsmakers

Shia LaBeouf

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

AP/ Wide World Photos.

June 11, 1986

. Los Angeles, California Actor

For three years, from 2000 until 2003, most people knew him as the mop-headed, wise-cracking younger brother Louis on the toprated Disney Channel series Even Stevens. But in 2003, thanks to his breakthrough lead role in the movie Holes, teen actor Shia LaBeouf made an almost seamless transition from the small screen to the big screen. That same year LaBeouf appeared in no fewer than three other movies, taking small roles in Dumb and Dumberer and Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle, and starring in the acclaimed HBO show The Battle of Shaker Heights. It seemed LaBeouf was everywhere. He garnered praise from surprised critics, who called him an up-and-comer to watch. Teen People placed him firmly on their Young Hollywood Hot List in 2004, and his fan base grew broader by the minute. There was no stopping LaBeouf, who went on to costar in the 2005 blockbuster Constantine and to play American golf icon Francis Ouimet in The Greatest Game Ever Played (2005). In less than two years LaBeouf transformed from cheeky child performer to an adult star to be reckoned with.

259

shia labeouf

Young Cajun cutup Like many young entertainers, Shia (pronounced SHI-yuh) Shaide LaBeouf comes from a showbiz family. He was born on June 11, 1986, in Los Angeles, California, the only child of Jeffrey and Shayna LaBeouf. At various times Jeffrey was employed as a comedian, a rodeo clown, and a performer in a circus, where it was his job to train chickens. Shayna was a former ballet dancer who eventually turned to designing clothing and jewelry. When the couple had their son they named him Shia after Shayna’s father, who was a Jewish comedian; Shia means ‘‘gift from God’’ in Hebrew.

...................................................................................................................

‘‘It’s not like I’m Mahatma Gandhi. I’m just a kid from the Disney Channel.’’ In interviews LaBeouf claims that his Jewish mom and Cajun dad encouraged him to speak his mind from an early age. He took their encouragement to heart and began performing comedy routines at the age of three in the LaBeouf living room. As he told People in 2003, ‘‘I’d do five minutes on how crazy our life was, like how at Thanksgiving we’d have matzo gumbo or spicy gefilte.’’ (Gefilte is a traditional Jewish dish; it is a type of seasoned fish.) By the age of twelve the precocious youngster was doing stand-up at local coffeehouses; he also landed a gig at the Ice House Comedy Club in Pasadena. In the same People article, LaBeouf explained that his material was ‘‘really dirty and gross,’’ and ‘‘definitely not Disneyesque.’’ After getting a taste of the spotlight LaBeouf decided he wanted to branch out into acting, especially after a friend of his began appearing on the television drama Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman. The industrious thirteen-year-old pulled out the telephone book, found the name of an acting agent, and auditioned by performing one of his stand-up routines. The agent signed him immediately and sent LaBeouf on his first casting calls.

260

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

shia labeouf

Likeable Louis Unlike most entertainers just starting out, LaBeouf did not have to endure hundreds of disappointing rejections. In fact, on one of his very first auditions he snagged a leading role on a new comedy series on the Disney Channel called Even Stevens, which centered around an upper-middle-class family living in Sacramento, California. Dad was an attorney; Mom was a state senator. Older son, Donnie, was a high school sports star; and Ren was the ideal daughter. That left the youngest son, Louis, the class clown who was less than perfect and who struggled to fit in with his perfect family. With his easy grin, quick timing, and just the right touch of geekiness, LaBeouf was the perfect Louis. And, although the show was initially supposed to feature the entire family, it soon became apparent that Christy Romano (1984–) as Ren and LaBeouf as Louis were the program’s true stars. When Even Stevens premiered in June 2003, Carole Horst of Variety gave it a tentative thumbs up, but she had nothing but praise for Romano and LaBeouf. According to Horst, they ‘‘should start plotting the rest of their careers, as these two young thesps [actors] bring polish and excellent timing to the material.’’ Viewers agreed with the critics, and soon Even Stevens became the highest-rated daytime show on the Disney Channel. Over the next three seasons LaBeouf continued to be prominently featured, and he increasingly drew more and more fans of all ages. In 2003, when he was just sixteen, LaBeouf snagged a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in a Children’s Series. (Daytime Emmies are awarded each year to honor excellence in all forms of daytime television production.)

A ‘‘Hole’’ lotta luck Even Stevens was cancelled in 2003, but the lucky LaBeouf was not without a job for long. Competing against hundreds of other hopefuls, he auditioned for the Disney major motion-picture release of Holes. The movie is based on the enormously popular children’s book of the same name written in 1998 by Louis Sachar (1954–). Director Andrew Davis had never seen an

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

261

shia labeouf

episode of Even Stevens, but he still tapped the talented LaBeouf to play the main character of both the book and movie, Stanley Yelnats. Stanley is wrongfully convicted of stealing and is sent to a juvenile detention camp called Camp Green Lake, where all the detainees are forced to dig holes in the blistering desert heat. Before the film began shooting, LaBeouf and cast spent two weeks going through a training camp where they climbed ropes, did countless push-ups, and, of course, dug holes. Although the physical preparation was tough, in interviews LaBeouf said he was glad for the experience because it got him in shape to work in 105-degree heat; plus it gave him a chance to bond with the rest of the actors. The young stars also became tight because they attended school together in air-conditioned trailers on the set. As LaBeouf laughingly told Marie Morreale of Scholastic News, it ‘‘was the only time in my life where I ran to school because I was getting air-conditioning and water.’’ Author Louis Sachar also wrote the screenplay and was on the set every day providing pointers. He and LaBeouf became especially good friends, and as LaBeouf expressed in several interviews, he found the writer to be an ‘‘intriguing and knowledgeable character.’’ An ironic twist is that LaBeouf had not read Holes before taking the role of Stanley, but he was assigned to read the book for school during the shooting of the film.

Given the green light Holes was released in April 2003 to a great deal of critical acclaim. But LaBeouf was just getting started. In June 2003 he had small roles in two more big-screen offerings: the comedy Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd and the action-adventure Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle. His next big hit, however, came on the small screen when he took the lead in the HBO-Project Greenlight original movie The Battle of Shaker Heights. Project Greenlight is a production company started by friends-turnedscreenwriters-turned-actors Ben Affleck (1972–) and Matt Damon (1970–) to support and encourage other aspiring writers. Shaker Heights is a coming-of-age story that focuses on seventeen-year-old Kelly Ernswiler, whose primary passion in

262

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

shia labeouf

Shia LaBeouf garnered glowing reviews for his performance in the 2005 film Constantine, costarring Keanu Reeves and Djimon Hounsou. ª David James/ Warner Bros /Zuma /Corbis.

life is participating in war reenactments. Part of his attraction to fantasy life is that his shaky confidence makes him a target for bullies at school; Kelly must also cope with the illness of his father, who is an ex-drug addict. LaBeouf dug into own past to tap into Kelly’s troubled emotions: His father Jeffrey battled a drug addiction for several years while he was growing up. The movie was originally broadcast in August 2003, but it received only lukewarm reviews. Frank Scheck of the Hollywood Reporter claimed it felt ‘‘choppy and unfocused,’’ especially since it tended to veer ‘‘sharply back and forth between broad comedy and heartfelt drama, ultimately succeeding on neither level.’’ LaBeouf, however, was singled out as the film’s one bright spot. According to Scheck, ‘‘The character [of Kelly] is superbly realized by LaBeouf, who balances the role’s comedic and emotional demands and whose screen presence always commands attention.’’

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

263

shia labeouf

Francis Ouimet: Unlikely American Hero

When twenty-year-old Francis Ouimet won the

When he was eleven years old Ouimet became a

1913 U.S. Open, he became the youngest player and

caddy like his brother and was soon hooked on the

first amateur to take home the top prize in the country’s

game. He often got up at 5:00

most prestigious golf contest. He not only made sports

Brookline course until he was chased off by the greens-

history, but proved that the American dream was truly

keepers. While attending Brookline High he formed the

obtainable.

school’s first golf team, and by 1909 the young swinger

Francis Desales Ouimet was born on May 8, 1893, in Brookline, Massachusetts, the youngest son of Louis and Mary Ellen Ouimet. Ouimet’s father, a French Canadian immigrant, was a gardener, and as luck would have it, he moved his family to a house situated just across the street from the Brookline Country Club, one of the oldest and most prestigious

AM

and played on the

was the Greater Boston Interscholastic Champion. In 1910, 1911, and 1912, Ouimet tried to qualify for the National Amateur Championships, but failed. In 1913, he had better luck at the state level and scored as the Massachusetts Amateur Champion. To pay for his tournament fees and equipment Ouimet took a job at a local sporting goods store.

private golf clubs in the United States. At the time, golf

That same year, the U.S. Open was being

was a sport of the privileged class, which meant that

played at Brookline Country Club. In a surprising turn,

working-class people like the Ouimets did not play.

Ouimet was asked to fill a last-minute spot by Robert

Francis’s older brother, Wilfred, however, became a

Watson, president of the U. S. Golf Association. At first

caddy (person hired by a golfer to carry golf clubs), and

Ouimet was reluctant, especially since he did not want

when he was not working the younger Ouimet would

to take time off work. But he assumed he would lose

steal a club and hit balls in the cow pasture behind their

quickly, plus the opportunity to meet two of his heroes,

house.

legendary British players Harry Vardon (1870–1937)

Swings into adult roles In 2003, sandwiched between film releases, LaBeouf somehow managed to graduate from high school. He told interviewers that he planned to attend college in the future, but in the meantime he was just too busy. As LaBeouf told Fred Topel of about.com, ‘‘I just wanted to work and get jobs at first. Now I get to be picky and have fun.’’ Being picky allowed the teenager to join the cast of such blockbusters as 2004’s I, Robot, a science fiction thriller starring one of LaBeouf’s idols, Will Smith (1968–). In 2005 LaBeouf costarred in Constantine with another of his favorite actors, Keanu Reeves (1964–). Based on the

264

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

shia labeouf and Ted Ray (1877–1914), was too tempting to pass up. Ouimet started off poorly, but he quickly gained confidence thanks to his firsthand knowledge of the course. By the September 19 playoffs he was neckand-neck with Vardon and Ray, and on September 20, 1913, he pulled ahead, beating Vardon by six strokes and Ray by five. The victory made Ouimet an unexpected American sports hero. At twenty years old, he was the youngest player ever to win the U.S. Open, and the first amateur. Ouimet was also an unlikely celebrity, considering he was a very gawky young man—beanpole thin with ears that stuck out. Although he became a stockbroker in 1919, Ouimet remained an amateur golfer the rest of his life, winning a number of championships both in the United States and abroad. He is considered to be the player who brought the game of golf to the masses. In 1913, approximately 350,000 Americans were golfers; ten years later that number had increased to two million. In 1949, at the age of fifty-six, Ouimet retired from amateur golf, but not from the sport. That same year he also established a college scholarship fund for caddies. Admired by

Francis Ouimet. Hulton Archive/Getty Images.

his peers as a cool-headed and modest player until the end, Ouimet died in 1967 in Newton, Massachusetts.

Hell-blazer series of DC/Vertigo graphic novels, the movie centers on the exploits of a supernatural detective named John Constantine, played by Reeves. LaBeouf plays Constantine’s sidekick, Chas, who, according to Sarah Wilson of Interview, is a ‘‘bighearted, overeager demon slayer in the making.’’ The movie fared well with fans of the original series and there was immediate talk of a sequel. In general, though, most of the praise went to LaBeouf, who provided the few glimpses of comic relief in the dark thriller. Wilson claimed that the fledgling actor stole scene after scene from Reeves. And, according to Peter Travers of Rolling Stone, LaBeouf turned in one ‘‘juicy’’ supporting performance.’’

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

265

shia labeouf

By mid-2005, with several standout performances under his belt, the eighteen-year-old LaBeouf seemed ready to tackle his first significant, grown-up role. That chance quickly came when he nabbed the lead in The Greatest Game Ever Played. Released in September of 2005 The Greatest Game chronicles the life of Francis Ouimet, an almost forgotten golf legend who, at the age of twenty, became the first amateur (and the youngest player) to ever win the U.S. Open, a major golf tournament. LaBeouf trained for over six months to perfect his swing, sometimes playing golf for almost six hours a day. He also toured with the University of California Los Angeles golf team and worked with several professional trainers. As he boasted to Rob Allstetter of the Detroit News, ‘‘Nobody has trained (in golf) like this for a film. And there’s no swing like this on film I don’t think—ever.’’

Hotter than ever Many predicted that his role as Ouimet would be LaBeouf’s breakthrough performance, cementing him on the short list of performers who successful made the transition from child star to adult actor. And, in clips heralding the release of The Greatest Game, audiences were given a glimpse of a young man on the brink of being grown up—taller, leaner, and with a newly shorn haircut. Jessica Blatt of CosmoGIRL! commented, ‘‘He’s always been hilarious and adorable. : : : Now he’s hotter than ever in Hollywood.’’ Blatt also observed that the young star known for his wisecracking both on screen and off was also pretty deep and ‘‘whip-smart.’’ When asked what it was like to be a celebrity, LaBeouf replied, ‘‘Celebrity has a different meaning from actor. I have respect for the word actor. : : : My ultimate goal is to be the most respected actor on the planet, not the most famous celebrity.’’ Perhaps, however, LaBeouf may switch to directing. In his spare time he enjoys making short films, one of which is about a boy who has a lobster for a pet. But whether LaBeouf chooses to stick it out in Hollywood remains to be seen. As he admitted to Blatt, ‘‘I don’t know if I want to be a director forever or an actor forever, but I just love film. Even before I was in this business, all I ever did was watch movies.’’

266

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

shia labeouf

For More Information Periodicals ‘‘The Ace in Holes.’’ People (May 19, 2003): p. 128. Blatt, Jessica. ‘‘Shia LaBeouf Grows Up.’’ CosmoGIRL! (March 2005): pp. 174–76. Horst, Carole. ‘‘Young Leads Shine in Sibling Sitcom.’’ Variety (June 19, 2000) p. 35. Scheck, Frank. ‘‘‘Battle of Shaker Heights’ Review.’’ Hollywood Reporter (August 23, 2003): p. 12. Wilson, Sarah. ‘‘Shia LaBeouf: His Latest Role Has Him Battling for the Souls of Humanity—and Stealing Scenes from Keanu Reeves.’’ Interview (March 2005): p. 100.

Web Sites Allstetter, Rob. ‘‘Talking With : : : Shia LaBeouf.’’ Detroit News: Sports Insider (February 16, 2005). http://www.detnews.com/ 2005/golf/0502/16/G04-91013.htm (accessed on August 23, 2005). Even Stevens Online. http://evenstevens.disneytvzone.com/evenste vens/welcome/launcher.html (accessed on August 23, 2005). Fischer, Paul. ‘‘Interview: Shia LaBeouf ‘Constantine.’’’ Dark Horizons. (February 8, 2005). http://www.darkhorizons.com/ news05/constan3.php (accessed on August 23, 2005). Morreale, Marie. ‘‘Holes Is Definitely Worth Checking Out, Says Shia LaBeouf.’’ Scholastic News. http://teacher.scholastic.com/scholasticnews/indepth/holes/Stanley.htm (accessed on August 23, 2005). ‘‘Shia LaBeouf Biography.’’ Kidzworld.com. http://www.kidzworld. com/site/p3813.htm (accessed on August 23, 2005). Takagaki, Sarah. ‘‘Shia LaBeouf, Actor.’’ TimeforKids.com (April 16, 2003). http://www.timeforkids.com/TFK/kidscoops/story/ 0,14989,444229,00.html (accessed on August 23, 2005). Topel, Fred. ‘‘Shia LaBeouf Interview.’’ about.com: Action-Adventure Movies (August 22, 2003). http://actionadventure.about.com/cs/ weeklystories/a/aa082203.htm (accessed on August 23, 2003). Travers, Peter. ‘‘Review of Constantine.’’ Rolling Stone (February 17, 2005). http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/movie/_/id/6153709? pageid=rs.ReviewsMovieArchive&pageregion=mainRegion &rnd=1120954283120&has-player=true&version=6.0.8.1024 (accessed on August 23, 2005).

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

267

Avril Lavigne

September 27, 1984

. Belleville, Ontario,

. .

ª Stephane Cardinale/People Avenue/Corbis.

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

Canada

Singer, songwriter

I

n 2002 an eighteen-year-old Canadian newcomer named Avril Lavigne swept on to the U.S. music scene with her debut disc, Let Go. By the end of the year, three singles from the album, including ‘‘Complicated,’’ broke into the top ten of the Billboard charts, and Let Go was the second best-selling CD of the year. Lavigne’s music scored high with fans and critics, but so did her personal style, which consisted of wearing loose pants, tank tops, and neckties. As a result, she sparked a fashion trend and was heralded in the press as a ‘‘skater-punk,’’ an alternative to pop princesses, like Britney Spears (1981–), whose look and videos had started to become increasingly more provocative. In May 2004 Lavigne released her second album, Under My Skin, which debuted at number one not only in the United States, but also in many other countries, including Germany, Spain, and Japan. By the end of 2005 Avrilmania was showing no signs of

269

avril lavigne

slowing—Lavigne was performing to sold-out crowds on an extended concert tour and in April she took home top honors at the Juno Awards, which are considered to be the Canadian equivalent of the U.S. Grammy Awards.

Not a girlie-girl Avril Ramona Lavigne was born on September 27, 1984, in Belleville, a small city in the eastern part of the province of Ontario, Canada. The second of three children, her father, John, was a technician for Bell Canada; mother Judy was a

...................................................................................................................

‘‘Why

should I care what other people think of me? I am who I am. And who I wanna be.’’ stay-at-home mom. When Lavigne was five, the family moved to Napanee, a farming town even smaller than Belleville with a total population of only five thousand. From the time she was a toddler Lavigne idolized her older brother, Matt, and insisted on trying to do anything he could do. As she explained to Chris Willman of Entertainment Weekly, ‘‘If he played hockey, I had to play hockey. He played baseball, I wanted to.’’ In fact, when Lavigne was ten she played in the Napanee boy’s hockey league; she also became known as quite a baseball pitcher. As she grew older Lavigne gained a reputation as a tomboy who preferred family outings like dirt biking or camping over dating. And in the tenth grade she discovered skateboarding, which became a particular passion. ‘‘I’m just not a girlie-girl,’’ Lavigne laughingly told Willman. When not playing sports, however, she did pursue another interest—singing. The Lavignes were devout Christians and attended Evangel Temple in Napanee, where young Avril sang in the choir beginning at age ten. Soon she branched out and began singing at all types of venues, including county fairs, hockey games, and company parties. She primarily sang covers of songs made popular by

270

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

avril lavigne

country singers Martina McBride (1966–) and Faith Hill (1967–). Lavigne’s parents bought her a sound machine to sing along with, and she practiced in front of a mirror at home for hours. In 1998, when she was fourteen years old, Lavigne’s first manager, Cliff Fabri, discovered her singing at a small performance in a local bookstore. When talking to Willman, Fabri described the young girl as a ‘‘frizzy-haired waif.’’ But he liked Lavigne’s voice, and he was especially impressed by her confident attitude. That same year, such confidence helped her win a contest to sing a duet with fellow Canadian Shania Twain (1965–) at the jam-packed Corel Centre in Ottawa. Even though it was her first time performing in front of twenty thousand people, Lavigne was fearless. As she told Willman, ‘‘I thought, ‘This is what I’m going to do with my life.’’’

Lavigne lets go Two years later, when she was sixteen, Fabri arranged for Lavigne to audition for L.A. Reid, head of Arista Records in New York City. After a fifteen-minute tryout Reid signed Lavigne to an amazing two-record, $1.25 million contract. The sixteen year old immediately dropped out of high school to devote herself to working on her first album. At first producers offered Lavigne new country tunes to sing, but after six months the team was unable to write any actual songs, and it became apparent that things were not clicking. Reid then sent the singer to Los Angeles to work with a team of producers and writers known as The Matrix. When Lavigne arrived in L.A. Matrix producer Lauren Christy asked Lavigne what style she had in mind. As Christy relayed to Chris Willman, Lavigne had responded, ‘‘I’m 16. I want to rock out.’’ That same day Lavigne and Matrix writers penned the first song for her album, ‘‘Complicated.’’ Lavigne’s debut album, Let Go, was released on June 4, 2002, and within six weeks it had gone platinum, meaning over a million copies were sold. The single ‘‘Complicated,’’ which received a great deal of radio airplay, reached number one on the adult Billboard charts; ‘‘I’m With You’’ also reached number one on the adult charts; and the catchy pop tune ‘‘Sk8er Boi’’ was

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

271

avril lavigne

With edgy lyrics and a strong voice, Avril Lavigne has become one of America’s top-selling entertainers. AP/ Wide World Photos.

a top-requested video on MTV and made it in the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100. To promote the album Lavigne set out on a whirlwind publicity tour, making appearances on talk shows such as Late Night with David Letterman, and giving a series of concerts in Europe with her newly formed band, which was put together by her new management firm, Nettwerk. Most inexperienced singers are backed by seasoned musicians, but Nettwerk chose to go with young performers who were up and coming in the Canadian punk-rock scene. As Nettwerk manager Shauna Gold told

272

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

avril lavigne

Shanda Deziel of Maclean’s, ‘‘[Lavigne] is young, her music’s young, we needed a band that would fit well with who she is as a person.’’ And, after being away from her small-town home in Canada, Lavigne was beginning to form her own personal style. Initially publicists tried to market her like other teen pop stars, but Lavigne rebelled. ‘‘If I was made up by the record label,’’ she remarked to Lorraine Ali of Newsweek, ‘‘I’d have bleached-blonde hair and I’d probably be wearing a bra for a shirt.’’ Instead, the singer-songwriter opted for a skater-punk look, which consisted of cut-off plaid pants, steel-toed Doc Martens, and tank tops worn with neckties. According to Ali, the five-foot-one tomboy ‘‘spawned a prepubescent army of Lavignettes’’ who snatched up her records and faithfully copied her outfits.

Finds independence with Under My Skin By the end of 2002 Let Go had sold 4.9 million copies and was the second best-seller of the year just behind The Eminem Show. (By 2005 worldwide sales topped over fourteen million.) As 2003 progressed Lavigne continued to gather more fame and more accolades. She performed to sold-out crowds at her first North American concert tour; nabbed five Grammy nominations, including Song of the Year for ‘‘I’m With You’’; and was named Best New Artist at the MTV Video Music Awards. In Canada Lavigne received six Juno nominations, winning four, including Best New Artist and Best Pop Album. In the press Lavigne was deemed the leader of the pack of a new group of edgy, female singer-songwriters, which included Pink (1979–) and Michelle Branch (1983–). She also endured being called the ‘‘anti-Britney,’’ referring to Britney Spears. In interviews Lavigne expressed her distaste for the label. ‘‘I don’t like that term,’’ she told Chris Willman. ‘‘It’s stupid. She’s a human being. God, leave her alone.’’ But, in the same interview radio programmer Tom Poleman explained to Willman that Lavigne’s popularity was partly thanks to her ‘‘anti-Britney’’ style. ‘‘Avril is much more the regular kid,’’ Poleman commented.

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

273

avril lavigne

Canadian Punk Rockers: Sum 41

In

June 2005 Avril Lavigne became engaged

cemented and they began to create a unique sound

to her boyfriend of a year, Deryck Whibley (1980–),

that borrowed from all kinds of music, including hip-

the lead singer of Canadian punk-pop group called

hop, heavy metal, and alternative rock.

Sum 41, whose members are known for their quick, catchy rock tunes and their highly energized live performances.

By late 1999 the foursome had created their own press kit, which included a ten-minute video featuring some of their musical numbers inters-

Sum 41 is composed of four musicians:

persed with clips of the band mates pulling pranks.

drummer Steve ‘‘Stevo’’ Jocz, lead vocalist Deryck

They sent the kit off to several major record labels,

‘‘Bizzy D’’ Whibley, lead guitarist Dave ‘‘Brownsound’’

and within a week Sum 41 was signed by Island

Baksh, and bass player Jason ‘‘Cone’’ McCaslin. All four

Records. The band’s first album, Half Hour of

attended the same high school in Ajax, Ontario, and all

Power (2000), attracted little attention, but with

played in various high school bands that performed in

2001’s All Killer No Filler Sum 41 began to reach

and around Toronto. In 1996, during the summer of their

an international fan base, especially because of

junior year, Jocz and Whibley decided to join forces and

the hit single ‘‘Fat Lip,’’ which reached number

form their own band; they called it Sum 41 since the

sixty-six on the U.S. Billboard charts. The band attrac-

group was founded on the forty-first day of summer

ted a loyal fol-lowing (who called themselves the

vacation. Jocz and Whibley tried out a number of bass

Bomb Squad) particularly because of their on-stage

players and guitarists before asking Baksh and

antics. During Sum 41’s 2001 Tour of the Rising

McClasin to join the band. By 1999 the group was

Sun they pogo-jumped, participated in mock guitar

‘‘For boys, she seems more attainable; girls can see themselves living more like her, dressing the same, being attracted to the same boys.’’ Despite her hectic schedule Lavigne returned to the studio in 2003 to record her second album, which she was determined to make her own way. Although Lavigne did write several of the songs on Let Go, she did so with the help of a slew of producers. This time she flew to Los Angeles to work privately with Canadian singer-songwriter Chantal Kreviazuk (1973–); she also cowrote one song with guitarist Ben Moody (1980–) of the band Evanescence. Lavigne’s record label, Arista, did not hear a single track until the newly independent singer was finished. ‘‘There was no way I was gonna write songs and send

274

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

avril lavigne battles, and urged the audience to join in rock song challenges. The band released two more albums by the mid-2000s: Does This Look Infected? (2002) and Chuck (2004). The 2004 CD is named after Chuck Pelletier, a United Nations peacekeeper who was instrumental in saving the lives of the band members while they were making a documentary in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC; formerly Zaire). Since the late 1990s the Democratic Republic of Congo had been embroiled in the Second Congo War (1998–2002), a conflict that involved nine African nations, but that was centered in the DRC. Many artists from the United States and Canada have offered humanitarian aid to the citizens of the wartorn country. Although there is tentative peace in the DRC, military threats still exist for civilians. In April 2005 Chuck received the Rock Album of the Year prize at the Juno Awards, which are presented annually in Canada to honor achievement in the music industry. Sum 41. Scott Gries/Getty Images.

them to people to rewrite them like I did last time,’’ Lavigne explained to Lorraine Ali. ‘‘I need to feel I’m doing this on my own.’’ Lavigne’s second album, Under My Skin, was released on May 25, 2004, and debuted at number one on Billboard’s U.S. album chart. It also sparked several popular singles, including ‘‘Don’t Tell Me’’ and ‘‘My Happy Ending.’’ Critics were consistently kind in their reviews, with Chuck Arnold of People applauding Lavigne for her ‘‘artistic independence’’ and praising her ‘‘rebellious spirit, racing rhythms, and tough-talking lyrics.’’ Lorraine Ali pointed out that fans were seeing a more mature Lavigne, claiming her new songs ‘‘are rougher and darker’’ and her voice had lost some of its ‘‘girly high pitch.’’ One song, in

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

275

avril lavigne

particular, received a good deal of attention—the emotional ballad ‘‘Slipped Away,’’ which Lavigne wrote about the death of her grandfather.

Avril’s ‘‘Happy Ending’’ Some of the press surrounding Under My Skin came as a result of a twenty-one-city mall tour that Lavigne and her band embarked on just prior to the album’s release. As Lavigne explained to Deborah Evans Price of Billboard, ‘‘We thought it would be cool to put on a free show and give back to the fans.’’ Armies of Lavignettes turned out to demonstrate their support, and thousands of CDs were pre-sold even before the album’s release. To encourage even more sales Lavigne again went out on the road doing nonstop interviews and heading out on a spring 2004 concert tour. According to Jill Kipnis of Billboard, twenty-six of the thirty-one shows sold out completely and the tour grossed over $9 million. By the end of 2004 the twenty-year-old Lavigne was the one of America’s top-selling entertainers. Her face graced the covers of teen magazines like CosmoGIRL!, and she was featured in articles in such national magazines as Time and Newsweek. She also completed her second sold-out concert tour, the Bonez Tour, which was launched in October. Lavigne ended the year by appearing on the soundtracks of two films, The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement and The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie. In 2005, just three years after her debut album appeared, Lavigne was again the top-honored entertainer at Canada’s Juno Awards. She received five nominations and took home three prizes, including the Best Artist award and a second win for Best Pop Album. Lavigne also announced that she would be adventuring more into film by lending her voice to a character in an animated movie called Over the Hedge, scheduled for a 2006 release. Perhaps the biggest bit of personal Lavigne news came in June 2005, when the Canadian ‘‘punk princess’’ became engaged to boyfriend Deryck Whibley (1980–), lead singer of the Canadian punk-rock group Sum 41.

276

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

avril lavigne

Although she had only two albums under her belt, most music critics predicted that Avril Lavigne had a solid future. As USA Today correspondent Brian Mansfield told Billboard, ‘‘Avril’s core audience may be a very young one, but she strikes me as the type of artist that a wide range of people respect and hope to see succeed. Those are the kind of artists who have long careers.’’

For More Information Periodicals Ali, Lorraine. ‘‘Anarchy on MTV? Tough Gals, Rejoice. Scrappy Skater Avril Lavigne Leads the Anti-Britney Revolution.’’ Newsweek (December 30, 2002): p. 78. Ali, Lorraine. ‘‘Nobody’s Fool: Avril Lavigne Interview.’’ Newsweek (March 22, 2004): p. 58. Arnold, Chuck. ‘‘Under My Skin: Avril Lavigne.’’ People (May 31, 2004): p. 45. Burton, Rebecca Brown. ‘‘Q&A with Avril Lavigne.’’ Time (May 31, 2004): p. 87. Deziel, Shanda. ‘‘Avril’s Edge.’’ Maclean’s (January 13, 2003): p. 22. Kipnis, Jill. ‘‘Organizers Hope Lavigne Trek Has Happy Ending.’’ Billboard (October 30, 2004): p. 16. Mayfield, Geoff. ‘‘‘Under’ Puts Avril on Top.’’ Billboard (June 12, 2004): p. 61. Price, Deborah Evans. ‘‘Avril Goes Back to Basics: Mall Tour Kicks Off Album Publicity Blast.’’ Billboard (May 22, 2004) pp. 1–4. ‘‘Usher and Avril: Teen Vogue Celebrates Two on Top of Their Music.’’ PR Newswire (October 12, 2004). Willman, Chris. ‘‘Avril Lavigne: The Anti-Britney.’’ Entertainment Weekly (November 1, 2002): p. 22.

Web Sites Avril Lavigne Web Site. http://www.avrillavigne.com (accessed on August 23, 2005). Sum 41 Web Site. http://www.islandrecords.com/sum41/site/home.las (accessed on August 23, 2005).

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

277

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

AP/ Wide World Photos.

Wangari Maathai

April 1, 1940

. Nyeri, Kenya

Human rights activist, environmentalist

In 2004 Wangari Maathai became an internationally recognized figure by becoming the first black woman and the first environmentalist to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. Her honor, however, did not come without controversy. Maathai was best known as the founder of the Green Belt Movement (GBM), an initiative to plant trees in forested areas of Kenya that were being stripped for commercial expansion. Critics wondered whether a ‘‘tree planter’’ was truly a peace activist. For Maathai there was an important link between the environment and peace. Most of the people involved with GBM are rural African women who, over the years, have planted nearly thirty million trees. As a result they have reaped the rewards of food, fuel, shelter, and employment. More importantly, they have achieved control over their own lives. In an interview with the Progressive Maathai commented

279

wangari maathai

on her Nobel win: ‘‘I wasn’t working on the issue of peace specifically. I was contributing toward peace, and that is what the committee recognized: that, indeed, we need to step back and look at a more expanded concept of peace and security.’’

Respect for the soil Wangari Muta Maathai was born on April 1, 1940, in Nyeri, Kenya. The Republic of Kenya is located on the eastern coast of Africa and is divided into seven provinces; Nyeri is the capital of the Central province. Like many Kenyans Maathai came from a

...................................................................................................................

‘‘We need to rethink our concept of peace and security. We need to look at the way we manage and share our resources. Only then do we have hope.’’ farming family, and as she remarked to Judith Stone of O Magazine, her parents taught her to ‘‘respect the soil and its bounty.’’ ‘‘I grew up close to my mother,’’ Maathai further explained to Stone, ‘‘in the field, where I could observe nature.’’ Maathai’s home life was very much like other Kenyans in other ways as well. Her father was considered the head of the house; her mother had very little power and performed traditional ‘‘women’s tasks’’ such as fetching water and gathering firewood. In particular, education for women and girls was not valued, or even encouraged. But Maathai was extremely bright, and her older brother persuaded their parents to send her to school when she was seven years old. She did so well in her studies that in 1960 Maathai earned a scholarship to attend college in the United States. Maathai attended Mount St. Scholastica College (now Benedictine College) in Atchison, Kansas, where she was

280

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

wangari maathai

known to her classmates as Mary Jo. After earning a bachelor’s degree in biology in 1964 she went on to receive a master’s degree in biological sciences at the University of Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania) in 1965. In many interviews Maathai claimed that her years in the United States had a profound effect on her, especially since she was exposed to the many demonstrations against the Vietnam War (1954–75; a controversial war in which the United States aided South Vietnam in its fight against a takeover by Communist North Vietnam). Watching Americans express themselves made Maathai realize that people had a right to speak out for what they believed in. Although she enjoyed her experiences in the United States, Maathai decided to return to Kenya, where, in 1971 she completed her doctoral studies in veterinary anatomy at the University of Nairobi. She was the first woman in East or Central Africa to earn a Ph.D. Maathai then joined the faculty of the university as a professor of veterinary anatomy, becoming the first woman to hold a professorship at the school. During the early 1970s the fledgling instructor married and had three children. Her husband, Mwangi Maathai, was a politician who divorced his wife in the mid-1980s, claiming that she was too educated and too difficult to control.

A simple plan for a complex problem While still a professor Maathai became involved in politics herself when she joined the National Council of Women of Kenya, an organization devoted to bettering the status of African women. While speaking to people living in rural areas, she discovered that the government had induced farmers to switch from growing crops for themselves to producing cash crops, such as coffee and tea, for exporting. As a result, large expanses of forested land had been cleared to make room for more commercial farm production. Such change had a damaging effect on rural family life, especially for women. They could no longer grow food for their children because nutrients in the soil were depleted; they had no access to firewood, which was their main source of energy;

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

281

wangari maathai

livestock suffered because there was no vegetation to graze on; and streams were drying up or were polluted by soil runoff, resulting in a lack of drinking water. Considering how enormous the issues were, Maathai felt that an immediate and straightforward plan was needed. She came up with a simple solution: plant trees. As Maathai explained to Michelle Martin of Catholic New World, ‘‘It occurred to me that some of the problems women talked about were connected to the land. If you plant trees you give them firewood. If you plant trees you give them food.’’ On Earth Day in 1977 Maathai put her plan into action by planting seven trees to honor Kenyan women environmental leaders. (Earth Day is an annual day set aside to honor and celebrate the environment.) Later that year, with backing from the National Council of Women, the budding environmentalist quit teaching and formed the Green Belt Movement. The group started small, with only a handful of villagers gathering seeds and planting them. At first, government officials laughed at the program, claiming that only professional foresters knew how to plant trees. But eventually the first small groups of villagers trained other groups and over the next thirty years, more than thirty million trees were planted. Six thousand tree nurseries were created and operated by women, and jobs were provided for more than one hundred thousand people. Most importantly, an enormous power shift occurred as women began to take control of their futures. As authors Anne and Frances Lapp explained in Mother Earth News, ‘‘Women discovered they were not powerless in the face of oppressive husbands and village chiefs.’’ Although planting trees was the most visible Green Belt campaign, it was not its only focus. With support from the National Council of Women, Maathai created programs aimed at educating Kenyan women in areas such as family planning, nutrition, and leadership development. The movement also created a food-security campaign to reintroduce crops originally grown in the region and to reestablish kitchen gardens for individual family use.

282

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

wangari maathai

Green Belt Movement: Women for Change

Since the 2002 elections, the political climate in Kenya took a turn for the better, with government leaders listening more intently to issues affecting women, and in turn allowing women to have more participation in policy decisions. Given this new climate, the Green Belt Movement established a program in 2003 called Women for Change (WFC). Sponsored in part by Comic Relief United Kingdom (a group that provides funding for nonprofit organizations through comedy concerts), the goal of the program is to give women, especially young girls, a new sense of empowerment through education. In 2003 the president of Kenya, Mwai Kibaki (1931–), declared an official ‘‘War on HIV/AIDS’’ and, in response, WFC instituted training sessions on sexual and reproductive health to teach young women how to protect themselves from becoming infected with

the HIV virus and how to avoid early pregnancy. Other WFC initiatives include providing scholarships and tuition assistance to young girls who excel academically, and training women to gain income-generating skills, such as bee keeping. Now that women are making inroads on the political front in Kenya, WFC hopes to tackle some long-ingrained cultural problems. One way to do that is through the creation of a center for abused women and children. In Kenya women have historically been treated as property by their husbands, and no laws existed to protect women who were mistreated by their spouses. The purpose of the center is to offer safety and shelter to women and children. More importantly it will be an education center for both men and women to break the cycle of abuse.

Powerful political force As the Green Belt Movement expanded, Maathai found herself increasingly at odds with the Kenyan government. She explained to Amitabh Pal of the Progressive, ‘‘I started seeing the linkages between the problems that we were dealing with and the root causes: : : . I knew that a major culprit of environmental destruction was the government.’’ Maathai became an outspoken advocate for environmental policy reform; she also held seminars to educate citizens that they must hold government officials accountable for managing natural resources. One of the first public confrontations came in 1989 when Maathai openly protested the building of a $200 million, sixty-story skyscraper in Nairobi’s Uhuru Park that was slated to be used for government offices. Maathai’s campaign was so successful that the building was never constructed.

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

283

wangari maathai

Maathai soon began speaking out against the general corruption that ran wild throughout the administration of thenpresident Daniel arap Moi (1924–). Moi took office in 1978 and since then had ruled with a strong arm, imprisoning and sometimes torturing anyone suspected of opposing his authority. In 1991 Maathai formalized her political activism by cofounding the Forum for the Restoration of Democracy. As she explained to Michelle Martin, ‘‘I started out planting trees and found myself in the forefront of fighting for the restoration of democracy in my country.’’ As a result Maathai became a particular target of Moi’s terrorist tactics. For example, in 1992, while participating in a hunger strike with mothers who were protesting the imprisonment of their sons—men who were pro-democracy activists—Maathai was brutally beaten by police. Throughout the 1990s Maathai was arrested, imprisoned, and intimidated time and again for speaking out against the Moi administration. She remained undaunted, however, and even made several attempts to run for public office. In 1992 Maathai was approached to run for the presidency, but declined. In 1997 she agreed to run both for the presidency under the Liberal Party of Kenya (LPK) and for a seat in the National Assembly. The National Assembly is the ruling body in Kenya (similar to the U. S. Congress) and consists of 210 members who are elected to five-year terms. Prior to the election the LPK withdrew their support of Maathai because of political differences—the party felt she would focus solely on environmental issues. Maathai also lost her bid for a seat in the National Assembly, coming in third. Because of constitutional restrictions, Moi was now allowed run for another presidential term in the December 2002 elections. Therefore, in the first free and democratic elections held in nearly twenty-five years, Kenyan citizens voted in a new administration, with Mwai Kibaki (1931–) serving as president. During the same elections Maathai won a seat in the National Assembly, taking 98 percent of the vote. According to Mother Earth News, ‘‘Women danced in the streets of Nairobi for joy.’’ Just a few weeks after Kibaki took over the presidency, he appointed Maathai Deputy Minister of the Environment, Natural Resources and Wildlife.

284

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

wangari maathai

In 2004 Wangari Maathai was honored with the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize for her lifelong dedication to environmental and human rights. AP/ Wide World Photos.

Proponent of peace Since taking office, Maathai has worked to enact laws to protect not only the environment but also women’s rights and human rights. In 2005 she was integral in helping to shape Kenya’s new Bill of Rights; she also represented Kenya at the 2005 United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, an international body of representatives convened to promote the rights of women worldwide. In addition, Maathai continued in her role as an internationally recognized environmentalist. By late 2005, through the Pan-African Green Belt Network, over fifteen African

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

285

wangari maathai

countries had become involved with the Green Belt Movement. The movement also spread beyond the African borders to the United States, where representatives work through the Friends of the Greenbelt Movement North America. In 2005 a primary goal of Maathai was to extend the resources of the Green Belt Movement to help other areas of the world, such as the Republic of Haiti, which has also been ravaged by deforestation. For her lifelong dedication to environmental and human rights Maathai has received numerous awards, including the Goldman Environmental Prize, the Right Livelihood Award, and the United Nation’s Africa Prize for Leadership. In 2004 Maathai was honored with the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize, named after Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel (1833–1896). The award is given annually by the Nobel Committee to individuals or organizations that work to promote peace, resolve conflict, or uphold human rights. Traditionally, however, past Nobel winners tended to be people who worked for peace during times of war. When Maathai was chosen as the recipient she became the very first environmentalist to be recognized, and many wondered whether a ‘‘tree planter’’ deserved such an honor. Authors Anne and Frances Moore posed the question in Mother Earth News: ‘‘Why honor environmental activism in an era when war, terrorism and nuclear proliferation are even more urgent problems?’’ Nobel Committee chair Ole Danbolt Mjos offered a response via a quote in the Progressive: ‘‘This year, the Norwegian Nobel Committee has evidently broadened its definition of peace still further. Environmental protection has become yet another path to peace.’’ In her acceptance speech, which was quoted in the Progressive, Maathai also acknowledged being the first black woman to be honored with the Nobel: ‘‘As the first African woman to receive this prize, I accept it on behalf of the people of Kenya and Africa, and indeed the world.’’ She went on to add, ‘‘I am especially mindful of women and the girl child. I hope it will encourage them to raise their voices and take more space for leadership.’’ Following her win Maathai traveled around the world speaking to groups who were charmed by her dazzling

286

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

wangari maathai

smile and classy-but-friendly attitude. According to Judith Stone of O Magazine she is a ‘‘notoriously terrific hugger.’’ And during Stone’s interview with the famous environmentalist, she got a glimpse into Maathai’s dedicated personality. ‘‘People often ask me what drives me,’’ Maathai revealed. ‘‘Perhaps the more difficult question would be: What would it take to stop me?’’

For More Information Books Maathai, Wangari. The Green Belt Movement: Sharing the Approach and the Experience. New York: Lantern Books, 2003.

Periodicals Lappe, Anna Moore, and Frances Moore Lappe. ‘‘The Genius of Wangari Maathai.’’ Mother Earth News (April–May 2005): pp. 20–22. Robinson, Simon. ‘‘Wangari Maathai: Why Green Matters.’’ Time (April 18, 2005): p. 98. ‘‘Wangari Maathai: First Black Woman to Win the Nobel Peace Prize.’’ Ebony (March 2005): p. 22–24.

Web Sites Friends of the Green Belt Movement North America. http:// www.gbmna.org/ (accessed on August 23, 2005). The Greenbelt Movement. www.greenbeltmovement.org (accessed on August 23, 2005). Martin, Michelle. ‘‘Kenyan Nobel Winner Finds Lessons in Creation.’’ Catholic New World (July 17, 2005). http://www.catholicnew world.com/cnw/issue/3_071705.html (accessed on August 23, 2005). Pal, Amitabh. ‘‘Interview with Wangari Maathai.’’ The Progressive (May 1, 2005). http://www.gbmna.org/a.php?id=109 (accessed on August 23, 2005). Stone, Judith. ‘‘Force of Nature.’’ O Magazine (May 12, 2005). http:// www.gbmna.org/a.php?id=114 (accessed on August 23, 2005).

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

287

Peyton Manning

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

ª Brent Smith/Reuters/Corbis.

March 24, 1976

. New Orleans, Louisiana Football player

P

eyton Manning, starting quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts, may be on his way to becoming America’s favorite male sports star. For years that honor was held by basketball legend Michael Jordan (1963–). But a January 2005 Harris poll surveyed American adults and found Peyton Manning nipping at Jordan’s heels in the number-two spot. Sports analysts credited Manning’s rise in popularity to his amazing performance during the 2004 football season. The six-foot-five quarterback broke several major National Football League (NFL) records, including most touchdown passes in a single season. As a result, Manning was honored with a slew of awards, including the NFL’s Most Valuable Player prize for the second year in a row. In addition to being lauded for his abilities on the gridiron, Manning received numerous awards for his generous giving spirit. In April 2005 he was

289

peyton manning

presented with the Byron ‘‘Whizzer’’ White Award, which, according to its official Web site, is given annually to the NFL player who ‘‘best personifies the spirit of service to team, community and country.

Football family Peyton Manning was born on March 24, 1976, in New Orleans, Louisiana, the middle son of Archie (1949–) and Olivia Peyton. Peyton’s father, Archie, was a celebrated football star, playing quarterback in college for the University of Mississippi and for

...................................................................................................................

‘‘I think that’s why I have a love for football still today, because it was fun for me as a kid.’’ various NFL teams during the 1970s and early 1980s, including the New Orleans Saints and the Minnesota Vikings. The elder Peyton went on to become a radio sports announcer for the Saints. When they were young, Manning and his brothers, Eli (1981–) and Cooper (c. 1974–), enjoyed tagging along with their father when the Saints were in town practicing during the off season. Sometimes the players and renowned coach Jim Mora (1935–) would even let the boys toss the ball around on the field. While attending Isidore Newman High School in New Orleans, Peyton participated in a variety of sports. He was on the basketball team for two years and played shortstop on the baseball team. But football was his true passion—a passion he credits his father for instilling in him. Manning, however, is quick to note in interviews that Archie never pushed him into the sport. As he explained on his official Web site, ‘‘It was a policy in the house growing up, [Dad] would help us out and be glad to play catch with us : : : but we had to go to him for help. He wasn’t going to come to us and say, ‘All right, you do this, you do that.’’’ Manning honed his skills by practicing with his brothers and neighborhood friends. He also spent hours listening to and

290

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

peyton manning

studying tapes of his father’s old college and professional football games. By the time he was a sophomore at Isidore Newman, Manning was talented enough to be the starting quarterback; that same year his older brother, Cooper, was the team’s wide receiver. The Manning boys became an inseparable pair both on the field and off, and worked so well together that the duo took their team all the way to the state Class 2A semifinals. Following his senior year Cooper accepted a scholarship to attend the college where his father played—the University of Mississippi, also known as Ole Miss. Unfortunately, during Cooper’s freshman year, doctors discovered a spinal weakness, which caused a numbness in his legs and forced him to abandon his football career.

Victory for Volunteers During his years at Isidore Newman, Manning was the undisputed star of the team and ended up with impressive statistics: He passed for 7,207 yards and completed 59.4 percent of his passes with 92 touchdowns. As a senior he was named the Gatorade National High School Player of the Year and was being scouted by all the top colleges in the United States. A great deal of pressure was put on him by Ole Miss fans and alumni to attend the University of Mississippi, but after much consideration the quarterback decided to head to the University of Tennessee in Knoxville to play for the Tennessee Volunteers. As he explained in interviews, he wanted a challenge. At Ole Miss he was already a celebrity before having played a single game. At the University of Tennessee, he would have to prove himself. Before heading to Knoxville, the ever diligent Manning prepared himself by poring over footage of Volunteer games and studying the team’s playbook. During the first part of his freshman year Manning sat on the bench, but he quickly got a chance to share the starting quarterback duties with fellow freshman Brandon Stewart after two of the team’s top players were sidelined by injuries. As a starter Manning led the Volunteers to victory in six of the next seven games, which qualified them to play in the Gator Bowl. (The Gator Bowl is an annual competition played between two of the top college football teams; other bowl games include the Rose Bowl and Orange Bowl as well as several others.)

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

291

peyton manning

The Volunteers trounced Virginia Tech in a 45–23 win, and Manning, having thrown for 1,141 yards, 11 touchdowns, and 6 interceptions, cemented himself as a core player. Stewart transferred to Texas A&M University before the beginning of the 1995 season, which left Manning as the sole starting quarterback. With Manning at the helm, the Volunteers made it to the Citrus Bowl in 1995 and 1996 (winning both years), and the Orange Bowl in 1997, where they were defeated by the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Manning rounded out his senior year by leading his team to the Eastern Division Southeastern Conference (SEC) championship in 1997. Colleges that belong to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) are divided into three divisions: Division I-A; Division I-AA; and Division II. Within each division colleges are organized by geographic location; the University of Tennessee is part of the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference. During his four-year Tennessee tenure the star quarterback amassed an impressive array of records. He established thirty-three passing records, becoming the university’s all-time leading passer with 11,201 yards, 863 completions, and 89 touchdowns. Manning’s accurate throwing arm also helped him set several SEC records in passing yards, pass completions, and completion percentage. In addition, many believed he would be a shoe-in to win the Heisman Trophy, which is awarded annually to the best college football player in the United States. Manning lost to cornerback Charles Woodson (1976–) of the University of Michigan, but he took home both the Davey O’Brien and Johnny Unitas awards, which honor the best college quarterbacks in the nation. In early 1998 Manning also nabbed the Sullivan Award, an annual prize given to the best amateur athlete in the United States.

Peyton the pro At the University of Tennessee Manning was a communications and business major, and he completed his bachelor’s degree requirements in just three years, ending up with a 3.6 grade point average. As a result, he was eligible to graduate at the end

292

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

peyton manning

of his junior year. The NFL was knocking at his door, but Manning decided to hold off going pro until after his senior year. As he explained on his official Web site, ‘‘My college experience was a really good one, so I decided to stay all four years. I just wanted to enjoy being a college senior. For some reason people had a very hard time believing that.’’ The wait paid off, and in 1998 a very mature and poised Manning became the NFL number-one draft pick and was snatched up by the Indianapolis Colts. The coach for the Colts just happened to be old family friend Jim Mora, who had watched a very young Manning toss the ball around back in New Orleans. The pressure was on Manning his rookie year because the Colts had traded former starting quarterback Jim Harbaugh (1963–) to make room for him on the roster. The team had also paid Manning a top dollar contract: $48 million over six years. The fresh-faced Manning started off slow, but quickly brought his game up to professional speed through perseverance, practice, and his standby method of studying football film footage late into the night before every game. He remarked to Michael Silver of Sports Illustrated, ‘‘I’ve never left the field saying, ‘I could have done more to get ready,’ and that gives me peace of mind.’’ Over the next few years the starting quarterback also earned the respect and admiration of his fellow players and coaches, both for his easygoing demeanor and his fierce competitiveness. As Colts’ coach Tony Dungy (1955–) told Silver, ‘‘I’ve never seen a guy with so much ability and the dedication to match.’’ Manning’s dedication repeatedly paid off for the Colts. Although the team ended the 1998 season with a 3 win, 13 loss record, over the next few years the signal-calling Manning led Indianapolis to the American Football Conference (AFC) division championships five times. The thirty-two football teams that are part of the NFL are divided evenly into two conferences: the AFC and the National Football Conference (NFC). Within each conference, there are four divisions: North, South, East, and West. Out of the five championship games, the Colts took the AFC title three times: in 1999, 2003, and 2004. By 2005, Manning was also a champion in his own right, having played, according to Michael Silver, ‘‘The best football of

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

293

peyton manning

Peyton Manning made football history on December 26, 2004, when he broke the record for most touchdown passes in a single season. ª Tim Johnson / Reuters/Corbis.

his career.’’ In a particularly anticipated achievement, Manning made football history on December 26, 2004, when he broke the record for most touchdown passes in a single season. By completing his forty-ninth pass Manning broke the record of forty-eight previously held by Dan Marino (1961–) of Miami Dolphins fame. The on-fire quarterback also set several other NFL records, including becoming the only player to pass for more than four thousand yards in six consecutive seasons; the only player to score four touchdowns or more in five consecutive games; and the only quarterback to start in every single game of his NFL career.

294

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

peyton manning

Peyton pays back According to his brother, Cooper, who spoke with John Bradley of Sports Illustrated, ‘‘Peyton’s got the potential to be one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time.’’ Whether or not that is true is yet to be seen. The Colts, however, believed in him: In March 2004 they signed Manning to a $99.2 million, seven-year contract, which included an NFL-record $34.5 million signing bonus. Members of the Associated Press also believed in Manning, naming him the NFL’s Most Valuable Player in both 2003 and 2004. Manning is only the third player in history to receive the award two years in a row. In addition, in 2005 the Colts’ quarterback took home a number of other top honors, including The Sporting News Player of the Year Award and an ESPY for Best NFL Player. (ESPY awards are awarded to America’s top athletes each year by the sports network ESPN.) For Manning, however, the highest honor may have come in April 2005 when he was given the prestigious Byron ‘‘Whizzer’’ White Humanitarian Award, named for Supreme Court Justice and former NFL player Byron White (1917–2002). Established in 1967 by the professional football players of America, the prize acknowledges White’s spirit of giving back to the community. ‘‘I am truly humbled by this honor,’’ Manning remarked in a press release issued on July 20, 2005, ‘‘This means a lot to me because what I do off the field is much more important than anything I do on the field.’’ Manning’s accomplishments off the field were truly impressive. In 1999 he created the PeyBack Foundation, the goal of which, according to Manning’s Web site, ‘‘is to provide leadership and growth opportunities for children at risk.’’ As of 2005 the foundation has donated over $900,000 to children’s programs in Indiana, Tennessee, and Louisiana. The big-hearted Manning participates personally in the majority of the foundation’s initiatives, including Peyton’s Pals, which sponsors a series of monthly cultural and educational events for selected Indianapolis middle-schoolers. One of the most high-profile events is the PeyBack Classic, an annual event in which Indiana inner-city high school football players are invited to play ball at the Indianapolis RCA Dome. All proceeds benefit struggling high school sports programs.

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

295

peyton manning

Manning Award Winner: Matt Leinart

In 2004 the Sugar Bowl Committee established the Manning Award, the newest award in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) to honor top college quarterbacks. The award was named in honor of three NFL players all from the same family: father Archie Manning (1949–), a former NFL quarterback during the 1970s and early 1980s, and sons Peyton (1976–), quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts, and Eli (1981–), quarterback for the New York Giants. The prize will be awarded each year following completion of all bowl games. In 2005, the first recipient of the Manning Award was University of Southern California (USC) quarterback Matt Leinart. Leinart was born May 11, 1983, in Santa Ana, California. Like Peyton Manning, he distinguished himself early on in football while playing for Mater Dei Catholic High School, where, during his senior year he earned numerous honors, including being named the Gatorade California Player of the Year. Throughout his freshman and sophomore years at USC Leinart was a third-string quarterback and saw little action, but by the end of spring training 2003 he had edged his way into the starting

quarterback position. The left-handed passer began as a little-known player, but by the end of his junior year he was one of the most acclaimed quarterbacks in USC history. He established several school passing records and in 2004 snagged a slew of national awards, including the Heisman Trophy, considered by many the most prestigious honor in college football. Leinart, like Manning, decided to finish college rather than turn professional early. As he explained to Austin Murphy of Sports Illustrated, ‘‘My decision was seen as something good for college football, a statement to kids to stay in school.’’ Since winning the Heisman, the six-foot-five Leinart traveled around the United States to offer his own unique brand of inspiration. He freely talked about overcoming the medical condition he was born with called strabismus, which means he was born cross-eyed. Leinart had two surgeries to correct the problem: one when he was a little over one year old, the other as a high school freshman. He told Murphy, ‘‘I talk about how battling obstacles as a young kid will make you a stronger person.’’

In an interview with Sports Illustrated, Peyton commented, ‘‘I would like to leave some kind of unique mark on the game.’’ Given his astonishing number of passing records, his amazing number of awards, and his generosity off the field, the young man who was born into football royalty and who, in 2005, was at the height of his career, already seemed to have left his mark.

For More Information Periodicals Attner, Paul. ‘‘Blessed and Obsessed: No One Wants to Translate Regular-season Greatness into Postseason Success More than

296

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

peyton manning Peyton Manning and the Colts.’’ The Sporting News (January 14, 2005): p. 20–25. Bradley, John. ‘‘Cooper on Peyton.’’ Sports Illustrated (November 10, 2003): p. 84. Murphy, Austin. ‘‘Matt Leinart: USC Quarterback.’’ Sports Illustrated (July 25, 2005): p. 35. Sabino, David. ‘‘Season to Remember.’’Sports Illustrated (December 20, 2004): p. 52. Silver, Michael. ‘‘Hand Him the MVP.’’ Sports Illustrated (December 22, 2003): p. 40. Silver, Michael. ‘‘Passing Marks: The Colts’ Peyton Manning.’’ Sports Illustrated (December 20, 2004): p. 48.

Web Sites Banks, Don. ‘‘Peyton Manning Headlines List of Year-End Award Recipients.’’ SI.com: Banks’ Shots (January 3, 2005). http://sports illustrated.cnn.com/2005/writers/don_banks/01/03/banks.yearend/ index.html (accessed on August 23, 2005). Peyton Manning Official Web Site. http://www.peytonmanning.com/ (accessed on August 23, 2005). Silver, Michael. ‘‘A Sense of History: If Anyone Appreciates His Place Amongst Elite QBs, It’s Peyton Manning.’’ SI.com: Open Mike (December 17, 2004). http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2004/ writers/michael_silver/12/17/silver.manning/index.html (accessed on August 23, 2005).

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

297

Maroon 5

Rock band

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

A

ccording to the press, and summed up by Walter Tunis of the Lexington Herald-Leader, Maroon 5 was ‘‘one of the hottest new pop rock bands in the land.’’ In February 2005 the music industry added its approval to the statement by presenting Maroon 5 with a Grammy Award for Best New Artist. Ironically, although considered new on the music scene, the band actually had been performing together for ten years. In addition, their success in 2005 was built around an album, Songs about Jane, that was three years old. Since the album’s 2002 release Maroon 5 toured almost nonstop, and thanks to word of mouth, their fan base slowly grew. As a result several singles, including ‘‘This Love’’ and ‘‘She Will Be Loved,’’ began receiving constant airplay on radio and MTV, and finally settled comfortably at the top of the U.S. song charts.

Kara’s Flowers Maroon 5 is composed of five members: lead singer Adam Levine (March 18, 1979); keyboardist Jesse Carmichael; bass player

299

maroon 5

Mickey Madden; lead guitarist James Valentine (October 5, 1978); and drummer Ryan Dusick. Except for Valentine, who was born in Lincoln, Nebraska, the band members all hail from Los Angeles, California. Dusick and Levine had known each other since they were kids and in high school they joined forces with Madden and Carmichael to form an alternative-rock band called Kara’s Flowers. ‘‘We were really young,’’ Levine commented to Larry Katz of the Boston Herald. ‘‘We were into Green Day, Weezer, and Beatles-inspired weirdness.’’ In 1995, the foursome played their first official gig at the famous Los Angeles club the

...................................................................................................................

‘‘I don’t think we ever thought we would be this big. It’s very humbling.’’ Adam Levine

Whiskey-a-Go-Go. Shortly afterward they signed a record deal with the Warner Brothers’ label Reprise Records. Such early success left little time for academics. As Levine explained to Katz, ‘‘We went to this prep school called Brentwood, where I was doing really badly because I was spending my time writing music instead of doing homework. : : : I miraculously graduated because I could say, ‘Sorry, I didn’t do that paper because I was in the studio’.’’ Although they did not excel academically at Brentwood, the boys did become quite the school stars, picking up a loyal following in and around L.A. As Kara’s Flowers they released their first and only album, called The Fourth World, in mid-1997. Levine, Carmichael, and Madden were seniors in high school, and Dusick, who is slightly older, was a sophomore at the University of California, Los Angeles. They toured briefly and shot one video for MTV for the single ‘‘Soap Disco.’’ The album, however, never really took off. In 1999 Reprise Records released them from their contract, and Kara’s Flowers disbanded.

300

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

maroon 5

Maroon 5 pose with their awards for Best New Artist at the Grammy Awards. From left: Mickey Madden, James Valentine, Adam Levine, Ryan Dusick, and Jesse Carmichael. AP/ Wide World Photos.

Band turns maroon The foursome separated when Madden decided to attend UCLA with Dusick, and Levine and Carmichael headed to New York to attend Five Towns College, a small liberal arts school on Long Island. The experience was a major turning point for the transplanted Californians. As Levine explained to David Hiltbrand of the Philadelphia Inquirer, ‘‘We had never lived anywhere but L.A. It was a different world, a really cool experience.’’ Living in the dorms introduced Levine and Carmichael to a variety of music styles, from hip-hop to gospel music to rhythm and blues—styles that would eventually influence their future sound. Levine was inspired by one artist in particular. ‘‘My singing style changed so much,’’ he told Hiltbrand. ‘‘All I knew when I was younger was Paul McCartney and Paul Simon. Listening to Stevie Wonder changed everything.’’

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

301

maroon 5

Less than two years into their college experience, Levine and Carmichael returned to L.A. with renewed energy. They called their friends Dusick and Madden and began playing as a band again. Carmichael, however, had switched from guitar to playing keyboards, so a fifth member, James Valentine (formerly of the band Square), was brought on board in 2001 to round out the group. With a fresh sound and a new band mate, the group decided to change their name first to Maroon, eventually settling on Maroon 5. The reason for the name remains a bit of a mystery: According to some, it was inspired by a fictional band called Yellow 5, which is featured on the Web-based comic Pokey the Penguin. Levine and Valentine became Maroon 5’s primary songwriters, and with new songs in hand the band began playing gigs in New York and Los Angeles. They were soon signed by a small New York label called Octone Records, which is part of J Records and BMG, one of the largest companies in the music industry. In 2002 the band entered the studio and recorded their first album as Maroon 5. Called Songs about Jane, the majority of the tracks were written by Levine, who had just gone through a difficult break up with his girlfriend.

Funk-soul-pop-rock Even before the album was released in June 2002, Maroon 5’s record company booked the band on a constant touring schedule, which meant opening for a number of established performers, including Matchbox Twenty, Sheryl Crow (1963–), and John Mayer (1977–). At the same time, the album’s first single, ‘‘Harder to Breathe,’’ was slowly climbing up the charts thanks to a loyal fan base built by nonstop touring. (By mid-2003 Maroon 5 had performed more than two hundred live shows across the United States.) In October 2003, after sixteen months on the music charts, ‘‘Harder to Breathe’’ finally broke into the top twenty on Billboard’s Hot 100. According to Levine, who spoke with Edna Gundersen of USA Today, the song caught on for three reasons: ‘‘It’s a very radio-friendly track, the band does great live shows, and we’re not bad-looking either.’’

302

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

maroon 5

Because Maroon 5 was on the road so often, critics had ample opportunity to review their shows. The responses were mixed. Some critics, like Jon Pareles of the New York Times, commented on the band’s craftsmanship, comparing Levine’s vocals to Michael Jackson’s (1958–) and their guitar rhythms to the 1980s band The Police, whose lead singer was Sting (1951–). Others were less kind. For example, Darryl Morden of the Hollywood Reporter called the band’s music bland and tame, and went on to write, ‘‘Maroon 5 may understand the blueprints to create the machinery, but the results are shrill, clunky and obvious.’’ Two things, however, remained constant in the majority of reviews. First, critics had a difficult time categorizing the band. Since Maroon 5 borrowed from so many different types of music, most writers used multi-hyphenated terms in their descriptions. For example, Larry Katz of the Boston Herald called them a ‘‘funk-soul-pop-rock’’ outfit. Members of the band were delighted that they did not fit neatly into one category. As Levine told Katz, ‘‘It’s so much more fun to come in and have people not know what it is you’re doing.’’ The other observation that ran through reviews was that lead singer Adam Levine, with his dark good looks, seemed to be the undisputed leader of the group. In many interviews he served as Maroon 5’s spokesman, and it was Levine who ruled the spotlight during performances. According to Christopher Blagg of the Boston Herald, ‘‘Levine stalks the stage with a cocky strut, preening for the adoring coeds in the front row.’’

Best new artist Impressed by the band’s growing popularity, J Records launched an all-out promotional campaign for Songs about Jane. Maroon 5 went back out on the road, but this time they headlined their own tour. Two more singles were also released: the bouncy pop tune ‘‘This Love’’ and the softer ballad ‘‘She Will Be Loved.’’ Videos were shot for the two songs, and both became staples on MTV throughout 2003 and 2004. By the end of 2004, although they loved performing live, the members of Maroon 5 were starting to become weary.

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

303

maroon 5

Maroon 5’s Adam Levine, right, and James Valentine during the band’s performance at Live 8, the series of global concerts dedicated to erasing poverty in Africa. Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images.

After all, they had been on the road for almost three years. They used part of the time to write songs for a new album, but the success of their debut CD refused to die down. ‘‘This Love’’ and ‘‘She Will Be Loved’’ climbed to number 5 on the U.S. music charts and reached even higher spots on music charts in other countries. For example, the CD peaked at number one in both the United Kingdom and Australia. And new fans continued to discover the band as more singles, such as ‘‘Sunday Morning,’’ were released. On February 6, 2004, Maroon 5 celebrated their ten-year anniversary; that same day Songs about Jane went platinum, meaning at least one million copies were sold in the United States. A year later, in 2005, the CD reached triple-platinum sales, and it was still climbing the charts even though it had debuted

304

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

maroon 5

more than three years earlier. In February 2005, however, the quintet received their biggest payoff when they were nominated for two Grammy Awards: Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for ‘‘She Will Be Loved’’ and Best New Artist. Grammy Awards are given annually to honor the top recording artists in over 105 music categories. Producer and rapper Kanye West (1977–; see entry) was the favorite to win the Best New Artist award, but in a surprising twist the prize went to Maroon 5. ‘‘It was genuinely shocking,’’ Levine told Larry Katz. ‘‘I really didn’t think it was going to happen.’’ John Soeder of the Plain Dealer called the award ‘‘the cherry on a sweet victory sundae nearly three years in the making.’’

Grittier future Winning a Grammy may have been sweet victory, but members of Maroon 5 were not ready to rest yet. In mid-2005 Levine and Valentine were hard at work putting the finishing touches on songs for their sophomore album, slated to be released in 2006. And, of course, they were still touring, this time opening for the Rolling Stones on their 2005 North American tour. The band continued playing favorites from Songs about Jane, but they were also trying out new material for fans—material with a harder, more gritty sound. In interviews the band mates did not seem worried about turning off fans who were used to their more soft-rock sound. ‘‘We started off with a clean slate,’’ Levine explained to Larry Katz, ‘‘and we can only dirty it up on the next record. We’re ready to do that. We’re ready to change things a bit so people won’t have the same perceptions of us. It will definitely be different, I can tell you that.’’ In addition, after ten years of playing together the band seemed unconcerned about reviewers who, according to Katz, dismissed them as a ‘‘lightweight band of L.A. pretty boys.’’ ‘‘We ARE lightweight L.A. pretty boys,’’ Levine laughingly responded, ‘‘We’re skinny dudes, we’re attractive, we make pop music. It’s a no-brainer. We’re the easiest targets imaginable.’’

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

305

maroon 5

For More Information Periodicals Blagg, Christopher. ‘‘Maroon 5 Looking a Little Green.’’ Boston Herald (April 4, 2005): p. 040. Gunderson, Edna. ‘‘Slow-building Single Keeps Maroon 5’s Star Rising.’’ USA Today (October 13, 2003): p. 01D. Hiltbrand, David. ‘‘Marooned on the Road: Singer-Strummer Talks About Life with Eclectic Band.’’ Philadelphia Inquirer (October 30, 2003). Katz, Larry. ‘‘Maroon Shot: Best New Band Heads for New Arena.’’ Boston Herald (April 1, 2005). Katz, Larry. ‘‘Stranded Maroon 5 Finally Breaks Through the ‘Harder’ Way.’’ Boston Herald (October 29, 2003): p. 052. Laban, Linda. ‘‘Maroon 5 Singer Wants to Go Out on Top.’’ Boston Herald (August 19, 2004): p. 061. Macdonald, Patrick. ‘‘These Are Red-Letter Days for Colorful Maroon 5.’’ Seattle Times (April 29, 2005): p. 14. Morden, Darryl. ‘‘Maroon 5: Concert Review.’’ Hollywood Reporter (September 30, 2003): p. 20. Pareles, Jon. ‘‘Macho Rock on the Surface, with Wimpiness Underneath.’’ New York Times (April 8, 2005): p. E4L. Soeder, John. ‘‘Maroon 5 Singer Levine Says Group Plans ‘Amazing’ Album.’’ The Plain Dealer (Cleveland, Ohio) (April 15, 2005): p. 6. Tunis, Walter. ‘‘Maroon 5 Band Mates Break Through on Second Shot at Fame.’’ Lexington Herald-Leader (October 23, 2003).

Web Sites Maroon 5 Web Site. http://www.maroon5.com/main_site/main.html (accessed on July 27, 2005).

306

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

Jenny Ming

1955

. Canton, China

Chief executive officer

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

Jenny Ming is president of Old Navy, the enormously successful chain of clothing stores owned by Gap, Inc. A retail executive her entire career, Ming has won praise for her skilled management of the 850-store Old Navy division and the seemingly effortless way new fashion trends appear on its racks. She has been with Old Navy since its start in 1994, as part of the team of Gap executives chosen to help launch it, and she was promoted to president in 1999. In 2004, thanks to her impressive track record overseeing a division whose sales had actually outpaced those of its parent company, Ming made her second appearance on Fortune magazine’s list of the ‘‘50 Most Powerful Women in American Business.’’

Family walks to freedom Ming was born in Canton, China, in 1955. Six years earlier, a Communist revolution led by Mao Zedong (1893–1976) had

307

jenny ming

come to power in China, and many middle-class Chinese or those opposed to one-party rule were harassed. (Communism is a system of government in which the state plans and controls the economy and a single party holds power.) The government also confiscated property, and in some cases professionals were forced to take menial labor jobs as part of a ‘‘re-education’’ campaign, which was designed to remake the middle classes into fully supportive communists. When Ming was three months old, her parents decided to flee the country and go to Macao, a small peninsula and two-island territory located on the coast of China’s Guangdong Province. At the time, Macao was a

...................................................................................................................

‘‘[Jenny] Ming has shown an uncanny knack for predicting which hip-looking clothes of the moment will appeal to the masses, then making big bets on producing the huge quantities needed to assure the chain a continual string of hits.’’ Business Week

Portuguese colony, and had been since the late sixteenth century. Like nearby Hong Kong, a colony belonging to Great Britain, Macao did not become part of Communist China until many years later. Ming’s family had to walk most of the way to Macao. Her parents carried her, while her four-year-old sister and two-yearold brother hiked alongside on the half-day trip. They stayed in Macao for several years until Ming’s father, who was a printer by trade, took them to America around 1964, when she was nine years old. No longer the baby of the family, she was the middle child of five by then, and they settled in the North Beach neighborhood of San Francisco. Ming recalled her first years as an immigrant quite clearly, even forty years later. ‘‘I wanted to be

308

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

jenny ming

American so badly,’’ she told New York Times journalist Amy Zipkin. ‘‘I loved the food. I loved Halloween: I couldn’t believe there was a holiday where they gave out candy. I didn’t have a costume, only a mask. Early in the evening I tripped, fell and cut my chin. The blood dripped down my neck. No one noticed.’’ Ming was an ambitious teen and eager to earn her own income. She worked as a bank teller and as a salesperson at Macy’s department store when she was a high school student. Like many teenage girls of the era, she also sewed her own clothes. She became so skilled at it that she took out a newspaper ad offering her seamstress services. She was deeply interested in fashion, but her mother hoped she would become a pharmacist, a profession of some prestige. Instead she studied home economics at San Jose State University. Ming’s nineteen-year-old daughter, Kameron, interviewed her for an article that appeared in a 2005 issue of CosmoGIRL! and Ming explained how she discovered her career path. Ming recalled that her college-era boyfriend at the time—Kameron’s future father—pointed out to her one day, ‘‘‘You love clothes; you should be a retail buyer. You should take some business classes.’’’ Ming said. ‘‘I thought, Why not? Thinking back, that was a really big turning point.’’

Boss calls her a ‘‘pushover’’ Ming graduated from San Jose State in 1978 with a bachelor of arts in clothing merchandising, with a minor in marketing. Her first job was at a Mervyn’s department store in Colma, California, as an assistant manager in the hosiery department. She was transferred to the store’s linens department as a manager and recalled that the saleswomen she was supervising there were older, part-time employees, mostly homemakers who took the job as a way to get out of the house. They treated Ming like a daughter, and she had some trouble asserting her authority at first. Aside from ringing up sales, not a lot of work seemed to get done in linens. ‘‘They’d just talk or take breaks,’’ Ming told her daughter in the CosmoGIRL! interview. The store manager soon noticed the problem, and called Ming into the office to tell her, ‘‘‘You’re never going to make it in this business because you’re such a pushover,’’’ Ming recalled.

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

309

jenny ming

‘‘I was heartbroken,’’ Ming remembered feeling that day. ‘‘I’d only been in the business nine months and already someone was saying I wasn’t going to make it! That night I talked to your dad and he said, ‘Just tell them what you need from them.’’’ She went back to work the next day and assembled her staff, telling them, ‘I need you to do what you signed on to do. If not, you’ll get a new manager who is not going to be as nice as I am.’’’ The women liked Ming and wanted her to succeed in her first job. Their work habits improved, and soon the junior linens-department boss was earning high marks for her management skills. Ming moved over to junior wear at Mervyn’s before she was personally recruited by Gap’s chief executive officer, Millard S. Drexler (1944–), in 1986. She joined the San Francisco-based retailer that year as a buyer for its activewear division, and rose quickly within Gap management ranks thanks to her ability to forecast what would sell. For example, she thought that customers might like to see Gap’s affordable T-shirts in the stores all the year round, not just in the spring/summer months, and she also expanded the basic T-shirt line from six shades to dozens of hot fashion colors.

Enlists in Old Navy Ming became a Gap vice president after three years on the job. In 1994, Drexler named her as a member of a new executive team that would oversee a planned Gap spin-off, to be called Old Navy. The Old Navy stores would sell affordable casualwear basics for men, women, and children. The first Old Navy opened its doors in 1994 in Colma, California, not far from the first job Ming had out of college at Mervyn’s. She initially served as senior vice president of merchandising for Old Navy, with responsibilities for production, planning, and distribution. In 1996, she became executive vice president of merchandising for the chain and helped fine-tune the funky, retro-Americana look, with amusing vintage fixtures and signs, for which its stores had become known. She was named president in March 1999. Old Navy had grown impressively in the five years since that first store had opened in Colma. It reached the $1-billion

310

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

jenny ming

A History of Gap 1969:

Don Fisher opens the first Gap store on San Francisco’s Ocean Avenue, near the campus of San Francisco State University, with his wife Doris. Don Fisher’s business experience was in hotels and real estate, but when blue jeans began to become popular in the late 1960s, he had a hard time finding ones that fit his six-foot, one-inch frame properly. He contracted with Levi Strauss & Co., the San Francisco-based jeans maker, to supply the first Gap store with jeans in dozens of variations on waist measurement and length. The company’s name came from an often-debated topic of the day, the growing ‘‘generation gap’’ between young people who seemed more relaxed and outrageous and their parents who seemed more reserved and conservative.

1970:

Gap’s second store opens in San Jose, California; sales reach $2 million.

1974: Gap kicks off a new ‘‘Fall into Gap’’ adver-

tising campaign; stores also introduce the first private-label Gap merchandise. 1976:

Gap, Inc. becomes a publicly traded company with an initial public offering (IPO) of

stock, with its shares listed on the New York and Pacific Stock exchanges. 1983:

Gap buys Banana Republic, a two-store company that sold safari and travel gear.

1986: The first GapKids store opens in Hillsdale,

California. 1987:

The first overseas Gap store opens on George Street in London, England.

1992:

Gap becomes the second-largest selling apparel brand in the world.

1994:

Gap opens its first Old Navy store in Colma, California.

1996:

Japan gets its first Gap store in a Tokyo retail district.

1997:

Gap.com, the company’s online store, is launched on the Internet.

2003:

Don Fisher announces his retirement as board chair of Gap, Inc., and is succeeded the following year by his son, Bob.

2004:

Company revenues reach $16.3 billion. The store is the largest specialty retailer in the United States.

sales mark in 1997, which retail analysts claimed made it the fastest-growing apparel retail start-up in American business history. By 1999, the year that Ming became president, sales figures from Old Navy stores—513 in all by then—were higher than those from Gap stores. Recognizing a successful concept, Gap executives okayed a major expansion of Old Navy, with a hundred new stores set to open each year. Old Navy had caught on with shoppers because of its reasonable prices for items like cargo pants, one of the trends that Ming forecast early on. ‘‘One thing

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

311

jenny ming

I know best is when to maximize something,’’ she told Business Week. ‘‘If I believe in something, I’ll push it bigger and harder.’’ By 2002, there were 842 Old Navy stores across the United States, but further expansion plans were halted after the downturn in the American economy that began in 2001. Though Old Navy had done extremely well under Ming, retail analysts believed that because some of its merchandise was similar to—but cheaper than—lines Gap carried in its stores, this had ultimately threatened the health of the parent company. Gap, Inc.’s overall sales, profit, and stock performance had suffered. Drexler retired in 2002 after nineteen years with the company and was replaced by a Disney executive. Ming’s new boss was Paul Pressler (1956–), who had formerly run Walt Disney Theme Parks and Resorts. Recognizing Ming’s talents, Gap’s board of directors made no changes to the Old Navy executive team. In 2004, Old Navy celebrated its tenth anniversary in business with a new series of the amusing television ads for which the company had become known. Several celebrities had appeared in the winning ad campaigns over the years, including the late New York Times fashion writer Carrie Donovan (1928–2001) and television-soap vixen Morgan Fairchild (1950–). The 2004 tenth-anniversary campaign featured former Dynasty star Joan Collins (1933–) along with Sherman Helmsley (1938–) and Isabelle Sanford (1917–2004), who played husband and wife on the popular 1970s-era sitcom The Jeffersons. Sales from Old Navy stores continued to exceed those from Gap. Old Navy posted $6.7 billion in sales in 2004, while Gap’s U.S. stores moved $5.7 billion in merchandise.

Consults with her own kids Under Ming, Old Navy continued to introduce fresh, fashionforward items at affordable prices. Ming devoted a large part of her work life to spotting new trends, and some of her offwork time as well. She was visiting London once and noticed that teens were wearing blue jeans with a darker shade of denim. ‘‘So I thought, ‘Let’s darken our stonewash a little,’’’ she told Business Week in 2000. ‘‘Now, we have a whole section

312

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

jenny ming

of dark denim.’’ Ming was also known to interrogate her three teenaged children about trends that were either coming or going. Once, she dropped one of the two daughters off at school on a planned ‘‘Pajama Day’’ and noticed that the teen girls were wearing what her daughter had chosen to wear, too—men’s pajama bottoms, belted, with a tank top. ‘‘I drove away wondering, Why do we have PJ tops? They never wear them,’’ she recalled in an interview with Fast Company. ‘‘At the same time, we couldn’t sell a lot of pajama sets.’’ Ming voiced the idea of selling just pajama bottoms, and the line became a best-seller at Old Navy stores. Ming’s hobbies include cooking and tennis. Her husband, Mitchell, is involved in the Sonoma County, California, winery industry. When asked by James J. Owens, a writer for a publication of the University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business, what she considered her greatest accomplishment, Ming replied that it was the fact that she had managed to have both a career and a family. ‘‘You don’t have to sacrifice your personal life for a career,’’ she told Owens. ‘‘I never stopped working to have a family. I took six weeks off and came back to work.’’ Some of the thanks for being able to achieve that balance came from the Gap corporate atmosphere itself; among its fifty-one corporate officers, a record twenty-one are women. Owens also asked her what kind of legacy she hoped to leave behind. She said she hoped it would be ‘‘the team of people who take over. I want the business to thrive and I want whoever replaces me to take the business to another level. I also want to leave behind the process of democratizing our brand: students who make very little money shop in our stores, but so do people who can afford to pay more.’’

For More Information Periodicals Caminiti, Susan. ‘‘Will Old Navy Fill the Gap?’’ Fortune (March 18, 1996): p. 59. ‘‘Fast Talk: Better by Design.’’ Fast Company (June 2004). Ming, Kameron. ‘‘Shop to the Top!’’ CosmoGIRL! (March 2005): p. 118.

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

313

jenny ming Nothum, T.R. ‘‘Top Woman.’’ Future (Winter 2005). ‘‘Old Navy’s Skipper.’’ Business Week (January 10, 2000): p. 64. ‘‘A Savvy Captain for Old Navy.’’ Business Week (November 8, 1999): p. 130. ‘‘Why Gap Isn’t Galloping Anymore.’’ Business Week (November 8, 1999): p. 136. Zipkin, Amy, and Jenny J. Ming. ‘‘Tying the Two Strands.’’ New York Times (October 27, 2002): p. BU14.

Web Sites Executive Leadership Team Biographies: Jenny Ming. http:// www.gapinc.com/public/About/abt_leader_ming.shtml (accessed on August 23, 2005). Women in Leadership Conference: Keynote. http://www.wilconference. org/2003/keynote.html (accessed on August 23, 2005).

314

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

Dave Mirra

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

AP/ Wide World Photos.

April 4, 1974

. Chittenango, New York

Extreme sports athlete

D

ave Mirra has won more medals in the X Games (a yearly competition held for extreme sports athletes) than any other athlete. What began as a way to pass time became the BMX biker’s road to fame and wealth when Mirra turned pro at seventeen. In 1993 he was sidelined for six months after being hit by a drunk driver. The accident nearly killed him, but Mirra came back to win several X Games gold medals in the late 1990s. In 2005 Mirra won his record eighteenth X Games medal and won the ESPY Award for Best Male Action Sports Athlete of 2005.

BMX becomes a sport David Michael Mirra was born on April 4, 1974, in the small New York town of Chittenango. His parents divorced when he was just five years old, and Dave and his brother,

315

dave mirra

Tim, were raised by their dad. His mother, Linda, lived nearby in Syracuse and spent time with her sons on a regular basis. As is typical of boys their age, Dave and Tim spent most of their free time riding their bikes around the neighborhood with their buddies. Small towns don’t offer much else to do, and in the early 1980s, Mirra and his brother noticed a few of the other kids in town were riding BMX. (Although BMX stands for ‘‘bicycle motorcross,’’ it also has meaning as a term used to describe a sport that includes racing on hilly or sandy tracks as well as on flat land using ramps and obstacles. Bikers use their

...................................................................................................................

‘‘Anything you want to get better at is a commitment. Without commitment, there would be no success.’’ 20-inch bikes to perform tricks and stunts throughout the race.) They used whatever they could find for jumps. Mirra and his friends were hooked. They began using wooden ramps, curbs, and dirt blocks as jumps. It was then that he began inventing his own gravity-defying stunts that eventually earned him the nickname ‘‘Miracle Boy.’’ Within a couple years, freestyle BMX had gained in popularity. It was no longer a spectacle to see kids performing stunts and tricks on their bikes. Around the age of thirteen, Mirra got noticed for his flatland racing ability (no jumps). It was around this time he realized he might actually be able to turn his hobby into something more. He and his friends already spent nearly every waking moment of the summer— and most of their free time during the school year—on their bikes, challenging and encouraging one another. Mirra’s level of dedication to the sport had always been more intense than that of his pals, a key factor in determining how far he would one day take his abilities.

316

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

dave mirra

One thing leads to another Mirra attended a General Bikes show in Syracuse in 1987. While waiting for the show to begin, Mirra was riding flatland in the store’s parking lot. Fred Blood, one of the company’s pros, noticed Mirra, who was performing a difficult trick, called double decade, with the greatest of ease. The trick involved making two complete turns in midair while holding on to the handlebars. Mirra described the situation on 23mag.com: ‘‘Not too many riders in the country were pulling that trick off at the time, so Fred was pretty surprised to see me, a five-foot-tall kid from Chittenango, pull one.’’ The chance meeting brought Mirra his first sponsorship, which included a discount on a General bike and discounts on parts in exchange for riding in shows. It was a dream deal for any beginning BMXer. Later that same year, Mirra accepted a better sponsorship by Haro. He got a couple bikes, some parts, and paid food and lodging at contests. Not a bad deal for a thirteen-year-old, small-town kid. Mirra’s first competition, the AFA Masters, took place in October 1987. His nerves took over, and he finished in eleventh place, next to last. Mirra was dropped by Haro in 1988 due to financial cutbacks in the freestyle industry as a whole. Bike sales were down, and riders were being cut from nearly every team. Though disappointed, Mirra wasn’t worried. His interests were changing, and his ‘‘career’’ soon took a new direction. He explained to Scott Willoughby of the Denver Post, ‘‘I moved into ramp riding in the late ’80s because I’ve always been more into jumping and taking risks. I think it was just something different than what everybody else was doing at my age. But I never really thought about it. That’s just what I did.’’ This is also around the time he met fellow BMXer Kevin Jones (1967–). Jones was part of a group called the Plywood Hoods. Mark Eaton (1969–) was another member of the Hoods. Mirra met Eaton at a contest in Pennsylvania when he was fourteen. Eaton invited Mirra to ride with the Hoods, a true honor for a kid who wanted nothing more than to ride BMX. The Plywood Hoods produced the first underground BMX video, Dorkin’ in York. Mirra’s friendship with Jones and Eaton landed him a spot

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

317

dave mirra

Plywood Hoods

First came the Cardboard Lords, a group of friends who rode BMX in the early 1980s, before freestyle became popular. The Cardboard Lords discovered breakdancing and spent the next year and a half perfecting their style. Kevin Jones was the leader of the pack; there were six other members.

who or what might get in our way. The Hoods became instant heroes of the underground freestyle scene. Here was a group of average kids, with bikes that had been put together with spare parts. They were much more accessible to the underground scene than were the BMX ‘‘stars’’ of the day.

By 1985, the Cardboard Lords had won all the local competitions, but breakdancing’s popularity was dying out. Jones and another member, Mark Eaton, ran into an old friend one night. Mike Daily had a BMX freestyle team called the Plywood Hoods. The two Cardboard Lords were intrigued by what their friend was telling them about the Hoods, and two months later the Cardboard Lords disbanded. Jones, Eaton, and another member, Mark Dale, renewed their interest in BMX and began freestyling. They joined the Plywood Hoods.

Dissatisfied with the instructional videos available on the market, the Plywood Hoods decided to make a video for freestylers. The Hoods took their own cameras around their hometown of York, Pennsylvania, and shot the movie themselves. Ever the humble teens, they called their film Dorkin’ in York. The flick contained interviews with a number of riders with various styles. Music was incorporated, and before they knew it, the Plywood Hoods found themselves with a million-dollar-a-year industry. In 1990, the Hoods held the first York Jam, a noncompetitive riding session.

Though the group specialized in flatland, the Hoods also continued to enjoy freestyle. Soon they were featured in a magazine article that publicized their attitude: We do what we want and don’t care

Throughout the 1990s riders from across the globe would move to York just to be part of the riding scene. All in all, there is a total of ten Dorkin’ in York videos. They are available as a box set.

in Dorkin’ in York 2. That invitation marked his debut into videos. It was merely a sign of things to come. By 1989, Mirra was getting a reputation as a kid who had a serious future in BMX. He entered a Pennsylvania competition that summer, one in which there were no age divisions for amateurs in King of Vert(ical) events. So Mirra found himself competing against bikers in their twenties. He was just fifteen when he placed an impressive eighth out of twenty-five competitors. September found him in yet another King of Vert contest, this time in New York. He not only performed well, but landed a spot on the Dyno team when pro Dino DeLuca told his manager to sign Mirra. The deal meant more free bikes and all-expenses-paid travel.

318

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

dave mirra

Turns pro The Dyno move proved to be a good one. Mirra finished seventh in the Expert class of the 1989 King of Vert finals. Soon he was touring the United States. In 1992, at the age of seventeen, Mirra turned pro. That summer he was featured on the June cover of Invert magazine and interviewed in the July BMX Plus! His sponsors included Hoffman Bikes, Airwalk, Homeless, and Standard Bikes. That was also the year Mirra invented some of his more famous tricks, including the backside weasel and framestand peg-pick. One of Mirra’s greatest moments came a year later when he beat freestyle champion Mat Hoffman in a half-pipe contest. It was Hoffman’s first loss in three years. The freestyle industry hit a dry spell right after that feat. Supporters were pulling out and riders were on their own. Though the future looked bleak, Mirra continued to ride hard and dedicate his heart to the sport. Life changed drastically in December 1993, when Mirra was hit by a drunk driver while crossing the street. The accident left the athlete with a fractured skull and torn shoulder. A blod clot formed in his brain, and no one was sure if Mirra would live. Recovery was maddeningly slow; it took six months of medication and time off from riding for Mirra to even begin to get his groove back. He told Willoughby, ‘‘It was a setback, but something I overcame. It doesn’t even mess with me at all. In life there are obstacles you have to go through. Whatever it is, you overcome it eventually.’’ But even then, there was so little happening in BMX around the country that he found it difficult to get motivated. Mirra moved to California in hopes of a new scene but moved back to New York within two weeks. But being home didn’t feel right either. Looking back, Mirra considers 1994 a year of professional crisis. ‘‘It took me that long to figure out not to give up,’’ he wrote on 23mag.com. The one highlight of Mirra’s career at that time was doing well at the Chicago Bicycle Stunt Series competition in 1994. He placed first in street and third in vert, worthwhile performances especially in light of the accident.

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

319

dave mirra

Moves to North Carolina In the meantime, Mirra’s big brother, Tim, had moved to Greenville, North Carolina, to attend college—and he lived right across the street from a BMX park. Mirra visited his brother a few times before deciding to join him. Tim’s support and encouragement helped Mirra get back to the determined mindset that put him at the top of his game before the accident. And it was the first time he’d ridden seriously in fifteen months. Mirra signed with Haro again in 1994. This time, he was paid $30,000 a year to ride in competitions, a definite step up from a free bike and travel expenses. Haro also helped Mirra build a vert ramp to practice on and get him back to competing form. Mirra eventually built a 15,000-square-foot training complex in an industrial park just outside Greenville. The ‘‘warehouse’’ is considered to be one of the best facilities of its kind.

Dominates the X Games In late 1994, ESPN announced it would host the first-ever X Games the following year. Athletes would compete in twentyseven events in nine categories, including biking. Mirra competed and took home the silver medal. The X Games helped bring the world of BMX to a much larger audience, and soon the bike world couldn’t get enough of Mirra. He was featured on numerous magazine covers and in interviews, all the while continuing to compete and dominate. In 1996, Mirra earned the title of World Champion of the pro vert. He was the X Games street champion that year as well and placed second in the pro vert. Mirra signed with Reebok that year, a move that increased his visibility and popularity. The rider continued to squash the competition in the X Games throughout the rest of the 1990s. Between 1997 and 2000, Mirra won eight gold medals at the X Games, setting a record that remains untouched. In 1999 Mirra appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman. ‘‘Being on Letterman was just a whole other level. It was crazy, it felt as good as winning the

320

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

dave mirra

Dave Mirra flies high during a demonstration event in the half-pipe at the 2005 UCI BMX Supercross World Championships. AP/Wide World Photos.

X Games!’’ he told 23mag.com. But as good as 1999 was, it was just a foreshadowing of what 2000 would bring. The year 2000 was a phenomenal year for the twenty-sixyear-old athlete. Aside from the fact that he had his own line of bubble gum and cereal, Mirra enjoyed the success of his Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX video game. Released in September, the PlayStationâ game sold more than 1.2 million units by April 2001. Mirra developed a strong identity with consumers, so much so that Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX 2 for the PlayStation 2â was released later that year. The games have also been released for GameBoy, X Box, and Sega Dreamcast systems. As if that weren’t enough, Mirra was one of two alternative sports athletes to be recognized as a notable sports icon in mainstream media. His media exposure alone reached $2.5 million.

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

321

dave mirra

Twenty-first century rider The awards kept coming for Mirra throughout the early twentyfirst century. He won the NORA Cup Ramp Rider of the Year award in 2001, 2002, and 2003. The award is voted on by fans of the sport, so to win the cup three years in a row was a huge honor for Mirra. ‘‘Awards like this let me know my riding gets appreciated by a lot of people and that makes me feel really good,’’ he’s quoted as saying on 23mag.com. By 2005, Mirra had won a total of eighteen medals in the X Games; thirteen of them are gold. He took home the gold in four BMX vert and park competitions as well, and became one of the most-recognized BMX faces in the media. Mirra has been the World Champion ten times over and has won virtually every other title known to the BMX world. His name commands the respect of his colleagues and the worship of Mirra-wanna-bes. In 2004 he was chosen by MTV to host the series Real World/Road Rules: The Inferno. With two seasons under his belt, he’s proven to be a hit with the viewing audience. Mirra won the ESPY Award for Best Male Action Sports Athlete in 2005. The star athlete was quoted in a press release as saying, ‘‘Of all the awards that I’ve won, this is the ultimate compliment because this came from the fans.’’ In July 2005, Mirra had returned home from a nine-day road trip from Reno to Vancouver. He made the trip with a handful of friends who were working with him to film his first movie, Sentenced to Life. The purpose of the road trip was to stop at every skate park along the journey and film Mirra performing stunts and meeting local riders. Although as of 2005 there was no release date yet for the film, no one doubted that Mirra would publish it. He’s done everything he’s set his mind to. He explained the Mirra philosophy to Willoughby: ‘‘Anything you want to get better at is a commitment. Without commitment, there would be no success.’’ Mirra planned to marry his longtime girlfriend in November 2005. When he’s not biking, he gets involved with several charities, including the Dream Factory, a foundation that grants wishes to critically ill children.

322

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

dave mirra

For More Information Books Mahaney, Ian. Dave Mirra: Bicycle Stunt Riding Champion. New York, NY: PowerKids Press, 2005. Mirra, Dave. Mirra Images. New York, NY: Regan Books, 2003. Rosenberg, Aaron. Dave Mirra: BMX Superstar. New York, NY: Rosen Publishing Group, 2004.

Periodicals Willoughby, Scott. ‘‘Freestyle Rider Mirra Continuing to Push Limits.’’ Denver Post. Reprinted online at Jackson Hole Star Tribune. http://www.jacksonholestartrib.com/articles/2005/07/ 08/sports/9d5e0163929cf74d87257038005966da.txt (accessed on August 8, 2005).

Web Sites ‘‘Biker Dave Mirra Enjoying Life in Fast Lane.’’ MSNBC.com (July 9, 2005). http://msnbc.msn.com/id/8488768/ (accessed on August 8, 2005). ‘‘Dave Mirra.’’ Maxxis.com. http://www.maxxis.com/products/ bicycle/riders_profile_details.asp?id=140 (accessed on August 8, 2005). ‘‘Dave Mirra Biography.’’ Kidzworld.com. http://www.kidzworld.com/ site/p4868.htm (accessed on August 8, 2005). Dave Mirra Official Web Site. http://www.davemirra.com (accessed on August 8, 2005). ‘‘Dave Mirra Receives Honor.’’ Reflector.com (July 17, 2005). http://www.reflector.com/sports/content/sports/stories/2005/07/ 17/20050717GDRdave_mirra.html (accessed on August 8, 2005). ‘‘Plywood Hoods History.’’ Plywoodhoods.com. http://plywoodhoods. com/main.html?history.html (accessed August 8, 2005).

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

323

Chad Michael Murray

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

ª Frank Trapper/Corbis.

August 24, 1981

. Buffalo, New York Actor

Chad Michael Murray moved easily from television into feature films thanks to his roles in highly rated teen dramas on the WB network such as Dawson’s Creek and One Tree Hill. By the time he began appearing in box office successes opposite Lindsay Lohan (1986–) and Hilary Duff (1987–), Murray had emerged as the new teen heartthrob for his boyish good looks and appealing screen portrayals of the sensitive lonertype.

Suffers teasing for his clothes On One Tree Hill, Murray had been cast as a teen from a struggling single-parent household, a situation that was not unlike the actor’s own upbringing. Born in Buffalo, New York, in August 1981, he was the second of five children. His

325

chad michael murray

mother left the family when he was ten years old. Their father, Rex, an air traffic controller, raised them as a solo parent, and money was tight; Murray has said that he was a target for bullies because of the clothes he wore. By the time he was thirteen, he was working as a janitor in a doughnut shop to earn his own spending money. At Clarence High School, outside of Buffalo, Murray played football, and one day on the field he suffered a bad hit to the stomach that put him in the hospital. A nurse suggested that he should model, and so Murray signed with a local agency, which eventually sent him to an industry event

...................................................................................................................

‘‘I’ve made decisions for me that some people may not see as proper decisions, but it works for me.’’ in Orlando, Florida. There, a Hollywood talent scout told the seventeen-year-old Murray that he should move to California and try his luck in the entertainment business. Murray was already a film enthusiast and had a job at a local movie theater, where he was able to see small, well-crafted independent films. ‘‘That’s when I really fell in love with great acting,’’ Murray recalled about the high-school job in an interview with Buffalo News writer, Toni Ruberto. ‘‘I just wanted to do it and give it a shot.’’ Murray also may have been eager to leave certain things behind. When he was eighteen, his mother appeared at the Murray family doorstep after an absence of several years. ‘‘I answered the door, it was really uncomfortable,’’ he told Alan Pergament in the Buffalo News. ‘‘I don’t really have a relationship with her.’’ That same year, in 1999, Murray graduated from Clarence High and used the money he had received as a graduation gift to fund his cross-country move. ‘‘I told myself that if nothing happened in a year, I’d go to

326

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

chad michael murray

college and play football,’’ he said to American Fitness writer Bonnie Siegler.

Lives on cereal and fast food Murray and his father made the cross-country road trip together, and then his father flew back home. Some of Murray’s first solo weeks were spent at a Red Roof Inn, and he was determined to make his savings stretch as long as possible. ‘‘I had a dollar a day to buy a chicken sandwich or a salad from Jack in the Box [a fast food chain],’’ he told Teen People. ‘‘At the beginning of every week, I would buy milk and a box of cereal. Every morning and night I ate cereal, and during the day I would have a chicken sandwich. That was pretty much all I had. I bought a 19-inch TV that had, like, four channels, and one was the WB.’’ In the meantime, the talent scout Murray had met in Orlando helped him find an agent, who in turn helped him find a manager and an acting coach. Murray began to get some modeling work, appearing in ads for Tommy Hilfiger, Sketchers, and Gucci. But it was a visit to a fast-food restaurant that accidentally gave him his shot at stardom. At a Burger King, he was jumped by three guys, and his nose was broken. It was reset in the emergency room, and ‘‘a week later, I finally started getting work,’’ he told Lauren Brown in a CosmoGIRL! interview. ‘‘Why? Because before that, I kept getting comments that my nose made me too ‘pretty.’’’ Murray made his television debut as Chad Murray in an episode of Chicken Soup for the Soul, the feel-good PAX TV drama. In the show, he played a rich teenager who doesn’t like his own family. In 2000, he went on an audition for a WB pilot, Day One, and though the show never went into production, WB executives thought Murray had potential and signed him to a development deal. He was cast as another rich kid, Tristan DuGrey, in the first season of Gilmore Girls, a new sitcom. The show centered on the mother-daughter relationship between teenage Rory, played by Alexis Bledel (1981–), and her single mom, played by Lauren Graham (1967–). Murray was cast as

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

327

chad michael murray

Rory’s arrogant classmate and romantic interest when she starts a new school year at an elite private academy.

Turns down O.C. part In the 2001–02 television season, Murray appeared in several episodes of Dawson’s Creek, a hit teen drama. He played college student and budding rock star Charlie Todd, who becomes romantically involved with both Joey Potter, played by Katie Holmes (1978–), as well as her friend, Jen, played by Michelle Williams (1980–), when both teenagers begin college in Boston. Murray was also cast in the title role in a WB television movie, The Lone Ranger, as well as starring in the television series One Tree Hill. Murray was actually up for two parts at the time and had to choose between the WB show and a new one on Fox in which he was also offered a lead. The part he turned down was that of The O.C.’s Ryan Atwood, a troubled teen who is rescued by a kind lawyer and finds himself unexpectedly living in a posh community in Orange County, California. The show was a tremendous hit immediately upon its Fox debut in August 2003, winning both a devoted teen audience as well as older viewers thanks to its melodramatic storylines and alternativemusic soundtrack. ‘‘Don’t want to go into that,’’ he said when asked about the decision by New York Times writer Kate Aurthur on the set of One Tree Hill. ‘‘This one felt like home to me.’’ One Tree Hill also debuted in the fall new-series line-up of 2003, but unlike its Fox counterpart, pulled in terrible ratings in its early weeks. Murray played Lucas ‘‘Luke’’ Scott, a teen from a single-parent household in a small North Carolina town called Tree Hill. Luke is a talented basketball player who finds himself competing with a new star on his high school team, an arrogant rich kid named Nathan who also turns out to be his half-brother. Luke’s father, who he never knew, left his mother when their high school romance produced an unplanned pregnancy. His dad went to college on a basketball scholarship, got married, and had another child soon after leaving Tree Hill. He returns to

328

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

chad michael murray

Chad Michael Murray, Elisha Cuthbert, and Paris Hilton (right) pose with director Jaume Collet-Serra (far left) at the premiere of their 2005 film House of Wax. ª Fred Prouser/Reuters/Corbis.

become a successful business leader and puts his thwarted basketball ambitions on his second son, Nathan—Luke’s new teammate. The two sons—one coddled, the other shunned—find themselves competing on the basketball court. A romantic rivalry grows when Luke hits it off with Nathan’s moody, punk-rock girlfriend, Peyton (Hilarie Burton). ‘‘I liked how introverted the character was,’’ Murray said of the role of Luke in an interview with the Buffalo News. ‘‘He’s very torn between his father, his mother and his brother. And I liked the family dynamic. It’s a very interesting one. I’ve lived a little of that, so I felt like I had the opportunity to explore that even further and explain to a young audience.’’

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

329

chad michael murray

Teens tuned in One Tree Hill had a much better second season, scoring a number one spot in prime-time ratings among teenage girls on Tuesday nights. Some of the new interest came from Murray’s heartthrob status, and also because the show’s writers and producers began to play up the romantic competition between the two halfbrothers. In 2003, Murray also appeared in a highly anticipated feature film, Freaky Friday. He played Jake, the romantic interest somewhat confused by the switched-identity premise that fuels the plot of this teen comedy. Freaky Friday did well at the box office in the summer of 2003, and Murray’s performance earned a good mention in Variety. ‘‘As Jake finds himself, much to his perplexity, equally attracted to Anna’s ‘mother,’ Murray offers a textbook example of how to grab attention while engagingly underplaying,’’ wrote critic Joe Leydon. Murray appeared opposite another teen-screen queen in A Cinderella Story, which was released in 2004. This time, he played the ‘‘prince’’ who falls in love with Hilary Duff’s character. Several months later, in the spring of 2005, he played the on-screen twin brother of Elisha Cuthbert (1982–) in his first horror flick, House of Wax. The movie was a remake of a classic horror film from 1953 that starred Vincent Price, which itself was the second filmed version of the 1933 original, Mystery of the Wax Museum. The characters played by Murray and Cuthbert were part of a group of teens who come across a creepy, deserted town in which they find dead bodies covered in wax. Other castmates included Murray’s friend and former Gilmore Girls actor, Jared Padalecki (1982–), and hotel-chain heiress Paris Hilton (1981–).

Marries costar Murray became a teen heartthrob thanks to the success of One Tree Hill and the well-publicized films with Lohan and Duff. But the hit WB series, which began its third season in 2005, also served to remove him from the Hollywood celebrity-dating pool. He became involved with his One Tree Hill costar Sophia Bush, and

330

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

chad michael murray

A Hollywood Ending

When Sophia Bush met her future husband on the set of the WB teen drama One Tree Hill, in which she had just been cast, she was a relative newcomer to the entertainment industry. She had spent the prior three years involved in her studies at the University of South California (USC) where she majored in journalism with a minor in theater. She had also worked for a student news service, been active in the USC chapter of the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority, and was chosen as the Tournament of Roses Parade Queen in 2000, the annual New Year’s Day parade before the college football Rose Bowl game. ‘‘My life was crazy,’’ she recalled in an interview with In Style writer Rory Evans, ‘‘and I had never seen Chad on Dawson’s Creek or Gilmore Girls. I had no idea whatsoever about the scope of his teen-idol status.’’ Born on July 8, 1982, Bush grew up in Pasadena, California, the home of the Rose Bowl since 1890. She attended a private school for girls in Pasadena, and while still at USC had won a small role in the 2002 feature film Van Wilder. After reporting to the set for a role in Terminator 3 she was recast because the director decided she looked too young for the part. Bush and Murray began dating almost immediately after they met in 2003. The following spring, she traveled to visit him on the set of House of Wax, being shot in Australia. He proposed to her the day she arrived. They were wed in Santa Monica, California, the following April, and both went back to work almost immediately. In 2005 Bush was filming a 2006 thriller titled Stay Alive. The newlyweds were still castmates on One Tree Hill and shared a

Sophia Bush. ª Vaughn Youtz / Zuma /Corbis.

house in Wilmington, North Carolina, where the series was filmed. As she recalled in the In Style interview, Bush knew when they met that it was a good casting call. ‘‘It was like I knew exactly who I was staring at,’’ she told Evans, ‘‘and I saw him get this weird look too. We were on the same page.’’

the pair wed in April 2005 at the Hotel Casa Del Mar in Santa Monica, California, with the Pacific Ocean as the scenic backdrop for the ceremony. The House of Wax premiere and required round of publicity appearances and magazine interviews for Murray

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

331

chad michael murray

meant they had to postpone their honeymoon until later that year. He admitted in some articles that it had not been easy to date a co-worker at first. They tried to keep it secret on the WB set, he said, ‘‘for about a month because we didn’t know exactly how everyone was going to react,’’ he confessed to Brown. ‘‘And we wanted to be sure that we were going to be serious as a couple. But when we knew this was real, we got sick of keeping it from everyone.’’ Murray was cast in his first motion picture lead role for a 2006 movie, Stealing Cars. The story centers around a troubled teen who lands in a brutal juvenile-detention facility. ‘‘It’s a great story,’’ he told Toni Ruberto in a Buffalo News interview. ‘‘It’s very emotional and physical.’’ With a long career ahead of him—perhaps even one in which he moves from teen celebrity-hunk into serious drama, Murray is humble about his ambitions. For his future, he told Siegler in American Fitness, he hopes for ‘‘health, happiness, a family, a nice house, a dog and a few restaurants—basically slowing everything down and taking stress out of life. I already have ideas for three restaurants,’’ he said, with one of them being a deli that would sell ‘‘my signature meal—a pepperoni and bacon sandwich.’’ His father is the person he admires most, he told Teen People. ‘‘The fact that he worked full-time and got dinner on the table every night is an amazing thing,’’ he asserted. ‘‘Having him as a role model makes you realize you’ve got to work for what you want.’’

For More Information Periodicals Armstrong, Jennifer, Rebecca Ascher-Walsh, and Kristen Baldwin. ‘‘19 Chad Michael Murray: Television.’’ Entertainment Weekly (June 25, 2004): p. 71. Aurthur, Kate. ‘‘Teenage Girls Lift Soapy Drama from Slump.’’ New York Times (January 25, 2005): p. E1. Brown, Lauren. ‘‘Chad Michael Murray.’’ CosmoGIRL! (May2004): p. 158. ‘‘Chad Michael Murray (Star/Flashback).’’ Teen People (April 1, 2005): p. 146.

332

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

chad michael murray Charaipotra, Sona. ‘‘Celebrity Couples ::: On-Screen and Off!’’ Teen People (April 1, 2005): p. 54. Evans, Rory. ‘‘One Sweet Thrill.’’ In Style (April 4, 2005): p. 148. Goober, Lesley. ‘‘Chad Michael Murray (Hunk of the Month).’’ Cosmopolitan (June 2004): p. 80. Heffernan, Virginia. ‘‘Mismatched Lovers and Contrasting Brothers.’’ New York Times (September 23, 2003): p. E8. Leydon, Joe. ‘‘Surprising Fun in Cheeky ‘Freaky.’’’ Variety (July 28, 2003): p. 27. Pergament, Alan. ‘‘Clarence Actor Sports Experience in Series Role.’’ Buffalo News (July 17, 2003): p. B5. ‘‘The Real Thing.’’ People (May 2, 2005): p. 75. Ruberto, Toni. ‘‘Making the Climb.’’ Buffalo News (May 1, 2005): p. G1. Schaefer, Stephen. ‘‘Chad Michael Murray Looks for a Career Boost from ‘House of Wax.’’’ Boston Herald (May 1, 2005): p. 31. Siegler, Bonnie. ‘‘Hollywood Bound.’’ American Fitness (March–April 2002): p. 16. Smith, Jennifer L. ‘‘We Love Chad.’’ Teen People (September 1, 2004): p. 138. Wheat, Alynda. ‘‘Teenage Wasteland.’’ Entertainment Weekly (February 20, 2004): p. 54.

Web Sites One Tree Hill. http://www.thewb.com/Shows/Show/0,7353,||1490,00. html (accessed on August 23, 2005).

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

333

Elon Musk

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

AP/Wide World Photos.

1971

. South Africa

Entrepreneur, philanthropist

Elon Musk was a multi-millionaire by the time he reached the age of thirty-one thanks to his creation of the company that became PayPal, the popular money-transfer service for Web consumers. Musk has become one of a new breed of what the New York Times called ‘‘thrillionaires,’’ or a class of former hightech entrepreneurs who are using their newfound wealth to help turn science-fiction dreams into reality. Musk is the founder of Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, a company based in El Segundo, California. In 2005 SpaceX was busy building the Falcon rocket, which he hoped could some day make both space tourism and a colony on the planet Mars realistic goals for humankind.

Sells homemade video game Musk is a native of South Africa, born in 1971 to parents who later divorced. His father was an engineer and his

335

elon musk

mother—originally from Canada—was a nutritionist. Musk was fascinated by science fiction and computers in his adolescent years. When he was twelve, he wrote the code for his own video game and actually sold it to a company. In his late teens, he immigrated to Canada in order to avoid the required military service for white males in South Africa. It was still the era of apartheid, the South African legal system that denied political and economic rights to the country’s majority-black native population. Musk was uninterested in serving in the army, which was engaged at the time in a battle to stamp out a black nationalist movement. Thanks to his mother’s Canadian ties, he was able to

...................................................................................................................

‘‘Failure is an option here. If things are not failing, you are not innovating enough.’’ enroll at Queen’s University in Kingston, one of Ontario’s top schools. Musk had planned on a career in business, and he worked at a Canadian bank one summer as a college intern. This was his only real job before he became an Internet entrepreneur. Midway through his undergraduate education, he transferred to the University of Pennsylvania, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and a second bachelor’s in physics a year later. From there, he won admission to the prestigious doctoral program at Stanford University in California, where he planned to concentrate on a Ph.D. in energy physics. He moved to California just as the Internet boom was starting in 1995, and he decided he wanted to be in on it, too. He dropped out of Stanford after just two days in order to start his first company, Zip2 Corporation. This was an online city guide aimed at the newspaper publishing business, and Musk was able to land contracts with both the New York Times and the Chicago Tribune to provide content for their new online sites. Musk was just twenty-four when he started the company, and he devoted all of his energies to see it succeed. At one point,

336

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

elon musk

he lived in the same rented office that served as his company’s headquarters, sleeping on a futon couch and showering at the local YMCA, which ‘‘was cheaper than renting an apartment,’’ he explained in an interview with Roger Eglin of the Sunday Times of London. Still, the company struggled to fulfill its contracts and meet the payroll and other costs, and he looked for outside financing. Eventually a group of venture capitalists, investors who provide start-up money to new businesses, financed Zip2 with $3.6 million, but he gave up majority control of the company in exchange.

Starts online bank In the end, Musk’s decision was a smart one. In February 1999 Compaq Computer Corporation bought Zip2 for $307 million in cash, which was one of the largest cash deals in the Internet business sector at the time. Out of that amount, Musk was paid $22 million for his 7 percent share, which made him a millionaire at twenty-eight. In 1999, he used $10 million of it to start another company, which he called X.com. This was an online bank with grand plans to become a full-range provider of financial services to consumers. The company’s one major innovation was figuring out how to securely transfer money using a recipient’s e-mail address. Musk’s proven track record from Zip2 helped it gain serious attention and generous investors right away. Two important executives signed on with him: investment banker John Story and Bill Harris, the former chief executive officer of Intuit Corporation, the maker of the best-selling Quicken accounting software as well as TurboTax, a tax-preparation program. Harris was appointed president and chief executive officer of X.com, with Musk serving as company chair. The company received a generous infusion of $25 million in start-up capital from Sequoia Capital, a leading venture-capital firm in California. X.com went online in December 1999 with a bold offer for new customers: those who opened an online checking account with X.com received a $20 cash card that they could use at an automatic-teller machine (ATM). If they referred a friend, they received a $10 card for each new member who signed up. Within

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

337

elon musk

two months, X.com had one hundred thousand customers, which was close to the number reached by its major competitor, Etrade Telebank. But consumer skepticism about the security of online banking was X.com’s biggest obstacle to success, and there was a setback when Musk and the other executives had to admit that computer hackers had been able to perform some illegal transfers from traditional bank accounts into X.com accounts. They immediately started a new policy that required customers to submit a canceled check in order to withdraw money, but there were tensions in the office about the future of the company.

Buys PayPal In March 2000, X.com bought a company called Confinity, which had started an Internet money-transfer presence called PayPal. PayPal was originally set up to let users of handheld personal digital assistants, or PDAs, transfer money. It had only been in business a few months when X.com acquired it, and Musk believed that its online-transfer technology, which was known as ‘‘P2P’’ for ‘‘person-to-person,’’ had a promising future. He and Harris did not agree, and Harris resigned from X.com in May 2000. Five months later, Musk announced that X.com would abandon its original online bank and instead concentrate on turning itself into the leading global payment transfer provider. The X.com name was dropped in favor of PayPal. PayPal grew enormously through 2001, thanks in part to its presence on eBay, the online auction Web site where person-toperson sales were happening in the hundreds of thousands. When PayPal became a publicly traded company with an initial public offering (IPO) of stock in February 2002, it had an impressive debut on the first day of Wall Street trading. Later that year, eBay bought the company outright for $1.5 billion. At the time, Musk was PayPal’s largest shareholder, holding an 11.5 percent stake, and he netted $165 million in valuable eBay stock from the deal. By then Musk had already moved on to his next venture. In June 2002 he founded SpaceX, or Space Exploration Technologies. He had long been fascinated by the possibility of life on Mars and was a member of the Mars Society, a nonprofit organization that

338

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

elon musk

encourages the exploration of the red planet. Filmmaker James Cameron (1954–) is one of several notable Mars Society members. Musk wanted to create a ‘‘Mars Oasis,’’ sending an experimental greenhouse to the planet, which in favorable alignment of the planets is about 35 million miles distant from Earth. His oasis would contain a nutrient gel from which specific Mars-environment-friendly plant life could grow. His plan had a cost of $20 million. But then he learned that to send something into space with the standard delivery method, a Delta rocket made by the Boeing Corporation, would add another $50 million to the cost. Musk even tried to buy a rocket from Russia, but realized that dealing with the somewhat suspect international traders who dealt in such underground, or illegal, items was just too risky.

Borrows Star Wars name Musk thought that maybe he might be able to build his own rocket instead. He began contacting innovators and technicians in the American aerospace industry, and he managed to lure some experienced engineers and technical specialists away from companies like Boeing and TRW to come and work for him at SpaceX’s headquarters in El Segundo, California. He had a much more difficult time attracting venture capital for this idea, however. ‘‘Space is pretty far out of the comfort zone of just about every VC on Earth,’’ he admitted to Matt Marshall of the San Jose Mercury News. Instead, he was forced to put up his own money to build what would become the first reusable rocket in the private sector. Musk and his new SpaceX team began to build two types of Falcon rockets. The name came from the ‘‘Millennium Falcon,’’ the spacecraft in the Star Wars movies. The plan was to build a rocket by using existing technology and at the lowest possible cost. The Falcon I, for example, uses a pintle engine, which dates from the 1960s. It has one fuel injector, while standard rockets used by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) generally use what is known as a ‘‘showerhead’’ design that features several fuel injectors. The company also needed a theodolite, which is used to align rockets, and instead of buying it new, they saved $25,000 by finding one on eBay.

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

339

elon musk

The New ‘‘Thrillionaires’’

Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen (1953–) is ranked the seventh richest person in the world. Allen has used his wealth to finance SpaceShipOne. This private manned spacecraft, built by aircraft design pioneer Burt Rutan (1943–), was the first of its kind to reach suborbital space twice, which it did in 2004. For this two-time achievement, SpaceShipOne met the conditions of the $10 million Ansari X prize, established by the X Prize Foundation to encourage private entrepreneurship in aerospace. Doom video game co-creator John Carmack (1970–; see entry) founded a computer game development company called id Software in 1991. He is considered one of the most gifted programmers ever to work in the gaming industry. He was one of the creators of the successful Doom and Quake games, which sold millions in the 1990s and attracted legions of devoted fans. In 2000, Carmack funded a new venture, Armadillo Aerospace in Mesquite, Texas, with the goal of building a manned suborbital spacecraft. It lost its bid to win the Ansari X prize when its vehicles ran into technical problems and crashed in 2004 and 2005. In 1995, Jeff Bezos (1964–) launched Amazon.com, an online bookseller that became one of the most impressive successes in American business history. With an estimated personal fortune of over $5 billion, Bezos began donating some of his wealth to various philanthropic causes, but he also

Paul Allen. Mike Blake/Reuters/Landov.

established an aerospace company. His Blue Origin, like Allen and Carmack’s ventures, is also committed to manned suborbital space flight. His project is to be propelled by a mixture of hydrogen peroxide and kerosene and is a vertical-takeoff and landingvehicle.

There are other, equally expensive costs associated with rocketry. Since Musk’s design would be reusable, the company needed to get back the rocket’s first stage, which the rocket sheds as it leaves the Earth’s atmosphere. The part usually falls into the ocean, according to safety plans, but retrieval at sea is expensive.

340

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

elon musk

Companies that contract with NASA charge $250,000 to bring such parts back, but Musk found some ocean-salvage companies that knew how to handle sensitive material. He found one that agreed to do the job for just $60,000. The Falcon does not have a specialty computer on board, which can cost $1 million alone to install and maintain. Instead its computer is a basic one that uses the same technology as an automatic teller machine and costs just $5,000.

Envisions Hondas in space By building a reliable rocket at an affordable cost, SpaceX hopes to be able to take small satellites into orbit for a fee of around $6 million. This is half the standard rate in the aerospace business to take something into space. The company already had two customers—the U.S. Department of Defense and the government of Malaysia. ‘‘Many times we’ve been asked, ‘If you reduce the cost, don’t you reduce reliability?’ This is completely ridiculous,’’ Musk explained to Fast Company writer Jennifer Reingold. ‘‘A Ferrari is a very expensive car. It is not reliable. But I would bet you 1,000–to–1 that if you bought a Honda Civic that that sucker will not break down in the first year of operation. You can have a cheap car that’s reliable, and the same applies to rockets.’’ Musk serves as the chief technology officer of SpaceX. All employees are shareholders, and the company’s casual but committed atmosphere is reinforced by the workday presence of Musk’s four dogs. He no longer sleeps at the office, however, for he has a home, a wife there, and in the garage a McLaren F1, a $1.2 million car that is the fastest production, or non-customized race car, in the world. He has testified before members of the U.S. Congress on the possibility of commercial human space flight and has also established the Musk Foundation, which is committed to space exploration and the discovery of clean energy sources. The Foundation runs the Musk Mars Desert Observatory telescope in southern Utah, as well as a simulated Mars environment where visitors can experience what life on Mars might be like, including waste-burning toilets. ‘‘I think human exploration of space is very important,’’ he told Reingold. ‘‘Certainly, from a survival

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

341

elon musk

standpoint, the probability of living longer is much greater if we’re on more than one planet.’’

For More Information Periodicals Corcoran, Elizabeth. ‘‘Something Better than Free.’’ Forbes (February 21, 2000): p. 62b. Eglin, Roger. ‘‘Silicon Valley Shows How to Reach Stars.’’ Sunday Times (London, England) (December 1, 2002): p. 7. Lubove, Seth. ‘‘Way Out There.’’ Forbes (May 12, 2003): p. 138. Marshall, Matt. ‘‘Venture Capital Column.’’ San Jose Mercury News (July 13, 2004). Ptacek, Megan J. ‘‘X.com Scraps Bank Strategy to Focus on PayPal System.’’ American Banker (October 11, 2000): p. 1. Reingold, Jennifer. ‘‘Hondas in Space.’’ Fast Company (February 2005): p. 74. Schwartz, John. ‘‘Thrillionaires: The New Space Capitalists.’’ New York Times (June 14, 2005): p. F1. Wallace, Nora K. ‘‘Vandenberg Air Base, Calif., to Launch SpaceX Reusable Rocket in January.’’ Santa Barbara News-Press (October 5, 2003).

Web Sites The Mars Society. http://www.marssociety.org/ (accessed on August 23, 2005). Space Exploration Technologies Corporation. http://www.spacex.com/ (accessed on August 23, 2005).

342

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

Barack Obama

. .

U X L newsmakers

ª Nancy Kaszerman/Zuma/Corbis.

. volume 6

August 4, 1961

. Honolulu, Hawaii Politician

Illinois voters sent a Democratic newcomer, Barack Obama, to one of the state’s two seats in the U.S. Senate in 2004. Obama’s landslide victory in Illinois was significant on several fronts. Firstly, he became the Senate’s only African American lawmaker when he was sworn into office in January 2005, and just the third black U.S. senator to serve there since the 1880s. Moreover, Obama’s political supporters came from a diverse range of racial and economic backgrounds, which is still relatively rare in American electoral politics—traditionally, black candidates have not done very well in voting precincts where predominantly non-minority voters go to the polls. Even before his Election Day victory, Obama emerged as the new star of the Democratic Party after delivering the keynote address at the Democratic National Convention in Boston, Massachusetts that summer. His stirring speech, in which he urged a united, not a divided, American union, prompted political commentators to predict he might become the first African American elected to the White House.

343

barack obama

Born in Hawaii Obama is actually of mixed heritage. He was born in 1961 in Honolulu, Hawaii, where his parents had met at the University of Hawaii’s Manoa campus. His father, Barack Sr., was from Kenya and entered the University of Hawaii as its first-ever student from an African country. He was a member of Kenya’s Luo ethnic group, many of whom played a key role in that country’s struggle for independence in the 1950s. Obama’s mother, Ann Durham, was originally from Kansas, where some of her ancestors had been anti-slavery activists in the 1800s.

...................................................................................................................

‘‘In no other country on earth is my story even possible.’’ The marriage between Obama’s parents was a short-lived one, however. In the early 1960s, interracial relationships were still quite rare in many parts of America, and even technically illegal in some states. The Durhams were accepting of Barack Sr., but his family in Kenya had a harder time with the idea of his marrying a white American woman. When Obama was two years old they divorced, and his father left Hawaii to enter Harvard University to earn a Ph.D. in economics. The two Baracks met again only once, when Obama was ten, though they did write occasionally. Barack Sr. eventually returned to Kenya and died in a car accident there in the early 1980s. Obama’s mother remarried a man from Indonesia who worked in the oil industry, and when Obama was six they moved there. The family lived near the capital of Jakarta, where his half-sister Maya was born. At the age of ten, Obama returned to Hawaii and lived with his maternal grandparents; later his mother and sister returned as well. Called ‘‘Barry’’ by his family and friends, he was sent to a prestigious private academy in Honolulu, the Punahou School, where he was one of just a handful of black students. Obama recalled feeling conflicted

344

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

barack obama

about his mixed heritage in his teen years. Outside the house, he was considered African American, but the only family he knew was his white one at home. For a time, he loafed and let his grades slip; instead of studying, he spent hours on the basketball court with his friends, and has admitted that there was a time when he experimented with drugs, namely marijuana and cocaine. ‘‘I was affected by the problems that I think a lot of young African American teens have,’’ he reflected in an interview with Kenneth Meeks for Black Enterprise. ‘‘They feel that they need to rebel against society as a way of proving their blackness. And often, this results in self-destructive behavior.’’

Excels at Harvard Law School Obama graduated from Punahou and went on to Occidental College in Los Angeles, where he decided to get serious about his studies. Midway through, he transferred to the prestigious Columbia University in New York City. He also began to explore his African roots and not long after his father’s death traveled to meet his relatives in Kenya for the first time. After he earned his undergraduate degree in political science, he became a community organizer in Harlem—but quickly realized he could not afford to live in the city with a job that paid so little. Instead, he moved to Chicago to work for a church-based social-services organization there. The group was active on the city’s South Side, one of America’s most impoverished urban communities. Feeling it was time to move on, Obama applied to and was accepted at Harvard Law School, one of the top three law schools in the United States. In 1990, he was elected president of the Harvard Law Review journal. He was the first African American to serve in the post, which virtually assured him of any career path he chose after graduation. But Obama declined the job offers from top Manhattan law firms, with their starting salaries that neared the $100,000-a-year range, in order to return to Chicago and work for a small firm that specialized in civilrights law. This was an especially unglamorous and modestpaying field of law, for it involved defending the poor and the marginalized members of society in housing and employment discrimination cases.

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

345

barack obama

Obama also had another reason for returning to Chicago: During his Harvard Law School years, he took a job as a summer associate at a Chicago firm, and the attorney assigned to mentor him was also a Harvard Law graduate, Michelle Robinson. The two began dating and were married in 1992. Robinson came from a working-class black family and grew up on the South Side; her brother had excelled at basketball and went to Princeton University, and she followed him there for her undergraduate degree. Obama also considered Chicago a place from which he could launch a political career, and he became active in a number of projects in addition to his legal cases at work and another job he held teaching classes at the University of Chicago Law School. He worked on a local voter-registration drive, for example, that registered thousands of black voters in Chicago; the effort was said to have helped Bill Clinton (1946–) win the state in his successful bid for the White House in 1992.

Writes autobiography Obama’s time at the Law Review had netted him an offer to write a book. The result was Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance, published by Times Books in 1995. The work merited some brief but mostly complimentary reviews in the press. Obama, however, was not hoping for a career as an author: he decided to run for a seat in the Illinois state senate. He ran from his home district of Hyde Park, the neighborhood surrounding the elite University of Chicago on the South Side. Though Hyde Park is similar to many American college towns, with well-kept homes and upscale businesses, the surrounding neighborhood is a more traditionally urban one, with higher levels of both crime and unemployment. Obama won that 1996 election and went on to an impressive career in the Senate chambers in Springfield, the state capital. He championed a bill that gave tax breaks to low-income families, worked to expand a state health-insurance program for uninsured children, and wrote a bill that required law enforcement officials in every community to begin keeping track of their traffic stops and noting the race of the driver. This controversial bill, which passed thanks to Obama’s determined effort to find support from

346

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

barack obama

Black Senators in U.S. History

Barack Obama became the fifth African American senator in U.S. history in 2005. He was only the third elected since the end of the Reconstruction, the period immediately following the end of the American Civil War (1861–65; a war between the Union [the North], who were opposed to slavery, and the Confederacy [the South], who were in favor of slavery). During the Reconstruction Era, federal troops occupied the defeated Southern states and, along with transplanted government officials, one of their duties was to make sure that newly freed slaves were allowed to vote fairly and freely in elections.

Carolina and a distinguished minister in the African Methodist Episcopal Church who had raised two black regiments that fought on the Union side during the Civil War. He served in the Senate for one year. In 1875, Mississippi lawmakers sent Blanche K. Bruce (1841–1898) to the U.S. Senate. A former slave from Virginia, Bruce was a teacher and founder of the first school for blacks in the state of Missouri. After the end of the Civil War, he headed south to take part in the Reconstruction Era. He won election to local office as a Republican, and in 1875 lawmakers sent him to the U.S. Senate. He served the full six-year

Before 1913 and the passage of the Seventeenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, members of the U.S. Senate were not directly elected by voters in most states, however. Instead they were elected by legislators in the state assemblies, or appointed by the governor. Still, because of the Reconstruction Era reforms, many blacks were elected to the state legislatures that sent senators to Washington. In 1870, the Mississippi state legislature made Hiram Rhoades Revels (1827–1901) the state’s newest senator and the first black ever to serve in the U.S. Senate. Revels was a free-born black from North

term. In 1881, he was appointed a U.S. Treasury official, and his signature was the first from an African American to appear on U.S. currency. Nearly a hundred years passed before another African American was elected to the Senate, and this came by statewide vote. Edward William Brooke III (1919–), a Republican from Massachusetts, was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1966 and served two terms. In 1992 another Illinois Democrat, Carol Moseley Braun (1947–), became the first African American woman to serve in the U.S. Senate.

both political parties in the state Senate, was aimed at reducing incidents of alleged racial profiling, or undue suspicion turned upon certain minority or ethnic groups by police officers on patrol. He also won passage of another important piece of legislation that required police to videotape homicide confessions. Obama made his first bid for U.S. Congress in 2000, when he challenged a well-known black politician and former Chicago City Council member, Bobby Rush (1946–), for his seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. Rush was a former

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

347

barack obama

Barack Obama won his bid for the Senate by a large margin, taking 70 percent of the Illinois vote, thus becoming one of the youngest members of the U.S. Senate when he was sworn into office in January 2005. ª Brooks Kraft/Corbis.

1960s radical who had founded the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party, a revolutionary black nationalist party of the era. Rush’s campaign stressed his experience and questioned Obama’s support base among wealthier white voters in the city, and Obama was solidly defeated in the primary, winning just 30 percent of the vote.

Enters Senate race A few years later, Obama decided to run for a seat in the U.S. Senate when Illinois Republican Peter G. Fitzgerald (1960–) announced he would retire. Some of Obama’s supporters thought he was aiming too high, but this time he beat out six other Democratic challengers in the primary with 53 percent of the vote. Suddenly, state and even national Democratic Party leaders began taking him and his Senate campaign seriously.

348

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

barack obama

In the primary, he had managed to do what few African American politicians had ever done: record an impressive number of votes from precincts that had a predominantly white population. In his 2004 Senate race, Obama faced a tough Republican challenger, however: a former investment banker turned parochial-school (school supported by a church parish) teacher named Jack Ryan (1960–). Ryan was blessed with televisionactor good looks and had even once been married to Boston Public star Jeri Ryan (1968–). But Jack Ryan was, like one of Obama’s earlier primary opponents, derailed by allegations about his personal life. Chicago news outlets publicized Ryan’s divorce documents from 1999, which revealed one or two incidents that seemed distinctly at odds with a Republican ‘‘family values’’ platform. Ryan dropped out of the race, but the Republican National Party quickly brought in talk-show host Alan Keyes (1950–), who changed his home address from Maryland to Illinois to run against Obama. Keyes was a conservative black Republican who twice had made a bid for the White House, but he worried some voters with his strong statements against homosexuality. Obama, by contrast, was winning public-opinion polls among every demographic group that pollsters asked. He was even greeted with rock-star type cheers in rural Illinois farm towns. Many of these small-town voters recognized that the manufacturing operations of many U.S. industries were rapidly being moved overseas thanks to free-trade agreements that eliminated tariffs (taxes) and trade barriers between the United States and Mexico; another free-trade agreement was in the works for Central America. The result was a dramatic decline in U.S. manufacturing jobs. Obama’s campaign pledged to stop the outsourcing of such jobs to overseas facilities. But Obama suddenly found himself in the national spotlight, when John Kerry (1943–), expected to win the Democratic Party’s nomination for president at the Democratic National Convention in July 2004, asked Obama to deliver the convention’s keynote address. The keynote speech is expected to set the tone of the political campaign, and those chosen to give face tremendous expectations.

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

349

barack obama

‘‘That makes my life poorer’’ Obama did not disappoint that evening. His speech, which he wrote himself and titled ‘‘The Audacity of Hope,’’ was stirring and eloquent, and quickly dubbed by political analysts to be one of the best convention keynote addresses of the modern era. He earned several standing ovations during it, and Obama’s confident, assured tone was broadcast to the rest of the nation. Cameras occasionally scanned the crowd to show tears on the faces of delegates. Obama praised Kerry’s values and experience, and he reminded delegates and the national television audience that the country’s strength came from unity, not division—that Americans had created a thriving nation out of many diverse ethnic groups and ideologies in its 228-year history. Economic policies aimed at providing a better life for everyone, not just a privileged few, was the American way, he said. ‘‘If there’s a senior citizen somewhere who can’t pay for her prescription and has to choose between medicine and the rent, that makes my life poorer, even if it’s not my grandmother,’’ he told the crowd. ‘‘If there’s an Arab American family being rounded up without benefit of an attorney or due process, that threatens my civil liberties. It’s that fundamental belief—I am my brother’s keeper, I am my sister’s keeper—that makes this country work.’’ Obama’s speech, analysts said almost immediately, struck a hopeful, healing tone for a drastically divided nation and what had become a bitter, insult-heavy presidential contest. Obama, asserted Time’s Amanda Ripley, ‘‘described a country that America wants very badly to be: a country not pockmarked by racism and fear or led by politicians born into privilege and coached into automatons [robotic behavior].’’ Others called it one of the best political speeches of the century. Some newspaper and magazine editorial writers predicted that the rising star from Illinois would emerge a strong leader in the Democratic Party over the next few years, and could even run for president in 2012 or 2016. Obama won his bid for the Senate a few months later by a large margin, taking 70 percent of the Illinois vote against just 27 percent for Keyes. At just forty-three years old, he became one of the youngest members of the U.S. Senate when he was

350

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

barack obama

sworn into office in January 2005. The first major piece of legislation he introduced came two months later with the Higher Education Opportunity through Pell Grant Expansion Act of 2005 (HOPE Act). Its goal was increase the maximum amount that the federal government provides each student who receives need-based financial aid for college. In the 1970s and 1980s, Pell grants often covered nearly the entire tuition cost— excluding room, board, and books—at some state universities. But because they had failed to keep pace with rising tuition costs by 2005 they covered, on average, just 23 percent of the tuition at state schools. Obama and his wife have two young daughters, Malia and Sasha. Instead of moving to Washington, Michelle Robinson Obama remained in Chicago indefinitely with the children and kept her job as a hospital executive. Television personality Oprah Winfrey (1954–) interviewed Obama not long after the Democratic National Convention and asked him how he became such an eloquent public speaker. He replied that he knew from an early age that he had a career in the persuasive arts—be they legal or political—ahead of him. ‘‘I always knew I could express myself,’’ he said in O, The Oprah Magazine. ‘‘I knew I could win some arguments. I knew I could get my grandparents and mom frustrated!’’

For More Information Books Obama, Barack. Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance. New York: Three Rivers Press, 2004.

Periodicals Alter, Jonathan. ‘‘‘The Audacity of Hope.‘’’ Newsweek (December 27, 2004): p. 74. Finnegan, William. ‘‘The Candidate.’’ New Yorker (May 31, 2004). Meeks, Kenneth. ‘‘Favorite Son.’’ Black Enterprise (October 2004): p. 88. ‘‘Oprah Talks to Barack Obama.’’ O, The Oprah Magazine (November 2004): p. 248. Ripley, Amanda. ‘‘Obama’s Ascent.’’ Time (November 15, 2004): p. 74.

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

351

barack obama

Web Sites Barack Obama, U.S. Senator from Illinois. http://obama.senate.gov/ (accessed on August 23, 2005). ‘‘Rising Star: Senate Candidate Barack Obama Delivers Rousing Keynote at DNC.’’ Democracy Now. http://www.democracynow. org/article.pl?sid=04/07/28/1313225 (accessed on August 23, 2005).

352

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

Emeka Okafor

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

AP/Wide World Photos.

September 28, 1982

. Houston, Texas

Basketball player

E

meka Okafor ended his first season with the Charlotte Bobcats, the North Carolina team of the National Basketball Association (NBA), as winner of the league’s 2004–05 Rookie of the Year award. A standout athlete during his college career as a center for the University of Connecticut (UConn) Huskies, Okafor was the NBA’s second draft pick in 2004. Sportswriters described him as one of the league’s future legends, but Okafor also managed to compile an impressive academic record at UConn, graduating with honors and a year early, too.

Father flees Nigeria Okafor is of Nigerian heritage. He was born Chukwuemeka Noubuisi Okafor in 1982 in Houston, Texas, where his immigrant parents had settled. His father’s family had come from the eastern part of Nigeria, a place called Enugwuukwu, but during

353

emeka okafor

his father’s teen years Nigeria was torn by a civil war that would leave a million dead. A small part of the country had seceded (officially withdrawn) and declared itself independent of Nigeria in 1967, and the newly created republic was called Biafra. The family of Okafor’s father wound up in a Biafran refugee camp, where they lived for more than two years. Many there, including Okafor’s grandfather, starved or died of illness. Okafor’s father, Pius, joined the Biafran army because he knew soldiers were fed before refugees in such crises. Pius managed to survive until the end of the war in 1970, which also marked the end of an independent Biafra. Four years later,

...................................................................................................................

‘‘Basketball is a gift, but so is intelligence. I don’t want to ever waste either of them.’’ he immigrated to the United States, where one of his cousins had already settled. After a few months in Louisiana, Okafor’s father moved on to Houston, where he worked at a gas station at night while taking classes at Texas Southern University. On a visit home to Nigeria in 1980, he met his future wife, Celestina. After their marriage, she became a nurse, while Pius earned advanced degrees in business and accounting. He worked as an accountant for oil companies in Houston and then Bartlesville, Oklahoma, for a time when Okafor and his younger sister, Nneka, were growing up. Like his father, Okafor was studious and serious. Once, in the fourth grade, he came home with a ‘‘B’’ on his report card and cried over it. He was also a skilled young athlete, playing soccer and baseball, running track and field events, and swimming competitively. On a playground court near their home, he sharpened his basketball skills with Nneka, who became tired and wanted to go home long before he did. He joined his first basketball team as a sixth-grader. At Houston’s Bellaire High School, which attracted some of the city’s top students, he

354

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

emeka okafor

played on a freshman squad that won the city championship. Midway through his sophomore year, Bellaire’s coaches moved the talented fifteen year old onto the varsity squad as a center and forward for the team.

Emerges as tough shot blocker Okafor attended a few summer camps for high-school hoops players that are usually sponsored by athletic-shoe companies like Nike. The camps offer teen athletes a chance to improve their game, while scouts for college teams survey the young talent pool. But Okafor was overlooked by college recruiters because he did not have a solid offense style of play at the time. He was, however, an excellent shot blocker, an invaluable resource for any team, preventing the other team from scoring and doing it with a minimum of fouls. Okafor was also tall—by the time he reached his senior year, he stood six feet, nine inches. At that point, he decided he was too thin. He began an impressive weight-training regimen and put twenty pounds on his frame in just six months. College recruiters began to take notice. Okafor continued to earn nearly straight-A grades at Bellaire. He scored 1310 out of 1600 on his Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), placing him among the top-ranked college-bound high-school seniors in the United States, and graduated with a 4.3 grade point average (GPA), out of a possible 4.0; the extra points came from taking advanced placement classes. He hoped to enter Stanford University in California, but its athletic department did not offer him a scholarship. Instead he was courted by Vanderbilt and Rice universities, as well as Georgia Tech. Okafor chose the University of Connecticut (UConn), mostly because he liked the style of play for which this school and other teams in the Big East Conference were known. Other schools in the athletic conference include Georgetown, Villanova, and Seton Hall universities. Though UConn’s main campus at Storrs was known for its rigorous academics, it also had an excellent winning record in college sports, especially

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

355

emeka okafor

basketball. In 1999, the UConn Huskies won the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) men’s basketball championship. The women’s basketball team also had winning seasons, taking NCAA titles in 1995 and 2000.

Earns top grades Okafor arrived at Storrs in the fall of 2001, and he made vast improvements in his game under men’s coach Jim Calhoun. He finished his first season as the third best shot blocker in all of college basketball, with a count of 136 shots blocked. He also took eighteen credit hours his first semester, and seventeen credit hours the next. Even during that freshman year, he attracted attention as a possible future NBA star. In March 2002, he was the subject of a New York Times article in which sportswriter Joe Drape celebrated Okafor’s drive, talent, and ambition—both on the court and off. Okafor admitted that he was as committed to earning good grades as he was to playing for the Huskies. ‘‘As much as I love basketball, I want to have options,’’ he explained to Drape in the interview. ‘‘I’m goal oriented and I have this thing about failing.’’ Around this same time, Okafor made his first appearance in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament commonly known as ‘‘March Madness.’’ The Huskies had racked up a undistinguished 25–6 season record, partly because it was a younger team with Okafor and other freshman and sophomore players. Because of this, they were not expected to do well in the tournament, but went on to beat the Hampton, North Carolina State, and Southern Illinois University (SIU) teams. In that last game, Okafor kept one of SIU’s top players, Rolan Roberts (1978–), from scoring for the final seventeen minutes of a game. But Okafor and the UConn team were beaten by the University of Maryland Terrapins, 90–82, who went on to win their first NCAA title in the school’s history. In the 2002–03 season, the Huskies had an even worse winloss record than the previous year by the time March Madness began. Despite that, they made it into the semifinals after beating Seton Hall, 83–70. From there Okafor and the team defeated

356

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

emeka okafor

Syracuse University, 80–67, then Stanford University, 85–74, but lost to the University of Texas Longhorns by just four points and exited the tournament.

Leads the Huskies to Final Four As the 2003–04 basketball season neared, Okafor was anticipating his final year in college—though he was still a junior. He was able to graduate a year ahead of schedule by taking a heavy course load every semester and other tactics. One strategy involved reading a business calculus textbook and then taking the final exam for it, instead of taking the class. This is called ‘‘testing out’’ of required classes, and some top students prefer not to do so, because a poor grade on the exam—which translates into their grade for the class—can lower their GPA. On that business calculus exam, Okafor earned the only ‘‘B’’ on his college record. Because of his excellent academic record, NCAA leadership liked to point to Okafor as proof that college players could excel in both sports and school. The NCAA rates how well colleges and universities do in balancing athletics and academics, and a school is considered in line with NCAA standards if its athletes graduate within six years. Okafor, in response, has said that the NCAA might do more to help college athletes. Additional game tickets for family members was one way, he said, along with a voucher for the occasional airfare home to visit family. Scholarship money was another issue. ‘‘Right now athletes can’t keep additional scholarships they earn through academics,’’ he told Sports Illustrated journalist Alexander Wolff. ‘‘That makes no sense. And the gambling is getting crazy. Every town I go to, some fan is like, ‘Emeka, I got a thousand bucks on you guys.’ I’m like, ‘Great, dude, I don’t really care.’’’

Becomes NBA draft pick Okafor’s high 3.95 GPA prompted Basketball Digest to name him its Player of the Year in December 2003 for excelling on the basketball court as well as in the classroom. He had a tough season, however, due to a stress fracture in his back that caused

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

357

emeka okafor

During the 2004–05 season, Emeka Okafor led all NBA rookies in scoring, with an average of 15.9 points per game, winning him the NBA Rookie of the Year title. AP/Wide World Photos.

painful spasms, and sportswriters wondered how the Huskies would do in the NCAA tournament if he was benched. He wasn’t, and thanks to his impressive performance, UConn advanced to the ‘‘Final Four,’’ where the last four teams left in the tournament compete to be in the championship. The UConns won the 2004 NCAA championship after beating Georgia Tech, 82–73. Okafor put in an impressive performance for what would be his final game in college basketball, with 24 points and 15 rebounds. He also won the Most Outstanding Player award at

358

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

emeka okafor

‘‘A Cat Named Bob’’

Emeka Okafor played his rookie season for the Charlotte Bobcats, a National Basketball Association (NBA) franchise in North Carolina’s largest city. The Bobcats were also rookies that 2004–05 year, because it was their first season of regular league play as the NBA’s newest expansion team. The team is owned by Robert L. Johnson (1946–), the first African American to own a majority stake in an NBA franchise. Born in Mississippi into a family of ten children, Johnson earned a graduate degree from Princeton University in 1972 and was a public-television executive and later vice president of a group of cable-channel owners in the 1970s. In 1979, he founded Black Entertainment Television (BET), a cable channel aimed at African American viewers that went on the air the following year. Over the next two decades, Johnson expanded BET from a cable channel that aired just two hours of programming daily into an entertainment powerhouse that produced public-affairs programs, gospel events, and even ventured into event promotion with its acclaimed BET Jazz music festival series. In 1999, Viacom bought BET for $2.3 billion in stock. Johnson remained chief executive officer and chair of the cable channel, which reaches sixty-five million homes in the United States, until stepping down in 2005 to devote more time to the Bobcats. He has said that he named

Robert L. Johnson. AP/Wide World Photos.

the team after himself, ‘‘a cat named Bob.’’ The rapper Nelly (1978–) owns a minority stake in the Bobcats.

the tournament. Sportswriters predicted he would not play a fourth year with Connecticut and instead turn professional, and on April 16, 2004, Okafor announced that he was giving up his final year of college eligibility to instead declare himself a candidate for the NBA draft. On June 24, 2004, Okafor was the number two NBA draft pick in the nation, after Dwight Howard, a talented high school

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

359

emeka okafor

player from Georgia who was signed by the Orlando Magic. Okafor was taken by the Charlotte Bobcats, a new NBA expansion team that would be playing its first regular NBA season in 2004–05. He had a good first year in pro basketball under coach Bernie Bickerstaff (1944–), leading the team in points and rebounds. Early in the season, the Bobcats beat the Detroit Pistons, the 2004 NBA champions, and became the first expansion outfit to beat a title-holding team since 1971. Midway through the season, Okafor was named to the NBA All-Star Team. He received 408,082 votes, the most out of any rookie player that year. But the Bobcats did not do as well: with a record of eighteen wins and sixtyfour losses, they finished the season in fourth place among the five teams in their Southeastern Division of the Eastern Conference. During his rookie season, Okafor had nineteen straight double-doubles from mid-November to January. Doubledoubles is the statistical term in basketball for game performance numbers that reached double-digits in two of the following categories: points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shots. He also led all NBA rookies in scoring, with an average of 15.9 points per game, and with 10.9 rebounds per game. At the end of the 2004–05 season, he won the NBA Rookie of the Year award, beating out former Huskies teammate Ben Gordon (1983–), who had started his own pro career that year with the Chicago Bulls. Okafor’s teammates teased him when People named him ‘‘Sexiest NBA Rookie’’ in its annual issue that ranks celebrity sex appeal. Out of college, he could now devote his spare time to reading for pleasure, and he did a lot of it during travel time to and from away games. ‘‘It keeps my mind fresh,’’ he told Chris Ballard in a Sports Illustrated interview. ‘‘You don’t want your brain to rot too badly. You can only watch so many movies and play so many video games.’’

For More Information Periodicals Ballard, Chris.‘‘Emeka Okafor: Bobcats Forward.’’ Sports Illustrated (April 18, 2005): p. 33. Drape, Joe. ‘‘Okafor Is Quick Study, on Court and in Class.’’ New York Times (March 21, 2002): p. C16.

360

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

emeka okafor Kertes, Tom. ‘‘Center of Attention.’’ Basketball Digest (December 003): p. 50. Kertes, Tom. ‘‘The Incomparable Emeka.’’ Basketball Digest (July–August 2004): p. 48. Layden, Tim. ‘‘A Student of the Game.’’ Sports Illustrated (April 14, 2004): p. 12. Layden, Tim. ‘‘When Brain Meets Brawn.’’ Sports Illustrated (November 24, 2003): p. 74. Wolff, Alexander. ‘‘Remember the Alamodome.’’ Sports Illustrated (April 14, 2004): p. 46.

Web Sites Emeka Okafor: 50. http://www.nba.com/playerfile/emeka_okafor/ ?nav=page (accessed on August 23, 2005). The Official Site of the Charlotte Bobcats. http://www.nba.com/bobcats/ (accessed on August 23, 2005).

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

361

Terrell Owens

December 7, 1973

. Alexander City,

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

ª Mike Blake/Reuters/Corbis.

Alabama

Football player

T

errell Owens is one of the most popular—and controversial— players in the National Football League (NFL). The Alabama native is considered one of the most talented wide receivers in professional football, but has drawn added attention for his battles with his coaches, team executives, and even his fellow players that often play out in the media. In 2004, he was involved in a tense contract dispute with his longtime team, the San Francisco 49ers, over a planned move to the Philadelphia Eagles roster. He has been scorned by sportswriters for what they view as his unsportsmanlike behavior. Those critics, along with ‘‘many NFL owners and league executives,’’ Owens wrote in his 2004 autobiography Catch This!: ‘‘don’t know where I came from or what I believe in. They don’t want to know too much about the hired hands who make their football machines go. They want us to do our jobs and stay in our places and shut up.’’

363

terrell owens

Learns truth about neighbor In his autobiography, Owens recounts a childhood in which he grew up lonely and poor. He was born Terrell Eldorado Owens on December 7, 1973, to Marilyn Heard, a seventeen year old from Alexander City, Alabama. He was raised primarily by his grandmother in Alex City, as his hometown is known. He wrote about a great-grandmother he never knew in his book. She disappeared one day when his grandmother was twelve years old, and in the pre-civil rights era Deep South, little was done to solve the disappearance. She was simply assumed to have run away, or been murdered. (Before the civil rights movement of

...................................................................................................................

‘‘I’m not going to keep quiet or stay inside a box, the way many pro athletes do, even some very famous ones who’ve told me that the best road was to be politically correct at all times.’’ the 1950s and 1960s that pushed for equal rights for all races, blacks suffered severe prejudice and persecution, especially in the former slave states of the South.) The tragedy left a scar on the family that carried over well into Owens’s youth. His grandmother was so overly protective of Owens, along with the brother and two sisters of his she also raised, that she did not permit them to leave the front yard to play with other children. Even when Owens received a bike as a gift, he was only allowed to ride it in the driveway or on the sidewalk in front of the house. If the rule was broken, they could expect a whipping. Owens recalls crying as he looked out his bedroom window and watched the other kids play freely on the street. Owens’s mother was not absent from his life, but she had to work double shifts at the nearby Russell Athletic textile mill to support her children, whose fathers did not play a part in their lives. One of the most traumatic events of his early life, Owens wrote in Catch This!, was the time he fell in love with the little girl

364

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

terrell owens

who lived across the street from him. The girl’s father—a man in his forties—made fun of the eleven-year-old’s crush on his daughter and said dating her was impossible because the girl was Terrell’s sister. With this, Owens realized that this neighbor man was his father. He and his family had lived across the street all this time, and neither his grandmother nor his mother, Marilyn Heard, had ever told him about it. He was devastated by the news, and he never went near the house again. Nor did his father make any attempt to have a relationship with him. Owens and his siblings were allowed to leave the property for two reasons: to go to church and to school. There, kids of his own race teased him because of his darker skin. As a teenager Owens found more acceptance on the football field, and he was a standout player at Benjamin Russell High School as a wide receiver, the member of the offense who can run and catch passes. His hero was San Francisco 49er Jerry Rice (1962–), considered one of, if not the best, wide receivers to ever play in the NFL. Owens even wore Rice’s number 80 jersey on his high school team.

Signs with University of Tennessee Owens was a four-sport athlete at Russell High. He ran track and field, played baseball, and was a talented basketball player as well. He was not even sure that he wanted to devote his energies to football if the chance for an athletic scholarship came—he preferred basketball as his sport of choice instead. Once, he tried to quit the high school football team before his senior year, but the coach convinced him to stay. Owens chose to attend the University of Tennessee (U.T.) at Chattanooga, mostly because the school’s athletic director did not object to him playing two sports at the school. Once again, Owens distinguished himself on the football field with the Mocs, as the U.T. team was called. He set a singlegame touchdown record at the school—four in all—in one 1993 game and helped lead the basketball team to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) tournament in 1996. That same year, he was a third-round draft pick by the 49ers,

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

365

terrell owens

taken eighty-ninth overall, and he was thrilled to be joining the team of his longtime idol in the very same position. But his rookie season was a tough year for him, and he didn’t get much field time. Few sportswriters thought he would become a strong player on the 49ers roster. That same year, Owens was devastated when his friend from high school, Cedric Kendrick, was killed in car accident back in Alabama. Owens spent eight seasons with the San Francisco 49ers, but he was a second-string player until Rice was forced out by injury. Owens was eventually teamed with quarterback Jeff Garcia (1970–) and emerged as a strong, if a bit inconsistent, player with game-winning abilities. He could evade defensemen and make amazing catches, and he became known for his antics when he did help the team score. Sometimes he even did a little dance in the end zone, which critics said was a display of unsportsmanlike gloating. Before the start of the 1999 season, the 49ers signed Owens to a new contract. It was a seven-year, $35 million deal. The team was rewarded the following year when on December 17, 2000, Owens broke an NFL record that had stood for fifty years: in a game against the Chicago Bears, he caught twenty receptions in one game, beating the previous pass-reception single-game record of eighteen set by a Los Angeles Ram player named Tom Fears (1922–2000) on December 3, 1950.

Defends midfield dancing Earlier that season, Owens had moved beyond dancing in the end zone during a September 2000 game against the Dallas Cowboys at Texas Stadium. After a touchdown, he went out and did a joyous dance on the Cowboys’ midfield logo. When he did it a second time, the Dallas crowd erupted in anger. ‘‘I was just being creative and having fun,’’ Owens said in his defense in an interview with Thomas George in the New York Times. ‘‘My intentions were not bad ones. But then, after Emmitt Smith did it after Dallas scored, I felt I had to go back a second time after I scored. The second time I did do it out of spite. But I didn’t expect it to create such a stir.’’ Steve Mariucci (1955–), the 49ers respected head coach,

366

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

terrell owens

suspended Owens for a week and fined him one week’s salary as well, which amounted to a $24,294 penalty. Even behind the scenes, Owens was not the most popular member of the team. Fellow players considered him aloof, and he had some battles with the 49ers coaching staff, too. Once, he told the press that the team had lost to the Chicago Bears because Mariucci was pals with the Bears’ coach, Dick Jauron (1950–), and did not give it his best coaching effort that day. On another occasion, Owens criticized Mariucci for the coach’s play-calling during one game, claiming that Owens had not been given the ball enough. Mariucci, asked by a reporter about Owens’s remarks, called them ‘‘devoid of thought’’ according to Paul Attner in Sporting News. The two spent an entire season not speaking more than a minimum of necessary words to one another, but they finally patched things up after Owens met with the 49ers general manager and team owner to talk about it after the 2001 season ended. Two months later, Mariucci flew out to visit Owens at his Atlanta home, where ‘‘we just put it all on the table, positive and negative,’’ Owens told New York Times sportswriter Damon Hack. ‘‘He expressed things he didn’t like about me and vice versa. He told me there may have been some things he did wrong—maybe he should have gotten me the ball more— but you live and learn.’’

Inspires ‘‘Sharpie rule’’ Owens was involved in another highly publicized incident in October 2002 during a 49ers game against the Seattle Seahawks. When he caught a game-winning touchdown, he took a Sharpie magic marker out of his sock, signed the football, and handed it to his financial advisor, who was sitting in the stands. In response, the NFL issued what became known as the ‘‘Sharpie rule,’’ which called for a fifteen-yard penalty or even ejection from the game for any player who takes a foreign object onto the field. All of this controversy did not hinder Owens’s performance on the field. He had another career-defining moment during a playoff game against the New York Giants in 2002. He caught 177 yards’ worth of receptions and helped the team, which had been losing by 24 points, beat the Giants 39–38.

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

367

terrell owens

Opposite page

Despite having undergone leg surgery just weeks prior, Terrell Owens played well during the 2005 Super Bowl, with nine receptions. ª Mike Blake/Reuters/ Corbis.

Despite the talents of Owens and quarterback Jeff Garcia, the 49ers consistently failed to make it to the Super Bowl. It was a source of concern for the team, its owners, and Bay Area fans alike. Owens was not happy about being on a losing team, and he and Garcia did not have a good working relationship, either on the gridiron or off. Owens began dropping hints in the media that he hoped to move on when the 2003 season was over. A clause (part) in his contract gave him the option to become a free agent early in 2004, and that would let him sign with another team. Before that happened, however, the 49ers announced that they had traded Owens to the Baltimore Ravens. An angry Owens told the media he would not play in Baltimore. There was a question of whether he and his sports agent had missed the February 21, 2004, deadline, when he was expected to declare himself a free agent. Owens claimed that in 2001 he had negotiated a March 15 deadline instead and was in contract negotiations with the Eagles when the Ravens trade was announced. The NFL players’ association took his side, and a legal battle seemed possible. That was avoided when all parties met at the University of Pennsylvania Law School and a deal was struck: Owens would go to Philadelphia, and Philadelphia would give San Francisco a defensive end player, Brandon Whiting, and also give up its fifthround 2004 draft-pick slot to Baltimore. The Eagles signed Owens to a seven-year, $48 million contract, which included a $10 million signing bonus. His number 81 Eagles jersey became the NFL’s top-selling piece of merchandise, with sales boosted by his performance during the 2004 season. But controversy still followed him: During a pre-game show for ABC’s Monday Night Football on November 15, 2004, Owens appeared in a promotional spot with Nicollette Sheridan (1963–), one of the stars of the hit ABC prime-time series Desperate Housewives. The skit showed the pair in a locker room, with Sheridan wearing just a towel; she asks Owens to skip the game to be with her and drops the towel to the floor. He says the team will have to do without him, and she jumps into his arms. The promotional spot was produced by ABC Sports, and it prompted a flood of angry phone calls and letters to the network, for it had aired at a time when many underage viewers were watching. There was even a formal inquiry by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the government

368

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

terrell owens

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

369

terrell owens

Owens v. McNabb

Terrell Owens and Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb (1976–) were predicted to become an unbeatable combination as Philadelphia fans anticipated Owens’s first season with the team in 2004. The expectations were satisfied with a recordsetting season, and one in which McNabb finally emerged as a star quarterback after five somewhat undistinguished years with the team. The Eagles started the 2004 season with an astonishing

seven-game

winning

streak.

They

became the division’s first-place champs when there were still five weeks of games left to play. In NFL history, only two other teams ever achieved a first-place finish that early. In all, McNabb threw thirty-one touchdowns, and Owens caught fourteen of them. This helped McNabb end the regular season with statistics that made him the NFL’s fourth-ranked quarterback. ‘‘Owens has given the Eagles a dimension they had lacked,’’ noted sports broadcaster and former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman in Sporting News in early October. ‘‘He’s not a great route runner and doesn’t have the best hands, but

Donovan McNabb. ª Shaun Best/Reuters/Corbis.

he’s fast, he’s big and physical, and he’s deadly after the catch. McNabb has never had a weapon like Owens before.’’

were reports that McNabb was winded and ill in the

The Eagles went on to Super Bowl XXXIX,

final quarter after being hit too hard earlier in the game.

but lost to the New England Patriots. A few months

‘‘I wasn’t tired, (but) I’m not going to sit here and try to

later, Owens—with what his critics said was his char-

have a war of words,’’ McNabb said in response. In

acteristic verbal recklessness—made some com-

mid-August, that war heated up when Owens called

ments to the media that seemed to question

McNabb a ‘‘hypocrite’’ on ESPN because of an earlier

McNabb’s performance. ‘‘I wasn’t the guy who got

media report in which the quarterback said he had no

tired in the Super Bowl,’’ he told ESPN.com, according

desire to meet with Owens to patch up their

to a Houston Chronicle article by John McClain. There

differences.

370

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

terrell owens

agency charged with regulating the airwaves. ABC Sports was attacked for the spot, which seemed to be using sex to promote professional sports, but Owens was also criticized for participating in it. He issued a public apology, as did the NFL.

Makes Super Bowl debut A month later, Owens sprained his ankle and fractured a fibula, one of the bones in his calf, in a game against the Dallas Cowboys. The Eagles said he would likely be out the rest of the season, but Owens contradicted that and said he would play in the coming Super Bowl, when the Eagles would meet the New England Patriots. He underwent leg surgery and played well during Super Bowl XXXIX, with nine receptions. The Eagles lost, however, 24–21. Later, Owens made negative remarks about Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb, and he announced he had a new agent— the aggressive and controversial Drew Rosenhaus—and wanted to renegotiate his Eagles contract. As summer neared, he asked Eagles management to let him play on a summer-league squad of the Sacramento Kings of the National Basketball Association, but they refused. At one point, he even hinted that he might not show up for the official start of training camp, but in July said he would return to the Eagles roster for the 2005 season. He did appear, but in characteristic form was suspended for a week for disrespectful behavior. He then began appearing with his agent on talk shows, during which he made negative comments about his coach, Andy Reid, and his fellow players. Owens has a son, Terique, who was born in 1999. He has contributed his time and celebrity to the Alzheimer Foundation and has spoken publicly on several occasions about his grandmother’s diagnosis with the debilitating condition that deteriorates the memory and other mental activity. In his autobiography, he wrote about the troubles he has had with authority figures and teammates over the years, but says that a deep spiritual strength has helped him grow. ‘‘My grandmother and my mom taught me that I need to walk through this world with a strong mind and a big heart, so that’s my goal,’’ he wrote. ‘‘I don’t always reach it. Sometimes I stumble, and sometimes I come close to falling, but then I refocus and try to learn and get better.’’

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

371

terrell owens

For More Information Books Owens, Terrell, and Stephen Singular. Catch This!: Going Deep with the NFL’s Sharpest Weapon. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2004.

Periodicals Aikman, Troy. ‘‘A Chemistry Lesson in Philly.’’ Sporting News (October 18, 2004): p. 71. Attner, Paul. ‘‘Get Used T.O. It.’’ Sporting News (October 28, 2002): p. 20. Attner, Paul. ‘‘Turned on but Still Ticked Off.’’ Sporting News (June 14, 2004): p. 28. Brookover, Bob. ‘‘Owens Wants to Play in NBA, but Expect Eagles to Say No.’’ Philadelphia Inquirer (July 1, 2005). ‘‘Dungy Calls ‘Monday Night’ Sketch Racially Insensitive.’’ New York Times (November 18, 2004): p. D4. George, Thomas. ‘‘Getting Wish, Owens to Join the Eagles.’’ New York Times (March 17, 2004): p. D1. George, Thomas. ‘‘Here Comes Terrell Owens; The 49ers Have a Receiver Who Can No Longer Be Ignored.’’ New York Times (January 13, 2002): p. SP2. Hack, Damon. ‘‘The 49ers’ Uneasy Truce; Coach and Star Receiver Reach Out to Each Other.’’ New York Times (September 4, 2002): p. A25. Hirshberg, Charles. ‘‘Sympathy for the Showboat (Book Review).’’ Sports Illustrated (November 15, 2004): p. Z12. Longman, Jere. ‘‘Eagles Are Preparing for Life without Owens.’’ New York Times (July 5, 2005): p. C5. McClain, John. ‘‘Owens’ Verbal Jabs Miff McNabb.’’ Houston Chronicle (May 1, 2005): p. 18. ‘‘Owens Looks to Be the Family Rock.’’ San Francisco Examiner (August 13, 2000). ‘‘Question and Answer with Terrell Owens. ’’ Philadelphia Inquirer (March 9, 2004). Rhoden, William C. ‘‘In ‘Monday Night’ Fallout, a Deeper Racial Issue.’’ New York Times (November 21, 2004): p. SP11.

Web Sites # 81 Terrell Owens. http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile? statsId=3664 (accessed on August 23, 2005). ‘‘McNabb Said He Isn’t Bothered by T.O.’S Talk.’’ ESPN.com. http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2132446 (accessed on August 23, 2005). The Official Web Site of Terrell Owens. http://terrellowens.com (accessed on September 22, 2005).

372

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

Zac Posen

. New York, New York Fashion designer

A

merican designer Zac Posen emerged as fashion’s newest star in 2002 when his alluringly feminine dresses made their New York City runway debut. Though he was still rather young to be a business owner, Posen earned enthusiastic write-ups on the pages of Vogue and other esteemed fashion magazines for his creative flair. He was hailed as the design world’s latest prodigy, and possibly even the savior who might rescue American fashion from the styles-and-sales slump it had experienced over the past decade. New York Times writer Guy Trebay was an early champion of Posen, noting in a September 2002 article that the twentytwo-year-old designer ‘‘occupies an important symbolic position in the fashion system one hears so much about. He is the future.’’

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

AP/Wide World Photos.

October 24, 1980

373

zac posen

Raised in lively New York City neighborhood Posen is a native New Yorker, and his rapid rise in fashion was partly fueled by personal connections to some well-known tastemakers in the worlds of art and film. His father, Stephen Posen, was a painter, and his mother, Susan, was an attorney who worked in corporate finance. Born in October 1980, he and his older sister grew up in a loft home in the midst of SoHo, an area of lower Manhattan that takes its name from its location ‘‘south of Houston’’ Street. The small factories that had flourished in SoHo

...................................................................................................................

‘‘I don’t have a formula, except that I don’t believe in playing it safe.’’ since the nineteenth century moved out, and beginning in the 1960s artists and daring New Yorkers in search of large living spaces began converting the industrial buildings to residential use. By the time Posen was a small child, SoHo had hit its peak of gritty, downtown New York urban cool, and it was humming with art galleries, boutiques, and upscale restaurants. Posen was a creative child. For his toy figures he made outfits out of unusual materials, like seaweed, and staged puppet shows for his family. ‘‘I used to steal yarmulkes [a Jewish head covering traditionally restricted to males] so that I could make bell dresses for dolls,’’ he told People writer Michelle Tauber about his visits to Jewish religious services with his family. But Posen also noted that while his parents were extremely supportive of his childhood interests and hobbies, at times he was a bit uneasy with them himself. His interest in fashion ‘‘was definitely something, when you’re a boy, that you’re ashamed of,’’ he admitted in the same interview. Posen attended St. Ann’s School in Brooklyn Heights, a private school that combined academics with a focus on the creative arts. As a teen, he was known for the sometimes outlandish

374

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

zac posen

outfits he wore to school, some of them bought off thrift store racks but embellished at home on his sewing machine. A pair of trousers with antlers attached to them was one of his more memorable ensembles. One schoolmate at St. Ann’s was Lola Schnabel, daughter of painter Julian Schnabel, a well-known figure in the New York art world of the 1980s. The two became close friends, and their bond was cemented by the fact that both suffered from dyslexia, a reading difficulty.

Makes dresses for teen pals Posen excelled in math but was drawn to the visual arts. He designed costumes for school plays at St. Ann’s and continued to create unusual outfits. He landed his first design commission at the age of fifteen, when Lola Schnabel’s little sister, Stella, then twelve, asked him to make a dress for her to wear to an event. She told him she wanted to appear as if she was without clothing, and so Posen created a skin-colored gown from velvet that caused a stir when Schnabel was photographed at the event. Around 1996 Posen landed a much-coveted internship at the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, and there he was able to closely examine the work of masterful fashion designers of the past, such as Madeleine Vionnet (1876–1975), a French pioneer who cut her dresses on the bias, a method that highlighted a woman’s curves and eliminated unnecessary details. He also took courses at the Parsons School of Design in the city in its pre-college summer program, and landed another impressive internship, this one with designer Nicole Miller (1952–) in 1998. The first piece he drew at Miller’s studio was for a white shirt made out of poplin (a tightly woven cotton material), which was selected to go into production. A year later, he took a job as a design assistant with Tocca, a hot new label. Though Posen had been accepted into an Ivy League school, Brown University in Rhode Island, he chose to move to London instead to enroll in a highly regarded art school, Central St. Martin’s College of Art and Design. Hoping to impress the associate who called him in for an entrance interview, he showed up with ivy trailing from his long, curly hair, and won a spot in its

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

375

zac posen

fashion and textiles program. The school, like St. Ann’s, was known for its freewheeling atmosphere, but Central St. Martin’s also placed immense importance on finding one’s creative vision through independent work habits. Not surprisingly, Posen flourished there. He admitted, however, that the decision to attend an art college had not been met with overwhelming enthusiasm back at home. ‘‘My parents were always very supportive of anything I was interested in,’’ he explained in an interview with Kathryn Wexler of the Miami Herald, but admitted that with his decision to enroll at a ‘‘fashion school for college, it became more of a question. My mom and grandparents value a liberal arts education.’’

Review in the New York Times To help pay living expenses in London, Posen started a private couture, or custom-made clothing business, which grew by word of mouth. That changed in February 2001, when a dress that he made was actually the subject of an article in the ‘‘Fashions of the Times’’ supplement of the New York Times Magazine. The dress first had been spotted in December 2000 by journalist Daisy Garnett at a private party in Greenwich Village in New York City. It was worn by a sixteen-year-old woman, Paz de la Huerta, an actor who had been escorted to the party by Posen. ‘‘It was dark pink,’’ Garnett wrote, ‘‘made of brushed silk, and it tied up in a knot at the back.::: It looked like it had been found in a trunk belonging to a 1930’s Parisian dancing girl who had been inspired by the paintings of [French Post-Impressionist painter] Toulouse-Lautrec and created a dream dress for kicking up her heels in Montmartre.’’ Posen had originally made the dress for model Naomi Campbell (1970–), who was a friend of Lola Schnabel’s. In the February newspaper article, Garnett wrote that the dress had been borrowed by actor Jade Malle for the January 2001 wedding of Kate Hudson (1979–) and rock singer Chris Robinson (1966–). Malle knew Posen through her cousin, who had attended St. Ann’s; Malle had once borrowed a halter dress that Posen had made for her cousin, ‘‘and as I walked down the street, strangers stopped and begged me to tell them where I got this dress,’’ Malle

376

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

zac posen

The Posen-Portman Connection American designer Zac Posen owes much of his early success to having some of his first dresses worn by glamorous young film stars, including Claire Danes (1979–) and Natalie Portman (1981–). Portman’s entrance at the London premier of Star Wars: Episode II—Attack of the Clones in May 2002 helped boost his career immensely. Posen has referred to Portman as his muse, or inspiration, following a fashion tradition of designer-actress alliances, such as Narcisso Rodriguez and Sarah Jessica

Parker (1965–), and Marc Jacobs and Sofia Coppola (1971–). Jacobs even named a handbag in honor of the Academy Award-winning director of Lost in Translation. Posen and Portman have often been photographed together at high-profile events, such as the 2002 VH1 Fashion Awards. ‘‘Zac’s clothes are classical and elegant but also made for young people,’’ Portman told People.

told Garnett. ‘‘The Fashions of the Times’’ article generated major buzz for Posen, as did a leather dress that was featured in a Central St. Martin’s exhibition of Victorian undergarments. The complex frock, made of lengthy strips of glossy leather held together by hundreds of hook-and-eye closures was also chosen to appear in London’s Victoria and Albert Museum, and it eventually became part of that museum’s permanent collection. Despite his success, Posen was forced to return to New York, as he told the Miami Herald. ‘‘I couldn’t legally work in London, and I couldn’t afford to live there,’’ he said. Moving back into his parents’ home, he opened a small space above a New York boutique, and by late 2001 had established his own label, as well as a company he called Outspoke, which was managed by his mother. In December a line of his dresses began selling at the posh Manhattan retailer Henri Bendel.

First collection earns terrific praise Posen’s first real runway show came in February 2002, and he staged it at a former synagogue in New York’s once-neglected Bowery neighborhood on the Lower East Side. In the audience

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

377

zac posen

Actress Natalie Portman brought attention to Zac Posen’s work by being one of the first big celebrities to wear his designs. ª Petre Buzoianu/Corbis.

that day was Barbara Bush, daughter of U.S. president George W. Bush (1946–), along with the woman considered the most powerful in fashion, American Vogue editor Anna Wintour (1949–). Though such runway presentations are costly to mount, Posen used the prize money he received from winemaker Ecco Domani and its Foundation Award for Young Designers. The rest came from private contributions from his family and

378

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

zac posen

friends. It was a well-chronicled event in the fashion press and earned Posen several enthusiastic reviews as well as many new clients. Posen’s next show was held in September 2002 during New York Fashion Week, when store buyers and journalists are offered a glimpse of the next season’s designer lines. It coincided with a tremendous honor for such a young designer: his dresses had recently gone on sale at Bloomingdale’s, and the department store’s flagship New York emporium had devoted an entire row of windows to Posen’s line. The dresses were priced in the $1,200 to $1,500 range, and Time journalist Belinda Luscombe found them ‘‘1940s-style shapely; they flare at the hem and enhance the bust and waist. Several spring looks are constructed of thin bands of material sewn together horizontally, like belts, that can be adjusted.’’ Posen’s star continued to rise over the next few years. He showed his collections at the twice-yearly New York Fashion Week, and his dresses became a favorite of the fashionista set, the passel of stylish and influential women who work in fashion, either at design houses or in journalism and public relations. He was not immune to the lures of his dresses himself. ‘‘I like to try on my clothing and see how it feels,’’ he told Tauber in People. ‘‘That’s really important—to see how something makes you feel.’’

Strikes a deal with Diddy Posen’s Fall 2004 collection, staged during New York Fashion Week earlier that same year, featured his first foray into sportswear. The collection’s theme was ‘‘Blixen,’’ named in part after the writer Karen Blixen (1885–1962), the Danish baroness born Isak Dinesen who penned the novel Out of Africa. The term ‘‘Blixen’’ also touched upon two other meanings: the German word for lightning, and the name of one of Santa’s reindeer. ‘‘Not only was this his most accomplished collection to date, it was also one of the best of the fall season,’’ remarked New York Times fashion writer Cathy Horyn, who liked the juxtaposition of fabrics and colors. ‘‘The clothes had much

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

379

zac posen

going for them: youth, wit, technical finesse but, above all, real sophistication,’’ Horyn asserted. Yet Horyn also wrote another article about Posen’s impressive rise in the cutthroat fashion world that appeared just eight days later in the New York Times that contained a few disapproving comments. ‘‘Success in fashion is one part talent, one part luck and one part a tireless ability to hold a gaudy marquee over your head,’’ Horyn wrote. ‘‘Posen has all these qualities in excess.’’ Nevertheless, Horyn conceded that ‘‘I have also come to the conclusion that of all the young designers gathering on the horizon, Posen is the one who is most likely to break through precisely because he possesses all the same qualities that worked so beautifully for his predecessors in this venal [capable of being corrupted] industry.’’ Posen teamed with rap impresario Sean ‘‘Diddy’’ Combs (1969–) in the spring of 2004 for a business venture. Combs, a producer and record-label mogul with his own clothing line called Sean John, made an undisclosed financial investment in Posen’s company. Business writers and fashion industry analysts viewed it as a smart move that would help take Posen’s company to another level thanks to the mass retail connections that Sean Jean Clothing had already forged in the industry. Despite the deal, Posen was determined to maintain a close-knit corporate inner circle staffed by friends and family. His mother serves as chief executive officer of Outspoke and vice chair of the venture with Combs’s company. His older sister, Alexandra, is his creative director, and a grown-up Stella Schnabel is his stylist. ‘‘I love the industry,’’ Posen told Marc Jacobs (1963–) when he and the older American designer— to whom Posen has often been compared—interviewed one another for a June 2003 issue of WWD. ‘‘It’s amazing and overwhelming.’’ Posen offered up a piece of advice to aspiring designers or creative types: ‘‘I think one should follow their dreams and should always persevere.’’ ‘‘Something that’s been really important to me is to physically make your clothing and put it on as many different kinds of people as you can to see how they feel in it. And find your vision and put it out there.’’

380

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

zac posen

For More Information Periodicals ‘‘Breakthroughs 2002.’’ People (December 30, 2002): p. 134. Garnett, Daisy. ‘‘A Star Is Born.’’ New York Times (‘‘Fashions of the Times’’) (February 25, 2001): p. 66. Horyn, Cathy. ‘‘A Little Bit Adorable.’’ New York Times Magazine (February 22, 2004): p. 66. Horyn, Cathy. ‘‘Sophistication of the Slinky Sort.’’ New York Times (February 14, 2004): p. B6. Huckbody, Jamie. ‘‘The Man Who Would Be King.’’ Independent (London, England) (February 14, 2003): p. 6. Kato, Donna. ‘‘Distinctive Style, Business Savvy Make Fashion Designer Zac Posen Star at 24.’’ San Jose Mercury News (December 19, 2004). Luscombe, Belinda. ‘‘Boy in Vogue.’’ Time (September 30, 2002): p. 78. ‘‘Marc and Zac.’’ WWD (June 2, 2003): p. 36S. Rubenstein, Hal. ‘‘The Look of Zac Posen (Fashion/The Look).’’ In Style (December 1, 2003): p. 152. Tauber, Michelle. ‘‘Sew Cool.’’ People (September 15, 2003): p. 153. Trebay, Guy. ‘‘At 21, a Grasp of Women’s Clout.’’ New York Times (February 12, 2002): p. B8. Trebay, Guy. ‘‘The Rise and Rise of a Prodigy.’’ New York Times (September 18, 2002): p. B9. Wexler, Kathryn. ‘‘Boy Wonder: Designer Zac Posen Set Fashion World on Fire at 20.’’ Miami Herald (May 4, 2004). Wilson, Eric, and Julee Greenberg. ‘‘Combs Hopes to Score Hit with Posen.’’ WWD (April 21, 2004): p. 3.

Web Sites Zac Posen Official Web Site. http://www.zacposen.com (accessed on August 23, 2005).

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

381

Dan Rather

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

AP/Wide World Photos.

October 31, 1931

. Wharton, Texas

Television journalist

V

eteran Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) news anchor Dan Rather retired in 2005 after twenty-four years at the desk of the television network’s nightly newscast CBS Evening News. Long known in the industry for his aggressive reporting and folksy sayings, Rather is one of the most famous television news journalists of the twentieth century. When he retired, he was the longest-serving anchor on a nightly network newscast in American broadcast history.

Born in rural Texas Rather was born on October 31,1931, and was the first of three children in his family. His mother was named Veda, and his father, Daniel Irvin Rather, laid pipeline for Texas oil fields. The family moved to Houston about a year after Rather was born and settled into a working-class neighborhood there. Rather has said that his

383

dan rather

father was devoted to two things: reading the daily newspapers, and his employer, Humble Oil. He would not buy gas, for example, at any filling station that was not part of the company network. As a child, Rather’s interest in journalism was sparked by a bout of rheumatic fever, an inflammatory reaction that affects the heart, that came on when he was ten years old. He was forced to spend weeks resting in bed, and so he listened to the radio to pass the time. The broadcasts he loved best were the reports delivered by pioneering American war correspondents such as Eric Sevareid (1912–1992) and Edward R. Murrow (1908–1965).

...................................................................................................................

‘‘Rather is the last of his breed, a junkyard dog in anchor’s clothing, hard-charging and afraid of nothing except maybe getting caught behind the desk while the town is burning.’’ Reporter Gary Cartwright in Texas Monthly

They were filing radio news stories from European capitals and battlefields during World War II (1939–45; war in which Great Britain, France, the United States, and their allies defeated Germany, Italy, and Japan). By the time he reached his teen years, Rather had decided to become a journalist, though his goal was to work for a major daily newspaper, not a radio network. Rather entered Sam Houston State Teachers College in Huntsville, Texas, and in 1953 became the first member of his family to earn a college degree. He majored in journalism, but the college’s program was not a strong one in that subject, and so he took a series of jobs while still in school that gave him hands-on experience. He worked part time at a Huntsville radio station and then worked as a reporter for the Associated Press wire service; later, he moved on to its competitor, United Press International (UPI). He also served as editor of the campus newspaper.

384

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

dan rather

Rather served a brief stint in the U.S. Marine Corps, but when his superior officers learned about his childhood bout with rheumatic fever, he was disqualified for military service for health reasons. In 1954, he went to work at the Houston Chronicle—but not at the paper itself, which had been his longtime career goal. Instead he worked at a radio station owned by the newspaper, KTRH. ‘‘I came in at four in the morning,’’ Rather recalled in an interview with Gary Cartwright for Texas Monthly, ‘‘and read the pork belly futures out of Chicago,’’ or the Chicago Mercantile Exchange trading price for the bacon-providing part of a hog. Eager to prove himself, he persuaded his boss to give him his own show during an open time slot on Sunday, which had been his only day off.

Earns nickname ‘‘Hurricane Dan’’ Rather tried to land a job at the Houston Chronicle newspaper, but he was a poor speller—print journalists of the era needed to be able to write quickly with few errors. His on-air talents were noticed by his station bosses, however, and he was made KTRH’s news director in 1956. Three years later, he moved on to the relatively new medium of television as a reporter for KTRK-TV, also in Houston. In January 1960, he became news director for another Houston television station, KHOU, which was an affiliate of CBS. By this time he had married Jean Goebel, whom he met when she was hired as a secretary at KTRH, and they had two small children. Rather’s career moved to a national level thanks to a terrible tropical storm. In September 1961, Hurricane Carla headed toward the American coastline along the Gulf of Mexico. It hit at full force near Galveston, Texas, and became one of the worst storms ever to reach the U.S. mainland. Rather and his team were the only live television news source broadcasting from Galveston when Carla hit, and he delivered one of his reports by hanging onto a palm tree. Rather also persuaded the director of the local weather-reporting station to let his crew put a television camera in front of the radar screen, which tracked storms from high above Earth’s atmosphere. ‘‘That day,’’ noted Cartwright, ‘‘viewers saw something they had never seen

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

385

dan rather

‘‘What’s the frequency, Kenneth?’’

Veteran CBS anchor Dan Rather was a victim of one of the strangest celebrity-stalking incidents of the modern age. One night in October 1986, he was returning from dinner at a friend’s house and walking along Park Avenue in a relatively high-class part of New York City. He was approached by two men, one of whom punched him in the jaw; when Rather ran off, he was chased into a building and kicked. His attacker repeatedly asked him, ‘‘Kenneth, what is the frequency?’’ The assailant, or pair of assailants, ran off. The odd incident inspired a song by alternative rock group R.E.M., ‘‘What’s the Frequency, Kenneth?,’’ and Rather even joined the band once on stage and sang it with lead singer Michael Stipe. In 1997, a man in prison for the 1994 murder of an NBC stagehand outside the Today Show told his prison psychiatrist that he had attacked Rather back in 1986. Shown photographs of the prisoner, Rather identified William Tager as his attacker. Tager had believed that the news media were trying to send him coded messages, and the matter seemed to rest with that confession.

In 2001, Harper’s magazine published a piece by Paul Allman that posed several semi-comical questions about the ‘‘Kenneth’’ incident. Allman pointed out that the writer Donald Barthelme (1931–), sometimes called the father of postmodern literary American fiction, had once written a short story containing the phrase ‘‘What’s the frequency?’’ as well as the name ‘‘Kenneth.’’ In another story of Barthelme’s, there is an arrogant ‘‘editor-king’’ named Mr. Lather. Allman’s article, and a subsequent stage play produced in New York City, hinted that Barthelme possibly may have been connected to the attack. Allman pointed out that both Barthelme and Rather were Texas natives, born just six months apart, and both had worked in Houston early in their careers—Barthelme as a reporter for the Houston Post, while Rather was a radio newsperson. ‘‘Is it possible that they could not have known each other, or of each other, in the Houston of the late 1950s and early 1960s?’’ Allman wondered. ‘‘That they could not have attended the same journalistic functions? Or that Rather, the rising star, could not have been the object of envy and speculation on the part of his peers?’’

on live television: the image of a four-hundred-mile-wide hurricane superimposed over a map of the Texas Gulf Coast. The coverage spurred a mass evacuation of the coast and probably saved thousands of lives.’’ Rather’s fearless reporting earned the attention of CBS executives in New York City and forever earned him the nickname ‘‘Hurricane Dan’’ among his professional colleagues in the media. Shortly after Hurricane Carla, he was promoted to serve as the network’s national news correspondent for its southwestern bureau, which included several southern U.S. states as well as Mexico and Central America. On November 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy (1917–1963; served 1961–63) was assassinated

386

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

dan rather

in his presidential motorcade in Dallas, and Rather once again became the frontperson for CBS coverage on the scene. Within months, he was promoted again, this time to White House correspondent for CBS in Washington, D.C.

Critics call him biased As a national news reporter, Rather went on to cover some of the most important news stories of the era, including the Vietnam War (1954–75; a controversial war in which the United States aided South Vietnam in its fight against a takeover by Communist North Vietnam) and the series of scandals known as Watergate, which forced the resignation of two-term Republican president Richard M. Nixon (1913–1994; served 1969–74). Rather’s aggressive coverage of the Watergate story brought some criticism. He was condemned by Nixon supporters for what they viewed as his liberal bias, or favoritism toward Democratic politics. The unofficial code of ethics for journalists calls for them to remain neutral in their news reporting. Rather had an infamous exchange with Nixon that caused hundreds of viewers to call or write CBS headquarters in New York City and demand that the network fire him. At a National Association of Broadcasters convention in Houston in March 1974, Nixon was part of one day’s program of events. Rather rose to ask the president a question, and some other journalists began booing Rather—but others quickly responded with applause. Taken by surprise at the outburst, Nixon asked Rather, ‘‘Are you running for something?’’ according to Ken Auletta in the New Yorker. Rather’s response, as quoted by Auletta, was ‘‘No, sir, Mr. President. Are you?’’ The remark was viewed by some as disrespectful, and there were rumors that CBS executives were indeed thinking about firing him for such a daring breach of press–presidential etiquette. Instead, Rather was taken off the White House beat, and he spent a few years producing documentaries for the network in New York City; he also anchored the CBS Weekend News. In 1975, he became a correspondent on the highly rated newsmagazine 60 Minutes. When veteran CBS news journalist Walter

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

387

dan rather

Cronkite (1916–) announced that he would retire as the anchor of CBS’s flagship broadcast, the CBS Evening News, Rather was named his successor. It was a tremendous accomplishment, for Cronkite was a giant among broadcast journalists of his era and regularly cited in U.S. public opinion polls as the most trusted person in television news. Rather made his debut on the CBS Weekend News on March 9, 1981, and retired exactly twenty-four years later. His tenure made him the longest-serving anchor of a nightly national newscast in U.S. media history. But Rather was not always at the desk. Again, he took his camera crews to the field and reported from around the world to cover breaking stories and planned events, too. In September 1987, he was in Miami to cover the visit of Pope John Paul II (1920–2005) to that city, but that day his broadcast was to follow CBS Sports’s coverage of the U.S. Open tennis match. When one of the games ran into overtime, the network decided to keep it on the air and not switch over to the CBS Evening News. Angered, Rather walked off the set to call his boss, the president of CBS News, but then the match ended unexpectedly just two minutes into the hour, and Rather was missing when the cameras began rolling. He was gone for over six minutes in what is known in live radio and television broadcasting as ‘‘dead air.’’

Angers vice president Rather was again criticized for his behavior, and even other journalists called him unprofessional. The incident returned to the headlines several months later, when Rather was interviewing George H.W. Bush (1924–), who was serving as Republican vice president under Ronald Reagan (1911–2004; served 1981–89). At the time, the Reagan White House was involved in a political scandal known as the Iran-Contra affair, in which some members of the administration were linked to the illegal sale of arms to Iran, an enemy of the United States, in order to finance secret operations in Central America. On the air, Rather questioned Bush relentlessly, as was his style, and the exchange became heated. Finally, according to the New Yorker, the vice president responded, ‘‘It’s not fair to judge my whole career by a rehash

388

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

dan rather

Dan Rather delivered his final broadcast in March 2005, just one year shy of his twenty-fifth anniversary as the CBS Evening News anchorman. AP/Wide World Photos.

on Iran. How would you like it if I judged your career by those seven minutes when you walked off the set?’’ Once again, Rather was accused of showing disrespect to the highest elected officials in the nation, and particularly to Republicans. His daily newscasts were even monitored on a Web site, RatherBiased.com, which tracked the news anchor’s alleged lack of impartiality. ‘‘I do have my biases,’’ Rather joked in an interview with Auletta in the New Yorker, ‘‘such as, I’m hard to herd and impossible to stampede,’’ meaning he won’t follow the crowd or be pushed over. That stubbornness was widely suspected of spurring Rather’s somewhat unexpected decision to retire from CBS Evening News, which was announced in November 2004. Two months earlier, Rather delivered a report on 60 Minutes II that was based on a series of recently uncovered documents related to

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

389

dan rather

George W. Bush’s (1946–) service in the Texas Air National Guard between 1968 and 1973. One of the documents was a memo that seemed to confirm rumors that a young Bush had received special treatment thanks to his family connections. During the Vietnam War era, there was a draft that required young men to register for possible military service; one way to avoid being sent to fight overseas was to serve instead at home in a National Guard unit, which generally required a weekend of service each month at a training camp in one’s home state. Rather’s report about Bush’s record, which seemed to show that the future president often failed to report for Guard duty, was a major journalistic triumph. Most of the major U.S. news organizations had long tried to find documents that would prove the rumors true about Bush’s record. Almost immediately, however, the authenticity of the documents was questioned.

Blames ‘‘partisan political operatives’’ Rather called on Bush to answer the lingering questions about his military service, and he mentioned on CBS Evening News that ‘‘partisan political operatives’’ seemed to be behind the controversy over his report, according to a New York Observer article by Joe Hagan. In an interview with Hagan, Rather defended his 60 Minutes II staff who had put together the story, and he pointed out that the debate seemed rather fishy. ‘‘If you can’t deny the information,’’ he theorized in the interview, ‘‘then attack and seek to destroy the credibility of the messenger, the bearer of the information.’’ Rather stood by the report and his staff, but CBS called for an independent investigation into the matter. In the end, four members of the 60 Minutes II team, including Rather’s longtime producer, lost their jobs. In November 2004, not long after the independent review panel was summoned, Rather announced his decision to retire from the CBS Evening News. His last broadcast came in March 2005, a full year ahead of his twenty-fifth anniversary, which he had often said would be his retirement date. Some media analysts and critics of Rather’s claimed the National Guard story was the real reason behind the decision, and more moderate voices noted

390

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

dan rather

that the rush to get the story on the air without first verifying the authenticity of the documents was merely a sign of the decline of network news. Others called it a triumph of amateur blog (Web log) journalists, who had rushed to post stories questioning the authenticity of the documents while the 60 Minutes II broadcast was still on the air. Though Rather officially retired from the CBS Evening News anchor desk, he continued to serve as a 60 Minutes II correspondent. Just before his final broadcast, after twentyfour years on the air, Rather reflected on his long career as CBS’s leading newsperson. ‘‘My hope has always been, for all my flaws and weaknesses,’’ he told Cartwright in Texas Monthly, ‘‘that people will say this: ‘He wanted to be a reporter and he is.’ I think they know that I love this country.’’

For More Information Periodicals Allman, Paul Limbert. ‘‘The Frequency: Solving the Riddle of the Dan Rather Beating.’’ Harper’s (December 2001): p. 69. Auletta, Ken. ‘‘Sign-Off.’’ New Yorker (March 7, 2005): p. 48. Cartwright, Gary. ‘‘Dan Rather Retorting.’’ Texas Monthly (March 2005): p. 136. Gay, Jason. ‘‘Hurricane Dan’s Last Stand.’’ New York Observer (May 14, 2001): p. 1. Hagan, Joe. ‘‘Dan Rather to Bush: ‘Answer the Questions.’’’ New York Observer (September 20, 2004): p. 1. Morrow, Lance. ‘‘In the Kingdom of Television.’’ Time (February 8, 1988): p. 27. ‘‘Rather Identifies Man He Said Beat Him in ’86.’’ San Francisco Chronicle (January 30, 1997): p. A3. Zinoman, Jason. ‘‘Socking It to Dan Rather: A Nonpolitical Whodunit.’’ New York Times (October 29, 2004): p. E2.

Web Sites CBS Evening News: Dan Rather. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/ 2002/02/25/eveningnews/main502026.shtml (accessed on August 23, 2005). RatherBiased.com: Documenting America’s Most Politicized Journalist. http://www.ratherbiased.com (accessed on September 25, 2005).

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

391

Rilo Kiley

Rock band

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

T

he Los Angeles-based alternative-rock band Rilo Kiley cemented their reputation as a favorite among rock critics with the release of their 2004 album More Adventurous. Fronted by Jenny Lewis, a former child actor, the band’s introspective, musically complex songs won them a cult following early on in their career in the late 1990s, but the release of More Adventurous, their third record, on the Warner label gave them access to a much wider audience. Their songs have even appeared on the hit Fox teen drama The O.C.

Settled in southern California Rilo Kiley was formed when Lewis met guitarist/songwriter Blake Sennett in the mid-1990s. Born on January 8, 1977, Lewis shares a birthday with rock and roll icons David Bowie (1947–) and Elvis Presley (1935–1977). Show-business roots run

393

rilo kiley

deep in her family, on her mother’s side. ‘‘My grandparents were in vaudeville,’’ she told Times of London journalist Steve Jelbert, while ‘‘my parents had a lounge act in Las Vegas.’’ Her parents’ act was similar to that of Sonny (Bono; 1935–1998) and Cher (1946–), husband-and-wife musical stars of their own early 1970s television series. And Lewis’s parents, like Sonny and Cher, split up, both professionally and personally. Lewis had already made her professional debut as a three year old, when she was cast in a television commercial for Jell-O. After her parents divorced when she was around eight years old, Lewis moved from Las Vegas with her mother to southern

...................................................................................................................

‘‘You can still remain loyal to an indie spirit, but if you hope to reach more people, working with a major label is something to consider.::: If we hadn’t done it, we probably would have regretted it more.’’ Jenny Lewis, lead singer of Rilo Kiley

California and began working as a child actor. She appeared in television and film projects that included Life with Lucy, a shortlived 1986 television series in which she played the sitcom granddaughter of legendary comedienne Lucille Ball (1911–1989), and Foxfire, a 1996 teenage-girl vigilante flick that also starred a young Angelina Jolie (1975–). ‘‘Acting was my mother’s idea,’’ Lewis explained in an interview with Robert Sandall for London’s Daily Telegraph. ‘‘It was what I did to support the family.’’ Lewis began writing songs in her teens, inspired in part by her mother’s vast record collection heavy on female singer-songwriters, such as Bette Midler (1945–) and Barbra Streisand (1942–). Meeting Sennett was a turning point in her life when the two were introduced by a mutual friend, she told the

394

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

rilo kiley

Frontperson Jenny Lewis at a 2005 Rilo Kiley performance in California. Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images.

Philadelphia Inquirer’s Dan DeLuca. ‘‘Up until then it seemed really far-fetched that anyone would be interested in anything I had to say,’’ she remarked in the interview. Sennett, who grew up in San Diego, had some musical experience as a drummer for a Goth band in his teens, but he had also been a child television

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

395

rilo kiley

actor. He was a regular on Boy Meets World from 1994 to 1996 and also appeared in several episodes of NBC’s 3rd Rock from the Sun as Elman, a high school friend of the fictional alien-family’s son. ‘‘Even though we didn’t meet in an acting context, we shared a similar history,’’ Lewis recalled of their near-instantaneous bond in London’s Independent newspaper. ‘‘We felt failures as actors and we looked to each other for support.’’

Band forms in Los Angeles Lewis and Sennett wrote two songs the first day they ever spent together in 1995, and they had a dozen songs finished at the end of that first week. In 1998 they decided to formally start a band. With Lewis as the vocalist and Sennett playing guitar, they recruited Pierre de Reeder, a bassist who Sennett knew from high school, and Dave Rock, a drummer. The band began playing small clubs in the Los Angeles area, and then released a self-titled debut and CD, titled The Initial Friend, on their own label in 1999. From there they went on the road, once spending an eight-month stretch driving around the United States in a van and playing shows. Two Rilo Kiley songs were featured in a small independent film released in 1999, called Desert Blue, which starred Christina Ricci (1980–) and Kate Hudson (1979–). In 2000, Lewis and Sennett appeared as themselves and with the band performing in an episode of the television show Once and Again. The show’s creators were early fans of the band and invited them on to appear in a nightclub scene that had been written into the script of the ABC drama. In 2001 Rilo Kiley released Take Offs and Landings, on the Seattle, Washington-based Barsuk Records label. But two other milestones happened that year, with potentially band-ending consequences: Dave Rock left the band, and Lewis and Sennett ended their romantic relationship. They found a replacement drummer, Jason Boesel, but also decided to take a few months off as a band. When they went back into the studio, there was still some tension between members. Once, there was an argument and Lewis stormed out, but then, as Sennett recalled, he felt something hit him in the back. It was a CD. ‘‘She had come back in just to throw something at me!’’ he recounted to Fiona Sturges in an interview with the London Independent. ‘‘So, yeah,

396

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

rilo kiley

Former child star Blake Sennett found his calling as guitarist for Rilo Kiley. Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images.

there were fights. But ultimately I love her more than anyone else in the world, so it doesn’t matter. I think in the end we realised that it was music that brought us together, and it wasn’t something that we wanted to abandon.’’ Rilo Kiley’s next album, The Execution of All Things, marked their debut on an up-and-coming Nebraska label called

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

397

rilo kiley

Saddle Creek. Omaha had recently earned some buzz as the next big alternative-music-scene city, and the Saddle Creek label was also the home of a budding singer-songwriter Conor Oberst (1980–), an Omaha native who would go on to indierock fame with his band Bright Eyes in 2004. Boesel was an occasional member of Oberst’s band, and Oberst and Lewis became friends as well. The 2002 Rilo Kiley release earned a brief but career-making review in the New York Times in September 2002, with critic Kelefa Sanneh comparing it to their previous record, Take Offs and Landings, and finding it ‘‘just as sweet, but it’s more self-assured, more adventurous and much more appealing.’’ Sanneh also remarked that the band seemed to have evolved musically, and ‘‘the biggest change is in Ms. Lewis,’’ Sanneh wrote, ‘‘who has learned to wield her sugary voice as a weapon.’’

Band members pursue other projects Oftentimes Lewis’s voice has earned comparisons to that of country-and-western legend Loretta Lynn (1935–), and Lewis admits she is a fan of country music and has been since a childhood spent listening to her mother’s records. ‘‘What I’m drawn to is the simplicity of the songs but the complex nature of the lyrics,’’ she explained to Jelbert in the Times of London article. ‘‘There are so many great stories.’’ She still wrote songs on her own, but took some time off from Rilo Kiley to work with Ben Gibbard, of Death Cab for Cutie, members of which were Rilo Kiley’s former labelmates at Barsuk Records. That side project, called the Postal Service, released Give Up in early 2003, and the band toured the United States and Europe. Sennett also had taken some time off to pursue new musical directions. His band was called the Elected, and they released Me First in February 2004. Sennett had written the album’s songs, while Lewis’s work with the Postal Service had been limited to vocals, and she later admitted that Sennett’s announcement that he was making a solo project worried her. ‘‘I was really afraid that Blake would leave and find that he could do exactly what he wanted

398

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

rilo kiley

elsewhere,’’ she confessed to reporter Ben Wener. ‘‘But it turned out to be exactly the opposite. He took that experience and brought the best parts of it back to the band.’’ Rilo Kiley’s third record, More Adventurous, caused somewhat of a stir in the close-knit indie-rock community, for it marked the band’s major-label debut on Warner. They made the decision to leave Saddle Creek, they said, in order to reach a wider audience of potential fans, ‘‘have better distribution, and function as a band that wanted to do this for a little while,’’ they jointly told Sturges. The record was still recorded in Nebraska, during a particularly cold spell in the winter of 2003–04, and came out in August 2004. The title was taken from a lyric of Lewis’s, ‘‘I read that with every broken heart we should become more adventurous.’’ Its first single and an MTV video, ‘‘Portions for Foxes,’’ had a title borrowed from a biblical reference that had once caught Lewis’s interest, an assertion that in the end, humans become food for animals when they die, though their souls move on. She admitted that much of her inspiration came from literary sources. ‘‘I started out enjoying just singing but now the sound is less important to me,’’ she told Sandall in the Daily Telegraph. ‘‘It’s just a means to get the words out.’’

Critics love More Adventurous More Adventurous earned the band terrific reviews and was listed as one of the top ten releases of 2004 in several year-end critics’ polls. ‘‘It’s an intelligent and assured record, full of bitterly insightful lyrics that are as captivating as anything you’ll hear this year,’’ wrote Sturges. Her U.K. colleague in the Daily Telegraph asserted that ‘‘from the exuberantly ringing power pop of ‘Portions for Foxes’ to the country torch song ‘I Never,’ this collection marks Rilo Kiley’s coming of age as songwriters, arrangers and performers.’’ The Philadelphia Inquirer described Lewis as ‘‘a terrific conversational vocalist with a pert, agile soprano.’’ In the spring of 2005, Rilo Kiley played several wellattended shows, including the famed Coachella Festival in Indio, California, and the massive open-air Glastonbury

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

399

rilo kiley

From Child Stars to Rock Stars

Both Jenny Lewis and Blake Sennett were working actors in Hollywood during their childhood and teen years. Lewis made her television debut in a 1985 episode of The Twilight Zone, and Sennett’s came as Blake Soper in a Highway to Heaven episode during its 1986–87 season. Lewis went on to play troubled teens in several made-for-TV movies and won a supporting role in the 1998 Tobey MaguireReese Witherspoon feature film Pleasantville.

in the hit NBC series 3rd Rock from the Sun. ‘‘I wasn’t

Sennett’s most visible roles came in the Disney series Boy Meets World as Joey ‘‘The Rat’’ Epstein and

about it. ‘‘I feel grateful for the experience,’’ she

very good at acting but I looked young for my age,’’ he said years later in an interview with Fiona Sturges of London’s Independent newspaper. ‘‘A 14-year-old [child actor] can legally work twice the hours of a 10-year-old, so looking young improves your prospects. But I never enjoyed it.’’ Lewis also voiced mixed

feelings

about

her

early

work

when

Philadelphia Inquirer writer Dan DeLuca quizzed her reflected, ‘‘but I wouldn’t subject my children to it.’’

Festival in England. Even larger crowds turned out for the shows they played as the opening act for British chart-toppers Coldplay in late summer of 2005. Lewis’s own solo project, tentatively titled Rabbit Fur Coat was slated for a 2006 release on Oberst’s label, Team Love. On it, she worked with two Kentucky sisters, the Watson Twins, and assembled a tribute of sorts to a record from her mother’s collection of vinyl that Lewis loved to play as a child. Titled Gonna Take a Miracle, the work was an unusual collaboration between a well-known but forgotten 1960s songwriter, Laura Nyro (1947–1997) and Labelle, the funky-soul act once fronted by television star Patti Labelle (1944–). With their confessional lyrics and admissions to interviewers about the interpersonal difficulties they have experienced as a band over the years, there is little mystery about Rilo Kiley— except, it once seemed, for the origins of their name. They once said that it was in homage to two high school lovers, Ben Rilo and Stephen Kiley, who were football teammates but fulfilled a double suicide pact in 1909, but there is scant evidence of this story outside of articles and Web sites devoted to the band. Another rumor is that the name came from a dream that Sennett once had about an Irish person who foretold the day of

400

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

rilo kiley

Lewis’s death. ‘‘Different people make up different things, but it’s actually a name from an old sports almanac, from our bass player’s parent’s house,’’ Sennett finally said in an interview with Sarah Shanok for the New York Press. ‘‘It’s not a very good story, so we have to make up other stories. You can blow the whistle.’’

For More Information Periodicals DeLuca, Dan. ‘‘Rilo Kiley’s Lead Singer Leads with Her Heart.’’ Philadelphia Inquirer (May 27, 2005). Jelbert, Steve. ‘‘If at First You Succeed.:::’’ Times (London, England) (January 21, 2005): p. 15. Messing, Nicholas. ‘‘Classic Rock, Teen Pop Grown Up and One Surprisingly Slowly Brewed Comeback.’’ Interview (November 2002): p. 72. Sandall, Robert. ‘‘Dark and Interesting Corners.’’ Daily Telegraph (London, England) (January 22, 2005): p. 8. Sanneh, Kelefa. ‘‘An Appealing Mix of Bitter and Sweet.’’ New York Times (September 29, 2002): p. 29. Shanok, Sarah. ‘‘Highlights: Listings.’’ New York Press (October 5, 2004). Sturges, Fiona. ‘‘Rock & Pop: Just Good Friends.’’ Independent (London, England) (March 11, 2005): p. 14. Wener, Ben. ‘‘Three Albums on, California Band Rilo Kiley Finally Is Breaking Big.’’ Orange County Register (June 24, 2005).

Web Sites Rilo Kiley Web Site. http://www.rilokiley.net/history/ (accessed on August 23, 2005).

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

401

Meg Rosoff

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

Bruno Vincent/Getty Images.

1958

. Boston, Massachusetts Writer

Meg Rosoff made a remarkable debut as a fiction writer with her 2004 novel for young adults, How I Live Now. It won several awards, and reviewers recommended it as a suitable book for adult readers, too. The story takes place in a war-ravaged England of the present day or near future and follows the adventures of Daisy, an American teenager who has come to stay with her British cousins. War breaks out not long after she arrives, and an unnamed foreign army occupies England. Later, the cousins must separate, and Daisy struggles to keep both her and her young cousin alive on a dangerous trek back to the family farm. ‘‘Rarely does a writer come up with a first novel so assured, so powerful and engaging that you can be pretty sure that you will want to read everything that this author is capable of writing,’’ remarked critic Geraldine Bedell. ‘‘But that is what has happened with Meg Rosoff’s How I Live Now, which, even before publication, is being talked of as a likely future classic.’’

403

meg rosoff

Uneasy in suburbia Rosoff was born in the late 1950s in Boston, Massachusetts. Her family was of Ashkenazi heritage, the segment of the Jewish diaspora (the mass dispersion of the Jews from their ancestral homeland of ancient Israel) who settled in eastern and central Europe. Her father, a surgeon, taught medicine at Harvard University, while Rosoff’s mother was a psychiatric social worker. They lived in the Boston suburb of Newton, where Rosoff became a bookworm at an early age. ‘‘I knew my calling was writing at six or seven,’’ she recalled in an interview with Meg

...................................................................................................................

‘‘Teens may feel that they have experienced a war themselves as they vicariously witness Daisy’s worst nightmares . . . : Readers will emerge from the rubble much shaken.’’ Publishers Weekly review of How I Live Now

McCaffrey in School Library Journal. ‘‘Throughout my life, everyone would say, ‘You should write a novel.’ But, you know, I was never good at plot.’’ Rosoff was a self-described outcast in her teens, with curly hair when the fashion was for long and straight, and unathletic in a suburban setting where playing sports like tennis was a social obligation. ‘‘I was quite an uncomfortable teenager, very unattractive and looking for love,’’ she recalled in an interview with Benedicte Page for Bookseller. In high school, she applied to Princeton University for college, but was turned down for admission, and so she entered Harvard University instead, where she majored in English and fine arts. Even there, she told Page, she felt like an outsider. ‘‘I hated that smug, ‘We are Harvard and we are the best’ attitude,’’ she said in the Bookseller interview.

404

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

meg rosoff

Rosoff was happier when she took some time off from her Harvard studies to live in England and take classes at Central St. Martin’s College of Art and Design, a prestigious art school in London. She eventually returned to the United States, finished her degree, and settled in New York City, ‘‘and succumbed [gave in] to the fate of all bookish, over-educated girls: the Publishing Job,’’ she joked in an article she wrote for London’s Guardian newspaper. The piece chronicled her unhappy career experiences before she decided to write a novel: she was fired from her second job, spent two years at People magazine, and moved on to the New York Times with her former People boss. After that, she left journalism and publishing for the advertising world and spent fifteen years as a copywriter, both in New York City and then in London, to which she returned permanently in the late 1980s. But she rarely stayed at one company for very long. ‘‘I kept losing my job, mostly for being mouthy,’’ she confessed to Guardian writer Julia Eccleshare. ‘‘I sounded off about everything.’’

Tragedy prompts career change By 2001, Rosoff had married a painter—whom she had met during her first week in England in 1989—had a daughter, and was living in North London. She still worked, but asked for some time off from her job after her younger sister, Debby, died of breast cancer. She had an idea to write fiction, though she was unsure of how to do it. ‘‘I didn’t know anything about writing a novel although I’ve been a fanatical reader all my life,’’ she told Sunday Times journalist Amanda Craig. ‘‘I was used to writing what I thought were brilliant ads and then having a test-panel of housewives say they didn’t like them.’’ As a kid, Rosoff had loved novels and stories about teenage girls and their beloved horses, and so she wrote a similar tale in the summer of 2002 and sent it to a literary-agent friend of her husband’s. The agent passed on the story but asked to meet with Rosoff and suggested that she think about a different topic for her fiction. In the taxi on the way to that meeting, Rosoff came up with the idea for what became How I Live Now. ‘‘I was so

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

405

meg rosoff

grateful and so terrified, I wanted to impress her so much,’’ Rosoff said to Bookseller. ‘‘And right on the way into lunch, I had this idea for a mad, eccentric family and their cousin who comes to live with them.’’ The agent encouraged her to go ahead and start the project, but as Rosoff recalled in another interview, she was still unsure about how to do this. ‘‘What are the rules for writing a young adult novel?’’ she recalled asking the agent. ‘‘She told me there were no rules.’’ Three months later, Rosoff had completed the first draft of How I Live Now. Some of the wartime details were borrowed indirectly from the tales she heard from older Britons about their experiences during World War II (1939–45; war in which Great Britain, France, the United States, and their allies defeated Germany, Italy, and Japan). Other ideas were taken from presentday events, as British citizens grew nervous as United Kingdom forces readied to join a U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in early 2003 (U.S. president George W. Bush [1946–] and members of his administration believed that Saddam Hussein’s regime harbored weapons of mass destruction, and may have even aided al-Qaeda at some point before that group’s terrorist attacks in New York City and Washington, D.C., on September 11, 2001. The United Nations asked to see proof of this before permitting an invasion, but many leaders of other European nations were suspicious of the evidence presented.) The work was published by Penguin/Puffin Books in England in mid-2004, and in August of the same year in the United States by an imprint of Random House.

Novel set in wartime chaos Rosoff’s unlikely heroine is Daisy, a jaded New York City teen who has been treated for an eating disorder. Her mother died while giving birth to her, and her father has remarried. Daisy’s stepmother, whom she calls Davina the Diabolical, is pregnant, and as the due-date nears, Daisy’s father suggests a visit to meet her cousins from her mother’s side in England—a plan clearly designed to get her out of the way. As the novel begins Daisy arrives to stay with her Aunt Penn, her mother’s sister, and her four cousins. They live on a large rural property with goats and dogs and are a

406

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

meg rosoff

self-sufficient bunch unofficially headed by Obsert, the eldest boy. Next are twins, Edmond and Isaac, and a bossy nine-year-old girl named Piper. Daisy quickly notices that they all seem to be able to read one another’s minds. Aunt Penn leaves them alone when she travels to Norway to participate in a peace conference organized with the hope of preventing an international political crisis, but one day bombs rock London. Aunt Penn is stranded in the Scandinavian country as England is occupied by an unnamed enemy army. Daisy and Edmond, meanwhile, have fallen in love and are conducting a passionate love affair on the sly. The British Army seizes Aunt Penn’s house, and Daisy and Piper are sent off to live with a farm family some distance away, while another place is found for the three boys. In time, a civilian uprising breaks out, and the occupying army reacts swiftly and begins to terrorize the countryside in its door-to-door search for insurgents. The girls are helped by kindly British soldiers and allowed to stay in army barracks, but when the enemy moves closer, Daisy and Piper flee into the woods. Daisy knows that Edmond and his brothers are at a place called Gateshead Farm, and she and Piper set out to make their way there on foot. Thanks to Piper’s knowledge of edible plants, the girls are able to stretch their army food-supply kit provisions until they come upon the river they know will take them to the Gateshead Farm. They find a horrific scene there, with dozens of corpses littering the landscape, and decide to return to Aunt Penn’s house. There, they survive on the last remnants of the crops, and Daisy realizes that she has conquered the eating disorder—more an expression of her stubborn personality and unhappy home life, she freely admits—that had sent her into psychiatric care in her prior, pre-war life in New York. ‘‘One funny thing was that I didn’t look much different now from the day I arrived in England,’’ Daisy reflects, ‘‘but the difference was that now I ate what I could. Somewhere along the line I’d lost the will not to eat. . . . The idea of wanting to be thin in a world full of people dying from lack of good struck even me as stupid.’’

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

407

meg rosoff

Story reveals home hardships Though many of the political details of the war are unclear, there is a slow unfolding of events that serves to show how it came to affect the lives of Daisy and her cousins. Having to leave pets behind when their home is taken over by the British Army is just one detail. ‘‘I wanted readers to know what it was like to live through a war because I wanted them to get past the ‘over there’ syndrome,’’ Rosoff explained to Ilene Cooper in a Booklist article. ‘‘There’s such a tendency to look at people who aren’t like you and think they don’t suffer the way you do. The best letter I received was from a girl who said, ‘Your book made me realize what it was like to live in a country where there’s war.’ That’s exactly what I set out to do.’’ How I Live Now won two notable honors: the Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize in the United Kingdom, and the Michael L. Printz Award for excellence in literature for young adults from the American Library Association. Rosoff’s debut became one of the most highly recommended books of 2004 on both sides of the Atlantic, and the film rights were sold almost immediately upon publication. Though written as a young adult novel, many reviewers asserted that it possessed great ‘‘crossover’’ appeal for adult readers, too. Mark Haddon, one of the judges of the Guardian newspaper’s annual book awards and himself the author of a crossover novel, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, hailed it as ‘‘that rare, rare thing, a first novel with a sustained, magical and utterly faultless voice,’’ according to the London Evening Standard. Rosoff had also written a children’s picture book before setting out to write her first novel. Inspired in part by her young daughter, Rosoff penned a tale about a quartet of misbehaving boars, or wild pigs—Boris, Morris, Horace, and Doris—and the little boy and girl who try to point them in a more sociable direction. When the contract to publish Meet Wild Boars was finalized after an auction among British and American publishers, Rosoff quit her advertising job. The title was published in early 2005 in the United States, with illustrations from Sophie Blackall, whom Rosoff knew from her advertising days.

408

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

meg rosoff

Tragedy strikes again Yet as How I Live Now was winning rave reviews and literary honors, Rosoff was in the hospital undergoing treatment for breast cancer. She had been so busy in the pre-publication whirl that she missed her annual mammogram, the screening test for this form of cancer. ‘‘Then they found it,’’ she told the Sunday Times. ‘‘Two of my sisters have had a particularly aggressive form of the cancer. You don’t get a prognosis about whether you’re going to live. I’m halfway through my chemotherapy and with each dose it gets worse. It doesn’t hurt but you feel nauseated the week after so that even cranberry juice makes you feel sick because it’s the same colour as the medication.’’ Still, Rosoff’s realistic outlook and somewhat cynical nature helped her put her situation into perspective. ‘‘I’m not a worrier. When people rang up and said, ‘What a tragedy, your family is so unlucky,’ I said that I expected it,’’ she said. ‘‘You don’t get through life without something terrifying happening.’’ Rosoff plans to continue her second, far more satisfying career as an author. In the article she wrote for the Guardian about her years in advertising, she wrote that ‘‘the first question everyone asks is: Don’t you wish you’d done it sooner? And the obvious answer is: no. If I’d written my first novel 20 years ago, I’d still be trying to get it published today. It would have emerged tortured, humourless, and overlong; a thinly disguised autobiography attracting enough rejection to cause permanent psychological damage. . . . Above all, I wouldn’t have had the pleasure of not working in advertising—possibly the best thing about writing books. ’’

For More Information Books Rosoff, Meg. How I Live Now. New York: Wendy Lamb Books/ Random House, 2004.

Periodicals Bedell, Geraldine. ‘‘Review: Books: Fiction: Suddenly Last Summer.’’ Observer (London, England) (July 25, 2004): p. 16.

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

409

meg rosoff Cooper, Ilene. ‘‘Meg Rosoff.’’ Booklist (March 15, 2005): p. 1289. Craig, Amanda. ‘‘Suffering? It’s How I Live Now.’’ Sunday Times (London, England) (November 14, 2004): p. 5. Davey, Douglas P. Review of How I Live Now. School Library Journal (September 2004): p. 216. Eccleshare, Julia. ‘‘Saturday Review: Childrens Fiction.’’ Guardian (London, England) (October 9, 2004): p. 33. ‘‘Living It Up.’’ Bookseller (November 19, 2004): p. 15. Mattson, Jennifer. ‘‘Review of How I Live Now.’’ Booklist (September 1, 2004): p. 123. McCaffrey, Meg. ‘‘Answering the Call.’’ School Library Journal (March 2005): p. 46. Page, Benedicte. ‘‘Living Through Wartime.’’ Bookseller (June 4, 2004): p. 28. Review of How I Live Now. Publishers Weekly (July 5, 2004): p. 56. Review of Meet Wild Boars. Publishers Weekly (March 28, 2005): p. 78. Rosoff, Meg. ‘‘Saturday Review: Commentary: How I Jumped out of the Sack Race.’’ Guardian (London, England) (November 20, 2004): p. 7. Sexton, David. ‘‘Dabbling in Disaster.’’ Evening Standard (London, England) (August 2, 2004): p. 65.

Web Sites Bookbrowse: Author Biography. http://www.bookbrowse.com/ biographies/index.cfm?author_number=1059 (accessed on August 23, 2005).

410

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

Angela Ruggiero

January 3, 1980

. Panorama City,

. .

U X L newsmakers

Sven Nackstrand/AFP/Getty Images.

. volume 6

California

Hockey player

Angela Ruggiero made hockey history in 2005 when she skated onto the ice wearing a Tulsa Oilers jersey during a home game of the Central Hockey League team. That January night, she became the first woman ever to play a non-goalie position during a men’s professional hockey match in North America. Ruggiero is a twotime Olympic skilled defense player, and she is considered one of the most impressive new women athletes in the sport. As her college career on Harvard University’s women’s team came to a close in 2004, she was honored with the Patty Kazmaier Award, given to the top women’s college hockey player in the United States.

Joins brother in youth league Ruggiero was not the only member of her family to make hockey history at Tulsa’s Maxwell Convention Center during that 2005 game: Her brother, Bill Ruggiero (1981–), is the Oilers’ goalie,

411

angela ruggiero

and together they became the first brother-sister combination ever to play on the same team in professional hockey. Bill is thirteen months younger than Angela, who was born on January 3, 1980, and was the reason his father, also named Bill, went to the Pasadena Ice Chalet one day in 1987 to sign him up for a youth hockey league. The family lived in Simi Valley, a part of Ventura County that borders the large San Fernando Valley of greater Los Angeles. Bill Sr. was originally from Connecticut, where he had played hockey during his own childhood. He was surprised to learn how expensive the game had become, even at the youth level, but was told that the Pasadena league offered a

...................................................................................................................

‘‘If the young girls saw the hitting right away, I think they would be frightened and not get involved. Right now, the women’s game is developing an identity of its own.’’ family discount—the more siblings who enrolled, the cheaper the fee per child. Bill Sr. decided to sign up his son as well as Angela and her sister Pam that day. Angela Ruggiero didn’t yet know how to skate, but she proved a quick learner. ‘‘When I first stepped out on the ice, I started to cry,’’ she recalled in an interview with the Daily News. ‘‘Then somebody told me to hold onto the boards and push my feet forward, and by the time I left (practice) I knew how to skate.’’ She emerged as a strong player and even a fearless one rather quickly. ‘‘She was pretty tough,’’ a former coach, Scott Plummer, told the Daily News. ‘‘She was the only girl I coached, and she was one of our top players.’’ At the age of thirteen, Ruggiero began playing on an allgirls’ team in suburban Los Angeles. Her skills on the ice remained above average, and she became known as ‘‘the Terminator.’’ When she was fourteen, her parents moved to

412

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

angela ruggiero

Milestones in Women’s Hockey 1890:

The

daughter

of

Lord

Stanley

(1841–1908), the Governor General of Canada, is photographed playing hockey with her brothers on the rink at Rideau Hall, the official Ottawa residence of the Governor General. Lord Stanley is an important promoter of the sport in Canada, and later the championship cup of the National Hockey League will be named in his honor. 1892: Barrie, Ontario is the site of the first organized all-women’s hockey game. 1894: A women’s team formed at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, is criticized by some school authorities as inappropriate. The women play in turtleneck sweaters and ankle-length wool skirts over their skates. 1920s–1930s: Women’s hockey becomes popular in Canada, and a league takes shape. A southwestern Ontario powerhouse, the Preston Rivulettes dominate the ice in the 1930s. Between 1930 and 1939, when a coming world war brought an end to the league, the Rivulettes enjoy an astonishing run, losing just two games out of 350 played.

1970s: Female hockey programs gain popularity across Canada and at U.S. colleges and universities. 1982: The first national championship for women’s ice hockey is held in Canada. 1990: The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) establishes the Women’s World Championship series. The Canadian team wins nearly every year. 1990–91: USA Hockey, the governing body for amateur ice hockey in the United States, counts 2,700 female players in the sport. 1992: Olympic officials announce that women’s hockey will become a medal sport at the 1998 Winter Games scheduled to be held in Nagano, Japan. 1993–94: USA Hockey counts 6,300 female players. 1997–98: USA Hockey reports 23,010 female players were counted for the season. 1998: Women’s hockey becomes an Olympic medal sport at the Winter Games in Nagano, Japan, with the U.S. women winning a stunning victory over the Canadian national team.

1956: An Ontario Supreme Court decision bars a nine-year-old girl, Abby Hoffman, from a youth

1999: Canada’s National Women’s Hockey League (NWHL) is founded.

league. Hoffman had cut her hair short and pretended to be a boy in order to play. When she was caught and cut from the team, her parents challenged the league’s ‘‘boys only’’ rule, but the league’s policy was upheld by the

2003: Hayley Wickenheiser (1978–), a former Canadian national women’s team player and three-time Olympian, joins the Kirkkonummi Salamat, a men’s professional team in Finland. She becomes the first woman to score a point in a male professional hockey league.

provincial high court. 1967: The first Dominion Ladies Hockey Tournament is held in Brampton, Ontario.

. .

2005: Number of U.S. female hockey players reaches 52,469.

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

413

angela ruggiero

Michigan, but she wanted to play high school hockey at a school with a strong women’s program and chose a prestigious private school, Choate Rosemary Hall in Wallingford, Connecticut. She spent the next four years there, seeing her parents only on school holidays or when they came to visit her in Connecticut. Though the school did not offer athletic scholarships, it did provide financial aid for students to help with the tuition costs that reached $35,360 in the 2004–05 academic year. Its alumni include U.S. president John F. Kennedy (1917–1963; served 1961–63), and Ruggiero attended the school around the same time as Ivanka Trump (1981–), daughter of Manhattan real-estate mogul Donald Trump (1946–) and Amanda Hearst, an heiress of the Hearst newspaper fortune.

Wins Olympic gold By the time she reached Choate, Ruggiero was so skilled a player that she easily won a place on the girls’ varsity team, and she was its only freshman member. The team went on to win a league championship with her help, and she also perfected her game by playing on a club team, Connecticut Polar Bears Pee-Wees, one of the top girls’ teams in the country in the thirteen-to-fifteen (Pee Wee) division. The Polar Bears won the U.S. National Women’s Championship in 1995, and that same year Ruggiero earned a spot on the U.S. national junior team. At the age of fifteen, she became the youngest player on the 1996 U.S. women’s national hockey team. ‘‘It’s a great feeling to make a team like that even though I’m still so young,’’ Ruggiero told Vincent Bonsignore of the Daily News. ‘‘I earned my spot on the team and I earned their respect.’’ During her years at Choate, Ruggiero earned excellent grades and served as class president for three of her four years there. On the ice, she set several school records, including the most goals (40), assists (23), and points (63). Olympic-level hockey was the next step, and she won a spot on the U.S. women’s Olympic ice hockey team for the 1998 Winter Games at Nagano, Japan. Her teammates included several young women she had known from the previous national team, including Cammi Granato (1971–), another leading American player.

414

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

angela ruggiero

The Nagano Games marked the first time that women’s ice hockey became a full-medal Olympic sport, which was a significant milestone for the game and its growing numbers of female players. The U.S. team beat Canada for the gold medal that year, a stunning victory against a Canadian women’s powerhouse team that they had lost to in every major tournament before that. As one of the top American players of her gender, Ruggiero was courted by the women’s hockey programs of several prominent universities, and she chose Harvard over Brown, Dartmouth, and the University of Minnesota. She majored in anthropology at Harvard, but took a year-long break to train for the 2002 Olympics, which were held in Salt Lake City, Utah. She was selected as one of the eight athletes who would carry the American flag during the opening ceremonies. This flag, however, was special: it was a tattered one that had been found in the rubble of the World Trade Center after September 11, 2001 (the devastating attacks on the New York City skyscraper towers as well as the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., that were carried out by members of al-Qaeda). The flag-bearers were chosen because of some personal connection to the tragedy. In Ruggiero’s case, her friend and U.S. national teammate Kathleen Kauth (1979–) had lost her father in the World Trade Center attack. Three months after the disaster, Kauth was cut from the U.S. women’s Olympic team when it had to be reduced to twenty members. Ruggiero was honored to take Kauth’s place as a flag-bearer in the opening ceremonies, which she described to Matt McHale as ‘‘a powerful moment, so emotional. One of the policemen nearby told me to be strong. Then the Mormon Tabernacle Choir sang the national anthem like I’ve never heard it.’’

Earns Harvard degree Ruggiero and her Olympic teammates won the silver medal at the 2002 Salt Lake City Games, losing the gold to the strong Canadian women’s team. They had been favored to win the gold again, however, because the U.S. team, on a year-long international tour, had compiled a 32–0 record and beat the Canadians a total of eight times over the last few months. Now in her early twenties and no longer the youngest player on the

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

415

angela ruggiero

Angela Ruggiero handles the puck during a game in the 2005 Women’s World Ice Hockey Championships. Jeff Gross/ Getty Images.

team, Ruggiero earned high marks from sportswriters for her athleticism and grace on the ice. McHale called her development ‘‘a successful blend of speed with a physical style rarely seen in the women’s game. In the NHL, they call it playing with an edge.’’ Ruggiero returned to her studies at Harvard in 2002. The 2003–04 season was her final one and her team made it to postseason play, the National Collegiate Athletic Association women’s hockey semifinals and finals that are known as the ‘‘Frozen Four.’’ Harvard lost the championship to the University of Minnesota, 6–2, but once again Ruggiero ended

416

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

angela ruggiero

her school career as a record-holder at Harvard. She racked up honors for the most goals scored by a defensive player in a single game (5), most goals by a defensive player in a season (29), most goals by a defensive player in a career (79), and another record for most points by a defensive player in a career (214). That last one is thought to be a collegiate best for players of either gender. Ruggiero also finished her collegiate career as the winner of the 2004 Patty Kazmaier Award, given to the best women’s collegiate hockey player in the country. The award is named in honor of a top 1980s Princeton University player who died in 1990. After graduation, Ruggiero spent some time with her family in suburban Detroit, but she joined the Tulsa Oilers for one game in January 2005 thanks to her brother, Bill. He had turned professional in 2002 and was the goalie for the Oilers, a team in the Central Hockey League. This is a ‘‘minors’’ professional league, in comparison to the major-league National Hockey League (NHL). The team found itself short a player on the defensive line, and Bill jokingly suggested to his teammates that his sister should fill in. Team executives liked the idea, and Ruggiero was signed to a one-game contract. She skated onto the ice on January 28, 2005, in a match against the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees. She had one assist, the statistical record for one or two players who pass the puck to a teammate, who scores a goal with it in next shot.

Rejoins brother on the ice Ruggiero entered the record books for women’s hockey as the first woman to play in a professional game outside of the goalie crease. In 1992, Manon Rhe´aume (1972–) played one pre-season game as goalie for the Tampa Bay Lightning; four years later Erin Whitten took an eighteen-second ceremonial skate with a team in the minor United Hockey League (UHL), the Flint Generals of Michigan. But Ruggiero was the first to play a regular-season game as a full team member, though it was just a one-time event. She and Bill were also the first brother-sister combination in professional hockey, and they even appeared in a segment on NBC’s highly rated morning news broadcast, The Today Show. Ruggiero told correspondent Kevin Tibbles that

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

417

angela ruggiero

she would be skating for all women players that day. ‘‘They’re here to see if I can keep up with the boys,’’ she joked, but she also called it the ‘‘chance of a lifetime. I’m just going to go out there the last shift and get a point. And then be able to go down and tap my brother on the pads and give him a hug, you know. I’ll remember that for the rest of my life.’’ Later that year, in April 2005, Ruggiero scored the winning goal that determined the champion of the Women’s World Ice Hockey Championships in an overtime shootout, when each team sends five players to take their turn trying to score against the opposing team’s goalie. Once again, Ruggiero’s U.S. team had reached the finals with their Canadian archrivals, and this time won their first-ever victory in the Women’s World Ice Hockey Championships since this International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) women’s tournament began in 1990. Ruggiero had also spent the year wearing her number 4 jersey with the East Coast Wizards, an elite Boston-area women’s team that often played against top Junior men’s teams. Though a women’s professional hockey league was a hoped-for goal for Ruggiero and her former Olympic and national teammates, she was thrilled that hockey had brought her so many riches already. She had received a terrific education and traveled around the world to play the game she loved. ‘‘I’ve had all this opportunity,’’ she reflected in a Sports Illustrated for Women interview. ‘‘Our family didn’t have much money, but my dad’s and mom’s paychecks went to hockey. I was brought up to appreciate things. Most of my friends at Harvard have tons of money and travel all the time. My sister’s never been out of the country, unless you count Canada.’’

For More Information Periodicals Bonsignore, Vincent. ‘‘Ice-Hockey Prodigy Skating Her Way to Fame.’’ Daily News (Los Angeles) (April 10, 1996): p. T4. Connolly, John. ‘‘Harvard’s Ruggiero Top of the Line.’’ Boston Herald (December 8, 2003): p. 80. ‘‘Facing Up: She’s a Girl Not a Goon.’’ Tampa Tribune (February 8, 1998): p. 1.

418

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

angela ruggiero Farber, Michael. ‘‘Her Body of Work.’’ Sports Illustrated for Women (January 1, 2001): p. 94. Fees, Jarre. ‘‘Breaking the Ice.’’ Daily News (Los Angeles) (January 17, 1998): p. S1. International Wire. ‘‘The Today Show transcript for Tuesday, February 1, 2005.’’ McHale, Matt. ‘‘Simi Product Plays Hockey ‘With an Edge.’’’ Daily News (Los Angeles) (February 12, 2002): p. S1. Pote, Jamie. ‘‘March Madness; Harvard Notebook; Ruggiero Ends Career at Top of Her Game.’’ Boston Herald (March 29, 2004): p. 86.

Web Sites Angela Ruggiero. http://gocrimson.collegesports.com/sports/w-hockey/ mtt/ruggiero_angela00.html (accessed on August 23, 2005). Girls’/Women’s Hockey. http://www.usahockey.com/girlswomen/main_ site/main/home/ (accessed on August 23, 2005).

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

419

Maria Sharapova

April 19, 1987

. Nyagan,

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

ª Horacio Villalobos/Corbis.

Siberia, Soviet Union

Tennis player

I

n the summer of 2004, seventeen-year-old Maria Sharapova became the first Russian player to win Wimbledon, the prestigious tennis event that takes place every summer in London, England. Wimbledon is one of the four Grand Slam events in tennis, along with the U.S., French, and Australian Open tournaments, and winners of these contests have triumphed over the best players in the world. Sharapova, who had spent much of her life in Florida at a renowned tennis academy, was the third youngest champion in Wimbledon history, and her women’s singles Wimbledon title came with a $1 million prize purse. Afterward, she was signed to a number of product endorsement deals. By the summer of 2005, she had won a spot on Forbes magazine’s Celebrity 100 list as the highest paid female athlete in the world.

421

maria sharapova

Says good-bye to mother Born on April 19, 1987, Sharapova is the daughter of Yuri and Yelena Sharapova. Her father worked in the construction industry, and both parents were avid athletes. They had met in Gomel, a city in the Ukraine that was near the Chernobyl nuclear reactor, the site of the world’s worst nuclear accident in April 1986, just a year before Sharapova was born. When her mother became pregnant, she and Yuri decided to move east to escape the potentially damaging radioactive effects of the accident. They settled in Nyagan, Siberia, where Sharapova was born. Yuri

...................................................................................................................

‘‘Tennis obviously is going to make my money at this point, and that’s what I’ve been practicing for. But it’s not my life.’’ found work in the Siberian oilfields, but the climate was too cold for them. They saved their money for four years and finally were able to move to Sochi, a pleasant resort town on the Black Sea in the south of Russia. Sharapova’s parents liked to play tennis, and they gave her a racket as a toddler and began teaching her how to hit the ball. Because they could not afford a genuine child-size racket, they cut off the handle of an adult one for her to master instead. She proved a quick learner, and when she was six years old they traveled to Moscow for a youth tennis clinic. One of the celebrity athletes at the event was Czech-born Martina Navratilova (1956–), a nine-time women’s singles winner at Wimbledon. Navratilova was impressed by Sharapova’s skills and suggested to the parents that they contact the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Bradenton, Florida. This was a tennis-focused boarding school that had trained several future champions, including Andre Agassi (1970–), Pete Sampras (1971–), and Monica Seles (1973–).

422

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

maria sharapova

The Sharapovas decided to go to Florida and try to get Maria enrolled there. But only Yuri could get a visa (a document permitting a foreign citizen to legally enter the country) to travel to the United States, and so Yelena stayed behind in Sochi and waited for her visa application to be approved. They also needed money for the trip and had to borrow several hundred dollars from Yuri and Yelena’s parents. This was an enormous sum for her parents, partly because Russia was in a state of financial chaos at the time, and average working families like hers struggled to obtain the basic necessities of life in the new, non-Communist era in which the state did not generously provide jobs, housing, and healthcare for all citizens. ‘‘My parents weren’t stupid,’’ Sharapova told Peter Kafka in Forbes. ‘‘The conditions in Russia weren’t the best for tennis.’’

Wins scholarship In 1994 Sharapova and her father arrived at the Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Bradenton, but they were told that admission to the school was by invitation only, and that the seven-year-old girl was too young to enter anyway. They remained in Florida, and a coach was found for her while her father worked as a waiter and took odd jobs to support them. She learned English in just four months, and her tennis skills steadily improved. At the age of nine, she and her father went back to the Bollettieri Academy, and she proved herself so well on a tryout that she was given a full scholarship to the $46,000-a-year school. The Academy was part of the International Management Group (IMG), a talent agency that handled the careers of entertainers and athletes, and its scouts likely recognized Sharapova’s potential for future stardom. Around this same time, Yelena Sharapova finally received her visa and was able to join her husband and daughter, ending a two-year separation. But when Sharapova entered the Bollettieri Academy, she had to live in its boarding school. She later hinted in interviews that it was a tough, competitive atmosphere, and she was sometimes the target of bullying by the older girls. Her days included regular academic classes and as many as six hours a day on the tennis courts in practice sessions. At the age of eleven, she signed on with coach Robert Lansdorp, who had

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

423

maria sharapova

Perhaps the World’s Poshest Sporting Event

Maria

Sharapova’s stunning victory over

Serena Williams (1981–) at Wimbledon in 2004 made the Russian-born player the third youngest winner in the history of the tournament. Wimbledon, watched by millions of television viewers all over the world, is considered one of the world’s most prestigious sporting events. Officially, the Grand Slam event is known as ‘‘The Championships, Wimbledon,’’ and is held annually in the town of Wimbledon, a part of the Greater London metropolitan area. The first Wimbledon tennis championship was held in the summer of 1877, and the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club was its sponsor. The event included only men’s singles, though they were known for many years as ‘‘gentlemen’s’’ singles. Ladies’ singles and gentlemen’s doubles events were added in 1884. The present rye-grass courts of Wimbledon, located off Church Road, have been host to the annual event since 1922. There are nineteen courts in all, with Centre Court hosting the finals matches. But the grass surface has proved an extremely difficult one for some of the world’s top-ranked players, because the ball’s bounce is not as high as on a clay court. Players who

adopt the serve-and-volley technique—in which they make their serve, then rush toward the net to hit the next shot as a volley—tend to fare better on grass courts. Wimbledon still has many quaint English traditions. All umpires, officials, and court associates wear uniforms of the official Wimbledon colors, green and purple. The dress code for players is a strict one, with tennis whites strongly suggested, and female players are still referred to as ‘‘Miss’’ or ‘‘Mrs.’’ in official announcements. Until 2003, all Centre Court players had to bow or curtsy toward the Royal Box, where members of the Royal Family watch the game, when they came onto the court. Now they are expected to do so only if the Queen or the Prince of Wales is in the Royal Box that day. Rain delays, common to the English summer, often delay matches for hours or even days. Strawberries and cream are the unofficial snack food of the event. Members of the British royal family are not the only famous faces in the Wimbledon crowd. Movie stars, heads of state, and celebrity athletes from other sports can also be spotted. The most photographed couple in 2005 were film stars Jude Law (1972–) and his fiance´e, Sienna Miller (1981–).

guided the careers of Sampras as well as Tracy Austin (1962–), a two-time U.S. Open winner, and Lindsay Davenport (1976–), who won three Grand Slam events between 1998 and 2000. Sharapova also signed with IMG around this time, and this paved the way for her first deal with Nike, the athletic shoe and clothing maker. Sharapova won her first junior championship title at the age of thirteen. Two years later, she made it to the finals of the Australian Open Junior championship, which was her best ranking in tennis to date, and entered her first adult professional

424

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

maria sharapova

tournament in Tokyo, Japan, in September 2003. In the finals of that event, she defeated Aniko Kapros (1983–) of Hungary. A month later, she won an event in Quebec City, Canada, and in June 2004 beat Tatiana Golovin (1988–), a fellow Russian player and former Bollettieri schoolmate, at a Birmingham, England tournament.

Makes tennis history Two weeks later, Sharapova made her second appearance at Wimbledon. She had played it a year earlier, in 2003, but lost in an early round to Svetlana Kuznetsova (1985–), another emerging Russian player. When Sharapova began at Wimbledon in 2004, she was ‘‘seeded,’’ or ranked by the Wimbledon executive committee, as thirteenth among women players in the world. This meant that there were twelve other players with more wins, and more experience on the court, but she steadily advanced through the quarterfinals and semifinals. She became the first Russian tennis player to reach a Wimbledon final since 1974, when a woman named Olga Morosova did so. Of the four Grand Slam events, the Wimbledon tournament is the only one that is played on a grass court, not a clay one. It seemed to give Sharapova an advantage, noted New York Times writer Christopher Clarey. ‘‘Sharapova’s big game is ideally suited to grass,’’ Clarey asserted. ‘‘She hits relatively flat, favors slice serves over high-kicking topspin serves and clearly enjoys moving on a surface that leaves many players frustrated.’’ In the women’s singles finals, Sharapova beat two-time Wimbledon champion Serena Williams (1981–). At seventeen years and two months, Sharapova became the third youngest winner in the history of Wimbledon, which dated back to 1877. At the posttournament press conference, she said that ‘‘it’s always been my dream to come here and to win,’’ the New York Times report quoted her as saying, ‘‘but it was never in my mind that I would do it this year.’’ Sharapova became an instant international celebrity. Sportswriters announced that she could be the next major women’s star in tennis, and her win was notable for what some

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

425

maria sharapova

Maria Sharapova stretches to return a forehand from Venus Williams in their women’s singles semi-final match at the 2005 Wimbledon Championships. ª Kieran Doherty/Reuters/Corbis.

believed to be the end of an era for the Williams sisters, Serena, and her equally talented sister Venus (1980–): when Sharapova beat Serena at Wimbledon, it marked the first time since 1999 that neither Williams sister was holding a Grand Slam singles title. Sports Illustrated put Sharapova on its July 19 cover, and a week later featured a lengthy article on her rise to the top of her game. Writer L. Jon Wertheim called her ‘‘ebullient, bilingual and hyperconfident—not to mention tall, blonde and beautiful,’’ and asserted she ‘‘had suddenly become, as Martina Navratilova put it, ‘the best thing that could have happened’ to women’s tennis.’’

Eliminated at next Grand Slam event The U.S. Open was the next Grand Slam event in the 2004 season. This contest is held in Flushing Meadows, New York, just outside

426

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

maria sharapova

New York City. Anticipation among tennis lovers to see how Sharapova would do ran high as the event got underway. She did poorly, however, losing to Mary Pierce (1975–) in the third round. Later that year, Sharapova’s game improved, and she beat Serena Williams at the season-ending Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) Tour Championship. Sharapova had spent some of the rain delays at Wimbledon studying for her high school diploma, which she earned with the help of an online curriculum program for home-schooled students. In April 2005 she celebrated her eighteenth birthday in New York City at a trendy nightclub called Hiro. The bash was paid for by cellphone maker Motorola, with whom she had signed an endorsement deal just after her Wimbledon victory the year before. It was one of several generous contracts that Sharapova’s IMG agent negotiated for her. These included a renewal of the Nike endorsement, a deal with camera-maker Canon, another with luxury-watch maker Tag Heuer, and one with personal-care products giant ColgatePalmolive. There was even her own fragrance line in the works. The combined endorsement deals gave Sharapova an income of $18.2 million, according to Forbes magazine, which ranked her as fifty-seventh on its ‘‘Celebrity 100’’ list in June 2005. Sharapova spent $2.7 million of those earnings on a 4,700square-foot home for herself and her parents in Bradenton, Florida. She continued to train for more Grand Slam events over the winter. In early 2005, she lost in the semifinals of the Australian Open to Serena Williams, and at Stade Roland Garros, the red-clay court Paris stadium that hosts the French Open every May, she lost in the quarterfinals to Belgium’s Justine Henin-Hardenne (1982–). At Wimbledon a month later, she failed to keep her title, losing in the semifinals to Venus Williams. ‘‘I don’t think I played my best tennis,’’ she told reporters at the post-game press conference. She also said that Williams had ‘‘hit a lot of hard, deep balls. She was serving consistently big.’’

‘‘I’m not the new anyone’’ Sharapova is often compared to Anna Kournikova (1981–), a slightly older Russian player, also an attractive blonde like

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

427

maria sharapova

Sharapova, who was hailed as the next big star when she was just sixteen years old. Kournikova also won a number of well-paying endorsement contracts early in her career but, unlike Sharapova, failed to win any major titles in tennis. Known for her romances with hockey player Sergei Federov (1969–) and pop singer Enrique Iglesias (1975–), Kournikova played her last major tennis tournament in April 2003. Serious analysts of the sport, however, note there are few similarities between the two Russian players beyond their model-like, blonde looks. Sharapova has sometimes responded to the comparisons with a sharp remark in interviews. ‘‘I’m not the new anyone and certainly not the new Kournikova,’’ she said in a Times article during Wimbledon 2004. ‘‘I’m the new Maria Sharapova. People seem to forget that Anna isn’t in the picture any more. It’s Maria time now. You cannot compare us anyway. After all, she never won a single tournament.’’ Sharapova hopes to take her second women’s singles title at Wimbledon and perhaps even a ‘‘Grand Slam’’—winning Wimbledon plus the Australian, French, and U.S. Opens in the same year. No other female player has done so since German champion Steffi Graf (1969–) in 1988. Sharapova also looks forward to a career beyond tennis. She has done some modeling, is a devoted reader of fashion magazines, and has even helped design some of her court outfits with Nike. Fashion design might even be a career option when she retires from tennis, which she told Vogue writer Dodie Kazanjian she planned to do in her mid-twenties. Acting would be another option. ‘‘Nothing scares me,’’ she told Kazanjian, ‘‘because I’m not worried about failure. You never know until you try. So if you don’t try, you’ve failed. All I know is, I’m starving to be the best.’’

For More Information Periodicals Burt, Jason. ‘‘Tennis: Wimbledon 2004: Girl Who Came in from the Cold after Friday Night Fever.’’ Independent Sunday (London, England) (July 4, 2004): p. 2. Clarey, Christopher. ‘‘Sharapova Conquers Wimbledon.’’ New York Times (July 4, 2004): p. SP1. Kafka, Peter. ‘‘The Hot Shot.’’ Forbes (July 4, 2005): p. 116.

428

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

maria sharapova Kazanjian, Dodie. ‘‘The New Hit Girl.’’ Vogue (March 2005): p. 544. Price, S.L. ‘‘Youth Movement.’’ Sports Illustrated (July 7, 2003): p. 72. Roberts, John. ‘‘Tennis: Wimbledon 2005: Williams Rolls Back the Years to Dethrone Golden Sharapova.’’ Independent (London, England) (July 1, 2005): p. 72. Wertheim, L. Jon. ‘‘A Star (Who Happens to Be a Gorgeous 6-Foot Blonde with Blistering Strokes) Is Born.’’ Sports Illustrated (July 26, 2004): p. 58. Woolcock, Nicola, and Ashling O’Connor. ‘‘Living the Dream from Siberia to SW19.’’ Times (London, England) (July 3, 2004): p. 3.

Web Sites Maria Sharapova (RUS). http://www.wtatour.com/players/playerprofiles/PlayerBio.asp?ID=&EntityID=1&CustomerID=0&Order ID=0&ReturnURL=/&PlayerID=310137 (accessed on August 23, 2005).

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

429

Jeff Skoll

.

Montreal, Quebec, Canada

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

Mark Mainz/Getty Images.

January 16, 1965

Philanthropist, chief executive officer

Jeff Skoll was the first employee of the online auction Web site eBay. As president during its crucial early years of the mid-1990s, Skoll was a key player in the growth of the company from one of the first financial phenomenons of the new Internet age to a literal online community, with millions of users around the world. But Skoll, a Canadian with a strong social conscience, bowed out of the business world at an early age and began to devote his time to philanthropy, or donating large sums of his personal wealth to worthy charitable causes. He still holds a stake in eBay, just less than 8 percent, and in 2005 those personal stock holdings were valued at $3.7 billion. With his wealth he has funded the Skoll Foundation, which has over $500 million in assets. The foundation gives grants to socially responsible business ventures and funds charitable projects around the world.

431

jeff skoll

Father’s illness a turning point Skoll was born in January 1965 in the French-Canadian city of Montreal. He was in his teens when his family moved to Toronto, Ontario, where his father owned a company that supplied industrial chemicals to businesses. His dad came home one day with news that he had been diagnosed with cancer of the kidney. ‘‘I remember my dad saying that he wasn’t so sad that he might die, but he was sad that he’d never done the things that he’d wanted to do in life,’’ Skoll recalled in an interview with Thomas Watson for Canadian Business. His father survived the illness, but the event had a lasting impact on Skoll, who was a teenager at the time. He

...................................................................................................................

‘‘I never really expected to have a ton of money. As it happened, eBay kind of worked out.’’ vowed that he would never face the same dilemma, the realization that he had put his career ahead of his personal goals. Skoll wanted to become a writer. He thought, however, that he should first earn enough money to live comfortably, so that he could pursue that goal without the stress of needing to succeed financially in it. With the idea of making some money during his twenties and then retiring early, he studied electrical engineering at the University of Toronto. After he earned his degree in 1987, he founded a computer consulting firm, and he also had a lucrative computer rental business. Realizing that he was short on the management skills needed to run a successful business, he went back to school and earned a Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) degree. He was accepted into the prestigious graduate business school of Stanford University in Palo Alto, California. Moving to America was something of a culture shock for Skoll. Though there were street people in Canadian cities like Toronto, he was stunned to see the numbers of homeless in nearby San Francisco and even in smaller cities clustered south

432

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

jeff skoll

of the San Francisco Bay Area, where U.S. high-tech companies were flourishing. Individual Canadians, and Canadian businesses, paid higher taxes than their American counterparts, and those tax dollars funded a social service network designed to help the disadvantaged; they also helped to finance a universal health care system for all. Skoll became editor of the Stanford business school’s student newspaper, The Reporter, and began to write about the gap between the rich and the poor in the world, and what a new generation of business-school graduates—his generation—might do to close it.

‘‘A stupid idea’’ Skoll earned his M.B.A. degree from Stanford in 1995. He took a job in nearby San Jose with Knight-Ridder Information, a division of the American newspaper chain, as manager of its distribution channels. That same year, a casual acquaintance of his, a computer programmer named Pierre Omidyar (1967–), launched an Internet site he called Auction Web. Omidyar had written a unique software program for it, and he thought that he might be able to use sales of that software to finance a larger online empire of Internet-user services. One day, he told Skoll about his plan. ‘‘First he told me it was a stupid idea,’’ Omidyar recalled in an article he wrote about Skoll for Time International, ‘‘and then he agreed to come on board.’’ Omidyar initially hired Skoll to write a business plan, a lengthy formal document that fledgling entrepreneurs must show to bank loan officers or potential private investors. When eBay was officially born as a company late in 1995, Skoll was the first employee listed on the payroll. The eBay name came from Omidyar’s first company, Echo Bay Consulting Services, and he and Skoll saw it as merely the name of the holding company for the planned empire. But eBay’s auction site began to catch on quickly, gaining thousands of new users each month. Most were buyers and sellers of various collectibles, such as the popular Beanie Baby toys, but soon others began to sell vintage vinyl records, clothing, tools, and even furniture on eBay. The auction site earned its revenues from a small percentage taken out of every listing and another fee subtracted from each completed sale. A feedback

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

433

jeff skoll

system, in which users could report fraudulent transactions, helped keep the system honest. Skoll and Omidyar were surprised by how quickly the eBay idea caught on. ‘‘In those early days we saw disaster around every corner,’’ Skoll joked in an interview New Zealand Management. ‘‘It was quite possible that the whole thing would fall apart right away. . . . We were always mindful that at any given moment a bigger company, a Yahoo, an AOL or an Excite, could turn its attention to this space, copy what we had done, and very quickly swamp the numbers we had developed.’’

EBay IPO makes him a millionaire In its first years, eBay did not even have a real street address— Skoll’s home in Palo Alto served as its headquarters. He quit the Knight-Ridder job in 1996 to become eBay’s full-time president, and he oversaw the company’s impressive growth over the next two years. EBay’s revenues grew so exponentially during its first four years that some business analysts began to claim that it was the fastest-growing company in history. On September 24, 1998, eBay issued publicly traded shares of stock in the company on Wall Street’s NASDAQ (National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations) exchange. It was one of the top initial public offerings, or IPOs, of stock that year, and 218 million shares were traded that first day. Skoll was given a 7.9 percent stake in the company, with shares initially valued at $18 each. The massive media coverage of the IPO finally erased the skepticism that Skoll’s family had voiced about his job. ‘‘Before then, I’d talk to my parents back in Toronto and explain what eBay was doing,’’ he told Susanne Baillie in Profit. ‘‘They’d say, ‘Oh, that’s great. Your cousin Jerry has just started a dry cleaners!’’’ Meg Whitman (1956–), a leading American corporate executive with an impressive resume, had replaced Skoll as president in the build-up to the 1998 IPO. Skoll served as eBay’s vice president for strategic planning and analysis, but the long hours on the job caused back problems, and he began moving away from the daily operations at eBay. Though he was now a

434

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

jeff skoll

The New Philanthropists

Jeff Skoll is not the only eBay executive who has

$750 million to the Global Alliance for Vaccines and

turned to philanthropy. Founder Pierre Omidyar (1967–)

Immunization to improve children’s health around the

created the Omidyar Foundation, and from that grew

world.

his Omidyar Network. The Network provides funds to

Gates’s software giant created a large number

such good-works projects as the Grameen Bank,

of millionaires in the decade after its 1986 initial public

which gives microloans to small business start-ups in

offering, or IPO, of stock. The price of one share of

Bangladesh, and Kids Voting USA, a youth voter-edu-

Microsoft stock soared a hundredfold in its first decade

cation effort in American public schools. It also gives

of trading. Employees who had been with Microsoft

money to non-profit organizations as well as for-profit

in its early days, and received stock options as part

ventures that encourage positive social change.

of their benefits packages, were millionaires by the

Skoll and Omidyar have set a good example, but they were merely following in the footsteps of others before them. The leading philanthropist of the hightech boom is Microsoft founder Bill Gates (1955–), who set up the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. This is the world’s largest charitable foundation, with an endowment of $28.8 billion. In 2005, it gave

mid-1990s. Some of them cashed out that stock and began

venturing

into

philanthropy.

One

such

‘‘Microsoft millionaire’’ was Stephanie DeVaan, who founded a political action committee in Washington, D.C, called Washington Women for Choice. Another, John Sage, founded Pura Vida, an organic coffee supplier.

millionaire, he still lived in his modest home in Palo Alto and drove the same car he had in college. But he became increasingly interested in sharing his wealth. Even before eBay’s IPO, he had convinced other executives to set up the eBay Foundation, a charitable fund created to give back to the community, with pre-IPO shares. When the Foundation’s 105,000 shares of stock began trading on the NASDAQ, the earnings from it funded various charitable projects, such as homeless shelters in the Bay Area.

Funds several charitable ventures In 1999, Skoll began giving away some of his own money. His donations included the largest amount ever given to a Canadian university by someone under the age of forty. He gave the money to his alma mater, the University of Toronto, to create a joint engineering/business degree program. He also donated a sum to

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

435

jeff skoll

Stanford University for its Center for Electronic Business and Commerce and became increasingly active in the Community Foundation Silicon Valley (CFSV). This umbrella organization provided grants and funds to several local charities and socialservice agencies operating in the southern part of the Bay area known as Silicon Valley. This corridor of communities, anchored by the city of San Jose, is the center of the U.S. high-tech industry, and its industrial parks are home to the headquarters of such companies as Apple Computer, Hewlett-Packard, and Sun Microsystems. In June 1999, Skoll set up his Skoll Community Fund to specifically fund the CFSV’s work, and he also encouraged others to join him in giving back to the community. Since the Internet era had begun in the mid-1990s, there hadbeen an immense number of new millionaires created among Silicon Valley executives when their companies became publicly traded ones. Skoll began meeting with them and urging the new ‘‘dotcom millionaires,’’ as the media called them, to become philanthropists, too, by donating ‘‘to a cause they cared about,’’ he told Watson in Canadian Business. ‘‘You know, they have millions and millions of shares, and if they give away a hundred thousand shares, they’re not gonna miss it. But if the stock goes away, at least they will have done something good.’’ Skoll also launched the Skoll Foundation in 1999. Its aim was to further the idea of social entrepreneurship, or combining the profit-centered focus of business management with the idea of improving the lives of the planet’s neediest citizens. As he knew from his eBay experience, an idea that personally changed people’s lives could also have immense profit potential. Many people who had otherwise been shut out of the traditional economy, such as stay-at-home mothers, disabled people, and senior citizens, had found on eBay a way to earn extra or even primary income, and many reported that they had found a tremendous sense of accomplishment as well. Social entrepreneurship expanded that idea further. Finding ways to help underdeveloped countries prosper was one way. ‘‘Right now, about half the world lives on less than $1 a day,’’ Skoll explained to Jeffrey

436

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

jeff skoll

Gangemi in Business Week Online. ‘‘Social entrepreneurship offers a way to get to that half of humanity that isn’t attractive to traditional big businesses and bring them up the ladder.’’

Establishes Oxford University program Skoll’s commitment to the principles of social entrepreneurship was demonstrated with the establishment of the Skoll Center for Social Entrepreneurship at Oxford University in England. The Center was part of Oxford’s Said Business School, founded by Syrian-born entrepreneur Wafic Saı¨ d (1939–), who made a fortune in construction in Saudi Arabia in the 1970s during its oil-boom years. One example of work done there was a project created to improve land that is not arable, or able to grow crops, by planting a fast-growing weed that fertilizes the soil. The weed, in turn, can be harvested and made into diesel fuel. The process requires a fair amount of labor, but such projects are a suitable match for parts of Africa and the Third World where people are plenty but jobs are scarce. Skoll also became one of Hollywood’s unlikeliest new film moguls when he established Participant Productions, a film-production company, with actor, director, and producer Robert Redford (1937–). Its mission, Skoll told the press, was to make feature films and documentaries with a social message. Its first project was Syriana, a political thriller centered around international oil espionage starring Matt Damon (1970–) and George Clooney (1961–). The work was slated for a November 2005 theater release. Another work funded by Participant Productions was American Gun, a feature film about gun violence and its effect on the lives of several individuals. Skoll’s film company hoped to finance a half-dozen similar projects every year and would put up the first $20 million or so; a major studio—like Warner Bros. Pictures, which helped finance the making of Syriana—would contribute the rest. ‘‘It helps that I’m able to bring some of the financing, because it takes some of the risk out of the equation for the studio,’’ Skoll told Fortune journalist Adam Lashinsky. ‘‘People genuinely want to make films they can be proud of.’’

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

437

jeff skoll

Skoll views his philanthropy as a logical extension of his business ideas. There was, he told Della Bradshaw of the Financial Times, ‘‘a great social element to eBay. We think the heart and the wallet go very well together.’’ He explained his philosophy further to Business Week Online. ‘‘Any individual can make a difference,’’ he asserted. ‘‘Business skills, when well applied, can do more than just make money. They can potentially make money and do some real good, which is immensely satisfying.’’

For More Information Periodicals Antonucci, Mike. ‘‘Uncommon Partnership Yields Film for the Common Good.’’ San Jose Mercury News (June 24, 2005). Baillie, Susanne. ‘‘High Tech Heroes.’’ Profit (December 2000/January 2001). Bick, Julie. ‘‘The Microsoft Millionaires.’’ New York Times (May 29, 2005): p. B5. Bradshaw, Della. ‘‘An Impetus for Social Change.’’ Financial Times (December 1, 2003): p. 12. Dearlove, Des. ‘‘EBay’s Jeff Skoll on Business’ Social Revolution.’’ New Zealand Management (April 2004): p. 34. Dearlove, Des, and Peter Brown. ‘‘It Just Seemed Like the World Was Headed Down a Scary Path—And I Wanted to Do Something about It.’’ Times (London, England) (January 26, 2004): p. 6. Lashinsky, Adam. ‘‘Ebay’s First Hire Goes to the Movies.’’ Fortune (March 7, 2005): p. 36. Omidyar, Pierre. ‘‘The Idea Man: Jeff Skoll.’’ Time International (January 27, 2003): p. 48.

Web Sites ‘‘An Entrepreneur Who Cares.’’ Business Week Online. http:// www.businessweek.com/bschools/content/jun2005/bs20050616_ 5577_bs001.htm (accessed on August 23, 2005). Skoll Foundation. http://www.skollfoundation.org (accessed on August 23, 2005). Watson, Thomas. ‘‘Live and Learn.’’ Canadian Business 75th Anniversary Special. http://www.canadianbusiness75.com/profile2. htm (accessed on August 23, 2005).

438

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

Joss Stone

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

AP/Wide World Photos.

April 11, 1987

. Dover, England Singer

T

een singing sensation Joss Stone came out of nowhere to take the music industry by storm. The British blues singer grew up listening to American music as well as several other genres. In fact, she landed her first record contract by singing a cover version of disco queen Donna Summer’s 1970s hit ‘‘On the Radio.’’ Two albums and several Top 20 singles later, Stone is being hailed by some as the white Aretha Franklin (1942–), a woman who is considered one of the best rhythm and blues singers of all time.

A poor student, a talented singer Joscelyn Eve Stoker was born on April 11, 1987, in Dover, England. She moved with her three siblings and parents to Ashill, a small town where Stone spent most of her childhood; this is where she began to dislike school. Stone is dyslexic, which

439

joss stone

means she sometimes sees and reads things backwards or mixed up. But this isn’t the only reason she grew to dread school every morning. ‘‘It was partly that, but because I don’t come across like I’m really stupid—I can hold a conversation. : : : I guess teachers thought I wasn’t trying. : : :’’ Stone explained to Teddy Jamieson of The Herald. ‘‘The way they taught didn’t work, so that resulted in huge arguments with people and I don’t like to be told what to do.’’ So Stone spent a fair amount of her time in detention, figuring if that was the worst thing that could happen to her, she’d survive. And still she found time to shape her musical

...................................................................................................................

‘‘I just think my voice is suited to a time that doesn’t exist anymore.’’ tastes. Stone’s father listened to blues and reggae for the most part. Her mother’s tastes lay in soul music. Soul is a sound that emerged in the late 1950s and early 1960s. It is an offshoot of the sounds of rock and roll and gospel. Soul is divided into several categories, including Motown (sung by African Americans on the Motown record label) and blue-eyed soul (performed by white musicians). Musicians such as James Brown (1928–) added their own style to soul and took it in another direction. Brown is credited with helping to make the funk sound popular in the 1960s. Stone grew up listening to the great soul musicians from the past, and by the time she was seven years old, Aretha Franklin was her hero. Franklin, whose roots were in gospel, earned herself the title ‘‘Queen of Soul’’ with timeless hits such as ‘‘Respect’’ and ‘‘Chain of Fools.’’ The first woman to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Franklin began recording gospel at the age of fourteen. She was still generating hits in the pop music genre in the 1970s and 1980s. Franklin is considered one of the greatest crossover (spanning more than one genre) music recording stars in history. Aretha Franklin’s Greatest Hits

440

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

joss stone

was the first album Stone owned, and she spent much of her free time listening and singing along. Stone found her voice wellsuited to the throaty sounds of the blues. One day she would amaze listeners with a powerful sound that didn’t seem like it could come from a girl who was not yet out of her teens. At age twelve, Stone chose to become a singer by default. In her interview with The Herald, she explained that she thought she might like to become a veterinarian or midwife (a nurse who is licensed to deliver babies). ‘‘But then I realized that meant seven years at school. I couldn’t do that so I decided to be a singer.’’ Most children dream of being a famous musician at some point. For Stone, that dream came true without so much as one day of struggle.

High school dropout makes it big Stone was thirteen when she submitted an audition tape to the British talent show Star for a Night. Her cover of the Aretha Franklin hit ‘‘(You Make Me Feel Like) a Natural Woman’’ won her a spot on the show. Onstage and live on television, Stone’s rendition of Donna Summer’s ‘‘On the Radio’’ left the audience speechless. This blonde, giggly teenager had the voice of a grown woman. She immediately signed on with American record company executive Steve Greenberg of S-Curve Records. Greenberg is credited with bringing the pop group Hanson to the masses. Greenberg recognized Stone’s potential and hired Miami soul legend Betty Wright to mentor Stone. Wright began singing when her own mother suffered a back injury and could no longer support her fatherless family. In a 2003 interview with Scott Simon of National Public Radio (NPR), Wright explained the difference between her early years as a star and Stone’s. ‘‘I think in Joss’s case, there’s a lot more fun involved, and I’m really glad for that. Mine eventually became that. : : : I think it’s very stressful, in my case because I had not just, you know, singing for soup, but it was like I have a big family, so it was like no matter how much money you bring home, sometimes it’s not enough.’’ Stone considers Wright to be her second ‘‘mum,’’ (mom) and the two joke about how Wright threatens Stone with guitar

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

441

joss stone

sticks if she doesn’t stay on track. Stone’s mother was actually her manager in the beginning. When rumors started circulating that Stone fired her mother, the singer scoffed. As she explained to Teddy Jamieson of The Herald, ‘‘She was my mum and she managed me for a little second, but at the end of the day at some point you can’t take your mum to work with you. That’s pretty much all it is.’’ Stone dropped out of school at sixteen, with her parents’ approval. In an interview with SMH.com, the singer remembered, ‘‘I was never an academic sort of kid. My parents knew I hated school and I really just looked forward to leaving.’’ When it became obvious Stone’s career was going to take her in the right direction, her parents gave her their blessing. With a voice that Wright calls ‘‘a gift from heaven,’’ it seemed silly to make the singer continue along a path that wasn’t taking her where she wanted to go. Around this time, the singer decided to change her name, though she did so reluctantly. Her mom thought she needed something catchier than Stoker. In the end, Stone changed it to protect her family from the media attention, since her grandmother had the same last name.

The Soul Sessions Wright gathered a team of musicians to create what she calls a Miami soul sound. It’s a sound of mixed cultures—reggae, calypso, salsa, and blues. These musicians backed up sixteen-year-old Stone on her debut album, The Soul Sessions. Released on September 16, 2003, the album is a treasure trove of classic soul tracks, remade the Stone way. It reached the Top 5 in the U.K. charts, the Top 100 in the U.S. Billboard charts. A couple singles from the album fared especially well. ‘‘Fell in Love with a Boy’’ was a cover of alternative rock group The White Stripes’s song ‘‘Fell in Love with a Girl.’’ Stone’s version reached the Top 20 in the U.K.’s singles chart. ‘‘Super Duper Love (Are You Diggin’ On Me?)’’ enjoyed the same success. Stone expressed her uncertainty at working with a crew of powerhouse musicians in an interview with MTV News. ‘‘I felt a

442

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

joss stone

At the 47th Grammy Awards, Melissa Etheridge and Joss Stone brought the audience to its feet during their tribute to the late Janis Joplin. AP/Wide World Photos.

bit weird about the whole thing because ‘Should I be here?’ I have no experience, I don’t know what I’m doing. But it was cool because they made me feel really comfortable.’’ By the summer of 2004 The Soul Sessions was certified gold in the United States and had sold more than two million copies worldwide.

Mind, Body & Soul Stone performed on television shows such as Good Morning, America and The Conan O’Brien Show following the release of her first album. She could boast that among her fans were actor Tom Cruise and rock and roll legend Mick Jagger. She appeared in Rolling Stone and People magazines. She was hot. But she wasn’t about to stop there.

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

443

joss stone

In an article on her U.K. Web site, Stone admits that The Soul Sessions ‘‘started out as a side project and turned into this huge thing. I didn’t mean it to, but people just kept buying it.’’ A little less than a year later, Stone released her sophomore album, Mind, Body & Soul. ‘‘For me, personally, Mind, Body & Soul is my real debut,’’ Stone explains on her Web site. Released in the United States on September 28, 2004, the album contained mostly original songs. Stone cowrote eleven of the fourteen tunes. ‘‘I think my singing is so much better on this album. Your voice can’t ever be the same, once you’ve started singing live as much as I have over the past year,’’ says the singer on her Web site. Many of the songs were recorded in chunks because Stone was touring and playing gigs during the production of the album. Despite that, the sound is not overproduced. Listeners would never know it was pieced together in the studio. The album reached number eleven on Billboard’s Top 200 chart in 2004. In October of that year, the album reached number one in the United Kingdom. Mind, Body & Soul also went certified gold in the United States.

2005: A year of making lists Every year, the United Kingdom hosts the Brit Awards. These awards are given to musicians in a number of categories. Stone was nominated in three categories in 2005 and won two of them. She was voted Best Female British Solo Artist and Best British Urban Act. Stone was just seventeen years old. In 2005 Stone also was added to the list of Britain’s young music millionaires. To qualify for the list, musicians must be thirty years old or younger. Stone, at seventeen, entered at number fourteen with earnings over $5 million. This amount was expected to rise with the continued sale of Mind, Body & Soul. Perhaps the highest praise Stone could have received in 2005 was to be nominated for three Grammy Awards, including Best New Artist. Though she did not win, the blues singer did get to sing a live duet with famous rocker Melissa Etheridge (1961–) at the Grammy show in February 2005. The two dedicated their

444

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

joss stone

medley to the late great rocker Janis Joplin (1943–1970), and it instantly became the number-one download on the iTunes Web site. All proceeds went toward breast cancer research. (Etheridge had recently undergone surgery for breast cancer.) Stone was officially recognized as the hip, classy up-andcomer when she became the spokesperson for the Gap store’s summer campaign of 2005. She became not only the face, but also the sound of Gap. Stone’s music was used in Gap ads beginning in April of that year. For the fall campaign, Stone joined recording stars such as Alanis Morissette and Liz Phair to compile a promotional CD for the Gap. Stone sang the Beach Boys’s hit ‘‘God Only Knows’’ for that CD, which was released in September 2005.

Plays concerts in the park In July 2005, Stone was one of more than one thousand musicians to donate their time and talent to participate in Live 8, a concert held in ten cities across the globe. Its mission was to raise awareness of poverty in Africa. Stone performed in London with a list of legendary musicians including Madonna, U2, Coldplay, Dido, Pink Floyd, and the Dave Matthews Band. Stone entertained millions of viewers with the songs ‘‘Some Kind of Wonderful’’ and ‘‘Super Duper Love.’’ According to Contactmusic.com, Stone was so nervous before going on stage that she became violently ill. ‘‘I just get so worried about seeing such a massive crowd and not being able to hack it,’’ the tall crooner is quoted as saying. Just days after performing at Live 8, Stone showed up on stage at T in the Park, Scotland’s largest music festival. A ticket to the festival brought you about one hundred musical performances over a period of two days. Stone was among many popular bands, including Foo Fighters, Jimmy Eat World, Snoop Dogg, and Audioslave. T in the Park is a phenomenally popular event. Twenty-five thousand tickets for the 2006 show sold out in three hours. Stone and her boyfriend, Beau Dozier, live in Encino, California. Dozier, who is eight years older than Stone, is also

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

445

joss stone

Live 8 Brings Together Politics and Food

In 1985, more than one hundred musicians performed at concerts held in Europe and the United States. The event was called Live Aid. More than 162,000 people attended the concerts, with an estimated 1.5 billion viewers tuning in to television broadcasts. Live Aid raised $200 million for famine relief in Ethiopia. The event was an amazing collaboration of celebrities and organizers, the chief being Irish rocker Bob Geldof (1951–). Twenty years later, in July 2005, Geldof once again pulled off a spectacular feat: More than one thousand artists performed in four continents and ten cities. They were not paid one penny for their time or travel expenses. In total, $25 billion was pledged to Africa by the eight wealthiest nations in the world. This money would go directly to fight poverty and improve health care in Africa. Frontman Bono, of the famous band U2, put it this way in an article at Star-eCentral.com: ‘‘Live Aid raised $250 million (in 1985) and we were cock-ahoop [thrilled]. But this is $25 billion for Africa and that’s new money. : : : The world spoke, and the politicians listened.’’ According to the Live 8 Web site, more than one million people attended the concerts on July 2, while another two billion watched and listened via television. Tickets for the performances were free. Live 8 was held in conjunction with the G8 Summit. The Summit involved the eight most powerful nations (group of eight: France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Russia) in the world, and they gathered in Britain to discuss how to help fight the alarming level of poverty in Africa. British prime minister Tony Blair (1953–) credited Live

446

. .

8 with helping to make the G8 summit a ‘‘mighty achievement.’’ By the time the summit ended, summit members had pledged an additional $25 billion in aid, bringing the total pledge to $50 billion. They also cancelled the debts of the eighteen poorest countries and committed to training twenty thousand peacekeepers for African American leaders to use to help usher in democracy. Geldof initially did not want to plan Live 8. He explained his feelings to Pete Norman of People: ‘‘I’m loath to mess with Live Aid. It was a perfect day. : : :’’ Geldof was approached by his old friend Bono to organize a new and improved event. After much arguing, Bono convinced Geldof that another concert event could work. Geldof told BBC News, ‘‘In 1985 it was about charity, raising money for charity, when it was Live Aid. Today it’s about a campaign for justice and empowerment for millions of people around the world. : : :" At the time of the G8 Summit and Live 8, 51 percent of Africans were under the age of fifteen. About 1.9 million children were infected with the HIV virus (the virus that leads to the deadly AIDS disease), and 17 million Africans had already died from AIDS. AIDS stands for Auto-Immune Deficiency Syndrome. It is a disease that weakens the immune system, making the body more susceptible to many illnesses, and eventually kills its victims. According to Bono’s DATA Web site, 6,300 Africans die every day fromAIDS or HIV infection. More than 300 million people—nearly half the population—of Sub-Saharan Africa live on $1 a day. But the country spends $30 billion a year repaying debts to the richest countries in the world.

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

joss stone

her record producer. The two met when he helped produce her Mind, Body, & Soul album.

Looking ahead Stone planned to hit the recording studio with British pal Sir Elton John (1947–) to release a Christmas duet in 2005. Stone thought about another album during an interview published on EdmuntonSun.com: ‘‘I have so many ideas. Maybe I’ll go a little funky, maybe I won’t. Maybe I’ll record it like this, maybe I won’t. I’m not really sure. It’ll be a nice surprise.’’

For More Information Periodicals Graham, Caroline. ‘‘Will Joss Stone’s under-age love affair cost her the millions?’’ Daily Mail (April 3, 2005). Norman, Pete. ‘‘Greatest Show on Earth: Backed by his stellar speeddial and the historic success of Live Aid, Bob Geldof put together the sequel, Live 8.’’ People (July 11, 2005).

Web Sites Debt AIDS Trade Africa (DATA). http://www.data.org (accessed on August 8, 2005). ‘‘Devon’s young pop millionaires.’’ BBC (April 1, 2005). http:// www.bbc.co.uk/devon/music/2005/04_april/music_millionaires. shtml (accessed on August 8, 2005). Jamieson, Teddy. ‘‘Is Joss Stone big enough now to be her own boss?’’ The Herald (July 11, 2005). http://www.theherald.co.uk/features/ 42676.html (accessed on August 8, 2005). ‘‘Joss and Muse do Devon proud at Brits.’’ BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/ devon/music/2005/brits.shtml (accessed on August 8, 2005). Joss Stone. http://www.jossstone.co.uk/ (accessed on August 8, 2005). ‘‘Joss Stone: Biography.’’ VH1.com. http://www.vh1.com/artists/az/ stone_joss/bio.jhtml (accessed on August 8, 2005). Live 8. http://www.live8live.com (accessed on August 8, 2005). ‘‘Live 8 helped aid deal says Blair.’’ BBC News (July 11, 2005). http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/uk_politics/4672797.stm (accessed August 8, 2005). ‘‘Live 8 success hailed by Geldof.’’ BBC News (July 3, 2005). http:// news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/entertainment/music/4645823.stm (accessed on August 8, 2005).

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

447

joss stone Rocca, Jane. ‘‘A pretty blonde with black soul.’’ SMH.com (March 1, 2004). http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/03/01/ 1077989486224.html (accessed on August 8, 2005).

Audio Simon, Scott. ‘‘Interview: Joss Stone and Betty Wright discuss Stone’s singing career.’’ NPR: Weekend Edition (September 13, 2003).

448

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

Ichiro Suzuki

. .

U X L newsmakers

ª Greg Fiume/NewSport/Corbis.

. volume 6

October 22, 1973

. Kasugai, Japan

Baseball player

I

chiro Suzuki has millions of dedicated fans in his native Japan, with his image appearing in daily newspapers and smiling from billboards, coffee mugs, and T-shirts. There is even a museum dedicated to him. Known to his adoring public simply as ‘‘Ichiro,’’ Ichiro Suzuki is more than just a baseball player; he is a national institution. Considered by many to be the greatest hitter in Japanese baseball history, Ichiro dominated the game in his homeland for nearly nine years until he was snapped up in 2001 to play professional baseball for the American League’s Seattle Mariners. As a result, he became the first Japanese position player (meaning a nonpitcher) to be signed by a U.S. team. Since then the fleet-footed, left-handed outfielder has broken dozens of records and has garnered an enormous American following. In 2004, Ichiro had his hottest streak ever, finishing the year by breaking a record that had stood untouched for eighty-four years: scoring the most hits in a single season. He is

449

ichiro suzuki

called a ‘‘hitting machine’’ by sportswriters. This is no exaggeration, since according to Leigh Montville of Sports Illustrated, ‘‘Any pitch, any time, any place, any situation—you throw it, Ichiro will hit it.’’

First boy makes good Ichiro Suzuki was born on October 22, 1973, in Kasugai, Japan. Ichiro’s father, Nobuyuki, was determined that Ichiro, who he thought had a natural talent for baseball, would play the sport, and play it well. The elder Suzuki made it clear from the begin-

...................................................................................................................

‘‘I’m unique. I’m a very rare kind of player.’’ ning that his son was special. In fact, the name Ichiro means ‘‘first boy,’’ even though he was actually the second boy born to the family. From the time he was three years old, Ichiro was practicing in his backyard with a tiny bat and ball, and by elementary school, Nobuyuki, who was a former high school ballplayer himself, was putting his son through batting drills for up to four hours per day. In high school Ichiro already displayed a dedication to the game that he would become known for as an adult. It was a tradition at Nagoya Electric High School that freshman players were responsible for washing the uniforms of the seniors, so to make sure he had plenty of time for practice Ichiro would get up at 3:00 AM to do laundry. The young batter also maintained a rigorous class schedule and excelled academically. By his senior year Ichiro was a familiar face at Japan’s National High School Baseball Tournament, known as Koshien. Upon graduation from high school in 1991, he was drafted to play professional ball for the Pacific League’s BlueWave, a team owned by the Japanese leasing company Orix. During his first year with the BlueWave, Ichiro devoted himself to perfecting his game. As S. L. Price of Sports Illustrated

450

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

ichiro suzuki

commented, ‘‘He spent most of his free time in the batting cage, with teammates coming and going from breakfast, lunch, nap, dinner to the endless tattoo of his bat on ball.’’ Ichiro also developed a very unique batting stance that included lifting his right leg and swinging it back and forth like a pendulum. His hours of practice proved to be worth it; Ichiro quickly became known as a slasher at the plate, hitting line drives to the corners of every ballpark in every game. During his seven full seasons playing for the BlueWave, the left-handed hitter racked up an impressive record: Each season he hit between .342 and .387 and averaged twenty-nine doubles, seventeen home runs, and twenty-eight stolen bases. He also earned seven batting titles and set a national record for getting to first base in fifty-seven consecutive games. Ichiro was named Most Valuable Player three times, and in 1998 he was key to leading the BlueWave to their first Pacific League pennant.

National icon Ichiro’s prowess in the batting box quickly helped make him the most well-known and celebrated person in Japan, but it was his style that catapulted him to mythic proportions. With a lean, teenager-like physique, spiky hair, and a penchant for wearing sunglasses and his baseball cap backwards, the five-foot-nine Ichiro was not the typical, conservative Japanese player. He especially appealed to younger fans, who viewed him as something of a rock star. Ichiro soon became a one-man industry, with his own line of sports apparel, including colorful Nike Air Max sneakers that were snatched up by the millions. Another suggested reason for Ichiro’s popularity was his notoriety for being tight-lipped in interviews. ‘‘He is a man of few words, so he doesn’t talk so much,’’ noted Michael Knisley of Sporting News. ‘‘And the more mysterious he acts, the more mystique he has.’’ According to Jeff Pearlman of Sports Illustrated, the reason for Ichiro’s reserve was more practical: If he thinks he has not contributed to a game he feels there is simply nothing to say. The fashionably dressed hitter may have been aloof with the press, but he obviously enjoyed playing to, and sometimes with, the crowd. In fact, during game lulls Ichiro was known to play catch with fans sitting in the right-field stands.

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

451

ichiro suzuki

Ichiro reached the pinnacle of fame when, in 2000, his father built a four-story museum in Nagoya, Japan, dedicated solely to his celebrated son. Nearly three thousand articles are on display chronicling the life and times of Ichiro, which is amazing considering he was only twenty-four when the museum opened. Items include his childhood Nintendo game cartridges, baseball jerseys, report cards, nearly one hundred scrapbooks containing news clippings—and even Ichiro’s dental retainer. According to the museum manager, who spoke with Jim Caple of ESPN.com, ‘‘When Ichiro was a child his father told Ichiro’s mother, ‘He is going to be a great athlete. We must keep everything.’’’

Ichiro conquers America Although he was a star in Japan, Ichiro had been setting his sights on American baseball since the spring of 1999, when he spent two weeks in spring training with the Seattle Mariners. In 2000 he announced to Orix that once his full nine years playing pro ball in Japan was up, which it would be in 2001, he was going to consider offers from other teams, including those from the United States. Aware that Ichiro’s departure was unavoidable, and faced with business losses, Orix decided to ‘‘post’’ Ichiro, meaning they put Ichiro on the auction block. The Mariners beat out other hopeful franchises, and on November 9, 2000, offered Orix more than $13 million for a thirty-day window to negotiate with Ichiro. On November 18, the powerhouse hitter signed a three-year deal with Seattle worth a reported $15-$20 million. He became the first Japanese position player to sign with a U.S. baseball team. Ichiro may have been eager to play American ball, but he claimed the decision to leave Japan was a hard one. ‘‘I never said it was easy for me,’’ he revealed to John Rawlings of Sporting News. ‘‘But it wasn’t interesting anymore. People have twisted that very often. As the better pitchers left my league, it wasn’t fun.’’ Ichiro also claimed to be both hesitant and excited about his move. As he told Michael Farber of Sports Illustrated, ‘‘Sometimes I am nervous, sometimes anxious, but I want to challenge a new world.’’ Ichiro began to adapt to his new life by asking in his contract for English lessons for himself and his wife,

452

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

ichiro suzuki

Japanese television personality Yumiko Fukushima. He also made it clear that, just as he had in Japan, he wanted to be recognized by his first name only. In May 2001 Ichiro became the first and only U.S. player to wear a baseball jersey bearing only a first name. The Mariners did not regret opening their purse for their Japanese import. By the end of his first season Ichiro was known, according to Rick Reilly, as ‘‘the fastest man in baseball with the best outfield arm playing for the winningest team.’’ He posted a .357 batting average, with fifty-six stolen bases, leading the major leagues in both categories. Ichiro also became only the second player to be voted American League Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player in the same season. Over the next three years the Japanese slugger continued to be the most successful and consistent leadoff hitter in U.S. baseball. ‘‘I don’t think you can pitch him one way,’’ New York Yankees’s manager Joe Torre commented to Jeff Pearlman. ‘‘You can go in and out, up and down and he makes the adjustment. You can get ahead of the count, and Ichiro still seems relaxed. He doesn’t seem to have any weaknesses.’’ Ichiro’s clear focus and intense concentration contributed to such comments, and his many rituals clearly intrigued American fans and members of the press. Sportswriters reported on his exercise regimen, which included a constant stretching and rolling of shoulders when he is in the outfield between pitches; a massage before each game; and methodically rubbing his feet with a wooden stick in the locker room. According to Ichiro, and according to Eastern medicine, healthy feet are key to a healthy body. A wooden stick helps massage certain points on the foot that supposedly improve such things as flexibility and circulation. Ichiro also believes that mental preparation is equally important to physical preparation. Before each game he watches a tape of his opposing pitchers, and after each game he spends time by himself with only his handcrafted glove for company. Ichiro carefully wipes away any dirt from the glove, rubs in a protective cream, and checks all the lacings. As he explained to Brad Lefton of Sporting News, ‘‘The glove is directly connected to

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

453

ichiro suzuki

Out of the Shadows: George Sisler

When Ichiro Suzuki hit his way into sports history he also put the spotlight on another player who had almost been forgotten in the shadows: George Sisler. Sisler is considered by many to be one of the greatest first basemen of all time and perhaps the most legendary player in the history of the St. Louis Browns. He had a fifteen-year batting average of .340; he was a swift base runner; and he was known for his acrobatic fielding. But Sisler was also a quiet and modest man whose reputation was eclipsed by some of his more charismatic contemporaries such as Ty Cobb (1886–1961) and Babe Ruth (1895–1948). George Harold Sisler was born on March 24, 1893, in Manchester, Ohio, but spent his early years in Nimisila, a tiny coal-mining town just south of Akron. From early on, baseball was his life. When he was fourteen Sisler moved to Akron in order to pitch for Akron Central High School. While still in high school he signed a contract to play professional ball, which would take effect as soon as he graduated. Sisler’s father, however, urged him to pursue his education first, so in 1910 he enrolled at the University of Michigan (U of M) in Ann

Arbor. During his years at U of M Sisler emerged as one of the top college ballplayers in the country, and although he graduated in 1915 with a degree in mechanical engineering he decided to turn pro, signing with the American League’s St. Louis Browns. Sisler began his career as a pitcher, but because he was too good with a bat to be limited to hitting once every four days, he soon took over at first base. From 1915 until 1922 Sisler maintained a .374 batting average, reaching .407 in 1920 and peaking at .420 in 1922, a record that no one has since approached. ‘‘Gorgeous George,’’ as he was known to his fans, continued to rack up record after record, and in 1920 he was at the pinnacle of his career, reaching the single-season record of 257 hits that remained untouched until 2004. Sisler also achieved career bests of 19 home runs, 18 triples, 49 doubles, 122 runs batted in, and 137 runs scored. According to sports historian Bill James, who spoke with Dave Kindred of Sporting News, in 1920 Sisler was ‘‘about as great of a player as you can be.’’ Unfortunately the baseball legend’s career was cut short in 1923 after he suffered a bout of sinusitis

the game. There’s a special meaning in reflecting back on your day’s work while paying homage to a piece of equipment that helped you. So while I care for my glove, I also reflect back on my mistakes and try to identify the causes.’’

Sizzles Sisler’s record Mistakes did not come often for Ichiro, although he did experience a bit of a slump in 2003, when he finished the year with a disappointing-for-him .257 average. A refreshed Ichiro, however, was back in action in 2004, and as the season progressed he broke record after record. Nicknamed Wizard by his

454

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

ichiro suzuki (a severe sinus infection), which caused double vision for a time and forced him to sit out the entire season. Sisler continued to play for the Browns until 1928, when he was traded to the Washington Senators. After appearing in only twenty games Washington turned his contract over to the Boston Braves, who kept Sisler on the roster until 1930. Although he performed admirably, Sisler never quite achieved his former glory, and he considered 1923 to be his last true year in baseball. After playing briefly in the minor leagues for two years Sisler retired in 1932. He left professional baseball for the next ten years, but returned to the major leagues in 1943 to scout for the Brooklyn Dodgers. From 1951 through 1965 Sisler served as a scout and hitting instructor for the Pittsburgh Pirates. He died on March 26, 1973, at the age of eighty. Two of Sisler’s sons, Dick and Dave, played major league ball in the 1950s, and a third son, George Jr., served as an executive in the minor leagues. Five members of the Sisler family were on hand when Ichiro Suzuki broke Gorgeous George’s eighty-four-year-old record. As Sisler’s grandson, Bo Drochelman, told Bob Sherwin of the Seattle Times, ‘‘My grandfather really respected the game of baseball. He cherished it and played every minute to the hilt.

George Sisler. AP/Wide World Photos.

That’s the part of Ichiro I think he would have loved, a man dedicated to the game. That would have made him proud, that kind of person breaking his record.’’

teammates he proved he had magic in his feet, his glove, and especially his bat. Ichiro became one of only eleven players to have four consecutive 200-hit seasons, and as the playoffs drew closer speculations were flying that he would beat the singleseason hitting record of 257 set in 1920 by George Sisler (1893–1973) of the St. Louis Browns. On October 1, 2004, before a sold-out crowd, Ichiro tied the record during the first inning of the Mariners-Texas Rangers game. During the third inning he rocketed a line drive to left field and secured his place in baseball history. The stands erupted; fireworks soared over the ballpark; and teammates and fans gave Ichiro a two-minute standing ovation as he

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

455

ichiro suzuki

Ichiro Suzuki scrambles back to first base during the fourth inning of the 2005 Major League Baseball All-Star Game. AP/Wide World Photos.

stood, beaming, on first base. ‘‘It’s definitely the most emotional I have gotten in my life,’’ the usually calm and collected Ichiro admitted to Bob Sherwin of the Seattle Times after the game. ‘‘It’s definitely the highlight of my career, and I was thinking ‘Is there something better in my future?’’’ Considering he was only thirty years old when he broke Sisler’s record, many predicted that there was much more ahead in Ichiro’s future. By mid-2005 he had already broken at least two more batting records: On June 14 he became only the third major league player in history to hit one thousand runs in less than seven hundred games; and on July 30 Ichiro reached his 1,058th hit, the most any player has achieved in their first fiveseasons of play. Don Baylor, the hitting coach for the Mariners, forecast that his star right-fielder would possibly break an unprecedented .400 batting average by season’s end if he started the year at .350; as of July 2005 Ichiro was batting .385. The modest Mariner, as usual, was cautious when speaking to the press about the hype. As he told Phil Rogers of ChicagoSports.com, ‘‘I don’t

456

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

ichiro suzuki

know if I’ll ever do it. I just want to be a player people say has a chance.’’ For a man who S. L. Price claims has become an ‘‘an omnipresent cultural icon,’’ that is definitely an understatement.

For More Information Periodicals Farber, Michael. ‘‘Rising Son: The Defection of Ichiro Suzuki.’’ Sports Illustrated (December 4, 2000): p. 68. Kindred, Dave. ‘‘Ichiro Is a Vision of Hitters Past.’’ The Sporting News (October 4, 2004): p. 64. Knisley, Michael. ‘‘Follow That Star!’’ The Sporting News (March 19, 2001): p. 12. Lefton, Brad. ‘‘In Focus: Mariners Outfielder Ichiro Suzuki’s Mental Preparation Is as Big a Part of His Game as His Blazing Speed and Powerful Throwing Arm.’’ The Sporting News (March 10, 2003): pp. 10–14. Montville, Leigh. ‘‘The Single Guy: Ichiro Suzuki.’’ Sports Illustrated (October 4, 2004): p. 20. Pearlman, Jeff. ‘‘Big Hit: Ichiro Suzuki.’’ Sports Illustrated (May 28, 2001): p. 34. Price, S. L. ‘‘The Ichiro Paradox.’’ Sports Illustrated (July 8, 2002): p. 50. Rawlings, John. ‘‘A Star Arrives.’’ The Sporting News (March 19, 2001): p. 6. Reilly, Rick. ‘‘Itching for Ichiro.’’ Sports Illustrated (September 17, 2001): p. 112. Verducci, Tom. ‘‘Leading Man: The Job of the Leadoff Hitter Is to Get on Base, and Who Does It Better than Ichiro Suzuki?’’ Sports Illustrated (April 4, 2005): p. 58.

Web Sites Caple, Jim. ‘‘It’s All Ichiro All the Time at the Ichiro Exhibition Room.’’ ESPN.com: Baseball (November 14, 2002). http://espn. go.com/mlb/columns/caple_jim/1460455.html (accessed on August 23, 2005). Sherwin, Bob. ‘‘Hits-tory! Ichiro Breaks Sisler’s Record.’’ The Seattle Times (October 2, 2004). http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/ html/mariners/2002052125_ichiroheads02.html (accessed on August 23, 2005).

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

457

Kanye West

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

AP/Wide World Photos.

June 8, 1977

. Atlanta, Georgia

Hip-hop artist, music producer

Kanye West is a quadruple threat: producer, rapper, songwriter, and record executive. His albums have sold millions; his lyrics are sung by renowned recording artists including Brandy, Usher, and Alicia Keys. In 2005, West was named to Time magazine’s list of One Hundred Most Influential People in the World. He was in good company, with a peer group that included talk show host Oprah Winfrey (1954–), actor Jamie Foxx (1967–; see entry), and actor Clint Eastwood (1930–). West’s lyrics have been criticized for encouraging children and young adults to drop out of school, an allegation he claims is based on a misunderstanding. His newest album, Late Registration, was released in August 2005.

Southern born, Chicago raised Kanye (Swahili [African] for ‘‘only one’’) West was born in Atlanta, Georgia, on June 8, 1977. His parents divorced when

459

kanye west

West was three. He was raised on Chicago’s South Side by his mother, an English professor, and spent summers with his father, an award-winning photographer who became a church counselor. West graduated from Polaris High School and completed one year of art school at Chicago State University. He explained his decision to drop out of school to Kimberly Davis in a 2004 interview with Ebony magazine. ‘‘I dropped out of school because I wasn’t learning fast enough. : : : I learned from real life better.’’ Real life at that time included rapping and working with local artists. West felt it was time to pursue his music career full time,

...................................................................................................................

‘‘My [future] is in God’s hands. If He wants me to make another album, then He’ll give me the inspiration to do so. I can’t force it.’’ so he moved to New York in 2001. His mixes and beats were getting him a reputation as a man who knew his jams. Respected rapper Jay-Z (1969–) hired him to produce songs for his 2001 album The Blueprint. Sales of that album exceeded 420,000 in the first week alone. West went on to produce for a handful of stars including rapper Ludacris and singer Beyonce. He was doing well, making a name for himself. But he wanted more.

Releases College Dropout While acting as producer to the stars, West cut his own demo (a recording that gives listeners an idea of the style and ability of the musician) and began shopping it around. Despite his solid reputation, no one returned his calls. Then in 2002, Roc-A-Fella Records, the label that signed Jay-Z, decided to give West a chance as a rapper. The company already knew he was a talented record producer. West signed a record deal that year and began recording in the studio.

460

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

kanye west

On the way home from a recording session in Los Angeles, West fell asleep at the wheel and was involved in a head-on car collision that left him with a broken face and fractured jaw. The artist nearly died in the crash. He endured months of recovery, including reconstructive surgery that left his jaw wired shut. That didn’t stop West from moving forward with the album. He explained the ordeal to Ebony magazine: ‘‘I feel like the album was my medicine. It would take my mind away from the pain— away from the dental appointments, from my teeth killing me, from my mouth being wired shut, from the fact that I looked like I just fought [boxer] Mike Tyson. : : : I nearly died. That’s the best thing that can happen to a rapper.’’ So with his jaw wired shut, West returned to the recording studio to sing on a regular basis until he was satisfied with his debut release. One song in particular, ‘‘Through the Wire,’’ was the first track of several singles on The College Dropout to become a raging hit. The song chronicles West’s ordeal. The album itself, which was released in 2004, went multiplatinum, selling 2.6 million copies. ‘‘The best thing is being able to get my creative ideas out,’’ West told Ebony. ‘‘That’s why I rap in the first place—so my voice can be heard.’’ The College Dropout was hailed as one of the best albums of the year. Critics praised West for taking hip-hop in a new direction. Songs on the album focus on walking with God while trying to ‘‘be real,’’ and the producer/rapper says it all with a gospel choir backing him up. Hip-hop violinist Miri Ben-Ari worked with West on the album. Ben-Ari told Ebony, ‘‘He has a vision for things, for example, to bring live instrumentalists back to the game and create music like they did back in the day. Kanye is very open to new things; he is not afraid to think differently, to take a chance and to say his thoughts out loud.’’ An interview on UniversalUrban.com called West ‘‘one of a precious few rappers with actually something to say in his songs.’’ West admits to writing lyrics on topics that aren’t usually covered in rap music. ‘‘It’s like if you wanna rap like Jay [Jay-Z], it’s hard to rap like Jay and not rap about what Jay is rapping about,’’ he told UniversalUrban. ‘‘Once I found out exactly how to rap about drugs and exactly how to rap about say no to drugs, I knew that I

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

461

kanye west

Jay-Z, Jiggy, Jigga: A Star by Any Name

Jay-Z was born Shawn Carter on December 4, 1969. The Brooklyn-born boy was nicknamed Jazzy, which got shortened to the now-famous Jay-Z, which sometimes gets changed to Jiggy or Jigga. He is a man of many names and even more talent. Jay-Z grew up in the dangerous Marcy Projects of Brooklyn. Before he hit his teens, Jay-Z’s father left the family. Without a figurehead to support the family, Jay-Z hit the streets to find a way to support himself. He turned to selling drugs, a theme that makes its way into many of his songs. Jay-Z yearned to break into the rap industry and kept company with Big Jaz, a rapper with a record deal. Big Jaz taught the fledgling rapper the ins and outs of the music industry. Jay-Z got tired of waiting for someone to recognize his talent, so he made a bold move and established his own record company. With friends Damon Dash and Kareem ‘‘Biggs’’ Burke, he founded Roc-A-Fella Records, and in 1996 he released his debut album, Reasonable Doubt. The album was unimpressive in terms of sales; it never got past number twenty-three on Billboard’s album chart. But it is considered a classic among rap fans, and many call it his best work. The album

spawned four hit singles, including ‘‘Feelin’ It’’ and ‘‘Can’t Knock the Hustle.’’ Listeners of the album were rewarded with the sounds of R&B singer Mary J. Blige and rapper Notorious B.I.G. as well. Jay-Z followed his debut with the 1997 release of In My Lifetime, Vol. 1. The album reached the number three spot on the charts and included contributions from rapper Puff Daddy and R&B singer/songwriter Teddy Riley. Unlike Reasonable Doubt, this album moved beyond the gangsta rap sound to appeal to the pop rap listening audience. Singles like ‘‘This City Is Mine’’ helped Jay-Z branch out and get airplay, which helped sales of the album. Vol. 2: Hard Knock Life followed the pop rap trend. The 1998 release contained radio-ready singles such as ‘‘Hard Knock Life’’ and ‘‘Can I Get A : : : ’’ The album increased his airtime as well as his popularity. Jay-Z had six singles off that one release. Vol. 3: Life and Times of S. Carter was released in 1999. Nearly every single on this album featured a guest vocalist. The album was a huge hit among fans. Jay-Z began working with new producers for his next album, Dynasty Roc la Familia. The 2000 release included the Neptune’s-produced single, ‘‘I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me).’’

could fill the exact medium between that. Just think about whatever you’ve been through in the past week, and I have a song about that on my album.’’

Rewarded for his originality West won four Billboard Music Awards in 2004: Male New Artist of the Year, New R&B/Hip-Hop Artist of the Year, R&B/ Hip-Hop Producer of the Year, and Rap Artist of the Year.

462

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

kanye west The Blueprint was released in 2001, with producer/rapper Kanye West at the helm. Unlike his other albums, this one was mainly a solo effort. Many critics and fans consider The Blueprint to be Jay-Z’s finest album. It featured one of the year’s biggest hit single, ‘‘Izzo (H.O.V.A.).’’ The album helped West’s career as well, cementing his reputation in the rap industry. Jay-Z collaborated with the Roots for his Unplugged album in 2001. R. Kelly teamed up with the rapper for the 2002 album, Best of Both Worlds. That same year, Jay-Z released The Blueprint 2: The Gift and the Curse. In 2003, the rapper announced his retirement but promised one more album. That promise was fulfilled with the 2003 release of The Black Album, which claimed the number one spot on Billboard’s album chart. Although he is officially retired from the recording business, Jay-Z is far from done. He continues to make guest appearances on television music shows. In late July 2005 he appeared on Jay-Z Live@Much. The show was the latest in a series presented by MuchMusic, a Canadian music network. Jay-Z was joined by other Roc-A-Fella recording artists including Kanye West and pop-rock singing sensation Rihanna. Guests on the show performed a song or two and then sat for questions from the studio audience as well as callers who were watching the show on television. As co-owner of the Roc-A-Fella empire,

Jay-Z. ª Tim Shaffer/Reuters/Corbis.

Jay-Z is kept busy with Rocawear, the company’s clothing line and Roc-A-Fella films. He is co-owner of the New Jersey Nets basketball team as well as a New York sports bar called 40/40 Club. He is the first nonathlete to have a signature line of Reebok sneakers, called the S. Carter Collection. His shoe is the fastest-selling sneaker in Reebok’s history.

West’s debut album won Best Rap Album at the fortyseventh annual Grammy Awards in February 2005. The single ‘‘Jesus Walks’’ won Best Rap Song. And though he was nominated for Best New Artist, he lost to the pop/rock group Maroon 5 (see entry). Altogether, West enjoyed ten Grammy nominations that year, either as producer or recording artist. He was not ignored for the Black Entertainment Television (BET) Awards, either. In fact, West walked away a double winner from the fifth annual awards in June 2005. He won Best Male Hip-Hop Artist

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

463

kanye west

and Video of the Year, for ‘‘Jesus Walks.’’ West produced three different videos for that one song. The popularity of even that one single (‘‘Jesus Walks’’) is proof that West has found a niche for his gospel/rap/hip-hop/ R&B style of music. But his tunes aren’t without their critics. Barbara Kiviat of Time magazine asked the singer about the contradiction between the religious undertones of ‘‘Jesus Walks’’ and the profanity on the rest of The College Dropout. ‘‘Contradiction is part of who I am. I am a real person, and I make my mistakes and I laugh and I cry and I smile and I hate and I love,’’ West replied. He also explained his commentary on college, which some critics say encourages kids to drop out. ‘‘People try to make it seem like if you go to college and you get all A’s, that you’ll move to the suburbs, have 2.5 kids and live happily ever after. But in many cases life just doesn’t work like that. : : : What I’m saying is, Make your own decision.’’

Branching out On July 2, thousands of recording artists donated their time and talent to Live 8, a concert held in ten cities and four continents across the globe. The mission of this free concert was to pressure political leaders into committing themselves to ending poverty in Africa. The concert was considered a huge success by all participants and its organizer, Bob Geldof (1954–). West performed in Live 8 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, despite being threatened with a lawsuit if he did. The rapper told MTV News, ‘‘We had to go through a lot be here today. I had another performance and they’re like, ‘There’s no way you can be here—you’ll get sued if you go to this.’’’ West took the chance because he felt it was the least he could do to help out. ‘‘I would rather take that chance because it’s important for my people,’’ he told MTV. As if life wasn’t already busy enough, West has begun plans for his own line of clothing and sneakers, tentatively called Pastel and Mascott, respectively. A self-proclaimed fashion lover, the business mogul claims to have been compared to Carlton, the preppy and polite character from the television sitcom ‘‘The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.’’

464

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

kanye west

Kanye West performs at the 2005 Live 8 concert in Philadelphia. AP/Wide World Photos.

West established his own record label as well. G.O.O.D. (Getting Out Our Dreams) has already signed and released an album by John Legend (1979–), the label’s first artist. West’s second album, Late Registration, was released in August 2005. This was his first album made with his new production partner, film composer/musician/ songwriter Jon Brion. His contributions to the album include playing guitar and keyboards as well as helping with song composition. The partnership surprised people in the music industry. Brion is best known for his orchestral arrangements for female artists Aimee Mann (1960–) and Fiona Apple (1977–). Other recording artists who collaborated with West on Late Registration include Jay-Z, Maroon 5’s Adam Levine (1979–), and Brandy (1979–). West’s first single from the album, ‘‘Diamonds from Sierra Leone,’’ received high marks from music critics. West wasn’t so sure. The twenty eight year old told Teen People, ‘‘It’s hard when

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

465

kanye west

people are depending on you to have an album that’s not just good, but inspired. : : : I want my songs to touch people, to give them what they need. Every time I make an album, I’m trying to make a cure for cancer, musically. That stresses me out!’’ West worked with award-winning video director Hype Williams to produce a video for ‘‘Diamonds.’’ The singer used the video to raise awareness of the so-called ‘‘blood diamond’’ trade of Sierra Leone. Millions of Africans have lost their lives to the mining of these diamonds. The video positions the glamorous life depicted in a modern diamond commercial against the images of the brutal blood diamond trade. ‘‘I wanted to do whatever I could to learn more and educate people about the problem,’’ West told Business Wire. The song’s lyrics speak for themselves: Though it’s thousands of miles away, Sierra Leone connect to what we go through today Over here it’s the drug trade, we die from drugs. Over there, they die from what we buy from drugs The Diamonds. The chains, the bracelets, the charms is I thought my Jesus piece was so harmless, till I seen a picture of a shorty armless, and here’s the conflict It’s in the black person’s soul, to rock that gold.

For More Information Periodicals Christian, Margena A. ‘‘Why everybody is talking about producerturned-rapper Kanye West.’’ Jet (January 31, 2005). Davis, Kimberly. ‘‘Kanye West hip-hop’s new big shot: talks about his next surprising moves and why marriage is the key to life.’’ Ebony (April 2005). Davis, Kimberly. ‘‘The many faces of Kanye West: producer-turnedhit rapper takes hip-hop in new direction.’’ Ebony (June 2004). Foxx, Jamie. ‘‘Kanye West: in just a few short years, he has emerged as one of music’s premiere behind-the-scenes hitmakers. But it took a near-fatal crash—and one of the year’s most inventive songs—for him to take center stage.’’ Interview (August 2004). ‘‘Kanye’s Next Move.’’ Rolling Stone (August 11, 2005): p. 16.

466

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

kanye west Kiviat, Barbara. ‘‘Ten Questions for Kanye West.’’ Time (December 20, 2004). ‘‘Throw Your Diamonds in the Sky: Kanye West Returns with Epic New Video ‘Diamonds from Sierra Leone’; Hype WilliamsDirected Video Set to Air This Week as Hot New Remix Feat. Jay-Z Blasts off at Radio.’’ Business Wire (June 15, 2005).

Web Sites Birchmeier, Jason. ‘‘Jay-Z.’’ MTV.com. http://www.mtv.com/bands/ az/jay_z/bio.jhtml (accessed on August 9, 2005). ‘‘Kanye West.’’ Rapcityz.com. http://www.rapcityz.com/biokanyewst. htm (accessed on August 9, 2005). ‘‘Kanye West.’’ UniversalUrban.com. http://universalurban.com/ kanyewest/index.php (accessed on August 9, 2005). ‘‘Kanye West: Biography.’’ VH1.com. http://www.vh1.com/artists/az/ west_kanye/bio.jhtml (accessed on August 9, 2005). ‘‘Kanye West in Legal Battle to Appear at Live 8.’’ Femalefirst (July 4, 2005). http://www.femalefirst.co.uk/entertainment/69392004. htm (accessed on August 9, 2005).

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

467

. .

Mario Ruiz/Time Life Pictures/Getty Images.

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

Christopher Wheeldon

Yeovil, Somerset, England

Ballet choreographer, dancer

Called

ballet’s hottest choreographer in 2004, Christopher Wheeldon has choreographed more than thirty ballets in five years. His productions have almost always received high marks from critics, and ballet companies across the country consider it an honor to work with the thirty two year old. Wheeldon has been compared to ballet masters George Balanchine (1904–1983) and Jerome Robbins (1918–1998) almost since he began choreographing. And that comparison has never left him.

Born to dance Christopher Wheeldon was born in Somerset, England. He began lessons at the East Coker Ballet School when he was eight years old. He enrolled in London’s Royal Ballet School at

469

christopher wheeldon

age eleven and trained until he was eighteen. And though he was a dancer in those early days, hints of his future as a choreographer shone through. ‘‘I enjoyed being the center of attention, being bossy,’’ Wheeldon told Sarah Kaufman of the Washington Post. While home during summer vacation, the young dancer would recruit neighborhood friends into dance productions he wrote and choreographed. While still a student, Wheeldon won prizes for his choreography. At seventeen, he was one of five dancers chosen to compete at the Prix de Lausanne, an international dance competition held each year to help dance students kickstart their professional careers. One

...................................................................................................................

‘‘Dance has been my way of life since I was a child and I’ll never give it up—it really is my reason for living.’’ hundred and twenty dancers are chosen to compete; only fifteen make the final round. The winner is awarded a study scholarship with the finest schools and dance companies in the world. Wheeldon won the Gold Medal in 1991. That same year, he was accepted into the Royal Ballet Company (RBC). Wheeldon stayed with the RBC for just two years. Then an unusual opportunity presented itself. While recovering from a dance injury in 1993, Wheeldon was lying on his sofa with a bag of frozen peas on his ankle to keep the swelling down, watching endless hours of television. A commercial played that promised a free plane ticket to New York City for everyone who bought a Hoover vacuum. Wheeldon bought the Hoover and claimed his ticket. He visited the New York City Ballet (NYCB) during his trip and participated in a couple of classes as a guest. Even before leaving the city to return home, Wheeldon was invited to become a member of their company. The twenty year old accepted and was promoted to the rank of Soloist in 1998. During his years as a dancer, Wheeldon worked with some of the most famous

470

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

christopher wheeldon

choreographers of all time, including Jerome Robbins and George Balanchine. Years later, his innate feel for choreography and his willingness to reimagine and rework traditional ballets would be favorably compared to these dance masters.

Finds his calling as a choreographer Although he enjoyed dancing, Wheeldon never forgot the advice given to him by Sir Kenneth MacMillan, a respected British ballet choreographer who had more than forty ballets under his belt by the time he retired. Wheeldon shared with John Percival of The Independent, ‘‘I was summoned to the presence, and he told me, ‘You seem to have some talent for choreography; you should take every opportunity you have to practice it and make ballets’.’’ Wheeldon did as he was told and choreographed student-led productions for the Royal Ballet School, the London Studio Centre, and the School of American Ballet. He proved himself capable of working with large ballet corps (groups), a talent that set him apart from other young choreographers. Wheeldon quit dancing at the end of the spring season in 2000 to focus his attention and energy on choreography. Peter Martins, director of the NYCB, hired Wheeldon to be the company’s first artist in residence, a position created just for him. Wheeldon was just twenty-eight years old. His first choreographed ballet as resident artist was Polyphonia. It was given its world premiere in January 2001 and received excellent reviews. Clive Barnes of Dance Magazine wrote, ‘‘There is not a step in Polyphonia that doesn’t progress naturally from the step before it. The dance—prickly, angular—moves with the force of nature like the wind.’’ Jackie McGlone of scotsman.com called the ballet an ‘‘immaculate masterpiece.’’ Wheeldon won the London Critics’ Circle Award for Best New Ballet for Polyphonia. A production in 2002 by the NYCB earned the Olivier Award for Best New Dance Production. In May 2001, the NYCB performed Wheeldon’s Variations Serieuses. With that ballet, Wheeldon appeared to have earned the respect of even the toughest critics. Anna Kisselgoff, dean of

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

471

christopher wheeldon

Christopher Wheeldon, pictured here in 1995, quit dancing in 2000 to focus his attention and energy on choreography. ª Julie Lemberger/Corbis.

American dance critics, wrote in the New York Times, ‘‘No ballet choreographer of his generation can match his imaginative use of the classical vocabulary.’’ And that is what the budding choreographer became known for: his ability to modernize the classical ballet without sacrificing its strength and beauty. Wheeldon credited his training. ‘‘I feel quite lucky and grateful for growing up in the environment of theatrical story ballets and a very solid,

472

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

christopher wheeldon

very old tradition in ballet,’’ he was quoted as saying in 2001. That same May, Wheeldon was named resident choreographer for NYCB, another position created just for him.

A man of many projects While choreographing ballets for the NYCB, Wheeldon had his creative hands in projects for other organizations, including the Boston Ballet, the Royal Ballet, and the San Francisco Ballet. He won countless awards for his many ballets, and more than one New York critic called him ‘‘the best thing to happen to ballet for 50 years.’’ Wheeldon admits to not believing his own publicity. He explained his stance to Jackie McGlone of scotsman.com: ‘‘I simply do not set too much store by the good reviews, because then I don’t have to set too much by the bad ones.’’ Wheeldon got his first taste of bad publicity with his Broadway debut ballet, The Sweet Smell of Success. The 2002 ballet was a stage adaptation of a film by the same name. Without exception, the musical is considered Wheeldon’s weakest work. Critic Gerald Rabkin wrote a review for CultureVulture.com in which he called Wheeldon’s choreography ‘‘merely serviceable,’’ meaning it did the job but was nothing to get excited about. Wheeldon’s debut was not without value, however, as it introduced him to actor and writer John Lithgow, who performed in the musical. Their next collaboration (in Carnival of the Animals) was considered more successful. By June 2002, Wheeldon had produced the ballet Morphoses. He followed that up with several projects, including a 2003 ballet set to the score (music) of Camille Saint-Saens’ Carnival of the Animals. The ballet was given the same title and included verse written by Lithgow. The year 2002 brought Wheeldon together professionally with Scottish composer James MacMillan. The two ballet greats collaborated on Tryst, performed by the Royal Ballet Company. MacMillan was thrilled at the opportunity to work with Wheeldon. In an interview for Ballet Magazine in 2003, the composer reminisced, ‘‘He has shone a light into the music, which is a new and unexpected perspective. There is something

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

473

christopher wheeldon

in both our work that evokes this sense of mysticism, mystery or otherness. I was aware of that corresponding sense of beauty . . . [which] allowed me to revisit the music of Tryst and see again how vivid the experience was when I wrote the music initially 14 years ago.’’ Tryst was just one of a number of Wheeldon/ MacMillan projects performed by the RBC.

Swan Lake In 2004, Wheeldon was commissioned (hired) by the Pennsylvania Ballet to choreograph a ballet of his choice. Wheeldon chose one of his favorite ballets, Swan Lake, and was given $1 million to make it happen. He was indecisive about how to proceed with the project. Should he go the traditional route and perform the entire (and very long) ballet? Or would it be better to modernize the production a bit, putting a new spin on the narrative? In the end, the reviews spoke for themselves. Janet Anderson of the Philadelphia City Paper praised Wheeldon’s inventiveness. ‘‘The choreographer managed the impossible, keeping all the classic’s famous moments and yet creating something magnificently, even wildly, original for Pennsylvania Ballet.’’ Wheeldon incorporated different performance styles into his Swan Lake production. While keeping the choreography traditional, he updated the sets and costumes and incorporated a modern energy into the classic. According to Dancing Times magazine, Wheeldon had concerns about his approach to the ballet. ‘‘I always felt Philadelphia was a fairly conservative audience, not just for ballet and dance. I was a little concerned that this might be too much of a stretch for them but, as it turned out, almost across the board, people not only accepted it but enthusiastically embraced it.’’ The ballet was so successful that Wheeldon was invited to take the production to the 2005 Edinburgh International Festival in Scotland. This was a monumental moment for the Pennsylvania Ballet, an organization that had kept a low profile over the years in comparison to troupes such as the New York City Ballet. All ballet companies aspire to be invited to the festival; to receive an

474

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

christopher wheeldon

The Late, Great Jerome Robbins

When Chris Wheeldon is compared to Jerome Robbins, the young choreographer takes that as a compliment. Wheeldon studied with Robbins in the early stages of his career. The budding choreographer was just nineteen years old when he danced his first workshop with Robbins. The master punched Wheeldon on the shoulders and muttered ‘‘Mmmm— not bad!’’ As Wheeldon told Ballet magazine in 2003, ‘‘He was a far more generous man than people give him credit for. That little punch—because he didn’t have to say anything—was enough for me to give me the boost that I needed.’’ Jerome Robbins was born October 11, 1918, in New York City. He dropped out of college when he realized his limited potential as a student and found work training as a ballet dancer at the Sandor Dance School. In 1944, Robbins tried his hand at writing a ballet, and his first, Fancy Free, opened at the Metropolitan Opera House in April that year. The ballet received twenty-four curtain calls; Robbins was an instant hit. He had teamed up with the then-unknown composer Leonard Bernstein (1918–1990), who wrote the score for the musical. The team produced another hit in December. On the Town cemented Robbins’s place in ballet history, and—with 66 ballets to his credit—he remained the master of his craft until his death more than fifty years later. Robbins enjoyed particular success with his Broadway titles, including West Side Story (another Bernstein-Robbins smash hit). His role in this production won him two Academy Awards (one for direction, one for choreography), but this was also the point in his career in which he earned a reputation as being a ruthless perfectionist. It was a reputation that would be with him throughout his life.

. .

Jerome Robbins (left) with famous actor/dancer Gene Kelly. AP/Wide World Photos.

Regardless of reputation, Robbins’s style paid off. The choreographer won countless awards for his work throughout his career, and his name is attached to such famous musicals as Fiddler on the Roof and Gypsy. In 1998, Robbins died in his home from a stroke at the age of seventy-nine. Robbins is largely credited, along with George Balanchine (1904–1983) and Lincoln Kirstein (1906–1996), with establishing the New York City Ballet. Kirstein, who supported the arts through his financial donations, helped fund and bring to life Balanchine’s vision of a ballet school. Once the American School of Ballet was established, Robbins and Balanchine set out to make the New York City Ballet the most renowned ballet company in the world.

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

475

christopher wheeldon

invitation is basically to be told you’ve made it to the big-time. Wheeldon had been to the festival in 2003 with the San Francisco Ballet, where the troupe performed Rush. For that production, Wheeldon won the coveted National Dance Award for Best Choreography in 2004.

2005 and beyond Since 2000, Wheeldon has created more than thirty new productions, though he lost track of the exact count. In early 2005, the award-winning choreographer worked with the NYCB to create After the Rain, his eleventh ballet with the company. The ballet was meant to be a swan song (the last performance) for veteran ballet dancer Jock Soto, who was on the verge of retiring. After the Rain garnered high praise for both Wheeldon and Soto. Wheeldon also pleased critics with his American in Paris and There Where She Loved. By mid-July 2005, the choreographer was spending his time with the San Francisco Ballet, working on his new production, Quarternary. The name means ‘‘four parts;’’ each act of the ballet focuses on a specific season in the cycle. Wheeldon loves the San Francisco Ballet dancers. ‘‘They’re quick,’’ he told Rachel Howard of the San Francisco Chronicle. ‘‘There’s no waiting while someone sulks because they don’t like the steps.’’ The thirty-two-year-old Wheeldon lives in New York’s Upper West Side and enjoys a second home in Spain. He keeps his private life private, but doesn’t mind talking about his work. In his 2005 interview with Jackie McGlone, the master craftsman mused, ‘‘I sometimes wonder if I’m going to fail the next time, and indeed whether there’s going to be a next time. Perhaps that’s why I feel that the time has come to take a step in another direction. And I will; I will.’’

For More Information Periodicals Carman, Joseph. ‘‘The Evolution of Christopher Wheeldon.’’ Dance Magazine (May 1, 2003).

476

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

christopher wheeldon Kaufman, Sarah. ‘‘Ever on Their Toes.’’ Washington Post (February 24, 2005): p. C01. Mead, David. ‘‘Edinburgh Festival Preview: Pennsylvania Ballet in Wheeldon’s Swan Lake.’’ Dancing Times (July 2007). Percival, John. ‘‘Dance: Sweet Success.’’ The Independent (May 6, 2002). Porterfield, Christopher. ‘‘In the Ear, Out the Foot: A forward-looking traditionalist, Christopher Wheeldon, 31, is ballet’s hottest choreographer.’’ Time (May 10, 2004).

Web Sites Anderson, Janet. ‘‘Swan Lake.’’ Philadelphia Citypaper.net (June 10–16, 2004). http://citypaper.net/articles/2004-06-10/dance.shtml (accessed on August 9, 2005). ‘‘Christopher Wheeldon: new ballet.’’ Royal Opera House (February 12, 2005). http://info.royaloperahouse.org/News/ Index.cfm?ccs=714 (accessed on August 9, 2005). ‘‘Christopher Wheeldon, Resident Choreographer of New York City Ballet.’’ New York City Ballet. http://www.nycballet.com/about/ cwheeldon.html (accessed on August 9, 2005). Howard, Rachel. ‘‘Christopher Wheeldon is taking S.F. Ballet to choreography’s cutting edge—and to Paris.’’ SFGate.com (July 1, 2005). http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/ 07/01/DDG9PDEKHG18.DTL (accessed on August 9, 2005). McCarthy, Brendan. ‘‘Christopher Wheeldon, Choreographer.’’ Ballet.co Magazine (August 2003). http://www.ballet.co.uk/ magazines/yr_03/aug03/interview_wheeldon.htm (accessed on August 9, 2005). McGlone, Jackie. ‘‘Leap of Faith.’’ Scotsman.com (July 17, 2005). http://news.scotsman.com/features.cfm?id=1635022005 (accessed August 9, 2005). Vaill, Amanda. ‘‘A Biography in Brief.’’ Jerome Robbins. http:// jeromerobbins.org/bio-vaill.htm (accessed on August 9, 2005). Wood, Astrida. ‘‘Chris Wheeldon Shines in ‘After the Rain’.’’ Show Business Weekly (January 26, 2005). http://www.showbusiness weekly.com/archive/318/dance.shtml (accessed on August 9, 2005).

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

477

Viktor Yushchenko

February 23, 1954

. Khoruzhivka,

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

ª Alain Nogues/Corbis.

Sumy Oblast, Ukraine

President of Ukraine

Viktor

Yushchenko was Prime Minister of Ukraine from December 1999 to April 2001. After being voted out of office 263 votes to 69 votes, Yushchenko became leader of Our Ukraine, a political coalition (a combination of people working for the same cause). Members of Our Ukraine won 101 seats in the 450-seat legislature in 2002, making Our Ukraine the most powerful party in Parliament (Ukraine’s governing body). In 2004 Yushchenko was elected the president of Ukraine in the country’s first free election. During his campaign, he was poisoned with a near-fatal dose of the toxin dioxin. The poisoning has left him with permanent scars on his face. This personal attack left Yushchenko even more determined to lead his country out of the state of government and police corruption it has been living in for decades.

479

viktor yushchenko

Helps establish Europe’s newest bank Viktor Andriyovych Yushchenko was born to a teacher’s family on February 23, 1954, in the village of Khoruzhivka in Sumy Oblast, Ukraine. (Ukraine is in eastern Europe and borders the Black Sea.) Yushchenko graduated college in 1975 from the Ternopil Finance and Economics Institute. His first job was with the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) State Bank, where he was an economist and department chief. After earning his graduate

...................................................................................................................

‘‘I am not afraid of anything or anybody.’’ degree in finance and credit from the Ukrainian Institute of Economics and Agricultural Management in 1984, Yushchenko was appointed Deputy Director for Agricultural Crediting for the Ukraine branch of the USSR State Bank. He held this position until 1987, when he left for another banking position elsewhere. The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) hired Yushchenko to be its governor (president) in 1993. NBU was Europe’s newest central bank at the time, and Yushchenko played an important role in developing its policies and procedures. He stayed with NBU for six years.

Earns international reputation as Prime Minister In December 1999 Ukraine’s president, Leonid Kuchma, nominated Yushchenko as prime minister. In this case, a prime minister is the person responsible for carrying out the president’s orders and directives. It is an important job. Parliament approved Yushchenko’s nomination 296 to 12. Yushchenko brought to life a number of reforms that helped turn around Ukraine’s struggling economy. He is credited

480

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

viktor yushchenko

with paying off millions of dollars of Ukrainian debt through cuts in federal spending and by improving investment conditions in the country and overseas. Because of his success, Yushchenko was able to restore public trust in government, something that was destroyed through years of political corruption. One of the more challenging aspects of Yushchenko’s job was to increase the level of honesty and open communication between the government and the public. Prior to his election, Ukraine lived in fear of its government leaders, who were infamous for their willingness to stop at nothing to get what they wanted. In 2001, Yushchenko’s deputy prime minister, Yulia Tymoshenko (1960–), got into a heated argument with leaders of the coal-mining and natural gas industries. These leaders were powerful and had great influence on an already-corrupt government. As a result, parliament voted to remove Yushchenko from office, 263 to 69. Though a harsh response, this move did not come as a great surprise to anyone. The government in Ukraine was mainly Communist; it believed in a powerful governing body that gave citizens few choices in anything ranging from food to healthcare. This is called a centralized government. Yushchenko believed in democracy and capitalism: He wanted people to be able to own businesses and enjoy the freedoms that America is known for. His beliefs threatened those few powerful men in Ukraine’s government. Four million votes were gathered in support of a petition to get Yushchenko back in office. Tens of thousands of Ukrainians protested his dismissal. Their efforts were of no use; Yushchenko was out of office. But he was not out of power.

Our Ukraine Early in 2002 Viktor Yushchenko became the leader of Our Ukraine, a political coalition. Our Ukraine united various democratic parties and groups from across the nation in hopes of bringing democracy to the Ukraine. Our Ukraine formed the largest parliamentary faction of 2002, claiming 101 seats of the 450-seat legislature. It seemed the corrupt government of Ukraine was in danger of being overthrown.

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

481

viktor yushchenko

Although Ukraine’s presidents were determined by election, it was no secret that fraud was widespread in elections. Everyone knew it, and no one felt able to fight it with even a remote hope of winning. Yushchenko changed that. When he announced he would run for the office of president in the 2004 election, Yushchenko brought hope to hundreds of thousands of citizens who were weary of living under a dictatorship disguised as a presidency. They were ready for a change.

Becomes victim of a murder plot Yushchenko was running against Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych. Yanukovych was a political ally of outgoing president Leonid Kuchma. Kuchma’s administration depended upon corruption and dishonesty for its power. Government officials ruled with a sense of terror rather than justice. For the powerful and wealthy few, having Yanukovych elected president was important. Should Yushchenko win, Ukraine’s government was sure to topple. Yushchenko’s campaign promises included a better quality of life for Ukrainians through democracy. His wife, Katherine, told CBS in a 2005 interview, ‘‘He was a great threat to the old system, where there was a great deal of corruption, where people were making millions, if not billions.’’ On September 6, 2004, Yushchenko became ill after dining with leaders of the Ukrainian secret police. Unlike other social or political engagements, this dinner did not include anyone else on Yushchenko’s team. No precautions were taken regarding the food. Within hours after the dinner, Yushchenko began vomiting violently. His face became paralyzed; he could not speak or read. He developed a severe stomachache and backache as well as gastrointestinal pain. Outwardly, Yushchenko developed what is known as chloracne, a serious skin condition that leaves the face scarred and disfigured. By December 2004, doctors had determined that Yushchenko had been the victim of dioxin poisoning. Dioxin is a name given to a group of related toxins that can cause cancer and even death. Dioxin was used in the biochemical weapon called Agent Orange during the Vietnam War (1954–75; a

482

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

viktor yushchenko

Viktor Yushchenko photographed in March 2002, left, and December 2004, right. Toxicological analysis found the mysterious illness that scarred his face was caused by dioxin poisoning. AP/Wide World Photos.

controversial war in which the United States aided South Vietnam in its fight against a takeover by Communist North Vietnam). Yushchenko had a dioxin level six thousand times greater than that normally found in the bloodstream. His is the second-highest level ever recorded. Yushchenko immediately suspected he had been poisoned, though Kuchma’s camp passionately denied such allegations. Instead, when Yushchenko showed up at a parliamentary meeting shortly after the poisoning incident, Kuchma’s men teased him, saying he must have had too much to drink or was out too late the night before. Dioxin can stay in the body for up to thirty-five years. Experts predict that his swelling and scars will fade but never completely disappear. John Henry, a toxicologist at London’s Imperial Hospital, told RedNova.com, ‘‘It’ll be a couple of years, and he will always be a bit pockmarked. After

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

483

viktor yushchenko

damage as heavy as that, I think he will not return to his film star looks.’’ And Yushchenko will live with the constant threat of cancer. At first it was believed the poison must have come from a Russian laboratory. Russia was a strong supporter of Kuchma and lobbied against Yushchenko in the 2004 election. But by July 2005, Yushchenko’s security forces were able to trace the poison to a lab in Ukraine. Though not entirely ruling out Russia’s involvement, Yushchenko is quoted on his Web site as saying ‘‘I’m sure that even though some people are running from the investigation, we will get them. I am not afraid of anything or anybody.’’

Birth of a revolution Even an attempt on his life didn’t stop Yushchenko from finishing his presidential campaign. On October 31, 2004, neither Yushchenko nor Yanukovych won the absolute majority of votes (meaning no candidate received more than 50 percent of the votes). Ukrainian law mandates that in such an event, the two candidates with the highest number of votes must compete in a run-off election. The winner of that election would officially become president. That election took place on November 21, 2004, in Kiev, the Ukraine capital. Exit polls (the unofficial tally of votes at the end of an election) on November 21 showed that Yushchenko had an 11 percent lead over Yanukovych. Official results gave the election to Yanukovych by a mere 3 percent. Official votes were counted by officials under the authority of Yanukovych. The incumbent laid the blame for the difference on the media’s shoulders. But Yushchenko’s team countered by publicizing obvious evidence of electoral fraud on the part of the government, which backed Yanukovych. Signs of similar fraud were apparent in the original election held in October, too, but to a much lesser—and more difficult to prove—extent. The Ukrainian people had had enough. Hundreds of thousands of protesters gathered in Kiev and other cities across Ukraine. Yushchenko supporters planned strikes and sit-ins to protest the obvious rigging of the run-off election. They

484

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

viktor yushchenko

wore orange ribbons, carried orange banners, and wore orange clothing. Orange had been the official color of Yushchenko’s campaign. Thus, the Orange Revolution was born. The Orange Revolution brought Ukraine’s political crisis to the attention of the entire world. Ukraine’s Supreme Court demanded another run-off election be held. Voters gathered together once again, and this time, the results were clear. Viktor Yushchenko was declared the official winner and was sworn into office on January 23, 2005, in Kiev. He became the country’s first freely elected president. After the final election, the New York Times reported that Ukrainian security agencies helped the Orange Revolution succeed. Remember, these agencies were under the authority of the corrupt president and his favored candidate, Yanukovych. The paper reported that on November 28, more than ten thousand troops were ordered to put down the Orange Revolution protests in Kiev. The commander of the military unit warned Yushchenko’s team of the crackdown, thereby giving them time to alert the protesters and avoid bloodshed. Further revelations show that many intelligence officers supported Yushchenko’s ideas of democracy and gathered proof of voting fraud and incriminating conversations held between leaders of Yanukovych’s team. It is believed that this evidence was recorded and provided to Yushchenko by Ukrainian Security Services. After his official election with a 51.99 percent of the vote, Yushchenko addressed the crowd: ‘‘This is a victory of the Ukrainian people, the Ukrainian nation. . . . This is what dozens of millions of Ukrainians dreamt about. Today it is fashionable, stylish and beautiful to be a citizen of Ukraine.’’ And at 3:00 AM on December 27, he addressed his supporters with ‘‘during 14 years we were independent, but we were not free,’’ as reported in the Ukrainian Weekly.

Pledges membership of Ukraine to European Union The European Union (EU) is a network for economic and political cooperation between twenty-five countries. These European states

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

485

viktor yushchenko

Viktor Yushchenko waves to supporters during a ceremony to mark his inauguration in Kiev, Ukraine, January 23, 2005. ª Baran Alexander/ITAR-TASS/Corbis.

joined together in an effort to establish rules and regulations of trade, labor, and business that would make for a more stable economy. In the past, Ukraine was indifferent to the EU; it wanted no part in the framework. Instead, president Kuchma favored privatization of the Ukrainian economy, which meant giving all the power to a handful of people who had pledged their support to Kuchma. Yushchenko recognized the benefits that belonging to the EU would provide his country. In an article on his official Web site, Yushchenko said, ‘‘The citizens of no European country object to Ukraine joining the EU. We consider that Ukraine is an inseparable part of Europe.’’ Although Russian president Vladimir Putin (1952–) gave his support to the opposition, Yushchenko held a series of highprofile meetings with the leader in 2005. Political experts expected

486

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

viktor yushchenko

progress in all areas that once were deadlocked under the old leadership. Already by July 2005, Russia was exporting more goods to Ukraine than ever before. The key to improving relations with Europe and joining with full membership in the EU is Ukraine’s relationship with Russia. Russia is a political and economic powerhouse, and Yushchenko was not the president Putin was hoping to deal with.

Six months later Six months after Yushchenko’s victory, supporters of Yanukovych lined the streets in protest. Some were so angry that they quit their jobs and lived on the streets full time. These protesters claimed that anyone who supported the opposition was being persecuted. Yanukovych has been questioned by the police many times, and the Ukrainian Ombudsman (person who works with people who have a complaint) said it was investigating the cases of twelve thousand workers who said they were fired because they did not support Yushchenko in the election. The Minister of Justice denied that anyone was being politically persecuted. He told BBC News that authorities were investigating allegations of corruption because to do otherwise would be a violation of the spirit of the Orange Revolution. ‘‘People were demanding justice.’’ There is no doubt Yushchenko was making drastic and sweeping changes. July 18, 2005, was a particularly busy day for the president. He dismissed the leaders of all regional interior departments. The president told leaders at a meeting of Interior Ministry officials, ‘‘Trust in police must be restored. This is our common work, which must begin from replacing the local police heads.’’ That same day, Yushchenko ordered a decree to be drawn up that would disband Ukraine’s traffic police department. After deciding it was impossible to rid the department of deep-seated corruption, the president announced he would abolish the department altogether, leaving twenty-three thousand employees out of work. Traffic police in Ukraine are known for their habit of stopping motorists and fining them on the spot for

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

487

viktor yushchenko

imaginary offenses. They are infamous for demanding bribe money. Yushchenko claimed that he warned senior officials three times that if the department did not clean itself up, he would get rid of it. The new patrol service would be closely monitored for bribe-taking and swearing. Yushchenko told law enforcement officials, ‘‘You are servants of the state. Try to talk without swearing. If anyone can’t learn to do this, then write a letter of resignation.’’

Scandal at the top In July 2005, Yushchenko’s nineteen-year-old son, Andriy, became embroiled in a scandal that infuriated Ukrainians, regardless of their political convictions. Journalists brought to light Andriy’s lavish lifestyle and questioned the morality of such a lifestyle in a country that is still struggling to find its way. According to Mosnews.com, the young Yushchenko drives a brand new BMW 16 (valued at $120,000), uses a platinum body Vertu mobile phone (priced at $30,000), and bribes restaurants with wads of cash to give him the best tables. These facts alone are not unusual when talking about the children of political leaders; many children of leaders worldwide live lives of luxury. But in this case, the problem stems from where the money comes. Nikolai Katerinchuk, Ukraine’s deputy head of the country’s tax inspectorate, claims Andriy’s annual income amounts to $100 million. And that money comes from the sale of Orange Revolution memorabilia. After Yushchenko’s election victory, the president gave his son all property rights for Orange Revolution memorabilia. The items are still popular and enjoy steady sales in the region of Kiev. A flag sells for $1-$5; a T-shirt costs $20. According to a 2005 Russian News and Information Agency article written by political commentator Peter Lavelle, when asked about his son’s spending habits, the president replied, ‘‘Let me tell you, friends, such . . . [questions] should be humiliating for an honest journalist.’’ Yushchenko has been highly criticized for his emotional response to his son’s predicament. Many citizens see his

488

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

viktor yushchenko

reaction as symbolic of all that is wrong since the Orange Revolution. Lavelle considered Yushchenko’s comments to be the same as an admission of how little has been done to deal with corrupt government officials since Yushchenko took office. Ukrainian citizens are very aware that some state officials continue to live well at the expense of everyone else. This is seen as a breach of just one of the promises made by the Orange Revolution.

Murder and mayhem To make matters worse for Yushchenko, frustration levels of the public were already high due to the lack of justice for murdered journalist Georgy Gongadze. Thirty-one-year-old Gongadze was the respected publisher of the online journal Ukrainska Pravda, a publication known for its willingness to print the truth even if it angered people in powerful positions. He was considered a hero for the underdog, a champion of justice in the midst of evil. The journalist went missing on November 13, 2000. He was found beheaded in a ditch some time later in a suburb of Kiev. At the time of his death, Gongadze had been investigating government corruption in Ukraine. Since Gongadze’s murder, two more journalists have been killed. Although an investigation got underway, no satisfactory results have been publicized. Yushchenko had promised citizens that the case would reach the courts by May 2005. As of August that year, his pledge went unfulfilled. Yushchenko has been criticized for hiring incompetent lawyers, and it is considered fact that Kuchma had been buying off people in the case whose knowledge might help solve the crime. It is widely suspected that Kuchma ordered the journalist’s kidnapping and murder, but no progress seemed to have been made in proving that allegation. Yushchenko was being held accountable for that lack of progress and justice in the Gongadze murder. Failure to close the case was damaging the president’s legitimacy, as well as those who serve under him. The hopes that fueled the Orange Revolution have been seriously dimmed.

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6

489

viktor yushchenko

For More Information Web Sites Fawkes, Helen. ‘‘Protest camps badger Yushchenko.’’ BBC News (July 18, 2005). http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/europe/ 4693419.stm (accessed on August 9, 2005). Lavelle, Peter. ‘‘Yushchenko loses his Orange Revolution cool.’’ Russian News and Information Agency Novosti (July 27, 2005). http://en.rian.ru/analysis/20050727/40985857.html (accessed on August 9, 2005). Mite, Valentinas. ‘‘Ukraine: Has Yushchenko’s Political Honeymoon Come to an End?’’ Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (July 27, 2005). http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2005/07/6ed958c8e9ab-4781-9aeb-3664aea0b123.html (accessed on August 9, 2005). Nynka, Andrew. ‘‘Yushchenko elected president of Ukraine.’’ Ukrainian Weekly (January 2, 2005). http://www.ukrweekly.com/ Archive/2005/010501.shtml (accessed on August 9, 2005). President of Ukraine: Official Web Site. http://www.president.gov.ua/ en/ (accessed on August 9, 2005). ‘‘Profile: Viktor Yushchenko.’’ BBC News (January 1, 2005). http:// news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/europe/4035789.stm (accessed on August 9, 2005). ‘‘Ukraine disappoints the West.’’ Pravda.ru (July 28, 2005). http:// english.pravda.ru/world/20/92/370/15875_Ukraine.html (accessed on August 9, 2005). ‘‘Ukraine traffic police abolished.’’ BBC News (July 18, 2005). http:// news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4694199.stm (accessed on August 9, 2005). ‘‘Viktor Yushchenko.’’ Biography.ms. http://victor-yushchenko. biography.ms/ (accessed on August 9, 2005). ‘‘Yushchenko: ‘Live and Carry On’.’’ CBSNews.com (January 30, 2005). http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/01/28/60minutes/ main670103.shtml (accessed on August 9, 2005). ‘‘Yushchenko poisoned by most harmful dioxin.’’ MSNBC.com (December 17, 2004). http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6697752/ (accessed on August 9, 2005). ‘‘Yushchenko Poisoned, Doctors Say.’’ DW-World.DE Deutsche welle (December 11, 2004). http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/ 0,1564,1425561,00.html (accessed on August 9, 2005). Yushchenko, Viktor. ‘‘Our Ukraine.’’ Opinion Journal (December 3, 2004). http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id = 110005974 (accessed August 9, 2005).

490

. .

U X L newsmakers

. volume 6