BESCHLOSS | MILLER | HOWARD | ROSE
Michael Beschloss was born in Chicago, Illinois. He is an alumnus of Eaglebrook School, Andover, Williams College, and Harvard University. At an early age, he was taken by his parents to the Abraham Lincoln site in Illinois. By highschool, he knew he wanted to become an historian. He has been an historian on the staff of the Smithsonian Institution (1982-1986), a Senior Associate Member at Oxford University in England (1986-1987), and a Senior Fellow of the Annenberg Foundation in Washington, D.C. (1988-1996). The 2008 Presidential election will make history. Who better to provide perspective on this historic election than the man whom Newsweek magazine has called “the nation’s leading presidential historian”. Come August 25, 2008, he will be providing historical perspective for PBS’ coverage of both the Republican and Democratic National Conventions. Beschloss is the author of nine books including: Presidential Courage: Brave Leaders and How they Changed America, 1789-1989. The Conquerors: Roosevelt, Truman and the Destruction of Hitler’s Germany, 1941-1945. Taking Charge and Reaching for Glory, edited transcripts of Lyndon Johnson’s conversations. Kennedy and Roosevelt: The Uneasy Alliance. The Crisis Years: Kennedy and Khrushchev. At the Highest Levels: The Inside Story of the End of the Cold War (with Strobe Talbot). Eisenhower: A Centennial Life and Mayday: Eisenhower, Khrushchev and the U-2 Affair. Mr. Beschloss holds two honorary doctorates. He is a trustee of the White House Historical Association, the National Archives Foundation, the Thomas Jefferson Foundation (Monticello), the Urban Institute, and the University of Virginia’s Miller Center of Public Affairs. He lives in Washington, D.C., with his wife Afsaneh Beschloss. Mrs. Beschloss is President and CEO of The Rock Creek Group and a former officer of the World Bank. Together, they have two sons.TOP OF PAGE |
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Dennis Miller was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. At Point Park University, he majored in journalism because he thought it would be easy. “I remember seeing All the President’s Men and thinking that Robert Redford looked cool in his crinkled tie”. Miller’s big break came in 1985, when he was discovered by Lorne Michaels at the Comedy Store. He landed a spot on Saturday Night Live as the Weekend Update anchor. Following his departure from SNL in 1991, he launched The Dennis Miller Show. The show was a first of its kind featuring cutting-edge bands and other groundbreaking guests not seen on other late-night programs of the time. After the entrée into late night television, he hosted Dennis Miller Live on HBO in 1994. Miller and his writing staff won five Emmy Awards while hosting the show during its nine year run. Miller is known for his laid-back, acerbic, brooding sense of humor. He also is a New York Times best selling author with the books: I Rant Therefore I Am, Ranting Again and The Rants. For two seasons, Miller called the plays alongside Al Michaels and NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Fouts on ABC’s “Monday Night Football.” He also has appeared in films such as The Net and most recently playing himself in Thank You for Smoking. In 2007, he signed a deal with Westwood One to launch a talk radio program called The Dennis Miller Show. In his first ever radio show, the Emmy Award winner and four-time Writer’s Guild Award winner offers his unique take on the day’s topics with comedy and satire. During the three hour talk show, Miller takes listeners calls, as well as conducts interviews with high profile guests. Recently, USA Cares, the nation’s leading non-profit organization providing post-9/11 veterans and military families with financial support and other critical resources announced that Dennis Miller is their National Spokesperson. Miller is a vocal advocate for military personnel and their families. Over the years, he has become both a public and critical favorite. The New York Times said, “Mr. Miller is exquisitely attuned to contemporary foibles…his material can be scathing, his delivery low key…Mr. Miller reaches a bit farther than most comedians for the scorching comment…this smart aleck has an uncommonly sharp eye…” Mr. Miller resides in Santa Barbara, California with his wife, Ali Espley. Ms. Espley is a former model. Together, they have two sons. |
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Ron Howard was born in Duncan, Oklahoma. Born into a show business family, he is the son of actors Rance and Jean Howard and brother to Clint, also an actor. Howard attended the University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts. Howard began appearing regularly on stage, television, and in films at an early age. He made notable performances in such films as The Music Man, The Courtship of Eddie’s Father, American Graffiti, and The Shootist. Among his best-known television roles are Opie Taylor from “The Andy Griffith Show” and Richie Cunningham in “Happy Days”. Howard’s real passion lay in directing feature film work. “As a young adult trying to make the transition from sitcom actor to motion picture director, I was getting a lot of patronizing pats on the head. ‘Hey, hang in there. In another 10-15 years, I’m sure somebody will give you a chance to direct.’ That’s not what I wanted to hear at all.” The young man, with one of the most recognizable faces in America, finally, was given the chance when low-budget film director, Roger Corman gave Howard that opportunity that no one else would. Howard would act in a film for Corman in exchange for the opportunity to direct. The result, Grand Theft Auto, succeeded beyond anyone’s expectations and started Howard on his career as a feature film director. The rest is history. Today, Ron Howard is one of the most sought after and highly regarded film directors in the business. From the critically acclaimed dramas A Beautiful Mind and Apollo 13 to the hit comedies Parenthood and Splash, he has created some of Hollywood’s most memorable films. Howard also directed and produced Cinderella Man. His skills as a director have long been recognized. He received his first Director of the Year Award from the Directors Guild of America (DGA) for his work on Apollo 13. Later, he went on to win an Oscar for Best Director for A Beautiful Mind. Howard and producer, Brian Grazer received the first annual Awareness Award from the National Mental Health Awareness Campaign for their work on the film. In 1986, Howard and his long-time producing partner, Brian Grazer co-founded Imagine Entertainment to create independently produced feature films. The company has produced such hits as American Gangster, Liar, Liar, and Friday Night Lights. Howard has also served as executive producer for such shows as Arrested Development, for which he also narrated. Howard is currently in post production on the film adaptation of Peter Morgan’s critically acclaimed play Frost/Nixon, and in pre-production for Dan Brown’s best-selling novel Angels & Demons. Mr. Howard resides in California and Connecticut. He is married to Cheryl Alley, a writer. Together, they have three daughters and one son.TOP OF PAGE |
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Charlie Rose was born in Henderson, North Carolina. His parents owned the Rose Gin & Supply Company, an agricultural store. Young Charlie worked in his father’s store from the age of seven. Rose entered Duke University as a premed student. One summer, he secured an internship in the office of Senator B. Everett Jordan. His experiences as an intern turned him into a political junkie. Upon returning to Duke he changed his major to history and received a law degree from Duke University School of Law. After law school, Rose traveled to New York. He took some business courses, considered banking as a career, and just as quickly rejected that notion. His former wife, worked at CBS and then later at the BBC. Rose, also, did some free-lance work at the BBC and worked weekends for the New York station WPIX. A fan of journalist Bill Moyers, Rose, as a reporter at WPIX, tried unsuccessfully, to interview him on several occasions. His wife intervened on his behalf convincing Moyers to do the interview and twenty minutes into the conversation, Bill Moyers said “why don’t you come work for me?” Rose went on to become managing editor of Bill Moyers’ International Report and then became executive producer of Bill Moyers’ Journal. At one point, Moyers put Rose in front of the camera and he liked the experience. As Moyers told Vanity Fair, “he engages almost physically in the conversation…In the South, to talk is to be. That’s Charlie…The camera was like a magnet drawing him.” Rose was hired by CBS News to host Nightwatch which he did for six and half years. The show developed a strong following and earned Rose an Emmy for his interview with murderer Charles Manson. He was encouraged to approach WNET-Channel 13 in New York (the city’s public broadcasting station) and the incarnation of the “Charlie Rose Show” was borne. In 1993, the show went national on PBS stations across the country. Five times a week, Rose conducts his own version of a cultural salon with a varied cast of characters. He is quoted in Esquire as saying his idea is to let his audience “eavesdrop on the most intelligent conversation on television.” Mr. Rose resides in New York City.TOP OF PAGE |
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David Gergen was born in Durham, North Carolina. He is an honors graduate of Yale University and Harvard Law School. Mr. Gergen grew up in an academic family. He spent three and half years in the U.S. Navy before being hired as a White House speechwriter at the age of twenty-eight during President Nixon’s first term. He had a ringside seat for history as it was being made. Gergen eventually rose to lead Nixon’s speechwriting team and learned of his involvement only two days before the news broke in August 1974. President Nixon asked him to write his resignation letter. As he watched Nixon leave the White House for the last time in his helicopter, Gergen thought his own career in public life was over. He recalled the infamous 1919 Chicago Black Sox World Series team, whose players were accused of cheating and banned for life. “I thought I’d never play again, “he said. “Since that searing experience with Watergate,” Gergen concluded, “I have always favored transparency.” This early experience improved his ability to advise Presidents Ford, Reagan, and Clinton. While holding various positions in the administrations of Presidents Nixon and Ford, he served as Director of Communications for President Reagan. He agreed to serve as counselor to President Clinton on both foreign and domestic affairs, then as a special adviser to the president and to Secretary of State Warren Christopher. Eventually, he returned to private life. He serves as a Professor of Public Service and the Director of the Center for Public Leadership at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He is also editor-at-large at U.S. News & World Report and is a Senior Political Analyst for CNN. In 2000, he penned the best-selling book titled, Eyewitness to Power: The Essence of Leadership, Nixon to Clinton. Mr. Gergen holds fifteen honorary degrees. He serves on many boards and is a member of the board of trustees of the Aspen Institute, Teach for America and Duke University. He lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts with his wife, Anne Gergen. Mrs. Gergen is a family therapist. Together, they have a daughter and a son.TOP OF PAGE |
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Jim Lehrer was born in Wichita, Kansas, but was raised, mostly, in Texas. He is a graduate of Victoria College and the University of Missouri’s School of Journalism. After graduation, he joined the Marine Corps. For six years he was a newspaperman at the The Dallas Morning News and the then Dallas Times-Herald. Lehrer’s newspaper career led him to public television, first in Dallas and then on to Washington, D.C. He went on to join the National Public Affairs Center for Television (NPACT) as a correspondent. It was Lehrer’s work with NPACT that led to his initial association with Robert MacNeil and, ultimately, to their long-term partnership. In 1973, they teamed up to provide NPACT’s continuous coverage of the Senate Watergate hearings, broadcast on PBS. Following that Emmy award winning collaboration, Lehrer was the solo anchor for PBS coverage of the House Judiciary Committee’s impeachment inquiry of Richard Nixon. He has been nicknamed the “Dean of Moderators” by former CNN newsman, Bernard Shaw. In the last five presidential elections, Lehrer has served as moderator for ten of the nationally televised debates among the candidates. When asked about the work that stands out in his career he says, “I have moderated six presidential debates. That will bring your adrenalin to a boil.” Coming August 25th-28th, 2008 and on September 1st-4th, 2008, PBS will air gavel-to-gavel coverage of the Democratic and Republican National Conventions. These eight nights of convention coverage will be the only complete coverage made available by a U.S. broadcast television network. The program will be anchored by Lehrer. Lehrer has been honored with numerous awards for journalism, including a presidential National Humanities Medal. He was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame with MacNeil and into the Silver Circle of The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. He has won two Emmy awards. Lehrer is the author of eighteen novels, two memoirs and three plays. His most recent novel, Mack to the Rescue, is the 7th in a successful series of novels featuring a fictional lieutenant governor of Oklahoma. He lives in Washington, D.C. with his wife, Kate. Mrs. Lehrer is a novelist. Together, they have three daughters.TOP OF PAGE |
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George Stephanopoulos was born in Fall River, Massachusetts, and grew up in suburban Cleveland, Ohio. His father, the Very Reverend Robert Stephanopoulos, is the Dean at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in New York City, the home parish of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. He is an honors graduate of Columbia University and received his Master’s degree in theology at Balliol College, Oxford University, England, where he studied as a Rhodes Scholar. Stephanopoulos became Communications Director of Clinton’s 1992 campaign. He then served in the Clinton Administration as the senior advisor to the president for policy and strategy. He left after Clinton’s first term. He penned a book in 1999 entitled, All Too Human: A Political Education which became a New York Times best-seller. He is quoted as saying, “Four years in the White House and two presidential campaigns is an awful long time. In politics, every year in the White House is like dog years, six years off your life.” While writing his memoirs, he taught at Columbia University and analyzed politics for ABC News. In 1997, Stephanopoulos joined ABC News as a news analyst for “This Week.” He worked as an ABC News correspondent reporting on a wide variety of political, domestic and international stories. In 2005, he was named Chief Washington Correspondent and began anchoring “This Week”. Currently, he is the anchor of ABC’s Sunday morning program, This Week with George Stephanopoulos. As Chief Washington Correspondent, Stephanopoulos oversees the network’s coverage of presidential and Congressional politics and reports on political stories for all ABC News platforms, including “World News with Charles Gibson,” “Nightline,” “Good Morning America” and ABCNews.com and ABC News Now. Mr. Stephanopoulos lives in Washington, D.C. with his wife, Alexandra Wentworth. Ms. Wentworth is an actress. Together, they have two daughters.TOP OF PAGE |
