April 26: Kurt Browning

• Kurt Browning is a Canadian figure skater who was born on June 18, 1966.
• He also is a choreographer and a commentator.
• He is the first skater to ever land a quadruple jump in competition.

• A quadruple jump is a jump in figure skating with at least four revolutions. All quadruple jumps have for revolutions except for the quadruple axle which has 4 ½ revolutions.
• He is a four-time world champion and Canadian national champion.

Career

• Kurt Browning was both a Canadian figure skating champion and world champion four times.
• He represented Canada in three Winter Olympics. They were in 1988 finished eighth overall, 1992 he finished six overall and 1994 he was fifth.
• He even earned the privilege to carry the Canadian flag during the opening ceremonies of the 1994 games in Lilyhammer, Norway.

• On March 25, 1988, Kurt completed in the 1988 World Championships in Budapest Hungary. He was able to land the first quadruple jump, and a toe loop in the competition.
• This accomplishment was even listed in the Guinness Book of World Records.Who

• Who: KURT BROWNING

• What: The first quadruple jump in figure ice skaiting by a man was achieved by Kurt Browning (Canada) at the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, on 25 March 1988.

• Where: HUNGARY (BUDAPEST)

• When: 25 MARCH 1988

• When talking about this jump and the honour that came with it Kurt said, “I remember that there were a few people landing the jump in practice long before I did, and watching them I was inspired to try it myself. After landing it, I certainly expected more skaters to start doing it in competition. I was surprised in the next three years that that really did not happen.”

• Kurt is also known for his into credit, fast and often humorous footwork and dance.
• During his career Kurt had a rivalry with a skater named Brian Boitano.
• But in 2006 at the Ice Wars Competition Browning narrowly defeated Boitano.
• One of Kurt’s most iconic performances is “Singing In The Rain”. He tries to follow Gene Kelly’s dancing in the film.
• It debuted on a CBC TV skating special in 1994 and is still the program most asked to be performed even after 20 years.

• As a commentator, Kurt has been a regular colour commentator for the CBC At major skating events since 2006.
• He also appeared on the Fox television program called Skating with Celebrities in 2006.

• In 2009 he was also the cohost and performed on the Battle of the Blades.

• As a choreographer, he worked with many figure skaters like Tara Lipinski and Yuka Sato.
• He joined the stars on ice tour as a performer.

• He co-directed and choreographed the 2011 – 2012 Stars on Ice Tour.

Awards and Honours

• Kurt was awarded the Lou Marsh Trophy for top Canadian athlete in 1990, The Lionel Conacher awards in in 1990 and 1991.
• He received the order of Canada in 1990, an American skating World Professional Skater of the Year Award in 1998 and the Gustav Lussi award from the Professional Skaters’ Association in 2001.
• He was inducted into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame in 1994 and skate Canada Hall of Fame in 2000.
• He received a star on Canada’s Walk of Fame in 2001.

• He was also inducted into the world skating Hall of Fame in 2006.
• He received the inaugural ISU Skating Lifetime Achievement Award in 2020.

Personal Life

• Kurt was born on June 18, 1966, in Rocky Mountain House, Alberta.
• He was raised in Caroline, Alberta.
• He married Sonia Rodriguez who is a principal dancer with the National ballet of Canada. They married on June 30, 1996.
• Their first son Gabriel was born on July 12, 2003. Their second son Dillon was born on August 14, 2007.
• They are now divorced.
• Kurt had a home in Forest Hill in Toronto, but it suffered a fire on August 18, 2010.

Here he is talking about his favourite sporting moment.

Although it is Christmas, I thought this would be a cute video to finish up with.

April 21: The Toronto Raptors

• The Toronto Raptors is one of the youngest teams in the National Basketball Association (NBA)
• The team was formed in 1993. It was the first professional basketball team in Toronto in 48 years!
• Before that, Toronto’s professional basketball team was the Toronto Huskies. It ended because not many people went to their games, and they weren’t very successful.

• After the Raptors formed, the Vancouver Grizzlies were Canada’s only other professional basketball team. In 2000, the Vancouver Grizzlies moved to Memphis, Tennessee.
• The Toronto Raptors have been Canada’s only professional basketball team in the NBA ever since!

Their Image

• There was a Canada-wide contest about what to call the new team! 2,000 names were submitted, including the Dragons, the Scorpions, and the Hogs.
• The Raptors name was chosen because it was unique, and because the movie Jurassic Park was very popular in 1993! In fact, “Jurassic Park” is still the name of the outdoor square where people can watch the game on a big screen outside.

• The team colours are: purple, red, silver, and black. This is their original logo:

• These are some rough drafts of their original logo.

• At first, the team was not very successful. For their first three basketball seasons, they got last place.
• The Raptors used to play their home games at the Rogers Centre (previous name: Sky Dome). Since this arena was not built for basketball, fans had a hard time watching the games. The Raptors did not have anywhere else to play, so they played there for their first four seasons.

• In the meantime, the owners worked on designing a new arena just for basketball games. This is the Scotiabank Arena (old name: Air Canada Centre).

• The Raptors won their first playoff series in 2000-2001 after they beat the New York Nicks. However, they lost one game to the Philadelphia 76ers, which means that they did not make it to the finals.

• The team struggled to attract and maintain talented players. So in 2013, the organization was looking to re-examine who they wanted to be and re-set the culture around the team. This cultural reset included:

1. The catchphrase “We the North”
2. A new General Manager who traded players
3. A new logo in 2014

• In 2016, Raptors hosted their first all star game. They also won the first playoff series in 15 years.

Star Players

Vince Carter (1998 – 2010)

• He is a fan favourite. He won Rookie of the year and was famous for his ability to dunk. Some say he single-handedly put Canada on the map in the NBA, turning the Toronto Raptors into a force to be reckoned with.

Chris Bosch (2003 – 2010)

• He is a household name in Toronto. He earned the team five All-Star appearances while leading the franchise to the postseason in 2007 and 2008.

Lou Williams (2014 – 2015)

• He was first Raptors player to win the 2015 NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award

DeMar DeRozan (2009 – 2018)

• On New Years Day, 2018, he scored 52 points in the game. He was the third person in the team’s history to score over 50 points in a game.
• He was traded for Kawhi Leonard. This was a big risk. They traded their star for a player who was talented but injured at the time.

Kawhi Leonard (2018 – 2019)

• He had his famous debut in the 2018-2019 season. He helped the team win many close games including the 76ers in the semi-finals.
• He was also a star player who helped the Raptors beat the Bucks, which was the team’s first appearance in the NBA finals. In 2019, the Raptors won their first championship, and Kawhi Leonard was named MVP.
• Even though he no longer plays with the Raptors, he is still a very beloved player, and he was teased for his laugh.

• Fans did not want him to leave, so there was a “Kawine and Dine” promotion, where restaurants offered him free meals for life!

The 2019 NBA Championship Victory!

Sources:

Huge thanks to this amazing video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6j1B-hTet4o

Toronto Raptors New Logo for 2021 Spotted on NBA Draft Cap

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toronto_Raptors

The Making of the GOAT Jersey: An Oral History of the Raptors Throwback 🔥

https://www.elitesportstours.ca/where-do-the-toronto-raptors-play-basketball

https://www.sportslogos.net/logos/view/kqmesaae0efg3atwugmeohxga/Toronto_Raptors/1996/Primary_Logo

https://www.nicepng.com/ourpic/u2w7o0a9e6w7o0q8_the-toronto-huskies-were-a-franchise-in-the/

https://ca.travelpulse.com/news/destinations/toronto-raptors-re-define-toronto-and-canadas-image.html

https://www.sportingnews.com/ca/nba/news/demar-derozan-unbreakable-bond-toronto-fans/c5qwyh2bsknbtykfgqohnw5i

https://www.sbnation.com/secret-base/22243045/vince-carter-toronto-raptors-feud-beef-history#:~:text=He%20quite%20literally%20single%2Dhandedly,What%20happened%3F

April 19: Micah Fowler

• Micah Fowler was born on March 5, 1998.
• Micah was born in Barnegat Township, New Jersey
• He is the younger brother of actress Kelsey Fowler

Micah grew up performing in local theater productions with Kelsey. Kelsey went on to preform in shows on Broadway in New York. Micah thought he would follow in her footsteps and advance his acting career.

Micah started to pursue acting at the age of 5, and landed himself roles on the shows Sesame Street and Blues Clues. At the age of 13, Micah was caster for his role in Labor Day.

At the age of 18, Micah was casted to play the lead character JJ DiMeo in the ABC sitcom, Speechless. He said it was his “best birthday present ever”.

Micah said it was a challenge to play JJ. Although he is able to speak, the JJ character does not. Micah had to compensate with dramatic facial expressions and body movements. It’s said that Micah’s humor gets the show’s biggest laughs. He said he sometimes just wants to blurt out what he is feeling or saying. Micah and the character he portrays both have cerebral palsy, and he is one of few actors with a disability playing a character with a disability on primetime network television.

Micah is an Ambassador for the Cerebral Palsy Foundation

When not performing, Fowler devotes his time as an ambassador for the Cerebral Palsy Foundation (CPF). After each episode of Speechless, the CPF’s website posts content and short informational videos about cerebral palsy. Fowler encourages, “So the next time you watch Speechless, take 10 minutes to check out their post for the night.

Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micah_Fowler

Lost Voice Guy

April 15: Howie Mandel

Who is he?

• Howard Michael Mandel is a Canadian comedian, screenwriter, actor, producer, director, entrepreneur, game show host, and author.
• He was born on November 29, 1955 in North York, Ontario!
• He is Jewish, and his ancestors came to Canada from Romania and Poland.

He has acted in many TV shows and movies, but he is best known for…

• Hosting the game show Deal or No Deal, as well as the show’s daytime and Canadian-English counterparts. Meghan Markle was one of the suitcase models!

• From 1982 to 1988, he played the rowdy ER intern Dr. Wayne Fiscus on the medical drama St. Elsewhere.
• He voiced the character Gizmo in the 1984 film Gremlins and the 1990 sequel Gremlins 2: The New Batch. His voiceover work made the character unforgettable!

• In 1990, he created the FOX children’s cartoon Bobby’s World, and he was also the voice for the main character and his father! The show ran for 7 seasons.

• He has been a judge on NBC’s America’s Got Talent since 2010 and Canada’s Got Talent since 2022.

Early Life

• Before working in entertainment, Mandel worked as a carpet salesman.
• He was a stand-up comedian at Yuk Yuk’s Comedy Bar in Toronto, and by September 1978, he had a week-long booking as a featured act for doing this:

• Mandel’s signature stunt as a stand-up comedian was stretching a latex glove over his head, inflating it with his nostrils, and filling it until it suddenly propelled itself off his head. That trick also lent itself to the title and cover photo of his comedy album Fits Like a Glove (1986). He eventually gave up the routine under doctor’s orders after being diagnosed with a perforated sinus. 
• On a trip to Los Angeles, Mandel performed a set at The Comedy Store, which resulted in his being hired as a regular performer.

• A producer for the comedy game show Make Me Laugh saw him there and booked Mandel for several appearances during the show’s run in 1979 and 1980.

• He was booked to open for David Letterman at shows in the summer of 1979.
• CBC-TV’s head of variety programming saw his performance in October 1979 and immediately signed him for a TV special. In 1980, he won the lead role in the Canadian movie Gas, co-starring Susan Anspach and Donald Sutherland. 
• Mandel became well-known in the United States during his six-year run on the medical drama St. Elsewhere. He played the role of Dr. Wayne Fiscus from 1982 to 1988.
• He performed his stand-up comedy act (called the Watusi Tour) in several cities, which was followed by his Watusi music video in 1987.
• For the first two seasons of Muppet Babies, he voiced Bunsen Honeydew, Animal, and Skeeter.

• In 1992, his self-titled comedy show Howie aired weekly
• In 1998, he hosted his own talk show, The Howie Mandel Show, which was canceled after one season
• In 2006, he appeared as himself as a guest host in a parody of Deal or No Deal in the show-within-a-show of the TV series Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. In 2007, he guest-starred as himself in an episode of NBC’s Medium and made a dream cameo of himself on Deal or No Deal. In that episode, he booted the nighttime drama’s protagonist off for “cheating” since in the show, he is a psychic medium and appeared to “know” the contents of the cases. Mandel plays his alter ego, Phil Skorjanc, in most of his comedy shows, which are a fan favorite. Bobby also made a cameo appearance in a February 2007 episode of Deal or No Deal. On a special two-hour Christmas episode, first aired on December 25, 2007, Mandel delivered one line with Bobby’s voice, as requested by the contestant.
• Mandel is known for his frequent appearances as a comedian and for his hidden camera segments on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

• In April 2004, he was selected as number 82 on Comedy Central’s list of the 100 greatest stand-up comedians of all time.
• In 2007, Mandel made an appearance in an episode of Sesame Street’s 38th season. That same year, he was parodied on the show as Howie Eatswell, the Muppet host of Sesame‘s game show segment “Meal or No Meal.”

Personal Life

• Mandel has been married to Terry Mandel since 1980. Together they have three children: daughters Jackie and Riley and son Alex.

• On September 4, 2008, Mandel received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and Comedy Central listed him as #82 on their list of the 100 greatest stand-up comedians of all time.

• Mandel received a star on Canada’s Walk of Fame in Toronto. The induction ceremony was held on September 12, 2009.[24] He is the third game show host to be inducted, the first being Monty Hall in 2002 and the second being Alex Trebek in 2006.

• In October 2008, Mandel revealed that he has attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) on the morning talk show Live with Regis and Kelly, adding that he is currently working to raise adult ADHD awareness among the general public.

• Mandel has written and published an in-depth autobiography which details his life with OCD, ADHD, and comedy called Here’s the Deal: Don’t Touch Me.

Let’s end on a positive note with some funny moments from America’s Got Talent! 🙂

April 12: Jim Carrey

Jim Carrey is a comedian and actor best known for his comedy and dramatic roles in movies called Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, and the Truman Show.

Who is Jim Carrey?

• Jim is a comedian and an actor. 
• He was born in Newmarket Ontario on January 17, 1962.
• Eventually Jim relocated to Los Angeles when he decided to pursue comedy. He was eventually lucky enough to land a role on the sketch comedy show called In Living Colour.
• Soon he was able to move on and start in such successful movies called Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, and The Mask.
• He started in a few dramatic movies called The Truman Show, Man on the Moon, and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
• Later, he was in other films called Kick Ass 2 and Dumb and Dumber to.

Early Life and Career

• Jim was born in Newmarket on January 17, 1962. His full name is James Eugene Carrey.
• Jim Carrey got his start in a Toronto comedy club doing standup comedy when he was just 15 years old.
• By 1979 he left a job that he had in a factory as a janitor. He had taken this job in 1978 to help support his family. 

He was so successful he was making his living as the opening act for comics like Buddy Hackett and Rodney Dangerfield.

In 1983, he headed to Hollywood where he was in a made for television movie called Introducing Janet.

He was also in TV shows called The Duck Factory and Jim Carrey’s Unnatural Act in 1991.

Because he was in all these shows and movies, he was able to get a recurring role on the show In Living Colour.

Movies

• Jim’s first big-screen debut was in 1984 when he was in Finders Keepers.
• He didn’t find huge success until he was in the movie Ace Ventura: Pet Detective.

His facial expressions, his ability to mimic others and his brand of comedy are talents That made him so successful. He followed with movies such as The Mask and Dumb and Dumber in 1994, Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls and Batman Forever in 1995, The Cable Guy in 1996, and Liar Liar in 1997.

The Truman Show and Man on the Moon

• in 1998, Jim’s first dramatic rule as Truman Burbank in Peter Weir’s Truman show won him a Golden Globe award for Best Actor.

• In 1999, he worked with legendary director Milos Forman in the biopic called Man on the Moon. He starred in the movie beside well-known actress Courtney love.

• In this movie he played Andy Kaufman and he got his second Golden Globe award. However, he did not receive an Academy award nomination.

• That same year in the fall he starred in the movie where he wore a lot of green fur and makeup in the film version of Dr. Seuss ‘Holiday Classic How the Grinch Stole Christmas.

• The movie was directed by the Ron Howard now a well-known director. He came from Happy Days fame.

In 2003, Jim started as a man with godlike powers and Bruce Almighty with Jennifer Aniston.

• in 2004, he starred in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind with Kate Winslet.
• Jim continued to take on a variety of comedy roles in films such as Fun with Dick and Jane in 2005, A Christmas Carol in 2009, and Mr. Popper’s Penguins in 2011.
• He had supporting roles in movies such as The Incredible Burt Wonder Stone in 2013 where he starred with Steve Carell and kick ass 2.
• In 2014 he worked with Jeff Daniels for Dumb and Dumber To.

• In 2018 he made it to our TV screens again in the Showtime comedy called Kidding.
• It was about a children’s TV host Jeff. He was also known as Mr. Pickles. The story centred around Mr. Pickles and his family life beginning to unravel much faster than he was able to handle.
• Before Mr. Pickles, Jim worked behind the scenes on Showtime as an executive producer on the show called, I’m Dying up Here.
• After Jim took a three-year break from being in the movies or on our televisions, he returned in 2020 the play the evil Dr. Robotnik in Sonic the Hedgehog.

Paintings

• Jim’s roles started to lessen so he decided to begin to pursue his passion for painting.
• In 2017, he released a six-minute documentary called I Needed Colour. He explained his passion for art and showed people some of his completed artwork.

Personal Life and Daughter

• Jim Carrey has a daughter. Her name is Jane from his marriage to Melissa Womer. The marriage lasted from 1987 to 1995.

• He had a brief marriage to Dumb and Dumber costar Lauren Holly before starting a romance for a year with his Me, Myself and Irene co-star Renee Zellweger.

• He was eventually involved with actress and model Jenny McCarthy.

• In 2015, Jim’s girlfriend Cathriona White died from a drug overdose which was later deemed sadly a suicide.

• Her mother and estranged husband sued Jim for wrongful death, but the charges were eventually dropped against him.

To finish off class here is Jim painting on the Ellen show.

April 7: Austin Matthews

• Auston Taylour Matthews was born on September 17, 1997
• He is an American professional ice hockey center and alternate captain for the Toronto Maple Leafs

EARLY LIFE

• Auston was born in San Ramon, California
• His parents, Brian and Ema are both from Hermosillo, Mexico
• When Auston was two months old, they moved to Scottsdale, Arizona

• Auston was always very interested in the sport of hockey
• At the age of 2, he was already attending Phoenix Coyote games, and his favourite players were Shane Doan and Daniel Brière.

Shane Doan

Daniel Brière

• Matthews comes from a family of athletes, with his father having played college baseball and with an uncle, Wes Matthews, who briefly played in the National Football League for the Miami Dolphins
• His father is the chief technology officer of a manufacturing company based in New Jersey, and he has two sisters: Alexandria a professional golfer on the LPGA, who is three years older, and Breyana, who is five years younger
• However, he wasn’t super keen on the sport at first, and his interests in hockey first began with his infatuation with the Zamboni machines that cleaned the ice during intermissions
• He first expressed a desire to play hockey shortly after his fifth birthday, and began playing with the Arizona Bobcats minor hockey program
• On January 16, 2006, Matthews (who was eight years old at the time) attended a game between the Coyotes and Washington Capitals where he witnessed Alexander Ovechkin’s famous goal that would come to be known simply as “The Goal”, where Ovechkin scored a goal while lying on his back after having been tripped by the Coyotes’ defense. In a 2016 interview, Matthews referred to the goal as “probably one of the best goals ever”
• As a child, Matthews played both hockey and baseball. According to his father, baseball was his best sport; Auston’s hand-eye coordination made him an excellent hitter
• However, Matthews opted to pursue a career in hockey because he disliked the slow pace of baseball
• When he first started playing hockey, his parents knew almost nothing of the sport. His main coach during his youth was Boris Dorozhenko, who had previously founded the national ice hockey program of Mexico. During Dorozhenko’s first few years in the U.S., he lived with Matthews and his parents
• Matthews then played in the 2010 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with the Kharkov minor ice hockey team

PLAYING CAREER

• Matthews was drafted 57th overall by the Western Hockey League’s (WHL) Everett Silvertips in the 2012 WHL Bantam Draft but opted to play for the USA Hockey National Team Development Program, which participates in the United States Hockey League (USHL)

• That season, he played for the U.S. National U17 Team (USDP), where he gained national attention from NHL scouts, even being featured on the NHL website, with emphasis put on his unique southwestern background
• In his second season with the U.S. National U18 Team (USDP), Matthews finished first in league scoring with 116 points (55 goals and 61 assists), breaking the National Team Development Program record of 102 points set by the Chicago Blackhawks’ Patrick Kane in 2005–2006 and beating Buffalo Sabres’ Jack Eichel by 29 points
• On May 21, 2015, Matthews won the USA Hockey Bob Johnson Award for excellence in international competition
• Matthews trained with the USA Hockey National Team Development Program team during the 2013–14 and 2014–15 seasons. He was named the most valuable player at the 2015 World U18 Championships in addition to being named to the IIHF All-Star Team, and named the IIHF Best Forward after finishing as the tournament’s top scorer

ZSC LIONS

• Rather than continue in American amateur hockey or play major junior hockey in the Canadian Hockey League, Matthews chose to play professionally for his last season before he was eligible for the 2016 NHL Entry Draft, having missed the 2015 NHL Entry Draft cutoff date of birth by two days
• On August 7, 2015, he signed a one-year contract to play in the Swiss National League A (NLA) for ZSC Lions. Matthews was approached by Lions head coach Marc Crawford, who was awed by his skating and puck possession while scouting the 2015 World U18 Championships
• Crawford quickly called Matthews’ agent, Pat Brisson, to discuss the proposal of signing the player to the team. Matthews and his family quickly agreed once the tournament had ended and spent the next few months applying for various paperwork
• After missing the first four games of the 2015–16 regular season, he made his NLA debut on September 18, 2015, and scored his first goal in the game against goaltender Benjamin Conz of HC Fribourg-Gottéron on home ice at the Hallenstadion, in Switzerland
• On February 3, 2016, Matthews recorded two assists in a 4–1 win over the Lausanne HC in the 2015–16 Swiss Cup final
• He finished the 2015–16 regular season as the second top-scorer on the Lions and tenth in the NLA
• His 1.28 points-per-game average was second in the league behind only longtime NHL player Pierre-Marc Bouchard
• He also won the NLA Rising Star Award and was second to Bouchard in voting for most valuable player
• Matthews’ stint in the NLA ended earlier than expected when the top-seeded Lions were swept in the first round of the 2016 playoffs by SC Bern

TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS

• In late June, Matthews was selected first overall in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft by the Toronto Maple Leafs, becoming the first American to be picked with the top selection since Patrick Kane in 2007
• Media speculation suggested that Matthews and the team had engaged in a minor contract dispute over the issue of performance bonuses; Matthews was asking the team for a contract similar to that of Connor McDavid or Jack Eichel, which were both valued at $3.775 million annually, inclusive of bonuses^. Although Maple Leafs general manager Lou Lamoriello had been very open over his disapproval of including bonuses in player contracts in the past, he was clear in stating that performance bonuses were never an issue while negotiating Matthews’ contract
• On July 21, the two parties finalized a deal, with Matthews signing a three-year, entry-level contract which included the maximum allocation of performance bonuses. Lamoriello said that the contract was negotiated within ten minutes of sitting down with Matthews’ agent, Pat Brisson, and that the deal was done “the Toronto way”

• Matthews made his NHL debut in the Maple Leafs’ first game of the season on October 12, 2016, against the Ottawa Senators. He scored four goals in the game, all against Craig Anderson. This was the first time in modern NHL history a player scored four goals in his debut
• Matthews’ jersey would go on sale following his debut, where it quickly became the highest-selling jersey in the NHL
• Two months later, in the NHL Centennial Classic against the Detroit Red Wings, Matthews scored the game-winning goal in overtime, securing a 5–4 victory for the Maple Leafs. He was named NHL’s Rookie of the Month for December after leading all rookies with 8 goals and 12 points in 12 games

2017 – 2019

• On January 10, 2017, Matthews was the only Leafs player selected to participate in the 2017 NHL All-Star Game
• On March 28, 2017, Matthews scored his 35th goal of the season, surpassing Wendel Clark’s previous record for most goals in a season (34) by a Leafs’ rookie
• April 3 saw Matthews score his 39th goal and 67th point, breaking the franchise record for most points in a season, as well as the record for most goals by an American-born rookie. A few days later, he scored his 40th goal of the season, becoming the second rookie since the 2004–05 lockout to reach the milestone and the fourth teenager in NHL history to do so. He finished the year with 40 goals, second-most in the NHL
• Matthews’ play assisted the Maple Leafs in making the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time in a full season since 2004, where the team played the top-seeded Washington Capitals in the first round. After going pointless in the first two games of the series, Matthews scored in each of the last four games as the team was eliminated in six games by the Capitals
• In recognition for his accomplishments throughout the year, Matthews was awarded the Calder Memorial Trophy as the NHL’s top rookie, with 164 of 167 first-place votes. He was the first Maple Leafs’ rookie to receive the trophy in 50 years since Brit Selby in 1966

• Matthews set the unofficial NHL record for most consecutive games with a shot on goal to start a career. His 103-game streak ended in a 4–1 victory over the Calgary Flames on November 28, 2017
• On February 24, it was revealed that Matthews had suffered a shoulder injury and would be out for at least ten days. However, he did not return to the Toronto lineup until March 22, 2018, where he scored a goal in the second period to help the Leafs win 5–2 over the Nashville Predators
• Despite missing 20 games, Matthews finished the regular season with 34 goals and averaged over one point per game
• After recording five goals and three assists through the first three games of the next season, Matthews was named the NHL’s First Star of the Week on October 9, 2018. His points streak continued, recording four goals over the next two games for a total of 12 points in 5 games. In doing so, he became the youngest player in NHL history to record five multi-point games to open the season, breaking a record set by Wayne Gretzky in 1983
• In scoring his tenth goal of the season, Matthews became only the fifth player since the 1943–44 season to record ten goals in his team’s first six games of the season
• On February 5, 2019, Matthews signed a new five-year, $58.17 million contract with Toronto worth an average annual value of $11.634 million, effective from the 2019–20 season through to the 2023–24 season
• He later scored his 100th and 101st NHL goal on February 14, becoming the third-fastest Maple Leaf who began their career in Toronto to reach the milestone and the first since 1933
• Matthews reached the 30-goal mark for the third consecutive season on February 25, 2019, after scoring in a 5–3 win over the Buffalo Sabres. In doing so, he became the first Maple Leaf to score at least 30 goals in each of his first three seasons

2019-2022

• At the start of the 2019–20 season, Matthews was named an alternate captain for the Maple Leafs. He scored two goals in the season opener against the Ottawa Senators on October 3, becoming the fourth player in NHL history to score in each of their first four-season openers
• As of that game, Matthews ranked third in the NHL with 116 goals in 215 games since making his debut in 2016
• Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and resultant limitations on cross-border travel, the 2020–21 NHL season occurred under a vastly different arrangement than previously, with the Leafs grouped in an all-Canadian North Division and playing exclusively within that division for the regular season
• The shortened 2020–21 season was Matthews’ most successful to date, recording 41 goals in 56 games, and 66 total points. He became the first Maple Leaf to win the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy, awarded to the player who scored the most goals in the regular season. He was also the first American winner, and the second to lead the NHL in goals. He was subsequently named as a finalist for the Hart Memorial Trophy, awarded by the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association to the league’s most valuable player; he was the first Leaf finalist since Doug Gilmour in 1993. Matthews ultimately finished second in Hart voting behind Connor McDavid

• In August 2021, Matthews underwent wrist surgery after experiencing discomfort in training, and it was announced he would miss six weeks. He returned to practice the last week of September
• Due to injury recovery, Matthews missed the first three games of the 2021–22 season. Upon his return, he was slow to start, notching only one goal in his first six games, the worst season-opening pace of his career. However, after this he began scoring at a prodigious pace, eventually overtaking Leon Draisaitl to lead the NHL in goal-scoring by the midpoint of the season
• New linemate Michael Bunting remarked “he’s the best player in the league. That’s just my opinion. Some people might say it’s biased. But in my opinion, he’s the best player by far.”

michael bunting

• On March 31, 2022, Matthews scored an empty net goal in a 7–4 Maple Leaf victory over the Winnipeg Jets, reaching 50 goals in a season for the first time in his career
• He was only the fourth Maple Leafs player to achieve this, and the first to do so since Dave Andreychuk in the 1993–94 season. He also set a franchise record for the fewest games necessary to score 50, having done so in 62 games
• Days later, Matthews scored his seventh career hat-trick in an April 4 game against the Tampa Bay Lightning and tied the franchise record for goals in a season (54), set by Rick Vaive in 1981–82. As well, it marked the highest goal total for an NHL player in a single season since Lightning captain Steven Stamkos’ 60-goal 2011–12 season

Overall, Matthews is an extraordinary player, and seems to have a hell of a career ahead of him!

April 5: Frankie Muniz

• his full name is Francisco James Muniz IV. He was born on December 5, 1985.
• Frankie is an American actor, race car driver and musician.
• He is best known for the Fox network sitcom called Malcolm in the Middle. It ran from 2000 to 2006.
• He earned an Emmy award nomination and to Golden Globe award nominations for this show.
• He is also well known for his film roles. He was in movies like Duces Wild in 2002, Big Fat Liar in 2002, Agent Cody Banks 2003 And Racing Stripes in 2005.

• When he was most famous, he was considered one of the most popular child actors and considered to be one of the highest paid teenagers in the industry.
• In 2008 he decided to put his acting career on hold to become an open wheeled racing career and even competed in the Atlantic championship.
• An open wheeled racing car means that the wheels are on the outside of the car.

• Frankie competed in the Atlantic Championship with this car. The Atlantic Championship is a formula race car series with races all over North America.
• From 2012 to 2016 he was even the drummer of the indie rock band called Kingsfoil.

Early years

• Frankie was born in Wood-Ridge, New Jersey on December 5, 1985.
• His mother Denise was a nurse, and his father Francisco Muniz III was a restauranteur. His mother Denise is half Irish and half Italian, and his father is Puerto Rican with Spanish dissent.
• He has an older sister named Christina.
• When Frankie was four years old his family moved to Knightdale North Carolina where he grew up.
• When he was 8 years old, he was discovered in a talent show in Raleigh, North Carolina where he played tiny Tim in a local production of A Christmas Carol.
• Unfortunately, his parents got divorced and he moved to Burbank, California with his mother.
• When he started 6^th grade he was homeschooled by his mother.

Acting Career

• Frankie appeared in commercials, and he made his 1^st film debut in the made-for-TV movie called To Dance with Olivia in 1997. That same year he appeared in the CBS Hallmark Hall of Fame presentation of What the Deaf Man Heard.
• In 1999 he had a small role in the movie called Lost and Found. This movie helped him get the role he is best known for on the sitcom called Malcolm in the Middle.
• This show premiered on Fox network on January 9, 2000. The pilot episode was watched by 23 million and the 2^nd episode was watched by 26 million people.
• He was nominated for an Emmy award in 2001 and also received The Hollywood Reporter Young Star Award for his work on the show.

He made guest appearances on TV shows like Lizzie McGuire, Sabrina, The Teenage Witch and MAD TV

his 1^st starring role was in the movie called My Dog Skip which was released in 2000.

• In 2000 he also provided the voice of Domino in the videogame called 102 Dalmatians: Puppies to the Rescue
• in 2001 he also contributed a character voice of the animal cast in the movie called Dr. Doolittle 2.
• In 2002 he started the movie called Big Fat Liar with actress Amanda Bynes.
• In 2003 he even made a cameo appearance as Cher’s underage boyfriend in Stuck on You.

• That same year he appeared on Ashton Kutcher’s MTV practical jokes series called Punk’d.
• In 2003 and 2004 Frankie starred in the movies Cody Banks and Cody Banks 2: destination London. The 1^st film opened in 2003 and made $47 million and the sequel was made a year later. It made $28 million.
• He trained in martial arts for the films and performed most of the stunts on his own.
• He commented that at this point in his career he should transition from a child actor to an adult actor or what he termed a respectable actor.
• In 2005 Frankie was the character voice of the zebra called Stripes in the movie called Racing Stripes.
• Stripes wanted to become a racing zebra.
• In 2006 he was executive producer of the movie called Choose Your Own Adventure: The Abominable Snowman.
• Malcolm in the Middle finish filming on May 14, 2006. Ten days later he appeared in the horror movie called Stay Alive
• Frankie decided to leave traditional Hollywood film roles behind. He said “Growing up has never scared me until last year. I started thinking about getting older, becoming an adult, and it scared me. Hopefully things will work out in my career. If they don’t, then it was never meant to be.”
• Despite everything, in 2007 he made a guest appearance on Criminal Minds.

• In 2015 he made a cameo appearance in The Mysteries of Laura in which a detective had a crush on him. He was competing in a drag race.
• On September 6, 2017, it was announced that Frankie was 1 of the celebrities who would be competing on the 25^th season of Dancing with the Stars. He finished the season in 3^rd place with his partner Whitney Carson.

On August 1, 2018, it was announced that Frankie would be cohosting Dancing with The Stars Juniors on ABC. He would be cohosting with Jordan Fisher.

Racing

• Frankie has always been interested in car racing.
• On February 18, 2001, Frankie drove the pace car for the Daytona 500, and he even got to meet Dale Earnhardt before he entered his car for the race.
• Frankie was at the race film MTV’s documentary series True Life. Sadly, he was there to witness the death of Earnhardt on the final lap when he crashed.
• Frankie began his racing career in 2004 when he ran the Toyota Pro celebrity race in Long Beach as a celebrity participant. He finished 7^th in the following year he finished 3^rd.

In April 2006, he competed in the Toyota Pro Celebrity finishing 11^th after he started 19^th.

• In 2007, Frankie moved up to the more competitive Champ Car Atlantic Series. He competed the entire season of 12 races. His best race was when he finished in 9^th place. He won $17,000 in prize money and logs 351 laps.
• In 2007 he placed 2^nd in the Sebring Winter National Race.
• In 2008 he finished the season in 11^th place and won the Jovy Marcelo award. This was an award for sportsmanship and was voted on by fellow drivers. This award was in memory of the 1991 Atlantic Championship winner who was killed in practice for the 1992 Indianapolis 500.

Music

• Frankie started his music career by being a drummer on a band called You Hang up. They were an unsigned band.

• In 2012, he joined a band called Kingsfoil. They were from York, Pennsylvania and used SJC drums and Imperial Cymbals. He had to leave the band in 2014 because of scheduling issues.
• In 2017, he announced on Facebook that he was manager for the York based band called Astro Lasso. The band had members of his former band Kingsfoil.
• Frankie travelled with the band and was responsible for their monitor systems, lights and being their designated driver. The band opened for We the Kings and other bands as well.

Business Pursuits

• in 2018 Frankie and his now wife page price bought Outrageous Olive Oils and Vinegars. It’s a small shop that is in Scottsdale Arizona his wife handles inventory and smoke social media and he tackles logistics like making sure the shop has everything it needs to open for the day.

Personal Life

• Frankie is a fan of the Arizona Cardinals and the Los Angeles Clippers.
• On November 30, 2012, when Frankie was 26, he was hospitalized after having a suspected mini stroke.
• Unfortunately, he had a 2^nd attack a year later on November 25, 2013.
• When he was asked about his health in 2017, he said he had no issues. However, in November 2017 while he was doing Dancing with the Stars it was said that he suffered significant amnesia which is said to be because by multiple concussions.

• In 2021 when he was a guest on the Steve O’s Wild Ride Frankie revealed that his mini strokes were a misdiagnosis, and he was actually suffering from migraine auras. A migraine aura means that it is a perceptual disturbance that can be because by epilepsy or migraines.
• In 2016 he began seeing page price and announced their engagement on November 18, 2018. They eloped in October 2019 and married on February 21, 2020. Their son, Mauz Mosley Muniz was born on March 22, 2021.

March 31: Jack Black

Thomas Jacob “Jack” Black was born on August 28^th, 1969

• He is an American actor, comedian, musician and songwriter
• He is the son of satellite engineers Thomas William Black and Judith Love Cohen
• He was raised in Hermosa Beach, California. His mother worked on the science ground station for the Hubble Space Telescope and was also a writer
• His mother was born Jewish, and his father converted to Judaism. Black was raised Jewish, attending Hebrew school and having a bar mitzvah
• Black’s parents divorced when he was 10, and his father then stopped practicing Judaism
• As a child, he appeared in a commercial for the video game Pitfall! in 1982

• For high school, Black’s parents enrolled him at the Poseidon School, a private secondary school designed for students struggling in the traditional school system. He also attended the Crossroads School, where he excelled in drama
• He later attended University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) but dropped out during his sophomore year to pursue a career in entertainment. Fellow UCLA student Tim Robbins later cast Black in Bob Roberts. In 1995 and 1996, he gained recurring roles in the HBO sketch comedy series Mr. Show.
• At the age of 14, Black struggled with cocaine use. He said, “I was having a lot of troubles with cocaine… I was hanging out with some pretty rough characters. I was scared to go to school because one of them wanted to kill me. I wanted to get out of there.”
• In January 2006, Black became engaged to singer Tanya Haden, a daughter of jazz bassist Charlie Haden. They had both attended Crossroads School and, after graduation, met again 15 years later at a friend’s birthday party. 
• They married on March 14, 2006, in Big Sur, California
• Their first son, Samuel Jason Black, was born in June 2006 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. Their second son, Thomas David Black, was born on May 23, 2008.  Although an atheist, Black identifies as nominally Jewish, and fatherhood influenced his decision to raise his children in the Jewish faith.

ACTING CAREER

• Black’s adult career began with small roles on prime-time television, including Life Goes On, Northern Exposure, Mr. Show, Picket Fences, The Golden Palace, and the X-Files
• Black began appearing in small film roles such as Airborne (1993), Demolition Man, Waterworld, The Fan, The Cable Guy, Mars Attacks!, Dead Man Walking, The Jackal, Crossworlds, Enemy of the State, and others
• He even had a small role in True Romance as a security guard, but the scene was deleted
• In 2000, Black co-starred in the film High Fidelity as a wild employee in a record store run by John Cusack. Black considers his role in High Fidelity as his breakout into the Hollywood scene

• He quickly gained leading roles in films such as Shallow Hal, Nacho Libre, Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny, Year One, and Gulliver’s Travels
• He received particular praise for his starring role in the well-received School of Rock, earning critical acclaim and a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor – Musical or Comedy

He voiced the title role in Kung Fu Panda, which grossed US$20.3 million on its opening day, June 6, 2008, as well as Kung Fu Panda 2 and Kung Fu Panda 3; this is his favorite role and he praises the tutoring of co-star and two-time Academy Award winner Dustin Hoffman

• His next film, The Big Year, a competitive birdwatching comedy co-starring Owen Wilson, Steve Martin, and JoBeth Williams, was released in October 2011
• Black is most known for his roles in the films High Fidelity (2000), Shallow Hal (2001), Orange County (2002), School of Rock (2003), Envy (2004), The Holiday (2006), Gulliver’s Travels (2010), Bernie (2011) and The House with a Clock in Its Walls (2018), in addition to his role in the Jumanji franchise

• Black is also the lead vocalist of the Grammy Award–winning comedy rock duo Tenacious D, which he formed in 1994 with long time friend, Kyle Gass.
• They have released multiple studio albums including their self titled debut Tenacious D, The Pick of Destiny, Rize of the Fenix, and Post-Apocalypto, in addition to their television series Tenacious D (1997–2000) and film Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny (2006).

• Tenacious D helped the United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation raise awareness of these diseases and funds for the organization in Los Angeles on December 20, 2001, and in San Diego, California on June 16, 2007
• Tenacious D can be seen performing in the 90s-era Pauly Shore film Bio-Dome where the duo is performing its song “The Five Needs” at a “Save the Environment” party
• Black, as a member of Tenacious D, won the award for Best Metal Performance at the 57th Grammy Awards. The song “The Last in Line” won the award, a cover of the song of the same name by Dio that appeared on the tribute album This Is Your Life
• lack was also a guest star on an episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show entitled “Ellen the Musical,” alongside Broadway star Kristin Chenoweth and teenage singer-actress Olivia Olson. On the show, besides singing, he discussed his then-upcoming film Nacho Libre with the host.

March 24: Zac Efron

EARLY YEARS

• Born Zachary David Alexander Efron on October 18, 1987
• He was born in San Luis Obispo, California
• His father, David Efron, is an electrical engineer and his mother, Starla Baskett, is an administrative assistant. Both work for the same company
• Zac has two siblings, a younger brother, Dylan and a younger half-sister, Olivia
• He describes his childhood as “normal”, in a middle-class family

• Efron was described as a class clown
• He began taking singing lessons in school and began performing in musicals and plays such as
  • Gypsy
  • Peter Pan, or the Boy who Wouldn’t Grow Up
  • Little Shop of Horrors
  • The Music Man

• His drama teacher saw potential in Efron, and recommended him to an agent in Los Angeles, Robyn Metchik. He was later signed to the Creative Artist Agency
• During his school years, he also attended Pacific Conservatory of Performing Arts

• Efron began officially acting in 2002, with guest appearances on several television series such as
  • Firefly
  • ER
  • The Guardian
  • CSI: Miami

Firefly

• In 2004, he picked up a recurring character in the first season of Summerland, and for the shows second season, he returned as part of the main cast

Summerland, alongside Lori Loughlin and Jesse McCartney

• Also in 2004, he starred in a television film called Miracle Run, for which he earned a Young Artist Award nomination for his performance

A TURNING POINT IN HIS CAREER

• 2006 marks the year where Efron became a household name. This is the year where he starred in High School Musical! The film aired on the Disney Channel, and has been described as a modern adaptation of Romeo and Juliet
• Zac starred as the male lead, Troy Bolton, who was depicted as a high school basketball player, who feels conflicted when he finds himself interested in participating in the school musical.
• The film was a major success, and helped Efron gain recognition among teenage audiences.
• The movie soundtrack was one of the best selling albums of the year in the United States

• Zac also appeared in a handful of other shows during this time, and between 2006 to 2016 played small roles in:
  • NCIS
  • The Suite Life of Zack & Cody
  • Entourage
  • Robot Chicken (various voice roles)

• Efron’s next leading role was in the musicla comedy Hairspray, where he played the role of Link Larkin
• The film was based on the Broadway musical of the same name, and it became a major commercial and critical success upon its release in 2007

• Later in 2007, he reprised his role of Troy Bolton for a second rendition of High School Musical, which again aired on the Disney Channel just like the first
• One year later, in 2008, we saw High School Musical 3 released, however this time the film received a theatrical release. The film did very well, and was a major blockbuster

• In 2009, Zac starred as Matthew Perry’s younger self in the film 17 Again. The film was about a 37-year-old man who is transformed into his 17-year-old self after an accident. This film was also quite successful

• Efron’s next release was a period drama called Me and Orson Welles. This film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, and earned mostly positive reviews from critics.
• In 2010, he starred a the lead role in Charlie St. Cloud, which was quite successful, although it did receive many negative reviews as well
• In 2010, Efron started his own production company under Warner Bros., Ninjas Runnin’ Wild. The company played a part in the production of his films Dirty Grandpa, That Awkward Moment, and Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile. In 2019, Efron’s brother Dylan, who also plays a role in the company, stated that Ninjas Runnin’ Wild has started to produce more digital content in addition to their traditional film work.

• Over the course of the next 10 years he starred in many films…
  • Garry Marshall’s New Year’s Eve (2011), alongside a huge cast of great actors, including, Halle Berry, Jessica Biel, Bon Jovi, Abigail Breslin, Ludacris, Robert De Niro, Katherine Heigl, Ashton Kutcher, Lea Michele, Sarah Jessica Parker, Michelle Pfeiffer, Hilary Swank, Sofia Vergara and many more.

• • Liberal Arts (2012)
  • The Paperboy (2012), starring alongside Nicole Kidman, Matthew McConaughey, David Oyelowo, and John Cusack
  • The Lorax (2012)
  • The Lucky One (2012)
  • At Any Price (2012)
  • Parkland (2013)
• In 2013, Zac only worked on one film due to battles around alcoholism and substance abuse. He sought treatment and has been sober since
  • That Awkward Moment (2014), which he starred in and was also an executive producer for
  • Neighbors (2014), alongside Seth Rogan. This film was a huge success, and many critics said that Efron has now officially shed his “Disney pretty boy” image

• • We Are Your Friends (2015)
  • Dirty Grandpa (2016), alongside Robert De Niro
  • Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising (2016) where he once again co-starred with Seth Rogen, Rose Byrne, and now Chloë Grace Moretz in the comedy sequel, which became a commercial and critical success upon its release in May 2016. The film followed the same couple (Rogen and Byrne) who team up with their former rival (Efron) to take down a hard-partying sorority led by a freshman (Moretz)
  • Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates (2016), alongside Adam DeVine, as well as Anna Kendrick and Aubrey Plaza.
  • Baywatch (2017)

• • The Disaster Artist (2017), a comedy-drama directed by and starring James Franco
  • The Greatest Showman (2017) opposite Hugh Jackman. Both were nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy
  • The Beach Bum (2019), where he played a drug-addled libertine, opposite star Matthew McConaughey.
  • He then played serial killer Ted Bundy in Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile (2019), alongside Lily Collins
• In December 2019, Efron contracted a serious and potentially life-threatening illness, a “form of typhoid or similar bacterial infection”, while filming his adventure series Killing Zac Efron in Papua New Guinea. He was flown to St Andrews War Memorial Hospital in Brisbane, Australia, and was treated before flying back home on the 25th of December. He recovered with little issue

• • Efron next voiced Fred Jones in the new Scooby-Doo animated film called Scoobi (2020)
  • In 2021, he hosted a Netflix show show called Down to Earth with Zac Efron
  • His most recent film, Gold (2022), which is based in a dystopian world
  • He will be starring in a new film called Firestarter which is set to be released in May 2022

March 22: Jackie Chan

• Jackie Chan is a martial artist and actor he has a unique blend of martial arts and physical comedy that has helped make him an international film star.

Who is Jackie Chan?

• At age 7 Jackie began to study martial arts, drama, aerobatics, and singing.
• He was once considered to follow Bruce Lee in Hong Kong cinema. But he developed his own style of martial arts and blended it with screwball physical comedy.
• He’s a huge star throughout Asia and went on to have success in the United States as well.

Early Life

• Jackie’s real name is Chan Kong-sang. He was born on April 7, 1954, in Hong Kong China.
• When he was seven years old Jackie was left behind in China to study at the Chinese Opera research Institute which was a boarding school while his parents moved to Australia to find new jobs.
• During the next 10 years Jackie studied martial arts, drama, aerobatics, and singing but he was subjected to very strict discipline which sometimes included corporal punishment for poor performance.
• In 1962 he appeared in his first film. It was the Cantonese feature film called Big and Little Wong Tin Bar. Unbelievably he was only eight years old at the time. He went on to appear in a lot of musical films.
• He graduated in 1971 and found work as an acrobat and a movie stuntman in the movie called Fist of Fury in 1972.
• He starred alongside Hong Kong’s then superstar Bruce Lee.
• It was during that film that Jackie reportedly completed the highest fall in the history of Chinese film earning the respect of Bruce Lee and many others.

Big Break

• After the tragic and unexpected death of Bruce Lee in 1973 Jackie was touted as the most likely successor of Bruce Lee and was called the King of Hong Kong cinema.
• Jackie began to star in a lot of kung fu movies with Lo Wei who was a producer and director that worked with Bruce Lee.
• Unfortunately, most of the movies were unsuccessful and Jackie stopped working with him in the late 1970s
• he decided that he wanted to get away from the mold that he was in by being compared to Bruce Lee and create his own image.
• By mixing his martial arts talents and his ability to challenge himself when doing aerobatics, he insisted on performing all his own stunts.
• He also like to add his own sense of physical comedy that resembled one of his idols named Buster Keaton. By doing this he found his own recipe for cinema stardom.
• In 1978 Jackie released his first hit movie called Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow and then he took the Hong Kong film world by storm with his first kung fu comedy hit called Drunken Master. This is now a classic film.

• Jackie’s film career started to take off with hits like Fearless Hyena in 1979, Half a Loaf of Kung Fu in 1980 and the Young Master in 1980.
• The Young Master was the first film that was made with Golden Harvest. This was Bruce Lee’s old production company and the leading film studio in Hong Kong.
• Jackie became the highest-paid actor in Hong Kong and was a huge international star throughout Asia.
• He had total control over most of his films and took on duties such as producing and directing to performing the theme songs.

Movie Empire

• Jackie continued to produce popular action comedies such as Project A in 1983, Police Story in 1985 and Armour of God in 1986.
• He also created a period film called Mr. Canton and Lady Rose in 1989. It was a remake of Frank Capra’s film in 1961 called A Pocketful of Miracles.
• Now Jackie Chan was known as a one-man film industry because he could do anything involved in the making of the film.
• In 1986 he formed his own production company called Golden Way.
• He even formed his own modelling/casting agency called Jackie’s Angels. He used this agency in order to find talent for his future films.
• Numerous stuntmen were injured during the filming of his movie called Police Story. It is because of this that Jackie decided to form the Jackie Chan Stuntman Association.
• It is through this association that Jackie personally trained and provided medical coverage for all its members.
• Jackie says that he’s broken every bone in his body At least once while performing stunts.
• Jackie even fractured his skull after falling more than 40 feet while attempting to jump from the top of the building to a tree branch below during the filming of Armour of God in 1986.
• In the early 1990s, Jackie broadened his acting ability when he appeared in the melodramatic movie Crime Story in 1993. He also made several sequels to his Police Story and Drunken Master movies.
• He still wasn’t very well known in the United States until the mid-1990s when he began to have a rise in popularity.

Hollywood Star

• in 1995 Jackie created his own comic book character. It was the central character in Jackie Chan’s Spartan X comic book series. It was in the newsstands in Asia and the United States.

• In 1995 Jackie also received the lifetime achievement award at the MTV movie awards. Quentin Tarantino presented him with this award.
• It is said that Tarantino threatened to boycott the awards if Jackie Chan was not the winner.

• In 1996 New Line Cinema and Golden Harvest came together to release Rumble in the Bronx. This was Jackie Specht English-language release, but it was his first it in America.
• The movie made $10 million in its first weekend and was number one at the box office.
• In 1997 Jackie released the movie called Jackie Chan’s First Strike and in 1998 he released Mr. Nice Guy. They weren’t as successful this time.
• But in 1998 he released Rush Hour which was an American produced action comedy. This was much more popular. Jackie was a Chinese police officer working alongside a streetwise Los Angeles cop played by Chris Tucker.
• In 2000 He starred in Shanghai Noon which was another action comedy with Owen Wilson and Lucy Liu.
• In the summer of 2000 Jackie returned to the screen with Chris Tucker for the sequel Rush Hour 2. Jackie earned 50 million and a percentage of the record-breaking box office amount.

In 2002 he works with Jennifer love Hewitt in the movie called The Tuxedo. In this movie he was a taxi driver who receives special powers whenever he put his block bosses’ tux on.

He also received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and was honoured with the Taurus Award for best action movie star At the World Stunt Awards in 2002.

He wanted to have more financial and artistic control over his films, so he started JCE Movies Limited in 2004. It was through this company that he produced the successful Hong Kong movies called New Police Story in 2004, The Myth 2005 and Rob-B-Hood in 2006.

Recent Years

• in 2007 Jackie filmed Rush Hour 3.
• In 2008 Jackie was the voice of Master Monkey for the successful animated feature film called Kung Fu Panda. This movie went on to have multiple sequels, a videogame and a TV series.

• Later in 2007 he works with Chinese action star jet Li in the movie called the Forbidden Kingdom.
• In 2010 Jackie released The Spy Next Door and the Karate Kid Reboot. They were released in the United States.

In 2010 he wrote and starred in the action comedy called Little Big Soldier

as we learned Jackie is very talented. He has even made a song for this movie. I thought we could listen to a little bit of it.

In 2011 he finally completed an important project as the co-director and star of the historical drama called 1911.

Off Camera and Son

• Jackie is a known philanthropist. His causes include conservation, animal welfare and disaster relief.
• In 2006 he even announced that he would donate half of his assets to charity when he passes away.
• In 2004 Jackie was the UNICEF goodwill ambassador.
• In 2015 he was named to Singapore’s first antidrug ambassador.
• In 1982 Jackie married Taiwanese actress Lin Feng-jaio. She was also known as Joan Lin.
• They have one son. He is an actor and singer named Jaycee.

• Jackie also reports to have one daughter through an affair with the former Miss Asia.

We will finish off with the funny video when Jackie Chan appeared on Ellen.