Drew Carey
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Drew Carey | |
|---|---|
 Carey in Germany, during June 2006 |
|
| Birth name | Drew Allison Carey |
| Born | May 23, 1958 Cleveland, Ohio |
| Notable works and roles | The Drew Carey Show Whose Line Is It Anyway? Drew Carey's Green Screen Show Power of 10 The Price Is Right |
Drew Allison Carey (Hon D.Phil) (born May 23, 1958) is an American comedian, actor and game show host. After serving in the U.S. Marines and making a name for himself in stand-up comedy, Carey eventually gained popularity starring on his own sitcom, The Drew Carey Show, and serving as host on the U.S. version of Whose Line Is It Anyway?, both of which aired on ABC.
Carey has appeared in several films, television series, music videos, a made-for-television film, and a computer game. He is interested in and involved with a variety of sports and has worked as a photographer at U.S. National Team soccer games. Carey is engaged and has written an autobiography detailing his early life and television career. Carey currently hosts the game show The Price Is Right, which airs on CBS.
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[edit] Early life
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Carey was the youngest of Lewis and Beulah Carey's three boys, and raised in the Old Brooklyn neighborhood of Cleveland, Ohio.[1] When he was eight years old his father died from a brain tumor.[2][3] According to his autobiography, he had 6 toes on his right foot and he played the cornet and trumpet in the marching band of James Ford Rhodes High School, from which he graduated in 1975.[4]
He continued on to college at Kent State University and was expelled twice for poor academic performance. He left KSU after just three years, but not before becoming a member of Delta Tau Delta Fraternity. After leaving the university, according to Ms. Terry Heldreth, Carey joined the United States Marine Corps Reserve in 1980 and served for six years.[1] He also relocated to Las Vegas for a few months in 1982, and for a short time worked as a bank teller and a waiter at Denny's.[1][3]
[edit] Stand-up career
In 1985, he began his comedy career by following up on a suggestion by David Lawrence (a disc jockey friend who had been paying Drew to write jokes for David's radio show in Cleveland) to go to the library and borrow books on how to write jokes.[5] In 1986, after winning an open-mic contest, he became MC at the Cleveland Comedy Club.[6] For the next few years, he performed at multiple comedy clubs in Cleveland and Los Angeles. He was first brought to the national eye as a comedian when he competed in the 1988 Star Search.[7] Carey was working as a stand-up comedian in 1991 when he appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.[8] His performance that night impressed Carson, who invited Carey to the couch next to his desk; this was considered a rare honor for any comedian.[9] Carey claims he reached the limit on his credit card the next day returning calls from interested casting directors, and he credited Carson with making his career. In that same year, Carey also appeared on the 14th Annual Young Comedians Special on HBO and made his first appearance on Late Night with David Letterman.[10] In 1994, Carey wrote his own stand-up comedy special which aired on Showtime, entitled Drew Carey: Human Cartoon, for which he won a CableACE Award for Best Writing.[10]
[edit] Acting career
[edit] Early roles
With the success from his early stand-up career, he subsequently appeared in a number of supporting roles on television shows, in which he developed the character of a hapless middle-class bachelor. In 1993, Carey had a small role in the movie Coneheads as a taxi passenger. Turning his attention to television, in 1994, Carey co-starred with John Caponera in The Good Life, a short-lived sitcom that aired on NBC.[11] After the show's cancellation, Carey joined up with writer Bruce Helford (who was also a writer for The Good Life), who gave Carey a job as a staff writer for The Gaby Hoffman Show.[7]
[edit] The Drew Carey Show
Carey and Helford developed the storyline for The Drew Carey Show, which they produced together. The show premiered on September 13, 1995 on ABC. In his autobiography, he revealed his frustration with having to deal with censors and being unable to employ the off-color humor common to his stand-up routines.[4] Carey initially earned $60,000 per episode in the first seasons, then renegotiated for $250,000. By the final season, he was earning $750,000 per episode.[12] The show had high ratings for its first few seasons, but declining ratings and production costs of around $3 million per episode eventually resulted in its cancellation.[13] The program had a total of 233 episodes and lasted from 1995 to 2004 for nine complete seasons. Carey was the only actor to appear in every episode.
[edit] Whose Line Is It Anyway? and Drew Carey's Green Screen Show
In 1998, Carey hosted the American version of the improvisational comedy show Whose Line Is It Anyway? He would announce the improv guests, direct the games, and then would usually involve himself in the final game of the show. The show ran for a total of 215 episodes between 1998 and 2006. In 1998, the New York Friars' Club made Carey the newest inductee of the group's Comedy Central Roast.[10] His friend Ryan Stiles (who costarred in The Drew Carey Show and Whose Line Is It Anyway?) served as the roastmaster.[14] Due to Carey's income from two shows (Whose Line Is It Anyway? and The Drew Carey Show), Forbes included him on their list of highest-paid entertainers of 1998, which was 24th with $45.5 million.[15]
For The WB's 2004-2005 prime time schedule, Carey co-produced and starred in Drew Carey's Green Screen Show, a spin-off of Whose Line Is It Anyway?. It was canceled by the WB, but picked up shortly afterward by Comedy Central.[16]
[edit] Improv All-Stars
Carey has also helped to create the Improv All-Stars, which is composed of 11 other members.[17] The members of the group have joined Carey in both of his two improv shows, Whose Line is it Anyway? and Drew Carey's Green Screen Show and some had major roles or guest starred on his previous shows. The group has traveled on several comedy tours performing at various comedy clubs within the last year.[17]
[edit] Game show host
In 2007, Carey began hosting game shows. On April 13, 2007, Carey was selected to host the CBS game show pilot Power of 10, where contestants could win a potential $10,000,000 (annuity) top prize.[18] In May 2007, it was announced that the show was picked up for a summer run, which premiered on August 7.[19] The show has aired sixteen episodes to date.
[edit] The Price Is Right
After taping the pilot episode for Power of 10, he was contacted by CBS regarding the opening caused by the retirement of Bob Barker at The Price Is Right. He initially turned down the offer to host, but on July 23, 2007, Carey officially announced on the Late Show with David Letterman that he would succeed Barker as host of the program beginning in the fall of 2007.[20][21] The game show also includes a local connection, as announcer Rich Fields is from the Cleveland area. His first episode of The Price Is Right was taped on August 15, and his shows began airing on Monday, October 15, 2007. In response to replacing Barker as host of the game show, Carey stated "You can't replace Bob Barker. I don't compare myself to anybody... It's only about what you're doing and supposed to do, and I feel like I'm supposed to be doing this."[22] Drew's initial series of six weekly primetime editions of the series began on February 22, 2008; on his first Million Dollar Spectacular, the show set a new record when Adam Rose won a total of $1,153,908 in cash and prizes, including a $1,000,000 cash prize for winning both showcases. Two more $1,000,000 wins were recorded in subsequent episodes. Due to the success of his first run of shows, a second primetime installment of The Price Is Right aired on four consecutive Wednesday nights, beginning on April 30, 2008.
[edit] Other roles and appearances
Carey began appearing in commercials for restaurants in Canada with The Great Root Bear, but his two-year contract with A&W Food Services of Canada was cut short in November 1998 after promoting McDonald's in an episode of The Drew Carey Show.[23]
On April 22, 1999 at Disney's Hollywood Studios (known as Disney-MGM Studios at the time), one of the parks that make up the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, Carey debuted a 12-minute attraction entitled Sounds Dangerous![24] In the show, a camera follows Carey through a day as an undercover detective when his video camera fails and the audience is left in complete darkness wearing earphones, following his adventure through sound cues. The attraction is presently running.
In 1999, Carey made a cameo appearance in Weird Al Yankovic's music video for "It's All About the Pentiums". In 2004, he made an appearance for Fountains of Wayne's video for "Mexican Wine". He gave an introduction to the video as if it were on a stage.
On May 7, 2000, Carey's made-for-TV film Geppetto debuted for an ABC presentation of the Wonderful World of Disney. The film was an adaptation of Pinocchio, and included actor Wayne Brady who had joined Carey on Whose Line is it Anyway? and a few episodes of The Drew Carey Show.[25] Carey took singing lessons to prepare for the role.[3]
He provided the entertainment for the 2002 Annual White House Correspondents dinner.[10] Once he completed his standup routine for the 1,800 guests, President George W. Bush made a joke of his own noting Carey's improv work, "Drew? Got any interest in the Middle East?"[26] In 2003, he joined Jamie Kennedy to host the WB's live special Play for a Billion, which was sponsored by Pepsi and aired on September 12, 2003.[27]
Also in September 2003, Carey led a group of comedians, including Blake Clark and the Drew Carey Show's Kathy Kinney, to a comedy tour of Iraq.[28] Carey was very well received, as was Clark, for their previous military service.
In 2005, Carey appeared in three different films. He provided a voice-over for the character Crank in the animated film Robots, in The Aristocrats to retell a dirty joke along with other celebrities, and was interviewed in the documentary Fuck.
On June 8, 2006, Drew Carey's Sporting Adventures debuted on the Travel Channel. Carey travels throughout Germany to photograph multiple FIFA World cup soccer games while he immerses himself in the culture of towns and states he visits.[29]
Carey has made a cameo appearance in the computer game The Sims, but only in the House Party expansion pack.[30] To make him appear, the Sims must throw a successful party, which will cause a limo to show up and he will join the festivities. Drew is a fan of The Sims series and during one April Fool's episode of The Drew Carey Show, a scene takes place completely within The Sims.[31] Carey has also appeared on the NPR radio quiz show "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me" as a Not My Job guest, and on the show airing April 26, 2008, he made his first appearance as a member of the panel.
[edit] Writing
Carey has a history of writing throughout his career including developing his stand-up comedy routines in his early stand-up career, and then moving on to assist in writing sitcoms. In 1997, Carey published his autobiography, Dirty Jokes and Beer: Stories of the Unrefined where he shared memories of his early childhood and of his father's death when he was eight. He also revealed that he was once molested, had suffered bouts of depression, and had made two suicide attempts by swallowing a large amount of sleeping pills.[4] He also wrote of his college fraternity years while attending Kent State University, and of his professional career up to that time. The book featured large amounts of profanity and, as the title suggests, includes multiple dirty jokes (there was one at the start of each chapter) and references to beer. The book was featured on the New York Times bestseller list for three months.[32]
[edit] Personal life
A former United States Marine reservist, he adopted his crew cut hair style during his time in the service. Carey has had refractive surgery to correct his vision and therefore did not really require glasses (any glasses he wore in public were merely props to help the audience recognize him). However, while this was true for several years, on the May 17, 2006 episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live he revealed that when he turned 40, he actually developed a need for bifocals. Carey currently lives in Los Angeles and New York City.[33]
On October 9, 2007 Carey proposed to Nicole Jaracz. In a statement regarding the engagement, publicist Christina Papadopoulos said, "It will be the first marriage for both. No date for a wedding has been set yet. They are both very happy and excited about their future together."[34]
[edit] Political interests
Carey is also known for his Republican leanings[35] and has expressed support for the Libertarian Party.[36] The Drew Carey Show often presented a libertarian critique of political correctness, government regulations, racism, sexism, and homophobia, with storylines involving Carey's cross-dressing brother, dating a bisexual woman (played by Illeana Douglas) for two episodes, ongoing criticism of the Boy Scouts of America's exclusionary policy against gay men, and support for same-sex marriage.
Since the show ended its nine-year run on ABC in 2004, however, Carey has clarified that he is more of a conservative with libertarian leanings, and that he presented himself as a libertarian to avoid what some conservative critics of the entertainment industry claim is a general Hollywood bias against conservatives. On the August 18, 2006 Penn Radio show with Penn Jillette, Carey did, however, say he was indeed libertarian. He has expressed his distaste for the Bush administration's running of the War in Iraq, specifically on the September 15, 2007, episode of Real Time with Bill Maher.
Carey has spoken about his various political beliefs in several interviews and in 1998, he led a "smoke-in" in defiance of a no-smoking ordinance.[37] Carey currently hosts a series of mini-documentaries called The Drew Carey Project on Reason.tv, a new online project of the Reason Foundation. [38] The first episode, "Gridlock", addresses private highway ownership and was released on October 15, 2007 on reason.tv. Other episodes discuss topics like eminent domain and medical marijuana.[39]
[edit] Sports involvement
Carey is known for being a devoted Cleveland Browns, Indians and U.S. Soccer fan. In 1999, Carey was part of the pregame ceremonies at the first game of the new expansion Cleveland Browns televised on ESPN.[15] His favorite soccer teams are the Scottish team Rangers and L.A. Galaxy (for which he is a season ticket holder).[40][41]
When he promoted The Drew Carey Show in 1995, at the same time the Indians were making a miraculous run at the World Series, he poked fun at the rest of baseball by saying, "Finally, it's your team that sucks!"[42] He also showed his support for the team by throwing the first pitch at an August 12, 2006 Indians game against the Royals. He was rewarded by the Cleveland Indians for being "the greatest Indians fan alive" with a personal bobblehead doll made in his likeness given to fans.[43] Carey responded to his bobblehead likeness by saying "Bobblehead Day, for me, is as big as getting a star in the Hollywood Walk of Fame."[44]
In 2001, Carey was the first TV star (as opposed to wrestler or athlete) to ever enter World Wrestling Federation's 30-man "Royal Rumble" match which he entered to promote an improv comedy pay-per-view at the time. He appeared in a few backstage segments before his brief participation in the match. Upon entering the ring, Carey stood unopposed for more than half a minute; he eliminated himself by offering money to Kane and then fleeing the ring.[45]
In 2003, Carey competed against five other celebrities in the first celebrity edition of the World Poker Tour. He placed fifth, only beating out comedian/actor/musician Jack Black. Carey won $2,000 for his charity.[46]
On November 12, 2007, Carey was named as minority owner of the Seattle Sounders FC, who begin play in Major League Soccer in 2009. Reportedly, Carey has insisted that the future team will have a marching band.[47] That evening, Carey raised the 12th man flag at the Seattle Seahawks Monday Night Football game against San Francisco. He told reporters at the game that fans will have the option to purchase membership in the club and that every four years members will be able to vote out the team's general manager.[48]
[edit] Philanthropy
Carey is known for his support of libraries, crediting them for beginning his successful comedy career. On May 2, 2000, in a celebrity edition of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, he selected the Ohio Library Foundation to receive his $500,000 winnings.[49] He later went on to win an additional $32,000 on the second celebrity Millionaire, making him one of the biggest winning contestants on Millionaire who did not win the top prize. Carey also has played on the World Poker Tour in the Hollywood Home games for the Cleveland Public Library charity.[46] In June 2007, Carey offered to donate up to $100,000 (in $10,000 increments) to the Mooch Myernick Memorial Fund if anybody could beat him at the video game FIFA Soccer 07 for the Xbox 360. He dared five players from both the U.S. Men’s and Women’s National Teams to compete against him.[50] Carey ended up donating $100,000 plus $60,000 for losing two games out of the six games he played.[51]
[edit] Photography
Carey can sometimes be seen on the sidelines of U.S. National Team soccer games as a press photographer.[52] His images are sold via wire services under the pseudonym Brooks Parkenridge.[41] He was at the 2006 FIFA World Cup in the summer of 2006, for his television show Drew Carey's Sporting Adventures.
[edit] Awards and honors
- He won the Cable Ace Award for Best Writing for his work on Drew Carey: Human Cartoon.[10]
- He was named one of the "10 Hottest New Faces of '95" by TV Guide.[1]
- Carey received an honorary Ph.D. from Cleveland State University in 2000.[53]
- He won the People's Choice Award for Favorite Male Television Performer for his work in The Drew Carey Show, in both 2000[54] and 2001.[55]
- On February 21, 2003, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.[56] His star can be found at 6664 Hollywood Blvd.
- In 2004, Comedy Central ranked him #84 on its list of the 100 greatest standups of all time.[57]
[edit] Filmography
Carey has starred in only a few television shows and films, but also has numerous guest star appearances in a variety of other sitcoms and comedy shows.
[edit] Television work
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Home Improvement | Road Kill specialist (Seymour 'Sy' Winterfleffin) | |
| 1994 | The Good Life | Drew Clark | |
| 1995-2004 | The Drew Carey Show | Drew Carey | |
| 1998-2006 | Whose Line Is It Anyway? | Himself | (host) |
| 2000 | Geppetto | Geppetto | |
| 2004-2005 | Drew Carey's Green Screen Show | Himself | |
| 2006 | Drew Carey's Sporting Adventures | Himself | |
| 2007-2008 | Power of 10 | Himself | (host) |
| 2007-Present | The Price Is Right | Himself | (host) |
[edit] Films
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Coneheads | Taxi passenger | |
| 2005 | Robots | Crank | (voice only) |
| The Aristocrats | Himself | ||
| Fuck | Himself | (documentary) |
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ a b c d Cleveland.com. Drew Carey's Cleveland-The Times of His Life. Retrieved on December 5, 2006.
- ^ AllMovie.com. Drew Carey Biography. Retrieved on December 5, 2006.
- ^ a b c USAWeekend.com. Strong opinions. Retrieved on January 9, 2008.
- ^ a b c Carey, Drew (1997). Dirty Jokes and Beer: Stories of the Unrefined. New York: Hyperion. ISBN 078688939X
- ^ WCHS.com. Drew on The Drew Carey Show. Retrieved on December 8, 2006.
- ^ Ohio Traveler Magazine. Cleveland Laughs. Retrieved on December 7, 2006.
- ^ a b FilmBug. Drew Carey Biography. Retrieved on December 8, 2006.
- ^ Toronto Sun. It was a night to remember .... Retrieved on February 4, 2007.
- ^ The Gazette. This Comic's Life Is Not Always A Laughing Matter. Retrieved on December 7, 2006.
- ^ a b c d e ComedyCentral.com. Drew Carey Biography. Retrieved on December 8, 2006.
- ^ YahooMovies.com. Drew Carey. Retrieved on December 5, 2006.
- ^ IMDB News. News for Drew Carey. Retrieved on December 9, 2006.
- ^ The Oakland Press. "Drew Carey Show" bowing out quietly. Retrieved on June 4, 2007.
- ^ TV.com. The N.Y. Friars Club Roast of Drew Carey. Retrieved on December 8, 2006.
- ^ a b Lubbock Online. Hometown hero comes back to Cleveland. Retrieved on January 9, 2008.
- ^ Drew Carey's Green Screen Show. Show Info. Retrieved on December 8, 2006.
- ^ a b ImprovAllStars.com. Biographies. Retrieved on December 8, 2006.
- ^ Cleveland.com. Afternoon Buzz: CBS Fall lineup includes new Drew Carey show. Retrieved on May 18, 2007.
- ^ Futon Critic. CBS ANNOUNCES 2007-2008 PRIMETIME SCHEDULE. Retrieved on June 4, 2007.
- ^ Keller, Joel (2007-06-23). Drew Carey to host The Price is Right - BREAKING NEWS. TV Squad. Retrieved on 2007-06-24.
- ^ AP. Drew Carey is Bob Barker's replacement. Retrieved on July 23, 2007.
- ^ Associated Press (2007-10-12). Drew Carey Finds Ms. Right. The ShowBuzz. Retrieved on 2008-01-09.
- ^ IslandNet.com. Chronology of A & W Root Beer (Canada). Retrieved on December 5, 2006.
- ^ Walt Disney World. Sounds Dangerous - Starring Drew Carey. Retrieved on December 6, 2006.
- ^ New York Times-Movies. Geppetto (2000). Retrieved on January 9, 2008.
- ^ FOXNews.com. President Jokes With Drew Carey, Ozzy Osbourne at White House Awards Dinner. Retrieved on December 7, 2006.
- ^ RealityTVWorld.com. Drew Carey to host The WB's 'Pepsi Play for a Billion' potential billion dollar giveaway. Retrieved on December 6, 2006.
- ^ FOXNews.com. Drew Carey Performs at Base in Iraq. Retrieved on September 10, 2007.
- ^ Travel Channel.com. Your Sporting Adventures Host ... Drew Carey!. Retrieved on December 8, 2006.
- ^ IMDB.com. The Sims: House Party. Retrieved on December 7, 2006.
- ^ GameZone.com. Everything That's Wrong With This Episode is Right On The Money!. Retrieved on December 7, 2006.
- ^ ABC.com. Personnel Files-Drew Carey. Retrieved on December 6, 2006.
- ^ LA Daily News. Carey puts little value in "Price" rumors. Retrieved on July 13, 2007.
- ^ People Magazine Online. Drew Carey Engaged to Cooking School Grad. Retrieved on October 11, 2007.
- ^ ChicagoTribune.com. Conservatives raise profile in liberal bastion Hollywood. Retrieved on December 6, 2006.
- ^ Advocates for Self-Government. Drew Carey - Libertarian. Retrieved on December 8, 2006.
- ^ CNN.com. Drew Carey leads "smoke-in" to protest ban. Retrieved on December 8, 2006.
- ^ Reason.org. Employment solicitation. Retrieved on October 2, 2007.
- ^ Reason.tv. Reason.tv. Retrieved on October 2, 2007.
- ^ BBCNews.com. Xbox turns star into Rangers fan. Retrieved on December 7, 2006.
- ^ a b FIFA.Yahoo.com. You can't stop a train. Retrieved on December 5, 2006.
- ^ Everything2.com. Cleveland Indians. Retrieved on December 8, 2006.
- ^ MLB.com/Cleveland Indians. August 12 vs. Kansas City. Retrieved on December 5, 2006.
- ^ MLB.com. Indians 2006 Photo Gallery. Retrieved on December 5, 2006.
- ^ gerweck.net. WWF PPV Results-Royal Rumble. Retrieved on December 6, 2006.
- ^ a b WPT.com. Hollywood Home Game 1. Retrieved on December 8, 2006.
- ^ A marching band for Seattle's soccer team? Thank co-owner Drew Carey
- ^ Monday Night Football, 12 November 2007
- ^ LibraryJournal.com. Drew Carey Gives $500K "Millionaire" Winnings to Libraries. Retrieved on December 5, 2006.
- ^ XBOX365. Drew Carey Puts $100k On The Line Playing FIFA 07. Retrieved on June 4, 2007.
- ^ XBOX Solution. Auction for an Elite Xbox 360 Signed by Drew Carey. Retrieved on June 21, 2007.
- ^ SI.com. Q&A: Drew Carey. Retrieved on December 5, 2006.
- ^ Cleveland State University. It's an honor. Retrieved on December 6, 2006.
- ^ CNN.com. Sixth Sense, Willis winners at People's Choice Awards. Retrieved on December 7, 2006.
- ^ DigitalHit.com. The 27th People's Choice Awards. Retrieved on December 7, 2006.
- ^ Seeing-Stars.com. Celebrities Who Recently Received Stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Retrieved on December 7, 2006.
- ^ Everything2.com. Comedy Central's 100 Greatest Stand-Ups of all Time. Retrieved on December 7, 2006.
[edit] External links
| Find more about Drew Carey on Wikipedia's sister projects: | |
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Textbooks |
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Quotations |
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Source texts |
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Images and media |
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News stories |
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Learning resources |
- Drew Carey at TV.com
- Drew Carey at the Internet Movie Database
- World Poker Tour Profile
- "Stand-Up Guy", interview with Carey in Reason by Nick Gillespie and Steve Kurtz
- Drew Carey and the Improv All-Stars
- Drew Carey's Bio on CBS
| Preceded by Bob Barker |
The Price Is Right Host (daytime) October 15, 2007 – present |
Succeeded by incumbent |
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Carey, Drew Allison |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Carey, Drew; |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | Actor, Comedian, Game Show Host |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 23, 1958 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Cleveland, Ohio |
| DATE OF DEATH | |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |
