MEAPA's Creative Arts DatabaseThis is a featured page

Harrison Ford (from college drop out to actor to carpenter back to actor and then to superstar - 10 years in the making)
  • 1942 - born
  • 1960 - graduated Maine Township High School East in Park Ridge Illinois (no athletic star, never above a C average).
  • Early 1960s - attended Ripon College in Wisconsin, but then dropped out.
  • 1964 - moved to Los Angeles and signed a Hollywood contract with Columbia and later Universal.
  • Late 1960s - His roles in movies and TV ("Ironside" (1967), "The Virginian" (1962)) took his career no where.
  • Late 1960s-early 1970s - to support his family, Harrison became a self-taught professional carpenter. While working as a carpenter, he became a stagehand for the popular rock band The Doors. He also built a sun deck for ­­­Sally Kellerman and a recording studio for Sergio Mendes.
  • 1973 - He turned to acting again when George Lucas, who had hired him to build cabinets in his home, cast him in a pivotal supporting role for his film American Graffiti (1973).
  • 1975 - Ford's work as a carpenter would land him his biggest role to date. In 1975, director George Lucas used him to read lines for actors being cast for parts in his upcoming space opera, Star Wars (1977). Steven Spielberg convinced Lucas that Ford was meant to star in the film, resulting in his being cast as Han Solo. Star Wars became the biggest-grossing film in history and established Harrison Ford as a superstar.

Jonathan Larson (composer and playwright, RENT - 7 year journey)
  • 1960 - born
  • 1980s - after graduating from Adelphia University in New York, he worked at the Moon Bounce Diner as a waiter
  • 1980s - wrote a series of acts/plays such as Tick, Tick....Boom
  • 1989 - started collaborating on RENT with Billy Aronson
  • 1996, January 25 - after almost seven years of collaboration on RENT, Jonathan died alone in his apartment due to an aortic aneurysm.

Jerry Seinfeld (comedian - 13 years from college to Seinfeld)
  • 1954 - born
  • 1976 - graduated from Quenns College, City University of New York, tries out for Catch a Rising Star mic night
  • 1977 - appeared in a Rodney Dandgerfield HBO special
  • 1979 - small recurring role as Frankie in Bencon sitcom
  • 1981 - made debut on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
  • 1989 - ptiched The Seinfeld Chronicles show to NBC in 1989, pilot premiered but was not well received. However, Rick Ludwin, head of late night and special events for NBC, diverted money from his budget for the next four episodes. These episodes were highly-rated and the series was finally picked up.


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meapaman 		Latest page update: made by meapaman , Sep 26 2008, 3:16 PM EDT (about this update About This Update meapaman Edited by meapaman


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