The Harder They Fall (50 page)

Dick Beardsley is the fourth-fastest American marathon runner of all time. His race with Alberto Salazar at the 1982 Boston Marathon was touted as “an epic duel,” and it was one of the closest in the marathon’s history. Beardsley, twenty-six, and Salazar, twenty-three, ran together the entire 26.2 miles, with no other competitors in sight for the last nine miles. Beardsley finished the race in 2:08:54, losing to Salazar by two seconds. Beardsley retired from his professional running career shortly thereafter. Born in Rush City, Minnesota, Beardsley lives in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, runs a fishing-guide business, and is a motivational speaker for youth groups.

Inspired by Orson Welles, Glenn Beck brings outspoken humor and a conservative cast to his roles as a nationally syndicated radio and TV host. Beck’s media career started early: he first went on the air as a thirteen-year-old contest winner. He became a Top 40 deejay in Phoenix and Houston and, after a semester at Yale to study theology, returned to the media as a radio talk-show host. Begun in 2001 in Tampa, Florida,
The Glenn Beck Program
soared to number one in that market and then went national, airing on more than two hundred stations. It has become the third most popular talk-show program in the United States for adults twenty-five to fifty-four. Beck made his television debut in 2006 with
Glenn Beck
, a CNN Headline News talk show, and he is a regular contributor to ABC’s
Good Morning America
.

Nicknamed “The Gentleman” and “The Great White Hope,” former professional boxer Gerry Cooney was the number-one heavyweight contender in the 1980s, with a professional record of twenty-eight wins and three losses, with twenty-five knockouts. In 1982, in one of the biggest boxing showdowns in history, Cooney lost to Larry Holmes for the World
Heavyweight Championship. Cooney helps run FIST (Fighters’ Initiative for Support and Training), an organization devoted to helping former boxers find new careers. He was born in Manhattan.

The original “shock rocker,” Alice Cooper was born Vincent Damon Furnier in Detroit and grew up in Phoenix, where he and a few of his high school friends formed a band called Earwigs, which later became the Alice Cooper Group. The band is credited with bringing theatrics to rock and roll. Cooper’s signature eye makeup, his boa constrictor and guillotine props, and fake blood shocked audiences and helped the band to earn twenty-five gold albums and sell 50 million records. The band’s albums include
Killer
and
Welcome to My Nightmare
.

Racing Hall of Famer Pat Day won his first professional horse race in 1973 at Prescott Downs in Arizona. Since then, Day has won the Eclipse Award—presented to North America’s most outstanding jockey—four times. In 1997, he became the fourth rider in history to be able to claim seven thousand career victories. Born in Brush, Colorado, Day has won the Breeders’ Cup Classic, the Canadian Triple Crown, and the Preakness. He is a spokesman for the Race Track Chaplaincy of America and is involved with the Disabled Jockeys Fund.

Steve Earle, a country rocker, has contributed much to the merging of progressive country music and rock audiences with works such as “Guitar Town,” “Ellis Unit One,” and “I Feel Alright.” Born in Schertz, Texas, just outside of San Antonio, Earle quit school in the eighth grade and hit the road at age fourteen. A guitar and bass player, Earle hooked up with Guy Clark and Townes Van Zandt, two of the most legendary songwriters in Texas at the time. Earle is not shy about using his music as social commentary and has been called “the real thing” in a town “overflowing with songwriters.” Earle has also written
Doghouse Roses
, a collection of short stories.

A highly regarded major-league pitcher from Los Angeles, Dock Ellis spent most of his professional baseball career (1968 to 1979) with the Pittsburgh Pirates. In 1970 Ellis pitched a no-hitter against the San Diego Padres. He started in two World Series games: for the Pirates in 1971 and for the New York Yankees in 1976. Ellis was known as one of the more controversial players in baseball, for antics such as wearing hair curlers on the field, and for speaking out against racism on and off the field. He’s also credited for his many charitable acts and currently works helping inmates overcome addiction to alcohol and other drugs.

Destry Forgette grew up in the small ranching community of Elizabeth, Colorado. He participated in rodeo riding while in the Navy. Later he traveled throughout the western United States living the life of a cowboy. Forgette is a member of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association.

Novelist, columnist, and journalist Pete Hamill, sometimes referred to as “the quintessential New Yorker,” began his writing career in 1960 as a reporter for the
New York Post
and has since been editor and columnist for both the
New York Post
and the
New York Daily News
. His most recent books include the novels
Forever
and
Snow in August
, and a memoir,
A Drinking Life
. Hamill was born in Brooklyn.

Actor Mariette Hartley studied with John Houseman at the repertory at Stratford and with Eva LeGallienne at Lucille Lortel’s White Barn Theatre before appearing in her first movie,
Ride the High Country
, with Joel McCrea. Over the years, she has appeared in dozens of television shows, including
Peyton Place
,
Dr. Kildare
,
The Twilight Zone
,
The Love Boat
,
Diagnosis
Murder
,
To Have and to Hold
,
Caroline in the City
,
WIOU
, and
Law and Order
. In 1987, Hartley held the position of news anchor on the
CBS
Morning Program
. Hartley was born in Weston, Connecticut.

Best-selling author Anne Lamott writes with wit and rigorous honesty on the subjects of alcoholism, motherhood, and faith. Her novels include
Blue Shoe
,
Hard Laughter
, and
All New People
. Nonfiction works include
Bird by Bird
,
Traveling Mercies
,
Plan B
, and
Grace (Eventually)
. Lamott wrote a biweekly column, voted “The Best of the Web” by
Time
magazine, for Salon, and has taught at the University of California, Davis. Lamott is from San Francisco.

Richard Lewis is best known as the neurotic comedian who originated “the date from hell.” A Brooklyn native, Lewis began his career as a stand-up comic and went on to star or appear in TV series, including
Anything but Love
,
Curb Your Enthusiasm
, and
Hiller and Diller
. His movie credits include
Drunks
,
Hugo Pool
, and
Gameday
.
The Other Great Depression
, his autobiography, was published in 2002.

Human rights advocate and world music pioneer Hugh Masekela is known both as a musician—a trumpeter with a personalized African sound—and as a fighter against apartheid. Born in Witbank, South Africa, a coal-mining village east of Johannesburg, Masekela attended the Manhattan School of Music and eventually cofounded Chisa Records. He had great success with singles such as “Riot” and “Fuzz” as well as the album
The Americanization of Ooga Booga
(1965). Masekela’s hit single “Grazing in the Grass,” adapted from a traditional Zambian song, topped the charts for several weeks in 1968. The artist spent the 1970s and 1980s in Africa deepening his roots in traditional and protest music, and he returned to his homeland in 1990. Masekela founded the Botswana International School of Music and now produces for an all-African record label. His autobiography,
Still Grazing: The Musical Journey of Hugh Masekela
, was published in 2004.

Born in Brooklyn and raised in Limerick, Ireland, Malachy McCourt returned to his home state as a young man and opened Malachy’s, New York’s first singles bar. He became a local celebrity and developed an acting, broadcasting, and writing career. His theater work includes
Playboy of the Western World
,
Da
,
The Hostage
, and
A Couple of Blaguards
. He has appeared in several films, including
Reversal of Fortune
and
Bonfire of the Vanities
. He has been a regular on
Ryan’s Hope
,
Search for Tomorrow
, and
One Life to Live
. His memoir is entitled
A Monk Swimming
.

Actor Malcolm McDowell is probably best known for his role as gang leader Alex in Stanley Kubrick’s
A Clockwork Orange
. He played leading roles in
O Lucky Man!
,
Caligula
, and
Time After Time
. His more recent films include
Hidalgo
,
I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead
, and Robert Altman’s
The Company
. Born in Leeds, England, McDowell worked at his parents’ pub and as a coffee salesman before joining the Royal Shakespeare Company as an extra.

From his humble beginnings in the Bronx, Chuck Negron became a household name in the late sixties and early seventies as a lead singer in Three Dog Night, one of the most successful rock bands ever. His career started with his first music recording at the age of fifteen, with The Rondells. From 1969 to 1974, Three Dog Night sold nearly 50 million records, including the hit singles “Joy to the World,” “Old Fashioned Love Song,” “One,” and “Mama Told Me (Not to Come).” Negron now performs solo for audiences around the country.

Born Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor III in Peoria, Illinois, Richard Pryor grew up in poverty, raised in his grandmother’s brothel. Comedy became his outlet, and Pryor began his career in the 1960s as a clean-cut imitation of Bill Cosby. In the early 1970s, he transformed his image to become the first black comedian to humorously depict African Americans as an underclass, and to do it before an integrated audience. No longer clean-cut, Pryor portrayed characters from the streets with honesty and insight. In 1977, he starred in NBC’s
The Richard Pryor Show
. His film credits include
Stir Crazy
,
Wild in the Streets
, and
Superman III
. Pryor is best known for his live performances and record albums.

Minnesota congressman Jim Ramstad was first elected to congress in 1990. He serves on the House Ways and Means Committee, the Health Subcommittee, and the Trade Subcommittee. He co-chairs the Law Enforcement Caucus and the Medical Technology Caucus. Ramstad, known for his efforts to ensure that people with a substance abuse problem or a mental health issue have access to treatment, was named “Legislator of the Year” by the National Association of Alcoholism and Drug Addiction Counselors in 1998 and the National Mental Health Association in 1999. He was born in Jamestown, North Dakota.

Dr. John, one of the most distinctive voices in jazz and popular music, embodies the rich musical heritage of his hometown of New Orleans. His hit songs include “Right Place, Wrong Time” and “Such a Night.” Born Malcolm John Rebennack Jr., the musician in 1968 created Dr. John, the “Night Tripper,” a psychedelic medicine-man persona suited to the times and linked to the cult and voodoo culture of the Crescent City.

Voted in 1996 by
Billboard
magazine as “Top Producer in the World,” Nile Rodgers began his prolific music career at
Sesame Street
and then by playing guitar in the house band at the Apollo Theater in Harlem. In 1977, he and musical partner Bernard Edwards formed the “supergroup” Chic, and “Dance, Dance, Dance,” the first single off their debut album, became an instant hit. “Everybody Dance,” “Le Freak,” and “Good Times” quickly followed suit. Rodgers has produced music from the leading artists of the seventies and eighties, including Sister Sledge, Madonna, David Bowie, Duran Duran, Grace Jones, Mick Jagger, and Eric Clapton. In July 2002, Rodgers founded the We Are Family Foundation to promote tolerance and multiculturalism and to support victims of intolerance.

In the 1960s, Grace Slick became an icon as the lead singer of Jefferson Airplane and later Jefferson Starship. Her strong vocals (“White Rabbit” and “Somebody to Love”), her striking looks, and her bold irreverence garnered much attention. Slick began her music career with The Jefferson Airplane in 1966 and retired from rock and roll in 1989. She is now a successful painter. Born in Evanston, Illinois, Slick grew up in San Francisco.

A gifted and prolific lyricist and composer, Paul Williams wrote some of the most famous songs of the seventies. His hits include “We’ve Only Just Begun,” “Rainy Days and Mondays,” “Evergreen,” “An Old Fashioned Love Song,” “Rainbow Connection,” and the theme song for
The Love Boat
. Born in Bennington, Nebraska, the Oscar-, Grammy-, and Golden Globe–winning songwriter is also an actor, most known for his role as Little Enos in the
Smokey and the Bandit
movies. He’s also provided voice-overs for several animated series, including the role of Penguin in
Batman: The Animated Series
. A devoted father, Williams considers his children, Cole and Sarah, to be his best work.