Brian Copeland
Encyclopedia
Brian Copeland is an American actor
, comedian
, radio talk show
host, playwright
and author
based in the San Francisco Bay Area
.
Copeland has been the opening act for artists such as Ray Charles
, Natalie Cole
, Aretha Franklin
and Ringo Starr
. For the past 12 years he has hosted a radio program for San Francisco radio station KGO (AM)
. His program currently airs on Sunday mornings from 9 to 11; he also fills in on occasion for other KGO hosts. On September 13, 2010, he began serving as host of "7 Live," a new hour-long, weekday program on KGO-TV in San Francisco.
. The show is about his experiences growing up in the East Bay
suburb of San Leandro, California
in the 1970s, when it was considered a racist enclave due to its 99.4% white population and coordinated policies of housing discrimination and segregation. The play, originally scheduled for a six-week run, went on to run 25 months, becoming the longest-running one-man show in San Francisco history.
released a memoir by Copeland based upon his play.
In 2009, the book was selected by "Silicon Valley Reads" as the one to read and discuss as a community. This organization represents this Northern Californian region
's libraries, bookstores, and schools, along with some civic leaders.
's character in the Rob Reiner
film The Bucket List
, also starring Jack Nicholson
.
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
, comedian
Comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
, radio talk show
Talk radio
Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often feature interviews with a number of different guests. Talk radio typically includes an element of listener participation, usually by broadcasting live...
host, playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
and author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
based in the San Francisco Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
.
Copeland has been the opening act for artists such as Ray Charles
Ray Charles
Ray Charles Robinson , known by his shortened stage name Ray Charles, was an American musician. He was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues styles into his early recordings with Atlantic Records...
, Natalie Cole
Natalie Cole
Natalie Maria Cole , is an American singer, songwriter and performer. The daughter of jazz legend Nat King Cole, Cole rode to musical success in the mid-1970s as an R&B artist with the hits "This Will Be ", "Inseparable" and "Our Love"...
, Aretha Franklin
Aretha Franklin
Aretha Louise Franklin is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Although known for her soul recordings and referred to as The Queen of Soul, Franklin is also adept at jazz, blues, R&B, gospel music, and rock. Rolling Stone magazine ranked her atop its list of The Greatest Singers of All...
and Ringo Starr
Ringo Starr
Richard Starkey, MBE better known by his stage name Ringo Starr, is an English musician and actor who gained worldwide fame as the drummer for The Beatles. When the band formed in 1960, Starr was a member of another Liverpool band, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. He became The Beatles' drummer in...
. For the past 12 years he has hosted a radio program for San Francisco radio station KGO (AM)
KGO (AM)
KGO is a news/talk-format radio station radio with offices and studios in San Francisco, California. Unlike most other American news/talk stations, KGO originates nearly all of its own programming locally. Since 1978, KGO radio has received Arbitron's number-one ranking in the Bay Area...
. His program currently airs on Sunday mornings from 9 to 11; he also fills in on occasion for other KGO hosts. On September 13, 2010, he began serving as host of "7 Live," a new hour-long, weekday program on KGO-TV in San Francisco.
Play
In 2004, Copeland premiered his first one man show, Not a Genuine Black Man, at The MarshThe Marsh
The Marsh is an American theater company that specializes in developing new performance. It is located in the Mission District of San Francisco, California.-History:...
. The show is about his experiences growing up in the East Bay
East Bay (San Francisco Bay Area)
The East Bay is a commonly used, informal term for the lands on the eastern side of the San Francisco Bay, in the San Francisco Bay Area, in California, United States...
suburb of San Leandro, California
San Leandro, California
San Leandro is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. It is considered a suburb of Oakland and San Francisco. The population was 84,950 as of 2010 census. The climate of the city is mild throughout the year.-Geography and water resources:...
in the 1970s, when it was considered a racist enclave due to its 99.4% white population and coordinated policies of housing discrimination and segregation. The play, originally scheduled for a six-week run, went on to run 25 months, becoming the longest-running one-man show in San Francisco history.
Book
In 2006, the publishing house HyperionHyperion (publisher)
Hyperion Books is a general-interest book publishing part of the Disney-ABC Television Group, a division of The Walt Disney Company, established in 1991. Hyperion publishes general-interest fiction and non-fiction books for adults under the following imprints: ABC Daytime Press, ESPN Books,...
released a memoir by Copeland based upon his play.
In 2009, the book was selected by "Silicon Valley Reads" as the one to read and discuss as a community. This organization represents this Northern Californian region
Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley is a term which refers to the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California in the United States. The region is home to many of the world's largest technology corporations...
's libraries, bookstores, and schools, along with some civic leaders.
Film career
In 2006, Copeland was cast as the son of Morgan FreemanMorgan Freeman
Morgan Freeman is an American actor, film director, aviator and narrator. He is noted for his reserved demeanor and authoritative speaking voice. Freeman has received Academy Award nominations for his performances in Street Smart, Driving Miss Daisy, The Shawshank Redemption and Invictus and won...
's character in the Rob Reiner
Rob Reiner
Robert "Rob" Reiner is an American actor, director, producer, writer, and political activist.As an actor, Reiner first came to national prominence as Archie and Edith Bunker's son-in-law, Michael "Meathead" Stivic, on All in the Family. That role earned him two Emmy Awards during the 1970s...
film The Bucket List
The Bucket List
The Bucket List is a 2007 comedy-drama film directed by Rob Reiner, written by Justin Zackham, and starring Academy Award-winners Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman...
, also starring Jack Nicholson
Jack Nicholson
John Joseph "Jack" Nicholson is an American actor, film director, producer and writer. He is renowned for his often dark portrayals of neurotic characters. Nicholson has been nominated for an Academy Award twelve times, and has won the Academy Award for Best Actor twice: for One Flew Over the...
.