Mark Bego
Encyclopedia
Mark Bego is a best selling author
of top performers in the rock & roll and show business
. By having more than 10 million books in print, Mark Bego has been acknowledged as "the prince of pop bios" - the best selling biographer in the rock
and pop
field. Bego has written 54 books, two of which have been New York Times Best Sellers
. Bego has written biographers about some of entertainment's biggest stars, including: Linda Ronstadt
, Elton John
, Aretha Franklin
, Elvis Presley
, Michael Jackson
, Madonna
, Billy Joel
, Patsy Cline
, Leonardo DiCaprio
and many more.
Mark Bego's book on pop-legend Michael Jackson, entitled Michael! was released a week after the infamous Pepsi Cola commercial in which Michael Jackson's hair caught on fire. The book sold three million copies in the United States
alone and landed on the New York Times Best Sellers
for six weeks. Bego also got the chance to travel with Jackson and his brothers on the "Victory!" Tour, and subsequently wrote the book entitled On The Road With Michael!
The following year, in 1985, Bego wrote the million-selling Madonna! About the pop icon
. It was so popular that he has twice expanded the book as Madonna: Blonde Ambition (1992 and 2001). From 1978 to 1980 he was the Nightlife Editor for Manhattan
’s Cue, covering everything from Studio 54
to all of the jazz
and cabaret
clubs in the city. From 1983 to 1985 he was Editor-In-Chief of Modern Screen. His writing has also appeared in People
, US
, Billboard
, Record World
, Cosmopolitan
, The Star
, and the National Enquirer.
He has also written books with Micky Dolenz
of The Monkees
(I’m a Believer), Debbie Gibson (Between the Lines), and Jimmy Greenspoon
of Three Dog Night
(One is the Loneliest Number). In addition, Bego has written a book called One Minute Before Midnight with Ruth Mueller. Bego’s book subjects have ranged from Elvis Presley, Bonnie Raitt
, Julia Roberts
, Whitney Houston
, Joni Mitchell
, Billy Joel, and Jackson Browne
to Cher
and Bette Midler
. In 1994, his more general books published included Country Gals (life stories of Reba McEntire
, Dolly Parton
, Tanya Tucker
, and other famed women in country music
, and Country Hunks (spotlighting Vince Gill
, Billy Ray Cyrus
, George Strait
and others). Bego also authored the reference books TV Rock (The History of Rock & Roll on Television) and The Rock & Roll Almanac. He has also written books about Hollywood in its heyday The Best of “Modern Screen", and Rock Hudson
: Public and Private. Bego wrote a memoir with Memphis Mafia
member Lamar Fike called An Uncommon Journey: On Elvis Presley Boulevard. He co-wrote a screenplay
based on the book called ’57 to ’60: One of the Boys.
At the height of the box-office success of the film Titanic
, Bego wrote the biography
of the movie’s star Leonardo DiCaprio: Romantic Hero. It spent six weeks on The New York Times
best-seller list in 1998.
In 2008, Bego published his 51st pop culture book, written with Randy Jones
of Village People
, entitled Macho Man. Recently, Bego penned his own show business memoir, Paperback Writer. He frequently is seen on television speaking about show business, on such shows as Entertainment Tonight
, Biography
, and True Hollywood Story.
. In reality, Elton's life more closely parallels that of Oscar Wilde
. He has been wild, glitzy, boozy, bawdy and unconventional. This is the book that every Elton John fan has been waiting for. It is filled with all of the addictions
, the self-doubts, bad toupee
s, affairs and scandal
s."
In the summer of 2009, Mark Bego appeared on ABC
talking about Michael Jackson's death. The clip can be seen at the ABC site
Mark Bego's Amazon Page: http://www.amazon.com/Mark-Bego/e/B001H6MLBM/ref=sr_tc_2_0
Mark Bego on the Pipeline Entertainment Page: http://www.pipeline-talent.com/
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:...
of top performers in the rock & roll and show business
Show business
Show business, sometimes shortened to show biz, is a vernacular term for all aspects of entertainment. The word applies to all aspects of the entertainment industry from the business side to the creative element ....
. By having more than 10 million books in print, Mark Bego has been acknowledged as "the prince of pop bios" - the best selling biographer in the rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
and pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
field. Bego has written 54 books, two of which have been New York Times Best Sellers
New York Times Best Seller list
The New York Times Best Seller list is widely considered the preeminent list of best-selling books in the United States. It is published weekly in The New York Times Book Review magazine, which is published in the Sunday edition of The New York Times and as a stand-alone publication...
. Bego has written biographers about some of entertainment's biggest stars, including: Linda Ronstadt
Linda Ronstadt
Linda Ronstadt is an American popular music recording artist. She has earned eleven Grammy Awards, two Academy of Country Music awards, an Emmy Award, an ALMA Award, numerous United States and internationally certified gold, platinum and multiplatinum albums, in addition to Tony Award and Golden...
, Elton John
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
, 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...
, Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
, Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
, Madonna
Madonna (entertainer)
Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...
, Billy Joel
Billy Joel
William Martin "Billy" Joel is an American musician and pianist, singer-songwriter, and classical composer. Since releasing his first hit song, "Piano Man", in 1973, Joel has become the sixth best-selling recording artist and the third best-selling solo artist in the United States, according to...
, Patsy Cline
Patsy Cline
Patsy Cline , born Virginia Patterson Hensley in Gore, Virginia, was an American country music singer who enjoyed pop music crossover success during the era of the Nashville sound in the early 1960s...
, Leonardo DiCaprio
Leonardo DiCaprio
Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio is an American actor and film producer. He has received many awards, including a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor for his performance in The Aviator , and has been nominated by the Academy Awards, Screen Actors Guild and the British Academy of Film and Television...
and many more.
Mark Bego's book on pop-legend Michael Jackson, entitled Michael! was released a week after the infamous Pepsi Cola commercial in which Michael Jackson's hair caught on fire. The book sold three million copies in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
alone and landed on the New York Times Best Sellers
New York Times Best Seller list
The New York Times Best Seller list is widely considered the preeminent list of best-selling books in the United States. It is published weekly in The New York Times Book Review magazine, which is published in the Sunday edition of The New York Times and as a stand-alone publication...
for six weeks. Bego also got the chance to travel with Jackson and his brothers on the "Victory!" Tour, and subsequently wrote the book entitled On The Road With Michael!
The following year, in 1985, Bego wrote the million-selling Madonna! About the pop icon
Pop icon
A pop icon is a celebrity, character, or object whose exposure in pop culture constitutes a defining characteristic of a given society or era. The categorization is usually associated with elements such as longevity, ubiquity, and distinction. Moreover, "pop icon" status is distinguishable from...
. It was so popular that he has twice expanded the book as Madonna: Blonde Ambition (1992 and 2001). From 1978 to 1980 he was the Nightlife Editor for Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
’s Cue, covering everything from Studio 54
Studio 54
Studio 54 was a highly popular discotheque from 1977 until 1991, located at 254 West 54th Street in Manhattan, New York, USA. It was originally the Gallo Opera House, opening in 1927, after which it changed names several times, eventually becoming a CBS radio and television studio. In 1977 it...
to all of the jazz
Jazz club
A jazz club is a venue where the primary entertainment is the performance of live jazz music. Jazz clubs have been in large rooms in the eras of Orchestral jazz and big band jazz and when its popularity as a dance music was common...
and cabaret
Cabaret
Cabaret is a form, or place, of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue: a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting at tables watching the performance, as introduced by a master of ceremonies or...
clubs in the city. From 1983 to 1985 he was Editor-In-Chief of Modern Screen. His writing has also appeared in People
People (magazine)
In 1998, the magazine introduced a version targeted at teens called Teen People. However, on July 27, 2006, the company announced it would shut down publication of Teen People immediately. The last issue to be released was scheduled for September 2006. Subscribers to this magazine received...
, US
Us Weekly
Us Weekly is a celebrity gossip magazine, founded in 1977 by The New York Times Company, who sold it in 1980. It was acquired by Wenner Media in 1986. The publication covers topics ranging from celebrity relationships to the latest trends in fashion, beauty, and entertainment...
, Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
, Record World
Record World
Record World magazine was one of the three main music industry trade publications in the United States, along with Billboard and Cash Box magazines. It was founded in 1946 under the name Music Vendor, but since 1964 changed it to Record World, under the ownership of Sid Parnes and Bob Austin, both...
, Cosmopolitan
Cosmopolitan (magazine)
Cosmopolitan is an international magazine for women. It was first published in 1886 in the United States as a family magazine, was later transformed into a literary magazine and eventually became a women's magazine in the late 1960s...
, The Star
The Star
The Star may refer to:* The Star , a 2002 Russian film* The Star , a 1952 Bette Davis film* The Star , a casino in Sydney, Australia* The Star , a Thai singing competition reality television show....
, and the National Enquirer.
He has also written books with Micky Dolenz
Micky Dolenz
George Michael "Micky" Dolenz, Jr. is an American actor, musician, television director, radio personality and theater director, best known as a member of the 1960s made-for-television band The Monkees.-Biography:...
of The Monkees
The Monkees
The Monkees are an American pop rock group. Assembled in Los Angeles in 1966 by Robert "Bob" Rafelson and Bert Schneider for the American television series The Monkees, which aired from 1966 to 1968, the musical acting quartet was composed of Americans Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork,...
(I’m a Believer), Debbie Gibson (Between the Lines), and Jimmy Greenspoon
Jimmy Greenspoon
Jimmy Greenspoon is an American keyboard player, best known as a member of the band, Three Dog Night. He currently lives in Montgomery County, Maryland....
of Three Dog Night
Three Dog Night
Three Dog Night is an American rock band best known for their music from 1968 to 1975. During that time the band charted 21 Billboard top 40 hits in America, three of which reached Number One...
(One is the Loneliest Number). In addition, Bego has written a book called One Minute Before Midnight with Ruth Mueller. Bego’s book subjects have ranged from Elvis Presley, Bonnie Raitt
Bonnie Raitt
Bonnie Lynn Raitt is an American blues singer-songwriter and a renowned slide guitar player. During the 1970s, Raitt released a series of acclaimed roots-influenced albums which incorporated elements of blues, rock, folk and country, but she is perhaps best known for her more commercially...
, Julia Roberts
Julia Roberts
Julia Fiona Roberts is an American actress. She became a Hollywood star after headlining the romantic comedy Pretty Woman , which grossed $464 million worldwide...
, Whitney Houston
Whitney Houston
Whitney Elizabeth Houston is an American singer, actress, producer and a former model. Houston is the most awarded female act of all time, according to Guinness World Records, and her list of awards include 1 Emmy Award, 6 Grammy Awards, 30 Billboard Music Awards, 22 American Music Awards, among...
, Joni Mitchell
Joni Mitchell
Joni Mitchell, CC is a Canadian musician, singer songwriter, and painter. Mitchell began singing in small nightclubs in her native Saskatchewan and Western Canada and then busking in the streets and dives of Toronto...
, Billy Joel, and Jackson Browne
Jackson Browne
Jackson Browne is an American singer-songwriter and musician who has sold over 17 million albums in the United States alone....
to Cher
Cher
Cher is an American recording artist, television personality, actress, director, record producer and philanthropist. Referred to as the Goddess of Pop, she has won an Academy Award, a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, three Golden Globes and a Cannes Film Festival Award among others for her work in...
and Bette Midler
Bette Midler
Bette Midler is an American singer, actress, and comedian, also known by her informal stage name, The Divine Miss M. She became famous as a cabaret and concert headliner, and went on to star in successful and acclaimed films such as The Rose, Ruthless People, Beaches, and For The Boys...
. In 1994, his more general books published included Country Gals (life stories of Reba McEntire
Reba McEntire
Reba Nell McEntire is an American country music artist and actress. She began her career in the music industry as a high school student singing in the Kiowa High School band , on local radio shows with her siblings, and at rodeos. As a solo act, she was invited to perform at a rodeo in Oklahoma...
, Dolly Parton
Dolly Parton
Dolly Rebecca Parton is an American singer-songwriter, author, multi-instrumentalist, actress and philanthropist, best known for her work in country music. Dolly Parton has appeared in movies like 9 to 5, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Steel Magnolias and Straight Talk...
, Tanya Tucker
Tanya Tucker
Tanya Denise Tucker is a female American country music artist who had her first hit, "Delta Dawn", in 1972 at the age of 13...
, and other famed women in country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
, and Country Hunks (spotlighting Vince Gill
Vince Gill
Vincent Grant "Vince" Gill is an American neotraditional country singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He has achieved commercial success and fame both as frontman to the country rock band Pure Prairie League in the 1970s, and as a solo artist beginning in 1983, where his talents as a...
, Billy Ray Cyrus
Billy Ray Cyrus
William "Billy" Ray Cyrus is an American country music singer, songwriter, actor and philanthropist, who helped make country music a worldwide phenomenon...
, George Strait
George Strait
George Harvey Strait is an American country music singer, actor, and music producer. Strait is referred to as the "King of Country," and critics call Strait a living legend. He is known for his unique style of western swing music, bar-room ballads, honky-tonk style, and fresh yet traditional...
and others). Bego also authored the reference books TV Rock (The History of Rock & Roll on Television) and The Rock & Roll Almanac. He has also written books about Hollywood in its heyday The Best of “Modern Screen", and Rock Hudson
Rock Hudson
Roy Harold Scherer, Jr., later Roy Harold Fitzgerald , known professionally as Rock Hudson, was an American film and television actor, recognized as a romantic leading man during the 1950s and 1960s, most notably in several romantic comedies with Doris Day.Hudson was voted "Star of the Year",...
: Public and Private. Bego wrote a memoir with Memphis Mafia
Memphis Mafia
The "Memphis Mafia" was the nickname for a group of friends, associates, employees and "yes-men" whose main function was to be around Elvis Presley from 1954 until he died. Several filled practical roles in the singer's life. For instance, they were employed to work for him as bodyguards or on tour...
member Lamar Fike called An Uncommon Journey: On Elvis Presley Boulevard. He co-wrote a screenplay
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
based on the book called ’57 to ’60: One of the Boys.
At the height of the box-office success of the film Titanic
Titanic (1997 film)
Titanic is a 1997 American epic romance and disaster film directed, written, co-produced, and co-edited by James Cameron. A fictionalized account of the sinking of the RMS Titanic, it stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Jack Dawson, Kate Winslet as Rose DeWitt Bukater and Billy Zane as Rose's fiancé, Cal...
, Bego wrote the biography
Biography
A biography is a detailed description or account of someone's life. More than a list of basic facts , biography also portrays the subject's experience of those events...
of the movie’s star Leonardo DiCaprio: Romantic Hero. It spent six weeks on The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
best-seller list in 1998.
In 2008, Bego published his 51st pop culture book, written with Randy Jones
Randy Jones (singer)
Randy Jones is an American disco and pop singer and was the original cowboy from Village People.As of 2006, he currently lives in New York City....
of Village People
Village People
Village People is a concept disco group that formed in the United States in 1977, well known for their on-stage costumes depicting American cultural stereotypes, as well as their catchy tunes and suggestive lyrics....
, entitled Macho Man. Recently, Bego penned his own show business memoir, Paperback Writer. He frequently is seen on television speaking about show business, on such shows as Entertainment Tonight
Entertainment Tonight
Entertainment Tonight is a daily tabloid television entertainment television news show that is syndicated by CBS Television Distribution throughout the United States, Canada and in many countries around the world. Linda Bell Blue is currently the program's executive producer...
, Biography
Biography (TV series)
Biography is a documentary television series. It was originally a half-hour filmed series produced for CBS by David Wolper from 1961 to 1964 and hosted by Mike Wallace. The A&E Network later re-ran it and has produced new episodes since 1987...
, and True Hollywood Story.
Recent news
Mark Bego released a biography of Elton John in 2009. Mark Bego himself has said of the biography, "Previous books have handled his life with kid gloves, nearly making him into a tasteful 21st century George GershwinGeorge Gershwin
George Gershwin was an American composer and pianist. Gershwin's compositions spanned both popular and classical genres, and his most popular melodies are widely known...
. In reality, Elton's life more closely parallels that of Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish writer and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s...
. He has been wild, glitzy, boozy, bawdy and unconventional. This is the book that every Elton John fan has been waiting for. It is filled with all of the addictions
Substance dependence
The section about substance dependence in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders does not use the word addiction at all. It explains:...
, the self-doubts, bad toupee
Toupee
A toupée is a hairpiece or partial wig of natural or synthetic hair worn to cover partial baldness or for theatrical purposes. While toupées and hairpieces are typically associated with male wearers, some women also use hairpieces to lengthen existing hair, or cover partially exposed scalp...
s, affairs and scandal
Scandal
A scandal is a widely publicized allegation or set of allegations that damages the reputation of an institution, individual or creed...
s."
In the summer of 2009, Mark Bego appeared on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
talking about Michael Jackson's death. The clip can be seen at the ABC site
Links
Mark Bego's Official Page: http://www.markbego.com/Mark Bego's Amazon Page: http://www.amazon.com/Mark-Bego/e/B001H6MLBM/ref=sr_tc_2_0
Mark Bego on the Pipeline Entertainment Page: http://www.pipeline-talent.com/