Next Month: Scott Peterson, John Madden and Kristin Smart

March 2013 Experience the SLO Life 9All Images: Copyright free Google Images All Text: Wikipedia

From SLO County and beyond, see where these stars have made a name for themselves

Facesof San Luis Obispo

10 Faces of SLO March 2013

Tr ibute to Jack Kerouac

Jack Kerouac was born in Lowell, Mas-sachusetts, to French-Canadian parents, Léo-Alcide Kéroack and Gabrielle-Ange Lévesque, of St-Hubert-de-Rivière-du-Loup in the province of Quebec, Canada. Kerouac spoke French until he learned English at age six, not speaking it confi-dently until his late teens. He was a seri-ous child who was devoted to his mother, who played an important role in his life. She was a devout Catholic, instilling this devoutness into both her sons. Kerouac would later say that his mother was the only woman he ever loved. Kerouac joined the United States Merchant Marine in 1942, and in 1943 joined the United States Navy, but he served only eight days of active duty before arriving on the sick list. According to his medical report, Jack Kerouac said he “asked for an aspirin for his headaches and they diagnosed me dementia praecox and sent me here.” The medical examiner reported Jack Kerouac’s military adjustment was poor, quoting Kerouac: “I just can’t stand it; I like to be by myself ”.

Two days later he was honorably dis-charged on psychiatric grounds (he was of “indifferent character” with a diagnosis of “schizoid personal-ity”). For the next six years, Kerouac continued to write regularly. Build-ing upon previous drafts tentatively titled “The Beat Generation” and “Gone on the Road,” Kerouac com-pleted what is now known as On the Road in April 1951, while living in Manhattan with his second wife, Joan Haverty.The book was largely autobiographical. Though the work was completed quickly, Kerouac had a long and difficult time finding a publisher...On the Road was ac-cepted by Viking Press. Kerouac was sitting in his favorite chair, drinking whiskey and malt liquor, trying to scribble notes for a book about his father’s print shop in Lowell, Mass. He suddenly felt sick to his stom-ach. He began to throw up large amounts of blood, and yelled to his wife, “Stella, I’m bleeding.” Kerouac died at 5:15 October 21, 1969. His death was determined to be due to an internal hemorrhage, the result of a lifetime of heavy drinking, along with complications from an untreated hernia. - P

oet. Novelist. Painter.

San Luis Obispo Panoramic View

March 2013 Experience the SLO Life 11

Tr ibute to Weird Al

Poet. Novelist. Painter.

Alfred Matthew “Weird Al” Yankovic (born October 23, 1959) is an American singer-songwriter, music

producer, accordionist, ac-tor, comedian, writer, sati-rist, and parodist. Yankovic is known for his humorous

songs that make light of popular culture and that

often parody specific songs by contemporary musical acts. Since his first-aired comedy song in 1976, he

has sold more than 12 mil-lion albums (as of 2007), recorded more than 150

parody and original songs, and has performed more than 1,000 live shows. His

works have earned him three Grammy Awards

among nine nominations, four gold records, and six platinum records in the

United States. Yankovic’s first top ten Billboard al-

bum and single were both released in 2006, nearly three decades into his

career.

Yankovic married Suzanne Krajewski in 2001; their

daughter, Nina, was born in 2003. They also have a pet cockatiel named Bo Veaner and dog named

Bambu. They used to have a pet poodle, named Bela (pictured atop Yankovic’s

head on the cover of his al-bum, Poodle Hat). Yankov-

ic identifies as Christian and has stated that a couple from his church appeared

on the cover of Poodle Hat.Yankovic changed his

diet to become a vegan in 1992, after a former girl-friend gave him the book Diet for a New America. When asked how he can “rationalize” performing

at events such as the Great American Rib Cook-Off when he is a vegan, he

replied, “The same way I can rationalize playing at a college even though I’m not a student anymore.’’

He received his first ex-posure via southern

California and syndicated comedy radio personality Dr. Demento’s radio show,

saying “If there hadn’t been a Dr. Demento, I’d probably have a real job now.”During Yankovic’s sophomore year as an

architecture student at Cal Poly at San Luis Obispo,

he became a disc jockey at the university’s radio sta-

tion, KCPR. Yankovic said he had been nicknamed

Weird Al by fellow students and “took it on profes-sionally” as his persona

for the station. In 1978, he released his first recording (as Alfred Yankovic), “Take Me Down”, on the LP, Slo

Grown, as a benefit for the Economic Opportunity Commission of San Luis Obispo County. The song mocked famous nearby

landmarks such as Bubble-gum Alley and the fountain toilets at the Madonna Inn.

Bio Career Personal Life

Cal Poly Grad

Arroyo Grande High

12 Faces of SLO March 2013

Tr ibute to Zac Efron

Efron was born in San Luis Obispo, California, and later moved to Arroyo Grande, California.

His father, David Efron, is an electrical engineer at a power station, and his mother, Starla Baskett,

is a former secretary who worked at the same power plant. Efron has a younger brother, Dylan, and had, as he has described it, a “normal child-hood” in a middle-class family. He is an agnos-tic, having never been religious. His surname, “Efron”, means “lark” in Hebrew (his paternal

grandfather was Jewish).

Efron has said that he would “flip out” if he got a “B” and not an “A” in school, and has also de-

scribed himself as having been a class clown. His father encouraged him to begin acting when Zac

was eleven years old. Efron subsequently ap-peared in theater productions at his high school, worked in the theater The Great American Melo-drama and Vaudeville, and began taking singing lessons. He performed in shows such as Gypsy; Peter Pan; or, The Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up; Little Shop of Horrors; and The Music Man. He

was recommended to an agent in Los Angeles by his drama teacher, Robyn Metchik (the mother

of actors Aaron Michael Metchik and Asher Metchik). Efron was later signed to the Creative

Artists Agency.

Efron graduated from Arroyo Grande High School in 2006 and was then accepted into the University of Southern California, but has de-ferred his enrollment to work on film projects. He also attended Pacific Conservatory of the

Performing Arts, a community college located in Santa Maria, California, which provided him with

the opportunity to perform as a “young player” during the years of 2000 and 2001.

F I L M L I S T :M E L I N D A ’ S W O R L D

T H E B I G W I D E W O R L D O F C A R L L A E M K E

M I R A C L E R U N

T R I P L E P L AY

T H E D E R B Y S TA L L I O N

I F Y O U L I V E D H E R E , Y O U ’ D B E H O M E N O W

H I G H S C H O O L M U S I C A L

H A I R S P R AY

H I G H S C H O O L M U S I C A L 2

H I G H S C H O O L M U S I C A L 3 : S E N I O R Y E A R

1 7 A G A I N

M E A N D O R S O N W E L L E S

C H A R L I E S T. C L O U D

N E W Y E A R ’ S E V E

L I B E R A L A RT S

T H E L O R A X

T H E L U C K Y O N E

T H E PA P E R B O Y

March 2013 Experience the SLO Life 13

Tr ibute to Chuck Liddell

ChucKCharles David “Chuck” Liddell (born December 17, 1969) is a retired American mixed martial artist and former Ultimate Fighting Championship Light Heavyweight Champion. Liddell has an extensive striking background in Kempo, Koei-Kan karate and kickboxing, as well as a grappling background in collegiate wrestling and Brazil-ian Jiu-Jitsu. He is one of the most dominant champions that ever competed in the UFC. On July 10, 2009, he was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame.

Liddell began studying Koei-Kan karate at the age of 12; the tattoo seen on his scalp reads “Koei-Kan”. Liddell was a four-year starter on the football team at San Marcos High School. He became a Division I wrestler at Cali-fornia Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Business/Ac-counting in 1995. He holds an amateur kickboxing record of 20 wins and 2 losses, with 16 of his wins coming by way of knockout.

When Liddell started his MMA career, he began to train in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under John Lewis in Las Vegas, Nevada. Liddell is associated with John Hackleman and The Pit fight team and earned a purple belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He is a former part owner of two bars in Lin-coln, Nebraska, Dillinger’s and NZone. He also owns a store called “Ultimate Iceman”, a memorabilia store in San Luis Obispo. Liddell endorsed John McCain in the 2008 United States presidential election.

Chuck Liddell vs. Rich Franklin

Fighters Davis and Liddell

Liddell