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Martin Lewis is a 21st century Renaissance Man noted for successfully undertaking multiple roles - including writing, performing, producing, and marketing - in multiple fields - ranging from music, comedy and pop culture to politics. The British-born Lewis has lived in the USA since 1982 - and has been Hollywood-based since 1988. RANGE OF ACTIVITIES Early in his career he worked with several "polymaths" - Renaissance Men such as Sir Peter Ustinov, Dr. Jonathan Miller, Peter Cook, Michael Palin and Terry Jones - who all excelled in several disciplines in the world of arts and entertainment. Inspired by their example, and with their encouragement, Lewis followed suit in pursuing multiple paths of endeavor. Some three decades later, Lewis is himself noted for working in many spheres of the arts and entertainment world simultaneously (music, comedy, film, stage, DVD, TV, radio, books etc) - and for successfully undertaking several different roles in these endeavors - including writing, performing and producing. He is also highly regarded for the creation and implementation of the publicity and marketing strategies and campaigns to promote his - and other people's - projects. He has had a storied 36-year history as a journalist, columnist, writer, humorist, monologist, comedic performer, radio host, TV host, TV correspondent, Master of Ceremonies, producer (of movies, TV, radio, DVDs, stage shows and record albums), talent manager, record company owner, independent film distributor, film-festival curator, political commentator, pioneering organizer of benefit events, human rights activist - and as an award-winning publicity & marketing strategist. He is also a noted raconteur and Bon Vivant! TV PERSONALITY He has been a ubiquitous performer on American television as a satirist and commentator for many years. He has also hosted multiple TV specials. He is frequently seen offering his take on politics and pop culture on a broad range of US TV networks including ABC, CBS, NBC, HBO, Showtime, CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, CNBC, Court TV, Comedy Central, VH1, E!, Lifetime, ESPN and the Food Network. He is also an occasional contributor to British TV networks BBC and Sky. RADIO HOST Since March 2005 he has been the host and producer of his own daily 4-hour radio program heard nationally in the US on Sirius Satellite Radio. "The Martin Lewis Program" (broadcast weekdays 8:00am-12 noon ET) is a signature program on the "Underground Garage" channel - the radio station created by "Little" Steven Van Zandt - who hand-picked Lewis to be the channel's morning personality. Prior to joining Sirius - he hosted and produced his own radio show in Los Angeles - presenting an eclectic range of guests such as: Mike Myers, Drew Barrymore, Martin Landau, Kathy Bates, Bill Maher, Tom Arnold, Lee Grant, Michael York, Lynn Redgrave, Michelle Phillips, Janeane Garofalo, Sid Caesar, Leonard Maltin, Arianna Huffington, Kato Kaelin, Yoko Ono, Jeff Lynne, "Weird Al" Yankovic, Robin Leach and Slash ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN THE ROCK WORLD His 36-year career includes an extensive history working with the leading names in rock music - initially as a publicist mentored by fabled Beatles press agent Derek Taylor - subsequently as a producer of concerts, albums, movies, documentaries, music videos and DVDs. His producing credits include the legendary "Secret Policeman's Ball" series of benefit concerts, films and albums for Amnesty International between 1976 and 1985. Amnesty also credits Lewis with conceiving its 1988 "Human Rights Now!" world tour of all five continents that featured Bruce Springsteen, Sting and Peter Gabriel - a tour produced by his friend, Amnesty USA Executive Director Jack Healey. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, he personally recruited some of the world's top rock musicians to Amnesty's ranks - including Pete Townshend, Sting, Phil Collins, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Donovan and Bob Geldof - and produced their landmark benefit performances for the organization. Lewis suggested the then-radical idea that the musicians perform their hits acoustically - and the striking sets by those artists (which in the case of Townshend, Sting, Collins and Geldof were also their first major solo live appearances) are frequently cited by Pete Townshend and others as having been the inspiration for the "Unplugged" phenomenon which followed a few years later. His film, stage, TV, DVD, music video and record producing work over the past three decades has included working with British musicians such as Pete Townshend, Roger Daltrey, John Entwistle, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Sir Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Sir George Martin, Sting, Andy Summers, Sir Elton John, Phil Collins, Bob Geldof, Eric Burdon, Spencer Davis, Denny Laine, Jackie Lomax, Donovan, Bryan Ferry, Brian Eno, Michael Nyman, George Michael and Wham! And American musicians such as John Sebastian, Michelle Phillips, Stephen Stills, Chrissie Hynde, The Pretenders, The Turtles, Joshua Rifkin and The Comets (Bill Haley's original 1950s band.) His work as a marketing and publicity strategist for music superstars has included campaigns for artists as diverse as The Beatles, The Who, The Monkees, The Turtles, The Doors, The Sex Pistols, The Rutles, The Comets, Jimi Hendrix, Eric Burdon, Sir George Martin and Sir Paul McCartney. PIONEER & CATALYST FOR SOCIAL ACTIVISM BY MUSICIANS Artists such as Sting, Peter Gabriel, Bob Geldof, Pete Townshend and U2's Bono have attributed their involvement in political and social causes to their first exposure to Martin Lewis' pioneering benefit productions for Amnesty International. As Bono expresses it: "I saw 'The Secret Policeman's Ball' and it became a part of me. It sowed a seed..." Peter Gabriel: "It all started with the work Martin Lewis did with 'The Secret Policeman's Ball.' That's what started the whole thing..." ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN THE BEATLES WORLD A protege of Beatles publicist, the late Derek Taylor - and a longtime friend of Beatles producer Sir George Martin - he is also considered one of the world's leading Beatles scholars. He has produced many Beatles-related projects including the DVD Editions of "A Hard Day's Night" and "The Ed Sullivan Shows Featuring The Beatles." He was a consultant on the Beatles' "Anthology" and "Live At The BBC" projects. In 1997, he co-produced Liverpool's 40th anniversary celebrations of the legendary first meeting between John Lennon & Paul McCartney - securing special messages for the occasion from Sir Paul McCartney, Yoko Ono, Prime Minister Tony Blair and President Bill Clinton - and a special Royal proclamation from Her Majesty The Queen. In 2004 he instigated and produced "The Fab 40!" - the massive 40th anniversary celebrations of the Beatles' first US visit - including tributes at New York's Lincoln Center, Washington's Smithsonian, The American Film Institute, The Museum Of TV & Radio and a landmark party at The Hard Rock Cafe in New York - that he co-hosted with Little Steven and Rolling Stone Magazine. Lewis secured a special Mayoral proclamation for the Beatles' anniversary from New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Lewis also devised and implemented the entire publicity and marketing campaign for the anniversary celebrations. PUBLICITY & MARKETING STRATEGIST Miramax and Weinstein Company founders and Co-Chairmen Bob and Harvey Weinstein credit Lewis with providing the inspiration and prototype for their renowned expertise in movie marketing. "Back in 1982 when we were starting Miramax Films, Martin Lewis was the producer of what became our first hit movie - 'The Secret Policeman's Other Ball' starring the Monty Pythons. Martin had a background in publicity and marketing and came up with a great campaign for the movie, creating a huge buzz and getting us free publicity, which was crucial to the film's success. We learned a lot about publicity and marketing from our experience with Martin Lewis." His Springtime! publicity and marketing consultancy is one of the most highly-prized boutique companies in the entertainment world - undertaking campaigns for a few, very select clients. Oscar® Winning Campaign For "Crash" In 2006, Lewis was a member of the marketing team behind the surprise Academy Award® "Best Picture" victory for the movie "Crash." Lewis instigated and ran the acclaimed strategic campaign deploying the movie's Oscar®-nominated theme song to build momentum for the film among Academy members during the crucial voting period. Among his multiple strategies - Lewis arranged for the song to be performed live at several of the key pre-Oscar® guild awards shows (including the Editors and Art Directors guilds) in front of Academy members, Hollywood insiders and entertainment media as an effective means of reminding Academy voters of the film's emotional impact. He also produced a special orchestral version of the theme used as background music on multiple radio and TV news shows during the voting period - contributing to the omnipresence of "Crash" in the media and its subsequent three Academy Award® wins - for Best Editing, Best Original Screenplay and Best Picture. Marketing Campaigns - The Beatles, The Who & Paul McCartney Other notable projects in recent years include the strategic marketing campaign for the Beatles' "Anthology," the promotion of the multiple celebrations of the Beatles 40th anniversary in America, the launch of the DVD Edition of The Beatles film "A Hard Day's Night" and the DVD box set of "The Ed Sullivan Shows Featuring The Beatles," the launch of the DVD Edition of the classic Who documentary "The Kids Are Alright" and the worldwide launch of Sir Paul McCartney's pet project - a DVD of animated musical films for children. The "Rock Is Fifty!" Campaign For Sirius & Steven Van Zandt Lewis was the driving force behind the creation and implementation of the massive "Rock Is Fifty!" celebrations in the spring and summer of 2005. These saluted the 50th anniversary of the breakthrough of rock 'n' roll that occurred with the March 1955 world premiere of the film "Blackboard Jungle" and the subsequent unprecedented success in July 1955 of its theme song "Rock Around The Clock" - the first rock 'n' roll song to top the music charts. The celebrations were created to be the official launch of Steven Van Zandt's "Underground Garage" radio channel for Sirius Satellite Radio. Lewis' campaign included major public events with The Museum Of Modern Art (NYC), The American Cinematheque (L.A.), The Museum Of Television & Radio (in both NYC and L.A.), The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, the Hollywood RockWalk and Johnny Depp's Hollywood club The Viper Room - and co-promotional campaigns with Warner Home Video, Universal Music Group, Gibson Guitars, Backbeat Books and Andrew Solt's Sofa Home Entertainment. It also promoted the 50th anniversary reunion of Bill Haley's original 1955 lineup of The Comets. $300 Million Promotion with NASA! The culmination of the campaign celebrating the 50th anniversary of rock 'n' roll was a promotional collaboration with the $300 million NASA "Deep Impact" space mission to collide a rocket probe into the heart of a speeding comet in July 2005. The successful mission was celebrated with a concert at NASA's mission headquarters at JPL (Jet Propulsion Laboratories) by The Comets on the exact 50th anniversary of their own "deep impact" on popular culture with the first-ever chart-topping rock 'n roll song. The special music video of "Rock Around The Clock" created for the event by Lewis was presented on the NASA website and resulted in over 5 million views worldwide. The campaign also succeeded in securing the exceptionally rare accolade of having an asteroid officially named after a popular entertainer. "Asteroid 1999 BH5" (discovered in 1999 by the Klet' Observatory in the Czech Republic) was officially renamed "Asteroid Bill Haley" by the International Astronomical Union (the world organization responsible for naming asteroids and comets) - honoring the 50th anniversary of Haley's contribution to popular culture and the role of The Comets in commemorating the success of NASA's "Deep Impact" space mission. Award-Winning Promotional Campaign For The Beatles The promotional website Lewis created for the 2000 theatrical reissue of the Beatles' film "A Hard Day's Night" won the coveted "Gold Pencil Award" - the advertising industry's equivalent of the Oscar® - for the Best Promotional Website of 2000. (Lewis' award-winning concept was to create a fun promotional website in the style that WOULD have been deployed in 1964 for the original release of the film - if the internet had been invented in that era!) ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN THE COMEDY WORLD In the comedy field he has worked as a producer, marketing strategist and occasional writer with many major British comedic talents including Monty Python's John Cleese, Graham Chapman, Michael Palin, Terry Jones, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Neil Innes and Carol Cleveland; Beyond The Fringe's Peter Cook, Dudley Moore, Jonathan Miller and Alan Bennett; Billy Connolly, Rowan Atkinson, Sir Peter Ustinov, Eleanor Bron, The Young Ones, The Rutles and Absolutely Fabulous' Jennifer Saunders. In 1996, Lewis instigated, developed and produced the highly-successful reunion of The Rutles - the Monty Python spin-off project which affectionately spoofed The Beatles. He executive-produced the band's "Archaeology" album - lampooning the Beatles' "Anthology" project. He also produced the group's reunion music video - and personally secured guest appearances for it by a diverse group of 25 stars ranging from Peter Gabriel, Cyndi Lauper, Graham Nash and Slash - through Ben E. King, Richie Havens and Gloria Gaynor - to Nancy Sinatra, Pat Boone and Eartha Kitt! And comics Bill Maher, Janeane Garofalo and Richard Belzer To commemorate Monty Python's 30th anniversary in 1999, Lewis created and produced a special American tribute for the BBC's four-hour TV special on the occasion. Working with "South Park" creators Trey Parker & Matt Stone - Lewis conceived and produced a special animated sequence featuring the "South Park" characters in a version of Monty Python's legendary "Dead Parrot Sketch." Lewis also conceived, wrote and produced a sequence for the TV special in which Terry Gilliam's (actual!) octogenarian mother appeared as a trussed-up kidnap victim of the "South Park" creators - held hostage as a device to pressurize Gilliam into taking over directorial duties of their animated TV series! Drawing on his creative affinity - and longtime personal and professional ties with Monty Python - he was invited to write and perform special additional comedic material incorporated on the critically-acclaimed, best-selling CD-ROM "Monty Python's Complete Waste Of Time." Lewis' extensive contributions to the production - which were highlighted in a rave review in Entertainment Weekly - gave him the distinction of being the only 'outside' writer and performer featured on the project - a rare honor in the famously exclusive Python world. ACCOMPLISHMENTS AS A LIVE PERFORMER Lewis performed his critically-acclaimed autobiographical one-man show "Great Exploitations!" for two seasons in Los Angeles (including the premiere engagement at the Steven Spielberg Theatre) and in New York as a special presentation at the Toyota Comedy Festival. Lewis is much in-demand as a host, moderator and Master of Ceremonies for major live events such as award shows, film retrospectives, rock festivals, seminars, conventions and benefit concerts. LITERARY WORK As a columnist Lewis has written extensively for Time Magazine's website TIME.com (for whom he was a special correspondent throughout the 2000 Presidential elections and beyond). He is also a contributor to Variety, Salon.com and The Huffington Post. He writes columns for his own literary website - Agent Provocateur. BOARD MEMBERSHIPS He is a long-term member of the Board of Trustees of The American Cinematheque - a Board on which he serves with Martin Scorsese, Francis Coppola, Mike Nichols, Candice Bergen, Goldie Hawn and other senior members of the film and television community. He is a former Chairman of the British Academy Of Film & Television Arts (Los Angeles) and served on its Board of Directors for six years. BACKGROUND AND MUSINGS Born and raised in London - Lewis moved to New York in 1982. After six years he moved to Los Angeles. "I like living in Hollywood because it constantly lulls one into a false sense of IN-security." Asked to explain his philosophy of life, Lewis responds: "I'm constantly searching for the substance of life.... the pith of reality. I try to take the pith out of reality." He summarizes his ambition thus: "I'm just seeking my 20 minutes of fame. That's the statutory 15 minutes - with a 5 minutes grace period." He is cavalier about money "I usually give it away in exchange for other things..." There are only two status symbols he desires. "I'd like a swimming pool in the shape of Liberace..." And he would like a sandwich named after him at New York's Carnegie Deli. "Even Susan Anton and Erik Estrada have been immortalized on a menu - so I'd like to see my name in pastrami..." Among other humorists, his biggest hero is Will Rogers. "He's got a national park and an airport named after him. I'd be proud just to have my name on a baggage carousel at LAX..." He is a notorious workaholic and ANTI-somniac. (He hates to sleep!) He is also proud to be known as The World's Least-Reserved Englishman!
"Lewis - whose satiric political comedy has been a staple on 'Politically Incorrect' and many other TV slots - is also perhaps his own Leonardo, a true Renaissance Man who seems to have done just about everything in the world of entertainment." - L.A. Weekly "A treat! Incites and inspires with his witticisms" - Village Voice "A clever comic!" - New York Post "Preternaturally affable... a very captivating raconteur" - Los Angeles Magazine "Political satirist Martin Lewis... Handsome, charming and intelligently funny, Lewis regales his audience with stories from his fascinating life in entertainment..." - Paper Magazine "Too weird to be believed! Fortunately, he works in comedy..." - New York Observer "Probably the funniest fellow I bumped into at the GOP confab was British political commentator and humorist Martin Lewis." - The Forward "Unlike many comics, whose stage personalities are unrelated to their offstage selves, this guy is the real thing - warm, charming and funny as hell." - Nightlife Magazine "The ultra-high-energy Lewis... a machine-gun style delivery of sardonic observations sweetened by an irrepressible exuberance... the sort of wit I call unimpeachable" - L.A. Weekly "Fans will thoroughly enjoy the funny, comprehensive and often revealing commentary by British humorist Martin Lewis..." - Video Business "Some day the 'repressed performer' in Mr. Lewis will probably come out and he'll turn into Mel Brooks..." - New York Times "BEST OF THE WEEK!" - New York Magazine "A fixture on American TV as a social commentator on politics and pop culture." - Paper Magazine "The Denis Diderot of Beatle encyclopedists..." - Variety "Not a man to shirk from a sweeping statement..." - The Sunday Times [UK] "A veteran hipster!" - New York Press
"Martin Lewis is, as they say in Mali [West Africa], a 'griot.' A very valuable member of society - much respected - and feared - who remembers everything." - Michael Palin "He started as a producer working with Monty Python and Peter Cook. Now he's a respected comedic performer in his own right..." - Bill Maher "Watching Martin Lewis do his thing is like experiencing a great jazz master riffing on a solo..." - Richard Lewis - comedian "Terrific! I loved the 'Vast Bright-Wing Conspiracy' column..." - Arianna Huffington "Holy shit! Fabulous writing!" - Nancy Sinatra "Great material!" - Carol Leifer "Great talent" - Shirley MacLaine "A very funny man!" - Wolf Blitzer "A good man!" - Dick Cavett "Based On A Phone Conversation With Martin Lewis" - credit supplied on 1987 HBO film script written by Peter Cook "I'd like to make a documentary about him..." - Jeffrey Tambor "Martin and Lewis reunited..." - Geraldo Rivera "Martin Lewis is without a doubt..." - Jerry Lewis - comedian/actor/director "Martin Lewis is an expert on.... everything!" - Steven Van Zandt "Martin Lewis is too funny for TV!" - Arianna Huffington "There is such a thing as a young Robin Leach..." - Roger Ebert "A young man who could take over my entire career. I adore him!" - Robin Leach "I made my first-ever solo appearance when Martin Lewis got me to appear in 'The Secret Policeman's Other Ball.' I enjoyed it - and two years later I went solo... So, in a way, Martin Lewis helped break up The Police!" - Sting "We learned a lot about publicity and marketing from our experience with Martin Lewis." - Bob & Harvey Weinstein [Co-Founders - Miramax Films & The Weinstein Company] "Martin Lewis sticks out like a healthy thumb..." - Derek Taylor (Beatles publicist) "Clever!" - Sir Paul McCartney "I like the way he 'fluffs and folds' his hair..." - Janeane Garofalo "Absolutely the worst dancer I've ever seen..." - George Michael "He asked me to slap him - so I slapped him!" - Sharon Stone "He reminds me of my mother..." - Slash
• Literary Offerings: The Agent Provocateur Website • Accomplishments As A Marketing Strategist: The Springtime! Website
Consumer Websites Created For Projects & Campaigns • The Fab 40! - The Beatles 40th Anniversary in USA • Rock Is Fifty! - The 50th Anniversary of Rock 'n' Roll • Mods & Rockers! - Annual film festival of 1960's movies • The Official Brian Epstein Website - A Tribute Media Resource Websites Created For Projects & Campaigns • The Fab 40! - The Beatles 40th Anniversary in USA - Media Website • Rock Is Fifty! - The 50th Anniversary of Rock 'n' Roll - Media Website
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