Salon Directory › b › Brilliant Careers (161 stories)

Brilliant Careers

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The Dalai Lama
China hates him, the West wants to hug him. The spiritual leader of Tibet isn't just the bodhisattva of compassion -- he's one heck of a marketer.
By Chris Colin Nov 28, 2000
Rev. Billy Graham
At 82, the Elvis (and Marshall McLuhan) of preachers is still the king of ecumenical evangelism.
By David Rubien Nov 21, 2000
From Degas to dot-com
Listen to the second annual celebration of Salon's "Brilliant Careers" series featuring Tracey Ullman, Roger Ebert, Mike Figgis and more!
Emceed by Ben Stein Nov 14, 2000
Merle Haggard
From prison and politics to rambling and romance, his journey has been, well, complicated. But austere lyrics and rich country jazz have made him one of music's masters.
By Alex Halberstadt Nov 14, 2000
Dolly Parton
The artist with one of the greatest country voices of all time says that throughout her life she's been driven by three passions: God, music and sex.
By Stephanie Zacharek Oct 31, 2000
Ted Williams
Almost 60 years ago, the greatest hitter who ever lived hit over .400 and no one has done it since.
By Mark Miller Oct 24, 2000
Tommy Lasorda
After 50 years of baseball, the legendary manager swears he bleeds Dodger blue.
By Mark Miller Oct 17, 2000
Christopher Walken
No one plays the kook, the psycho, the fallen angel, the bloodthirsty ghoul better than the actor who claims he's just a regular Joe.
By Stephen Lemons Oct 10, 2000
Michael Caine
Over four decades -- from "Alfie" to "The Cider House Rules" -- he has played warm, cold and everything in between, and never feared losing the audience's sympathy.
By Charles Taylor Oct 3, 2000
Helen Gurley Brown
In a tempestuous era, her Cosmopolitan magazine grappled with how women should define themselves, and reconcile liberation with their interest in men.
By Melissa Hantman Sep 26, 2000
Van Morrison
The Irish singer-songwriter has identified himself with poets from Blake to Yeats, and like those "poetic champions," he has searched for the right words, the right feeling, as if for the Holy Grail.
By Sean Elder Sep 19, 2000
Jerry Wexler
The great Atlantic Records producer gave us rhythm and blues -- as well as just about every R&B legend -- and retooled the very foundations of music producing.
By Alex Halberstadt Sep 5, 2000
Roger Angell
Long before he started writing about baseball for the New Yorker he was a fan of the game, and he has never been afraid to show it.
By Steve Kettmann Aug 29, 2000
Ray Davies
The man whose kinkiness gave the Kinks their greatness has written songs that some of us will carry around, like a talisman, forever.
By Stephanie Zacharek Aug 22, 2000
Robert Altman
Hollywood's ultimate outsider is at long last the Big Daddy of American cinema.
By Stephen Lemons Aug 15, 2000
John Waters
It's been a long, nauseating haul, but the director of "Pink Flamingos" and the new "Cecil B. DeMented" has made it as an American icon.
By Daniel Reitz Aug 8, 2000
Paul Verhoeven
By Andrew O'Hehir
Aug 4, 2000
Paul Verhoeven
Is the director of "Total Recall" and "Hollow Man" a pornographer, a homophobe and a misogynist -- or a misunderstood genius who's been defeated by his own contrary nature?
By Andrew O'Hehir Aug 1, 2000
Sir George Martin
He was the only "fifth Beatle" who really deserved the title -- without him the '60s' greatest group might never have happened.
By Frank Houston Jul 25, 2000
Evan S. Connell
By flipping the known world on its head, the relentlessly contrarian author of "Son of the Morning Star" and "Deus Lo Volt!" has become that rarest of writers: Dangerous.
By Greg Bottoms Jul 18, 2000
John McEnroe
His combination of talent and temperament worked hand in hand, exploding on the court and turning tennis into performance art.
By Larry Platt Jul 11, 2000
Elizabeth Marshall Thomas
Her books on dogs have made her a bestselling author, but her fascinating life as a writer began over 40 years ago in the Kalahari Desert.
By Susan McCarthy Jun 27, 2000
Nina Simone
Now on a rare tour of the U.S., she's been the "High Priestess of Soul" for decades, making music that's an eloquent blend of joy, sorrow and anger.
By Jennifer Gilmore Jun 20, 2000
Roger Corman
The King of B movies became an industry giant by keeping budgets lean, and his films rich with breasts, bikers and blood.
By Greg Villepique Jun 13, 2000
Maggie Smith
One of today's most gifted and venerable actresses, she can turn the tiniest role into the most memorable corner of a movie.
By Steve Vineberg Jun 6, 2000
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Salon Directory › b › Brilliant Careers (161 stories)

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