Biography
They said it couldn't be done. They said that TV stardom necessarily disqualified an actor from major success on the Silver Screen. People feel like they KNOW TV stars - they just don’t WANT them taking different roles. Look, they said, at David Caruso. Yet, despite being the veteran of no fewer than fifteen TV pilots and seven major TV series, George Clooney is up there with the biggest and the brightest of them. Ocean’s Eleven and Twelve saw him share top billing with Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts and Matt Damon. In fact, he was the Ocean of the titles. He'd win an Oscar for his acting in Syriana, as well as being nominated for directing and writing the screenplay for Goodnight, And Good Luck. So . . . David WHO?
George Timothy Clooney was born on the 6th of May, 1961, in Lexington, Kentucky. His mother, Nina, was a former state beauty queen, while his dad, Nick Clooney, was a TV newscaster, actor and talk-show host of great repute around the Cincinnati area. There's one sister, Ada. From the age of 5, young George would potter around his father's sets, joining in where possible, shouting out the temperature during the weather report, generally being charming (some things never change). Nick's audiences loved him. George's aunt, the famous singer Rosemary Clooney, thought he'd make a fine comedian. Once, when he was thirteen, he was at home trying on an Easter Bunny costume for one of his dad's shows. Suddenly, there was an awful rumbling - it was Augusta's first earthquake in 150 years. Poor George; in his cute suit and huge fake feet, he had to leave the building and stand, humiliated, among the neighbours.
George attended Kentucky's Augusta High School, but was no academic. Indeed, his father would give him extra book reports as he didn't think the boy was reading enough. War books became a favourite. George was more sporty. Indeed, baseball was his life. A big star at Augusta High, he actually tried out for the Cincinnati Reds, but did not make the cut. |
