Hey there, Summer Campers!

We often talk about celebrities who were once summer campers like yourselves here on the Everything Summer Camp Blog. Here's our celebrity for today—I’m talking about Mei Mei herself—Kate Hudson—who attended Four Winds  Westward Ho Boys and Girls Summer Camp when she was younger.

Kate spent her summer days soaking in the sunny fun on Orcas Island in Washington State’s San Juan Islands. The island provides a hundred acres of shady woods, open fields, and gorgeous waterfront—lending the perfect environment for an awesome variety of activities and programs to develop skills and confidence in their campers.

Born to the Academy Award-winning actress Goldie Hawn and comedian/actor/musician Bill Hudson, Kate didn’t grow up with the easiest family life—her parents divorced when she was just one year old. She was raised chiefly by her mother in Los Angeles. In fact, her mother once made a brief appearance while Kate and her brother were attending summer camp. The campers were gathered by the lake for an assembly when a sea plane flew overhead with Goldie leaning out and waving at them!

After completing her elementary and high school education, Kate started at Crossroads, a college preparatory school in Santa Monica. She graduated in 1997 and, though she was accepted into New York University, she opted to follow in her mother’s footsteps and pursue a career in acting instead of trying for her undergraduate degree.

She had already made a television appearance on the show ‘Party of Five’ and thought she had a chance to make it big. By the very next year she appeared in two films and by 2000, she starred as Penny Lane in Cameron Crowe’s coming-of-age motion picture ‘Almost Famous’.

Much more recently, Kate voiced the character Mei Mei in the 2016 Dreamworks feature Kung Fu Panda 3 as well as television appearances such as ‘Glee’ and ‘Saturday Night Live’.

Despite hardships she faced in her youth, Kate enjoyed her time at summer camp and talks about what a beautiful setting it was. She rose to the heights of success with a great acting career. No matter what hardships you face in your life, you’re sure to have successes as well and some of them could be at summer camp. Be sure to check out Four Winds in Washington if it sounds like the right camp for you and, as always, thanks for reading.

- John

Hey, Summer Campers!

No matter if celebrities are singer/songwriters, famous athletes, or big Hollywood stars, so many of them seem to have once been summer campers back when they were younger. Ben Stiller has cemented his name in the comedy world, but did you know he attended camp before he became a household name?

It’s true. Born and raised in New York City, Ben and his parents Anne and Jerry decided on the East Coast camp, Camp Pinnacle—located at the center of the Blue Ridge Mountains of western North Carolina in Flat Rock. In operation since 1928, Ben went to camp a bit later (in the 70s), unlike his dad, Jerry Stiller who went to camp roughly a decade after Camp Pinnacle was founded. You can check out more on Jerry Stiller by clicking here.

With two actors for parents, Ben was given a front-row seat to the hectic lifestyle of show business. He would regularly join his mother and father on the sets of television shows and, looking back on his early years, said that “It was a show-business upbringing—a lot of traveling, a lot of late nights—not what you’d call traditional.”

His childhood was anchored with his sister, Amy, just a few years older than him. With a sensible interest in filmmaking, Ben and Amy would make Super 8 movies with friends as often as they could. After being inspired by the television show Second City Television while in high school, Stiller realized that he wanted to get involved with sketch comedy.

Ben scored his acting debut at just nine years old when his mother landed a short-lived television series from the 70s called ‘Kate McShane’. As Ben found a love for acting, he still had fun inviting his sister to appear in a number of his movies.

Despite his nontraditional childhood, Ben had his fun summer camp experience and he had a consistent school education, having attended the Cathedral School of St. John the Divine and he graduated from the Calhoun School in New York. During his high school years, Ben was inspired by ‘Second City Television’ TV show that sparked his interest in sketch comedy.

After high school, Ben enrolled at the University of California in Los Angeles to study film. During his time there, however, he couldn’t shake the idea he wasn’t making the right choice. After just nine months, he moved back home to take acting classes in particular. With talent and determination, he worked away doing auditioning and searching for an agent—which, as we all know, he was successful. You can check out Camp Pinnacle to see if it looks like a good fit for you by clicking here and, as always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Summer Campers!

The same as so many Hollywood stars, professional athletes, musical artists, and other celebrities, among so many of our favorite Hollywood actors who attended summer camp when they were young, movie star Ethan Hawke is yet another former camper in the biz! Frequently found in film features all throughout the 90’s, he started making a name for himself even before that when he was only 15.

And it wasn’t much before then that Ethan attended summer camp at the YMCA Camp Carter in Texas. Located just minutes from downtown Fort Worth, Camp Carter covers more than 300 acres of heavily wooded land as well as its own lake and waterfront access to the Trinity river, showing kids—like Ethan Hawke back in the early 80s—the time of their lives.

Between his camp stay and his first movie, Ethan starred for the first time on the stage for his high school production of ‘Saint Joan’ When he first started high school, Ethan wanted to be a writer, but it didn’t take long for the acting bug to settle in and he knew this was what he wanted to do.

So eager to get into the business, the 15-year-old Ethan landed a lead role in the sci-fi movie as mentioned above. While the movie ‘Explorers’ went on to develop a cult following, it did not do well in the theaters. Though he’s not proud to admit it, ‘Explorers’ poor immediate reception took a toll on Ethan and he unofficially gave up acting for the time being. In retrospect, he feels that he rushed things along too quickly. “I would never recommend that a kid act,” he has said.

He returned to acting five years later after completing his education and saw better success than he did on his initial run. In just a few years, he found his role alongside Robin Williams in ‘Dead Poet’s Society’ which was a great launching point that brought him the work of 18 films throughout the 90s.

Ethan’s acting career also included some television appearances such as an episode of ‘Alias’ as well as ‘Moby Dick’ the made-for-TV miniseries. Check out Camp Carter for yourself sometime and, as always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Summer Campers!

Such a plethora of folks have attended summer camp at some point or another in their lives that former summer campers aren’t at all hard to find. And it seems like everywhere you look, in Hollywood especially, you come across summer camp alumni naturally. I’ve written a good number of Blog posts about all the celebrities who have gone to camp and today I come with another—Mr. Samm Levine. 

Camp Nah-Jee-Wah is found on 1250 beautiful acres just 90 minutes from New York City. With campgrounds that feature athletic facilities, a lake, a pool, ropes challenge courses, a skate park, and much more, Samm had a wonderful time for his summer camp stay. As early as his days at camp, Samm wasn’t necessarily interested in acting, but he definitely had his heart set on working in comedy.

He went straight to work too, performing standup routines at friends’ Bar Mitzvahs (a Jewish rite of passage) and his jokes were typically received well by the crowds. During one Bar Mitzvah performance in particular, the actress Lisa Kudrow happened to be present and saw his routine. She ended up giving him some advice that he had ought to audition in Manhattan.

By the time he had turned 15, Samm made his first appearance on an episode of the soap opera ‘One Life to Live’ and that was only the beginning. With a different Sam Levine already registered in the Screen Actors Guild, Samm decided he would hang an additional ‘M’ at the end of his name.

He continued with a television and film career, making appearances in shows such as ‘Ed’ and ‘The Drew Carey Show’. But the role that he remains best known for is Neal Schweiber in the short-lived cult classic of 1999, ‘Freaks and Geeks’ in which he played one of the geeks alongside later Golden Globe winner James Franco.

Samm Levine did a lot for his career in his young adolescence and he continues to be a well-received presence in television and film. Check out Camp Nah-Jee-Wah for yourself on their website by clicking here and, as always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Summer Campers!

You know who else was a summer camper? LOTS of people! So many, in fact, that a sizable percentage of them went on to become famous celebrities. I’ve written about nearly 100 of them! And today I’m talking about another. His name is Arlo Guthrie. This name may not be as famous as it once was, and even yet, not as famous as his father’s name once was: Woody Guthrie—the man that brought us ‘This Land is Your Land’.

With his dad being born in 1912 and him being born in 1947, it’s understandable that kids of your generation aren’t very familiar with these names. But back then, these guys were as big as Justin Vernon is today. These were the celebrities that Bob Dylan idolized.

Summer camp probably wasn’t quite prominent enough to assume that Woody Guthrie ever attended, but he sent his son Arlo to Raquette Lake in the Adirondacks of New York—one of the oldest traditional overnight camps in the country, operating since 1916.

Born and raised in Brooklyn, Arlo attended and graduated grade school as well as high school in his home town. But he moved to Massachusetts in 1965 when he attended college at Stockbridge School. After that, he had an adventure overseas, spending the summer in London. There, he met with a man named Karl Dallas who was able to connect Arlo to the folk rock scene in London and he eventually continued in his father’s footsteps, singing folk songs.

Throughout his life, however, he’s continued his education in Montana to attend the Rocky Mountain College in Billings. Next, he moved back home to attend Siena College and after that Westfield College in 2008 (when he was over 60 years old!).

He loves being a student and he loves being a singer/songwriter. He was awarded the Peace Abbey Courage of Conscience award on September 26, 1992, though he’s probably best known for his song ‘Alice’s Restaurant’ which you can listen to below if you think you’re up to it (the song is roughly 20 minutes long and goes off the rails a number of times).

Nurture your love for the interests you develop in life like Arlo did and enjoy your visits to summer camp! You can check out Raquette Lake Camp right here and, as always, thanks for reading!

- John