Hey, Summer Campers!

You’re not the only ones who enjoy the time spent at summer camp. Today, I’ve got another Celebrity at Camp to tell you about. It’s the host of his own Late Night Show himself, Conan O’ Brien. That’s right—the great Conan himself was a summer camper just like you long before he was hosting the Late Night Show on NBC.

Conan attended Cragged Mountain Farm in New Hampshire for his summer camp days. There he discovered the great outdoors and a healthy lifestyle. Summer campers really find out what it means to be roughin’ it on this adventure. Cell phones, computers, television—they’re all disallowed at Cragged Mountain!

You might call the O’ Brien family well-to-do. Conan was born in Brooklyn, Massachusetts to his father, a physician as well as Harvard professor of medicine, and his mother, a reputable attorney. Far from an only child, Conan was the third kid out of six kids.

In high school, he worked as the managing editor of the school newspaper; but it wasn’t until his senior year that he really proved himself as a writer when he won the National Council of Teachers of English writing contest for a short story of his. He graduated in 1981, the valedictorian of his class.

Conan went on then to attend Harvard where he focused on literature and history. He wrote his college thesis about the symbolism of children in pieces of literature in the writings of authors, William Faulkner and Flannery O’ Connor. After college, he went on to write for popular TV shows like The Simpsons and Saturday Night Live.

It was in 1993 that NBC gave Conan the opportunity to temporarily take over for David Letterman. Though he was basically unknown by the public, the show’s audience grew. Conan enjoyed the experience so much that he went on to create his own late show.

Summer camp sure seemed to do Conan some good. What will it do for you? Thanks for reading, Folks!

Hey, Summer Campers!

Did you know that, like all of you, Denzel Washington too went to summer camp before he ever became the famous Denzel we all know and love? That’s right, Coach Herman Boone, himself (if you know him from the Disney film, Remember the Titans, that is) went to summer camp. He never was a camper, though.

Born in Mount Vernon, close to New York City, Denzel did not have the best upbringing due to location and troubles in his parent’s marriage. His parents broke up when he was 14. Consequently, his mother sent Denzel to a private preparatory school called Oakland 

Denzel has always since felt that attending that school caused a big change in his life and helped him to steer his life in the right direction. Denzel attended Texas College where he received a B.A. in Drama and Journalism. He also played in his college basketball team as a guard. Throughout his time in college, Denzel took up a job as a counselor for Camp Sloane YMCA.

Camp Sloane is a summer camp located in the foothills of the Berkshire Mountains. Their chief goal for campers is to enlighten them in the principles of honesty, respect, responsibility, and caring for one another. Camp Sloane has been working its magic since 1928.

It was there that people first put the idea in Denzel’s head to pursue a career in acting when he played a part in a staff talent show put on for the campers. When his next fall semester started, he adjusted his focus and enrolled himself at the Lincoln Center campus where he studied acting.

From Shakespearean characters to box office thrillers, Denzel is one of those actors who can breathe life into any character! Summer camp gave Denzel the idea to pursue an acting career. What will it give you?

- John

Hey, Farley Fans!

Who doesn’t love this king of comedy? Chris Farley will forever be remembered in our hearts and in our laughs as one of those one-of-a-kind kinds of people who could easily tap into that lighter, brighter, and funnier side of life.

Born in Madison, Wisconsin, Chris grew up with four other siblings—Tom Jr., Kevin, John, and Barbara Farley. Growing up in his hometown, Chris went to a number of Catholic schools and is said to have always made it to Mass.

Chris had a close connection with his summer camp. He spent many of his summers as a camper himself, and then later as a camp counselor at Red Arrow Camp around Minocqua, Wisconsin. Even from an early age, Chris enjoyed making people laugh.

Chris went to college at Marquette University to study communications and theater. He graduated in 1986 and one year later, moved to Chicago. Chris had developed a passion for improvisational comedy—comedy skits that are unscripted and unrehearsed. He performed at the Ark Improv Theater in Madison, the Improv Olympic theater in Chicago and, eventually, Chicago’s Second City Theater.

It was during one of his performances at Chicago’s Second City Theater where Chris was discovered by a producer of the ever-so-popular sketch comedy show, Saturday Night Live (SNL). Chris boomed with popularity in the coming years on the show as he resurrected characters of his own from Second City Theater for sketches on the show.

After SNL, Chris started making movies. Along with his best friend David Spade, Chris made such classics as Tommy Boy and Black Sheep.

Few people know that Chris was actually supposed to be the voice of the lovable ogre, Shrek. The story was pretty different than the one we’ve seen too. Chris had recorded 80 to 90% of the lines for the movie. Unfortunately, he died before being able to finish the movie. Mike Myers later stepped in to make Shrek after the script had been rewritten.Though his passing is a tragedy, he still has us laughing with his unique brand of comedy.

Hey, Friends!

You know who’s a great friend? Courteney Cox! At least, she was on the TV show. And while she seemed pretty friendly on the show, I guess I don’t really know from personal experience what kind of friend she is. But I’ll bet she’s nice.

Like yours truly, Courteney was born the “baby” in the family with two older sisters, Virginia and Dottie, and one older brother, Richard, Jr. Her family lived in a suburb called Mountain Brook, Alabama. She went to Camp Mac in Munford, Alabama—a summer camp that really delivers the camping experience.

After she graduated from Mountain Brook High School she left home for Washington D.C. where she attended Mount Vernon College to study architecture.

D.C. is also where Courteney decided to pursue her career in modeling and acting. When she was 20 she appeared in the music video “Dancing in the Dark” by “The Boss” himself, Bruce Springsteen. In the video, Courteney plays a fan in the crowd who gets pulled up on stage to dance with Bruce.

For two years in the late 80’s, Courteney landed a recurring role in the popular television series, Family Ties. She played Lauren Miller, the girlfriend of Michael J. Fox’s character. She acted in a few movies here and there for a while, but things didn’t really get big for her until she landed her role on the hit sitcom, Friends.

Though auditioning for the part of Rachel Green (Jennifer Anniston’s character), Courteney was cast as Monica Geller. The same year she also played Melissa Robinson in the first Ace Ventura movie alongside Jim Carrey and as Jerry’s girlfriend in an episode of Seinfeld. 1994 was a big year for Courteney that marked the beginnings of her path to super stardom.

Courteney has gone onto to star in two other television series, and has reprised the character of Gale Weathers three times since the first Scream movie.

Summer camp taught Courteney Cox the way to success. Where will it take you? Thanks for reading, Campers.

Hey, Everybody!

Guess who else of our favorite Hollywood figures went to summer camp when she was around your age. One of my personal favorites—Maggie Gyllenhaal! She went to the same summer camp as her equally famous brother, Jake Gyllenhaal, Camp Walt Whitman in New Hampshire.

Camp Walt Whitman is a warm, inviting summer camp community that strives year after year to give kids a wonderful summer experience that introduces them to close friends and a picture of his or her own self-worth. This camp was obviously nothing but a positive influence for the Gyllenhaal kids.

Born in New York City, Maggie was the daughter of Stephen Gyllenhaal—a film director—and Naomi Gyllenhaal—a film producer and screenwriter. At an early age her family moved to Los Angeles, California.

Maggie went to school at the Harvard-Westlake prep school and graduated in 1995. At that point, she moved back to New York to go to Columbia University. She graduated with a Bachelor of the Arts in 1999.

By the time she was 15 she already had her feature film debut in a film directed by her father called Waterland. The next year, she played a role in another one alongside her brother and then again in 1998. But her popularity in the world of films didn’t really boom until she played the role of her actual brother’s on-screen sister in the cult classic from 2001, Donnie Darko.

Other films she has been in are Mona Lisa Smile in which she worked alongside Julia Roberts, Nanny McPhee Returns in which she played the role of Mrs. Green, and the sequel to the movie Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, in which she plays Rachel Dawes.

Camp was a great influence on Maggie Gyllenhaal. What will it do for you?