Hey, Camp Fans!

In 2013, this Blog was first launched and ever since the start, I’ve posted about famous folks who have a history at summer camp or those who have at least had significant ties within the camp community. And covering over 100 celebrities who’ve had a past at camp since the beginning of this Blog five years ago, it’s now time to review some of these big names who were previously featured already with a bit of a deeper look this time around.

In William Shatner’s original post, which you can see by clicking here, we talked about how he attended Camp Massad in his home country, Canada, featuring 20 acres of private forest, just north of Winnipeg, in Winnipeg Beach, Manitoba.

Contributing his legendary role to the science fiction genre, check out further interesting facts about Mr. Shatner that we didn’t quite get around to in the initial post about the captain of the starship, Enterprise:

Multi-lingual
Yes, William has learned to speak more than just the English language, but French too as well as the rare Esperanto language that comes from no country but is rather a language invented for two differently speaking people who can communicate while still holding onto their native tongue—something of a global language. It’s no Klingon, but still pretty cool.

Calcium Deposits of Gold
When you’re known as the great Captain Kirk, everything you touch automatically goes up in value. In 2006, Shatner sold something that he not only touched, but something that he created himself. This item went for $75,000. The item: a kidney stone he passed. Shatner donated the money a Louisiana charity housing complex.

Not Horsin’ Around
William Shatner loves horses! He owns 360 acres in Kentucky dedicated to saddlebred horses that he breeds. A believer in the therapeutic effects of horseback riding—something you can read more about in this recent Blog post about equestrian benefits–he provides support for those seeking therapy on the back of a horse.

The Captain is Vegetarian
A longterm vegetarian, William Shatner is dedicated to the frontier of the food he eats, cutting out the consumption of animals. An admirable position to hold on the proper diet, perhaps we can all look to the Captain for a dietary role model.

Forever seen as Captain Kirk, we thank William Shatner for the job he did to portray this icon of science fiction storytelling. About his time in the series, he’s said, “’Star Trek’ never really caught on with audiences, ran for three seasons, and was canceled. I wish I had taken notes at the time, because you people sure do have a lot of questions about it.”

We appreciate Mr. Shatner’s acceptance of this eventually embraced role that he played six decades ago. Click here to check out Camp Massad to see if it the Captain’s old camp might be a good fit for you and, as always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Summer Camp Fans!

Back in 2013, this Blog saw its beginning and ever since the start, I’ve posted about celebrities who attended summer camp in their past (or have at least had significant ties within the summer camp community). Since this Blog first began five years ago, I’ve covered over 100 celebrities who have a past at camp!

Let’s retread some of the famous folks whom we’ve already featured with a little more depth this time around! In the previous post, which you can read by clicking here, we mentioned how she attended her uncle’s summer camp, Camp Birchwood in Minnesota—a camp with whom we’re proud to say we have the pleasure of working with here at Everything Summer Camp! She eventually would come to volunteer at Camp Birchwood as well before finding her stardom at just 23 years old.

With her incomparable beauty and undeniable charm, Julia has entertained millions through her volumes of cinematic work! Check out some more interesting things about Julia that we didn’t quite get into in our first post about this star of the silver screen:

Musical Julia
Okay, so she more-than-definitely doesn’t know how anymore and I don’t believe that she ever had any dreams of making something of her life musically speaking (she actually aspired to be a veterinarian in her younger days), but she totally rocked a tune or two on the clarinet in her school band!

Acting Runs in the Roberts
Julia isn’t the only one in her family who seems meant for the stage. Daughter to two actors, Mr. and Mrs. Roberts themselves ran a workshop for aspiring writers and performers until the 1970’s. And taking after her aunt, Emma Roberts has arrived on the acting scene. You can read more about her by clicking here, back to a Blog post that featured her a couple years ago.

Clever Clipping Alternatives
As a child Julia used to bite her toenails off instead of clipping them. “I was very limber,”she told Movieline in 2002. That’s pretty sick, Julia. But, I confess…I too once tried biting my own toenails in place of clipping. I am not so limber. But limber or not, I suggest you keep your pride and just cut your toenails with a clipper like a normal person.

Julia Loves Knitting
That’s basically it. She just loves knitting. And why not?! It alleviates symptoms of stress, anxiety, and depression, helps improve motor functions, helps prevent arthritis, and it has a number of other great benefits! Other celebrities who enjoy knitting are Wynona Rider, Ryan Gosling, Kristen Stewart, Dakota Fanning, Kate Moss, and many more!

Whether it’s the knitting or the acting…or…the toenail-biting thing…perhaps…Julia has seemed to find her peace among the Hollywood parties and paparazzi. “The older you get, the more fragile you understand life to be,” she’s once noted. “I think that’s good motivation for getting out of bed joyfully each day.”

I think we can all appreciate this attitude toward life and render us all absolutely star-struck by this amazing woman we’ve all grown to know and love. Here’s to you, Julia! Check out Julia’s camp Birchwood for your own camping adventure and, as always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Summer Camp Fans!

Back in 2013, this Blog saw its beginning and ever since our heyday, I’ve been posting about celebrities who attended summer camp or at least have had a significant involvement in the community of summer camp. And since we first started posting, I’ve covered over 100 celebrities who have a past at camp! Now it’s time to backtrack a bit and retread some of the famous folks we’ve already featured.

So, as we posted five years ago on the Blog, funnyman Chris Farley was also a fan of summer camp Chris attended camp at Red Arrow nearby Minocqua, Wisconsin. It’s obvious that Chris had a close connection with his time away at camp since he spent many of his summers at camp and, eventually, then later as a camp counselor at the same camp!

With his over-the-top, enthusiastic and energetic charm, Chris enjoyed making people laugh from a very early age—competing with his siblings for the attention of their father. Here are a few more things about Chris that we didn’t quite get into in our first post about him:

Like Belushi, Like Farley
John Belushi was a huge role model for Chris Farley. Ironically, the two had very similar biographies with work on ‘Saturday Night Live’ (SNL), starring in films, battling obesity, and an early death at 33 because of unhealthy habits.

Almost a Cable Guy
Chris Farley was actually the original choice for the 1996 film ‘The Cable Guy’. The film’s star role ended up going to an up-and-coming Jim Carrey instead due to scheduling conflicts that left Chris Farley unable to take the role.

100 Saturdays
Discovered by a producer of the ever-so-popular sketch comedy show, SNL, Chris boomed with popularity in the years to come as he resurrected characters of his own for sketches on the show. Belonging to the SNL cast for five years, Chris appeared in 100 episodes.

The Quieter Side of Chris
Despite inner turmoil, he would attend mass services and would continue to sit after the services ended to spend quiet times alone, reflecting on his life. We’ve all heard that money won’t bring you happiness. In Chris’ own words:

“I used to think that you could get to a level of success where the laws of the universe didn’t apply. But they do. It’s still life on life’s terms, not on movie-star terms. I still have to work at relationships. I still have to work on my weight and some of my other demons.”

His passing still brings us sorrow, but he left a large body of comedy to keep us laughing as well. Keep on laughing and, as always, thanks for reading.

- John

Hello, Summer Campers!

Or…as The Fonz would say, “Ayyyyyyyyy!” Well, I suppose there are likely many of you out there who are unfamiliar with ‘The Fonz’ from ‘Happy Days’. But you really ought to know about him—he’s the king of cool, Fonzie, Arthur Fonzarelli! Pretty equally well-known a name is Henry Winkler, the actor who brought everyone’s favorite 70’s sitcom character to the screen.

Henry Winkler never attended summer camp as a camper himself, but he did have a summer camp experience as a camp counselor. Being born and raised in New York with a love for waterfront activities he was the ski instructor at Blue Mountain Camps in East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania.

While you may not be familiar with Fonzie, what you may very well be aware of is the television term ‘Jump the Shark’. For those who don’t know, a television show jumps the shark when it includes far-fetched events and gimmicky sort of material for the sake of bringing something new to the show.

Television shows have come to use this term widely, though it saw its beginning on an episode of ‘Happy Days’ in which Fonzie literally jumps a shark while water-skiing. Yet, the true origin of this phrase actually began at summer camp when Mr. Winkler was acting ski instructor for summer camps.

“I was once a counselor in summer camp and I did a lot of water skiing,” he is quoted to have said. “My father would always tell [show runner] Gary Marshall about it. So they wrote it in. I just went with the flow.” Though there weren’t any sharks back then, it’s funny to trace this commonly-used showbiz term to Henry Winkler’s time at summer camp.

These days are yours and mine—happy and free! Enjoy the ridiculous moment in the video below and, as always thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Summer Campers!

She teased the musical world with her song ‘You’re So Vain’ that had everyone begging to know just who it was she thought was so vain. Like so many other famous names we’ve discussed on the Everything Summer Camp Blog, Carly Simon is yet another celebrity singer who spent some time at summer camp in her youth!

Her story starts before camp, though—back to when she was eight years old and she developed a severe stutter. She found it hard to get any thought out and, despite psychiatric attempts to cure her stutter, Carly found that her only graceful outlet of her thoughts and feelings was through song. Naturally, she began to write songs from a very early age.

While she didn’t attend summer camp in her childhood, she did end up working at one as a cabin leader. Back in the 60’s, Carly’s career was slow to take off and she found a job at Indian Hill Summer Arts Camp in Littleton, Massachusetts—the home of Indian Hill Music, a nonprofit music education center that, among lots of other events, hosts summer activities for youth.

After summer jobs didn’t suffice, she found a position as a secretary for a TV variety show. Having attended Riverdale Country School, Carly went on to briefly attend Sarah Lawrence College, but ended up launching her music career before seeing her education through.

As a fantastic songwriter and lyricist, Carly discovered another talent and creative outlet in the form of children’s books. She’s published five kids books along with a more recent autobiographical work which you can check out by clicking here. We can all learn a lesson from Carly by turning in a new direction when life seems to be closing a door on you. As always, thanks for reading, Camp Fans!

- John