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Steven Seagal Filmography
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Steven Seagal (born April 10, 1951) is a popular action movie actor and an 7th dan black belt in aikido.
He was born in Lansing, Michigan. His official film Bio claims that he went to Japan at the age of 17. However, this is inconsistent with an interview he gave in Aikido Magazine, in which he claimed to have given demonstrations in Japanese Deer Park (a former small amusement park in Southern California) in "the early 70s". Ray Van De Walker claims to have met Steven Segal at the Orange County Aikikai, a prominent aikido dojo, around 1974, where he was known as "Steve, who gives demos at Japanese Deer Park." It seems unlikely that a 17-year old, a minor in the U.S., would be allowed to emigrate to Asia.
Ray's memory of him may be worth nothing, "He would come to Wednesday night practice. He tended to wear some weird striped robe thing that Japanese Deer Park asked him to wear. In practice, when he threw me, I couldn't feel his hands, which means that he was very skillful at blending ki." In Japan, Seagal taught English, and studied zen, aikido, kendo, judo and karate. He is said to have become adept at all of them. At some time later, he opened a martial arts school in Japan, the first westerner to do so. At this time, he married Miyako Fujitani but eventually left for America without her, pretending that he was not married at all. In 1984, he wed former Days of Our Lives actress Adrienne La Russa, but annulled the marriage when news of his marriage to Miyako (and, by extension, his bigamy) came to light.
Seagal hosted Saturday Night Live on April 20, 1991, and was barred from hosting again due to his difficulty in working with the cast and crew. During
Nicolas Cage's monologue in a 1992 episode, Cage is speaking with Lorne Michaels backstage and says, "...they probably think I'm the biggest jerk who's ever been on the show!" To which Lorne replied, "No, no. That would be Steven Seagal."
In an interview in November 1997 for the Shambala Sun, he claimed to have developed his life-long interest in zen originally through a study of acupuncture. He also claimed that several Tibetan lamas suffering from malnutrition and abuse were sent to him, and he helped establish a safe house for them.
At various points, Seagal has hinted that he has worked as a bounty hunter and a CIA operative, although he has later denied it.
His film bio says he was in Asia for about 15 years. He was definitely in the U.S. one or two years before 1988 when he was associated with his first movie, the police drama Above the Law. If he was in Southern California in 1973, then he may have spent as long as fourteen years in Asia. At some point he returned to the San Fernando Valley (the northern suburb of Los Angeles, California) and opened a dojo. His film bio says that at this time he was a fight coordinator to the movies, for
Sean Connery, and
Toshiro Mifune.
In the Aikido Magazine interview, he said he developed his film contacts through students at his dojo. He claims that the moment of truth in his career was when they attempted to relegate him to a lower-paid, minor role, and he insisted on being paid the same as
Chuck Norris, because he had at least the same level of skill.
He worked as a bodyguard and martial-arts instructor for Kelly LeBrock, whom he later costarred with, and married, and then divorced. At some point, he became associated with agent Michael Ovitz. He also appears to have a professional relationship with producer Jules R. Nasso.
Seagal is a practicing Buddhist. In 1997, one of his teachers, Penor Rinpoche proclaimed him a tulku, a reincarnation of a Tibetan lama.
Seagal maintains a ranch in Colorado.
People are split in two on their opinions on him. His fans believe him to be on of the greatest martial artists ever, while others believe him to be nothing but a fat clumsy slob of a bad actor whose movies would be horrible if they were not so unintentionally funny.
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LiteratureTokyo Mango's interview with the Dalai Lama's youngest brother
Lisa Katayama says: Here's an interview I did with the Dalai Lama's youngest brother -- he's bipolar and has anger management problems. Nobody's interviewed him at length before. Tendzin Choegyal is the Dalai Lama?s youngest brother. Aside from being related to one of the holiest persons alive, TC is a rebellious soul who dropped out of college, spent a couple of years as a paratrooper in the Tibetan contingency of the Indian army, survived alcoholism,and found peace through a blend of Buddhism, lithium, and reading the news on the Internet. When I met him at his home in Dharamsala, India?the Himalayan town that houses the Tibetan government-in-exile?we talked about reincarnation, war movies, Steven Seagal?s crazy outfits, and the preservation of Tibetan culture. The following is a reprint of my interview with Choegyal, published in Issue 52 of Giant Robot magazine. A feature-length profile will be in the Fall issue of Buddhadharma, which goes to press in July. GR: At a young age, you, too, were recognized as a reincarnate of an important man, right? TC: Oh, that?s bullshit. I don?t believe it. From a Buddhist perspective, we are all reborn. But choosing a particular person as someone special and saying he?s a reincarnation of so-and-so is bullshit. I don?t consider myself special. I?m just like you. I want happiness, and I don?t want suffering. I think it?s just a sheer accident that I was chosen. GR: What about your brother? TC: Ah, that?s different. He is on a completely different level?a much higher caliber, and a lot of tests were done. It may be true for others, but as far as I?m concerned, this is the greatest mistake of the century. Link...
Published: Wed, 25 Jun 2008 00:40:48 GMT - Source: Boingboing.Net - Read the article
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