When Ken Kragen's daughter was just 7-years-old she wrote a parody of the classic song "The 12 Days Of Christmas" using a different breed of dog for each day. The book became a national best seller with over 500,000 copies sold to date. It went on to sell 400,000 plush toy dogs and in 2004 it was made into a full-length, live-action feature film directed by Academy Award winning director Kieth Merrill. Released directly to DVD the film is well on its way to selling a million copies, an unheard of feat for a small independently produced project. All this has happened because of the delightful nature of this Christmas story. To find out more about this project, including watching the trailer and ordering the DVD, book and other 12 Dogs Merchandise, please go to www.12DogsofChristmas.com.
Suzanne Whang must be the hardest working woman in show business.
Suzanne can be seen twice a day as the host of "House Hunters", HGTV's #1 show, now in its tenth season, and also as the host of the successful spinoff show, "House Hunters International." She also gets stopped on the street because of her hilarious role as Polly, the oversexed spa manager, in the NBC series "Las Vegas". Suzanne receives a plethora of emails from people who absolutely cannot believe that the host of House Hunters could possibly be the same person who played Polly on Las Vegas.
As an actor, Suzanne has also appeared in co-starring and guest starring roles on various series such as "Nip/Tuck", "Cold Case", "Two & a Half Men", "Nip/Tuck", and "The Practice". She made her science fiction debut in the Keanu Reeves feature "Constantine", and had a scene-stealing role in the feature film "Traci Townsend". She also made a cameo in "Material Girls" starring Hilary Duff.
Her controversial stand-up comedy alter ego, Sung Hee Park, is also enjoying enormous success both live at such comedy clubs as Caroline's on Broadway, the Hollywood Improv, the Las Vegas Improv, and she was also a featured comedian on Comedy Central's "Premium Blend". Suzanne's slogan is, "Don't judge a gook by her cover." She did her sold-out one-woman show "I Make You Laughing" at the Beverly Hills Playhouse to nightly standing ovations. Suzanne's outrageous comedy has won her both the "Andy Kaufman" Award from the New York Comedy Festival and the Las Vegas Comedy Festival's "Best Up and Coming Comedian" Award. Suzanne likes to make up words, and she calls herself a Crazian, which is her word for a crazy Asian. She also owns a Prius, which she had custom painted bright yellow and she got pimp'd out chrome rims. Her license plate says "CRAZIAN", and she got a custom made license plate frame that reads, "A Yellow Girl Needs a Yellow Car."
In between hosting duties, acting jobs, and stand-up comedy bookings, Suzanne also fits in corporate appearances, where she is a popular guest keynote speaker. Now she has added "author" to her repertoire: her book "Suzanne Whang's Guide to Happy Home Buying" is available on amazon.com, and she is in the process of writing her second book, a collection of funny autobiographical essays.
Suzanne is also an ordained Universal Life minister and a student of Science of Mind philosophy, and she gives guest sermons at New Thought Spiritual Centers across the country. And if that weren't enough, Suzanne is a passionate political activist, speaking out and taking action about causes that she cares about, including women's rights, gay marriage rights, holistic health, green living, helping the homeless and the humane treatment of animals. She also happens to be the first person to introduce Oprah Winfrey to "The Secret" DVD, which led to Oprah doing 2 episodes about it, and creating an astonishing uplifting ripple effect all over the world.
We would laughingly add that brain surgery is Suzanne's next field to conquer, but with a B.A. from Yale and a Masters in Cognitive Psychology from Brown, this may not be a joke at all. Suzanne Whang has proven that there is nothing she cannot successfully do.
In 2007, after many years of playing to sold-out crowds at the Rio Hotel, Ronn opened his new show at the Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas. This was after a year that saw Ronn Lucas travel the world from Los Angeles to New York to Paris performing his award–winning comedy–ventriloquist act as well as showing–off his acting chops in an acclaimed performance on TNT's Nip/Tuck playing – a ventriloquist of course. David Letterman invited him on his show during The Late Show's Ventriloquist Week (Scorch got to come too). It was a momentous year as Ronn celebrated his 25th anniversary in show business. Ronn has performed for every President since Ronald Reagan up to and including the current President Bush, as well as foreign heads of states and the Queen of England. At Jerry Lewis' request, Ronn performs every year on Jerry's Muscular Dystrophy nationwide telethon. Ronn has had his own Top Ten Variety show in England, been nominated for an acting Emmy, appeared on shows from The Smothers Brothers to the Tonight Show, and his been called "the world's best" by no less than the New York Times. Look for Ronn's book (co–written with comedian Chris Clobber) "Better Living Through Ventriloquism" coming out this Spring. Although his new show runs Saturday – Thursday in Las Vegas, Ronn is available for corporate dates.
Award-winning Journalist and Entertainer ROY FIRESTONE has been called "the best interviewer in the business" by Sports Illustrated. Firestone believes in "taking every talent you have and exploring it to see what happens". As one of America's most versatile and original talents, Firestone has followed that philosophy into a variety of genres, excelling as interviewer, commentator, and stage performer. As legendary host of ESPN's "Up Close and Personal" Firestone has interviewed more than 5,000 people, including every major sports figure in the worled.
Firestone is also an accomplished singer, impressionist and humorist. His multi-media review includes impressions of more than a dozen entertainers, sports figures, and assorted personalities. He's wowed audiences of all types with his compelling personality and hilarious comedy on such shows as Late Night With David Letterman, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Nightline - and appeared as himself in the movie, "Jerry Maguire". He is constantly developing new material for his act and honing his existing routine. Currently Roy performs between 75-100 stand-up acts worldwide per year, a quarter of them for charity, the rest for a variety of business, sports, and social organizations.
They're red hot again. The irrepressible Smothers Brothers have made a sweeping impact on diverse generations of fans and once again find themselves in major demand for concerts, television and corporate shows. Constantly working, Tom and Dick have fit in recent television appearances as a team on "The Bonnie Hunt Show," "CBS 75th Anniversary," and talk shows from "Regis & Kelly" to "Bill O'Reilly." They've also taken solo turns on "Steven King's Kingdom Hospital" (Dick) and the ABC television movie "Once Upon A Mattress" (Tom) with Carol Burnett and Tracy Ullman. In the past two years Tom and Dick have been recipients of numerous honors for their accomplishments, including a retrospective by the New York Museum of Broadcasting, a seminar and TV show reunion at the U.S.A. Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen, induction into the Hollywood Bowl’s Hall Of Fame, 'The Freedom Of Expression Award" from the Video Software Dealers Association and honorary doctorates from their alma mater, San Jose State University. Their fabled 1960's "Smothers Brothers Hour," the subject of the acclaimed recent Bravo documentary "Smothered," is now studied in universities across the country. It is easy to understand why they have been described as one of the most successful comedy teams in history. Very simply they are as funny and entertaining today as they ever have been.
