Kato Kaelin

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Kato Kaelin
Kato Kaelin 2011.jpg
Kato Kaelin, Beverly Hills, CA on December 15, 2011
Born Brian Jerard Kaelin[1]
(1959-03-09) 9 March 1959 (age 54)
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States
Occupation Actor
Spouse(s) Cynthia Coulter (1983–1989)

Brian Jerard "Kato" Kaelin (born March 9, 1959)[2] is an American radio and television personality who gained fame as a witness during the 1994–95 murder trial of O. J. Simpson.

Contents

Personal life [edit]

Kaelin was nicknamed "Kato" as a child after the character played by Bruce Lee in the television series, The Green Hornet.[3] He graduated from Nicolet High School in Glendale, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, in 1977. He attended but never graduated from the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire. During his time at Eau Claire he created his own talk show, Kato and Friends, on the campus television station.[4] Kaelin eventually moved to Hollywood.

Kaelin was "best friends" with actor/comedian Norm Macdonald from mid-2000 to mid-2001 according to Macdonald's The Norm Show co-star Artie Lange. Kaelin was even given a guest role on the show. The two had a falling out which ended their friendship.[5][6] He was married to Cynthia Coulter from 1983 to 1989.[7] They have one child.

O. J. Simpson murder case [edit]

Kaelin came to notice for his role as a minor witness for the prosecution in the trial of O. J. Simpson for the murders of Simpson's ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Lyle Goldman.[8] In 1994, Kaelin was staying in a guest house on the Simpson property and was present at the compound on the night of the two murders on June 12, witnessing some of Simpson's movements before and after the time of the murders.[9] Kaelin's story seemed to contradict Simpson's version of the events on some key points as Kaelin testified that he could not account for Simpson's whereabouts between 9:36 pm and 11:00 pm during the time of 10:00 to 10:30 pm when the murders took place as alleged by the prosecution. However, his sarcastic rambling and inconsistent testimony over four days of the 1995 criminal trial made him a less-than-ideal witness. Prosecutor Marcia Clark had him declared a hostile witness.[10]

Kaelin received considerable media attention following his testimony after the trial. He was the subject of jokes by TV comedians, who made light of his surfer persona, lack of employment, and allegedly parasitic habits. Simpson's children also reportedly mocked Kaelin as a freeloader.[11]

Career [edit]

Prior to his involvement in the O.J. Simpson trial, he was in an early 1990s movie called Beach Fever, in which he created a love potion with his friend and hit on girls at the beach, and starred in a low budget crime movie Night Shadow in 1989. He also had a minor role in National Lampoon's Dorm Daze 2.[12]

Kaelin appeared on the first episode of the Fox sketch comedy MADtv (October 1995) and also made a cameo appearance on the HBO sketch comedy, Mr. Show during the show's first season (Nov. 1995). In the episode titled "We Regret to Inform You", he shows up at lobotomized actor Borden Grote's party.[13]

After the O.J. Simpsons trail, he made numerous forays into reality television. He was in the 2002 series, "Celebrity Boot Camp."[14] In 2004, he participated in the development of a 2004 reality show called House Guest, in which he would live in the homes of other celebrities. The show never aired. He was seen on an episode of the E! reality series Sunset Tan, asking specifically for a "farmer's tan." He was also a guest player on the 6th episode of the Comedy Central series Reality Bites Back. In 2008, he was a contestant in the Fox Reality reality show Gimme My Reality Show, in which D-list celebrities competed to receive their own reality show.[12]

He has also participated in game shows. He was a contestant on the hit game show Russian Roulette as well as the reality dating show BZZZ! with host Annie Wood. In 2005, Kaelin appeared in the first three National Lampoon's Strip Poker pay-per-view programs (Kaelin is an avid poker player). The titles were filmed at the Hedonism II, a naturist resort in Negril, Jamaica, which led Kaelin to quip, "The first few days there were the hardest!" The Playboy bunnies, WWE Divas, and pin-up models competing in the no-limit Texas hold 'em games, and upon losing all their chips and clothes, had to dive into the "Pool of Shame" and visit "Kato's Guesthouse," where Kaelin would defile the nude defeated players. Kato also appeared in numerous comedic skits.[12]

He also has worked as a host on television and radio. For a short time in 1995 he worked as a radio talk host on KLSX in Los Angeles, and also provided online content for National Lampoon.[15] From June 2005 to sometime in 2006, Kato Kaelin co-hosted Eye for an Eye, a daytime TV court show that is in syndication in 34 countries.[16] Kaelin is a recurring guest on the video game review show X-Play.[17]

In February 2009 Kaelin guest-starred in the web series Star-ving[18] and the movie Whacked.

Recently, Kato was seen on the show Tosh.0 doing a parody of the Keyboard Cat video titled "Keyboard Kato."[19]

In 2010 Kaelin appeared on Real Time with Bill Maher, wearing a wig to play his younger self in a taped skit parodying 1990s television appearances by 2010 U.S. Senate candidate Christine O'Donnell.[20] Kato Kaelin briefly made national headlines when he claimed he never told New York Post reporter Cindy Adams that O.J. Simpson definitely killed his wife. Kato said he has expressed his opinion before, and that he thinks Simpson did it, but that "I have no first hand knowledge."

References [edit]

  1. ^ CNN O.J. Simpson Trial News: Players H-R
  2. ^ NNDB Kato Kaelin
  3. ^ Brian "Kato" Kaelin
  4. ^ Rosen, Marjorie (1994-09-12). "The Man in the Guesthouse - OJ Simpson Trial, Where Are They Now?, Kato Kaelin". People.com. Retrieved 2012-09-20. 
  5. ^ "Stern Show News - Archive". MarksFriggin.com. Retrieved 2012-09-20. 
  6. ^ "Howard Stern: Sam Simon Calls In". YouTube. Retrieved 2012-09-20. 
  7. ^ Ancestry.com. California Marriage Index, 1960-1985 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2007.
  8. ^ "Kato Kaelin Biography (Actor) —". Infoplease.com. 1959-03-09. Retrieved 2012-09-20. 
  9. ^ "Kato Kaelin". Nndb.com. Retrieved 2012-09-20. 
  10. ^ "Kato Kaelin, Simpson Houseguest, Now Treated As A Hostile Witness". Chicago Tribune. 1995-03-27. 
  11. ^ Wolcott, James. "James Wolcott reviews O.J. Simpson's "If I Did It": Fame & Scandal". vanityfair.com. Retrieved 2011-01-24. 
  12. ^ a b c "Kato Kaelin". IMDb. Retrieved 15 January 2013. 
  13. ^ New York Magazine - Google Books. Books.google.com. 1995-10-16. Retrieved 2012-09-20. 
  14. ^ "Celebrity Boot Camp". IMDb. Retrieved 15 January 2013. 
  15. ^ Michaelson, Judith (1995-08-01). "KLSX (With Kato) Joins Talk Radio Wars Today : Radio: The station will switch from its classic rock format to become the first major FM outlet in this market to institute a talk lineup". Los Angeles Times. 
  16. ^ "Kato Kaelin Weighs In on O.J. Simpson's Latest Arrest". Fox News. 2011-12-07. 
  17. ^ "Kato Kaelin". Mahalo.com. 1995-01-25. Retrieved 2012-09-20. 
  18. ^ "Interview with David Faustino and Corin Nemec of Crackle’s ‘Star-ving’". Tilzy.tv. Retrieved 2009-02-24. 
  19. ^ "Tosh.0: Exclusive - Kato Kaelin Keyboard Cat - Video Clip | Tosh.0 | Comedy Central". Tosh.comedycentral.com. 2009-05-28. Retrieved 2012-09-20. 
  20. ^ "Real Time With Bill Maher: Craziest Christine O'Donnell Clip Yet! (HBO)". YouTube. 2010-09-28. Retrieved 2012-09-20. 

External links [edit]
Key figures
Judge
Prosecution figures
Defense figures
Witnesses
Other elements
Authority control
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kato_Kaelin&oldid=555299842"