Steve Altes: Difference between revisions
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==Entertainment== |
==Entertainment== |
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In the mid-1990s Altes left engineering for a career in entertainment and writing. He has been: |
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* a writer of humorous essays for magazines and newspapers, such as [[Salon (website) | Salon]],<ref>{{cite news| url=http://web.archive.org/web/20071020092731/http://www1.salon.com/media/1998/04/27media.html | location=Washington, DC | work=Salon.com | title=Brad and Me | date=1998-04-27}}</ref> [[The Washington Post]],<ref name='Brad'/> the [[Los Angeles Times]],<ref name='Spy'/> [[The Christian Science Monitor]],<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0303/p18s02-hfes.html | location=Boston, MA | work=Christian Science Monitor | title=How I Became a CIA Spy for a Day | date=3 March 2003}}</ref> [[Capital Style (magazine) | Capital Style]],<ref name='Style'/> [[Urban Male Magazine]],<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.umm.ca/umm_administration/objects/metadata/951969001228840459.pdf | location=Canada| work=Urban Male Magazine | title=Reverend Me | date=Spring 2004}}</ref> [[Funny Times (newspaper) | Funny Times]],<ref>{{cite news |url=http://funnytimes.com/issue-200711/ | location=Cleveland Heights, OH | work=FunnyTimes.com |title= Confessions About My Baby | date=2007-11-01}}</ref> [[P.O.V._(magazine) | P.O.V.]],<ref name='pov'/> and [[Penthouse (magazine) | Penthouse]].<ref name='confessions'>{{cite news| url=http://www.stevealtes.com/docs/confessions_of_a_male_stripper.pdf | location=Los Angeles, CA | work=Penthouse magazine | title=Confessions of a Male Stripper | date=2002-12-01}}</ref> |
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* an author of humor books |
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* a graphic novelist |
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* a screenwriter<ref>{{cite news |url=https://inktip.com/main_total_deals_closed.php?sel=6 |location=Los Angeles, CA | work=InkTip.com | title=Screenplay deals closed 2006 | date=2006-06-01}}</ref> |
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* a commentator for [[National Public Radio|NPR]]'s ''[[All Things Considered]]'' |
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* a member of ''[[Us Weekly]]'''s Fashion Police |
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* an actor in TV commercials, TV shows, and films |
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* a stunt driver in the film ''[[Spy Game]]'' |
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* a commercial print model |
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* a [[corporate comedian]] |
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===Essays=== |
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Altes has written a series of first-person participatory adventure essays about experiences such as: |
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* becoming (via the Internet) an ordained minister of the [[Universal Life Church]]<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.scribd.com/doc/257434548/American-Atheist-Magazine-Summer-2004#scribd | location=Los Angeles, CA | work=Atheists.org | title=Reverend Me | date=2004-06-01}}</ref> |
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* working as a [[hand model]]<ref name='piece'>{{cite news| url=http://www.stevealtes.com/docs/you_want_a_piece_of_me.pdf | location=New York City, NY | work=Tear Sheet magazine | title=So, You Want a Piece of Me? | date=2000-06-01}}</ref> |
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* [[stand-in | standing in]] for [[Brad Pitt]] on the movie ''[[The Devil's Own]]''<ref name='Brad'>{{cite news| url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/movies/review97/fdevilsown.htm | location=Washington, DC | work=Washington Post | title=Standing In for Brad | date=1997-03-26}}</ref> |
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* getting his face on the [[Just for Men]] hair color box<ref name='guy'>{{cite news| url=http://www.stevealtes.com/docs/guy_on_the_box.pdf | location=New York City, NY | work=Tear Sheet magazine | title=Guy on the Box | date=2000-12-01}}</ref> |
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* working as a stripper<ref name='confessions'/> |
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* working as a "bank robber" at the [[Hogan's Alley (FBI)|FBI training academy]]<ref name='pov'>{{cite news| url=http://www.stevealtes.com/docs/the_fugitive.pdf | location=New York City, NY | work=P.O.V. magazine | title=The Fugitive | date=1998-08-01}}</ref> |
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* answering phones in the [[Arkansas Governor's Mansion]] for [[President-elect]] [[Bill Clinton]]<ref name='hit'>{{cite news| url=http://www.stevealtes.com/docs/bill_clinton_hit_on_my_wife.pdf | location=Washington, DC | work=Capital Style magazine | title=Bill Clinton Hit on My Wife | date=1998-10-01}}</ref> <ref name='Style'>{{cite news| url=http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/1998/11/09/tidbits.html?page=all | location=Washington, DC | work=Washington Business Journal | title=Capital Style Overcomes Substance | date=1998-11-09}}</ref> <ref name='basement'>{{cite news| url=http://www.stevealtes.com/docs/the_basement_with_bill.pdf | location=New York City, NY | work=New York Post | title=The Basement with Bill | date=1998-09-24}}</ref> |
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* and getting hired and fired by the [[Central Intelligence Agency | CIA]] in one day.<ref name='Spy'>{{cite news| url=http://articles.latimes.com/2003/feb/24/opinion/oe-altes24 | location=Los Angeles, CA | work=Los Angeles Times | title=My Short, Sorry Career as a Spy | date=2003-02-24}}</ref> |
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===Books=== |
===Books=== |
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Altes |
[[File:Little_Book_of_Bad_Business_Advice.jpg|thumb|right|Cover of Altes's first book ''The Little Book of Bad Business Advice''.]] |
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[[File:If_You_Jam_the_Copier,_Bolt_cover.png|thumb|right|Cover of Altes's second book ''If You Jam the Copier, Bolt''.]] |
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[[File:Geeks_&_Greeks_cover.png|thumb|right|Cover of Altes and Fish's graphic novel ''Geeks & Greeks''. Cover art by Victor Marcos.]] |
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In 1997 Altes's ''The Little Book of Bad Business Advice'' was published. Said one reviewer (referring to the creator of [[Dilbert]]), "I was expecting something fresh — all I got was the scraps Scott Adams threw out," while another reviewer termed it "a pointed, profoundly revealing work that goes to the heart of rage and isolation in the American workplace. The hapless inanities of Dilbert make us feel safe in submitting to the numbing inevitabilities of corporate fascism. ''Bad Business Advice'' is a more dangerously honest book. In Mr. Altes's litany of gleefully contemplated sabotage we are instead forced to imagine, recognize, and confront ourselves in our real workplace fantasies."<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.amazon.com/Little-Book-Bad-Business-Advice/dp/0312962231/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top?ie=UTF8 | work=Amazon.com | title=The Little Book of Bad Business Advice | date=2015-08-12}}</ref> |
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In 2001 Altes wrote a sequel to ''The Little Book of Bad Business Advice'' titled ''If You Jam the Copier, Bolt''. Referring to the timing of its publication coinciding with the [[September 11 attacks | 9/11 attacks]] Altes said: |
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⚫ | In 2005 Altes was a contributor to [[Michael J. Rosen]]'s ''May Contain Nuts: A Very Loose Canon of American Humor'' anthology. His piece satirized his career as a male model.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.amazon.com/May-Contain-Nuts-Loose-American/dp/B00093099A/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top?ie=UTF8 | work=Amazon.com | title=May Contain Nuts: A Very Loose Canon of American Humor | date=2015-08-12}}</ref> |
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{{cquote|My second book hit the shelves in a huge blaze of no publicity on Monday, September 10, 2001. If the world cared at all about it on Monday, it sure as hell didn't by Tuesday. I know I didn't.<ref> {{cite news| url=http://stevealtes.com/writing/books.html | title=Steve Altes - Books | date=2015-06-12}}</ref>}} |
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⚫ | In 2005 Altes was a contributor to [[Michael J. Rosen]]'s ''May Contain Nuts: A Very Loose Canon of American Humor'' anthology. His piece satirized his career as a male model.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.amazon.com/May-Contain-Nuts-Loose-American/dp/B00093099A/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top?ie=UTF8 | work=Amazon.com | title=May Contain Nuts: A Very Loose Canon of American Humor | date=2015-08-12}}</ref> |
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In 2006 humor editor Judy Brown selected twenty of Altes's jokes to appear in her anthology ''Joke Express: Instant Delivery of 1,424 Funny Bits from the Best Comedians''. Altes had this to say about being included in the book: |
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{{cquote|''Joke Express'' collects 1,424 hysterical musings from America's top comedians, including David Letterman, Jerry Seinfeld, Bill Maher, Conan O'Brien, Mitch Hedberg, and Chris Rock. Somehow I managed to weasel my way in, too.<ref> {{cite news| url=http://stevealtes.com/writing/joke-express.html | title=Steve Altes - Joke Express | date=2015-06-12}}</ref>}} |
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In 2014 Altes ran a [[Kickstarter]]<ref name='Kickstarter'>{{cite news| url=https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/stevealtes/geeks-and-greeks-an-epic-graphic-novel-about-mit-p/description | location=Los Angeles, CA | work=Kickstarter.com | title=Geeks & Greeks – an epic graphic novel about MIT pranks | date=2014-06-12}}</ref> campaign which raised $43,098 to finance the illustration of a [[graphic novel]] he wrote about [[hacks at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology | hacks at MIT]] titled ''[[Geeks & Greeks]].''<ref>{{cite news |url=https://slice.mit.edu/2015/05/08/steve-altes-geeks-and-greeks-mit-graphic-novel/ | location=Cambridge, MA | work=MIT Slice of Life blog | title=How Stunt Work on Die Hard Led to a Graphic Novel About MIT Hacks | date=2015-05-08}}</ref> <ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.forevergeek.com/2014/05/love-geeks-let-enumerate-ways/ | location=Los Angeles, CA | work=ForeverGeek.com | title=How Do I Love Geeks? Let Me Enumerate the Ways | date=2014-05-29}}</ref> At MIT a hack is a clever, humorous, technically sophisticated prank.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://hacks.mit.edu | location=Cambridge, MA | work=MIT.edu | title=MIT's IHTFP Hack Gallery |accessdate=2015-08-14}}</ref> Altes says the story was inspired by actual MIT hacks and incidents he experienced as an MIT student and fraternity resident.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://bostinno.streetwise.co/2014/05/05/geeks-and-greeks-graphic-novel-depicting-history-of-mit-hacks-on-kickstarter/ | location=Boston, MA | work=BostInno.com | title=You Can Help Turn MIT's History of Hacks Into a Graphic Novel | date=2014-05-05}}</ref> <ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.technologyreview.com/article/536531/steve-altes-84-sm-86-sm-86/ | location=Cambridge, MA | work=TechnologyReview.com | title=Humor Writer to Publish Graphic Novel on Hacks | date=2015-04-21}}</ref> The graphic novel is being illustrated by [[Andy Fish]].<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJn3Z-En9ws | location=Worcester, MA | work=YouTube.com | title=Geeks & Greeks Illustration Process | date=2015-08-15}}</ref> ''Geeks & Greeks'' is expected to be published in the fall of 2015.<ref name='Geeks'>{{cite news |url=http://www.geeks-and-greeks.com |location= Los Angeles, CA | work=Geeks-and-Greeks.com | title=Geeks & Greeks graphic novel official website | date=2014-09-04}}</ref> |
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*2015 - ''[[Geeks & Greeks]]'', (written by Steve Altes, illustrated by Andy Fish) Relentless Goat Productions |
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*2006 - ''Joke Express: Instant Delivery of 1,424 Funny Bits from the Best Comedians'', (contributor) Andrews McMeel Publishing |
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*2005 - ''May Contain Nuts: A Very Loose Canon of American Humor'', (contributor) Harper Paperbacks |
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*2001 - ''If You Jam the Copier, Bolt'', Andrews McMeel Publishing |
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*1997 - ''The Little Book of Bad Business Advice'', St. Martin's Press |
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===Film appearances=== |
===Film appearances=== |
Revision as of 02:39, 19 August 2015
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Steve Altes | |
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Born | |
Nationality | United States |
Education | S.B. (Aeronautics and Astronautics), S.M. (Aeronautics and Astronautics), S.M. (Technology and Policy) |
Alma mater | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Occupation(s) | writer, graphic novelist, engineer |
Known for | humorous adventure essays, Geeks & Greeks |
Spouse | Diana Jellinek |
Awards | National Medal of Technology |
Website | www |
Steve Altes is an American writer and former aerospace engineer. He is known for getting hired into unusual occupations and writing humorous essays about his misfortunes.[1]
Early life
Altes was born on November 13, 1962 in Syracuse, NY. He graduated from Fayetteville-Manlius High School in Manlius, NY in 1980.[2] In high school, although his time in the mile "impressed no one," Altes once ran a track meet in full clown make-up.[1] In 2000 when Altes was inducted into the Fayetteville-Manlius Hall of Distinction as one of the high school's "notable alumni" he acknowledged the dichotomy in his career segue from engineering to entertainment, saying,
I owe a tremendous debt to those dedicated teachers for the serious half of my career. For the silly half, I’d like to thank all the class clowns.[3]
Engineering
Altes holds three degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology -- S.B., Aeronautics and Astronautics, 1984; S.M., Aeronautics and Astronautics, 1986; and S.M., Technology and Policy, 1986.[4] In 1982 Altes was part of an MIT team that set a world land-speed record for a human-powered vehicle with a five-person, forty-foot-long "bicycle."[1] His master's thesis was titled, "The Aerospace Plane: Technological Feasibility and Policy Implications."[5] Altes's thesis became the only college thesis ever reviewed by The New York Review of Books when James Fallows reviewed it in the December 18, 1986 edition.[6]
After college, Altes worked as a space policy analyst for the now-defunct Congressional Office of Technology Assessment.[1] He left Capitol Hill for a position as Program Control Manager for the Pegasus air-launched space booster at Orbital Sciences Corporation. In 1991 Altes was part of the Orbital Sciences team that was awarded the National Medal of Technology (the nation's highest award for technological achievement) by President George H. W. Bush for developing Pegasus.[7] [8] He is also a co-recipient of the 1990 Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Trophy for Current Achievement in Aerospace.[9]
Due to his varied endeavors in the fields of engineering and entertainment, Altes is sometimes listed as one of MIT's more "notable alumni."[10] [11] [12] [13] [14]
Entertainment
In the mid-1990s Altes left engineering for a career in entertainment and writing. He has been:
- a writer of humorous essays for magazines and newspapers, such as Salon,[15] The Washington Post,[16] the Los Angeles Times,[17] The Christian Science Monitor,[18] Capital Style,[19] Urban Male Magazine,[20] Funny Times,[21] P.O.V.,[22] and Penthouse.[23]
- an author of humor books
- a graphic novelist
- a screenwriter[24]
- a commentator for NPR's All Things Considered
- a member of Us Weekly's Fashion Police
- an actor in TV commercials, TV shows, and films
- a stunt driver in the film Spy Game
- a commercial print model
- a corporate comedian
Essays
Altes has written a series of first-person participatory adventure essays about experiences such as:
- becoming (via the Internet) an ordained minister of the Universal Life Church[25]
- working as a hand model[26]
- standing in for Brad Pitt on the movie The Devil's Own[16]
- getting his face on the Just for Men hair color box[27]
- working as a stripper[23]
- working as a "bank robber" at the FBI training academy[22]
- answering phones in the Arkansas Governor's Mansion for President-elect Bill Clinton[28] [19] [29]
- and getting hired and fired by the CIA in one day.[17]
Books
In 1997 Altes's The Little Book of Bad Business Advice was published. Said one reviewer (referring to the creator of Dilbert), "I was expecting something fresh — all I got was the scraps Scott Adams threw out," while another reviewer termed it "a pointed, profoundly revealing work that goes to the heart of rage and isolation in the American workplace. The hapless inanities of Dilbert make us feel safe in submitting to the numbing inevitabilities of corporate fascism. Bad Business Advice is a more dangerously honest book. In Mr. Altes's litany of gleefully contemplated sabotage we are instead forced to imagine, recognize, and confront ourselves in our real workplace fantasies."[30]
In 2001 Altes wrote a sequel to The Little Book of Bad Business Advice titled If You Jam the Copier, Bolt. Referring to the timing of its publication coinciding with the 9/11 attacks Altes said:
My second book hit the shelves in a huge blaze of no publicity on Monday, September 10, 2001. If the world cared at all about it on Monday, it sure as hell didn't by Tuesday. I know I didn't.[31]
In 2005 Altes was a contributor to Michael J. Rosen's May Contain Nuts: A Very Loose Canon of American Humor anthology. His piece satirized his career as a male model.[32]
In 2006 humor editor Judy Brown selected twenty of Altes's jokes to appear in her anthology Joke Express: Instant Delivery of 1,424 Funny Bits from the Best Comedians. Altes had this to say about being included in the book:
Joke Express collects 1,424 hysterical musings from America's top comedians, including David Letterman, Jerry Seinfeld, Bill Maher, Conan O'Brien, Mitch Hedberg, and Chris Rock. Somehow I managed to weasel my way in, too.[33]
In 2014 Altes ran a Kickstarter[34] campaign which raised $43,098 to finance the illustration of a graphic novel he wrote about hacks at MIT titled Geeks & Greeks.[35] [36] At MIT a hack is a clever, humorous, technically sophisticated prank.[37] Altes says the story was inspired by actual MIT hacks and incidents he experienced as an MIT student and fraternity resident.[38] [39] The graphic novel is being illustrated by Andy Fish.[40] Geeks & Greeks is expected to be published in the fall of 2015.[41]
- 2015 - Geeks & Greeks, (written by Steve Altes, illustrated by Andy Fish) Relentless Goat Productions
- 2006 - Joke Express: Instant Delivery of 1,424 Funny Bits from the Best Comedians, (contributor) Andrews McMeel Publishing
- 2005 - May Contain Nuts: A Very Loose Canon of American Humor, (contributor) Harper Paperbacks
- 2001 - If You Jam the Copier, Bolt, Andrews McMeel Publishing
- 1997 - The Little Book of Bad Business Advice, St. Martin's Press
Film appearances
Altes has appeared in a number of films and television shows after being accidentally "discovered" and cast as a German terrorist in Die Hard With a Vengeance in 1995.[1] [42] [43]
Year | Film | Role |
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2000 | Hollow Man | Dad |
1999 | Girl, Interrupted | Medic |
1997 | Shadow Conspiracy[44] | Secret Service agent |
1995 | Die Hard With a Vengeance | German terrorist |
Awards
- 1991 - National Medal of Technology (co-recipient)
- 1990 - National Air and Space Museum Trophy for Current Achievement in Aerospace (co-recipient)
Personal
Altes lives in the Los Angeles area and is married to acting coach Diana Jellinek.[45]
Footnotes
- ^ a b c d e "Model/Actor/Scientist Adds Writer to Resume". Lawrence Journal-World. Lawrence, KS. 1998-09-10.
- ^ "Valedictorian Tradition Scrapped at High Schools". Washington Times. Washington, DC. 1999-05-07.
- ^ "Hall of Distinction Inductees". FMSchools.org. Manlius, NY. 2000-06-01.
- ^ "MIT Graduate Inspires Crowd with Life Experience". The Tech (MIT). Washington, DC. 1998-12-01.
- ^ "The Aerospace Plane: Technological Feasibility and Policy Implications" (PDF). MIT.edu. 1986-05-01.
- ^ "The Americans in Space". The New York Review of Books. New York City, NY. 1986-12-18.
- ^ "Technology and the Future Warrior: Protecting Soldiers in the 21st Century". M.I.T. Cambridge, MA. 2004-09-23.
- ^ "Rocket Scientist Turns to Entertainment". MIT.edu. Cambridge, MA. 2008-09-01.
- ^ "National Air and Space Museum Trophy Recipients". SI.edu. Washington, DC. 1990-06-01.
- ^ "Notable Alumni: After Departing from MIT, Alumni Make their Mark on the World". The Tech. Cambridge, MA. 1999-05-04.
- ^ "Notable Alumni". MIT Admissions. Cambridge, MA. 2014-09-04.
- ^ "12 MIT Grads that Changed the World". BostInno.com. Boston, MA. 2011-02-16.
- ^ "Top 10 famous alumni of MIT". TopYaps.com. 2014-09-08.
- ^ "MIT's 150th Birthday". FastCompany.com. 2011-04-01.
- ^ "Brad and Me". Salon.com. Washington, DC. 1998-04-27.
- ^ a b "Standing In for Brad". Washington Post. Washington, DC. 1997-03-26.
- ^ a b "My Short, Sorry Career as a Spy". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, CA. 2003-02-24.
- ^ "How I Became a CIA Spy for a Day". Christian Science Monitor. Boston, MA. 3 March 2003.
- ^ a b "Capital Style Overcomes Substance". Washington Business Journal. Washington, DC. 1998-11-09.
- ^ "Reverend Me" (PDF). Urban Male Magazine. Canada. Spring 2004.
- ^ "Confessions About My Baby". FunnyTimes.com. Cleveland Heights, OH. 2007-11-01.
- ^ a b "The Fugitive" (PDF). P.O.V. magazine. New York City, NY. 1998-08-01.
- ^ a b "Confessions of a Male Stripper" (PDF). Penthouse magazine. Los Angeles, CA. 2002-12-01.
- ^ "Screenplay deals closed 2006". InkTip.com. Los Angeles, CA. 2006-06-01.
- ^ "Reverend Me". Atheists.org. Los Angeles, CA. 2004-06-01.
- ^ "So, You Want a Piece of Me?" (PDF). Tear Sheet magazine. New York City, NY. 2000-06-01.
- ^ "Guy on the Box" (PDF). Tear Sheet magazine. New York City, NY. 2000-12-01.
- ^ "Bill Clinton Hit on My Wife" (PDF). Capital Style magazine. Washington, DC. 1998-10-01.
- ^ "The Basement with Bill" (PDF). New York Post. New York City, NY. 1998-09-24.
- ^ "The Little Book of Bad Business Advice". Amazon.com. 2015-08-12.
- ^ "Steve Altes - Books". 2015-06-12.
- ^ "May Contain Nuts: A Very Loose Canon of American Humor". Amazon.com. 2015-08-12.
- ^ "Steve Altes - Joke Express". 2015-06-12.
- ^ "Geeks & Greeks – an epic graphic novel about MIT pranks". Kickstarter.com. Los Angeles, CA. 2014-06-12.
- ^ "How Stunt Work on Die Hard Led to a Graphic Novel About MIT Hacks". MIT Slice of Life blog. Cambridge, MA. 2015-05-08.
- ^ "How Do I Love Geeks? Let Me Enumerate the Ways". ForeverGeek.com. Los Angeles, CA. 2014-05-29.
- ^ "MIT's IHTFP Hack Gallery". MIT.edu. Cambridge, MA. Retrieved 2015-08-14.
- ^ "You Can Help Turn MIT's History of Hacks Into a Graphic Novel". BostInno.com. Boston, MA. 2014-05-05.
- ^ "Humor Writer to Publish Graphic Novel on Hacks". TechnologyReview.com. Cambridge, MA. 2015-04-21.
- ^ "Geeks & Greeks Illustration Process". YouTube.com. Worcester, MA. 2015-08-15.
- ^ "Geeks & Greeks graphic novel official website". Geeks-and-Greeks.com. Los Angeles, CA. 2014-09-04.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
imdb
was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Yippie-Ki-Yay, Mr. Falcon". Retrieved 2015-08-12.
- ^ "Shooting Charlie Sheen". YouTube.com. Hollywood, CA. Retrieved 2015-05-29.
- ^ "IMDB - Diana Jellinek". IMDB.com. Los Angeles, CA. 2014-09-04.