Howard Stern likes to call himself the “King of All Media” since he’s alledgedly been successful in a wide range of entertainment. I say hooey, since there are certain modes that he’s yet to tap. But if we deny him the title, who is there to pick it up?
I was thinking the closest may be either Mel Brooks or Steve Allen. Brooks, of course, having had spoken work recordings, TV shows, movies and now success on Broadway. Allen, I don’t believe, has had any Broadway success, but has been on TV, movies and plays a mean jazz piano.
Is there anyone that I’m missing who might cover all the bases?
Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie are both quite versatile and accomplished.
Some of the cast members of Monty Python have also succeeded at various pursuits.
Steve Allen is no longer among the living.
http://www.dpsinfo.com/dps/anames.html#top
I would nominate Bob Hope in his prime. Radio, TV, Movies, vaudeville, there were even Bob Hope comic books at one time (no idea if they were any good or successful). Did he ever perform on Broadway or legitimate theater?
Steve Allen also had all those mystery novels, never read one, but somebody did, since “he” kept cranking them out. If he still plays a mean jazz piano, it must be at Club Afterlife…
For a current KOAM you could maybe suggest Will Smith or Steve Martin, but I’d rather not.
Bear in mind, even Howard Stern didn’t take the title seriously.
The way HE tells it, he was both disgusted and intrigued when Michael Jackson began calling himself “the King of Pop,” and Prince replaced his own name with a symbol. He couldn’t believe how readily the news media bought into such self-promoting idiocy, and speculated out loud on the radio, “I wonder… I have a radio show, a best selling book, a TV show, and I’m working on a movie. So, I pronounce myself the King of All Media.” Stern intended the proclamation as both a joke and a bit of an experiment… he really wondered if the news media and the entertainment press would pick up on this self-bestowed title, if they’d really be such stupid sheep as to call him by the ridiculous title he’d made up.
And as it turned out, the answer was “Yes.” The entertainment press WAS stupid enough to call him “the King of All Media.”
I think Howard does have a good claim. He had a film that was number one in the box office, the highest rated talk-radio show, a couple of best sellers, and the number one rated show on a cable network. Granted, the cable network in question is E!, and if memory serves his movie was only #1 for a week until “Liar, Liar” came out, but it’s still pretty impressive.
I would nominate Michael Crichton as a candidate. Number one best-sellers and movies (Jurassic Park, et al), plus creator of a number one TV drama, ER.
Agreeing with ** Purd Wurfect** I’d also include MP alumni, especially John Cleese. Besides Monty Python, he did the classic “Fawlty Towers”, and he was nominated and I think might have even won an Emmy for that guest shot on Cheers. He was great in “A Fish Called Wanda” as well as the MP movies. He’s written a couple of pop psychology books, and to top it off has a popular series of business management seminar tapes.
Rita Moreno is, as I recall, the only holder of an Oscar, an Emmy, a Grammy and a Tony. But that was a few years ago – anyone done it since?
Barbra Streisand got all four by 1970, but her Tony was for Star of the Decade, which is non-competitive.