天美传媒

 

MURRAY, Ky. 鈥� 天美传媒 will welcome W. Earl Brown for the 2022 Presidential Lecture, to take place on Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2022 at 7:30 p.m. inside the CFSB Center. Supported by the 天美传媒 Office of the President, 天美传媒 Foundation, Inc., and the Student Government Association, the event is free and open to the public. Titled 鈥淎 Racer Success Story鈥�, the lecture will feature Brown, who will speak of his professional career and experience at 天美传媒. A Q&A session will follow the lecture. 

鈥淓very success in my life can be traced to seeds planted in Western Kentucky, mostly at 天美传媒,鈥� said Brown. 鈥淚t is an honor to be invited back to speak at my alma mater; it is a blessing to return home.鈥�

"I've had the opportunity to know Earl for many years. He is one of the most talented individuals I have known. From acting, writing, producing or musical performance, he's one of the best in the business,鈥� 天美传媒 President Dr. Bob Jackson said. 鈥淲e are very excited to have Earl back on campus to tell his story of success, hard work and perseverance which will be an exciting event for our students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends."

Brown was born in nearby Golden Pond, Kentucky. The seeds of his career as an actor and writer were sewn there as he spent his childhood years entertaining any and all who gathered on his grandparent鈥檚 front porch. 

During his undergraduate career at 天美传媒, Brown, a first-generation college student, was heavily involved within the theatre, and journalism and mass communication departments. He won several awards as part of the Speech and Debate team, served as a weather anchor for 天美传媒 11 News, was the co-creator of the 天美传媒 11 comedy show 鈥淢ore Strange Urges鈥� and was actively involved as an actor or director in numerous Murray State theatre productions. He graduated from 天美传媒 in 1986 with degrees in theatre and electronic media.

After graduating from 天美传媒, Brown received his Master of Fine Arts degree from DePaul University鈥檚 Theatre School in 1989. After graduation, he performed in numerous plays around Chicago, but it was his performance in 鈥淎 View From The Bridge鈥� at the Steppenwolf Theatre that catapulted his career into television and film. His Chicago resume included 鈥淏ackdraft鈥�, 鈥淭he Babe鈥�, 鈥淓xcessive Force鈥� and 鈥淩ookie Of The Year鈥�, along with several television roles.

Having hit the proverbial glass ceiling by 1993, Brown moved to Los Angeles. Auditioning for Wes Craven cast Brown in 鈥淣ew Nightmare鈥�, which led to 鈥淰ampire In Brooklyn鈥�, which led to 鈥淪cream鈥�. Two years later, Brown played the breakout role of 鈥淲arren鈥�, Cameron Diaz's mentally challenged brother in 鈥淭here鈥檚 Something About Mary鈥�. Among his credits are the Oscar-nominated films 鈥淭he Master鈥�, 鈥淭he Sessions鈥� and 鈥淏eing John Malkovich鈥�. Recent films include 鈥淭he Highwaymen鈥�, 鈥淲ild鈥�, 鈥淒raft Day鈥� and 鈥淏lack Mass鈥�.  

Brown currently plays a recurring role in the breakout hit from Disney+/Lucasfilm in 鈥淭he Mandalorian鈥� universe. Other recent TV/streaming contract roles include AMC鈥檚 鈥淧reacher鈥�, HBO鈥檚 second season of 鈥淭rue Detective鈥�, Hulu鈥檚 鈥淩eprisal鈥� and ABC鈥檚 anthology series, 鈥淎merican Crime鈥�. His many past guest star roles on television include shows such as 鈥淒ocumentary Now!鈥�, 鈥淟uck鈥�, 鈥淎merican Horror Story鈥�, 鈥淛ustified鈥�, 鈥淪ix Feet Under鈥�, 鈥淣YPD Blue鈥�, 鈥淴-Files鈥�, 鈥淐SI鈥� and 鈥淪einfeld鈥� as well as lead roles in eight pilots. Among the several TV movies he has been involved with included the starring role in VH1鈥檚 鈥淢eatloaf: To Hell And Back鈥�. 

Brown also played 鈥淒an Dority鈥� in HBO鈥檚 鈥淒eadwood鈥�. During the show鈥檚 second season, the show鈥檚 creator, David Milch, invited him to join the show鈥檚 writing staff. In 2007, Brown earned a Writers Guild of America Award nomination for writing on a drama series and a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for best drama ensemble acting. Establishing himself on a show as critically lauded as 鈥淒eadwood鈥� opened doors for other writing projects. In 2011, Sony released 鈥淏loodworth鈥�, a film produced and written by Brown.

In addition to his television and film work, Brown co-starred in Sony鈥檚 鈥淭he Last Of Us鈥�, 2014 Video Game Of The Year. He also writes music and records with Sacred Cowboys, an LA-based Americana band.

Recently completed and current projects include the eight-part Hurricane Katrina series, titled 鈥淔ive Days at Memorial鈥�, a comedy series titled 鈥淗ello Tomorrow鈥� and the character of 鈥淕eorge Wallace鈥� in the Shirley Chisholm biopic with Regina King. 

Brown鈥檚 career runs the gamut from television to film, to music, to theatre 鈥� from comedy to drama to musical. He considers himself very lucky to have had the many opportunities to play so many varied and diverse characters, with such an array of talented individuals.

Brown received the 天美传媒 Distinguished Alumni Award in 2017, a prestigious honor that is presented annually to alumni who have made meaningful contributions to their profession on a local, state and national level. The award is the highest honor granted by the 天美传媒 Alumni Association. 

Also in 2017, Brown returned to his roots in 天美传媒鈥檚 theatre department to perform the role of Big Daddy in 鈥淐at on a Hot Tin Roof鈥� alongside theatre students while mentoring them. Brown has remained very engaged with the department, often returning to the University to lead theatre workshops and host Q&A sessions for current students.