Art (of course), Hollywood, writing (I write movie reviews, websites, and articles), autograph collecting, food (obviously!), comic books, travel (Hawaii and the Old West are favorites), astronomy (I'm a sky watcher from WAY back), fantasy and science fiction novels, and my fabulous cats (Gray, a big, lovable Russian Blue, Pi, my sweet-tempered Calico 'Princess', and Kit, a totally insane but devoted Siamese/Gray Tabby mix)...
...I used to horseback ride and dance (and will, again, when food quits looking so good!), am a student of American and world history, the environment, and religion, and have a healthy respect of the opposite sex!
Music
I grew up totally hooked on Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Perry Como, Nat King Cole, Big Band, and Classical (my parents wouldn't allow Rock and Roll in our house!). When I moved out, my tastes expanded, and I grooved to Elvis, the Supremes, Tina Turner, the Beatles (ALL of the 'British Invasion', actually!), the Monkees (hey, hey!), Southern Rock, and early Heavy Metal; these days, I listen to Pop, Classic Rock, Classical, New Age, Country, Showtunes, Jazz, Blues, Gospel...and I actually like balalaika and Russian folk music, good bagpipes, Japanese drums, and even gypsy music, believe it or not...but try as I might, I can't get into Hip Hop or Rap (for me, the best Soul music will ALWAYS be Classic Motown!)...
...and Frank Sinatra STILL rocks my world!
Movies
I LOVE movies! I'm TOTALLY hooked on the 'Classics' (from "Casablanca" to swashbucklers, from "Tarzan" and "The Thin Man", to The Marx Brothers and Busby Berkeley's musicals...names like Ford, Capra, Sturges, Hawks, and Hitchcock...Colman, Flynn, Stewart, Davis, Cary Grant, Tracy and Hepburn, Gable, Alice Faye, Astaire and Rogers...Film Noir, Epics, even a good serial, like Buster Crabbe in 'Flash Gordon', or Kirk Alyn in "Superman"...and ANYTHING John Wayne appeared in!)
But my tastes aren't restricted to Hollywood's 'Golden Age'; I have my share of favorite more recent films, as well, and I'm hooked on three films that flopped, but will live in my heart, forever; 1980's "Xanadu", which many critics consider one of the worst musicals ever made, is, for me, sheer magic, with Olivia Newton-John never more radiant, the music of ELO bouncy and hummable, and Gene Kelly (in his final dancing role), an absolute joy; forget the inept Michael Beck as the male lead, and enjoy the musical fantasy of a muse who changes two men's lives...
...1991's "The Rocketeer", featuring Billy Campbell as the test pilot hero, Alan Arkin, his mentor, Jennifer Connelly, channeling Bettie Page, at her sexiest, Terry O'Quinn's Howard Hughes in support, and Timothy Dalton as a thinly-veiled Nazi Errol Flynn, all set in the heady exuberance of pre-WWII Hollywood...
...and 1984's "The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension", with Peter Weller as the Japanese/American neurosurgeon/physicist/rock star hero, John Lithgow as a whacked-out alien-possessed scientist, and a collection of future stars in supporting roles...I admit it, I'm a 'Team Banzai' member from WAY back...and remember, "No matter where you go...There you are."
I admire the directorial work of Christopher Nolan, Cameron Crowe, Robert Rodriguez, James Cameron, Kevin Smith, and Spielberg (of course!); the "Lord of the Rings" (God bless Peter Jackson for doing it right!), both "Star Wars" trilogies, and the 'James Bond series'...but I AVOID 'slasher' or gore films...Horror doesn't do it, for me...if I want real HORROR, I just have to look in the bathroom mirror in the morning!
Television
I don't watch much TV, these days, besides TCM...Growing up, I loved "The Adventures of Superman", "The Rogues" (you need a good memory to remember that one!), "The Man from U.N.C.L.E.", "The Wild, Wild West", classic "Star Trek", "The Prisoner", "The Avengers", and "Here Come the Brides"...
Later (in no particular order), "Stargate SG-1", "Babylon Five", the original "Battlestar Galactica", BBC's "Sharpe" Saga, "Charmed", "The Lost World", and "The A-Team"...
I do try to catch "Smallville" when I can, as well as "Eureka", "Top Chef", and "The Closer"...Where HAVE all the good shows gone???
Books
"The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt", "Theodore Rex"...
..."By Myself and Then Some", "Lincoln", "The Adam Strange Archives, Vol 1-2", "Knife of Dreams", "The Story of Mankind", "'Tis Herself", "Bing Crosby: A Pocketful of Dreams, The Early Years (1903-1940)"...
..."Jean Arthur: The Actress Nobody Knew", The 'Amber' novels, anything by Robert Heinlein, Edgar Rice Burroughs, or Mark Twain...
Heroes
Ronald Reagan, Robert Kennedy, Theodore Roosevelt, Norman Rockwell, Albert Schweitzer, Jimmy Carter, Christopher Reeve, Audrey Hepburn, Albert Einstein, C.S. Lewis, Billy Graham...and America's Armed Forces, firefighters, and law enforcement officers, natch!
Corcoran College Of Art And Design
Washington, DC
Graduated: 1986
Student status: Alumni
Degree: Bachelor's Degree
Major: Fine Art
Minor: Hellraising
Clubs: Newspaper
1982 to 1986
University Maryland
College Park, MD
Graduated: N/A
Student status: Alumni
Degree: None
Major: Art
Minor: Radio, Television, and Film
Clubs: School Newspaper
1981 to 1982
Los Angeles City College
Los Angeles,CA
Graduated: N/A
Student status: Alumni
Major: Art (Overseas Campus/Thailand)
Minor: Dating Drawing Class Models
1975 to 1975
Montgomery College
Rockville, MD
Graduated: N/A
Degree: None
Major: Art
Minor: Avoiding the Draft
Clubs: School Newspaper
1971 to 1971
Wheaton High
Silver Spring, MD
Graduated: 1971
Student status: Alumni
Degree: High School Diploma
Major: Survival
Minor: Football
Clubs: Every club Wheaton offered!
1968 to 1971
Ben...Caricature Artist in Las Vegas's Companies
Caricatures by Ben Burgraff Las Vegas, NV US Artist
1959 - Present
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Ben...Caricature Artist in Las Vegas and his cats are happy you stopped by! view more
I've been a pretty lucky guy! I've drawn caricatures around the world, from the heart of Manhattan, to a swank resort in the Dominican Republic, to a tiny village near the Thai/Laotian border; drifted down the Mississippi on a steamboat, tackled narrow Italian streets on a Vespa, nearly wrecked a sailboat in Florida, galloped a horse through Bavarian forests, even took a turn on a camel in Morocco and an elephant in Thailand; partied with fashion models in Miami Beach and L.A., and preached at a small church in northern California; drew for three Presidents and at inner city shelters; got wasted at Amsterdam's notorious 'Milky Way', and explored Scotland's Loch Ness for Nessie; served as an Air Force Rescue controller during the evacuation of Saigon, and hitchhiked through Spain; worked at a South Carolina Blockbuster Video, for five years, and a Maryland 'McDonald's' for five DAYS; celebrated my fiftieth birthday with my first taste of sushi (I liked it), and my first biplane flight (I liked that, even more!); I even took a shot at stand-up comedy, once upon a time, and DIDN'T get booed off the stage...and I've discovered my autograph is actually worth 6 EUROS on ebay...so I guess I've become a celebrity, of sorts!
The Internet gave me a new world to explore, and as I've gotten older, chubbier, and less active, I've become more and more creative online, building over 40 sites about my life and work as a Caricaturist, Superman, John Wayne, James Bond Movies, even about my Cats...but I still have an 'itch' to meet new people, and experience different cultures! Myspace serves this purpose, as well as providing a means of passing along where I'll be appearing to do my caricature thing, displaying my latest artwork, offering a forum to comment on the world around me, and having a blast, in general!
I've been a working artist since the middle of the LAST century (I'll NEVER claim to be 18!), have been writing Movie and Television Reviews for nearly thirty years for various newspapers and the 'Net, and collect Autographed Pictures of celebrities. I hate hypocrites, people who live off of others, ANYONE who abuses women, children, or animals, temperatures below 50 degrees, 'mornings after', gangsta rap, and the necessity to get dressed in the morning!
Looking like Burl Ives hasn't helped my love life, but I make a helluva party guest!
A SLIDESHOW OF MY TV/MOVIE ARTWORK!
Who I'd like to meet: John Wayne (oops, too late!), Sean Connery and Russell Crowe (for a beer), Salma Hayek, Marisa Tomei, and Penelope Ann Miller (NOT for a beer)...
Seriously, I welcome artists, actors, activists, bands, builders, babyboomers, cowboys, cat lovers, creators, dreamers, doctors, daredevils, engineers, entertainers, entrepreneurs, firefighters, freemasons, fantasy lovers, gardeners, golfers, groupies, heavenly messengers, homemakers, Heinlein fans, inventors, industrialists, individualists, janitors, Justices, jousters, Kings, kritters, kangaroos, lovers, legends, leprechauns, missionaries, miners, mystics, nuns, naturalists, nudists, opera singers, organizers, organists, politicians, policemen, poets, quiet people, Quakers, quizzical souls, romantics, revolutionaries, rich people (LOTS of THEM!), sci-fi fans, shamans, schoolteachers, troubadours, teamsters, test pilots, U.N.C.L.E. agents, uninhibited souls, underwear models, virgins, Victorians, visionaries, women (God bless 'em), wits, wine lovers, X-Men fans, Xanadu residents, Xena-types, Yellowstone hikers, the young-at-heart, Yankees, zoologists, zipper-pullers, Zorro-style swashbucklers...and anybody else I may have left out!
All I ask is that you DO NOT request to be my Friend expecting romance (I didn't join MySpace for an Internet Love Connection), if you are simply trying to use my site to promote some private agenda, or if your ambition is to set some kind of record for 'Most Friends'..."I am not a number, I'm a FREE MAN!"
Back by popular demand is Kat-El. Who would've thought that this trash talking robot cat loves going the movies as much as he does. Sit back and enjoy as Kat-El reviews the summer comedy "The Hangover" and if you like what you see then PLEASE COMMENT on myspace and youtube. We make these videos for YOU.
It looks amazing!! They got home today and I couldn't wait to see it!! Thanks for doing such a great job! Not the I would expect anything less :) See ya soon!!!!!!!!
It's time for change. New studio, new episode, new co-host? Check out our new video please comment, rate, and subscribe!!! Don't forget to check out the BRAND NEW website below.
Woohoo….. middle of the week, awesome or what? That means two days until we get to Boreanaz weekend. I am so lov’n it. I came by to wish you a great Boreanaz Wednesday and also to remind you that if you can’t get enough of David make sure to catch him on BONES & ANGEL and both shows air on one network right now…TNT! Check your local listings for airtime, not to mention FOX as well airs BONES Thursday nights. So make sure to check out both TV Networks. Now if you’re not in the US, search around your local stations on TV and see when they are airing BONES & ANGEL just to get a little David lov’n. Happy hunting.
Big note as well, if you haven’t signed my Boreanaz Guestbook that is located in the main page, please do so. It would be a rock’n awesome thing if you would sign, you gotta show some love to our fav actor! Another thing, if you have noticed my HTML’s have been discontinued, I am sorry but I got a few comments that had virus’ and I need to be careful with this nasty buggers lol so I dismembered the HTML’s but I hope you continue to stop by and show some love to David. Enjoy….!
Hello my cheerful and always charming friend. Just wanted to drop by on this glorious Sunday to tell you how much I appreciate your friendship and leave a big HOWDY followed by God Bless You dear Ben.....Laine
This week you get two special videos. The videos feature the very cool toys from Shocker Toys. Rate the vids and let Shocker Toys know you like the video. www.shockertoys.com
Jimmy and Johnny...two great actors that could play any role. I created this photo because of a request from a special friend whose fave Johnny movie is Dead Man. Enjoy your weekend! The Rebel & Cindy
Hi Ben, thanks for accepting the new friend suggestion. This page is one for the folks who truly enjoy the Big Band Era. I know you, me and Johnny are in that category....Laine
