Antichrist Superstar

Background:

“I view my job as being someone who is supposed to piss people off. I don't want to be just one-of-the-guys. I don't want to be just a smiling face you see on television presenting some vapid kind of easily digestible garbage.” Marilyn Manson

American musician and film actor Marilyn Manson, born Brian Hugh Warner, is most famous as the front man of the band Marilyn Manson. Formerly known as Marilyn Manson and the Spooky Kids, the group rose to mainstream fame in the mid-1990s thanks to the MTV hit “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This),” which was released from the successful EP “Smells Like Children” (1995). They gained even more attention with the albums “Antichrist Superstar” (1996) and “Mechanical Animals” (1998), which received double-platinum and platinum certification, respectively. Marilyn Manson have since released three more albums, including “The Golden Age of Grotesque” (2003), which produced the Grammy-nominated hit “Mobscene,” and “Eat Me, Drink Me” (2007) and an album called “Lest We Forget: The Best Of” (2004). As an actor, Manson can be seen in such movies as “The Lost Highway” (1997), “Jawbreaker” (1999), “Party Monster” (2003), “The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things” (2004) and “Rise” (2007). He is also set to act, direct and write the upcoming film “Phantasmagoria: The Visions of Lewis Carroll” (2008).

Manson has been divorced from wife Dita von Teese since December 2007. Prior to his marriage, he had a widely-published relationship with actress Rose McGowan. The couple became engaged on February 14, 1999, but broke off the engagement in 2002. Manson has also been romantically linked to Traci Lords, Melisa Romero and Jenna Jameson. He began dating actress Evan Rachel Wood in January 2007 before his divorce was legalized.

Black Sabbath Fan

Childhood and Family:

Born Brian Hugh Warner on January 5, 1969, in Canton, Ohio, Marilyn Manson was raised Episcopalian by his nurse mother, Barb Wyre Warner, and his Vietnam soldier-turned-furniture-seller father, Hugh Warner. A victim of harassment by one of his neighbors, young Brian did not tell his parents about the incident until a break down. As he grew older, he became involved in activities like producing sex magazines to sell to his school peers and sold albums by musical artists that were banished by his school. As a result, he was expelled from the religious private Heritage Christian School. A fan of rockers like Alice Cooper, David Bowie and Black Sabbath, Marilyn attended the public GlenOaks High School in Canton and moved to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, with his family shortly after graduation.

In Fort Lauderdale, Brian enrolled at the Broward Community College where he majored in journalism and theater. He felt like a stranger in the new place and began writing short stories and poems to overcome his gloominess. He attempted to get his work published by various magazines, but was rejected. Eventually, after being fired from his job at a record store, Brian got a job as a music journalist for a local magazine called “The 25th Parallel,” during which time he had the opportunity to interview many illustrious musicians, including Trent Reznor from the band Nine Inch Nails. By this time, Brian had immersed himself in rock music and along with local musician Scott Putesky, established their own band. He changed his name to Marilyn Manson in an effort to blend pop icons with mass murders.

In December 2002, Manson photographed actress/show dancer Dita Von Teese for “Playboy” magazine. The two became engaged on March 22, 2004, and married on December 3, 2005. A year after the marriage, she filed for divorce at the Los Angeles Superior Court, citing irreconcilable differences. The divorce was finalized on December 29, 2007.

Mechanical Animals

Career:

An entertainment journalist prior to entering the world of music, Marilyn Manson relocated to Florida from Ohio at age 18 and befriended local musician Scott Putesky (aka Daisy Berkowitz). Sharing a similar interest in music, the two decided to form their own band and in 1989, Marilyn Manson and the Spooky Kids was born with drummer Sara Lee Lucas, bassist Gidget Gein and keyboardist Madonna Wayne Gacy added to the lineup. The group shortened its name to Marilyn Manson in 1992.

While doing a story on the band Nine Inch Nails for “The 25th Parallel,” Manson interviewed front man Trent Reznor and mentioned his own band. With the help of Reznor, Marylin Manson secured a record contract with Nothing Records in1993 and released their debut album the following year. “Portriat of an American Family,” which was recorded with new bassist Twiggy Ramirez, was produced by Trent Reznor and spawned the singles “Get Your Gunn,” “Lunchbox” and “Dope Hat.” It rose to No. 35 on the Top Heatseekers chart in 1995. In support of the album, Marylin Manson embarked on a tour as the opening act for Nine Inch Nails. In a concert in Salt Lake City, UT, Manson created a sensation by tearing apart a Mormon Bible on stage. He gained further notoriety with his arrest in Jacksonville, Florida, two months after the incident for indecorous exposure and on-stage fake sex. He announced the termination of original drummer Sara Lee Lucas by setting his drumstick on fire before they began performing. Lucas was replaced by Ginger Fish.

In 1995, Manson and his group released a remix album, the platinum-selling “Smells Like Children,” which included a lot of covers, most notably Eurythmics’ “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This).” The song became the group's first huge MTV hit and helped the group rise to mainstream status. The following year, Marilyn Manson resurfaced with their second studio album, “Antichrist Superstar,” and enjoyed an even greater success. Co-produced by Trent Reznor and Manson, the album rose to No. 3 on the Billboard 200 and received double platinum certification although it fueled a number of protests because of the group's anti-Christian attitude. The American Family Association out of Mississippi even condemned the band as a terror to morality. Due to conflicting musical interests, Daisy Berkowitz left Marilyn Manson after the recording of “AntiChrist Superstar” and was replaced by guitarist Zim Zum.

In 1997, Manson recorded “Apple of Sodom” and added the song to Reznor's score for the David Lynch motion picture “The Lost Highway” (1997), starring Bill Pullman and Patricia Arquette. The film also gave Manson a chance to appear in front of the camera as an actor. He went on to have a small role in the Darren Stein comedy “Jawbreaker” (1999), which starred then girlfriend Rose McGowan. Manson was also reunited with his group and launched their third full-length album “Mechanical Animals” in September 1998. Marked as the group's most successful album to date, “Mechanical Animals” debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and became a Top Ten hit in the U.K. It spawned the singles “The Dope Show,” “Rock is Dead,” “I Don't Like the Drugs (But the Drugs Like Me)” and “Coma White.” Also that year, Manson released an autobiography called “The Long Hard Road out of Hell,” which he co-penned with “The New York Times” writer Neil Strauss.

Manson, who did several more soundtracks after “The Lost Highway,” wrote and performed the song “Rock is Dead” on the 1999 “The Matrix” soundtrack. He also performed his songs on such films as “Adversario, El,” “Detroit Rock City” and “House on Haunted Hill” (all 1999). A live album called “The Last Tour on Earth” was also released that same year. Still in 1999, Manson's public image suffered another hit when two high school boys credited him as the musical influence following the Columbine High School massacre.

After the tragedy, Marilyn Manson released the forth album “Holy Wood (In the Shadow of the Valley of Death)” on November 14, 2000. The album peaked at No. 13 on the Billboard 200, No. 23 on the U.K. chart and went gold. In 2001, Manson was put in the limelight thanks to a Grammy nomination he received for the song “Astonishing Panorama of the Endtimes,” which he created for the MTV series “Celebrity Deathmatch” soundtrack. He also took part in several episodes of the show.

Also in 2001, Manson recorded the songs “Tainted Love” and “The Flight Song” for the films “Not Another Teen Movie” and “Mean Machine,” respectively. Another fatal incident happened that same year when Jennifer Syme, a one time assistant of David Lynch, was killed in a car accident on her way back to a party at Manson's Hollywood Hills home. Syme's mother sued and accused Manson of providing Syme with cocaine and instructing her to drive while under the influence.

A year later, Manson made a cameo appearance in the 2002 Michael Moore political documentary “Bowling for Columbine” and followed it up with a comeback to the big screen with a supporting role as an insane drag queen, Christina, in the comedy film “Party Monster” (2003), which starred Seth Green and Macaulay Culkin. 2003 also saw Manson make his return to the studio for the album “Golden Age of Grotesque.” Producing the hit single “Mobscene,” with which the group earned a 2004 Grammy nomination for Best Metal Performance, the album became No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and the European Album Chart. The album, however, only sold about 400,000 copies. A best of compilation album, “Lest We Forget: The Best Of...,” followed in 2004.

Mansion continued to work on his acting career by taking the role of Jackson in “The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things,” a 2004 drama directed by Asia Argento. He next provided the voice of the alien Edgar for the video game “Area 51” (2005) and appeared as a bartender in the 2007 horror/thriller “Rise,” written and directed by Sebastian Gutierrez and starring Robert Forster, Cameron Richardson and Lucy Liu. He resumed his musical career with his band by releasing “Eat Me, Drink Me” (2007), a first album of new materials since 2003's “Golden Age of Grotesque.” He collaborated with guitarist and bassist Tim Skold for the album, which was a Top 8 hit in both the U.S. and the U.K.

Manson and his group are expected to release their seventh studio album in 2008. As for acting, the rocker-turned-actor will play Lewis Carroll in the fantasy/horror film “Phantasmagoria: The Visions of Lewis Carroll” (2008), in which he also took directorial and writing responsibilities. He is also set to costar with Asia Argento and Nick Nolte in the upcoming crime/drama “King Shot” (2009), by writer/director Alejandro Jodorowsky.

Awards:
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