Bon Jovi, Jon 1962–

PERSONAL

Original name, John Francis Bongiovi, Jr.; born March 2, 1962, in Perth Amboy, NJ; son of John (a hairdresser) and Carol (a florist; maiden name, Sharkey) Bongiovi; brother of Anthony M. Bongiovi (a music video director); married Dorothea Hurley, April 29, 1989; children: Stephanie Rose, Jesse James Louis, Jacob Hurley, Romeo Jon. Education: Studied acting with Harold Guskin. Avocational Interests: Watching movies, driving cars, working out, and football.

Addresses: Agent—Creative Artists Agency, 9830 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills, CA 90212. Publicist—Don Klores Communications, 386 Park Ave. South, 10th Floor, New York, NY 10016.

Career: Musician, composer, and actor. Founder, 1983, and leader, 1983–88, 1992–, of Bon Jovi (rock music band); performed in Europe, U.S.S.R., South America, Australia, New Zealand, and Hong Kong with Bon Jovi, 1988–89; leader of earlier bands, including Atlantic City Expressway, the Rest, and the Wild Ones; performed with numerous artists, including Alice Cooper, Cinderella, Ratt, Cher, Aldo Nova, and Chris Ledoux; appeared in television commercials for the Red Cross, 2001, the AFL (arena football league) on NBC, 2004, and Duracell batteries, 2004. Philadelphia Soul (an arena football league team), majority owner, 2004–; previously worked at a series of odd jobs after high school. Involved with the American Red Cross and the Special Olympics; involved with environmental causes and performed in Rainforest Benefit Concert, 1995.

Awards, Honors: American Music Award (with Bon Jovi), pop/rock band, duo or group, 1987; People's Choice Award (with Bon Jovi), favorite rock group, 1988; Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award, MTV, 1991; American Music Award, best pop/rock song, 1990, Golden Globe Award, best original song for a motion picture, 1991, Academy Award nomination, best music for a film, 1991, Grammy Award nomination, best song written specifically for a motion picture or for television, National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, 1991, American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers Award, most performed songs from motion picture, 1991, all for "Blaze of Glory," in Young Guns II; Grammy Award nomination (with Bon Jovi), best music video—long form, 1997, for Bon Jovi: Live from London; honorary Doctorate of Humanities, Monmouth University, 2001; Award of Merit, American Music Awards, 2004.

CREDITS

Film Appearances:

Himself, The Return of Bruno, Hudson Hawk Films, 1988.

(Uncredited) Pit inmate, Young Guns II (also known as Young Guns II: Blaze of Glory), Twentieth Century-Fox, 1990.

The painter, Moonlight and Valentino, Gramercy Pictures, 1995.

Robin Grange, The Leading Man, J&M Entertainment, 1996.

Jon, Destination Anywhere, Blue Goose/Mercury Records, 1997.

Kevin, Little City, Miramax, 1998.

Michael, No Looking Back (also known as Long Time, Nothing New), Gramercy Pictures, 1998.

Danny, Homegrown, Columbia/TriStar, 1998.

Lieutenant Emmett, U-571, Universal, 2000.

Ricky McKinney, Pay It Forward, Warner Bros., 2000.

Janey Meadows, Row Your Boat, Gullane Pictures, 2000.

Derek Bliss, Vampires: Los Muertos (also known as John Carpenter's "Vampires: Los Muertos"), Screen Gems, 2002.

(Uncredited) Himself, Fahrenheit 9/11, Lions Gate Films, 2004.

Rich Walker, Cry_Wolf, Rogue Pictures, 2005.

Frank Hopper, Pucked (also known as National Lampoon's "Pucked" and National Lampoon's "The Trouble with Frank"), National Lampoon Productions, 2006.

Television Appearances; Series:

Victor Morrison, Ally McBeal, Fox, 2002.

Television Appearances; Miniseries:

Retrosexual: The 80's, VH1, 2004.

Television Appearances; Specials:

Himself, Free to Be … a Family, ABC, 1988.

(With band, Bon Jovi) Moscow Music Peace Festival, 1989.

Moscow Music Peace Festival Rockumentary (documentary), MTV, 1989.

(With band, Bon Jovi) Performer, Especial Nochevieja 1989, 1990.

Victory and Valor: A Special Olympics All-Star Celebration, ABC, 1991.

A Very Special Christmas II, MTV, 1992.

Rolling Stone 25: The MTV Special, MTV, 1992.

American Bandstand's Teen Idols, NBC, 1994.

The Concert for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, HBO, 1995.

Songs and Visions (also known as Carlsberg Concert '97), Fox, 1997.

A Gala for the President at Ford's Theatre, ABC, 1997.

MDA Jerry Lewis Telethon, syndicated, 1997.

Gianni Versace: The E! True Hollywood Story, E! Entertainment Television, 1997.

National Lottery, British television, 1997.

Barbara Walters Presents 6 to Watch, ABC, 1998.

Pavarotti and Friends for the Children of Liberia, BBC and PBS, 1998.

A Very Special Christmas from Washington, D.C., TNT, 1998.

Hollywood Salutes Arnold Schwarzenegger: An American Cinematheque Tribute, TNT, 1998.

NetAid, VH1, 1999.

100 Greatest Songs of Rock & Roll, VH1, 2000.

Rankin File: Voyeurism (documentary), VH1, 2000.

Greatest TV Moments: Sesame Street Music A-Z, Noggin, 2000.

Greatest Rock and Roll Moments: 2000 (documentary), VH1, 2000.

All-Star Winter Celebration: The Nobel Peace Concert, Fox Family, 2000.

A Very Special Christmas from Washington, D.C., TNT, 2000.

VH1 Presents: Bon Jovi-One Last Wild Night, 2001.

Performer, America: A Tribute to Heroes, 2001.

Performer, America the Beautiful, 2001.

(With band, Bon Jovi) Performer, The Concert for New York, VH1, 2001.

VH1 News Special: Listening to America, VH1, 2001.

MTV20: Live and Almost Legal, MTV and MTV2, 2001.

Macy's 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular, NBC, 2001.

Jon Bon Jovi (documentary), Bravo, 2001.

Bon Jovi Crush Tour, Fox Family, 2001.

Elvis Lives, NBC, 2002.

The 2002 Olympic Winter Games, NBC, 2002.

The Stars' First Time … On Entertainment Tonight with Mary Hart, CBS, 2003.

(Uncredited) Himself, Saturday Night Live: The Best of Chris Kattan, NBC, 2003.

Command the Band: Bon Jovi, VH1, 2004.

New Year's Rockin' Eve, ABC, 2005.

(With band, Bon Jovie) Performer, Live 8: A Worldwide Concert Event Presented by Nokia, ABC, 2005.

Television Appearances; Awards Presentations:

The American Music Awards, ABC, 1988.

The 1989 MTV Video Music Awards, MTV, 1989.

The 63rd Annual Academy Awards, 1991.

The 33rd Annual Grammy Awards, 1991.

Presenter, The American Music Awards, 1991.

The 1991 MTV Video Music Awards, MTV, 1991.

The American Music Awards 20th Anniversary Special, ABC, 1993.

Presenter, The 50th Annual Golden Globe Awards, TBS, 1993.

Performer, The 1995 World Music Awards, ABC, 1994.

The 1994 MTV Movie Awards, MTV, 1994.

The 1995 MTV Video Music Awards, MTV, 1995.

Host and performer, The 1997 World Music Awards, ABC, 1997.

The 1997 MTV Europe Music Awards, MTV, 1997.

My VH1 Music Awards, VH1, 2000.

The 1st Annual Laureus Sports Awards, TNT, 2000.

Presenter, The 2001 MTV Video Music Awards, MTV, 2001.

Presenter, My VH1 Music Awards '01, VH1, 2001.

MTV Europe Music Awards 2002 (also known as MTV Europe Music Awards 2002 Barcelona), MTV, 2002.

(With band, Bon Jovi) Performer, VH1 Big in 2002 Awards, VH1, 2002.

(With band, Bon Jovi) Post-game performer, Super Bowl XXXVII, ABC, 2003.

The 32nd Annual American Music Awards, ABC, 2004.

(With band, Bon Jovi) Performer, The 2005 World Music Awards, ABC, 2005.

(With band, Bon Jovi) Top of the Pops (also known as All New Top of the Pops and TOTP), BBC, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1993, 1994, 1995, 2002.

Television Appearances; Episodic:

(With band, Bon Jovi) MTV Rewind, MTV, 1989.

The Howard Stern Show, syndicated, 1992.

The Late Show, ABC [Australian Broadcast Corp.], 1993.

(With band, Bon Jovi) Musical guest, Saturday Night Live (also known as SNL), NBC, 1993, 1995, 2001.

Howard Stern, E! Entertainment Television, 1994, 1997.

Storytellers, VH1, 1996.

TFI Friday (also known as Thank Four It's Friday), Channel 4, 1997, 2000.

The Rosie O'Donnell Show, syndicated, 1997, 1998, 2000.

Late Night with Conan O'Brien, NBC, 1997, 2002.

Seth, "Games People Play," Sex and the City, HBO, 1998.

Himself, "Tell Me It Was Just a Dream," Unsolved Mysteries, CBS, 1998.

Larry King Live, CNN, 2000.

Mundo VIP, 2000.

Himself, Lo + plus, 2000.

Himself, Rove Live, Ten Network, 2001.

Rock Across America, VH1, 2001.

The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, NBC, 2002.

(With band, Bon Jovi) Mad TV, Fox, 2002.

(With band, Bon Jovi) CD:UK, 2002.

Himself, Operacion triunfo (also known as O.T.), 2002.

Himself, Wetten, dass …? (also known as Wetten, dass …? aus Dusseldorf), 2002.

NY Graham Norton, Channel 4, 2004.

Pulse, Fox, 2004.

The Oprah Winfrey Show (also known as Oprah), syndicated, 2005.

RTL Comedy Nacht, 2005.

AFL owner, "Centennial," Las Vegas, NBC, 2005.

"Welcome to Wherever You Are," The West Wing, NBC, 2006.

Also appeared as guest, The Uncle Floyd Show.

RECORDINGS

Albums (with Bon Jovi):

Bon Jovi, PolyGram, 1984.

7800 Fahrenheit, Mercury/PolyGram, 1985.

Slippery When Wet, Mercury/PolyGram, 1986.

Bon Jovi Live, Mercury/PolyGram, 1987.

New Jersey, Mercury/PolyGram, 1988.

Keep the Faith, Mercury/PolyGram, 1992.

Cross Road, Mercury/PolyGram, 1994.

These Days, Mercury/PolyGram, 1995.

Bon Jovi, 1999.

Crush, Mercury, 2000.

One Wild Night: Live 1985–2001, Island, 2001.

Bounce, Island, 2002.

Distance, 2003.

This Left Feels Right, Island, 2003.

100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can't Be Wrong, 2004.

Have a Nice Day, Island, 2005.

Live from the Have a Nice Day Tour, The Island Def Jam Music Group, 2006.

Albums (as a solo artist):

Blaze of Glory, Mercury/PolyGram, 1990.

Destination Anywhere, Mercury/PolyGram, 1997.

The Power Station Years: 1980–1983, Power Station Records, 1997.

Power Station Years, Vol. 2, Dealmakers, 2000.

The Power Station Years: The Unreleased Recordings, Masq, 2001.

Other Albums:

(As John Bongiovi) Appeared on Christmas in the Stars.

Singles:

"Blaze of Glory," Polygram, 1990.

"Please Come Home for Christmas," A Very Special Christmas II, 1995.

"Hey God," Mercury, 1995.

"Midnight in Chelsea, Part 1," Alex, 1997.

Videos:

You Give Love a Bad Name, 1986.

Breakout, 1986.

Bon Jovi: Slippery When Wet, the Videos, 1987.

Livin' on a Prayer, 1988.

Bon Jovi: New Jersey, the Videos, 1989.

Bon Jovi: Access All Areas—A Rock & Roll Odyssey, Mercury, 1990.

Ozzy Osbourne: Don't Blame Me (documentary), Sony Music Entertainment, 1991.

Turn Up the Volume 1, 1991.

Bon Jovi: Keep the Faith—An Evening with Bon Jovi, PolyGram Video,1993.

Keep the Faith Videos, Polygram Video, 1994.

Cross Road, 1994.

Bon Jovi: Live from London, Polygram Video, 1995.

It's Only Rock n' Roll (documentary), 2000.

Bon Jovi: The Crush Tour, Polygram Video, 2000.

Slippery When Wet, Glass, 2003.

This Left Feels Right Live, Island, 2004.

Himself, Late Night with Conan O'Brien: The Best of Triumph the Insult Comic Dog (also known as The Best of Triumph the Insult Comic Dog), Lions Gate Films Home Entertainment, 2004.

100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can't Be Wrong (short), 2004.

It's My Life, Universal International, 2005.

WRITINGS

Film Songs:

"Raise Your Hands," Spaceballs, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/United Artists, 1987.

"Blaze of Glory" and "Billy Get Your Gun," Young Guns II (also known as Young Guns II: Blaze of Glory), Twentieth Century-Fox, 1990.

"Wanted Dead or Alive," Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/Pathe, 1991.

"Mister Big Time," Armageddon, 1998.

"Real Life," EDtv, 1999.

Screenplay Stories:

One Wild Night, 2004.

OTHER SOURCES

Periodicals:

Cosmopolitan, June, 1997, p. 168.

Entertainment Weekly, September 23, 2005, p. 90.

Interview, July, 1995, p. 57.

New York, April 10, 1995, pp. 65-68.

Parade, November 2, 1997, pp. 10-11.

People Weekly, May 6, 1996, p. 97; July 14, 1997, p. 20; February 16, 1998, p. 130; November 25, 2002, p. 114.

Premiere, September, 1997, pp. 20-21.

Sports Illustrated, August 18, 2003, p. 34.

Vanity Fair, October, 1995, p. 218.