Saturday, November 30, 2013

Paul Walker, DEAD (1973-09-12, 2013-11-30)

Paul William Walker IV dies with 40. Actor.
Love his kindness and his movies. The "Fast & Furious" film series is simply amazing with Paul Walker and Vin Diesel.

Here it goes the story of Paul Walker from Wikipedia

Thanks to Paul Walker on Wikipedia

Paul William Walker IV (September 12, 1973 – November 30, 2013) was an American actor. He became famous in 1999 after his role in the hit film Varsity Blues, but later became best known for starring as Brian O'Conner in The Fast and the Furious film series. His other films include Eight Below, Into the Blue, She's All That, and Takers. He also appeared on the National Geographic Channel series Expedition Great White. Walker died as a passenger in a car crash on November 30, 2013, in Valencia, California.

Early life

Walker, the son of Cheryl (née Crabtree), a fashion model, and Paul William Walker III, a sewer contractor, was born in Glendale, California and raised in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles County. His ancestry included Irish, English, and German. His paternal grandfather was professional boxer "Irish Billy Walker". Walker was raised as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He graduated from Village Christian School. After high school, he attended several community colleges, majoring in marine biology.

Career

Walker began his small screen career as a toddler, when he starred in a television commercial for Pampers. He began modeling at the age of 2 and began working on television shows in 1985, with roles in shows such as Highway to Heaven, Who's the Boss?, The Young and the Restless, and Touched by an Angel. Also in 1985, he starred in a commercial for Showbiz Pizza.

Walker's film career began in 1986, with the horror/comedy film Monster in the Closet. He and his sister Ashlie were contestants on a 1988 episode of the game show I'm Telling!; they finished in second place. He continued with roles in several other movies without much success; it was not until 1998 that Walker made his feature film debut in the comedy Meet the Deedles, which finally gained him fame. This subsequently led to supporting roles in the movies Pleasantville (1998), Varsity Blues (1999), She's All That (1999), and The Skulls (2000).

In 2001, Walker's breakthrough role arrived when he starred opposite actor Vin Diesel in the successful action film The Fast and the Furious. The film established Walker as a notable film star and leading man and led to his reprisal of the role in the 2003 sequel 2 Fast 2 Furious. He continued his career with leading roles in films such as Joy Ride (2001), Into the Blue (2005), and Timeline (2003); he also had a supporting role in Clint Eastwood's 2006 adaptation of Flags of Our Fathers.

Walker then starred in the crime thriller Running Scared and Walt Disney Pictures' Eight Below, both released in 2006. Eight Below garnered critical-acclaim and opened in first place at the box office, grossing over US$20 million during its first weekend. During the filming of Running Scared, director Wayne Kramer stated that "[Walker] is that guy on some level" when comparing Walker with his character in the movie, Joey Gazelle. Kramer continued on to say that he "loved working with [Walker] because as a director he's completely supportive of my vision of what the film is. And even better, he's completely game for it."

Walker starred in the independent film The Lazarus Project, which was released on DVD on October 21, 2008. He subsequently returned to The Fast and the Furious franchise, reprising his role in Fast & Furious, which was released on April 3, 2009. Walker then appeared with T.I., Idris Elba, Chris Brown, Matt Dillon, and Hayden Christensen in the crime drama Takers, which began filming in early September 2008 and was released in August 2010.

The Coty Prestige fragrance brand Davidoff Cool Water for Men announced in January 2011 that Walker was going to be the new face of the brand as of July 2011. He reprised his role in the fifth installment of The Fast and the Furious series, Fast Five (2011), and again in Fast & Furious 6 (2013). His upcoming films due for release are Hours set for release in December and Brick Mansions in May 2014.

Walker was confirmed to return for the seventh installment Fast and Furious 7 slated for release in July 2014. He was also slated he was to play Agent 47 in the Hitman film adaptation. The effect of his sudden death on these films is unknown.

Personal life

Walker lived in Santa Barbara, California, with his dogs, one of which is a Chesapeake Bay Retriever. He and his then-girlfriend Rebecca have a daughter, Meadow (born on November 4, 1998), who moved from Hawaii to California to be closer to Walker. He was an avid surfer and enjoyed the beach. Walker held a brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Ricardo "Franjinha" Miller at Paragon Jiu-Jitsu.

Walker's first passion was marine biology, with his idol being Jacques Cousteau, and he joined the Board of Directors of The Billfish Foundation in 2006. He fulfilled a lifelong dream by starring in a National Geographic Channel series Expedition Great White, which premiered in June 2010. He spent 11 days as part of the crew, catching and tagging 7 great white sharks off the coast of Mexico. The expedition, led by Chris Fischer, founder and CEO of Fischer Productions, along with Captain Brett McBride and Dr. Michael Domeier of the Marine Conservation Science Institute took measurements, gathered DNA samples, and fastened real-time satellite tags to the great white sharks. This allowed Dr. Michael Domeier to study migratory patterns especially those associated with mating and birthing over a 5-year period of time.

In March 2010, Walker went to Chile, specifically to Constitución, to offer his help and support to the people injured in the 8.8 magnitude earthquake that struck on February 27. He also flew with his humanitarian aid team, REACH OUT Worldwide, to Haiti to lend a helping hand to the 2010 Haiti earthquake victims.

He was also an avid car enthusiast who competed in the Redline Time Attack racing series in which he raced a M3 E92 and was on the AE Performance Team. His car was sponsored by Etnies, Brembo Brakes, Ohlins, Volk, OS Giken, Hankook, Gintani, and Reach Out Worldwide. Walker had been preparing for an auto show prior to his death.

Walker has also owned a Nissan Skyline R34 GT-R V-Spec II, that was featured in 2 Fast 2 Furious, driven by his character Brian O'Conner. He had customized the car himself for the movie, and also did many stunts in the movie himself.

Death

On November 30, 2013, at approximately 3:30 PM (PST), Walker and Roger Rodas left an event for Walker's charity Reach Out Worldwide (for victims of Typhoon Haiyan). Shortly after leaving in Rodas' red 2005 Porsche Carrera GT, the driver lost control and crashed into a light pole and tree in Valencia, Santa Clarita, California and the vehicle burst into flames. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department declared the two dead at the scene. Coverage was first reported after Walker's publicist, Ame van Iden, confirmed early reports of his death. Rodas became friends with Walker after meeting at a race track. He became his financial adviser in 2007 and helped to establish Reach Out Worldwide. Rodas was the CEO of Always Evolving, a performance shop for high-end vehicles owned by Walker, located in Valencia. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office stated that speed was a factor in the crash. Burned rubber and doughnut marks were found in figure 8 patterns on the road near the crash site, but it was not clear to officials if these were related to the crash.

Film


Year Title Role Notes
1986 Monster in the Closet 'Professor' Bennett
1987 Programmed to Kill Jason
1994 Tammy and the T-Rex Michael
1998 Meet the Deedles Phil Deedle
1998 Pleasantville Skip Martin
1999 Varsity Blues Lance Harbor
1999 She's All That Dean Sampson
1999 Brokedown Palace Jason Uncredited
2000 The Skulls Caleb Mandrake
2001 The Fast and the Furious Brian O'Conner
2001 Joy Ride Lewis Thomas
2002 Life Makes Sense If You're Famous Mikey
2003 Turbo-Charged Prelude Brian O'Conner 6 minute short film introductory film for 2 Fast 2 Furious
2003 2 Fast 2 Furious Brian O'Conner
2003 Timeline Chris Johnston
2004 Noel Mike Riley
2005 Into the Blue Jared Cole
2006 Eight Below Jerry Shepard
2006 Running Scared Joey Gazelle
2006 Flags of Our Fathers Hank Hansen
2007 Stories USA Mikey
2007 The Death and Life of Bobby Z Tim Kearney
2008 The Lazarus Project Ben Garvey
2009 Fast & Furious Brian O'Conner
2010 Takers John Rahway
2011 Fast Five Brian O'Conner
2013 Vehicle 19 Michael Woods
2013 Fast & Furious 6 Brian O'Conner
2013 Hours Nolan
2013 Pawn Shop Chronicles Raw Dog
2014 Brick Mansions Damien Post-production
2014 Fast & Furious 7 Brian O'Conner Post-production

Television


Year Title Role Notes
1985 Highway to Heaven Eric Travers 1 episode
1986 Highway to Heaven Todd Bryant 2 episodes
1986–1987 Throb Jeremy Beatty 23 episodes
1988 I'm Telling! Contestant 1 episode
1990 Charles in Charge Russell Davis 1 episode
1991 Who's the Boss? Michael Haynes 1 episode
1992–1993 The Young and the Restless Brandon Collins
1994 CBS Schoolbreak Special Dill 1 episode
1994 The Boys Are Back Jesse Hansen Pilot episode
1996 Touched by an Angel Jonathan 1 episode
2013 Shark Week Himself 1 episode

Music videos


Year Artist Song
1997 The Mighty Mighty Bosstones "Wrong Thing Right Then"
2003 Ludacris "Act a Fool"

Awards and nominations


Year Award Category Film/TV Show Result
2000 Young Hollywood Award Exciting New Face – Male
Won
2001 Hollywood Breakthrough Award Breakthrough Male Performance
Received at the Hollywood Film Festival

Won
Young Hollywood Award New Stylemaker – Male
Won
2002 MTV Movie Award Best On-Screen Team
Shared with Vin Diesel
The Fast and the Furious Won
Breakthrough Male Performance Nominated
2003 Teen Choice Award Choice Movie Chemistry
For Paul Walker and his car
2 Fast 2 Furious Won
2009 Teen Choice Award Choice Movie Actor: Action Adventure Fast & Furious Nominated
2011 Teen Choice Award Choice Movie Actor: Action Adventure Fast Five Nominated

Paul Walker
PaulWalkerEdit-1.jpg
Walker in 2009 at the Fast & Furious premiere in London's Leicester Square.
Born Paul William Walker IV
September 12, 1973
Glendale, California, U.S.
Died November 30, 2013 (aged 40)
Valencia, California, U.S.
Cause of death Traffic collision
Occupation Actor
Years active 1985–2013
Known for The Fast and the Furious film series
Children 1
Website www.paulwalker.com

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