I Want My MTV

by Craig Marks

  CAROLYNE HELDMAN was an MTV VJ from 1986 to 1988. She is currently the program director of Aspen Public Radio.

  LIZ HELLER was a video promotion executive for MCA Records.

  DOUG HERZOG is the president of MTV Networks Entertainment Group. He joined MTV in 1984 as director of news.

  SUSANNA HOFFS is a singer/guitarist for the band the Bangles.

  DAVE HOLMES is a comic and writer who joined MTV after placing second in the 1998 “Wanna Be a VJ” contest.

  PETER HOOK played bass for Joy Division and New Order.

  TREVOR HORN is a record producer, a cofounder of the ZTT record label, and bassist/singer for the Buggles, the first band ever shown on MTV.

  ADAM HOROVITZ, also known as Ad-Rock, is a member of the hip-hop group the Beastie Boys.

  ALAN HUNTER was one of the original five VJs on MTV, starting in 1981.

  TOM HUNTER joined MTV in 1987 as the vice president of music programming. He went on to become the president of MTV Latin America.

  TIMOTHY HUTTON won an Academy Award at the age of twenty for his role in Ordinary People. He has starred in many films, plays, and TV shows, and his career as a director includes music videos for the Cars and Don Henley.

  SCOTT IAN is the guitarist and main lyricist in Anthrax and is married to Meat Loaf’s daughter.

  BILLY IDOL has had many hits, including “Dancing with Myself,” “Rebel Yell,” and “White Wedding.”

  STEVE ISAACS was a VJ on MTV from 1991 to 1993. He is the creative director at BLT & Associates.

  CHRIS ISAAK released his first album in 1985, had his own TV shows on Showtime and Biography, and appeared in the films Married to the Mob and The Silence of the Lambs, among others.

  WAYNE ISAAK worked at A&M Records from 1982 to 1994 and held the title executive vice president at east coast ops & publicity.

  WAYNE ISHAM is a director whose run of hit videos began in 1985 with Mötley Crüe’s “Home Sweet Home” and includes Bon Jovi’s “Living on a Prayer,” Metallica’s “Enter Sandman,” and the Backstreet Boys’ “I Want It That Way.”

  JANET JACKSON has sold more than 100 million records worldwide. Her hits include “Escapade,” “Miss You Much,” “Nasty,” and “When I Think of You.”

  JOE JACKSON is an English singer-songwriter whose MTV hits include “Steppin’ Out.”

  KURT JEFFERIS of Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, won MTV’s “Lost Weekend with Van Halen” contest in 1984.

  BILLY JOEL is a singer, songwriter, and pianist. He ranks as the sixth best-selling recording artist of all time, with more than 79 million albums sold in the U.S.

  STEVEN R. JOHNSON is a music-video and television director. His video for Peter Gabriel’s “Sledgehammer” won nine Video Music Awards in 1987, a record that still stands. Johnson directed the first season of the children’s TV show Pee-wee’s Playhouse.

  HOWARD JONES had many ’80s hits, including “Things Can Only Get Better,” “No One Is to Blame,” and “What Is Love?”

  MICK JONES sang and played guitar in the Clash and later formed the band Big Audio Dynamite.

  TRACEY JORDAN was vice president of music programming and talent development at MTV from 1992 to 1994. She has worked at Motown and Arista Records and works as a consultant with Aretha Franklin and ABKCO Records.

  ROB KAHANE managed George Michael from 1986 to 1992.

  SAM KAISER was vice president of programming for MTV from 1986 to 1988. He owns a music consultancy firm, MVP Entertainment.

  JOHN KALODNER was an A&R executive for Atlantic Records and Geffen Records. He signed Foreigner and Phil Collins to Atlantic, and Whitesnake, Cher, and Aerosmith to Geffen.

  SCOTT KALVERT is a director and producer of music videos and movies.

  DAVE KENDALL is a British-born journalist who hosted 120 Minutes for many years.

  JEANA TOMASINA KEOUGH was the November 1980 Playboy playmate. She is featured in three ZZ Top videos, was a Real Housewives of Orange County cast member, and is a real-estate broker in California.

  KEVIN KERSLAKE has directed videos for Nirvana, Green Day, R.E.M., the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and others, as well as TV shows, short films, commercials, and documentaries about surfing, EDM culture, and the Ramones.

  ALEK KESHISHIAN directed the 1991 Madonna documentary, Truth or Dare. He made four videos for Bobby Brown, including “My Prerogrative” and “Every Little Step.”

  TAWNY KITAEN is an actress who starred alongside Tom Hanks in Bachelor Party, then rose to fame with a string of gyrating appearances in hit videos for the band Whitesnake. She was married to the group’s singer, David Coverdale, from 1989 to 1991.

  MICK KLEBER ran the video department at Capitol Records between 1980 and 1993.

  JANET KLEINBAUM is the senior vice president of video and DVD production for Jive Records.

  DANIEL KLEINMAN is a British music-video and commercial director.

  ABBEY KONOWITCH was MTV’s senior VP of music and talent from 1988 to 1992. He has worked as a record executive at Arista Records, Maverick Records, and Hollywood Records.

  KOOL MOE DEE was the first rapper to perform at the Grammys. His hits include “How Ya Like Me Now” and “Wild Wild West.”

  LENNY KRAVITZ is a Grammy Award–winning singer, songwriter, and guitarist. His debut 1989 video, “Let Love Rule,” was directed by his then-wife, Cosby Show star Lisa Bonet.

  RICK KRIM joined MTV in 1982, tasked with filing Les Garland’s expense reports. He eventually worked his way up to vice president of music and talent. He is currently the executive vice president of music and talent programming at VH1.

  JOHN LACK was the executive vice president of the Warner Amex Satellite Entertainment Company, or WASEC. It was Lack who came up with the idea for MTV. He served as an executive vice president at ESPN and is currently the chief partner at FireMedia Partners, a digital media company.

  LADY GAGA is a singer and songwriter whose second album, Born This Way, debuted at number one on the Billboard album charts with first week sales of 1.1 million copies.

  MARY LAMBERT directed the Madonna videos “Borderline,” “Material Girl,” “Like a Virgin,” and “Like a Prayer.” She is currently a film director.

  JON LANDAU manages Bruce Springsteen.

  JOHN LANDIS is a film director whose credits include National Lampoon’s Animal House and Trading Places. His video for Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” was the first music video inducted into the National Film Registry.

  JANI LANE was Warrant’s singer during their heyday, when they had five number one videos on MTV.

  CYNDI LAUPER won Best Female Video at the first VMAs for “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” and has sold more than thirty million albums in her unusual career.

  SIMON LE BON is a former child actor and the front man in Duran Duran.

  TOMMY LEE plays drums in Mötley Crüe. He married Heather Locklear in 1986 and after their divorce dated Bobbie Brown.

  HARVEY LEEDS was the national director of video promotion for Epic Records. He currently runs Headquarters Media, a management and consulting company.

  STEVE LEEDS was head of on-air talent for MTV from 1987 to 1990. He is currently the vice president of talent and industry affairs at Sirius XM Radio.

  ANNIE LENNOX is a Grammy Award–winning singer who performed with Dave Stewart in the 1980s duo Eurythmics.

  DON LETTS directed videos for the Clash and Musical Youth and has made several films, including Punk: Attitude and The Punk Rock Movie.

  ADAM LEVINE is Maroon 5’s singer and a costar of NBC’s The Voice.

  HUEY LEWIS is the leader of Huey Lewis and the News. They performed “I Want a New Drug” at the first MTV Video Music Awards in 1984.

  PAM LEWIS was national media director at Warner Amex Satellite from 1980 to 1984. She later comanaged Garth Brooks, from the start of his career to the peak of his superstardom, as well as Trisha Yearwood.

  GARY LIEBERTHAL is a TV executive and the former chairman and CEO of Columbia Pict
ures Television.

  LIMAHL was seen on MTV with Kajagoogoo (“Too Shy”) and as a solo artist. His “Love in Your Eyes” video was directed by Russell Mulcahy.

  PERRI LISTER is an English dancer and choreographer. She has appeared in music videos for Def Leppard, Duran Duran, and former boyfriend Billy Idol.

  GEORGE LOIS is a legendary advertising executive who may or may not have created the phrase “I Want My MTV.”

  ROBERT LOMBARD is a Hollywood producer who worked with Van Halen and Fleetwood Mac and cast many soft-core porn films.

  COURTNEY LOVE is the leader of the band Hole. She is the widow of the late Nirvana singer-songwriter Kurt Cobain.

  ED LOVER cohosted the weekday Yo! MTV Raps with Dr. Dre and blogs at cmonson online.com.

  STEVE LUKATHER is the lead guitarist for the band Toto.

  MONICA LYNCH worked as a go-go dancer before rising to the presidency of the rap label Tommy Boy Records.

  ANNE-MARIE MACKAY was the head of music video at Propaganda Films. She is now executive director/chief creative officer at the media production company Wondros.

  MATT MAHURIN is an illustrator, photographer, and director who has worked with U2, Metallica, Peter Gabriel, and R.E.M.

  DAVID MALLET is a British director who has worked extensively with David Bowie, as well as Queen, Def Leppard, Billy Idol, Scorpions, and INXS.

  AIMEE MANN and her band ’Til Tuesday won Best New Artist at the 1985 Video Music Awards. She has been a solo artist since 1993.

  MICHAEL MANN was executive producer of the TV series Miami Vice. He directed the films Heat, The Insider, and Collateral.

  KIM MARLOWE manages Fab Morvan, formerly of Milli Vanilli.

  LIONEL MARTIN cohosted Video Music Box, one of the first TV shows to feature rap videos, and as a director worked with Public Enemy, Bobby Brown, and Whitney Houston, among others.

  CURT MARVIS was a partner with Wayne Isham in the music-video production company The Company. He is currently the president of digital media at Lionsgate Entertainment.

  RICHARD MARX released seven consecutive Top 5 singles between 1987 and 1990.

  LEE MASTERS, born Jarl Mohn, was the general manager of MTV from 1986 to 1989. He founded E! Entertainment Television in 1990 and is currently an investor in a number of broadcast, cable programming, and Internet companies.

  MC HAMMER recorded the hits “U Can’t Touch This,” “Pray,” and “Too Legit to Quit.” Please Hammer, Don’t Hurt ’Em was the first rap album to sell 10 million copies.

  RON McCARRELL was vice president of marketing at Epic, Portrait, and CBS Associated Labels, then worked at Capitol and Windham Hill. He later launched record labels for the House of Blues and for the World Wrestling Federation.

  BETH McCARTHY was a director at MTV whose credits include Nirvana Unplugged. She directed Saturday Night Live from 1995 to 2006 and frequently directs the comedy series 30 Rock.

  DOC McGHEE managed Bon Jovi, Mötley Crüe, Scorpions, and Skid Row at the height of each band’s career.

  JUDY McGRATH began as a copywriter at MTV in November 1981. She was appointed chairman/CEO of MTV Networks in 2004 and stepped down from the post in May 2011.

  PAUL McGUINNESS has managed U2 since 1978.

  MEAT LOAF is a singer and actor. His 1977 album Bat Out of Hell has sold an estimated 43 million copies worldwide.

  RIC MENELLO directed LL Cool J’s “Going Back to Cali” and codirected (and had cameos in) Beastie Boys’ “Fight for Your Right” and “No Sleep Till Brooklyn.”

  PETER MENSCH is the cofounder of Q Prime Management.

  BOB MERLIS was senior vice president of worldwide corporate communications at Warner Bros. Records, where he worked for twenty-nine years.

  MARK METCALF is an actor best known for his role as Doug Neidermeyer in National Lampoon’s Animal House, a part he reprised in two Twisted Sister videos, “We’re Not Gonna Take It” and “I Wanna Rock.”

  GEORGE MICHAEL has sold more than 100 million records worldwide, and received a Video Vanguard Award from MTV in 1989.

  BRET MICHAELS is the singer for the hard rock band Poison. He starred in three seasons of the VH1 reality show Rock of Love.

  JEAN-BAPTISTE MONDINO is a French-born fashion photographer and video director who has worked with Madonna, Don Henley, David Bowie, Prince, Sting, Björk, and Bryan Ferry.

  TOM MOHLER comanaged Billy Squier and later managed Poison.

  ANDY MORAHAN is a British music-video and commercial director. He directed George Michael’s “Faith” and Guns N’ Roses’ “November Rain,” among many clips.

  ROBERT MORTON served as creative director of MTV prior to the network’s launch. He was the longtime executive producer of David Letterman’s late-night talk show.

  FAB MORVAN was born in Paris and lived in Munich when he met Rob Pilatus. The two performed as Milli Vanilli, one of the biggest pop acts of the late ’80s.

  MARK MOTHERSBAUGH is a cofounder of Devo, who were early adopters of music video. He has scored many TV shows and movies.

  TOMMY MOTTOLA managed Hall & Oates, became president of CBS Records in 1988 and chairman and CEO of Sony Music five years later.

  RUSSELL MULCAHY is an Australian film and TV director. His exotic trilogy of videos for Duran Duran—“Hungry Like the Wolf,” “Rio,” and “Save a Prayer”—propelled the band to worldwide stardom. He has directed several episodes of MTV’s original series Teen Wolf.

  SOPHIE MULLER directed many videos for Eurythmics and also worked with Sinead O’Connor.

  JONATHAN MURRAY is a television producer and cocreator, along with the late Mary-Ellis Bunim, of MTV’s The Real World. Among the reality programs that Bunim/Murray Productions cocreated or executive produced are Road Rules, Making the Band, Fox’s The Simple Life, and all the Kardashian series on E!

  DAVE MUSTAINE is the founder of the heavy metal band Megadeth.

  JOAN MYERS was an assistant to MTV vice president of programming Les Garland. She is currently the owner of the public relations and marketing firm Myers Media.

  DAVE NAVARRO plays guitar in Jane’s Addiction, whose “Been Caught Stealing” was a highlight of MTV’s 1990 playlists.

  MICHAEL NESMITH became a music and TV star in the 1960s with the Monkees and made his first music video, “Rio,” in 1977. He created the Pop Clips TV show, which fueled the origins of MTV.

  ALLEN NEWMAN is a TV director and producer who has worked for ABC, NBC, PBS, BBC, HBO, and NHK. He began his career at MTV and worked there from 1981 to 1987.

  DEBBIE NEWMAN was Columbia Records’ first video production executive. She is currently a music industry consultant.

  TIM NEWMAN won the award for best direction for ZZ Top’s “Sharp Dressed Man” at the first VMAs in 1984 and also directed Lou Reed and Huey Lewis & the News.

  OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN played Sandy in the 1978 film Grease and landed on MTV with her video for “Physical,” a song that was banned on some radio stations.

  STEVIE NICKS has had many hit records, as a solo artist and with Fleetwood Mac, starting in 1977.

  ERIC NIES gained fame as a cast member on the first season of The Real World. He later hosted MTV’s dance show The Grind.

  ALAN NIVEN is a New Zealand–born songwriter and producer who managed Guns N’ Roses between 1986 and 1991 and Great White from 1982 to 1995.

  TERRI NUNN fronted the LA band Berlin.

  CONAN O’BRIEN hosted The Tonight Show for seven months and now stars in the TBS talk show Conan.

  SINEAD O’CONNOR is an Irish singer and songwriter. She won a Best Video Award at the 1990 VMAs for “Nothing Compares 2 U,” the first time a woman won that category.

  SHARON ORECK is the author of Video Slut, a memoir of her adventures in the 1980s as a music-video producer and executive.

  STEPHEN PEARCY sings with the LA hard rock band Ratt, whose “Back for More” video was the MTV debut of Tawny Kitaen.

  DANIEL PEARL is a director of photography who has worked on feature
films (1974’s The Texas Chainsaw Massacre), commercials, and music videos, including the Police’s “Every Breath You Take,” U2’s “With or Without You,” and Guns N’ Roses’ “November Rain.”

  MARK PELLINGTON started at MTV as an intern, worked in the on-air promotions department, and after leaving the network directed Pearl Jam’s “Jeremy,” which won four VMAs. He has directed and produced feature films, short films, documentaries, and TV shows.

  RAQUEL PENA is a Spanish–West Indian model featured in Bryan Adams’s “Cuts Like a Knife” and Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean.”

  PEPA cofounded the rap group Salt-N-Pepa, who appeared on the first episode of House of Style. She met rapper Treach at MTV’s 1991 Spring Break and later married him.

  VICKI PETERSON is a guitarist/singer with the band the Bangles.

  TOM PETTY is a singer, songwriter, and guitarist who, along with his band the Heartbreakers, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002.

  CHYNNA PHILLIPS is one-third of the vocal group Wilson Phillips.

  RANDY PHILLIPS is the CEO of the live entertainment company AEG Live. He has managed acts including Rod Stewart, Lionel Richie, and Guns N’ Roses.

  BOB PITTMAN is one of the founders of MTV. He led the network from its inception until his departure in 1987. Pittman was the first CEO of MTV Networks. He has served as president of America Online and as COO of AOL Time Warner. He is cofounder of the Pilot Group, a private investment firm, and is currently chairman of media and entertainment platforms for Clear Channel Communications.

  DALE PON is an advertising executive and one of the creators of the “I Want My MTV” ad campaign.

  KEVIN POWELL got into a wicked fight with Julie during season one of The Real World. He is now a political activist and author.

  COLIN QUINN was the cigarette-voiced sidekick on three seasons of MTV’s Remote Control. He later joined Saturday Night Live, where he hosted Weekend Update, and hosted Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn on Comedy Central.

  MARTHA QUINN was the last of the five original VJs hired by MTV. She hosts a daily show on Sirius XM Radio’s ’80s on 8 station.