Shaquille O’Neal: UoP MBA Graduate May 23, 2009
Posted by admin in : UoP , add a commentShaquille O’Neal was born in 1972. His first two names, that is, Shaquille and Rashaun mean “Little Warrior” in Islam. Lateefah and Jamal are his two siblings. In 2005, Shaquille O’Neal got an MBA degree from the University of Phoenix.
Early life:
At 13, Shaquille O’Neal had shot up to an astounding height of 6 feet 6 inches. After a number of scouts discovered his basketball talent, he became a part of the team at Louisiana State University. During the year 1991, he was awarded the title of “Player of the Year”. He also won the title of being the first All-American during the years 1991 and 1992.
Career: 1993-1996.
During his rookie season, Shaquille O’Neal was awarded the title of being the first rookie to be awarded the Player of the Week title. He was also given the title of being the Rookie of the Year in the year 1993. He made an average of 24 points during all his games. Shaquille O’Neal was given a gold medal in 1994. 2 years later, in 1996, he won yet another gold medal during the Olympic Games that were held in Atlanta.
During the NBA season, Orland Magic and Shaquille O’Neal won all the games till the finals but lost against the Houston Rockets.
Off the court:
Shaquille O’Neal, during the mid-90’s, went on to release his debut album which he named “Shaq Diesel”. He also starred in a movie titled “Blue Chips” with Nick Nolte. He also starred in another movie titled “Kazaam”.
However, these movies did not do well. Despite this fact, Shaquille had established a strong position, both in Hollywood as well as in athletics. In mid 1996, Shaquille O’Neal became a father when his girlfriend Arnetta gave birth to a baby girl.
Move to Los Angeles:
As soon as the 1995-1996 season ended, Shaquille O’Neal took up the post of a free agent. He decided to move to Los Angeles and to join the Lakers. However; this decision was not supported by too many people.
Shaquille O’Neal now owned a purple and gold jersey with the number 34 instead of his Orlando jersey with the number 32. Even though the Lakers were strong due to Shaquille O’Neal, they did not do all that well during the playoffs.
Phil Jackson and consequent success:
The Lakers decided to add Phil Jackson before the 1999-2000 season with the hope of winning the title. This proved to be a good decision as Phil Jackson’s strategy around the court helped them win the title. Their success was heightened when they won the championship, that is, the NBA championship and Shaquille O’Neal was given the title of Finals MVP.
Emergence of Kobe Bryant:
After the previous season, Kobe Bryant who was O’Neal’s prior teammate joined the Lakers. Consequently, the team saw the development of a fierce rivalry between Bryant and O’Neal due to which their game suffered. The Lakers did not do well at the play offs.
This lead to a number of speculations- could the Lakers restore their previous glory?
The answer was yes as the two resolved their dispute and the playoffs did not suffer this time around. The Lakers won yet another title during the year 2001.
A brief summary of Shaquille O’Neal’s Discography and Filmography:
Discography:
Shaquille O’Neal released “Shaq Diesel” in 1993, “Shaq Fu:Da Return” in 1994, “You Can’t Stop the Reign” in 1996, “Respect” in 1998 and “Shaquille O’Neal Presents His Superfriends Vol.1” which remains unreleased.
Filmography:
Shaquille O’Neal starred in:
“Blue Chips” in 1994, “Kazaam” in 1996, “Good Burger” in 1997, “Steel” in 1997, “He Got Game” in 1998, “A Great Day in Hip Hop” in 1998, “The Wash” in 2001, “Freddy Got Fingered” in 2001, “After the Sunset” in 2004, “Scary Movie 4” in 2006 and “The House Bunny” in 2008.
Hunter Tylo: Famous UoP Student May 8, 2009
Posted by admin in : Famous UoP Students , add a commentHunter Tylo was born in Fort Worth, Texas in 1962. She has been working on the popular soap opera “The Bold and the Beautiful” as Taylor Forrester for over 18 years. She was born in Texas to Ko Anne and Morris Jabez Hunter. Elizabeth Tylo and Cliff Tylo are her two siblings. She is also often credited by the name of Deborah Morehart. She is currently pursuing a degree at the University of Phoenix.
Soap Opera Career
Hunter Tylo started her television career in 1985 with “All My Children”. On the sets of this popular television show, she met Michael Tylo who she went on to marry in 1987. She left the show the same year. She was offered the role for Marina Toscano on the popular day time television show “Days of our Lives”. She took this offer and was a part of “Days of our Lives” from the year 1989 to 1990.
Soon after, she was offered the role of Dr.Taylor Hayes in the popular soap opera “The Bold and the Beautiful”. She was part of the show for over 10 years, from the year 1990 to 2002. However, she was asked to return for two episodes in 2004 and came back full-time in 2005.
Controversies:
Tylo was offered a role in the popular television show “Melrose Place” in 1996 for which she left “The Bold and the Beautiful”. However, soon after, she received the news that she was expecting her first baby. Aaron Spelling, the producer of “Melrose Place” fired Hunter Tylo before filming was initiated.
Enraged, Hunter Tylo was able to get her role back as Dr.Taylor Hayes on “The Bold and the Beautiful”. Soon after, she sued Aaron Spelling on grounds of discrimination. She won the trial.
Marriage and children:
Hunter Tylo’s first marriage was to Tom Morehart. She gave birth to a baby boy Christopher Morehart soon after the marriage. However, the marriage did not work out and Hunter married Michael Tylo in 1987. She had three children with Michael, namely, Izabella Gabrielle, Michael Tylo Jr. and Katya Ariel Tylo. Katya Ariel Tylo was diagnosed with retinoblastoma, a rare cancer. Sadly, her eye had to be removed. Katya wears a prosthetic eye on the right side.
Hunter and Michael Tylo went their separate ways in 2005.
In 2007, Michael Tylo Jr., drowned in a swimming pool in Nevada. In 2008, Tylo’s boyfriend Corey Cofield was charged with assault against Tylo and her children. However, a few months later, Tylo withdrew the order as she said he was undergoing aggressive therapy.
Some Interesting Trivia:
Hunter Tylo was featured in an article titled “50 most beautiful people in the world” by People Magazine in the year 1998. Tylo severely injured her collarbone during the shooting of the 1994 film “The Maharaja’s Daughter”
Tylo’s pets include a boa constrictor who she named BJ along with other exotic reptiles.
She shares her birthday with Tom Cruise and Thoman Gibson. She took part in a number of beauty pageants such as ‘Miss Teenage Fort Worth’ and ‘Miss Springtown’ among others. Tylo owns a cosmetic line, Chosen. She wrote an autobiography in 2001 which she titled “Making a Miracle”. She owns her own charity which she calls “Hunter’s Chosen Child”.
She is 45% Cherokee Indian as her mother is Cherokee Indian. She graduated from Springtown High in 1980. She also has a medical degree from Fordham University at New York City. Her return to “The Bold and the Beautiful” in 2005 was highly secretive and in order to make sure that the media did not come to know about it, the crew would have to sneak her onto the sets as well as off the sets.
