Clooney Biographies by Nina Clooney

George Clooney well-rooted in N. Ky.
Nina Clooney
707 words
21 August 2006
The Cincinnati Post
Cincinnati

George Timothy Clooney was born May 6, 1961, in Lexington, Ky. The Oscar-nominated writer, director and Oscar-winning actor is the son of Nick Clooney and Nina Warren Clooney. George is the nephew of Rosemary Clooney and has a sister, Ada, who is one year older.

Due to the peripatetic nature of the radio and television broadcast business, in which Nick Clooney made his living, there were many moves during George's formative years that taught him what would be needed to succeed in show business.

George began first grade at Blessed Sacrament School in Ft. Mitchell, Ky. Later, St. Michael's School in Columbus, Ohio, and the Western Row and St. Susanna schools, both in Mason, Ohio, preceded the family's move to Augusta, Ky., for his high school education.

Always a sports fan, George had hoped to play football. Augusta High School, where he graduated in 1979, only offered basketball and baseball. He participated in both, eventually trying out with the Cincinnati Reds to play professional baseball, but this did not materialize.

Although it would take several years, George's livelihood would be in television and motion pictures. First, he attended Northern Kentucky University and, very briefly, the University of Cincinnati. In spring 1981, his cousins Miguel and Rafi Ferrer, two of his Aunt Rosemary's sons, and their father, Jose Ferrer, came to Lexington, Ky., to do a movie and invited George to the set. For George, this exposure to acting was love at first sight, and he never looked back.

When his father, Nick, tried to convince George to stay in school by saying, "At least with a diploma, you'll have something to fall back on," George replied, "If I have something to fall back on, I'll fall back."

George cut tobacco, sold lemonade at the Labor Day festival in Augusta and drew caricatures of people to get enough money together for his trip to Los Angeles, Calif., to become an actor. In fall 1981, he climbed into an old Monte Carlo automobile and three days later he was in his newly adopted hometown of Los Angeles, ready to do what was necessary to become an actor.

Odd jobs, "cattle calls" (highly competitive acting auditions), trading work for acting lessons, auditioning, hopes dashed, showcases, readings and new friends all followed, but no acting jobs materialized for George for almost two years.

Slowly, small television appearances by George led to several unsuccessful television pilots -- until 1984. That year, George was cast in a role on a new television program called "ER" that was soon cancelled. Ironically, George's great TV success came with a second show also named "ER." His engaging portrayal of Dr. Doug Ross, handsome children's medical specialist, quickly transformed George Clooney into a household name.

George had appeared in a half-dozen small films before his portrayal of Dr. Ross on television brought him to the attention of major movie producers and directors. Never one to shrink from an opportunity or his responsibility, George lived up to his five-year contract with Warner Brothers for "ER," while, with their help in scheduling, he also made six movies. Half of them were filmed during summer hiatus of "ER," and the others during regular tapings of the successful hospital drama.

George was Dr. Doug Ross in scrubs in the mornings; then in the afternoons, he would jump on his bicycle and pedal across the Warner production lot to various sound stages where he made "From Dusk to Dawn" (1996), "Batman & Robin" (1997), and "The Peacemaker" (1997).

George has proven his versatility with success in far-ranging movies that include: "Three Kings" (1999); "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" (2000); "The Perfect Storm" (2000); "Oceans Eleven" (2001); "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind" (2002); "Intolerable Cruelty" (2003); "Ocean's Twelve" (2004); "Good Night, and Good Luck" (2005); "Syriana" (2005); "Michael Clayton" (2006), and "The Good German" (2006).  

Nick Clooney, Kentuckian and newsman
Excerpt from The Encylopedia of Northern Kentucky

By Nina Clooney

Nicholas Joseph Clooney was born Jan. 13, 1934, in Maysville, Ky. His parents, Andrew and Frances Guilfoyle Clooney, were near the end of the marital road when Nick was born. After reconciliation, they finally divorced when Nick was 4 years old.  Due to the necessity for their mother to find work in Cincinnati, Nick and his sisters Rosemary Clooney and Betty stayed in Maysville with their Grandmother Guilfoyle most of the time.

The children listened to radio broadcasts on Cincinnati station WLW, as well as other radio stations, and fell in love with the wonderful radio voices that spoke and sang to them. In their teens, they followed their dreams: Rosemary and Betty left Maysville to pursue successful singing careers and Nick took a job at age 16 at Maysville radio station WFTM, which launched a long and distinguished career in broadcasting.

The consistent thread evident in the career of Nick Clooney is communication. As a television newsman, Nick has been reporter, anchor, managing editor and news director in Cincinnati, Salt Lake City, Buffalo and Los Angeles.

As a columnist, another pursuit he has undertaken, Nick has, since 1989, contributed three columns each week to The Cincinnati Post and The Kentucky Post dealing with subjects as varied as current politics, travel and American history. Many of his articles and op-ed pieces have appeared in newspapers around the country, including the Los Angeles Times and the Salt Lake Tribune.

As an author, Nick has published three books, including "The Movies That Changed Us" in November 2002. As a TV host, Nick was for five years a daily on-air spokesman and writer for American Movie Classics cable channel (AMC). He has made scores of personal appearances coast to coast on AMC's behalf with special focus on film preservation.

Earlier, he hosted talk variety programs in Cincinnati and Columbus, Ohio, and was guest host on programs in New York City, Washington, D.C., Atlanta and Indianapolis. Currently, he is host for the American Life TV cable channel.

Nick has also accumulated a number of awards including one that named him one of the "best in business of television news" by the Washington Review of Journalism. He has received a regional Emmy for commentary, was thrice nominated for national Emmys for his work on AMC, and has received nearly 300 other awards.

In December 1998, Nick was presented an honorary doctorate of fine arts from Northern Kentucky University. In 2000, Nick received the President's Medal from Thomas More College, was inducted into the Cincinnati Journalism Hall of Fame by the Society of Professional Journalists, and received the Distinguished Kentuckian Award from Kentucky Broadcasters Association. In April 2001, Nick was inducted into the Kentucky Journalism Hall of Fame. In October 2005, he was inducted into the Ohio Television Hall of Fame.

Nick is married to Nina Warren of Perryville, Ky., who is a writer, inventor and television host. Their oldest child Ada, also a writer, is the mother of Allison and Nick. The Clooneys' younger child, son George Clooney, is a high-profile, Oscar-winning actor, and successful producer and director in film and television.

In the early 1970s, after several moves, Nick and Nina decided to establish a permanent home. It was clear that their work would continue to take them far afield, but they decided to establish a stable home base. At that time, Nick was hosting in Cincinnati both a daily television talk-variety show and a daily morning radio show. On weekends, he flew to New York City to tape "The Money Maze," a daily network game show on ABC-TV. Within two years, Nick returned to his great love, news, anchoring and serving as managing editor for WKRC-TV news in Cincinnati. Three years later, it became the city's most successful newscast.

Nick also was principal anchor at Channel 13 in Salt Lake City, Channel 4 in Buffalo, and on Channel 4 in Los Angeles, KNBC-TV. In the midst of this peripatetic lifestyle, Nick and Nina found their home. After much searching, they chose Augusta, Ky., not only for its beauty, but also to enable their children to experience the small-town life they had known, Nick in Maysville and Nina in Perryville. The move was everything they hoped. Both children excelled in school and gained confidence in their own abilities in many aspects of real life.

In time, other family members followed the lure of Augusta. In addition to aunts, uncles, and cousins, Nick's sister Rosemary had a home on Riverside Drive in Augusta for 20 years. More recently, Nick's younger sister Gail built a home overlooking the Ohio River in Augusta.

Early one morning, Max began his famous squealing, waking George from a sound sleep and sending him on a search around the house. He found nothing and, irritated, scolded Max. At that moment, the Northridge earthquake hit, jolting the house off its foundation and, incidentally, hurling a large TV set off its stand and onto a pillow where George’s head had been moments before. So that legend about animals getting advance vibes on such events is true.