Changes
Add category relevant to political affilation
{{Infobox State Representative
| name=Les Brown
| image=Les Brown speaking.jpg
| caption=Brown in 2009.
| image_size=230px
| state_house=Ohio
| state=Ohio
| district=29th
| term=January 3, 1977 – January 3, 1983
| preceded=[[William Kopp (Ohio)|William Kopp]]
| succeeded=[[Ray Miller (Ohio legislator)|Ray Miller]]
| party=[[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]]
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1945|02|17}}
| birth_place = [[Miami]], Florida, United States
| birthname = Leslie Calvin Brown
| website = {{URL|lesbrown.com}}
| spouse = {{marriage|[[Gladys Knight]]|1995|1997|reason=divorced}}
}}
'''Leslie Calvin''' "'''Les'''" '''Brown''' (born February 17, 1945) is an American motivational speaker, author, radio DJ, former television host, and former politician. As a politician, he is a former member of the [[Ohio House of Representatives]]. As a motivational speaker, he uses the catch phrase "it's possible!" and teaches people to follow their dreams as he learned to do.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lesbrown.com/lesbrown.com/english/meet_lesbrown.html |title=Meet Les Brown - Motivational Speaker, Speech Coach & Best Selling Author |work=Les Brown Enterprises |accessdate=18 August 2014}}</ref> He was the host of ''[[The Les Brown Show]]''.
==Biography==
===Early life===
Brown was born with his twin brother, Wesley, in an abandoned building in Liberty City, a low-income section of [[Miami]], Florida. He was subsequently given up for adoption and adopted by Mamie Brown, a 38-year-old single woman who worked as a cafeteria attendant and domestic assistant. He was declared "educable [[mentally retarded]]" while in grade school. Despite the self-esteem and confidence loss issues this created, he learned how to reach his full potential with the encouragement of his mother and assistance from a helpful teacher in high school, a key point in many motivational speeches he gives.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ohiostatehouse.org/museum/george-washington-williams-room/african-american-legislators/leslie-c-brown |title=George Washington Williams Room - Legislators |work=The Ohio Statehouse |accessdate=18 August 2014}}</ref>
===Professional life===
According to many of Brown's speeches, he first decided to get into public radio and kept returning to the same radio station time and time again looking for a break. It wasn't until the on-air failures of the afternoon DJ that he took his break in radio into his own hands and was hired full-time as on-air talent. Upon his termination from the radio station, he ran for election in the Ohio House of Representatives and won. After leaving the Ohio state legislature, he decided to get into television and eventually ended up on PBS. He also formed Les Brown Enterprises in order to support his newest career as a motivational speaker and was on KFWB in California on a daily syndicated radio program from 2011 to 2012. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, he also won many local and national awards for excellence and he has an Emmy to his name. Brown was a member of the [[Peabody Award]]s [[The George Foster Peabody Awards Board of Jurors|Board of Jurors]] from 1982 to 1988.<ref>http://www.peabodyawards.com/stories/story/george-foster-peabody-awards-board-members</ref>
In 1993, he began hosting a new talk show, ''[[The Les Brown Show]]'', which began airing on September 6, 1993. After nearly four months, it went on hiatus on December 3, 1993,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-14630470.html |title=Less Les? (The Les Brown Show) |work=[[HighBeam Research]] |date=6 December 1993}},</ref> and on January 17, 1994, [[King World Productions]] replaced this with ''[[Rolonda]]'', a show hosted by [[Rolonda Watts]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-14677374.html |first=Mike |last=Freeman |title=King World Productions replaces 'The Les Brown Show' with 'Rolonda Watts' |work=[[HighBeam Research]] |date=3 January 1994}}</ref>
Les collaborated with [[John C. Maxwell]] and [[The John Maxwell Team]] for a candid look into the lives of professional speakers called "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly".<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUzpNmKJV5o&list=PLlWx1lni_ne3vz0AQEzMDwnexMOLGluNQ "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly"], Youtube.</ref>
===Personal life===
Brown married [[Gladys Knight]] in 1995; they divorced in 1997.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ijgDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA32&lpg=PA32&dq=les+brown+gladys+knight+married#v=onepage&q=les%20brown%20gladys%20knight%20married&f=false|title=Jet|last=Company|first=Johnson Publishing|date=1995-10-09|publisher=Johnson Publishing Company|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://people.com/archive/pain-and-glory-vol-48-no-23/|title=Pain and Glory - Vol. 48 No. 23|work=PEOPLE.com|access-date=2017-11-17|language=en}}</ref> He has ten children: Calvin, Patrick, John Andrew, Ona, Ayanna, Tayloria, Thad, Sumaya, Serena and John-Leslie. He also has 15 grandchildren and two great grandchildren.<ref name=":0">http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Les_Brown.aspx</ref>
===Awards===
Council of Peers Award of Excellence, National Speakers Association, 1989; regional Emmy Award (Chicago), 1991, for the program You Deserve with Les Brown; selected as one of America’s top five speakers, Toastmasters International, 1992.<ref name=":0" />
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
*{{IMDb name|nm2010754}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Les}}
[[Category:1945 births]]
[[Category:Members of the Ohio House of Representatives]]
[[Category:Ohio Democrats]]
[[Category:American motivational speakers]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Motivational speakers]]
[[Category:People associated with direct selling]]
[[Category:American self-help writers]]
| name=Les Brown
| image=Les Brown speaking.jpg
| caption=Brown in 2009.
| image_size=230px
| state_house=Ohio
| state=Ohio
| district=29th
| term=January 3, 1977 – January 3, 1983
| preceded=[[William Kopp (Ohio)|William Kopp]]
| succeeded=[[Ray Miller (Ohio legislator)|Ray Miller]]
| party=[[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]]
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1945|02|17}}
| birth_place = [[Miami]], Florida, United States
| birthname = Leslie Calvin Brown
| website = {{URL|lesbrown.com}}
| spouse = {{marriage|[[Gladys Knight]]|1995|1997|reason=divorced}}
}}
'''Leslie Calvin''' "'''Les'''" '''Brown''' (born February 17, 1945) is an American motivational speaker, author, radio DJ, former television host, and former politician. As a politician, he is a former member of the [[Ohio House of Representatives]]. As a motivational speaker, he uses the catch phrase "it's possible!" and teaches people to follow their dreams as he learned to do.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lesbrown.com/lesbrown.com/english/meet_lesbrown.html |title=Meet Les Brown - Motivational Speaker, Speech Coach & Best Selling Author |work=Les Brown Enterprises |accessdate=18 August 2014}}</ref> He was the host of ''[[The Les Brown Show]]''.
==Biography==
===Early life===
Brown was born with his twin brother, Wesley, in an abandoned building in Liberty City, a low-income section of [[Miami]], Florida. He was subsequently given up for adoption and adopted by Mamie Brown, a 38-year-old single woman who worked as a cafeteria attendant and domestic assistant. He was declared "educable [[mentally retarded]]" while in grade school. Despite the self-esteem and confidence loss issues this created, he learned how to reach his full potential with the encouragement of his mother and assistance from a helpful teacher in high school, a key point in many motivational speeches he gives.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ohiostatehouse.org/museum/george-washington-williams-room/african-american-legislators/leslie-c-brown |title=George Washington Williams Room - Legislators |work=The Ohio Statehouse |accessdate=18 August 2014}}</ref>
===Professional life===
According to many of Brown's speeches, he first decided to get into public radio and kept returning to the same radio station time and time again looking for a break. It wasn't until the on-air failures of the afternoon DJ that he took his break in radio into his own hands and was hired full-time as on-air talent. Upon his termination from the radio station, he ran for election in the Ohio House of Representatives and won. After leaving the Ohio state legislature, he decided to get into television and eventually ended up on PBS. He also formed Les Brown Enterprises in order to support his newest career as a motivational speaker and was on KFWB in California on a daily syndicated radio program from 2011 to 2012. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, he also won many local and national awards for excellence and he has an Emmy to his name. Brown was a member of the [[Peabody Award]]s [[The George Foster Peabody Awards Board of Jurors|Board of Jurors]] from 1982 to 1988.<ref>http://www.peabodyawards.com/stories/story/george-foster-peabody-awards-board-members</ref>
In 1993, he began hosting a new talk show, ''[[The Les Brown Show]]'', which began airing on September 6, 1993. After nearly four months, it went on hiatus on December 3, 1993,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-14630470.html |title=Less Les? (The Les Brown Show) |work=[[HighBeam Research]] |date=6 December 1993}},</ref> and on January 17, 1994, [[King World Productions]] replaced this with ''[[Rolonda]]'', a show hosted by [[Rolonda Watts]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-14677374.html |first=Mike |last=Freeman |title=King World Productions replaces 'The Les Brown Show' with 'Rolonda Watts' |work=[[HighBeam Research]] |date=3 January 1994}}</ref>
Les collaborated with [[John C. Maxwell]] and [[The John Maxwell Team]] for a candid look into the lives of professional speakers called "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly".<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUzpNmKJV5o&list=PLlWx1lni_ne3vz0AQEzMDwnexMOLGluNQ "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly"], Youtube.</ref>
===Personal life===
Brown married [[Gladys Knight]] in 1995; they divorced in 1997.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ijgDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA32&lpg=PA32&dq=les+brown+gladys+knight+married#v=onepage&q=les%20brown%20gladys%20knight%20married&f=false|title=Jet|last=Company|first=Johnson Publishing|date=1995-10-09|publisher=Johnson Publishing Company|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://people.com/archive/pain-and-glory-vol-48-no-23/|title=Pain and Glory - Vol. 48 No. 23|work=PEOPLE.com|access-date=2017-11-17|language=en}}</ref> He has ten children: Calvin, Patrick, John Andrew, Ona, Ayanna, Tayloria, Thad, Sumaya, Serena and John-Leslie. He also has 15 grandchildren and two great grandchildren.<ref name=":0">http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Les_Brown.aspx</ref>
===Awards===
Council of Peers Award of Excellence, National Speakers Association, 1989; regional Emmy Award (Chicago), 1991, for the program You Deserve with Les Brown; selected as one of America’s top five speakers, Toastmasters International, 1992.<ref name=":0" />
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
*{{IMDb name|nm2010754}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Les}}
[[Category:1945 births]]
[[Category:Members of the Ohio House of Representatives]]
[[Category:Ohio Democrats]]
[[Category:American motivational speakers]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Motivational speakers]]
[[Category:People associated with direct selling]]
[[Category:American self-help writers]]
