Benjamin S. Carson had a childhood dream of becoming a physician. But growing up in a single parent home, and being challenged by dire poverty, poor grades as an elementary school student, a horrible temper, and low self-esteem appeared to preclude the realization of that dream, until his mother, with only a third-grade education, challenged her sons to strive for excellence. Young Ben persevered, and today is a full professor of neurosurgery, oncology, plastic surgery, and pediatrics at the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, where he has directed pediatric neurosurgery for nearly a quarter of a century. Dr. Carson’s career highlights include the first separation of craniopagus (Siamese) twins joined at the back of the head in 1987, the first completely successful separation of type-2 vertical craniopagus twins in 1997 in South Africa, and the first successful placement of an intrauterine shunt for a hydrocephalic twin. Although Dr. Carson has performed numerous surgeries of noteworthy medical skill, he believes that every case is uniquely deserving of maximum attention. He is interested in all aspects of pediatric neurosurgery, and has a special interest in trigeminal neuralgia (severe facial pain) in adults. Dr. Carson holds more than 40 honorary doctorate degrees. He is a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society, the Horatio Alger Society of Distinguished Americans, and many other prestigious organizations. He sits on the board of directors of numerous organizations, including Kellogg Company, Costco Wholesale Corporation, the Academy of Achievement, and is an Emeritus Fellow of the Yale Corporation, the governing body of Yale University. He was appointed in 2004 by President George W. Bush to serve on the President’s Council on Bioethics. He is a highly regarded motivational speaker who has addressed various audiences from school systems and civic groups to corporations and the President’s National Prayer Breakfast.
In 2001, Dr. Carson was named by CNN and TIME Magazine as one of the nation’s 20 foremost physicians and scientists. That same year, he was selected by the Library of Congress as one of 89 “Living Legends” on the occasion of its 200th anniversary. He is also the recipient of the 2006 Spingarn Medal which is the highest honor bestowed by the NAACP, among literally hundreds of other awards and honors. In 2007, the Christian Booskellers presented him with their Platinum Award for selling one million copies of his autobiography Gifted Hands.
Dr. Carson is also president and co-founder of the Carson Scholars Fund, which recognizes young people of all backgrounds for exceptional academic and humanitarian accomplishments. The Fund operates in 12 states and the District of Columbia. He also co-founded Angels of the OR, which provides grants to assist families with non-covered medical care expenses. Both programs are expanding nationally.
His four books, Gifted Hands, THINK BIG, The Big Picture and Take the Risk: Learning to Identify, Choose and Live with Acceptable Risk (December 2007), provide inspiration and insight for leading a successful life. Dr. Carson has been married for over 30 years to his wife, Candy, and is the father of three sons. And yes, his mother, Sonya Carson, who made all this possible, is alive and well.
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Plenary - John Waters, Writer/Director/Actor
Born in Baltimore, MD in 1946, John Waters was drawn to movies at an early age. He subscribed to Variety at the age of twelve, absorbing the magazine's factual information and its lexicon of insider lingo. This early education would prove useful as the future director began his career giving puppet shows for children's birthday parties. As a teen-ager, Waters began making 8-mm underground movies influenced by the likes of Jean-Luc Godard, Walt Disney, Andy Warhol, Russ Meyer, Ingmar Bergman, and Herschell Gordon Lewis.
Using Baltimore, which he fondly dubbed the "Hairdo Capitol of the World," as the setting for all his films, Waters assembled a cast of ensemble players, mostly native Baltimoreans and friends of long standing: Divine, David Lochary, Mary Vivian Pearce, Mink Stole and Edith Massey. Waters also established lasting relationships with key production people, such as production designer Vincent Peranio, costume designer Van Smith, and casting director Pat Moran, helping to give his films that trademark Waters "look."
In 1972 Waters created what would become the most "notorious" film in the American independent cinema of the 1970's, Pink Flamingos. Pink Flamingos went on to become a smash success at midnight screenings in the U.S. and all over the world.
In Hairspray (1988), Waters created "an almost big-budget comedy extravaganza about star-struck teen-age celebrities in 1962, their stage mothers and their quest for mental health." The film was a box office and critical success and starred the then unknown Ricki Lake, Deborah Harry, the late Sonny Bono, Jerry Stiller, Pia Zadora and Ric Ocasek. Hairspray was made into a successful Broadway musical, then filmed again by director Adam Shankman (2007) with a cast that included Christopher Walken, John Travolta, and Queen Latifah.
The success of Hairspray brought Waters major Hollywood backing for his next feature, Cry-Baby (1990), a juvenile delinquent musical comedy satire, starring Johnny Depp. In 1994, Waters released Serial Mom, the well reviewed, socially un-redeeming comedy starring Kathleen Turner and Sam Waterston, which was the closing night attraction at that year's Cannes Film Festival.
In addition to writing and directing feature films, Waters is the author of five books. He is also a photographer whose work has been shown in galleries all over the world. John Waters’ one man spoken-word lecture is performed at colleges, museums, film-festivals and comedy clubs across the United States. In 2004, the music compilation CD entitled “A John Waters Christmas” was released by New Line Records and was followed up in the Fall of 2006 by “A Date With John Waters”. In February, 2006, Waters became the host of a new television series on the here! TV Network called “John Waters Presents Movies That Will Corrupt You.”
Waters is a member of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and is on the Wexner Center International Arts Advisory Council. He is also a member of the boards of The Andy Warhol Foundation and Printed Matter.
