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Ray Toro’s Age, Net Worth, Son, Height. Where does he live?

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• Raymond Toro-Oritz is an American musician, backing vocalist, and the lead guitarist of My Chemical Romance
• He grew up in New Jersey with his two brothers and is of Puerto Rican-Portuguese heritage
• Ray attended Kearny High School and took guitar lessons to help improve his manual dexterity
• In the late 1990s, Ray joined My Chemical Romance and released four studio albums, six extended plays, two live albums, and 19 singles
• Ray's net worth is estimated at $38 million, due to his career as a guitarist for My Chemical Romance

Early life, family, educational background

American musician, backing vocalist, and the lead guitarist of My Chemical Romance, Raymond Toro-Oritz was born on 15 July 1977, in Kearny, New Jersey USA. Ray has some interesting nicknames, including High Sauce Wizard and Princess Fro Fro. He grew up with his two brothers on the border between Harrison and Kearny, New Jersey. The family is of Puerto Rican-Portuguese heritage; Ray is comic actor Larry Fine’s great-grandson. He was a shy child and spent most of his time with his dog, Boy.

He attended Kearny High School, the same high school as future bandmates Mikey and Gerard Way, and was already passionate about music by this time.

His older brother inspired him to start playing, as he ‘always [had] a guitar lying around the house’ and was always ‘jamming on it, day and night.’ His brother also introduced him to a number of bands whose guitarists greatly inspired him, including Kirk Hammett from Metallica, Jimmy Page from Led Zeppelin, Slash from Guns N’ Roses, and Ozzy Osbourne’s guitarist, Randy Rhoads. Ray began taking guitar lessons along with typing lessons to help improve his manual dexterity. In interviews, he has said that his brother bought him his first guitar, and taught him how to play. The first CD he ever bought was Pantera’s “Cowboys from Hell.”

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Unfortunately, the family did not live in a very safe neighborhood – it was never a surprise to find drug addicts lurking about or dead bodies behind dumpsters. Because of these potential dangers, Ray’s mother did not want any of the children to go outside alone, so Ray would stay inside, practice his guitar skill, and listen to classic rock and metal albums.

When he was a teenager, Ray was a huge fan of Randy Rhoads as ‘he was one of the first players I can remember who mixed classical music with metal and hard rock style of laying, and he did it so tastefully. It was really inspiring.’ He also began listening to classical guitarists Christopher Parkening and Andrés Segovia – he was fascinated by how they would rearrange classical pieces to be played on a single guitar.

He began joining local bands – one of them was The Rodneys, formed in 1994 and who released their only album in 1998 entitled “Soccertown USA;” Matt Pelissier was a drummer for the band.

Ray matriculated from high school in 1995, and chose film over music. He attended William Paterson University in Wayne, New Jersey, enrolled into a film editing course. While attending university, he drummed for a band called Dead Go West, but they soon broke-up.

In an interview with Rock Sound, he confessed that being in a band was never a dream. What he was passionate about was writing music; he enjoyed the process of writing and recording, and never thought that he could be part of a touring band.

He also spoke to them about his passion for film – ‘I enjoyed getting a bunch of scenes and cutting it together, so it makes sense. I made one short film about a guy who was obsessed with eating eggs every day.’ The main character goes to open the egg carton, and when he finds only one egg left, he is unable to crack it and ends up going insane. Ray stated that he also enjoyed Pete Wentz’s film, “Release the Bats.”

Career

In the late 1990s, frontman of The Rodneys Shawn Dillion, introduced Ray to Gerard Way.

Following 9/11, Gerard approached Ray and asked if he wanted to join a band with himself and Matt Pelissier. He declined at first as he was already drumming with another band, but he finally agreed to join their practice sessions held in Matt’s attic.

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My Chemical Romance (MCR) was officially formed after Mikey, Gerard’s younger brother, joined the band as a bass player. Ray became the lead guitarist after Frank Iero joined the band as second guitarist, and sometimes also played the piano, bass and keyboard for the band.

Gerard Way wrote the songs “Turnstiles” and “Skylines” about the 9/11 attacks. They were signed to Eyeball Records before releasing their debut album “I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love.” They switched over to Reprise Records before releasing “Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge,” which reached platinum status. In 2006, “The Black Parade” was released and went double platinum.

In 2007, Ray and Frank appeared as themselves in the horror/slasher/comedy film “Punk Rock Holocaust 2.”

Also that year, MCR was the first American rock group to perform at Wembley Stadium in London thanks to fellow rock band, Muse, who were scheduled to tour and perform with MCR in the US between 14 April and 2 May 2007, but the shows from 29 April to 6 May 2007 were canceled after the band and crew members became ill from food poisoning and salmonella. Following the incident, a Virginia chef received numerous death threats, and according to The Sun, both MCR and Muse received them too.

Ray has claimed that he is a ‘music snob,’ especially with new artists, but has praised Muse for their work. He disclosed that he usually listens to the same music he used to listen to when he was younger. He still finds it enjoyable, and continues to discover new meanings or harmonies each time he listens, enabling him to appreciate the songs from a new perspective.

After the band released their third album, Ray was compared to Brian May, guitarist for Queen. From a very early time in his career, he mentioned that Brian is a huge role model for him, as far as his guitar style goes. He spoke about Brian in an interview and said, ‘I just love his work. That guy is capable of everything. He can lay back when he needs to, then writes some of the best leads.’ He he appreciates the comparison, and considers it an honor that he reminds people of Brian or Queen in any way.

Ray led MCR’s #SINGItForJapan project, which raised awareness and money for the victims of the 2011 Tōhoku tsunami and earthquake in Japan. Their song “Sing” was mainly arranged by Ray, and he did his best to respectfully add traditional Japanese music elements to the song. On 13 April 2011, “SINGItForJapan” was released, with all proceeds donated to the Red Cross.

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In total, MCR released four studio albums, six extended plays, two live albums, 19 singles, 15 music videos, one demo, four video games, and made original appearances in 11 other albums. They were working on their fifth studio album when they decided to split.

Their fourth and last album was released in 2010, entitled “Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys.” Two years later, they released songs that were originally recorded for a project entitled “Conventional Weapons” in 2009, and in 2014, they released “May Death Never Stop You,” a collection of their greatest hits. In 2016, various cryptic posts were uploaded on to their social media, leading hopeful fans to believe that the band was getting back together; however, the posts were to promote “The Black Parade/Living with Ghosts,” a reissue of “The Black Parade” along with unreleased demos.

On 22 March 2013, the band announced their split, and although upset, they all felt that it was time they parted ways. The following year, Gerard assured fans that the split was in no way anybody’s fault or due to a disagreement – he was interviewed by DJ Zane Lowe on NME and said, ‘I think because it was so special and it was such an amazing thing… to keep going and let it rust out on the rails? That was not the way that band was supposed to go out.’ He added that the decision was difficult to make and very sad because they all still got along, but that people should always be changing things up, and doing new things in order to grow. However, a few years later he was interviewed by The Guardian, and admitted that it was no longer fun making music as a band, ‘I think breaking up the band broke us out of that machine.’

On 24 May 2013, Ray released a single to his SoundCloud entitled “Isn’t That Something”, tweeting that it was created entirely by himself – ‘I played everything. Sang everything. Recorded everything. Mixed everything. Myself.’ The majority of his solo music is influenced by 1970’s metal blues and hard rock mixed with a Johnny Marr pop sound. He spoke about the influences in “Life On The Murder Scene,” a DVD detailing the making of his music.

In late 2013, he joined James Dewee’s band Reggie and the Full Effect, for their tour, and even contributed to “No Country for Old Musicians,” the album James was working on at the time. The following year he played guitar for “Raised by Bats,” the tenth studio album by Voltaire, a Cuban-American cabaret singer.

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On 1 January 2015, he released “For the Lost and Brave” to his website, along with a blog post about a transgender teen, Leelah Alcorn, who sadly committed suicide. In an interview with Kerrang! magazine, he said that the song had an ‘aching synth-rock brimming with [MCR]’s us-against-the-world spirit’ style.

His debut album, “Remember the Laughter” was only released on 18 November 2016, sharing that it was mostly recorded in his home, and he’d begun working on it in 2013. Ray also said that it was his first time writing all of the lyrics and music entirely on his own.

On 31 October 2019, six years after the bands split, they officially announced that they were reuniting (not including their drummer, Bob Bryar, who would be replaced with Jarrod Alexander, who was their touring drummer for some time).

Their first show reunited was at the Shrine Expo Hall in Los Angeles on 20 December 2019. They also dropped a new merchandise line that night. They announced 2020 and 2021 tour dates for North America, Japan, New Zealand, and Australia, but the 2020 dates were postponed to 2021 due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Personal life

During the 2008 MCR break between the albums “The Black Parade” and “Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys,” Ray married Christa. Their first son, Remy, was born on 16 November 2012, and their second son in April 2015.

Sadly, Ray’s father passed away in February 2018.

Ray has a dog named Bauer after Jack Bauer from the television series “24.” In the dedication section of “The Black Parade is Dead!” he thanked Bauer and called him his son.

Hobbies, favorite things, and interesting facts

He has received several injuries from performances, including a large gash on his head courtesy of Frank and his guitar, as well as “guitar burn.” In one of their first live concerts captured on tape, Gerard swung his microphone, and it tore Ray’s lip and gave him a bloody nose – Ray had to go to the hospital, and his lip needed seventeen stitches.

Appearance

He has dark brown eyes and dark brown curly hair, usually styled in an afro. He is 6ft 1in (1.85m) tall and weighs about 160lbs (72kg). He has a tattoo on his left arm that says “SL,” which stands for “stage left,” the position he entered from at MCR concerts. His other tattoo is on his chest, and depicts a scene from a horror film.

 Net worth and salary

According to IMBd, Wikipedia, and Forbes, as of 2020, Ray’s net worth is estimated at $38 million. His considerable net worth comes largely from his successful career as a guitarist for MCR.

Started with TheLegit.org in April 2023. Previously, Executive Editor at Echoes Media. Holds a Journalism degree from New York University.

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Actors

The Untold Truth Of Steve Buscemi’s Son – Lucian Buscemi

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Lucian Buscemi is an American musician and actor, born on 30 June 1990 in New York City, USA. He’s known for being the son of actor, producer and director Steve Buscemi.

Early Life

Lucian is the only child resulting from the marriage between Steve Buscemi and Jo Andres.

Details about Lucian’s educational background are unknown. However, it has been disclosed he spent his childhood in Park Slope, Brooklyn.

Despite his parents’ movie-oriented professions, Lucian developed a deep interest in rock and alternative music instead. Influenced by his father, Lucian came to love and grew up listening to the ‘70s legendary punk bands The Ramones and The Clash. He also counts Korn, Blink-182 and Green Day as his influences.

Inspired by various music genres, Lucian Buscemi started learning to play various instruments at an early age. Nowadays he’s considered a multi-instrumentalist, as he plays the piano, guitar and bass.

Career

Hollywood – Actor & Musician

Lucian Buscemi’s career as an actor started very early in life, when he was only six years old, as he was cast in a minor role in the movie “Trees Lounge”. Premiered in 1996 and written and directed by Lucian’s father Steve Buscemi, this film centers around a mechanic named Tommy, who lets life pass by while he makes excuses not to leave his alcoholic ways.

In 2007 Lucian was involved i the soundtrack of “Interview”, with his band Fiasco’s song “0157: H7 (Spy Song)”.

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The movie starring and directed by his father Steve, is a remake of “The Departed” and although its script received mixed critiques, it was also well reviewed by experts due to its execution.

In 2011 Lucian collaborated in the original soundtrack (OST) of the movie “4:44 Last Day on Earth”. The film – which received mixed reviews – is a SCI-FI drama directed by Abel Ferreira, and is centered in the story of two lovers spending the end of the world together in New York.

Also in 2011, Lucian worked in the sound department of the movie “Sal”, which is based on the real story of the actor/musician Sal Mineo.

Music Career – Fiasco

Along with Jonathan Edelstein and Julian Bennett Holmes, Lucian Buscemi – who was 16 years old at the time – formed the band Fiasco. Fiasco’s sound didn’t fit in only one genre, as the members of the band were inspired by many bands such as Bad Brains, Don Caballero and Lightning Bolt.

Often defined as a mix of math rock and hardcore punk, Lucian told Gothamist that the band members were musically inspired by their personal experiences and preferences: ‘We basically all got into hardcore punk via word of mouth and the internet, and then we wanted to play that style of music.’ As such, he considers the creation of Fiasco wasn’t determined by their environment or social background: ‘Kids getting into that style of music could happen anywhere.’

Despite starting as a cover band, this didn’t deter the members from experimenting with their sound, slowly improving and developing a more unique style: ‘It got noisier and more complex I guess. We started to play in odd time signatures, and the riffs we started writing became harder to play.’ Regardless of the changes the band went through, Fiasco still preserved their punk influences throughout its career.

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After signing with the independent company Impose Records, in 2007 Fiasco released their first album – “God Loves Fiasco” – which contained 23 tracks and gained the band recognition in the local music scene of Brooklyn. After that they released various albums such as “Native Canadians” in 2008, “Fabolous Bozo FP” in 2009, and the single “Sinus Rhythm Breakdown” in 2012. These works were highly acclaimed by the public, leading the band to be showcased by not only rock music-especialized magazines, but by several mainstream media platforms.

Fiasco also toured the US several times but entered an indefinite hiatus in 2012, although apparently while in production of the single “Sinus Rhythm Breakdown”.

Its members concentrated on their personal projects – Buscemi has done more acting, in movies such as in “Interview”, “Tree Lounges” and “The Sopranos”, and has also been involved in the soundtracks of several Hollywood productions.

It’s unknown exactly what Lucian Buscemi is doing nowadays.

Personal Life

Romantic Relationships

Lucian Buscemi maintains his romantic life in private. Due to this there’s no information about his partners or marital status, but he’s presumed to be single, and doesn’t have children.

Famous Parents

Father – Steve Buscemi

Lucian’s father is Steve Buscemi, the highly acclaimed American actor, writer and director who has appeared in movies such as “Reservoir Dogs” and “Desperado”.

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Steven Vicent Buscemi was born in New York, the son of John and Dorothy Buscemi of Italian and Irish descent. Along with his parents and three brothers, Steve moved from Brooklyn to Nassau County. Steve matriculated from Valley Stream Central High School in 1975, then enrolled into Nassau Community College, though he later transferred to the Manhattan-based Lee Strasberg Institute.

Although Steve was always interested in acting, his first job was as a firefighter. He worked in New York from 1980 to 1984, when he moved to Los Angeles and made his Hollywood debut in the No Wave Cinema’s movie “The Way It Is”. After that he was cast in various minor roles in productions such as “Parting Glances” and “Miami Vice”.

In 1989 he appeared in the movie “Mystery Train”, for which he was nominated as the Best Supporting Male at the Spirit Awards of that year.

His outstanding performance in said movie helped him to gain a spot in the cast of the movie “Millers Crossing” in 1990.

In 1992 Steve Buscemi finally obtained his first starring role, as Adolpho Rollo in the movie “In The Soup”. The same year he would be cast as Mr. Pink in “Reservoir Dogs”, one of his most memorable roles to date, and for which Buscemi won the category of Best Supporting Male at the Spirit Awards.

In 1996 Buscemi acted in the movie “Fargo” as the protagonist Carl Showalter. This role was positively received by experts, and was followed by other character roles in productions such as “Con Air” in 1997, the 1998 film “The Big Lebowski”, and “Ghost World” of 2001. For the latter he won the Chicago Film Critics Association Awards category for Best Supporting Actor.

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During these years, Buscemi also debuted as a voice actor, giving his voice to various memorable characters of animated movies “Monsters, Inc.” and its prequel, “Home On The Range” of 2004, and the 2006’s “Monster House”.

Other important roles of Buscemi’s career have been as Tony Blundetto in the classic “The Sopranos” of 2004, and as Enoch Thompson in the series “Boardwalk Empire”, a role for which he won the Best Actor category at the Golden Globe Awards in 2010.

In 1992 Steve Buscemi made his debut as a director, with the short film “What Happened to Pete”, which was followed by “Trees Lounge” in 1996. In the 2000s he also directed “Animal Factory”, “Lonesome Jim” and “Interview”.

Buscemi’s career as a series director has also been successful, having worked on the web show “Love”, and TV series “The Sopranos” and “30 Rock”.

Mother – Jo Andres

Although less prominent than her husband, Lucian’s mother Jo Andres was a talented film-maker, dancer and artist. Her artistic works were featured in several galleries in New York, while she also worked and collaborated with Wooster Group, Rockefeller Study Center and Yaddo. Her most acclaimed work was the movie “Black Kites” of 1996, which was screened in several renowned international film festivals.

Andres also directed the short film “Liquid Tara” in 2012, and Diana Krall’s music video for the song “When The Curtain Comes Down”.

Buscemi & Andres’ Story

Steve Buscemi and Jo Andres met in 1983, and started dating immediately. In 1987 they married, and managed to maintain a happy family life for decades, despite their busy careers.

Unfortunately, Jo Andres died in January 2019 after battling ovarian cancer for several years. Regarding his loss, in 2020 Buscemi told GQ Magazine: ‘If I should happen to go not suddenly, I hope I could be as present as Jo was. She led the way. She was surrounded by friends and family.’

Net Worth

Lucian Buscemi has an estimated net worth of over $5 million, which is largely the result of his career as a musician.

Physical Appearance

Lucian Buscemi is a man of white ethnicity. He has brownish-blonde hair and green eyes. He’s 5feet 8ins (1.72m) tall, but his weight is unknown.

Other Interesting Facts

All of Fiasco’s band members were multi-instrumentalists.

Lucian doesn’t have any public social media accounts.

One of Buscemi’s favorite concert venues in New York was Silent Barn.

Although his band Fiasco often cited big name musicians as their influences, Lucian told Impose Magazine otherwise: ‘We also have influences that suck but you just don’t hear them’.

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Actors

How rich is H. Jon Benjamin? Net Worth of Archer’s voice actor

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Who is H. Jon Benjamin?

American actor, comedian, screenwriter and musician Harry Jon Benjamin, was born in Worcester, Massachusetts USA, on 23 May 1966, which makes Gemini his zodiac sign. He’s had roles in over 80 TV series and movies, ut is probably known best for voicing the lead character Sterling Archer in the animated action comedy series “Archer”, created by Adam Reed, and which also stars Judy Greer and Amber Nash. The series has been airing since 2009, follows the life of a secret agent, and won 18 of its 89 award nominations.

Education and early life

Jon was raised in Worcester by his mother Shirley who was a ballet dancer and teacher, and father Howard who was CEO of a small company; both Shirley and Howard are Jewish.

Jon became interested in acting while growing up, and was mostly passionate about imitating the voices of characters he saw in his favorite animated TV series. He studied at Worcester Academy and was a member of its drama club, and was also on the school’s softball team.

He matriculated in 1984, and then enrolled at Connecticut College from which he graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in 1988. Jon then moved to Boston, Massachusetts and was one half of the comedy duo with Sam Seder for seven years.

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Roles in TV series

Jon’s debut TV series role was playing Quark in the 1995 episode “Uncertainty” of the documentary “Understanding”, and the year 1997 saw him play various characters in the musical comedy “The Jenny McCarthy Show”, starring alongside Jenny McCarthy-Wahlberg and Jack Plotnick; it follows the life of ‘blonde bombshell and former playboy bunny Jenny McCarthy’.

From 1995 through 2002, Jon voiced one of the main characters Ben Katz in the popular animated comedy “Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist”, which also starred Jonathan Kat and Laura Silverman, and follows a therapist as he’s dealing with both his and other people’s problems; the series won five of its six award nominations. From 1999 through 2004, Jon voiced various characters in the animated comedy “Home Movies”, while the remainder of the decade heard him voice characters in the animated comedy “O’Grady”, another animated comedy “Freak Show”, and the animated horror comedy “Lucy: The Daughter of the Devil”.

From 2007 through 2015, he voiced Jewelry Store Clerk and various other characters in the popular animated action adventure “WordGirl”, created by Jack Ferraiolo and Dorothea Gillim, and which starred Dannah Feinglass Phirman, Chris Parnell and Maria Bamford. It follows the life of superhero Wordgirl, and the series won five of its 16 award nominations.

Some of Jon’s most recent roles in TV series have been in seven episodes of the animated musical comedy “Central Park” from 2020 through 2022, 26 episodes of the animated comedy “Family Guy” since 2006, and 254 episodes (lead role) of the animated comedy “Bob’s Burgers” since 2011, all voice roles.

Roles in movies

Jon made his debut film appearance in the 1997 comedy “Who’s the Caboose”, while some of his following roles were in the 1998 romantic comedy “Next Stop Wonderland”, the 1999 action crime thriller “Puppet’ and the 2000 romantic comedy “Happy Accidents”.

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In 2002 he played Keith, one of the main characters in the popular comedy “Martin & Orloff”, directed by Lawrence Blume, and which also starred Ian Roberts and Matt Walsh. The movie follows an advertising agency employee who’s tried to kill himself, and is now seeing the therapist Dr. Orloff; it won two awards. Jon was then cast to play and voice characters in the 2003 thriller comedy “Temptation”, the 2007 romantic comedy “The Ten” and the 2008 animated drama “The Toe Tactic”.

He portrayed MCS Coach in the critically acclaimed 2014 action crime comedy “22 Jump Street”, which Christopher Miller and Phil Lord directed, and which starred Ice Cube, Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum. It follows the work of police officers Jenko and Schmidt, and the movie won seven of its 32 award nominations.

Some of Jon’s most recent film roles have been in the 2018 comedy “The Demons of Dorian Gunn”, the 2022 short animated comedy “My Butt Hazza Fever” (voice role) and the 2022 animated adventure comedy “The Bob’s Burgers Movie” (voice role).

Other credits

Jon has 22 writing and eight producing credits, while some of his most notable writing work has been 80 episodes of the animated comedy series “Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist” from 1995 through 2002, 49 episodes of the animated comedy “Home Movies” from 1999 through 2004 and 10 episodes of the 2007 animated horror comedy series “Lucy: The Daughter of the Devil”.

Jon’s made a guest appearance in over 30 talk-shows, most recently in “Life is Short with Justin Long”, “IMDb on the Scene” and “The Majority Report with Sam Seder”.

Awards and nominations

Jon’s won three of his 16 award nominations: he won a 1995 CableACE Award for Animated Programming Special or Series, for “Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist”, a 2013 Behind the Voice Actors Award for Best Male Lead Vocal Performance in a Television Series, for “Archer” and a 2020 Annie Award for Outstanding Achievement for Voice Acting in an Animated Production, for “Bob’s Burgers”.

He was also nominated for a 2010 Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance for “Archer”.

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Love life and relationships

Jon’s not that open when it comes to speaking about his love life in public, and thus only a couple of details about it are known. He’s today in a long-term relationship with American set decorator Amy Beth Silver, and although some of Jon’s fans believe that the two are married, neither of them has confirmed this. Amy’s worked on 11 TV series and movies, with the most popular amongst these having been the 1997 comedy film “Gummo”, the 2017 war thriller film “The Beguiled” and the 2020 romantic comedy movie “On the Rocks”.

Jon and Amy have a son Judah together, but his birthdate hasn’t been disclosed.

He’s yet to mention other women whom he’s maybe been with, Jon’s in a long-term relationship with Amy Beth Silver as of April 2023, and they have a son together.

Interesting facts and hobbies

One of Jon’s best friends is famous American actor, screenwriter and producer David Cross, who’s probably known best for starring as Tobias Funke in all the 84 episodes of the comedy series “Arrested Development”, which aired from 2003 through 2019.

Jon’s a member of comedy troupes Comedy Lab and Cross Comedy.

His family always called him ‘Jon’ while he was growing up, and he didn’t even know until his later years that his first name was ‘Harry’.

He’s an amateur ornithologist, while ornithology’s a special branch of zoology that studies birds.

Jon endorsed Bernie Sanders in the 2020 presidential election primaries.

His favorite actor is Jim Carrey, while some of Jon’s favorite movies include “Man on the Moon”, “The Cable Guy” and “Dumb and Dumber”.

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Height, eyes and wealth

Jon’s age is 56. He has blue eyes and is bald, he’s 5ft 6ins (1.68m) tall and weighs around 150lbs (67kgs).

Jon’s net worth’s been estimated at over $6 million, as of April 2023.

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Musicians

Shadows’ Biography – Net Worth, Wife, Tattoo, Height

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Who is M Shadows?

Matthew Charles Sanders was born on 31 July 1981, in Fountain Valley, California, USA. He is a singer, musician, and songwriter, best known for performing under the stage name M Shadows, working as the lead vocalist of the band Avenged Sevenfold. He is one of the heavy metal band’s founding members, and is considered by many as one of the greatest heavy metal frontmen of all-time.

The Net Worth of M Shadows

As of early-2020, M Shadows’ net worth is estimated to be over $25 million, earned primarily through the success of the band, Avenged Sevenfold, one of the most recognized in the heavy metal genre, making music since the 2000s.

He’s also worked with other bands, as well as collaborating with the video game franchise “Call of Duty”.

Early Life and Career Beginnings

While M was born in Fountain Valley, his family later moved to Huntington Beach where he grew up with younger sister Amy Sanders, who is now known to play in the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA).  He developed an interest in music at a young age, thanks to his father who gifted him his first cassette of the band Guns N’ Roses, sparking an interest which just grew as he got older.

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Eventually, he learned how to play the guitar as well as the piano, skills which would also help him learn more about tone and voice. He attended Huntington Beach High School, and during this period, he aspired to start a band. He briefly joined a punk band called Successful Failure, but it was short-lived. Afterwards he reconnected with a few friends from middle school who had the same taste in music. This led to the formation of Avenged Sevenfold, as he was joined by The Rev, Zacky Vengeance, and Matt Wendt.

Avenged Sevenfold

Shadows didn’t want to use his first name as he didn’t like the way it sounded as a performer. Instead, he only adopted the first letter M and added Shadows because he felt that he was the darker character within their group. They also chose to adopt nicknames because it was a popular practice among rock groups that inspired them. Over the years, the band has released music, and gained a lot of acclaim for their diversity when it comes to their portrayal of rock and metal.

They also promoted themselves through the use of dramatic imagery, which became more evident over the years.

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Their debut album “Sounding the Seventh Trumpet” helped establish them on the scene, but it wasn’t until their third album “City of Evil” that the band truly took off. The group enjoyed a lot of success until 2009, when their drummer The Rev suddenly passed away. The band continued with drummer Mike Portnoy for their 2010 album “Nightmare” which reached the top of the Billboard 200. Eventually, they took in drummer Brooks Wackerman and continued to release music, with their latest being “The Stage” which debuted in fourth spot of the Billboard 200.

Solo Projects

Apart from his work with Avenged Sevenfold, M has been a guest on albums of other well-known bands. He was featured on the album “Feel the Steel” by Steel Panther, and helped produce the album “Requiem” by The Confession – he ventured to learn more about production to help Avenged Sevenfold with their album releases as well. Other music projects he’s had include working with Slash on his solo album, and making music with the band Device.

In 2012, he made his first foray into the video game world with the development of ‘Call of Duty: Black Ops II”, in which he made a cameo contribution by doing motion capture and recording voice lines.

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He is an avid player of the popular first-person shooter game, and has even participated in professional tournaments. One of his latest projects in video games is “Call of Duty: Black Ops 4” in which he became a playable character thanks to the help of a close friend who works for its developer Treyarch. He can be selected as a part of the game’s battle royale mode, which sees numerous players fight against each other in a large but shrinking map.

Vocal Ability and Style

Shadows’ vocal ability has been praised numerous times, not only for his range and versatility but also its evolution throughout his career with Avenged Sevenfold.

At the beginning of his career, he had a harsher voice filled with growls reminiscent of metalcore bands. Since 2003 he’s been more inclined towards melodic lines, but still retains his love for screams and growls. After signing with a major record label, his style changed even further, focusing more on his voice and melody as opposed to the screaming. He took numerous lessons to improve his style, working with Ron Anderson who is known for his collaborations with Audioslave and Guns N’ Roses.

The band also contributed, with each member becoming a part of the vocal whole as opposed to Shadows taking the brunt of the work.

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This led to rumors going around that he had lost his ability to scream, as a result of having throat surgery after damaging his voice sometime in 2003. Other musicians defended him, stating that he has indicated a desire to be more of a singer than a screamer with his music. He is also a big advocate in protecting his voice, and prefers hitting the notes rather than going for raspy sounds that could damage his throat again.

Personal Life

M married Valary DiBenedetto in 2009 and they have two children together. His bandmate Synyster Gates married Valary’s twin sister Michelle which makes the two band members brothers-in-law as well. He spends a lot of his free time, learning more about music, working on new music, and playing video games. He also spends a lot of his time learning more about preserving his voice and prioritizes resting his voice when not working with the band.

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