Brian Jeffrey AverellGensler, Howard �

” ''Philadelphia Daily News'', May 19, 2006. is an American actor and reality show contestant who won ''

The Amazing Race 9 ''The Amazing Race 9'' is the ninth season of the American reality television show ''The Amazing Race.'' It featured eleven teams of two competing in a race around the world. The season premiered on CBS on February 28, 2006, and concluded on May ...

'' with teammate

Tyler MacNiven Tyler Kingsley MacNiven is an American filmmaker and reality television contestant. Stanford University admission campaign MacNiven first received attention in 1998 when, while a senior at the Woodside High School in Woodside, California, ...

. He is currently a CBS technology reporter and Periscope livestreamer broadcasting from major content conventions such as NAB.

Early life and education

A native of

Collingswood, New Jersey Collingswood is a borough in Camden County, New Jersey, located east of Center City Philadelphia. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the borough's population was 13,926,Collingswood High School Collingswood High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grades from Collingswood in Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is the sole secondary school of Collingswood ...

in 1998, and attended

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

. In 2000, he ran for Undergraduate Council president. Considered a wildcard,Graff, Garrett M. �
Five Tickets Will Seek Highest Council Posts
” ''The Harvard Crimson'', November 27, 2000. Averell was twice cited with campaign violationsGraff, Garrett M. �
Election Commission Fines Candidates
” ''The Harvard Crimson'', December 6, 2000.Graff, Garrett M. �
Averell Hit with Election Violations
” ''The Harvard Crimson'', December 8, 2000. before being forced to shut down his campaign.Graff, Garrett M. �
Averell Ordered To Shut Down Campaign
” ''The Harvard Crimson'', December 13, 2000. At Harvard, Averell was a member of the

Hasty Pudding Theatricals The Hasty Pudding Theatricals, known informally simply as The Pudding, is a theatrical student society at Harvard University, known for its burlesque crossdressing musicals. The Hasty Pudding is the oldest theatrical organization in the United Sta ...

and the improv group On Thin Ice. He also wrote daily comic strip "The Neil World" for ''

The Harvard Crimson ''The Harvard Crimson'' is the student newspaper of Harvard University and was founded in 1873. Run entirely by Harvard College undergraduates, it served for many years as the only daily newspaper in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Beginning in the f ...

''. With fellow Harvard student B. J. Novak, he co-produced and hosted a variety show called "The B.J. Show," which one year featured

Bob Saget Robert Lane Saget (May 17, 1956 – January 9, 2022) was an American stand-up comedian, actor, and television host. Saget played Danny Tanner on the ABC sitcom ''Full House'' (1987-1995), and reprised the role for its Netflix sequel '' Fuller ...

reprising his television roles in a few skits and ending the show with his own standup routine. He would eventually graduate with a degree in

religion Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatural, ...

, and move to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

to pursue a career in entertainment.DuHart, Bill. �
S.J. native wins 'Amazing Race'
” ''South Jersey Courier-Post'', May 19, 2006.

Logan Airport incident

On November 24, 1999, Averell showed up late for a 6:15 p.m. flight from

Logan International Airport General Edward Lawrence Logan International Airport , also known as Boston Logan International Airport and commonly as Boston Logan, Logan Airport or simply Logan, is an international airport that is located mostly in East Boston and partially ...

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

aboard a

Delta Connection Delta Connection is a regional airline brand name for Delta Air Lines, under which a number of individually owned regional airlines primarily operate short- and medium-haul routes. Mainline major air carriers often use regional airlines to ope ...

commuter flight, and was denied access to the small jet because his assigned seat had been given away. Averell slipped past the attendant at the gate, blended in with other passengers crossing the tarmac and proceeded to find refuge in a rest room and settled onto a toilet seat. "Once I got on, I figured maybe through some stroke of fate no one would have to use the bathroom," Averell said. He was given away by another passenger and arrested before the flight departed. He was charged with disorderly conduct and trespassing. He later told a news photographer he was surprised at how easy it was to stow away.Sweet, Laurel J. "Three passengers arrested during wild night at Logan". ''The Boston Herald'', November 25, 1999. Averell pleaded not guilty,"Two Enter Pleas in Logan Incident". ''The Boston Herald'', November 30, 1999. and two months later state prosecutors and Delta Air Lines agreed to drop all charges against him. According to Averell’s lawyer, the decision came because the then student "was not belligerent to anyone".Riesman, Abe J. �
For Grad, Art Imitates Life’s “Amazing Race”
” ''The Harvard Crimson'', March 1, 2006.

''The Amazing Race''

In 2006, Averell appeared as a contestant on the ninth edition of the American

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...

The Amazing Race ''The Amazing Race'' is an adventure reality game show franchise in which teams of two people race around the world in competition with other teams. The ''Race'' is split into legs, with teams tasked to deduce clues, navigate themselves in forei ...

''. He and his teammate,

, whom Averell met during

Semester at Sea Semester at Sea (SaS) is a study-abroad program which was founded in 1963 and managed by the Institute for Shipboard Education (ISE) in Fort Collins, Colorado. Colorado State University is the current academic sponsor and the program is condu ...

four years earlier,�
BJ & Tyler
” CBS.com. beat out ten other teams to win the show's $1 million prize. B.J. & Tyler, as they were identified on the program, were nicknamed "the

hippies A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to different countries around ...

" by the other teams. B.J. & Tyler came in last in two legs of the season, both of which were non-elimination legs.Bayne, Richard J.
'Hippies' win 'Amazing Race'
." ''Times Herald-Record'', May 18, 2006. Host

Phil Keoghan Philip John Keoghan ( ; born 31 May 1967) is a New Zealand television personality, best known for hosting the American version of ''The Amazing Race'' on CBS, since its 2001 debut. He is the creator and host of ''No Opportunity Wasted'', whic ...

said, "They enjoyed every single moment they were on this race, whether they were in first or in last. They kept their spirit all the way to the end."CBS. �
'Team Hippie' Takes 'Amazing Race 9'
” ''CBS News'', May 18, 2006. "If it’s this successful to be hippies, we might as well stay hippies," Tyler said at the finish line in

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

.A frosty finish for 'The Amazing Race'
" ''Chicago Tribune'', May 17, 2006. B. J. added, "I think that on this Race, being cerebral or being intelligent doesn't help as much as being in the moment and just being aware of what's going on around you. And it's just great to stay positive and just really enjoy each other's company. And our friendship is what got us through it." �
BJ & Tyler Win Million Dollar Prize
.” ''WISH-TV'', May 18, 2006.

The Amazing Race 9 finishes

*An placement with a double-dagger () indicates that BJ and Tyler were the last to arrive at a pit stop in a non-elimination leg. *A indicates that BJ and Tyler won the Fast Forward. ''Roadblocks performed by Averall are bolded '' ;Notes

Acting

* In 2005, BJ played the part of an escaped criminal in the movie ''Saving Shiloh''. * Also in 2005, BJ appeared in the 4th episode of '' CSIs 6th season. He played a member of a cult that committed suicide in the episode titled " Shooting Stars." * In 2010, BJ appeared as a beer vendor in the 9th episode of '' Weedss 6th season, entitled "To Moscow, and Quickly." * Introduced himself as Bingo on '' Control TV'' while crashing on Tristan Couvares's loft as a "couch surfer". * In 2017, BJ appeared as himself in a Pedestrian Question segment of ''

Jimmy Kimmel Live ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'' is an American late-night talk show, created and hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, broadcast on ABC. The nightly hour-long show debuted on January 26, 2003, at Hollywood Masonic Temple in Hollywood, California, as part of ABC's lead ...

''.Jimmy Kimmel Live
Pedestrian Question – Are You Wearing a Shirt?
Jimmy Kimmel Live, October 25, 2017

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Averell, B.J. Year of birth missing (living people) Collingswood High School alumni The Harvard Crimson people Living people People from Collingswood, New Jersey Reality show winners Hasty Pudding alumni The Amazing Race winners