Brian Jay Jones (born August 1, 1967) is an American biographer, primarily of American pop culture icons. He is a former president of

Biographers International Organization Biographers International Organization (BIO) is an international, non-profit, 501 (c)(3) organization founded to promote the art and craft of biography, and to further the professional interests of its practitioners. The organization was founded in ...

Biography

Born in

Kansas City, Kansas Kansas City, abbreviated as "KCK", is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas, and the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is an inner suburb of the older and more populous Kansas City, Missouri, after which it is named. As of ...

, Jones was raised primarily in

Albuquerque, New Mexico Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...

. He attended Eldorado High School and graduated from the

University of New Mexico The University of New Mexico (UNM; es, Universidad de Nuevo México) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Founded in 1889, it is the state's flagship academic institution and the largest by enrollment, with over 25,400 ...

, where he earned a degree in English in 1989. For nearly a decade, Jones served as a

Legislative Assistant A legislative assistant (LA) or legislative analyst is a person who works for a legislator as a legislative staffer, a government agency as a legislative affairs professional, or in the government relations and regulatory affairs industry by monitor ...

and speechwriter in the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

, working for U.S. Senators

Pete V. Domenici Pietro Vichi "Pete" Domenici (May 7, 1932 – September 13, 2017) was an American attorney and politician who served as a United States Senate, United States Senator from New Mexico from 1973 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party (United ...

and

James M. Jeffords James Merrill Jeffords (May 11, 1934 – August 18, 2014) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a U.S. senator from Vermont. Sworn into the Senate in 1989, he served as a Republican until 2001, when he left the party to become ...

. He specialized in policy matters relating to education, civil rights, and welfare reform, and served as staff member on the

United States Senate Health Subcommittee on Children and Families The United States Senate Health Subcommittee on Children and Families is one of the three subcommittees within the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. Jurisdiction The Subcommittee's jurisdiction includes Head Start, th ...

. Jones has also been an Associate State Superintendent for Education for the State of

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

, and has served as an advisor to several locally elected officials in

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

Career

In 2008, Jones published ''

Washington Irving Washington Irving (April 3, 1783 – November 28, 1859) was an American short-story writer, essayist, biographer, historian, and diplomat of the early 19th century. He is best known for his short stories "Rip Van Winkle" (1819) and " The Legen ...

: An American Original'', a project he spent seven years writing and researching. As one of the first biographies of the American author and statesman in eight decades, ''Washington Irving'' was praised by the Associated Press as "authoritative" and "charming" by the ''New York Times''. In 2010, Jones was awarded the Washington Irving Medal for Literary Excellence from the St. Nicholas Society of New York. Jones has been an active member of

(BIO), a non-profit organization founded to promote the art and craft of biography, since its inception in 2009. In 2012, he was elected vice president of the organization, and in 2014, he was elected to a two-year term as BIO's president. In September 2013, Jones published ''Jim Henson: The Biography'', the first comprehensive biography of

Muppet The Muppets are an American ensemble cast of puppet characters known for an surreal humor, absurdist, burlesque, and self-referential humor, self-referential style of Variety show, variety-sketch comedy. Created by Jim Henson in 1955, they are ...

creator

Jim Henson James Maury Henson (September 24, 1936 – May 16, 1990) was an American puppeteer, animator, cartoonist, actor, inventor, and filmmaker who achieved worldwide notice as the creator of The Muppets and '' Fraggle Rock'' (1983–1987) and ...

. Hailed as "masterful" by

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...

, ''Jim Henson'' was a

New York Times bestseller ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list is widely considered the preeminent list of best-selling books in the United States. John Bear, ''The #1 New York Times Best Seller: intriguing facts about the 484 books that have been #1 New York Times ...

, and received the 2013 Goodreads Choice Award for Best History & Biography, as well as being selected by CNN viewers as a "Favorite Book of 2013.". Henson's longtime associate

Frank Oz Frank Oz (born Frank Richard Oznowicz; May 25, 1944) is an American actor, puppeteer, and filmmaker. He began his career as a puppeteer, performing the Muppet characters of Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Animal, and Sam Eagle in ''The Muppet Show ...

publicly praised the book, saying, "Brian Jay Jones has captured the layers of Jim’s genius and humanity, as well as the flaws that made Jim, like all of us, so delightfully imperfect. Jim needed this book to be written," while lifelong Muppet fan

Neil Patrick Harris Neil Patrick Harris (born June 15, 1973) is an American actor, singer, writer, producer, and television host. Primarily known for his comedic television roles and dramatic and musical stage roles, he has received multiple accolades throughout ...

called it "an absolute must-read!" Named a "Book of the Year" by Bookpage, it was also shortlisted for the Plutarch Award for the best biography of 2013. December 2016 saw the publication of ''George Lucas: A Life'', a full-length, comprehensive biography of ''

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop-culture Cultural impact of S ...

'' creator

George Lucas George Walton Lucas Jr. (born May 14, 1944) is an American filmmaker. Lucas is best known for creating the ''Star Wars'' and ''Indiana Jones'' franchises and founding Lucasfilm, LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic and THX. He served as chairm ...

. Lauded by the ''Washington Post'' as "admirably comprehensive", ''George Lucas'' was hailed by ''Kirkus'' as a "sweeping, perceptive biography," and was named one of the Best Books of 2016. In May 2019, Dutton published Jones' biography of children's author

Dr. Seuss Theodor Seuss Geisel (;"Seuss"
'' NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

as "nuanced, profoundly human, and painstakingly researched," and was long-listed for the

Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction __NOTOC__ The Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction were established in 2012 to recognize the best fiction and nonfiction books for adult readers published in the U.S. in the previous year. They are named in honor of ni ...

. A self-proclaimed "pop culture junkie", Jones has discussed at length his particular affection for the

Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developme ...

and comic books, especially the character

Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...

and the writer

Alan Moore Alan Moore (born 18 November 1953) is an English author known primarily for his work in comic books including ''Watchmen'', ''V for Vendetta'', ''The Ballad of Halo Jones'', ''Swamp Thing'', ''Batman:'' ''The Killing Joke'', and ''From Hell' ...

., ''The Annual'', September 23, 2014. Retrieved June 13, 2015. Jones has made multiple appearances on ''

The George Lucas Talk Show ''The George Lucas Talk Show'' is an improvised talk show in New York City hosted by comedian Connor Ratliff, who appears as George Lucas, the creator of '' Star Wars'', and he interviews real guests as themselves in a panel format. He is join ...

'' marathon fundraisers, including: ''The George Lucas Talk Show All Day Star Wars Movie Watch Along, LucasLynch (On The Air/ Radioland Murders'' marathon''),'' and ''The George Lucas Holiday Special.''

Bibliography

* ''Washington Irving: An American Original'' (Arcade, 2008) * ''Jim Henson: The Biography'' (Ballantine, 2013) * ''George Lucas: A Life'' (Little, Brown, 2016) * ''Becoming Dr. Seuss: Theodor Geisel and the Making of an American Imagination'' (Dutton, 2019)

References

External links

Official website for Brian Jay Jones

Brian Jay Jones on Twitter

Biographers International Organization

Brian Jay Jones on ''The Daily Show with Jon Stewart''

Appearance on ''Tavis Smiley''

Jones interviewed by Biographile, "The Making of the Muppets" and "Henson's Outsize Influence"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Brian Jay Living people 1967 births American biographers American male biographers