Norman Korpi (born in

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 99,251 in the 2011 census.https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks101ew Census 2011 table KS101EW Usual resident population, ...

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

) is an American painter, fashion designer,

filmmaker Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, castin ...

and

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star. He is best known for being one of the original cast members/roommates on the first season of the MTV reality show ''

The Real World Real World or The Real World may also refer to: * Real life, a phrase to distinguish between the real world and fictional, virtual or idealized worlds Television * ''The Real World'' (TV series), 1992–2017 * "The Real World" (''Stargate Atla ...

''.

Early life and career

Korpi grew up in

Williamston, Michigan Williamston is a city in Ingham County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 3,854 at the 2010 census. Williamston is located east of the city of Lansing and borders Williamstown Township to the north and Wheatfield Township to ...

and began painting at an early age. By his early teens, he was painting murals on buildings in the city. He studied painting and photography at the

Interlochen Arts Academy Interlochen Center for the Arts is a non-profit corporation which operates arts education institutions and performance venues in northwest Michigan. It is situated on a campus in Interlochen, Michigan, roughly southwest of Traverse City. ...

; and in 1985 he became a Presidential Scholar in the Arts. By the time of his graduation, one of his sculptures was a permanent part of the collection at the Grand Traverse Center for the Performing Arts. Korpi studied photography at

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's Cooper Union; and in 1988 he received full fellowship at

Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...

's Norfolk program. In 1992, Korpi co-developed a clothing and furnishings design firm called Gouda. Their jacket outerwear line, called ''State to State'', became popular enough to be sold at outlets like

Sharper Image Sharper Image is an American brand that offers consumers home electronics, air purifiers, gifts, and other high-tech lifestyle products through its website, catalog, and third-party retailers. The brand is owned by ThreeSixty Group, with the U. ...

and

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, and were worn in public by people including

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and rapper

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''The Real World''

In May 1992, Korpi was chosen as one of the cast members on MTV's ''The Real World''. The show was filmed in New York City, where Korpi was placed in a loft with six strangers (and his dog Gouda, the namesake of his design firm). His housemates included a female rapper, a fitness model, an alternative music singer and an aspiring dancer from Alabama. Korpi was one of the first openly gay people to appear on television, though the show portrayed him as being bisexual. One of the men Korpi dated was

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, who would later go on to host a talk show.

After ''The Real World''

Korpi has participated in a variety of ''Real World''-related projects, including two seasons of '' the Real World/Road Rules Challenge''. He has branched off into commercial design. He began work in advertising and ultimately created ''Gay Entertainment Television''. He has freelanced in production design for numerous television programs, including the

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

. In 1997, Korpi formed a production company called ''Fruit Films''. Their first project was an independent film called '' The Wedding Video''; it was a mockumentary about Korpi having a gay wedding, and the behind-the-scenes drama that unfolded. It featured many alumni of ''

''. The film was released in 2001. Korpi revealed on episode four of The Real World Homecoming: New York that during the

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crisis of 2020 he had fallen into financial ruin, having lost all streams of income. At the time of filming he had lost his home and his possessions were being put on the street.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Korpi, Norman American male film actors 1967 births Living people LGBT people from Michigan The Real World (TV series) cast members People from Williamston, Michigan The Challenge (TV series) contestants