Mark Bego
Mark Joseph Bego is an author of biographies in the rock & roll and show business genres. Bego has written 59 books, two of which have been New York Times Best Sellers. Bego has written biographers about some of entertainment's biggest stars, including: Linda Ronstadt, Elton John, Aretha Franklin, Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson, Madonna, Billy Joel, Patsy Cline, Leonardo DiCaprio, Whitney Houston and many more.
From 1978 to 1980 he was the Nightlife Editor for Manhattan’s Cue, covering everything from Studio 54 to all the jazz and cabaret clubs in the city. From 1983 to 1985 he was Editor-In-Chief of Modern Screen. His writing has also appeared in People, US, Billboard, Record World, Cosmopolitan, Star, and National Enquirer.
Mark Bego's book on pop legend Michael Jackson, titled Michael! was released a week after the infamous Pepsi Cola commercial in which Jackson's hair caught fire. The book sold three million copies in the United States alone and landed on the New York Times Best Sellers for six weeks. Bego also got the chance to travel with Jackson and his brothers on the "Victory!" Tour, and subsequently wrote the book entitled On The Road With Michael!
He has also written books with Micky Dolenz of The Monkees, Debbie Gibson, and Jimmy Greenspoon of Three Dog Night. In addition, Bego has written a book called One Minute Before Midnight with Ruth Mueller. Bego’s book subjects have ranged from Elvis Presley, Linda Ronstadt, Whitney Houston, Bonnie Raitt, Julia Roberts, Joni Mitchell, Billy Joel, and Jackson Browne to Cher and Bette Midler. In 1994, his more general books published included Country Gals. Bego also authored the reference books TV Rock and The Rock & Roll Almanac. He has also written books about Hollywood in its heyday The Best of “Modern Screen", and Rock Hudson: Public and Private. Bego wrote a memoir with Memphis Mafia member Lamar Fike called An Uncommon Journey: On Elvis Presley Boulevard. He co-wrote a screenplay based on the book called ’57 to ’60: One of the Boys.
At the height of the box-office success of the film Titanic, Bego wrote the biography of the movie’s star Leonardo DiCaprio: Romantic Hero. It spent six weeks on The New York Times best-seller list in 1998.
In 2008, Bego published his 51st pop culture book, written with Randy Jones of Village People, entitled Macho Man. Recently, Bego penned his own showbusiness memoir, Paperback Writer. Cindy Adams in The New York Post wrote about the book, "Paperback Writer...a tell-all telling things he couldn't tell in previous books — like Aretha Franklin cooking chicken, and when the chicken was finished, so was the interview." Paperback Writer hit Number Two on The Book Soup paperback Best Seller List. Bego frequently is seen on television speaking about showbusiness, on such shows as Entertainment Tonight, Biography and True Hollywood Story.Recent news
Mark Bego released a biography of Elton John in 2009. In the summer of 2009, Mark Bego appeared on ABC talking about Michael Jackson's death.
