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There are about 3.5 million Arab Americans in the United States, the majority of these immigrants are of Lebanese descent. As individuals and as a community, they have been demonstrating loyalty, inventiveness, and courage on behalf of the United States for over 100 years. Here are just a few of the famous and accomplished ones -- people you may know! The following information is published by the Arab American Institute Foundation and we are presenting it with the Foundation's permission. Making a Difference
Military Service
Political The late ambassador Philip C. Habib served as Special Presidential Envoy to the Middle East and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Feisty Helen Thomas, who served for 57 years as a correspondent for United Press International and was dean of the White House press corps, is a Hearst newspaper syndicated columnist. In a class by himself, the late, warm-hearted Robert George portrayed Santa Claus year-round for nearly 50 years and was a Presidential Santa at the White House through seven administrations. Others who have served in high elected office are: former U.S. Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell, who brokered a peace deal in Northern Ireland and led a peace commission to the Middle East; former U.S. Senators James Abourezk and James Abdnor, both of South Dakota; and former Congressional members Pat Danner of Missouri, Mary Rose Oakar of Ohio, the late George Kasem of California, who was the first Arab American elected to the U.S. Congress, Abraham Kazen, Jr. of Texas, and Toby Moffett of Connecticut. Victor Atiyeh was the popular governor of Oregon. And in San Diego, city clerk Charles Abdelnour pioneered the legislation to create the "all-mail ballot" which set a national precedent and earned him an international reputation in election law.
Sports In auto racing, Bobby Rahal won the Indy 500 in 1986, later becoming the alltime earnings champ among Indy car racers. The founder of the Professional Bowlers Association was the late Eddie Elias. In the ring, Petey Sarron won the world featherweight championship in 1936-1937. Zuhair "Steve" Mansour was weightlifting’s Grandmaster of the World in 1990. And a four-time U.S. National Chess Champion and Grandmaster is Seattle’s Yasser Seirawan. Women’s International Chess Master Jennifer Shahade won the 2002 U.S. Women’s Chess Championship. The late Dr. Elias Ghanem, former chairman of the Nevada Athletic Commission and Las Vegas’own physician to the stars, once treated celebrities like Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson, Johnny Cash, Kenny Rogers, and Paul Anka. In track and field, the world record holder for the marathon is Arab American Khalid Khannouchi.
Activists The
founder and president of Thomas Nelson Publishers, the
largest world-wide distributor of the Bible, is Sam
Moore. Farouk Shamie is the CEO and founder of Farouk Systems USA, a premier hair and skin care company that introduced environmentally safe products for hairdressers. Lebanese-American Richard E. Rainwater built his reputation managing investments for Texas’ wealthy Bass family and earned millions for himself as a result. He recently set up a $120 million trust for Stanford and the University of South Carolina.
George Shaheen is credited
with founding Andersen Consulting, now called Accenture,
and served as CEO and managing partner as part of a
30-year career at the world’s biggest consulting firm.
Roger Farah is president and chief operating
officer of Polo Ralph Lauren and previously served as
chairman of the board of Venator Group, Inc., the parent
company of Footlocker. The "new economy" has its share
of Arab American heroes as well: Simon Assad is
the co-CEO of Heavy.com, a music site that was nominated
for a Webby, the Internet’s highest honor. One of
America’s preeminent pollsters, keeping tabs on public
opinion and other statistics, is John Zogby of
Zogby International.
Entertainment Speaking of music, three of America’s landmark music shows on radio were created by Arab Americans, Don Bustany and me — "American Top 40," "American Top 20,"and "American Country Countdown." Diane Rehm is host and executive producer of "The Diane Rehm Show" on National Public Radio (NPR). George Noory's talk show "Coast to Coast AM" can be heard on over 500 stations nationwide. The man who pioneered the concept of a radio programming consultant in 1958 is Mike Joseph, who’s helped organizations like ABC, CBS, and NBC, among others. On Broadway, playwright Fred Saidy wrote two classics, "Finian’s Rainbow" and "Bloomer Girl." Opera prima donna Rosalind Elias hit the high notes at the Met. And for avant-garde "Dancer of the Year" in 1992, the New York Times picked a 20-year Broadway veteran with the Paul Taylor Company — Elie Chaib. David Yazbek wrote the lyrics and score for "The Full Monty." Turning to television, Lucie Salhany became the first woman to head a television network, as chair of Fox Broadcasting Co., then of United Paramount Network. Tammy Haddad, the creator of "Larry King Live," is Executive Producer of "Buchanan & Press." CNN senior editor and anchor Octavia E. Nasr has been named CNN's first senior editor for Arab affairs. Hoda Kotbe is a correspondent for NBC’s "Dateline" and Jim Avila, who is of Lebanese and Mexican descent, is a national correspondent for NBC News. Among TV directors, two Arab Americans have each helmed over 300 episodes for the networks. Asaad Kelada has done numerous series like "Family Ties" and episodes of "The Facts of Life," "Dharma & Greg," "Everybody Loves Raymond," etc. After directing Broadway hits like "Sweet Charity," "Mame," and "The Unsinkable Molly Brown," John Bowab switched to TV and has directed episodes of the classic hit "The Cosby Show" as well as "My Wife & Kids" and "Life with Bonnie."
Did you know... On NBC,
“Saturday Night Live’s” bandleader for many years was
guitarist G.E. Smith. (His family’s Lebanese
name, Haddad, means blacksmith). Lovely Salma Hayek, who is of Lebanese and Mexican descent, is another actress who has lit up the small screen (in cable TV’s movie “The Hunchback,” as the gypsy Esmeralda) and the big screen (Oscar-winning “Traffic,” “Desperado,” “Wild Wild West,” and “Frida,” about Mexican artist Frida Kahlo). The director of Jim Carrey’s loony comedy hits “Ace Ventura: Pet Detective” and “Liar, Liar,” Eddie Murphy’s “The Nutty Professor,” and Robin Williams’ “Patch Adams” is Tom Shadyac. Together, these films have grossed more than $1 billion worldwide. The Pulitzer Prize for biography (“Jackson Pollack: An American Saga”) was shared by the author of three other national bestsellers: writer-publisher Steven Naifeh of South Carolina. The book was later adapted into an Academy award-winning film (best supporting actress). Elie Samaha is chairman and owner of Franchise Pictures, which produced such films as “The Heist,” “Angel Eyes,” “The Whole Nine Yards,” and “Battlefield Earth.” Academy Award-winning film producer Ronald Schwary is best known for his work with “Tootsie,” “Meet Joe Black,” and “Scent of a Woman.” Jehane Noujaim co-directed and co-produced “Startup.com.” One of show business’ legendary talent managers was the late George “Bullets” Durgom, who, through the years, managed Jackie Gleason, Sammy Davis, Jr., and Marilyn Monroe, to mention a few. Two of today’s top recording stars’ husband-managers are of Arab descent: Rene Angelil, discoverer and manager of wife Celine Dion, and Cuban-born Emilio Estefan, manager and producer of wife Gloria Estefan. Emmy Award-winning cinematographer-director George S. Dibie is president of the International Photographers Guild. Fouad Said was the cinematographer who designed Cinemobile, the first customized van for filming on location, while working on the TV series “I Spy.” For this achievement, he received a Technical Academy Award in 1970. Other
Arab American Oscar winners include F. Murray Abraham,
who won Best Actor for the movie “Amadeus.” Screenwriter
and novelist William Peter Blatty won an Academy
Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for “The Exorcist,” a
huge box office hit based on his novel of the same name.
Recipient of an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for
“Thelma and Louise” and director of the “Divine Secrets
of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood” is Callie Khourie. The
late composer Paul Jabara won an Oscar award for
Best Song, Donna Summer’s ”Last Dance” from the movie
“Thank God, It’s Friday.” Set decorator Emile Kuri
won two Oscars for his splendid work on “The Heiress”
and “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.” He received a total
of eight Academy Award nominations and later designed
many exhibits at Disneyland.
Fashion Lebanese immigrant J.M. Haggar started Haggar Clothing Co. in 1926. It became one of the world’s best-known brands in men’s apparel. The company is now a multi-million dollar enterprise that is headed by J.M. Haggar III, who serves as chairman and CEO. In addition, Farah Brothers manufactures men’s and women’s slacks, and Maloof Brothers manufactured Mod-O-Day women’s dresses. Norma Kamali, who designs everything from clothing and cosmetics to eyeglasses, is of Arab ancestry. Reem Acra is one of the world’s preeminent designers of bridal fashions and is known for her elaborate embroideries. Hair accessories and jewelry designer Colette Malouf began her rise to the top in 1987 with the "Malouf Poof." She is known for her innovative use of exotic materials and her celebrity clientele.
Art
and Literature
Science and Medicine Two winners of the Nobel Prize for Chemistry are Arab American. Dr. Ahmed H. Zewail, a professor of physics at the California Institute of Technology (CIT), is the 1999 winner. The 1990 winner is Harvard’s Dr. Elias Corey. Also at CIT is Dr. Charles Elachi, who was selected to head up the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. A pioneer in the field of electrical engineering, inventor Hassan Kamel Al-Sabbah worked for the General Electric Company (GE) in the 1920s and 30s. His research led to 52 patent applications, among them innovations in solar energy and television tubes. Geologist George A. Doumani’s explorations helped prove the theory of continental drift; he has a mountain peak named after him in Antarctica. Another American geologist, Dr. Farouk el-Baz, born in Egypt, helped plan all the Apollo moon landings and later pioneered the use of space photography to study the Earth. Finally, the courageous astronauts who lost their lives aboard the space shuttle Challenger represented several racial and ethnic groups: African-American, Hispanic-American, Asian-American, Anglo-American, Jewish-American — and Arab American: schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe.
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