- Cal Chamberlain
Cal Chamberlain (April 21, 1968 - c.July 25, 2008) born Mark Chamberlain, was an artist and Internet pioneer based out of
New York City . He was among the first journalists to achieve notablity through online media.Early life
At the age of 15, Chamberlain ran away from his home in
Seattle, Washington for a life in New York. Before becoming involved in the Internet media, he worked as a club promoter and model for designerStephen Sprouse . He became friends with singer and actressDebbie Harry and appeared in a video directed byTalking Heads ' frontmanDavid Byrne .Later Career
In 1994, Chamberlain began blogging with
Pseudo.com . A highpoint of his career came as a blogger-correspondent at the 2000 Republican and Democratic national conventions; he later donated the keyboard and webcam he used to cover those events to theSmithsonian Institution .cite web |author=Dobnik, Verena |title=Mystery surrounds death of NYC Renaissance man |work=The Associated press |url=http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080816/ap_on_en_ot/manhattan_death_mystery |accessdate=2008-08-18] Using a character from "Judge Dredd " as an inspiration, he changed his name to Cal Chamberlain and hosted a web based television show named "=JUDGECAL's= High Weirdness."cite web |author=Moynihan, Colin |title=Mourning a Club Fixture, and an Internet Pioneer |work=The New York Times |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/16/nyregion/16chamberlain.html?pagewanted=print |accessdate=2008-08-18]After Pseudo.com folded in 2000, he briefly became a political blogger for
CNN , though at the time of his death he moved away from online media and was creating metal sculptures with an art combine named the [http://www.madagascarinstitute.com/ Madagascar Institute] . His involvement with the group led him to participate in theBurning Man festival.Death
Chamberlain was found dead in his New York apartment in late July 2008. Based on the level of his body's decomposition, the coroner estimated that he had died on July 25. It took several weeks to find his relatives, who, aside from occasional phone calls or emails, had not seen him for more than 20 years. No official cause of death has been listed.cite web |author=Vranich, Belisa |title=Cal Chamberlain, R.I.P. |work=The Huffington Post |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/belisa-vranich/cal-chamberlain-rip_b_116645.html |accessdate=2008-08-18]
References
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
