Roger Clinton Jr. Explained

Roger Clinton Jr.
Birth Name:Roger Cassidy Clinton
Birth Date:1956 7, mf=yes
Birth Place:Hot Springs, Arkansas, U.S.
Children:2
Parents:Roger Clinton Sr.
Virginia Cassidy
Occupation:Actor, musician
Relatives:Bill Clinton (half-brother)
Hillary Clinton (half-sister-in-law)
Chelsea Clinton (half-niece)

Roger Cassidy Clinton (born July 25, 1956) is an American actor and musician. He is primarily known for being the younger half-brother of former United States President Bill Clinton.

Early life and education

Roger Cassidy Clinton is the only child of car salesman Roger Clinton Sr. and nurse Virginia Dell Cassidy.[1] As a child, Bill Clinton (then Bill Blythe) often had to protect young Roger from his father, an abusive alcoholic.[2] He became a musician and formed a rock band named "Dealer's Choice."

Career

Acting

Clinton has had minor roles in several films, including Bio-Dome and Fred Claus, and guest-starred on a number of television shows, including The Nanny as himself (neighbor), Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, and Cybill. He also provided the voice of his half-brother, President Bill Clinton, in the pilot episode of The Blues Brothers: The Animated Series.

Music

Clinton developed his singing career under the direction of Arkansas music impresario and manager Butch Stone. He gained professional experience by singing warm-ups for the studio audiences at tapings of the sitcom Designing Women, as well as by working as a lounge singer. As a result of a deal struck by Stone and music-industry attorney Stann Findelle, Clinton was initially contracted to Atlantic Records in 1992. His first album, Nothing Good Comes Easy, was released in September 1993 on the Pyramid/Atlantic/Rhino label. In December 1999, Clinton and his band paid a visit to Pyongyang, performing alongside North and South Korean musical acts.[3] He has played Farm Aid, and sang "Feelin' Alright" in Cleveland during "The Cleveland Funeral", a program produced as a part of The Howard Stern Show.

Personal life

From a brief relationship with Martha Spivey, he has a daughter named Macy (b. 1992).[4] [5] Clinton married Molly D'Ann Martin on March 26, 1994. Their son, Tyler Cassidy Clinton, was born on May 12, 1994.[6]

Presidency of Bill Clinton

During his brother's presidential campaign and subsequent administration, Clinton was given the codename "Headache" by the Secret Service due to his controversial behavior.[7] Clinton attracted negative media attention in 2001 when it was revealed that he had accepted $50,000 and a Rolex watch in 1999 from the children of Sicilian mobster Rosario Gambino, a convicted narcotics trafficker and Gambino crime family member serving a 49-year sentence, in exchange for lobbying his brother to pardon Gambino. Clinton repeatedly visited the federal parole commission headquarters to advocate for Gambino. In 1999, Gambino was included in a list of potential pardons, but he was ultimately not granted one.[8] In January 2001, before his brother left office, Clinton was granted a controversial presidential pardon for a 1985 cocaine possession and drug-trafficking conviction. Roger Clinton Jr. had served time in federal prison after being convicted following a sting operation of conspiracy to distribute cocaine.[9] [10]

Driving-under-the-influence arrests

Roger Clinton pleaded guilty in August 2001 to a misdemeanor count of reckless driving after Hermosa Beach, California, city prosecutors agreed to drop two driving-under-the-influence (DUI) charges and one count of disturbing the peace against him. He was sentenced then to two years' probation, ordered not to drive with any alcohol or drugs in his system and to pay about $1,350 in fines and costs.[11]

On June 5, 2016, Roger Clinton was arrested for DUI in the seaside city of Redondo Beach, about south of downtown Los Angeles, California.[12] Since it had been more than ten years since his first DUI, according to California state law, this arrest was also treated as a first-time DUI. Clinton pleaded no contest to the charge of driving while impaired. The charge of driving with a blood alcohol content of 0.08% or higher was dismissed. As part of his plea agreement, he was sentenced to three years' probation for the DUI, and two days in jail for refusing a chemical test. He was ordered to pay a $390 fine (which increased to nearly $2,000 when penalty assessments, court fees, and other fines were added) and was also ordered to attend a nine-month alcohol program—the most a first-time offender can get—because his blood alcohol content measured 0.230% and 0.237% in a preliminary alcohol screening.[13] In addition, because his arrest occurred in Los Angeles County, under the terms of Assembly Bill 91, the California Department of Motor Vehicles also required that he install an ignition interlock device in all vehicles he owned for a minimum of 5 months.

Filmography

Film

! Year! Title! Role! Notes
1993Mayor Bubba
1993The Last PartySinger and Brother of Bill ClintonDocumentary
1994Last ResortGinoDirect-to-video
1995Till the End of the NightFrank Riggio
1996Bio-DomeProfessor Bloom
1996Spy HardAgent Clinton
1997RetroactiveTruck Driver
1998Ivory TowerTim Cartridge
1998The Rugrats MovieAir CrewmanVoice
1998The GardenerDr. Nels Frankle
1999P.U.N.K.S.Carlson
1999ImplicatedLieutenant Carney
1999Storm CatcherFlight Controller
1999The White River KidBoot Scooters Proprietor
2000Chump ChangeStudio Executive #3
2007Fred ClausRoger Clinton

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
1992Hearts AfireRestaurant SingerEpisode: "The Big Date"
1995–1996The NannyRoger Clinton3 episodes
1997CybillMartyEpisode: "Name That Tune"
1997The Blues Brothers Animated SeriesPresident ClintonEpisode: "The People's Party"
1998Breakfast with EinsteinDriverTelevision film
1998Sabrina the Teenage WitchFrankEpisode: "Boy Was My Face Red"
1999Timon & PumbaaLeslie's BoyfriendEpisode: "It Runs Good/Hot Air Buffoons"

Video games

! Year! Title! Role! Notes
1995Mayor Bubba
1998Rugrats Adventure GameAlien Queeg / Trashman #2 / Male Teacher

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: The Woman Who Shaped the President . David . Maraniss . . 1994-01-07 . 2010-03-14.
  2. Clinton, Bill, My Life, 2004
  3. Web site: Interview with Roger Clinton on his Pyongyang visit.
  4. Web site: Matt. Bill and Hillary Clinton's Niece Gets Government Assistance. prunejuicemedia.com.
  5. News: Kavanagh. Tom. April 29, 2010. Macy Clinton, Hillary and Bill's Niece, on Food Stamps. Politics Daily. AOL. bot: unknown. March 23, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20100504123015/http://www.politicsdaily.com/2010/04/29/macy-clinton-hillary-and-bills-niece-on-food-stamps/. May 4, 2010.
  6. Book: Warshaw, Shirley Anne. The Clinton Years. 2009. Infobase Publishing.
  7. Watson, Robert. "Life in the White House: A Social History of the First Family and The President's House". State University of New York Press, 2004, p. 125.
  8. News: Cowan. Alison Leigh. 2001-08-26. Roger Clinton's Dogged Effort for Drug Trafficker. en-US. The New York Times. 2021-07-04. 0362-4331.
  9. Web site: Purdum. Todd S.. 23 February 2001. The Clinton Pardons: The Brothers – Siblings Who Often Emerge In an Unflattering Spotlight. The New York Times.
  10. Web site: February 22, 2001. Clinton pardons: Cast of characters. March 15, 2010. BBC.
  11. Web site: Roger Clinton guilty plea for DUI. Oct 6, 2016.
  12. Web site: Roger Clinton arrested for DUI. June 6, 2016.
  13. Web site: Roger Clinton gets 2 days jail, 3 years probation for Redondo Beach DUI case. December 13, 2016.