Steve Altes Explained

Steve Altes
Birth Date:13 November 1962
Birth Place:Syracuse, New York
Nationality:American
Alma Mater:Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Education:S.B. (Aeronautics and Astronautics), S.M. (Aeronautics and Astronautics), S.M. (Technology and Policy)
Known For:humorous adventure essays, Geeks & Greeks
Awards:National Medal of Technology
Spouse:Diana Jellinek

Steve Altes (born November 13, 1962) is an American writer and former aerospace engineer. He writes humorous essays about his misadventures.[1]

Early life

Altes was born on November 13, 1962, in Syracuse, New York. He graduated from Fayetteville-Manlius High School in Manlius in 1980.[2] In high school, Altes once ran a track meet in clown make-up.[1] In 2000, when Altes was inducted into the Fayetteville-Manlius Hall of Distinction as one of the high school's "notable alumni", he acknowledged the dichotomy in his career segue from engineering to entertainment, saying, "I owe a tremendous debt to those dedicated teachers for the serious half of my career. For the silly half, I’d like to thank all the class clowns."[3]

Engineering

Altes holds three degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT): S.B., Aeronautics and Astronautics, 1984; S.M., Aeronautics and Astronautics, 1986; and S.M., Technology and Policy, 1986.[4]

In 1982, Altes was part of the MIT team that set a world land-speed record for a human-powered vehicle using a five-person, forty-foot-long "bicycle". His master's thesis, "The Aerospace Plane: Technological Feasibility and Policy Implications",[5] was reviewed by James Fallows in The New York Review of Books in 1986.[6]

After college, Altes worked as a space policy analyst for the Congressional Office of Technology Assessment.[1] He left Congress for a position as program control manager for the Pegasus air-launched space booster at Orbital Sciences Corporation. In 1991, Altes was part of the Orbital Sciences team that was awarded the National Medal of Technology (the United States' highest award for technological achievement) by President George H. W. Bush for developing Pegasus.[7] He is a co-recipient of the 1990 Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Trophy for Current Achievement in Aerospace.[8]

Due to his varied endeavors in the fields of engineering and entertainment, Altes is sometimes listed as one of MIT's more "notable alumni".[9]

Entertainment

In the mid-1990s, Altes left engineering for a career in entertainment and writing.

Essays

Altes has written a series of first-person participatory adventure essays about experiences such as:

These essays have appeared in magazines and newspapers like Salon,[18] The Washington Post,[12] the Los Angeles Times,[17] The Christian Science Monitor,[19] Capital Style,[20] The Writer,[14] Urban Male Magazine,[21] Funny Times[22] and P.O.V.[15]

Books

In 1997, Altes's The Little Book of Bad Business Advice was published by St. Martin's Press.

In 2001, a sequel, If You Jam the Copier, Bolt was published by Andrews McMeel Publishing.[23]

In 2005, Altes was a contributor to Michael J. Rosen's anthology, May Contain Nuts: A Very Loose Canon of American Humor. His piece satirized his career as a male model.[24]

In 2006, the humor editor Judy Brown selected twenty of Altes's jokes to appear in her anthology Joke Express: Instant Delivery of 1,424 Funny Bits from the Best Comedians.[25]

In 2014, Altes ran a Kickstarter[26] campaign which raised $43,098 to finance the illustration of a graphic novel he had written about hacks at MIT, titled Geeks & Greeks.[27] [28] The graphic novel was illustrated by Andy Fish and was published in 2016 to generally positive reviews.[29]

Film appearances

Altes has appeared in a number of films and television shows after being accidentally "discovered" and cast as a German terrorist in Die Hard With a Vengeance in 1995.[30]

Year Film Role
1995 Die Hard With a Vengeance German terrorist
1997 Shadow Conspiracy[31] Secret Service agent
1999 Girl, Interrupted Medic
2000 Hollow Man Dad

Print modeling

Altes has worked as a commercial print model and hand model.[13] [32]

Other

Altes has also been:

Awards

Personal

Altes lives in the Los Angeles area and is married to Diana Jellinek, an acting coach.[35]

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Model/Actor/Scientist Adds Writer to Resume . Lawrence, KS . Lawrence Journal-World . 1998-09-10.
  2. News: Valedictorian Tradition Scrapped at High Schools . Washington, DC . The Washington Times . May 7, 1999.
  3. News: Hall of Distinction Inductees . Manlius, NY . FMSchools.org . June 1, 2000.
  4. News: MIT Graduate Inspires Crowd with Life Experience . Washington, DC . The Tech (MIT) . December 1, 1998.
  5. News: The Aerospace Plane: Technological Feasibility and Policy Implications . MIT.edu . May 1, 1986 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140905034124/http://dspace.mit.edu/bitstream/handle/1721.1/15033/15338304.pdf?sequence=1 . September 5, 2014 .
  6. News: The Americans in Space . New York City. The New York Review of Books . December 18, 1986.
  7. News: Technology and the Future Warrior: Protecting Soldiers in the 21st Century . Cambridge, Massachusetts . M.I.T. . September 13, 2004.
    - News: Rocket Scientist Turns to Entertainment . Cambridge, Massachusetts . MIT.edu . September 1, 2008.
    - News: The National Medal of Technology and Innovation 1991 Laureates . Washington, DC . USPTO.gov . January 1, 1991.
  8. News: National Air and Space Museum Trophy Recipients . Washington, DC . Smithsonian Institution . June 1, 1990.
  9. News: Notable Alumni: After Departing from MIT, Alumni Make their Mark on the World . Cambridge, Massachusetts . The Tech . May 5, 1999.
    - News: Notable Alumni . Cambridge, Massachusetts . MIT Admissions . September 4, 2014.
    - News: 12 MIT Grads that Changed the World . Boston, MA . BostInno.com . February 16, 2011.
    - News: Top 10 famous alumni of MIT . TopYaps. September 8, 2014.
    - News: MIT's 150th Birthday . FastCompany . April 11, 2011.
    - Web site: The Rival Rundown: Caltech vs MIT . Fordham . Sara . College Candy . September 30, 2009 . August 6, 2016.
  10. News: Reverend Me . Los Angeles, CA . Atheists.org . June 1, 2004.
  11. News: So, You Want a Piece of Me? . New York City . Tear Sheet . June 1, 2000.
  12. News: Standing In for Brad . Washington, DC . The Washington Post . March 26, 1997.
  13. News: Guy on the Box . New York City . Tear Sheet . December 1, 2000.
  14. News: How to Become an Author in Four Easy Steps . Boston . The Writer . March 1, 1999.
  15. News: The Fugitive . New York City . P.O.V. . August 1, 1998.
  16. News: Bill Clinton Hit on My Wife . Washington, DC . Capital Style . October 1, 1998.
    - News: The Basement with Bill . New York City. New York Post . September 24, 1998.
    - News: Jove Laughs, They Say: Lewinsky as Text . January 1, 2000. 9780761818052 . Gillis . John F. X. . University Press of America .
  17. News: My Short, Sorry Career as a Spy . Los Angeles . Los Angeles Times . February 24, 2003.
  18. News: Brad and Me . Washington, DC . Salon . April 27, 1998 . unfit . https://web.archive.org/web/20071020092731/http://www1.salon.com/media/1998/04/27media.html . October 20, 2007 .
  19. News: How I Became a CIA Spy for a Day . Boston, MA . The Christian Science Monitor . March 3, 2003.
  20. News: Capital Style Overcomes Substance . Washington, DC . Washington Business Journal . November 9, 1998.
  21. News: Reverend Me . Canada. Urban Male Magazine . Spring 2004.
  22. News: Confessions About My Baby . Cleveland Heights, OH . Funny Times . November 1, 2007.
  23. News: Books Represented . New York City . JeffHerman.com . August 19, 2015.
  24. News: May Contain Nuts: A Very Loose Canon of American Humor . August 12, 2015.
  25. Book: Brown. Judy. Joke Express: Instant Delivery of 1,424 Funny Bits from the Best Comedians. August 2007. Andrews McMeel Publishing. 978-0740760471. 7, 23, 37, 45, 68, 107, 108, 110, 137, 181, 189, 218, 220, 227, 233, 236, 239, 260, 265, 272. 1st.
  26. News: Geeks & Greeks – an epic graphic novel about MIT pranks . Los Angeles, CA . Kickstarter.com . June 12, 2014.
  27. News: How Stunt Work on Die Hard Led to a Graphic Novel About MIT Hacks . Cambridge, Massachusetts . MIT Slice of Life blog . May 8, 2015.
  28. News: Humor Writer to Publish Graphic Novel on Hacks . Cambridge, Massachusetts . TechnologyReview.com . April 21, 2015.
  29. Web site: Book Review: A Tale of Hazing and Hacking at MIT . Moore . Karleigh . The Tech (MIT) . April 8, 2016 . August 9, 2016.
    - Web site: Geeks & Greek Review . Bench . Anthony . FanboyNation . August 8, 2016 . August 9, 2016.
    - Web site: From Aerospace Engineer to Life as a Spy . Adkins . Jana . Santa Clarita Valley Business Journal. August 1, 2016 . August 9, 2016.
    - Web site: From John Lewis to Jughead, a Roundup of Graphic Novels . Pachter . Richard . Miami Herald . August 11, 2016 . October 23, 2016.
    - Web site: Altes/Fishs, Beaumont, Clowes, Cornell/Parker, Girard, Jackson, Schulz - Graphic Novels Reviews . Cornog . Martha . Library Journal . September 15, 2016 . October 23, 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160923200434/http://reviews.libraryjournal.com/2016/09/books/graphic-novels/altesfishs-beaumont-clowes-cornellparker-girard-jackson-schulz-graphic-novels-reviews-september-15-2016/ . 2016-09-23.
    - Web site: Battle of the Geeks . Frank . Casey Rose . The Post-Standard . April 8, 2016 . October 23, 2016.
    - Web site: Animal House for the Tech Gen: Geeks & Greeks Graphic Novel Review . Carreiro . Remy . Forever Geek . September 5, 2016 . October 23, 2016.
    - Web site: Review: Geeks & Greeks . Hughes . Johnny . Comic Crusaders . September 8, 2016 . October 23, 2016.
    - Web site: Talking Geeks & Greeks with Steve Altes and Andy Fish . Ferno . Clay . Force Of Geek . August 10, 2016 . October 23, 2016.
    - Web site: Steve Altes Talks Geeks & Greeks . Hickey . Patrick . Review Fix . August 25, 2016 . October 23, 2016.
  30. News: IMDB - Steve Altes . Los Angeles, CA . IMDB. September 4, 2014.
    - Web site: Yippie-Ki-Yay, Mr. Falcon . 2 February 2015 . August 12, 2015.
  31. News: Shooting Charlie Sheen . https://web.archive.org/web/20160309135138/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFm8Dr1DPvc . 2016-03-09 . dead. Hollywood, CA . YouTube . May 29, 2015.
  32. Web site: Goodbye, Modeling . August 12, 2015.
    - News: Living Blue in the Red States . August 12, 2015. 978-0803209855 . Starkey . David . U of Nebraska Press .
  33. News: Screenplay deals closed 2006 . Los Angeles, CA . Ink Tip . June 1, 2006.
  34. News: Bad Move . Los Angeles, CA . National Public Radio . May 26, 2003.
  35. News: Diana Jellinek . Los Angeles, CA . IMDB . September 4, 2014.

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