Top 250 Tv Shows Like Film House Fever

The everyday lives of office employees in the Scranton, Pennsylvania branch of the fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Company.

Atlantic City at the dawn of Prohibition is a place where the rules don't apply. And the man who runs things -- legally and otherwise -- is the town's treasurer, Enoch "Nucky" Thompson, who is equal parts politician and gangster.

Three adolescent boys, Ed, Edd "Double D", and Eddy, collectively known as "the Eds", constantly invent schemes to make money from their peers to purchase their favorite confectionery, jawbreakers. Their plans usually fail though, leaving them in various predicaments.

George of the Jungle is an American animated series produced by Jay Ward and Bill Scott, who created The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show. The character George was inspired by the legend of Tarzan. It ran for 17 episodes on Saturday mornings from September 9 to December 30, 1967, on the American TV network ABC. The half-hour program was distributed for many years by Worldvision Enterprises, currently part of CBS Television Distribution.  Each Full Episode was a compilation of 3 mini episodes from 3 different shows: George of the Jungle; Tom Slick; Super Chicken -Each voiced by the same actors.

TV series about the life of Brendon Small, an eight-year-old visionary who, using his friends Jason and Melissa as actors, have managed to direct over a thousand homemade films. His parents are divorced, but it doesn't feel strange since so many other kids' parents are divorced. His friend Jason actually feels upset because his parents are still together. At school, he is taught soccer by his coach John McGuirk, or as he calls him, "that weird Irish guy".

James Lipton sits down with some of the world's most accomplished actors and directors for penetrating, fascinating interviews.

Joined by his faithful mecha-butler, Kaz Kaan pursues love, fashion and supernatural forces amid Neo Yokio's sinister high society.

Rob Dyrdek takes the funniest amateur internet videos and builds them into an episode of edgy, funny, and most importantly, timeless television.

RightThisMinute is a viral videos show. Every day, a team of e-journalists scour the internet to find the videos everyone will be talking about. The hosts then share the funniest, most outrageous, most informative or entertaining videos.

Allison "Sonny" Munroe makes the leap from the Midwest to Los Angeles to join the cast of "So Random!," the most popular sketch comedy TV show for kids and tweens. Her fellow young actors are resident teen queen Tawni, super suave Nico, gregarious funnyman Grady and quirky Zora. Now Sonny must somehow balance these new friendships while adjusting to her family's decidedly different way of life in Hollywood. Meanwhile, Sonny must also contend with heartthrob Chad Dylan Cooper, star of the rival show "MacKenzie Falls," who makes it known that he thinks his dramatic work is better than her comedy career.

Down on his luck and out of money, former R&B star Steve Hightower lands a music teacher gig at an inner-city Chicago school. Showing who's in charge with his unorthodox approach, Steve discovers a new groove at Washington High School.

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson is a talk show hosted by Johnny Carson under The Tonight Show franchise from 1962 to 1992. It originally aired during late-night. For its first ten years, Carson's Tonight Show was based in New York City with occasional trips to Burbank, California; in May 1972, the show moved permanently to Burbank, California. In 2002, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson was ranked #12 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time.

The official Svengoolie after-party! Join host Sventoonie for a celebration of all things scary, silly… and Svengoolie as he recaps classic horror films, along with supernaturally fun sketches and video shorts. Of course, what’s a party without guests like Svengoolie, Kerwyn, and other surprise pop-ins?

Follow the booze-fueled misadventures of three longtime pals and petty serial criminals who run scams from their Nova Scotia trailer park.

PBS SoCal and Variety take you inside the biggest movies and T.V. shows of the past year through candid conversations with today's hottest actors. Hosted by Variety Film Awards Editor Clayton Davis and Variety Chief Correspondent Elizabeth Wagmeister, each episode brings together pairs of actors engaging in intimate one-on-one discussions about their craft and work.

The Dick Powell Show is an American anthology series that ran on NBC from 1961- 1963, primarily sponsored by the Reynolds Metals Company. It was hosted by longtime film star Dick Powell until his death from lymphatic cancer on January 2, 1963, then by a series of guest hosts until the series ended. The first of these was Gregory Peck, who began the January 8 program with a tribute to Powell, recognizing him as "a great and good friend to our industry." Peck was followed by fellow actors such as Robert Mitchum, Frank Sinatra, Glenn Ford, Charles Boyer, Jackie Cooper, Rock Hudson, Milton Berle, Jack Lemmon, Dean Martin, Robert Taylor, Steve McQueen, David Niven, Danny Thomas, Robert Wagner and John Wayne.

A look at everything Doctor Who, with exclusive behind-the-scenes clips, interviews with the programme's stars and competitions.

Harry Hill's TV Burp is a British television comedy programme that ran for 11 years from 2001 to 2012. It was produced by Avalon Television for ITV and hosted by comedian Harry Hill. The show presents a look at the week's television, including extracts from TV shows with added sketches, observational voice-overs, and guest appearances. The show is based on clips of the previous week of programming on television, frequently reinterpreting actions or lines of dialogue in a humorous way, or pointing out how views of props or sets amusingly resemble other objects, and often lightheartedly or sarcastically commenting on the actual intended content of the programme. To produce the show, Hill and his programme associate writing team, including Brenda Gilhooly, Paul Hawksbee, Dan Maier, Joe Burnside and David Quantick, watch significant amounts of television, much on preview tapes. Clips from a variety of shows across most channels are included in the show, with soaps, dramas and popular-factual series being the most commonly represented genres. The clips are shown outside of the context of their original programme and only limited information about the scene is given, as the focus of the show's treatment is on the often unintentional humour which can be derived from the scene. The show was filmed at Teddington Studios, Greater London, in Studio 1 for series 1 to 8. From series 9 to 11, the studio has been the BBC Television Centre in London.

Cranky but likable L.A. PI Jim Rockford pulls no punches (but takes plenty of them). An ex-con sent to the slammer for a crime he didn't commit, Rockford takes on cases others don't want, aided by his tough old man, his lawyer girlfriend and some shady associates from his past.

Jack Black, Channel 101, and VH1 want to introduce you to their new interactive sketch comedy show: Acceptable.tv. Each week you'll see five mini TV shows made by the Acceptable.tv team.

100 höjdare was a Swedish TV series which was produced and aired on Kanal 5. Six seasons of the show were produced and it ran from 2004 to 2008. It was hosted by the comedy duo Filip Hammar & Fredrik Wikingsson. In the first three seasons the hosts presented funny moments, often in the form of video clips, listing their 100 all-time favorites. In season two and three they also discuss the clips with celebrity guests. By season four the format changed and instead of showing clips, Filip and Fredrik made impromptu interviews with people, often in their homes.

Aided by her online network of friends, Lily Allen hosts a programme of music and chat. Each week she is joined by two celebrities and someone made famous on the internet.

In a fast-paced review of the video viral revolution, Alex Zane presents a countdown of the funniest, rudest and most bizarre video clips to have taken the internet by storm.

Family Business was an American reality TV series produced for the cable network Showtime. Based in Los Angeles, the series focused on the pornography industry and the life of Adam Glasser, a reality porn star and video director who uses the stage name "Seymore Butts". Also featured on the series were his son, Brady, along with his mother, Lila Glasser, and his older cousin, Stevie Glasser, both of whom help Adam run the eponymous "family business" of the series, which in this case is a successful porn video production and distribution house in the San Fernando Valley, known for the "Seymore Butts" line of videos. The series first aired in 2003. In Canada it is broadcast on The Movie Network, Movie Central, and Showcase Television, in the UK on Channel 4, and in Latin America on FX. The first two seasons are currently available on DVD in North America. The series ran for four seasons. The series won the 2005 AVN award for 'Best Alternative Release'.

The Story of Light Entertainment is a British documentary series shown on the BBC in 2006. The series comprises eight episodes and is narrated by Stephen Fry.

Russell Howard offers his unique perspective on the big stories dominating all of our news outlets, from online and print to broadcast, as well as picking up on those sometimes overlooked things. He uses clips, sketches and studio guests to look at things that have made him smile during the week.

Paddy McGuinness tries to find 30 single girls a date and hopefully in the process the man of their dreams. But can our single boys do enough to turn them on and win themselves a date?

Storykeepers is an animated Christian video series produced by Zondervan from 1995 to 1997 in America and Ireland. It tells the story of a Christian leader and his family's adventures living in Ancient Rome, Italy whose mission is to keep Jesus's stories alive during the 1st century. The series consists of thirteen episodes, and features two full-length movies that are compilations of the last four episodes. The introduction to each episode before the opening credits is as follows: "Rome, 64 AD. The Emperor Nero has unleashed his fury against the Christians. Their crime: Proclaiming a King higher than Caesar. Setting fire to the city, Nero places the blame on the Christians, and launches a new campaign to wipe them out. Families are separated, children left homeless, as thousands are sold into slavery or thrown to the lions. Escaping the panic of the fire, and dodging the advancing soldiers, a group of children find shelter in the gentle care of Ben and Helena; a local baker, and his wife. Here the children discover an amazing secret network of daring men and women, who risk their lives to help one another, and to tell the stories of the great storyteller, the one called Jesus. And so awaiting the day when their parents will return, Anna, Cyrus, Justin, and Marcus, embark on an adventure of a lifetime, together with Ben, Helena, and their friends, in the Christian underground. Their mission: To keep the stories of Jesus alive. This is their story. They are the Storykeepers!"

Monarchy: The Royal Family at Work is a fly on the wall documentary TV series made by the BBC and RDF Media which follows the British Royal Family over the course of a year. The promotion for the documentary caused a controversy in 2007 when the BBC showed a group of journalists a trailer of the series including some shots that were edited in non-chronological order making it erroneously appear that Queen Elizabeth II had stormed out of a photo shoot with Annie Leibovitz after being asked to remove her 'crown'. On 11 July 2007, the controller of BBC One, Peter Fincham, told journalists at the BBC1 new season launch that the trailer showed the Queen "losing it a bit and walking out in a huff". However, the clip which appeared to show the Queen abruptly leaving in an agitated mood was actually of her entering the shoot. The next day, the BBC issued a statement which pointed out the error and formally apologised to the Queen. Both Fincham and the Chief Creative Officer of RDF Media, Stephen Lambert, resigned as a result of the controversy.

Steve agrees to review six restaurants and takes Rob with him.

The trucking adventures of one of the UK's biggest hauling companies, Eddie Stobart.

World's Craziest Fools is a clip show made by Roughcut TV for BBC Three, presented by Mr. T. It showcases clips, sometimes viral, of people making themselves look like "Fools", often by accident. Many clips were from CCTV footage. The videos were shown in different categories such as "Parking Fools", "Drunk Fools", "Criminal Fools", and "Fools jumping off things they shouldn't be jumping off of". As would be expected, some categories see more entries than others, and the categories that feature episode-to-episode are not bound to a predetermined structure.

A pair of longtime friends and former Texas Rangers crave one last adventure before hanging-up their spurs. After stealing over a thousand head of cattle from rustlers south of the border, they recruit an unlikely crew of hands to drive the herd 3,000 miles north to the grasslands of Montana.

The Sarah Millican Television Programme is a British comedic television show about television. It is shown on BBC Two and is hosted by comedian Sarah Millican. It began on 8 March 2012 and is scheduled to run for six episodes. A second series was broadcast from Christmas Day 2012 and throughout January, and a third series has been commissioned. An unbroadcast pilot episode was filmed on 25 May 2011. A series was then commissioned and filmed at the MediaCityUK complex in Salford in late-2011. The series is a co-production by So Television and Millican's own company, Chopsy Productions.

A worldwide guided tour of the greatest movies ever made and the story of international cinema through the history of cinematic innovation.

BMW film presents "The Hire", a series of eight short films produced for the Internet in 2001 and 2002. A form of branded content, all eight films feature popular filmmakers from across the globe, star Clive Owen as the "The Driver" and highlight the performance aspects of various BMW automobiles. The series made a comeback in 2016, fifteen years after its original run ended.

Sixteen years ago, Jack Tanner's bid for the White House ended at the 1988 Democratic convention. Now the former congressman is the subject of a documentary film directed by his daughter Alex focusing on the toll paid by failed contenders.

The place to catch up on all things Big Brother UK! Join Emma Willis for the best mix of exclusive clips, news and reactions from the house, plus celebrity guests and live debates in the studio.

A countdown of humorous home videos.

Count Arthur Strong is a faded star from the golden days of variety, prone to delusions of grandeur, selective memory loss and the blurting out of malapropisms. He was never as famous as he thinks he was... or still thinks he is. Believing that another great entertainment triumph is only a phone call away, Arthur spends his day making the most of any opportunity that comes along - gaining a free lunch or selling a dodgy foot-spa he doesn't want - creating chaos and confusion wherever he goes, blissfully unaware that he has done so.

Entertainment news set in a parallel universe and featuring clips of the dark alleyways of the television landscape.

Trailers that tell you the TRUTH about your favorite movies and TV shows: Honest Trailers. These are the hilarious trailers the producers don't want you to see...

An anthology of darkly comic twisted tales, each one taking place behind a door marked 'number 9'.

Steven Rambam is a private investigator who has pursued suspects all over the world. He has conducted or coordinated foreign insurance-related probes, including those of hundreds of deaths, and a significant number have resulted in confessions, arrests and prosecutions. In "Nowhere to Hide," Rambam recounts the most dramatic cases from his extensive file -- just when criminals think they have it made, the world-renowned PI finds them and brings them to justice. Each hourlong story interweaves exclusive undercover surveillance clips with the exotic adventures, before concluding with the captures.

Clipped centers on a group of barbershop coworkers who all went to high school together but ran in very different crowds. Now they find themselves working together at Buzzy's, a barbershop in Charlestown, Massachusetts.

The ultimate compilation of the most outrageous, hilarious and dangerous misadventures on wheels caught on camera.

Hollywood Wives tells the stories of several women in Hollywood, from powerful talent agents and screenwriters to vivacious screen vixens and young, innocent newcomers.

Nanalan' is a Canadian television show broadcast by CBC Television in Canada and by PBS in the US, created by The Grogs. Its target audience is preschool kids and Nanalan' is "designed to foster children's curiosity and love of learning, with the hope they will carry it with them as they grow". Excerpts from the show also air on Fox Kids UK. Nanalan also aired on Nick Jr. as short episodes in between shows. Nanalan' began airing in 1999. In 2004, it was nominated for the following three Gemini Awards: Best Performance in a Pre-School Program or Series; Best Writing in a Children's or Youth Program or Series; and Best Pre-School Program or Series. Nanalan' won Best writing and Best performance, an award shared by Jamie Shannon, Jason Hopley, Marty Stelnick, Todd Doldersum, and Ali Eisner. Several compilation DVDs of the show and a CD of musical highlights are also available.

The Mouse Factory is an American syndicated television series produced by Walt Disney Productions and created by Ward Kimball, that ran from 1972 to 1974. It showed clips from various Disney cartoons and movies, hosted by celebrity guests, including Johnny Brown, Charles Nelson Reilly, JoAnne Worley and many more, visiting the Disney studio and interacting with the walk-around Disney characters from the Disney Theme Parks. It was later re-run on the Disney Channel in the 1980s and '90s. The theme played over the previews of each episode was a fast instrumental version of "Whistle While You Work" from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The song played over the end credits is "Minnie's Yoo Hoo", the theme song from the original Mickey Mouse Clubs that met in theaters starting in 1929. However, due to low ratings, the series was canceled after its second season.

If you're expecting this show to feature locations like Antarctica and the North Pole, you may be disappointed because the "coolest" in the title refers to how impressive a place is, not its temperature. Instead, the show explores the history and culture of cities and landmarks that are among the most astonishing sites on the planet. Each episode features three locations, showcasing the history, geography and traditions of each to help young people gain a better understanding of the diverse world in which they live.

Funniest Pets & People is a solid half-hour of pure entertainment with a proven format featuring hysterical, fast-paced video clips submitted by viewers who share the funniest moments of their favorite Pets & People.

Alistair Stewart presents incredible clips of eyewitness footage, filmed by members of the public.

The owners of a dive bar in Brooklyn, Horace and Pete, along with bar regulars share their experiences and lives with each other while drinking or working at the bar.

A blooper show hosted by Terry Wogan that ran from 29 December 1991 to 29 December 2001, with clips taken mainly from BBC programmes including soaps, sitcoms, dramas and news.

A lot of liquor an whores, mustard and bologna, maybe some cigarettes and dope, but mostly just liquor and whores, cigarettes and balogna, as well as mustard and dope.

Series looking at how the BBC has revealed and interpreted monumental moments in our history. Using the BBC archive, the programmes examine changes in research covered in documentary television.

Two-part documentary series about the life and legacy of Walt Disney, featuring archival footage only recently released from the Disney vaults, alongside scenes from some of his greatest films.

A long-running late night television show on ITV which was made first by LWT and then Granada Productions. It featured a number of clips from unusual or (often unintentionally) amusing television programmes and commercials from around the world.

Talk-show with a celeb panel who discuss the previous week of Love Island plus some exclusive clips direct from the villa.

From bad weather ruining weddings to vacations from hell, "Weather Gone Viral" uses video clips and interviews to demonstrate how meteorological moments around the world affect people in their every day lives. These unbelievable, and often funny, clips will include commentary from our meteorologists, interviews, and graphics that will keep viewers on their toes.

Narrated by Radio 1 DJ, Greg James, Most Ridiculous seeks out the stupidest and most insane videos ever to be found online.

The first season of this comedy anthology is set in the offices of Heaven Inc. When God plans to destroy the Earth, two low-level angels must convince their boss to save humanity. They bet him they can pull off their most impossible miracle yet: help two humans fall in love.

Surviving power struggles, betrayals and plots, Hitler's inner circle of Nazi leaders seizes control of Germany and designs its disastrous future.

The mysterious Fury gives viewers top-secret access to S.H.I.E.L.D. intel on key Marvel heroes and villains by bringing together a mix of animation and motion comic art.

This Emmy award-winning arts and culture series examines the lives, works and creative processes of arts and culture innovators making an impact in Southern California and beyond.

Featuring home videos with an edgier twist. A show where the hits are a little harder, the language a bit saltier, the animals a little less cute, the kids a tad less adorable and the embarrassing moments more revealing.

Comedian Rob Beckett brings together all the biggest celebrity news and OMG moments of the week, providing a savage commentary on clips, memes and blunders

Tired of being the comedic sidekick, Kevin Hart gets his wish when a famous director offers him his dream – to be a leading man action star – but there’s a catch: Kevin must first train at the world’s greatest action star school, run by a lunatic.

As told through clips from 183 female directors, this epic history of the cinema focuses on women’s integral role in the development of film art. Using almost a thousand film extracts from thirteen decades and five continents, Mark Cousins asks how films are made, shot and edited; how stories are shaped and how movies depict life, love, politics, humour and death, all through the compelling lens of some of the world’s greatest filmmakers – all of them women.

During each hour-long episode, Jack will reveal a series of mind-blowing paranormal clips from the great beyond for his parents, Ozzy and Sharon, to witness. From Bigfoot to UFOs, poltergeists, creepy dolls and unexplained apparitions, the couple will review – and critique – each caught-on-camera moment, a compilation of Jack’s favorite pieces of evidence.

Host Elizabeth Stanton and a celebrity guest panel look at animals doing the funniest things ever caught on video. The series includes viral internet clips of funny animal moments, hilarious animal clips from major motion pictures and popular TV series, animal outtakes that surprise the whole cast and crew, videos of babies and pets, as well as celebrities and their pets.

Comedian Jon Richardson presents a weekly digest of the world's wildest television, giving his take on curious headlines, hilarious clips, terrible soap opera acting and more.

Revisit the epic heroes, villains and moments from across the MCU in preparation for the stories still to come. Each dynamic segment feeds directly into the upcoming series — setting the stage for future events. This series weaves together the many threads that constitute the unparalleled Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Top topiary artists compete to create larger-than-life living sculptures. Michael Urie hosts and gardening icon Martha Stewart heads a panel of judges as they decide who will be "clipped" and who will win the title of Clipped Champion and $50,000!

Video clips of weather related mishaps including weather reporters struggling through everything nature can throw at them, coping with technical issues while reporting from the studio. Slips of the tongue and giggle attacks.

In this mini-series of animated shorts, an enthusiastic boy named Tommy gets into all sorts of zany battles.

The Walking Dead: Origins is a series of specials exploring the journeys of the series' most celebrated characters. Each episode charts the story of the zombie apocalypse from the point of view of a single character and features new interviews and narrations from the actors that portray these iconic characters, interwoven with clips from the most pivotal moments of their journeys so far.

A compilation of comedy sketches created by comedian Shane Gillis and John McKeever.

NatGeo meets America's Funniest Home Videos in an unlikely marriage that produces hilarious pets, awesome wildlife, and everything in between. From the backyard to the savannah, we spend time with animals that make us laugh, gasp, and smile, providing us a unique mix of humor and wonder…all hosted by Alfonso Ribeiro.

OWN’S latest unscripted relationship series, “Marry Me Now,” will undoubtedly have tongues wagging with its unexpected twist to marriage. The series is hosted by relationship coach and author, Rebecca Lynn Pope, who will guide real-life women ready to take the reins in planning their weddings and proposing to their significant others, all in the hopes of marriage. The series will also stream the same day on discovery+. Watch trailer below!

Snoop Dogg and Tacarra Williams invite celebrity comedian panelists to examine clips of some of the dumbest crimes ever caught on camera.

The downfall of Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling, amid the team's drive to win a championship under coach Doc Rivers.

Showcases the best magic, video illusions and trick videos. Featuring some of the most skilled digital magicians and illusionists including America’s Got Talent winner Shin Lim, The Slo Mo Guys and many more. Viewers will see everything from eye popping VFX Illusions, Tik Tricks, Sleight of Hand Cardistry, Slow Motion Action Clips and Card Throwing Trick Shots.

Join your fan-favorite Disney Branded Television characters as they host a showcase to celebrate their wild Chibi Tiny Tales adventures, including Phineas and Ferb, Cricket Green, Anne Boonchuy, Molly McGee, Penny Proud and more.

Take three Trailer Park Boys, add one dysfunctional TV network, stir in a bunch of illicit activity and a healthy dose of profanity. Whaddya get? A combo platter of comedy entertainment that will spawn shipping containers of laughter.

A series of television comedy specials primarily featuring some of the most well-known faces in the world... doing some of the most embarrassing things on camera including "blooper" outtakes from film and television.

From trailers and campers to sprinters and school buses – if it has wheels, Big Boi and Janice are ready to make their clients’ vehicle renovation dreams come true.

Experts compare the futuristic visions of pop-culturists with the breakthrough advances in science and technology.

Jason Manford narrates this reflective show looking back at over 60 years of the classic soap. Relive some of its best moments through carefully curated footage from the archives.

The Gabby Hayes Show is a general purpose western television series in which the film star and Roy Rogers confidant, George "Gabby" Hayes, narrated each episode, showed clips from old westerns, or told tall tales for a primarily children's audience.

Eight murders in the Cincinnati region. Seven adults and a 16-year-old boy from the Rhoden family were shot execution-style at three homes and a nearby trailer in 2016.

Early NBC series showcasing compilation films - documentaries made from existing archival footage. Patterned on the successful Victory at Sea, it employed fast-paced editing, music, and narration. Concentrating on public affairs and public life, it steered clear of controversial subjects and enjoyed strong ratings, inspiring many competitors such as Air Power and The Twentieth Century. In later years, however, it would be criticized as superficial in comparison to "serious" documentary and current events programs.

Dive deep into the art of storytelling by examining the defining principles and inner workings of the greatest classic films from the past century.

From talking kitties and slumbering cats to dancing dogs and dogs that doze, we count down the cutest clips in the web-o-sphere to crown America's Cutest Cat and America's Cutest Dog.

The World's Funniest Moments is a reality television series produced by Associated Television International. Taped in front of a live audience, the show features humorous video clips taken from the Internet and submitted by viewers. The series results in part from the popularity of YouTube and is described as "capturing life's most outrageous moments caught on tape". But what makes this show different, according to Hall, is that many of the videos produced are short films produced by aspiring Spike Lees. A number of the short films come from shortbrain.tv. The series originally ran on MyNetworkTV, until that network decided to focus on reruns of older shows, the network did not renew The World's Funniest Moments for 2009-2010. The show resumed in syndication for the Fall of 2010 with Erik Estrada and Laura McKenzie hosting.

In this pair of adventures, Po tells the story of how masters Thundering Rhino, Storming Ox and Croc met and takes on Shifu's biggest challenge yet.

Steve Martin is one of the most beloved and enigmatic figures in entertainment. Dive into his extraordinary story from two distinct points of view—past and present—as Martin reflects on how his beginnings led to his unexpectedly fulfilling life today.