Mark Joseph Bego (born September 23, 1952, in

Pontiac, Michigan Pontiac ( ') is a city in and the county seat of Oakland County, Michigan, Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. Located roughly northwest of downtown Detroit, Pontiac is part of the Metro Detroit, Detroit metropolitan area, and is vari ...

) is an

author In legal discourse, an author is the creator of an original work that has been published, whether that work exists in written, graphic, visual, or recorded form. The act of creating such a work is referred to as authorship. Therefore, a sculpt ...

known for his biographies on the

rock & roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...

and

show business Show business, sometimes shortened to show biz or showbiz (since 1945), is a vernacular term for all aspects of the entertainment industry.''Oxford English Dictionary'' 2nd Ed. (1989) From the business side (including managers, agents, produce ...

genres. Bego has written 59 books, two of which have gone on to become ''New York Times'' Best Sellers. Bego has written biographies about notable people in entertainment, including

Linda Ronstadt Linda Maria Ronstadt (born July 15, 1946) is an American singer who has performed and recorded in diverse genres including rock, country, light opera, the Great American Songbook, and Latin music. Ronstadt has earned 11 Grammy Awards, three A ...

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. His music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting impact on the music industry, and his songwriting partnership with l ...

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Honored as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Soul", she was twice named by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine as the Roll ...

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...

Billy Joel William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Piano Man" after his Signature song, signature 1973 song Piano Man (song), of the same name, Joel has ha ...

Patsy Cline Patsy Cline (born Virginia Patterson Hensley; September 8, 1932 – March 5, 1963) was an American singer. One of the most influential vocalists of the 20th century, she was known as one of the first country music artists to successfully Cross ...

Leonardo DiCaprio Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio (; ; born November 11, 1974) is an American actor and film producer. Known for Leonardo DiCaprio filmography, his work in biographical and period films, he is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received ...

, and

Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer, actress, film producer, model, and philanthropist. Commonly referred to as "Honorific nicknames in popular music, the Voice", she is List of awards and no ...

Early career

From 1978 to 1980, he was the Nightlife Editor for

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

's ''Cue'', covering everything from

Studio 54 Studio 54 is a Broadway theatre, Broadway theater and former nightclub at 254 West 54th Street (Manhattan), 54th Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, New York, U.S. Opened as the Gallo Opera House in 1927, it served ...

to all of the

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

and

cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, casino, hotel, restaurant, or nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or drinking, ...

clubs in the city. From 1983 to 1985, he was editor-in-chief of ''

Modern Screen ''Modern Screen'' was an American fan magazine published between 1930 and 1985 that featured articles, pictorials and interviews with film stars (and later television and music personalities). Founding ''Modern Screen'' magazine debuted on ...

''. His writing has also appeared in ''People'', ''US'', ''Billboard'', ''

Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of three major weekly music industry trade magazines in the United States, with ''Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 as ''Music Vendor''. In 1964, it was changed to ''Record World'' under the ...

'', ''Cosmopolitan'', ''Star'', and ''

National Enquirer The ''National Enquirer'' is an American tabloid newspaper. Founded in 1926, the newspaper has undergone a number of changes over the years. The ''National Enquirer'' openly acknowledges that it pays Source (journalism), sources for tips (chec ...

.''

As Author

Bego's book on singer Michael Jackson, titled ''For'' ''Michael!,'' was released a week after the infamous

Pepsi Cola Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink with a cola flavor, manufactured by PepsiCo which serves as its flagship product. In 2023, Pepsi was the second most valuable soft drink brand worldwide behind Coca-Cola; the two share a long-standing rivalry ...

commercial in which Jackson's hair caught fire. The book sold three million copies in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

alone and landed on the ''New York Times'' Best Sellers for six weeks. Bego also had the chance to travel with Jackson and his brothers on the "Victory!" Tour, and subsequently wrote the book ''On The Road With Michael!'' He has also written books with

Micky Dolenz George Michael Dolenz Jr. ( ; born March 8, 1945) is an American musician and actor. He was the drummer and one of two primary vocalists for the pop rock band the Monkees (1966–1970, and reunions until 2021), and a co-star of the TV series ''T ...

The Monkees The Monkees were an American pop rock band formed in Los Angeles in the mid-1960s. The band consisted of Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones (musician), Davy Jones, Michael Nesmith, and Peter Tork. Spurred by the success of ''The Monkees (TV series), Th ...

(''I'm a Believer''),

Debbie Gibson Deborah Ann Gibson (born August 31, 1970) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She released her debut album ''Out of the Blue (Debbie Gibson album), Out of the Blue'' (1987) at age 16, writing and largely producing the material. The a ...

(''Between the Lines''), and Jimmy Greenspoon of

Three Dog Night Three Dog Night is an American rock band formed in 1967, founded by vocalists Chuck Negron, Cory Wells, and Danny Hutton. This lineup was soon augmented by Jimmy Greenspoon (keyboards), Joe Schermie (bass), Michael Allsup (guitar), and Floyd Sn ...

(''One is the Loneliest Number''). In addition, Bego has written a book called ''One Minute Before Another Midnight'' with Ruth Mueller. Bego's book subjects have ranged from

Bonnie Raitt Bonnie Lynn Raitt (; born November 8, 1949) is an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. In 1971, Raitt released her Bonnie Raitt (album), self-titled debut album. Following this, she released a series of critically acclaimed Americana (mu ...

Julia Roberts Julia Fiona Roberts (born October 28, 1967) is an American actress. Known for her leading roles across various genres, she has received multiple accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and three Golden Globe Award ...

Joni Mitchell Roberta Joan Mitchell (née Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and painter. As one of the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitch ...

, and

Jackson Browne Clyde Jackson Browne (born October 9, 1948) is an American rock musician, singer, songwriter, and political activist who has sold over 30 million albums in the United States. Emerging as a teenage songwriter in mid-1960s Los Angeles, he had his ...

Cher Cher ( ; born Cheryl Sarkisian, May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Goddess of Pop", she is known for her Androgyny, androgynous contralto voice, Music an ...

and

Bette Midler Bette Midler ( ;''Inside the Actors Studio'', 2004 born December 1, 1945) is an American actress, comedian, singer, and author. Throughout her five-decade career Midler has received List of awards and nominations received by Bette Midler, numero ...

. In 1994, his more general books published included ''Country Gals'' (life stories of

Reba McEntire Reba Nell McEntire ( ; born March 28, 1955), or simply Reba, is an American country music, country singer and actress. Dubbed "Honorific nicknames in popular music, The Queen of Country", she has sold more than 75 million records worldwide. Sin ...

Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, actress, and philanthropist, known primarily as a country music, country musician. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton's debut album ...

Tanya Tucker Tanya Denise Tucker (born October 10, 1958) is an American country music singer and songwriter who had her first hit, "Delta Dawn", in 1972 at the age of 13. During her career Tucker became one of the few child performers to mature into adulthood ...

, and other famed women in

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

), and ''Country Hunks'' (spotlighting

Vince Gill Vincent Grant Gill (born April 12, 1957) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. He played in a number of local bluegrass music, bluegrass bands in the 1970s, and from 1978 to 1982, he achieved his first mainstream attention after ta ...

Billy Ray Cyrus William Ray Cyrus ( ; born August 25, 1961) is an American singer, songwriter and actor. Having released 16 studio albums and 53 singles since 1992, he is known for his hit single "Achy Breaky Heart", which topped the U.S. Hot Country Songs cha ...

George Strait George Harvey Strait Sr. (born May 18, 1952) is an American country music singer, songwriter, actor, and music producer. Strait has sold over 120 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling music artists of all time. He holds ...

and others). Bego also authored the

reference book A reference work is a document, such as a Academic publishing#Scholarly paper, paper, book or periodical literature, periodical (or their electronic publishing, electronic equivalents), to which one can refer for information. The information ...

s ''TV Rock'' (The History of Rock & Roll on Television) and ''The Rock & Roll Almanac''. He has also written books about

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

in its heyday ''The Best of "Modern Screen"'', and ''

Rock Hudson Rock Hudson (born Roy Harold Scherer Jr.; November 17, 1925 – October 2, 1985) was an American actor. One of the most popular film stars of his time, he had a screen career spanning more than three decades, and was a prominent figure in the G ...

: Public and Private''. Bego wrote a memoir with

Memphis Mafia The Memphis Mafia was the nickname given in the 60'sby the media to the group of Elvis Presley's friends, associates, employees and cousins whose main functions were to accompany, protect, and serve Presley. From the beginning of his career in 195 ...

member Lamar Fike called ''An Uncommon Journey: On Elvis Presley Boulevard''. He co-wrote a

screenplay A screenplay, or script, is a written work produced for a film, television show (also known as a '' teleplay''), or video game by screenwriters (cf. ''stage play''). Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of w ...

based on the book called '''57 to '60: One of the Boys''. At the height of the box-office success of the film ''Titanic'', Bego wrote the

biography A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or curri ...

of the movie's star, ''Leonardo DiCaprio: A Romantic Hero''. It spent six weeks on ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' Best Seller list in 1998. In 2008, Bego published his 51st

pop culture Popular culture (also called pop culture or mass culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as popular art pop_art.html" ;"title="f. pop art">f. pop artor mass art, some ...

book, written with Randy Jones of

Village People Village People is an American disco group known for its on-stage costumes and suggestive lyrics in their music. The group was originally formed by French producers Jacques Morali and Henri Belolo and lead singer Victor Willis following the re ...

, entitled ''Macho Man''. Recently, Bego penned his own showbusiness memoir, ''Paperback Writer''. Cindy Adams in ''The New York Post'' wrote about the book, "''Paperback Writer'' ... a tell-all telling things he couldn't tell in previous books – like Aretha Franklin cooking chicken, and when the chicken was finished, so was the interview." ''Paperback Writer'' hit Number Two on ''The Book Soup'' paperback Best Seller List. Bego frequently is seen on television speaking about showbusiness, on such shows as

Entertainment Tonight ''Entertainment Tonight'' (or simply ''ET'') is an American Broadcast syndication, first-run syndicated news broadcasting news magazine, newsmagazine program that is distributed by CBS Media Ventures throughout the United States and owned by Par ...

Biography A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or curri ...

, and True Hollywood Story. In 2009, Bego released a biography of Elton John. In the summer of 2009, Bego appeared on ABC talking about Michael Jackson's death. In 2019, along with Mary Wilson of

The Supremes The Supremes were an American girl group formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959 as the Primettes. A premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successful Amer ...

, Bego helped pen ''Supreme Glamour'', a coffee table book chronicling the gowns and stage wear of the group. The forward was written by

Whoopi Goldberg Caryn Elaine Johnson (born November 13, 1955), known professionally as Whoopi Goldberg (), is an American actor, comedian, author, and television personality.Kuchwara, Michael (AP Drama Writer)"Whoopi Goldberg: A One-Woman Character Parade". ...

References

*Supreme Glamour. Publishers Weekly. 2019;266(27):79. Accessed June 21, 2025. https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lkh&AN=137336040&lang=ru&site=eds-live&scope=site *Mark Bego. Baker & Taylor Author Biographies. January 2000:1. Accessed June 21, 2025. https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lkh&AN=49645142&lang=ru&site=eds-live&scope=site *Mark Bego. Perseus Author Biographies. January 2009:230. Accessed June 21, 2025. https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lkh&AN=47886895&lang=ru&site=eds-live&scope=site *Abbott C, Gold SF, Rotella M, Zaleski J. CHER (Book review). Publishers Weekly. 2001;248(32):78. Accessed June 21, 2025. https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lkh&AN=4986008&lang=ru&site=eds-live&scope=site *Gold SF, Chenoweth E, Rotella M, Andriani L, Reiss J, Zaleski J. TINA TURNER: Break Every Rule (Book). Publishers Weekly. 2003;250(43):55. Accessed June 21, 2025. https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lkh&AN=11236348&lang=ru&site=eds-live&scope=site *Gold SF, Chenoweth E, Zaleski J. BETTE MIDLER (Book). Publishers Weekly. 2002;249(44):74. Accessed June 21, 2025. https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lkh&AN=7731953&lang=ru&site=eds-live&scope=site *Jones ME. Just One More Question: Answers and Insights from a Psychic Medium. Library Journal. 2006;131(3):135. Accessed June 21, 2025. https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lkh&AN=19730755&lang=ru&site=eds-live&scope=site *Aretha Franklin: The Queen of Soul. Publishers Weekly. 2012;259(9):78. Accessed June 21, 2025. https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lkh&AN=72430390&lang=ru&site=eds-live&scope=site *Rocket Man: The Life of Elton John. Publishers Weekly. 2019;266(43):94-95. Accessed June 21, 2025. https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lkh&AN=139362353&lang=ru&site=eds-live&scope=site

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bego, Mark American biographers American male biographers Living people 1952 births People from Pontiac, Michigan