Alton Brown

Alton Crawford Brown (born July 30, 1962) is an American television personality, food show presenter, author, actor, and cinematographer. He is the creator and host of the Food Network television show Good Eats (14 seasons), host of the mini-series Feasting on Asphalt and Feasting on Waves, and host and main commentator on Iron Chef America, Cutthroat Kitchen and Camp Cutthroat. Brown is also the author of several books on food and cooking.

Early life

Brown was born July 30, 1962 in Los Angeles, California and spent his youth in Georgia. Brown's father, Alton Brown, Sr., was a media executive in Cleveland, Georgia, owner of radio station WRWH and publisher of the newspaper White County News.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Brown was the cinematographer for several music videos, including "The One I Love" by R.E.M..

Career

Brown notes that he was dissatisfied with the quality of cooking shows airing on American television, so he set out to produce his own show. In preparation, he enrolled in the New England Culinary Institute, graduating in 1997. Brown says that he was a poor science student in high school and college, but he focused on the subject to understand the underlying processes of cooking. He is outspoken in his shows about his dislike of single-purpose kitchen utensils and equipment ("unitaskers"), such as garlic presses and margarita machines, although he adapts a few traditionally single-purpose devices, such as rice cookers and melon ballers, into multi-purpose tools.

Alton Brown (baseball)

Alton Leo "Deacon" Brown (April 16, 1925 – January 10, 2016) was a right-handed Major League Baseball relief pitcher who played for the Washington Senators in 1951.

Biography

Brown was born and raised in Norfolk, Virginia. Growing up, he worked the scoreboard for baseball games at Norfolk's Bain Field, but he never played baseball until he served in the military during World War II.

He made his professional debut in 1948, with the Roanoke Rapids Jays, and he spent his first three seasons with the team. He earned an 8–12 win–loss record with a 4.21 earned run average (ERA) in 36 games in the 1948 season. In 1949, he had a 16–12 record with a 3.97 ERA in 38 games. Brown had arguably the best year of his professional career in 1950, as he went 28–11 with a 2.38 ERA in 45 games, allowing 269 hits in 317 innings of work. He led the league in wins and strikeouts (204) and won the league's Most Valuable Player award.

He began the 1951 season with the Senators, making his major league debut on April 21. Brown had a 9.26 earned run average in seven big league appearances, with no decisions. He appeared in his final big league game on May 27, and was sent to the minors, where he went 5–8 with a 6.29 ERA in 22 games (16 starts) for the Chattanooga Lookouts. Brown split 1952 between the Lookouts and Richmond Colts, going 12–10. In 1953 he went 11–8 with a 2.24 ERA in 42 games (13 starts) for the Norfolk Tars. Before the 1954 season, Tars management offered Brown a contract for $250, and after negotiations, settled on a salary of $375. He split that season between the Tars and Shreveport Sports, going a combined 13–6 in 44 games. Brown played his final minor league season in 1955, splitting the year between the Columbus Foxes and San Antonio Missions, finishing with a combined 2–3 mark. Overall, he went 109–76 in 320 minor league games.