Neil Diamond Biography (1941-)
Full name, Neil Leslie Diamond; born January 24, 1941, in Brooklyn, NY; married Jaye Posner (divorced, 1967); married Marcia Murphey, 1969 (divorced March, 1995); children: (first marriage) Marjorie, Elyn; (second marriage) Jesse,Micah. Addresses: Contact: c/o 10345 West Olympic Blvd., #200, Los Angeles, CA 90064-2548; c/o Friends of Neil Diamond, P.O. Box 3357, Hollywood, CA 90028.
- Nationality
- American
- Gender
- Male
- Occupation
- Singer, musician, composer, actor
- Birth Details
- January 24, 1941
- Brooklyn, New York, United States
Famous Works
- CREDITS
- Film Appearances
- The Last Waltz, 1978
- Yussel Rabinowitz, The Jazz Singer, 1980
- Himself, Neil Diamond: Greatest Hits Live, 1988
- Himself, Grammy's Greatest Moments Volume I, 1994
- Himself, Neil Diamond: Under a Tennessee Moon, 1996
- Himself, Saving Silverman (also known as Evil Woman and Evil Women), Sony Pictures Entertainment, 2001
- Television Appearances
- Specials
- The Neil Diamond Special, NBC, 1977
- The Neil Diamond Special: I'm Glad You're Here with Me Tonight, NBC, 1977
- The Barbara Walters Special, ABC, 1985
- An All-Star Celebration Honoring Martin Luther King, Jr., NBC, 1986
- Liberty Weekend, ABC, 1986
- Neil Diamond ... Hello Again, CBS, 1986
- Welcome Home, HBO, 1987
- Neil Diamond's Greatest Hits-Live, HBO, 1988
- American Bandstand 40th Anniversary Special, ABC, 1992
- Christmas in Washington, NBC, 1992
- Neil Diamond's Christmas Special, HBO, 1992
- Neil Diamond: The Christmas Story, ABC, 1993
- Opryland's Country Christmas, CBS, 1994
- Sinatra Duets, CBS, 1994
- American Bandstand's Teen Idol, 1994
- Neil Diamond ... Under a Tennessee Moon, ABC, 1996
- Neil Diamond: The Making of "The Movie Album," AMC, 1998
- ABC 2000, ABC, 1999
- Neil Diamond Live by Request, Arts and Entertainment, 2001
- Himself, Reel Comedy: Saving Silverman, 2001
- Awards Presentations
- The 49th Annual Academy Awards, 1977
- The 21st Annual Grammy Awards, 1979
- The 17th Annual American Music Awards, 1990
- The 23rd Annual American Music Awards, ABC, 1996
- The 42nd Annual Grammy Awards, CBS, 2000
- Episodic
- "The Many Deaths of Saint Christopher," Mannix, 1967
- (Uncredited) Himself, Saturday Night Live, NBC, 2002
- Himself, V Graham Norton, Channel 4, 2002
- Himself, Top of the Pops 2, 2003
- Also appeared as himself, The Music Scene.
- Television Work
- Specials
- Executive producer, Neil Diamond: The Christmas Special, HBO, 1992
- Executive producer, Neil Diamond: The Christmas Special, ABC, 1993
- Television Song Performer
- Pilots
- (Theme song only) Chris and the Magical Drip, syndicated, 1981
- Stage Appearances
- (Broadway debut) Neil Diamond One Man Show, Winter Garden Theatre,1972-1973
- RECORDINGS
- Albums
- The Feel of Neil Diamond, Bang, 1966
- Just for You, Bang, 1967
- Neil Diamond's Greatest Hits, Bang, 1968
- Velvet Gloves and Spit, MCA, 1968
- Brother Love's Traveling Salvation Show/Sweet Caroline, MCA/UNI, 1969
- Touching You, Touching Me, MCA, 1970
- Tap Root Manuscript, MCA, 1970
- Shilo, Bang, 1970
- Neil Diamond, MFP, 1970
- Stones, MCA, 1971
- Do It!, Bang, 1971
- Neil Diamond Gold, MCA, 1971
- Moods, MCA, 1972
- Hot August Night, MCA, 1972
- Jonathon Livingston Seagull, Columbia, 1973
- Rainbow, MCA, 1973
- Double Gold, Bang, 1973
- Gold, Universal City, 1973
- His Twelve Greatest Hits, MCA, 1974
- Serenade, Columbia, 1974
- Focus on Neil Diamond, London, 1975
- And the Singer Sings His Songs, MCA, 1976
- Beautiful Noise, Columbia, 1976
- Love at The Greek, Columbia, 1976
- I'm Glad You're Here with Me Tonight, Columbia, 1977
- You Don't Bring Me Flowers, Columbia, 1978
- Early Classics, Frog King, 1978
- 20 Golden Greats, EMI, 1978
- Carmelita's Eyes, CBS, 1978
- September Morn, Columbia, 1980
- The Jazz Singer, Capitol, 1980
- Diamonds, MCA, 1981
- Solitary Man, Hallmark, 1981
- Love Songs, MCA, 1981
- On the Way to the Sky, Columbia, 1981
- Best of Neil Diamond, World, 1981
- Song Sung Blue, MFP, 1982
- Live Diamond, MCA, 1982
- Heartlight, Columbia, 1982
- Twelve Greatest Hits, Vol. 2, Columbia, 1982
- Very Best of Neil Diamond, Vols. 1 & 2, K-Tel, 1983
- Greatest Hits, CBS, 1983
- Stones/Moods, MCS, 1983
- Classics: The Early Years, Columbia, 1983
- Love Songs: Gold, MCA, 1984
- Primitive, Columbia, 1984
- Hot August Night II, Columbia, 1986
- Headed for the Future, Columbia, 1986
- Red Red Wine, Pickwick, 1988
- The Best Years of Our Lives, Columbia, 1988
- Lovescape, Columbia, 1991
- The Christmas Album, Columbia, 1992
- Up on the Roof-Songs from the Brill Building, Columbia, 1993
- Live in America, Columbia, 1994
- The Christmas Album, Volume II, Columbia, 1994
- I Knew Love, Ariola Express, 1996
- Tennessee Moon, Columbia, 1996
- In My Lifetime, 1996
- Live in Concert, Reader's Digest, 1997
- The Movie Album-As Times Goes By, Sony, 1998
- The Best of the Movie Album-As Time Goes By, Sony, 1999
- Three Chord Opera, 2001
- Recorded Voices of Vista: Show #200, Nola.
- Videos
- Neil Diamond Open-End Interview, Uni, 1971
- Love at The Greek, Vestron, 1977
- Greatest Hits Live, CBS, 1988
- WRITINGS
- Film Scores
- Jonathon Livington Seagull, Paramount, 1973
- The Jazz Singer, 1980
- Film Songs
- Every Which Way But Loose, Warner Bros., 1978
- Something Wild, Orion, 1986
- Arthur 2 on the Rocks, Warner Bros., 1988
- Theme music, Switching Channels, 1988
- Many of Diamond's songs, including "Holly Holy," "I'm a Believer," and "Sweet Caroline," have been featured in numerous films, including Shrek,Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, EdTV, and SomethingWild.
- Stage Music
- (With others) Dancin', Broadhurst Theatre, New York City, 1978-1980 then U.S., Canadian, and European cities, 1980-1984
- Television Songs
- Specials
- Neil Diamond ... Hello Again, CBS, 1986
- The Temptations and Four Tops, Showtime, 1986
- Neil Diamond's Greatest Hits-Live, HBO, 1988
- Neil Diamond's Christmas Special, HBO, 1992
- Neil Diamond: The Christmas Story, ABC, 1993
- The 1994 Billboard Music Awards, 1994
- Neil Diamond ... Under a Tennessee Moon, ABC, 1996
- Neil Diamond: The Making of "The Movie Album," AMC, 1998
- Songbooks
- Deluxe Book of Songs, G. Hansen Publishing, 1970
- The Neil Diamond Songbook, Putnam Publishing Group, 1982
Further Reference
OTHER SOURCES
Books- Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians, Schirmer, 2001
- Contemporary Musicians, Volume 1, Gale Research, 1989
- Grossman, Alan, Bill Truman, and Roy Oki Yamanaka, Diamond, A Biography, Contemporary Books, 1987
- Harvey, Diana Karanikas and Jackson Harvey, Neil Diamond, MetroBooks, 1996
- Wiseman, Rich, Neil Diamond, Solitary Star, Dodd, Mead & Co.,1987
Periodicals- Entertainment Weekly, February 9, 1996, p. 26
- Interview, January, 1994, p. 30
- New York Times, July 20, 1986
- People Weekly, April 29, 1996, p. 124