John Michael Stipe grew up in a number of places, including
Georgia,
Texas,
Germany and
Illinois. He was shy when he was in school and didn't fit into any particular crowd. He always had a love for
music, and while still living in Illinois he started a rock/punk band he called "
Bad Habits." In 1978 he and his family moved back to Georgia and he enrolled at
The University of Georgia in Athens.
He met band mate Peter Buck at the local "Wuxtry's" record store, and the two of them played in a band- they eventually met Bill Berry and Mike Mills and left the band to create R.E.M. Michael Stipe has always been very concerned about the environment and works to make others environmentally aware.
Film:
Athens, Ga. Inside/Out (1987) *He gives an interesting performance of "how Popeye exercises."*
Arena Brains (1988)
Tourfilm (1990)
The Adventures of Pete & Pete (1993) *He played an ice cream man in the episode "What We Did on Our Summer Vacation."*
Space Ghost Coast to Coast (1995) *He was in the episode " Hungry."*
RoadMovie (1996)
Girls Town (1996) *part of film crew*
Anthem (1997)
Velvet Goldmine (1998) *Executive producer*
The Limey (1999) *Co-producer*
American Movie (1999) *Co-producer*
Being John Malkovich (1999) *Producer*
Spring Forward (1999) *Producer*
Man on the Moon (1999) *Composer*
Party of Five (1999) *Was in the episode "Fragile."*
Our Song (2000) *Executive producer*
I had an obsession for him and R.E.M. during middle school. I live in Athens nowadays, though I see he and other band members around downtown only occasionally. They sometimes do secret shows. Stipe does plenty of positive work for the community here. A lot of gossip travels about Stipe- I wouldn't know what was true or not for sure, so I don't think I should write up those stories. He came on to one of my male friends at a bar one night, though. My friend was not interested because Stipe was not "his type."
Help for this node came from sbu.ac.uk