SOPHIE MULLER
directed many videos for Eurythmics and also worked with Sinead O'Connor.
JONATHAN MURRAY
is a television producer and cocreator, along with the late Mary-Ellis Bunim, of MTV's
The Real World
. Among the reality programs that Bunim/Murray Productions cocreated or executive produced are
Road Rules
,
Making the Band
, Fox's
The Simple Life
, and all the Kardashian series on E!
DAVE MUSTAINE
is the founder of the heavy metal band Megadeth.
JOAN MYERS
was an assistant to MTV vice president of programming Les Garland. She is currently the owner of the public relations and marketing firm Myers Media.
DAVE NAVARRO
plays guitar in Jane's Addiction, whose “Been Caught Stealing” was a highlight of MTV's 1990 playlists.
MICHAEL NESMITH
became a music and TV star in the 1960s with the Monkees and made his first music video, “Rio,” in 1977. He created the
Pop Clips
TV show, which fueled the origins of MTV.
ALLEN NEWMAN
is a TV director and producer who has worked for ABC, NBC, PBS, BBC, HBO, and NHK. He began his career at MTV and worked there from 1981 to 1987.
DEBBIE NEWMAN
was Columbia Records' first video production executive. She is currently a music industry consultant.
TIM NEWMAN
won the award for best direction for ZZ Top's “Sharp Dressed Man” at the first VMAs in 1984 and also directed Lou Reed and Huey Lewis & the News.
OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN
played Sandy in the 1978 film
Grease
and landed on MTV with her video for “Physical,” a song that was banned on some radio stations.
STEVIE NICKS
has had many hit records, as a solo artist and with Fleetwood Mac, starting in 1977.
ERIC NIES
gained fame as a cast member on the first season of
The Real World.
He later hosted MTV's dance show
The Grind.
ALAN NIVEN
is a New Zealandâborn songwriter and producer who managed Guns N' Roses between 1986 and 1991 and Great White from 1982 to 1995.
TERRI NUNN
fronted the LA band Berlin.
CONAN O'BRIEN
hosted
The Tonight Show
for seven months and now stars in the TBS talk show
Conan
.
SINEAD O'CONNOR
is an Irish singer and songwriter. She won a Best Video Award at the 1990 VMAs for “Nothing Compares 2 U,” the first time a woman won that category.
SHARON ORECK
is the author of
Video Slut
, a memoir of her adventures in the 1980s as a music-video producer and executive.
STEPHEN PEARCY
sings with the LA hard rock band Ratt, whose “Back for More” video was the MTV debut of Tawny Kitaen.
DANIEL PEARL
is a director of photography who has worked on feature films (1974's
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
), commercials, and music videos, including the Police's “Every Breath You Take,” U2's “With or Without You,” and Guns N' Roses' “November Rain.”
MARK PELLINGTON
started at MTV as an intern, worked in the on-air promotions department, and after leaving the network directed Pearl Jam's “Jeremy,” which won four VMAs. He has directed and produced feature films, short films, documentaries, and TV shows.
RAQUEL PENA
is a SpanishâWest Indian model featured in Bryan Adams's “Cuts Like a Knife” and Michael Jackson's “Billie Jean.”
PEPA
cofounded the rap group Salt-N-Pepa, who appeared on the first episode of
House of Style.
She met rapper Treach at MTV's 1991 Spring Break and later married him.
VICKI PETERSON
is a guitarist/singer with the band the Bangles.
TOM PETTY
is a singer, songwriter, and guitarist who, along with his band the Heartbreakers, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002.
CHYNNA PHILLIPS
is one-third of the vocal group Wilson Phillips.
RANDY PHILLIPS
is the CEO of the live entertainment company AEG Live. He has managed acts including Rod Stewart, Lionel Richie, and Guns N' Roses.
BOB PITTMAN
is one of the founders of MTV. He led the network from its inception until his departure in 1987. Pittman was the first CEO of MTV Networks. He has served as president of America Online and as COO of AOL Time Warner. He is cofounder of the Pilot Group, a private investment firm, and is currently chairman of media and entertainment platforms for Clear Channel Communications.
DALE PON
is an advertising executive and one of the creators of the “I Want My MTV” ad campaign.
KEVIN POWELL
got into a wicked fight with Julie during season one of
The Real World
. He is now a political activist and author.
COLIN QUINN
was the cigarette-voiced sidekick on three seasons of MTV's
Remote Control
. He later joined
Saturday Night Live
, where he hosted Weekend Update, and hosted
Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn
on Comedy Central.
MARTHA QUINN
was the last of the five original VJs hired by MTV. She hosts a daily show on Sirius XM Radio's '80s on 8 station.
CHIP RACHLIN
joined MTV in 1982 as director of acquistions. He is now the president of Rachlin Entertainment.
RIKI RACHTMAN
owned the Cat Club, an LA metal venue, and began hosting
Headbangers Ball
in 1990 after being recommended to MTV by his friend Axl Rose.
VERNON REID
is the guitarist and primary songwriter in Living Colour, whose “Cult of Personality” won three awards at the 1989 VMAs.
MARC REITER
is a manager at Q Prime. He was a product manager at Epic Records, where he worked with Pearl Jam.
MIKE RENO
is the singer in Loverboy, whose hits include “Turn Me Loose” and “Working for the Weekend.”
NICK RHODES
is the keyboard player in Duran Duran and was an early advocate of men wearing mascara.
LIONEL RICHIE
is a top-selling singer, songwriter, and musician. His 1983 album
Can't Slow Down
, featuring the singles “All Night Long” and “Hello,” won the Grammy for Album of the Year.
LEE RITENOUR
is a Grammy-winning jazz guitarist. Two of his videos were shown on the first day of MTV, but rarely thereafter.
JULIANA ROBERTS
is a music-video, film, and TV producer. She was a producer for Propaganda Films' hard rock division, The Foundry.
DAVID ROBINSON
plays drums in the Cars, who won Video of the Year at the first VMAs. He owns an art gallery and is a jewelry maker.
JAMES D. ROBINSON III
was the CEO of American Express Co. from 1977 until his retirement in 1993.
JON ROSEMAN
was the founder of Jon Roseman Productions. Among the videos he produced are Queen's “Bohemian Rhapsody” and Eurythmics' “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This).”
LIZ ROSENBERG
has been Madonna's press agent since 1982 and was a senior vice president at Warner Bros. Records, where she worked for thirty-nine years.
EDDIE ROSENBLATT
was the CEO of Geffen Records.
CAROL ROSENSTEIN
is a music-video and television producer.
MICHAEL ROSS
cofounded the LA hip-hop label Delicious Vinyl in 1987 and released records by Tone-LÅc and Young MC.
JORDAN ROST
was hired as vice president of research at WASEC, making him the company's first department head, and later became vice president of sales. He then spent sixteen years at the Warner Music Group, as senior vice president of marketing and new technology, and is now a consultant.
RICK RUBIN
cofounded Def Jam Records as a college student and has produced music by LL Cool J, Beastie Boys, Run-DMC, Johnny Cash, and Red Hot Chili Peppers.
TODD RUNDGREN
has been writing, singing, and producing hit songs since the late 1960s. He tried to launch a music-video network before MTV.
DONNA RUPERT
placed second in the Miss Canada 1981 pageant, modeled for the Wilhelmina agency, and played the teacher in Van Halen's “Hot for Teacher.”
SALT
cofounded the rap group Salt-N-Pepa, who appeared on the first episode of
House of Style.
RICHIE SAMBORA
is the longtime lead guitarist of Bon Jovi.
DEBBIE SAMUELSON
was a music-video promotion and production executive for Columbia Records.
JOHN SAYLES
directed three Bruce Springsteen videos and has made sixteen feature films, including
The Return of the Secaucus 7
,
Eight Men Out
, and
Lone Star
.
SCARFACE
is a hip-hop artist and a former member of the pioneering gangsta-rap group the Geto Boys.
RUDOLF SCHENKER
is a guitarist and founding member of Scorpions, Germany's best-selling heavy metal band.
RICHARD SCHENKMAN
is a writer/director/producer who joined the program services department of MTV in February 1981.
FRED SCHNEIDER
and the B-52's won two VMAs in 1990 for “Love Shack.”
JACK SCHNEIDER
had a long career as chief of the CBS Broadcast Group before becoming the original president and CEO of WASEC. Schneider left the company in 1984 and later served as the managing director of the investment firm Allen & Co.
STEVE SCHNUR
began his career as an intern for Les Garland in the programming department of MTV. He is currently worldwide executive of music and marketing for videogame developer Electronic Arts.
MIKE SCORE
worked as a hairdresser before singing and playing the synthesizer in the British foursome A Flock of Seagulls.
KEVIN SEAL
was a college student when MTV hired him as a VJ in 1987. He left the network in 1991 and is now a stay-at-home dad and handyman who does voice-over work for radio ads.
DENNIS SEATON
sang with the young Jamaican group Musical Youth. Their hit “Pass the Dutchie” was the first reggae song on MTV.
FRED SEIBERT
was Bob Pittman's first hire at The Movie Channel, in May 1980, and was MTV's head of program services at its launch. He oversaw the design of the MTV logo and the creation of the “I Want My MTV” ad campaign. He is the founder of Frederator Studios, which makes cartoons for TV, movies, and the Internet.
DOMINIC SENA
is a music-video and film director. He was a cofounder of Propaganda Films.
ANDY SETOS
began at WASEC as vice president, engineering, and was promoted to senior vice president at Viacom. He is now president, engineering, at the Fox Group's television and film operations.
BRIAN SETZER
and the Stray Cats were one of the first bands to become stars from MTV airplay.
SHOCK G
is the mastermind of rap group Digital Underground, whose 1990 debut was
Sex Packets
.
HANK SHOCKLEE
is a music producer and former Def Jam executive who was integral to the creation of Public Enemy's sound and videos.
PAULY SHORE
joined MTV in 1989 and was soon hosting his own show,
Totally Pauly.
His first starring film role was in
Encino Man
, a surprise hit that grossed more than $40 million.
JONI SIGHVATSSON
is a movie producer and a cofounder of Propaganda Films.
SUSAN SILVERMAN
was a video production executive for Warner Bros. Records.
TARSEM SINGH
grew up in India and moved to the U.S. at the age of twenty-four. He has directed commercials, R.E.M.'s “Losing My Religion” video, and the feature films
The Cell
and
The Fall.
SIR MIX-A-LOT
is a Seattle-based rapper best known for his 1992 number one hit “Baby Got Back.” He likes big butts.
DAVE SIRULNICK
is currently the executive vice president of news and production for MTV, overseeing the news and docs department, as well as studio-based programming and event productions. Sirulnick joined MTV in 1987 as a news producer.
NIKKI SIXX
plays bass and writes songs for Mötley Crüe and published a best-selling memoir,
The Heroin Diaries.
RANDY SKINNER
was a video production executive at Warner Bros. Records.
ROBIN SLOANE
was a video production executive at Elektra Records and creative director at Geffen Records.
BOB SMALL
created
Unplugged
with Jim Burns and has produced shows for Comedy Central, HBO, and Nickelodeon.
CURT SMITH
founded Tears for Fears in 1981 with Roland Orzabal and is the featured singer on “Mad World” and “Everybody Wants to Rule the World.”
ROBERT SMITH
has been the Cure's front man since 1979.
PATTY SMYTH
is a singer and musician who was the front woman for the band Scandal.
DEE SNIDER
is the lead singer of the band Twisted Sister. He hosted the first heavy metal show on MTV,
Heavy Metal Mania
.
TABITHA SOREN
was formerly a reporter for MTV News and is now a professional photographer.
GALE SPARROW
was the director of talent and artist relations at MTV from 1981 to 1985. She co-owns an estate liquidation company that serves the greater Philadelphia area.
RICK SPRINGFIELD
is an Australian singer and actor known for the 1981 number one single “Jessie's Girl.”
BILLY SQUIER
had multiple hits from his first two records: “The Stroke,” “In the Dark,” “My Kind of Lover,” and “Everybody Wants You.” His third record included “Rock Me Tonite,” widely considered the worst music video of all time.