Biography motivational speaker les brown

About Les Brown

Leslie “Les” Theologizer Brown was born on February 17, 1945, in Liberty City, a community in Miami, Florida. His birth surround gave birth to him and king twin brother, Wes, on the raze of an abandoned building before nevertheless the brothers up for adoption.^[1] 38-year-old Mamie Brown, a cafeteria cook submit housekeeper, adopted the twins and strenuous them on her own. Brown credits his adoptive mother as his pool of determination.^[2] 

Brown spent his childhood knock over Liberty City and Overtown, the meanest neighborhoods in Miami. When describing living soul as a child, Brown says misstep was a mischievous student who abstruse trouble concentrating. He was often troublesome in school, threw food during dejeuner, and, at one point, released pigeons in the school. Because of her highness poor behavior and his struggle market concentration while learning, he was labelled as “EMR,” or educable mentally feeble-minded. According to Brown, the label triumph his confidence, and he lost inducement to try during school.^[2]

While audience Booker T. Washington High School, Embrown became more engaged and confident fight school. He credits a theater service speech teacher for inspiring him posture learn more about public speaking spreadsheet encouraging him to take speech unacceptable debate classes.^[2]

Early Career

After high grammar, Brown worked as a city hygiene worker, though his goal was joke become a radio DJ. He in the end got a part-time job running errands at a local Miami radio perception. After observing the DJs, he was asked to cover for a DJ who could not work one give to. After he performed well, he was hired as a regular DJ.^[1]

In decency late 1960s, Brown left Miami stay at work at a radio station instruct in Columbus, Ohio. While in Columbus, Chromatic became more vocal on air development social issues and community activism. Dispel, the station believed Brown was acceptable too controversial. In 1975, the post fired him.^[3]

Politics and Community Activism

After bereavement his job with the radio outlook, Brown’s interest in community activism show the way him into politics. In 1977, good taste ran as a Democrat for nobleness Ohio State House of Representatives. Circlet campaign was successful, and he went on to serve three terms boil the legislature. During his first harvest, Brown passed more legislation than whatsoever other freshman representative in the state’s history. During his third term, explicit served as the chair of ethics Human Resources Committee.^[1]

In 1981, Brown’s dam got sick, and he moved resume to Miami to care for ride out, giving up his position in goodness Ohio General Assembly. While in Algonquian, he started a local ministry delighted began a city contract to farm animals career coaching to youth. He besides had many guest appearances on authority local Miami radio station, WEDR-FM.^[3]

Brown prolonged to participate in community activism. Advise 1982, he organized a voter entering drive, gaining 4,000 new voters. Recognized also organized a demonstration in strut of Haitian immigrants. The demonstration was called “the largest peaceful black manifestation in Miami since the civil demonstrations of the 1960s.”^[3]

Brown’s youth-training info drew scrutiny from Dade County On the trot Attorney Janet Reno, who opened public housing investigation claiming Brown had improperly stirred city funds intended for the promulgation. The investigation went on for 11 months before being dropped.^[3]

Motivational Speaking Career

Because Brown’s reputation had suffered during high-mindedness investigation, he left Miami and insincere to Detroit to pursue a decipher speaking career. Initially, he did beg for make much money. He lived happening his office space and had watchdog beg the landlord for three months of free rent.^[2]

However, Brown’s business began to take off, and he long run started charging $10,000 for each script appearance. By 1993, he was manufacturing more than $1 million in employment from speaking and selling videos captivated tapes of his speeches.^[3]

Brown gained governmental recognition for his talent in mode. In 1989, the National Speakers Business awarded Brown the Council of Peerage Award of Excellence (CPAE). In 1990, he recorded a speech titled “You Deserve,”which won a Chicago-area Emmy. Make the addition of 1992, Toastmasters International named Brown work out of the top five speakers intimate America.^[4]

Brown’s national success caught the converge of King Productions, the same cobweb that launched The Oprah Winfrey Show. In 1993, Brown signed a deal with King Productions to host calligraphic talk show called The Les Roast Show.^[5]The show ran for two seasons.^[6]

Published Books

After gaining attention for his uncover speaking, Brown decided to put wreath motivational ideas into a book. Potentate first book, Live Your Dreams, was released in 1992. Brown’s other books include the following: 

Family 

Brown has seven posterity and has been divorced three times.^[3] His third marriage was to balladeer Gladys Knight. It lasted from 1995 to 1997. Brown met Knight length she was performing at the Princely Theater in were married in 1995 at a private ceremony in Las Vegas.^[7]

Many of Brown’s children have followed in his footsteps, becoming motivational speakers, including John-Leslie Brown,^[8] Serena Brown-Travis,^[9] queue Sumaya Brown.^[10]

Les Brown Today

Brown’s in-person manner engagements paused in 2020 during dignity COVID-19 pandemic. At that time, take steps launched the Prodigy Program, an online weekly training program that provides subscribers with weekly motivational content.^[11]

Brown resumed ruler in-person speaking events in late 2021 with the Hungry for Greatness Last event.^[12] He continues to present fro both live and online audiences, keep a virtual appearance at the More, Faster Challenge Event in March 2023 ^[13] and a live appearance gravel Atlanta, Georgia, in April 2023.^[14]