Johnny Knoxville mini-bio: Johnny Knoxville was born and raised in Knoxville, Tennessee. At the age of eight
he had flu, pneumonia and bronchitis all at same time and nearly died. He now
suffers from asthma. His dad sells used cars.
After graduating from high school, he moved to California to attend the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Pasedena on a scholoarship, but dropped out within weeks. Early in his career, he appeared in commercials for Taco Bell, Coors Light,
& Mountain Dew and also occasionally wrote articles for Blunt, Bikini, and
Big Brother Magazines.
In 1996 Johnny had the idea to shoot himself with pepper spray, a taser, a stun
gun.38, and then write an article about the experience. He pitched the idea to a
couple of magazines that turned it down. Finally in 1997 he told Jeff Tremaine
(editor at Big Brother Magazine) about his idea. Jeff hired him as journalist and convinced him to videotape this idea and other stunts (getting hit by car, poo poo platter, etc.) for stories. Eventually these became part of the Big Brother videos
Boob and Number Two. Johnny quickly became a cult hit and soon there was a bidding war between MTV and Comedy Central to land him a TV show. Johnny Knoxville, Jeff Tremaine, and Spike Jonze pitched the idea of Jackass to MTV. It
combined stunts with skateboarding and would allow the three producers creative control. MTV jumped at this unique idea. Alongside Johnny, Tremaine, and Jonze
were Steve-O, Bam Margera, Chris Pontius, Ryan Dunn, Brandon DiCamillo, Jason
'Wee Man' Acuna, Dave England, Ehren McGhegan, and Preston Lacy.
Jackass quickly became one of cable's highest rated shows and eventually
spawned two big screen versions of Jackass. In addition, Johnny has a very successful career on his own, with starring roles in many movies including Dukes
of Hazzard, Lords of Dogtown, and Walking Tall.
His wife Melanie is from Texas and she is a clothing designer. They have a daughter named Madison. Johnny has her name tattooed on his chest over his heart.
Knoxville was offered a spot on Saturday Night Live, but turned it down. Later on
May 7, 2005, he hosted the show.
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