Utah Celebrities
Boyd Payne
Full name Daniel Melnick
Born 21 April 1932, New York City, New York
Children One
Education New York University
Business
Former: Staff producer, CBS; partner, Talent Associates; vice president, ABC, and MGM; president, Motion Picture Division, Columbia Pictures; producer, children’s theater, Circle in the Square
Current: Producer, Indie Production Company
Awards: Emmy Award; National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Award
Motion Picture
Producer: Air America; All That Jazz; Altered States; And Justice For All; California Suite; Chapter Two; China Syndrome; First Family; Footloose; The Goodbye Girl; Ice Castles; Kramer vs. Kramer; L.A. Story; Making Love; Midnight Express; Mountains of the Moon; Network; Punchline; Quicksilver; Roxanne; Straw Dogs; The Sunshine Boys; That’s Entertainment; That’s Entertainment II; Total Recall; Unfaithfully Yours; The Wind and the Lion
Television
Producer: The Ages of Man (special); Chain Letter (pilot); Death of a Salesman (special); East Side West Side; Get Smart; Get Smart Again! (movie); N.Y.P.D.
Property Sundance Recreational Resort, Sundance
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Larry H. Miller
Courtesy Utah Jazz
Full name Lawrence H. Miller
Born Salt Lake City, Utah
Spouse Karen Gail Miller
Children Five
Education Public schools
Business
Former: Auto parts business, Denver and Salt Lake City; construction manager, Franklin Quest Field
Current: Owner, Delta Center, KJZZ Channel 14, Larry H. Miller Group (automotive dealerships in Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah), and Utah Jazz
Awards: International Softball Congress Hall of Fame
Property Pepperwood, Sandy
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Thomas S. Monson
©Busath Photography
Full name Thomas Spencer Monson
Born 21 August 1927, Salt Lake City, Utah
Spouse Frances Beverly Johnson Monson
Children Three
Education B.S., business management, University of Utah; M.B.A., Brigham Young University
Business
Former: U.S. Naval Reserve, World War II; general manager, Deseret Press; vice president, Newspaper Agency Corporation; president, Printing Industry of Utah; board of directors, Continental Western Life Insurance Company, and Western American Life Insurance Company; trustee, Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge
Current: Chair, Deseret News Publishing Company, LDS Information and Communications Systems Committee, and LDS Welfare Services; vice chair, LDS Church Board of Education, Brigham Young University, and Ricks College; board of directors, Alumni Association (University of Utah), Deseret Management Corporation, Newspaper Agency Corporation; executive board, Boy Scouts of America, U.S. West Communications, Utah State Board of Regents; trustee, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Foundation, and LDS Business College
Author: Be Your Best Self; Christmas Gifts, Christmas Blessings; Conference Classics; Favorite Quotations from the Collection of Thomas S. Monson; Inspiring Experiences That Build Faith: From the Life and Ministry of Thomas S. Monson; Live the Good Life; Pathways to Perfection: Discourses of Thomas S. Monson; The Search for Jesus
Awards: Distinguished Alumnus Award; Silver Beaver, Silver Buffalo, and Bronze Wolf awards
Religious
Former: LDS bishop, Temple View Stake, at age 22; LDS mission president, Canada
Current: LDS First Presidency; LDS Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
Property Carter’s Circle, Holladay
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Russell M. Nelson
©Busath Photography
Full name Russell Marion Nelson, M.D., Ph.D.
Born 9 September 1924, Salt Lake City, Utah
Spouse Dantzel White Nelson
Children Ten
Education B.A., M.D., University of Utah; Ph.D., surgery, University of Minnesota
Business
Former: Captain, Medical Corps, U.S. Army; resident surgeon, University of Minnesota Hospitals, and Massachusetts General Hospital; staff surgeon, LDS Hospital (later chair, Division of Thoracic Surgery), and Primary Children’s Hospital; attending surgeon, Veterans Administration Hospital, and University Hospital (University of Utah); president, Directors of Thoracic Residencies, Nelson Jones and Jones Incorporated (private medical practice), Society for Vascular Surgery, Utah Heart Association, and Utah State Medical Association; professor, surgical research, University of Utah; director, Surgical Research Lab, LDS Hospital
Current: Advisory Committee, New England Mutual Life Insurance Company; board of directors, International Cardiovascular Foundation; board of governors, Deseret Gymnasium, LDS Hospital, and Promised Valley Playhouse; board of managers, International Society of Cardiology; chair, Council on Cardiovascular Surgery (American Heart Association); director, American Board of Thoracic Surgery
Author: The Gateway We Call Death; The Power Within Us
Awards: Fellow, American College of Cardiology, American College of Chest Physicians, and American College of Surgeons; Fellowship of Medici Publici; Gold Medal of Merit (Argentina); Markle scholar
Religious
Former: LDS stake president, Bonneville; president, LDS Sunday schools; LDS regional representative; executive committee, Priesthood, Special Affairs, and Welfare Services
Current: LDS Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
Property Normandie Heights, Salt Lake City
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Dallin H. Oaks
©Busath Photography
Full name Dallin Harris Oaks
Born 12 August 1932, Provo, Utah
Spouse June Dixon Oaks
Children Six
Education B.A., accounting, Brigham Young University; J.D., University of Chicago
Business
Former: Law clerk to U.S. Chief Justice Earl Warren; attorney with Kirkland, Ellis, Hodson, Chaffetz and Masters; legal counsel, Bill of Rights Committee, Illinois Constitutional Convention; professor of law, University of Chicago (and later BYU); associate dean, University of Chicago Law School; executive director, American Bar Foundation; chair, Board of Public Broadcasting Service; president, Brigham Young University, and American Association of Presidents of Independent Colleges and Universities; Utah Supreme Court justice
Current: Advisory Committee, National Institute of Law Enforcement and Center for Constitutional Studies; board of directors, O. C. Tanner Manufacturing, and Beneficial Development Company; chair, Polynesian Cultural Center; fellow, American Bar Foundation; trustee, Intermountain Health Care
Author: Carthage Conspiracy: The Trial of the Accused Assassins of Joseph Smith (with Marvin S. Hill); Cases on Trust, 1967-78; A Criminal Justice System and the Indigent; The Criminal Justice Act in the Federal District Courts; The Lord’s Way; Pure in Heart; Trust Doctrines in Church Controversies; The Wall Between Church and State (editor)
Religious
Former: LDS regional representative; advisory committee, LDS Church History; executive council, Boundary, Family History, Leadership Changes, and Temple Committee
Current: LDS Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
Property Upper Yale, Salt Lake City
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Full name Merlin Jay Olsen
Born 15 September 1940, Logan, Utah
Spouse Susan Wakley Olsen
Children Three
Education B.S., finance, Utah State University; M.S., economics, Utah State University
Business
Former: Football, tackle lineman, Utah State University; NCAA All-American; Los Angeles Rams, 1962-76 (tackle and anchor for the “Fearsome Foursome”); Grand Marshall, 94th Tournament of Roses Parade; NFL-AFL Quarter Century Team; NBC Sports analyst; motivational consultant, Liggett and Myers; public relations executive, Combined Communications Corporation; vice president, Southern California Multiple Sclerosis Society
Current: Owner, Merlin Olsen Porsche Audi; TV spokesperson, Florists Transworld Delivery, Muscular Dystrophy Society; partner, Bear Lake Watch
Awards: Beehive Hall of Fame; College Football Hall of Fame; Maxwell Trophy (NFL Most Valuable Player); Outland Trophy (outstanding lineman); Pro Football Hall of Fame (14 consecutive games in the Pro Bowl)
Motion Picture
Actor: Mitchell; One More Train to Rob; Something Big; The Undefeated
Television
Movies: A Fire in the Sky; The Golden Moment: An Olympic Love Story; Time Bomb
Producer: All Pro
Series: Aaron’s Way; Father Murphy; Fathers and Sons; Little House on the Prairie; NFL Game of the Week (announcer)
Specials: Bob Hope’s All-Star Comedy Look at the Fall Season: It’s Still Free and Worth It!; Bob Hope’s All-Star Super Bowl Party; Children’s Miracles Network Telethon (host); The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast; Fantastic Facts; The Juggler of Notre Dame; Kraft Salutes Super Night at the Super Bowl; Lifequest (host and narrator); NBC’s 60th Anniversary Celebration; The Nutcracker; The Sleeping Beauty (narrator); Super Bowl XXIII (commentator); The World’s Funniest Commercial Goofs
Property Evergreen, Park City
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