Tygert Bruton "Ty" Pennington (born
Gary Tygert Bruton on October 19, 1964 in Atlanta, Georgia) is an American television host,
modelA model , sometimes called a mannequin, is a person who is employed to display, advertise and promote commercial products or to serve as a subject of works of art....
,
philanthropistA philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...
and
carpenterA carpenter is a skilled craftsperson who works with timber to construct, install and maintain buildings, furniture, and other objects. The work, known as carpentry, may involve manual labor and work outdoors....
. He is most notable for being the host of
Extreme Makeover: Home EditionExtreme Makeover: Home Edition is a reality television series providing home renovations for less fortunate families and community schools etc...
which currently airs on
ABCThe American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
in the US and
Ty's Great British AdventureTy's Great British Adventure is a British television reality show on the Home channel featuring Ty Pennington of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition fame.-Series One:Portreath, Cornwall1 x 60mins and 4 x 30mins...
, which airs on UKTV home in the UK and
TV LANDTV Land is an American cable television network launched on April 29, 1996. It is owned by MTV Networks, a division of Viacom, which also owns Paramount Pictures, and networks such as MTV and Nickelodeon...
. Previously, Pennington was a carpenter on the
TLCTLC is an American cable TV specialty channel which initially focused on educational content. Since 1991 TLC has been owned by Discovery Communications, the same company that operates the Discovery Channel, Animal Planet and The Science Channel, as well as other learning-themed networks...
reality showReality television is a genre of television programming that presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and usually features ordinary people instead of professional actors, sometimes in a contest or other situation where a prize is awarded...
Trading SpacesTrading Spaces is an hour-long American television reality program that aired from 2000 to 2008 on the cable channels TLC and Discovery Home. The format of the show was based on the BBC TV series Changing Rooms. The show ran for eight seasons....
. Currently, he manufactures a line of furniture with the
Howard Miller CompanyThe Howard Miller Company is a Zeeland, Michigan based manufacturer of longcase clocks and other home furnishings.-History:Howard Miller Clock Company was founded in 1926 as the Herman Miller Clock Company division of office furniture manufacturer Herman Miller. It was spun off in 1937 and...
.
Early life
Tygert Pennington was born on October 19, 1964 as Gary Tygert Bruton, the second son of school psychologist Yvonne Bruton. Yvonne separated from Ty's father when he and his older brother Wynn were very young, and spent several years as a single parent before she eventually remarried. Her new husband adopted both boys, giving them both the Pennington name. Pennington grew up in Atlanta, Georgia, primarily in his hometown of Marietta. He was also diagnosed with ADHD when he was 17.
Education
A self-described "Jack of all trades", Pennington learned woodworking early in life. His interest in home improvement started when he and several neighborhood kids built a three-story treehouse in their neighborhood, which Ty designed at the age of 12. From there, he began teaching himself about carpentry and home improvement. After attending Sprayberry High School in
Marietta, GeorgiaMarietta is a city located in central Cobb County, Georgia, United States, and is its county seat.As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 56,579, making it one of metro Atlanta's largest suburbs...
, he attended
Kennesaw State UniversityKennesaw State University, also referred to as KSU, Kennesaw, or Kennesaw State, is a public, coeducational, comprehensive university that is part of the University System of Georgia. The university's main campus is located in Kennesaw, Georgia, United States, approximately north of Atlanta...
, graduated from
The Art Institute of Atlanta with a diploma in commercial art, and attended the
Atlanta College of ArtThe Atlanta College of Art , established in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1905, was the first non-profit college of visual art in the Southeastern United States....
while working his way through school as a carpenter.
Modeling
During his final semester, Pennington was approached by a modeling scout, and soon began a lucrative career in that field. He traveled the world and landed print jobs for
J.CrewJ.Crew Group, Inc. is a multi-brand, multi-channel, specialty retailer. The company offers an assortment of women's, men's and children's apparel and accessories, including swimwear, outerwear, loungewear, wedding, bags, hair accessories, belts, jewelry, and shoes. As of January 30, 2010, it...
,
SwatchSwatch is a brand name for a line of wrist watches from the Swatch Group, a Swiss conglomerate with vertical control of the production of Swiss watches and related products...
and
SpriteSprite is a transparent, lemon-lime flavored , caffeine free soft drink, produced by the Coca-Cola Company. It was introduced in the United States in 1961. This was Coke's response to the popularity of 7 Up, which had begun as "Bib-Label Lithiated Lemon-Lime Soda" in 1929...
, and appeared in television spots for
Diet CokeDiet Coke is a sugar-free soft drink produced and distributed by The Coca-Cola Company. It was first introduced in the United States on August 9, 1982, as the first new brand since 1886 to use the Coca-Cola trademark...
, Levi's,
Macy'sMacy's is a U.S. chain of mid-to-high range department stores. In addition to its flagship Herald Square location in New York City, the company operates over 800 stores in the United States...
and
BayerBayer AG is a chemical and pharmaceutical company founded in Barmen , Germany in 1863. It is headquartered in Leverkusen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and well known for its original brand of aspirin.-History:...
, among others. His job as a model took him to places all over the world, as he went on to reside in
JapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
,
ThailandThailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
,
ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
,
CanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, and
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
Television
Pennington parlayed his hands-on skills and design acumen into a career in the entertainment industry, becoming a set designer, including for the critically acclaimed film
Leaving Las VegasLeaving Las Vegas is a 1995 romantic drama film directed and written by Mike Figgis, based on a semi-autobiographical novel of the same name by John O'Brien. Nicolas Cage stars as a suicidal alcoholic who has ended his personal and professional life to drink himself to death in Las Vegas...
in 1995. However, his professional breakthrough came through The Learning Channel's (now known as simply TLC) innovative hit show "
Trading SpacesTrading Spaces is an hour-long American television reality program that aired from 2000 to 2008 on the cable channels TLC and Discovery Home. The format of the show was based on the BBC TV series Changing Rooms. The show ran for eight seasons....
". He quickly became known for his off-the-wall sense of humor and creative style during four years as the show's playful designer and carpenter. Pennington has also taken a hand into acting as well. In 2003, he played Wilbur Wright in the independent film,
The Adventures of Ociee Nash, and, in 2004, he made an appearance on the TV series
Wild Card. He also appeared in country music singer
Cyndi ThomsonCyndi Thomson is an American country music artist. Thomson wrote songs with songwriter Tommy Lee James and in 2000, she signed with Capitol Records Nashville as a recording artist...
's music video
I'm Gone.
When ABC began developing a show that would transform the homes of deserving families in seven days or less, Pennington was chosen as the leader of the eight-person design team.
Extreme Makeover: Home EditionExtreme Makeover: Home Edition is a reality television series providing home renovations for less fortunate families and community schools etc...
, which was originally only supposed to be a 13-part special, went on to be a huge hit, and catapulted Pennington into the mainstream even further. This led to an endorsement deal with
SearsSears, officially named Sears, Roebuck and Co., is an American chain of department stores which was founded by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck in the late 19th century...
, a sponsor of the show. In the years since the show started, Pennington has been known to have fought off anything from pulled muscles to heatstroke to food poisoning to keep doing his job. Now entering into his seventh season as host and designer, Ty spends 240–260 days out of the year working on the show, and declares it to be "the greatest job in the world". The success of
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition in the UK, where it is shown on the Home channel, resulted in the channel commissioning
Ty's Great British AdventureTy's Great British Adventure is a British television reality show on the Home channel featuring Ty Pennington of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition fame.-Series One:Portreath, Cornwall1 x 60mins and 4 x 30mins...
, where Pennington worked with the community of
PortreathPortreath is a civil parish, village and fishing port on the north coast of Cornwall, United Kingdom. The village is situated approximately three miles northwest of Redruth....
in
CornwallCornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
to restore a run-down town park in a week. The series was shown from September 16, 2008.
Other work
Prior to his partnership with Sears, Pennington was the owner and designer of his company, Furniture Unlimited, which is based in Atlanta and Los Angeles. He also lends his name to Sears, with their design team guiding the design of every item in the Ty Pennington Style line of bedding, tabletop items, bath accessories, furniture, patio furniture, and other miscellaneous home decor. In addition to his involvement in
designDesign as a noun informally refers to a plan or convention for the construction of an object or a system while “to design” refers to making this plan...
,
marketing promotionsMarketing is the process used to determine what products or services may be of interest to customers, and the strategy to use in sales, communications and business development. It generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business developments...
and
public relationsPublic relations is the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc....
activities for Sears, Pennington is also active in community outreach through the Sears American Dream Campaign. In addition to his furniture designing, he also carries a line of hardwood flooring through Lumber Liquidators.
Pennington published the book
Ty's Tricks: Home Repair Secrets Plus Cheap and Easy Projects to Transform Any Room (2003), a do-it-yourself guide on home improvement. On May 15, 2007, he released the first issue of his quarterly magazine
Ty Pennington at Home. The magazine gives his fans and avid interior designers a glimpse of his works as well as bits and pieces of his rather busy life. He has described many of his techniques and the techniques of other designers on interior design as well as answers questions sent from readers. Also includes articles from people across the country who have shared different aspects of home repair and design. Ty's own advice articles include do's and don'ts, choices of tools, how-to instructions on how to build custom pieces of furniture, and comparisons between glamorous interiors and identical, more budget-friendly choices of decor. Other sections include information of eco-friendly home decor items, the latest electronic gadgets to ease the process of everyday life, and even recipes set for a multitude of family meetings and social gatherings.
On July 25, 2008, Ty announced a 3 year partnership with Marketplace Events, the largest organizer of consumer remodeling, home decor and gardening shows in North America. Ty will be spokesperson for the 30+ events in 25 markets.
In September 2008, Pennington became the spokesperson for Abbott Nutrition and their baby formula packaging innovation called
Similac SimplePac. He was also involved with the
Similac Custom Nursery Design Contest and
Ty’s Nursery Guide that were part of the new product marketing.
In September 2011, Pennington was on one showing of Disney's
Take Two With Phineas and FerbTake Two with Phineas and Ferb is a spin-off series from Phineas and Ferb that premiered on Disney Channel on December 3, 2010. The series revolves around Phineas and Ferb interviewing celebrities...
.
On October 3, 2011, It was announced that Pennington will join
The RevolutionThe Revolution is an upcoming ABC health and lifestyle talk show with some reality television components, as J. D. Roth, co-creator of NBC's The Biggest Loser is involved in the program....
, which will premiere in January 2012.
Charitable work
One popular feature in his magazine is where Pennington discusses his involvement with several charities. For example, he visited Hawaii and stumbled across
AccessSurfHawaii, a volunteer group which helps kids with disabilities learn to surf and play other water sports. Ty spent the day surfing with the volunteers and their kids. Afterwards, he approached the founder, Mark Marble, and said "I've been to Hawaii six times and this is the first time I've understood the true meaning of
Aloha".
He also helped Bayer Asprin, for whom he's been an avid spokesperson, launch their first
Wonders of the Heart contest, the first winners being announced in Summer 2007, and he also participated in a celebrity soccer match as part of a fundraiser for the Los Angeles Children's Hospital, benefiting bone marrow transplant patients, which was organized by Olympic gold medalist
Mia HammMariel Margaret "Mia" Hamm is a retired American soccer player. Hamm played many years as a forward for the United States women's national soccer team and was a founding member of the Washington Freedom. Hamm has scored more international goals in her career than any other player, male or female,...
. Ty has given tours of several Hollywood homes and work places including his own, that of fellow
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition designer
Michael MoloneyMichael C. Moloney is a Decorator and television personality who makes regular appearances on the reality television series Extreme Makeover: Home Edition...
, actress
Constance ZimmerConstance Zimmer is an American actress perhaps best known for her role as Dana Gordon in HBO's Entourage and as Claire Simms on the critically acclaimed ABC legal comedy-drama Boston Legal...
, and TV talk show host and cook
Rachael RayRachael Domenica Ray is an American television personality, businesswoman, celebrity chef and author. She hosts the syndicated talk and lifestyle program Rachael Ray and three Food Network series, 30 Minute Meals, Rachael Ray's Tasty Travels and $40 a Day...
. He shows tours of makeovers he has given to other celebrities, including Mark Stines,
ExtraExtra is an American entertainment television news program covering events and celebrities which debuted on September 5, 1994 in syndication. It is produced at Victory Studios in Glendale, California by Telepictures Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television Distribution...
co-host
Dayna Devon (done with much assistance by
Michael MoloneyMichael C. Moloney is a Decorator and television personality who makes regular appearances on the reality television series Extreme Makeover: Home Edition...
, and
Live with Regis and KellyLive! with Kelly is a syndicated American television morning talk show, hosted by Kelly Ripa. The show has aired since 1983 in New York City and 1988 nationwide. Tony Pigg has been the show's announcer since its inception...
co host
Kelly RipaKelly Ripa is an American actress and television host. Since February 2001, she has served as the co-host of talk show Live with Regis and Kelly, along with Regis Philbin and now solo host of Live! With Kelly...
. He has given several "Behind the Scenes" tours of
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, showing the work he and the rest of the designers and production crew carry out during the 7-day transformations of peoples' homes and lives.
Arrest
Pennington was arrested on suspicion of
DUIDriving under the influence is the act of driving a motor vehicle with blood levels of alcohol in excess of a legal limit...
on May 5, 2007, at 12:35 am in Los Angeles. He was released on $5,000 bail. Pennington issued an apology shortly after. It was later revealed that Pennington had a .14 blood alcohol level when he was stopped. The legal limit in California is .08. Pennington said "This was my wake-up call ... I also want to apologize to my fans, ABC Television and my design team for my lapse in judgment and the embarrassment I have caused."
On May 25, 2007, Pennington pleaded
no contest is a legal term that comes from the Latin for "I do not wish to contend." It is also referred to as a plea of no contest.In criminal trials, and in some common law jurisdictions, it is a plea where the defendant neither admits nor disputes a charge, serving as an alternative to a pleading of...
to a charge of driving over the limit. He was fined $390, received 36 months
probationProbation literally means testing of behaviour or abilities. In a legal sense, an offender on probation is ordered to follow certain conditions set forth by the court, often under the supervision of a probation officer...
, 90 days suspended
driver's licenseA driver's license/licence , or driving licence is an official document which states that a person may operate a motorized vehicle, such as a motorcycle, car, truck or a bus, on a public roadway. Most U.S...
, and 90 days in an alcohol treatment program, and, for community service, was required to attend a
Mothers Against Drunk DrivingMothers Against Drunk Driving is a non-profit organization in the United States that seeks to stop drunk driving, support those affected by drunk driving, prevent underage drinking, and overall push for stricter alcohol policy...
(MADD) seminar.
Books
- Good Design Can Change Your Life: Beautiful Rooms, Inspiring Stories, Simon & Schuster; (September 9, 2008) ISBN 978-0-743-29474-4
- Ty's Tricks: Home Repair Secrets Plus Cheap and Easy Projects to Transform Any Room, Hyperion (2003) ISBN 1-401-30067-7
External links