Fonzworth Bentley

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Fonzworth Bentley (born Derek Watkins February 13, 1974)—formerly known as Farnsworth Bentley—is a hip hop artist, entertainer, and fashion designer, best known for being a personal assistant to American celebrity Sean "Diddy" Combs. Bentley now markets his own line of umbrellas.

Contents

[edit] Personal life

Bentley was born Derek Watkins in Atlanta, Georgia. He attended North Atlanta High School. He is a graduate of Morehouse College with a Bachelor of Science degree in biology and attended the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. His younger brother, Dion, is a recent graduate of University of Southern California's film school. His cousin, Jonathan Watkins plays in the drumline at Auburn University. His uncle, a band director, played him Beethoven's 5th Symphony at 18 months and, by the time Watkins was 2-1/2 years old, he was learning to play violin via the Suzuki Method. He would later become concert master in his high school orchestra. Watkins gained an appreciation for dance and fashion in Atlanta. After graduating from Morehouse, with a bachelor of science degree, he took a job at a local Polo store in Atlanta where his customers included his childhood friend Andre 3000 of Outkast and future employer Sean "P. Diddy" Combs. When offered a job at The Polo Mansion, Watkins relocated to New York City, where he encountered Combs. After leaving Polo, Watkins became an apprentice for designer Alan Flusser. Later he was maître d' at a New York restaurant. Watkins later reconsidered his position as maître d’ and sought a career in entertainment. He was later hired as Combs' "personal assistant". Watkins worked for Combs for two years, gave him a spot in the sitcom Making the Band 2.

[edit] Music

Fonzworth Bentley first appeared rapping on Da Bands 2002 album Too Hot for TV, in the track "Cheers to Me, Mr. Bentley (Interlude)". In 2003, Bentley was featured on the "Good Day, Good Sir" skit on OutKast's Speakerboxxx/The Love Below. In 2005, he was featured on a remix of Kanye West's "New Workout Plan". He is currently signed to West's GOOD Music label.

Bentley has appeared in several music videos, such as Usher's "Yeah", P. Diddy's "D.I.D.D.Y.", Slum Village's "Selfish", OutKast's "The Way You Move" and "Roses", as well as UGK and Outkast's "International Player's Anthem". He made a brief appearance in the music video for "Grammy Family", by West, DJ Khaled, John Legend and Consequence.

In August 2006, Bentley was featured in Sprite's Sublymonal campaign.

He was also featured, playing the violin, in the Yes We Can music video in support of Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign.

[edit] Albums

[edit] Discography

Album information
C.O.L.O.U.R.S.
  • Released: Upcoming
  • Chart positions:
  • U.S. Sales:
  • Last RIAA certification:
  • Singles: "Since I Was Nine"

[edit] Film and television

Bentley has also worked in film, and was also an executive producer for Borrow My Crew in 2005, in which Bentley allowed one boy, Cory Cole from New Jersey, to borrow the entourage of P Diddy for 2 days. Outside of the film credits listed below, Bentley frequently makes guest appearances on television, usually portraying himself. Notable appearances include:

[edit] Film

[edit] Television

  • "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" (2008)
  • "Confessions of a Celebrity Assistant" (2006, the E! Channel)
  • "VH1 Fashion Rocks" (2006)
  • "All Shades of Fine: 25 Hottest Women of the Past 25 Years" (2005)
  • "P. Diddy Presents the Bad Boys of Comedy" (2005, uncredited)
  • "2005 Trumpet Awards" (2005)
  • "Caleta Condor, Chile" (2005)
  • "Before, During and After the Sunset " (2005)
  • "106 & Park Top 10 Live" (2005)
  • "Kanye West: College Dropout - Video Anthology" (2005)
  • "Borrow My Crew" (2005)
  • "Jimmy Kimmel Live" (2005)
  • "Fade to Black" (2004)
  • "2004 MTV Movie Awards" (2004)
  • "Late Show with David Letterman" (2004), uncredited)
  • "Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards '04" (2004)
  • "The 18th Annual Soul Train Music Awards" (2004)
  • "MTV Video Music Awards 2003" (2003)
  • "OutKast: The Videos" (2003)
  • "Making the Band 2" (2002 - 2003, series)

[edit] Philanthropy

In 2007, Bentley contributed to KnowHow2GO, a national public service advertising campaign designed to encourage low-income and first-generation students to take the steps necessary to go to college.

Bentley's involvement in KnowHow2GO has included creation of a radio public service advertisement ("Wanna Go?") and participation in the 2007 YMCA Black and Hispanic Achievers Teen Leadership Summit in Orlando, Florida.[1]

KnowHow2GO is a joint effort between The Advertising Council, Lumina Foundation for Education and the American Council on Education.

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ Teens from Minneapolis Take Home Top Honors in the KnowHow2GO Radio PSA Contest.
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