Brian Gerard Kaelin (born March 9, 1959), known as Kato Kaelin,[a] is
an American actor, radio and television personality who was a witness
in the O.J. Simpson murder case.Kaelin was born on March 9, 1959, in
Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Kaelin was nicknamed "Kato" as a child after the
character played by Bruce Lee on the television series The Green
Hornet. He graduated from Nicolet High School in Glendale, Wisconsin,
in 1977. He attended, but never graduated from, the University of
Wisconsinâ€"Eau Claire. He pledged SAE Fraternity in the fall of 1980
and was accepted at the end of the term at California State
University, Fullerton. During his time at Eau Claire he created his
own talk show, Kato and Friends, and hosted The Gameshow on the campus
television station, TV10. He eventually moved to Hollywood.Kaelin was
a minor witness for the prosecution in the 1995 O. J. Simpson murder
case. In 1994, he was staying in a guest house on Simpson's Rockingham
estate and was present at the compound on the night of the two murders
on June 12. He witnessed some of Simpson's movements before and after
the time of the murders. His story seemed to contradict Simpson's
version of the events on some key points, as he testified that he
could not account for Simpson's whereabouts between 9:36 p.m. and
11:00 p.m. on the evening the murders took place, which the
prosecution alleged occurred between 10:00 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. In
spite of "valuable evidence" provided by Kaelin in his testimony,
prosecutor Marcia Clark took the unusual step of having him declared a
hostile witness, "allowing her to attack her own prosecution witness
without repeated objections from Simpson's defense team." He received
considerable media attention during the trial; one survey found that
74 percent of Americans could identify him, compared to 25 percent for
Vice President Al Gore.After Simpson was acquitted, the cover of an
issue of the tabloid newspaper National Examiner featured a photo of
Kaelin without his shirt on, with the headline "Cops think Kato did
it!" The article within the issue alleged that police suspected Kaelin
of perjury. Kaelin sued the publisher, Globe Communications, for
libel, alleging that the cover headline implied he was suspected of
the murders. The federal District Court for Central California
dismissed the case, saying the story was not libelous or malicious.
This was reversed by the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit,
which ruled:
an American actor, radio and television personality who was a witness
in the O.J. Simpson murder case.Kaelin was born on March 9, 1959, in
Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Kaelin was nicknamed "Kato" as a child after the
character played by Bruce Lee on the television series The Green
Hornet. He graduated from Nicolet High School in Glendale, Wisconsin,
in 1977. He attended, but never graduated from, the University of
Wisconsinâ€"Eau Claire. He pledged SAE Fraternity in the fall of 1980
and was accepted at the end of the term at California State
University, Fullerton. During his time at Eau Claire he created his
own talk show, Kato and Friends, and hosted The Gameshow on the campus
television station, TV10. He eventually moved to Hollywood.Kaelin was
a minor witness for the prosecution in the 1995 O. J. Simpson murder
case. In 1994, he was staying in a guest house on Simpson's Rockingham
estate and was present at the compound on the night of the two murders
on June 12. He witnessed some of Simpson's movements before and after
the time of the murders. His story seemed to contradict Simpson's
version of the events on some key points, as he testified that he
could not account for Simpson's whereabouts between 9:36 p.m. and
11:00 p.m. on the evening the murders took place, which the
prosecution alleged occurred between 10:00 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. In
spite of "valuable evidence" provided by Kaelin in his testimony,
prosecutor Marcia Clark took the unusual step of having him declared a
hostile witness, "allowing her to attack her own prosecution witness
without repeated objections from Simpson's defense team." He received
considerable media attention during the trial; one survey found that
74 percent of Americans could identify him, compared to 25 percent for
Vice President Al Gore.After Simpson was acquitted, the cover of an
issue of the tabloid newspaper National Examiner featured a photo of
Kaelin without his shirt on, with the headline "Cops think Kato did
it!" The article within the issue alleged that police suspected Kaelin
of perjury. Kaelin sued the publisher, Globe Communications, for
libel, alleging that the cover headline implied he was suspected of
the murders. The federal District Court for Central California
dismissed the case, saying the story was not libelous or malicious.
This was reversed by the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit,
which ruled:
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