Joel Searls

1 week ago | yahoo.com | Joel Searls

The Pin-ups for Vets at the Military & veteran Awards event. (Courtesy of Rich Scmitt and Joe Ramirez)Positive and embracing energy was in the air at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel on May 24, 2025, as the Military & Veteran Entertainment Awards rolled out the red carpet for its inaugural ceremony. The awards were established to recognize and honor military veteran creatives and distinguished military members for their service and achievements.

2 weeks ago | wearethemighty.com | Joel Searls

Today, Christopher Gardner is a well-known businessman, novelist, and motivational speaker. His 2006 book, “The Pursuit of Happyness,” was so inspirational that Hollywood adapted it for the silver screen that very same year. Will Smith’s portrayal of Gardner in the film “The Pursuit of Happyness” earned the star nominations for Best Actor at the Academy Awards and the Golden Globes.

2 weeks ago | yahoo.com | Joel Searls

Will Smith and his son Jaden Smith star as Navy veteran Christopher Gardner and his son Christopher Gardner, Jr. in the 2006 film adaptation of Gardner's book, "The Pursuit of Happyness." (Columbia Pictures)Today, Christopher Gardner is a well-known businessman, novelist, and motivational speaker. His 2006 book, “The Pursuit of Happyness,” was so inspirational that Hollywood adapted it for the silver screen that very same year.

3 weeks ago | military.com | Joel Searls

During the Vietnam War, William Broyles Jr. was deployed as an infantry platoon commander in the Marine Corps and visited a Navy hospital there full of severely injured troops. Peering through a window into the hospital, "it looked like that scene in 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' where they take the Ark of the Covenant into the warehouse, and all you can see are boxes," Broyles recalled. "All I could see were wounded teenagers."The sight so unnerved Broyles that he fainted and broke his nose.

3 weeks ago | wearethemighty.com | Joel Searls

As the hard-boiled cop from Clint Eastwood’s “Dirty Harry” films asked the punks he arrested: “Do you feel lucky?” After seven decades in the entertainment industry, veteran Eastwood probably has an answer to that question for himself. An actor, director and even musician, he became the icon of Hollywood icons. He has not only thrived through the ups and downs of a competitive industry, he also succeeded in a short stint as Mayor of Carmel-by-the-Sea, California.