FROM THE HOOD TO HOODSTAR : CHARLES 'CHUCK' RAMSEY BECOMES A MEDIA SENSATION
Charles Ramsey Angered By Free Burgers, Will Accept $10K for Motivational Talks by Steven Nelson
Charles Ramsey, the quotable "hero" who put down his Big Mac to help rescue three women held captive for a decade in Cleveland, isn't pleased that area restaurants offered him free burgers for life. Ramsey is happy, however, to accept around $10,000 per motivational speech.
Ramsey has signed up with Bruce Merrin's Celebrity Speakers & Entertainment Bureau, the talent agency announced Thursday. The company will arrange speaking engagements, "personal appearances" and "select NATIONAL interviews" for Ramsey, according to a released statement.
"I believe that Charles has a story that will impact audiences lives! His spirit moves me," Merrin said in the release.
"The kind of typical speaking engagement we do would be in the $10,000 range. Some might be less, some might be more," Merrin told the Cleveland Plain Dealer. "I see this presentation speech being a little bit short when he does tell his personal story, and then a lot of Q&A."
The agency's website boasts that it has booked "every Past President of the United States going back to Ronald Reagan" and "all 7 of the original astronauts." Its website does not currently have a speaker profile for Ramsey.
Ramsey was notably less pleased to be in the public eye when more than a dozen restaurants offered him free burgers for life. McDonald's also quietly offered him free food for a year, a company spokesperson told U.S. News last , the quotable "hero" who put down his Big Mac to help rescue three women held captive for a decade in Cleveland, isn't pleased that area restaurants offered him free burgers for life. Ramsey is happy, however, to accept around $10,000 per motivational speech.
Ramsey has signed up with Bruce Merrin's Celebrity Speakers & Entertainment Bureau, the talent agency announced Thursday. The company will arrange speaking engagements, "personal appearances" and "select NATIONAL interviews" for Ramsey, according to a released statement.
"I believe that Charles has a story that will impact audiences lives! His spirit moves me," Merrin said in the release.
"The kind of typical speaking engagement we do would be in the $10,000 range. Some might be less, some might be more," Merrin told the Cleveland Plain Dealer. "I see this presentation speech being a little bit short when he does tell his personal story, and then a lot of Q&A.
Scott Kuhn, co-owner of Hodge's, where Ramsey formerly worked, immediately yanked the popular "Ramsey Burger," modeled on McDonald's Big Mac, from his menu.
"The Ramsey burger was named to honor an employee at a time he indicated he would be returning to his job at Hodge's," Kuhn said in a released statement quoted by the Plain Dealer. "It was not developed to generate additional revenue for the restaurant - nor has it," the statement said. "We are saddened to hear that Chuck did not take this - or the offer of so many Cleveland restaurants to give him free meals - in the spirit we intended."
A staffer at the Walker & Jock, a law firm that is representing Ramsey said he hasn't approved any statements since his initial burger rejection. That statement also denounced a low-budget Taiwanese video game that "depicts Ramsey and the alleged captor of the hostages throwing hamburgers at one another."
week.
Story by Steven Nelson
May 30, 2013
On its Facebook page, WEWS-TV says “we made a poor judgment call in posting a story about Charles Ramsey’s criminal record and how he’s since reformed.”
While the story was factually sound, the timing of it and publication of such information was not in good taste, and we regret it. Your comments prompted us to quickly remove the story from our website and Facebook page, but we know we can’t erase what we’ve already done. Ramsey is a hero for his actions, and we recognize that. Thank you so much for your feedback.
Ramsey is a key figure in the story of how three missing women escaped captivity after 10 years. The Smoking Gun reported he was “once a repeat spousal abuser whose marriage ended in divorce following a 2003 felony conviction for battering his wife.” Also, as WEWS and others reported, another neighbor named Angel Cordero appears to have played as big a role as Ramsey in the women’s rescue. “Both stories reveal the dangers in lionizing someone at the heart of a breaking news event too soon,” Eric Deggans wrote in a piece published on Poynter Thursday.
THE RAMSEY REPORT page 2
Cleveland TV station apologizes for reporting Charles Ramsey’s criminal record by Andrew Beaujon
Charles Ramsey Criminal Record: Cleveland Hero Has Domestic Violence History The Huffington Post | By Katherine Bindley
Charles Ramsey, the Cleveland man who has been hailed as a hero for his role in helping to free three women from the house where police say they were held, has a criminal record that includes a history of domestic violence, the Smoking Gun reports.
As praise for Ramsey's actions continue to surface from media outlets, it remains to be seen how his past will affect the public's perceptions of his character.
Citing court documents, the Smoking Gun reports that Ramsey was charged with domestic violence in 1997 and pleaded no contest. In 1998, while Ramsey was awaiting sentencing, police arrested him again for domestic violence, the outlet notes. Ramsey had failed to appear in court for a hearing tied to the first case -- an action that led to prison time.
Ramsey served six months in prison, only to get arrested again in 2003 for domestic violence. He was then indicted on felony charges for "domestic violence with prior conviction," according to the Smoking Gun.
Visit the Smoking Gun for more details and the court documents.
The media has praised Ramsey in recent days in part because he said he thought kidnapping victim Amanda Berry, whom he heard screaming from a neighbor's house, was a victim of domestic violence when he went to help her. However, that fact -- coupled with Ramsey's remarks about how he had been raised to help women in distress -- now seems to stand in contrast to his past behavior.
Ramsey's candid account of the events leading up to Berry's rescue went viral earlier this week, thanks to his colorful language and multiple references to eating McDonald's.
Ramsey has denied that his actions were heroic and told CNN's Anderson Cooper that he did what any human would do. Any reward money, Ramsey told Cooper, should be returned to the victims.
The Washington Post's Jonathan Capehart updated a flattering article about Ramsey to reflect the new information, but he said it did nothing to change his mind about the man's status as a hero.
Update, May 9: Charles Ramsey has responded to the media's revealing of his criminal record, telling TMZ that he is not ashamed. He said his arrests have made him a better person.
"Those incidents helped me become the man I am today and are the reason why I try to help the community as much as I can ... Including those women," he told the news outlet.
Balloons surround the porch at the home of Gina DeJesus in Cleveland Friday, May 10, 2013. DeJesus was freed Monday from the home of Ariel Castro where she and two other women had been held captive for nearly a decade. (AP Photo/Mark Duncan)
A 10-foot chain link fence surrounds the home of Ariel Castro in Cleveland Tuesday, May 14, 2013. Castro is under arrest and charged with kidnapping and rape after three women were rescued last week at the house after being held captive for a decade.
Amanda Berry reunited with her sister after her rescue by Charles Ramsey
CHARLES RAMSEY AUTO TUNE REMIX (you knew it was coming.....smh)
Gina De jesus's father shows her memorial inside their home.
Charles Ramsey ‘Disgusted’ by Online Game by Monica Volante
CLEVELAND — The man known for helping to rescue three women who were held hostage for a decade in a house on Seymour Avenue said he is “disgusted” with an online video game depicting him in the incident.
“I want everyone to know that I have nothing to do with this trash,” said Charles Ramsey in a statement Friday.
The online game shows Ramsey and Ariel Castro throwing hamburgers at one another on Seymour Avenue, according to the statement.
Ramsey also said he does not endorse local restaurants using his name in burger promotions, such as “Ramsey Burgers.”
“I never told these people they could use my name for this,” said Ramsey.
In the statement, Ramsey said he has not authorized any merchandise, nor does he have a website or any social media accounts.
Ramsey also stressed that he would like people to help the victims.
Burger Named After Charles Ramsey
Posted on: 4:49 pm, May 13, 2013, by Jennifer Jordan
It’s called The Ramsey Burger, and is being offered at Hodge’s Cleveland on Euclid Avenue, where Ramsey works as a dishwasher.
The burger is an 8 ounce cab, featuring secret sauce, lettuce, cheddar cheese, bread and butter pickles on a toasted sesame seed bun for $12.
“He did a great act and a selfless act and it’s pretty much an inspiration to all Clevelanders that we should all probably behave a little bit like Charles when we have the chance,” said Anthony Taylor of Vermilion who ordered the burger Monday afternoon.
Ramsey was off from work last Monday, when he helped the three women from his neighbor’s home on Seymour Avenue.
Hodge’s Cleveland is also selling t-shirts on its website calling Ramsey a hero.
The burgers are available only for a limited time: today through May 19.
“It’s delicious; very good very good,” said Melissa Rush of Lakewood.
When asked what she thought about the man behind the burger, Charles Ramsey, “Oh, I’m obsessed. I’ve been following it. I think the guy is great. I’m really proud to know that he’s from Cleveland.”
PLAY THE CHARLES RAMSEY GAME HERE:
Charles Ramsey Spends Big Money to Trademark His Name and Open a Website
The candid and flamboyant Charles Ramsey isn’t as ignorant as the tabloids make him seem. After the 43-year-old Cleveland native rescued three women from a decade of captivity, Ramsey shot right up to fame, being donned a national hero. Now his name is worth a pretty penny, and he’s up to grabbing every last one.
Early June, Ramsey went and filed three applications with the United States Patent and Trademark Office to get his name issued as an actual catch phrase and legal trademark. Ramsey’s lawyer submitted “Charles Ramsey”, “Charles Seymour Ramsey” and Charles’ famous phrase “Dead Giveaway”, the quote Ramsey said in his initial interview after rescuing the girls on May 6.
“I knew something was wrong when a little, pretty white girl ran into a black man’s arms. Something is wrong here. Dead giveaway,” said Ramsey.
Smoking Gun confirms that Ramsey spent $1,650 on USPTO applications just to stamp his name for commercial purposes. His name will be used to cover products like bracelets, t-shirts,shoes and even Halloween costumes with masks and clothing attire to match Ramsey’s.
Ramsey saw the trademark idea as an opportunity when local restaurants in Cleveland started using his name for burgers.
“I never told these people they could use my name for this,” Ramsey said in a statement released by his lawyer.
Ramsey now has an official website currently under construction called charlesramseylive.com. The website will keep everyone updated on “everything Ramsey”. The homepage sports a “Team Ramsey, LLC” logo and seems pretty legit.
Ariel Castro pleaded guilty to the charges of kidnapping Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight. Castro held the women in the basement of his Cleveland Ohio home for over a decade. During captivity, one of the girls even gave birth to a child that is reportedly Castro’s.
Good luck Charles, you’ve came a long way my brother.
Reported By: Britt L