Dick Donato Biography (Courtesy Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

| location = Los Angeles, CA | season = Big Brother 8 | finish = Winner }}

Richard Louis Donato, known as "Evel Dick" Donato (born June 24, 1963), a 44-year-old bar manager from Los Angeles, California, is the winner of the reality game show Big Brother 8. He and his daughter, Daniele Donato, are the only family member pair to win the American Big Brother program's top two prizes in the same competition. Dick holds the record as the show's oldest winner (age 44 at the time), and Daniele is the youngest person (having turned 21 during the competition) ever to win one of the American program's top two prizes.

Biography

Dick was a stand-in for Keith Richards in the motion picture Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. Because of Dick's claims to have met, known, or even dated various celebrities, he has been accused of lying just to drop names. However, Dizzy Reed of the rock band Guns N' Roses says that Dick is not a name dropper, that people drop his name. The nickname "Evel Dick" originated with an email address Dick once made up.

Dick is the father of Vincent and Daniele Donato. One year older than Daniele, Vincent looked after things for Dick during Big Brother. Vincent became known to the viewing public because Dick and Daniele would talk about him and because Dick would frequently talk to his son through the cameras. Vincent appeared briefly in episodes of Big Brother 8, including the first and last episodes.

Dick is an atheist although his mother Charlotte is an ordained minister. Charlotte also appeared in the final episode of Big Brother 8.

Big Brother 8

In 2007, Dick was one of fourteen contestants on Big Brother 8. Six of the contestants were confronted with people they had unfinished business with from their pasts. Dick's daughter Daniele, from whom he'd been estranged for two years prior to the beginning of the show, was the person in the house for him. Although they were nominated against each other three times (in weeks 2, 6, and 10), they made it to the final two together. Among Dick's records is that he was the first Big Brother contestant who ever won a Power of Veto competition but used it to protect someone other than themselves from eviction, that being his daughter Daniele. Daniele became the second when she used the season's final Veto to protect Dick.

Dick was consistently on top of many reality website's popularity polls when viewers are asked to choose their favorite member of the House, including the main poll on the official CBS site.

On Day 81, the jury cast a 5-2 vote that crowned Dick the winner of Big Brother 8 and the recipient of $500,000. In the final episode, broadcast September 18, 2007, Dick received the votes of Dustin Erikstrup, Eric Stein, Amber Siyavus, Jessica Hughbanks, and Zach Swerdzewski to win $500,000. The season's concluding episode featuring Dick Donato's win made CBS the most-watched television network that night.

Controversy

Before winning the Veto, Dick had deliberately angered other contestants by disturbing their sleep, insulting them, and in the process offending some viewers while he was trying to get other HouseGuests to hate him enough to vote him out instead of Daniele. The California National Organization for Women called for Dick's removal from the house for comments he made to a female contestant. Online petitions emerged which called for Dick's removal on grounds on inappropriate actions, although others defended him. Dick was verbally abusive at times to the other HouseGuests, and taunted some of the religious beliefs of some players because of their complete contrast to their behavior in the House. To accusations of misogynistic behavior, Dick has pointed out that he tried to offend everyone regardless of gender. No sooner than he won, he was inducted into the Reality TV Hall of Shame for his behavior along the way. Further controversy arose over the possibility that Dick had cheated when his son Vincent sent him a coded letter intended to reveal information about other contestants, a fact which Dick acknowledged. Despite some outrage, executive producer Allison Grodner said that the Donatos did not actually violate any specific rules in doing so.

After Big Brother

Dick said he plans to use a portion of the $500,000 to pay for his daughter's college education. Although directly splitting prize winnings is banned by contest rules and law, he can legally pay for his daughter's education and buy presents.

On Wednesday, March 19, 2008 episode of Big Brother 9, Dick revealed that with his prize money he had taken Daniele to Europe, and bought her a red car.

He was nominated for and wonthe Golden Realitini for Favorite Reality Performer in the Fox Reality Really Awards for 2007 against Len Goodman, New York, Sanjaya Malakar, Ant (comedian), and Christopher Knight & Adrianne Curry. He was also nominated for Best Winner, Favorite Villain (which he also won), Favorite Potty Mouth, and Best Fight for his confrontation with Jen Johnson. Fox Reality Channel recorded the ceremony on October 2, 2007, and aired it on October 13.

In 2008, Donato co-hosted the House Calls broadcast which accompanied Big Brother 9.

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