Turk Pipkin

Turk Pipkin (born July 2, 1953 in Tom Green, Texas) is the co-founder of The Nobelity Project, an education and action non-profit which seeks to find solutions to many pressing global problems, and which advocates for basic rights for children everywhere. He is also known for his work as an author, actor, comedian, and director.

In 2006, Pipkin founded the non-profit organization The Nobelity Project with his wife, Christy Pipkin. After interviewing nine Nobel Laureates, he directed Nobelity, a film about global problems such as energy, hunger, land mines, and climate change. He then spent 3 years traveling to 5 continents and 20 countries filming a sequel, One Peace at a Time, which focuses on solutions in the areas of water, nutrition, education, health care, opportunity, environment and peace. In 2011 The Nobelity Project released their third film, entitled Building Hope about construction of Mahiga Hope High School in rural Kenya. The Nobel Laureates he worked with include Desmond Tutu, Wangari Maathai, Ahmed Zewail, Steven Chu (current U.S. Secretary of Energy), Harold Varmus, Steven Weinberg, Muhammad Yunus, Amartya Sen, Jody Williams, Sir Joseph Rotblat and Richard Smalley. The work with Roblat and Smalley were the final major interviews of their lives.

Pipkin is also the project leader for The Nobelity Project’s work to build Mahiga Hope High School in the Aberdare Mountains of Kenya. Pipkin is a member of the Clinton Global Initiative, and in 2010 received the White Lotus Humanitarian Award from the Government of China at the Macau International Digital Film Festival.

Mahiga Hope High School

In 2009 The Nobelity Project began construction on Mahiga Hope High School in rural Kenya. It is the first high school in the area of Mahiga near Nyeri. Mahiga Hope High School along with its Mahiga Rainwater Court held its grand opening on October 1, 2010.

Mahiga Rainwater Court

In 2009, The Nobelity Project in partnership with Architecture for Humanity received "The Game Changers Award," an architectural grant from Nike, Inc. to build a multiple purpose game, performance, and rain water collection facility. The facility serves Mahiga Hope High as well as a community center for Mahiga. It also provides the school's source of drinking water. The Mahiga Rainwater Court opened on October 1, 2010.

Mahiga Hope Library

In 2010, along with the classroom building for Mahiga Hope High, construction began on the Mahiga Hope Library. This library will provide books to the community of Mahiga, donated by individuals as part of the book drive, 1000 Books for Hope. The library will have textbooks and reference books in English and Swahili.

Turk Pipkin has worked as a screen and television writer, as a freelance journalist and contributing editor for numerous national magazines, and has authored nine books of fiction and nonfiction. His most recent book is the New York Times bestseller, The Tao of Willie, co-authored with Willie Nelson. His novels include "Fast Greens", and "When Angels Sing" which is currently being developed as a feature film by Fred Miller. He has written for multiple television productions.

Writing credits include:

• When Angels Sing (Algonquin Books) Author. (Released as the movie Angels Sing produced by Fred Miller)
• Fast Greens (Hardback Edition, Dial Press). (In development with Warner Bros/1492 Productions)
• The Old Man and the Tee (St. Martin’s Press) Author
• Born of the River (Softshoe Publishing) Author
• Harry Anderson's "Games You Can't Lose" (Pocket Books) Co-author
• Barton Springs Eternal, The Soul of a City (Softshoe Publishing) Co-editor
• Be a Clown! (Workman Books)
• Texas Monthly Magazine, Contributing Editor

Writing work in television

• Night Court (1989) "Attack of the Mac Snacks" (1989) (TV) (co-writer)
• Harry Anderson: The Tricks of His Trade (1996) (TV) (writer)
• Farm Aid: The Tenth Anniversary Concert (1995) (TV) (writer)
• Walt Disney World Christmas Day Parade (2001) (TV) (writer)
• The World's Greatest Magic 5 (1998) (TV) (writer)
• The Glenn Miller Band Reunion (1989) (TV) (writer)
• Going to California (Showtime) (TV) (writer)

• NYTimes.com New York Times, 4th June 2006

Turk Pipkin is most known as an actor for his work in the HBO series The Sopranos, and in the feature films The Alamo, Friday Night Lights, Waiting for Guffman and Richard Linklater's A Scanner Darkly.