THE MADDEN FAMILY
The Shadow
MIKE MADDEN
Age: 39
The president of Red Bear Inc., launched in 1986 as an offshoot of his
parents' real estate interests, is on the ground floor of revitalizing
downtowns in Pleasanton and Livermore with hotel, restaurant, retail and
office development. Mike's most visible project is the Rose Hotel, a
European-style inn that opened in late 2001 in downtown Pleasanton, where he
also upgraded the landmark Hap's restaurant and owns a couple of restaurant
and office properties. He serves on the Pleasanton Downtown Association
board and developed and operates nearly 100 apartment units for lower-income
seniors.
In downtown Livermore, he bought and upgraded five downtown buildings on
First Street, attracting new Strizzi's and Bruno's restaurants and the First
Street Wine Co. He's developing a 20,000-square foot restaurant, retail and
office project on South Livermore Avenue near First Street and is working
with the city's redevelopment agency on plans for another 60,000 square feet
across the street in the Livermore Valley Center.
He and his wife, Noel, live in Pleasanton and have a 15-month-old son, Jack,
with another child on the way. Mike and Noel are known for their charity
work -- notably for the ValleyCare hospital foundation and Dublin's
Kaleidoscope Activity Center for developmentally disabled kids.
JOE MADDEN
Age: 37
He runs a Pleasanton-based commercial and video production studio with the
largest shooting facility for rent in Northern California, housed in the
same Hacienda Business Park office building as Red Bear. Goal Line
Productions is owned by John Madden, who started it a decade ago to film his
TV commercials and other projects near home, but it has come into its own
under son Joe, and 85 percent of its corporate video and other work is not
related to his father.
Joe is chairman of the Tri-Valley Convention and Visitors Bureau, and a
member of its Film and Video Commission. Joe hopes to help draw movie work
to the East Bay and recently donated Goal Line's sound stage for the opening
night gala of the California Independent Film Festival. He also donates the
facility for charity fund-raisers, as well as work on videos for local
charity and historic groups.
Joe has invested in and been an executive producer of two independent films,
including one of just 16 accepted to compete in the upcoming Sundance Film
Festival. Called "The Cooler," it stars Alec Baldwin, William Macy and Paul
Sorvino. He hopes to branch out from the investor role and start making his
own movies from the technical end.
He and his wife, Wendy, have a 20-month-old son, Sam, and live in South
Livermore.
VIRGINIA MADDEN
Age: 68
A former Pleasanton school teacher who in the late 1970s ran a bar in a
historic Dublin building, she had a big hand in raising her two sons when
husband John was away during all those football seasons. Today, she's busy
writing the checks for Madden Charities and saving historic structures.
Her latest endeavor is to restore a dilapidated, century-old Victorian at
the gateway to the South Livermore Valley vineyard region for a restaurant
and downstairs pub, with an adjacent bed-and-breakfast, wine-tasting
facility and event center (she's still looking for a restaurant operator).
The price for the Tesla Road property: $1.2 million, plus four footballs
signed by John Madden. Virginia expects to spend at least $1 million on
restoration.
Her pet charity projects include the Taylor Family Foundation, which runs a
Livermore summer camp for children with life-threatening illnesses, and a
Bay Area foundation that provides housing for abused children.
She provides stuffed animals to children in Bay Area hospitals, gives to the
Society of St. Vincent de Paul and is a trustee with the Pacific Vascular
Research Foundation. She also is involved in Ken Behring's Wheelchair
Foundation.
JOHN MADDEN
Age: 66
The former Oakland Raiders coach is regarded as the NFL's No. 1 analyst and
best color man in pro-football. Madden this year jumped from Fox to ABC with
a four-year, $20 million contract to join Al Michaels in announcing Monday
Night Football. He is a best-selling author, has radio sports commentaries
heard nationally and locally, has won 13 Emmy Awards and has his name on the
No. 1 sports video game ever. He's one of the top commercial spokesmen in
the country, a familiar face on ads for everything from ACE Hardware to
Pepsi.
The Raiders' head coach from 1969 through 1978, he guided the team to an
overall record of 103-32-7, leading it to seven AFC Western Division titles
and a Super Bowl win in 1977. He retired in 1979, and started his
broadcasting career at CBS in 1980.
Madden moved his family to Pleasanton in 1967 when hired as a Raiders
assistant coach. He began buying and developing some small downtown
Pleasanton office and retail projects and partnering in a few retail strip
centers in Dublin. He later started up a Pleasanton-based studio for his TV
commercials and other projects.