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This is a topic from the The Writing on the Walrus forum on inthe00s.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 06/20/10 at 7:03 am
The person born on this day...Lionel Richie
Lionel Brockman Richie (born June 20, 1949) is an American singer-songwriter and record producer who has sold (solo or as group member) more than 100 million records. Born in Tuskegee, Alabama, Richie grew up on the campus of Tuskegee Institute. His grandfather's house was across the street from the home of the president of the Institute. His family moved to Illinois where he graduated from Joliet Township High School, East Campus, in Joliet. A star tennis player in Joliet, he accepted a tennis scholarship at Tuskegee Institute and later graduated with a major in economics. After receiving his undergraduate degree from Tuskegee, Richie briefly attended graduate school at Auburn University. He is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity.
The Commodores
Main article: Commodores
As a student in Tuskegee, Richie formed a succession of R&B groups in the mid-1960s. In 1968 he became a singer and saxophonist with the Commodores. They signed a recording contract with Atlantic Records in 1968 for one record before moving on to Motown Records initially as a support act to The Jackson 5. The Commodores then became established as a popular soul group. Their first several albums had a danceable, funky sound, as in such tracks as "Machine Gun" and "Brick House". Over time, Richie wrote and sang more romantic, easy-listening ballads such as "Easy", "Three Times a Lady", "Still", and the tragic breakup ballad "Sail On."
By the late 1970s, he had begun to accept songwriting commissions from other artists. He composed "Lady" for Kenny Rogers, which hit #1 in 1980, and produced Rogers's album Share Your Love the following year. Richie and Rogers maintained a strong friendship in later years. Latin jazz composer and salsa romantica pioneer La Palabra enjoyed international success with his cover of "Lady", which was played at Latin dance clubs. Also in 1981, Richie sang the theme song for the film Endless Love, a duet with Diana Ross. Issued as a single, the song topped the UK and U.S. pop music charts, and became one of Motown's biggest hits. Its success encouraged Richie to branch out into a full-fledged solo career in 1982. He was replaced as lead singer for The Commodores by Skyler Jett in 1983.
His debut album, Lionel Richie, produced another chart-topping single, "Truly", which continued the style of his ballads with the Commodores.
Solo career
Richie's 1982 self-titled debut contained three hit singles: the U.S. #1 song "Truly", which launched his career as one of the most successful balladeers of the 1980s, and the Top Five hits "You Are" and "My Love". The album hit #3 on the music charts and sold over 4 million copies. His 1983 follow-up album, Can't Slow Down, sold over twice as many copies and won two Grammy Awards, including Album Of The Year, propelling him into the first rank of international superstars. The album contained the #1 hit "All Night Long", a Caribbean-flavored dance number that was promoted by a colorful music video produced by former Monkee Michael Nesmith.
Several more Top 10 hits followed, the most successful of which was the ballad "Hello" (1984), a sentimental love song that showed how far Richie had moved from his R&B roots. Richie had three more Top Ten hits in 1984, "Stuck On You" (#3), "Running With the Night" (#7) and "Penny Lover" (#8). Now described by one critic as "the black Barry Manilow", in 1985 Richie wrote and performed a suitably soothing theme song, "Say You, Say Me", for the film White Nights, winning an Oscar for his efforts as well as reaching #1 on the U.S. charts and staying there for four weeks, making it the #1 song of 1985 according to Billboard's year-end Hot 100 chart. He also collaborated with Michael Jackson on the charity single "We Are the World" by USA for Africa, another #1 hit.
In 1986, Richie released Dancing on the Ceiling, his last widely popular album, which produced a run of US and UK hits including "Say You, Say Me" (U.S. #1), "Dancing on the Ceiling" (U.S. #2), "Ballerina Girl" (U.S. #7), and "Se La" (U.S. #20), Richie's most recent U.S. Pop Top Twenty hit. The title selection, which revived the lively dance sound of "All Night Long (All Night)", was accompanied by another striking video, a feature that played an increasingly important role in Richie's solo career. The critical consensus was that this album represented nothing more than a consolidation of his previous work, though Richie's collaboration with the country group Alabama on "Deep River Woman" did break new ground. By 1987, Richie was exhausted from his work schedule and after a controversial year laid low taking care of his father in Alabama. His father, Lionel Sr., died in 1990. Richie made his return to recording and performing following the release of his first greatest-hits collection, Back to Front, in 1992.
Since then, his ever-more-relaxed schedule has kept his recording and live work to a minimum. He broke the silence in 1996 with Louder Than Words, on which he resisted any change of style or the musical fashion-hopping of the past decade, sticking instead with his chosen path of well-crafted soul music, which in the intervening years has become known as Contemporary R&B.
Richie's albums in the 1990s such as Louder Than Words and Time failed to match the commercial success of his earlier work. Some of his recent albums, such as Renaissance, have returned to his older style and achieved success in Europe but only modest notice in the United States. Since 2004, he has produced a total of six Top 40 singles in the UK. On February 1, 2010, Richie made a remix of "We Are The World" in which Justin Bieber sings Richie's original part in the song.
Long-lasting popularity and later career
In 2002, Richie's song "Running with the Night" was featured on the Rockstar North video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City though the song was removed from later versions of the game. In 2004, he appeared on Canadian Idol as his songs were featured during a Canadian Idol week.
Later in 2004, he also appeared on the British motoring television series Top Gear in the "Star in a Reasonably Priced Car" segment where he was interviewed by host Jeremy Clarkson. During his lap, the Suzuki Liana he was driving lost a wheel due to hard cornering. In November 2005, Lionel Richie performed with Kenny Rogers on a CMT Crossroads special. The show gave an informative insight into their friendship both in and out of the music world. Richie was also the headliner at a 2000 Fourth of July tribute concert with Fantasia Barrino at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Richie released his eighth studio album entitled "Coming Home" on September 12, 2006. The first single of the album was "I Call It Love" and was premiered in July 2006, becoming his biggest hit in the U.S. in ten years. The album was an incredible success for Richie in the United States, peaking at #6. His adopted daughter Nicole Richie stars in the music video for this track.
On December 9, 2006, Richie hosted and performed live on the British television show An Audience with Lionel Richie. Two months later, he performed "Hello" on the 49th Grammy Awards show.
On November 25, 2007, he made a surprise appearance on the Australian Idol grand finale performing "All Night Long (All Night)" at the Sydney Opera House. Richie donated to Barack Obama's 2008 Presidential campaign.
On May 2, 2008, Lionel Richie was the 21st recipient of the George and Ira Gershwin Lifetime Achievement Award at UCLA's annual Spring Sing. In accepting the award, Richie said: "Forget about surviving 30 some odd years in the music business, Lionel Richie survived 27 years of Nicole Richie".
Recently, he has announced that he would like to get The Commodores back together soon, "or in the next 10 years no one will care." Richie is also a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.
On December 31, 2008, Richie performed in Times Square for the New Year's Eve celebration and ball drop. He also performed on the 2009 season finale for American Idol with Danny Gokey.
A new album, Just Go was released in spring 2009 - around the time Lionel confirmed there is to be a Commodores reunion in the near future.
On July 7, 2009, Richie performed "Jesus is Love" at Michael Jackson's memorial service.
On May 30, 2010, Richie performed at the National Memorial Day Concert in Washington D.C. One of the songs he performed was "America the Beautiful."
Popularity in the Arab world
In recent years, Richie has become a phenomenon in various Arab states, and has performed in Morocco, Dubai, Qatar and Libya.
As ABC News reports:
Grown Iraqi men get misty-eyed by the mere mention of his name. "I love Lionel Richie," they say. They can sing an entire Lionel Richie song. He has performed in Morocco, Dubai, Qatar and Libya. There is obviously something up there. The more we talked, the more he theorized as to the reasons his music might be so popular here. He thinks it is because of the simple message in his music: Love.
According to Richie, he was told that Iraqi civilians were playing "All Night Long" the night that U.S. tanks invaded Baghdad. Richie was against the war, but he says he could see a day when he would come and perform in Baghdad. "I would love to be here for that."
Dallas Austin character witness
In July, 2006, songwriter and producer Dallas Austin was arrested and held in a United Arab Emirates prison on drug charges. The UAE consulate in Washington D.C. placed a call to Lionel Richie for a character reference.
Richie recounts for the New York Times:
It was, 'Tell me what kind of guy is Dallas Austin.' I said, 'Listen, this is a great guy. He's done a great job for the community. A gangster, a hoodlum, a thug, he's not.'
Austin was subsequently granted a pardon.
Family
Marriage with Brenda Harvey
Richie married college sweetheart Brenda Harvey on October 18, 1975. During their marriage, Lionel began a relationship with Diane Alexander in 1986. In 1988, while separated, Brenda allegedly discovered Lionel and Alexander together in a Beverly Hills apartment. A confrontation ensued, and Brenda was then arrested for spousal abuse, trespassing and vandalism. Lionel and Brenda divorced on August 9, 1993; they had been married 17 years.
Nicole Richie
Main article: Nicole Richie
In 1983, Lionel and wife Brenda informally adopted Nicole Camille Escovedo, the two year old daughter of members of Lionel's band. They raised her as their daughter Nicole Richie and adopted her legally when she was nine years old. In a November 15, 2005 CNN interview with Ryan Seacrest, Nicole denied that her birth father was a member of Lionel's band; however, Peter Michael Escovedo (brother of Sheila E) was a member of Lionel's band.
Lionel became a grandfather on January 11, 2008 when Nicole gave birth to a baby girl, Harlow Winter Kate Madden, with the lead singer of Good Charlotte, Joel Madden and again when she gave birth to Sparrow James Midnight Madden on September 9, 2009.
Marriage with Diane Alexander
Lionel married Alexander on December 21, 1995. They have a son, Miles Brockman (born May 27, 1994), and a daughter, Sofia (born August 26, 1998). Lionel and Alexander divorced in January 2004.
Breast cancer activist
Richie helped to raise over $3.1 million for The Breast Cancer Research Foundation. He was the featured performer at the Foundation's Soirée Bouquet, the annual spring gala.
Richie told the crowd that his grandmother was diagnosed with breast cancer in her 80s, but survived and lived until she was 104 years old. He stated that she was his enduring symbol of hope and his reason for becoming a breast cancer activist.
In Popular Culture
* In the video game Final Fantasy XIII, director Tetsuya Nomura based the character Sazh's appearance on Lionel Richie.
* Lionel Richie is often mentioned in the television show Everybody Hates Chris, as many secondary characters claim that the main character (played by Tyler James Williams) resembles him.
Discography
See also: Lionel Richie discography
Studio albums
* 1982: Lionel Richie (Motown)
* 1983: Can't Slow Down (Motown)
* 1986: Dancing on the Ceiling (Motown)
* 1992: Back To Front (Motown) (Compilation)
* 1996: Louder Than Words (Mercury)
* 1997: Truly: The Love Songs (Motown) (Compilation)
* 1998: Time (Mercury)
* 2000: Renaissance (Island)
* 2002: Encore (Island) (Live)
* 2004: Just for You (Island)
* 2006: Coming Home (Island)
* 2006: Sounds of the Season (Island)
* 2009: Just Go (Island)
U.S. #1 singles
* 1981: "Endless Love" (with Diana Ross) (9 weeks)
* 1982: "Truly" (2 weeks)
* 1983: "All Night Long (All Night)" (4 weeks)
* 1984: "Hello" (2 weeks)
* 1985: "Say You, Say Me" (4 weeks)
Filmography
* 1977: Scott Joplin (w/ The Commodores)
* 1978: Thank God It's Friday (w/ The Commodores)
* 1990: Running with the night
* 1991: Truth or Dare (documentary)
* 1996: The Preacher's Wife
* 1998: Pariah
* 2007: The Simpsons (episode He Loves to Fly and He D'ohs)
See also
* List of best-selling music artists
* List of best-selling music artists in the United States
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f125/dannncampos/Sakarolha/Lionel-Richie.jpg
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f282/kieransphotosarehere/lionel_richie.jpg
I could go on and on on what my favorite Lionel Richie song but I will say my 1 favorite is All Night Long from 1983. :)
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 06/20/10 at 7:05 am
The word of the day...Ceiling
A ceiling is an overhead interior surface that bounds ("ceils") the upper limit of a room. It is generally not a structural element, but a finished surface concealing the underside of the floor or roof structure above.
Ceilings are classified according to their appearance or construction. A cathedral ceiling is any tall ceiling area similar to those in a church. A dropped ceiling is one in which the finished surface is constructed anywhere from a few inches to several feet below the structure above it. This may be done for aesthetic purposes, such as achieving a desirable ceiling height; or practical purposes such as providing a space for HVAC or piping. An inverse of this would be a raised floor. A concave or barrel shaped ceiling is curved or rounded, usually for visual or acoustical value, while a coffered ceiling is divided into a grid of recessed square or octagonal panels, also called a lacunar ceiling. A cove ceiling uses a curved plaster transition between wall and ceiling; it is named for cove molding, a molding with a concave curve.
Ceilings have frequently been decorated with fresco painting, mosaic tiles and other surface treatments. While hard to execute (at least in place) a decorated ceiling has the advantage that it is largely protected from damage by fingers and dust. In the past, however, this was more than compensated for by the damage from smoke from candles or a fireplace. Many historic buildings have celebrated ceilings. Perhaps the most famous is the Sistine Chapel ceiling by Michelangelo.
http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/af149/mdoug87/Rome/rome006.jpg
Now that is one famous ceiling.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: CatwomanofV on 06/20/10 at 12:28 pm
By pure coincidence!
Well, Geoffrey Palmer was British Person of the Day a few weeks ago so it only seems fitting that Wendy Craig should have her day, too.
Cat
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 06/20/10 at 12:57 pm
Another favorite of mine is "You Are".
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: CatwomanofV on 06/20/10 at 1:24 pm
I started choreographing a dance to THIS song but never finished it. I was going to enter into a talent show but about a month before the show, I got into a nasty car accident (totaled my car right after I sent in my last payment >:( >:( >:( ) and it messed up my back-so I dropped out of the show and never finished the dance.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PnhlXLHKAE
Cat
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Frank on 06/20/10 at 5:20 pm
Lionel Ritchie. My fave's of his are "Still and "Three times a lady", both with the Comodores
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 06/21/10 at 5:51 am
The word of the day...Ties
To fasten or secure with or as if with a cord, rope, or strap: tied the kite to a post; tie up a bundle.
2. To fasten by drawing together the parts or sides and knotting with strings or laces: tied her shoes.
3.
a. To make by fastening ends or parts: tie a knot.
b. To put a knot or bow in: tie a neck scarf.
4. To confine or restrict as if with cord: duties that tied him to the office.
5. To bring together in relationship; connect or unite: friends who were tied by common interests; people who are tied by blood or marriage.
6.
a. To equal (an opponent or an opponent's score) in a contest.
b. To equal an opponent's score in (a contest): tied the game with minutes remaining.
7. Music To join (notes) by a tie.
v.intr.
1. To be fastened or attached: The apron ties at the back.
2. To achieve equal scores in a contest.
n.
1. A cord, string, or other means by which something is tied.
2. Something that connects or unites; a link: a blood tie; marital ties.
3. A necktie.
4. A beam or rod that joins parts and gives support.
5. One of the beams, usually made of wood, that are laid across a railroad bed to secure the rails.
6.
a. An equality of scores, votes, or performance in a contest: The election ended in a tie.
b. A contest so resulting; a draw.
7. Music A curved line above or below two notes of the same pitch, indicating that the tone is to be sustained for their combined duration.
http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee47/Natasha0912/BindingTies300.jpg
http://i856.photobucket.com/albums/ab121/steptoexs11/shed%20tidy%20idea/13062010002.jpg
http://i842.photobucket.com/albums/zz342/lmiller751/latest%20finds/ebay2045.jpg
http://i311.photobucket.com/albums/kk459/Tillers_album/2010%20flies/Bugs1302010003.jpg
http://i1030.photobucket.com/albums/y367/goetsch4_5/IMG_8259.jpg
http://i892.photobucket.com/albums/ac122/kgdowning/NNRY%20Railroad%20Camp%20June%202010/IMG_1339.jpg
http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f205/streetlightbulb/8949417.jpg
http://i629.photobucket.com/albums/uu17/catherine_rux/bt.jpg
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n216/jclintondiederich/family_ties.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 06/21/10 at 5:56 am
The co-person of the day...Meredith Baxter
Meredith Baxter (born June 21, 1947), also known for some years as Meredith Baxter-Birney, is an American actress and producer. She is known for her acting roles including two television series: Family (1976-1980), an ABC television-network drama, and Family Ties (1982-1989), an NBC television-network situation comedy. She was born Meredith Ann Baxter in South Pasadena, California, the daughter of actress and situation-comedy creator Whitney Blake and Tom Baxter, a radio announcer. She was raised in Southern California and has two brothers: Richard (born 1944) and Brian (born 1946). Her mother's widower was situation-comedy writer Allan Manings.
Career
Baxter got her first big break on television in 1972 as one of the stars of the Bridget Loves Bernie, a CBS television-network situation comedy. The series was canceled after one season, but her co-star, David Birney became her second husband in 1974. Following their marriage and until their divorce in 1989, she was credited as Meredith Baxter-Birney.
As Baxter-Birney, she became widely known several years later on Family. She played the role of Nancy Lawrence Maitland and received two Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Continuing Performance by a Supporting Actress in a Drama Series (1977 and 1978).
After Family ended, she starred with Annette O'Toole and Shelley Hack in Vanities (1981), a television production of the comedy-drama stage play about the lives, loves and friendship of three Texas cheerleaders starting from high school to post-college graduation; it aired as a part of Standing Room Only, a series on the premium-television channel HBO.
Baxter-Birney's next series was Family Ties, on which she played an ex-flower-child mother, Elyse Keaton, on Family Ties. In reality she is only fourteen years older than Michael J. Fox, who played her son Alex Keaton.
Following Family Ties, Baxter (whose marriage to Birney ended in 1989) produced and starred in television films. She portrayed a psychopathic kidnapper in The Kissing Place (1990) and was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Special for her work in A Woman Scorned: The Betty Broderick Story (1992), based on the true story of a divorcée who was convicted of murder in the shooting of her ex-husband and his young wife.
In 1994, she won a Daytime Emmy Award for her role as a lesbian mother raising a young son, in Other Mothers (1993), a CBS Schoolbreak Special. For her work on the television film My Breast (1994), she received a special award for public awareness from the National Breast Cancer Coalition.
In 1997, Baxter once again played the mother of a character played by Fox, this time on Spin City, an ABC situation comedy.
In 2005, she began appearing in television commercials for Garden State Life Insurance Company. In 2006, she temporarily co-hosted — with Matt Lauer — Today, the NBC morning news and talk show. In 2007, she made a guest appearance on What About Brian, an ABC drama series. That same year, she also made several appearances as the dying mother of Detective Lilly Rush on Cold Case, a CBS police-procedural series. In 2009, she is guest starring in season two the web series We Have To Stop Now.
In recent years, Baxter has also created a skin-care line, Meredith Baxter Simple Works, which helps raise funds for her breast-cancer research foundation. She is also a spokesperson for Consumer Cellular, a cell phone company advertised as providing a cheaper cell phone alternative for senior citizens.
Personal life
Baxter has been married three times and has five children. In 1966, she married Robert Lewis Bush and they had two children — Ted (born 1967) and Eva (born 1969); the couple was divorced in 1969. In 1974, she married Birney and had three children — Kate (born 1974) and twins, Mollie and Peter (born 1984). Following their divorce in 1989, she reverted to using Meredith Baxter. In 1995, she married actor and screenwriter Michael Blodgett; they were divorced in 2000.
Baxter was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1999.
In 2004, she joined with Michael Gross, her former co-star from Family Ties, to campaign for John Kerry's candidacy for the U.S. presidency.
Baxter was the guest speaker at the 2008 Southern Commencement for National University in La Jolla, California, and was awarded an honorary doctorate degree from the university.
In 2009, The National Enquirer reported that Baxter was seen on a lesbian cruise with a female friend. This led to speculation as to whether Baxter was a lesbian or simply enjoying the cruise as a platonic straight friend. On December 2, 2009, she came out as a lesbian during an interview with Lauer on Today, and on the Frank DeCaro Show on Sirius-XM OutQ 102. She lives with her partner, Nancy Locke, a general contractor, with whom she has been since 2005. Baxter said she first realized she was a lesbian when she began her first same-sex relationship in 2002.
On December 17, 2009, TV Guide reported that Baxter will write a memoir. Broadway Books, an imprint of Crown Publishing Group, has purchased the rights to Baxter's as-yet-untitled and as-yet-unwritten life story. In the book, Baxter "will present a fully realized portrait of her life as an actress, mother of five children, and grandmother, and will candidly discuss her fight with breast cancer, her 19 years of sobriety, entrepreneurship, and her decision to come out," a press release said.
Coincidentally, Baxter and her Family Ties co-star Michael Gross (who played her husband Steven Keaton), were born on the same date, June 21, 1947.
Filmography
Film
Year Film Role Notes
1972 Stand Up and Be Counted Tracy
Ben Eve Garrison
1976 All the President's Men Debbie Sloan
Bittersweet Love Patricia
1990 Jezebel's Kiss Virginia De Leo
1999 Elevator Seeking Ann
2003 Devil's Pond Kate
2005 Paradise Texas Liz Cameron
The Mostly Unfabulous Social Life of Ethan Green Harper Green
2008 The Onion Movie Cooking Show Chef direct-to-video release
2010 Airline Disaster President Harriet Franklin post-production
Television
Year Title Role Notes
1971 The Young Lawyers Gloria 1 episode
The Doris Day Show April 1 episode
The Partridge Family Jenny 1 episode
1972 Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law Ann Glover 1 episode
1972–1973 Bridget Loves Bernie Bridget Fitzgerald Steinberg 24 episodes
1973 The Invasion of Carol Enders Carol Enders television movie
Doc Elliot Jenny 1 episode
The Cat Creature Rena Carter ABC television movie
1974 Barnaby Jones Jenny Sutherland 1 episode
The Stranger Who Looks Like Me Joanne Denver ABC television movie
Young Love April CBS television movie
1974–1975 Medical Center Paula
Priscilla 2 episodes
1975 Target Risk Linda Flayly NBC television movie
The Imposter Julie Watson NBC television movie
The Streets of San Francisco Jodi Dixon 1 episode
The Night That Panicked America Linda Davis ABC television movie
Medical Story Erica Schiff
Sunny 2 episodes
McMillan and Wife Faye Leonard 1 episode
1976 City of Angels Mary Kingston 3 episodes
Wide World Mystery 1 episode
Police Woman Liz Robson 1 episode
1976–1980 Family Nancy Lawrence Maitland 45 episodes
1977–1982 The Love Boat Sandy Rytell 3 episodes
1978 Little Women Meg March NBC television movie
1979 The Family Man Mercedes Cole CBS television movie
1980 Beulah Land Lauretta Pennington NBC miniseries
1981 Vanities Joanne HBO televised presentation of stage production
The Two Lives of Carol Letner Carol Letner CBS television movie
1982 Take Your Best Shot Carol Marriner CBS television movie
1982–1989 Family Ties Elyse Keaton 171 episodes
1985 The Rape of Richard Beck Barbara McKee ABC television movie
Family Ties Vacation Elyse Keaton NBC television movie
1986 Kate's Secret Kate Stark NBC television movie
1987 The Long Journey Home (film) Maura Wells CBS television movie
1988 The Diaries of Adam and Eve Eve television movie
Mickey's 60th Birthday Elyse Keaton television special
Winnie Winnie NBC television movie
1989 She Knows Too Much Samantha White NBC television movie
1990 The Kissing Place Florence Tulane USA Network television movie
Burning Bridges Lynn Hollinger ABC television movie
1992 A Woman Scorned: The Betty Broderick Story Betty Broderick CBS television movie
Stolen Love DeeDee ABC Television movie
1993 Darkness Before Dawn Mary Ann Guard NBC television movie
also co-executive producer
CBS Schoolbreak Special - Other Mothers Paula Hensen 1 episode; won a Daytime Emmy Award for her role
1994 For the Love of Aaron Margaret Gibson television movie
One More Mountain Margaret Reed ABC television movie
My Breast Joyce Wadler CBS television movie
also co-executive producer
1995 Betrayed: A Story of Three Women Amanda Nelson ABC television movie
also co-executive producer
1996 The Faculty Flynn Sullivan 1 episode
also executive producer
After Jimmy Maggie Stapp television movie
1997 Dog's Best Friend Cow (Voice) television movie
The Inheritance Beatrice Hamilton television movie
Let Me Call You Sweetheart D.A. Kerry McGrath The Family Channel television movie
Miracle in the Woods Sarah Weatherby television movie
Spin City Macy Flaherty 2 episodes: "Family Affair" (Part 1) and "Family Affair" (Part 2)
1999 Holy Joe Annie Cass CBS television movie
Down Will Come Baby Leah Garr CBS television movie
Miracle on the 17th Green Susan McKinley CBS television movie
2000 The Wednesday Woman Muriel Davidson CBS television movie
2001 A Mother's Fight for Justice Terry Stone Lifetime Television movie
Aftermath Carol television movie
Murder on the Orient Express Mrs. Caroline Hubbard television movie
2002 A Christmas Visitor Carol Boyajian Hallmark Channel television movie
2003 7th Heaven Mrs. Jones 1 episode: "Go Ask Alice"
2004 Half & Half Joan Tyrell 1 episode
Angel in the Family Lorraine Hallmark Channel television movie
2005 The Closer Congresswoman Simmons 1 episode: "Fantasy Date"
2006 Brothers & Sisters Margaret Packard 1 episode: "For the Children"
2006–2007 Cold Case Ellen Rush 5 episodes
2007 What About Brian Frankie 1 episode: "What About All That Glitters..."
2009 Bound by a Secret Ida Mae Hallmark Channel television movie
Family Guy Elyse Keaton and herself 2 episodes: "Stew-Roids" and "Family Gay"
Brothers TV Mom 1 episode: "Episode: Commercial – Coach DMV"
2010 We Have to Stop Now Judy Web series
Episode: The Grass Is Always Greener
Award nominations
Year Award Result Category Series or Film
1977 Emmy Award Nominated Outstanding Continuing Performance by a Supporting Actress in a Drama Series Family
1978 Outstanding Continuing Performance by a Supporting Actress in a Drama Series Family
1992 Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Special A Woman Scorned: The Betty Broderick Story
1994 21st Daytime Emmy Awards Won Outstanding Performer in a Children's Special CBS Schoolbreak Special - Other Mothers
2007 TV Land Award Nominated Lady You Love to Watch Fight for Her Life in a Movie of the Week
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c81/bassplayingdiva/meredith_baxter.jpg
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e318/vampross100/kates.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 06/21/10 at 6:00 am
The co-person of the day...Michael Gross
Michael Gross (born June 21, 1947) is an American television, movie, and stage actor who plays both comedic and dramatic roles. His most notable roles are fatherly figure Steven Keaton from Family Ties and graboid hunter Burt Gummer from the Tremors film and television series. Gross was born in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Virginia Ruth, a telephone operator, and William Oscar Gross, a tool designer. He attended high school at Kelvyn Park High School on the north side of Chicago. He received his drama degree at the University of Illinois at Chicago before attending Yale University for his Master of Fine Arts degree. His sister, Mary Gross, is a former Saturday Night Live cast member.
Career
Gross is known for his role as Steven Keaton in the 1980s sitcom Family Ties, and as "Burt Gummer" in the Tremors movies and subsequent TV series. The sketch of the Keaton Family during the opening sequence of Family Ties was, in fact, drawn by Gross, himself. He also guest starred in an episode of the sitcom Night Court, in which he played a sexual predator to Markie Post's character, Christine Sullivan.
His other television credits include Boston Legal, How I Met Your Mother, Batman Beyond, ER, Law & Order, and two of its spin-offs: SVU and Criminal Intent.
Gross had a special cameo in 2000 on Spin City as a therapist to Michael J. Fox's character on Fox's final show as a regular on that program.
Personal life
Gross has been married to casting director Elza Bergeron since June 2, 1984, and they have two children.
Gross is a passionate railfan with an extensive collection of railroad antiques. He is an amateur railroad historian, photographer, modeller, and part-owner in a working railroad, the Santa Fe Southern Railway, a former branch line of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway which operates between Lamy and Santa Fe, New Mexico. He is also the spokesman for the World's Greatest Hobby campaign sponsored by the Model Railroad Industry Association that promotes the hobby of model railroading. He has also been a spokesperson for Operation Lifesaver, a campaign promoting safety at railroad grade crossings. Beginning in 2009, Gross is the "celebrity spokesman" for the B&O Railroad Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.
Coincidentally, Gross and his Family Ties co-star Meredith Baxter (who played his wife Elyse Keaton), were born on the same date, June 21, 1947.
Filmography
* 1982–1989: Family Ties (TV series)
* 1988: The F.B.I. Murders
* 1988: Big Business
* 1990: Tremors
* 1991: Cool as Ice
* 1992: Alan & Naomi
* 1993: Batman: The Animated Series
* 1993: Firestorm: 72 Hours in Oakland
* 1994: Snowbound: The Jim and Jennifer Stolpa Story (Made for TV movie)
* 1994: Avalanche
* 1995: Deceived By Trust
* 1996: Tremors 2: Aftershocks
* 1996: Sometimes They Come Back... Again
* 1998: Ground Control
* 1999: Batman Beyond
* 2001: The Undesirable (Made for TV movie)
* 2001: Tremors 3: Back to Perfection
* 2002: ER (TV Series)
* 2003: Tremors (TV series)
* 2003: Super Chief: Speed-Style-Service (narrator)
* 2004: Tremors 4: The Legend Begins
* 2004: Combustion
* 2006: Dome Car Magic: A History Of Railroad Dome Cars (narrator)
* 2008: 100 Million BC
* 2008-2009: The Young and the Restless (TV Series)
* 2010 Tremors: The Thunder From Down Under
* 2010 Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b235/CellarDoorGtr/Random80sPeeps/m_gross.jpg
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x16/Dawnnblondee/Dad190px-Michael_Gross_at_the_39th_.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 06/21/10 at 6:08 am
The person who died on this day...Carroll O' Connor
John Carroll O'Connor (August 2, 1924 – June 21, 2001) best known as Carroll O'Connor, was an American actor, producer and director whose television career spanned four decades. Known at first for playing the role of Major General Colt in the 1970 cult movie, Kelly's Heroes, he later found fame as the bigoted workingman Archie Bunker, the main character in the 1970s CBS television sitcoms All in the Family (1971 to 1979) and Archie Bunker's Place (1979 to 1983). O'Connor later starred in the NBC television crime drama In the Heat of the Night from 1988 to 1995, where he played the role of Police Chief William (Bill) Gillespie from 1988 to 1994, and Sheriff Gillespie in 1995. At the end of his career in the late 1990s, he played the father of Jamie Stemple Buchman (Helen Hunt) on Mad About You.
O'Connor was living in Italy in 1968 when producer Norman Lear first asked him to come to New York to star in a pilot he was creating for ABC called Justice For All, inspired by the popular BBC series Til Death Us Do Part, playing Archie Justice, a loveable yet controversial bigot. After three pilots done between 1968 to 1970, a network change to CBS, and the last name of the character changed to Bunker, the new sitcom was renamed All in the Family. It has been stated that O'Connor's Queens background and New York accent influenced Lear to set the show in Queens.
Wanting a well-known actor to tackle the controversial material, Lear had approached Jackie Gleason and Mickey Rooney to play Archie; both declined. O'Connor accepted, not expecting the show to be a success and believing he would be able to move back to Europe. (In her book Archie & Edith, Mike & Gloria : the Tumultuous History of All in the Family, Donna McCrohan noted that O'Connor requested that Lear provide him with a return airline ticket to Rome as a condition of his accepting the role, so that he could return to Italy when the show failed.) Instead, the show became the highest-rated television program on American television for five consecutive seasons until the 1976-1977 season (the sixth season). The Cosby Show has since met the record set by All in the Family.
O'Connor's own politics were liberal, but he understood the Bunker character and played him not only with bombast and humor but with touches of vulnerability. The writing on the show was consistently left of center, but O'Connor often deftly skewered the liberal pieties of the day. The result is widely considered to be an absorbing, entertaining television show. All in the Family was based on the BBC show Til Death Us Do Part, with Bunker based on Alf Garnett, but somewhat less abrasive.
Although Bunker was famous for his malapropisms of the English language, O'Connor was highly educated and cultured and was an English teacher before he turned to acting.
The show also starred a Broadway actress, also from New York City, Jean Stapleton, in the role of Archie Bunker's long-suffering wife, Edith Bunker, after Lear saw her in the play Damn Yankees. The producer sent the show over to ABC twice, but it didn't get picked up. They then approached CBS with more success, and accordingly, All in the Family was retooled and debuted early in 1971. The show also starred unknown character actors, such as Rob Reiner as Archie's liberal son-in-law, Michael "Meathead" Stivic and Sally Struthers as Archie's only daughter and Meathead's wife, Gloria Bunker-Stivic. The cast had a unique on- and off-camera chemistry, especially Reiner, who became O'Connor's best friend and favorite actor.
CBS was unsure whether the controversial subject matter of All in the Family would fit well into a sitcom. Racial issues, ethnicities, religions, and other timely topics were addressed. Thought-provoking, well-written, and well-cast, the show transformed the formerly inane sitcom format into something with dramatic social substance, becoming an enormous hit along the way. Archie Bunker's popularity made O'Connor a top-billing star of the 1970s. O'Connor was afraid of being typecast for playing such a popular and distinctive character. At the same time, he was protective of not just his character, but of the entire show.
A contract dispute between O'Connor and Lear marred the beginning of the show's fifth season. Eventually, O'Connor got a raise and appeared in the series until it ended. For his work as Archie Bunker, he was nominated for eight Emmy Awards as Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series; he won the award four times (1972, 1977, 1978, and 1979).
At the end of the eighth season in 1978, Reiner and Struthers left the series to pursue other projects, but O'Connor and Stapleton still had one year left on their contracts. At the start of the final year, the show cast a child actress, Danielle Brisebois, in the role of Archie's and Edith's niece, Stephanie Mills. The series was finally cancelled in 1979 after nine seasons and 210 episodes.
Archie Bunker's Place
O'Connor reprised his role as Archie Bunker in the spin-off show Archie Bunker's Place. Longtime friend and original series star Jean Stapleton reprised her role as Edith Bunker, but her screen time was limited. Her character died of a stroke, leaving Archie to cope with the loss. Danielle Brisebois played Stephanie Mills, Archie's niece in the series. The show was a hit, but not as big as its parent show. The show was unexpectedly cancelled in 1983, after 97 episodes, and O'Connor was not very happy that the show didn't have an appropriate series finale. All told, he played Archie Bunker for 13 years in a total of exactly 300 episodes.
In the Heat of the Night
While coping with his son's drug problem, O'Connor starred as Chief Officer Bill Gillespie, a tough veteran Mississippi cop on In the Heat of the Night. Based on the 1967 movie of the same name, the series debuted on NBC early in 1988, and it was a ratings powerhouse every Tuesday evening. O'Connor's son, Hugh O'Connor, was cast in the role of Officer Lonnie Jamison.
Much like O'Connor himself, his character was racially progressive and politically liberal. In 1989, while working on the set, O'Connor was hospitalized and had to undergo open heart surgery. This caused him to miss four episodes of the show at the end of the second season. The series was transferred from NBC to CBS in 1992 and canceled two years later, in 1994, after its seventh season. After cancellation, O'Connor reprised his role the following year for four two-hour In the Heat of the Night TV movies to critical acclaim.
While on the series, he recorded "Bring A Torch, Jeanette Isabella," for the 1991 "In the Heat of the Night" Christmas CD "Christmas Time's A Comin'." He was joined by Grand Ole Opry star mandolinist Jesse McReynolds, Nashville accordianist Abe Manuel, Jr., and Nashville fiddlers Buddy Spicher and Randall Franks. CD Producer and series co-star Randall Franks created the arrangement which was co-produced by series co-star Alan Autry. O'Connor also joined other members of the cast for a recording of "Jingle Bells" with vocals by Country Music Hall of Fame members Little Jimmy Dickens, Kitty Wells, Pee Wee King, as well as The Marksmen Quartet, Bobby Wright, Johnnie Wright and Ken Holloway.
Career honors
* Golden Globe Award, best television actor in a musical/comedy series, 1972, All in the Family
* Emmy Award, outstanding lead actor in a comedy series, 1971, 1976, 1977, and 1978, All in the Family
* George Foster Peabody Broadcasting Award, 1980, for Archie Alone episode, Archie Bunker's Place
* Emmy Award, outstanding lead actor in a drama series, 1989, In the Heat of the Night
* NAACP Image Award, 1990, In the Heat of the Night
* Golden Globe nomination, best actor in a drama series, 1990, In the Heat of the Night''
* Television Hall of Fame, elected 1990 for contributions to the television industry
* NAACP Image Award, 1991, In the Heat of the Night
Other honors
In 1973, his fraternity conferred its highest honor, Sigma Phi Epsilon Citation, on him.
In March 2000, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and was given a St. Patrick's Day tribute by MGM.
In July 1991, O'Connor, Jean Stapleton, Rob Reiner and Sally Struthers were reunited to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of All in the Family, which made its debut on CBS. Thanks to reruns which aired in syndication, TV Land and on CBS, the show continued to be popular. Those reruns led producer Norman Lear to create a new sitcom, Sunday Dinner, which was soon cancelled. The following year, Lear created The Powers That Be, which was also unsuccessful.
His caricature figures prominently in Sardi's restaurant, in New York City's Theater District.
O'Connor died on June 21, 2001 in Culver City, California from a heart attack brought on by complications from diabetes. His funeral mass was celebrated at St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church in Westwood, Los Angeles, California and was attended by All in the Family cast members Rob Reiner, Sally Struthers and Danielle Brisebois, as well as producer Norman Lear. Actress Jean Stapleton, who played O'Connor's onscreen wife and who had been a close friend of O'Connor's since the early 1960s, did not attend the service due to a stage production performance commitment.
In honor of O'Connor's career, TV Land moved an entire weekend of programming to the next week and showed a continuous marathon of All in the Family. During the commercial breaks TV Land also showed interview footage of O'Connor and various All in the Family actors, producers with whom he had worked, and other associates. O'Connor's best friend Larry Hagman and his family were also there, alongside the surviving cast of In the Heat of the Night, including Alan Autry and Denise Nicholas, who also attended the memorial. O'Connor was buried at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery with his son Hugh's cenotaph placed on his grave stone.
Friendship with other actors
This article does not cite any references or sources.
Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (November 2008)
O'Connor met Broadway and character actress Jean Stapleton in a 1962 episode of The Defenders. Nine years later, she auditioned for the role of Archie's wife Edith in All in the Family. She and O'Connor shared a remarkable husband and wife chemistry for the next decade. She made limited guest appearances on its later spin-off show, Archie Bunker's Place, before leaving in the show's second season. During Stapleton's run as Edith Bunker, she and O'Connor became close friends. She was distressed in 1995, as she bestowed her condolences on the passing of Carroll's son, Hugh, who committed suicide. She remained close and supportive while O'Connor was in court to testify concerning his son's death. Then on the first day of Summer in 2001, while performing on stage, she received word that her friend had died. Though she was unable to attend the service, she delivered her condolences to Nancy.
O'Connor had a long-running friendship with actor Larry Hagman, beginning in 1959, when Carroll was working as an assistant stage manager for the Broadway play God and Kate Murphy, in which Hagman starred. Later as the two struggled as young actors, they rented apartments near each other in New York. Over the years they had a lot in common; just as O'Connor concluded contract negotiations for his salary on All in the Family, in 1974, missing 2 episodes, Hagman eventually found himself re-negotiating his salary on Dallas, with similar results. Hagman's daughter, Heidi, whom O'Connor had known since her childhood, joined the cast for one season of Archie Bunker's Place. Hagman directed several episodes of O'Connor's later series, In the Heat of the Night. They both endured serious health issues, with O'Connor's heart bypass surgery, and Hagman's liver transplant. Hagman remained close after O'Connor's loss of his son Hugh, and through the rest of O'Connor's life, delivering a eulogy at the funeral.
Personal quotes
"Nothing will give me any peace. I've lost a son. And I'll go to my grave without any peace over that."
"It was a lack of system that made the '30s Depression as inevitable as all others previously suffered.".
"Get between your kid and drugs, any way you can, if you want to save the kid's life".
"I thought that the public would kick us off the air, because of this egregious guy. No. They loved ... they knew him."
On his son: "I should have spied on him. I should've taken away all his civil rights, spied on him, opened his mail, listened to telephone calls, everything."
"I never heard Archie's kind of talk in my own family. My father was a lawyer and was in partnership with two Jews, who with their families were close to us. There were black families in our circle of friends. My father disliked talk like Archie's -- he called it lowbrow."
"The biggest part of my life was the acquiring and the loss of a son. I mean, nothing else was as important as that."
"Conventional show-biz savvy held that Americans hated to be the objects of satire."
Partial credits
Starring roles
* All in the Family (1971–1979) as Archie Bunker
* Archie Bunker's Place (1979–1983) as Archie Bunker
* In the Heat of the Night (1988–1994) as Chief/Sheriff Bill Gillespie
* Mad About You (1996–1999) Gus Stemple #3
Films/made for TV movies
* White Christmas (1954) .... The Sheriff
* Shakespeare's 'Julius Caesar' as Crassus (1956)
* The Sacco-Vanzetti Story (TV mini-series) (1960) as Frederick Katzman
* By Love Possessed (1961) .... Bernie Breck
* Parrish (1961) .... Firechief
* A Fever in the Blood (1961) .... Matt Keenan
* Lad: A Dog (1962) as Hamilcar Q. Glure
* Belle Sommers (TV) (1962)
* Lonely Are the Brave (1962) Hinton the Truck Driver
* The Silver Burro (TV) (1963)
* Cleopatra (1963) as Casca
* Nightmare in Chicago aka Once Upon a Savage Night (TV) (1964)
* In Harm's Way (1965) (uncredited) .... *Cmdr./Capt. Burke (USS Swayback)
* The Last Patrol episode of The Time Tunnel (1966) as British General Southall and Colonel Southall, his 1815 ancestor
* Not with My Wife, You Don't! (1966) as Gen. Maynard C. Parker
* Hawaii (1966) as Charles Bromley
* What Did You Do in the War, Daddy? (1966) as Gen. Bolt
* Waterhole #3 (1967) as Sheriff John H. Copperud
* Point Blank (1967) as Brewster
* Warning Shot (1967) as Paul Jerez
* For Love of Ivy (1968) as Frank Austin
* The Devil's Brigade (1968) as Maj. Gen. Hunter
* Marlowe (1969) as Lt. Christy French
* Death of a Gunfighter (1969) as Lester Locke
* Ride a Northbound Horse (TV)(1969)
* Fear No Evil (TV) (1969) as Myles Donovan
* Kelly's Heroes (1970) as Maj. Gen. Colt
* Doctors' Wives (1971) Dr. Joe Gray
* Of Thee I Sing (TV) (1972) President Wintergreen
* Law and Disorder (1974) as Willie
* The Last Hurrah (TV) (1977) as Frank Skeffington
* A Different Approach (1978)
* Brass aka Police Brass (TV) (1985) as Frank Nolan
* Convicted (1986) (TV) .... Lewis May
* The GLO Friends Save Christmas (1986) .... Santa
* The Father Clements Story (1987) (TV) .... Cardinal Cody
* Gideon (TV) (1999) as Leo Barnes
* 36 Hours to Die (TV) (1999) Jack 'Balls' O'Malley
* Return to Me (2000) as Marty O'Reilly
http://i624.photobucket.com/albums/tt324/jcordj66/f41f9b8a.jpg
http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh136/gaemt2001/In_The_Heat_of_the_Night.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 06/21/10 at 7:00 am
I started choreographing a dance to THIS song but never finished it. I was going to enter into a talent show but about a month before the show, I got into a nasty car accident (totaled my car right after I sent in my last payment >:( >:( >:( ) and it messed up my back-so I dropped out of the show and never finished the dance.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PnhlXLHKAE
Cat
Lionel always had the coolest videos. :)
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 06/21/10 at 7:03 am
Wow,Isn't that weird? Meredith Baxter Birney and Michael Gross both born on the same month and day. :o
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 06/21/10 at 7:05 am
The person who died on this day...Carroll O' Connor
John Carroll O'Connor (August 2, 1924 – June 21, 2001) best known as Carroll O'Connor, was an American actor, producer and director whose television career spanned four decades. Known at first for playing the role of Major General Colt in the 1970 cult movie, Kelly's Heroes, he later found fame as the bigoted workingman Archie Bunker, the main character in the 1970s CBS television sitcoms All in the Family (1971 to 1979) and Archie Bunker's Place (1979 to 1983). O'Connor later starred in the NBC television crime drama In the Heat of the Night from 1988 to 1995, where he played the role of Police Chief William (Bill) Gillespie from 1988 to 1994, and Sheriff Gillespie in 1995. At the end of his career in the late 1990s, he played the father of Jamie Stemple Buchman (Helen Hunt) on Mad About You.
O'Connor was living in Italy in 1968 when producer Norman Lear first asked him to come to New York to star in a pilot he was creating for ABC called Justice For All, inspired by the popular BBC series Til Death Us Do Part, playing Archie Justice, a loveable yet controversial bigot. After three pilots done between 1968 to 1970, a network change to CBS, and the last name of the character changed to Bunker, the new sitcom was renamed All in the Family. It has been stated that O'Connor's Queens background and New York accent influenced Lear to set the show in Queens.
Wanting a well-known actor to tackle the controversial material, Lear had approached Jackie Gleason and Mickey Rooney to play Archie; both declined. O'Connor accepted, not expecting the show to be a success and believing he would be able to move back to Europe. (In her book Archie & Edith, Mike & Gloria : the Tumultuous History of All in the Family, Donna McCrohan noted that O'Connor requested that Lear provide him with a return airline ticket to Rome as a condition of his accepting the role, so that he could return to Italy when the show failed.) Instead, the show became the highest-rated television program on American television for five consecutive seasons until the 1976-1977 season (the sixth season). The Cosby Show has since met the record set by All in the Family.
O'Connor's own politics were liberal, but he understood the Bunker character and played him not only with bombast and humor but with touches of vulnerability. The writing on the show was consistently left of center, but O'Connor often deftly skewered the liberal pieties of the day. The result is widely considered to be an absorbing, entertaining television show. All in the Family was based on the BBC show Til Death Us Do Part, with Bunker based on Alf Garnett, but somewhat less abrasive.
Although Bunker was famous for his malapropisms of the English language, O'Connor was highly educated and cultured and was an English teacher before he turned to acting.
The show also starred a Broadway actress, also from New York City, Jean Stapleton, in the role of Archie Bunker's long-suffering wife, Edith Bunker, after Lear saw her in the play Damn Yankees. The producer sent the show over to ABC twice, but it didn't get picked up. They then approached CBS with more success, and accordingly, All in the Family was retooled and debuted early in 1971. The show also starred unknown character actors, such as Rob Reiner as Archie's liberal son-in-law, Michael "Meathead" Stivic and Sally Struthers as Archie's only daughter and Meathead's wife, Gloria Bunker-Stivic. The cast had a unique on- and off-camera chemistry, especially Reiner, who became O'Connor's best friend and favorite actor.
CBS was unsure whether the controversial subject matter of All in the Family would fit well into a sitcom. Racial issues, ethnicities, religions, and other timely topics were addressed. Thought-provoking, well-written, and well-cast, the show transformed the formerly inane sitcom format into something with dramatic social substance, becoming an enormous hit along the way. Archie Bunker's popularity made O'Connor a top-billing star of the 1970s. O'Connor was afraid of being typecast for playing such a popular and distinctive character. At the same time, he was protective of not just his character, but of the entire show.
A contract dispute between O'Connor and Lear marred the beginning of the show's fifth season. Eventually, O'Connor got a raise and appeared in the series until it ended. For his work as Archie Bunker, he was nominated for eight Emmy Awards as Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series; he won the award four times (1972, 1977, 1978, and 1979).
At the end of the eighth season in 1978, Reiner and Struthers left the series to pursue other projects, but O'Connor and Stapleton still had one year left on their contracts. At the start of the final year, the show cast a child actress, Danielle Brisebois, in the role of Archie's and Edith's niece, Stephanie Mills. The series was finally cancelled in 1979 after nine seasons and 210 episodes.
Archie Bunker's Place
O'Connor reprised his role as Archie Bunker in the spin-off show Archie Bunker's Place. Longtime friend and original series star Jean Stapleton reprised her role as Edith Bunker, but her screen time was limited. Her character died of a stroke, leaving Archie to cope with the loss. Danielle Brisebois played Stephanie Mills, Archie's niece in the series. The show was a hit, but not as big as its parent show. The show was unexpectedly cancelled in 1983, after 97 episodes, and O'Connor was not very happy that the show didn't have an appropriate series finale. All told, he played Archie Bunker for 13 years in a total of exactly 300 episodes.
In the Heat of the Night
While coping with his son's drug problem, O'Connor starred as Chief Officer Bill Gillespie, a tough veteran Mississippi cop on In the Heat of the Night. Based on the 1967 movie of the same name, the series debuted on NBC early in 1988, and it was a ratings powerhouse every Tuesday evening. O'Connor's son, Hugh O'Connor, was cast in the role of Officer Lonnie Jamison.
Much like O'Connor himself, his character was racially progressive and politically liberal. In 1989, while working on the set, O'Connor was hospitalized and had to undergo open heart surgery. This caused him to miss four episodes of the show at the end of the second season. The series was transferred from NBC to CBS in 1992 and canceled two years later, in 1994, after its seventh season. After cancellation, O'Connor reprised his role the following year for four two-hour In the Heat of the Night TV movies to critical acclaim.
While on the series, he recorded "Bring A Torch, Jeanette Isabella," for the 1991 "In the Heat of the Night" Christmas CD "Christmas Time's A Comin'." He was joined by Grand Ole Opry star mandolinist Jesse McReynolds, Nashville accordianist Abe Manuel, Jr., and Nashville fiddlers Buddy Spicher and Randall Franks. CD Producer and series co-star Randall Franks created the arrangement which was co-produced by series co-star Alan Autry. O'Connor also joined other members of the cast for a recording of "Jingle Bells" with vocals by Country Music Hall of Fame members Little Jimmy Dickens, Kitty Wells, Pee Wee King, as well as The Marksmen Quartet, Bobby Wright, Johnnie Wright and Ken Holloway.
Career honors
* Golden Globe Award, best television actor in a musical/comedy series, 1972, All in the Family
* Emmy Award, outstanding lead actor in a comedy series, 1971, 1976, 1977, and 1978, All in the Family
* George Foster Peabody Broadcasting Award, 1980, for Archie Alone episode, Archie Bunker's Place
* Emmy Award, outstanding lead actor in a drama series, 1989, In the Heat of the Night
* NAACP Image Award, 1990, In the Heat of the Night
* Golden Globe nomination, best actor in a drama series, 1990, In the Heat of the Night''
* Television Hall of Fame, elected 1990 for contributions to the television industry
* NAACP Image Award, 1991, In the Heat of the Night
Other honors
In 1973, his fraternity conferred its highest honor, Sigma Phi Epsilon Citation, on him.
In March 2000, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and was given a St. Patrick's Day tribute by MGM.
In July 1991, O'Connor, Jean Stapleton, Rob Reiner and Sally Struthers were reunited to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of All in the Family, which made its debut on CBS. Thanks to reruns which aired in syndication, TV Land and on CBS, the show continued to be popular. Those reruns led producer Norman Lear to create a new sitcom, Sunday Dinner, which was soon cancelled. The following year, Lear created The Powers That Be, which was also unsuccessful.
His caricature figures prominently in Sardi's restaurant, in New York City's Theater District.
O'Connor died on June 21, 2001 in Culver City, California from a heart attack brought on by complications from diabetes. His funeral mass was celebrated at St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church in Westwood, Los Angeles, California and was attended by All in the Family cast members Rob Reiner, Sally Struthers and Danielle Brisebois, as well as producer Norman Lear. Actress Jean Stapleton, who played O'Connor's onscreen wife and who had been a close friend of O'Connor's since the early 1960s, did not attend the service due to a stage production performance commitment.
In honor of O'Connor's career, TV Land moved an entire weekend of programming to the next week and showed a continuous marathon of All in the Family. During the commercial breaks TV Land also showed interview footage of O'Connor and various All in the Family actors, producers with whom he had worked, and other associates. O'Connor's best friend Larry Hagman and his family were also there, alongside the surviving cast of In the Heat of the Night, including Alan Autry and Denise Nicholas, who also attended the memorial. O'Connor was buried at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery with his son Hugh's cenotaph placed on his grave stone.
Friendship with other actors
This article does not cite any references or sources.
Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (November 2008)
O'Connor met Broadway and character actress Jean Stapleton in a 1962 episode of The Defenders. Nine years later, she auditioned for the role of Archie's wife Edith in All in the Family. She and O'Connor shared a remarkable husband and wife chemistry for the next decade. She made limited guest appearances on its later spin-off show, Archie Bunker's Place, before leaving in the show's second season. During Stapleton's run as Edith Bunker, she and O'Connor became close friends. She was distressed in 1995, as she bestowed her condolences on the passing of Carroll's son, Hugh, who committed suicide. She remained close and supportive while O'Connor was in court to testify concerning his son's death. Then on the first day of Summer in 2001, while performing on stage, she received word that her friend had died. Though she was unable to attend the service, she delivered her condolences to Nancy.
O'Connor had a long-running friendship with actor Larry Hagman, beginning in 1959, when Carroll was working as an assistant stage manager for the Broadway play God and Kate Murphy, in which Hagman starred. Later as the two struggled as young actors, they rented apartments near each other in New York. Over the years they had a lot in common; just as O'Connor concluded contract negotiations for his salary on All in the Family, in 1974, missing 2 episodes, Hagman eventually found himself re-negotiating his salary on Dallas, with similar results. Hagman's daughter, Heidi, whom O'Connor had known since her childhood, joined the cast for one season of Archie Bunker's Place. Hagman directed several episodes of O'Connor's later series, In the Heat of the Night. They both endured serious health issues, with O'Connor's heart bypass surgery, and Hagman's liver transplant. Hagman remained close after O'Connor's loss of his son Hugh, and through the rest of O'Connor's life, delivering a eulogy at the funeral.
Personal quotes
"Nothing will give me any peace. I've lost a son. And I'll go to my grave without any peace over that."
"It was a lack of system that made the '30s Depression as inevitable as all others previously suffered.".
"Get between your kid and drugs, any way you can, if you want to save the kid's life".
"I thought that the public would kick us off the air, because of this egregious guy. No. They loved ... they knew him."
On his son: "I should have spied on him. I should've taken away all his civil rights, spied on him, opened his mail, listened to telephone calls, everything."
"I never heard Archie's kind of talk in my own family. My father was a lawyer and was in partnership with two Jews, who with their families were close to us. There were black families in our circle of friends. My father disliked talk like Archie's -- he called it lowbrow."
"The biggest part of my life was the acquiring and the loss of a son. I mean, nothing else was as important as that."
"Conventional show-biz savvy held that Americans hated to be the objects of satire."
Partial credits
Starring roles
* All in the Family (1971–1979) as Archie Bunker
* Archie Bunker's Place (1979–1983) as Archie Bunker
* In the Heat of the Night (1988–1994) as Chief/Sheriff Bill Gillespie
* Mad About You (1996–1999) Gus Stemple #3
Films/made for TV movies
* White Christmas (1954) .... The Sheriff
* Shakespeare's 'Julius Caesar' as Crassus (1956)
* The Sacco-Vanzetti Story (TV mini-series) (1960) as Frederick Katzman
* By Love Possessed (1961) .... Bernie Breck
* Parrish (1961) .... Firechief
* A Fever in the Blood (1961) .... Matt Keenan
* Lad: A Dog (1962) as Hamilcar Q. Glure
* Belle Sommers (TV) (1962)
* Lonely Are the Brave (1962) Hinton the Truck Driver
* The Silver Burro (TV) (1963)
* Cleopatra (1963) as Casca
* Nightmare in Chicago aka Once Upon a Savage Night (TV) (1964)
* In Harm's Way (1965) (uncredited) .... *Cmdr./Capt. Burke (USS Swayback)
* The Last Patrol episode of The Time Tunnel (1966) as British General Southall and Colonel Southall, his 1815 ancestor
* Not with My Wife, You Don't! (1966) as Gen. Maynard C. Parker
* Hawaii (1966) as Charles Bromley
* What Did You Do in the War, Daddy? (1966) as Gen. Bolt
* Waterhole #3 (1967) as Sheriff John H. Copperud
* Point Blank (1967) as Brewster
* Warning Shot (1967) as Paul Jerez
* For Love of Ivy (1968) as Frank Austin
* The Devil's Brigade (1968) as Maj. Gen. Hunter
* Marlowe (1969) as Lt. Christy French
* Death of a Gunfighter (1969) as Lester Locke
* Ride a Northbound Horse (TV)(1969)
* Fear No Evil (TV) (1969) as Myles Donovan
* Kelly's Heroes (1970) as Maj. Gen. Colt
* Doctors' Wives (1971) Dr. Joe Gray
* Of Thee I Sing (TV) (1972) President Wintergreen
* Law and Disorder (1974) as Willie
* The Last Hurrah (TV) (1977) as Frank Skeffington
* A Different Approach (1978)
* Brass aka Police Brass (TV) (1985) as Frank Nolan
* Convicted (1986) (TV) .... Lewis May
* The GLO Friends Save Christmas (1986) .... Santa
* The Father Clements Story (1987) (TV) .... Cardinal Cody
* Gideon (TV) (1999) as Leo Barnes
* 36 Hours to Die (TV) (1999) Jack 'Balls' O'Malley
* Return to Me (2000) as Marty O'Reilly
http://i624.photobucket.com/albums/tt324/jcordj66/f41f9b8a.jpg
http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh136/gaemt2001/In_The_Heat_of_the_Night.jpg
he will always be missed.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 06/21/10 at 9:43 am
Wow,Isn't that weird? Meredith Baxter Birney and Michael Gross both born on the same month and day. :o
Lets not forget same year also.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: CatwomanofV on 06/21/10 at 11:18 am
Lets not forget same year also.
*Cue Twilight Zone Theme.
Cat
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 06/21/10 at 1:01 pm
Well, Geoffrey Palmer was British Person of the Day a few weeks ago so it only seems fitting that Wendy Craig should have her day, too.
Cat
...so when is Nicholas Lyndhurst's birthday?
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: CatwomanofV on 06/21/10 at 1:47 pm
...so when is Nicholas Lyndhurst's birthday?
20 April 1961
Cat
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 06/21/10 at 3:07 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UKrAYD3zX8
When Edith Bunker passes away.^
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 06/21/10 at 3:29 pm
20 April 1961
Cat
Thanks, we have to for next year now.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 06/21/10 at 3:54 pm
*Cue Twilight Zone Theme.
Cat
;D
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 06/21/10 at 4:05 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UKrAYD3zX8
When Edith Bunker passes away.^
:\'( :\'( :\'(
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Frank on 06/21/10 at 4:48 pm
Didn't know the parents on the "Family Ties" had the same birthday. Cool. One of my favorite shows on the 80s. Top three for sure.
I used to watch Bridget loves Bernie.
Carroll O'Connor. Where there ever anyone who did a better job in acting a character like he did with Archie Bunker?
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 06/22/10 at 6:41 am
The word of the day...Prada
Prada S.p.A. is an Italian fashion label specializing in luxury goods for men and women (ready-to-wear, leather accessories, shoes, luggage and hats), founded by Mario Prada. The label is referred to by some people a status symbol.
http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc158/shauna_stamm0206/devil.jpg
http://i956.photobucket.com/albums/ae50/addicted2sneakers/SNEAKERS/DSC01469.jpg
http://i956.photobucket.com/albums/ae50/addicted2sneakers/SNEAKERS/DSC01471.jpg
http://i317.photobucket.com/albums/mm390/tobby_baby/liltobby-1.jpg
http://i806.photobucket.com/albums/yy341/butikmodejanuari/PradaCrocoAbuinside.jpg
http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/af145/Espinosa13/LALA021.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 06/22/10 at 6:46 am
The person born on this day...Meryl Streep
Mary Louise "Meryl" Streep (born June 22, 1949) is an American actress who has worked in theatre, television and film. She is widely regarded as one of the most talented and respected movie actors of the modern era.
Streep made her professional stage debut in 1971's The Playboy of Seville, before her screen debut in the television movie The Deadliest Season in 1977. In that same year, she made her film debut with Julia. Both critical and commercial success came quickly with roles in The Deer Hunter (1978) and Kramer vs. Kramer (1979), the former giving Streep her first Oscar nomination and the latter her first win. She later won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in Sophie's Choice (1982).
Streep has received 16 Academy Award nominations, winning two, and 25 Golden Globe nominations, winning seven, more nominations than any other actor in the history of either award. Her work has also earned her two Emmy Awards, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, a Cannes Film Festival award, four New York Film Critics Circle Awards, five Grammy Award nominations, a BAFTA award, an Australian Film Institute Award and a Tony Award nomination, amongst others.
After prominent supporting roles in two of the 1970s most successful films, the consecutive winners of the Academy Award for Best Picture, The Deer Hunter and Kramer vs. Kramer, and praise for her versatility in several supporting roles, Streep progressed to leading roles. Her first was The French Lieutenant's Woman (1981). A story within a story drama, the film paired Streep with Jeremy Irons as contemporary actors, telling their modern story as well as the Victorian era drama they were performing. A New York Magazine article commented that while many female stars of the past had cultivated a singular identity in their films, Streep was a "chameleon", willing to play any type of role. Streep was awarded a BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for her work.
Her next film, the psychological thriller, Still of the Night (1982) reunited her with Robert Benton, the director of Kramer vs. Kramer, and co-starred Roy Scheider and Jessica Tandy. Vincent Canby, writing for the New York Times noted that the film was an homage to the works of Alfred Hitchcock, but that one of its main weaknesses was a lack of chemistry between Streep and Scheider, concluding that Streep "is stunning, but she's not on screen anywhere near long enough".
As the Polish holocaust survivor in Sophie's Choice (1982), Streep's emotional dramatic performance and her apparent mastery of a Polish accent drew praise. William Styron wrote the novel with Ursula Andress in mind for the part of Sophie, but Streep was very determined to get the role. After she obtained a pirated copy of the script, she went to Alan J. Pakula and threw herself on the ground begging him to give her the part. Streep filmed the "choice" scene in one take and refused to do it again, as she found shooting the scene extremely painful and emotionally draining. Among several notable acting awards, Streep won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance. She followed this success with a biographical film, Silkwood (1983), in which she played her first real-life character, the union activist Karen Silkwood. She discussed her preparation for the role in an interview with Roger Ebert and said that she had met with people close to Silkwood to learn more about her, and in doing so realized that each person saw a different aspect of Silkwood. Streep concentrated on the events of Silkwood's life and concluded, "I didn't try to turn myself into Karen. I just tried to look at what she did. I put together every piece of information I could find about her... What I finally did was look at the events in her life, and try to understand her from the inside."
Her next films were a romantic comedy, Falling in Love (1984) opposite Robert De Niro, and a British drama, Plenty (1985). Roger Ebert said of Streep's performance in Plenty that she conveyed "great subtlety; it is hard to play an unbalanced, neurotic, self-destructive woman, and do it with such gentleness and charm... Streep creates a whole character around a woman who could have simply been a catalogue of symptoms."
Out of Africa (1985) starred Streep as the Danish writer Karen Blixen and co-starred Robert Redford. A significant critical success, the film received a 63% "fresh" rating from Rotten Tomatoes. Streep co-starred with Jack Nicholson in her next two films, the dramas Heartburn (1986) and Ironweed (1987), in which she sang onscreen for the first time since the television movie, Secret Service, in 1977. In A Cry in the Dark (1988), she played the biographical role of Lindy Chamberlain, an Australian woman who had been convicted of the murder of her infant daughter in which Chamberlain claimed her baby had been taken by a dingo. Filmed in Australia, Streep won the Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role, a Best Actress at the Cannes Film Festival, the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress and was nominated for several other awards for her portrayal of Lindy Chamberlain.
In She-Devil (1989), Streep played her first comedic film role, opposite Roseanne Barr. Richard Corliss, writing for Time, commented that Streep was the "one reason" to see the film and observed that it marked a departure from the type of role for which she had been known, saying, "Surprise! Inside the Greer Garson roles Streep usually plays, a vixenish Carole Lombard is screaming to be cut loose."
1990s and 2000s
From 1984 to 1990, Streep won six People's Choice Awards for Favorite Motion Picture Actress and, in 1990, was named World Favorite.
In the 1990s, Streep took a greater variety of roles, including a drug addicted movie actress in a screen adaptation of Carrie Fisher's novel Postcards from the Edge, with Dennis Quaid and Shirley MacLaine. Streep and Goldie Hawn had established a friendship and were interested in making a film together. After considering various projects, they decided upon Thelma and Louise, until Streep's pregnancy coincided with the filming schedule, and the producers decided to proceed with Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis. They subsequently filmed the farcical black comedy, Death Becomes Her, with Bruce Willis as their co-star. Time's Richard Corliss wrote approvingly of Streep's "wicked-witch routine" but dismissed the film as "She-Devil with a make-over".
Biographer Karen Hollinger describes this period as a downturn in the popularity of Streep's films, which reached its nadir with the failure of Death Becomes Her, attributing this partly to a critical perception that her comedies had been an attempt to convey a lighter image following several serious but commercially unsuccessful dramas, and more significantly to the lack of options available to an actress in her forties. Streep commented that she had limited her options by her preference to work in Los Angeles, close to her family, a situation that she had anticipated in a 1981 interview when she commented, "By the time an actress hits her mid-forties, no one's interested in her anymore. And if you want to fit a couple of babies into that schedule as well, you've got to pick your parts with great care."
Streep appeared with Glenn Close in the movie version of Isabel Allende's The House of the Spirits, the screen adaptation of The Bridges of Madison County with Clint Eastwood, The River Wild, Marvin's Room (with Diane Keaton and Leonardo DiCaprio), One True Thing, and Music of the Heart, in a role that required her to learn to play the violin.
Streep is adept with foreign accents and some of her best known roles have called for them. In The Bridges of Madison County, she played a woman from Bari, Italy, while in Sophie's Choice she adopted a Polish accent.
In 2001, Streep voiced the Blue Fairy in Steven Spielberg's A.I. Artificial Intelligence. In 2002, Meryl Streep costarred with Nicolas Cage in Spike Jonze's Adaptation. as real-life author Susan Orlean, for which she won the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress, and with Nicole Kidman and Julianne Moore in The Hours. She also appeared with Al Pacino and Emma Thompson in the HBO adaptation of Tony Kushner's six-hour play, Angels in America, in which she had four roles. She received her second Emmy Award for Angels in America, which reunited her with director Mike Nichols (who had previously directed her in Silkwood, Heartburn, and Postcards from the Edge). Meryl Streep also played Aunt Josephine in Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events with Jim Carrey.
Streep in 2004
In addition, she appeared in Jonathan Demme's remake of The Manchurian Candidate, costarring Denzel Washington, in which she played a role first performed by Angela Lansbury. Since 2002, Streep has hosted the annual event Poetry & the Creative Mind, a benefit in support of National Poetry Month and a program of the Academy of American Poets. Streep co-hosted the annual Nobel Peace Prize Concert with Liam Neeson in Oslo, Norway, in 2001.
In 2004, Streep was awarded the AFI Life Achievement Award by the Board of Directors of the American Film Institute, which honors an individual for a lifetime contribution to enriching American culture through motion pictures and television.
Streep's more recent film releases are Prime (2005); the Robert Altman film A Prairie Home Companion, with Lindsay Lohan and Lily Tomlin; and the box office success The Devil Wears Prada, with Anne Hathaway, which earned Streep the 2007 Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy and an Academy Award nomination.
In 2008 she appeared as Donna in the film version of the ABBA musical Mamma Mia!, For this role she won the award of Best Female Performance at the National Movie Awards (UK), and received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Comedy/Musical. She played Sister Aloysius in the 2008 film adaptation of John Patrick Shanley's Doubt. She received both an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress and a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Drama for that film. She also shared the Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress with Anne Hathaway for the role, and won a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role.
In 2009, she starred in Julie & Julia, in which she played the late Julia Child. For this role she won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy and also shared the Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress with Sandra Bullock. Streep also received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress for this performance. She then starred in Nancy Meyers' romantic comedy It's Complicated, with Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin. She received nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for this film as well. Streep also lent her voice to Mrs. Felicity Fox in the stop-motion film Fantastic Mr. Fox.
Theatre
In New York City, she appeared in the 1976 Broadway double bill of Tennessee Williams' 27 Wagons Full of Cotton and Arthur Miller's A Memory of Two Mondays. For the former, she received a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Play. Her other early Broadway credits include Anton Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard and the Bertolt Brecht-Kurt Weill musical Happy End in which she originally appeared off-Broadway at the Chelsea Theater Center. She received Drama Desk Award nominations for both productions. Once Streep's film career flourished, she took a long break from stage acting.
In July 2001, Streep returned to the stage for the first time in more than twenty years, playing Arkadina in the Public Theater's revival of Anton Chekhov's The Seagull. The staging, directed by Mike Nichols, also featured Kevin Kline, Natalie Portman, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Christopher Walken, Marcia Gay Harden, and John Goodman.
In August and September 2006, she starred onstage at The Public Theater's production of Mother Courage and Her Children at the Delacorte Theatre in Central Park. The Public Theater production was a new translation by playwright Tony Kushner (Angels in America), with songs in the Weill/Brecht style written by composer Jeanine Tesori (Caroline, or Change); veteran director George C. Wolfe was at the helm. Streep starred alongside Kevin Kline and Austin Pendleton in this three-and-a-half-hour play in which she sang and appeared in almost every scene.
Music
Streep (fourth from left) at the premiere of Mamma Mia!
After appearing in Mamma Mia!, Streep's rendition of the song "Mamma Mia" rose to popularity in the Portuguese music charts, where it has so far peaked at #8,.
At the 35th People's Choice Awards, her version of "Mamma Mia" won an award for "Favorite Song From A Soundtrack". In 2008, Streep was nominated for a Grammy Award (her fifth nomination) for her work on the Mamma Mia! soundtrack.
Personal life
Please help improve this article by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page. (May 2010)
Meryl Streep was engaged to John Cazale until his death in March of 1978. Streep then married sculptor Don Gummer on September 15, 1978. They have four children: Henry Wolfe (born November 13, 1979), Mamie Gummer (born August 3, 1983), Grace Jane (born May 9, 1986), and Louisa Jacobson Gummer (born June 1991). Both Grace and Mamie are actresses.
Awards
Streep receiving her honorary degree from Harvard University on May 27, 2010
Main article: List of awards and nominations received by Meryl Streep
Streep holds the record for the most Academy Award nominations of any actor, having been nominated 16 times since her first nomination in 1979 for The Deer Hunter (13 for Best Actress and 3 for Best Supporting Actress).
Meryl Streep is the most nominated performer for a Golden Globe Award (she has 25 nominations as of 2009 and has won the most overall when she won for Julie & Julia in 2010). Streep received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1998.
In 2003, she was awarded an honorary César Award by the French Académie des Arts et Techniques du Cinéma. In 2004 at the Moscow International Film Festival, Meryl Streep was honored with the Stanislavsky Award for the outstanding achievement in the career of acting and devotion to the principles of Stanislavsky's school.
In 2004, Streep received the AFI Life Achievement Award.
May 27, 2004 was proclaimed "Meryl Streep Day" by Manhattan Borough President C. Virginia Fields.
In 2009, she was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts by Princeton University.
In 2010, she was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and awarded an honorary Doctor of Arts degree by Harvard University.
Work
Filmography
Year Film Role Notes
1977 Julia Anne Marie
1978 The Deer Hunter Linda National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated—Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated—BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role
Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture
1979 Manhattan Jill Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress (also for The Seduction of Joe Tynan and Kramer vs. Kramer)
National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actress (also for The Seduction of Joe Tynan and Kramer vs. Kramer)
National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress (also for The Seduction of Joe Tynan and Kramer vs. Kramer)
Nominated—BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role
The Seduction of Joe Tynan Karen Traynor Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress (also for Manhattan and Kramer vs. Kramer)
National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actress (also for Manhattan and Kramer vs. Kramer)
National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress (also for Manhattan and Kramer vs. Kramer)
New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress (also for Kramer vs. Kramer)
Kramer vs. Kramer Joanna Kramer Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture
Kansas City Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress (also for The Seduction of Joe Tynan and Manhattan)
National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actress (also for The Seduction of Joe Tynan and Manhattan)
National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress (also for The Seduction of Joe Tynan and Manhattan)
New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress (also for The Seduction of Joe Tynan)
Nominated—BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role
1981 The French Lieutenant's Woman Sarah/Anna BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role
Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress
Nominated—Academy Award for Best Actress
1982 Still of the Night Brooke Reynolds
Sophie's Choice Sophie Zawistowski Academy Award for Best Actress
Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actress
Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama
Kansas City Film Critics Award for Best Actress (shared with Julie Andrews for Victor Victoria)
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress
National Board of Review Award for Best Actress
National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actress
New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress
Nominated—BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role
1983 Silkwood Karen Silkwood Kansas City Film Critics Award for Best Actress
Nominated—Academy Award for Best Actress
Nominated—BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role
Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama
1984 Falling in Love Molly Gilmore David di Donatello Award for Best Foreign Actress
1985 Plenty Susan Traherne
Out of Africa Karen Blixen David di Donatello Award for Best Foreign Actress
Kansas City Film Critics Award for Best Actress
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress
Nominated—Academy Award for Best Actress
Nominated—BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role
Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama
1986 Heartburn Rachel Samstat Valladolid International Film Festival Best Actress
1987 Ironweed Helen Archer Nominated—Academy Award for Best Actress
1988 A Cry in the Dark Lindy Chamberlain Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role
Best Actress Award (Cannes Film Festival)
New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress
Nominated—Academy Award for Best Actress
Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama
1989 She-Devil Mary Fisher Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
1990 Postcards from the Edge Suzanne Vale Nominated—Academy Award for Best Actress
Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
1991 Defending Your Life Julia Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Actress
1992 Death Becomes Her Madeline Ashton Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
1993 The House of the Spirits Clara del Valle Trueba
1994 The River Wild Gail Hartman Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama
Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
1995 The Bridges of Madison County Francesca Johnson Nominated—Academy Award for Best Actress
Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama
Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
1996 Before and After Dr. Carolyn Ryan
Marvin's Room Lee Nominated—Chlotrudis Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama
Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
1998 Dancing at Lughnasa Kate 'Kit' Mundy Nominated—Irish Film and Television Awards — Best Actor in a Female Role
One True Thing Kate Gulden Nominated—Academy Award for Best Actress
Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama
Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama
Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
1999 Chrysanthemum Narrator
Music of the Heart Roberta Guaspari Nominated—Academy Award for Best Actress
Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama
Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
2001 A.I. Artificial Intelligence Blue Fairy (voice cameo)
2002 Adaptation. Susan Orlean Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress
Florida Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress
Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture
Southeastern Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated—Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated—BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Nominated—Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated—London Film Critics Circle Film Award for Actress of the Year
Nominated—Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated—Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated—Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Cast
Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture
Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
The Hours Clarissa Vaughan Silver Bear for Best Actress (shared with Julianne Moore and Nicole Kidman)
Nominated—BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role
Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama
Nominated—Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated—Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Cast
Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama
Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
2003 Stuck on You Herself
2004 The Manchurian Candidate Eleanor Shaw Nominated—BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture
Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Actress
Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events Aunt Josephine
2005 Prime Lisa Metzger, therapist
2006 A Prairie Home Companion Yolanda Johnson National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress (also for The Devil Wears Prada)
Nominated—Gotham Awards – Best Ensemble Cast
"The Music of Regret" The Woman (short musical)
The Devil Wears Prada Miranda Priestly, editor-in-chief Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
North Texas Film Critics Award for Best Actress
London Film Critics Circle Film Award for Actress of the Year
National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress (also for A Prairie Home Companion)
Satellite Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
Nominated—Academy Award for Best Actress
Nominated—BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role
Nominated—Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress
Nominated—Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress
Nominated—Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Actress
Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
Nominated—MTV Movie Award for Best Villain
The Ant Bully Queen Ant (voice)
2007 Dark Matter Joanna Silver
Evening Lila Wittenborn Ross
Rendition Corrine Whitman, CIA official
Lions for Lambs Janine Roth
2008 Mamma Mia! Donna Sheridan Irish Film and Television Award for Best International Actress – People's Choice
Rembrandt Award (NL) – Best International Actress
National Movie Award (UK) — Best Female Performance
Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
Doubt Sister Aloysius Beauvier Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress( tied with Anne Hathway for Rachel Getting Married)
Iowa Film Critics Award for Best Actress
Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress
North Texas Film Critics Award for Best Actress
Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Actress
Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress
Nominated—Academy Award for Best Actress
Nominated—BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role
Nominated—Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress
Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama
Nominated—London Film Critics Circle Film Award for Actress of the Year
Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama
Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
2009 Julie & Julia Julia Child Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actress
North Texas Film Critics Award for Best Actress
Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
New York Film Critics Online
New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress( also for The Fantastic Mr. Fox)
Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Actress
San Francisco Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress
Southeastern Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress
Oklahoma Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress
Satellite Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress
Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress ((tied with Sandra Bullock))
Nominated—Academy Award for Best Actress
Nominated—Alliance of Woman Journalists Award for Best Actress
Nominated—BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role
Nominated—Detroit Film Critics Society Award for Best Actress
Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
Nominated—San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Actress
Nominated—Houston Film Critics Society Award for Best Actress
Nominated—St Louis Gateway Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress
Nominated—Toronto Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress
Nominated—Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association for Best Actress
Fantastic Mr. Fox Mrs. Fox (voice)
New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress (also for Julie & Julia)
It's Complicated Jane Irish Film and Television Award for Best International Actress – People's Choice
National Board of Review Award for Best Cast
Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
Television
Year Title Role Notes
1978 Holocaust Inga Helms Weiss Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress - Miniseries or a Movie
1994 The Simpsons Jessica Lovejoy Episode: "Bart's Girlfriend"
1999 King of the Hill Aunt Esme Dauterive Episode: "A Beer Can Named Desire"
1997 …First Do No Harm Lori Reimuller Nominated—Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Television Movie
Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Television Film
Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Actress in a Television Film
2003 Angels in America Ethel Rosenberg
The Rabbi
Hannah Pitt
Angel Australia Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries
Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Miniseries
Gracie Allen Award for Outstanding Female Lead in a Drama Special
Satellite Award for Best Actress in a Miniseries
Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Female Actor in a Miniseries
Stage
Year Production Role Notes
1975 Trelawny of the Wells Miss Imogen Parrott
1976 27 Wagons Full of Cotton Flora Meighan Theatre World Award – Debut performance, Broadway/Off-Broadway
Nominated—Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play
Nominated—Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play
A Memory of Two Mondays Patricia
Secret Service Edith Varney
Henry V Katherine
Measure for Measure Isabella
1977 Happy End Lieutenant Lillian Holiday
The Cherry Orchard Dunyasha
1978 Alice at the Palace Alice
The Taming of the Shrew Kate
1979 Taken in Marriage Andrea
1980–81 Alice at the Palace Alice
2001 The Seagull Irina Nikolayevna Nominated—Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play
2006 Mother Courage and Her Children Mother Courage Drama League Award — Distinguished Performance Award
Nominated—Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play
http://i398.photobucket.com/albums/pp69/Eluny1989/Meryl%20Streep/MerylSteep13.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e95/epela/meryl_streep.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 06/22/10 at 6:51 am
The person who died on this day...George Carlin
George Denis Patrick Carlin (May 12, 1937 – June 22, 2008) was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, actor, and author, who won five Grammy Awards for his comedy albums.
Carlin was noted for his black humor as well as his thoughts on politics, the English language, psychology, religion, and various taboo subjects. Carlin and his "Seven Dirty Words" comedy routine were central to the 1978 U.S. Supreme Court case F.C.C. v. Pacifica Foundation, in which a narrow 5–4 decision by the justices affirmed the government's power to regulate indecent material on the public airwaves.
The first of his 14 stand-up comedy specials for HBO was filmed in 1977. In the 1990s and 2000s, Carlin's routines focused on the flaws in modern-day America. He often commented on contemporary political issues in the United States and satirized the excesses of American culture. His final HBO special, It's Bad for Ya, was filmed less than four months before his death.
Carlin placed second on the Comedy Central cable television network list of the 100 greatest stand-up comedians, ahead of Lenny Bruce and behind Richard Pryor. He was a frequent performer and guest host on The Tonight Show during the three-decade Johnny Carson era, and hosted the first episode of Saturday Night Live.
Carlin's material falls under one of three self-described categories: "the little world" (observational humor), "the big world" (social commentary), and the peculiarities of the English language (euphemisms, doublespeak, business jargon), all sharing the overall theme of (in his words) "humanity's bullsheesh," which might include murder, genocide, war, rape, corruption, religion and other aspects of human civilization. He was known for mixing observational humour with larger social commentary. His delivery frequently treated these subjects in a misanthropic and nihilistic fashion, such as in his statement during the Life is Worth Losing show:
I look at it this way... For centuries now, man has done everything he can to destroy, defile, and interfere with nature: clear-cutting forests, strip-mining mountains, poisoning the atmosphere, over-fishing the oceans, polluting the rivers and lakes, destroying wetlands and aquifers... so when nature strikes back, and smacks him on the head and kicks him in the nuts, I enjoy that. I have absolutely no sympathy for human beings whatsoever. None. And no matter what kind of problem humans are facing, whether it's natural or man-made, I always hope it gets worse.
Language was a frequent focus of Carlin's work. Euphemisms that in his view seek to distort and lie and the use of language he felt was pompous, presumptuous, or silly were often the target of Carlin's routines. When asked on Inside the Actors Studio what turned him on, he responded, "Reading about language." When asked what made him most proud about his career, he said the number of his books that have been sold, close to a million copies.
Carlin also gave special attention to prominent topics in American and Western Culture, such as obsession with fame and celebrity, consumerism, Christianity, political alienation, corporate control, hypocrisy, child raising, fast food diet, news stations, self-help publications, patriotism, sexual taboos, certain uses of technology and surveillance, and the pro-life position, among many others.
George Carlin in Trenton, New Jersey April 4, 2008
Carlin openly communicated in his shows and in his interviews that his purpose for existence was entertainment, that he was "here for the show." He professed a hearty schadenfreude in watching the rich spectrum of humanity slowly self-destruct, in his estimation, of its own design, saying, "When you're born, you get a ticket to the freak show. When you're born in America, you get a front-row seat." He acknowledged that this is a very selfish thing, especially since he included large human catastrophes as entertainment. In his You Are All Diseased concert, he elaborated somewhat on this, telling the audience, "I have always been willing to put myself at great personal risk for the sake of entertainment. And I've always been willing to put you at great personal risk, for the same reason!"
In the same interview, he recounted his experience of a California earthquake in the early 1970s, as "n amusement park ride. Really, I mean it's such a wonderful thing to realize that you have absolutely no control, and to see the dresser move across the bedroom floor unassisted is just exciting."
A routine in Carlin's 1999 HBO special You Are All Diseased focusing on airport security leads up to the statement: "Take a fudgeing chance! Put a little fun in your life! Most Americans are soft and frightened and unimaginative and they don't realize there's such a thing as dangerous fun, and they certainly don't recognize a good show when they see one."
Along with wordplay and sex jokes, Carlin had always included politics as part of his material, but by the mid 1980s he had become a strident social critic in both his HBO specials and the book compilations of his material, bashing both conservatives and liberals alike. His HBO viewers got an especially sharp taste of this in his take on the Ronald Reagan administration during the 1988 special What Am I Doing In New Jersey?, broadcast live from the Park Theatre in Union City, New Jersey.
Death and tribute
On June 22, 2008, Carlin was admitted to Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica, California, after experiencing chest pains. He died later that day at 5:55 p.m. of heart failure. Carlin was 71 years old. His death occurred one week after his last performance at The Orleans Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, and he had further shows on his itinerary. In accordance with his wishes, Carlin was cremated, with his ashes scattered, and no public or religious services of any kind were held. Two of the networks he performed on changed their schedule in tribute to Carlin. HBO devoted several hours to broadcast eleven of Carlin's fourteen HBO specials from June 25–28, 2008, including a twelve-hour marathon block on their HBO Comedy channel. Meanwhile, NBC scheduled a rerun of the premiere episode of Saturday Night Live which Carlin hosted.
Both Sirius Satellite Radio's "Raw Dog Comedy" and XM Satellite Radio's "XM Comedy" channels ran a memorial marathon of George Carlin recordings the day following his death. Another tribute was the "Doonesbury" comic strip on Sunday, July 27, 2008.
Louis C. K. dedicated his stand-up special Chewed Up to Carlin.
Lewis Black dedicated his entire second season of Root of All Evil to Carlin.
An episode of Larry King Live paid tribute to Carlin, featuring comics Jerry Seinfeld, Bill Maher, Roseanne Barr and Lewis Black. Carlin's daughter and his brother were also interviewed by King. The next day, The New York Times published a tribute to Carlin written by Jerry Seinfeld.
An oral history, edited by Carlin's daughter, Kelly, was scheduled to be published in 2009. The book will contain stories from Carlin's friends and family and cover the considered high points of his career as well as the considered low, including his drug and alcohol addiction.
For a number of years prior to his death Carlin had been compiling and writing his autobiography, planning to release it in conjunction with a second, long-worked-on project, a one-man Broadway show tentatively titled New York City Boy, covering essentially the same topics. After his death his collaborator on the projects, Tony Hendra, edited the autobiography for release as Last Words (ISBN 1439172951). The book covers Carlin's life up to around Life is Worth Losing, with the final chapter detailing future plans, including the planned one-man show. The book was released one year and four months after Carlin's death. The audio version of the book was read by George's brother Patrick and featured an interview with Tony Hendra and George's daughter, Kelly.
Collection of works
Discography
Main
* 1963: Burns and Carlin at the Playboy Club Tonight
* 1967: Take-Offs and Put-Ons
* 1972: FM & AM
* 1972: Class Clown
* 1973: Occupation: Foole
* 1974: Toledo Window Box
* 1975: An Evening with Wally Londo Featuring Bill Slaszo
* 1977: On the Road
* 1981: A Place for My Stuff
* 1984: Carlin on Campus
* 1986: Playin' with Your Head
* 1988: What Am I Doing In New Jersey?
* 1990: Parental Advisory: Explicit Lyrics
* 1992: Jammin' in New York
* 1996: Back in Town
* 1999: You Are All Diseased
* 2001: Complaints and Grievances
* 2006: Life Is Worth Losing
* 2008: It's Bad for Ya
Compilations
* 1978: Indecent Exposure: Some of the Best of George Carlin
* 1984: The George Carlin Collection
* 1992: Classic Gold
* 1999: The Little David Years (1971-1977)
* 2002: George Carlin on Comedy
Filmography
Year Movie
1968 With Six You Get Eggroll
1976 Car Wash
1979 Americathon
1987 Outrageous Fortune
1989 Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure
1990 Working Trash
1991 Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey
The Prince of Tides
1999 Dogma
2001 Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back'
2003 Scary Movie 3
2004 Jersey Girl
2005 Tarzan II
The Aristocrats
2006 Cars
2007 Happily N'Ever After
Television
* The Kraft Summer Music Hall (1966)
* That Girl (Guest appearance) (1966)
* The Ed Sullivan Show (multiple appearances)
* The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour (season 3 guest appearance) (1968)
* The Flip Wilson Show (writer, performer) (1971–1973)
* The Mike Douglas Show (Guest) (February 18, 1972)
* Saturday Night Live (Host, episodes 1 and 183) (1975 & 1984)
* Justin Case (as Justin Case) (1988) TV movie directed Blake Edwards
* Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends (as American Narrator) (1991–1998)
* Shining Time Station (as Mr. Conductor) (1991–1993)
* The George Carlin Show (as George O'Grady) (1994) Fox
* Streets of Laredo (as Billy Williams) (1995)
* The Simpsons (as Munchie, episode 209) (1998)
* The Daily Show (guest on February 1, 1999; December 16, 1999; and March 10, 2004)
* MADtv (Guest appearance in episodes 518 & 524) (2000)
* Inside the Actors Studio (2004)
* In 1998, Carlin had a cameo playing one of the funeral-attending comedians in Jerry Seinfeld's HBO special I'm Telling You For The Last Time. In the funeral intro (the only thing being buried is Jerry Seinfeld's material) Carlin learns that neither friend Robert Klein nor Ed McMahon ever saw Jerry's act. Carlin did, and enjoyed it, but admits "I was full of drugs."
HBO Specials
Special Year
On Location: George Carlin at USC 1977
George Carlin: Again! 1978
Carlin at Carnegie 1982
Carlin on Campus 1984
Playin' with Your Head 1986
What Am I Doing in New Jersey? 1988
Doin' It Again 1990
Jammin' in New York 1992
Back in Town 1996
George Carlin: 40 Years of Comedy 1997
You Are All Diseased 1999
Complaints and Grievances 2001
Life Is Worth Losing 2005
It's Bad for Ya 2008
* "All My Stuff", a boxset of Carlin's first 12 stand-up specials (excluding George Carlin: 40 Years of Comedy) with bonus material was released in September 2007
Bibliography
Book Year Notes
Sometimes a Little Brain Damage Can Help 1984 ISBN 0-89471-271-3
Brain Droppings 1997 ISBN 0-7868-8321-9
Napalm and Silly Putty 2001 ISBN 0-7868-8758-3
When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops? 2004 ISBN 1-4013-0134-7
Three Times Carlin: An Orgy of George 2006 ISBN 978-1-4013-0243-6 A collection of the 3 previous titles.
Watch My Language 2009 Posthumous release
Last Words 2009 ISBN 1439172951
For several years before his death, Carlin had been working on a memoir, Last Words, in collaboration with writer Tony Hendra. Hendra secured permission from Carlin's family to go ahead with the book. It was published by Simon & Schuster's Free Press imprint on November 17, 2009.
Audiobooks
* Brain Droppings
* Napalm and Silly Putty
* More Napalm & Silly Putty
* George Carlin Reads To You
* When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops?
Since the birth of spam email on the internet, many chain-forwards, usually rantlike and with blunt statements of belief on political and social issues and attributed to being written (or stated) by George Carlin himself, have made continuous rounds on the junk email circuit. The website Snopes, an online resource that debunks historic and present urban legends and myths, has extensively covered these forgeries. Many of the falsely attributed email attachments have contained material that runs directly opposite to Carlin's viewpoints, with some being especially volatile toward racial groups, gays, women, the homeless, etc. Carlin himself, when he was made aware of each of these bogus emails, would debunk them on his own website, writing: "Nothing you see on the Internet is mine unless it comes from one of my albums, books, HBO specials, or appeared on my website," and that "it bothers me that some people might believe that I would be capable of writing some of this stuff."
http://i424.photobucket.com/albums/pp330/chuck_and_larry/george-carlin.jpg
http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa40/David_Everett/george-carlin.png
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 06/22/10 at 3:07 pm
The person who died on this day...George Carlin
George Denis Patrick Carlin (May 12, 1937 – June 22, 2008) was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, actor, and author, who won five Grammy Awards for his comedy albums.
Carlin was noted for his black humor as well as his thoughts on politics, the English language, psychology, religion, and various taboo subjects. Carlin and his "Seven Dirty Words" comedy routine were central to the 1978 U.S. Supreme Court case F.C.C. v. Pacifica Foundation, in which a narrow 5–4 decision by the justices affirmed the government's power to regulate indecent material on the public airwaves.
The first of his 14 stand-up comedy specials for HBO was filmed in 1977. In the 1990s and 2000s, Carlin's routines focused on the flaws in modern-day America. He often commented on contemporary political issues in the United States and satirized the excesses of American culture. His final HBO special, It's Bad for Ya, was filmed less than four months before his death.
Carlin placed second on the Comedy Central cable television network list of the 100 greatest stand-up comedians, ahead of Lenny Bruce and behind Richard Pryor. He was a frequent performer and guest host on The Tonight Show during the three-decade Johnny Carson era, and hosted the first episode of Saturday Night Live.
Carlin's material falls under one of three self-described categories: "the little world" (observational humor), "the big world" (social commentary), and the peculiarities of the English language (euphemisms, doublespeak, business jargon), all sharing the overall theme of (in his words) "humanity's bullsheesh," which might include murder, genocide, war, rape, corruption, religion and other aspects of human civilization. He was known for mixing observational humour with larger social commentary. His delivery frequently treated these subjects in a misanthropic and nihilistic fashion, such as in his statement during the Life is Worth Losing show:
I look at it this way... For centuries now, man has done everything he can to destroy, defile, and interfere with nature: clear-cutting forests, strip-mining mountains, poisoning the atmosphere, over-fishing the oceans, polluting the rivers and lakes, destroying wetlands and aquifers... so when nature strikes back, and smacks him on the head and kicks him in the nuts, I enjoy that. I have absolutely no sympathy for human beings whatsoever. None. And no matter what kind of problem humans are facing, whether it's natural or man-made, I always hope it gets worse.
Language was a frequent focus of Carlin's work. Euphemisms that in his view seek to distort and lie and the use of language he felt was pompous, presumptuous, or silly were often the target of Carlin's routines. When asked on Inside the Actors Studio what turned him on, he responded, "Reading about language." When asked what made him most proud about his career, he said the number of his books that have been sold, close to a million copies.
Carlin also gave special attention to prominent topics in American and Western Culture, such as obsession with fame and celebrity, consumerism, Christianity, political alienation, corporate control, hypocrisy, child raising, fast food diet, news stations, self-help publications, patriotism, sexual taboos, certain uses of technology and surveillance, and the pro-life position, among many others.
George Carlin in Trenton, New Jersey April 4, 2008
Carlin openly communicated in his shows and in his interviews that his purpose for existence was entertainment, that he was "here for the show." He professed a hearty schadenfreude in watching the rich spectrum of humanity slowly self-destruct, in his estimation, of its own design, saying, "When you're born, you get a ticket to the freak show. When you're born in America, you get a front-row seat." He acknowledged that this is a very selfish thing, especially since he included large human catastrophes as entertainment. In his You Are All Diseased concert, he elaborated somewhat on this, telling the audience, "I have always been willing to put myself at great personal risk for the sake of entertainment. And I've always been willing to put you at great personal risk, for the same reason!"
In the same interview, he recounted his experience of a California earthquake in the early 1970s, as "n amusement park ride. Really, I mean it's such a wonderful thing to realize that you have absolutely no control, and to see the dresser move across the bedroom floor unassisted is just exciting."
A routine in Carlin's 1999 HBO special You Are All Diseased focusing on airport security leads up to the statement: "Take a fudgeing chance! Put a little fun in your life! Most Americans are soft and frightened and unimaginative and they don't realize there's such a thing as dangerous fun, and they certainly don't recognize a good show when they see one."
Along with wordplay and sex jokes, Carlin had always included politics as part of his material, but by the mid 1980s he had become a strident social critic in both his HBO specials and the book compilations of his material, bashing both conservatives and liberals alike. His HBO viewers got an especially sharp taste of this in his take on the Ronald Reagan administration during the 1988 special What Am I Doing In New Jersey?, broadcast live from the Park Theatre in Union City, New Jersey.
Death and tribute
On June 22, 2008, Carlin was admitted to Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica, California, after experiencing chest pains. He died later that day at 5:55 p.m. of heart failure. Carlin was 71 years old. His death occurred one week after his last performance at The Orleans Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, and he had further shows on his itinerary. In accordance with his wishes, Carlin was cremated, with his ashes scattered, and no public or religious services of any kind were held. Two of the networks he performed on changed their schedule in tribute to Carlin. HBO devoted several hours to broadcast eleven of Carlin's fourteen HBO specials from June 25–28, 2008, including a twelve-hour marathon block on their HBO Comedy channel. Meanwhile, NBC scheduled a rerun of the premiere episode of Saturday Night Live which Carlin hosted.
Both Sirius Satellite Radio's "Raw Dog Comedy" and XM Satellite Radio's "XM Comedy" channels ran a memorial marathon of George Carlin recordings the day following his death. Another tribute was the "Doonesbury" comic strip on Sunday, July 27, 2008.
Louis C. K. dedicated his stand-up special Chewed Up to Carlin.
Lewis Black dedicated his entire second season of Root of All Evil to Carlin.
An episode of Larry King Live paid tribute to Carlin, featuring comics Jerry Seinfeld, Bill Maher, Roseanne Barr and Lewis Black. Carlin's daughter and his brother were also interviewed by King. The next day, The New York Times published a tribute to Carlin written by Jerry Seinfeld.
An oral history, edited by Carlin's daughter, Kelly, was scheduled to be published in 2009. The book will contain stories from Carlin's friends and family and cover the considered high points of his career as well as the considered low, including his drug and alcohol addiction.
For a number of years prior to his death Carlin had been compiling and writing his autobiography, planning to release it in conjunction with a second, long-worked-on project, a one-man Broadway show tentatively titled New York City Boy, covering essentially the same topics. After his death his collaborator on the projects, Tony Hendra, edited the autobiography for release as Last Words (ISBN 1439172951). The book covers Carlin's life up to around Life is Worth Losing, with the final chapter detailing future plans, including the planned one-man show. The book was released one year and four months after Carlin's death. The audio version of the book was read by George's brother Patrick and featured an interview with Tony Hendra and George's daughter, Kelly.
Collection of works
Discography
Main
* 1963: Burns and Carlin at the Playboy Club Tonight
* 1967: Take-Offs and Put-Ons
* 1972: FM & AM
* 1972: Class Clown
* 1973: Occupation: Foole
* 1974: Toledo Window Box
* 1975: An Evening with Wally Londo Featuring Bill Slaszo
* 1977: On the Road
* 1981: A Place for My Stuff
* 1984: Carlin on Campus
* 1986: Playin' with Your Head
* 1988: What Am I Doing In New Jersey?
* 1990: Parental Advisory: Explicit Lyrics
* 1992: Jammin' in New York
* 1996: Back in Town
* 1999: You Are All Diseased
* 2001: Complaints and Grievances
* 2006: Life Is Worth Losing
* 2008: It's Bad for Ya
Compilations
* 1978: Indecent Exposure: Some of the Best of George Carlin
* 1984: The George Carlin Collection
* 1992: Classic Gold
* 1999: The Little David Years (1971-1977)
* 2002: George Carlin on Comedy
Filmography
Year Movie
1968 With Six You Get Eggroll
1976 Car Wash
1979 Americathon
1987 Outrageous Fortune
1989 Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure
1990 Working Trash
1991 Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey
The Prince of Tides
1999 Dogma
2001 Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back'
2003 Scary Movie 3
2004 Jersey Girl
2005 Tarzan II
The Aristocrats
2006 Cars
2007 Happily N'Ever After
Television
* The Kraft Summer Music Hall (1966)
* That Girl (Guest appearance) (1966)
* The Ed Sullivan Show (multiple appearances)
* The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour (season 3 guest appearance) (1968)
* The Flip Wilson Show (writer, performer) (1971–1973)
* The Mike Douglas Show (Guest) (February 18, 1972)
* Saturday Night Live (Host, episodes 1 and 183) (1975 & 1984)
* Justin Case (as Justin Case) (1988) TV movie directed Blake Edwards
* Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends (as American Narrator) (1991–1998)
* Shining Time Station (as Mr. Conductor) (1991–1993)
* The George Carlin Show (as George O'Grady) (1994) Fox
* Streets of Laredo (as Billy Williams) (1995)
* The Simpsons (as Munchie, episode 209) (1998)
* The Daily Show (guest on February 1, 1999; December 16, 1999; and March 10, 2004)
* MADtv (Guest appearance in episodes 518 & 524) (2000)
* Inside the Actors Studio (2004)
* In 1998, Carlin had a cameo playing one of the funeral-attending comedians in Jerry Seinfeld's HBO special I'm Telling You For The Last Time. In the funeral intro (the only thing being buried is Jerry Seinfeld's material) Carlin learns that neither friend Robert Klein nor Ed McMahon ever saw Jerry's act. Carlin did, and enjoyed it, but admits "I was full of drugs."
HBO Specials
Special Year
On Location: George Carlin at USC 1977
George Carlin: Again! 1978
Carlin at Carnegie 1982
Carlin on Campus 1984
Playin' with Your Head 1986
What Am I Doing in New Jersey? 1988
Doin' It Again 1990
Jammin' in New York 1992
Back in Town 1996
George Carlin: 40 Years of Comedy 1997
You Are All Diseased 1999
Complaints and Grievances 2001
Life Is Worth Losing 2005
It's Bad for Ya 2008
* "All My Stuff", a boxset of Carlin's first 12 stand-up specials (excluding George Carlin: 40 Years of Comedy) with bonus material was released in September 2007
Bibliography
Book Year Notes
Sometimes a Little Brain Damage Can Help 1984 ISBN 0-89471-271-3
Brain Droppings 1997 ISBN 0-7868-8321-9
Napalm and Silly Putty 2001 ISBN 0-7868-8758-3
When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops? 2004 ISBN 1-4013-0134-7
Three Times Carlin: An Orgy of George 2006 ISBN 978-1-4013-0243-6 A collection of the 3 previous titles.
Watch My Language 2009 Posthumous release
Last Words 2009 ISBN 1439172951
For several years before his death, Carlin had been working on a memoir, Last Words, in collaboration with writer Tony Hendra. Hendra secured permission from Carlin's family to go ahead with the book. It was published by Simon & Schuster's Free Press imprint on November 17, 2009.
Audiobooks
* Brain Droppings
* Napalm and Silly Putty
* More Napalm & Silly Putty
* George Carlin Reads To You
* When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops?
Since the birth of spam email on the internet, many chain-forwards, usually rantlike and with blunt statements of belief on political and social issues and attributed to being written (or stated) by George Carlin himself, have made continuous rounds on the junk email circuit. The website Snopes, an online resource that debunks historic and present urban legends and myths, has extensively covered these forgeries. Many of the falsely attributed email attachments have contained material that runs directly opposite to Carlin's viewpoints, with some being especially volatile toward racial groups, gays, women, the homeless, etc. Carlin himself, when he was made aware of each of these bogus emails, would debunk them on his own website, writing: "Nothing you see on the Internet is mine unless it comes from one of my albums, books, HBO specials, or appeared on my website," and that "it bothers me that some people might believe that I would be capable of writing some of this stuff."
http://i424.photobucket.com/albums/pp330/chuck_and_larry/george-carlin.jpg
http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa40/David_Everett/george-carlin.png
I always enjoyed his different smells for farts! ;D
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Frank on 06/22/10 at 8:47 pm
I used to listen to George Carlin's stuff in the 70s. Lots of great stuff. The 7 words.... ;D
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 06/23/10 at 6:19 am
The word of the day...Angel(s)
Angels are messengers of God in the Hebrew Bible (translating מל×ך), the New Testament and the Quran. The term "angel" has also been expanded to various notions of "spiritual beings" found in many other religious traditions. Other roles of angels include protecting and guiding human beings.
The theological study of angels is known as angelology. In art, angels are often depicted with wings, ultimately reflecting the descriptions in the Hebrew Bible, such as the chayot in Ezekiel's Merkabah vision or the Seraphim of Isaiah.
http://i1038.photobucket.com/albums/a470/davesmallen/angel.jpg
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e125/nosajzevahc/angel.jpg
http://i1009.photobucket.com/albums/af220/Kay_Marie_Purple/Angel.jpg
http://i903.photobucket.com/albums/ac231/mary13juana/angel.jpg
http://i576.photobucket.com/albums/ss203/vibsy_2009/RELIGIOUS/angel.jpg
http://i855.photobucket.com/albums/ab113/jason_scott9913/Week%203/angel.jpg
http://i766.photobucket.com/albums/xx304/ilovejesus39/spiritual/angel.jpg
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii315/falatio/TV/angel.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 06/23/10 at 6:22 am
The person born on this day...Joss Whedon
Joseph Hill "Joss" Whedon (pronounced /ˈwiËdÉ™n/; born June 23, 1964) is an American screenwriter, executive producer, director and founder of Mutant Enemy Productions. He is best known as the creator and showrunner of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly and Dollhouse. He is also notable for his work in film, comic books, and online media. Many of Whedon's projects, as well as Whedon himself, enjoy a cult status.
Whedon was born in New York City. He has been described as the world's first third-generation TV writer, as he is the son of Tom Whedon, a successful screenwriter for The Electric Company in the 1970s and The Golden Girls in the 1980s, and the grandson of John Whedon, a writer for The Donna Reed Show in the 1950s. His mother, Lee Stearns, was a high school teacher and novelist. He is the younger brother of Samuel and Matthew Whedon and older brother of writers Jed Whedon and Zack Whedon.
Whedon graduated from Wesleyan University in 1987. Before going to Wesleyan he spent two years at Winchester College in England. He attended Riverdale Country School in New York City where his mother taught History. (Sarah Michelle Gellar, star of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, also attended Riverdale Country School a number of years after Joss.) At a young age he was a prolific writer, loved Monty Python and showed great interest in acting. He was the lead role in an original production called 'Spaghetti Island' at Riverdale.
Career
Television work
Following a move to Los Angeles, Whedon secured his first writing job on the television series Roseanne. After working several years as a script doctor for films, he returned to television, where he created four TV shows.
Years after having his script for the movie Buffy the Vampire Slayer produced, Whedon revived the concept as a television series of the same name. Buffy the Vampire Slayer went on to become a critical and cult hit receiving an Emmy Award nomination for outstanding writing in a drama series in 2000. Buffy ran for five seasons on The WB Network before being relocated to the UPN Network for its final two seasons.
Angel was a spin-off of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, featuring Buffy's vampire-with-a-soul ex-boyfriend as the title character. Debuting in September 1999 on the WB, Angel was broadcast following Buffy. The WB canceled the show in February 2004 while it was in its fifth season.
In 2002, Fox canceled Firefly, after only 11 of 14 episodes were aired, many out of intended order. The original ninety-minute pilot ("Serenity") was aired last. After the cancellation, Whedon wrote the script for a Firefly movie, titled Serenity. In early 2004 Whedon announced that it had been greenlit by Universal Studios. It was widely released in the United States on September 30, 2005. In the DVD release, Whedon discusses how Serenity would not have been made if not for the dedication of the Browncoats, fans of the series.
In late 2007, Eliza Dushku, with whom Whedon worked on Buffy and Angel, met over lunch to discuss possible ideas for a series for her to star in and came up with an idea which excited both of them. The show, Dollhouse, was announced by Fox in November 2008 to begin airing on February 13, 2009. Dollhouse was canceled after two seasons due to low ratings.
Whedon is also noted for his directing work in television, which includes two 2007 episodes of The Office ("Business School" and "Branch Wars",) as well as a 2010 episode of the musical series Glee ("Dream On") in which he reunited with his Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog star Neil Patrick Harris.
Although, not an actor, he has made cameos in his own shows as well as others. He appeared as a newsreader in season one of Buffy (1997). During the second season of Angel (2001), he made a cameo appearance as the character Numfar under heavy makeup, where his entire role was to perform comical dances. In Firefly (2002), Whedon appeared as a guest at a funeral. He made a brief appearance as Douglas, an overbearing rental-car clerk ("employee of the month") for the Lariant Rental Car company, in an episode of Veronica Mars called Rat Saw God (episode 6, season 2, 2005); Whedon is a vocal fan of Veronica Mars. He voiced himself in two episodes of Seth Green's television series Robot Chicken entitled "Rabbits on a Roller Coaster" (2007) and "Help Me" (2008).
Feature films and video
Whedon wrote or co-wrote several films, including Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Toy Story, Atlantis: The Lost Empire, Alien Resurrection and Titan A.E.. The song "My Lullaby" from The Lion King II: Simba's Pride was written by him and Seattle native Scott Warrender. He was nominated (along with six other writers) for an Academy Award for Toy Story's screenplay.
He also wrote uncredited drafts or rewrites of Speed, Waterworld, Twister and X-Men, although in interviews, Whedon disowned the latter three films. He claimed that he had a good script for Alien: Resurrection, which he felt was spoiled by its director Jean-Pierre Jeunet. His Waterworld script was thrown out, and only two of his lines were kept in the final script of X-Men. Even the Buffy movie bore little resemblance to his original screenplay. According to Graham Yost, the credited writer of Speed, Whedon wrote most of its dialogue.
He wrote and directed 2005's Serenity, based on his television series Firefly. Serenity won the 2006 Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form. Beginning in January 2006, fans (with Universal's blessing) began organizing worldwide charity screenings of Serenity to benefit Equality Now, a human rights organization supported by Joss Whedon. Over $415,000 has been raised for Equality Now since 2006. As of May 1, 2009, 42 cities were registered for CSTS 2009 in 4 Countries and 24 US States.
Whedon wrote a horror film entitled The Cabin in the Woods with Drew Goddard which is currently in production with MGM, with Goddard directing.
In November 2008, Whedon guest starred in the premiere episode of The Write Environment, a direct to DVD series featuring in-depth, candid one-on-one interviews with some of TV's most prolific and well known series creator/writers.
In April 2010 it was confirmed that Whedon will direct The Avengers, a live-action adaption of the Marvel Comics superhero team of the same name.
Comic books
Whedon, a lifelong comic book fan, is the author of the Dark Horse Comics miniseries Fray which takes place in the far future of the Buffyverse. Whedon returned to the world of Fray during the Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight arc, "Time of Your Life".
Like many other authors from the Buffy TV show, he also contributed to the show's comic book version: he wrote three stories in the anthology Tales of the Slayers (including one featuring Melaka Fray from Fray) and also the main storyline of the five-issue miniseries Tales of the Vampires.
The three-issue miniseries Serenity: Those Left Behind, based on the Firefly series and leading up to the film Serenity, was released June through August 2005. Co-written with Brett Matthews and pencilled by Will Conrad, the first issue featured covers drawn by John Cassaday, J.G. Jones, and Bryan Hitch, as well as other artists for the second and third issues. The first two issues went to a second printing. The trade paperback featured a new cover by acclaimed painter Adam Hughes.
A second three-issue Serenity miniseries Serenity: Better Days, was released in March, April, and May 2008. "Better Days" reunites Whedon, Matthews, Conrad, and Adam Hughes, who will provide all three covers. The three covers form a larger panorama of the ship's crew. "Better Days" is set before "Those Left Behind", and features the full crew of Serenity. A trade paperback featuring a cover by Jo Chen was released in October 2008.
Whedon and others have mentioned that more Serenity comics are planned for the near future, and will be based in the Firefly continuation of the series, including one about Shepherd Book. Likewise, Whedon and other former Buffy writers have released a new ongoing Buffy which takes place after the series finale "Chosen", which he officially recognizes as the canonical "Season 8". The first issue was released on March 14, 2007 by Dark Horse Comics. Following the success of issue one of Buffy season eight, IDW Publishing approached Whedon about similarly producing a canonical Angel Season 6. Angel: After the Fall has 14 issues published as of November 19, 2008 with 3 more to come following the adventures of Angel and his team after the TV series ended, where the title of the series will then change to Angel: Aftermath. Although Whedon has not had the time to write the series, he has served as executive producer with Brian Lynch, writing the season 6 story.
Whedon wrote Astonishing X-Men in Marvel Comics' popular line of comics about the X-Men but finished his 24 issue run in 2008 and handed over the writing reins to Warren Ellis. The title, recreated specifically for Whedon, has been one of Marvel's best-selling comics as of 2006 and was nominated for several Eisner Awards including Best Serialized Story, Best Continuing Series, Best New Series and Best Writer, winning the Best Continuing Series award in 2006. One storyline from this comic, the notion of a cure for mutation being found, was also an element in the third X-Men film, X-Men: The Last Stand. Whedon also introduced several new characters into the Marvel Universe such as the villainous Ord, X-Men Ruth "Blindfold" Aldine and Hisako "Armor" Ichiki, Runaway Klara Prast and Special Agent Abigail Brand, along with S.W.O.R.D., the organization she commands.
Whedon is the second writer of the critically acclaimed and fan-favorite Marvel comic Runaways, taking over after series creator Brian K. Vaughan completed his run. Whedon had been a fan of the series for some time, and had a letter published in the first volume, which was included in the Volume 1 hardcover.
He is also attributed with helping give ideas for the ending of the Marvel Civil War 7 part series.
Whedon's other comic-related work includes writing the introduction to Identity Crisis trade paperback and a contribution to the "jam issue" Superman/Batman #26 (to date his only published work for DC Comics), writing short pieces for Marvel's Stan Lee Meets Spider-Man and Giant-Size X-Men #3 and also being the subject of an issue of Marvel Spotlight (alongside artist Michael Lark).
In February 2009, Astonishing X-Men #6, which depicted the return of Colossus to the title, and concluded Whedon's first story arc on that title, was named by Marvel Comics readers the #65 in Marvel's Top 70 Comics of all time.
Online media
In 2005 he released a series of online shorts titled the R. Tam sessions, starring himself and Summer Glau, which served as a form of viral marketing for Serenity. In 2007, he launched a free webcomic, titled Sugarshock! hosted on Dark Horse comic's Myspace page.
In March 2008, Whedon teamed up with his brothers Zack Whedon and Jed Whedon, along with Jed's then-fiancée Maurissa Tancharoen to write, compose and produce the musical superhero spoof, Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. The musical stars Neil Patrick Harris, Nathan Fillion and Felicia Day. Whedon conceived of Dr. Horrible over the year before and production took place over seven days during the Writers Guild strike. The project was freely available online from July 15 until July 20. In August, Whedon released a new Serenity/Firefly comic free online Serenity: The Other Half. In September, Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog Soundtrack, made the top 40 Album list despite being a digital exclusive only available on iTunes. The Soundtrack was successful enough to pay its crew and all its bills.
In February 2009, he stated that after his series Dollhouse is over, whether by cancellation or reaching its end, that he plans on putting his efforts purely into on-line content like Dr. Horrible. In the Dr. Horrible bonus feature Commentary! The Musical!, Joss sings the song "Heart (Broken)" about the crippling scrutiny and commercialisation of producing fiction for a modern consumer audience.
Unrealized projects
Whedon had a number of planned television projects that have become stuck in development or terminally stalled. Among these was a Buffy animated series, a set of made-for-television movies for The WB based on Angel and Buffy characters, and Ripper, a proposed BBC pilot about Rupert Giles. Ripper was announced to be in development at the San Diego Comic-Con 2007. The development process was set to begin in 2008 and Ripper to be shown that summer.
Early in his career Whedon sold two spec scripts that have not yet been produced, Suspension and Afterlife. He sold Suspension for $750,000 against $1 million. It has been described as "Die Hard on a bridge." A year later in 1994 he sold Afterlife for $1.5 million against $2 million. As of 2000 Andy Tennant was in talks to direct and rewrite. In Afterlife are precursors to many of the themes Whedon would later explore in Dollhouse. The script is about Daniel Hoffstetter, a government scientist, who awakes after dying to discover his mind has been imprinted on a mind-wiped body.
Whedon had been signed to write and direct Warner Bros.' adaptation of Wonder Woman but on February 3, 2007, Whedon announced that he would no longer be involved with the project. "We just saw different movies, and at the price range this kind of movie hangs in, that's never gonna work. Non-sympatico. It happens all the time."
Late in 2009 Whedon made an attempt at gaining control for the sum of $10,000 of future Terminator material. He was rebuffed at that time and it is not known if he has plans to attempt this again, but the Halcyon Company has promised some results by February 1, 2010.
Common themes and motifs in Whedon's works
Feminism
Whedon identifies himself as a feminist, and feminist themes are common in his work. For his part, Whedon credits his mother, Lee Stearns, as the inspiration for his feminist worldview. When Roseanne Barr asked him how he could write so well for women, he replied, "If you met my mom, you wouldn't ask."
The character Kitty Pryde from the X-Men comics was an early model for Whedon's strong teenage girl characters: "If there's a bigger influence on Buffy than Kitty, I don’t know what it was. She was an adolescent girl finding out she has great power and dealing with it." Kitty Pryde was one of the main characters in Whedon's run on Astonishing X-Men.
Whedon was honored at an Equality Now benefit in 2006: "Honoring Men on the Front Lines", and his fans raised a considerable amount of money in support of the organization.
Mind control
Whedon has repeatedly dramatized issues concerning mind control, DID/MPD, and human programming. Along with several episodes of Buffy and Angel, the entire "River Tam" subplot of Firefly was about this issue, as is the series Dollhouse. It is unknown why Whedon keeps returning to this issue in his work, but it is clearly a recurring theme.
Dialogue
The dialogue in Joss Whedon's shows and movies usually involves pop culture references both notable and obscure, and the turning of nouns into adjectives by adding a "y" at the end of the word ("listy"). According to one of the Buffy writers, "It's just the way that Joss actually talks."
Whedon also heavily favors the suffix -age (Linkage, Lurkage, Poofage, Postage, Scrollage, Slayage). Also, phrasal verbs usually ending with "out" are changed into direct verbs, for example "freak" rather than "freak out", "bail" rather than "bail out", or "hang" rather than "hang out". Whedon also tends to change adjectives into nouns such as "happy", "shiny" (positive thing), "bad" (mistake), "funny" (joke) - for example, a character may say "I made a funny" instead of "I made a joke". Another common phrase used in most of Whedon's shows is "safe as houses." So many of Whedon's altered usages, new words, and heavily popularized words have entered the common usage that PBS in their article series "Do You Speak American" included an entire section on "Slayer Slang".
Spiritual and philosophical beliefs
Whedon has identified himself as an atheist on multiple occasions. When interviewed by The AV Club on October 9, 2002, Whedon answered the question "Is there a God?" with one word: "No." The interviewer followed up with: "That's it, end of story, no?" Whedon answered: "Absolutely not. That's a very important and necessary thing to learn." In one of the Buffy DVD commentaries, Whedon comments that "I don't believe in the 'sky bully'", referring to God. In addition, during a question and answer session found on the Serenity DVD with fans of the Firefly series at Fox Studios in Sydney, he identifies himself as an atheist and absurdist.
Whedon has also spoken about existentialism. On the Firefly DVD set, Whedon explains in detail how existentialism, and more specifically the book Nausea, by Jean-Paul Sartre, was used as a basis for the episode "Objects in Space". On this commentary he claimed interest in existential ideas and described the impact of Nausea on his early life.
Whedon also identifies himself as a humanist. In April 2009, the Humanist Chaplaincy at Harvard presented Whedon with the 2009 Outstanding Lifetime Achievement Award in Cultural Humanism.
Frequent casting
Whedon often casts certain actors and actresses in more than one of his projects.
Actor / Actress Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997–2003) Angel (1999–2004) Firefly (2002) Serenity (2005) Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog (2008) Dollhouse (2009–2010) The Cabin in the Woods (2011)
Amy Acker YesY YesY YesY
Adam Baldwin YesY YesY YesY
Felicia Day YesY YesY YesY
Alexis Denisof YesY YesY YesY
Eliza Dushku YesY YesY YesY
Nathan Fillion YesY YesY YesY YesY
Summer Glau YesY YesY YesY YesY
Christina Hendricks YesY YesY
Carlos Jacott YesY YesY YesY
Fran Kranz YesY YesY
Tom Lenk YesY YesY YesY
Kal Penn YesY YesY
Mark Sheppard YesY YesY
Gina Torres YesY YesY YesY
Alan Tudyk YesY YesY YesY
Andy Umberger YesY YesY YesY
Jonathan M. Woodward YesY YesY YesY
* Actors that appear both in Firefly and Serenity portray the same character.
* Carlos Jacott, Andy Umberger, Kal Penn and Jonathan M. Woodward portray different characters in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. This does not take into account, however, the actors that portrayed the same character on both shows. Sarah Michelle Gellar, David Boreanaz, Charisma Carpenter, Alexis Denisof, Eliza Dushku, James Marsters, Alyson Hannigan, Seth Green, Mercedes McNab, Julie Benz, Juliet Landau, Julia Lee, Tom Lenk, and Mark Metcalf all reprised their Buffy roles on Angel for at least one or more episodes.
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Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 06/23/10 at 6:28 am
The person who died on this day...Ed McMahon
Edward Peter "Ed" McMahon, Jr. (March 6, 1923 – June 23, 2009) was an American celebrity, comedian, game show host, and announcer. He is most famous for his work on television as Johnny Carson's announcer and sidekick on The Tonight Show from 1962 to 1992. He also hosted the original version of the talent show Star Search from 1983 to 1995. He co-hosted TV's Bloopers and Practical Jokes with Dick Clark from 1982 to 1986. He also presented sweepstakes for the direct marketing company, American Family Publishers (not, as is commonly believed, its main rival Publishers Clearing House).
McMahon annually co-hosted the Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon. He performed in numerous television commercials, most notably for Budweiser. In the 1970s and 1980s, he anchored the team of NBC personalities conducting the network's coverage of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
McMahon appeared in several films, including The Incident, Fun With Dick and Jane, Full Moon High, and Butterfly, as well as briefly in the film version of Bewitched. According to Entertainment Weekly, McMahon is considered one of the greatest "sidekicks".
McMahon was born in Detroit, Michigan to Edward Peter McMahon, Sr. a fund-raiser and entertainer, and his wife Eleanor (Russell) McMahon. He was raised in Lowell, Massachusetts. McMahon attended Boston College in 1940-41 and later graduated from the Catholic University of America, majoring in speech and drama on the GI Bill in 1949. He was a member of Phi Kappa Theta fraternity. McMahon began his career as a bingo caller in Maine when he was fifteen.
Prior to this, he worked as a carnival barker for three years in Mexico, Maine. He put himself through college as a pitchman for vegetable slicers on the Atlantic City boardwalk. His first broadcasting job was at WLLH-AM in his native Lowell and he began his television career in Philadelphia at WCAU-TV.
Military service
McMahon hoped to become a US Marine Corps fighter pilot. Prior to the US entry into World War II, however, both the Army and Navy required two years of college for their pilots program. McMahon enrolled into classes at Boston College. After Pearl Harbor was attacked, the college requirement was dropped, and McMahon immediately applied for Marine flight training. His primary flight training was in Dallas, followed by fighter training in Pensacola, where he also earned his carrier landing qualifications. He was a Marine Corps flight instructor for two years, finally being ordered to the Pacific fleet in 1945. However, his orders were canceled after the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki forcing Japan's surrender.
As an officer in the reserves, McMahon was recalled to active duty during the Korean War. This time, he flew the OE-1 (the original Marine designation for the Cessna O-1 Bird Dog), an unarmed single-engine spotter plane. He functioned as an artillery spotter for the Marine batteries on the ground and as a forward controller for the Navy and Marine fighter bombers. He flew a total of 85 combat missions, earning 6 Air Medals. After the war, he stayed with the Marines, as a reserve officer, retiring in 1966 as a Colonel, he was later commissioned to the rank of Brigadier General in the California National Guard.
Entertainment career
The Tonight Show
McMahon and Johnny Carson first worked together as announcer and host on the daytime game show Who Do You Trust? (1957–1962). McMahon and Carson left the show to join The Tonight Show in 1962. He describes what happened when the pair first met, the whole meeting being "... about as exciting as watching a traffic light change".
For more than 30 years, McMahon introduced the Tonight Show with a drawn-out "Here's Johnny!" His booming voice and constant laughter alongside the "King of Late Night" earned McMahon the nickname the "Human Laugh Track" and "Toymaker to the King".
As part of the introductory patter to The Tonight Show, McMahon would state his name out loud, pronouncing it as Ed "Mc MAH yon", but neither long-time cohort Johnny Carson nor anyone else who interviewed him ever seemed to pick up on that subtlety, usually referring to him as Ed "Mc MAN".
The extroverted McMahon served as a counter to the notoriously shy Carson. Nonetheless, McMahon once told an interviewer that after his many decades as an emcee, he would still get "butterflies" in his stomach every time he would walk onto a stage, and would use that nervousness as a source of energy.
Star Search
He was also host of the successful weekly syndicated series Star Search, which began in 1983 and helped launch the careers of numerous actors, singers, choreographers, and comedians. He stayed with the show until it ended in 1995, and in 2003, he made a cameo appearance on the revival of the CBS show, hosted by his successor, Arsenio Hall.
Other roles
McMahon at the premiere of Air America, 1990
McMahon was the long-running co-host of the annual Labor Day weekend Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon. His 41st and last appearance was in 2008, making him second only to Lewis himself in number of appearances.
McMahon and Dick Clark hosted the television series (and later special broadcasts of) TV's Bloopers and Practical Jokes on NBC from 1982–98, when Clark decided to move the production of the series to ABC.
From 1965 to 1969, McMahon was communicator (host) of the Saturday afternoon segment of Monitor, the weekend news, features and entertainment magazine on NBC Radio.
McMahon had a supporting role in the original 1970's version of the movie "Fun With Dick & Jane".
In 2004, he became the announcer and co-host of Alf's Hit Talk Show on TV Land. He has authored two memoirs, Here's Johnny!: My Memories of Johnny Carson, The Tonight Show, and 46 Years of Friendship as well as For Laughing Out Loud.
Over the years, he emceed the game shows Missing Links, Snap Judgment, Concentration, and Whodunnit!.
McMahon hosted Lifestyles Live, a weekend talk program aired on the USA Radio Network. He also appeared in the feature documentary film, Pitch People, the first motion picture to take an in-depth look at the history and evolution of pitching products to the public.
In the early 2000s, McMahon made a series of Neighborhood Watch public service announcements parodying the surprise appearances to contest winners that he was supposedly known for. (In fact, it is not clear whether the company McMahon fronted, American Family Publishers, regularly performed such unannounced visits, as opposed to Publishers Clearing House and its oft-promoted "prize patrol".)
Towards the end of the decade, McMahon took on other endorsement roles, playing a rapper for a FreeCreditReport.com commercial and in a Cash for Gold commercial alongside MC Hammer. McMahon was also the spokesman for Pride Mobility, a leading power wheelchair and scooter manufacturer.
His final film appearance was in the independent John Hughes themed rom-com jelly (film) as Mr. Closure alongside actress Natasha Lyonne.
Personal life
Children
McMahon had three daughters and three sons:
* Claudia McMahon
* Katherine McMahon
* Linda McMahon
* Jeffrey McMahon
* Michael Edward McMahon (April 12, 1951 – July 28, 1995, cancer)
* Lex McMahon (stepson; adopted after McMahon married Pam Hurn)
Financial problems
In June 2008, it was announced that McMahon was $644,000 behind on payments on $4.8 million in mortgage loans and was fighting to avoid foreclosure on his multimillion-dollar Beverly Hills home. McMahon was also sued by Citibank for $180,000. McMahon appeared on Larry King Live on June 5, 2008 with his wife to talk about this situation. In the interview, McMahon's wife Pam said that people assumed that the McMahons had so much money because of his celebrity status. Pamela McMahon also commented that they do not have "millions" of dollars.
On July 30, 2008, McMahon's financial status suffered another blow. According to Reuters, McMahon failed to pay divorce attorney Norman Solovay $275,168, according to a lawsuit filed in the Manhattan federal court. McMahon and his wife, Pamela, hired Solovay to represent Linda Schmerge, his daughter from another relationship, in a "matrimonial matter," said Solovay's lawyer, Michael Shanker.
On August 14, 2008, real estate mogul Donald Trump announced that he would purchase McMahon's home from Countrywide Financial and lease it to McMahon, so the home would not be foreclosed. McMahon agreed instead to a deal with a private buyer for his hilltop home, said Howard Bragman, McMahon's former spokesman. Bragman declined to name the buyer or the selling price, but he said it is not Trump. "For Mr. Trump, this acquisition was not business-related, but, as he has stated, was meant to help out an American icon," said Michael Cohen, special counsel to Trump. "If another buyer should emerge who will create the benefit Mr. Trump sought for Ed McMahon, then he is clearly pleased." In early September, after the second buyer's offer fell through, Trump renewed his offer to purchase the home.
Health problems
On April 20, 2002, McMahon sued his insurance company for more than $20 million, alleging that he was sickened by toxic mold that spread through his Beverly Hills house after contractors failed to properly clean up water damage from a broken pipe. McMahon and his wife, Pamela, became ill from the mold, as did members of their household staff, according to the Los Angeles County Superior Court suit. The McMahons also blame the mold for the death of the family dog, Muffin. Their suit, the latest of many in recent years over toxic mold, was filed against American Equity Insurance Co., a pair of insurance adjusters and several environmental cleanup contractors. It seeks monetary damages for alleged breach of contract, negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress. A spokeswoman for the insurance company declined to comment. On March 21, 2003, the long battle ended with McMahon reaping $7 million from what was later discovered to be several companies who were negligent for allowing mold into his home. Their dog's death was confirmed to be caused by mold.
McMahon was injured in 2007 in a fall and, in March 2008, it was announced he was recovering from a broken neck and two subsequent surgeries. He later sued Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and two doctors claiming fraud, battery, elder abuse, and emotional distress, and accused them of discharging him with a broken neck after his fall in 2007 and later botching two neck surgeries.
On February 27, 2009 it was reported that McMahon had been in an undisclosed Los Angeles hospital (later confirmed as Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center) for almost a month. He was listed in serious condition and was in the intensive care unit. His publicist told reporters that he was admitted for pneumonia at the time, but could not confirm nor deny reports that McMahon had been diagnosed with bone cancer.
Death
McMahon died at age 86 on June 23, 2009, shortly after midnight at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, California. His nurse, Julie Koehne, RN, stated he went peacefully. No formal cause of death was given, but McMahon's publicist attributed his death to the many health problems he had suffered over his final months. McMahon had said that he still suffered from the injury to his neck in March 2007.
Then Tonight host Conan O'Brien paid tribute to McMahon on his show later that night, saying "It is impossible, I think, for anyone to imagine 'The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson' without Ed McMahon. Ed's laugh was really the soundtrack to that show." O'Brien added that McMahon, with Carson, created "the most iconic two-shot in broadcasting history. There will never be anything like that again". McMahon was cremated and his ashes were given to his family, according to Find a Grave.com
Books
* Ed McMahon's Barside Companion (World Publishing Company, Copyright 1969 by Parthenon Productions, Inc.), Library of Congress #70-94527
* For Laughing Out Loud: My Life and Good Times (Warner Books, 1998), co-written with David Fisher
* Here's Johnny! My Memories of Johnny Carson, The Tonight Show, and 46 Years of Friendship (Berkley Publishing Group – Penguin Group (USA, Inc.), 2005)
* When Television Was Young (2007)
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Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 06/23/10 at 6:40 am
The person who died on this day...Ed McMahon
Edward Peter "Ed" McMahon, Jr. (March 6, 1923 – June 23, 2009) was an American celebrity, comedian, game show host, and announcer. He is most famous for his work on television as Johnny Carson's announcer and sidekick on The Tonight Show from 1962 to 1992. He also hosted the original version of the talent show Star Search from 1983 to 1995. He co-hosted TV's Bloopers and Practical Jokes with Dick Clark from 1982 to 1986. He also presented sweepstakes for the direct marketing company, American Family Publishers (not, as is commonly believed, its main rival Publishers Clearing House).
McMahon annually co-hosted the Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon. He performed in numerous television commercials, most notably for Budweiser. In the 1970s and 1980s, he anchored the team of NBC personalities conducting the network's coverage of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
McMahon appeared in several films, including The Incident, Fun With Dick and Jane, Full Moon High, and Butterfly, as well as briefly in the film version of Bewitched. According to Entertainment Weekly, McMahon is considered one of the greatest "sidekicks".
McMahon was born in Detroit, Michigan to Edward Peter McMahon, Sr. a fund-raiser and entertainer, and his wife Eleanor (Russell) McMahon. He was raised in Lowell, Massachusetts. McMahon attended Boston College in 1940-41 and later graduated from the Catholic University of America, majoring in speech and drama on the GI Bill in 1949. He was a member of Phi Kappa Theta fraternity. McMahon began his career as a bingo caller in Maine when he was fifteen.
Prior to this, he worked as a carnival barker for three years in Mexico, Maine. He put himself through college as a pitchman for vegetable slicers on the Atlantic City boardwalk. His first broadcasting job was at WLLH-AM in his native Lowell and he began his television career in Philadelphia at WCAU-TV.
Military service
McMahon hoped to become a US Marine Corps fighter pilot. Prior to the US entry into World War II, however, both the Army and Navy required two years of college for their pilots program. McMahon enrolled into classes at Boston College. After Pearl Harbor was attacked, the college requirement was dropped, and McMahon immediately applied for Marine flight training. His primary flight training was in Dallas, followed by fighter training in Pensacola, where he also earned his carrier landing qualifications. He was a Marine Corps flight instructor for two years, finally being ordered to the Pacific fleet in 1945. However, his orders were canceled after the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki forcing Japan's surrender.
As an officer in the reserves, McMahon was recalled to active duty during the Korean War. This time, he flew the OE-1 (the original Marine designation for the Cessna O-1 Bird Dog), an unarmed single-engine spotter plane. He functioned as an artillery spotter for the Marine batteries on the ground and as a forward controller for the Navy and Marine fighter bombers. He flew a total of 85 combat missions, earning 6 Air Medals. After the war, he stayed with the Marines, as a reserve officer, retiring in 1966 as a Colonel, he was later commissioned to the rank of Brigadier General in the California National Guard.
Entertainment career
The Tonight Show
McMahon and Johnny Carson first worked together as announcer and host on the daytime game show Who Do You Trust? (1957–1962). McMahon and Carson left the show to join The Tonight Show in 1962. He describes what happened when the pair first met, the whole meeting being "... about as exciting as watching a traffic light change".
For more than 30 years, McMahon introduced the Tonight Show with a drawn-out "Here's Johnny!" His booming voice and constant laughter alongside the "King of Late Night" earned McMahon the nickname the "Human Laugh Track" and "Toymaker to the King".
As part of the introductory patter to The Tonight Show, McMahon would state his name out loud, pronouncing it as Ed "Mc MAH yon", but neither long-time cohort Johnny Carson nor anyone else who interviewed him ever seemed to pick up on that subtlety, usually referring to him as Ed "Mc MAN".
The extroverted McMahon served as a counter to the notoriously shy Carson. Nonetheless, McMahon once told an interviewer that after his many decades as an emcee, he would still get "butterflies" in his stomach every time he would walk onto a stage, and would use that nervousness as a source of energy.
Star Search
He was also host of the successful weekly syndicated series Star Search, which began in 1983 and helped launch the careers of numerous actors, singers, choreographers, and comedians. He stayed with the show until it ended in 1995, and in 2003, he made a cameo appearance on the revival of the CBS show, hosted by his successor, Arsenio Hall.
Other roles
McMahon at the premiere of Air America, 1990
McMahon was the long-running co-host of the annual Labor Day weekend Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon. His 41st and last appearance was in 2008, making him second only to Lewis himself in number of appearances.
McMahon and Dick Clark hosted the television series (and later special broadcasts of) TV's Bloopers and Practical Jokes on NBC from 1982–98, when Clark decided to move the production of the series to ABC.
From 1965 to 1969, McMahon was communicator (host) of the Saturday afternoon segment of Monitor, the weekend news, features and entertainment magazine on NBC Radio.
McMahon had a supporting role in the original 1970's version of the movie "Fun With Dick & Jane".
In 2004, he became the announcer and co-host of Alf's Hit Talk Show on TV Land. He has authored two memoirs, Here's Johnny!: My Memories of Johnny Carson, The Tonight Show, and 46 Years of Friendship as well as For Laughing Out Loud.
Over the years, he emceed the game shows Missing Links, Snap Judgment, Concentration, and Whodunnit!.
McMahon hosted Lifestyles Live, a weekend talk program aired on the USA Radio Network. He also appeared in the feature documentary film, Pitch People, the first motion picture to take an in-depth look at the history and evolution of pitching products to the public.
In the early 2000s, McMahon made a series of Neighborhood Watch public service announcements parodying the surprise appearances to contest winners that he was supposedly known for. (In fact, it is not clear whether the company McMahon fronted, American Family Publishers, regularly performed such unannounced visits, as opposed to Publishers Clearing House and its oft-promoted "prize patrol".)
Towards the end of the decade, McMahon took on other endorsement roles, playing a rapper for a FreeCreditReport.com commercial and in a Cash for Gold commercial alongside MC Hammer. McMahon was also the spokesman for Pride Mobility, a leading power wheelchair and scooter manufacturer.
His final film appearance was in the independent John Hughes themed rom-com jelly (film) as Mr. Closure alongside actress Natasha Lyonne.
Personal life
Children
McMahon had three daughters and three sons:
* Claudia McMahon
* Katherine McMahon
* Linda McMahon
* Jeffrey McMahon
* Michael Edward McMahon (April 12, 1951 – July 28, 1995, cancer)
* Lex McMahon (stepson; adopted after McMahon married Pam Hurn)
Financial problems
In June 2008, it was announced that McMahon was $644,000 behind on payments on $4.8 million in mortgage loans and was fighting to avoid foreclosure on his multimillion-dollar Beverly Hills home. McMahon was also sued by Citibank for $180,000. McMahon appeared on Larry King Live on June 5, 2008 with his wife to talk about this situation. In the interview, McMahon's wife Pam said that people assumed that the McMahons had so much money because of his celebrity status. Pamela McMahon also commented that they do not have "millions" of dollars.
On July 30, 2008, McMahon's financial status suffered another blow. According to Reuters, McMahon failed to pay divorce attorney Norman Solovay $275,168, according to a lawsuit filed in the Manhattan federal court. McMahon and his wife, Pamela, hired Solovay to represent Linda Schmerge, his daughter from another relationship, in a "matrimonial matter," said Solovay's lawyer, Michael Shanker.
On August 14, 2008, real estate mogul Donald Trump announced that he would purchase McMahon's home from Countrywide Financial and lease it to McMahon, so the home would not be foreclosed. McMahon agreed instead to a deal with a private buyer for his hilltop home, said Howard Bragman, McMahon's former spokesman. Bragman declined to name the buyer or the selling price, but he said it is not Trump. "For Mr. Trump, this acquisition was not business-related, but, as he has stated, was meant to help out an American icon," said Michael Cohen, special counsel to Trump. "If another buyer should emerge who will create the benefit Mr. Trump sought for Ed McMahon, then he is clearly pleased." In early September, after the second buyer's offer fell through, Trump renewed his offer to purchase the home.
Health problems
On April 20, 2002, McMahon sued his insurance company for more than $20 million, alleging that he was sickened by toxic mold that spread through his Beverly Hills house after contractors failed to properly clean up water damage from a broken pipe. McMahon and his wife, Pamela, became ill from the mold, as did members of their household staff, according to the Los Angeles County Superior Court suit. The McMahons also blame the mold for the death of the family dog, Muffin. Their suit, the latest of many in recent years over toxic mold, was filed against American Equity Insurance Co., a pair of insurance adjusters and several environmental cleanup contractors. It seeks monetary damages for alleged breach of contract, negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress. A spokeswoman for the insurance company declined to comment. On March 21, 2003, the long battle ended with McMahon reaping $7 million from what was later discovered to be several companies who were negligent for allowing mold into his home. Their dog's death was confirmed to be caused by mold.
McMahon was injured in 2007 in a fall and, in March 2008, it was announced he was recovering from a broken neck and two subsequent surgeries. He later sued Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and two doctors claiming fraud, battery, elder abuse, and emotional distress, and accused them of discharging him with a broken neck after his fall in 2007 and later botching two neck surgeries.
On February 27, 2009 it was reported that McMahon had been in an undisclosed Los Angeles hospital (later confirmed as Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center) for almost a month. He was listed in serious condition and was in the intensive care unit. His publicist told reporters that he was admitted for pneumonia at the time, but could not confirm nor deny reports that McMahon had been diagnosed with bone cancer.
Death
McMahon died at age 86 on June 23, 2009, shortly after midnight at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, California. His nurse, Julie Koehne, RN, stated he went peacefully. No formal cause of death was given, but McMahon's publicist attributed his death to the many health problems he had suffered over his final months. McMahon had said that he still suffered from the injury to his neck in March 2007.
Then Tonight host Conan O'Brien paid tribute to McMahon on his show later that night, saying "It is impossible, I think, for anyone to imagine 'The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson' without Ed McMahon. Ed's laugh was really the soundtrack to that show." O'Brien added that McMahon, with Carson, created "the most iconic two-shot in broadcasting history. There will never be anything like that again". McMahon was cremated and his ashes were given to his family, according to Find a Grave.com
Books
* Ed McMahon's Barside Companion (World Publishing Company, Copyright 1969 by Parthenon Productions, Inc.), Library of Congress #70-94527
* For Laughing Out Loud: My Life and Good Times (Warner Books, 1998), co-written with David Fisher
* Here's Johnny! My Memories of Johnny Carson, The Tonight Show, and 46 Years of Friendship (Berkley Publishing Group – Penguin Group (USA, Inc.), 2005)
* When Television Was Young (2007)
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Him And Johnny Are laughing in heaven. :)
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: CatwomanofV on 06/23/10 at 8:46 am
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTs8qB9S9pg&feature=related
Cat
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 06/23/10 at 9:54 am
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTs8qB9S9pg&feature=related
Cat
My speaker died :\'(
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: CatwomanofV on 06/23/10 at 10:18 am
My speaker died :\'(
:\'( :\'( :\'(
Cat
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 06/23/10 at 7:15 pm
Guardian Angel.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: gibbo on 06/23/10 at 7:51 pm
Guardian Angel.
Kurt Angel
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 06/24/10 at 8:11 am
Kurt Angel
I haven't watched wrestling in a while, does he still wrestle?
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 06/24/10 at 8:16 am
The word of the day...Tusk(s)
Tusks are unusually long teeth, usually but not always in pairs, that protrude well beyond the mouth of certain mammal species. They are most commonly canines, as with warthogs, wild boar, and walruses, or, in the case of elephants and narwhals, elongated incisors. Tusks are generally curved and pointed, though the narwhal's sole tusk is straight and has a helical structure. In the elephant, the tusks were originally second incisors.
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http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y120/creativecharm/tusk.jpg
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c88/diabolik99/tusk.jpg
http://i620.photobucket.com/albums/tt290/rythoel/Tokens/Tusk.png
http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h48/barbsbasket/Memory%20Lane/tusk.jpg
http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g117/ladykenai/VancesShop3.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 06/24/10 at 8:19 am
The person born on this day...Mick Fleetwood
Michael John Kells "Mick" Fleetwood (born 24 June 1947) is a British-born musician best known for his role as the drummer and namesake of the blues/rock and roll band Fleetwood Mac. His surname, combined with that of John McVie, was the inspiration for the name of the originally Peter Green-led Fleetwood Mac.
Aside from his work as a drummer, he also helped form the different incarnations of his band Fleetwood Mac, and is the sole member to stay with the band through its ever-changing lineup. In 1974, he met and invited Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks to join Fleetwood Mac. Buckingham and Nicks contributed to much of Fleetwood Mac's later commercial success, while Fleetwood's determination to keep the band together was essential to the band's longevity as a ban Fleetwood was born in Redruth, Cornwall, to John Joseph Kells and Bridget Maureen (née Brereton) Fleetwood. His sister, the late Susan Fleetwood, was an actress. In early childhood he and his family followed his father, a Royal Air Force fighter pilot, to Egypt. After about six years they moved to Norway where his father was posted. He attended school there and acquired fluency in the Norwegian language. According to his autobiography, Fleetwood had an extremely difficult and trying time academically at the English boarding schools he attended, including Kings School, Sherborne Park, Glos. He performed poorly on exams which he attributes to his persistent inability to commit facts to memory. He dropped out of school aged 15, and, in 1963, moved to London to pursue a career as a drummer.
Career
Keyboard player Peter Bardens gave Fleetwood his first gig in Bardens' band The Cheynes, thus seeding the young drummer's musical career. It would take him from The Cheynes to stints in the Bo Street Runners, Peter Bs, Shotgun Express (with Rod Stewart), and John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers. After being dismissed from the Bluesbreakers for repeated insobriety during gigs Mick Fleetwood was asked a few months later by singer and guitarist Peter Green to join him along with bassist John McVie in his new band Fleetwood Mac. Since then more than fifty albums have been released under the name Fleetwood Mac - by far the most popular being the two mega-platinum sets the group put out in the late seventies: Fleetwood Mac and Rumours.
Mick also led a number of side projects. 1981's The Visitor featured heavy African stylistics and a rerecording of "Rattlesnake Shake" with Peter Green. In 1983 he formed Mick Fleetwood's Zoo and recorded I'm Not Me. The album featured a minor hit with "I Want You Back" and a cover version of the Beach Boys' "Angel Come Home". A later version of the group featured Bekka Bramlett on vocals and recorded 1991's Shaking the Cage. Fleetwood released Something Big in 2004 with The Mick Fleetwood Band, and his most recent album is Blue Again, appearing in October 2008 with the Mick Fleetwood Blues Band touring to support it, interspersed with the Unleashed tour of Fleetwood Mac. This music explores the blues roots of the Peter Green era of Fleetwood Mac.
Fleetwood has a secondary career as a TV and film actor, usually in minor parts. His roles in this field have included a resistance leader in The Running Man and as a guest alien in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Manhunt". Fleetwood co-hosted the 1989 BRIT Awards, which contained numerous gaffes and flubbed lines. In the wake of this public mishap, the BRIT Awards were pre-recorded for the next 18 years until 2007; the awards are now again broadcast live to the British public.
Also in 2007 Mick Fleetwood was featured singing the song "God" along with Jack's Mannequin in the Pop album Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur, a collection of covers of John Lennon songs.
Personal life
Fleetwood married Jenny Boyd in 1970, and the couple had two daughters. They later divorced, remarried and then divorced again.
He is the author of Fleetwood - My Life and Adventures with Fleetwood Mac, his memoirs of his life, especially with Fleetwood Mac, published in 1991. Included in the book are his experiences with other musicians including Eric Clapton, members of The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, and a romance with Stevie Nicks of Fleetwood Mac. Fleetwood also discusses his addiction to powdered cocaine and his personal bankruptcy in spite of earning millions from his drumming career.
Recognized for his imposing height, he stands at 6'6" (197 cm).
In 1979, Mick Fleetwood was diagnosed with diabetes, after suffering recurring bouts of hypoglycemia during several live shows.
Fleetwood has lived in the United States since the mid-70s, and became a U.S. citizen on November 22, 2006 in Los Angeles, California.
Drumming equipment
Drums: Drum Workshop Collector's Series Maple Drums in Natural Lacquer over Exotic Quilted Maple with 24k Gold hardware
* 18"×22" bass drum
* 6"×10" snare
* 6"×14" snare
* 8"×10" rack tom
* 9"×12" rack tom
* 11"×14" floor tom
* 13"×16" floor tom
Cymbals: (from left to right)
* Zildjian 15" K Mastersound Hi-hat
* Zildjian 20" A Custom Flat Top Ride
* Zildjian 22" A Custom Ride
* Zildjian 17" A Custom Crash
* Zildjian 17" A Custom Crash
* Zildjian 22" K Ride
* Zildjian 22" K Constantinople Medium Ride
* Zildjian 18" FX Oriental China Trash
Discography
With Fleetwood Mac
Year Album US UK Additional information
1968 Fleetwood Mac (Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac) 198 4 -
1968 Mr. Wonderful - 10 Fleetwood featured on the cover art
1969 Then Play On 192 6 Fleetwood was credited with the instrumental "Fighting For Madge"
1970 Kiln House 69 39 Fleetwood co-wrote "Jewel Eyed Judy"
1971 Future Games 91 - -
1972 Bare Trees 70 - -
1973 Penguin 49 - -
1973 Mystery to Me 68 - -
1974 Heroes Are Hard to Find 34 - Fleetwood featured on the cover art
1975 Fleetwood Mac 1 23 Fleetwood featured (with McVie) on the cover art
1977 Rumours 1 1 Fleetwood co-wrote "The Chain"
1979 Tusk 4 1 -
1980 Live 14 31 -
1982 Mirage 1 5 -
1987 Tango in the Night 7 1 -
1988 Greatest Hits 14 3 -
1990 Behind the Mask 18 1 -
1995 Time - 47 Fleetwood co-wrote "These Strange Times"
1997 The Dance 1 15 -
2003 Say You Will 3 6 -
Solo albums
Year Album US UK Additional information
1981 The Visitor 43 - Featured two Fleetwood Mac remakes - "Rattlesnake Shake" & "Walk A Thin Line"
1983 I'm Not Me - - Billed as "Mick Fleetwood's Zoo"
1992 Shakin' the Cage - - Billed as "The Zoo"
2004 Something Big - - Billed as "The Mick Fleetwood Band"
2008 Blue Again - - with "The Mick Fleetwood Blues Band feat. Rick Vito"
See also
* List of celebrities who own wineries and vineyards
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Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 06/24/10 at 8:25 am
The person who died on this day...Jackie Gleason
Jackie Gleason (February 26, 1916 – June 24, 1987) was an American comedian, actor and musician. He was known for his brash visual and verbal comedy style, especially by his character Ralph Kramden on the The Honeymooners, a situation-comedy television series . His most noted film role was as Minnesota Fats in the drama film The Hustler (1961) starring Paul Newman.
By far, Gleason's most popular character was the blustery bus driver Ralph Kramden. Possibly inspired by another radio hit, The Bickersons, and largely drawn from Gleason's harsh Brooklyn childhood, these sketches became known as The Honeymooners and customarily centered on Ralph's incessant get-rich-quick schemes, the tensions between his ambitiousness and his friend Norton's scatterbrained aid and comfort, and the inevitable clash when his sensible wife Alice tried pulling her husband's head back down from the clouds.
The Honeymooners first appeared on Cavalcade of Stars on October 5, 1951, with Carney as Norton and the character actress Pert Kelton as Alice. Darker and fiercer than they later became with Audrey Meadows as Alice, the sketches proved popular with critics and viewers. As Kramden, Gleason played a frustrated bus driver with a battle-ax wife in harrowingly realistic arguments; when Meadows (who was 15 years younger than Kelton) took over the role after Kelton was blacklisted, the tone softened considerably. In fact, early sketches come as something of a shock to some modern critics.
When Gleason moved to CBS, Kelton was not part of the move, since her name had turned up in Red Channels, the book that listed and described reputed Communists and/or Communist sympathizers in television and radio. Gleason reluctantly let her leave the cast, with a cover story for the media that she had "heart trouble". He also turned down Meadows as Kelton's replacement, at least at first. Meadows wrote in her memoir that she slipped back to audition again and frumped herself up to convince Gleason that she could handle the role of a frustrated but loving working-class wife. Rounding out the cast with an understated but effective role, Joyce Randolph played Trixie Norton. Elaine Stritch had played the role as a tall and attractive blonde in the first sketch, but she was quickly replaced by Randolph.
The Honeymooners sketches proved popular enough that Gleason gambled on making it a separate series entirely in 1955. These are the so-called Classic 39 episodes, which finished 19th in the ratings for their only season. However, they were filmed with a new DuMont process, Electronicam, which allowed live television to be preserved on high-quality film. That turned out to be the most prescient move the show made, since — a decade after they first aired — the half-hour Honeymooners in syndicated reruns started to build a loyal and growing audience that made the show a television icon. Its popularity was such that even today, a life-size statue of Jackie Gleason, in full uniform as bus driver Ralph Kramden, stands outside the Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York City.
Gleason's acting was not restricted to comedic roles. He had also earned acclaim for live television drama performances in The Laugh Maker (1953) on CBS's Studio One; in William Saroyan's The Time of Your Life (1958), which appeared as an episode of Playhouse 90, a television anthology series.
He was nominated for an Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Minnesota Fats in The Hustler (1961). (In his 1985 appearance on The Tonight Show, Gleason told Johnny Carson that he had played pool frequently since childhood, utilizing those experiences in The Hustler.) He was also well-received as a beleaguered boxing manager in the movie version of Rod Serling's Requiem for a Heavyweight (1962). Gleason also played a world-weary Army sergeant, in Soldier in the Rain (1963).
He wrote, produced, and starred in Gigot (1962), a notorious box-office disaster, in which he plays a poor, mute janitor who befriends and rescues a prostitute and her small daughter. The film's script formed the basis for the television film The Wool Cap (2004) starring William H. Macy in the role of the mute janitor; the television film received modestly good reviews.
Gleason played the lead in the Otto Preminger all-star flop, Skidoo (1968). In 1969, William Friedkin wanted to cast Gleason as "Popeye" Doyle in The French Connection (1971) but between Gigot and Skidoo, the studio refused to offer Gleason the lead in the film, even though he wanted to play it. Instead, Gleason wound up in How to Commit Marriage (1969) with Bob Hope and the movie version of Woody Allen's play Don't Drink the Water (1969), both flops.
More than a decade passed before Gleason had another hit film. This role was as a very funny and cursing Texas sheriff Buford T. Justice in the films Smokey and the Bandit, Smokey and the Bandit II and Smokey and the Bandit, Part 3,(1977 and 1980, 1983). In these films, he co-starred with Burt Reynolds as the Bandit, Sally Field as Carrie, (Bandit's love interest), Jerry Reed as Cledus (Snowman) Snow, Bandit's truck-driving partner off to bring back beer, clam chowder (II), etc. Former NFL linebacker and actor Mike Henry played his not-so-bright son, Junior Justice. Gleason's gruff and frustrated demeanor, along with a few classic lines, such as "I'm gonna Bar-B-Que yo' ass in molasses!" after a trucker tore the driver's door off his parked sheriff's car, had audiences howling in the theaters, and truly made the first "Bandit" movie a major hit.
Years later, when Burt Reynolds was interviewed by Larry King, Reynolds said that he agreed to do the movie only if they would hire Jackie Gleason to play the part of "Sheriff Buford T. Justice," which is the name of a real Florida Highway Patrolman who knew Reynolds' father. That interview also revealed that director Hal Needham gave Gleason free rein to ad-lib a lot of his dialog and make suggestions for the film. For example, the scene at the "Choke and Puke" was Gleason's idea. Reynolds and Needham knew the comic brilliance of Gleason would help make the film a success. And Gleason's characterization of Sheriff Justice helped them connect the film with mostly blue collar audiences. Although he did curse in the first Bandit movie to add character and humor, his language was quite tame compared to the non-stop senseless cursing found in many modern films.
The first "Smokey and the Bandit" movie still remains one of the most popular films today.
In the 1980s, Gleason earned positive reviews playing opposite Laurence Olivier in the HBO dramatic two-man special, Mr. Halpern and Mr. Johnson (1983). He also gave a memorable performance as wealthy businessman U.S. Bates in the comedy The Toy (1982), opposite Richard Pryor. Although the movie itself was critically panned, Gleason and Pryor were praised.
Gleason's comic genius and acting abiliity are why he earned the nickname, "The Great One."
Death
Gleason delivered a critically acclaimed performance as an infirm but acerbic and somewhat Archie Bunker-like character in the Tom Hanks comedy-drama Nothing in Common (1986). The film proved to be Gleason's final film role, as he was suffering from colon cancer, liver cancer, and thrombosed hemorrhoids during production.
Gleason was hospitalized around 1986–1987, but checked himself out when told he had little chance of recovering. He returned to his Inverrary home and died peacefully on June 24, 1987, at age 71.
Gleason is interred in an outdoor mausoleum at Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Cemetery in Miami, Florida. At the base is the inscription of one of his catchphrases, "And Away We Go."
Tributes
Sign welcoming drivers to Brooklyn (circa 2000s).
Miami Beach honored Gleason's contributions to the city and its tourism in 1987 by renaming the Miami Beach Auditorium (where he had done his television show after moving to Florida) as the Jackie Gleason Theater of the Performing Arts.
Bus driver related
* On June 30, 1988, the Sunset Park Bus Depot in Brooklyn was renamed the Jackie Gleason Depot in honor of the native Brooklynite.
* A statue of Gleason as Ralph in his bus driver's uniform was dedicated in August 2000 in New York City by the cable TV channel TV Land. The statue is located at in Manhattan at 40th Street and Eighth Avenue at the entrance of the Port Authority Bus Terminal. Its inscription reads "Ralph Kramden: New Yorker, Bus Driver, Dreamer" and it was featured briefly in the film World Trade Center (2006).
* Another such statue stands at the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Hall of Fame in North Hollywood, California, showing Gleason in his famous "And away we go!" pose.
Local signs on the Brooklyn Bridge, which indicate to drivers that they are entering Brooklyn, have the Gleason phrase "How Sweet It Is!" as part of the sign.
A city park with racquetball and basketball courts (and a children's playground) near his home in an Inverrary neighborhood of Lauderhill, Florida was named "Jackie Gleason Park".
A television movie called Gleason was aired by CBS on October 13, 2002, taking a deeper look into Gleason's life; it took liberties with some of the Gleason story, but featured his troubled home life, a side of Gleason that few had previously known of. He had two daughters by his first wife; they divorced, and Gleason endured a brief second marriage before finding a happy union with his third wife, June Taylor's sister Marilyn. The film also showed backstage scenes from his best-known work. Brad Garrett, from Everybody Loves Raymond, portrayed Gleason after Mark Addy had to drop out. Garrett was effectively made up to resemble Gleason in his prime. His height (6′8″, about eight inches taller than Gleason) created some logistical problems on the sets, which had to be specially made so that Garrett did not tower over everyone else. Also, cast members wore platform shoes when standing next to Garrett; the shoes can be seen in one shot during a Honeymooners sequence on Alice.
In 2003, after an absence of more than thirty years, the color, musical versions of The Honeymooners from the 1960s Jackie Gleason Show in Miami Beach were returned to television over the GoodLife TV (now AmericanLife TV) cable network. In 2005, a movie version of The Honeymooners appeared in theatres, with a twist: a primarily African-American cast, headed by Cedric the Entertainer. This version, however, bore only a passing resemblance to Gleason's original series and was widely panned by critics.
Actor/Playwright Jason Miller who was a former son-in-law of Gleason's was in the process of writing a screenplay based on his father-in law's life which was to star Paul Sorvino. Miller died before completing the project. Gleason's daughter, Linda Miller, (herself an actress) had been married to The Exorcist star Jason Miller. Their son is the actor Jason Patric.
Interest in the paranormal
Gleason was a voracious reader of books on the paranormal, including The Urantia Book, parapsychology and UFOs. He even had a house built in the shape of a UFO which he named "The Mothership". During the 1950s, he was a semi-regular guest on the paranormal-themed overnight radio show hosted by John Nebel, and wrote the introduction to Donald Bain's biography of Nebel. According to Gleason's second wife, Beverly McKittrick, he told her that U.S. President Richard Nixon took him on a secret visit to Homestead Air Force Base. There, Gleason allegedly saw an alien spaceship and dead extraterrestrials. After his death, his large book collection was donated to the library of the University of Miami.
In film
* Gleason has been portrayed by Brad Garrett in the 2002 TV film Gleason.
* Sean Cullen played a small role of Gleason in the 2002 made for TV movie Martin and Lewis.
Career
Television
1949–1959
* Your Sports Special (1949)
* The Lamb's Gambol (1949)
* The Life of Riley (October 4,1949 – March 28, 1950) TV series
* The Arrow Show (1949)
* Ted and Jinx (1949)
* This is Show Business (1950)
* Showtime USA (1950)
* Cavalcade of Stars (1950–1952) TV Series
* The Frank Sinatra Show (1950)
* Ford Star Revue (1951)
* The Frank Sinatra Show (1951)
* Cavalcade of Bands (1951)
* Musical Comedy Time: No! No! Nanette! (1951)
* Texacto Star Theatre (1951)
* Ford Festival (1951)
* This is Show Business (1951)
* The Colgate Comedy Hour (1951)
* Ford Star Revue (1951)
* The Colgate Comedy Hour (1951)
* The Kate Smith Evening Hour (1951)
* The Jackie Gleason Show (September 20, 1952 – June 18, 1955) TV Series
* Arthur Murray Party (1952)
* The Sam Levinson Show (1952)
* The Ken Murray Show (1952)
* Toast of the Town (1952)
* Celebrity Time (1952)
* Scout O' Rama" (1952)
* Jane Froman's USA Canteen (1952)
* Arthur Godfrey and His Friends (1953)
* Studio One: The Laugh Maker (May 18, 1953)
* What's My Line? (1953)
* This is Show Business (1953)
* Arthur Murray Party (1953)
* Toast of the Town (1954)
* Name That Tune (1954)
* Studio One: Short Cut (December 6, 1954)
* The Best of Broadway: The Show Off (February 2, 1955)
* What's My Line? (1955)
* I've Got a Secret (1955)
* The Jack Benny Program (1955)
* Stage Show (1955)
* The Honeymooners (October 1, 1955 – September 22, 1956) TV Series
* The Red Skelton Show (1955)
* Studio One: Uncle Ed and Circumstances (October 10, 1955)
* The 64,000 Question (1956)
* Person to Person (February 3, 1956)
* The Herb Shriner Show (1956)
* The Jackie Gleason Show (September 29, 1956– June 22, 1957) TV Series
* Playhouse 90: The Time of Your Life (October 9, 1958) TV Movie
* This is Your Life (1958)
* Arthur Godfrey Show (1958)
* The Jackie Gleason Show (October 1958 – January 1959) TV Series
* All Star Jazz IV: The Golden Age of Jazz (January 4, 1959)
1960–1986
* The Fabulous Fifties (1960)
* Arthur Godfrey Special (1960)
* The Secret World of Eddie Hodges (1960) TV Movie
* The Jackie Gleason Special: The Big Sell (October 9, 1960)
* The Red Skelton Show (1961)
* Sunday Sports Spectacular: Jackie Gleason with the putter and cue (1961)
* You're In the Picture/The Jackie Gleason Show (January 27 – March 24, 1961)
* The Jackie Gleason Special: The Million Dollar Incident (April 21, 1961) TV Movie
* Jackie Gleason and His American Scene Magazine (September 29, 1962 – June 4, 1966) TV Series
* The 35th Annual Academy Awards (1963)
* The Bob Hope Chrysler Theatre: The Big Stomach (November 16, 1966)
* The Jackie Gleason Show (September 17, 1966 – September 12, 1970) TV Series
* Here's Lucy: Lucy Visits Jack Benny (1968)
* The David Frost Show (1970)
* The Jackie Gleason Special (December 20, 1970)
* The Jackie Gleason Special (November 11, 1973)
* Show Business Tribute to Milton Berle (1973)
* Julie & Jackie: How Sweet It Is! (1974)
* Bob Hope Special (1974)
* The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast (1975)
* Lucille Ball and Jackie Gleason: Two for Three (December 3, 1975)
* Super Night at the Super Bowl (1976)
* The Mike Douglas Show (1976)
* The Honeymooners Second Honeymoon (February 2, 1976)
* Donahue (1976)
* The Captain and Tennille (1976)
* Bing Crosby's White Christmas (1976)
* The Honeymooners Christmas Special (November 28, 1977)
* The Honeymooners Valentine Special (February 13, 1978)
* The Second Honeymooners Christmas Special (December 10, 1978)
* Mr. Halpern and Mr. Johnson (June 3, 1983) TV Movie
* All Star Party for Burt Reynolds (1984)
* 60 Minutes (1984)
* Izzy & Moe (September 23, 1985) TV Movie
* The Honeymooners Reunion (May 13, 1985)
* The 39th Annual Tony Awards (June 2, 1985)
* The Honeymooners Anniversary Celebration (October 18, 1985)
* Gleason: In His Own Words (February 14, 1986)
Stage productions
* Keep Off the Grass (1940)
* Artists and Models (1943)
* Follow the Girls (1944)
* The Duchess Misbehaves (1945)
* Heaven on Earth (1948)
* Along Fifth Avenue (1949)
* Take Me Along (1959)
* Sly Fox (1978)
Filmography
* Navy Blues (1941)
* Steel Against the Sky (1941)
* All Through the Night (1942)
* Lady Gangster (1942)
* Tramp, Tramp, Tramp (1942)
* Larceny, Inc. (1942)
* Escape from Crime (1942)
* Orchestra Wives (1942)
* Springtime in the Rockies (1942)
* The Desert Hawk (1950)
* The Hustler (1961)
* Gigot (1962) (also writer)
* Requiem for a Heavyweight (1962)
* Papa's Delicate Condition (1963)
* Soldier in the Rain (1963)
* Skidoo (1968)
* How to Commit Marriage (1969)
* Don't Drink the Water (1969)
* How Do I Love Thee? (1970)
* Smokey and the Bandit (1977)
* Mr. Billion (1978)
* Smokey and the Bandit II (1980)
* The Toy (1982)
* The Sting II (1983)
* Smokey and the Bandit Part 3 (1983)
* Fools Die (1984)
* Nothing in Common (1986)
Singles Discography
Year Title Label and Number
1951 "What is a Girl?"/"What is a Boy?" (spoken by Gleason) Decca 27684
1952 "Melancholy Serenade"/"You're Getting to Be a Habit" Capitol F2361
1953 "Alone Together"/"Body & Soul" Capitol F2437
1953 "My Funny Valentine"/"Love is Here to Stay" Capitol F2438
1953 "But Not For Me"/"Love" Capitol F2439
1953 "I'm in the Mood for Love"/"I Only Have Eyes for You" Capitol F2440
1953 "Terry's Theme from Limelight"/"Peg O' My Heart" Capitol F2507
1953 "White House Serenade"/"The President's Lady" Capitol F2515
1953 "Mystery Street"/"Golden Violins" Capitol F2659
1955 "The Band Played On"/"In the Good Old Summertime" Capitol F3144
1955 "Autumn Leaves"/"Oo! What You Do to Me" Capitol F3223
1956 "Capri In May"/"You're My Greatest Love" Capitol F3337
1958 "Where is She Now?"/"Just Only Yesterday" Capitol F4062
1962 "Allo 'Allo 'Allo"/"Joi De Vivre" (soundtrack) Capitol F4800
http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r97/mortz92/JackieGleason.jpg
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Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: CatwomanofV on 06/24/10 at 10:31 am
One of my favorite Fleetwood Mac songs and I can't find it on YouTube. I find Fleetwood Mac preforming it OR the USC Trojan Marching Band (that my son-in-law was in) preforming it but I can't find BOTH preforming it at the same time. :\'( :\'( :\'(
Cat
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 06/24/10 at 11:32 am
One of my favorite Fleetwood Mac songs and I can't find it on YouTube. I find Fleetwood Mac preforming it OR the USC Trojan Marching Band (that my son-in-law was in) preforming it but I can't find BOTH preforming it at the same time. :\'( :\'( :\'(
Cat
:\'( I love that video.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 06/24/10 at 6:53 pm
I haven't watched wrestling in a while, does he still wrestle?
in TNA.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: gibbo on 06/24/10 at 6:59 pm
I haven't watched wrestling in a while, does he still wrestle?
Re: Kurt Angel ... Not certain ...I have been watching some of his old matches on youtube...
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 06/24/10 at 6:59 pm
I love Fleetwood Mac. :)
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: gibbo on 06/24/10 at 7:07 pm
Fleetwood Mac is one of a handful of super bands that I could name 15 songs or more. (along with The Beatles, Eagles, Bee Gees, ABBA and Chicago). ELO, CSN, Doobies, America, The Stones and Wings are on a rung under these ...(for me at least).
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 06/24/10 at 7:07 pm
Over My Head is one hit.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: gibbo on 06/24/10 at 7:14 pm
Over My Head is one hit.
Are you sure it didn't connect with your head? ;D
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Frank on 06/24/10 at 10:10 pm
Fleetwood Mac is one of a handful of super bands that I could name 15 songs or more. (along with The Beatles, Eagles, Bee Gees, ABBA and Chicago). ELO, CSN, Doobies, America, The Stones and Wings are on a rung under these ...(for me at least).
I'm with ya on that.
Rumours is also still one of my favorite albums ever.
One of my favorite Fleetwood Mac songs and I can't find it on YouTube. I find Fleetwood Mac preforming it OR the USC Trojan Marching Band (that my son-in-law was in) preforming it but I can't find BOTH preforming it at the same time. :\'( :\'( :\'(
Cat
Wasn't that the song " Tusk"? (I'm not 100% certain)
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 06/25/10 at 5:42 am
Are you sure it didn't connect with your head? ;D
::)
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 06/25/10 at 7:28 am
in TNA.
Thanks :)
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 06/25/10 at 7:31 am
I'm with ya on that.
Rumours is also still one of my favorite albums ever.
Wasn't that the song " Tusk"? (I'm not 100% certain)
Yeah at the end of the video the marching band comes and plays with them.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 06/25/10 at 7:35 am
The word of the day...Whisper
: to speak softly with little or no vibration of the vocal cords especially to avoid being overheard
2 : to make a sibilant sound that resembles whisperingtransitive verb 1 : to address in a whisper
2 : to utter or communicate in or as if in a whisper
http://i816.photobucket.com/albums/zz84/DaydreamerRaiishax3/Truth%20Is%20A%20Whisper/TIAW_Banner.jpghttp://i950.photobucket.com/albums/ad350/SilentProtest/My/908167212_5_mUyT.jpg
http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z7/Faust_the_eighth/Frineds_and_i/BLARGandnadiaparty123.jpg
http://i540.photobucket.com/albums/gg356/XxHarus_DollXx/whisper.jpg
http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o286/sailorashley3/whisper.jpg
http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l304/Sterntaenzer/whisper.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 06/25/10 at 7:38 am
The person born on this day...George Michael
George Michael, born as Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou (Greek: ΓεώÏγιος ΚυÏιάκος Παναυιώτου; 25 June 1963), is a two-time Grammy Award winning English singer-songwriter who rose to fame in the 1980s, when he formed the pop duo Wham! along with his school friend Andrew Ridgeley. His first solo single, "Careless Whisper" was released when he was still in the duo and sold about six million copies worldwide.
As a solo artist, He has sold over 100 million records worldwide as of 2010, encompassing 7 British #1 singles, 7 British #1 albums, 8 US #1 singles, and 1 US #1 album. His 1987 debut solo album, Faith has sold over 20 million copies worldwide and made several records and achievements in the United States. In 2004, Radio Academy named Michael as the most played artist on British radio between the period of 1984-2004.
The documentary A Different Story was released in 2005, it covered his personal life and professional career. In 2006, George Michael announced his first tour in 15 years. 25 Live tour was a massive, worldwide undertaking by Michael that spanned three individual tours over the course of three years (2006, 2007, and 2008)
Michael was born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou in East Finchley, North London . His father was Kyriacos Panayiotou, a Greek Cypriot restaurateur who moved to England in the 1950s and changed his name to Jack Panos. Michael's mother, Lesley Angold Harrison, was an English dancer who died from cancer in 1997. Michael spent the majority of his childhood in North London, a typical place for Greek Cypriots in the 1980s, living in the home his parents bought soon after his birth. During his early teens, the family moved to Radlett and Michael attended Bushey Meads School where Michael met Andrew Ridgeley. The two both had the same career ambition of being musicians.
He began his involvement in the music business as a DJ playing youth clubs and local schools around Bushey, Stanmore and Watford; this was followed by the formation of a short-lived ska band called The Executive with Ridgeley, Ridgeley's brother Paul, Andrew Leaver, and David Mortimer (aka David Austin).
Musical career
Wham!
Main article: Wham!
Michael first found success after forming the duo Wham! with Andrew Ridgeley in 1981. The band's first album, Fantastic scored #1 in the UK and produced a series of top 10 singles including "Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do)" and "Club Tropicana". Their second album, Make It Big, was the breakthrough that made the duo international superstars, scoring #1 on the charts in the US. Singles from that album included "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go", "Freedom", "Everything She Wants", and "Careless Whisper", the latter of which also became Michael's first solo effort as a single.
Michael also sang on the original Band Aid recording of "Do They Know It's Christmas?" and donated the profits from "Last Christmas/Everything She Wants" to the charity. In addition, he contributed background vocals to David Cassidy's 1985 hit "The Last Kiss", as well as Elton John's 1985 successes "Nikita" and "Wrap Her Up". In an exclusive foray into popular journalism, in 1985 Michael also interviewed David Cassidy for David Litchfield's legendary Ritz Newspaper.
Wham!'s tour of China in April 1985, the first visit to China by a Western popular music act, generated enormous worldwide media coverage, much of it centered on Michael. The tour was documented by celebrated film director Lindsay Anderson and producer Martin Lewis in their film Foreign Skies: Wham! In China and contributed to Michael's ever-increasing fame.
With the success of Michael's solo singles, "Careless Whisper" (1984) and "A Different Corner" (1986), rumours of an impending termination of Wham! intensified. The duo officially separated during the summer of 1986 after releasing a farewell single, "The Edge of Heaven" and a singles compilation, The Final, plus a sell-out concert at Wembley Stadium that included the world premiere of the China film. The Wham! partnership ended officially with the commercially successful single "The Edge of Heaven", which reached #1 on the UK chart in November 1986.
Solo career
George Michael desired to create music for a more sophisticated audience than the duo's primarily teenage fanbase. The beginning of his solo career, during early 1987, was a duet with soul music icon Aretha Franklin. "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)" was a one-off project that helped Michael achieve an ambition by singing with one of his favourite artists, and it scored number one on both the UK Singles Chart and the Billboard Hot 100 upon its release.
For Michael, it became his third consecutive solo number-one in the UK from three releases, after 1984's "Careless Whisper" (though the single was actually from the Wham! album Make It Big) and 1986's "A Different Corner". The single was also the first Michael had recorded as a solo artist which he had not written himself. The co-writer, Simon Climie, was unknown at the time, although he would have success as a performer with the band Climie Fisher in 1988. With this song, Michael won a Grammy Award during 1988 for Best R&B Performance - Duo or Group with Vocal.
Faith
Main article: Faith (George Michael album)
During the autumn of 1987 Michael released his first solo album, Faith. In addition to playing a large number of instruments on the album, he wrote and produced every track on the recording, except for one, which he co-wrote.
The first single released from the album was "I Want Your Sex," during the summer of 1987. The song was banned by many radio stations in the UK and USA, due to its sexually suggestive lyrics. MTV would broadcast the video, featuring celebrity make-up artist Kathy Jeung in a basque and suspenders, only during the late night hours. Michael argued that the act was beautiful if the sex was monogamous. Michael even recorded a brief prologue for the video in which he said: "This song is not about casual sex." One of the racier scenes involved Michael writing the words "explore monogamy" on his partner's back in lipstick. Some radio stations played a toned-down version of the song, "I Want Your Love," which was mainly the word "love" replacing "sex." When the tune reached the US charts, American Top 40 host Casey Kasem refused to say the song's title, referring to it only as "the new single by George Michael." In the US, the song was also sometimes listed as "I Want Your Sex (from 'Beverly Hills Cop II')," since the song was featured on the soundtrack of the movie.
Despite censorship and radio play problems, "I Want Your Sex" reached #2 on the US Billboard Hot 100 singles chart on the week of 8 August 1987. Moreover, the single remained in the Top 10 for six weeks, and the Top 40 for a total of fourteen weeks. The song charted at #3 in Britain. In 2002, several years after the major controversy concerning the release of the song, the music video was featured at #3 on MTV's countdown of the most controversial videos in the channel's history.
The second single, "Faith," was released during October 1987, just a few weeks before the album. "Faith" would go on to become one of his most popular songs. The song scored #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the USA, and #2 in the UK singles chart. The famous video provided some definitive images of the 1980s music industry in the process — Michael in shades, leather jacket, cowboy boots, and Levi's jeans, playing a guitar near a classic-design jukebox. "Faith" scored #1 on 12 December, and maintained that score for four consecutive weeks.
The album scored #1 in the UK and in several markets worldwide. In the United States, the album had 51 non-consecutive weeks of Billboard 200 Top 10 scores, including 12 weeks at #1. "Faith" had many successes, four of which ("Faith," "Father Figure," "One More Try," and "Monkey") scored #1.
Eventually, "Faith" scored Diamond certification by the RIAA for sales of 10 million copies in the US. To date, global sales of Faith are more than 20 million units.
During the 2005 Live 8 concert, George Michael joined Paul McCartney on stage, harmonising on The Beatles classic "Drive My Car".
Michael was one of several remixers commissioned in 1990 to work on dance mixes for Bananarama's "Tripping on Your Love". Bananarama covered "Careless Whisper" for their Exotica album in 2001, and the track was also released as a single in France.
George Michael during a concert in Munich in 2006
In 2006, George Michael started his first tour in 15 years, 25 Live. The tour began in Barcelona, Spain, on 23 September and finished in December at Wembley Arena in England. According to his website, the 80-show tour was seen by 1.3 million fans.
On 12 May 2007 in Coimbra, Portugal, he began the European "25 Live Stadium Tour 2007", including London and Athens, and ending on 4 August 2007 in Belfast, UK. There were 29 tour dates (as of 21 April 2007) across Europe.
On 9 June 2007 Michael became the first artist to perform live at the newly renovated Wembley Stadium in London, where he was later fined £130,000 for overrunning the programme for 13 minutes.
On 25 March 2008 a third part of the 25 Live Tour was announced for North America. This part included 21 dates in the United States and Canada. This was Michael's first tour of North America in 17 years.
The album Twenty Five (album), was released in North America on 1 April 2008 as a 29-song, 2-CD set featuring several new songs (including duets with Paul McCartney and Mary J. Blige and a song from the short-lived TV series, Eli Stone) in addition to many of Michael's successful songs from both his solo and Wham! career. In addition, a companion 2-disc DVD of 40 videos was also made available.
George Michael made his American acting debut by playing a guardian angel to Jonny Lee Miller's character on Eli Stone, a TV series that was broadcast in the USA. In addition to performing on the show as himself and as "visions", each episode of the show's first season was named after a song of his.
George Michael appeared on the 2008 finale show of American Idol on 21 May singing "Praying for Time". When asked what he thought Simon will say of his performance, he replied "I think he'll probably tell me I shouldn't have done a George Michael song. He's told plenty of people that in the past, so I think that'd be quite funny."
On the 1st of December, Michael played a last concert in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, as part of the 37th National Day Celebrations.
On 25 December 2008 George Michael released a new track December Song on his website for free. It was hoped that fans who download the song would donate money to charity. Though the song is not available anymore on his website, it remains available on file sharing networks and on 29 October 2009 the BBC said that George Michael was to join the race for the UK Christmas number one as a remastered version of December Song would go on sale on 13 December.
On 9 June 2009, Michael joined Beyoncé Knowles on stage during "If I Were A Boy" at the last UK show of her world wide tour I Am… Tour.
It was also reported that George Michael would perform December Song on ITV1's X Factor. However on 12 December 2009, he performed Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me with X Factor finalist and eventual winner Joe McElderry
2010 Australian tour
After months of speculation, Michael announced that he would be performing shows in the Australian cities of Melbourne, Perth and Sydney, his first concerts in Australia since 1988.
On 20 February 2010, Michael performed his first show in Perth at the Burswood dome to an audience of 15,000.
On 5 March 2010, George Michael confirmed that he would be a guest performer at the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras After Party, where he performed at 1am, followed by Kelly Rowland at 3am.
Personal life
Sexuality
Michael was initially private about being gay; nonetheless, his sexual orientation was already well known among many music business insiders during his Wham! career, while his public image was still a heterosexual one.
In a 2007 interview, Michael said that he kept his homosexuality secret due to worries over the effect it would have on his mother.
Relationships
Michael established a relationship with Anselmo Feleppa, whom he had met at the 1991 concert Rock in Rio. Feleppa died of an AIDS-related brain hemorrhage in 1993. Michael's single "Jesus to a Child" is a tribute to Feleppa (he consistently dedicates it to him before performing it live), as is his 1996 album Older.
Since 1996, Michael had been in a long term relationship with sporting goods heir Kenny Goss. Goss opened the Goss Gallery in May 2005 in Dallas, which shows contemporary art, including those collected by the couple. They have homes in London and Dallas. In late November 2005, it was reported that Michael and Goss would register their relationship as a civil partnership in the UK, but due to negative publicity and his upcoming tour, they postponed it to a later date. There are reports of their relationship secretly ending in December 2008, though this has been denied by Michael.
Los Angeles incident
Questions of his sexual orientation persisted in public until 7 April 1998, when he was arrested for "engaging in a lewd act" in a public toilet in a park in Beverly Hills, California. He was arrested by an undercover policeman named Marcelo RodrÃguez, in a sting operation using so-called "pretty police".
In an MTV interview, George Michael stated: "I got followed into the restroom and then this cop — I didn't know it was a cop, obviously — he started playing this game, which I think is called, 'I'll show you mine, you show me yours, and then when you show me yours, I'm going to nick you!"
After pleading "no contest" to the charge, Michael was fined US$810 and sentenced to 80 hours of community service. Soon afterwards, Michael made a video for his single "Outside" which was obviously based on the public toilet incident and which featured men dressed as policemen kissing. Rodriguez claimed that this video "mocked" him, and that Michael had slandered him in interviews. In 1999, he brought a US$10 million court case in California against the singer. The court dismissed the case, but an Appellate court reinstated the case on 3 December 2002. The court then ruled RodrÃguez, as a public official, could not legally recover damages for emotional distress.
After the incident, Michael became explicit about his sexuality and his relationship with Kenny Goss, a former cheerleader coach and sportswear executive from Dallas, and his partner since June 1996.
On 23 July 2006 George was again accused of engaging in anonymous public sex, this time at London's West Hampstead Heath Park. The anonymous partner was later discovered to be 58-year-old Norman Kirtland, an unemployed van driver. Despite stating that he intended to sue both the News of the World tabloid who photographed the incident and Norman Kirtland for slander, George stated that he openly cruises for anonymous sex and that this was not an issue in his relationship with partner Kenny Goss.
On 17 June 2008, George Michael said he was thrilled by California's legalization of same-sex marriage, calling the move "way overdue."
Drugs
On 26 February 2006, Michael was arrested for possession of Class C drugs, an incident that he described as "my own stupid fault, as usual." He was cautioned by the police and released.
Michael was arrested in Cricklewood, North-West London, after motorists reported a car obstructing the road at traffic lights. He pleaded guilty on 8 May 2007 to driving while unfit through drugs. He was banned from driving for two years, and sentenced to community service. During September 2007, on Desert Island Discs, he said that his cannabis use was a problem — he wished he could smoke less of it and was constantly trying to do so.
On 19 September 2008, Michael was arrested in a public toilet in the Hampstead Heath area of London for possession of Class A and C drugs. He was taken to the police station and cautioned for controlled substance possession.
On 5 December 2009, in an interview with The Guardian, Michael explains he had cut back on cannabis and now smokes only 'seven or eight' spliffs per day instead of the 25 he used to smoke.
Politics
Michael wrote "Shoot the Dog", a song critical about the friendly relationship between the US and UK governments and their involvement in the Iraq War.
During 2000, George Michael joined Melissa Etheridge, Garth Brooks, Queen Latifah, the Pet Shop Boys, and k.d. lang, to perform in Washington, D.C. as part of 'Equality Rocks' - a concert to benefit the Human Rights Campaign.
During 2007, he sent the £1.45 million piano that John Lennon used to write "Imagine" around the United States on a "peace tour," having it on display at places where violence had taken place, such as Dallas' Dealey Plaza where U.S. President John. F. Kennedy was shot.
He devoted his concert in Sofia, Bulgaria from his "Twenty Five Tour" to the Bulgarian nurses prosecuted in the HIV trial in Libya.
Charity
During 1984, he sang as part of Band Aid on the charity song "Do They Know It's Christmas?" for famine relief in Ethiopia. This single scored #1 on the UK music charts over Christmas 1984, holding Michael's own song, "Last Christmas" by Wham!, at #2. Michael donated the royalties from "Last Christmas" to Band Aid and subsequently sang with Elton John at Live Aid (the Band Aid charity concert) in 1985.
In 2003 he paired up with Ronan Keating on the British version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire? and won £32,000 (this after having their original £64,000 winnings halved after missing the £125,000 question).
The proceeds from the single "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me" were divided among 10 different charities for children, AIDS and education.
Michael is supporting a campaign to help raise US$32 million (GBP15 million) for terminally ill children.
Assets
According to reports with the 25 Live tour alone in 2 years between 2006 and 2008 he is said to have earned 48.5 million pounds (97 million dollars) as well as earning millions more for private concerts he does periodically such as for Billionaire Vladimir Potanin and super rich fashion shop owner Sir Philip Green . According to the "rich list" of the Timesonline.co.uk.com, as of 2009 George Michael is worth 90 million pounds in currency alone.
Besides owning several multi million dollar homes worldwide, Michael and his partner Kenny Goss have amassed a huge art collection valued at 100 million pounds.
Memoirs
In 1991 George released an autobiography titled "Bare" through Penguin Books which he co-wrote with writer Tony Parsons. The over 200 page book goes over various aspects of his life, and includes a relationship he had with a former girlfriend.
On 16 January 2008, Michael signed a contract with HarperCollins for an autobiography which he is to write "entirely himself".
Discography
Main article: George Michael discography
See also: Wham! discography
Albums
Studio albums
* 1987: Faith
* 1990: Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1
* 1996: Older
* 1999: Songs from the Last Century
* 2004: Patience
Compilation albums
* 1998: Ladies & Gentlemen: The Best of George Michael
* 2006: Twenty Five
Live albums
* 1993: Five Live
Number-one songs
U.S. number one singles (10)
* 1984: "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" (Wham!)
* 1985: "Careless Whisper" (Wham! featuring George Michael)
* 1985: "Everything She Wants" (Wham!)
* 1987: "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)" (with Aretha Franklin)
* 1987: "Faith"
* 1988: "Father Figure"
* 1988: "One More Try"
* 1988: "Monkey"
* 1990: "Praying for Time"
* 1992: "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me"(with Elton John)
UK number one singles (12)
* 1984: "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" (Wham!)
* 1984: "Careless Whisper"
* 1984: "Freedom" (Wham!)
* 1984: "Do They Know It's Christmas?" (Band Aid)
* 1985: "I'm Your Man" (Wham!)
* 1986: "The Edge of Heaven" (Wham!)
* 1986: "A Different Corner"
* 1987: "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)" (with Aretha Franklin)
* 1991: "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me"(with Elton John)
* 1993: Five Live EP (with Queen and Lisa Stansfield)
* 1995: "Jesus to a Child"
* 1996: "Fastlove"
Awards
Main article: List of awards and nominations received by George Michael
Tours
* Faith World Tour (1988–1989)
* Cover to Cover (1991)
* 25 Live (2006–2008)
* George Michael Live in Australia (2010)
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http://i772.photobucket.com/albums/yy10/zulzaga2006/george-michael.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 06/25/10 at 7:42 am
The person who died on this day...Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American recording artist, entertainer, and philanthropist. Referred to as the King of Pop, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records. His contribution to music, dance and fashion, along with a much-publicized personal life, made him a global figure in popular culture for over four decades. The eighth child of the Jackson family, he debuted on the professional music scene alongside his brothers as a member of The Jackson 5 in the mid-1960s, and began his solo career in 1971.
In the early 1980s, Jackson became a dominant figure in popular music and the first African-American entertainer to amass a strong crossover following on MTV. The music videos for his songs, such as "Beat It", "Billie Jean" and "Thriller", were credited with transforming the medium into an art form and a promotional tool, and the popularity of these videos helped to bring the relatively new television channel to fame. Videos such as "Black or White" and "Scream" made him a staple on MTV in the 1990s. Through stage performances and music videos, Jackson popularized a number of dance techniques, such as the robot and the moonwalk. His distinctive musical sound and vocal style have influenced numerous hip hop, pop, contemporary R&B and rock artists.
Jackson's album Thriller is the best-selling album of all time. His other records, including Off the Wall (1979), Bad (1987), Dangerous (1991) and HIStory (1995), also rank among the world's best-selling. Jackson is one of the few artists to have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice. His other achievements include multiple Guinness World Records; 13 Grammy Awards (as well as the Grammy Legend Award and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award); 26 American Music Awards (more than any other artist, including the "Artist of the Century"); 13 number-one singles in the United States in his solo career (more than any other male artist in the Hot 100 era); and the estimated sale of over 800 million records worldwide. Jackson won hundreds of awards, which have made him the most-awarded recording artist in the history of music. He was also a notable humanitarian and philanthropist, donating and raising hundreds of millions of dollars for beneficial causes and supporting more than 39 charities.
Aspects of Jackson's personal life, including his changing appearance, personal relationships and behavior, generated controversy. In 1993, he was accused of child sexual abuse, but the case was settled and no formal charges were brought. In 2005, he was tried and acquitted of further sexual abuse allegations and several other charges after the jury ruled him not guilty on all counts. Amidst the preparations for the concert series This Is It, Jackson died on June 25, 2009, after suffering from cardiac arrest. Before his death, Jackson had reportedly been administered drugs such as propofol and lorazepam. The Los Angeles County Coroner declared his death a homicide, and his personal physician pleaded not guilty to charges of involuntary manslaughter. Jackson's death triggered a global outpouring of grief, and as many as a billion people around the world may have watched his public memorial service on live television. In March 2010, Sony Music Entertainment signed a US$250 million deal with Jackson's estate to retain distribution rights to his recordings until 2017, and to release seven posthumous albums over the decade following his death.
Michael Jackson was born on August 29, 1958, the eighth of ten children to an African American working-class family, in Gary, Indiana, an industrial suburb of Chicago. His mother, Katherine Esther Scruse, was a devout Jehovah's Witness, and his father, Joseph Walter "Joe" Jackson, a steel mill worker who performed with an R&B band called The Falcons. Jackson had three sisters: Rebbie, La Toya, and Janet, and five brothers: Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon, and Randy. A sixth brother, Brandon, died shortly after birth.
Jackson had a troubled relationship with his father, Joe. Joseph acknowledged in 2003 that he regularly whipped Jackson as a child. Michael stated that he was physically and emotionally abused during incessant rehearsals, though also credited his father's strict discipline with playing a large role in his success. Jackson first spoke openly about his childhood abuse in an interview with Oprah Winfrey, broadcast in February 1993. He admitted that he had often cried from loneliness and he would vomit on the sight of his father. Jackson's father was also said to have verbally abused Jackson, saying that he had a fat nose on numerous occasions. In fact, Michael Jackson's deep dissatisfaction with his appearance, his nightmares and chronic sleep problems, his tendency to remain hyper-compliant especially with his father, and to remain child-like throughout his adult life are in many ways consistent with the effects of this chronic maltreatment he endured as a young child.
In an interview with Martin Bashir, later included in the 2003 broadcast of Living with Michael Jackson, Jackson acknowledged that his father hurt him when he was a child, but was nonetheless a "genius", as he admitted his father's strict discipline played a huge role in his success. When Bashir dismissed the positive remark and continued asking about beatings, Jackson put his hand over his face and objected to the questions. He recalled that Joseph sat in a chair with a belt in his hand as he and his siblings rehearsed, and that "if you didn't do it the right way, he would tear you up, really get you".
In 1964, Michael and Marlon joined the Jackson Brothers—a band formed by brothers Jackie, Tito, and Jermaine—as backup musicians playing congas and tambourine. Jackson later began performing backup vocals and dancing. When he was eight, Jackson began sharing the lead vocals with his older brother Jermaine, and the group's name was changed to The Jackson 5. The band toured the Midwest extensively from 1966 to 1968, frequently performing at a string of black clubs known as the "chitlin' circuit", where they often opened stripteases and other adult acts. In 1966, they won a major local talent show with renditions of Motown hits and James Brown's "I Got You (I Feel Good)", led by Michael.
The Jackson 5 recorded several songs, including "Big Boy", for the local record label Steeltown in 1967, before signing with Motown Records in 1968. Rolling Stone magazine later described the young Michael as "a prodigy" with "overwhelming musical gifts," writing that he "quickly emerged as the main draw and lead singer." The group set a chart record when its first four singles ("I Want You Back", "ABC", "The Love You Save", and "I'll Be There") peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100. Between 1972 and 1975, Jackson released four solo studio albums with Motown, among them Got to Be There and Ben, released as part of the Jackson 5 franchise, and producing successful singles such as "Got to Be There", "Ben", and a remake of Bobby Day's "Rockin' Robin". The group's sales began declining in 1973, and the band members chafed under Motown's strict refusal to allow them creative control or input. Although they scored several top 40 hits, including the top 5 disco single "Dancing Machine" and the top 20 hit "I Am Love", the Jackson 5 left Motown in 1975.
Move to Epic and Off the Wall (1975–1981)
In June 1975, the Jackson 5 signed with Epic Records, a subsidiary of CBS Records and renamed themselves the Jacksons. Younger brother Randy formally joined the band around this time, while Jermaine left to pursue a solo career. They continued to tour internationally, releasing six more albums between 1976 and 1984, during which Jackson was the lead songwriter, writing hits such as "Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)", "This Place Hotel," and "Can You Feel It". In 1978, he starred as the scarecrow in the musical, The Wiz, a box-office disaster. It was here that he teamed up with Quincy Jones, who was arranging the film's musical score. Jones agreed to produce Jackson's next solo album, Off the Wall. In 1979, Jackson broke his nose during a complex dance routine. His subsequent rhinoplasty was not a complete success; he complained of breathing difficulties that would affect his career. He was referred to Dr. Steven Hoefflin, who performed Jackson's second rhinoplasty and subsequent operations.
Jones and Jackson produced the Off the Wall album together. Songwriters for the album included Jackson, Rod Temperton, Stevie Wonder, and Paul McCartney. Released in 1979, it was the first album to generate four U.S. top 10 hits, including the chart-topping singles "Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough" and "Rock with You". It reached number three on the Billboard 200 and eventually sold over 20 million copies worldwide. In 1980, Jackson won three awards at the American Music Awards for his solo efforts: Favorite Soul/R&B Album, Favorite Soul/R&B Male Artist, and Favorite Soul/R&B Single for "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough". That year, he also won Billboard Music Awards for Top Black Artist and Top Black Album and a Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance, also for "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough". Jackson again won at the American Music Awards in 1981 for Favorite Soul/R&B Album and Favorite Soul/R&B Male Artist. Despite its commercial success, Jackson felt Off the Wall should have made a much bigger impact, and was determined to exceed expectations with his next release. In 1980, he secured the highest royalty rate in the music industry: 37 percent of wholesale album profit.
Thriller and Motown 25 (1982–83)
In 1982, Jackson contributed the song "Someone In the Dark" to the storybook for the film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial; the record won a Grammy for Best Recording for Children in 1984. In the same year he won another seven Grammys and eight American Music Awards (including the Award of Merit, the youngest artist to win it), making him the most awarded in one night for both award shows. These awards were thanks to the Thriller album, released in late 1982, which became the best-selling album of all time in the United States, as well as the best-selling album of all time worldwide, selling an estimated 110 million copies. The album topped the Billboard 200 chart for 37 weeks and was in the top 10 of the 200 for 80 consecutive weeks. It was the first album to have seven Billboard Hot 100 top 10 singles, including "Billie Jean", "Beat It," and "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'." Thriller was certified for 29 million shipments by the RIAA, giving it Double Diamond status in the United States. The album won also another Grammy for Best Engineered Recording – Non Classical in 1984, awarding Bruce Swedien for his work. Jackson's attorney John Branca noted that Jackson had the highest royalty rate in the music industry at that point: approximately $2 for every album sold. He was also making record-breaking profits from sales of his recordings. The videocassette of the documentary The Making of Michael Jackson's Thriller sold over 350,000 copies in a few months. The era saw the arrival of novelties like dolls modeled after Michael Jackson, which appeared in stores in May 1984 at a price of $12. Biographer J. Randy Taraborrelli writes that, "Thriller stopped selling like a leisure item—like a magazine, a toy, tickets to a hit movie—and started selling like a household staple." In 1985, The Making of Michael Jackson's Thriller won a Grammy for Best Music Video, Longform. In December 2009, the music video for "Thriller" was selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress, "Thriller" is the first music video ever to be inducted.
MichaelJacksonMoonwalk.ogg
Play video
Jackson debuts the moonwalk during his performance of Billie Jean on Motown 25
Time described Jackson's influence at that point as "Star of records, radio, rock video. A one-man rescue team for the music business. A songwriter who sets the beat for a decade. A dancer with the fanciest feet on the street. A singer who cuts across all boundaries of taste and style and color too". The New York Times wrote that, "in the world of pop music, there is Michael Jackson and there is everybody else".
In March 1983, Jackson reunited with his brothers for a legendary live performance which was taped for a Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever television special. The show aired on May 16, 1983, to an audience of 47 million viewers, and featured the Jacksons and a number of other Motown stars. It is best remembered for Jackson's solo performance of "Billie Jean". Wearing a distinctive black sequin jacket and golf glove decorated with rhinestones, he debuted his signature dance move, the moonwalk, which former Soul Train dancer and Shalamar member, Jeffrey Daniel had taught him three years before. The Jacksons' performance drew comparisons to Elvis Presley's and The Beatles' appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show. Anna Kisselgoff of The New York Times later wrote, "The moonwalk that he made famous is an apt metaphor for his dance style. How does he do it? As a technician, he is a great illusionist, a genuine mime. His ability to keep one leg straight as he glides while the other bends and seems to walk requires perfect timing."
Jackson throughout his career transformed the art of the music video and paved the way for modern pop music. Daily Telegraph writer Tom Utley described Jackson in 2003 as "extremely important" and a "genius." For much of his career, he had an "unparalleled" level of worldwide influence over the younger generation through his musical and humanitarian contributions. Jackson's music and videos, such as Thriller, fostered racial diversity in MTV's roster, helped to put the relatively new channel into public awareness, and steered the channel's focus from rock to pop music and R&B, shaping the channel into a form that proved enduring. Jackson's work continues to influence numerous hip hop, rock, pop and R&B artists, including Beyoncé, Mariah Carey, Usher, Green Day, Britney Spears, Madonna, Justin Timberlake, Ludacris.
Allmusic's Steve Huey describes Jackson as "an unstoppable juggernaut, possessed of all the skills to dominate the charts seemingly at will: an instantly identifiable voice, eye-popping dance moves, stunning musical versatility and loads of sheer star power". In the mid-1980s, Time magazine's pop music critic, Jay Cocks, noted "Jackson is the biggest thing since The Beatles. He is the hottest single phenomenon since Elvis Presley. He just may be the most popular black singer ever". In 1990, Vanity Fair cited Jackson as the most popular artist in the history of show business. In 2007, Jackson said, "Music has been my outlet, my gift to all of the lovers in this world. Through it, my music, I know I will live forever."
Shortly after Jackson's death, on June 25, 2009, MTV briefly returned to its original music video format to celebrate and pay tribute to his work. The channel aired many hours of Jackson's music videos, accompanied by live news specials featuring reactions from MTV personalities and other celebrities. The temporary shift in MTV's programming culminated the following week in the channel's live coverage of Jackson's memorial service. At the memorial service on July 7, 2009, founder of Motown Records Berry Gordy proclaimed Jackson as "the greatest entertainer that ever lived."
In 2010, two university librarians found that Jackson's influence extended into academia, and was detectable in scholarly literature pertaining to a range of subject matter. The two researchers combed through various scholars' writings, and compiled an annotated bibliography of those writings that appeared to meet at least one of several criteria. Among these criteria were appearance in a peer-reviewed journal, and the provision of insight into the nature of "popular icons including Jackson". The bibliography located references to Jackson in research reports concerning music, popular culture, and an array of other topics. The bibliographers identified as their most peculiar finding an argument that certain aspects of chemistry can be effectively taught by altering and imitating elements of Jackson's singing. One of the research librarians later reflected that "the fact that someone would take a Michael Jackson song and co-opt it as a means to convey chemistry concepts just shows the pervasiveness of Jackson's influence".
Honors and awards
See also: List of awards received by Michael Jackson
Multiple people standing in line before a wall plastered with Michael Jackson posters. There are three women with short blonde hair, a man with curly brown hair and a man wearing a navy cap.
Queues for a Michael Jackson concert in West Berlin in June 1988
Michael Jackson was inducted onto the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1984. Throughout his career he received numerous honors and awards, including the World Music Awards' Best-Selling Pop Male Artist of the Millennium, the American Music Award's Artist of the Century Award and the Bambi Pop Artist of the Millennium Award. He was a double-inductee of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, once as a member of The Jackson 5 in 1997 and later as a solo artist in 2001. Jackson was also an inductee of the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2002. His awards include many Guinness World Records (eight in 2006 alone), 13 Grammy Awards (as well as the Grammy Legend Award and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award), 26 American Music Awards (24 only as a solo artist, including the "Artist of the Century", but not the poll of "Artist of the '80s")—more than any artist—, 13 number one singles in the US in his solo career—more than any other male artist in the Hot 100 era—and estimated sales of up to 750 million records worldwide, making him the world's best selling male solo pop artist. On December 29, 2009, the American Film Institute recognized Jackson's passing as a "moment of significance" saying, "Michael Jackson's sudden death in June at age 50 was notable for the worldwide outpouring of grief and the unprecedented global eulogy of his posthumous concert rehearsal movie This is It." Jackson will be inducted into the Dance Hall of Fame in 2010.
Lifetime earnings
His total lifetime earnings from royalties on his solo recordings and music videos, revenue from concerts and endorsements have been estimated at $500 million; some analysts have speculated that his music catalog holdings could be worth billions of dollars. This speculation however is contradicted by financial documents obtained by the Associated Press, which showed that as of March 31, 2007, Jackson's 50 percent stake in the Sony/ATV Music Publishing catalog (his most prized asset) was worth $390.6 million and Michael Jackson's net worth was $236 million. Billboard has estimated that Jackson has generated at least $1 billion in revenue in the year following his death.
Discography
Main articles: Michael Jackson albums discography, Michael Jackson singles discography, and Michael Jackson videography
See also: Jackson 5 discography
* Got to Be There (1972)
* Ben (1972)
* Music & Me (1973)
* Forever, Michael (1975)
* Off the Wall (1979)
* Thriller (1982)
* Bad (1987)
* Dangerous (1991)
* HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I (1995)
* Invincible (2001)
Filmography
Main article: Michael Jackson videography
Year↓ Film↓ Role↓ Director↓ Ref
1978 The Wiz Scarecrow Lumet, SidneySidney Lumet
1986 Captain EO Captain EO Coppola, Francis FordFrancis Ford Coppola
1988 Moonwalker Himself Kramer, JerryJerry Kramer
1997 Ghosts Maestro/Mayor/Ghoul/Skeleton Winston, StanStan Winston
2002 Men in Black II Agent M (cameo) Sonnenfeld, BarryBarry Sonnenfeld
2004 Miss Cast Away and the Island Girls Agent MJ (cameo) Stoller, Bryan MichaelBryan Michael Stoller
2009 Michael Jackson's This Is It Himself Kenny Ortega
Tours
Main article: List of Michael Jackson tours
* Bad World Tour (1987–89)
* Dangerous World Tour (1992–93)
* HIStory World Tour (1996–97)
See also
Michael Jackson portal
The Jackson Family portal
* List of awards received by Michael Jackson
* List of best-selling music artists
* List of best-selling music artists in the United States
* List of unreleased Michael Jackson material
* List of honorific titles in popular music
* Records and achievements of Michael Jackson
http://i357.photobucket.com/albums/oo14/jaywonder/mjthraltxu1.jpg
http://i0006.photobucket.com/albums/0006/findstuff22/Best%20Images/Music/mj1.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: CatwomanofV on 06/25/10 at 11:07 am
I'm with ya on that.
Rumours is also still one of my favorite albums ever.
Wasn't that the song " Tusk"? (I'm not 100% certain)
Another one of my fav Fleetwood Mac songs:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1iuSmZHcwY
Cat
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Frank on 06/25/10 at 11:27 am
Careless Whisper. One of the prettiest songs from the 1980s.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: CatwomanofV on 06/25/10 at 11:34 am
Careless Whisper. One of the prettiest songs from the 1980s.
I like that one.
Cat
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Frank on 06/25/10 at 11:37 am
I like that one.
Cat
I once wrote a parody on that one, with the title "Hairless sister". Wish I had kept it...
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: CatwomanofV on 06/25/10 at 11:41 am
I once wrote a parody on that one, with the title "Hairless sister". Wish I had kept it...
Was it about Dee Snider going bald? ;) :D ;D ;D
Cat
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Frank on 06/25/10 at 11:53 am
Was it about Dee Snider going bald? ;) :D ;D ;D
Cat
;D
No, it was about a girl who had too much electrolysis.
"I'll never use a brush again, all my hair is disappearing"..chorus was something like that
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 06/25/10 at 12:49 pm
The person who died on this day...Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American recording artist, entertainer, and philanthropist. Referred to as the King of Pop, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records. His contribution to music, dance and fashion, along with a much-publicized personal life, made him a global figure in popular culture for over four decades. The eighth child of the Jackson family, he debuted on the professional music scene alongside his brothers as a member of The Jackson 5 in the mid-1960s, and began his solo career in 1971.
In the early 1980s, Jackson became a dominant figure in popular music and the first African-American entertainer to amass a strong crossover following on MTV. The music videos for his songs, such as "Beat It", "Billie Jean" and "Thriller", were credited with transforming the medium into an art form and a promotional tool, and the popularity of these videos helped to bring the relatively new television channel to fame. Videos such as "Black or White" and "Scream" made him a staple on MTV in the 1990s. Through stage performances and music videos, Jackson popularized a number of dance techniques, such as the robot and the moonwalk. His distinctive musical sound and vocal style have influenced numerous hip hop, pop, contemporary R&B and rock artists.
Jackson's album Thriller is the best-selling album of all time. His other records, including Off the Wall (1979), Bad (1987), Dangerous (1991) and HIStory (1995), also rank among the world's best-selling. Jackson is one of the few artists to have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice. His other achievements include multiple Guinness World Records; 13 Grammy Awards (as well as the Grammy Legend Award and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award); 26 American Music Awards (more than any other artist, including the "Artist of the Century"); 13 number-one singles in the United States in his solo career (more than any other male artist in the Hot 100 era); and the estimated sale of over 800 million records worldwide. Jackson won hundreds of awards, which have made him the most-awarded recording artist in the history of music. He was also a notable humanitarian and philanthropist, donating and raising hundreds of millions of dollars for beneficial causes and supporting more than 39 charities.
Aspects of Jackson's personal life, including his changing appearance, personal relationships and behavior, generated controversy. In 1993, he was accused of child sexual abuse, but the case was settled and no formal charges were brought. In 2005, he was tried and acquitted of further sexual abuse allegations and several other charges after the jury ruled him not guilty on all counts. Amidst the preparations for the concert series This Is It, Jackson died on June 25, 2009, after suffering from cardiac arrest. Before his death, Jackson had reportedly been administered drugs such as propofol and lorazepam. The Los Angeles County Coroner declared his death a homicide, and his personal physician pleaded not guilty to charges of involuntary manslaughter. Jackson's death triggered a global outpouring of grief, and as many as a billion people around the world may have watched his public memorial service on live television. In March 2010, Sony Music Entertainment signed a US$250 million deal with Jackson's estate to retain distribution rights to his recordings until 2017, and to release seven posthumous albums over the decade following his death.
Michael Jackson was born on August 29, 1958, the eighth of ten children to an African American working-class family, in Gary, Indiana, an industrial suburb of Chicago. His mother, Katherine Esther Scruse, was a devout Jehovah's Witness, and his father, Joseph Walter "Joe" Jackson, a steel mill worker who performed with an R&B band called The Falcons. Jackson had three sisters: Rebbie, La Toya, and Janet, and five brothers: Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon, and Randy. A sixth brother, Brandon, died shortly after birth.
Jackson had a troubled relationship with his father, Joe. Joseph acknowledged in 2003 that he regularly whipped Jackson as a child. Michael stated that he was physically and emotionally abused during incessant rehearsals, though also credited his father's strict discipline with playing a large role in his success. Jackson first spoke openly about his childhood abuse in an interview with Oprah Winfrey, broadcast in February 1993. He admitted that he had often cried from loneliness and he would vomit on the sight of his father. Jackson's father was also said to have verbally abused Jackson, saying that he had a fat nose on numerous occasions. In fact, Michael Jackson's deep dissatisfaction with his appearance, his nightmares and chronic sleep problems, his tendency to remain hyper-compliant especially with his father, and to remain child-like throughout his adult life are in many ways consistent with the effects of this chronic maltreatment he endured as a young child.
In an interview with Martin Bashir, later included in the 2003 broadcast of Living with Michael Jackson, Jackson acknowledged that his father hurt him when he was a child, but was nonetheless a "genius", as he admitted his father's strict discipline played a huge role in his success. When Bashir dismissed the positive remark and continued asking about beatings, Jackson put his hand over his face and objected to the questions. He recalled that Joseph sat in a chair with a belt in his hand as he and his siblings rehearsed, and that "if you didn't do it the right way, he would tear you up, really get you".
In 1964, Michael and Marlon joined the Jackson Brothers—a band formed by brothers Jackie, Tito, and Jermaine—as backup musicians playing congas and tambourine. Jackson later began performing backup vocals and dancing. When he was eight, Jackson began sharing the lead vocals with his older brother Jermaine, and the group's name was changed to The Jackson 5. The band toured the Midwest extensively from 1966 to 1968, frequently performing at a string of black clubs known as the "chitlin' circuit", where they often opened stripteases and other adult acts. In 1966, they won a major local talent show with renditions of Motown hits and James Brown's "I Got You (I Feel Good)", led by Michael.
The Jackson 5 recorded several songs, including "Big Boy", for the local record label Steeltown in 1967, before signing with Motown Records in 1968. Rolling Stone magazine later described the young Michael as "a prodigy" with "overwhelming musical gifts," writing that he "quickly emerged as the main draw and lead singer." The group set a chart record when its first four singles ("I Want You Back", "ABC", "The Love You Save", and "I'll Be There") peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100. Between 1972 and 1975, Jackson released four solo studio albums with Motown, among them Got to Be There and Ben, released as part of the Jackson 5 franchise, and producing successful singles such as "Got to Be There", "Ben", and a remake of Bobby Day's "Rockin' Robin". The group's sales began declining in 1973, and the band members chafed under Motown's strict refusal to allow them creative control or input. Although they scored several top 40 hits, including the top 5 disco single "Dancing Machine" and the top 20 hit "I Am Love", the Jackson 5 left Motown in 1975.
Move to Epic and Off the Wall (1975–1981)
In June 1975, the Jackson 5 signed with Epic Records, a subsidiary of CBS Records and renamed themselves the Jacksons. Younger brother Randy formally joined the band around this time, while Jermaine left to pursue a solo career. They continued to tour internationally, releasing six more albums between 1976 and 1984, during which Jackson was the lead songwriter, writing hits such as "Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)", "This Place Hotel," and "Can You Feel It". In 1978, he starred as the scarecrow in the musical, The Wiz, a box-office disaster. It was here that he teamed up with Quincy Jones, who was arranging the film's musical score. Jones agreed to produce Jackson's next solo album, Off the Wall. In 1979, Jackson broke his nose during a complex dance routine. His subsequent rhinoplasty was not a complete success; he complained of breathing difficulties that would affect his career. He was referred to Dr. Steven Hoefflin, who performed Jackson's second rhinoplasty and subsequent operations.
Jones and Jackson produced the Off the Wall album together. Songwriters for the album included Jackson, Rod Temperton, Stevie Wonder, and Paul McCartney. Released in 1979, it was the first album to generate four U.S. top 10 hits, including the chart-topping singles "Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough" and "Rock with You". It reached number three on the Billboard 200 and eventually sold over 20 million copies worldwide. In 1980, Jackson won three awards at the American Music Awards for his solo efforts: Favorite Soul/R&B Album, Favorite Soul/R&B Male Artist, and Favorite Soul/R&B Single for "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough". That year, he also won Billboard Music Awards for Top Black Artist and Top Black Album and a Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance, also for "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough". Jackson again won at the American Music Awards in 1981 for Favorite Soul/R&B Album and Favorite Soul/R&B Male Artist. Despite its commercial success, Jackson felt Off the Wall should have made a much bigger impact, and was determined to exceed expectations with his next release. In 1980, he secured the highest royalty rate in the music industry: 37 percent of wholesale album profit.
Thriller and Motown 25 (1982–83)
In 1982, Jackson contributed the song "Someone In the Dark" to the storybook for the film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial; the record won a Grammy for Best Recording for Children in 1984. In the same year he won another seven Grammys and eight American Music Awards (including the Award of Merit, the youngest artist to win it), making him the most awarded in one night for both award shows. These awards were thanks to the Thriller album, released in late 1982, which became the best-selling album of all time in the United States, as well as the best-selling album of all time worldwide, selling an estimated 110 million copies. The album topped the Billboard 200 chart for 37 weeks and was in the top 10 of the 200 for 80 consecutive weeks. It was the first album to have seven Billboard Hot 100 top 10 singles, including "Billie Jean", "Beat It," and "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'." Thriller was certified for 29 million shipments by the RIAA, giving it Double Diamond status in the United States. The album won also another Grammy for Best Engineered Recording – Non Classical in 1984, awarding Bruce Swedien for his work. Jackson's attorney John Branca noted that Jackson had the highest royalty rate in the music industry at that point: approximately $2 for every album sold. He was also making record-breaking profits from sales of his recordings. The videocassette of the documentary The Making of Michael Jackson's Thriller sold over 350,000 copies in a few months. The era saw the arrival of novelties like dolls modeled after Michael Jackson, which appeared in stores in May 1984 at a price of $12. Biographer J. Randy Taraborrelli writes that, "Thriller stopped selling like a leisure item—like a magazine, a toy, tickets to a hit movie—and started selling like a household staple." In 1985, The Making of Michael Jackson's Thriller won a Grammy for Best Music Video, Longform. In December 2009, the music video for "Thriller" was selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress, "Thriller" is the first music video ever to be inducted.
MichaelJacksonMoonwalk.ogg
Play video
Jackson debuts the moonwalk during his performance of Billie Jean on Motown 25
Time described Jackson's influence at that point as "Star of records, radio, rock video. A one-man rescue team for the music business. A songwriter who sets the beat for a decade. A dancer with the fanciest feet on the street. A singer who cuts across all boundaries of taste and style and color too". The New York Times wrote that, "in the world of pop music, there is Michael Jackson and there is everybody else".
In March 1983, Jackson reunited with his brothers for a legendary live performance which was taped for a Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever television special. The show aired on May 16, 1983, to an audience of 47 million viewers, and featured the Jacksons and a number of other Motown stars. It is best remembered for Jackson's solo performance of "Billie Jean". Wearing a distinctive black sequin jacket and golf glove decorated with rhinestones, he debuted his signature dance move, the moonwalk, which former Soul Train dancer and Shalamar member, Jeffrey Daniel had taught him three years before. The Jacksons' performance drew comparisons to Elvis Presley's and The Beatles' appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show. Anna Kisselgoff of The New York Times later wrote, "The moonwalk that he made famous is an apt metaphor for his dance style. How does he do it? As a technician, he is a great illusionist, a genuine mime. His ability to keep one leg straight as he glides while the other bends and seems to walk requires perfect timing."
Jackson throughout his career transformed the art of the music video and paved the way for modern pop music. Daily Telegraph writer Tom Utley described Jackson in 2003 as "extremely important" and a "genius." For much of his career, he had an "unparalleled" level of worldwide influence over the younger generation through his musical and humanitarian contributions. Jackson's music and videos, such as Thriller, fostered racial diversity in MTV's roster, helped to put the relatively new channel into public awareness, and steered the channel's focus from rock to pop music and R&B, shaping the channel into a form that proved enduring. Jackson's work continues to influence numerous hip hop, rock, pop and R&B artists, including Beyoncé, Mariah Carey, Usher, Green Day, Britney Spears, Madonna, Justin Timberlake, Ludacris.
Allmusic's Steve Huey describes Jackson as "an unstoppable juggernaut, possessed of all the skills to dominate the charts seemingly at will: an instantly identifiable voice, eye-popping dance moves, stunning musical versatility and loads of sheer star power". In the mid-1980s, Time magazine's pop music critic, Jay Cocks, noted "Jackson is the biggest thing since The Beatles. He is the hottest single phenomenon since Elvis Presley. He just may be the most popular black singer ever". In 1990, Vanity Fair cited Jackson as the most popular artist in the history of show business. In 2007, Jackson said, "Music has been my outlet, my gift to all of the lovers in this world. Through it, my music, I know I will live forever."
Shortly after Jackson's death, on June 25, 2009, MTV briefly returned to its original music video format to celebrate and pay tribute to his work. The channel aired many hours of Jackson's music videos, accompanied by live news specials featuring reactions from MTV personalities and other celebrities. The temporary shift in MTV's programming culminated the following week in the channel's live coverage of Jackson's memorial service. At the memorial service on July 7, 2009, founder of Motown Records Berry Gordy proclaimed Jackson as "the greatest entertainer that ever lived."
In 2010, two university librarians found that Jackson's influence extended into academia, and was detectable in scholarly literature pertaining to a range of subject matter. The two researchers combed through various scholars' writings, and compiled an annotated bibliography of those writings that appeared to meet at least one of several criteria. Among these criteria were appearance in a peer-reviewed journal, and the provision of insight into the nature of "popular icons including Jackson". The bibliography located references to Jackson in research reports concerning music, popular culture, and an array of other topics. The bibliographers identified as their most peculiar finding an argument that certain aspects of chemistry can be effectively taught by altering and imitating elements of Jackson's singing. One of the research librarians later reflected that "the fact that someone would take a Michael Jackson song and co-opt it as a means to convey chemistry concepts just shows the pervasiveness of Jackson's influence".
Honors and awards
See also: List of awards received by Michael Jackson
Multiple people standing in line before a wall plastered with Michael Jackson posters. There are three women with short blonde hair, a man with curly brown hair and a man wearing a navy cap.
Queues for a Michael Jackson concert in West Berlin in June 1988
Michael Jackson was inducted onto the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1984. Throughout his career he received numerous honors and awards, including the World Music Awards' Best-Selling Pop Male Artist of the Millennium, the American Music Award's Artist of the Century Award and the Bambi Pop Artist of the Millennium Award. He was a double-inductee of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, once as a member of The Jackson 5 in 1997 and later as a solo artist in 2001. Jackson was also an inductee of the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2002. His awards include many Guinness World Records (eight in 2006 alone), 13 Grammy Awards (as well as the Grammy Legend Award and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award), 26 American Music Awards (24 only as a solo artist, including the "Artist of the Century", but not the poll of "Artist of the '80s")—more than any artist—, 13 number one singles in the US in his solo career—more than any other male artist in the Hot 100 era—and estimated sales of up to 750 million records worldwide, making him the world's best selling male solo pop artist. On December 29, 2009, the American Film Institute recognized Jackson's passing as a "moment of significance" saying, "Michael Jackson's sudden death in June at age 50 was notable for the worldwide outpouring of grief and the unprecedented global eulogy of his posthumous concert rehearsal movie This is It." Jackson will be inducted into the Dance Hall of Fame in 2010.
Lifetime earnings
His total lifetime earnings from royalties on his solo recordings and music videos, revenue from concerts and endorsements have been estimated at $500 million; some analysts have speculated that his music catalog holdings could be worth billions of dollars. This speculation however is contradicted by financial documents obtained by the Associated Press, which showed that as of March 31, 2007, Jackson's 50 percent stake in the Sony/ATV Music Publishing catalog (his most prized asset) was worth $390.6 million and Michael Jackson's net worth was $236 million. Billboard has estimated that Jackson has generated at least $1 billion in revenue in the year following his death.
Discography
Main articles: Michael Jackson albums discography, Michael Jackson singles discography, and Michael Jackson videography
See also: Jackson 5 discography
* Got to Be There (1972)
* Ben (1972)
* Music & Me (1973)
* Forever, Michael (1975)
* Off the Wall (1979)
* Thriller (1982)
* Bad (1987)
* Dangerous (1991)
* HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I (1995)
* Invincible (2001)
Filmography
Main article: Michael Jackson videography
Year↓ Film↓ Role↓ Director↓ Ref
1978 The Wiz Scarecrow Lumet, SidneySidney Lumet
1986 Captain EO Captain EO Coppola, Francis FordFrancis Ford Coppola
1988 Moonwalker Himself Kramer, JerryJerry Kramer
1997 Ghosts Maestro/Mayor/Ghoul/Skeleton Winston, StanStan Winston
2002 Men in Black II Agent M (cameo) Sonnenfeld, BarryBarry Sonnenfeld
2004 Miss Cast Away and the Island Girls Agent MJ (cameo) Stoller, Bryan MichaelBryan Michael Stoller
2009 Michael Jackson's This Is It Himself Kenny Ortega
Tours
Main article: List of Michael Jackson tours
* Bad World Tour (1987–89)
* Dangerous World Tour (1992–93)
* HIStory World Tour (1996–97)
See also
Michael Jackson portal
The Jackson Family portal
* List of awards received by Michael Jackson
* List of best-selling music artists
* List of best-selling music artists in the United States
* List of unreleased Michael Jackson material
* List of honorific titles in popular music
* Records and achievements of Michael Jackson
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http://i0006.photobucket.com/albums/0006/findstuff22/Best%20Images/Music/mj1.jpg
Please not forget that Farrah Fawcett died one year ago today.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 06/25/10 at 1:14 pm
British Person of the Day: Peter Blake
Sir Peter Thomas Blake, CBE, RDI, (born 25 June 1932, in Dartford, Kent) is an English pop artist, best known for his design of the sleeve for the Beatles' album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. He lives in Chiswick, London, UK.
Career
During the late 1950s, Blake became one of the best known British pop artists. His paintings from this time included imagery from advertisements, music hall entertainment, and wrestlers, often including collaged elements. Blake was included in group exhibitions at the Institute of Contemporary Arts and had his first solo exhibition in 1960. It was with the 'Young Contemporaries' exhibition of 1961 where he was exhibited alongside David Hockney and R.B. Kitaj that he was first identified with the emerging British Pop Art movement. Blake won the (1961) John Moores junior award for his work Self Portrait with Badges. He first came to wider public attention when, along with Pauline Boty, Derek Boshier and Peter Phillips, he was featured in Ken Russell's film on pop art, Pop Goes the Easel, which was broadcast on BBC television in 1962. From 1963 Blake was represented by Robert Fraser which placed him at the centre of swinging London and brought him into contact with leading figures of popular culture.
Work
On the Balcony (1955-57) is a significant early work and still stands as one of the iconic pieces of British Pop Art, showing Blake's interest in combining images from pop culture with fine art. The work, which appear to be a collage but is in fact wholly painted, shows, among other things, a boy holding Edouard Manet's The Balcony, badges and magazines. It was inspired by a painting by Honoré Sharrer depicting workers holding famous paintings. Blake confronts the viewer with a picture plane that is deceptively flat, effectively blocking the viewer from venturing deeper into the picture plane. This spatial property however is a flatness that resounds starkly; a flat surface that at once becomes a presentation of characters and images as well as a culturally implicit sense of external facade. One of the most striking initial aspects of this piece is that it seems to radiate an illusionist child-like charm which the viewer can easily identify with making it from first glance an oddly powerful work. His self-identification with the axioms of popular culture in effect show an awareness of the mechanisms of a society being faced with celebrity idolatry and cultural goods. Such banal goods and images were not frequently seen in artwork and created a new space for discourse within a painting. Blake’s characters are strangely static and scarcely seem to notice the accumulation around them – even when images are tacked right on top of them. This was not merely whimsical thinking or dreams of consumer grandeur, and albeit not a simple display of products; it was life as Blake experienced it, as true and telling an account of the surroundings of the time as could be made.
Blake also often directly referred to the work of other artists. On the Balcony (1955-57) has Edouard Manet's The Balcony being held by a boy on the left of the composition, and The First Real Target (1961) is a standard archery target with the title written across the top as a play on the paintings of targets by Kenneth Noland and Jasper Johns.
Blake also painted several notable album sleeves. He designed the sleeve for Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band with his then-wife Jann Haworth, the American-born artist whom he married in 1963 and divorced in 1979. The Sgt. Pepper's sleeve has become an iconic work of pop art, much imitated and Blake's best known work. The means of production was the construction of a set with cut-out photographs and objects, such as flowers, centred around a drum (sold in auction in 2008) with the title of the album. Blake has subsequently complained about the one-off fee he received for the design (£200), with no subsequent royalties. Blake also made sleeves for the Band Aid single, "Do They Know It's Christmas?" (1984), Paul Weller's Stanley Road (1995) and the Ian Dury tribute album Brand New Boots and Panties (2001; Blake had been Dury's tutor at the Royal College of Art in the mid-60s). He also designed the sleeves for Pentangle's Sweet Child and The Who's Face Dances (1981), which features portraits of the band by a number of artists.
In 1969 Blake left London to live near Bath. Blake's work changed direction featuring scenes based on English Folklore and characters from Shakespeare. In the early 1970s, he made a set of watercolours to illustrate Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking-Glass and in 1975 was a founder of the Brotherhood of Ruralists. Blake moved back to London in 1979 and his work returned to the earlier popular culture references.
Blake was made a Royal Academician in 1981, and a CBE in 1983. "A major retrospective of Blake's work was held in the Tate in 1983...(and) in 2002 Blake was awarded a knighthood for his services to art." In February 2005, the Sir Peter Blake Music Art Gallery, located in the School of Music, University of Leeds, was opened by the artist. The permanent exhibition features 17 examples of Blake's album sleeve art, including the only public showing of a signed print of his famed Sgt. Pepper's artwork. In June 2006, as The Who returned to play Leeds University 36 years after recording their seminal Live at Leeds album there in 1970, Blake unveiled a new Live at Leeds 2 artwork to commemorate the event. Both the artist and The Who's Pete Townshend signed an edition which will join the gallery's collection.
More recently, Blake has created Artist's editions for the opening of the Pallant House Gallery which houses collections that include some of his most famous paintings. These works are homages to his earlier work on the Stanley Road album cover and Babe Rainbow prints. He also designed a series of deck chairs.
In 2006, Blake designed the cover for Oasis greatest hits album Stop the Clocks. According to Blake, he chose all of the objects in the picture at random, but the sleeves of Sgt. Pepper's and Definitely Maybe were in the back of his mind. He claims, "It's using the mystery of Definitely Maybe and running away with it." Familiar cultural icons which can be seen on the cover include Dorothy from Wizard of Oz, Charles Manson (replacing the original image of Marilyn Monroe, which could not be used for legal reasons) and the seven dwarfs from Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs.
Blake also revealed that the final cover wasn't the original one. That design featured an image of the shop 'Granny Takes A Trip' on the Kings Road in Chelsea, London.
Blake created an updated version of Sgt. Pepper - with famous figures from Liverpool history - as part of the successful campaign for Liverpool to become European Capital of Culture 2008, and is creating a series of prints to celebrate Liverpool's status.
In 2008, Blake painted a pig for the public art event King Bladud's Pigs In Bath in the English city of Bath.
He also recently designed a shopping bag for the Lucky Brand Jeans company for the holiday season.
Blake created the carpet which runs through the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom's Middlesex Guildhall building.
Bibliography
* 1991 : 24 Nights by Eric Clapton - scrapbook by Peter Blake (Genesis Publications)
* 2009 : That Lucky Old Sun by Brian Wilson - 12 limited edition prints by Peter Blake (Genesis Publications)
* 2009 : Peter Blake: One Man Show by Marco Livingstone (Lund Humphries) Hardback - 978-0-85331-980-1; Limited Edition Hardback - 978-1-84822-039-3
http://www.eitb24.com/archivos/imagenes/eitb24/cultura/2008/03/03/peter-blake-2008030317593805hg2.jpg
http://www.sideshowworld.com/PBSP.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: CatwomanofV on 06/25/10 at 1:25 pm
http://www.sideshowworld.com/PBSP.jpg
One of the best album covers-EVER!!!!!
Every time I look at it, I see something new.
Cat
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 06/25/10 at 1:28 pm
One of the best album covers-EVER!!!!!
Every time I look at it, I see something new.
Cat
I believe three personalities were removed from the final shoot.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 06/25/10 at 3:03 pm
Careless Whisper. One of the prettiest songs from the 1980s.
I like Wake Me Up Before You Go Go.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 06/25/10 at 3:05 pm
The person who died on this day...Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American recording artist, entertainer, and philanthropist. Referred to as the King of Pop, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records. His contribution to music, dance and fashion, along with a much-publicized personal life, made him a global figure in popular culture for over four decades. The eighth child of the Jackson family, he debuted on the professional music scene alongside his brothers as a member of The Jackson 5 in the mid-1960s, and began his solo career in 1971.
In the early 1980s, Jackson became a dominant figure in popular music and the first African-American entertainer to amass a strong crossover following on MTV. The music videos for his songs, such as "Beat It", "Billie Jean" and "Thriller", were credited with transforming the medium into an art form and a promotional tool, and the popularity of these videos helped to bring the relatively new television channel to fame. Videos such as "Black or White" and "Scream" made him a staple on MTV in the 1990s. Through stage performances and music videos, Jackson popularized a number of dance techniques, such as the robot and the moonwalk. His distinctive musical sound and vocal style have influenced numerous hip hop, pop, contemporary R&B and rock artists.
Jackson's album Thriller is the best-selling album of all time. His other records, including Off the Wall (1979), Bad (1987), Dangerous (1991) and HIStory (1995), also rank among the world's best-selling. Jackson is one of the few artists to have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice. His other achievements include multiple Guinness World Records; 13 Grammy Awards (as well as the Grammy Legend Award and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award); 26 American Music Awards (more than any other artist, including the "Artist of the Century"); 13 number-one singles in the United States in his solo career (more than any other male artist in the Hot 100 era); and the estimated sale of over 800 million records worldwide. Jackson won hundreds of awards, which have made him the most-awarded recording artist in the history of music. He was also a notable humanitarian and philanthropist, donating and raising hundreds of millions of dollars for beneficial causes and supporting more than 39 charities.
Aspects of Jackson's personal life, including his changing appearance, personal relationships and behavior, generated controversy. In 1993, he was accused of child sexual abuse, but the case was settled and no formal charges were brought. In 2005, he was tried and acquitted of further sexual abuse allegations and several other charges after the jury ruled him not guilty on all counts. Amidst the preparations for the concert series This Is It, Jackson died on June 25, 2009, after suffering from cardiac arrest. Before his death, Jackson had reportedly been administered drugs such as propofol and lorazepam. The Los Angeles County Coroner declared his death a homicide, and his personal physician pleaded not guilty to charges of involuntary manslaughter. Jackson's death triggered a global outpouring of grief, and as many as a billion people around the world may have watched his public memorial service on live television. In March 2010, Sony Music Entertainment signed a US$250 million deal with Jackson's estate to retain distribution rights to his recordings until 2017, and to release seven posthumous albums over the decade following his death.
Michael Jackson was born on August 29, 1958, the eighth of ten children to an African American working-class family, in Gary, Indiana, an industrial suburb of Chicago. His mother, Katherine Esther Scruse, was a devout Jehovah's Witness, and his father, Joseph Walter "Joe" Jackson, a steel mill worker who performed with an R&B band called The Falcons. Jackson had three sisters: Rebbie, La Toya, and Janet, and five brothers: Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon, and Randy. A sixth brother, Brandon, died shortly after birth.
Jackson had a troubled relationship with his father, Joe. Joseph acknowledged in 2003 that he regularly whipped Jackson as a child. Michael stated that he was physically and emotionally abused during incessant rehearsals, though also credited his father's strict discipline with playing a large role in his success. Jackson first spoke openly about his childhood abuse in an interview with Oprah Winfrey, broadcast in February 1993. He admitted that he had often cried from loneliness and he would vomit on the sight of his father. Jackson's father was also said to have verbally abused Jackson, saying that he had a fat nose on numerous occasions. In fact, Michael Jackson's deep dissatisfaction with his appearance, his nightmares and chronic sleep problems, his tendency to remain hyper-compliant especially with his father, and to remain child-like throughout his adult life are in many ways consistent with the effects of this chronic maltreatment he endured as a young child.
In an interview with Martin Bashir, later included in the 2003 broadcast of Living with Michael Jackson, Jackson acknowledged that his father hurt him when he was a child, but was nonetheless a "genius", as he admitted his father's strict discipline played a huge role in his success. When Bashir dismissed the positive remark and continued asking about beatings, Jackson put his hand over his face and objected to the questions. He recalled that Joseph sat in a chair with a belt in his hand as he and his siblings rehearsed, and that "if you didn't do it the right way, he would tear you up, really get you".
In 1964, Michael and Marlon joined the Jackson Brothers—a band formed by brothers Jackie, Tito, and Jermaine—as backup musicians playing congas and tambourine. Jackson later began performing backup vocals and dancing. When he was eight, Jackson began sharing the lead vocals with his older brother Jermaine, and the group's name was changed to The Jackson 5. The band toured the Midwest extensively from 1966 to 1968, frequently performing at a string of black clubs known as the "chitlin' circuit", where they often opened stripteases and other adult acts. In 1966, they won a major local talent show with renditions of Motown hits and James Brown's "I Got You (I Feel Good)", led by Michael.
The Jackson 5 recorded several songs, including "Big Boy", for the local record label Steeltown in 1967, before signing with Motown Records in 1968. Rolling Stone magazine later described the young Michael as "a prodigy" with "overwhelming musical gifts," writing that he "quickly emerged as the main draw and lead singer." The group set a chart record when its first four singles ("I Want You Back", "ABC", "The Love You Save", and "I'll Be There") peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100. Between 1972 and 1975, Jackson released four solo studio albums with Motown, among them Got to Be There and Ben, released as part of the Jackson 5 franchise, and producing successful singles such as "Got to Be There", "Ben", and a remake of Bobby Day's "Rockin' Robin". The group's sales began declining in 1973, and the band members chafed under Motown's strict refusal to allow them creative control or input. Although they scored several top 40 hits, including the top 5 disco single "Dancing Machine" and the top 20 hit "I Am Love", the Jackson 5 left Motown in 1975.
Move to Epic and Off the Wall (1975–1981)
In June 1975, the Jackson 5 signed with Epic Records, a subsidiary of CBS Records and renamed themselves the Jacksons. Younger brother Randy formally joined the band around this time, while Jermaine left to pursue a solo career. They continued to tour internationally, releasing six more albums between 1976 and 1984, during which Jackson was the lead songwriter, writing hits such as "Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)", "This Place Hotel," and "Can You Feel It". In 1978, he starred as the scarecrow in the musical, The Wiz, a box-office disaster. It was here that he teamed up with Quincy Jones, who was arranging the film's musical score. Jones agreed to produce Jackson's next solo album, Off the Wall. In 1979, Jackson broke his nose during a complex dance routine. His subsequent rhinoplasty was not a complete success; he complained of breathing difficulties that would affect his career. He was referred to Dr. Steven Hoefflin, who performed Jackson's second rhinoplasty and subsequent operations.
Jones and Jackson produced the Off the Wall album together. Songwriters for the album included Jackson, Rod Temperton, Stevie Wonder, and Paul McCartney. Released in 1979, it was the first album to generate four U.S. top 10 hits, including the chart-topping singles "Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough" and "Rock with You". It reached number three on the Billboard 200 and eventually sold over 20 million copies worldwide. In 1980, Jackson won three awards at the American Music Awards for his solo efforts: Favorite Soul/R&B Album, Favorite Soul/R&B Male Artist, and Favorite Soul/R&B Single for "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough". That year, he also won Billboard Music Awards for Top Black Artist and Top Black Album and a Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance, also for "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough". Jackson again won at the American Music Awards in 1981 for Favorite Soul/R&B Album and Favorite Soul/R&B Male Artist. Despite its commercial success, Jackson felt Off the Wall should have made a much bigger impact, and was determined to exceed expectations with his next release. In 1980, he secured the highest royalty rate in the music industry: 37 percent of wholesale album profit.
Thriller and Motown 25 (1982–83)
In 1982, Jackson contributed the song "Someone In the Dark" to the storybook for the film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial; the record won a Grammy for Best Recording for Children in 1984. In the same year he won another seven Grammys and eight American Music Awards (including the Award of Merit, the youngest artist to win it), making him the most awarded in one night for both award shows. These awards were thanks to the Thriller album, released in late 1982, which became the best-selling album of all time in the United States, as well as the best-selling album of all time worldwide, selling an estimated 110 million copies. The album topped the Billboard 200 chart for 37 weeks and was in the top 10 of the 200 for 80 consecutive weeks. It was the first album to have seven Billboard Hot 100 top 10 singles, including "Billie Jean", "Beat It," and "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'." Thriller was certified for 29 million shipments by the RIAA, giving it Double Diamond status in the United States. The album won also another Grammy for Best Engineered Recording – Non Classical in 1984, awarding Bruce Swedien for his work. Jackson's attorney John Branca noted that Jackson had the highest royalty rate in the music industry at that point: approximately $2 for every album sold. He was also making record-breaking profits from sales of his recordings. The videocassette of the documentary The Making of Michael Jackson's Thriller sold over 350,000 copies in a few months. The era saw the arrival of novelties like dolls modeled after Michael Jackson, which appeared in stores in May 1984 at a price of $12. Biographer J. Randy Taraborrelli writes that, "Thriller stopped selling like a leisure item—like a magazine, a toy, tickets to a hit movie—and started selling like a household staple." In 1985, The Making of Michael Jackson's Thriller won a Grammy for Best Music Video, Longform. In December 2009, the music video for "Thriller" was selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress, "Thriller" is the first music video ever to be inducted.
MichaelJacksonMoonwalk.ogg
Play video
Jackson debuts the moonwalk during his performance of Billie Jean on Motown 25
Time described Jackson's influence at that point as "Star of records, radio, rock video. A one-man rescue team for the music business. A songwriter who sets the beat for a decade. A dancer with the fanciest feet on the street. A singer who cuts across all boundaries of taste and style and color too". The New York Times wrote that, "in the world of pop music, there is Michael Jackson and there is everybody else".
In March 1983, Jackson reunited with his brothers for a legendary live performance which was taped for a Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever television special. The show aired on May 16, 1983, to an audience of 47 million viewers, and featured the Jacksons and a number of other Motown stars. It is best remembered for Jackson's solo performance of "Billie Jean". Wearing a distinctive black sequin jacket and golf glove decorated with rhinestones, he debuted his signature dance move, the moonwalk, which former Soul Train dancer and Shalamar member, Jeffrey Daniel had taught him three years before. The Jacksons' performance drew comparisons to Elvis Presley's and The Beatles' appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show. Anna Kisselgoff of The New York Times later wrote, "The moonwalk that he made famous is an apt metaphor for his dance style. How does he do it? As a technician, he is a great illusionist, a genuine mime. His ability to keep one leg straight as he glides while the other bends and seems to walk requires perfect timing."
Jackson throughout his career transformed the art of the music video and paved the way for modern pop music. Daily Telegraph writer Tom Utley described Jackson in 2003 as "extremely important" and a "genius." For much of his career, he had an "unparalleled" level of worldwide influence over the younger generation through his musical and humanitarian contributions. Jackson's music and videos, such as Thriller, fostered racial diversity in MTV's roster, helped to put the relatively new channel into public awareness, and steered the channel's focus from rock to pop music and R&B, shaping the channel into a form that proved enduring. Jackson's work continues to influence numerous hip hop, rock, pop and R&B artists, including Beyoncé, Mariah Carey, Usher, Green Day, Britney Spears, Madonna, Justin Timberlake, Ludacris.
Allmusic's Steve Huey describes Jackson as "an unstoppable juggernaut, possessed of all the skills to dominate the charts seemingly at will: an instantly identifiable voice, eye-popping dance moves, stunning musical versatility and loads of sheer star power". In the mid-1980s, Time magazine's pop music critic, Jay Cocks, noted "Jackson is the biggest thing since The Beatles. He is the hottest single phenomenon since Elvis Presley. He just may be the most popular black singer ever". In 1990, Vanity Fair cited Jackson as the most popular artist in the history of show business. In 2007, Jackson said, "Music has been my outlet, my gift to all of the lovers in this world. Through it, my music, I know I will live forever."
Shortly after Jackson's death, on June 25, 2009, MTV briefly returned to its original music video format to celebrate and pay tribute to his work. The channel aired many hours of Jackson's music videos, accompanied by live news specials featuring reactions from MTV personalities and other celebrities. The temporary shift in MTV's programming culminated the following week in the channel's live coverage of Jackson's memorial service. At the memorial service on July 7, 2009, founder of Motown Records Berry Gordy proclaimed Jackson as "the greatest entertainer that ever lived."
In 2010, two university librarians found that Jackson's influence extended into academia, and was detectable in scholarly literature pertaining to a range of subject matter. The two researchers combed through various scholars' writings, and compiled an annotated bibliography of those writings that appeared to meet at least one of several criteria. Among these criteria were appearance in a peer-reviewed journal, and the provision of insight into the nature of "popular icons including Jackson". The bibliography located references to Jackson in research reports concerning music, popular culture, and an array of other topics. The bibliographers identified as their most peculiar finding an argument that certain aspects of chemistry can be effectively taught by altering and imitating elements of Jackson's singing. One of the research librarians later reflected that "the fact that someone would take a Michael Jackson song and co-opt it as a means to convey chemistry concepts just shows the pervasiveness of Jackson's influence".
Honors and awards
See also: List of awards received by Michael Jackson
Multiple people standing in line before a wall plastered with Michael Jackson posters. There are three women with short blonde hair, a man with curly brown hair and a man wearing a navy cap.
Queues for a Michael Jackson concert in West Berlin in June 1988
Michael Jackson was inducted onto the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1984. Throughout his career he received numerous honors and awards, including the World Music Awards' Best-Selling Pop Male Artist of the Millennium, the American Music Award's Artist of the Century Award and the Bambi Pop Artist of the Millennium Award. He was a double-inductee of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, once as a member of The Jackson 5 in 1997 and later as a solo artist in 2001. Jackson was also an inductee of the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2002. His awards include many Guinness World Records (eight in 2006 alone), 13 Grammy Awards (as well as the Grammy Legend Award and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award), 26 American Music Awards (24 only as a solo artist, including the "Artist of the Century", but not the poll of "Artist of the '80s")—more than any artist—, 13 number one singles in the US in his solo career—more than any other male artist in the Hot 100 era—and estimated sales of up to 750 million records worldwide, making him the world's best selling male solo pop artist. On December 29, 2009, the American Film Institute recognized Jackson's passing as a "moment of significance" saying, "Michael Jackson's sudden death in June at age 50 was notable for the worldwide outpouring of grief and the unprecedented global eulogy of his posthumous concert rehearsal movie This is It." Jackson will be inducted into the Dance Hall of Fame in 2010.
Lifetime earnings
His total lifetime earnings from royalties on his solo recordings and music videos, revenue from concerts and endorsements have been estimated at $500 million; some analysts have speculated that his music catalog holdings could be worth billions of dollars. This speculation however is contradicted by financial documents obtained by the Associated Press, which showed that as of March 31, 2007, Jackson's 50 percent stake in the Sony/ATV Music Publishing catalog (his most prized asset) was worth $390.6 million and Michael Jackson's net worth was $236 million. Billboard has estimated that Jackson has generated at least $1 billion in revenue in the year following his death.
Discography
Main articles: Michael Jackson albums discography, Michael Jackson singles discography, and Michael Jackson videography
See also: Jackson 5 discography
* Got to Be There (1972)
* Ben (1972)
* Music & Me (1973)
* Forever, Michael (1975)
* Off the Wall (1979)
* Thriller (1982)
* Bad (1987)
* Dangerous (1991)
* HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I (1995)
* Invincible (2001)
Filmography
Main article: Michael Jackson videography
Year↓ Film↓ Role↓ Director↓ Ref
1978 The Wiz Scarecrow Lumet, SidneySidney Lumet
1986 Captain EO Captain EO Coppola, Francis FordFrancis Ford Coppola
1988 Moonwalker Himself Kramer, JerryJerry Kramer
1997 Ghosts Maestro/Mayor/Ghoul/Skeleton Winston, StanStan Winston
2002 Men in Black II Agent M (cameo) Sonnenfeld, BarryBarry Sonnenfeld
2004 Miss Cast Away and the Island Girls Agent MJ (cameo) Stoller, Bryan MichaelBryan Michael Stoller
2009 Michael Jackson's This Is It Himself Kenny Ortega
Tours
Main article: List of Michael Jackson tours
* Bad World Tour (1987–89)
* Dangerous World Tour (1992–93)
* HIStory World Tour (1996–97)
See also
Michael Jackson portal
The Jackson Family portal
* List of awards received by Michael Jackson
* List of best-selling music artists
* List of best-selling music artists in the United States
* List of unreleased Michael Jackson material
* List of honorific titles in popular music
* Records and achievements of Michael Jackson
http://i357.photobucket.com/albums/oo14/jaywonder/mjthraltxu1.jpg
http://i0006.photobucket.com/albums/0006/findstuff22/Best%20Images/Music/mj1.jpg
Michael Jackson will always be missed. :(
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 06/25/10 at 7:12 pm
I like Wake Me Up Before You Go Go.
I like both Careless Whisper and Wake Me Up Before You Go Go, but my favorite is Father Figure :)
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 06/25/10 at 7:16 pm
Please not forget that Farrah Fawcett died one year ago today.
So true..A small tribute to Farrah Fawcett
Farrah Fawcett (February 2, 1947 – June 25, 2009) was an American actress and artist. A multiple Golden Globe and Emmy Award nominee, Fawcett rose to international fame when she first appeared as private investigator Jill Munroe in the first season of the TV series Charlie's Angels, in 1976. Fawcett later appeared off-Broadway to critical approval and in highly rated and critically acclaimed television movies, in roles often challenging (The Burning Bed, Nazi Hunter: The Beate Klarsfeld Story, Poor Little Rich Girl: The Barbara Hutton Story, Margaret Bourke-White) and sometimes unsympathetic (Small Sacrifices). Fawcett was a sex symbol whose iconic poster, released the same year Charlie's Angels premiered, broke sales records, making her an international pop culture icon. Her hair style was emulated by millions of young women for nearly a decade, beginning in the 1970s and through early 1980s.
On March 21, 1976, the first appearance of Fawcett playing the character Jill Munroe in Charlie's Angels was aired as a movie of the week. Fawcett and her husband were frequent tennis partners of producer Aaron Spelling, and he and his producing partner thought of casting Fawcett as the "golden girl" Jill because of his friendship with the couple. The movie starred Kate Jackson, Jaclyn Smith and Fawcett (then billed as Farrah Fawcett-Majors) as private investigators for Townsend Associates, a detective agency run by a reclusive multi-millionaire whom the women had never met. Voiced by John Forsythe, the Charles Townsend character presented cases and dispensed advice via a speakerphone to his core team of three female employees, whom he referred to as "Angels." They were aided in the office and occasionally in the field by two male associates, played by character actors David Doyle and David Ogden Stiers. The program earned a huge Nielsen rating, leading the network to air it a second time and approve production for a series, with the pilot's principal cast except David Ogden Stiers.
The Charlie's Angels series formally debuted on September 22, 1976. Fawcett emerged as a fan favorite in the show, and the actress won a People's Choice Award for Favorite Performer in a New TV Program. In a 1977 interview with TV Guide, Fawcett said: "When the show was number three, I thought it was our acting. When we got to be number one, I decided it could only be because none of us wears a bra".
Fawcett's appearance in the TV show boosted sales of her poster, and she earned far more in royalties from poster sales than from her salary for appearing in Charlie's Angels. Her hairstyle went on to become an international trend, with women sporting a "Farrah Do" or "Farrah Hair." The hairstyle was even spoofed in various media, including Redd Foxx's variety show on ABC and Dynamite magazine. Iterations of her hair style predominated American women's hair styles well into the 1980s.
Fawcett left Charlie's Angels after only one season and Cheryl Ladd replaced her on the show, portraying Jill's younger sister Kris Munroe. Numerous explanations for Fawcett's precipitous withdrawal from the show were offered over the years. The strain on her marriage due to her long absences most days due to filming, as her then-husband Lee Majors was star of an established TV show himself, was frequently cited, but Fawcett's ambitions to broaden her acting abilities with opportunities in films have also been given. Fawcett never officially signed her series contract with Spelling due to protracted negotiations over royalties from her image's use in peripheral products, which led to an even more protracted lawsuit filed by Spelling and his company when she quit the show.
The show was a major success throughout the world, maintaining its appeal in syndication, spawning a cottage industry of peripheral products, particularly in the show's first three seasons, including several series of bubble gum cards, two sets of fashion dolls, numerous posters, puzzles, and school supplies, novelizations of episodes, toy vans, and a board game, all featuring Fawcett's likeness. The "Angels" also appeared on the covers of magazines around the world, from countless fan magazines to TV Guide (four times) to Time Magazine.
The series ultimately ran for five seasons. As part of a settlement to a lawsuit over her early departure, Fawcett returned for six guest appearances over seasons three and four of the series.
In 2004, the TV movie Behind the Camera: The Unauthorized Story of Charlie's Angels dramatized the events from the show with supermodel and actress Tricia Helfer portraying Fawcett and Ben Browder portraying Lee Majors, Fawcett's then-husband.
Dramatic roles
Following a series of commercial and critical feature film flops in the years after departure from "Charlie's Angels", in 1983 Fawcett won critical acclaim for her role in the off-Broadway stage production of the controversial play Extremities, written by William Mastrosimone. Replacing Susan Sarandon, she was a would-be rape victim who turns the tables on her attacker. She described the role as "the most grueling, the most intense, the most physically demanding and emotionally exhausting" of her career. During one performance, a stalker in the audience disrupted the show by asking Fawcett if she had received the photos and letters he had mailed her. Police removed the man and were able only to issue a summons for disorderly conduct.
The following year, her role as a battered wife in the fact-based TV movie The Burning Bed earned her the first of her four Emmy Award nominations. The project is noted as being the first TV movie to provide a nationwide 800 number that offered help for others in the situation, in this case victims of domestic abuse. It was the highest-rated TV movie of the season.
In 1986 Fawcett appeared in the movie version of Extremities, which was also well-received by critics, and for which she received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama.
She appeared in Jon Avnet's Between Two Women with Colleen Dewhurst, and took several more dramatic roles as infamous or renowned women. She was nominated for Golden Globe awards for roles as Beate Klarsfeld in Nazi Hunter: The Beate Klarsfeld Story and troubled Woolworth heiress Barbara Hutton in Poor Little Rich Girl: The Barbara Hutton Story, and won a CableACE Award for her 1989 portrayal of groundbreaking Life magazine photojournalist Margaret Bourke-White. Her 1989 portrayal of convicted murderer Diane Downs in the miniseries Small Sacrifices earned her a second Emmy nomination and her sixth Golden Globe Award nomination. The miniseries won a Peabody Award for excellence in television, with Fawcett's performance singled out by the organization, which stated "Ms. Fawcett brings a sense of realism rarely seen in television miniseries (to) a drama of unusual power".
Art meets life
Fawcett, who had steadfastly resisted appearing nude in films or magazines throughout the 1970s and 1980s, caused a major stir by posing semi-nude in the December 1995 issue of Playboy, which became the best-selling issue of the 1990s, with over four million copies sold worldwide. At the age of 50, she returned to Playboy with a pictorial for the July 1997 issue, which also became a top seller. The issue and its accompanying video featured Fawcett painting on canvas using her body, which had been an ambition of hers for years.
That same year, Fawcett was chosen by Robert Duvall to play his wife in an independent feature film he was producing, The Apostle. Fawcett received an Independent Spirit Award nomination as Best Actress for the film, which was highly critically acclaimed.
In 2000, she worked with director Robert Altman and an all-star cast in the feature film Dr. T and the Women, playing opposite Richard Gere. Also that year, Fawcett's collaboration with sculptor Keith Edmier was exhibited at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, later traveling to the Andy Warhol Museum. The sculpture was also presented in a series of photographs and a book by Rizzoli.
In November 2003, Fawcett prepared for her return to Broadway in a production of Bobbi Boland, the tragicomic tale of a former Miss Florida. However, the show never officially opened, closing before preview performances. Fawcett was described as "vibrating with frustration" at the producer's extraordinary decision to cancel the production. Only days earlier the same producer closed an off-Broadway show she had been backing.
Fawcett continued to work in television, with well-regarded appearances in made for TV movies and on popular television series including Ally McBeal and four episodes each of Spin City and The Guardian, her work on the latter show earning her a third Emmy nomination in 2004.
Personal life
Fawcett was married to Lee Majors, star of TV's The Six Million Dollar Man, from 1973 to 1982, although the couple separated in 1979. During her marriage, she was known and credited in her roles as Farrah Fawcett-Majors.
From 1982 until 1997 Fawcett was involved romantically with actor Ryan O'Neal. The relationship produced a son, Redmond James Fawcett O'Neal, born January 1985 in Los Angeles. In April 2009, on probation for driving under the influence, Redmond was arrested for possession of narcotics while Fawcett was in the hospital. On June 22, 2009, The Los Angeles Times and Reuters reported that Ryan O'Neal had said that Fawcett had agreed to marry him as soon as she felt strong enough.
From 1997 to 1998, Fawcett had a relationship with filmmaker James Orr, writer and producer of the Disney feature film in which she co-starred with Chevy Chase, Man of the House.
On June 5, 1997, Fawcett received negative commentary after giving a rambling interview and appearing distracted on Late Show with David Letterman. Months later, she told the host of The Howard Stern Show her behavior was just her way of joking around with the television host, partly in the guise of promoting her Playboy pictoral and video, explaining what appeared to be random looks across the theater was just her looking and reacting to fans in the audience. Though the Letterman appearance spawned speculation and several jokes at her expense, she returned to the show a week later, with success, and several years later, after Joaquin Phoenix's mumbling act on a February 2009 appearance on The Late Show, Letterman wrapped up the interview by saying, "Joaquin, I'm sorry you couldn't be here tonight" and recalled Fawcett's earlier appearance by noting "e owe an apology to Farrah Fawcett."
Fawcett's elder sister, Diane Fawcett Walls, died from lung cancer just before her 63rd birthday, on October 16, 2001. The fifth episode of her 2005 Chasing Farrah series, which was generally panned by critics, followed the actress home to Texas to visit with her father, James, and mother, Pauline. Pauline Fawcett died soon after, on March 4, 2005, at the age of 91.
Cancer
Fawcett was diagnosed with anal cancer in 2006, and began treatment, including chemotherapy and surgery. Four months later, on her 60th birthday, the Associated Press wire service reported that Fawcett was, at that point, cancer free.
Less than four months later, in May 2007, Fawcett brought a small digital video camera to document a doctor's office visit. There, she was told a malignant polyp was found where she had been treated for the initial cancer. Doctors contemplated whether to implant a radiation seeder (which differs from conventional radiation and is used to treat other types of cancer). Fawcett's U.S. doctors told her that she would require a colostomy. Instead, Fawcett traveled to Germany for treatments described variously in the press as "holistic", "aggressive", and "alternative". There, Dr. Ursula Jacob prescribed a treatment including surgery to remove the anal tumor, and a course of perfusion and embolization for her liver cancer by Doctors Claus Kiehling and Thomas Vogl in Germany, and chemotherapy back in Fawcett's home town of Los Angeles. Although initially the tumors were regressing, their reappearance a few months later necessitated a new course, this time including laser ablation therapy and chemoembolization. Aided by friend Alana Stewart, Fawcett documented her battle with the disease.
In early April 2009, Fawcett, back in the United States, was rushed to a hospital, reportedly unconscious and in critical condition. Subsequent reports, however, indicated that the severity of her condition was not as dire as first reported. On April 6, the Associated Press reported that her cancer had metastasized to her liver. Fawcett had learned of this development in May 2007 and her subsequent treatments in Germany had targeted this as well. The report denied that she was unconscious, and explained that the reason for Fawcett's hospitalization was not her cancer but a painful abdominal hematoma that had been the result of a minor procedure, according to the Los Angeles cancer specialist treating Fawcett, Dr. Lawrence Piro. Her spokesperson emphasized she was not "at death's door", adding "She remains in good spirits with her usual sense of humor ... She's been in great shape her whole life and has an incredible resolve and an incredible resilience." Three days later, on April 9, Fawcett was released from the hospital, picked up by longtime companion O'Neal, and, according to her doctor, was "walking and in great spirits and looking forward to celebrating Easter at home."
A month later, on May 7, Fawcett was reported as critically ill, with Ryan O'Neal quoted as saying she now spends her days at home, on an IV, often asleep. The Los Angeles Times reported Fawcett was in the last stages of her cancer and had the chance to see her son Redmond in April 2009, although shackled and under supervision, as he was then incarcerated, Fawcett seemed not to notice. Her 91-year-old father, James Fawcett, flew out to Los Angeles to visit.
Her doctor, Lawrence Piro, and Fawcett's friend and Angels co-star Kate Jackson—a breast cancer survivor—appeared together on The Today Show dispelling tabloid-fueled rumors, including suggestions Fawcett had ever been in a coma, had ever reached 86 pounds, and had ever given up her fight against the disease or lost the will to live. Jackson decried such fabrications, saying they "really do hurt a human being and a person like Farrah." Piro recalled when it became necessary for Fawcett to undergo treatments that would cause her to lose her hair, acknowledging "Farrah probably has the most famous hair in the world", but also that it is not a trivial matter for any cancer patient, whose hair "affects whole sense of who are". Of the documentary, Jackson averred Fawcett "didn't do this to show that 'she' is unique, she did it to show that we are all unique ... (T)his was ... meant to be a gift to others to help and inspire them."
The two-hour documentary Farrah's Story, which was filmed by Fawcett and friend Alana Stewart, aired on NBC on May 15, 2009. The documentary was watched by nearly nine million people at its premiere airing, and it was re-aired on the broadcast network's cable stations MSNBC, Bravo and Oxygen. Fawcett earned her fourth Emmy nomination posthumously on July 16, 2009, as producer of Farrah's Story. The winner of the Emmy for Outstanding Nonfiction Special, announced September 12, 2009, was the History Channel production 102 Minutes That Changed America, an eyewitness-video look at the events of September 11, 2001.
Controversy surrounded the aired version of the documentary, with her initial producing partner, who had worked with her on Chasing Farrah, alleging O'Neal's and Stewart's editing of the program was not in keeping with Fawcett's wishes to more thoroughly explore rare types of cancers such as her own and alternative methods of treatment. He was especially critical of scenes showing Fawcett's son visiting her for the last time, in shackles, while she was nearly unconscious in bed. Fawcett had generally kept her son out of the media, and his appearances are minimal in her reality series Chasing Farrah, which was filmed four years earlier.
Death
Fawcett died at approximately 9:28 a.m., PDT on June 25, 2009, in the intensive care unit of Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica, California, with O'Neal and Stewart by her side. A private funeral was held in Los Angeles on June 30. Fawcett's son Redmond was permitted to leave his California detention center to attend his mother's funeral, where he gave the first reading.
The night of her death, ABC aired an hour-long special episode of 20/20 featuring clips from several of Barbara Walters' past interviews with Fawcett as well as new interviews with Ryan O'Neal, Jaclyn Smith, Alana Stewart, and Dr. Lawrence Piro. Walters followed up on the story on Friday's episode of 20/20. CNN's Larry King Live planned a show exclusively about Fawcett that evening until the unexpected death of Michael Jackson several hours later caused the program to shift to cover both stories. Cher, a longtime friend of Fawcett's, and Suzanne De Passe, executive producer of Fawcett's Small Sacrifices mini-series, both paid tribute to Fawcett on the program. NBC aired a Dateline NBC special "Farrah Fawcett: The Life and Death of an Angel" the following evening, June 26, preceded by a rebroadcast of Farrah's Story in prime time. That weekend and the following week, television tributes continued. MSNBC aired back-to-back episodes of its Headliners and Legends episodes featuring Fawcett and Jackson. TV Land aired a mini-marathon of Charlie's Angels and Chasing Farrah episodes. E! aired Michael & Farrah: Lost Icons and the Biography Channel aired Bio Remembers: Farrah Fawcett. The documentary Farrah's Story re-aired on the Oxygen Network and MSNBC.
Larry King said of the Fawcett phenomenon,
“ TV had much more impact back in the '70s than it does today. Charlie's Angels got huge numbers every week — nothing really dominates the television landscape like that today. Maybe American Idol comes close, but now there are so many channels and so many more shows it's hard for anything to get the audience, or amount of attention, that Charlie's Angels got. Farrah was a major TV star when the medium was clearly dominant." â€
Playboy founder Hugh Hefner said "Farrah was one of the iconic beauties of our time. Her girl-next-door charm combined with stunning looks made her a star on film, TV and the printed page."
Kate Jackson said,
“ She was a selfless person who loved her family and friends with all her heart, and what a big heart it was. Farrah showed immense courage and grace throughout her illness and was an inspiration to those around her... I will remember her kindness, her cutting dry wit and, of course, her beautiful smile...when you think of Farrah, remember her smiling because that is exactly how she wanted to be remembered: smiling. â€
In March 2010, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences caused controversy when Fawcett was excluded from the "In Memoriam" montage at the 82nd Academy Awards ceremony, along with fellow television stars Bea Arthur, Gene Barry and Ed McMahon. In addition to Ryan and Tatum O'Neal, friends and colleagues of Fawcett publicly expressed their outrage at the oversight, including actress Jane Fonda and film critic Roger Ebert. AMPAS executive director Bruce Davis cited Fawcett's recognition at the 61st Primetime Emmy Awards for her "remarkable television work," and said of all the exclusions: "There's nothing you can say to people, particularly to family members, within a day or two of the show that helps at all. They tend to be surprised and hurt, and we understand that and we're sorry for it."
She is buried at the Westwood Village Memorial Park in Los Angeles, California.
Filmography
Theatrical films
Year Film Role Notes
1969 Love Is a Funny Thing Patricia
1970 Myra Breckinridge Mary Ann Pringle
1976 Logan's Run Holly As Farrah Fawcett-Majors
1978 Somebody Killed Her Husband Jenny Moore As Farrah Fawcett-Majors
1979 An Almost Perfect Affair Herself Uncredited
Sunburn Ellie As Farrah Fawcett-Majors
1980 Saturn 3 Alex
1981 The Cannonball Run Pamela Glover
1986 Extremities Marjorie Nominated – Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama
1989 See You in the Morning Jo Livingstone
1995 Man of the House Sandy Archer
1997 The Apostle Jessie Dewey Nominated – Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female
The Lovemaster Craig's Dream Date
Playboy: Farrah Fawcett, All of Me Herself Direct to video
1998 The Brave Little Toaster Goes to Mars Faucet Voice
2000 The Flunky Herself
Dr. T & the Women Kate
2004 The Cookout Mrs. Crowley
2008 A Wing & a Prayer: Farrah's Fight for Life Herself Documentary
Television
Year Title Role Notes
1969 Mayberry R.F.D. Show Girl #1 1 episode
I Dream of Jeannie Cindy
Tina "See You in C-U-B-A"
"My Sister the Home Wrecker"
Three's a Crowd Hitchhiker Television movie
1969–1970 The Flying Nun Miss Preem
Lila "Armando and the Pool Table"
"Marcello's Idol"
1970 The Young Rebels Sarah "Dangerous Ally"
The Partridge Family Pretty Girl "The Sound of Money"
1971 Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law Tori Barbour "Burden of Proof"
"Shadow of a Name"
The Feminist and the Fuzz Kitty Murdock Television movie
Inside O.U.T. Pat Boulion Unsold pilot
1973 The Girl with Something Extra Carol "How Green Was Las Vegas"
The Great American Beauty Contest T.L. Dawson Television movie
Of Men and Women Young Actress Segment: "The Interview"
1974 Apple's Way Jane Huston "The First Love"
Marcus Welby, M.D. Laura Foley "I've Promised You a Father: Part 1"
McCloud Gloria Jean "The Colorado Cattle Caper"
1974–1976 Harry O Sue Ingham 8 episodes
The Six Million Dollar Man Major Kelly Wood (2 episodes), Trish Hollander, Victoria Webster 4 episodes. As Farrah Fawcett Majors (Rescue of Athena One) and as Farrah Fawcett-Majors (Nightmare in the Sky, The Golden Pharaoh, and The Peeping Blonde)
1975 The Girl Who Came Gift-Wrapped Patti Television movie
Murder on Flight 502 Karen White As Farrah Fawcett-Majors
S.W.A.T. Miss New Mexico "The Steel-Plated Security Blanket"
as Farrah Fawcett-Majors
1976–1980 Charlie's Angels Jill Munroe Cast member from 1976–1977; recurring from 1978–1980
Nominated – Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama (1976)
1981 Murder in Texas Joan Robinson Hill Television movie
1984 The Red-Light Sting Kathy Television movie
The Burning Bed Francine Hughes Television movie
Nominated – Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress – Miniseries or a Movie
Nominated – Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film
1986 Between Two Women Val Petherton Television movie
Nazi Hunter: The Beate Klarsfeld Story Beate Klarsfeld Television movie
Nominated – Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film
1987 Poor Little Rich Girl: The Barbara Hutton Story Barbara Hutton Television movie
Nominated – Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film
1989 Margaret Bourke-White Margaret Bourke-White Television movie
Small Sacrifices Diane Downs Television movie
Nominated – Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress – Miniseries or a Movie
Nominated – Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film
Good Sports Gayle Roberts 2 episodes
1992 Criminal Behavior Jessica Lee Stubbs Television movie
1994 The Substitute Wife Pearl Television movie
1995 Children of the Dust Nora Maxwell Miniseries
1996 Dalva Dalva Northridge Television movie
1997 Johnny Bravo Farrah Fawcett / Old Lady "Blarney Buddies/Over the Hump/Johnny Meets Farrah Fawcett" (voice)
1999 Silk Hope Frannie Vaughn Television movie
Ally McBeal Robin Jones "Changes"
2000 Baby Lily Malone Television movie
2001 Jewel Jewel Hilburn Television movie
Spin City Judge Claire Simmons 4 episodes
2002–2003 The Guardian Mary Gressler 4 episodes
Nominated – Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress – Drama Series
2003 Hollywood Wives: The New Generation Lissa Roman Television movie
2005 Chasing Farrah Herself 7 episodes
2009 Farrah's Story Herself Also Executive producer
http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r290/chrisogunsiji/fawcett_1379311c.jpg
http://i444.photobucket.com/albums/qq161/poepoets/Thingpositive/farrahfawcet.jpg
*OK so it wasn't small* :)
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 06/25/10 at 7:18 pm
British Person of the Day: Peter Blake
Sir Peter Thomas Blake, CBE, RDI, (born 25 June 1932, in Dartford, Kent) is an English pop artist, best known for his design of the sleeve for the Beatles' album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. He lives in Chiswick, London, UK.
Career
During the late 1950s, Blake became one of the best known British pop artists. His paintings from this time included imagery from advertisements, music hall entertainment, and wrestlers, often including collaged elements. Blake was included in group exhibitions at the Institute of Contemporary Arts and had his first solo exhibition in 1960. It was with the 'Young Contemporaries' exhibition of 1961 where he was exhibited alongside David Hockney and R.B. Kitaj that he was first identified with the emerging British Pop Art movement. Blake won the (1961) John Moores junior award for his work Self Portrait with Badges. He first came to wider public attention when, along with Pauline Boty, Derek Boshier and Peter Phillips, he was featured in Ken Russell's film on pop art, Pop Goes the Easel, which was broadcast on BBC television in 1962. From 1963 Blake was represented by Robert Fraser which placed him at the centre of swinging London and brought him into contact with leading figures of popular culture.
Work
On the Balcony (1955-57) is a significant early work and still stands as one of the iconic pieces of British Pop Art, showing Blake's interest in combining images from pop culture with fine art. The work, which appear to be a collage but is in fact wholly painted, shows, among other things, a boy holding Edouard Manet's The Balcony, badges and magazines. It was inspired by a painting by Honoré Sharrer depicting workers holding famous paintings. Blake confronts the viewer with a picture plane that is deceptively flat, effectively blocking the viewer from venturing deeper into the picture plane. This spatial property however is a flatness that resounds starkly; a flat surface that at once becomes a presentation of characters and images as well as a culturally implicit sense of external facade. One of the most striking initial aspects of this piece is that it seems to radiate an illusionist child-like charm which the viewer can easily identify with making it from first glance an oddly powerful work. His self-identification with the axioms of popular culture in effect show an awareness of the mechanisms of a society being faced with celebrity idolatry and cultural goods. Such banal goods and images were not frequently seen in artwork and created a new space for discourse within a painting. Blake’s characters are strangely static and scarcely seem to notice the accumulation around them – even when images are tacked right on top of them. This was not merely whimsical thinking or dreams of consumer grandeur, and albeit not a simple display of products; it was life as Blake experienced it, as true and telling an account of the surroundings of the time as could be made.
Blake also often directly referred to the work of other artists. On the Balcony (1955-57) has Edouard Manet's The Balcony being held by a boy on the left of the composition, and The First Real Target (1961) is a standard archery target with the title written across the top as a play on the paintings of targets by Kenneth Noland and Jasper Johns.
Blake also painted several notable album sleeves. He designed the sleeve for Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band with his then-wife Jann Haworth, the American-born artist whom he married in 1963 and divorced in 1979. The Sgt. Pepper's sleeve has become an iconic work of pop art, much imitated and Blake's best known work. The means of production was the construction of a set with cut-out photographs and objects, such as flowers, centred around a drum (sold in auction in 2008) with the title of the album. Blake has subsequently complained about the one-off fee he received for the design (£200), with no subsequent royalties. Blake also made sleeves for the Band Aid single, "Do They Know It's Christmas?" (1984), Paul Weller's Stanley Road (1995) and the Ian Dury tribute album Brand New Boots and Panties (2001; Blake had been Dury's tutor at the Royal College of Art in the mid-60s). He also designed the sleeves for Pentangle's Sweet Child and The Who's Face Dances (1981), which features portraits of the band by a number of artists.
In 1969 Blake left London to live near Bath. Blake's work changed direction featuring scenes based on English Folklore and characters from Shakespeare. In the early 1970s, he made a set of watercolours to illustrate Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking-Glass and in 1975 was a founder of the Brotherhood of Ruralists. Blake moved back to London in 1979 and his work returned to the earlier popular culture references.
Blake was made a Royal Academician in 1981, and a CBE in 1983. "A major retrospective of Blake's work was held in the Tate in 1983...(and) in 2002 Blake was awarded a knighthood for his services to art." In February 2005, the Sir Peter Blake Music Art Gallery, located in the School of Music, University of Leeds, was opened by the artist. The permanent exhibition features 17 examples of Blake's album sleeve art, including the only public showing of a signed print of his famed Sgt. Pepper's artwork. In June 2006, as The Who returned to play Leeds University 36 years after recording their seminal Live at Leeds album there in 1970, Blake unveiled a new Live at Leeds 2 artwork to commemorate the event. Both the artist and The Who's Pete Townshend signed an edition which will join the gallery's collection.
More recently, Blake has created Artist's editions for the opening of the Pallant House Gallery which houses collections that include some of his most famous paintings. These works are homages to his earlier work on the Stanley Road album cover and Babe Rainbow prints. He also designed a series of deck chairs.
In 2006, Blake designed the cover for Oasis greatest hits album Stop the Clocks. According to Blake, he chose all of the objects in the picture at random, but the sleeves of Sgt. Pepper's and Definitely Maybe were in the back of his mind. He claims, "It's using the mystery of Definitely Maybe and running away with it." Familiar cultural icons which can be seen on the cover include Dorothy from Wizard of Oz, Charles Manson (replacing the original image of Marilyn Monroe, which could not be used for legal reasons) and the seven dwarfs from Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs.
Blake also revealed that the final cover wasn't the original one. That design featured an image of the shop 'Granny Takes A Trip' on the Kings Road in Chelsea, London.
Blake created an updated version of Sgt. Pepper - with famous figures from Liverpool history - as part of the successful campaign for Liverpool to become European Capital of Culture 2008, and is creating a series of prints to celebrate Liverpool's status.
In 2008, Blake painted a pig for the public art event King Bladud's Pigs In Bath in the English city of Bath.
He also recently designed a shopping bag for the Lucky Brand Jeans company for the holiday season.
Blake created the carpet which runs through the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom's Middlesex Guildhall building.
Bibliography
* 1991 : 24 Nights by Eric Clapton - scrapbook by Peter Blake (Genesis Publications)
* 2009 : That Lucky Old Sun by Brian Wilson - 12 limited edition prints by Peter Blake (Genesis Publications)
* 2009 : Peter Blake: One Man Show by Marco Livingstone (Lund Humphries) Hardback - 978-0-85331-980-1; Limited Edition Hardback - 978-1-84822-039-3
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Thanks Phil, that made some interesting reading.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 06/26/10 at 6:23 am
The word of the day...Shortstop
Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball fielding position between second and third base. Shortstop is often regarded as the most dynamic defensive position in baseball, because there are more right-handed hitters in baseball than left-handed hitters, and most hitters have a tendency to pull the ball slightly, so more balls go to the shortstop than any other position. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the shortstop is assigned the number 6.
Shortstops are required to cover second base in double play situations when the ball is hit to the second baseman, first baseman, pitcher, or catcher. They cover second when a runner is attempting a stolen base, but only when a left-handed hitter is batting. This is because the chances of a ball being hit to the left side of the infield are almost cut in half. They also must cover third at various times, including the rotation play; that is, when there are runners on first and second and a sacrifice bunt is attempted. Shortstops generally are given precedence on catching pop-ups in the infield as well, so they end up calling off other players many times, although on deep pop-ups they fall back when called off by an outfielder. They often become the cutoff man on balls to any part of the outfield that are being directed towards third base and all balls to left and right field that are destined to second base. Depending on the system the shortstop may cut balls from left field heading home however, this is usually the role of a third basemen.
Traditionally, players are selected as shortstops for their fielding prowess, but in recent years more shortstops with excellent hitting have entered the leagues as well. It is an exclusively right-handed position, as a righty can easily throw to first or second without having to physically turn after playing a ground ball, the most common type of hit directed at the shortstop.
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Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 06/26/10 at 6:27 am
The person born on this day...Derek Jeter
Derek Sanderson Jeter (pronounced /ˈdÊ’iËtÉ™r/; born June 26, 1974) is an American professional baseball player. He is a Major League Baseball (MLB) shortstop who has played his entire career for the New York Yankees. He has served as the Yankees' team captain since 2003. Jeter's presence in the Yankees' lineup, highlighted by his hitting prowess, played an instrumental role in the team's late 1990s dynasty.
Jeter debuted in the Major Leagues in 1995, and the following year he won the Rookie of the Year Award and helped the Yankees win the 1996 World Series. Jeter was also a member of championship-winning teams in 1998, 1999, 2000, and 2009. In 2000, Jeter became the only player to win both the All-Star Game MVP Award and the World Series MVP Award in the same year. He has been selected as an All-Star ten times, and he has won the Silver Slugger and Gold Glove awards on four occasions. He is regarded as a consummate professional, by teammates and opponents alike, and has a reputation as a reliable contributor in the postseason.
Jeter is considered to be one of the best players of his generation. He is the all-time hits leader among shortstops and his .317 career batting average through the 2009 season ranks as the fifth-highest among active players. He has been among the American League (AL) leaders in hits and runs scored for the past ten years. He is the all-time Yankees hit leader, passing Hall of Fame member Lou Gehrig in 2009 The Yankees had projected Jeter as their starting shortstop for the 1995 season, but when he suffered a minor injury in the Arizona Fall League, the Yankees signed Tony Fernández to a two-year contract to play shortstop and kept Jeter in Triple-A. The Yankees reportedly offered Jeter the opportunity to work out with the replacement players in Spring Training prior to the 1995 season, but he declined to cross the picket line.
On May 29, 1995, Jeter made his debut in the major leagues due to injuries to Fernández and Pat Kelly. Jeter batted .234 and committed two errors in 13 games before being demoted to Columbus.
Despite the presence of Fernández on the roster, new Yankees manager Joe Torre announced that Jeter would be the starting shortstop in 1996. He started on Opening Day of the 1996 season as the starting shortstop (the first Yankee rookie since Tom Tresh in 1962 to do so) and hit his first major-league home run on that day. Jeter's home run was called by one of his Yankee predecessors at shortstop, broadcaster Phil Rizzuto. Jeter played his way to a successful rookie season, hitting for a .314 batting average, with 10 home runs, 104 runs scored, and 78 runs batted in. He subsequently earned Rookie of the Year honors. Jeter batted .361 in the playoffs, as the Yankees defeated the Atlanta Braves to win their first World Series championship since 1978.
During the 1996 American League Championship Series, Jeter was involved in what has become a memorable moment in postseason history. During game one, with the Yankees trailing the Baltimore Orioles 4–3 in the 8th inning, Jeter hit a fly ball to right field. As right fielder Tony Tarasco moved to make a play on the ball near the fence, appearing to have a chance to catch the ball, 12-year-old Jeffrey Maier reached over the wall and caught the ball, pulling it back into the stands. Despite Tarasco's protest, the umpires convened and ruled the ball a home run. Replays conclusively showed that, had Maier not interfered, the ball would have fallen in front of the fence and potentially into Tarasco's glove for an out. The Yankees would go on to win in 11 innings and would eventually win the series, 4 games to 1. The ruling made for the first home run of Jeter's postseason career.
In 1997, Jeter batted .291. However, the Yankees lost to the Cleveland Indians in the American League Division Series. In 1998, Jeter batted .324, with a league-leading 127 runs, 19 home runs, and 84 runs batted in, for a team that won 114 games during the regular season and is widely considered to be one of the greatest of all time. In the playoffs, Jeter hit only .176 in the Division and League Championship Series, but he excelled in the World Series, batting .353, as the Yankees went on to beat the San Diego Padres in four games.
Jeter making a play against the Tampa Bay Rays at Yankee Stadium.
In 1999, Jeter led the American League in hits (219) and was second in the league in batting average (.349) and runs scored (134). Jeter (who, for part of the year, batted third in the lineup) also drove in 102 runs, becoming only the second Yankee shortstop ever to do so (Lyn Lary had driven in 107 runs in 1931). His season totals in batting average, runs, hits, runs batted in, doubles (37), triples (9), home runs (24), slugging percentage (.552), and on-base percentage (.438) are all personal bests. Jeter batted .455 in the 1999 American League Division Series, .350 in the 1999 American League Championship Series, and .353 in the 1999 World Series, as the Yankees defeated the Braves to win another championship.
During the 1999 season, Jeter had a confrontation with a teammate. Teammate Chad Curtis, an outspoken Christian, approached him about discussing his faith, but Jeter declined. When Curtis approached Jeter again, he became offended. Later in the season, a mid-game bench-clearing brawl with the Seattle Mariners occurred. After the brawl ended, Jeter was seen engaged in friendly chatter with his good friend (and future Yankee teammate) Alex Rodriguez, who then played for the Mariners. Upon returning to the dugout, Curtis chastized Jeter for being friendly with an opponent during a bench-clearing brawl, which violated an unwritten rule of baseball. After the game, Curtis approached Jeter in the clubhouse, with beat writers present. Jeter commented that this was not an appropriate time for a confrontation. Curtis later apologized.
During the 1999–2000 offseason, the Yankees negotiated with Jeter, tentatively agreeing to a $118.5 million, seven-year contract. However, Yankee owner George Steinbrenner did not want to set a salary record, delaying until the acceptance of a $143 million, eight-year contract extension between the Detroit Tigers and Juan González. When that proposed deal fell through, Jeter's tentative deal fell through, and he agreed to a one-year deal for $10 million.
2000–2003
Jeter batted .339, with 15 home runs, 73 runs batted in, 119 runs scored, and 22 stolen bases in 2000. He batted only .211 in the Division Series but rebounded to bat .318 against the Seattle Mariners in the Championship Series and .409, with two home runs, a triple, and two doubles in a five-game series against the New York Mets in the World Series, the first Subway Series since 1956.
In 2000, Jeter became the first player ever to win the All-Star Game MVP award and the World Series MVP Award in the same year. Jeter became the first Yankee since Yogi Berra, in 1959, to hit a home run in the All Star Game.
Before the 2001 season, with one year remaining until he would become eligible for free agency, Jeter signed a $189 million, ten-year contract to remain with the Yankees, making him the second highest paid athlete, trailing only Rodriguez. Rodriguez signed his deal earlier than Jeter, setting a higher market for Jeter's negotiations.
During the season, Jeter batted .311, with 21 home runs, 74 runs batted in, 110 runs scored, and 27 stolen bases. In the postseason, Jeter made a notable play in game 3 of the 2001 American League Division Series against the Oakland Athletics. With Jeremy Giambi on first base, Oakland right fielder Terrence Long hit a double off Yankees pitcher Mike Mussina into the right-field corner. As Giambi rounded third base and headed for home, Yankees right fielder Shane Spencer retrieved the ball and made a wild throw intended for Yankees catcher Jorge Posada. Instead, the errant throw missed cutoff man Tino Martinez and dribbled up the first-base line. Jeter came from shortstop to grab the ball and flipped it to Posada, who tagged Giambi on the leg just before he crossed home plate for the out. Facing elimination, the Yankees went on to win the game, as well as the series. The play was later voted #7 in Baseball Weekly's 10 Most Amazing Plays of all time.
After the September 11 terrorist attacks, the baseball season was put on hold. As a result, the start of the playoffs was delayed, and game 4 of the 2001 World Series was played on October 31. The game went into the tenth inning tied at 3–3. At midnight, the scoreboard in center field read "Attention Fans, Welcome to NOVEMBER BASEBALL." This was the first time that any non-exhibition MLB game had been played in the month of November. Moments after this message was displayed on the board, Jeter sent a 3–2 pitch from Byung-Hyun Kim over the right-field stands. A fan in the stands held up a sign with the words "Mr. November," a reference to Reggie Jackson's nickname, "Mr. October". Michael Kay, who called the walk-off home run, called Jeter by this name, referencing the sign. Despite the nickname, Jeter was 3 for 12 (.250) in November baseball that season, as the Yankees lost the World Series in seven games to the Arizona Diamondbacks (the home team won all seven games of the World Series).
In 2002, Jeter batted .297, with 18 home runs, 75 runs batted in, 124 runs scored, and a career-best 32 stolen bases. He led the majors in stolen base percentage (91.4%), getting caught only three times.
Jeter connects for a hit against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
In 2003, Jeter dislocated his left shoulder on opening day when he collided with Blue Jays catcher Ken Huckaby at third base. Jeter, who had never played fewer than 148 games in the prior seven full seasons, was subsequently on the disabled list for six weeks, missing 36 games. Jeter returned to bat .324, losing the batting title to Bill Mueller, who batted .326.
Steinbrenner named Jeter the 11th recognized captain in Yankees history on June 3, 2003, following eight seasons without a captain after the retirement of Don Mattingly in 1995. Dispute over the true count has been noted.
2004–present
Jeter joking with other players during Spring Training.
The beginning of the 2004 season saw Jeter mired in a slump; on May 25, he was hitting only .189. This included a personal career record 0-for-32 skid in April. In June, however, Jeter broke out of his slump. He hit nearly .400 for the month and set a personal best with 9 home runs. He finished the season with a .292 average; 23 home runs, the 2nd most of his career; 78 runs batted in; 111 runs scored; and 44 doubles, a career best.
During a July 1, 2004, game against the rival Boston Red Sox, Jeter made a play that furthered his reputation as a clutch player. In the top of the 12th inning, with the score tied at 3, the Red Sox had runners on second and third with 2 outs and right fielder Trot Nixon up at bat. Nixon hit a pop fly down the left field line. Jeter ran from his position at shortshop and made an over-the-shoulder catch. In dramatic fashion, he launched himself over the third-base side railing, landing three rows into the left-field seats, and lacerating his chin and bruising his face in the process. Jeter was later taken out of the game. This catch ended the inning, and later the Yankees went on to win the game in the bottom of the 13th inning. The "Dive" was awarded Play Of The Year in the This Year In Baseball awards competition, as voted on by fans at MLB.com.
In 2005, Jeter was second in the AL in both runs scored (122) and batting average on balls in play (.394), and was third in the league in both at bats (654) and hits (202). Jeter won his second-consecutive Gold Glove in 2005, as his low range factor rose to 4.76 and ranked 2nd among AL shortstops.
In 2006, Jeter was second in the AL in both batting average (.343) and runs scored (118); was third in hits (214), stolen base success percentage (87.2), and batting average with runners in scoring position (.381); and was fifth in infield hits (26). He finished second in American League Most Valuable Player Award voting to Justin Morneau of the Minnesota Twins (320 points to 306 points). Jeter has finished in the top 10 in the MVP balloting 6 times in his 11 full seasons through 2006 (including also a third-place finish in 1998).
Jeter prepares to bat at Oriole Park in 2007.
In 2007, Jeter was third in the AL in hits (203), his sixth season and third-consecutive season with 200 hits, tying Lou Gehrig. He was also fourth in both at-bats (639) and plate appearances (714), sixth in times on base (276), and ninth in batting average (.322). In the field, he was involved in a career-high 104 double plays.
In 2008, Jeter's slugging percentage was .410, his lowest since 1997. One possible cause was a prolonged slump that he suffered after being hit by a pitch on his wrist. Before the injury, Jeter was hitting .324 with a .774 on-base plus slugging (OPS). After the injury, his batting average dipped to as low as .269 by the end of the month. His offense took an upward turn after May as he hit .322 with a .824 OPS after June 1. Jeter was elected to his ninth All-Star game as the starting shortstop.
Jeter tied Lou Gehrig for the most hits at Yankee Stadium (1,269) with a home run off Tampa Bay Rays pitcher David Price on September 14, 2008. On September 16, he went on to break the record off of Chicago White Sox pitcher Gavin Floyd.
In 2009, Jeter was named #8 on the Sporting News' list of the 50 greatest current players in baseball by a panel of 100 baseball people, many of them members of the Baseball Hall of Fame and winners of major baseball awards.
For the 2009 season, Yankees manager Joe Girardi switched Jeter and Johnny Damon in the batting order, with Damon moving to second and Jeter becoming the leadoff hitter, based on the rationale that Jeter has a higher on base percentage than Damon, but grounds into double plays more often. Jeter batted .334 (third in the AL), with a .406 on-base percentage, 18 home runs, 30 stolen bases (caught only 5 times), 107 runs scored (in the top 10 in MLB), and 212 hits (second in MLB).
On August 16, 2009, against the Seattle Mariners, Jeter doubled down the right-field line for his 2,675th hit as a shortstop, breaking Luis Aparicio's previous record for the most hits by a shortstop in major league history. Jeter became the all-time hits leader as a member of the Yankees (2,722), passing Lou Gehrig on September 11, 2009. The hit was a single off Baltimore Orioles pitcher Chris Tillman in the 3rd inning.
In the 2009 postseason, Jeter batted .355, including .407 in the 2009 World Series, as he won his fifth World Series championship. He was named Sportsman of the Year for 2009 by Sports Illustrated magazine. Jeter also finished third in the AL MVP voting, behind the Minnesota's Joe Mauer and teammate Mark Teixeira.
World Baseball Classic
Jeter was the starting shortstop for the USA team in the 2006 World Baseball Classic. He hit .450 (9-for-20) for Team USA and scored five runs in six games. Only Ken Griffey, Jr. (.524) and Cuba's Yoandy Garlobo (.480) had a higher batting average with a minimum of 20 at bats. Jeter's play earned him recognition as the shortstop selection on the All-Tournament Team.
Jeter was also the starting shortstop for Team USA in the 2009 World Baseball Classic. At the start of the tournament, he was named captain of Team USA by manager Davey Johnson. With Team USA, Jeter faced the Yankees at Steinbrenner Field in an exhibition game, the first time he played against the Yankees.
Player profile
Jeter at shortstop in 2007.
Jeter is noted for his very consistent postseason performances: he has a career .309 postseason batting average, with 18 home runs and 50 RBIs. Except for 2008, the Yankees have been to the playoffs every year since Jeter joined the team. He has a Major League Baseball record 175 career postseason hits, at-bats (559), runs scored (99), and strikeouts (107).
Despite winning four Gold Glove awards, Jeter's defense has been the subject of criticism from a number of sabermetricians, including Rob Neyer and the publication Baseball Prospectus. The book The Fielding Bible by John Dewan contains an essay by James in which he concludes that Jeter "was probably the most ineffective defensive player in the major leagues, at any position." A 2008 study by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania found that, from 2002 through 2005, Jeter was the worst defensive shortstop in the Major Leagues. Jeter responded to this criticism by saying "I play in New York, man. Criticism is part of the game, you take criticism as a challenge."
During the 2008 offseason, Jeter embarked on a rigorous training program to combat the effects of age, by focusing on lateral movement and first-step quickness. As a result, many baseball writers noted that Jeter had a strong defensive season in 2009, improving his mobility and reducing errors.
Career highlights
Awards
Jeter warming up before a game.
Award / Honor↓ Time(s)↓ Date(s)↓
American League All-Star 10 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009
New York Yankees Player of the Year 4 1998, 1999, 2000, 2006
American League Gold Glove Award (SS) 4 2004, 2005, 2006, 2009
Hank Aaron Award 2 2006, 2009
Babe Ruth Award 1 2000
All-Star Game Most Valuable Player Award 1 2000
World Series Most Valuable Player Award 1 2000
American League Silver Slugger Award (SS) 4 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009
American League Rookie of the Year 1 1996
Roberto Clemente Award 1 2009
ESPY Awards Best MLB Player 1 2007
The Sporting News "Good Guy in Sports" Award 1 2002
Inductee in Kalamazoo Central High School Athletic Hall of Fame 1 2007
Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year 1 2009
Milestones
Jeter saluting the crowd after becoming the all-time Yankees hits leader.
* Jeter recorded his 2,000th career hit with an infield single on May 26, 2006, off Kansas City Royals pitcher Scott Elarton, becoming the eighth Yankee to reach the milestone.
* Jeter holds the record for most singles all-time by a Yankee.
* Jeter is one of six players to have 2,700 hits, 1,500 runs, 220 homers, 300 steals, and 1,000 RBIs (the others are Craig Biggio, Barry Bonds, Rickey Henderson, Willie Mays, and Paul Molitor).
* On June 18, 2005, against the Chicago Cubs, Jeter hit his first and only grand slam, after 10 years in the major leagues. At one point, Jeter had the most at bats of any active player to not have hit a grand slam.
* On June 4, 2008, Jeter passed Mickey Mantle for 3rd place on the Yankees all-time hit list.
* On June 27, 2008, Jeter hit his 400th double.
* On July 12, 2008, Jeter hit his 200th home run.
* On September 9, 2008, Jeter passed Babe Ruth for 2nd place on the Yankees all-time hit list.
* On September 14, 2008, Jeter tied Lou Gehrig for most hits at Yankee Stadium
* On September 16, 2008, Jeter moved past Lou Gehrig for most hits at Yankee Stadium with his 1,270th in the 1st inning, and 1,271st in the 5th inning.
* On July 24, 2009, Jeter passed Ted Williams for 68th place in all-time hits with his 2,655th.
* On August 2, 2009, Jeter played in his 2,084th game, tying Babe Ruth for 4th in Yankees history.
* On August 16, 2009, Jeter recorded his 2,673th and 2,674th hits, tying and passing Luis Aparicio for most hits by a shortstop in Major League history.
* On September 11, 2009, Jeter became the Yankees' all-time hits leader, surpassing Lou Gehrig with his 2,722nd hit, a single to right field off of Baltimore Orioles pitcher Chris Tillman in the 3rd inning.
* On April 6, 2010, Jeter, along with Posada and Mariano Rivera, became the first teammates in any of the four major league sports in North America (MLB, NFL, NBA, or NHL) to play in at least 16 seasons on the same team as teammates.
* On June 12 2010, Jeter compiled his 3,000th hit (including the postseason) with a solo home run in the first inning against the Houston Astros. a hit that also tied Jeter with Rickey Henderson as the all-time Yankees leader in leadoff home runs
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Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 06/26/10 at 6:32 am
The person who died on this day...Roy Campanella
Roy Campanella (November 19, 1921 – June 26, 1993), nicknamed "Campy", was an American baseball player — primarily at the position of catcher — in the Negro Leagues and Major League Baseball. He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Widely considered to have been one of the greatest catchers in the history of the game, Campanella played for the Brooklyn Dodgers during the 1940s and 1950s, as one of the pioneers in breaking the color barrier in Major League Baseball. His career was cut short in 1958 when he was paralyzed in an automobile accident. In 1946, Campanella moved into the Brooklyn Dodgers' minor league system, as the Dodger organization began preparations to break the Major Leagues' color barrier with Jackie Robinson. For the 1946 season, Robinson was assigned to the Montreal Royals, the Dodgers' affiliate in the Class AAA International League. Meanwhile, the team looked to assign Campanella to a Class B league. After the general manager of the Danville Dodgers of the Illinois-Indiana-Iowa League reported that he did not feel that league ready for racial integration, the organization sent Campanella, along with pitcher Don Newcombe to the Nashua Dodgers of the Class B New England League, where the Dodgers felt the racial climate would be more tolerant. The Nashua team thus became the first professional baseball team to field a racially integrated lineup in the United States in the 20th Century.
Campanella's 1946 season proceeded largely without racial incident, and in one game Campanella took over the managerial duties after manager Walter Alston was ejected. This made Campanella the first African-American to manage white players on an organized professional baseball team. Nashua was three runs down at the time Campanella took over. They came back to win, in part due to Campanella's decision to use Newcombe as a pinch hitter in the seventh inning. Newcombe hit a game-tying two-run home run.
Major League
Jackie Robinson's first season in the Major Leagues came in 1947, and Campanella began his Major League career with the Brooklyn Dodgers the following season. Campanella's first game was on April 20, 1948. He went on to play for the Dodgers from 1948 through 1957 as their regular catcher. In 1948, he had three different uniform numbers (33, 39, and 56) before settling on 39 for the rest of his career.
Campanella played in the All-Star Game every year from 1949 through 1956. His 1949 All-Star selection made him one of the first four African-Americans so honored. (Jackie Robinson, Don Newcombe and Larry Doby were also All-Stars in 1949.) Campanella received the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award in the National League three times: in 1951, 1953, and 1955. In each of his MVP seasons, he batted over .300, hit over 30 home runs and had over 100 runs batted in. His 142 RBIs in 1953 broke the franchise record of 130, which had been held by Jack Fournier (1925) and Babe Herman (1930). Today it is the second-most in franchise history, Tommy Davis breaking it with 153 RBIs in 1962. That same year, Campanella hit 40 home runs in games in which he appeared as a catcher, a record that lasted until 1996, when it was broken by Todd Hundley. Over his career, he threw out 57% of the base runners who tried to steal a base on him, the highest by any catcher in major league history.
In 1955, Campanella's final MVP season helped propel Brooklyn to its first-ever World Series championship. After the Dodgers dropped the first two games of that year's World Series to the Yankees, Campanella began Brooklyn's comeback by hitting a two-out, two-run home run in the first inning of Game 3. The Dodgers won that game, got another home run from Campanella in a Game 4 victory that tied the series, and then went on to claim the series in seven games.
After the 1957 season, the Brooklyn Dodgers relocated to Los Angeles, California, and became the Los Angeles Dodgers, but Campanella's playing career came to an end before he ever played a game for Los Angeles.
Automobile accident
Campanella lived in Glen Cove, New York, on the North Shore of Long Island, while owning a liquor store in Harlem which he also operated during the baseball off-season and between games. On January 28, 1958, after closing the store for the night, he began his drive to his home in Glen Cove. En route, traveling at about 30 mph (48 km/h), his car (a rented 1957 Chevrolet sedan) hit a patch of ice at a S-curve on Dosoris Lane near Apple Tree Lane, skidded into a telephone pole and overturned, breaking Campanella's neck. He fractured the fifth and sixth cervical vertebrae and compressed the spinal cord.
The accident left Campanella paralyzed from the shoulders down. Through physical therapy, he eventually was able to gain substantial use of his arms and hands. He was able to feed himself, shake hands, and gesture while speaking, but he would require a wheelchair for mobility for the remainder of his life.
Post-playing career
Willie Mays with Roy Campanella (1961)
After his playing career, Campanella remained involved with the Dodgers. In January 1959 the Dodgers named him assistant supervisor of scouting for the eastern part of the United States and special coach the team's annual spring training camp in Vero Beach, Florida, serving each year as a mentor and coach to young catchers in the Dodger organization. In 1978, he moved to California and took a job as assistant to the Dodgers' director of community relations, Campanella's former teammate and longtime friend Don Newcombe.
Honors and tribute
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Roy Campanella's number 39 was retired by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1972
On May 7, 1959, the Dodgers, then playing their second season in Los Angeles, honored Campanella with Roy Campanella Night at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The New York Yankees agreed to make a special trip to Los Angeles to play an exhibition game against the Dodgers for the occasion. The Yankees won the game, 6-2. The attendance at the game was 93,103, setting a record at that time for the largest crowd to attend a Major League Baseball game. The proceeds from the game went to defray Campanella's medical bills.
In 1969, Campanella was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, the second player of African American heritage so honored, after Jackie Robinson. The same year, he received the Bronze Medallion from the City of New York.
On June 4, 1972, the Dodgers retired Campanella's uniform number 39 alongside Robinson's (42) and Sandy Koufax's (32).
In an article in Esquire magazine in 1976, sportswriter Harry Stein published an article called the "All Time All-Star Argument Starter," a list of five ethnic baseball teams. Campanella was the catcher on Stein's black team.
In 1989 Campanella was presented with the United States Sports Academy's Mildred "Babe" Didrikson Zaharias Courage Award in recognition of his courageous action in overcoming adversity to excel in sport.
In 1999, Campanella ranked number 50 on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players, and was a nominee for the Major League Baseball All-Century Team.
In 2006, Campanella was featured on a United States postage stamp. The stamp is one of a block of four honoring baseball sluggers, the others being Mickey Mantle, Hank Greenberg, and Mel Ott.
In September 2006, the Los Angeles Dodgers announced the creation of the Roy Campanella Award, which is voted among the club's players and coaches and is given to the Dodger who best exemplifies "Campy's" spirit and leadership. Shortstop Rafael Furcal was named the inaugural winner of the award.
Personal life
Campanella was married three times. He married Bernice Ray in 1939, with whom he had two daughters. They divorced a few years later. On April 30, 1945, he married Ruthe Willis and had three children together (including a son, television director Roy Campanella II), though their relationship deteriorated after his accident. They separated in 1960 and Ruthe died in January 1963. On May 5, 1964, Campanella married Roxie Doles, who survived him.
Campanella died of a heart attack on June 26, 1993, in his Woodland Hills, California home. He was cremated by the Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles.. His widow, Roxie, died of cancer in 2004.
Books
The book Carl Erskine's Tales from the Dodgers Dugout: Extra Innings (2004) includes short stories from former Dodger pitcher Carl Erskine. Campanella is prominent in many of these stories.
In October 2006, Simon & Schuster announced plans to publish a new biography of Campanella to be written by Neil Lanctot, author of Negro League Baseball - The Rise and Ruin of a Black Institution. The book is scheduled for a 2010 or 2011 release.
It's Good to Be Alive
Campanella himself authored the inspirational book It’s Good to Be Alive, which details his journey back from the near-fatal car accident that left him paralyzed. The book mentions the years of tireless efforts by physical therapist Sam Brockington which allowed Campanella to regain some use of his arms, eventually overcome his initial bitterness about his fate, and finally adopt an optimistic outlook on life. Michael Landon made his TV-movie directorial debut in the 1974 movie It’s Good to Be Alive, in which Campanella was portrayed by Paul Winfield.
Television
Roy Campanella was interviewed by Edward R. Murrow on the CBS program Person to Person on October 2, 1953 and again on January 2, 1959. Campanella also appeared as Mystery Guest on What's My Line? episode 171 on September 6, 1953 and as a guest celebrity on The Name's the Same (ABC-TV) on July 27, 1954. Campanella was also mentioned in the lyrics of the song "Did You See Jackie Robinson Hit that Ball?", written and recorded by Buddy Johnson in 1949 (and covered by Count Basie and his Orchestra that same year) and in the lyrics to the song "We Didn't Start the Fire" by Billy Joel. Campanella was also honored on the famous Ralph Edward's show This Is Your Life. Campanella appeared as himself in the Lassie episode "The Mascot," first broadcast September 27, 1959, in a story where he is coaching Timmy Martin's "Boys' League" team.
See also
* Top 500 home run hitters of all time
* List of Major League Baseball RBI champions
* Major League Baseball hitters with three home runs in one game
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Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 06/26/10 at 6:42 am
The word of the day...Shortstop
Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball fielding position between second and third base. Shortstop is often regarded as the most dynamic defensive position in baseball, because there are more right-handed hitters in baseball than left-handed hitters, and most hitters have a tendency to pull the ball slightly, so more balls go to the shortstop than any other position. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the shortstop is assigned the number 6.
Shortstops are required to cover second base in double play situations when the ball is hit to the second baseman, first baseman, pitcher, or catcher. They cover second when a runner is attempting a stolen base, but only when a left-handed hitter is batting. This is because the chances of a ball being hit to the left side of the infield are almost cut in half. They also must cover third at various times, including the rotation play; that is, when there are runners on first and second and a sacrifice bunt is attempted. Shortstops generally are given precedence on catching pop-ups in the infield as well, so they end up calling off other players many times, although on deep pop-ups they fall back when called off by an outfielder. They often become the cutoff man on balls to any part of the outfield that are being directed towards third base and all balls to left and right field that are destined to second base. Depending on the system the shortstop may cut balls from left field heading home however, this is usually the role of a third basemen.
Traditionally, players are selected as shortstops for their fielding prowess, but in recent years more shortstops with excellent hitting have entered the leagues as well. It is an exclusively right-handed position, as a righty can easily throw to first or second without having to physically turn after playing a ground ball, the most common type of hit directed at the shortstop.
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Baseball is not one of my strongest subjects.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 06/26/10 at 6:59 am
The word of the day...Shortstop
Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball fielding position between second and third base. Shortstop is often regarded as the most dynamic defensive position in baseball, because there are more right-handed hitters in baseball than left-handed hitters, and most hitters have a tendency to pull the ball slightly, so more balls go to the shortstop than any other position. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the shortstop is assigned the number 6.
Shortstops are required to cover second base in double play situations when the ball is hit to the second baseman, first baseman, pitcher, or catcher. They cover second when a runner is attempting a stolen base, but only when a left-handed hitter is batting. This is because the chances of a ball being hit to the left side of the infield are almost cut in half. They also must cover third at various times, including the rotation play; that is, when there are runners on first and second and a sacrifice bunt is attempted. Shortstops generally are given precedence on catching pop-ups in the infield as well, so they end up calling off other players many times, although on deep pop-ups they fall back when called off by an outfielder. They often become the cutoff man on balls to any part of the outfield that are being directed towards third base and all balls to left and right field that are destined to second base. Depending on the system the shortstop may cut balls from left field heading home however, this is usually the role of a third basemen.
Traditionally, players are selected as shortstops for their fielding prowess, but in recent years more shortstops with excellent hitting have entered the leagues as well. It is an exclusively right-handed position, as a righty can easily throw to first or second without having to physically turn after playing a ground ball, the most common type of hit directed at the shortstop.
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http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w276/Lace9595/gettinready.jpg
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http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8342445135331678445#
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 06/26/10 at 7:00 am
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8342445135331678445#
Blast!!!!!
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 06/26/10 at 7:01 am
The word of the day...Shortstop
Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball fielding position between second and third base. Shortstop is often regarded as the most dynamic defensive position in baseball, because there are more right-handed hitters in baseball than left-handed hitters, and most hitters have a tendency to pull the ball slightly, so more balls go to the shortstop than any other position. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the shortstop is assigned the number 6.
Shortstops are required to cover second base in double play situations when the ball is hit to the second baseman, first baseman, pitcher, or catcher. They cover second when a runner is attempting a stolen base, but only when a left-handed hitter is batting. This is because the chances of a ball being hit to the left side of the infield are almost cut in half. They also must cover third at various times, including the rotation play; that is, when there are runners on first and second and a sacrifice bunt is attempted. Shortstops generally are given precedence on catching pop-ups in the infield as well, so they end up calling off other players many times, although on deep pop-ups they fall back when called off by an outfielder. They often become the cutoff man on balls to any part of the outfield that are being directed towards third base and all balls to left and right field that are destined to second base. Depending on the system the shortstop may cut balls from left field heading home however, this is usually the role of a third basemen.
Traditionally, players are selected as shortstops for their fielding prowess, but in recent years more shortstops with excellent hitting have entered the leagues as well. It is an exclusively right-handed position, as a righty can easily throw to first or second without having to physically turn after playing a ground ball, the most common type of hit directed at the shortstop.
http://i565.photobucket.com/albums/ss95/jdarrencollins/Family%20Album%202010/IMG_3233.jpg
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa17/jrbgc3737/BENGIE_SHORTSTOP.jpg
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http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w276/Lace9595/gettinready.jpg
http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o210/brownie46938/uncshortstop.jpg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfmvkO5x6Ng
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 06/26/10 at 7:07 am
The person born on this day...Derek Jeter
Derek Sanderson Jeter (pronounced /ˈdÊ’iËtÉ™r/; born June 26, 1974) is an American professional baseball player. He is a Major League Baseball (MLB) shortstop who has played his entire career for the New York Yankees. He has served as the Yankees' team captain since 2003. Jeter's presence in the Yankees' lineup, highlighted by his hitting prowess, played an instrumental role in the team's late 1990s dynasty.
Jeter debuted in the Major Leagues in 1995, and the following year he won the Rookie of the Year Award and helped the Yankees win the 1996 World Series. Jeter was also a member of championship-winning teams in 1998, 1999, 2000, and 2009. In 2000, Jeter became the only player to win both the All-Star Game MVP Award and the World Series MVP Award in the same year. He has been selected as an All-Star ten times, and he has won the Silver Slugger and Gold Glove awards on four occasions. He is regarded as a consummate professional, by teammates and opponents alike, and has a reputation as a reliable contributor in the postseason.
Jeter is considered to be one of the best players of his generation. He is the all-time hits leader among shortstops and his .317 career batting average through the 2009 season ranks as the fifth-highest among active players. He has been among the American League (AL) leaders in hits and runs scored for the past ten years. He is the all-time Yankees hit leader, passing Hall of Fame member Lou Gehrig in 2009 The Yankees had projected Jeter as their starting shortstop for the 1995 season, but when he suffered a minor injury in the Arizona Fall League, the Yankees signed Tony Fernández to a two-year contract to play shortstop and kept Jeter in Triple-A. The Yankees reportedly offered Jeter the opportunity to work out with the replacement players in Spring Training prior to the 1995 season, but he declined to cross the picket line.
On May 29, 1995, Jeter made his debut in the major leagues due to injuries to Fernández and Pat Kelly. Jeter batted .234 and committed two errors in 13 games before being demoted to Columbus.
Despite the presence of Fernández on the roster, new Yankees manager Joe Torre announced that Jeter would be the starting shortstop in 1996. He started on Opening Day of the 1996 season as the starting shortstop (the first Yankee rookie since Tom Tresh in 1962 to do so) and hit his first major-league home run on that day. Jeter's home run was called by one of his Yankee predecessors at shortstop, broadcaster Phil Rizzuto. Jeter played his way to a successful rookie season, hitting for a .314 batting average, with 10 home runs, 104 runs scored, and 78 runs batted in. He subsequently earned Rookie of the Year honors. Jeter batted .361 in the playoffs, as the Yankees defeated the Atlanta Braves to win their first World Series championship since 1978.
During the 1996 American League Championship Series, Jeter was involved in what has become a memorable moment in postseason history. During game one, with the Yankees trailing the Baltimore Orioles 4–3 in the 8th inning, Jeter hit a fly ball to right field. As right fielder Tony Tarasco moved to make a play on the ball near the fence, appearing to have a chance to catch the ball, 12-year-old Jeffrey Maier reached over the wall and caught the ball, pulling it back into the stands. Despite Tarasco's protest, the umpires convened and ruled the ball a home run. Replays conclusively showed that, had Maier not interfered, the ball would have fallen in front of the fence and potentially into Tarasco's glove for an out. The Yankees would go on to win in 11 innings and would eventually win the series, 4 games to 1. The ruling made for the first home run of Jeter's postseason career.
In 1997, Jeter batted .291. However, the Yankees lost to the Cleveland Indians in the American League Division Series. In 1998, Jeter batted .324, with a league-leading 127 runs, 19 home runs, and 84 runs batted in, for a team that won 114 games during the regular season and is widely considered to be one of the greatest of all time. In the playoffs, Jeter hit only .176 in the Division and League Championship Series, but he excelled in the World Series, batting .353, as the Yankees went on to beat the San Diego Padres in four games.
Jeter making a play against the Tampa Bay Rays at Yankee Stadium.
In 1999, Jeter led the American League in hits (219) and was second in the league in batting average (.349) and runs scored (134). Jeter (who, for part of the year, batted third in the lineup) also drove in 102 runs, becoming only the second Yankee shortstop ever to do so (Lyn Lary had driven in 107 runs in 1931). His season totals in batting average, runs, hits, runs batted in, doubles (37), triples (9), home runs (24), slugging percentage (.552), and on-base percentage (.438) are all personal bests. Jeter batted .455 in the 1999 American League Division Series, .350 in the 1999 American League Championship Series, and .353 in the 1999 World Series, as the Yankees defeated the Braves to win another championship.
During the 1999 season, Jeter had a confrontation with a teammate. Teammate Chad Curtis, an outspoken Christian, approached him about discussing his faith, but Jeter declined. When Curtis approached Jeter again, he became offended. Later in the season, a mid-game bench-clearing brawl with the Seattle Mariners occurred. After the brawl ended, Jeter was seen engaged in friendly chatter with his good friend (and future Yankee teammate) Alex Rodriguez, who then played for the Mariners. Upon returning to the dugout, Curtis chastized Jeter for being friendly with an opponent during a bench-clearing brawl, which violated an unwritten rule of baseball. After the game, Curtis approached Jeter in the clubhouse, with beat writers present. Jeter commented that this was not an appropriate time for a confrontation. Curtis later apologized.
During the 1999–2000 offseason, the Yankees negotiated with Jeter, tentatively agreeing to a $118.5 million, seven-year contract. However, Yankee owner George Steinbrenner did not want to set a salary record, delaying until the acceptance of a $143 million, eight-year contract extension between the Detroit Tigers and Juan González. When that proposed deal fell through, Jeter's tentative deal fell through, and he agreed to a one-year deal for $10 million.
2000–2003
Jeter batted .339, with 15 home runs, 73 runs batted in, 119 runs scored, and 22 stolen bases in 2000. He batted only .211 in the Division Series but rebounded to bat .318 against the Seattle Mariners in the Championship Series and .409, with two home runs, a triple, and two doubles in a five-game series against the New York Mets in the World Series, the first Subway Series since 1956.
In 2000, Jeter became the first player ever to win the All-Star Game MVP award and the World Series MVP Award in the same year. Jeter became the first Yankee since Yogi Berra, in 1959, to hit a home run in the All Star Game.
Before the 2001 season, with one year remaining until he would become eligible for free agency, Jeter signed a $189 million, ten-year contract to remain with the Yankees, making him the second highest paid athlete, trailing only Rodriguez. Rodriguez signed his deal earlier than Jeter, setting a higher market for Jeter's negotiations.
During the season, Jeter batted .311, with 21 home runs, 74 runs batted in, 110 runs scored, and 27 stolen bases. In the postseason, Jeter made a notable play in game 3 of the 2001 American League Division Series against the Oakland Athletics. With Jeremy Giambi on first base, Oakland right fielder Terrence Long hit a double off Yankees pitcher Mike Mussina into the right-field corner. As Giambi rounded third base and headed for home, Yankees right fielder Shane Spencer retrieved the ball and made a wild throw intended for Yankees catcher Jorge Posada. Instead, the errant throw missed cutoff man Tino Martinez and dribbled up the first-base line. Jeter came from shortstop to grab the ball and flipped it to Posada, who tagged Giambi on the leg just before he crossed home plate for the out. Facing elimination, the Yankees went on to win the game, as well as the series. The play was later voted #7 in Baseball Weekly's 10 Most Amazing Plays of all time.
After the September 11 terrorist attacks, the baseball season was put on hold. As a result, the start of the playoffs was delayed, and game 4 of the 2001 World Series was played on October 31. The game went into the tenth inning tied at 3–3. At midnight, the scoreboard in center field read "Attention Fans, Welcome to NOVEMBER BASEBALL." This was the first time that any non-exhibition MLB game had been played in the month of November. Moments after this message was displayed on the board, Jeter sent a 3–2 pitch from Byung-Hyun Kim over the right-field stands. A fan in the stands held up a sign with the words "Mr. November," a reference to Reggie Jackson's nickname, "Mr. October". Michael Kay, who called the walk-off home run, called Jeter by this name, referencing the sign. Despite the nickname, Jeter was 3 for 12 (.250) in November baseball that season, as the Yankees lost the World Series in seven games to the Arizona Diamondbacks (the home team won all seven games of the World Series).
In 2002, Jeter batted .297, with 18 home runs, 75 runs batted in, 124 runs scored, and a career-best 32 stolen bases. He led the majors in stolen base percentage (91.4%), getting caught only three times.
Jeter connects for a hit against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
In 2003, Jeter dislocated his left shoulder on opening day when he collided with Blue Jays catcher Ken Huckaby at third base. Jeter, who had never played fewer than 148 games in the prior seven full seasons, was subsequently on the disabled list for six weeks, missing 36 games. Jeter returned to bat .324, losing the batting title to Bill Mueller, who batted .326.
Steinbrenner named Jeter the 11th recognized captain in Yankees history on June 3, 2003, following eight seasons without a captain after the retirement of Don Mattingly in 1995. Dispute over the true count has been noted.
2004–present
Jeter joking with other players during Spring Training.
The beginning of the 2004 season saw Jeter mired in a slump; on May 25, he was hitting only .189. This included a personal career record 0-for-32 skid in April. In June, however, Jeter broke out of his slump. He hit nearly .400 for the month and set a personal best with 9 home runs. He finished the season with a .292 average; 23 home runs, the 2nd most of his career; 78 runs batted in; 111 runs scored; and 44 doubles, a career best.
During a July 1, 2004, game against the rival Boston Red Sox, Jeter made a play that furthered his reputation as a clutch player. In the top of the 12th inning, with the score tied at 3, the Red Sox had runners on second and third with 2 outs and right fielder Trot Nixon up at bat. Nixon hit a pop fly down the left field line. Jeter ran from his position at shortshop and made an over-the-shoulder catch. In dramatic fashion, he launched himself over the third-base side railing, landing three rows into the left-field seats, and lacerating his chin and bruising his face in the process. Jeter was later taken out of the game. This catch ended the inning, and later the Yankees went on to win the game in the bottom of the 13th inning. The "Dive" was awarded Play Of The Year in the This Year In Baseball awards competition, as voted on by fans at MLB.com.
In 2005, Jeter was second in the AL in both runs scored (122) and batting average on balls in play (.394), and was third in the league in both at bats (654) and hits (202). Jeter won his second-consecutive Gold Glove in 2005, as his low range factor rose to 4.76 and ranked 2nd among AL shortstops.
In 2006, Jeter was second in the AL in both batting average (.343) and runs scored (118); was third in hits (214), stolen base success percentage (87.2), and batting average with runners in scoring position (.381); and was fifth in infield hits (26). He finished second in American League Most Valuable Player Award voting to Justin Morneau of the Minnesota Twins (320 points to 306 points). Jeter has finished in the top 10 in the MVP balloting 6 times in his 11 full seasons through 2006 (including also a third-place finish in 1998).
Jeter prepares to bat at Oriole Park in 2007.
In 2007, Jeter was third in the AL in hits (203), his sixth season and third-consecutive season with 200 hits, tying Lou Gehrig. He was also fourth in both at-bats (639) and plate appearances (714), sixth in times on base (276), and ninth in batting average (.322). In the field, he was involved in a career-high 104 double plays.
In 2008, Jeter's slugging percentage was .410, his lowest since 1997. One possible cause was a prolonged slump that he suffered after being hit by a pitch on his wrist. Before the injury, Jeter was hitting .324 with a .774 on-base plus slugging (OPS). After the injury, his batting average dipped to as low as .269 by the end of the month. His offense took an upward turn after May as he hit .322 with a .824 OPS after June 1. Jeter was elected to his ninth All-Star game as the starting shortstop.
Jeter tied Lou Gehrig for the most hits at Yankee Stadium (1,269) with a home run off Tampa Bay Rays pitcher David Price on September 14, 2008. On September 16, he went on to break the record off of Chicago White Sox pitcher Gavin Floyd.
In 2009, Jeter was named #8 on the Sporting News' list of the 50 greatest current players in baseball by a panel of 100 baseball people, many of them members of the Baseball Hall of Fame and winners of major baseball awards.
For the 2009 season, Yankees manager Joe Girardi switched Jeter and Johnny Damon in the batting order, with Damon moving to second and Jeter becoming the leadoff hitter, based on the rationale that Jeter has a higher on base percentage than Damon, but grounds into double plays more often. Jeter batted .334 (third in the AL), with a .406 on-base percentage, 18 home runs, 30 stolen bases (caught only 5 times), 107 runs scored (in the top 10 in MLB), and 212 hits (second in MLB).
On August 16, 2009, against the Seattle Mariners, Jeter doubled down the right-field line for his 2,675th hit as a shortstop, breaking Luis Aparicio's previous record for the most hits by a shortstop in major league history. Jeter became the all-time hits leader as a member of the Yankees (2,722), passing Lou Gehrig on September 11, 2009. The hit was a single off Baltimore Orioles pitcher Chris Tillman in the 3rd inning.
In the 2009 postseason, Jeter batted .355, including .407 in the 2009 World Series, as he won his fifth World Series championship. He was named Sportsman of the Year for 2009 by Sports Illustrated magazine. Jeter also finished third in the AL MVP voting, behind the Minnesota's Joe Mauer and teammate Mark Teixeira.
World Baseball Classic
Jeter was the starting shortstop for the USA team in the 2006 World Baseball Classic. He hit .450 (9-for-20) for Team USA and scored five runs in six games. Only Ken Griffey, Jr. (.524) and Cuba's Yoandy Garlobo (.480) had a higher batting average with a minimum of 20 at bats. Jeter's play earned him recognition as the shortstop selection on the All-Tournament Team.
Jeter was also the starting shortstop for Team USA in the 2009 World Baseball Classic. At the start of the tournament, he was named captain of Team USA by manager Davey Johnson. With Team USA, Jeter faced the Yankees at Steinbrenner Field in an exhibition game, the first time he played against the Yankees.
Player profile
Jeter at shortstop in 2007.
Jeter is noted for his very consistent postseason performances: he has a career .309 postseason batting average, with 18 home runs and 50 RBIs. Except for 2008, the Yankees have been to the playoffs every year since Jeter joined the team. He has a Major League Baseball record 175 career postseason hits, at-bats (559), runs scored (99), and strikeouts (107).
Despite winning four Gold Glove awards, Jeter's defense has been the subject of criticism from a number of sabermetricians, including Rob Neyer and the publication Baseball Prospectus. The book The Fielding Bible by John Dewan contains an essay by James in which he concludes that Jeter "was probably the most ineffective defensive player in the major leagues, at any position." A 2008 study by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania found that, from 2002 through 2005, Jeter was the worst defensive shortstop in the Major Leagues. Jeter responded to this criticism by saying "I play in New York, man. Criticism is part of the game, you take criticism as a challenge."
During the 2008 offseason, Jeter embarked on a rigorous training program to combat the effects of age, by focusing on lateral movement and first-step quickness. As a result, many baseball writers noted that Jeter had a strong defensive season in 2009, improving his mobility and reducing errors.
Career highlights
Awards
Jeter warming up before a game.
Award / Honor↓ Time(s)↓ Date(s)↓
American League All-Star 10 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009
New York Yankees Player of the Year 4 1998, 1999, 2000, 2006
American League Gold Glove Award (SS) 4 2004, 2005, 2006, 2009
Hank Aaron Award 2 2006, 2009
Babe Ruth Award 1 2000
All-Star Game Most Valuable Player Award 1 2000
World Series Most Valuable Player Award 1 2000
American League Silver Slugger Award (SS) 4 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009
American League Rookie of the Year 1 1996
Roberto Clemente Award 1 2009
ESPY Awards Best MLB Player 1 2007
The Sporting News "Good Guy in Sports" Award 1 2002
Inductee in Kalamazoo Central High School Athletic Hall of Fame 1 2007
Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year 1 2009
Milestones
Jeter saluting the crowd after becoming the all-time Yankees hits leader.
* Jeter recorded his 2,000th career hit with an infield single on May 26, 2006, off Kansas City Royals pitcher Scott Elarton, becoming the eighth Yankee to reach the milestone.
* Jeter holds the record for most singles all-time by a Yankee.
* Jeter is one of six players to have 2,700 hits, 1,500 runs, 220 homers, 300 steals, and 1,000 RBIs (the others are Craig Biggio, Barry Bonds, Rickey Henderson, Willie Mays, and Paul Molitor).
* On June 18, 2005, against the Chicago Cubs, Jeter hit his first and only grand slam, after 10 years in the major leagues. At one point, Jeter had the most at bats of any active player to not have hit a grand slam.
* On June 4, 2008, Jeter passed Mickey Mantle for 3rd place on the Yankees all-time hit list.
* On June 27, 2008, Jeter hit his 400th double.
* On July 12, 2008, Jeter hit his 200th home run.
* On September 9, 2008, Jeter passed Babe Ruth for 2nd place on the Yankees all-time hit list.
* On September 14, 2008, Jeter tied Lou Gehrig for most hits at Yankee Stadium
* On September 16, 2008, Jeter moved past Lou Gehrig for most hits at Yankee Stadium with his 1,270th in the 1st inning, and 1,271st in the 5th inning.
* On July 24, 2009, Jeter passed Ted Williams for 68th place in all-time hits with his 2,655th.
* On August 2, 2009, Jeter played in his 2,084th game, tying Babe Ruth for 4th in Yankees history.
* On August 16, 2009, Jeter recorded his 2,673th and 2,674th hits, tying and passing Luis Aparicio for most hits by a shortstop in Major League history.
* On September 11, 2009, Jeter became the Yankees' all-time hits leader, surpassing Lou Gehrig with his 2,722nd hit, a single to right field off of Baltimore Orioles pitcher Chris Tillman in the 3rd inning.
* On April 6, 2010, Jeter, along with Posada and Mariano Rivera, became the first teammates in any of the four major league sports in North America (MLB, NFL, NBA, or NHL) to play in at least 16 seasons on the same team as teammates.
* On June 12 2010, Jeter compiled his 3,000th hit (including the postseason) with a solo home run in the first inning against the Houston Astros. a hit that also tied Jeter with Rickey Henderson as the all-time Yankees leader in leadoff home runs
http://i0006.photobucket.com/albums/0006/findstuff22/Best%20Images/Sports/derek-jeter1.jpg
http://i438.photobucket.com/albums/qq108/SHAWRTy_15/862115Alex-Rodriguez-Derek-Jeter-Ve.jpg
I call him The Jeter Cheater
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 06/26/10 at 7:08 am
I like both Careless Whisper and Wake Me Up Before You Go Go, but my favorite is Father Figure :)
I also like I Want Your Sex.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 06/26/10 at 7:09 am
To be remembered today: Israel Kamakawiwo'ole
Israel "Iz" Kaʻanoʻi Kamakawiwoʻole (May 20, 1959 – June 26, 1997) (pronounced ) was a Hawaiian musician, and nephew to entertainer Moe Keale.
He became famous outside Hawaii when his album Facing Future was released in 1993. His medley of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" and "What a Wonderful World" was subsequently featured in several films, television programs, and commercials.
Through his consummate ukulele playing and incorporation of other genres (such as jazz and reggae), Kamakawiwoʻole remains one of the major influences in Hawaiian music over the last 15 years.
Early life
Kamakawiwo'ole was born at Kuakini Hospital in Honolulu to Henry Kaleialoha Naniwa Kamakawiwoʻole, Jr., and Evangeline Leinani Kamakawiwo'ole. He was raised in the community of Kaimuki, where his parents had met and married. He began playing music with his older brother Skippy at the age of 11, being exposed to the music of Hawaiian entertainers of the time such as Peter Moon, Palani Vaughn, and Don Ho, who frequented the establishment where Kamakawiwo'ole's parents worked.
In his early teens, he studied at Upward Bound (UB) of the University of Hawaii at Hilo and his family moved to Makaha, Hawai'i. There he met Louis "Moon" Kauakahi, Sam Gray, and Jerome Koko. Together with his brother Skippy they formed the Makaha Sons of Niʻihau. From 1976 throughout the 1980s, the Hawaiian contemporary band gained in popularity as they toured Hawaiʻi and the continental United States and released fifteen successful albums.
In 1982, Kamakawiwoʻole's brother Skippy Kamakawiwoʻole died of a heart attack. In that same year, Kamakawiwoʻole married his childhood sweetheart Marlene. Soon after, they had a daughter whom they named Ceslieanne "Wehi".
Music career
Kamakawiwoʻole formed the musical group Makaha Sons of Niʻihau with brother Skippy plus Louis "Moon" Kauakahi, Sam Gray and Jerome Koko. They recorded No Kristo in 1976 and released four more albums, including Kahea O Keale, Keala, Makaha Sons Of Niʻihau and Mahalo Ke Akua, before Skippy died of a heart attack in 1982. The group became Hawaii's most popular traditional group with breakout albums like 1984's Puana Hou Me Ke Aloha and its follow-up, 1986's Hoʻola. Kamakawiwoʻole's last recorded album with the group was 1991's Hoʻoluana. It remains the group's top-selling CD.
In 1990, Kamakawiwoʻole released his first solo album Kaʻanoʻi, which won awards for Contemporary Album of the Year and Male Vocalist of the Year from the Hawaiʻi Academy of Recording Arts (HARA). Facing Future was released in 1993 by The Mountain Apple Company. It featured his most popular song, the medley "Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World", along with "Hawaiʻi 78", "White Sandy Beach of Hawaiʻi", "Maui Hawaiian Sup'pa Man", and "Kaulana Kawaihae". Facing Future debuted at #25 on Billboard Magazine's Top Pop Catalogue chart. On October 26, 2005, "Facing Future" became Hawaii's first certified platinum album, selling more than a million CDs in the United States, according to figures furnished by the Recording Industry Association of America. On July 21, 2006, BBC Radio 1 announced that "Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World(True Dreams)" would be released as a single in America.
In 1994, Kamakawiwoʻole was voted favorite entertainer of the year by the Hawaiʻi Academy of Recording Arts (HARA).
E Ala E (1995) featured the political title song "ʻE Ala ʻE" and "Kaleohano", and N Dis Life (1996) featured "In This Life" and "Starting All Over Again".
Kamakawiwoʻole was known for promoting Hawaiian rights and Hawaiian independence, both through his lyrics, which often stated the case for independence directly, and his life.
In 1997, KamakawiwoÊ»ole was again honored by HARA at the Annual NÄ HÅkÅ« Hanohano awards for Male Vocalist of the Year, Favorite Entertainer of the Year, Album of the Year, and Island Contemporary Album of the Year. He watched the awards ceremony from a hospital room.
Alone in Iz World (2001) debuted at #1 on Billboard's World Chart and #135 on Billboard's Top 200, #13 on the Top Independent Albums Chart, and #15 on the Top Internet Album Sales charts.
Death
Throughout the later part of his life, Kamakawiwoʻole suffered from severe obesity and at one point carried 770 pounds (350 kg) (55 stone) on his 6-foot 2-inch (1.88 m) frame, and also battled a drug addiction. He endured several hospitalizations and died of weight-related respiratory illness at Queen's Medical Center on June 26, 1997, at 12:18 a.m. He was 38 years old. He is survived by his wife Marlene Kamakawiwo'ole and his daughter Ceslieanne "Wehi".
The HawaiÊ»i State Flag flew at half-staff on July 10, 1997, the day of KamakawiwoÊ»ole's funeral. His koa wood coffin lay in state at the Capitol building in Honolulu. He was the third person in Hawaiian history to be accorded this honor and the only non-politician. Approximately ten thousand people attended his funeral. Thousands of fans gathered as his ashes were scattered into the Pacific Ocean at MÄkua Beach on July 12, 1997.
On September 20, 2003, hundreds paid tribute to Kamakawiwoʻole as a 200-pound bronze bust of the revered singer was unveiled at the Waianae Neighborhood Community Center on Oʻahu. The singer's widow, Marlene Kamakawiwoʻole, and sculptor Jan-Michelle Sawyer were present for the dedication ceremony.
Legacy
Kamakawiwoʻole's recording of "Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World" reached #12 on Billboard's Hot Digital Tracks chart the week of January 31, 2004 (for the survey week ending January 18, 2004), and passed the 2 million paid downloads mark in the USA as of September 27, 2009.
On July 4, 2007, Kamakawiwoʻole debuted at No. 44 on the Billboard Top 200 Album Chart with "Wonderful World," selling 17,000 units.
Hawaiian mixed martial artist; former UFC lightweight champion, and former welterweight champion, B.J. Penn commonly uses his songs "Hawaii '78" and "E Ala E" as his entrance music.
In April 2007, "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" entered the UK charts at #68, and eventually climbed to #46, spending 10 weeks in the Top 100 over a 2 year period.
Discography
* Ka 'Ano'i (1990)
* Facing Future (1993)
* E Ala E (1995)
* N Dis Life (1996)
* Iz in Concert: The Man and His Music (1998)
* Alone in Iz World (2001)
* Wonderful World (2007)
http://jornale.com.br/wicca/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/israel_kamakawiwo.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 06/26/10 at 7:10 am
To be remembered today: Israel Kamakawiwo'ole
Israel "Iz" Kaʻanoʻi Kamakawiwoʻole (May 20, 1959 – June 26, 1997) (pronounced ) was a Hawaiian musician, and nephew to entertainer Moe Keale.
He became famous outside Hawaii when his album Facing Future was released in 1993. His medley of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" and "What a Wonderful World" was subsequently featured in several films, television programs, and commercials.
Through his consummate ukulele playing and incorporation of other genres (such as jazz and reggae), Kamakawiwoʻole remains one of the major influences in Hawaiian music over the last 15 years.
Early life
Kamakawiwo'ole was born at Kuakini Hospital in Honolulu to Henry Kaleialoha Naniwa Kamakawiwoʻole, Jr., and Evangeline Leinani Kamakawiwo'ole. He was raised in the community of Kaimuki, where his parents had met and married. He began playing music with his older brother Skippy at the age of 11, being exposed to the music of Hawaiian entertainers of the time such as Peter Moon, Palani Vaughn, and Don Ho, who frequented the establishment where Kamakawiwo'ole's parents worked.
In his early teens, he studied at Upward Bound (UB) of the University of Hawaii at Hilo and his family moved to Makaha, Hawai'i. There he met Louis "Moon" Kauakahi, Sam Gray, and Jerome Koko. Together with his brother Skippy they formed the Makaha Sons of Niʻihau. From 1976 throughout the 1980s, the Hawaiian contemporary band gained in popularity as they toured Hawaiʻi and the continental United States and released fifteen successful albums.
In 1982, Kamakawiwoʻole's brother Skippy Kamakawiwoʻole died of a heart attack. In that same year, Kamakawiwoʻole married his childhood sweetheart Marlene. Soon after, they had a daughter whom they named Ceslieanne "Wehi".
Music career
Kamakawiwoʻole formed the musical group Makaha Sons of Niʻihau with brother Skippy plus Louis "Moon" Kauakahi, Sam Gray and Jerome Koko. They recorded No Kristo in 1976 and released four more albums, including Kahea O Keale, Keala, Makaha Sons Of Niʻihau and Mahalo Ke Akua, before Skippy died of a heart attack in 1982. The group became Hawaii's most popular traditional group with breakout albums like 1984's Puana Hou Me Ke Aloha and its follow-up, 1986's Hoʻola. Kamakawiwoʻole's last recorded album with the group was 1991's Hoʻoluana. It remains the group's top-selling CD.
In 1990, Kamakawiwoʻole released his first solo album Kaʻanoʻi, which won awards for Contemporary Album of the Year and Male Vocalist of the Year from the Hawaiʻi Academy of Recording Arts (HARA). Facing Future was released in 1993 by The Mountain Apple Company. It featured his most popular song, the medley "Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World", along with "Hawaiʻi 78", "White Sandy Beach of Hawaiʻi", "Maui Hawaiian Sup'pa Man", and "Kaulana Kawaihae". Facing Future debuted at #25 on Billboard Magazine's Top Pop Catalogue chart. On October 26, 2005, "Facing Future" became Hawaii's first certified platinum album, selling more than a million CDs in the United States, according to figures furnished by the Recording Industry Association of America. On July 21, 2006, BBC Radio 1 announced that "Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World(True Dreams)" would be released as a single in America.
In 1994, Kamakawiwoʻole was voted favorite entertainer of the year by the Hawaiʻi Academy of Recording Arts (HARA).
E Ala E (1995) featured the political title song "ʻE Ala ʻE" and "Kaleohano", and N Dis Life (1996) featured "In This Life" and "Starting All Over Again".
Kamakawiwoʻole was known for promoting Hawaiian rights and Hawaiian independence, both through his lyrics, which often stated the case for independence directly, and his life.
In 1997, KamakawiwoÊ»ole was again honored by HARA at the Annual NÄ HÅkÅ« Hanohano awards for Male Vocalist of the Year, Favorite Entertainer of the Year, Album of the Year, and Island Contemporary Album of the Year. He watched the awards ceremony from a hospital room.
Alone in Iz World (2001) debuted at #1 on Billboard's World Chart and #135 on Billboard's Top 200, #13 on the Top Independent Albums Chart, and #15 on the Top Internet Album Sales charts.
Death
Throughout the later part of his life, Kamakawiwoʻole suffered from severe obesity and at one point carried 770 pounds (350 kg) (55 stone) on his 6-foot 2-inch (1.88 m) frame, and also battled a drug addiction. He endured several hospitalizations and died of weight-related respiratory illness at Queen's Medical Center on June 26, 1997, at 12:18 a.m. He was 38 years old. He is survived by his wife Marlene Kamakawiwo'ole and his daughter Ceslieanne "Wehi".
The HawaiÊ»i State Flag flew at half-staff on July 10, 1997, the day of KamakawiwoÊ»ole's funeral. His koa wood coffin lay in state at the Capitol building in Honolulu. He was the third person in Hawaiian history to be accorded this honor and the only non-politician. Approximately ten thousand people attended his funeral. Thousands of fans gathered as his ashes were scattered into the Pacific Ocean at MÄkua Beach on July 12, 1997.
On September 20, 2003, hundreds paid tribute to Kamakawiwoʻole as a 200-pound bronze bust of the revered singer was unveiled at the Waianae Neighborhood Community Center on Oʻahu. The singer's widow, Marlene Kamakawiwoʻole, and sculptor Jan-Michelle Sawyer were present for the dedication ceremony.
Legacy
Kamakawiwoʻole's recording of "Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World" reached #12 on Billboard's Hot Digital Tracks chart the week of January 31, 2004 (for the survey week ending January 18, 2004), and passed the 2 million paid downloads mark in the USA as of September 27, 2009.
On July 4, 2007, Kamakawiwoʻole debuted at No. 44 on the Billboard Top 200 Album Chart with "Wonderful World," selling 17,000 units.
Hawaiian mixed martial artist; former UFC lightweight champion, and former welterweight champion, B.J. Penn commonly uses his songs "Hawaii '78" and "E Ala E" as his entrance music.
In April 2007, "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" entered the UK charts at #68, and eventually climbed to #46, spending 10 weeks in the Top 100 over a 2 year period.
Discography
* Ka 'Ano'i (1990)
* Facing Future (1993)
* E Ala E (1995)
* N Dis Life (1996)
* Iz in Concert: The Man and His Music (1998)
* Alone in Iz World (2001)
* Wonderful World (2007)
http://jornale.com.br/wicca/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/israel_kamakawiwo.jpg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1bFr2SWP1I
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 06/26/10 at 7:12 am
I like Wake Me Up Before You Go Go.
I sing "Wake Me Up Before the cocoa!"
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 06/26/10 at 7:13 am
I call him The Jeter Cheater
In short, what did he do?
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 06/26/10 at 7:14 am
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1bFr2SWP1I
His voice sounds so pretty.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 06/26/10 at 7:14 am
In short, what did he do?
his little fling with Madonna.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 06/26/10 at 7:15 am
His voice sounds so pretty.
This must the saddest version of the song I have heard.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 06/26/10 at 7:15 am
his little fling with Madonna.
A little fling?
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 06/26/10 at 7:16 am
A little fling?
from what I read,he dated her.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 06/26/10 at 7:28 am
from what I read,he dated her.
Can I stoop so low to reseearch into the gossip press?
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 06/26/10 at 7:29 am
Can I stoop so low to reseearch into the gossip press?
you could try.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 06/26/10 at 7:37 am
you could try.
Try (on that subject) is a hard word for me.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 06/26/10 at 11:28 am
his little fling with Madonna.
I believe that was A-Rod not Jeter.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 06/26/10 at 12:05 pm
I believe that was A-Rod not Jeter.
A-Rod being a different baseball player?
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 06/26/10 at 12:12 pm
A-Rod being a different baseball player?
Yes sorry Phil,,Alex Rodriguez. This is from 2008
Cynthia Rodriguez's lawyer tells TMZ, "A-Rod may be an All-Star baseball player, but he's flunked the All-Star team as far as marriage is concerned."
Earle Lilly is repping Cynthia in the divorce case, which will be launched tomorrow when she files legal papers in Miami. Lilly claims Alex Rodriguez, who's already banked more than $250 mil, and Madonna have been having an affair "and are still together." He says they were together after his game yesterday and together today as well.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 06/26/10 at 12:15 pm
Yes sorry Phil,,Alex Rodriguez. This is from 2008
Cynthia Rodriguez's lawyer tells TMZ, "A-Rod may be an All-Star baseball player, but he's flunked the All-Star team as far as marriage is concerned."
Earle Lilly is repping Cynthia in the divorce case, which will be launched tomorrow when she files legal papers in Miami. Lilly claims Alex Rodriguez, who's already banked more than $250 mil, and Madonna have been having an affair "and are still together." He says they were together after his game yesterday and together today as well.
Many thanks on the info.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: CatwomanofV on 06/26/10 at 1:08 pm
Derek Jeter: 8-P 8-P 8-P 8-P 8-P
Cat
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 06/26/10 at 1:38 pm
Many thanks on the info.
Your Welcome :)
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 06/26/10 at 1:39 pm
Derek Jeter: 8-P 8-P 8-P 8-P 8-P
Cat
;D I'm not much of a Yankees fan, but I don't think he is that bad. :)
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 06/26/10 at 2:13 pm
I believe that was A-Rod not Jeter.
Sorry I get the 2 confused. ::) :P
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 06/26/10 at 2:18 pm
Sorry I get the 2 confused. ::) :P
Are the two players so similar to be confused together?
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 06/26/10 at 2:23 pm
Are the two players so similar to be confused together?
They're both Yankees.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 06/26/10 at 2:27 pm
They're both Yankees.
They play for the same team?
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 06/26/10 at 2:29 pm
They play for the same team?
yes they do.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 06/26/10 at 2:34 pm
yes they do.
The New York Yankees ?
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 06/26/10 at 2:34 pm
The New York Yankees ?
Yes.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: CatwomanofV on 06/26/10 at 2:39 pm
;D I'm not much of a Yankees fan, but I don't think he is that bad. :)
Yeah, he is. The guy is so full of himself it is unreal.
Cat
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 06/26/10 at 2:42 pm
Yes.
Are they pitchers or batters?
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 06/26/10 at 2:43 pm
Are they pitchers or batters?
I think,pitchers.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 06/26/10 at 2:43 pm
I think,pitchers.
Both pitchers?
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 06/26/10 at 2:44 pm
Both pitchers?
wiki says it.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 06/26/10 at 2:46 pm
wiki says it.
Okey Dokey, but who is the better pitcher of the two?
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: CatwomanofV on 06/26/10 at 3:03 pm
I think,pitchers.
Jeter plays shortstop and A-Rod (AKA Pay-Rod) plays 3rd base.
Cat
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 06/26/10 at 3:08 pm
Jeter plays shortstop and A-Rod (AKA Pay-Rod) plays 3rd base.
Cat
I Don't Know is on 3rd base?
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: CatwomanofV on 06/26/10 at 3:22 pm
I Don't Know is on 3rd base?
;D ;D ;D
Cat
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 06/26/10 at 5:03 pm
Yeah, he is. The guy is so full of himself it is unreal.
Cat
I'm sure there are lots of celebrates that can apply too. ;D
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Frank on 06/26/10 at 5:06 pm
Derek Jeter: 8-P 8-P 8-P 8-P 8-P
Cat
You think more highly of him that I do.
Yankees and A-Rod ---> http://www.inthe00s.com/smile/10/xyxgun.gif
8-P 8-P 8-P 8-P 8-P 8-P 8-P 8-P 8-P 8-P 8-P 8-P 8-P 8-P 8-P 8-P 8-P 8-P 8-P 8-P 8-P
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 06/26/10 at 11:31 pm
British Person of the Day: Meera Syal
Meera Syal MBE (born Feroza Syal; 27 June 1961) is an Indo-British comedienne, writer, playwright, singer, journalist, producer and actress. She rose to prominence as one of the team that created Goodness Gracious Me and became one of the UK's best-known Indian personalities portraying Sanjeev's grandmother, Ummi, in The Kumars at No. 42.
She was awarded the MBE in the New Year's Honours List of 1997 and in 2003 was listed in The Observer as one of the fifty funniest acts in British comedy.
Syal starred in the eleventh series of Holby City as Consultant Tara Sodi .
Life and career
Her Punjabi-born parents came to England from New Delhi. She was born in Wolverhampton, Staffordshire and grew up in Essington, a mining village a few miles to the north. She attended Queen Mary's High School in nearby Walsall.
Syal won the National Student Drama Award for writing One of Us while studying English and Drama at Manchester University. She won the Betty Trask Award for her first book Anita and Me and the Media Personality of the Year award at the Commission for Racial Equality's annual Race in the Media awards in 2000. Syal wrote the screenplay for the 1993 film Bhaji on the Beach. She was one of the team who wrote and performed in the BBC comedy sketch show Goodness Gracious Me (1996-2001), originally on radio and then on television.
She achieved a number one record with Gareth Gates and her co-stars from The Kumars at No. 42 with Spirit in the Sky, the Comic Relief single. She also sang Then He Kissed Me (composed by Biddu) with the famous pop star from Pakistan Nazia Hassan. Nazia, Syal and Bidddu also came up with the girl band named "Saffron" in 1988. She was given the Nazia Hassan Foundation award in 2003. In October 2008 she starred in the BBC2 sitcom Beautiful People.
In June 2003 she appeared as a guest on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs programme with a selection of music by Nitin Sawhney, Madan Bala Sindhu, Joni Mitchell, Pizzicato Five, Sukhwinder Singh, Louis Armstrong and others. The luxury she chose to ease her life as a castaway was a piano. As a journalist she writes occasionally for The Guardian.
Personal life
In 2004 she took part in one episode of the BBC series Who Do You Think You Are?, which investigated her family history. Her parents are an exception as they married for love after a secret seven year relationship, going against the Indian tradition of arranged marriage. One of her parents is Hindu and the other a Sikh, but their parents embraced their son-in-law. Syal was apparently surprised to discover both her grandfathers had actively campaigned against British rule and presence in India: one was a communist journalist; the other was a Punjab protestor, who was imprisoned and tortured in the Golden Temple after protesting.
In January 2005, Syal married her frequent collaborator, Sanjeev Bhaskar, who plays her grandson in The Kumars At No. 42; the marriage ceremony took place in Lichfield, Staffordshire. Their baby, a boy named Shaan, was born at the Portland Hospital on 2 December 2005. Syal has a daughter called Chameli from her former marriage to journalist Shekhar Bhatia. Her brother is investigative journalist Rajeev Syal.
In February 2009, Syal was one of a number of British entertainers who signed an open letter printed in The Times protesting about the persecution of Bahá'Ãs in Iran.
Writing credits
Screenplays
* Anita and Me (2002)
* Bhaji on the Beach (1993)
Stage
* One of Us (1983)
* The Oppressed Minorities Big Fun Show (1992)
* Goodness Gracious Me (1999)
* Bombay Dreams (2002)
Radio
* Goodness Gracious Me (1996-98)
* Masala FM (1996)
Television
* Tandoori Nights (1985)
* The Real McCoy (1991)
* My Sister Wife (1994)
* Goodness Gracious Me (1998)
* Life Isn't All Ha Ha Hee Hee (2005)
Novels
* Anita and Me (1996)
* Life Isn't All Ha Ha Hee Hee (1999)
* Sari, Jeans und Chilischoten (2003)
Selected filmography
* The One of Us (1983)
* Majdhar (1983)
* The Diary of Adrian Mole (1985)
* A Little Princess (1986)
* Sunday East (1986–87)
* Sammy and Rosie Get Laid (1987)
* Serious Money (1987)
* Peer Gynt (1990)
* The Real McCoy (1991)
* Gummed Labels (1992)
* Taggart (1992)
* The Oppressed Minorities Big Fun Show (1992)
* Sean's Show (1993)
* The Brain Drain (1993)
* Absolutely Fabulous (1994)
* New Best Friend (1994)
* Flight (1995)
* Degrees of Error (1995)
* Band of Gold (1995)
* It's Not Unusual (1995)
* Drop The Dead Donkey (1996)
* A Nice Arrangement (1996)
* Beautiful Thing (1996)
* Marsala FM (1996)
* Crossing The Floor (1996)
* Ruby (1997)
* Sixth Happiness (1997)
* The Book Quiz (1998)
* No Crying He Makes (1998)
* Keeping Mum (1998)
* Legal Affairs (1998)
* The World As We Know It (1999)
* Late Lunch (1999)
* Room 101 (1999)
* The Vagina Monologues (2001)
* Double Income, No Kids Yet (2001)
* Anita and Me (2002)
* QI (2003)
* Bad Girls (2004)
* Bombay Dreams (2004)
* Life Isn't All Ha Ha Hee Hee (2005)
* Murder Investigation Team (2005)
* The Amazing Mrs Pritchard (2006)
* Who Do You Think You Are? (2006)
* 8 Out of 10 Cats (2006)
* Rafta Rafta (2006)
* Jekyll (2007)
* Kingdom (2007)
* Jhoom Barabar Jhoom (2007)
* The One Show (2008)
* When Were We Funniest? (2008)
* Beautiful People (2008–09)
* Holby City (2009–)
* Minder (2009)
* Horrible Histories(2009)
* Doctor Who: "The Hungry Earth" (2010) and "Cold Blood" (2010)
http://images.mirror.co.uk/upl/sm3/jul2008/5/3/EE661AB8-C9A6-F70F-C3C8B4FA4E1247D9.jpg
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2009/05/01/article-1175024-04C558E5000005DC-729_468x286_popup.jpg
http://img.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2007/03_03/kumarsES0504_468x410.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: gibbo on 06/27/10 at 12:57 am
It is hard to fathom how that pretty actress transforms into the Kumar Grandmother... ;D That was a great show....but I'm guessing that it would not have been shown in the U.S..
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Frank on 06/27/10 at 1:00 am
It is hard to fathom how that pretty actress transforms into the Kumar Grandmother... ;D That was a great show....but I'm guessing that it would not have been shown in the U.S..
I never heard of her, or the show
(but then again I don't watch much TV anymore )
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 06/27/10 at 3:44 am
I never heard of her, or the show
(but then again I don't watch much TV anymore )
The show was produed and shown on the BBC, so it could be shown in other countries.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 06/27/10 at 4:14 am
I never heard of her, or the show
(but then again I don't watch much TV anymore )
There again, I know nothing on baseball players.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 06/27/10 at 6:54 am
I never heard of her, or the show
(but then again I don't watch much TV anymore )
I never heard of it either.
There again, I know nothing on baseball players.
Good point Phil. :)
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 06/27/10 at 6:55 am
There again, I know nothing on baseball players.
Me too,I don't know much about them either.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 06/27/10 at 7:00 am
The word of the day...Song(s)
In music, a song is a composition that contains vocal parts ("lyrics") that are performed ("sung"), commonly accompanied by musical instruments, exception in the case of a cappella songs. The lyrics of songs are typically of a poetic, rhyming nature, although they may be religious verses or free prose.
Songs are typically for a solo singer, though they may also be in the form of a duet, trio, or larger ensemble involving more voices. See part song. (Works with more than one voice to a part, however, are considered choral.) Songs can be broadly divided into many different forms, depending on the criteria used. One division is between "art songs", "pop songs", and "folk songs". Other common methods of classification are by purpose (sacred vs secular), by style (dance, ballad, Lied, etc.), or by time of origin (Renaissance, Contemporary, etc.).
A song is a piece of music for accompanied or unaccompanied voice or voices or, "the act or art of singing," but the term is generally not used for large vocal forms including opera and oratorio. However, the term is, "often found in various figurative and transferred sense (e.g. for the lyrical second subject of a sonata...)." The word "song" has the same etymological root as the verb "to sing" and the OED defines the word to mean "that which is sung"
http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k256/skibum9x99/Profile/Songs.png
http://i938.photobucket.com/albums/ad222/davs33/songsforthemissing.jpg
http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff259/allhallowsday/50SWEETBANDS50sweetsongsITnow.jpg
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee228/j_quaile/LenMacgaveaway.jpg
http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj95/xPEACExLOVExKTx/songs.jpg
http://i574.photobucket.com/albums/ss184/tigersgirl16/lyricsh.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 06/27/10 at 7:01 am
Me too,I don't know much about them either.
Do you watch any sports other than wrestling?
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 06/27/10 at 7:03 am
Do you watch any sports other than wrestling?
No,not really.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 06/27/10 at 7:03 am
The person born on this day...Bruce Johnston
Bruce Arthur Johnston (born Benjamin Baldwin on June 27, 1942 in Peoria, Illinois) is a member of The Beach Boys and a songwriter, remembered especially for composing "I Write the Songs". Johnston was not one of the original members of the band. He joined the band on April 9, 1965 after Glen Campbell (who was substituting on stage for the group's chief song writer Brian Wilson) decided to embark on a solo career. Johnston's first vocal recording with the Beach Boys was "California Girls."
As a child Johnston was adopted by William and Irene Johnston of Chicago, and grew up on the West side of Los Angeles in Brentwood and Bel-Air. His adoptive father was president of the Owl Rexall Drug Company in Los Angeles after moving from Walgreens in Chicago. Johnston attended private school in Los Angeles and also studied classical piano in his early years. In high school, Johnston switched to contemporary music. He performed in a few "beginning" bands during this time and then moved on to working with young musicians such as Sandy Nelson, Kim Fowley and Phil Spector. Soon Johnston began backing people such as Ritchie Valens, the Everly Brothers, and even Eddie Cochran. In 1959 while still in high school, Johnston arranged and played on his first hit record called "Teenbeat" by Sandy Nelson. The single record reached the Billboard Top Ten. The same year Johnston made his first single under his own name, "Take This Pearl" on Arwin Records (a record label owned by Doris Day) as part of the Bruce & Terry duo.
In 1960, Johnston started his record production career at Del-Fi Records, producing five singles and an album — Love You So — by Ron Holden (for good measure, all but two of the album's eleven tracks were written or co-written by him). In 1962 and 1963 Johnston resurrected his recording career with a series of surfin' singles (vocal & instrumental) and an album, Surfin Around The World, credited to Bruce Johnston and another "live" album, The Bruce Johnston Surfin' Band's Surfer's Pajama Party. In 1963 came the first collaboration with his friend Terry Melcher, a mostly instrumental covers album credited to The Hot Doggers. The first artist the pair produced was a group called The Rip Chords. Johnston and Melcher were now working as staff producers at Columbia Records, Hollywood and by the time they were producing the million selling "Hey Little Cobra," a knock-off of the Beach Boys car song vocal style, they also wound up singing every layered vocal part for the recording using an Ampex three track recording machine (without sel-sync!). The two of them made a few recordings as Bruce & Terry, or The Rogues, but Terry Melcher began to focus more on his production career (The Byrds, Paul Revere and The Raiders). On April 9, 1965, Johnston joined the Beach Boys, replacing Glen Campbell who was playing bass on the road and singing Brian Wilson's vocal parts. Johnston did not start playing bass until his first tenure with the Beach Boys, and the very first vocal recording Johnston made as one of the Beach Boys was California Girls. On his solo album from 1977, Going Public, he recorded a version of the Lynsey De Paul-penned "Won't Somebody Dance With Me". He also scored a hit on the disco charts with a dance-oriented remake of the Chantays' hit "Pipeline". Also in 1977 he sang back-up vocals on Eric Carmen's LP, Boats Against the Current, and can be clearly heard on the hit single, "She Did It."
Johnston is frequently credited as one of the original greatest supporters of the Beach Boys' 1966 signature album Pet Sounds. He flew to London in May 1966 and played the album for John Lennon and Paul McCartney. He wrote several Beach Boy songs, notably 1971's "Disney Girls (1957)", a favorite of Brian Wilson's, which was covered by both Captain & Tennille and Art Garfunkel.
He wrote the Billboard number one, Barry Manilow hit ("I Write the Songs") for which he won a Grammy. "I Write The Songs" has been recorded by over two hundred artists (including Frank Sinatra) and it currently has a cumulative singles/albums worldwide sales figure of twenty-five million copies. In addition, Johnston wrote backing vocal arrangements and also sang on the recordings for Elton John's "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me" and Pink Floyd's album The Wall."
Johnston left the Beach Boys in 1972, returning to the fold in 1979 to appear on (and produce) the album L.A. (Light Album). As of 2010, Johnston is still a member of the touring version of The Beach Boys, performing 170 concerts a year. Despite his long involvement with the band he no longer has a full membership in Brother Records having traded his shares (but not his artist royalties) in 1972. Johnston still retains his equal ownership of the band's ASCAP publishing company, Wilojarston, and is the only member of the band to have earned a Song of the Year Grammy.
References
1. ^ Ankeny, Jason. "Biography: Bruce Johnston". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&searchlink=BRUCE. Retrieved 21 May 2010.
See also
* The Beach Boys
http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh43/blueline97/BruceJR.jpg
http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k144/disgustedcats/BeachBoysthreewtitles.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 06/27/10 at 7:04 am
The word of the day...Song(s)
In music, a song is a composition that contains vocal parts ("lyrics") that are performed ("sung"), commonly accompanied by musical instruments, exception in the case of a cappella songs. The lyrics of songs are typically of a poetic, rhyming nature, although they may be religious verses or free prose.
Songs are typically for a solo singer, though they may also be in the form of a duet, trio, or larger ensemble involving more voices. See part song. (Works with more than one voice to a part, however, are considered choral.) Songs can be broadly divided into many different forms, depending on the criteria used. One division is between "art songs", "pop songs", and "folk songs". Other common methods of classification are by purpose (sacred vs secular), by style (dance, ballad, Lied, etc.), or by time of origin (Renaissance, Contemporary, etc.).
A song is a piece of music for accompanied or unaccompanied voice or voices or, "the act or art of singing," but the term is generally not used for large vocal forms including opera and oratorio. However, the term is, "often found in various figurative and transferred sense (e.g. for the lyrical second subject of a sonata...)." The word "song" has the same etymological root as the verb "to sing" and the OED defines the word to mean "that which is sung"
http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k256/skibum9x99/Profile/Songs.png
http://i938.photobucket.com/albums/ad222/davs33/songsforthemissing.jpg
http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff259/allhallowsday/50SWEETBANDS50sweetsongsITnow.jpg
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee228/j_quaile/LenMacgaveaway.jpg
http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj95/xPEACExLOVExKTx/songs.jpg
http://i574.photobucket.com/albums/ss184/tigersgirl16/lyricsh.jpg
I love a good song on the radio. :)
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 06/27/10 at 7:09 am
The person who died on this day...Jack Lemmon
John Uhler "Jack" Lemmon III (February 8, 1925 – June 27, 2001) was an American actor. He starred in more than 60 films including Some Like It Hot, The Apartment, Mister Roberts, Days of Wine and Roses, The Great Race, Irma la Douce, The Odd Couple, Save the Tiger, The Out-of-Towners, The China Syndrome, Missing, Glengarry Glen Ross, Grumpy Old Men and Grumpier Old Men.
Lemmon was born in an elevator at Newton-Wellesley Hospital in Newton, Massachusetts, a suburb of Boston. He was the son of Mildred Burgess LaRue (née Noel) and John Uhler Lemmon, Jr., who was the president of a doughnut company. Lemmon attended John Ward Elementary School in Newton and The Rivers School in Weston, Massachusetts. He later revealed that he knew he wanted to be an actor from the age of eight. Lemmon attended Phillips Academy (Class of 1943) and Harvard University (Class of 1947) where he lived in Adams House and was an active member of several Drama Clubs - becoming president of the Hasty Pudding Club - as well as a member of the Delphic Club for Gentleman, a final club at Harvard. After Harvard, Lemmon joined the Navy, receiving V-12 training and serving as an ensign. On being discharged, he took up acting professionally, working on radio, television and Broadway. He studied acting under Uta Hagen. He also became enthused with the piano and learned to play it on his own. He could also play the harmonica and the double bass.
Career
Lemmon's film debut was a bit part as a plasterer/painter in the 1949 film The Lady Takes a Sailor but he was not noticed until his official debut opposite Judy Holliday in the 1954 comedy It Should Happen to You. Lemmon worked with many legendary leading ladies, among them Marilyn Monroe, Natalie Wood, Betty Grable, Janet Leigh, Shirley MacLaine, Romy Schneider, Doris Day, Kim Novak, Judy Holliday, Rita Hayworth, June Allyson, Virna Lisi, Ann Margret, Sophia Loren and many, many more. He was also close friends with Tony Curtis, Ernie Kovacs, Walter Matthau and Kevin Spacey. He made two films with Curtis and eleven with Matthau.
He became a favorite actor of director Billy Wilder, starring in his films Some Like It Hot, The Apartment, Irma la Douce, The Fortune Cookie, Avanti!, The Front Page and Buddy Buddy. Wilder felt Lemmon had a natural tendency toward overacting that had to be tempered; the Wilder biography Nobody's Perfect quotes the director as saying, "Lemmon, I would describe him as a ham, a fine ham, and with ham you have to trim a little fat". The biography also quotes Jack Lemmon as saying, "I am particularly susceptible to the parts I play... If my character was having a nervous breakdown, I started to have one".
He also had a longtime working relationship with director Blake Edwards, starring in Days of Wine and Roses (1962), The Great Race (1965) and That's Life! (1986).
Lemmon recorded an album in 1958 while filming Some Like It Hot with Marilyn Monroe. Twelve jazz tracks were created for Lemmon and another twelve were added. Lemmon played the piano and recorded his own versions of Monroe's trademark songs, I Wanna Be Loved By You and I'm Through With Love, for the album which was released in 1959 as A Twist of Lemmon/Some Like It Hot.
Lemmon was awarded the Best Supporting Actor Oscar in 1956 for Mister Roberts (1955) and the Best Actor Oscar for Save the Tiger (1973), becoming the first actor to achieve this double. He was also nominated for a Best Actor Oscar for his role in the controversial film Missing in 1982 and for his role in Some Like it Hot. In 1988, the American Film Institute gave him its Lifetime Achievement Award.
Days of Wine and Roses (1962) was one of his favorite roles. He portrayed Joe Clay, a young, fun-loving alcoholic businessman. In that film, Lemmon delivered the line, "My name is Joe Clay ... I'm an alcoholic." Three and a half decades later, he admitted on the television program, Inside the Actors Studio, that he was not acting when he delivered that line, that he really was a recovering alcoholic at the end of his life.
Lemmon's production company JML produced Cool Hand Luke in 1967. Paul Newman was grateful to Lemmon for his support and offered him the role later made famous by Robert Redford in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid but Lemmon turned it down. He did not like riding horses and he also felt he'd already played too many aspects of the Sundance Kid's character before.
Lemmon often appeared in films partnered with Walter Matthau. Among their pairings was 1968's The Odd Couple, as Felix Unger (Lemmon) and Oscar Madison (Matthau). They also starred together in The Fortune Cookie (for which Matthau won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor), The Front Page and Buddy Buddy. In 1971, Lemmon directed Matthau in the comedy Kotch. It was the only movie that Lemmon ever directed and Matthau was nominated for the Best Actor Oscar for his performance.
Additionally, Lemmon and Matthau had small parts in Oliver Stone's 1991 film, JFK (the only film in which both appeared without sharing screen time). In 1993, the duo teamed up again to star in Grumpy Old Men. The film was a surprise hit, earning the two actors a new generation of young fans. During the rest of the decade, they would go on to star together in Out to Sea, Grumpier Old Men and the widely panned The Odd Couple II.
A rare death scene for Lemmon came in The China Syndrome, for which he was awarded Best Actor at the Cannes Film Festival. In 1982, he won another Cannes award for his performance in Missing (which received the Palme d'Or). His characters died in very few films other than that one, 1989's Dad and 1999's Tuesdays With Morrie.
At the 1998 Golden Globe Awards, he was nominated for "Best Actor in a Made for TV Movie" for his role in Twelve Angry Men losing to Ving Rhames. After accepting the award, Rhames asked Lemmon to come on stage and, in a move that stunned the audience, gave his award to him. (The Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which presents the Golden Globes, decided to have a second award made and sent to Rhames.).
He received the AFI Life Achievement Award in 1988.
Personal life
Kevin Spacey recalled that Lemmon is remembered as always making time for other people. When already regarded as a legend, he met the teenage Spacey backstage after a theater performance and spoke to him about pursuing an acting career. Spacey would later work with Lemmon in Dad (1989), the critically acclaimed film Glengarry Glen Ross (1992) and on stage in a revival of Long Day's Journey Into Night. Lemmon's performance also inspired Gil Gunderson, a character on The Simpsons that is modeled on Lemmon's.
Lemmon was married twice. His son Chris Lemmon (b. 1954), was his first child by his first wife, actress Cynthia Stone (b. February 26, 1926, Peoria, Illinois). His second wife was the actress Felicia Farr, with whom he had a daughter, Courtney, born in 1966.
Jack Lemmon died of colon cancer and metastatic cancer of the bladder on June 27, 2001. He had been fighting the disease, very privately, for two years before his death.
Chris Lemmon made several TV shows and movies, including scenes together with his father in That's Life! and portraying him at a younger age in Dad. Chris wrote a book named A Twist of Lemmon: A Tribute to My Father.
He is interred at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Westwood, California where he is buried near his friend and co-star, Walter Matthau. In typical Jack Lemmon wit, his gravestone simply reads 'Jack Lemmon — in'. After Matthau's death in 2000, Lemmon appeared with friends and relatives of the actor on a Larry King Live show in tribute. A year later, many of the same people appeared on the show again to pay tribute to Lemmon.
Filmography
Film
Year Film Role Notes
1949 The Lady Takes a Sailor Plasterer Uncredited
1954 It Should Happen to You Pete Sheppard
Phffft! Robert Tracey
1955 Three for the Show Martin 'Marty' Stewart
Mister Roberts Ens. Frank Thurlowe Pulver Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
Nominated — BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Actor
My Sister Eileen Robert 'Bob' Baker
Hollywood Bronc Busters Himself
1956 You Can't Run Away from It Peter Warne
1957 Fire Down Below Tony
Operation Mad Ball (1957) Pvt. Hogan
1958 Cowboy Frank Harris
Bell, Book and Candle Nicky Holroyd
1959 Some Like It Hot Jerry - 'Daphne' BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Actor
Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
Nominated — Academy Award for Best Actor
It Happened to Jane George Denham
1960 The Apartment C.C. Baxter BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Actor
Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
Nominated — Academy Award for Best Actor
Stowaway in the Sky Narrator voice
Pepe Himself Cameo appearance as Daphne
The Wackiest Ship In the Army Lt. Rip Crandall
1962 The Notorious Landlady William 'Bill' Gridley
Days of Wine and Roses Joe Clay San Sebastián International Film Festival Award for Best Actor
Nominated — Academy Award for Best Actor
Nominated — BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Actor
Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama
1963 Irma la Douce Nestor Patou / Lord X Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
Under the Yum Yum Tree Hogan Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
1964 Good Neighbor Sam Sam Bissel Nominated — BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Actor
1965 How to Murder Your Wife Stanley Ford Nominated — BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Actor
The Great Race Professor Fate / Prince Hapnick Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
1966 The Fortune Cookie Harry Hinkle
1967 Luv Harry Berlin
1968 There Comes a Day
The Odd Couple Felix Ungar Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
1969 The April Fools Howard Brubaker
1970 The Out-of-Towners George Kellerman Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
1971 Kotch Sleeping bus passenger uncredited
1972 The War Between Men and Women Peter Edward Wilson
Avanti! Wendell Armbruster, Jr. Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
1973 Save the Tiger Harry Stoner Academy Award for Best Actor
Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama
1974 The Police Can't Move Narrator voice
The Front Page Hildy Johnson David di Donatello for Best Foreign Actor shared with Walter Matthau
Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
1975 Wednesday Jerry Murphy
The Gentleman Tramp Narrator
The Prisoner of Second Avenue Mel Edison
1976 Alex & the Gypsy Alexander Main
1977 Airport '77 Capt. Don Gallagher
1979 The China Syndrome Jack Godell Best Actor Award (Cannes Film Festival)
David di Donatello for Best Foreign Actor tied with Dustin Hoffman for Kramer vs. Kramer
BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role
Nominated — Academy Award for Best Actor
Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama
1980 Tribute Scottie Templeton Silver Bear for Best Actor
Genie Award for Best Performance by a Foreign Actor
Nominated — Academy Award for Best Actor
Nominated — American Movie Award for Best Actor
Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama
1981 Buddy Buddy Victor Clooney
1982 Missing Ed Horman Best Actor Award (Cannes Film Festival)
Nominated — Academy Award for Best Actor
Nominated — BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role
Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama
1984 Mass Appeal Father Tim Farley
1985 Macaroni Robert Traven
1986 That's Life! Harvey Fairchild Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
1989 Dad Jake Tremont Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama
1991 JFK Jack Martin
1992 Beyond 'JFK': The Question of Conspiracy Himself also archive footage
The Player Himself
Glengarry Glen Ross Shelley Levene National Board of Review Award for Best Actor
Valladolid International Film Festival Award for Best Actor
Volpi Cup
1993 Luck, Trust & Ketchup: Robert Altman In Carver County Himself
Short Cuts Paul Finnigan Golden Globe Special Award for Best Ensemble Cast
Volpi Cup
Grumpy Old Men John Gustafson Nominated — American Comedy Award for Funniest Actor in a Motion Picture
1995 The Grass Harp Dr. Morris Ritz
Grumpier Old Men John Gustafson
1996 Getting Away with Murder Max Mueller / Karl Luger
My Fellow Americans President Russell P. Kramer
Hamlet Marcellus
1997 Out to Sea Herb Sullivan
Off the Menu: The Last Days of Chasen's Himself
1998 Puppies for Sale Pet Shop Owner
The Odd Couple II Felix Ungar
2000 The Legend of Bagger Vance Narrator / Old Hardy Greaves uncredited
Television
Year Film Role Notes
1949–1950 That Wonderful Guy Harold
1950 Toni Twin Time Host Episode dated May 31, 1950
1951 The Ad-Libbers Celebrity Panelist cancelled after 5 episodes
1951–1952 The Frances Langford-Don Ameche Show Newlywed in 'The Couple Next Door' sketches
1952 Heaven for Betsy Pete Bell cancelled after a few weeks
1954 The Road of Life Surgeon cancelled after a few weeks
1957 What's My Line? Mystery Guest November 3, 1957 Episode # 388, Season 9, Ep 10
1957–1958 Alcoa Theatre Henry Coyle
Steve Tyler
Wally Mall
Lieutenant Tony Crawford
Edward King Episode "Disappearance"
Episode "Most Likely to Succeed"
Episode "Loudmouth"
Episode "The Days of November"
Episode "Souvenir"
1976 The Entertainer Archie Rice
1987 Long Day's Journey Into Night James Tyrone Sr. Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film
1988 The Murder of Mary Phagan Gov. John Slaton Nominated — Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor – Miniseries or a Movie
Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film
1992 For Richer, for Poorer Aram Katourian
1993 A Life in the Theater Robert Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film
1996 A Weekend in the Country Bud Bailey
1997 The Simpsons Frank Ormand (voice) Episode "The Twisted World of Marge Simpson"
12 Angry Men Juror #8 Nominated — Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor – Miniseries or a Movie
Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film
Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie
1998 The Long Way Home Thomas Gerrin
1999 Inherit the Wind Henry Drummond Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film
Nominated — Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor – Miniseries or a Movie
Tuesdays with Morrie Morrie Schwartz Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor – Miniseries or a Movie
Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie
Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film
Discography
* A Twist of Lemmon/Some Like It Hot (1959)
* Piano Selections from Irma La Douce (1963)
* Piano and Vocals (1990)
* Peter and the Wolf (1991)
* Songs and music from Some Like It Hot (2001)
http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj105/HeatherVintage/LCE03086_324111smallll.jpg
http://i645.photobucket.com/albums/uu175/SharonBaron718/JackLemmon.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 06/27/10 at 7:10 am
I love a good song on the radio. :)
Me too, not into the music they play today that much.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 06/27/10 at 7:11 am
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51Q5PCGXM4L._SL500.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 06/27/10 at 7:11 am
Me too, not into the music they play today that much.
today's music is S H I T. 8-P
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 06/27/10 at 7:19 am
today's music is S H I T. 8-P
So true ;D
Speaking of songs ever since I did the word butterfly the radio station I listen to has played The Elusive Butterfly everyday.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 06/27/10 at 7:20 am
No,not really.
Have you tried golf?
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 06/27/10 at 7:23 am
Have you tried golf?
I used to play miniature golf.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 06/27/10 at 7:26 am
I used to play miniature golf.
Not quite the same as the real thing.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 06/27/10 at 7:27 am
The person born on this day...Bruce Johnston
Bruce Arthur Johnston (born Benjamin Baldwin on June 27, 1942 in Peoria, Illinois) is a member of The Beach Boys and a songwriter, remembered especially for composing "I Write the Songs". Johnston was not one of the original members of the band. He joined the band on April 9, 1965 after Glen Campbell (who was substituting on stage for the group's chief song writer Brian Wilson) decided to embark on a solo career. Johnston's first vocal recording with the Beach Boys was "California Girls."
As a child Johnston was adopted by William and Irene Johnston of Chicago, and grew up on the West side of Los Angeles in Brentwood and Bel-Air. His adoptive father was president of the Owl Rexall Drug Company in Los Angeles after moving from Walgreens in Chicago. Johnston attended private school in Los Angeles and also studied classical piano in his early years. In high school, Johnston switched to contemporary music. He performed in a few "beginning" bands during this time and then moved on to working with young musicians such as Sandy Nelson, Kim Fowley and Phil Spector. Soon Johnston began backing people such as Ritchie Valens, the Everly Brothers, and even Eddie Cochran. In 1959 while still in high school, Johnston arranged and played on his first hit record called "Teenbeat" by Sandy Nelson. The single record reached the Billboard Top Ten. The same year Johnston made his first single under his own name, "Take This Pearl" on Arwin Records (a record label owned by Doris Day) as part of the Bruce & Terry duo.
In 1960, Johnston started his record production career at Del-Fi Records, producing five singles and an album — Love You So — by Ron Holden (for good measure, all but two of the album's eleven tracks were written or co-written by him). In 1962 and 1963 Johnston resurrected his recording career with a series of surfin' singles (vocal & instrumental) and an album, Surfin Around The World, credited to Bruce Johnston and another "live" album, The Bruce Johnston Surfin' Band's Surfer's Pajama Party. In 1963 came the first collaboration with his friend Terry Melcher, a mostly instrumental covers album credited to The Hot Doggers. The first artist the pair produced was a group called The Rip Chords. Johnston and Melcher were now working as staff producers at Columbia Records, Hollywood and by the time they were producing the million selling "Hey Little Cobra," a knock-off of the Beach Boys car song vocal style, they also wound up singing every layered vocal part for the recording using an Ampex three track recording machine (without sel-sync!). The two of them made a few recordings as Bruce & Terry, or The Rogues, but Terry Melcher began to focus more on his production career (The Byrds, Paul Revere and The Raiders). On April 9, 1965, Johnston joined the Beach Boys, replacing Glen Campbell who was playing bass on the road and singing Brian Wilson's vocal parts. Johnston did not start playing bass until his first tenure with the Beach Boys, and the very first vocal recording Johnston made as one of the Beach Boys was California Girls. On his solo album from 1977, Going Public, he recorded a version of the Lynsey De Paul-penned "Won't Somebody Dance With Me". He also scored a hit on the disco charts with a dance-oriented remake of the Chantays' hit "Pipeline". Also in 1977 he sang back-up vocals on Eric Carmen's LP, Boats Against the Current, and can be clearly heard on the hit single, "She Did It."
Johnston is frequently credited as one of the original greatest supporters of the Beach Boys' 1966 signature album Pet Sounds. He flew to London in May 1966 and played the album for John Lennon and Paul McCartney. He wrote several Beach Boy songs, notably 1971's "Disney Girls (1957)", a favorite of Brian Wilson's, which was covered by both Captain & Tennille and Art Garfunkel.
He wrote the Billboard number one, Barry Manilow hit ("I Write the Songs") for which he won a Grammy. "I Write The Songs" has been recorded by over two hundred artists (including Frank Sinatra) and it currently has a cumulative singles/albums worldwide sales figure of twenty-five million copies. In addition, Johnston wrote backing vocal arrangements and also sang on the recordings for Elton John's "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me" and Pink Floyd's album The Wall."
Johnston left the Beach Boys in 1972, returning to the fold in 1979 to appear on (and produce) the album L.A. (Light Album). As of 2010, Johnston is still a member of the touring version of The Beach Boys, performing 170 concerts a year. Despite his long involvement with the band he no longer has a full membership in Brother Records having traded his shares (but not his artist royalties) in 1972. Johnston still retains his equal ownership of the band's ASCAP publishing company, Wilojarston, and is the only member of the band to have earned a Song of the Year Grammy.
References
1. ^ Ankeny, Jason. "Biography: Bruce Johnston". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&searchlink=BRUCE. Retrieved 21 May 2010.
See also
* The Beach Boys
http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh43/blueline97/BruceJR.jpg
http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k144/disgustedcats/BeachBoysthreewtitles.jpg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_6cwUso8CA
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 06/27/10 at 7:28 am
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_6cwUso8CA
...not written by Barry Manilow!
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 06/27/10 at 7:34 am
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_6cwUso8CA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-fev20voMc
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 06/27/10 at 7:35 am
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-fev20voMc
That other version!
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: CatwomanofV on 06/27/10 at 12:15 pm
Jack Lemmon was an amazing actor. He could do comedy & drama both extremely well. Some of my favorites are:
Some Like It Hot
Missing (very powerful flick-true story. Carlos met people who knew the guy who went missing.)
My Fellow Americans
Cat
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 06/27/10 at 12:57 pm
Jack Lemmon was an amazing actor. He could do comedy & drama both extremely well. Some of my favorites are:
Some Like It Hot
Missing (very powerful flick-true story. Carlos met people who knew the guy who went missing.)
My Fellow Americans
Cat
I always thought he was a great actor :)
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Frank on 06/27/10 at 5:56 pm
I always thought he was a great actor :)
He was an excellent actor, in my opinion not up there with James Stewart or Paul Newman, but he's not far behind.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: CatwomanofV on 06/27/10 at 6:02 pm
He was an excellent actor, in my opinion not up there with James Stewart or Paul Newman, but he's not far behind.
Once again, I agree with you.
Cat
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Frank on 06/27/10 at 6:13 pm
Once again, I agree with you.
Cat
That's why you are so smart, you agree with me! ;D
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 06/27/10 at 6:57 pm
He was an excellent actor, in my opinion not up there with James Stewart or Paul Newman, but he's not far behind.
he also enjoyed comedies.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 06/28/10 at 7:05 am
The word of the day...Candle(s)
A candle is a solid block of fuel (commonly wax) and an embedded wick, which is lit to provide light, and sometimes heat.
Today, most candles are made from paraffin. Candles can also be made from beeswax, soy and other plant waxes, and tallow (a by-product of beef-fat rendering). Gel candles are made from a mixture of paraffin and plastic.
A candle manufacturer is traditionally known as a chandler. Various devices have been invented to hold candles, from simple tabletop candle holders, to elaborate chandeliers.
The heat of the match used to light the candle melts and vaporizes a small amount of fuel. Once vaporized, the fuel combines with oxygen in the atmosphere to form a flame. This flame provides sufficient heat to keep the candle burning via a self-sustaining chain of events: the heat of the flame melts the top of the mass of solid fuel, the liquefied fuel then moves upward through the wick via capillary action, and the liquefied fuel is then vaporized to burn within the candle's flame.
The burning of the fuel takes place in several distinct regions (as evidenced by the various colors that can be seen within the candle's flame). Within the bluer regions, hydrogen is being separated from the fuel and burned to form water vapor. The brighter, yellower part of the flame is the remaining carbon being oxidized to form carbon dioxide.
As the mass of solid fuel is melted and consumed, the candle grows shorter. Portions of the wick that are not emitting vaporized fuel are consumed in the flame. The incineration of the wick limits the exposed length of the wick, thus maintaining a constant burning temperature and rate of fuel consumption. Some wicks require regular trimming with scissors (or a specialized wick trimmer), usually to about one-quarter inch (~0.7 cm), to promote slower, steady burning, and also to prevent smoking. In early times, the wick needed to be trimmed quite frequently, and special candle-scissors, referred to as "snuffers" until the 20th century, were produced for this purpose, often combined with an extinguisher. Nowadays, however, the wick is constructed so that it curves over as it burns (see picture on the right), so that the end of the wick protrudes into the hot zone of the flame and is then consumed by fire --a self-trimming wick.
http://i778.photobucket.com/albums/yy65/amyjayne10/Candles/e5695766.jpg
http://i778.photobucket.com/albums/yy65/amyjayne10/Candles/a2fff7cd.jpg
http://i915.photobucket.com/albums/ac355/FamilyPhotos4/GEDC0288.jpg
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f186/Wenxue2222/France%20August%202007/Candles.jpg
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d200/mnunes1/candles.jpg
http://i952.photobucket.com/albums/ae10/mikepitocco/DanielCourtney/candle5.jpg
http://i606.photobucket.com/albums/tt144/maclisa/candles/225_heartbase-1.jpg
http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h118/ilvujared/Movie%20icons/Sixteen_Candles_034.png
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 06/28/10 at 7:08 am
The person born on this day...John Cusack
John Paul Cusack (born June 28, 1966) is an American film actor and screenwriter. He won the 1990 Most Promising Actor CFCA Award for Say Anything..., the 1998 Favorite Supporting Actor Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Con Air, and the 2000 Commitment to Chicago Award. Cusack was born in Evanston, Illinois, to an Irish American Catholic family. His father, Dick Cusack (1925–2003), and siblings Ann, Joan, Bill, and Susie are also actors; his father was also a documentary filmmaker, owned a film production company, and was a friend of activist Philip Berrigan. Cusack's mother, Nancy, is a former mathematics teacher and political activist. Cusack spent a year at New York University before dropping out, saying that he had "too much fire in his belly".
Career
Cusack gained fame in the mid-1980s after appearing in teen movies such as Better Off Dead, The Sure Thing, One Crazy Summer, and Sixteen Candles. Cusack made a cameo in the 1988 music video for "Trip At The Brain" by Suicidal Tendencies. His biggest success in that genre is arguably his starring role as Lloyd Dobler in Cameron Crowe's Say Anything. His roles broadened in the late 1980s and early 1990s with more serious-minded fare such as the political satire True Colors and the film noir thriller The Grifters.
Cusack experienced box office success with his roles in the dark comedy Grosse Pointe Blank and the Jerry Bruckheimer blockbuster Con Air. In the years since, his range of films has diversified, appearing in roles such as an obsessive puppeteer in Being John Malkovich, a lovelorn record store owner in High Fidelity, and a Jewish art dealer mentoring a young Adolf Hitler in Max. He starred in the horror film 1408, based on Stephen King's short story of the same name. He next appeared as a widowed father in the Iraq War-themed drama Grace is Gone and as assassin Brand Hauser in the dark political satire, War, Inc., along with Hilary Duff and Marisa Tomei.
His sister Joan Cusack and close friend Jeremy Piven have appeared in many of his films. The siblings appeared as two geeks in Sixteen Candles: John as one of Farmer Ted's posse, and Joan as the geek with the neck brace. They also appeared together in High Fidelity, Grosse Pointe Blank, Cradle Will Rock, Martian Child, Say Anything, and War, Inc.. Piven and Cusack played opposite one another in One Crazy Summer, Serendipity, Say Anything, and Grosse Pointe Blank. Cusack also had a brief cameo, seen from behind but speaking a line of dialogue, in Broadcast News, in which Joan also appeared. Piven also had roles in Say Anything, The Grifters, Runaway Jury and Grosse Pointe Blank.
Cusack was next seen in Roland Emmerich's disaster film, 2012, which was released in theaters November 13, 2009; he played Jackson Curtis, a book writer and limo driver, with his Identity and Martian Child co-star Amanda Peet.
Personal and political life
Since May 2005, Cusack has been an occasional contributing blogger at The Huffington Post, including an interview with Naomi Klein. He has written extensively on his opposition to the war in Iraq and his disdain for the Bush administration, calling its worldview "depressing, corrupt, unlawful, and tragically absurd". He also appeared in a June 2008 MoveOn.org ad, where he made the claim that George W. Bush and John McCain have the same governing priorities.
Cusack has an allegiance to both the Chicago Cubs and the Chicago White Sox, for which, he says, he's "in trouble there for that." He has led the crowd in a performance of "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" at Wrigley Field.
Cusack has trained in kickboxing for over 20 years under former world kickboxing champion Benny “The Jet’ Urquidez. He began training under Urquidez in preparation for his role in Say Anything and currently holds the rank of Level 6 black belt in Urquidez’ Ukidokan Kickboxing system.
In 2008, police arrested a woman suspected of stalking Cusack. On October 10, 2008, the woman pleaded no contest and received five years probation and mandatory psychiatric counseling, and was ordered to avoid Cusack, his home and business for the next 10 years.
Filmography
Year Film Role Notes
1983 Class Roscoe Maibaum
1984 Sixteen Candles Bryce
Grandview, U.S.A. Johnny Maine
1985 The Sure Thing Walter (Gib) Gibson
The Journey of Natty Gann Harry
Better Off Dead Lane Meyer
1986 Stand by Me Denny Lachance
One Crazy Summer Hoops McCann
1987 Hot Pursuit Dan Bartlett
Broadcast News Angry Messenger as John Cusak
1988 Eight Men Out George 'Buck' Weaver
Tapeheads Ivan Alexeev
1989 Elvis Stories Corky short subject
Say Anything... Lloyd Dobler Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Emerging Actor
Fat Man and Little Boy Michael Merriman
1990 The Grifters Roy Dillon
1991 True Colors Peter Burton
1992 Shadows and Fog Student Jack
The Player Self Cameo
Bob Roberts Cutting Edge Host
Roadside Prophets Caspar
1993 Map of the Human Heart The Mapmaker
Money for Nothing Joey Coyle
1994 Floundering JC
Bullets Over Broadway David Shayne
The Road to Wellville Charles Ossining
1996 City Hall Deputy Mayor Kevin Calhoun
1997 Grosse Pointe Blank Martin Q. Blank Screenplay and co-producer
Nominated — Chlotrudis Award for Best Adapted Screenplay
Con Air U.S. Marshal Vince Larkin Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Supporting Actor — Action/Adventure
Anastasia Dimitri voice
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil John Kelso
1998 Chicago Cab Scary man Executive producer
This Is My Father Eddie Sharp, the Pilot
The Thin Red Line Capt. Gaff Satellite Special Achievement Award for Outstanding Motion Picture Ensemble
1999 Pushing Tin Nick Falzone
Cradle Will Rock Nelson Rockefeller Nominated - Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Cast
Being John Malkovich Craig Schwartz Nominated — Independent Spirit Award for Best Actor
Nominated — London Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor
Nominated — Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Cast
Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
The Jack Bull Myrl Redding TV film, executive producer
2000 High Fidelity Rob Gordon Screenplay and co-producer
Nominated — American Comedy Award
Nominated — BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay
Nominated — Empire Award for Best Actor
Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
Nominated — Teen Choice Award for Choice Hissy Fit
Nominated — USC Scripter Award 2000
Nominated — Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Screenplay
2001 America's Sweethearts Eddie Thomas
Serendipity Jonathan Trager
2002 Max Max Rothman associate producer
Adaptation. Himself uncredited
2003 Identity Ed Dakota
Breakfast With Hunter Himself documentary
Runaway Jury Nicholas Easter
2005 Must Love Dogs Jake Anderson
The Ice Harvest Charlie Arglist
2006 Buy the Ticket, Take the Ride: Hunter S. Thompson on Film Himself documentary
The Contract Ray Keene
2007 Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten Himself documentary
Martian Child David Gordon
1408 Mike Enslin Nominated - Saturn Award for Best Actor
Grace Is Gone Stanley Philipps Producer
2008 War, Inc. Brand Hauser Writer and producer
Summerhood Narrator uncredited
Igor Igor voice
2009 2012 Jackson Curtis
2010 Shanghai Paul Soames post-production
Hot Tub Time Machine Adam also producer
2011 The Factory Mike Fletcher post-production
http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj105/HeatherVintage/john_cusack.jpg
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e128/devils_nightingale/cusack.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 06/28/10 at 7:14 am
The person who died on this day...Billy Mays
William Darrell "Billy" Mays, Jr. (July 20, 1958 – June 28, 2009) was an American television direct-response advertisement salesperson most notable for promoting OxiClean, Orange Glo, and other cleaning, home-based, and maintenance products. His distinctive beard and impassioned sales pitches made him a recognized television presence in the United States and Canada.
Mays was born in McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania, and began his career as salesman on the Atlantic City boardwalk. He traveled across the United States for 12 years, selling various items before he was hired to sell OxiClean and other products on the Home Shopping Network. His success as a TV pitchman led him to found Mays Promotions, Inc. On April 15, 2009, the Discovery Channel began airing PitchMen, a documentary series that featured Mays. On the morning of June 28, 2009, Mays' wife found him dead in his home.
Mays was born in McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania, attended Sto-Rox High School, and was raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He later attended West Virginia University, where he was a walk-on linebacker on its football team during his two years there. After dropping out, he worked for his father's hazardous waste company before moving to Atlantic City, New Jersey in 1983.
Career
On the Atlantic City boardwalk Mays sold the Washmatik portable washing device to passersby, along with other "As Seen on TV" products. In Atlantic City, he was taught how to sell by the older salesmen, saying "I was taught to pitch by a lot of old pitchmen. That's the kind of style I have." Mays then traveled to home shows, auto shows, and state fairs across the United States for a period of twelve years, selling various maintenance products and tools, including cleaning products and food choppers.
At a Pittsburgh home show in 1993, Mays struck up a friendship with rival salesman Max Appel, founder of Orange Glo International, a Denver-based manufacturer of cleaning products. He was then hired by the company to promote their line of cleaners, OxiClean, Orange Clean, Orange Glo, and Kaboom on the Home Shopping Network in St. Petersburg, Florida. Customer response to Mays' sales pitches was enthusiastic, with a sharp increase in sales after his first day on the network, although some reviews were poor. He was very well known for shouting in an abrasive manner during infomercials. For example, Washington Post staff writer Frank Ahrens called him "a full-volume pitchman, amped up like a candidate for a tranquilizer-gun takedown".
Mays was the CEO and founder of Mays Promotions, Inc., based at his home in Odessa, Florida. His services as a pitchman became highly sought-after, and he appeared in commercials for many diverse "as seen on TV" products such as Mighty Putty. Mays claimed to be an avid user of the products he promoted. In December 2008, Mays began appearing in ads for ESPN's online service, ESPN360. These ads were a slight departure for Mays as they were designed to be parodies of his and other infomercial cliches with Mays appearing to be doing a parody of himself. He also made a live appearance during the 2008 Champs Sports Bowl promoting ESPN's and ABC's January 1, 2009 bowl games.
On April 15, 2009, the Discovery Channel began airing PitchMen, a documentary series that featured Mays and Anthony Sullivan in their jobs in direct-response marketing. After Mays' death, Discovery Channel aired a special Billy Mays tribute episode of PitchMen called "Pitchman: A Tribute to Billy Mays".
On March 27, 2009 Mays appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. He and Sullivan also appeared on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien on June 23, 2009.
Prior to his death Mays had signed a deal with Taco Bell to film infomercial-style commercials for the chain. Shooting was scheduled to begin in August 2009.
Personal life
Mays' first marriage to Dolores "Dee Dee" Mays ended in divorce. He had a son with Dolores named Billy Mays III, who was 24 years old at the time of Mays' death and who worked as a production assistant alongside his father on the PitchMen television show. Mays had a daughter, Elizabeth, with his second wife, Deborah Mays. His daughter was three years old at the time of his death. Mays' mother is Joyce Palm and his father is Billy Mays, Sr.; they both survived him.
In an interview during the 2008 Presidential Campaign, Mays revealed himself to be a Republican.
Death
Search Wikinews Wikinews has related news: American pitchman Billy Mays dies at age 50
Mays was found unresponsive by his wife in his Tampa, Florida, home on the morning of June 28, 2009. He was pronounced dead at 7:45 am, appearing to have died sometime overnight. The Associated Press reported that there were no indications that the house had been broken into, and that police did not suspect foul play. Initially, there was wrong speculation that he had a head injury after he was struck on the head by luggage after an airline landing mishap where tires blew out.
After an initial autopsy on Mays' body on June 29, Dr. Vernard Adams, the Hillsborough County, Florida medical examiner, stated that Mays suffered from hypertensive heart disease and that heart disease was the likely cause of his death. According to a toxicology report released August 7, 2009, heart disease was the "primary cause of death" and cocaine was listed as a "contributory cause of death." In response to the release of the toxicology report, the Mays family issued a press release stating, "We are extremely disappointed by the press release released by the Hillsborough County medical examiner's office. We believe it contains speculative conclusions that are frankly unnecessary and tend to obscure the conclusion that Billy suffered from chronic, untreated hypertension..." and said in the release that they were considering "an independent evaluation of the autopsy results".
The medical examiner "concluded that cocaine use caused or contributed to the development of his heart disease, and thereby contributed to his death," the office said in a press release. The office said Mays last used cocaine in the few days before his death but was not under the influence of the drug when he died. Hillsborough County spokeswoman Lori Hudson said nothing in the toxicology report indicated the frequency of Mays' cocaine use. Cocaine can raise the arterial blood pressure, directly cause thickening of the left wall of the ventricle and accelerate the formation of atherosclerosis in the coronary arteries, the release said. However, in October 2009, the results of a second medical examination, commissioned by Mays' family, concluded that "cocaine was not a significant contributing factor" to his death.
Longtime friend and colleague AJ Khubani, founder and CEO of the "As Seen on TV" product company Telebrands, said Mays never exhibited any signs of drug use and was always prepared for his many commercial shoots. "I'm just shocked," Khubani said. "He was the model of a responsible citizen."
According to subsequent news reports the toxicology tests also showed levels of painkillers hydrocodone, oxycodone and tramadol, as well as anti-anxiety drugs alprazolam and diazepam. Mays had suffered hip problems and was scheduled for hip replacement surgery the day after he was found dead.
Mays' funeral was held on July 3, 2009 in his hometown of McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania. The pallbearers for the funeral wore blue shirts and khaki pants at the funeral, much like Mays wore when he advertised his products. According to KDKA-TV in Pittsburgh, he was buried wearing a shirt with the OxiClean logo on it.
Notable products pitched
Product Description
Awesome Auger A gardening tool.
Big City Slider Station A mini-burger cooker.
The Ding King A dent repairing device.
ESPN360 A broadband service.
EZ Crunch Bowl "A new way to eat breakfast cereal".
Flies Away A fly trap.
Gopher A tool for grabbing out-of-reach objects.
Grater Plater A ceramic plate with grater teeth.
Green Now! Lawn fertilizer in a can.
Grip Wrench A tool to help gripping.
Handy Switch A wireless electric switch.
Hercules Hook A hook for hanging objects on one's wall.
iCan health insurance Affordable health insurance.
iTie A necktie with a hidden pocket.
Jupiter Jack Cell-phone speaker system for the car
Kaboom! Tile and shower cleaner.
Mighty Mendit A bonding agent for mending cloth.
Mighty Putty An epoxy putty adhesive.
Mighty Putty Steel A metal alloy adhesive putty.
Mighty Putty Wood A non-shrinking epoxy putty for wood.
Mighty Tape A self-fusing silicone rubber waterproof tape.
DualSaw A circular saw with two blades.
Orange Glo A wood cleaner.
OxiClean A general purpose cleaner.
Quick Chop A chopping device.
Samurai Shark A knife sharpener.
Simoniz Fix-It A scratch remover.
Tool Band-it A magnetic armband for holding hand tools.
Turbo Tiger A vacuum cleaner.
Ultimate Chopper A kitchen tool.
Vidalia Slice Wizard A kitchen tool.
WashMatik A hose that could pump water from a bucket
without being hooked up to a faucet.
What Odor? An odor-removing fluid.
Zorbeez A chamois cloth.
http://i473.photobucket.com/albums/rr96/dhamby88/billy-mays.png
http://i637.photobucket.com/albums/uu98/MrHeartbreak90/billy-mays-320.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 06/28/10 at 3:15 pm
The person who died on this day...Billy Mays
William Darrell "Billy" Mays, Jr. (July 20, 1958 – June 28, 2009) was an American television direct-response advertisement salesperson most notable for promoting OxiClean, Orange Glo, and other cleaning, home-based, and maintenance products. His distinctive beard and impassioned sales pitches made him a recognized television presence in the United States and Canada.
Mays was born in McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania, and began his career as salesman on the Atlantic City boardwalk. He traveled across the United States for 12 years, selling various items before he was hired to sell OxiClean and other products on the Home Shopping Network. His success as a TV pitchman led him to found Mays Promotions, Inc. On April 15, 2009, the Discovery Channel began airing PitchMen, a documentary series that featured Mays. On the morning of June 28, 2009, Mays' wife found him dead in his home.
Mays was born in McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania, attended Sto-Rox High School, and was raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He later attended West Virginia University, where he was a walk-on linebacker on its football team during his two years there. After dropping out, he worked for his father's hazardous waste company before moving to Atlantic City, New Jersey in 1983.
Career
On the Atlantic City boardwalk Mays sold the Washmatik portable washing device to passersby, along with other "As Seen on TV" products. In Atlantic City, he was taught how to sell by the older salesmen, saying "I was taught to pitch by a lot of old pitchmen. That's the kind of style I have." Mays then traveled to home shows, auto shows, and state fairs across the United States for a period of twelve years, selling various maintenance products and tools, including cleaning products and food choppers.
At a Pittsburgh home show in 1993, Mays struck up a friendship with rival salesman Max Appel, founder of Orange Glo International, a Denver-based manufacturer of cleaning products. He was then hired by the company to promote their line of cleaners, OxiClean, Orange Clean, Orange Glo, and Kaboom on the Home Shopping Network in St. Petersburg, Florida. Customer response to Mays' sales pitches was enthusiastic, with a sharp increase in sales after his first day on the network, although some reviews were poor. He was very well known for shouting in an abrasive manner during infomercials. For example, Washington Post staff writer Frank Ahrens called him "a full-volume pitchman, amped up like a candidate for a tranquilizer-gun takedown".
Mays was the CEO and founder of Mays Promotions, Inc., based at his home in Odessa, Florida. His services as a pitchman became highly sought-after, and he appeared in commercials for many diverse "as seen on TV" products such as Mighty Putty. Mays claimed to be an avid user of the products he promoted. In December 2008, Mays began appearing in ads for ESPN's online service, ESPN360. These ads were a slight departure for Mays as they were designed to be parodies of his and other infomercial cliches with Mays appearing to be doing a parody of himself. He also made a live appearance during the 2008 Champs Sports Bowl promoting ESPN's and ABC's January 1, 2009 bowl games.
On April 15, 2009, the Discovery Channel began airing PitchMen, a documentary series that featured Mays and Anthony Sullivan in their jobs in direct-response marketing. After Mays' death, Discovery Channel aired a special Billy Mays tribute episode of PitchMen called "Pitchman: A Tribute to Billy Mays".
On March 27, 2009 Mays appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. He and Sullivan also appeared on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien on June 23, 2009.
Prior to his death Mays had signed a deal with Taco Bell to film infomercial-style commercials for the chain. Shooting was scheduled to begin in August 2009.
Personal life
Mays' first marriage to Dolores "Dee Dee" Mays ended in divorce. He had a son with Dolores named Billy Mays III, who was 24 years old at the time of Mays' death and who worked as a production assistant alongside his father on the PitchMen television show. Mays had a daughter, Elizabeth, with his second wife, Deborah Mays. His daughter was three years old at the time of his death. Mays' mother is Joyce Palm and his father is Billy Mays, Sr.; they both survived him.
In an interview during the 2008 Presidential Campaign, Mays revealed himself to be a Republican.
Death
Search Wikinews Wikinews has related news: American pitchman Billy Mays dies at age 50
Mays was found unresponsive by his wife in his Tampa, Florida, home on the morning of June 28, 2009. He was pronounced dead at 7:45 am, appearing to have died sometime overnight. The Associated Press reported that there were no indications that the house had been broken into, and that police did not suspect foul play. Initially, there was wrong speculation that he had a head injury after he was struck on the head by luggage after an airline landing mishap where tires blew out.
After an initial autopsy on Mays' body on June 29, Dr. Vernard Adams, the Hillsborough County, Florida medical examiner, stated that Mays suffered from hypertensive heart disease and that heart disease was the likely cause of his death. According to a toxicology report released August 7, 2009, heart disease was the "primary cause of death" and cocaine was listed as a "contributory cause of death." In response to the release of the toxicology report, the Mays family issued a press release stating, "We are extremely disappointed by the press release released by the Hillsborough County medical examiner's office. We believe it contains speculative conclusions that are frankly unnecessary and tend to obscure the conclusion that Billy suffered from chronic, untreated hypertension..." and said in the release that they were considering "an independent evaluation of the autopsy results".
The medical examiner "concluded that cocaine use caused or contributed to the development of his heart disease, and thereby contributed to his death," the office said in a press release. The office said Mays last used cocaine in the few days before his death but was not under the influence of the drug when he died. Hillsborough County spokeswoman Lori Hudson said nothing in the toxicology report indicated the frequency of Mays' cocaine use. Cocaine can raise the arterial blood pressure, directly cause thickening of the left wall of the ventricle and accelerate the formation of atherosclerosis in the coronary arteries, the release said. However, in October 2009, the results of a second medical examination, commissioned by Mays' family, concluded that "cocaine was not a significant contributing factor" to his death.
Longtime friend and colleague AJ Khubani, founder and CEO of the "As Seen on TV" product company Telebrands, said Mays never exhibited any signs of drug use and was always prepared for his many commercial shoots. "I'm just shocked," Khubani said. "He was the model of a responsible citizen."
According to subsequent news reports the toxicology tests also showed levels of painkillers hydrocodone, oxycodone and tramadol, as well as anti-anxiety drugs alprazolam and diazepam. Mays had suffered hip problems and was scheduled for hip replacement surgery the day after he was found dead.
Mays' funeral was held on July 3, 2009 in his hometown of McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania. The pallbearers for the funeral wore blue shirts and khaki pants at the funeral, much like Mays wore when he advertised his products. According to KDKA-TV in Pittsburgh, he was buried wearing a shirt with the OxiClean logo on it.
Notable products pitched
Product Description
Awesome Auger A gardening tool.
Big City Slider Station A mini-burger cooker.
The Ding King A dent repairing device.
ESPN360 A broadband service.
EZ Crunch Bowl "A new way to eat breakfast cereal".
Flies Away A fly trap.
Gopher A tool for grabbing out-of-reach objects.
Grater Plater A ceramic plate with grater teeth.
Green Now! Lawn fertilizer in a can.
Grip Wrench A tool to help gripping.
Handy Switch A wireless electric switch.
Hercules Hook A hook for hanging objects on one's wall.
iCan health insurance Affordable health insurance.
iTie A necktie with a hidden pocket.
Jupiter Jack Cell-phone speaker system for the car
Kaboom! Tile and shower cleaner.
Mighty Mendit A bonding agent for mending cloth.
Mighty Putty An epoxy putty adhesive.
Mighty Putty Steel A metal alloy adhesive putty.
Mighty Putty Wood A non-shrinking epoxy putty for wood.
Mighty Tape A self-fusing silicone rubber waterproof tape.
DualSaw A circular saw with two blades.
Orange Glo A wood cleaner.
OxiClean A general purpose cleaner.
Quick Chop A chopping device.
Samurai Shark A knife sharpener.
Simoniz Fix-It A scratch remover.
Tool Band-it A magnetic armband for holding hand tools.
Turbo Tiger A vacuum cleaner.
Ultimate Chopper A kitchen tool.
Vidalia Slice Wizard A kitchen tool.
WashMatik A hose that could pump water from a bucket
without being hooked up to a faucet.
What Odor? An odor-removing fluid.
Zorbeez A chamois cloth.
http://i473.photobucket.com/albums/rr96/dhamby88/billy-mays.png
http://i637.photobucket.com/albums/uu98/MrHeartbreak90/billy-mays-320.jpg
he was always the loudest pitchman on TV.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Frank on 06/28/10 at 4:18 pm
I like John Cusack a lot. He was good in small roles (like "Stand by me"), Sisteen candles.
He was good in "Eight men out" as Buck, the guy who wouldn't give in.
He was fabulous in "High Fidelity", funny in "being John Malkovich" and even better as the hit man in "Grosse pointe Blanke", which is my favorite film of his, and one of my favorite films of the 90s.
Good job, ninny.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: gibbo on 06/28/10 at 7:06 pm
I don't mind John Cusack ... but he has never really struck me as a leading man in romatic comedies etc. I didn't mind him in Serendipity...
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 06/29/10 at 12:59 am
The word of the day...Candle(s)
A candle is a solid block of fuel (commonly wax) and an embedded wick, which is lit to provide light, and sometimes heat.
Today, most candles are made from paraffin. Candles can also be made from beeswax, soy and other plant waxes, and tallow (a by-product of beef-fat rendering). Gel candles are made from a mixture of paraffin and plastic.
A candle manufacturer is traditionally known as a chandler. Various devices have been invented to hold candles, from simple tabletop candle holders, to elaborate chandeliers.
The heat of the match used to light the candle melts and vaporizes a small amount of fuel. Once vaporized, the fuel combines with oxygen in the atmosphere to form a flame. This flame provides sufficient heat to keep the candle burning via a self-sustaining chain of events: the heat of the flame melts the top of the mass of solid fuel, the liquefied fuel then moves upward through the wick via capillary action, and the liquefied fuel is then vaporized to burn within the candle's flame.
The burning of the fuel takes place in several distinct regions (as evidenced by the various colors that can be seen within the candle's flame). Within the bluer regions, hydrogen is being separated from the fuel and burned to form water vapor. The brighter, yellower part of the flame is the remaining carbon being oxidized to form carbon dioxide.
As the mass of solid fuel is melted and consumed, the candle grows shorter. Portions of the wick that are not emitting vaporized fuel are consumed in the flame. The incineration of the wick limits the exposed length of the wick, thus maintaining a constant burning temperature and rate of fuel consumption. Some wicks require regular trimming with scissors (or a specialized wick trimmer), usually to about one-quarter inch (~0.7 cm), to promote slower, steady burning, and also to prevent smoking. In early times, the wick needed to be trimmed quite frequently, and special candle-scissors, referred to as "snuffers" until the 20th century, were produced for this purpose, often combined with an extinguisher. Nowadays, however, the wick is constructed so that it curves over as it burns (see picture on the right), so that the end of the wick protrudes into the hot zone of the flame and is then consumed by fire --a self-trimming wick.
http://i778.photobucket.com/albums/yy65/amyjayne10/Candles/e5695766.jpg
http://i778.photobucket.com/albums/yy65/amyjayne10/Candles/a2fff7cd.jpg
http://i915.photobucket.com/albums/ac355/FamilyPhotos4/GEDC0288.jpg
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f186/Wenxue2222/France%20August%202007/Candles.jpg
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d200/mnunes1/candles.jpg
http://i952.photobucket.com/albums/ae10/mikepitocco/DanielCourtney/candle5.jpg
http://i606.photobucket.com/albums/tt144/maclisa/candles/225_heartbase-1.jpg
http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h118/ilvujared/Movie%20icons/Sixteen_Candles_034.png
Candle in the Wind?
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 06/29/10 at 5:38 am
Elton John
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 06/29/10 at 6:39 am
The word of the day...Weapon(s)
A weapon is an instrument used for the purpose of causing harm or damage to persons, animals or structures. Weapons are used in hunting, attack, self-defense, or defense in combat and range from simple implements like clubs and spears to complicated modern machines such as intercontinental ballistic missiles. One who possesses or carries a weapon is said to be armed.
In a broader context weapons include anything used to gain an advantage over an adversary or to place them at a disadvantage. Examples include the use of sieges, tactics, and psychological weapons which reduce the morale of an enemy.
http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff98/DeVargr/weapons.jpg
http://i1035.photobucket.com/albums/a437/faithlutheran/Youth%20Group/weapons.jpg
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c49/Yustax/Weapons/rose13.jpg
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n225/firekimono/Weapons/1-16.jpg
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r141/annealysse/Weapons/BlackTonfa.jpg
http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd145/Bubble_Master_Califa/semi-precious-weapons.jpg
http://i936.photobucket.com/albums/ad202/heliocide/Items_and_Artifacts/asuraweapon.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 06/29/10 at 6:42 am
The person born on this day...Gary Busey
Gary Busey (born June 29, 1944) is an American film and stage actor and artist. Busey was born William Gary Busey, in Goose Creek (now Baytown), Texas, the son of Sadie Virginia (née Arnett), a homemaker, and Delmer Lloyd Busey, a construction design manager. He graduated from Nathan Hale High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 1962. While attending Pittsburg State University in Pittsburg, Kansas, on a football scholarship, he became interested in acting. He is listed as one of the university's "outstanding alumni." He then transferred to Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, where he quit school just one class short of graduation.
In 1971, wife Judy Helkenberg gave birth to his son, William Jacob Busey, now known as actor Jake Busey. Busey and Judy divorced when Jake was nineteen.
On December 4, 1988, Busey was severely injured in a motorcycle accident in which he was not wearing a helmet. His skull was fractured, and doctors feared he suffered permanent brain damage.
On December 9, 2009, it was announced that Gary Busey and girlfriend Steffanie Sampson were expecting their first child in May 2010. On February 23, 2010, their son Luke Sampson Busey was born.
Career
Busey began his show-business career as a drummer in "The Rubber Band." He appears on several Leon Russell recordings, credited as playing drums under the names "Teddy Jack Eddy" and "Sprunk," a character he created when he was a cast member of a local television comedy show in Tulsa, Oklahoma, called The Uncanny Film Festival and Camp Meeting (which starred fellow Tulsan Gailard Sartain as "Dr. Mazeppa Pompazoidi"). He played in a band called Carp, who released one album on Epic Records in 1969. Busey continued to play several small roles in both film and television during the 1970s. In 1975, as the character "Harvey Daley," he was the last person killed on the series Gunsmoke (in the third to the last episode, No. 633 - "The Los Carnales").
In 1978, he starred as Buddy Holly in The Buddy Holly Story with Sartain as The Big Bopper. The movie earned Busey an Oscar nomination for Best Actor. In the film, he changes the lyrics to the song "Well All Right" and sings,"We're gonna love Teddy Jack..." a reference to his Teddy Jack Eddy persona. In the same year he also starred in the critically-acclaimed surfing movie Big Wednesday.
In the 1980s, Busey's roles included Silver Bullet (adapted from Cycle of the Werewolf by Stephen King), Barbarosa, Top Gun (voiceover for Tim Robbins' character Merlin), Insignificance and Lethal Weapon. In the movie D.C. Cab, Busey portrayed the character Dell. At one point, Dell is singing along with a cassette recording of Busey singing the song "Why Baby Why" (which Busey recorded, but still remains unreleased). In the 1990s, he appeared in Predator 2, Rookie of the Year, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Under Siege, The Firm, Lost Highway, Point Break and Black Sheep.
Busey sang the song "Stay All Night" on Saturday Night Live in March 1979 and on the Late Show with David Letterman in the 1990s.
In 2002, Busey voiced the character Phil Cassidy in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, then again in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories in 2006. He also voiced himself on a 2005 episode of The Simpsons, narrating an informational video about restraining orders.
Gary Busey appeared in the 2006 Turkish film Valley of the Wolves Iraq, (Kurtlar Vadisi: Irak, in Turkish). The film, accused of anti-Americanism and anti-Semitism, tells the story of the U.S. Army run amok in Iraq and brought into check by a brave Turkish soldier; Gary Busey plays a Jewish-American Army doctor who harvests fresh organs from injured Iraqi prisoners to sell to rich patients in New York, London and Tel Aviv.
In 2007, he appeared as "his crazy self" on HBO's Entourage. Producers at HBO asked Busey to play a "character" on the show who was the self-named actor who is also a famous painter and sculptor.
Busey recently took part in a photo shoot done by photographer Tyler Shields where Busey was put in a straitjacket. The shoot was reportedly for Shields' book The Dirty Side of Glamour, the proceeds from which are to be given to charity. A reporter from Inside Edition was there to cover the shoot and speak with Busey about his upcoming projects but the program instead edited together raw clips from the interview.
The video clip and its many offshoots and re-edits have made their way around the net. Posted on sites such as Insideedition.com, Filmdrunk.com and the photographer's own site Tylershields.com. The clip has also been featured extensively on the E! network's The Soup, hosted by Joel McHale, replaying Busey's line "I'm going to pull your endocrine system out of your body," numerous times for comedic effect.
In 2008, he joined the second season of the reality show Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew. Per his contract and VH1's press release, he was to be part of the mentoring team and not a patient. Drew Pinsky has expressed a different opinion, saying that he can help by being in group meetings with others and is not part of the staff, but part of the patients of this second season. Busey was previously addicted to cocaine, but has been sober for 13 years. In a conversation with model Amber Smith, being treated for a pain killer addiction, he revealed several backronyms related to religion and sobriety, which he called "Busey-isms," and stated his intention to compile them into a book. These included "Gone: Getting Over Negative Energy," "Faith: Fantastic Adventures In Trusting Him," "Sober: Son Of a Bitch Everything's Real," "Fraud: Finding Relevant Answers Under Deception," and "Freedom: Facing Real Exciting Energy Developing Out of Miracles." In a talking head interview recorded later, Smith expressed appreciation for Busey's knowledge and enthusiasm, but also felt he was "crazier than is."
At Pinsky's recommendation, Busey was seen at the facility by psychiatrist Dr. Charles Sophy. Sophy suspected that Busey's brain injury has had a greater effect on him than realized. He described it as essentially weakening his mental "filters" and causing him to speak and act impulsively. He recommended Busey take a medication called Depakote, to which he agreed.
In 2009, he was a roaster at the Comedy Central roast of Larry the Cable Guy.
Filmography
* Angels Hard as They Come (1971)
* The Magnificent Seven Ride! (1972)
* Dirty Little Billy (1972)
* Lolly-Madonna XXX (1973)
* Hex (1973)
* Blood Sport (1973)
* The Execution of Private Slovik (1974)
* The Last American Hero (1973)
* Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (as Garey Busey) (1974)
* The Law (1974)
* A Star Is Born (1976)
* The Gumball Rally (1976)
* The Buddy Holly Story (1978)
* Straight Time (1978)
* Big Wednesday (1978)
* Carny (1980)
* Foolin' Around (1980)
* Barbarosa (1982)
* Didn't You Hear... (1983)
* D.C. Cab (1983)
* The Bear (1984)
* Insignificance (1985)
* Silver Bullet (1985)
* Half a Lifetime (1986)
* Eye of the Tiger (1986)
* Let's Get Harry (1986)
* Lethal Weapon (1987)
* Bulletproof (1988)
* A Dangerous Life (1988)
* The Neon Empire (1989)
* Hider in the House (1989)
* Act of Piracy (1990)
* Predator 2 (1990)
* Point Break (1991)
* My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys (1991)
* Wild Texas Wind (1991)
* Canvas (1992)
* Chrome Soldiers (1992)
* Under Siege (1992)
* Breaking Point (1993)
* The Firm (1993)
* Rookie of the Year (1993)
* South Beach (1993)
* Warriors (1994)
* Surviving the Game (1994)
* Drop Zone (1994)
* Chasers (1994)
* Man with a Gun (1995)
* Steel Sharks (1996)
* One Clean Move (1996)
* Livers Ain't Cheap (1996) (a.k.a. The Real Thing)
* Black Sheep (1996)
* Carried Away (1996)
* Sticks & Stones (1996)
* The Chain (1996)
* Suspicious Minds (1997)
* The Rage (1997)
* Lost Highway (1997)
* Lethal Tender (1997)
* Plato's Run (1997)
* Rough Riders (1997)
* Rough Draft (1998) (a.k.a. Diary of a Serial Killer)
* Soldier (1998)
* Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas (1998)
* Universal Soldier II: Brothers in Arms (1998)
* Detour (1998) (a.k.a. Too Hard to Die)
* Hot Boyz (1999)
* The Girl Next Door (1999)
* No Tomorrow (1999)
* Two Shades of Blue (1999)
* Jacob Two Two Meets the Hooded Fang (1999)
* A Crack in the Floor (2000)
* Tribulation (2000)
* Glory Glory (2000) (a.k.a. Hooded Angels)
* Inside The Metal Box (2000)
* Down 'n Dirty (2000)
* G-Men from Hell (2000)
* Frost: Portrait of a Vampire (2001)
* On the Edge (2002)
* Welcome 2 Ibiza (2002)
* Sam & Janet (2002)
* Slap Shot 2: Breaking the Ice (2002)
* The Prize Fighter (2003)
* Scorched (2003)
* Shadowlands (2003)
* Shade of Pale (2004)
* Motocross Kids (2004)
* Lexie (2004)
* El Padrino (2004)
* Border Blues (2004)
* Latin Dragon (2004)
* Ghost Rock (2004)
* American Dictators: Documenting the Staged Election of 2004 (2004)
* The Hand Job (2005)
* Souled Out (2005)
* No Rules (2005)
* Chasing Ghosts (2005)
* The Baker's Dozen (2005)
* Into the West (2005)
* Buckaroo: The Movie (2005)
* A Sight for Sore Eyes (2005)
* The Gingerdead Man (2005)
* The Hard Easy (2005)
* Descansos (2006)
* Valley of the Wolves Iraq (2006)
* Dr. Dolittle 3 (2006) (voice)
* Shut Up and Shoot! (2006)
* Buy the Ticket, Take the Ride (2006)
* Soft Target (2006) (a.k.a. Crooked)
* Quigley (2006)
* Lady Samurai (2007)
* Homo Erectus (2007) (a.k.a. National Lampoon's The Stoned Age)
* Blizhniy Boy: The Ultimate Fighter (2007)
* Succubus: Hell Bent (2007)
* Maneater (2007)
* Saints Row 2 (VG, voice) (2008)
* Beyond the Ring (2008)
* Nite Tales: The Movie (2008)
* Hallettsville (2009)
* Down and Distance (2009)
* DaZe: Vol. Too (sic) - NonSeNse (2009)
* Grown Ups (2010)
Television
* Kung Fu (Season 1, Episode 15 ("The Ancient Warrior")) (1973)
* Gunsmoke (1975)
* The Texas Wheelers (ABC-TV 8-episode sitcom, 1974–75)
* Saturday Night Live (1979) (himself - host)
* Walker, Texas Ranger (1999)
* The Outer Limits (2000), Episode: "Revival"
* Law & Order (2001)
* King of the Hill (2001) (voice)
* Entourage ("Busey and the Beach", Season 1, Episode 6; "The Boys Are Back In Town", Season 2, Episode 1; "Gary's Desk", Season 4, Episode 8) (2004, 2005, 2007) (as himself)
* The Man Show (2002) (as himself)
* I'm with Busey (Comedy Central, 2003) (as himself)
* Penn & Teller: Bullsheesh! ("12 Stepping", 2004) (as himself)
* High Chaparall (2004) (as himself)
* The Simpsons (On a Clear Day I Can't See My Sister, season 16, episode 11) (2005) (as himself)
* Celebrity Fit Club 2 (VH1, 2005) (as himself)
* Tom Goes to the Mayor (2006) (voice)
* Scrubs ("My Missed Perception", 2006) (as identical doctor)
* Celebrity Paranormal Project (VH1, 2006) (as himself)
* The Smoking Gun Presents: World's Dumbest... (truTV, 2008) (as himself)
* The Cho Show (VH1, 2008) (as himself)
* Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew (VH1, 2008) (as himself)
* The Comedy Central Roast of Larry the Cable Guy (Comedy Central, 2009) (as himself)
Video games
* Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (voice) (2002)
* Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories (voice) (2006)
* Saints Row 2 (voice) (2008)
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h143/CaptainLuAlbano/gary_busey.jpg
http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f244/jchapman34/gary_busey.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 06/29/10 at 6:44 am
he was always the loudest pitchman on TV.
Yes he was..and people noticed that's how he sold so many products.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 06/29/10 at 6:48 am
I like John Cusack a lot. He was good in small roles (like "Stand by me"), Sisteen candles.
He was good in "Eight men out" as Buck, the guy who wouldn't give in.
He was fabulous in "High Fidelity", funny in "being John Malkovich" and even better as the hit man in "Grosse pointe Blanke", which is my favorite film of his, and one of my favorite films of the 90s.
Good job, ninny.
Thanks :)
I don't mind John Cusack ... but he has never really struck me as a leading man in romatic comedies etc. I didn't mind him in Serendipity...
This is true, he is a good actor, but not a great actor.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 06/29/10 at 6:57 am
The person who died on this day...We are going to pay tribute to 3 actresses who died on this day
Jayne Mansfield
Jayne Mansfield (April 19, 1933 – June 29, 1967) was an American actress working both on Broadway and in Hollywood. One of the leading blonde sex symbols of the 1950s, Mansfield starred in several popular Hollywood films that emphasized her platinum-blonde hair, hourglass figure and cleavage-revealing costumes.
While Mansfield's film career was short-lived, she had several box office successes. She won the Theatre World Award, a Golden Globe and a Golden Laurel. As the demand for blonde bombshells declined in the 1960s, Mansfield was relegated to low-budget film melodramas and comedies, but remained a popular celebrity.
In her later career she continued to attract large crowds in foreign countries and in lucrative and successful nightclub tours. Mansfield had been a Playboy Playmate of the Month and appeared in the magazine several additional times. She died in an automobile accident at age 34.
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l117/hayley1_03/Jayne-Mansfieldarticle.jpg
http://i935.photobucket.com/albums/ad197/danika-sextastic-/jayne_mansfield.jpg
* Lana Turner
Lana Turner (February 8, 1921 – June 29, 1995) was an American actress.
Discovered and signed to a film contract by MGM at the age of sixteen, Turner first attracted attention in They Won't Forget (1937). She played featured roles, often as the ingenue, in such films as Love Finds Andy Hardy (1938). During the early 1940s she established herself as a leading actress in such films as Johnny Eager (1941), Ziegfeld Girl (1941) and Somewhere I'll Find You (1942), and her reputation as a glamorous femme fatale was enhanced by her performance in the film noir The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946). Her popularity continued through the 1950s, in such films as The Bad and the Beautiful (1952) and Peyton Place (1957), for which she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress.
In 1958, her daughter, Cheryl Crane, stabbed Turner's lover Johnny Stompanato to death. A coroner's inquest brought considerable media attention to Turner and concluded that Crane had acted in self defense. Turner's next film, Imitation of Life (1959), proved to be one of the greatest successes of her career, but from the early 1960s, her roles were fewer. She gained recognition near the end of her career with a recurring guest role in the television series Falcon Crest during 1982 and 1983.
http://i571.photobucket.com/albums/ss155/eameninadanca/Andy_Polaroid/andy-warhols-polaroids-lana-turner-.jpg
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e314/ziegfeldgirl1941/Lana_Turner_17.jpg
* Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Houghton Hepburn (May 12, 1907 – June 29, 2003) was an American actress of film, television and stage.
Hepburn holds the record for the most Best Actress Oscar wins with four, from 12 nominations. Hepburn won an Emmy Award in 1976 for her lead role in Love Among the Ruins, and was nominated for four other Emmys, two Tony Awards and eight Golden Globes. In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked Hepburn as the greatest female star in the history of American cinema.On June 29, 2003, Hepburn died of natural causes at Fenwick, the Hepburn family home in Old Saybrook, Connecticut. She was 96 years old, and was buried in Cedar Hill Cemetery, Hartford, Connecticut in the family plot. In honor of her extensive theater work, the lights of Broadway were dimmed for an hour.
The book Kate Remembered, by A. Scott Berg, was published just 13 days after Hepburn's death.
In 2004, in accordance with Hepburn's wishes, her personal effects were put up for auction with Sotheby's in New York. Hepburn had meticulously collected an extraordinary amount of material relating to her career and place in Hollywood over the years, as well as personal items such as a bust of Spencer Tracy she sculpted herself (used as a prop in Guess Who's Coming to Dinner on the desk where Sidney Poitier makes his phone call) and her own oil paintings. The auction netted several million dollars, which Hepburn willed mostly to her family and close friends, including television journalist Cynthia McFadden.
http://i485.photobucket.com/albums/rr211/Ivy_Olah/katharine_hepburn1.jpg
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h40/LoveTheJester/87articlev12ik.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: CatwomanofV on 06/29/10 at 10:06 am
Jayne Mansfield was always compared to Marilyn Monroe but I thought Jayne was prettier, smarter, and more talented than Marilyn-and she wasn't a druggy like Marilyn.
Cat
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 06/29/10 at 11:12 am
Jayne Mansfield was always compared to Marilyn Monroe but I thought Jayne was prettier, smarter, and more talented than Marilyn-and she wasn't a druggy like Marilyn.
Cat
I don't know much about her as I would like to know.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 06/29/10 at 3:16 pm
The person born on this day...Gary Busey
Gary Busey (born June 29, 1944) is an American film and stage actor and artist. Busey was born William Gary Busey, in Goose Creek (now Baytown), Texas, the son of Sadie Virginia (née Arnett), a homemaker, and Delmer Lloyd Busey, a construction design manager. He graduated from Nathan Hale High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 1962. While attending Pittsburg State University in Pittsburg, Kansas, on a football scholarship, he became interested in acting. He is listed as one of the university's "outstanding alumni." He then transferred to Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, where he quit school just one class short of graduation.
In 1971, wife Judy Helkenberg gave birth to his son, William Jacob Busey, now known as actor Jake Busey. Busey and Judy divorced when Jake was nineteen.
On December 4, 1988, Busey was severely injured in a motorcycle accident in which he was not wearing a helmet. His skull was fractured, and doctors feared he suffered permanent brain damage.
On December 9, 2009, it was announced that Gary Busey and girlfriend Steffanie Sampson were expecting their first child in May 2010. On February 23, 2010, their son Luke Sampson Busey was born.
Career
Busey began his show-business career as a drummer in "The Rubber Band." He appears on several Leon Russell recordings, credited as playing drums under the names "Teddy Jack Eddy" and "Sprunk," a character he created when he was a cast member of a local television comedy show in Tulsa, Oklahoma, called The Uncanny Film Festival and Camp Meeting (which starred fellow Tulsan Gailard Sartain as "Dr. Mazeppa Pompazoidi"). He played in a band called Carp, who released one album on Epic Records in 1969. Busey continued to play several small roles in both film and television during the 1970s. In 1975, as the character "Harvey Daley," he was the last person killed on the series Gunsmoke (in the third to the last episode, No. 633 - "The Los Carnales").
In 1978, he starred as Buddy Holly in The Buddy Holly Story with Sartain as The Big Bopper. The movie earned Busey an Oscar nomination for Best Actor. In the film, he changes the lyrics to the song "Well All Right" and sings,"We're gonna love Teddy Jack..." a reference to his Teddy Jack Eddy persona. In the same year he also starred in the critically-acclaimed surfing movie Big Wednesday.
In the 1980s, Busey's roles included Silver Bullet (adapted from Cycle of the Werewolf by Stephen King), Barbarosa, Top Gun (voiceover for Tim Robbins' character Merlin), Insignificance and Lethal Weapon. In the movie D.C. Cab, Busey portrayed the character Dell. At one point, Dell is singing along with a cassette recording of Busey singing the song "Why Baby Why" (which Busey recorded, but still remains unreleased). In the 1990s, he appeared in Predator 2, Rookie of the Year, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Under Siege, The Firm, Lost Highway, Point Break and Black Sheep.
Busey sang the song "Stay All Night" on Saturday Night Live in March 1979 and on the Late Show with David Letterman in the 1990s.
In 2002, Busey voiced the character Phil Cassidy in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, then again in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories in 2006. He also voiced himself on a 2005 episode of The Simpsons, narrating an informational video about restraining orders.
Gary Busey appeared in the 2006 Turkish film Valley of the Wolves Iraq, (Kurtlar Vadisi: Irak, in Turkish). The film, accused of anti-Americanism and anti-Semitism, tells the story of the U.S. Army run amok in Iraq and brought into check by a brave Turkish soldier; Gary Busey plays a Jewish-American Army doctor who harvests fresh organs from injured Iraqi prisoners to sell to rich patients in New York, London and Tel Aviv.
In 2007, he appeared as "his crazy self" on HBO's Entourage. Producers at HBO asked Busey to play a "character" on the show who was the self-named actor who is also a famous painter and sculptor.
Busey recently took part in a photo shoot done by photographer Tyler Shields where Busey was put in a straitjacket. The shoot was reportedly for Shields' book The Dirty Side of Glamour, the proceeds from which are to be given to charity. A reporter from Inside Edition was there to cover the shoot and speak with Busey about his upcoming projects but the program instead edited together raw clips from the interview.
The video clip and its many offshoots and re-edits have made their way around the net. Posted on sites such as Insideedition.com, Filmdrunk.com and the photographer's own site Tylershields.com. The clip has also been featured extensively on the E! network's The Soup, hosted by Joel McHale, replaying Busey's line "I'm going to pull your endocrine system out of your body," numerous times for comedic effect.
In 2008, he joined the second season of the reality show Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew. Per his contract and VH1's press release, he was to be part of the mentoring team and not a patient. Drew Pinsky has expressed a different opinion, saying that he can help by being in group meetings with others and is not part of the staff, but part of the patients of this second season. Busey was previously addicted to cocaine, but has been sober for 13 years. In a conversation with model Amber Smith, being treated for a pain killer addiction, he revealed several backronyms related to religion and sobriety, which he called "Busey-isms," and stated his intention to compile them into a book. These included "Gone: Getting Over Negative Energy," "Faith: Fantastic Adventures In Trusting Him," "Sober: Son Of a Bitch Everything's Real," "Fraud: Finding Relevant Answers Under Deception," and "Freedom: Facing Real Exciting Energy Developing Out of Miracles." In a talking head interview recorded later, Smith expressed appreciation for Busey's knowledge and enthusiasm, but also felt he was "crazier than is."
At Pinsky's recommendation, Busey was seen at the facility by psychiatrist Dr. Charles Sophy. Sophy suspected that Busey's brain injury has had a greater effect on him than realized. He described it as essentially weakening his mental "filters" and causing him to speak and act impulsively. He recommended Busey take a medication called Depakote, to which he agreed.
In 2009, he was a roaster at the Comedy Central roast of Larry the Cable Guy.
Filmography
* Angels Hard as They Come (1971)
* The Magnificent Seven Ride! (1972)
* Dirty Little Billy (1972)
* Lolly-Madonna XXX (1973)
* Hex (1973)
* Blood Sport (1973)
* The Execution of Private Slovik (1974)
* The Last American Hero (1973)
* Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (as Garey Busey) (1974)
* The Law (1974)
* A Star Is Born (1976)
* The Gumball Rally (1976)
* The Buddy Holly Story (1978)
* Straight Time (1978)
* Big Wednesday (1978)
* Carny (1980)
* Foolin' Around (1980)
* Barbarosa (1982)
* Didn't You Hear... (1983)
* D.C. Cab (1983)
* The Bear (1984)
* Insignificance (1985)
* Silver Bullet (1985)
* Half a Lifetime (1986)
* Eye of the Tiger (1986)
* Let's Get Harry (1986)
* Lethal Weapon (1987)
* Bulletproof (1988)
* A Dangerous Life (1988)
* The Neon Empire (1989)
* Hider in the House (1989)
* Act of Piracy (1990)
* Predator 2 (1990)
* Point Break (1991)
* My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys (1991)
* Wild Texas Wind (1991)
* Canvas (1992)
* Chrome Soldiers (1992)
* Under Siege (1992)
* Breaking Point (1993)
* The Firm (1993)
* Rookie of the Year (1993)
* South Beach (1993)
* Warriors (1994)
* Surviving the Game (1994)
* Drop Zone (1994)
* Chasers (1994)
* Man with a Gun (1995)
* Steel Sharks (1996)
* One Clean Move (1996)
* Livers Ain't Cheap (1996) (a.k.a. The Real Thing)
* Black Sheep (1996)
* Carried Away (1996)
* Sticks & Stones (1996)
* The Chain (1996)
* Suspicious Minds (1997)
* The Rage (1997)
* Lost Highway (1997)
* Lethal Tender (1997)
* Plato's Run (1997)
* Rough Riders (1997)
* Rough Draft (1998) (a.k.a. Diary of a Serial Killer)
* Soldier (1998)
* Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas (1998)
* Universal Soldier II: Brothers in Arms (1998)
* Detour (1998) (a.k.a. Too Hard to Die)
* Hot Boyz (1999)
* The Girl Next Door (1999)
* No Tomorrow (1999)
* Two Shades of Blue (1999)
* Jacob Two Two Meets the Hooded Fang (1999)
* A Crack in the Floor (2000)
* Tribulation (2000)
* Glory Glory (2000) (a.k.a. Hooded Angels)
* Inside The Metal Box (2000)
* Down 'n Dirty (2000)
* G-Men from Hell (2000)
* Frost: Portrait of a Vampire (2001)
* On the Edge (2002)
* Welcome 2 Ibiza (2002)
* Sam & Janet (2002)
* Slap Shot 2: Breaking the Ice (2002)
* The Prize Fighter (2003)
* Scorched (2003)
* Shadowlands (2003)
* Shade of Pale (2004)
* Motocross Kids (2004)
* Lexie (2004)
* El Padrino (2004)
* Border Blues (2004)
* Latin Dragon (2004)
* Ghost Rock (2004)
* American Dictators: Documenting the Staged Election of 2004 (2004)
* The Hand Job (2005)
* Souled Out (2005)
* No Rules (2005)
* Chasing Ghosts (2005)
* The Baker's Dozen (2005)
* Into the West (2005)
* Buckaroo: The Movie (2005)
* A Sight for Sore Eyes (2005)
* The Gingerdead Man (2005)
* The Hard Easy (2005)
* Descansos (2006)
* Valley of the Wolves Iraq (2006)
* Dr. Dolittle 3 (2006) (voice)
* Shut Up and Shoot! (2006)
* Buy the Ticket, Take the Ride (2006)
* Soft Target (2006) (a.k.a. Crooked)
* Quigley (2006)
* Lady Samurai (2007)
* Homo Erectus (2007) (a.k.a. National Lampoon's The Stoned Age)
* Blizhniy Boy: The Ultimate Fighter (2007)
* Succubus: Hell Bent (2007)
* Maneater (2007)
* Saints Row 2 (VG, voice) (2008)
* Beyond the Ring (2008)
* Nite Tales: The Movie (2008)
* Hallettsville (2009)
* Down and Distance (2009)
* DaZe: Vol. Too (sic) - NonSeNse (2009)
* Grown Ups (2010)
Television
* Kung Fu (Season 1, Episode 15 ("The Ancient Warrior")) (1973)
* Gunsmoke (1975)
* The Texas Wheelers (ABC-TV 8-episode sitcom, 1974–75)
* Saturday Night Live (1979) (himself - host)
* Walker, Texas Ranger (1999)
* The Outer Limits (2000), Episode: "Revival"
* Law & Order (2001)
* King of the Hill (2001) (voice)
* Entourage ("Busey and the Beach", Season 1, Episode 6; "The Boys Are Back In Town", Season 2, Episode 1; "Gary's Desk", Season 4, Episode 8) (2004, 2005, 2007) (as himself)
* The Man Show (2002) (as himself)
* I'm with Busey (Comedy Central, 2003) (as himself)
* Penn & Teller: Bullsheesh! ("12 Stepping", 2004) (as himself)
* High Chaparall (2004) (as himself)
* The Simpsons (On a Clear Day I Can't See My Sister, season 16, episode 11) (2005) (as himself)
* Celebrity Fit Club 2 (VH1, 2005) (as himself)
* Tom Goes to the Mayor (2006) (voice)
* Scrubs ("My Missed Perception", 2006) (as identical doctor)
* Celebrity Paranormal Project (VH1, 2006) (as himself)
* The Smoking Gun Presents: World's Dumbest... (truTV, 2008) (as himself)
* The Cho Show (VH1, 2008) (as himself)
* Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew (VH1, 2008) (as himself)
* The Comedy Central Roast of Larry the Cable Guy (Comedy Central, 2009) (as himself)
Video games
* Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (voice) (2002)
* Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories (voice) (2006)
* Saints Row 2 (voice) (2008)
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h143/CaptainLuAlbano/gary_busey.jpg
http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f244/jchapman34/gary_busey.jpg
Gary Busey is ok,not that funny.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: gibbo on 06/29/10 at 6:20 pm
Jayne Mansfield was always compared to Marilyn Monroe but I thought Jayne was prettier, smarter, and more talented than Marilyn-and she wasn't a druggy like Marilyn.
Cat
I don't know about this one...rumour has it that she lost her head in the end! :-\\
I love that famous pic with Sophia Loren and Jayne Mansfield (at a benefit dinner) and Sophia is staring (in horror) at Jayne's 40 DD+ breasts almost falling out of her dress. It's a classic... ;D Jayne really knew how to divert attention (and it was a dinner held in Loren's behalf too).
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: CatwomanofV on 06/29/10 at 6:30 pm
I don't know about this one...rumour has it that she lost her head in the end! :-\\
I love that famous pic with Sophia Loren and Jayne Mansfield (at a benefit dinner) and Sophia is staring (in horror) at Jayne's 40 DD+ breasts almost falling out of her dress. It's a classic... ;D Jayne really knew how to divert attention (and it was a dinner held in Loren's behalf too).
That WAS only a rumor about her losing her head.
http://www.snopes.com/movies/actors/jayne.asp
Cat
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: gibbo on 06/29/10 at 6:47 pm
That WAS only a rumor about her losing her head.
http://www.snopes.com/movies/actors/jayne.asp
Cat
I knew it was a rumour...but I used that rumour for my own purpose here. ;) It was a terribly gruesome way to go. I guess her airbags couldn't save her. (okay...I will apologise in advance for that one...)
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 06/29/10 at 7:56 pm
That WAS only a rumor about her losing her head.
http://www.snopes.com/movies/actors/jayne.asp
Cat
Boy I got to start reading people's bio's better, I never connected the dots between Jayne and Mariska Hargitay who I love on S.V.U. :-[
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: gibbo on 06/29/10 at 8:27 pm
Boy I got to start reading people's bio's better, I never connected the dots between Jayne and Mariska Hargitay who I love on S.V.U. :-[
My wife told me of the connection when SVU first started on TV.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 06/30/10 at 6:30 am
The word of the day...Metal
A metal is a chemical element that is a good conductor of both electricity and heat and forms cations and ionic bonds with non-metals. In chemistry, a metal ( from Greek "μÎταλλον" - métallon, "mine") is an element, compound, or alloy characterized by high electrical conductivity. In a metal, atoms readily lose electrons to form positive ions (cations). Those ions are surrounded by delocalized electrons, which are responsible for the conductivity. The solid thus produced is held by electrostatic interactions between the ions and the electron cloud, which are called metallic bonds.
http://i326.photobucket.com/albums/k429/arthurgtia2/metal.jpg
http://i773.photobucket.com/albums/yy16/TheBrandRocket/Recycling/non-ferrous_metal.jpg
http://i773.photobucket.com/albums/yy16/TheBrandRocket/Recycling/mixed_metal.jpg
http://i410.photobucket.com/albums/pp190/FindStuff2/Music/Metal/Iron-Maiden.jpg
http://i950.photobucket.com/albums/ad346/JimboDowning/Sell2010068.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y181/rockstrongo/IM000794.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 06/30/10 at 6:35 am
The person born on this day...Vincent D'Onofrio
Vincent Phillip D'Onofrio (born June 30, 1959) is an American actor and film producer. He first gained attention for his role as "Private Leonard 'Gomer Pyle' Lawrence" in Full Metal Jacket, and recently for his role as Detective Robert Goren in Law & Order: Criminal Intent.
D'Onofrio was born in the Bensonhurst neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, of Sicilian descent. He is the son of Gennaro (Gene) D’Onofrio, an interior designer and part-time theater production assistant, and Phyllis D‘Onofrio (now Meyer) a waitress and restaurant manager. His parents met while Gennaro was stationed in Hawaii with the U.S. Air Force. The couple relocated to the mainland where they had three children. Vincent is the youngest and the only boy. His middle sister Elizabeth D'Onofrio is an actress and drama coach now residing in Fort Myers Beach, Florida. His eldest sister, Toni, owns the Rib City restaurant in Utah.
Career
In 1984, D'Onofrio became a full member of the American Stanislavsky Theatre, appearing in a number of its productions, including Of Mice and Men and Sexual Perversity in Chicago. He also made his Broadway debut as Nick Rizzoli in Open Admissions. Before this breakthrough, he had been acting in New York University student films and was working as a bouncer at the Hard Rock Cafe.
In 1987, D'Onofrio entered the mainstream consciousness with two film roles that demonstrated his range as an actor. His first major film role was as the overweight Private Leonard "Gomer Pyle" Lawrence in Stanley Kubrick's 1987 film, Full Metal Jacket, a part for which he gained nearly 70 lb (32 kg), bringing his weight to 280 lb (130 kg). The other role was that of Dawson, the owner of Dawson's Garage in Adventures in Babysitting, directed by Chris Columbus. D'Onofrio appears in only one pivotal scene near the end of the film, but his role attracted attention because of his muscular physique and long blond hair, which cause the film's youngest character, Sara, to mistakenly believe that he is actually Thor, the comic-book superhero she idolizes.
D'Onofrio continued to play a wide variety of roles, including iconic director Orson Welles in Tim Burton's Ed Wood, farmer Edgar and the evil "Bug" that possesses him from Men in Black, the father of a saint in Nancy Savoca's Household Saints, Yippie founder Abbie Hoffman in Steal This Movie, a time traveler from the distant future in Happy Accidents, and opposite Jennifer Lopez as serial killer Carl Stargher in The Cell.
He has dabbled in film production and direction, having produced two films, The Whole Wide World and Guy, in 1996 and 1997 executive produced two others, The Velocity of Gary in 1998 and Steal This Movie in 2000, and directed the short Five Minutes, Mr. Welles in 2005. This last represents a culmination of D'Onofrio's desire to improve on his performance as Welles in Ed Wood, which, in spite of D'Onofrio's striking physical resemblance to the actor/director, reportedly left director Tim Burton underwhelmed. Burton had to procure the services of voice-over artist Maurice LaMarche (who is himself known for his peerless imitation of Welles' voice) to produce a more dramatically effective rendering of the character's dialogue.
D'Onofrio received an Emmy nomination in 1997 for his appearance as John Lange, the doomed victim in the Homicide: Life on the Street episode "Subway". He also starred as Det. Robert Goren on the NBC television show Law & Order: Criminal Intent.
In 2003, it was reported that D'Onofrio and Joe Pantoliano began work on a small film entitled Little Victories, about a 12-year old boy whose perceptions of the world are forever changed when his gangster uncle comes to live with him. According to a television interview with Pantoliano, Little Victories was not completed and went into turnaround because of a failure to raise the funds necessary for production.
In November 2005, D'Onofrio won Best Actor at the Stockholm International Film Festival for his role as Mike Cobb in the independent film Thumbsucker.
In 2006, D'Onofrio appeared in The Break Up, starring Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn. In it, he played Vaughn's eccentric brother. They had appeared together on two previous films, in The Cell, when Vaughn played an FBI agent attempting to catch D'Onofrio, and Thumbsucker.
In 2008, D'Onofrio made a cameo appearance in a Presidential Election-related sketch of a Saturday Night Live episode as his character Det. Robert Goren. In the sketch, which originally aired on March 1, 2008, he interrogates Hillary Clinton (played by Amy Poehler). His entrance to and exit from the skit are punctuated by the classic Law & Order "dun-DUN" sound.
On October 27, 2009, D'Onofrio portrayed a country singer named George Geronimo Gerkie at Joe's Pub in New York City. He appeared as Gerkie for a second time at New York's Hammerstein Ballroom on December 6, 2009, during Matt Pinfield's Holiday Extravaganza Show.
D'Onofrio turned down a role in The Sopranos.
D'Onofrio left Criminal Intent in the Spring of 2010 with his last appearance being in a two-part story which was the ninth season premiere.
Personal life
D'Onofrio's father, Gene, and his sister Beth founded the River Run International Film Festival in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, which began in 1998.
D'Onofrio has a daughter, Leila George D'Onofrio, born March 20, 1992 in Sydney, Australia. Her mother is actress Greta Scacchi, with whom D'Onofrio made several movies in the late 1980s and early 1990s (including The Player and Fires Within). The couple were in a relationship from 1991 until 1993. After that relationship ended, D'Onofrio married model Carin van der Donk on March 22, 1997. The couple have a son, Elias Gene, born in December 1999. D'Onofrio and van der Donk split in October 2003, but reconciled in 2007. Carin gave birth to their second son, Luka, on February 14, 2008.
D'Onofrio experienced a health issue when he collapsed on the set of Law & Order: Criminal Intent on November 10, 2004. He collapsed again at home a few days later and was taken back to the hospital for more thorough testing, where he was diagnosed with exhaustion.
Partial filmography
* The First Turn-On! (1983)
* It Don't Pay to Be an Honest Citizen (1984)
* Full Metal Jacket (1987)
* Adventures in Babysitting (1987)
* Mystic Pizza (1988)
* Signs of Life (1989)
* The Blood of Heroes (1989) - also known as Salute of the Jugger
* Crooked Hearts (1991)
* Dying Young (1991)
* Fires Within (1991)
* Naked Tango (1991)
* JFK (1991)
* The Player (1992)
* Salt on Our Skin (1992) - also known as Desire
* Being Human (1993)
* Household Saints (1993)
* Mr. Wonderful (1993)
* Ed Wood (1994)
* The Investigator (1994)
* Imaginary Crimes (1994)
* Nunzio's Second Cousin (1994)
* Stuart Saves His Family (1995)
* Strange Days (1995)
* Hotel Paradise (1995)
* The Whole Wide World (1996)
* The Winner (1996)
* Feeling Minnesota (1996)
* Good Luck (1996)
* Boys Life 2 (1997)
* Men in Black (1997)
* Guy (1997)
* The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1998) - TV remake of the 1974 film
* The Newton Boys (1998)
* Claire Dolan (1998)
* The Velocity of Gary (1998)
* Spanish Judges (1999)
* The Thirteenth Floor (1999)
* That Championship Season (1999)
* Happy Accidents (2000)
* Steal This Movie (2000)
* The Cell (2000)
* Chelsea Walls (2001)
* Impostor (2002)
* Bark! (2002)
* The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys (2002)
* The Red Sneakers (2002)
* The Salton Sea (2002)
* Case of Evil (2002)
* Thumbsucker (2005)
* Five Minutes, Mr. Welles (2005)
* The Break Up (2006)
* The Narrows (2008)
* Cadillac Records (2008)
* Staten Island (2009)
* Brooklyn's Finest (2010)
* The Irishman (2010)
* The First Avenger: Captain America (2011) (rumored)
Television (including notable guest appearances)
* Law & Order: Criminal Intent (2001—2010) as Det. Robert Goren
* Men in Black: The Series as Bugs (voice) in "The Big Bad Bug Syndrome" (Episode 2.5)
* Homicide: Life on the Street as John Lange in "Subway" (Episode 6.7)
* The Equalizer as Davy Baylor in "Suspicion of Innocence" (Episode 3.3) and as Thomas Marley in "Counterfire" (Episode 2.7)
* Miami Vice as Leon Wolf in "The Afternoon Plane" (Episode 3.17)
* Spanish Judges (1999)
* Saturday Night Live (2008) as Det. Robert Goren (Episode 33.630)
* Xavier: Renegade Angel (2009) as Eric in the episode "El Tornadador" (Episode 2.3) and as The Judge in the episode "Damnesia Vu" (Episode 2.6)
Documentaries
* Anatomy of a Homicide, PBS (1998)
http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u139/Azmo18/vincent_donofrio_09.jpg
http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj97/universe_moon/vincent%20donofrio/Feel20Min20Interview2036.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 06/30/10 at 6:39 am
The person who died on this day...Gale Gordon
Gale Gordon (February 20, 1906 – June 30, 1995) was an American character actor perhaps best remembered as Lucille Ball's longtime television foil — and particularly as cantankerously combustible, tightfisted bank executive Theodore J. Mooney, on Ball's second television situation comedy, The Lucy Show. Gordon also had starring roles in Ball's third series, Here's Lucy and her short-lived fourth series, Life with Lucy. Prior to his television career, Gordon was a respected American radio actor.
Born Charles T. Aldrich, Jr. in New York City, the son of British actress Gloria Gordon and her vaudevillian husband Charles Aldrich, Gale Gordon's first big radio break came via the recurring roles of "Mayor La Trivia" and "Foggy Williams" on Fibber McGee and Molly, before playing Rumson Bullard on the show's successful spinoff, The Great Gildersleeve. Gordon and his character of Mayor La Trivia briefly left the show in December of 1942; both had enlisted in World War II.
Gordon was the first actor to play the role of Flash Gordon, in the 1935 radio serial The Amazing Interplanetary Adventures of Flash Gordon. In 1949 Gordon recorded the pilot for The Halls of Ivy, starring in the program's title role of Dr. Todhunter Hall, the president of Ivy College. The pilot led to a radio series that aired from 1950-52, but with Ronald Colman in the title role; Gordon later joined the cast as a replacement for Willard Waterman in the popular role of John Merriweather.
In 1950, Gordon played John Granby in the radio series Granby's Green Acres, which became the basis for the 1960s television series, Green Acres. Gordon went on to create the role of pompous principal Osgood Conklin on Our Miss Brooks, carrying the role to television when the show moved there in 1952. In the interim, Gordon turned up as Rudolph Atterbury on My Favorite Husband, which starred Lucille Ball in a precursor to I Love Lucy. Gordon and Ball previously worked together on The Wonder Show, starring Jack Haley, from 1938 to 1939. The two had a long friendship as well as recurring professional partnership. Gordon also had a recurring role as fictitious Rexall Drugs sponsor representative Mr. Scott on yet another radio hit, The Phil Harris-Alice Faye Show, staying with the role as long as Rexall sponsored the show.
Television
The widely acknowledged master of the "slow-burn" temper explosion in character, Gordon was actually the first pick to play Fred Mertz on I Love Lucy, but he was committed to Our Miss Brooks and had to decline the offer in favor of William Frawley. But he did make two guest shots on the show as Ricky Ricardo's boss, Alvin Littlefield, owner of the Tropicana Club where Ricky's band played, and he later played a judge on a The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour episode. In 1958, he appeared as a regular in the role of department store co-owner Bascomb Bleacher, Sr., on the NBC sitcom Sally, starring Joan Caulfield and Marion Lorne. Gordon also had a co-starring role in the CBS television comedy Pete and Gladys. At this time, he guest starred with Pat O'Brien in the ABC sitcom Harrigan and Son, the story of a fictitious father-and-son pair of lawyers.
In 1962, Ball created The Lucy Show and planned to hire Gordon to play Theodore J. Mooney, the banker who was first Lucy Carmichael's executor and subsequently her employer, when she went to work in his bank. Gordon, however, was still under contract to play John Wilson (after the death of Joseph Kearns, who played George Wilson) on Dennis the Menace. When that show ended in spring 1963, Gordon joined The Lucy Show as Mr. Mooney for the 1963-64 season. In the interim, Charles Lane played the similar Mr. Barnsdahl character for the 1962-63 season. The somewhat portly Gordon was not only adept at physical comedy but could do a perfect cartwheel. He did this once on The Lucy Show and again as a guest on The Dean Martin Show.
After the sale of Desilu studios, Ball shut down The Lucy Show in 1968 and retooled it into Here's Lucy. She used Gordon yet again - this time as her irascible boss (and brother-in-law) Harry Carter at an employment agency that specialized in unusual jobs. It was really the Lucy Carmichael/Mr. Mooney relationship continued with new names and a new setting.
Gordon all but retired when Here's Lucy ended (although he did reprise his role of Mr. Mooney in the first aired episode of Hi Honey, I'm Home!), but in the 1980s he came out of retirement to join Ball one last time, for the short-lived Life With Lucy. When Lucille Ball finally brought an end to her career, Gordon turned out to be the only actor to have co-starred or guest-starred in every weekly series, radio or television, she had done since the 1940s.
Death
Gordon died of lung cancer on June 30, 1995, at the Redwood Terrace Health Center in Escondido, California. Virginia, his wife of nearly 60 years, had died in the same facility one month earlier.
Awards
In 1999, Gordon was inducted posthumously into the Radio Hall of Fame, and for his contribution to radio he has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6340 Hollywood Blvd.
Selected film/TV roles
* Here We Go Again (1942) - Otis Cadwalader
* My Favorite Husband (1947) - Mr. Rudolph Atterbury
* Here Come the Nelsons (1952) - H.J. Bellows
* I Love Lucy - (one episode)
* Francis Covers the Big Town (1953) - Dist. Atty. Evans
* Our Miss Brooks - Osgood Conklin (several episodes)
* Climax! - Dr. Raymond Forrest (1956)
* The Real McCoys - P. T. Kirkland (one episode)
* Playhouse 90 - Ed Keller (1957-1958)
* Studio One - R.J. Fuller (1958)
* The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour - Judge (1958)
* Rally 'Round the Flag, Boys! (1958) - Brig. Gen. W.A. Thorwald
* Don't Give Up the Ship (1959) - Congressman Mandeville
* The 30 Foot Bride of Candy Rock (1959) - Raven Rossiter
* Visit to a Small Planet (1960) - Bob Mayberry
* All Hands on Deck (1961) - Cmdr. Bintle
* Harrigan and Son - Merril Davis (1961)
* Pete and Gladys - Uncle Paul Porter (1960-1962)
* Dennis the Menace - John Wilson (1962-1963)
* Sergeant Dead Head (1965) - Capt. Weiskopf
* The Danny Thomas Hour - Baxter (1967)
* The Lucy Show - Mr. Theodore J. Mooney (1963-1968)
* Speedway (1968) - R.W. Hepworth
* Here's Lucy - Harrison Otis Carter (1968-1974)
* Lucy Calls the President (1977) (TV) - Omar Whittaker
* The Honeymooners Christmas Special (1977) (TV) - Ralph's boss
* Hi Honey, I'm Home - Theodore J. Mooney (1991)
* The New Lassie (1991)
http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee165/mornin-dew/galegordon2.jpg
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z58/mjdonovan02/Rifiuti/6543.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 06/30/10 at 7:13 am
The person who died on this day...Gale Gordon
Gale Gordon (February 20, 1906 – June 30, 1995) was an American character actor perhaps best remembered as Lucille Ball's longtime television foil — and particularly as cantankerously combustible, tightfisted bank executive Theodore J. Mooney, on Ball's second television situation comedy, The Lucy Show. Gordon also had starring roles in Ball's third series, Here's Lucy and her short-lived fourth series, Life with Lucy. Prior to his television career, Gordon was a respected American radio actor.
Born Charles T. Aldrich, Jr. in New York City, the son of British actress Gloria Gordon and her vaudevillian husband Charles Aldrich, Gale Gordon's first big radio break came via the recurring roles of "Mayor La Trivia" and "Foggy Williams" on Fibber McGee and Molly, before playing Rumson Bullard on the show's successful spinoff, The Great Gildersleeve. Gordon and his character of Mayor La Trivia briefly left the show in December of 1942; both had enlisted in World War II.
Gordon was the first actor to play the role of Flash Gordon, in the 1935 radio serial The Amazing Interplanetary Adventures of Flash Gordon. In 1949 Gordon recorded the pilot for The Halls of Ivy, starring in the program's title role of Dr. Todhunter Hall, the president of Ivy College. The pilot led to a radio series that aired from 1950-52, but with Ronald Colman in the title role; Gordon later joined the cast as a replacement for Willard Waterman in the popular role of John Merriweather.
In 1950, Gordon plahttp://s3.amazonaws.com/findagrave/photos/2001/222/gordongalebio.jpgyed John Granby in the radio series Granby's Green Acres, which became the basis for the 1960s television series, Green Acres. Gordon went on to create the role of pompous principal Osgood Conklin on Our Miss Brooks, carrying the role to television when the show moved there in 1952. In the interim, Gordon turned up as Rudolph Atterbury on My Favorite Husband, which starred Lucille Ball in a precursor to I Love Lucy. Gordon and Ball previously worked together on The Wonder Show, starring Jack Haley, from 1938 to 1939. The two had a long friendship as well as recurring professional partnership. Gordon also had a recurring role as fictitious Rexall Drugs sponsor representative Mr. Scott on yet another radio hit, The Phil Harris-Alice Faye Show, staying with the role as long as Rexall sponsored the show.
Television
The widely acknowledged master of the "slow-burn" temper explosion in character, Gordon was actually the first pick to play Fred Mertz on I Love Lucy, but he was committed to Our Miss Brooks and had to decline the offer in favor of William Frawley. But he did make two guest shots on the show as Ricky Ricardo's boss, Alvin Littlefield, owner of the Tropicana Club where Ricky's band played, and he later played a judge on a The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour episode. In 1958, he appeared as a regular in the role of department store co-owner Bascomb Bleacher, Sr., on the NBC sitcom Sally, starring Joan Caulfield and Marion Lorne. Gordon also had a co-starring role in the CBS television comedy Pete and Gladys. At this time, he guest starred with Pat O'Brien in the ABC sitcom Harrigan and Son, the story of a fictitious father-and-son pair of lawyers.
In 1962, Ball created The Lucy Show and planned to hire Gordon to play Theodore J. Mooney, the banker who was first Lucy Carmichael's executor and subsequently her employer, when she went to work in his bank. Gordon, however, was still under contract to play John Wilson (after the death of Joseph Kearns, who played George Wilson) on Dennis the Menace. When that show ended in spring 1963, Gordon joined The Lucy Show as Mr. Mooney for the 1963-64 season. In the interim, Charles Lane played the similar Mr. Barnsdahl character for the 1962-63 season. The somewhat portly Gordon was not only adept at physical comedy but could do a perfect cartwheel. He did this once on The Lucy Show and again as a guest on The Dean Martin Show.
After the sale of Desilu studios, Ball shut down The Lucy Show in 1968 and retooled it into Here's Lucy. She used Gordon yet again - this time as her irascible boss (and brother-in-law) Harry Carter at an employment agency that specialized in unusual jobs. It was really the Lucy Carmichael/Mr. Mooney relationship continued with new names and a new setting.
Gordon all but retired when Here's Lucy ended (although he did reprise his role of Mr. Mooney in the first aired episode of Hi Honey, I'm Home!), but in the 1980s he came out of retirement to join Ball one last time, for the short-lived Life With Lucy. When Lucille Ball finally brought an end to her career, Gordon turned out to be the only actor to have co-starred or guest-starred in every weekly series, radio or television, she had done since the 1940s.
Death
Gordon died of lung cancer on June 30, 1995, at the Redwood Terrace Health Center in Escondido, California. Virginia, his wife of nearly 60 years, had died in the same facility one month earlier.
Awards
In 1999, Gordon was inducted posthumously into the Radio Hall of Fame, and for his contribution to radio he has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6340 Hollywood Blvd.
Selected film/TV roles
* Here We Go Again (1942) - Otis Cadwalader
* My Favorite Husband (1947) - Mr. Rudolph Atterbury
* Here Come the Nelsons (1952) - H.J. Bellows
* I Love Lucy - (one episode)
* Francis Covers the Big Town (1953) - Dist. Atty. Evans
* Our Miss Brooks - Osgood Conklin (several episodes)
* Climax! - Dr. Raymond Forrest (1956)
* The Real McCoys - P. T. Kirkland (one episode)
* Playhouse 90 - Ed Keller (1957-1958)
* Studio One - R.J. Fuller (1958)
* The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour - Judge (1958)
* Rally 'Round the Flag, Boys! (1958) - Brig. Gen. W.A. Thorwald
* Don't Give Up the Ship (1959) - Congressman Mandeville
* The 30 Foot Bride of Candy Rock (1959) - Raven Rossiter
* Visit to a Small Planet (1960) - Bob Mayberry
* All Hands on Deck (1961) - Cmdr. Bintle
* Harrigan and Son - Merril Davis (1961)
* Pete and Gladys - Uncle Paul Porter (1960-1962)
* Dennis the Menace - John Wilson (1962-1963)
* Sergeant Dead Head (1965) - Capt. Weiskopf
* The Danny Thomas Hour - Baxter (1967)
* The Lucy Show - Mr. Theodore J. Mooney (1963-1968)
* Speedway (1968) - R.W. Hepworth
* Here's Lucy - Harrison Otis Carter (1968-1974)
* Lucy Calls the President (1977) (TV) - Omar Whittaker
* The Honeymooners Christmas Special (1977) (TV) - Ralph's boss
* Hi Honey, I'm Home - Theodore J. Mooney (1991)
* The New Lassie (1991)
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Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 06/30/10 at 7:15 am
It's also Lena Horne's Birthday she would have been 93.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Frank on 06/30/10 at 10:47 am
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Mr. Mooney!
Lucy drove him insane... ;D
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 06/30/10 at 11:08 am
It's also Lena Horne's Birthday she would have been 93.
:)
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 06/30/10 at 11:08 am
Mr. Mooney!
Lucy drove him insane... ;D
That's for sure ;D
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 06/30/10 at 2:40 pm
Mr. Mooney!
Lucy drove him insane... ;D
and both are in heaven.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Frank on 06/30/10 at 5:57 pm
and both are in heaven.
Most of the famous movie and TV stars from the 50s and 60s are gone. Most ( not all)
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 07/01/10 at 5:25 am
The word of the day...Airport
An airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps takeoff and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport. An airport consists of at least one surface such as a runway for a plane to takeoff and land, a helipad, or water for takeoffs and landings, and often includes buildings such as control towers, hangars and terminal buildings.
Larger airports may have fixed base operator services, seaplane docks and ramps, air traffic control, passenger facilities such as restaurants and lounges, and emergency services. A military airport is known as an airbase or air station. The terms aerodrome, airdrome, airfield, and airstrip may also be used to refer to airports, and the terms heliport, seaplane base, and STOLport refer to airports dedicated exclusively to helicopters, seaplanes, or short take-off and landing aircraft. In some jurisdictions, the term airport is used when the facility is licensed as such by the relevant government organization (e.g. the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Transport Canada). Elsewhere the distinction is one of general appearance. Other jurisdictions define an airport as having the customs offices etc. expected of a port, though the more general term is airport of entry.
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Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 07/01/10 at 5:27 am
The person born on this day...Karen Black
Karen Black (born July 1, 1939) is an American actress, screenwriter, singer and songwriter. She is noted for appearing in such films as Easy Rider, Five Easy Pieces, The Great Gatsby, The Day of the Locust, Nashville, Airport 1975, and Alfred Hitchcock's final film, Family Plot. Black was born as Karen Blanche Ziegler in Park Ridge, Illinois, the daughter of Elsie (née Reif), a writer of several prize-winning children's novels, and Norman A. Ziegler. Her paternal grandfather was Arthur Ziegler, a classical musician and the first violinist for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Her sister is actress Gail Brown. She attended Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, for two years, having commenced university studies in 1954, aged 15. She then moved to New York where she appeared in a number of off-Broadway productions.
Career
Black began her film career in 1959 with a small role in The Prime Time. Then as the woman about to be stoned in The Greatest Story Ever Told in 1964. She made her Broadway debut in 1965's The Playroom, for which she was nominated for a Drama Circle Critic Award for Best Actress. She returned to the big screen in You're a Big Boy Now (1966), which was directed by Francis Ford Coppola. During the mid to late 1960s, Black made guest appearances on such shows as The F.B.I. and Adam 12. She appeared on the TV series The Second Hundred Years (1967) as "Marcia Garroway".
Black became a well-known actress after her role as Karen in Easy Rider (1969). She has over 100 film performances to her credit, including her role as a kidnapping accomplice in the final film Alfred Hitchcock directed, Family Plot (1976), and her turn as Rayette Dipesto in Five Easy Pieces (1970), for which she received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. She won a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress for Five Easy Pieces as well as a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture for her role as Myrtle Wilson in The Great Gatsby (1974).
She was also nominated for Best Motion Picture Actress – Drama for her role as Faye Greener in The Day of the Locust. She starred in Airport 1975 as Chief Cabin Attendant Nancy Pryor with a memorable line: "There's no one left to fly the plane!". Black was nominated for a Grammy Award for Album of Best Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or Television Series for Nashville (1975). She had previously written and sung the theme song and supporting songs for The Pyx (1973). She starred in the Dan Curtis horror film, Burnt Offerings (1976) with Bette Davis. She went on to appear in a dual role in a 1977 TV movie thriller, The Strange Possession of Mrs. Oliver. She appeared as Mother Firefly in the 2001 Rob Zombie horror movie House of 1000 Corpses.
In March 2005, Black received the Best Actress Award at the Fantasporto International Film Festival in Porto, Portugal, for her work in the critically-acclaimed Steve Balderson film, Firecracker (2005), in which she plays two roles, Sandra and Eleanor. (Black also played two different roles in one of the three stories comprising the 1975 cult classic Trilogy of Terror. In April 2009, Black reunited with director Steve Balderson for Stuck! - an homage to film noir women-in-prison dramas, which co-starred Mink Stole, Pleasant Gehman and The Go-Go's Jane Wiedlin. Black stars also in the John Landis-produced 2010 thriller Some Guy Who Kills People.
Black launched a career as a playwright in May 2007 with the opening of Missouri Waltz at the Blank Theater in Los Angeles; Black stars in the play as well. Conceived as a play with music, rather than a musical, the play contains songs by Harriet Schock. The play is a bittersweet comedy about two ghosts who haunt their ancestral home in New Madrid, Missouri.
Black recently contributed vocals to "Dreams Come True Girl", the first single off of singer-songwriter Cass McCombs's fourth album, Catacombs.
Personal life
Black has been married four times, first to Charles Black from 1955 to 1962, then to Robert Burton, who played her student in the TV movie Trilogy of Terror, from 1973 to 1974. Her third marriage to screenwriter L.M. Kit Carson produced her only biological child, Hunter Carson (born December 25, 1975). Black and her current husband (since 1987), Stephen Eckelberry, adopted a daughter, Celine, in November 1987.
She has been a Scientologist since the 1970's and despite some 2006 rumors to the contrary, she and her husband are still active..
Black in popular culture
Cracker's song "Dr. Bernice" contains the lyric, 'Though the wind may whisper an epic sometime/The cast must include Karen Black.'
The Voluptuous Horror of Karen Black is a glam/punk band led by Kembra Pfahler.
Her likeness appears in the The Simpsons Tree House of Horror Dead Man's Jest comic book.
In 2006 she appeared in Wanderlust, a documentary about road movies.
Karen has a cameo in an episode of Family Guy. She lands an airplane and saves the day. On the nightly newscast, the anchor says, "Karen Black, what an obscure reference."
Filmography
* The Prime Time (1960)
* You're a Big Boy Now (1966)
* Hard Contract (1969)
* Easy Rider (1969)
* Hastings Corner (1970)
* Five Easy Pieces (1970)
* Drive, He Said (1971)
* A Gunfight (1971)
* Born to Win (1971)
* Cisco Pike (1972)
* Portnoy's Complaint (1972)
* Little Laura and Big John (1973)
* The Pyx (1973)
* The Outfit (1973)
* Rhinoceros (1974)
* The Great Gatsby (1974)
* Law and Disorder (1974)
* Airport 1975 (1974)
* Trilogy of Terror (1975)
* The Day of the Locust (1975)
* Nashville (1975)
* Ace Up My Sleeve (1976)
* Family Plot (1976)
* Burnt Offerings (1976)
* The Strange Possession of Mrs. Oliver (1977)
* 1922
* Because He's My Friend (1978)
* Capricorn One (1978)
* In Praise of Older Women (1978)
* The Squeeze (1978)
* Mr. Horn (1979)
* Killer Fish (1979)
* Power (1980)
* Where the Ladies Go (1980)
* The Last Word (1980)
* Police Story: Confessions of a Lady Cop (1980)
* Separate Ways (1981)
* Gräset sjunger (1981)
* Chanel Solitaire (1981)
* La donna giusta (1982)
* Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean (1982)
* Can She Bake a Cherry Pie? (1983)
* A Stroke of Genius (1984)
* Martin's Day (1984)
* Growing Pains (1984)
* The Blue Man (1985)
* Inferno in diretta (1985)
* Savage Dawn (1985)
* Invaders from Mars (1986)
* Flight of the Spruce Goose (1986)
* It's Alive III: Island of the Alive (1987)
* Hostage (1987)
* Platinum Blonde (1988)
* The Legendary Life of Ernest Hemingway (1988)
* The Invisible Kid (1988)
* Dixie Lanes (1988)
* Judgement (1989)
* Out of the Dark (1989)
* Homer and Eddie (1989)
* Evil Spirits (1990)
* Mirror, Mirror (1990)
* Fatal Encounter (1990)
* The Children (1990)
* Club Fed (1990 film) (1990)
* Overexposed (1990)
* Zapped Again! (1990)
* Twisted Justice (1990)
* Night Angel (1990)
* The Roller Blade Seven (1991)
* Rubin and Ed (1991)
* The Killer's Edge (1991)
* Children of the Night (1991)
* Quiet Fire (1991)
* Haunting Fear (1991)
* Return of the Roller Blade Seven (1992)
* Final Judgement (1992)
* Legend of the Roller Blade Seven (1992)
* Dead Girls Don't Tango (1992)
* Bound and Gagged: A Love Story (1992)
* The Double 0 Kid (1992)
* Caged Fear (1992)
* Cries of Silence (1993)
* Auntie Lee's Meat Pies (1993)
* Tuesday Never Comes (1993)
* The Trust (1993)
* Dark Blood (1993) (unfinished)
* Plan 10 from Outer Space (1994)
* Too Bad About Jack (1994)
* The Wacky Adventures of Dr. Boris and Nurse Shirley (1995)
* Starstruck (1995)
* Dinosaur Valley Girls (1996)
* Angelo a New York, Un (1996)
* Movies Money Murder (1996)
* Every Minute Is Goodbye (1996)
* Crimetime (1996)
* Children of the Corn IV: The Gathering (1996)
* Dogtown (1997)
* Modern Rhapsody (1997)
* Malaika (1997)
* Conceiving Ada (1997)
* Men (1997)
* Waiting for Dr. MacGuffin (1998)
* Fallen Arches (1998)
* Light Speed (1998)
* Stripping for Jesus (1998)
* Invisible Dad (1998)
* I Woke Up Early the Day I Died (1998)
* Sugar: The Fall of the West (1998)
* Stir (1998)
* My Neighbor's Daughter (1998)
* Bury the Evidence (1998)
* Charades (1998)
* Decoupage 2000: Return of the Goddess (1999)
* Paradise Cove (1999)
* Mascara (1999)
* The Underground Comedy Movie (1999)
* Oliver Twisted (2000)
* Inviati speciali (2000)
* The Donor (2000)
* Red Dirt (2000)
* Gypsy 83 (2001)
* Hard Luck (2001)
* Soulkeeper (2001)
* Teknolust (2002)
* Buttleman (2002)
* A Light in the Darkness (2002)
* Paris (2003)
* Summer Solstice (2003)
* Curse of the Forty-Niner (2003)
* House of 1000 Corpses (2003)
* America Brown (2004)
* Birth of Industry (2004)
* Firecracker (2005)
* Dr. Rage (2005)
* Carma (2005)
* My Suicidal Sweetheart (2005)
* Trailer for a Remake of Gore Vidal's Caligula (2005)
* Whitepaddy (2006)
* Hollywood Dreams (2006)
* Read You Like a Book (2006)
* Suffering Man's Charity (2007)
* One Long Night (2007)
* Contamination (2008)
* The Blue Tooth Virgin (2008)
* Watercolors (2008)
* First Time Long Time (2009)
* A Single Woman (2009)
* Double Duty (2009)
* Irene in Time (2009)
* Katie Q (2009)
* Stuck! (2010)
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Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 07/01/10 at 5:37 am
* Today we will pay tribute to 3 actors who died on this day...
Robert Mitchum
Robert Charles Durman Mitchum (August 6, 1917 – July 1, 1997) was an American film actor, author, composer and singer. Mitchum is largely remembered for his starring roles in several major works of the film noir style, and is considered a forerunner of the anti-heroes prevalent in film during the 1950s and 1960s.Mitchum is regarded by critics as one of the finest actors of the Golden Age of Hollywood. Roger Ebert called him 'the soul of film noir'. Mitchum himself, however, was self-effacing; in an interview with Barry Norman for the BBC about his contribution to cinema, Mitchum stopped Norman in mid flow and in his typical phlegmatic style said, "Look! I have two kinds of acting. One on a horse and one off a horse. That's it." He had also succeeded in annoying some of his fellow actors by voicing his puzzlement at those who viewed the profession, as challenging and hard work, saying that acting was actually very simple and that his job was to "show up on time, know his lines, hit his marks, and go home." What possibly annoyed the opposition was how very easy he made it all seem.
Interviewer Larry King has said on a number of occasions that Mitchum's interview was his most challenging. Mitchum, a man of few words, tended to answer simply "Yes" or "No" to many of King's questions.
He was the voice of the famous American Beef Council commercials that touted "Beef . . . it's what's for dinner", from the early 1980s, until his death.
Filmography
Features
* Hoppy Serves a Writ (1943)
* The Human Comedy (1943)
* Aerial Gunner (1943)
* Border Patrol (1943)
* Follow the Band (1943)
* Leather Burners (1943)
* Colt Comrades (1943)
* We've Never Been Licked (1943)
* Lone Star Trail (1943)
* Beyond the Last Frontier (1943)
* Corvette K-225 (1943)
* Bar 20 (1943)
* Doughboys in Ireland (1943)
* False Colors (1943)
* Minesweeper (1943)
* The Dancing Masters (1943)
* Cry 'Havoc' (1943) (uncredited)
* Riders of the Deadline (1943)
* Gung Ho! (1943)
* Johnny Doesn't Live Here Any More (1944)
* Mr. Winkle Goes to War (1944)
* When Strangers Marry (1944)
* Girl Rush (1944)
* Thirty Seconds over Tokyo (1944)
* Nevada (1944)
* The Story of G.I. Joe (1945)
* West of the Pecos (1945)
* Till the End of Time (1946)
* Undercurrent (1946)
* The Locket (1946)
* Pursued (1947)
* Crossfire (1947)
* Desire Me (1947)
* Out of the Past (1947)
* Rachel and the Stranger (1948)
* Blood on the Moon (1948)
* The Red Pony (1949)
* The Big Steal (1949)
* Holiday Affair (1949)
* Where Danger Lives (1950)
* My Forbidden Past (1951)
* His Kind of Woman (1951)
* The Racket (1951)
* Macao (1952)
* One Minute to Zero (1952)
* The Lusty Men (1952)
* Angel Face (1952)
* White Witch Doctor (1953)
* Second Chance (1953)
* She Couldn't Say No (1954)
* River of No Return (1954)
* Track of the Cat (1954)
* Not as a Stranger (1955)
* The Night of the Hunter (1955)
* Man with the Gun (1955)
* Foreign Intrigue (1956)
* Bandido (1956)
* Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison (1957)
* Fire Down Below (1957)
* The Enemy Below (1957)
* Thunder Road (1958)
* The Hunters (1958)
* The Angry Hills (1959)
* The Wonderful Country (1959)
* Home from the Hill (1960)
* A Terrible Beauty (1960)
* The Sundowners (1960)
* The Grass Is Greener (1960)
* The Last Time I Saw Archie (1961)
* Cape Fear (1962)
* The Longest Day (1962)
* Two for the Seesaw (1962)
* The List of Adrian Messenger (1963)
* Rampage (1963 film)
* Man in the Middle (1963)
* What a Way to Go! (1964)
* Mister Moses (1965)
* El Dorado (1966)
* The Way West (1967)
* Villa Rides (1968)
* Anzio (1968)
* 5 Card Stud (1968)
* Secret Ceremony (1968)
* Young Billy Young (1969)
* The Good Guys and the Bad Guys (1969)
* Ryan's Daughter (1970)
* Going Home (1971)
* The Wrath of God (1972)
* The Friends of Eddie Coyle (1973)
* The Yakuza (1974)
* Farewell, My Lovely (1975)
* Midway (1976)
* The Last Tycoon (1976)
* The Amsterdam Kill (1977)
* The Big Sleep (1978)
* Matilda (1978)
* Breakthrough (1979)
* Agency (1980)
* Nightkill (1980)
* That Championship Season (1982)
* One Shoe Makes It Murder (1982) (TV)
* The Ambassador (1984)
* A Killer In the Family (1983) (TV)
* The Winds of War TV mini-series (1983)
* Maria's Lovers (1984)
* Reunion at Fairborough (1985)
* Remembering Marilyn (1987) (documentary)
* War and Remembrance TV mini-series (1988)
* Mr. North (1988)
* Scrooged (1988)
* John Huston: The Man, the Movies, the Maverick (1989) (documentary)
* Midnight Ride (1990)
* Supposedly Dangerous (1990)
* The Seven Deadly Sins (1992)
* Woman of Desire (1993)
* Tombstone (1993) (narrator)
* Backfire! (1995)
* Dead Man (1995)
* Waiting for Sunset (1995)
* Wild Bill: Hollywood Maverick (1996) (documentary)
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* Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando, Jr. (April 3, 1924 – July 1, 2004) was an American actor who performed for over half a century.
He was best known for his role as Stanley Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire and his Academy Award-winning performance as Terry Malloy in On the Waterfront, both directed by Elia Kazan in the early 1950s. In middle age, his well-known roles include his Academy Award-winning performance as Vito Corleone in The Godfather, Colonel Walter Kurtz in Apocalypse Now, both directed by Francis Ford Coppola and an Academy Award-nominated performance as Paul in Last Tango in Paris.
Brando had a significant impact on film acting. He was the foremost example of the "method" acting style, and was initially parodied for his "mumbling" diction, but his mercurial performances were highly regarded. Director Martin Scorsese said of him, "He is the marker. There's 'before Brando' and 'after Brando'.'" Actor Jack Nicholson once said, "When Marlon dies, everybody moves up one."
Brando was also an activist, supporting many issues, notably the American Civil Rights and various American Indian Movements.
He was named the fourth Greatest Male Star of All Time by the American Film Institute, and part of Time magazine's Time 100: The Most Important People of the Century.
Awards and nominations
Further information: List of awards and nominations received by Marlon Brando
Filmography
Main article: Marlon Brando filmography
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* Karl Malden
Karl Malden (born Mladen George Sekulovich, Serbian Cyrillic: Младен Ђорђе Секуловић; March 22, 1912 – July 1, 2009) was an American actor. In a career that spanned more than seven decades, he featured in classic Marlon Brando films such as A Streetcar Named Desire, On the Waterfront and One-Eyed Jacks. Among other notable film roles were Archie Lee Meighan in Baby Doll, Zebulon Prescott in How the West Was Won and General Omar Bradley in Patton. His best-known role was on television as Lt. Mike Stone on the 1970s crime drama, The Streets of San Francisco. During the 1980s he was spokesman for American Express, reminding cardholders "Don't leave home without it".Filmography
Karl Malden with Marlon Brando in the trailer for On the Waterfront (1954)
Karl Malden with Eva Marie Saint in the trailer for On the Waterfront (1954)
Karl Malden as Father Barry in the trailer for On the Waterfront (1954)
Karl Malden with Claudette Colbert in the trailer for Parrish (1961)
* They Knew What They Wanted (1940)
* Winged Victory (1944)
* 13 Rue Madeleine (1947)
* Boomerang (1947)
* Kiss of Death (1947)
* The Gunfighter (1950)
* Where the Sidewalk Ends (1950)
* Halls of Montezuma (1951)
* A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)
* The Sellout (1952)
* Diplomatic Courier (1952)
* Operation Secret (1952)
* Ruby Gentry (1952)
* I Confess (1953)
* Take the High Ground! (1953)
* Phantom of the Rue Morgue (1954)
* On the Waterfront (1954)
* Baby Doll (1956)
* Fear Strikes Out (1957)
* Bombers B-52 (1957)
* Time Limit (1957) (director)
* The Hanging Tree (1959) (also co-director)
* Pollyanna (1960)
* The Great Impostor (1961)
* One-Eyed Jacks (1961)
* Parrish (1961)
* All Fall Down (1962)
* Birdman of Alcatraz (1962)
* How the West Was Won (1962)
* Gypsy (1962)
* Come Fly with Me (1963)
* Dead Ringer (1964)
* Cheyenne Autumn (1964)
* The Cincinnati Kid (1965)
* Nevada Smith (1966)
* Murderers' Row (1966)
* Hotel (1967)
* The Adventures of Bullwhip Griffin (1967)
* Billion Dollar Brain (1967)
* Blue (1968)
* Hot Millions (1968)
* Patton (1970)
* The Cat o' Nine Tails (1971)
* Wild Rovers (1971)
* Summertime Killer (1972)
* Beyond the Poseidon Adventure (1979)
* Meteor (1979)
* Miracle on Ice (1981)
* Twilight Time (1982)
* The Sting II (1983)
* Fatal Vision (1984) (television miniseries)
* Dario Argento's World of Horror (1985) (documentary)
* Alice in Wonderland (1985) (television miniseries)
* Billy Galvin (1986)
* Nuts (1987)
* Broadway: The Golden Age, by the Legends Who Were There (2003)
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Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 07/01/10 at 7:01 am
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Happy Birthday Pamela Anderson,She is 43.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: CatwomanofV on 07/01/10 at 9:57 am
I coulda been a contenda.
Cat
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Frank on 07/01/10 at 10:19 am
I coulda been a contenda.
Cat
I coudda been somebody..
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 07/01/10 at 3:06 pm
British Person of the Day: Diana Spencer
Diana, Princess of Wales, (Diana Frances née Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997) was a popular international media icon of the late 20th century as the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, whom she married on 29 July 1981. The wedding, which was held at St. Paul's Cathedral, was televised and watched by a global audience of over 750 million people. The marriage produced two sons, Princes William and Harry, and they are second and third in line to the thrones of the 16 Commonwealth realms.
A public figure from the announcement of her engagement to Prince Charles, Diana was born into an old, aristocratic English family with royal connections, and remained the focus of worldwide media scrutiny before, during and after her marriage, which ended in divorce on 28 August 1996. This continued in the years following her death in a car crash in Paris along with her companion Dodi Fayed and driver Henri Paul on 31 August 1997, and in the subsequent display of public mourning a week later. Contemporary responses to Diana's life and legacy are mixed but popular interest with the Princess endures.
Diana also received recognition for her charity work and for her support of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines. From 1989, she was the president of the Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 07/01/10 at 3:07 pm
British Person of the Day: Diana Spencer
Diana, Princess of Wales, (Diana Frances née Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997) was a popular international media icon of the late 20th century as the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, whom she married on 29 July 1981. The wedding, which was held at St. Paul's Cathedral, was televised and watched by a global audience of over 750 million people. The marriage produced two sons, Princes William and Harry, and they are second and third in line to the thrones of the 16 Commonwealth realms.
A public figure from the announcement of her engagement to Prince Charles, Diana was born into an old, aristocratic English family with royal connections, and remained the focus of worldwide media scrutiny before, during and after her marriage, which ended in divorce on 28 August 1996. This continued in the years following her death in a car crash in Paris along with her companion Dodi Fayed and driver Henri Paul on 31 August 1997, and in the subsequent display of public mourning a week later. Contemporary responses to Diana's life and legacy are mixed but popular interest with the Princess endures.
Diana also received recognition for her charity work and for her support of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines. From 1989, she was the president of the Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children.
Royal descent
On her father's side, she was a descendant of King Charles II of England through four illegitimate sons:
* Henry Fitzroy, 1st Duke of Grafton, son by Barbara Villiers, 1st Duchess of Cleveland
* Charles Lennox, 1st Duke of Richmond and Lennox, son by Louise de Kérouaille
* Charles Beauclerk, 1st Duke of St Albans, son by Nell Gwyn
* James Crofts-Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth, leader of the famous Monmouth Rebellion in 1685, son by Lucy Walter
She was also a descendant of King James II of England through an illegitimate daughter, Henrietta FitzJames, by his mistress Arabella Churchill. On her mother's side, Diana was Irish and Scottish, as well as a descendant of American heiress Frances Work, her mother's grandmother and namesake, from whom the considerable Roche fortune was derived.
The Spencers had been close to the British Royal Family for centuries, rising in royal favour during the 1600s. Diana's maternal grandmother, Ruth, Lady Fermoy, was a long-time friend and a lady-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. Her father had served as an equerry to King George VI and to Queen Elizabeth II.
In August 2009, the New England Historic Genealogical Society published Richard K. Evans's The Ancestry of Diana, Princess of Wales, for Twelve Generations.
From her marriage in 1981 to her divorce in 1996 she was styled Her Royal Highness the Princess of Wales. She was generally called "Princess Diana" by the media despite having no legal right to that particular honorific, as it is reserved for a princess by birthright rather than marriage.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 07/01/10 at 7:08 pm
* Today we will pay tribute to 3 actors who died on this day...
Robert Mitchum
Robert Charles Durman Mitchum (August 6, 1917 – July 1, 1997) was an American film actor, author, composer and singer. Mitchum is largely remembered for his starring roles in several major works of the film noir style, and is considered a forerunner of the anti-heroes prevalent in film during the 1950s and 1960s.Mitchum is regarded by critics as one of the finest actors of the Golden Age of Hollywood. Roger Ebert called him 'the soul of film noir'. Mitchum himself, however, was self-effacing; in an interview with Barry Norman for the BBC about his contribution to cinema, Mitchum stopped Norman in mid flow and in his typical phlegmatic style said, "Look! I have two kinds of acting. One on a horse and one off a horse. That's it." He had also succeeded in annoying some of his fellow actors by voicing his puzzlement at those who viewed the profession, as challenging and hard work, saying that acting was actually very simple and that his job was to "show up on time, know his lines, hit his marks, and go home." What possibly annoyed the opposition was how very easy he made it all seem.
Interviewer Larry King has said on a number of occasions that Mitchum's interview was his most challenging. Mitchum, a man of few words, tended to answer simply "Yes" or "No" to many of King's questions.
He was the voice of the famous American Beef Council commercials that touted "Beef . . . it's what's for dinner", from the early 1980s, until his death.
Filmography
Features
* Hoppy Serves a Writ (1943)
* The Human Comedy (1943)
* Aerial Gunner (1943)
* Border Patrol (1943)
* Follow the Band (1943)
* Leather Burners (1943)
* Colt Comrades (1943)
* We've Never Been Licked (1943)
* Lone Star Trail (1943)
* Beyond the Last Frontier (1943)
* Corvette K-225 (1943)
* Bar 20 (1943)
* Doughboys in Ireland (1943)
* False Colors (1943)
* Minesweeper (1943)
* The Dancing Masters (1943)
* Cry 'Havoc' (1943) (uncredited)
* Riders of the Deadline (1943)
* Gung Ho! (1943)
* Johnny Doesn't Live Here Any More (1944)
* Mr. Winkle Goes to War (1944)
* When Strangers Marry (1944)
* Girl Rush (1944)
* Thirty Seconds over Tokyo (1944)
* Nevada (1944)
* The Story of G.I. Joe (1945)
* West of the Pecos (1945)
* Till the End of Time (1946)
* Undercurrent (1946)
* The Locket (1946)
* Pursued (1947)
* Crossfire (1947)
* Desire Me (1947)
* Out of the Past (1947)
* Rachel and the Stranger (1948)
* Blood on the Moon (1948)
* The Red Pony (1949)
* The Big Steal (1949)
* Holiday Affair (1949)
* Where Danger Lives (1950)
* My Forbidden Past (1951)
* His Kind of Woman (1951)
* The Racket (1951)
* Macao (1952)
* One Minute to Zero (1952)
* The Lusty Men (1952)
* Angel Face (1952)
* White Witch Doctor (1953)
* Second Chance (1953)
* She Couldn't Say No (1954)
* River of No Return (1954)
* Track of the Cat (1954)
* Not as a Stranger (1955)
* The Night of the Hunter (1955)
* Man with the Gun (1955)
* Foreign Intrigue (1956)
* Bandido (1956)
* Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison (1957)
* Fire Down Below (1957)
* The Enemy Below (1957)
* Thunder Road (1958)
* The Hunters (1958)
* The Angry Hills (1959)
* The Wonderful Country (1959)
* Home from the Hill (1960)
* A Terrible Beauty (1960)
* The Sundowners (1960)
* The Grass Is Greener (1960)
* The Last Time I Saw Archie (1961)
* Cape Fear (1962)
* The Longest Day (1962)
* Two for the Seesaw (1962)
* The List of Adrian Messenger (1963)
* Rampage (1963 film)
* Man in the Middle (1963)
* What a Way to Go! (1964)
* Mister Moses (1965)
* El Dorado (1966)
* The Way West (1967)
* Villa Rides (1968)
* Anzio (1968)
* 5 Card Stud (1968)
* Secret Ceremony (1968)
* Young Billy Young (1969)
* The Good Guys and the Bad Guys (1969)
* Ryan's Daughter (1970)
* Going Home (1971)
* The Wrath of God (1972)
* The Friends of Eddie Coyle (1973)
* The Yakuza (1974)
* Farewell, My Lovely (1975)
* Midway (1976)
* The Last Tycoon (1976)
* The Amsterdam Kill (1977)
* The Big Sleep (1978)
* Matilda (1978)
* Breakthrough (1979)
* Agency (1980)
* Nightkill (1980)
* That Championship Season (1982)
* One Shoe Makes It Murder (1982) (TV)
* The Ambassador (1984)
* A Killer In the Family (1983) (TV)
* The Winds of War TV mini-series (1983)
* Maria's Lovers (1984)
* Reunion at Fairborough (1985)
* Remembering Marilyn (1987) (documentary)
* War and Remembrance TV mini-series (1988)
* Mr. North (1988)
* Scrooged (1988)
* John Huston: The Man, the Movies, the Maverick (1989) (documentary)
* Midnight Ride (1990)
* Supposedly Dangerous (1990)
* The Seven Deadly Sins (1992)
* Woman of Desire (1993)
* Tombstone (1993) (narrator)
* Backfire! (1995)
* Dead Man (1995)
* Waiting for Sunset (1995)
* Wild Bill: Hollywood Maverick (1996) (documentary)
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* Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando, Jr. (April 3, 1924 – July 1, 2004) was an American actor who performed for over half a century.
He was best known for his role as Stanley Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire and his Academy Award-winning performance as Terry Malloy in On the Waterfront, both directed by Elia Kazan in the early 1950s. In middle age, his well-known roles include his Academy Award-winning performance as Vito Corleone in The Godfather, Colonel Walter Kurtz in Apocalypse Now, both directed by Francis Ford Coppola and an Academy Award-nominated performance as Paul in Last Tango in Paris.
Brando had a significant impact on film acting. He was the foremost example of the "method" acting style, and was initially parodied for his "mumbling" diction, but his mercurial performances were highly regarded. Director Martin Scorsese said of him, "He is the marker. There's 'before Brando' and 'after Brando'.'" Actor Jack Nicholson once said, "When Marlon dies, everybody moves up one."
Brando was also an activist, supporting many issues, notably the American Civil Rights and various American Indian Movements.
He was named the fourth Greatest Male Star of All Time by the American Film Institute, and part of Time magazine's Time 100: The Most Important People of the Century.
Awards and nominations
Further information: List of awards and nominations received by Marlon Brando
Filmography
Main article: Marlon Brando filmography
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* Karl Malden
Karl Malden (born Mladen George Sekulovich, Serbian Cyrillic: Младен Ђорђе Секуловић; March 22, 1912 – July 1, 2009) was an American actor. In a career that spanned more than seven decades, he featured in classic Marlon Brando films such as A Streetcar Named Desire, On the Waterfront and One-Eyed Jacks. Among other notable film roles were Archie Lee Meighan in Baby Doll, Zebulon Prescott in How the West Was Won and General Omar Bradley in Patton. His best-known role was on television as Lt. Mike Stone on the 1970s crime drama, The Streets of San Francisco. During the 1980s he was spokesman for American Express, reminding cardholders "Don't leave home without it".Filmography
Karl Malden with Marlon Brando in the trailer for On the Waterfront (1954)
Karl Malden with Eva Marie Saint in the trailer for On the Waterfront (1954)
Karl Malden as Father Barry in the trailer for On the Waterfront (1954)
Karl Malden with Claudette Colbert in the trailer for Parrish (1961)
* They Knew What They Wanted (1940)
* Winged Victory (1944)
* 13 Rue Madeleine (1947)
* Boomerang (1947)
* Kiss of Death (1947)
* The Gunfighter (1950)
* Where the Sidewalk Ends (1950)
* Halls of Montezuma (1951)
* A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)
* The Sellout (1952)
* Diplomatic Courier (1952)
* Operation Secret (1952)
* Ruby Gentry (1952)
* I Confess (1953)
* Take the High Ground! (1953)
* Phantom of the Rue Morgue (1954)
* On the Waterfront (1954)
* Baby Doll (1956)
* Fear Strikes Out (1957)
* Bombers B-52 (1957)
* Time Limit (1957) (director)
* The Hanging Tree (1959) (also co-director)
* Pollyanna (1960)
* The Great Impostor (1961)
* One-Eyed Jacks (1961)
* Parrish (1961)
* All Fall Down (1962)
* Birdman of Alcatraz (1962)
* How the West Was Won (1962)
* Gypsy (1962)
* Come Fly with Me (1963)
* Dead Ringer (1964)
* Cheyenne Autumn (1964)
* The Cincinnati Kid (1965)
* Nevada Smith (1966)
* Murderers' Row (1966)
* Hotel (1967)
* The Adventures of Bullwhip Griffin (1967)
* Billion Dollar Brain (1967)
* Blue (1968)
* Hot Millions (1968)
* Patton (1970)
* The Cat o' Nine Tails (1971)
* Wild Rovers (1971)
* Summertime Killer (1972)
* Beyond the Poseidon Adventure (1979)
* Meteor (1979)
* Miracle on Ice (1981)
* Twilight Time (1982)
* The Sting II (1983)
* Fatal Vision (1984) (television miniseries)
* Dario Argento's World of Horror (1985) (documentary)
* Alice in Wonderland (1985) (television miniseries)
* Billy Galvin (1986)
* Nuts (1987)
* Broadway: The Golden Age, by the Legends Who Were There (2003)
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I'm going to make you an offer you can't refuse.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: gibbo on 07/01/10 at 7:16 pm
Karen Black always appeared a little cross-eyed to me...
There were some great actors in this batch ninny.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 07/01/10 at 8:20 pm
British Person of the Day: Diana Spencer
Diana, Princess of Wales, (Diana Frances née Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997) was a popular international media icon of the late 20th century as the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, whom she married on 29 July 1981. The wedding, which was held at St. Paul's Cathedral, was televised and watched by a global audience of over 750 million people. The marriage produced two sons, Princes William and Harry, and they are second and third in line to the thrones of the 16 Commonwealth realms.
A public figure from the announcement of her engagement to Prince Charles, Diana was born into an old, aristocratic English family with royal connections, and remained the focus of worldwide media scrutiny before, during and after her marriage, which ended in divorce on 28 August 1996. This continued in the years following her death in a car crash in Paris along with her companion Dodi Fayed and driver Henri Paul on 31 August 1997, and in the subsequent display of public mourning a week later. Contemporary responses to Diana's life and legacy are mixed but popular interest with the Princess endures.
Diana also received recognition for her charity work and for her support of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines. From 1989, she was the president of the Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children.
Very nice Phil :)
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 07/01/10 at 8:21 pm
Karen Black always appeared a little cross-eyed to me...
There were some great actors in this batch ninny.
Thanks Peter :)
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 07/02/10 at 6:30 am
The word of the day...Hamburger
A hamburger (or burger for short) is a sandwich consisting of a cooked patty of ground meat, (usually beef, but occasionally pork, turkey, or a combination of meats) placed between two buns. Hamburgers are often served with lettuce, bacon, tomato, onion, pickles, cheese and condiments such as mustard, mayonnaise, ketchup and relish. The hamburger has attained widespread popularity and is proliferated worldwide in chains such as McDonald's or Burger King.
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Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 07/02/10 at 6:33 am
The person born on this day...Dave Thomas
David "Dave" Thomas (July 2, 1932 – January 8, 2002) was an American restaurant owner and philanthropist. Thomas was the founder and chief executive officer of Wendy's Old Fashioned Hamburgers, a fast-food restaurant chain specializing in hamburgers. He is also known for appearing in more than 800 commercial advertisements for the chain from 1989 to 2002–more than any other person in television history Dave Thomas was born on July 2, 1932 in Atlantic City, New Jersey to a young unmarried woman he never knew. He was adopted at 6 weeks by Rex and Auleva Thomas and as an adult would become a well-known advocate for adoption, founding the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption. After his adoptive mother's death when he was 5, his father moved around the country seeking work. Dave spent time in Michigan with his grandmother Minnie Sinclair whom he credited with teaching him the importance of service and treating others well and with respect, lessons that helped him in his future business life. At 12 he got his first job at a restaurant in Knoxville, Tennessee then lost it in a dispute with his boss. He vowed never to lose another. Moving with his father, by 15 he was working in Fort Wayne, Indiana at the Hobby House Restaurant owned by the Clauss family. When his father prepared to move again, Dave decided to stay in Fort Wayne, dropping out of high school to work full time at the restaurant. Thomas, who considered ending his schooling the greatest mistake of his life, did not graduate from high school until 1993 when he obtained a GED. Dave Thomas became an education advocate and founded the Dave Thomas Education Center in Coconut Creek, Florida, which offers GED classes to young adults.
U.S. Army
At the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950, rather than waiting for the draft, he volunteered for the U.S. Army to have some choice in assignments. Having food production and service experience, Thomas requested the Cook's and Baker's School at Fort Benning, Georgia. He was sent overseas to Germany as a mess sergeant and was responsible for the daily meals of 2000 soldiers rising to the rank of Staff Sergeant. After his discharge in 1953, Thomas returned to Fort Wayne and the Hobby House.
Kentucky Fried Chicken
In the mid-1950s, Kentucky Fried Chicken founder Col. Harland Sanders came to Fort Wayne to find established restaurants to buy franchises from him. At first, Thomas, who was the head cook at the restaurant, and the Clausses declined Sanders' offer, but the Colonel persisted and the Clauss family franchised their restaurant with KFC and later also owned many other KFC franchises in the Midwest. During this time, Thomas worked with Sanders on many projects to make KFC more profitable and to give it brand recognition. Among other things Thomas suggested to Sanders that were implemented; reduce the number of items on the menu, focus on a signature dish, and introduce the trademark sign featuring a revolving red-striped bucket of chicken. Thomas also suggested Sanders make commercials that he appear in himself. Thomas was sent by the Clauss family in the mid-1960s to help turn around four ailing KFC stores they owned in Columbus, Ohio. By 1968 he had increased sales in the four fried chicken restaurants so much that he sold his share in them back to Sanders for more than $1.5 million. This experience would prove invaluable to Thomas when he began Wendy's about a year later.
Wendy's
Thomas opened his first Wendy's in Columbus, Ohio, in 1969. (This original restaurant would remain operational until March 2, 2007, when it was closed due to lagging sales.) Thomas named the restaurant after his eight-year-old daughter Melinda Lou, whose nickname was Wendy, stemming from the child's inability to say her own name at a young age. According to Bio TV, Dave claims himself that people nicknamed his daughter "Wenda. Not Wendy but Wenda. So one day, I looked at her and said...'I'm going to call it Wendy's Old Fashioned Hamburgers'."
In 1982, Thomas resigned from his day-to-day operations at Wendy’s. However, by 1985, several company business decisions, including an awkward new breakfast menu and loss in brand awareness due to fizzled marketing efforts caused the company’s new president to urge Thomas back into a more active role with Wendy's. Thomas began to visit franchises and espouse his hardworking, so-called “mop-bucket attitude.†In 1989, he took on a significant role as the TV spokesman in a series of commercials for the brand. Thomas was not a natural actor, and initially, his performances were criticized as stiff and ineffective by advertising critics. By 1990, after efforts by Wendy's agency, Backer Spielvolgel Bates, to get humor into the campaign, a decision was made to portray Thomas in a more self-deprecating and folksy manner, which proved much more popular with test audiences. Consumer brand awareness of Wendy's eventually regained levels it had not achieved since octogenarian Clara Peller's wildly popular "Where's The Beef" campaign of 1984. With his natural self-effacing style and his relaxed manner, Thomas quickly became a household name. A company survey during the 1990s, a decade during which Thomas starred in every Wendy’s commercial that aired, found that 90% of Americans knew who Thomas was. After more than 800 commercials, it was clear that Thomas played a major role in Wendy’s status as the country's third most popular burger restaurant.
Honors and memberships
Thomas, realizing that his success as a high school dropout might convince other teenagers to quit school (something he later admitted was a mistake), became a student at Coconut Creek High School. He earned a GED in 1993. He later earned an honorary membership of Duke University's Sigma Phi Epsilon. Thomas was inducted into the Junior Achievement U.S. Business Hall of Fame in 1999.
Thomas was a Freemason, and a member of the Shriners. He was also an honorary Kentucky colonel, as was former boss Colonel Sanders.
Thomas was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2003.
Death
Thomas died at his home in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, after a decade-long battle with liver cancer. He was buried in Union Cemetery in Columbus, Ohio. At the time of his death, there were more than 6,000 Wendy's restaurants operating in North America.
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Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 07/02/10 at 6:38 am
The person who died on this day...Betty Grable
Betty Grable (December 18, 1916 – July 2, 1973) was an American dancer, singer, and actress.
Her iconic bathing suit photo made her the number-one pin-up girl of the World War II era. It was later included in the Life magazine project "100 Photos that Changed the World". Grable was particularly noted for having the most beautiful legs in Hollywood and studio publicity widely dispersed photos featuring them. Hosiery specialists of the era often noted the ideal proportions of her legs as: thigh (18.5") calf (12"), and ankle (7.5"). Grable's legs were famously insured by her studio for $1,000,000 with Lloyds of London.
She was born Elizabeth Ruth Grable in St. Louis, Missouri to John Conn Grable (1883-1954) and Lillian Rose Hofmann (1889-1964). She was the youngest of three children.
Most of Grable's immediate ancestors were American, but her distant heritage was of Dutch, Irish, German and English stock. She was propelled into the acting profession by her mother. For her first role, as a chorus girl in the film Happy Days (1929), Grable was only 12 years old (legally underage for acting), but, because the chorus line performed in blackface, it was impossible to tell how old she was. Her mother soon gave her a make-over which included dyeing her hair platinum blonde.
Career
For her next film, her mother got her a contract using a false identification. When this deception was discovered, however, Grable was fired. Grable finally obtained a role as a 'Goldwyn Girl' in Whoopee! (1930), starring Eddie Cantor. Though Grable received no billing, she led the opening number, "Cowboys." Grable then worked in small roles at different studios for the rest of the decade, including the Academy Award-winning The Gay Divorcee (1934), starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, where she was prominently featured in the number "Let's K-nock K-nees".
In the late 1930s, Grable signed a contract with Paramount Pictures, starring in several B movies, mostly portraying co-eds. Despite playing leads, the typecasting proved to hurt her career more than it was helpful. In 1939, Grable appeared with her then husband, Jackie Coogan (married in 1937), in Million Dollar Legs, from which her nickname is taken. They divorced later that same year (October 1939). After small parts in over 50 Hollywood movies through the 1930s, Grable finally gained national attention for her stage role in the Cole Porter Broadway hit Du Barry Was a Lady (1939). When her contract at Paramount expired, Grable decided to quit acting, being fed up with appearing in college films. In a 1940 interview, she said:
"I was sick and tired of it. I'd made up my mind to leave show business altogether. So I retired - and then came an offer, unsolicited, to go on a personal appearance tour. I went. Next thing I knew, Mr. Zanuck had seen my picture in the paper and offered me a contract at a lot more money. I took it. Then came Buddy DeSylva with a part in his Broadway show Du Barry Was a Lady. Mr. Zanuck said I could take it if I wanted to. I did. The show was successful. Then as if all this weren't enough, Alice Faye fell ill just before Down Argentine Way was to start and I was drafted to fill her shoes. If that's not luck I don't know what you'd call it. But that's how it's been all my life. I've had contracts with four studios in 10 years and each time I left one or was dropped. I stepped into something better."
Betty Grable 20th Century Fox.jpg
Grable became 20th Century Fox's top star during the decade. She appeared in Technicolor movies such as Down Argentine Way (1940), Moon Over Miami (1941) (both with Don Ameche), Springtime in The Rockies (1942), Coney Island (1943) with George Montgomery, Sweet Rosie O'Grady (1943) with Robert Young, Pin Up Girl (1944), Diamond Horseshoe (1945) with Dick Haymes, The Dolly Sisters (1945) with John Payne and June Haver. Mother Wore Tights (1947), her most popular film, was with her favorite costar, Dan Dailey.
It was during her reign as box office queen (in 1943) that Grable posed for her famous pinup photo, which (along with her movies) soon became escapist fare among GIs fighting in World War II. The image was taken by studio photographer Frank Powolny. It was rumored that the particular pose and angle were chosen to hide the fact that Grable was pregnant at the time of the photo.
Starting in 1942, Grable was named in the top 10 box office draws for 10 consecutive years. For seven of those ten years, she was top female-box office star. In 1943, she was named the #1 movie box office attraction. By the end of the 1940s Grable was the highest-paid female star in Hollywood, receiving $300,000 a year. Grable was even the heroine of a novel, Betty Grable and the House with the Iron Shutters, written by Kathryn Heisenfelt, published by Whitman Publishing Company in 1943. While the heroine is identified as the famous actress, the stories are entirely fictitious. The story was probably written for a young teenage audience and is reminiscent of the adventures of Nancy Drew. It is part of a series known as "Whitman Authorized Editions", 16 books published between 1941-1947 that featured a film actress as heroine.
Her postwar musicals included: That Lady in Ermine (1948) with Douglas Fairbanks Jr., When My Baby Smiles at Me (1948) again with Dailey, Wabash Avenue (1950) (a remake of Grable's own Coney Island) with Victor Mature, My Blue Heaven (1950), and Meet Me After the Show (1951). Studio chief Darryl F. Zanuck lavished his star with expensive Technicolor films, but also kept her busy — Grable made nearly 25 musicals and comedies in 13 years. Her last big hit for Fox was How to Marry a Millionaire (1953) with Lauren Bacall and Marilyn Monroe. Grable next starred in Three for the Show (1955) with Jack Lemmon; this film was one of her last musicals.
Grable's later career was marked by feuds with studio heads. At one point, in the middle of a fight with Zanuck, she tore up her contract and stormed out of his office. By 1953, Zanuck was grooming Marilyn Monroe to replace Grable as the Fox's resident sex symbol. Far from feeling threatened, on the set of How to Marry a Millionaire Grable famously said to Monroe, "go and get yours, honey! I've had mine". It was at this point that Grable lost her father 'Conn' Grable in 1954, at age 71.
Grable returned to the studio for one last film, How to Be Very, Very Popular (1955) with Sheree North. Following this, Grable hoped to secure the role of Miss Adelaide in the film version of the musical Guys and Dolls. However, when producer Samuel Goldwyn learned that Grable skipped a meeting with him because one of her dogs had taken ill, he became incensed and removed her from consideration. Vivian Blaine, who had originated the role on Broadway, was ultimately cast.
Having left movies entirely, she made the transition to television and starred in Las Vegas. It was in these transition years to stage, when Betty lost her mother Lillian in 1964, at age 75. By 1967, she took over the lead in the touring company of Hello, Dolly!. She starred in a 1969 musical called Belle Starr in London, but it was savaged by critics and soon folded.
Grable's last role was Billie Dawn in Born Yesterday, at the Alhambra Dinner Theatre in Jacksonville, Florida in February 1973.
Personal life
In 1937, Grable married another famous former child actor, Jackie Coogan. He was under considerable stress from a lawsuit against his parents over his childhood earnings and the couple divorced in 1939.
In 1943, she married trumpeter Harry James. The couple had two daughters, Victoria and Jessica. They endured a tumultuous 22-year marriage that was plagued by alcoholism and infidelity. The couple divorced in 1965. Grable entered into a relationship with a dancer, Bob Remick, several years her junior. Though they did not marry, their romance lasted until the end of Grable's life.
Death
Grable died July 2, 1973, of lung cancer at age 56 in Santa Monica, California. Her funeral was held July 5, 1973, 30 years to the day after her marriage to Harry James — who, in turn, died on what would have been his and Grable's 40th anniversary, July 5, 1983. She was interred in Inglewood Park Cemetery, Inglewood, California, in the Mausoleum of the Golden West, Sanctuary of Dawn section, with her mother Lillian, alongside her father 'Conn' Grable. Sister Marjorie Grable-Arnold joined them in their family crypt upon her death at 71, in 1980.
Among the Who's Who of Hollywood attending her funeral were Harry James, Dorothy Lamour, Shirley Booth, Mitzi Gaynor, Johnnie Ray, Cesar Romero, George Raft, Alice Faye and Dan Dailey. "I Had the Craziest Dream," the haunting ballad Betty introduced in "Springtime in the Rockies," was played on the church organ.
Posthumous recognition
Grable has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6525 Hollywood Boulevard. She also has a star on the St. Louis Walk of Fame, and was inducted into the Hall of Famous Missourians in 2009.
Hugh Hefner, founder of Playboy noted on National Public Radio's Morning Edition on April 23, 2007, in an interview with Terry Gross that Grable was his inspiration for founding the Playboy empire.
Filmography
1929–1939
Year Title Role Director Co-stars Notes
1929 Happy Days Chorus Girl Benjamin Stoloff Charles Evans, Marjorie White, Richard Keene Uncredited
1930 Let's Go Places Chorine Frank R. Strayer Joseph Wagstaff, Lola Lane Uncredited
New Movietone Follies of 1930 Chorine Benjamin Stoloff El Brendel, Marjorie White Uncredited
Whoopee! Goldwyn Girl Thornton Freeland Eddie Cantor, Ethel Shutta, Eleanor Hunt Uncredited
1931 Kiki Goldwyn Girl Sam Taylor Mary Pickford Uncredited
Palmy Days Goldwyn Girl A. Edward Sutherland Charlotte Greenwood, Barbara Weeks, Spencer Charters Uncredited
1932 The Greeks Had a Word for Them Hat Check Girl Lowell Sherman Joan Blondell, Madge Evans, Ina Claire Uncredited
Probation Ruth Jarrett Richard Thorpe John Darrow, Sally Blane Grable's first credited role
The Age of Consent Student at Dormitory Gregory La Cava Dorothy Wilson, Arline Judge Uncredited
Hold 'Em Jail Barbara Jones Norman Taurog Bert Wheeler, Edna May Oliver, Robert Armstrong
The Kid from Spain Goldwyn Girl Leo McCarey Eddie Cantor, Lyda Roberti, Robert Young Uncredited
1933 Cavalcade Girl on couch Frank Lloyd Diana Wynyard, Clive Brook, Una O'Connor Uncredited
Child of Manhattan Lucy McGonegle Edward Buzzell Nancy Carroll, John Boles
Melody Cruise First Stewardess Mark Sandrich Charles Ruggles, Phil Harris Uncredited
What Price Innocence? Beverly Bennett Willard Mack Jean Parker, Minna Gombell, Willard Mack
The Sweetheart of Sigma Chi Band Singer with Ted Fio Rito Edwin L. Marin Mary Carlisle, Buster Crabbe
1934 The Gay Divorcee Dance Specialty Mark Sandrich Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers
Student Tour Cayenne Charles Reisner Jimmy Durante, Charles Butterworth, Maxine Doyle
By Your Leave Frances Gretchell Lloyd Corrigan Frank Morgan, Genevieve Tobin
1935 The Nitwits Mary Roberts George Stevens Bert Wheeler, Robert Woolsey
Old Man Rhythm Sylvia Edward Ludwig Charles 'Buddy' Rogers, George Barbier
1936 Collegiate Dorothy Ralph Murphy Joe Penner, Jack Oakie, Ned Sparks
Follow the Fleet Trio Singer Mark Sandrich Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers
Don't Turn 'em Loose Mildred Webster Benjamin Stoloff Lewis Stone, James Gleason, Bruce Cabot
Pigskin Parade Laura Watson David Butler Stuart Erwin, Patsy Kelly, Judy Garland The only film in which Grable appeared with Judy Garland.
1937 This Way Please Jane Morrow Robert Florey Charles 'Buddy' Rogers
Thrill of a Lifetime Gwen George Archainbaud The Yacht Club Boys
1938 College Swing Betty Raoul Walsh George Burns, Gracie Allen, Martha Raye, Bob Hope, Edward Everett Horton
Give Me a Sailor Nancy Larkin Elliott Nugent Bob Hope, Jack Whiting, Martha Raye
Campus Confessions Joyce Gilmore George Archainbaud Eleanore Whitney, William Henry Grable received top billing for the first time
1939 Man About Town Susan Hayes Mark Sandrich Jack Benny, Dorothy Lamour
Million Dollar Legs Carol Parker Nick Grinde John Hartley, Donald O'Connor, Jackie Coogan, Dorothea Kent Co-starred Jackie Coogan who Grable was married to at the time
The Day the Bookies Wept Ina Firpo Leslie Goodwins Joe Penner
1940–1955
Year Title Role Director Co-stars Notes
1940 Down Argentine Way Glenda Crawford/Glenda Cunningham Irving Cummings Don Ameche, Carmen Miranda, Charlotte Greenwood Grable's first leading role. Alice Faye was originally set to star in the film, but had to withdraw due to illness
Tin Pan Alley Lily Blane Walter Lang Alice Faye, John Payne, Jack Oakie The only time Grable and Faye co-starred together in a feature film
1941 Moon Over Miami Kathryn 'Kay' Latimer Walter Lang Don Ameche, Robert Cummings, Carole Landis
A Yank in the RAF Carol Brown Henry King Tyrone Power
I Wake Up Screaming Jill Lynn H. Bruce Humberstone Victor Mature, Carole Landis Grable's only straight dramatic role
1942 Song of the Islands Eileen O'Brien Walter Lang Victor Mature, Jack Oakie
Footlight Serenade Pat Lambert Gregory Ratoff John Payne, Victor Mature, Jane Wyman
Springtime in the Rockies Vicky Lane Irving Cummings John Payne, Carmen Miranda, Cesar Romero, Harry James Grable's future husband Harry James appeared in the cast
1943 Coney Island Kate Farley Walter Lang George Montgomery, Cesar Romero
Sweet Rosie O'Grady Madeline Marlowe/Rosie O'Grady Irving Cummings Robert Young, Adolphe Menjou
1944 Four Jills in a Jeep Herself William A. Seiter Kay Francis, Carole Landis, Alice Faye, Martha Raye, Carmen Miranda
Pin Up Girl Lorry Jones/Laura Lorraine H. Bruce Humberstone John Harvey, Martha Raye
1945 Diamond Horseshoe Bonnie Collins George Seaton Dick Haymes, Phil Silvers, William Gaxton
The Dolly Sisters Yansci 'Jenny' Dolly Irving Cummings John Payne, June Haver
1946 Do You Love Me Girl in Taxi (cameo) Gregory Ratoff Maureen O'Hara, Dick Haymes, Harry James Grable had a cameo as a fan of Harry James's character
1947 The Shocking Miss Pilgrim Cynthia Pilgrim George Seaton Dick Haymes, Anne Revere
Mother Wore Tights Myrtle McKinley Burt Walter Lang Dan Dailey, Mona Freeman Grable's most successful film at the time and her personal favourite
1948 That Lady in Ermine Francesca/Angelina Ernst Lubitsch, Otto Preminger (uncredited) Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Cesar Romero Lubitsch died early into production. Preminger finished the film but insisted on Lubitsch receiving full credit
When My Baby Smiles at Me Bonny Kaye Walter Lang Dan Dailey, Jack Oakie, June Havoc Dailey received an Oscar nomination for Best Actor
1949 The Beautiful Blonde from Bashful Bend Winifred Jones Preston Sturges Cesar Romero, Rudy Vallee
1950 Wabash Avenue Ruby Summers Henry Koster Victor Mature, Phil Harris Remake of Grable's earlier hit 'Coney Island'
My Blue Heaven Kitty Moran Henry Koster Dan Dailey, David Wayne, Jane Wyatt, Mitzi Gaynor
1951 Call Me Mister Kay Hudson Lloyd Bacon Dan Dailey, Danny Thomas Remake of Grable's earlier hit 'A Yank in the RAF'
Meet Me After the Show Delilah Lee Richard Sale Macdonald Carey, Rory Calhoun, Eddie Albert
1953 The Farmer Takes a Wife Molly Larkins Henry Levin Dale Robertson, Thelma Ritter
How to Marry a Millionaire Loco Dempsey Jean Negulesco Marilyn Monroe, Lauren Bacall Grable and Monroe's only film together. Monroe would become the top star of Hollywood throughout the 1950's just as Grable had done in the previous decade.
1955 Three for the Show Julie Lowndes H.C. Potter Jack Lemmon, Marge Champion, Gower Champion
How to Be Very, Very Popular Stormy Tornado Nunnally Johnson Sheree North, Robert Cummings, Charles Coburn, Tommy Noonan Grable's last film
Short subjects
* Crashing Hollywood (1931)
* Ex-Sweeties (1931)
* Once a Hero (1931)
* Lady! Please! (1932)
* Hollywood Luck (1932)
* The Flirty Sleepwalker (1932)
* Hollywood Lights (1932)
* Over the Counter (1932)
* Air Tonic (1933)
* School for Romance (1934)
* Love Detectives (1934)
* Elmer Steps Out (1934)
* Business Is a Pleasure (1934)
* Susie's Affairs (1934)
* Ferry-Go-Round (1934)
* This Band Age (1935)
* The Spirit of 1976 (1935)
* A Night at the Biltmore Bowl (1935)
* Drawing Rumors (1935)
* A Quiet Fourth (1935)
* Screen Snapshots Series 15, No. 11 (1936)
* Sunkist Stars at Palm Springs (1936)
* Screen Snapshots Series 16, No. 7 (1937)
* Screen Snapshots Series 16, No. 10 (1937)
* Screen Snapshots Series 18, No. 4 (1938)
* Hedda Hopper's Hollywood No. 1 (1941)
* The All-Star Bond Rally (1945)
* Hollywood Park (1946)
* Screen Snapshots: Hollywood Shower of Stars (1955)
Box Office Popularity
The following table shows the box office attractions of each year from 1940 to 1951. Betty Grable appeared on this list every year except for 1946 as she had no films released that year. She topped the list 4 times in 1943, 1944, 1947 and 1948.
- 1940 - - 1941 - - 1942 - - 1943 - - 1944 - - 1945 -
# Actor # Actor # Actor # Actor # Actor # Actor
1 Errol Flynn 1 Errol Flynn 1 Errol Flynn 1 Betty Grable 1 Betty Grable 1 Ingrid Bergman
2 Clark Gable 2 Clark Gable 2 Betty Grable 2 Gary Cooper 2 Humphrey Bogart 2 Betty Grable
3 Cary Grant 3 Gary Cooper 3 Greer Garson 3 Humphrey Bogart 3 Bing Crosby 3 Bing Crosby
4 Joan Crawford 4 Betty Grable 4 Veronica Lake 4 Ingrid Bergman 4 Ingrid Bergman 4 Gene Kelly
5 Gary Cooper 5 Lana Turner 5 Clark Gable 5 Jean Arthur 5 Cary Grant 5 Gene Tierney
6 Spencer Tracy 6 Tyrone Power 6 Gary Cooper 6 Cary Grant 6 Judy Garland 6 Joan Crawford
7 Ginger Rogers 7 Cary Grant 7 Lana Turner 7 Alice Faye 7 Gene Tierney 7 Gary Cooper
8 Alice Faye 8 Barbara Stanwyck 8 Robert Taylor 8 Greer Garson 8 Gary Cooper 8 Alan Ladd
9 Betty Grable 9 Fred Astaire 9 Cary Grant 9 Veronica Lake 9 Rita Hayworth 9 Dana Andrews
10 Tyrone Power 10 Veronica Lake 10 James Cagney 10 Henry Fonda 10 John Wayne 10 Rita Hayworth
- 1946 - - 1947 - - 1948 - - 1949 - - 1950 - - 1951 -
# Actor # Actor # Actor # Actor # Actor # Actor
1 Bing Crosby 1 Betty Grable 1 Betty Grable 1 Bob Hope 1 John Wayne 1 John Wayne
2 Lana Turner 2 Lana Turner 2 Humphrey Bogart 2 Bing Crosby 2 Betty Grable 2 Gene Kelly
3 Bob Hope 3 Cary Grant 3 Lana Turner 3 Betty Grable 3 Bob Hope 3 Betty Grable
4 John Garfield 4 Bob Hope 4 John Wayne 4 John Wayne 4 Bing Crosby 4 Humphrey Bogart
5 Cary Grant 5 Gary Cooper 5 Gene Kelly 5 Hedy Lamarr 5 James Stewart 5 Ava Gardner
6 Ingrid Bergman 6 Bing Crosby 6 Cary Grant 6 Humphrey Bogart 6 Spencer Tracy 6 Montgomery Clift
7 Joan Crawford 7 Gene Tierney 7 Clark Gable 7 Gene Kelly 7 Gregory Peck 7 Bob Hope
8 Gene Tierney 8 John Garfield 8 Judy Garland 8 Cary Grant 8 Betty Hutton 8 Gary Cooper
9 Rita Hayworth 9 Loretta Young 9 Ingrid Bergman 9 Gary Cooper 9 Hedy Lamarr 9 Doris Day
10 Humphrey Bogart 10 Linda Darnell 10 Bing Crosby 10 Spencer Tracy 10 William Holden 10 Marlon Brando
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Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 07/02/10 at 6:53 am
Hamburgers are my favorite foods,especially with lettuce,tomato,cheese and bacon with some ketchup on it.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 07/02/10 at 8:19 am
Hamburgers are my favorite foods,especially with lettuce,tomato,cheese and bacon with some ketchup on it.
I'm getting hungry ;D
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: CatwomanofV on 07/02/10 at 11:32 am
My mother worked with Betty Grable and I got a chance to meet her. I recall that she was a bit of a b!tch.
Cat
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 07/02/10 at 1:18 pm
I'm getting hungry ;D
How do you like your hamburger?
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 07/02/10 at 1:23 pm
The word of the day...Hamburger
A hamburger (or burger for short) is a sandwich consisting of a cooked patty of ground meat, (usually beef, but occasionally pork, turkey, or a combination of meats) placed between two buns. Hamburgers are often served with lettuce, bacon, tomato, onion, pickles, cheese and condiments such as mustard, mayonnaise, ketchup and relish. The hamburger has attained widespread popularity and is proliferated worldwide in chains such as McDonald's or Burger King.
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Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 07/02/10 at 1:24 pm
I remember Wimpy. ;D
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 07/02/10 at 1:47 pm
My mother worked with Betty Grable and I got a chance to meet her. I recall that she was a bit of a b!tch.
Cat
That sucks (that she was a B*tch)
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 07/02/10 at 1:49 pm
How do you like your hamburger?
I like Swiss cheese, relish,lettuce,tomato and a side of hot sauce.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 07/02/10 at 2:31 pm
I like Swiss cheese, relish,lettuce,tomato and a side of hot sauce.
You are making me hungry!
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 07/02/10 at 3:05 pm
You are making me hungry!
lol. lets eat. :)
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 07/02/10 at 3:09 pm
lol. lets eat. :)
...and I just have had fish and chips!
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 07/02/10 at 8:49 pm
...and I just have had fish and chips!
That's good too. I had chicken parm. with ziti and garlic bread and I didn't even have to cook,my daughter's boyfriend made dinner.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: nally on 07/02/10 at 8:51 pm
That's good too. I had chicken parm. with ziti and garlic bread and I didn't even have to cook,my daughter's boyfriend made dinner.
Yummo! Anything Italian sounds great to me. 8)
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 07/03/10 at 5:42 am
I like Swiss cheese, relish,lettuce,tomato and a side of hot sauce.
with french fries on the side.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 07/03/10 at 6:24 am
...and I just have had fish and chips!
...with ketchup!
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 07/03/10 at 6:46 am
The word of the day...Samurai
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Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (April 2009)
Samurai in armour, 1860s. Hand-coloured photograph by Felice Beato
Samurai around the 1860s
Edo period samurai armor with an eboshi style helmet "kabuto"
'Samurai, (ä¾?) is the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese, the character ä¾ was originally a verb meaning to wait upon or accompany a person in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, saburau. In both countries the terms were nominalized to mean "those who serve in close attendance to the nobility," the pronunciation in Japanese changing to saburai." According to Wilson, an early reference to the word "samurai" appears in the Kokin WakashÅ« (905-914), the first imperial anthology of poems, completed in the first part of the ninth century.
By the end of the 12th century, samurai became almost entirely synonymous with bushi (æ¦å£«), and the word was closely associated with the middle and upper echelons of the warrior class. The samurai followed a set of rules that came to be known as BushidÅ. While they numbered less than 10% of Japan's population samurai teachings can still be found today in both everyday life and in martial arts such as KendÅ, meaning the way of the sword.
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Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 07/03/10 at 6:49 am
The person born on this day...Tom Cruise
Thomas Cruise Mapother IV (pronounced /ˈtÉ’mÉ™s ˈkruËz ˈmeɪpɒθər/; born July 3, 1962), better known by his screen name of Tom Cruise, is an American film actor and producer. He has been nominated for three Academy Awards and won three Golden Globe Awards. His first leading role was the 1983 film Risky Business, which has been described as "A Generation X classic, and a career-maker" for the actor. After playing the role of a heroic naval pilot in the popular and financially successful 1986 film Top Gun, Cruise continued in this vein, playing a secret agent in a series of Mission: Impossible action films in the 1990s and 2000s. In addition to these heroic roles, he has starred in many other successful films such as Jerry Maguire (1996), Vanilla Sky (2001), Minority Report (2002), The Last Samurai (2003), Collateral (2004) and War of the Worlds (2005). Almost every film he has starred in has achieved blockbuster status, with box office revenues totaling $100-million or more in the U.S. In 2006, Forbes magazine ranked him as the world's most powerful celebrity.
In 2005, the Hollywood journalist, Edward Jay Epstein argued that Cruise is one of the few producers (the others being George Lucas, Steven Spielberg and Jerry Bruckheimer) who are able to guarantee the success of a billion-dollar movie franchise. Since 2005, Cruise and Paula Wagner have been in charge of the United Artists film studio, with Cruise as producer and star and Wagner as the chief executive. Cruise is also known for his controversial support of and adherence to the Church of Scientology.
Cruise was born in Syracuse, New York, the son of Mary Lee (née Pfeiffer), a special education teacher, and Thomas Cruise Mapother III, an electrical engineer. Cruise's paternal great-great-grandfather, Welshman Dylan Henry Mapother, emigrated from Flint, north east Wales, to Louisville, Kentucky in 1850. Cruise's great-grandfather, the first Thomas Cruise Mapother, was born in 1876. Cruise also has German and English ancestry from his paternal great-grandparents, William Reibert and Charlotte Louise Voelker, and German and Irish ancestry through his mother. Tom Cruise's oldest sister, Lee Anne, was born in Louisville. His older sister Marian was born in Syracuse, as were Tom and his younger sister, Cass.
Cruise attended Robert Hopkins Public School for grades three, four, and five. The Mapother family then moved to the suburb of Beacon Hill, in Ottawa, Ontario, so Cruise's father could take a position as a defence consultant with the Canadian Armed Forces. There, Cruise completed grade six at Henry Munro Middle School, part of the Carleton Board of Education, where he was active in athletics, playing floor hockey almost every night, showing himself to be a ruthless player, and eventually chipping his front tooth. In the game British bulldogs, he then lost his newly capped tooth and hurt his knee. Henry Munro was also where Cruise became involved in drama, under the tutelage of George Steinburg. The first play he participated in was called IT, in which Cruise won the co-lead with Michael de Waal, one playing "Evil", the other playing "Good." The play met much acclaim, and toured with five other classmates to various schools around the Ottawa area, even being filmed at the local Ottawa TV station.
When Cruise was twelve, his mother left his father, taking Cruise and his sister Lee Anne with her.
Besides Ottawa, cities in which Cruise lived included Louisville, Kentucky; Winnetka, Illinois; and Wayne, New Jersey (he also owns a home in Murrieta). In all, Cruise attended eight elementary schools and three high schools. He briefly attended a Franciscan seminary in Cincinnati (on a church scholarship) and aspired to become a Catholic priest. In his senior year, he played football for the varsity team as a linebacker, but he was cut from the squad after getting caught drinking beer before a game.
Cruise said that he was bullied in school, and by his father who he said was "a merchant of chaos", and that he learned early on that his father was – and, by extension, some people were – not to be trusted: "I knew from being around my father that not everyone means me well."
Career
Acting
1980s
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Cruise in 1989
The film Risky Business has been described as "A Generation-X classic, and a career-maker for Tom Cruise."
1990s
In 1994, Cruise starred along with Brad Pitt, Antonio Banderas and Christian Slater in Neil Jordan's Interview with the Vampire, a gothic drama/horror film that was based on Anne Rice's best-selling novel. The film was well received, although Rice was initially quite outspoken in her criticism of Cruise having been cast in the film, as Julian Sands was her first choice. Upon seeing the film however, she paid $7,740 for a two-page ad in Daily Variety praising his performance and apologizing for her previous doubts about him.
2000s
In 2000, Cruise returned as Ethan Hunt in the second installment of the Mission Impossible films, releasing Mission: Impossible II. The film was directed by Hong Kong director John Woo and branded with his Gun fu Style, and it continued the series' blockbuster success at the box office, taking in almost $547M in worldwide figures, like its predecessor, being the third highest grossing film of the year. Cruise received an MTV Movie Award as Best Male Performance for this film. His next five films were major critical and commercial successes. The following year Cruise starred in the remake of the Spanish film Abre Los Ojos, the romantic thriller Vanilla Sky (2001) with Cameron Diaz and Penelope Cruz. In 2002, Cruise starred in the dystopian science fiction thriller, Minority Report which was directed by Steven Spielberg and based on the science fiction short story by Philip K. Dick.
In 2003, he starred in the Edward Zwick's historical drama The Last Samurai, for which he received a Golden Globe nomination as best actor. In 2005, Cruise worked again with Steven Spielberg in War of the Worlds, which became the fourth highest grossing movie of the year with US$591.4 million worldwide. Also in 2005, he won the People's Choice Award for Favorite Male Movie Star, and the MTV Generation Award. Cruise was nominated for seven Saturn Awards between 2002 and 2009, winning once. Nine of the ten films he starred in during the decade made over $100 million at the box office.
Cruise in 2006
In 2006, he reprised his role as Ethan Hunt in the third installment of the Mission Impossible film series, Mission: Impossible III. The film was more positively received by critics than its predecessor, and grossed nearly $400 million at the box office. Cruise's 2007 film Lions for Lambs was a rare commercial disappointment. In 2008, Cruise appeared in the hit comedy Tropic Thunder with Ben Stiller and Jack Black. This performance earned Cruise a Golden Globe nomination. Cruise's latest starring role is in the historical thriller Valkyrie, released on December 25, 2008 to box office success. As of 2009, Cruise's films have grossed over $6.5 billion worldwide.
2010s
In March 2010, Cruise completed filming the action-comedy Knight and Day, in which he re-teamed with former costar Cameron Diaz; the film was released on June 23, 2010. On February 9, 2010, Cruise confirmed that he will star in a fourth Mission:Impossible film, slated for release in December 2011.
Producing
Cruise partnered with his former talent agent Paula Wagner to form Cruise/Wagner Productions in 1993, and the company has since co-produced several of Cruise's films, the first being Mission: Impossible in 1996 which was also Cruise's first project as a producer.
Cruise is noted as having negotiated some of the most lucrative movie deals in Hollywood, and was described in 2005 by Hollywood economist Edward Jay Epstein as "one of the most powerful – and richest – forces in Hollywood." Epstein argues that Cruise is one of the few producers (the others being George Lucas, Steven Spielberg and Jerry Bruckheimer) who are regarded as able to guarantee the success of a billion-dollar movie franchise. Epstein also contends that the public obsession with Cruise's tabloid controversies obscures full appreciation of Cruise's exceptional commercial prowess.
Cruise/Wagner Productions, Cruise's film production company, is said to be developing a screenplay based on Erik Larson's New York Times bestseller, The Devil in the White City about a real life serial killer, H. H. Holmes, at Chicago's World's Columbian Exposition. Kathryn Bigelow is attached to the project to produce and helm. Meanwhile, Leonardo DiCaprio's production company, Appian Way, is also developing a film about Holmes and the World's Fair, in which DiCaprio will star.
Breakup with Paramount
On August 22, 2006, Paramount Pictures announced it was ending its 14-year relationship with Cruise. In the Wall Street Journal, chairman of Viacom (Paramount's parent company) Sumner Redstone cited the economic damage to Cruise's value as an actor and producer from his controversial public behavior and views. Cruise/Wagner Productions responded that Paramount's announcement was a face-saving move after the production company had successfully sought alternative financing from private equity firms. Industry analysts such as Edward Jay Epstein commented that the real reason for the split was most likely Paramount's discontent over Cruise/Wagner's exceptionally large share of DVD sales from the Mission: Impossible franchise.
Management of United Artists
In November 2006, Cruise and Paula Wagner announced that they had taken over United Artists film studio. Cruise acts as a producer and star in films for United Artists, while Wagner serves as UA's chief executive. Production began in 2007 of Valkyrie, a thriller based on the July 20, 1944 assassination attempt against Adolf Hitler. The film was acquired in March 2007 by United Artists. On March 21, 2007 Cruise signed on to play Claus von Stauffenberg, the protagonist. This project marks the second production to be greenlighted since Cruise and Wagner took control of United Artists. The first was its inaugural film, Lions for Lambs, directed by Robert Redford and starring Redford, Meryl Streep and Cruise. Lambs was released on November 9, 2007, opening to unimpressive box office revenue and critical reception. In August 2008, Wagner stepped down from her position at United Artists; she retains her stake in UA, which combined with Cruise's share amounts to 30 percent of the studio.
Popularity
Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes interacting with fans in 2006
In 1990, 1991 and 1997, People magazine rated him among the 50 most beautiful people in the world. In 1995, Empire magazine ranked him among the 100 sexiest stars in film history. Two years later, it ranked him among the top 5 movie stars of all time. In 2002 and 2003, he was rated by Premiere among the top 20 in its annual Power 100 list.
In 2006, Premiere ranked Cruise as Hollywood's most powerful actor, as Cruise came in at number 13 on the magazine's 2006 Power List, being the highest ranked actor.
As of August 2006, "a USA Today/Gallup poll in which half of those surveyed registered an "unfavorable" opinion of the actor" was cited as a reason in addition to "unacceptable behavior" for Paramount's non-renewal of their production contract with Cruise. In addition, Marketing Evaluations reports that Cruise's Q score (which is a measure of the popularity of celebrities), had fallen 40 percent. It was also revealed that Cruise is the celebrity people would least like as their best friend. October 10, 2006 was declared "Tom Cruise Day" in Japan; the Japan Memorial Day Association said that he was awarded with a special day because he has made more trips to Japan than any other Hollywood star.
Relationships and personal life
with Katie Holmes in May 2009
See also: TomKat
Cruise married Mimi Rogers on May 9, 1987; they divorced on February 4, 1990. Rogers is generally believed to have introduced Cruise to Scientology.
Cruise met Nicole Kidman on the set of their film Days of Thunder. The couple married on December 24, 1990. He and Kidman adopted two children, Isabella Jane (b. December 22, 1992) and Connor Antony (b. January 17, 1995). They separated in February 2001 when Kidman was three months pregnant; she later miscarried.
Cruise was next romantically linked with Penélope Cruz, the lead actress in his film Vanilla Sky. After a three-year relationship, in March 2004, Cruise announced that their relationship had ended in January.
In April 2005, Cruise began dating actress Katie Holmes. Shortly after they began their highly publicized relationship, on June 17, 2005, Cruise announced he had proposed to her at the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
On April 18, 2006, Holmes gave birth to a baby girl named Suri at Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica, California. Cruise stated that the name derives from the Hebrew word for "princess" or the Persian word meaning red rose. (See also Sarah.) She is the first biological child for both Holmes and Cruise. On November 18, 2006, Holmes and Cruise were married at the 15th-century Odescalchi Castle in Bracciano, Italy, in a Scientology ceremony attended by many Hollywood stars. The actors' publicist said the couple had "officialized" their marriage in Los Angeles the day before the Italian ceremony. The day after the ceremony, the couple left for a honeymoon in the Maldives.
Controversy
Scientology
Cruise is an outspoken advocate for the Church of Scientology. He became involved with Scientology in 1990 through his first wife, Mimi Rogers. Cruise has publicly said that Scientology, specifically the L. Ron Hubbard Study Tech, helped him overcome dyslexia. In addition to promoting various programs that introduce people to Scientology, Cruise has campaigned for Scientology to be fully recognized as a religion in Europe. He lobbied politicians in France and Germany, where the legal systems regard Scientology as a cult and business, respectively. In 2005 the Paris city council revealed that Cruise had lobbied officials Nicolas Sarkozy and Jean-Claude Gaudin, described him as a spokesman and militant for Scientology, and barred any further dealings with him. Cruise co-founded and raised donations for Downtown Medical to offer New York 9/11 rescue workers detoxification therapy based on the works of L. Ron Hubbard. This has drawn criticism from the medical profession, as well as firefighters. For these activities and others, David Miscavige awarded Scientology's Freedom Medal of Valor to Cruise in late 2004.
A controversy erupted in 2005 after he openly criticized actress Brooke Shields for using the drug Paxil (paroxetine), an anti-depressant, to which Shields attributes her recovery from postpartum depression after the birth of her first daughter in 2003. Cruise asserted that there is no such thing as a chemical imbalance, and that psychiatry is a form of pseudoscience. Shields replied that she would not take advice from anyone who believed in space aliens. This led to a heated argument with Matt Lauer on The Today Show on June 24, 2005. Medical authorities said Cruise's comments had further stigmatized mental illness and Shields herself called them "a disservice to mothers everywhere." In late August 2006, Cruise apologized in person to Shields for his comments; Shields said that she was "impressed with how heartfelt was … I didn't feel at any time that I had to defend myself, nor did I feel that he was trying to convince me of anything other than the fact that he was deeply sorry. And I accepted it." Cruise's spokesman confirmed that Cruise and Shields had made up but said that Cruise's position on anti-depressants had not changed. Shields was a guest at Cruise's and Holmes's wedding.
Cruise also said in an Entertainment Weekly interview that psychiatry "is a Nazi science" and that methadone was actually originally called Adolophine after Adolf Hitler, a myth well-known as an urban legend. In an interview with Der Spiegel magazine, Cruise said that "In Scientology, we have the only successful drug rehabilitation program in the world. It's called Narconon… It's a statistically proven fact that there is only one successful drug rehabilitation program in the world. Period." While Narconon claims to have a success rate over 70 percent, the accuracy of this figure has been widely disputed. Scientology is well-known for its opposition to mainstream psychiatry.
In January 2008 the Daily Mail (UK) announced a forthcoming biography of Cruise, Tom Cruise: An Unauthorized Biography, by Andrew Morton. Among the book's claims, it said that Cruise had become the church's "second in command in all but name." This has been corroborated by former Scientology staff member Marc Headley. Cruise's attorney Bert Fields said that the unauthorized biography was full of "tired old lies" or "sick stuff."
IAS Freedom Medal of Valor ceremony video
See also: Project Chanology
On January 15, 2008, a video produced by the Church of Scientology featuring an interview with Cruise was leaked to the Internet and uploaded to YouTube. In the video, music from Cruise's Mission Impossible films plays in the background, and Cruise discusses what being a Scientologist means to him. According to The Times, Cruise can be seen in the video "extolling the virtues of Scientology." The Daily Telegraph characterizes Cruise as "manic-looking" during the interview, "gush about his love for Scientology."
The Church of Scientology asserted that the video material that had been leaked to YouTube and other websites was "pirated and edited" and taken from a three-hour video produced for members of Scientology. YouTube removed the Cruise video from their site under threat of litigation. As of February 4, 2008, the web site Gawker.com was still hosting a copy of the video, and other sites have posted the entire video. Lawyers for the Church of Scientology sent a letter to Gawker.com demanding that they remove the video, but Nick Denton of Gawker.com stated: "It's newsworthy, and we will not be removing it."
Oprah Winfrey Show incident
Cruise jumps on the couch during the taping of an interview on The Oprah Winfrey Show.
Cruise has made several expressions of his feelings for Holmes to the media, most notably the "couch incident" which took place on the popular The Oprah Winfrey Show of May 23, 2005. Cruise "jumped around the set, hopped onto a couch, fell to one knee and repeatedly professed his love for his new girlfriend." The phrase "jumping the couch", fashioned after "jumping the shark", is used to describe someone "going off the deep end" in public in a manner extreme enough to tarnish his or her reputation. It enjoyed a short-lived popularity, being chosen by the editors of the Historical Dictionary of American Slang as the "slang term of the year" in 2005 and by the nonprofit group Global Language Monitor as one of its top phrases for the year.
The "couch incident" was voted #1 of 2005's "Most Surprising Television Moments" on a countdown on E! and was the subject of numerous parodies, including the epilogue of Scary Movie 4, an episode of South Park and an episode of Family Guy. Entertainment Weekly put it on its end-of-the-decade, "best-of" list, saying, "Lesson learned: Tell, don't show."
In early May 2008, Cruise reappeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show to celebrate 25 years in the film business. The feature was a two hour special, the first hour was Oprah spending the day with Cruise at his house in Telluride, Colorado on May 2.
Filmography
Main article: Tom Cruise filmography
See also
* Tom Cruise (disambiguation)
Scientology e meter blue.jpg Scientology portal
* Brat Pack
* Church of Scientology
* List of Louisvillians
* List of Scientologists
* Supercouple
* Tom Cruise: Unauthorized (1998)
* Tom Cruise: All the World's a Stage (2006)
* Tom Cruise: An Unauthorized Biography (2008)
* Trapped in the Closet (South Park)
* 200 (South Park)
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Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 07/03/10 at 6:55 am
The person who died on this day...Jim Morrison
James Douglas "Jim" Morrison (December 8, 1943 – July 3, 1971) was an American singer, songwriter, poet, writer and filmmaker. He was best known as the lead singer and lyricist of The Doors and is widely considered to be one of the most charismatic frontmen in rock music history. He was also the author of several books of poetry and the director of a documentary and short film. Although Morrison was known for his baritone vocals, many fans, scholars, and journalists have discussed his theatrical stage persona, his self-destructiveness, and his work as a poet. He was ranked number 47 on Rolling Stone's "100 Greatest Singers of All Time"
orrison was born in Melbourne, Florida, to future Admiral George Stephen Morrison and Clara Clarke Morrison. Morrison had a sister, Anne Robin, who was born in 1947 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and a brother, Andrew Lee Morrison, who was born in 1948 in Los Altos, California. He was of Irish and Scottish descent. He reportedly had an I.Q. of 149.
In 1947, Morrison, then four years old, allegedly witnessed a car accident in the desert, where a family of Native Americans were injured and possibly killed. He referred to this incident in a spoken word performance on the song "Dawn's Highway" from the album An American Prayer, and again in the songs "Peace Frog" and "Ghost Song".
Morrison believed the incident to be the most formative event in his life and made repeated references to it in the imagery in his songs, poems, and interviews. Interestingly, his family does not recall this incident happening in the way he told it. According to the Morrison biography No One Here Gets Out Alive, Morrison's family did drive past a car accident on an Indian reservation when he was a child, and he was very upset by it. However, the book The Doors written by the remaining members of The Doors, explains how different Morrison's account of the incident was from the account of his father. This book quotes his father as saying, "We went by several Indians. It did make an impression on him . He always thought about that crying Indian." This is contrasted sharply with Morrison's tale of "Indians scattered all over the highway, bleeding to death". In the same book, his sister is quoted as saying, "He enjoyed telling that story and exaggerating it. He said he saw a dead Indian by the side of the road, and I don't even know if that's true."
With his father in the United States Navy, Morrison's family moved often. He spent part of his childhood in San Diego, California. In 1958, Morrison attended Alameda High School in Alameda, California. However, he graduated from George Washington High School (now George Washington Middle School) in Alexandria, Virginia in June 1961. His father was also stationed at Mayport Naval Air Station in Jacksonville, Florida.
Morrison went to live with his paternal grandparents in Clearwater, Florida where he attended classes at St. Petersburg Junior College. In 1962, he transferred to Florida State University (FSU) in Tallahassee where he appeared in a school recruitment film. While attending FSU Morrison was arrested for a prank, following a home football game.
In January 1964, Morrison moved to Los Angeles, California to attend UCLA. Morrison attended Jack Hirschman's class on Antonin Artaud in the Comparative Literature program within the UCLA English Department. The Surrealist Theater of Artaud had a profound impact on Morrison's dark poetic sensibility of cinematic theatricality. Hirschman was then an Assistant Professor of English at UCLA, an author, published poet and collegial contemporary of Michael McClure, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Philip Lamantia, Bob Kaufman, among others. Jim Morrison was later to meet Michael McClure and together to envisage the Poetic Dream.
In 1965 the Artaud Anthology, which Hirschman edited and assigned to Morrison's class at UCLA, was published by City Lights Books in San Francisco. Hirschman's work on the volume includes selecting material and organizing translations from the French, including some of his own translations. He was assisted by others, including David Rattray. Hirchman's students at UCLA included Gary Gach, Steven Kessler, Max Schwartz and Morrison himself, among others.
He completed his undergraduate degree at UCLA's film school, and the Theater Arts department of the College of Fine Arts in 1965. He made two films while attending UCLA. First Love, the first of these films, made with Morrison's classmate and roommate Max Schwartz, was released to the public when it appeared in a documentary about the film Obscura. During these years, while living in Venice Beach, he became friends with writers at the Los Angeles Free Press. Morrison was an advocate of the underground newspaper until his death in 1971.
The Doors
Main article: The Doors
In 1965, after graduating from UCLA, Morrison led a Bohemian lifestyle in Venice Beach. Morrison and fellow UCLA student Ray Manzarek were the first two members of The Doors. Shortly thereafter, drummer John Densmore and guitarist Robby Krieger joined. Krieger auditioned at Densmore's recommendation and was then added to the lineup.
The Doors took their name from the title of Aldous Huxley's The Doors of Perception (a reference to the 'unlocking' of 'doors' of perception through psychedelic drug use), Huxley's own title was a quotation from William Blake's The Marriage of Heaven and Hell, in which Blake wrote that "If the doors of perception were cleansed everything would appear to man as it is, infinite."
Although Morrison is known as the lyricist for the group, Krieger also made significant lyrical contributions, writing or co-writing some of the group's biggest hits, including "Light My Fire", "Love Me Two Times", "Love Her Madly" and "Touch Me".
In June 1966, Morrison and The Doors were the opening act at the Whisky a Go Go on the last week of the residency of Van Morrison's band Them. Van's influence on Jim's developing stage performance was later noted by John Densmore in his book Riders On The Storm: "Jim Morrison learned quickly from his near-namesake's stagecraft, his apparent recklessness, his air of subdued menace, the way he would improvise poetry to a rock beat, even his habit of crouching down by the bass drum during instrumental breaks." On the final night, the two Morrisons and the two bands jammed together on "Gloria".
The Doors achieved national recognition after signing with Elektra Records in 1967. The single "Light My Fire" eventually reached number one on the Billboard Pop Singles chart. Later, The Doors appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show, a popular Sunday night variety series that had introduced The Beatles and a young, wriggling Elvis Presley to the nation. Ed Sullivan requested two songs from The Doors for the show, "People Are Strange", and "Light My Fire". The censors insisted that they change the lyrics of "Light My Fire" from "Girl we couldn't get much higher" to "Girl we couldn't get much finer". This was reportedly due to what could be perceived as a reference to drugs in the original lyric. Giving assurances of compliance to Sullivan, Morrison then proceeded to sing the song with the original lyrics anyway. He later said that he had simply forgotten to make the change. This so infuriated Sullivan that he refused to shake their hands after their performance. They were never invited back.
In 1967, Morrison and The Doors produced a promotional film for "Break On Through (To the Other Side)", which was their first single release. The video featured the four members of the group playing the song on a darkened set with alternating views and close-ups of the performers while Morrison lip-synched the lyrics. Morrison and The Doors continued to make music videos, including "The Unknown Soldier", "Moonlight Drive", and "People Are Strange".
By the release of their second album, Strange Days, The Doors had become one of the most popular rock bands in the United States. Their blend of blues and rock tinged with psychedelia included a number of original songs and distinctive cover versions, such as the memorable rendition of "Alabama Song", from Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill's operetta, Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny. The band also performed a number of extended concept works, including the songs "The End", "When the Music's Over", and "Celebration of the Lizard".
In 1967, photographer Joel Brodsky took a series of black-and-white photos of Morrison, in a photo shoot known as "The Young Lion" photo session. These photographs are considered among the most iconic images of Jim Morrison and are frequently used as covers for compilation albums, books, and other memorabilia of the Doors and Morrison. In 1968, The Doors released their third studio LP, Waiting for the Sun. Their fourth LP, The Soft Parade, was released in 1969. It was the first album where the individual band members were given credit on the inner sleeve for the songs they had written.
After this, Morrison started to show up for recording sessions inebriated. He was also frequently late for live performances. As a result, the band would play instrumental music or force Manzarek to take on the singing duties.
By 1969, the formerly svelte singer gained weight, grew a beard, and began dressing more casually - abandoning the leather pants and concho belts for slacks, jeans and T-shirts.
During a 1969 concert at the Dinner Key Auditorium in Miami, Morrison attempted to spark a riot in the audience. He failed, but a warrant for his arrest was issued by the Dade County Police department three days later for indecent exposure. Consequently, many of The Doors' scheduled concerts were canceled. In the years following the incident, Morrison has been exonerated. In 2007 Florida Governor Charlie Crist suggested the possibility of a posthumous pardon for Morrison. See also Miami incident.
Following The Soft Parade, The Doors released the Morrison Hotel LP. After a lengthy break the group reconvened in October 1970 to record their last LP with Morrison, L.A. Woman. Shortly after the recording sessions for the album began, producer Paul A. Rothchild — who had overseen all their previous recordings — left the project. Engineer Bruce Botnick took over as producer.
Solo: poetry and film
Morrison began writing in adolescence. In college, he studied the related fields of theater, film, and cinematography.
He self-published two volumes of his poetry in 1969, The Lords / Notes on Vision and The New Creatures. The Lords consists primarily of brief descriptions of places, people, events and Morrison's thoughts on cinema. The New Creatures verses are more poetic in structure, feel and appearance. These two books were later combined into a single volume titled The Lords and The New Creatures. These were the only writings published during Morrison's lifetime.
Morrison befriended Beat Poet Michael McClure, who wrote the afterword for Danny Sugerman's biography of Morrison, No One Here Gets Out Alive. McClure and Morrison reportedly collaborated on a number of unmade film projects to include a film version of McClure's infamous play The Beard in which Morrison would have played Billy the Kid.
After his death, two volumes of Morrison's poetry were published. The contents of the books were selected and arranged by Morrison's friend, photographer Frank Lisciandro, and girlfriend Pamela Courson's parents, who owned the rights to his poetry. The Lost Writings of Jim Morrison Volume 1 is titled Wilderness, and, upon its release in 1988, became an instant New York Times best seller. Volume 2, The American Night, released in 1990, was also a success.
Morrison recorded his own poetry in a professional sound studio on two separate occasions. The first was in March 1969 in Los Angeles and the second was on December 8, 1970. The latter recording session was attended by Morrison's personal friends and included a variety of sketch pieces. Some of the segments from the 1969 session were issued on the bootleg album The Lost Paris Tapes and were later used as part of the Doors' An American Prayer album, released in 1978. The album reached number 54 on the music charts. The poetry recorded from the December 1970 session remains unreleased to this day and is in the possession of the Courson family.
Morrison's best-known but seldom seen cinematic endeavor is HWY: An American Pastoral, a project he started in 1969. Morrison financed the venture and formed his own production company in order to maintain complete control of the project. Paul Ferrara, Frank Lisciandro and Babe Hill assisted with the project. Morrison played the main character, a hitch hiker turned killer/car thief. Morrison asked his friend, composer/pianist Fred Myrow, to select the soundtrack for the film.
Personal life
Morrison's family
Morrison's early life was a nomadic existence typical of military families. Jerry Hopkins recorded Morrison's brother, Andy, explaining that his parents had determined never to use corporal punishment on their children. They instead instilled discipline and levied punishment by the military tradition known as "dressing down". This consisted of yelling at and berating the children until they were reduced to tears and acknowledged their failings.
Once Morrison graduated from UCLA, he broke off most of his family contact. By the time Morrison's music ascended to the top of the charts in 1967 he had not been in communication with his family for more than a year and falsely claimed that his parents and siblings were dead (or claiming, as it has been widely misreported, that he was an only child). This misinformation was published as part of the materials distributed with The Doors' self-titled debut album.
In a letter to the Florida Probation and Parole Commission District Office dated October 2, 1970, Morrison's father acknowledged the breakdown in family communications as the result of an argument over his assessment of his son's musical talents. He said he could not blame his son for being reluctant to initiate contact and that he was proud of him nonetheless.
George Morrison was not in support of his son's career choice in music. One day, an acquaintance brought over a record thought to have Jim on the cover. The record was the Doors self titled debut. The young man played the record for Morrison's father and family. After hearing the record, Jim's father wrote Jim a letter telling him "to give up any idea of singing or any connection with a music group because of what I considered to be a complete lack of talent in this direction."
Women in his life
Morrison met his long-term companion, Pamela Courson, well before he gained any fame or fortune, and she encouraged him to develop his poetry. At times, Courson used the surname "Morrison" with his apparent consent or at least lack of concern. After Courson's death in 1974 the probate court in California decided that she and Morrison had what qualified as a common law marriage (see below, under "Estate Controversy").
Courson and Morrison's relationship was a stormy one, however, with frequent loud arguments and periods of separation. Biographer Danny Sugerman surmised that part of their difficulties may have stemmed from a conflict between their respective commitments to an open relationship and the consequences of living in such a relationship.
In 1970, Morrison participated in a Celtic Pagan handfasting ceremony with rock critic and science fiction/fantasy author Patricia Kennealy. Before witnesses, one of them a Presbyterian minister, the couple signed a document declaring themselves wedded; however, none of the necessary paperwork for a legal marriage was filed with the state. Kennealy discussed her experiences with Morrison in her autobiography Strange Days: My Life With and Without Jim Morrison and in an interview reported in the book Rock Wives.
Morrison also regularly had sex with fans and had numerous short flings with women who were celebrities, including Nico, the singer associated with The Velvet Underground, a one night stand with singer Grace Slick of Jefferson Airplane, an on-again-off-again relationship with 16 Magazine's editor in chief Gloria Stavers and an alleged alcohol-fueled encounter with Janis Joplin. Judy Huddleston also recalls her relationship with Morrison in Living and Dying with Jim Morrison. At the time of his death there were reportedly as many as 20 paternity actions pending against him, although no claims were made against his estate by any of the putative paternity claimants, and the only person making a public claim to being Morrison's son was shown to be a fraud.
Death
Morrison flew to Paris in March 1971, took up residence in a rented apartment, and went for long walks through the city, admiring the city's architecture. During that time, Morrison grew a beard.
It was in Paris that Morrison made his last studio recording with two American street musicians — a session dismissed by Manzarek as "drunken gibberish". The session included a version of a song-in-progress, "Orange County Suite", which can be heard on the bootleg The Lost Paris Tapes.
Morrison died on July 3, 1971. In the official account of his death, he was found in a Paris apartment bathtub by Courson. Pursuant to French law, no autopsy was performed because the medical examiner claimed to have found no evidence of foul play. The absence of an official autopsy has left many questions regarding Morrison's cause of death.
In Wonderland Avenue, Danny Sugerman discussed his encounter with Courson after she returned to the U.S. According to Sugerman's account, Courson stated that Morrison had died of a heroin overdose, having insufflated what Morrison believed to be cocaine. Sugerman added that Courson had given numerous contradictory versions of Morrison's death, at times saying that she had killed Morrison, or that his death was her fault. Courson's story of Morrison's unintentional ingestion of heroin, followed by accidental overdose, is supported by the confession of Alain Ronay, who has written that Morrison died of a hemorrhage after snorting Courson's heroin, and that Courson nodded off, leaving Morrison bleeding to death instead of phoning for medical help.
Ronay confessed in an article in Paris-Match that he then helped cover up the circumstances of Morrison's death. In the epilogue of No One Here Gets Out Alive, Hopkins and Sugerman write that Ronay and Agnès Varda say Courson lied to the police who responded at the death scene, and later in her deposition, telling them Morrison never took drugs.
In the epilogue to No One Here Gets Out Alive, Hopkins says that 20 years after Morrison's death Ronay and Varda broke silence and gave this account: They arrived at the house shortly after Morrison's death and Courson said that she and Morrison had taken heroin after a night of drinking in bars. Morrison had been coughing badly, had gone to take a bath, and vomited blood. Courson said that he appeared to recover and that she then went to sleep. When she awoke sometime later Morrison was unresponsive and so she called for medical assistance.
Courson herself died of a heroin overdose three years later. Like Morrison, she was 27 years old at the time of her death.
However, in the epilogue of No One Here Gets Out Alive, Hopkins and Sugerman also claim that Morrison had asthma and was suffering from a respiratory condition involving a chronic cough and throwing up blood on the night of his death. This theory is partially supported in The Doors (written by the remaining members of the band) in which they claim Morrison had been coughing up blood for nearly two months in Paris. However, none of the members of the Doors were in Paris with Morrison in the months before his death.
In the first version of No One Here Gets Out Alive published in 1980, Sugerman and Hopkins gave some credence to the rumour that Morrison may not have died at all, calling the fake death theory “not as far-fetched as it might seemâ€. This theory led to considerable distress for Morrison's loved ones over the years, notably when fans would stalk them, searching for evidence of Morrison's whereabouts. In 1995 a new epilogue was added to Sugerman and Hopkins' book, giving new facts about Morrison's death and discounting the fake death theory, saying “As time passed, some of Jim and Pamela 's friends began to talk about what they knew, and although everything they said pointed irrefutably to Jim's demise, there remained and probably always will be those who refuse to believe that Jim is dead and those who will not allow him to rest in peace.â€
Jim Morrison's grave at Père-Lachaise.
In a July 2007 newspaper interview, a self-described close friend of Morrison's, Sam Bernett, resurrected an old rumor and announced that Morrison actually died of a heroin overdose in the Rock 'n' Roll Circus nightclub, on the Left Bank in Paris. Bernett claims that Morrison came to the club to buy heroin for Courson then did some himself and died in the bathroom. Bernett alleges that Morrison was then moved back to the rue Beautreillis apartment and dumped in the bathtub by the same two drug dealers from whom Morrison had purchased the heroin. Bernett says those who saw Morrison that night were sworn to secrecy in order to prevent a scandal for the famous club, and that some of the witnesses immediately left the country. However, this is just the latest of many in a long line of old rumours and conspiracy theories surrounding the death of Morrison and is less supported by witnesses than are the accounts of Ronay and Courson (cited above).
Grave site
Morrison is buried in the Père Lachaise Cemetery in eastern Paris, one of the city's most visited tourist attractions. The grave had no official marker until French officials placed a shield over it, which was stolen in 1973. In 1981, Croatian sculptor Mladen Mikulin placed a bust of Morrison and the new gravestone with Morrison's name at the grave to commemorate the 10th anniversary of his death; the bust was defaced through the years by cemetery vandals and later stolen in 1988. In the 1990s Morrison's father, George Stephen Morrison, placed a flat stone on the grave. The stone bears the Greek inscription: ΚΑΤΑ ΤΟΠΔΑΙΜΟÎΑ ΕΑΥΤΟΥ, literally meaning "according to his own daimÅn" and usually interpreted as "true to his own spirit". Mikulin later made two more Morrison portraits in bronze but is awaiting the license to place a new sculpture on the tomb.
Books
By Jim Morrison
* The Lords and the New Creatures (1969). 1985 edition: ISBN 0-7119-0552-5
* An American Prayer (1970) privately printed by Western Lithographers. (Unauthorized edition also published in 1983, Zeppelin Publishing Company, ISBN 0-915628-46-5. The authenticity of the unauthorized edition has been disputed.)
* Wilderness: The Lost Writings Of Jim Morrison (1988). 1990 edition: ISBN 0-14-011910-8
* The American Night: The Writings of Jim Morrison (1990). 1991 edition: ISBN 0-670-83772-5
About Jim Morrison
* Linda Ashcroft, Wild Child: Life with Jim Morrison, (1997) ISBN 1-56025-249-9
* Lester Bangs, "Jim Morrison: Bozo Dionysus a Decade Later" in Main Lines, Blood Feasts, and Bad Taste: A Lester Bangs Reader, John Morthland, ed. Anchor Press (2003) ISBN 0-375-71367-0
* Patricia Butler, Angels Dance and Angels Die: The Tragic Romance of Pamela and Jim Morrison, (1998) ISBN 0-8256-7341-0
* Stephen Davis, Jim Morrison: Life, Death, Legend, (2004) ISBN 1-59240-064-7
* John Densmore, Riders on the Storm: My Life With Jim Morrison and the Doors (1991) ISBN 0-385-30447-1
* Dave DiMartino, Moonlight Drive (1995) ISBN 1-886894-21-3
* Wallace Fowlie, Rimbaud and Jim Morrison (1994) ISBN 0-8223-1442-8
* Jerry Hopkins, The Lizard King: The Essential Jim Morrison (1995) ISBN 0-684-81866-3
* Jerry Hopkins and Danny Sugerman, No One Here Gets Out Alive (1980) ISBN 0-85965-138-X
* Patricia Kennealy, Strange Days: My Life With and Without Jim Morrison (1992) ISBN 0-525-93419-7
* Frank Lisciandro, Morrison — A Feast of Friends (1991) ISBN 0-446-39276-6
* Frank Lisciandro, Jim Morrison — An Hour For Magic (A Photojournal) ISBN 0-85965-246-7
* Ray Manzarek, Light My Fire (1998) ISBN 0-446-60228-0L. First by Jerry Hopkins and Danny Sugerman (1981)
* Peter Jan Margry, The Pilgrimage to Jim Morrison's Grave at Père Lachaise Cemetery: The Social Construction of Sacred Space. In idem (ed.), Shrines and Pilgrimage in the Modern World. New Itineraries into the Sacred. Amsterdam University Press, 2008, p. 145-173.
* Thanasis Michos, The Poetry of James Douglas Morrison (2001) ISBN 960-7748-23-9 (Greek)
* Mark Opsasnick, The Lizard King Was Here: The Life and Times of Jim Morrison in Alexandria, Virginia (2006) ISBN 1-4257-1330-0
* James Riordan & Jerry Prochnicky, Break on through : The Life and Death of Jim Morrison (1991) ISBN 0-688-11915-8
* Adriana Rubio, Jim Morrison: Ceremony...Exploring the Shaman Possession (2005) ISBN
* The Doors (remaining members Ray Manzarek, Robby Krieger, John Densmore) with Ben Fong-Torres, The Doors (2006) ISBN 1-4013-0303-X
Films
By Jim Morrison
* HWY: An American Pastoral (1969)
* A Feast of Friends (1970)
Documentaries featuring Jim Morrison
* The Doors Are Open (1968)
* Live in Europe (1968)
* Live at the Hollywood Bowl (1968)
* Feast of Friends (1969)
* The Doors: A Tribute to Jim Morrison (1981)
* The Doors: Dance on Fire (1985)
* The Soft Parade, a Retrospective (1991)
* Final 24: Jim Morrison (2007), The Biography Channel
* When You're Strange (2009)
Films about Jim Morrison
* The Doors (1991), A fiction film by director Oliver Stone, starring Val Kilmer as Morrison and with cameos by Krieger and Densmore. Kilmer's performance was praised by some critics. Members of the group, however, criticized Stone's portrayal of Morrison, and noted that numerous events depicted in the movie were pure fiction.
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Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: CatwomanofV on 07/03/10 at 11:25 am
That's good too. I had chicken parm. with ziti and garlic bread and I didn't even have to cook,my daughter's boyfriend made dinner.
That sound soooo yummy.
Cat
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Frank on 07/03/10 at 11:34 am
Jim Morrison...one of the rock stars I wish I would have met.
Tom Cruise: I have never liked the guy. Something about him always rubs me the wrong way. He seems so fake and I think he's not a good actor. Sorry if I have offended some Tom Cruise fans.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: CatwomanofV on 07/03/10 at 11:36 am
I was trying to find a copy of Samurai Optometrist or any of the other John Belushi skits but couldn't. :\'( :\'( :\'(
When I was stationed in Tx, my office was right across the hall from the optometry clinic. The head guy over there (who was a major) was of Japanese decent-in fact his last name was Yoshi (no joke). Of course EVERYONE called him Samurai Optometrist (but not to his face of course). :D ;D ;D ;D ;D
Cat
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: CatwomanofV on 07/03/10 at 11:58 am
Jim Morrison...one of the rock stars I wish I would have met.
Tom Cruise: I have never liked the guy. Something about him always rubs me the wrong way. He seems so fake and I think he's not a good actor. Sorry if I have offended some Tom Cruise fans.
My brother-in-law (who is no longer with us :\'( :\'( :\'( :\'( ) once told me that he used to have a paper route in West Haven (that I usually call Waste Haven), Conn. He went to a house to collect and the people who opened the door invited him in to party with them. He then told me that they were the Doors-in town because they were going to be preforming in New Haven. He told me that they told him that he couldn't tell anyone that they were there. But how cool is that-to be partying with the Doors.
Here is one of my favorites Doors' song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awi14wDTxNw
Tom Cruise= 8-P 8-P 8-P 8-P 8-P
BTW, if you want to see some CLASSIC Inthe00s-check out THIS infamous thread:
http://www.inthe00s.com/index.php/topic,16529.0.html
Cat
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 07/03/10 at 12:22 pm
That sound soooo yummy.
Cat
It was :)
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 07/03/10 at 12:29 pm
Jim Morrison...one of the rock stars I wish I would have met.
Tom Cruise: I have never liked the guy. Something about him always rubs me the wrong way. He seems so fake and I think he's not a good actor. Sorry if I have offended some Tom Cruise fans.
I was never really into the Doors(I do like a few songs)
Tom is to complex for me :-\\
My brother-in-law (who is no longer with us :\'( :\'( :\'( :\'( ) once told me that he used to have a paper route in West Haven (that I usually call Waste Haven), Conn. He went to a house to collect and the people who opened the door invited him in to party with them. He then told me that they were the Doors-in town because they were going to be preforming in New Haven. He told me that they told him that he couldn't tell anyone that they were there. But how cool is that-to be partying with the Doors.
Here is one of my favorites Doors' song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awi14wDTxNw
Tom Cruise= 8-P 8-P 8-P 8-P 8-P
BTW, if you want to see some CLASSIC Inthe00s-check out THIS infamous thread:
http://www.inthe00s.com/index.php/topic,16529.0.html
Cat
How cool for your brother-in-law :)
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 07/03/10 at 3:33 pm
The person who died on this day...Jim Morrison
James Douglas "Jim" Morrison (December 8, 1943 – July 3, 1971) was an American singer, songwriter, poet, writer and filmmaker. He was best known as the lead singer and lyricist of The Doors and is widely considered to be one of the most charismatic frontmen in rock music history. He was also the author of several books of poetry and the director of a documentary and short film. Although Morrison was known for his baritone vocals, many fans, scholars, and journalists have discussed his theatrical stage persona, his self-destructiveness, and his work as a poet. He was ranked number 47 on Rolling Stone's "100 Greatest Singers of All Time"
orrison was born in Melbourne, Florida, to future Admiral George Stephen Morrison and Clara Clarke Morrison. Morrison had a sister, Anne Robin, who was born in 1947 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and a brother, Andrew Lee Morrison, who was born in 1948 in Los Altos, California. He was of Irish and Scottish descent. He reportedly had an I.Q. of 149.
In 1947, Morrison, then four years old, allegedly witnessed a car accident in the desert, where a family of Native Americans were injured and possibly killed. He referred to this incident in a spoken word performance on the song "Dawn's Highway" from the album An American Prayer, and again in the songs "Peace Frog" and "Ghost Song".
Morrison believed the incident to be the most formative event in his life and made repeated references to it in the imagery in his songs, poems, and interviews. Interestingly, his family does not recall this incident happening in the way he told it. According to the Morrison biography No One Here Gets Out Alive, Morrison's family did drive past a car accident on an Indian reservation when he was a child, and he was very upset by it. However, the book The Doors written by the remaining members of The Doors, explains how different Morrison's account of the incident was from the account of his father. This book quotes his father as saying, "We went by several Indians. It did make an impression on him . He always thought about that crying Indian." This is contrasted sharply with Morrison's tale of "Indians scattered all over the highway, bleeding to death". In the same book, his sister is quoted as saying, "He enjoyed telling that story and exaggerating it. He said he saw a dead Indian by the side of the road, and I don't even know if that's true."
With his father in the United States Navy, Morrison's family moved often. He spent part of his childhood in San Diego, California. In 1958, Morrison attended Alameda High School in Alameda, California. However, he graduated from George Washington High School (now George Washington Middle School) in Alexandria, Virginia in June 1961. His father was also stationed at Mayport Naval Air Station in Jacksonville, Florida.
Morrison went to live with his paternal grandparents in Clearwater, Florida where he attended classes at St. Petersburg Junior College. In 1962, he transferred to Florida State University (FSU) in Tallahassee where he appeared in a school recruitment film. While attending FSU Morrison was arrested for a prank, following a home football game.
In January 1964, Morrison moved to Los Angeles, California to attend UCLA. Morrison attended Jack Hirschman's class on Antonin Artaud in the Comparative Literature program within the UCLA English Department. The Surrealist Theater of Artaud had a profound impact on Morrison's dark poetic sensibility of cinematic theatricality. Hirschman was then an Assistant Professor of English at UCLA, an author, published poet and collegial contemporary of Michael McClure, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Philip Lamantia, Bob Kaufman, among others. Jim Morrison was later to meet Michael McClure and together to envisage the Poetic Dream.
In 1965 the Artaud Anthology, which Hirschman edited and assigned to Morrison's class at UCLA, was published by City Lights Books in San Francisco. Hirschman's work on the volume includes selecting material and organizing translations from the French, including some of his own translations. He was assisted by others, including David Rattray. Hirchman's students at UCLA included Gary Gach, Steven Kessler, Max Schwartz and Morrison himself, among others.
He completed his undergraduate degree at UCLA's film school, and the Theater Arts department of the College of Fine Arts in 1965. He made two films while attending UCLA. First Love, the first of these films, made with Morrison's classmate and roommate Max Schwartz, was released to the public when it appeared in a documentary about the film Obscura. During these years, while living in Venice Beach, he became friends with writers at the Los Angeles Free Press. Morrison was an advocate of the underground newspaper until his death in 1971.
The Doors
Main article: The Doors
In 1965, after graduating from UCLA, Morrison led a Bohemian lifestyle in Venice Beach. Morrison and fellow UCLA student Ray Manzarek were the first two members of The Doors. Shortly thereafter, drummer John Densmore and guitarist Robby Krieger joined. Krieger auditioned at Densmore's recommendation and was then added to the lineup.
The Doors took their name from the title of Aldous Huxley's The Doors of Perception (a reference to the 'unlocking' of 'doors' of perception through psychedelic drug use), Huxley's own title was a quotation from William Blake's The Marriage of Heaven and Hell, in which Blake wrote that "If the doors of perception were cleansed everything would appear to man as it is, infinite."
Although Morrison is known as the lyricist for the group, Krieger also made significant lyrical contributions, writing or co-writing some of the group's biggest hits, including "Light My Fire", "Love Me Two Times", "Love Her Madly" and "Touch Me".
In June 1966, Morrison and The Doors were the opening act at the Whisky a Go Go on the last week of the residency of Van Morrison's band Them. Van's influence on Jim's developing stage performance was later noted by John Densmore in his book Riders On The Storm: "Jim Morrison learned quickly from his near-namesake's stagecraft, his apparent recklessness, his air of subdued menace, the way he would improvise poetry to a rock beat, even his habit of crouching down by the bass drum during instrumental breaks." On the final night, the two Morrisons and the two bands jammed together on "Gloria".
The Doors achieved national recognition after signing with Elektra Records in 1967. The single "Light My Fire" eventually reached number one on the Billboard Pop Singles chart. Later, The Doors appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show, a popular Sunday night variety series that had introduced The Beatles and a young, wriggling Elvis Presley to the nation. Ed Sullivan requested two songs from The Doors for the show, "People Are Strange", and "Light My Fire". The censors insisted that they change the lyrics of "Light My Fire" from "Girl we couldn't get much higher" to "Girl we couldn't get much finer". This was reportedly due to what could be perceived as a reference to drugs in the original lyric. Giving assurances of compliance to Sullivan, Morrison then proceeded to sing the song with the original lyrics anyway. He later said that he had simply forgotten to make the change. This so infuriated Sullivan that he refused to shake their hands after their performance. They were never invited back.
In 1967, Morrison and The Doors produced a promotional film for "Break On Through (To the Other Side)", which was their first single release. The video featured the four members of the group playing the song on a darkened set with alternating views and close-ups of the performers while Morrison lip-synched the lyrics. Morrison and The Doors continued to make music videos, including "The Unknown Soldier", "Moonlight Drive", and "People Are Strange".
By the release of their second album, Strange Days, The Doors had become one of the most popular rock bands in the United States. Their blend of blues and rock tinged with psychedelia included a number of original songs and distinctive cover versions, such as the memorable rendition of "Alabama Song", from Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill's operetta, Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny. The band also performed a number of extended concept works, including the songs "The End", "When the Music's Over", and "Celebration of the Lizard".
In 1967, photographer Joel Brodsky took a series of black-and-white photos of Morrison, in a photo shoot known as "The Young Lion" photo session. These photographs are considered among the most iconic images of Jim Morrison and are frequently used as covers for compilation albums, books, and other memorabilia of the Doors and Morrison. In 1968, The Doors released their third studio LP, Waiting for the Sun. Their fourth LP, The Soft Parade, was released in 1969. It was the first album where the individual band members were given credit on the inner sleeve for the songs they had written.
After this, Morrison started to show up for recording sessions inebriated. He was also frequently late for live performances. As a result, the band would play instrumental music or force Manzarek to take on the singing duties.
By 1969, the formerly svelte singer gained weight, grew a beard, and began dressing more casually - abandoning the leather pants and concho belts for slacks, jeans and T-shirts.
During a 1969 concert at the Dinner Key Auditorium in Miami, Morrison attempted to spark a riot in the audience. He failed, but a warrant for his arrest was issued by the Dade County Police department three days later for indecent exposure. Consequently, many of The Doors' scheduled concerts were canceled. In the years following the incident, Morrison has been exonerated. In 2007 Florida Governor Charlie Crist suggested the possibility of a posthumous pardon for Morrison. See also Miami incident.
Following The Soft Parade, The Doors released the Morrison Hotel LP. After a lengthy break the group reconvened in October 1970 to record their last LP with Morrison, L.A. Woman. Shortly after the recording sessions for the album began, producer Paul A. Rothchild — who had overseen all their previous recordings — left the project. Engineer Bruce Botnick took over as producer.
Solo: poetry and film
Morrison began writing in adolescence. In college, he studied the related fields of theater, film, and cinematography.
He self-published two volumes of his poetry in 1969, The Lords / Notes on Vision and The New Creatures. The Lords consists primarily of brief descriptions of places, people, events and Morrison's thoughts on cinema. The New Creatures verses are more poetic in structure, feel and appearance. These two books were later combined into a single volume titled The Lords and The New Creatures. These were the only writings published during Morrison's lifetime.
Morrison befriended Beat Poet Michael McClure, who wrote the afterword for Danny Sugerman's biography of Morrison, No One Here Gets Out Alive. McClure and Morrison reportedly collaborated on a number of unmade film projects to include a film version of McClure's infamous play The Beard in which Morrison would have played Billy the Kid.
After his death, two volumes of Morrison's poetry were published. The contents of the books were selected and arranged by Morrison's friend, photographer Frank Lisciandro, and girlfriend Pamela Courson's parents, who owned the rights to his poetry. The Lost Writings of Jim Morrison Volume 1 is titled Wilderness, and, upon its release in 1988, became an instant New York Times best seller. Volume 2, The American Night, released in 1990, was also a success.
Morrison recorded his own poetry in a professional sound studio on two separate occasions. The first was in March 1969 in Los Angeles and the second was on December 8, 1970. The latter recording session was attended by Morrison's personal friends and included a variety of sketch pieces. Some of the segments from the 1969 session were issued on the bootleg album The Lost Paris Tapes and were later used as part of the Doors' An American Prayer album, released in 1978. The album reached number 54 on the music charts. The poetry recorded from the December 1970 session remains unreleased to this day and is in the possession of the Courson family.
Morrison's best-known but seldom seen cinematic endeavor is HWY: An American Pastoral, a project he started in 1969. Morrison financed the venture and formed his own production company in order to maintain complete control of the project. Paul Ferrara, Frank Lisciandro and Babe Hill assisted with the project. Morrison played the main character, a hitch hiker turned killer/car thief. Morrison asked his friend, composer/pianist Fred Myrow, to select the soundtrack for the film.
Personal life
Morrison's family
Morrison's early life was a nomadic existence typical of military families. Jerry Hopkins recorded Morrison's brother, Andy, explaining that his parents had determined never to use corporal punishment on their children. They instead instilled discipline and levied punishment by the military tradition known as "dressing down". This consisted of yelling at and berating the children until they were reduced to tears and acknowledged their failings.
Once Morrison graduated from UCLA, he broke off most of his family contact. By the time Morrison's music ascended to the top of the charts in 1967 he had not been in communication with his family for more than a year and falsely claimed that his parents and siblings were dead (or claiming, as it has been widely misreported, that he was an only child). This misinformation was published as part of the materials distributed with The Doors' self-titled debut album.
In a letter to the Florida Probation and Parole Commission District Office dated October 2, 1970, Morrison's father acknowledged the breakdown in family communications as the result of an argument over his assessment of his son's musical talents. He said he could not blame his son for being reluctant to initiate contact and that he was proud of him nonetheless.
George Morrison was not in support of his son's career choice in music. One day, an acquaintance brought over a record thought to have Jim on the cover. The record was the Doors self titled debut. The young man played the record for Morrison's father and family. After hearing the record, Jim's father wrote Jim a letter telling him "to give up any idea of singing or any connection with a music group because of what I considered to be a complete lack of talent in this direction."
Women in his life
Morrison met his long-term companion, Pamela Courson, well before he gained any fame or fortune, and she encouraged him to develop his poetry. At times, Courson used the surname "Morrison" with his apparent consent or at least lack of concern. After Courson's death in 1974 the probate court in California decided that she and Morrison had what qualified as a common law marriage (see below, under "Estate Controversy").
Courson and Morrison's relationship was a stormy one, however, with frequent loud arguments and periods of separation. Biographer Danny Sugerman surmised that part of their difficulties may have stemmed from a conflict between their respective commitments to an open relationship and the consequences of living in such a relationship.
In 1970, Morrison participated in a Celtic Pagan handfasting ceremony with rock critic and science fiction/fantasy author Patricia Kennealy. Before witnesses, one of them a Presbyterian minister, the couple signed a document declaring themselves wedded; however, none of the necessary paperwork for a legal marriage was filed with the state. Kennealy discussed her experiences with Morrison in her autobiography Strange Days: My Life With and Without Jim Morrison and in an interview reported in the book Rock Wives.
Morrison also regularly had sex with fans and had numerous short flings with women who were celebrities, including Nico, the singer associated with The Velvet Underground, a one night stand with singer Grace Slick of Jefferson Airplane, an on-again-off-again relationship with 16 Magazine's editor in chief Gloria Stavers and an alleged alcohol-fueled encounter with Janis Joplin. Judy Huddleston also recalls her relationship with Morrison in Living and Dying with Jim Morrison. At the time of his death there were reportedly as many as 20 paternity actions pending against him, although no claims were made against his estate by any of the putative paternity claimants, and the only person making a public claim to being Morrison's son was shown to be a fraud.
Death
Morrison flew to Paris in March 1971, took up residence in a rented apartment, and went for long walks through the city, admiring the city's architecture. During that time, Morrison grew a beard.
It was in Paris that Morrison made his last studio recording with two American street musicians — a session dismissed by Manzarek as "drunken gibberish". The session included a version of a song-in-progress, "Orange County Suite", which can be heard on the bootleg The Lost Paris Tapes.
Morrison died on July 3, 1971. In the official account of his death, he was found in a Paris apartment bathtub by Courson. Pursuant to French law, no autopsy was performed because the medical examiner claimed to have found no evidence of foul play. The absence of an official autopsy has left many questions regarding Morrison's cause of death.
In Wonderland Avenue, Danny Sugerman discussed his encounter with Courson after she returned to the U.S. According to Sugerman's account, Courson stated that Morrison had died of a heroin overdose, having insufflated what Morrison believed to be cocaine. Sugerman added that Courson had given numerous contradictory versions of Morrison's death, at times saying that she had killed Morrison, or that his death was her fault. Courson's story of Morrison's unintentional ingestion of heroin, followed by accidental overdose, is supported by the confession of Alain Ronay, who has written that Morrison died of a hemorrhage after snorting Courson's heroin, and that Courson nodded off, leaving Morrison bleeding to death instead of phoning for medical help.
Ronay confessed in an article in Paris-Match that he then helped cover up the circumstances of Morrison's death. In the epilogue of No One Here Gets Out Alive, Hopkins and Sugerman write that Ronay and Agnès Varda say Courson lied to the police who responded at the death scene, and later in her deposition, telling them Morrison never took drugs.
In the epilogue to No One Here Gets Out Alive, Hopkins says that 20 years after Morrison's death Ronay and Varda broke silence and gave this account: They arrived at the house shortly after Morrison's death and Courson said that she and Morrison had taken heroin after a night of drinking in bars. Morrison had been coughing badly, had gone to take a bath, and vomited blood. Courson said that he appeared to recover and that she then went to sleep. When she awoke sometime later Morrison was unresponsive and so she called for medical assistance.
Courson herself died of a heroin overdose three years later. Like Morrison, she was 27 years old at the time of her death.
However, in the epilogue of No One Here Gets Out Alive, Hopkins and Sugerman also claim that Morrison had asthma and was suffering from a respiratory condition involving a chronic cough and throwing up blood on the night of his death. This theory is partially supported in The Doors (written by the remaining members of the band) in which they claim Morrison had been coughing up blood for nearly two months in Paris. However, none of the members of the Doors were in Paris with Morrison in the months before his death.
In the first version of No One Here Gets Out Alive published in 1980, Sugerman and Hopkins gave some credence to the rumour that Morrison may not have died at all, calling the fake death theory “not as far-fetched as it might seemâ€. This theory led to considerable distress for Morrison's loved ones over the years, notably when fans would stalk them, searching for evidence of Morrison's whereabouts. In 1995 a new epilogue was added to Sugerman and Hopkins' book, giving new facts about Morrison's death and discounting the fake death theory, saying “As time passed, some of Jim and Pamela 's friends began to talk about what they knew, and although everything they said pointed irrefutably to Jim's demise, there remained and probably always will be those who refuse to believe that Jim is dead and those who will not allow him to rest in peace.â€
Jim Morrison's grave at Père-Lachaise.
In a July 2007 newspaper interview, a self-described close friend of Morrison's, Sam Bernett, resurrected an old rumor and announced that Morrison actually died of a heroin overdose in the Rock 'n' Roll Circus nightclub, on the Left Bank in Paris. Bernett claims that Morrison came to the club to buy heroin for Courson then did some himself and died in the bathroom. Bernett alleges that Morrison was then moved back to the rue Beautreillis apartment and dumped in the bathtub by the same two drug dealers from whom Morrison had purchased the heroin. Bernett says those who saw Morrison that night were sworn to secrecy in order to prevent a scandal for the famous club, and that some of the witnesses immediately left the country. However, this is just the latest of many in a long line of old rumours and conspiracy theories surrounding the death of Morrison and is less supported by witnesses than are the accounts of Ronay and Courson (cited above).
Grave site
Morrison is buried in the Père Lachaise Cemetery in eastern Paris, one of the city's most visited tourist attractions. The grave had no official marker until French officials placed a shield over it, which was stolen in 1973. In 1981, Croatian sculptor Mladen Mikulin placed a bust of Morrison and the new gravestone with Morrison's name at the grave to commemorate the 10th anniversary of his death; the bust was defaced through the years by cemetery vandals and later stolen in 1988. In the 1990s Morrison's father, George Stephen Morrison, placed a flat stone on the grave. The stone bears the Greek inscription: ΚΑΤΑ ΤΟΠΔΑΙΜΟÎΑ ΕΑΥΤΟΥ, literally meaning "according to his own daimÅn" and usually interpreted as "true to his own spirit". Mikulin later made two more Morrison portraits in bronze but is awaiting the license to place a new sculpture on the tomb.
Books
By Jim Morrison
* The Lords and the New Creatures (1969). 1985 edition: ISBN 0-7119-0552-5
* An American Prayer (1970) privately printed by Western Lithographers. (Unauthorized edition also published in 1983, Zeppelin Publishing Company, ISBN 0-915628-46-5. The authenticity of the unauthorized edition has been disputed.)
* Wilderness: The Lost Writings Of Jim Morrison (1988). 1990 edition: ISBN 0-14-011910-8
* The American Night: The Writings of Jim Morrison (1990). 1991 edition: ISBN 0-670-83772-5
About Jim Morrison
* Linda Ashcroft, Wild Child: Life with Jim Morrison, (1997) ISBN 1-56025-249-9
* Lester Bangs, "Jim Morrison: Bozo Dionysus a Decade Later" in Main Lines, Blood Feasts, and Bad Taste: A Lester Bangs Reader, John Morthland, ed. Anchor Press (2003) ISBN 0-375-71367-0
* Patricia Butler, Angels Dance and Angels Die: The Tragic Romance of Pamela and Jim Morrison, (1998) ISBN 0-8256-7341-0
* Stephen Davis, Jim Morrison: Life, Death, Legend, (2004) ISBN 1-59240-064-7
* John Densmore, Riders on the Storm: My Life With Jim Morrison and the Doors (1991) ISBN 0-385-30447-1
* Dave DiMartino, Moonlight Drive (1995) ISBN 1-886894-21-3
* Wallace Fowlie, Rimbaud and Jim Morrison (1994) ISBN 0-8223-1442-8
* Jerry Hopkins, The Lizard King: The Essential Jim Morrison (1995) ISBN 0-684-81866-3
* Jerry Hopkins and Danny Sugerman, No One Here Gets Out Alive (1980) ISBN 0-85965-138-X
* Patricia Kennealy, Strange Days: My Life With and Without Jim Morrison (1992) ISBN 0-525-93419-7
* Frank Lisciandro, Morrison — A Feast of Friends (1991) ISBN 0-446-39276-6
* Frank Lisciandro, Jim Morrison — An Hour For Magic (A Photojournal) ISBN 0-85965-246-7
* Ray Manzarek, Light My Fire (1998) ISBN 0-446-60228-0L. First by Jerry Hopkins and Danny Sugerman (1981)
* Peter Jan Margry, The Pilgrimage to Jim Morrison's Grave at Père Lachaise Cemetery: The Social Construction of Sacred Space. In idem (ed.), Shrines and Pilgrimage in the Modern World. New Itineraries into the Sacred. Amsterdam University Press, 2008, p. 145-173.
* Thanasis Michos, The Poetry of James Douglas Morrison (2001) ISBN 960-7748-23-9 (Greek)
* Mark Opsasnick, The Lizard King Was Here: The Life and Times of Jim Morrison in Alexandria, Virginia (2006) ISBN 1-4257-1330-0
* James Riordan & Jerry Prochnicky, Break on through : The Life and Death of Jim Morrison (1991) ISBN 0-688-11915-8
* Adriana Rubio, Jim Morrison: Ceremony...Exploring the Shaman Possession (2005) ISBN
* The Doors (remaining members Ray Manzarek, Robby Krieger, John Densmore) with Ben Fong-Torres, The Doors (2006) ISBN 1-4013-0303-X
Films
By Jim Morrison
* HWY: An American Pastoral (1969)
* A Feast of Friends (1970)
Documentaries featuring Jim Morrison
* The Doors Are Open (1968)
* Live in Europe (1968)
* Live at the Hollywood Bowl (1968)
* Feast of Friends (1969)
* The Doors: A Tribute to Jim Morrison (1981)
* The Doors: Dance on Fire (1985)
* The Soft Parade, a Retrospective (1991)
* Final 24: Jim Morrison (2007), The Biography Channel
* When You're Strange (2009)
Films about Jim Morrison
* The Doors (1991), A fiction film by director Oliver Stone, starring Val Kilmer as Morrison and with cameos by Krieger and Densmore. Kilmer's performance was praised by some critics. Members of the group, however, criticized Stone's portrayal of Morrison, and noted that numerous events depicted in the movie were pure fiction.
http://i624.photobucket.com/albums/tt324/jcordj66/73a458e0.jpg
http://i370.photobucket.com/albums/oo143/vonnieroo11/morrison.jpg
My favorite Doors song is Touch Me.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 07/04/10 at 1:47 am
British Person of the Day: Angela Baddeley
Angela Baddeley, CBE (4 July 1904 – 22 February 1976), born Madeline Angela Clinton-Baddeley, was an English actress best remembered for her role as Mrs Bridges in the period drama Upstairs, Downstairs. Baddeley also had a long and distinguished career on stage that lasted for 63 years.
Early life
Madeline Angela Clinton-Baddeley was born in London in 1904, the daughter of a wealthy family who had servants. She based the character of Mrs Bridges on one of the cooks her family had when she was a child. Her younger sister was the actress Hermione Baddeley. In 1912, at the age of 8, Baddeley made her stage debut at the Dalston Palace in London in a play called The Dawn of Happiness. When she was nine, Angela Baddeley auditioned at the Old Vic Theatre and in November 1915 she made her stage debut at the Old Vic in Richard III and appeared in many other Shakespeare plays. During her teenage years, the "consummate little actress", as a national paper called had called her when she was 10, starred in many musicals and pantomimes. She briefly 'retired' from acting at age 18. Her first marriage, to Stephen Thomas, produced one daughter. In c.1930 she married the actor and theatre director Glen Byam Shaw, and they had a son and a daughter. During the early years of her second marriage she and her husband had four servants. In 1938, she appeared in King Vidor's film, The Citadel, an adaptation of A. J. Cronin's novel.
After spending some time touring in Australia, Baddeley succeeded in establishing herself as one of the most popular theatre actresses of her day, with roles in 'The Rising Stud' and 'Marriage à la Mode'. In 1931, she appeared in two popular movies, the Sherlock Holmes tale The Speckled Band, featuring Raymond Massey as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's sleuth and a large screen version of the hit stage thriller The Ghost Train. Throughout the 1940s, she played many strong female roles on stage, including Miss Prue in 'Love for Love' and Nora in The Winslow Boy.
Later years
Continuing to act on stage, she played the bawd in Tony Richardson's production of Pericles, Prince of Tyre at the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre in 1958. She was made a CBE in 1975 for "services to the theatre". She died in London in 1976 of pneumonia at the age of 71, shortly after Upstairs, Downstairs finished being shown on television. Had she lived it is likely that a spin-off series, with Baddeley reprising her role as Mrs. Bridges and Gordon Jackson returning as Mr Hudson, would have been made. This would have been set in the boarding house they had moved to at the end of Upstairs, Downstairs.
Baddeley's marriage to the director Stephen Thomas was dissolved, after which she married actor and director Glen Byam Shaw. She had three children. She was the grandmother of Charles Hart, the lyricist of The Phantom of the Opera.
http://www.nndb.com/people/285/000173763/angela-baddeley-2-sized.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 07/04/10 at 6:24 am
British Person of the Day: Angela Baddeley
Angela Baddeley, CBE (4 July 1904 – 22 February 1976), born Madeline Angela Clinton-Baddeley, was an English actress best remembered for her role as Mrs Bridges in the period drama Upstairs, Downstairs. Baddeley also had a long and distinguished career on stage that lasted for 63 years.
Early life
Madeline Angela Clinton-Baddeley was born in London in 1904, the daughter of a wealthy family who had servants. She based the character of Mrs Bridges on one of the cooks her family had when she was a child. Her younger sister was the actress Hermione Baddeley. In 1912, at the age of 8, Baddeley made her stage debut at the Dalston Palace in London in a play called The Dawn of Happiness. When she was nine, Angela Baddeley auditioned at the Old Vic Theatre and in November 1915 she made her stage debut at the Old Vic in Richard III and appeared in many other Shakespeare plays. During her teenage years, the "consummate little actress", as a national paper called had called her when she was 10, starred in many musicals and pantomimes. She briefly 'retired' from acting at age 18. Her first marriage, to Stephen Thomas, produced one daughter. In c.1930 she married the actor and theatre director Glen Byam Shaw, and they had a son and a daughter. During the early years of her second marriage she and her husband had four servants. In 1938, she appeared in King Vidor's film, The Citadel, an adaptation of A. J. Cronin's novel.
After spending some time touring in Australia, Baddeley succeeded in establishing herself as one of the most popular theatre actresses of her day, with roles in 'The Rising Stud' and 'Marriage à la Mode'. In 1931, she appeared in two popular movies, the Sherlock Holmes tale The Speckled Band, featuring Raymond Massey as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's sleuth and a large screen version of the hit stage thriller The Ghost Train. Throughout the 1940s, she played many strong female roles on stage, including Miss Prue in 'Love for Love' and Nora in The Winslow Boy.
Later years
Continuing to act on stage, she played the bawd in Tony Richardson's production of Pericles, Prince of Tyre at the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre in 1958. She was made a CBE in 1975 for "services to the theatre". She died in London in 1976 of pneumonia at the age of 71, shortly after Upstairs, Downstairs finished being shown on television. Had she lived it is likely that a spin-off series, with Baddeley reprising her role as Mrs. Bridges and Gordon Jackson returning as Mr Hudson, would have been made. This would have been set in the boarding house they had moved to at the end of Upstairs, Downstairs.
Baddeley's marriage to the director Stephen Thomas was dissolved, after which she married actor and director Glen Byam Shaw. She had three children. She was the grandmother of Charles Hart, the lyricist of The Phantom of the Opera.
http://www.nndb.com/people/285/000173763/angela-baddeley-2-sized.jpg
Thanks Phil. I do remember her, I didn't watch too many episodes of Upstairs, Downstairs but I did watch some.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 07/04/10 at 6:27 am
Thanks Phil. I do remember her, I didn't watch too many episodes of Upstairs, Downstairs but I did watch some.
The same with me, the character she played I do rermember, but I (like you) only saw a few episodes.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 07/04/10 at 6:30 am
The word of the day...Park
A park is a protected area, in its natural or semi-natural state, or planted, and set aside for human recreation and enjoyment, or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. It may consist of rocks, soil, water, flora and fauna and grass areas.
Wilderness parks are intact and undeveloped areas used mainly by wild species. Many parks are legally protected by law.
Protected wilderness zones are required for some wild species to survive. Some protected parks focus mainly on the survival of a few threatened species, such as gorillas or chimpanzees.
http://i536.photobucket.com/albums/ff324/aaronjmatteson/Cherry%20Picking/Park.jpg
http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk202/shubhd/Usa4/DSCN0635.jpg
http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e362/spankypuff/SpringfieldPark057.jpg
http://i365.photobucket.com/albums/oo98/bsegna/rimrock-park-apts.jpg
http://i536.photobucket.com/albums/ff326/wilkinscourtney/Carkeek%20park%202-16-09/IMGP0937.jpg
http://i764.photobucket.com/albums/xx283/jsprong/IsaacHugs.jpg
http://i911.photobucket.com/albums/ac315/ebaythebeth/brewers/miller.jpg
http://i984.photobucket.com/albums/ae326/harrykpedersen/DSC00770.jpg
http://i889.photobucket.com/albums/ac97/DivineHammer67/GARDEN.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 07/04/10 at 6:31 am
The person born on this day...Neil Simon
Neil Simon (born July 4, 1927) is an American playwright and screenwriter. His numerous Broadway successes have led to his work being among the most regularly performed in the world. Born Marvin Neil Simon on July 4, 1927 in The Bronx, New York City to Mamie and Irving Simon, a garment salesman. He was their second son and he grew up in Washington Heights, Manhattan in the Great Depression. His father would frequently leave the family, casting financial and emotional woes on the family. He attended DeWitt Clinton High School and graduated at the age of sixteen.
Early career
He briefly attended New York University from 1944 to 1945, where he was enlisted in the Army Air Force Reserve training program. He was assigned to Lowry Air Force Base in 1945 and attended the University of Denver from 1945 to 1946. He was a sports editor for the military magazine Rev-Meter.
In 1946, he was discharged as a corporal. Two years later, he quit his job as a mailroom clerk in the Warner Brothers offices in Manhattan to write radio and television scripts with his brother Danny Simon, including a tutelage under radio humourist Goodman Ace when Ace ran a short-lived writing workshop for CBS. They wrote for the radio show The Robert Q. Lewis Show and for the television show The Phil Silvers Show.
Their revues for Camp Tamiment in Pennsylvania in the early 1950s caught the attention of Sid Caesar, who hired the duo for his popular TV comedy series Your Show of Shows. Simon later incorporated their experiences into his play Laughter on the 23rd Floor. His work won him two Emmy Award nominations and the appreciation of Phil Silvers, who hired him to write for Sergeant Bilko in 1959.
Writing career
In 1961, Simon's first Broadway play, Come Blow Your Horn, opened at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre, where it ran for 678 performances. Six weeks after its closing, his second production, the musical Little Me opened to mixed reviews. Although it failed to attract a large audience, it earned Simon his first Tony Award nomination. Overall, he has garnered seventeen Tony nominations and won three. He also won the 1991 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for Lost In Yonkers.
In 1966 Simon had four shows running on Broadway at the same time: Sweet Charity, The Star-Spangled Girl, The Odd Couple, and Barefoot in the Park. His professional association with producer Emanuel Azenberg began with The Sunshine Boys in 1972 and continued with The Good Doctor, God's Favorite, Chapter Two, They're Playing Our Song, I Ought to Be in Pictures, Brighton Beach Memoirs, Biloxi Blues, Broadway Bound, Jake's Women, The Goodbye Girl, and Laughter on the 23rd Floor, among others.
Simon also has written screenplays for more than twenty films. These include adaptations of his own plays and original work too, including The Out-of-Towners, Murder by Death and The Goodbye Girl. He has received four Best Screenplay Academy Award nominations.
Simon has been conferred with two honoris causa degrees; a Doctor of Humane Letters from Hofstra University and a Doctor of Laws from Williams College. He is the namesake of the legitimate Broadway theater the Neil Simon Theatre, formerly the Alvin Theatre, and an honorary member of the Walnut Street Theatre's board of trustees.
Personal life
Simon has been married five times, to dancer Joan Baim (1953–1973), actress Marsha Mason (1973–1981), twice to Diane Lander (1987–1988 and 1990–1998), and currently actress Elaine Joyce. He is the father of Nancy and Ellen, from his first marriage, and Bryn, Lander's daughter from a previous relationship whom he adopted.
Awards
* 1957 Emmy Award for Your Show of Shows
* 1959 Emmy Award for The Phil Silvers Show
* 1965 Tony Award for Best Author - The Odd Couple
* 1967 Evening Standard Award - Barefoot in the Park
* 1968 Sam S. Shubert Award - Sweet Charity
* 1969 Writers Guild of America Award The Odd Couple
* 1970 Writers Guild of America Award The Last of the Red Hot Lovers
* 1971 Writers Guild of America Award The Out-of-Towners
* 1972 Writers Guild of America Award The Trouble With People
* 1972 Cue Entertainer of the Year Award
* 1975 Special Tony Award for contribution to theatre
* 1975 Writers Guild of America Award The Goodbye Girl
* 1978 Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture Screenplay - The Goodbye Girl
* 1979 Writers Guild of America Award Laurel Award
* 1981 Doctor of Humane Letters from Hofstra University
* 1983 American Theatre Hall of Fame
* 1983 New York Drama Critics Circle Award - Brighton Beach Memoirs
* 1983 Outer Critics Circle Award - Brighton Beach Memoirs
* 1985 Tony Award for Best Play - Biloxi Blues
* 1986 New York State Governor's Award
* 1989 American Comedy Awards Lifetime Achievement
* 1991 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding New Play - Lost in Yonkers
* 1991 Pulitzer Prize for Drama - Lost in Yonkers
* 1991 Tony Award for Best Play - Lost in Yonkers
* 1995 Kennedy Center Honoree
* 1996 William Inge Theatre Festival Distinguished Achievement in the American Theater
* 2006 Mark Twain Prize for American Humor
Work
Plays
* Come Blow Your Horn (1961)
* Little Me (1962)
* Barefoot in the Park (1963)
* The Odd Couple (1965)
* Sweet Charity (1966)
* The Star-Spangled Girl (1966)
* Plaza Suite (1968)
* Promises, Promises (1968)
* The Last of the Red Hot Lovers (1969)
* The Gingerbread Lady (1970)
* The Prisoner of Second Avenue (1971)
* The Sunshine Boys (1972)
* The Good Doctor (1973)
* God's Favorite (1974)
* California Suite (1976)
* Chapter Two (1977)
* They're Playing Our Song (1979)
* I Ought to Be in Pictures (1980)
* Fools (1981)
* Brighton Beach Memoirs (1983)
* Biloxi Blues (1985)
* The Female Odd Couple (1986)
* Broadway Bound (1986)
* Rumors (1988)
* Lost in Yonkers (1991)
* Jake's Women (1992)
* The Goodbye Girl (1993)
* Laughter on the 23rd Floor (1993)
* London Suite (1995)
* Proposals (1997)
* The Dinner Party (2000)
* 45 Seconds from Broadway (2001)
* Rose's Dilemma (2003)
* Oscar and Felix: A New Look at the Odd Couple (2004)
Screenplays
* 1963: Come Blow Your Horn - Director: Bud Yorkin, screenplay by Norman Lear with Frank Sinatra and Lee J. Cobb
* 1966: After the Fox - Director: Vittorio DeSica with Peter Sellers and Victor Mature
* 1967: Barefoot in the Park - Director: Gene Saks with Robert Redford and Jane Fonda
* 1968: The Odd Couple - Director: Gene Saks with Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau
* 1969: Sweet Charity - Director: Bob Fosse with Shirley MacLaine, Chita Rivera and Sammy Davis Jr.
* 1970: The Out-of-Towners - Director: Arthur Hiller with Jack Lemmon
* 1971: Plaza Suite - Director: Arthur Hiller with Walter Matthau
* 1972: The Last of the Red Hot Lovers - Director: Gene Saks with Alan Arkin
* 1972: The Heartbreak Kid - Director: Elaine May with Cybill Shepard and Charles Grodin
* 1975: The Prisoner of Second Avenue - Director: Melvin Frank with Jack Lemmon and Anne Bancroft
* 1975: The Sunshine Boys - Director: Herbert Ross with Walter Matthau and George Burns
* 1976: Murder by Death - Director: Robert Moore with Truman Capote, Peter Falk, Alec Guinness, David Niven and Peter Sellers
* 1977: The Goodbye Girl - Director: Herbert Ross with Richard Dreyfuss and Marsha Mason
* 1978: The Cheap Detective - Director: Robert Moore with Peter Falk, Louise Fletcher, Stockard Channing, Madeline Kahn, John Houseman, Nicol Williamson and Eileen Brennan
* 1978: California Suite - Director: Herbert Ross with Jane Fonda, Alan Alda, Maggie Smith, Michael Caine, Walter Matthau, Richard Pryor and Bill Cosby
* 1978: The Good Doctor - PBS - Director: Jack O'Brien with Edward Asner, Richard Chamberlain, Bob Dishy, Gary Dontzig, Lee Grant, and Marsha Mason
* 1979: Chapter Two - Director: Robert Moore with James Caan and Marsha Mason
* 1980: Seems Like Old Times - Director: Jay Sandrich with Goldie Hawn and Chevy Chase
* 1981: Only When I Laugh - Director: Glenn Jordan with Marsha Mason, Joan Hackett, James Coco and Kristy McNichol
* 1982: I Ought to Be in Pictures - Director: Herbert Ross with Walter Matthau, Ann-Margret and Dinah Manoff
* 1983: Max Dugan Returns - Director: Herbert Ross with Matthew Broderick, Marsha Mason, Jason Robards, Kiefer Sutherland and Donald Sutherland
* 1984: The Lonely Guy - Director: Arthur Hiller with Steve Martin
* 1985: The Slugger's Wife - Director: Hal Ashby with Michael O'Keefe and Rebecca De Mornay
* 1986: Brighton Beach Memoirs - Director: Gene Saks with Jonathan Silverman and David Margulies
* 1987: Plaza Suite - Director: Robert Beatty and Kenny Solms with Carol Burnett, Richard Crenna, Dabney Coleman, and Hal Holbrook for ABC
* 1988: Biloxi Blues - Director: Mike Nichols with Matthew Broderick and Christopher Walken
* 1991: The Marrying Man - Director: Jerry Rees with Kim Basinger and Alec Baldwin
* 1993: Lost in Yonkers - Director: Martha Coolidge with Richard Dreyfuss
* 1995: The Sunshine Boys - Director: John Erman with Woody Allen and Peter Falk
* 1996: Jake's Women - Director: Glenn Jordan with Alan Alda, Anne Archer, Lolita Davidovich, Julie Kavner, Mira Sorvino, Joyce Van Patten, and Kimberly Williams-Paisley for CBS
* 1996: London Suite - Director: Jay Sandrich with Kelsey Grammer, Patricia Clarkson, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jonathan Silverman, Madeline Kahn, Michael Richards, Julie Hagerty, Richard Mulligan, Kristen Johnston, Jane Carr, Paxton Whitheead, and William Franklyn for NBC
* 1998: The Odd Couple II - Director: Howard Deutch with Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau
* 2001: Laughter on the 23rd Floor - Director: Richard Benjamin with Nathan Lane, Mark Linn-Baker, Saul Rubinek, Dan Castellaneta, Richard Portnow, Kristi Angus, Ardon Bess, Victor Garber, Philip Craig, among many others for Showtime
* 2004: The Goodbye Girl with Patricia Heaton and Jeff Daniels for Turner Network Television
http://i367.photobucket.com/albums/oo120/chandlerray/Wheel/Neil_Simon_NYWTS.jpg
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh186/placesnow/NeilSimon.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 07/04/10 at 6:34 am
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhuMLpdnOjY
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 07/04/10 at 6:35 am
The person who died on this day...Barry White
Barry White (September 12, 1944(1944-09-12) – July 4, 2003) was an American record producer and singer-songwriter.
A five-time Grammy Award-winner known for his rich bass voice and romantic image, White's greatest success came in the 1970s as a solo singer and with his Love Unlimited Orchestra, crafting many enduring hit soul, funk, and disco songs. Worldwide, White had many gold and platinum albums and singles, with combined sales of over 100 million, according to critics Ed Hogan and Wade Kergan
White was born Barrence Eugene Carter in Galveston, Texas and grew up in the high-crime areas of South Central Los Angeles. At 17, he was jailed for four months for stealing $30,000 worth of Cadillac tires.
While in prison, White listened to Elvis Presley singing "It's Now or Never" on the radio, an experience he later credited with changing the course of his life. After his release, he left gang life and began a musical career at the dawn of the 1960s in singing groups before going out on his own in the middle of the decade.
The marginal success he had to that point was as a songwriter; his songs were recorded by rock singer Bobby Fuller and TV bubblegum act The Banana Splits. He was also responsible in 1963 for arranging "Harlem Shuffle" for Bob & Earl, which became a hit in the UK in 1969. He discovered disco artists, Viola Wills and Felice Taylor in 1965 and signed them to Mustang/Bronco Records, for which he was working as A&R manager. In addition, at age 11, he played piano on Jesse Belvin's big hit Goodnight My Love.
Success
In 1972, he got his big break producing a girl group he had discovered called Love Unlimited. His best friend, music industry businessman Larry Nunes helped to finance this major start to his recording career. Larry Nunes took the record to Russ Regan, who was the head of the Uni label owned by MCA. Love Unlimited's From a Girl's Point of View became a million-seller. Soon after, Regan left Uni for 20th Century Records. Without Regan, White's relationship with Uni soured. With his relationship with Uni in chaos and Love Unlimited contract-bound with the label, White decided he needed to work with another act. He wanted to work with a male artist. He made three song demos of himself singing and playing the piano. Nunes heard them and insisted that he re-record and release them as a recording artist. They argued for days about it. Then he somehow convinced White to do it. White was still hesitating up to the time the label copy was made. He was going to use the name "White Heat," but the record became the first Barry White album. That first album was 1973's I've Got So Much to Give on 20th Century Records. It included the title track and "I'm Gonna Love You Just a Little More Baby." He made Barry his protégé, forming a production company with White and guiding him to fame. Formed in imitation of the legendary Motown girl group The Supremes, the group members had gradually honed their talents with White for two years until they signed contracts with Uni Records.
White produced, wrote and arranged the classic soul ballad, "Walking in the Rain (With The One I Love)", which climbed to #14 in the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart and #6 on the R&B chart. After the first album, White switched his production deal and the group to 20th Century Records where they recorded several other hits throughout the 1970s. These included "I Belong To You" which spent over five months on the R&B chart in 1974 including a week at #1. White married the lead singer of the group, Glodean James, on July 4, 1974.
While working on a few demos for a male singer, White was persuaded to release the songs on himself although he was initially reluctant to step out in front of the microphone. His first solo chart hit, 1973's "I'm Gonna Love You Just a Little More Baby", rose to #1 R&B and #3 Pop. Then the Love Unlimited Orchestra's recording of White's composition "Love's Theme" reached #1 Pop in 1974, one of only a handful of instrumental recordings ever to do so. Some regard "Love's Theme" as the first disco hit ever, although Nino Tempo's "Sister James" had already reached the Hot 100 a few months before.
Other chart hits by White include "Never, Never Gonna Give You Up" (#2 R&B, #7 Pop in 1973), "Can't Get Enough of Your Love, Babe" (# 1 Pop and R&B in 1974), "You're the First, the Last, My Everything" (#1 R&B, #2 Pop in 1974), "What Am I Gonna Do with You" (#1 R&B, #8 Pop in 1975), "Let the Music Play" (#4 R&B in 1976), "It's Ecstasy When You Lay Down Next to Me" (#1 R&B, #4 Pop in 1977) and "Your Sweetness is My Weakness" (#2 R&B in 1978). White also had a strong following in the UK where he scored five Top 10 hits and one Number 1 ("You're The First").
White left 20th Century in 1979 to launch his own label, Unlimited Gold with the major, CBS/Columbia. Despite several albums over the next three years, he failed to repeat his earlier success with no single managing to reach the Hot 100 and only one, "Change" in 1982 climbing into the R&B Top 20 (#12). His label venture cost White dearly and he concentrated on touring before finally signing a recording deal with A&M in 1987. It was several more years before he returned to the top of the charts with "Put Me In Your Mix" (#2 R&B) in 1991 and "Practice What You Preach" (#1 R&B, #18 Pop) in 1994. He also took part in a Quincy Jones' record, "The Secret Garden" which topped the R&B chart in 1990.
Considered handsome and deeply romantic by his many female fans and admired for the unique blend of soul and classical orchestral musical elements he created, White was often affectionately referred to as the "Maestro", "The Man with the Velvet Voice", or more irreverently "The Walrus of Love". Barry White was referred to as "The Sultan of Smooth Soul," but it was his role as brainchild of the funk-fueled, deep soul band, the Love Unlimited Orchestra, in which he was widely branded on several early albums as the group's Maestro, earning him the only documented nickname for which he and his musical colleagues were responsible.
Comebacks
Although White's success on the pop charts slowed down as the disco era came to an end, he maintained a loyal following throughout his career. In the 1990s, he mounted an effective comeback with several albums including The Icon Is Love (1994), which had the hit, "Practice What You Preach". In 1996, White recorded "In Your Wildest Dreams" with rock icon Tina Turner. Staying Power (1999) won two Grammy Awards. In addition, his music was often featured on the comedy-drama TV series Ally McBeal and he appeared on the show twice.
Death
White had been ill with chronically high blood pressure for some time, which resulted in kidney failure in the autumn of 2002. He suffered a stroke in May 2003, after which he was forced to retire from public life. On July 4, 2003, he died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles after suffering from renal failure. White was cremated, and his ashes were scattered by his family off the California coast.
On September 20, 2004, he was posthumously inducted into the Dance Music Hall of Fame at a ceremony held in New York.
Musical style
White's recordings featured a distinctive sound that combined symphonic orchestral instrumentation (string section, woodwinds, horns, harpsichords, etc.) with a steady drumbeat and as many as five electric guitars. His arrangements were influential to the emerging sound of disco music in the early 1970s.
A distinctive feature of White's music were the steamy spoken introductions and interludes that appeared in many of his songs. Perhaps the most notorious of these appeared in the track "Love Serenade (Part 1)," from his 1975 album Just Another Way to Say I Love You which included:
“ Take it off. . . Baby, take it all off . . . I want you the way you came into the world . . . I don't wanna feel no clothes . . . I don't wanna see no panties . . . and take off that brassiere, my dear . . . Everybody's gone . . . we're gonna take the receiver off the phone . . . because, baby, you and me—heh . . . this night, we're gonna get it on . . . .to Love's Serenade" â€
Acting
Over the course of his career White occasionally did work as a voice actor. He voiced the character Bear in the 1975 film Coonskin (and also played the character Sampson in the movie's live-action segments). He was featured in three episodes of The Simpsons: "Whacking Day" in which he used his deep bass voice played through speakers placed on the ground to attract snakes, and a cameo appearance in "Krusty Gets Kancelled". He played the role of a bus driver for a Prodigy commercial in 1995. He also did the voice of a rabbit in a Good Seasons salad dressing mix commercial, singing a song called "You Can't Bottle Love." In addition, he did some car commercials, most famously for Oldsmobile, and later on, Jeep. He made guest appearances in the show Ally McBeal.
Discography
Main article: Barry White discography
http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n67/chris19344/Barry_White.jpg
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d69/kstokes/barry_white.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 07/04/10 at 6:37 am
George M. Cohan "Yankee Doodle Dandy", the American entertainer, playwright, composer, lyricist, actor, singer, dancer and producer, was born on the July 3rd, not on July 4th, as in the song............... ?
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 07/04/10 at 6:38 am
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhuMLpdnOjY
Good poison those damn pigeons ;D
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 07/04/10 at 6:41 am
George M. Cohan "Yankee Doodle Dandy", the American entertainer, playwright, composer, lyricist, actor, singer, dancer and producer, was born on the July 3rd, not on July 4th, as in the song............... ?
I found this:
Cohan's baptismal certificate -- which is his only written birth record -- verifies that he was born in Providence, Rhode Island on July 3rd, 1878. However, Cohan's family unfailingly insisted that George and his country shared birthdays on the 4th. Although noted for their honesty, the Cohans certainly would have found it hard to resist the publicity value of a performer being "born on the Fourth of July." While it may seem silly to begrudge a dead man a charming piece of his legend, odds are that he was actually born on the 3rd.
What people wont do for show business :-\\
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 07/04/10 at 6:44 am
Good poison those damn pigeons ;D
I could do with some here!
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 07/04/10 at 7:21 am
Sweetness Is My Weakness is one of my favorites from Barry White.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 07/04/10 at 7:22 am
The word of the day...Park
A park is a protected area, in its natural or semi-natural state, or planted, and set aside for human recreation and enjoyment, or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. It may consist of rocks, soil, water, flora and fauna and grass areas.
Wilderness parks are intact and undeveloped areas used mainly by wild species. Many parks are legally protected by law.
Protected wilderness zones are required for some wild species to survive. Some protected parks focus mainly on the survival of a few threatened species, such as gorillas or chimpanzees.
http://i536.photobucket.com/albums/ff324/aaronjmatteson/Cherry%20Picking/Park.jpg
http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk202/shubhd/Usa4/DSCN0635.jpg
http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e362/spankypuff/SpringfieldPark057.jpg
http://i365.photobucket.com/albums/oo98/bsegna/rimrock-park-apts.jpg
http://i536.photobucket.com/albums/ff326/wilkinscourtney/Carkeek%20park%202-16-09/IMGP0937.jpg
http://i764.photobucket.com/albums/xx283/jsprong/IsaacHugs.jpg
http://i911.photobucket.com/albums/ac315/ebaythebeth/brewers/miller.jpg
http://i984.photobucket.com/albums/ae326/harrykpedersen/DSC00770.jpg
http://i889.photobucket.com/albums/ac97/DivineHammer67/GARDEN.jpg
Rock Creek Park - Blackbyrds.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 07/04/10 at 7:26 am
The person who died on this day...Barry White
Barry White (September 12, 1944(1944-09-12) – July 4, 2003) was an American record producer and singer-songwriter.
A five-time Grammy Award-winner known for his rich bass voice and romantic image, White's greatest success came in the 1970s as a solo singer and with his Love Unlimited Orchestra, crafting many enduring hit soul, funk, and disco songs. Worldwide, White had many gold and platinum albums and singles, with combined sales of over 100 million, according to critics Ed Hogan and Wade Kergan
White was born Barrence Eugene Carter in Galveston, Texas and grew up in the high-crime areas of South Central Los Angeles. At 17, he was jailed for four months for stealing $30,000 worth of Cadillac tires.
While in prison, White listened to Elvis Presley singing "It's Now or Never" on the radio, an experience he later credited with changing the course of his life. After his release, he left gang life and began a musical career at the dawn of the 1960s in singing groups before going out on his own in the middle of the decade.
The marginal success he had to that point was as a songwriter; his songs were recorded by rock singer Bobby Fuller and TV bubblegum act The Banana Splits. He was also responsible in 1963 for arranging "Harlem Shuffle" for Bob & Earl, which became a hit in the UK in 1969. He discovered disco artists, Viola Wills and Felice Taylor in 1965 and signed them to Mustang/Bronco Records, for which he was working as A&R manager. In addition, at age 11, he played piano on Jesse Belvin's big hit Goodnight My Love.
Success
In 1972, he got his big break producing a girl group he had discovered called Love Unlimited. His best friend, music industry businessman Larry Nunes helped to finance this major start to his recording career. Larry Nunes took the record to Russ Regan, who was the head of the Uni label owned by MCA. Love Unlimited's From a Girl's Point of View became a million-seller. Soon after, Regan left Uni for 20th Century Records. Without Regan, White's relationship with Uni soured. With his relationship with Uni in chaos and Love Unlimited contract-bound with the label, White decided he needed to work with another act. He wanted to work with a male artist. He made three song demos of himself singing and playing the piano. Nunes heard them and insisted that he re-record and release them as a recording artist. They argued for days about it. Then he somehow convinced White to do it. White was still hesitating up to the time the label copy was made. He was going to use the name "White Heat," but the record became the first Barry White album. That first album was 1973's I've Got So Much to Give on 20th Century Records. It included the title track and "I'm Gonna Love You Just a Little More Baby." He made Barry his protégé, forming a production company with White and guiding him to fame. Formed in imitation of the legendary Motown girl group The Supremes, the group members had gradually honed their talents with White for two years until they signed contracts with Uni Records.
White produced, wrote and arranged the classic soul ballad, "Walking in the Rain (With The One I Love)", which climbed to #14 in the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart and #6 on the R&B chart. After the first album, White switched his production deal and the group to 20th Century Records where they recorded several other hits throughout the 1970s. These included "I Belong To You" which spent over five months on the R&B chart in 1974 including a week at #1. White married the lead singer of the group, Glodean James, on July 4, 1974.
While working on a few demos for a male singer, White was persuaded to release the songs on himself although he was initially reluctant to step out in front of the microphone. His first solo chart hit, 1973's "I'm Gonna Love You Just a Little More Baby", rose to #1 R&B and #3 Pop. Then the Love Unlimited Orchestra's recording of White's composition "Love's Theme" reached #1 Pop in 1974, one of only a handful of instrumental recordings ever to do so. Some regard "Love's Theme" as the first disco hit ever, although Nino Tempo's "Sister James" had already reached the Hot 100 a few months before.
Other chart hits by White include "Never, Never Gonna Give You Up" (#2 R&B, #7 Pop in 1973), "Can't Get Enough of Your Love, Babe" (# 1 Pop and R&B in 1974), "You're the First, the Last, My Everything" (#1 R&B, #2 Pop in 1974), "What Am I Gonna Do with You" (#1 R&B, #8 Pop in 1975), "Let the Music Play" (#4 R&B in 1976), "It's Ecstasy When You Lay Down Next to Me" (#1 R&B, #4 Pop in 1977) and "Your Sweetness is My Weakness" (#2 R&B in 1978). White also had a strong following in the UK where he scored five Top 10 hits and one Number 1 ("You're The First").
White left 20th Century in 1979 to launch his own label, Unlimited Gold with the major, CBS/Columbia. Despite several albums over the next three years, he failed to repeat his earlier success with no single managing to reach the Hot 100 and only one, "Change" in 1982 climbing into the R&B Top 20 (#12). His label venture cost White dearly and he concentrated on touring before finally signing a recording deal with A&M in 1987. It was several more years before he returned to the top of the charts with "Put Me In Your Mix" (#2 R&B) in 1991 and "Practice What You Preach" (#1 R&B, #18 Pop) in 1994. He also took part in a Quincy Jones' record, "The Secret Garden" which topped the R&B chart in 1990.
Considered handsome and deeply romantic by his many female fans and admired for the unique blend of soul and classical orchestral musical elements he created, White was often affectionately referred to as the "Maestro", "The Man with the Velvet Voice", or more irreverently "The Walrus of Love". Barry White was referred to as "The Sultan of Smooth Soul," but it was his role as brainchild of the funk-fueled, deep soul band, the Love Unlimited Orchestra, in which he was widely branded on several early albums as the group's Maestro, earning him the only documented nickname for which he and his musical colleagues were responsible.
Comebacks
Although White's success on the pop charts slowed down as the disco era came to an end, he maintained a loyal following throughout his career. In the 1990s, he mounted an effective comeback with several albums including The Icon Is Love (1994), which had the hit, "Practice What You Preach". In 1996, White recorded "In Your Wildest Dreams" with rock icon Tina Turner. Staying Power (1999) won two Grammy Awards. In addition, his music was often featured on the comedy-drama TV series Ally McBeal and he appeared on the show twice.
Death
White had been ill with chronically high blood pressure for some time, which resulted in kidney failure in the autumn of 2002. He suffered a stroke in May 2003, after which he was forced to retire from public life. On July 4, 2003, he died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles after suffering from renal failure. White was cremated, and his ashes were scattered by his family off the California coast.
On September 20, 2004, he was posthumously inducted into the Dance Music Hall of Fame at a ceremony held in New York.
Musical style
White's recordings featured a distinctive sound that combined symphonic orchestral instrumentation (string section, woodwinds, horns, harpsichords, etc.) with a steady drumbeat and as many as five electric guitars. His arrangements were influential to the emerging sound of disco music in the early 1970s.
A distinctive feature of White's music were the steamy spoken introductions and interludes that appeared in many of his songs. Perhaps the most notorious of these appeared in the track "Love Serenade (Part 1)," from his 1975 album Just Another Way to Say I Love You which included:
“ Take it off. . . Baby, take it all off . . . I want you the way you came into the world . . . I don't wanna feel no clothes . . . I don't wanna see no panties . . . and take off that brassiere, my dear . . . Everybody's gone . . . we're gonna take the receiver off the phone . . . because, baby, you and me—heh . . . this night, we're gonna get it on . . . .to Love's Serenade" â€
Acting
Over the course of his career White occasionally did work as a voice actor. He voiced the character Bear in the 1975 film Coonskin (and also played the character Sampson in the movie's live-action segments). He was featured in three episodes of The Simpsons: "Whacking Day" in which he used his deep bass voice played through speakers placed on the ground to attract snakes, and a cameo appearance in "Krusty Gets Kancelled". He played the role of a bus driver for a Prodigy commercial in 1995. He also did the voice of a rabbit in a Good Seasons salad dressing mix commercial, singing a song called "You Can't Bottle Love." In addition, he did some car commercials, most famously for Oldsmobile, and later on, Jeep. He made guest appearances in the show Ally McBeal.
Discography
Main article: Barry White discography
http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n67/chris19344/Barry_White.jpg
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d69/kstokes/barry_white.jpg
A greatly missed singer.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 07/04/10 at 7:26 am
A greatly missed singer.
7 years already. :(
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 07/04/10 at 7:27 am
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCYbuj60aiA
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 07/04/10 at 7:27 am
7 years already. :(
7 years, I do not believe it!
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 07/04/10 at 7:29 am
7 years, I do not believe it!
Me neither. :(
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 07/04/10 at 7:33 am
Me neither. :(
I can remember hearing being announced on the radio, just seconds after the offical announcement.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 07/04/10 at 7:34 am
I can remember hearing being announced on the radio, just seconds after the offical announcement.
I was on the bus coming home from somewhere.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 07/04/10 at 7:37 am
I was on the bus coming home from somewhere.
In 2003, I was another meesageboard (before I came here) and I was one of the first to put it online there.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 07/04/10 at 7:39 am
In 2003, I was another meesageboard (before I came here) and I was one of the first to put it online there.
I was on here at that time.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 07/04/10 at 7:45 am
I was on here at that time.
Before the big crash of April 2004?
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 07/04/10 at 7:46 am
Before the big crash of April 2004?
Yes I was.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 07/04/10 at 7:47 am
Yes I was.
I joined just after.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 07/04/10 at 7:47 am
I joined just after.
I was on 2 years earlier.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 07/04/10 at 8:34 am
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCYbuj60aiA
I love this song :)
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 07/04/10 at 8:35 am
A greatly missed singer.
He had a unique voice.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 07/04/10 at 10:50 am
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHS8hj4TdT8
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 07/04/10 at 1:38 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHS8hj4TdT8
I remember when I first heard the song I thought it was odd, but I rather like the song now. :)
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 07/04/10 at 1:40 pm
I remember when I first heard the song I thought it was odd, but I rather like the song now. :)
I love the song too, and not to keen on the Donna Summer version.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 07/04/10 at 6:47 pm
I love the song too, and not to keen on the Donna Summer version.
I thought The Donna Summer version was nice.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 07/05/10 at 6:47 am
The word of the day...Soap
# a cleansing agent made from the salts of vegetable or animal fats
# money offered as a bribe
# rub soap all over, usually with the purpose of cleaning
# street names for gamma hydroxybutyrate
http://i330.photobucket.com/albums/l422/Electrogirl68/Soap/DSCN0469.jpg
http://i866.photobucket.com/albums/ab221/destiandani/zamian_soap-300x300.jpg
http://i424.photobucket.com/albums/pp328/lindaluf/DSCN2861.jpg
http://i936.photobucket.com/albums/ad205/luongquan2610/soap%20bar/29062010162.jpg
http://i620.photobucket.com/albums/tt285/Batistafan_album/Soap%20Operas/bizzieuu.jpg
http://i642.photobucket.com/albums/uu147/shellytan87/rosepetal.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 07/05/10 at 6:50 am
http://www.getincensed.com/wp-content/uploads/3_hueylewis.jpg
Happy Birthday Huey Lewis,He is 59. :)