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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: Philip Eno on 01/09/11 at 8:47 am
The person of the day...Richard Nixon
ichard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913 – April 22, 1994) was the 37th President of the United States from 1969 to 1974, having formerly been the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961. A member of the Republican Party, he was the only President to resign the office as well as the only person to be elected twice to both the Presidency and the Vice Presidency.
Nixon was born in Yorba Linda, California. After completing his undergraduate work at Whittier College, he graduated from Duke University School of Law in 1937 and returned to California to practice law in La Habra. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, he joined the United States Navy, serving in the Pacific theater, and rose to the rank of Lieutenant Commander during World War II. He was elected in 1946 as a Republican to the House of Representatives representing California's 12th Congressional district, and in 1950 to the United States Senate. He was selected to be the running mate of Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Republican Party nominee, in the 1952 Presidential election, becoming one of the youngest Vice Presidents in history. He waged an unsuccessful presidential campaign in 1960, narrowly losing to John F. Kennedy, and an unsuccessful campaign for Governor of California in 1962; following these losses, Nixon announced his withdrawal from political life. In 1968, however, he ran again for president of the United States and was elected.
The most immediate task facing President Nixon was a resolution of the Vietnam War. He initially escalated the conflict, overseeing incursions into neighboring countries, though American military personnel were gradually withdrawn and he successfully negotiated a ceasefire with North Vietnam in 1973, effectively ending American involvement in the war. His foreign policy initiatives were largely successful: his groundbreaking visit to the People's Republic of China in 1972 opened diplomatic relations between the two nations, and he initiated détente and the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty with the Soviet Union. On the domestic front, he implemented the concept of New Federalism, transferring power from the federal government to the states; new economic policies which called for wage and price control and the abolition of the gold standard; sweeping environmental reforms, including the Clean Air Act and creation of the EPA; the launch of the War on Cancer and War on Drugs; reforms empowering women, including Title IX; and the desegregation of schools in the deep South. He was reelected by a landslide in 1972. He continued many reforms in his second term, though the nation was afflicted with an energy crisis. In the face of likely impeachment for his role in the Watergate scandal, Nixon resigned on August 9, 1974. He was later pardoned by his successor, Gerald Ford, for any federal crimes he may have committed while in office.
In his retirement, Nixon became a prolific author and undertook many foreign trips. His work as an elder statesman helped to rehabilitate his public image. He suffered a debilitating stroke on April 18, 1994, and died four days later at the age of 81.
Nixon was inaugurated on January 20, 1969. Pat Nixon held the family Bibles open to Isaiah 2:4, reading, "They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks." In his inaugural address, which received almost uniformly positive reviews, Nixon remarked that "the greatest honor history can bestow is the title of peacemaker." He spoke about turning partisan politics into a new age of unity:
In these difficult years, America has suffered from a fever of words; from inflated rhetoric that promises more than it can deliver; from angry rhetoric that fans discontents into hatreds; from bombastic rhetoric that postures instead of persuading. We cannot learn from one another until we stop shouting at one another, until we speak quietly enough so that our words can be heard as well as our voices.
Nixon set out to reconstruct the Western Alliance, develop a relationship with China, pursue arms control agreements with the Soviet Union, activate a peace process in the Middle East, restrain inflation, implement anti-crime measures, accelerate desegregation, and reform welfare. The most immediate task, however, was the Vietnam War.
The Nixon Cabinet
Office Name Term
President Richard Nixon 1969–1974
Vice President Spiro Agnew 1969–1973
Gerald Ford 1973–1974
Secretary of State William P. Rogers 1969–1973
Henry Kissinger 1973–1974
Secretary of Treasury David M. Kennedy 1969–1971
John Connally 1971–1972
George Shultz 1972–1974
William Simon 1974
Secretary of Defense Melvin R. Laird 1969–1973
Elliot Richardson 1973
James Schlesinger 1973–1974
Attorney General John N. Mitchell 1969–1972
Richard Kleindienst 1972–1973
Elliot Richardson 1973
William B. Saxbe 1974
Postmaster General Winton M. Blount 1969–1971
Secretary of the Interior Walter Joseph Hickel 1969–1971
Rogers Morton 1971–1974
Secretary of Agriculture Clifford M. Hardin 1969–1971
Earl Butz 1971–1974
Secretary of Commerce Maurice Stans 1969–1972
Peter Peterson 1972–1973
Frederick B. Dent 1973–1974
Secretary of Labor George Shultz 1969–1970
James D. Hodgson 1970–1973
Peter J. Brennan 1973–1974
Secretary of Health,
Education, and Welfare Robert Finch 1969–1970
Elliot Richardson 1970–1973
Caspar Weinberger 1973–1974
Secretary of Housing and
Urban Development George W. Romney 1969–1973
James Thomas Lynn 1973–1974
Secretary of Transportation John A. Volpe 1969–1973
Claude Brinegar 1973–1974
Richard Nixon with French president Georges Pompidou in Reykjavík, Iceland, 31 May 1973.
Vietnam War
Main articles: Vietnam War and Role of United States in the Vietnam War
When Nixon took office, 300 American soldiers were dying per week in Vietnam. The Johnson administration had negotiated a deal in which the U.S. would suspend bombing in North Vietnam in exchange for unconditional negotiations, but this faltered. Nixon faced the choice of devising a new policy to chance securing South Vietnam as a non-communist state, or withdrawing American forces completely.
Nixon approved a secret bombing campaign of North Vietnamese positions in Cambodia in March 1969 (code-named Operation Menu) to destroy what was believed to be the headquarters of the National Front for the Liberation of Vietnam. The Air Force considered the bombings a success. He then proposed simultaneous substantial withdrawals of North Vietnamese and American forces from South Vietnam one year after reaching a mutual agreement. In June 1969, in a campaign fulfillment, Nixon reduced troop strength in Vietnam by 25,000 soldiers, who returned home to the United States. From 1969 to 1972 troop reduction in Vietnam was estimated to be 405,000 soldiers.
In July 1969, the Nixons visited South Vietnam, where President Nixon met with his U.S. military commanders and President Nguyen Van Thieu. Amid protests at home, he implemented what became known as the Nixon Doctrine, a strategy of replacing American troops with Vietnamese troops, also called "Vietnamization". He soon enacted phased U.S. troop withdrawals but authorized incursions into Laos, in part to interrupt the Ho Chi Minh trail that passed through Laos and Cambodia. Nixon's 1968 campaign promise to curb the war and his subsequent Laos bombing raised questions in the press about a "credibility gap", similar to that encountered earlier in the war by Lyndon B. Johnson. In a televised speech on April 30, 1970, Nixon announced the incursion of U.S. troops into Cambodia to disrupt so-called North Vietnamese sanctuaries. This led to protest and student strikes that temporarily closed 536 universities, colleges, and high schools.
Nixon formed the Gates Commission to look into ending the military service draft, implemented under President Johnson. The Gates Commission issued its report in February 1970, describing how adequate military strength could be maintained without conscription. The draft was extended to June 1973, and then ended. Military pay was increased as an incentive to attract volunteers, and television advertising for the United States Army began for the first time.
In December 1972, though concerned about the level of civilian casualties, Nixon approved Linebacker II, the codename for aerial bombings of military and industrial targets in North Vietnam. After years of fighting, the Paris Peace Accords were signed in 1973. The treaty, however, made no provision that 145,000–160,000 North Vietnam Army regulars located in the Central Highlands and other areas of S. Vietnam had to withdraw. Under President Nixon, American involvement in the war steadily declined from a troop strength of 543,000 to zero in 1973. Once American support was diminished, in 1975, North Vietnam was able to conquer South Vietnam and formed one country.
Economy
Main article: Nixon Shock
Under Nixon, direct payments from the federal government to individual American citizens in government benefits (including Social Security and Medicare) rose from 6.3% of the Gross National Product (GNP) to 8.9%. Food aid and public assistance also rose, beginning at $6.6 billion and escalating to $9.1 billion. Defense spending decreased from 9.1% to 5.8% of the GNP. The revenue sharing program pioneered by Nixon delivered $80 billion to individual states and municipalities.
In 1970, the Democratic Congress passed the Economic Stabilization Act, giving Nixon power to set wages and prices; Congress did not believe the president would use the new controls and felt this would make him appear to be indecisive. While opposed to permanent wage and price controls, Nixon imposed the controls on a temporary basis in a 90 day wage and price freeze. The controls (enforced for large corporations, voluntary for others) were the largest since World War II; they were relaxed after the initial 90 days. Nixon then spoke to the American public, saying that by "Working together, we will break the back of inflation."
A Pay Board set wage controls limiting increases to 5.5% per year, and the Price Commission set a 2.5% annual limit on price increases. The limits did help to control wages, but not inflation. Overall, however, the controls were viewed as successful in the short term and were popular with the public, who felt Nixon was rescuing them from price-gougers and from a foreign-caused exchange crisis.
Nixon was worried about the effects of increasing inflation and accelerating unemployment, so he indexed Social Security for inflation, and created Supplemental Security Income (SSI). In 1969, he had presented the only balanced budget between 1961 and 1998. However, despite speeches declaring an opposition to the idea, he decided to offer Congress a budget with deficit spending to reduce unemployment and declared, "Now I am a Keynesian".
Nixon in the Oval Office
Another large part of Nixon's plan was the detachment of the dollar from the gold standard. By the time Nixon took office, U.S. gold reserves had declined from $25 billion to $10.5 billion. Gold was an underpriced commodity, as the dollar was overpriced as a currency. The United States was on the verge of running its first trade deficit in over 75 years. The price of gold had been set at $35 an ounce since the days of Franklin Roosevelt's presidency; foreign countries acquired more dollar reserves, outnumbering the entire amount of gold the United States possessed. Nixon completely eradicated the gold standard, preventing other countries from being able to claim gold in exchange for their dollar reserves, but also weakening the exchange rate of the dollar against other currencies and increasing inflation by driving up the cost of imports. Nixon felt that the dollar should float freely like other currencies. Said Nixon in his speech:
"The American dollar must never again be a hostage in the hands of international speculators.... Government... does not hold the key to the success of a people. That key... is in your hands. Every action I have taken tonight is designed to nurture and stimulate that competitive spirit to help us snap out of self-doubt, the self-disparagement that saps our energy and erodes our confidence in ourselves... Whether the nation stays Number One depends on your competitive spirit, your sense of personal destiny, your pride in your country and yourself."
Other parts of the Nixon plan included the reimposition of a 10% investment tax credit, assistance to the automobile industry in the form of removal of excise taxes (provided the savings were passed directly to the consumer), an end to fixed exchange rates, devaluation of the dollar on the free market, and a 10% tax on all imports into the U.S. Income per family rose, and unionization declined.
Nixon wanted to lift the spirits of the country as polls showed increasing concern about the economy. His program was viewed by nearly everyone as exceptionally bold, and astounded the Democrats. Nixon soon experienced a bounce in the polls. His economic program was determined to be a clear success by December 1971. One of Nixon's economic advisers, Herbert Stein, wrote: "Probably more new regulation was imposed on the economy during the Nixon administration than in any other presidency since the New Deal."
Initiatives within the federal government
Noam Chomsky remarked that, in many respects, Nixon was "the last liberal president." Indeed, Nixon believed in using government wisely to benefit all and supported the idea of practical liberalism.
Nixon initiated the Environmental Decade by signing the National Environmental Policy Act, the Clean Air Act of 1970 and the Federal Water Pollution Control Act amendments of 1972, as well as establishing many government agencies. These included the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and the Council on Environmental Quality. The Clean Air Act was noted as one of the most significant pieces of environmental legislation ever signed.
In 1971, Nixon proposed the creation of four new government departments superseding the current structure: departments organized for the goal of efficient and effective public service as opposed to the thematic bases of Commerce, Labor, Transportation, Agriculture, et al. Departments including the State, Treasury, Defense, and Justice would remain under this proposal. He reorganized the Post Office Department from a cabinet department to a government-owned corporation: the U.S. Postal Service.
On June 17, 1971, Nixon formally declared the U.S. War on Drugs.
On October 30, 1972 Nixon signed into law the Social Security Amendments of 1972 which included the creation of the Supplemental Security Income Program, a Federal Welfare Program still in existence today.
Nixon cut billions of dollars in federal spending and expanded the power of the Office of Management and Budget. He established the Consumer Product Safety Commission in 1972 and supported the Legacy of parks program, which transferred ownership of federally owned land to the states, resulting in the establishment of state parks and beaches, recreational areas, and environmental education centers.
Civil rights
The Nixon years witnessed the first large-scale integration of public schools in the South. Strategically, Nixon sought a middle way between the segregationist George C. Wallace and liberal Democrats, whose support of integration was alienating some Southern white Democrats. He was determined to implement exactly what the courts had ordered— desegregation — but did not favor busing children, in the words of author Conrad Black, "all over the country to satisfy the capricious meddling of judges." Nixon, a Quaker, felt that racism was the greatest moral failure of the United States and concentrated on the principle that the law must be color-blind: "I am convinced that while legal segregation is totally wrong, forced integration of housing or education is just as wrong."
Nixon tied desegregation to improving the quality of education and enforced the law after the Supreme Court, in Alexander v. Holmes County Board of Education (1969), prohibited further delays. By the fall of 1970, two million southern black children had enrolled in newly created unitary fully integrated school districts; only 18% of Southern black children were still attending all-black schools, a decrease from 70% when Nixon came to office. Nixon's Cabinet Committee on Education, under the leadership of Labor Secretary George P. Shultz, quietly set up local biracial committees to assure smooth compliance without violence or political grandstanding. "In this sense, Nixon was the greatest school desegregator in American history," historian Dean Kotlowski concluded. Author Conrad Black concurred: "In his singular, unsung way, Richard Nixon defanged and healed one of the potentially greatest controversies of the time." Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Nixon's presidential counselor, commented in 1970 that “There has been more change in the structure of American public school education in the last month than in the past 100 years.”
In addition to desegregating public schools, Nixon implemented the Philadelphia Plan, the first significant federal affirmative action program in 1970. Nixon also endorsed the Equal Rights Amendment after it passed both houses of Congress in 1972 and went to the states for ratification as a Constitutional amendment. Nixon had campaigned as an ERA supporter in 1968, though feminists criticized him for doing little to help the ERA or their cause after his election, which led to a much stronger women's rights agenda. Nixon increased the number of female appointees to administration positions. Nixon signed the landmark laws Title IX in 1972, prohibiting gender discrimination in all federally funded schools and the Equal Employment Opportunity Act. In 1970 Nixon had vetoed the Comprehensive Child Development Act, denouncing the universal child-care bill, but signed into law Title X, which was a step forward for family planning and contraceptives.
It was during the Nixon Presidency that the Supreme Court issued its Roe v. Wade ruling, legalizing abortion. First Lady Pat Nixon had been outspoken about her support for legalized abortion, a goal for many feminists (though there was a significant pro-life minority faction of the Women's Liberation Movement as well). Nixon himself did not speak out publicly on the abortion issue, but was personally pro-choice, and believed that, in certain cases such as rape, abortion was an option.
The term Watergate has come to encompass an array of illegal and secret activities undertaken by members of the Nixon administration. The activities became known in the aftermath of five men being caught breaking into Democratic party headquarters at the Watergate Hotel in Washington, D.C. on June 17, 1972. The Washington Post picked up on the story, while reporters Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward relied on an FBI informant known as "Deep Throat" to link the men to the Nixon White House. This became one of a series of scandalous acts involving the Committee to Re-Elect the President. Nixon downplayed the scandal as mere politics, and his White House denounced the story as biased and misleading. As the FBI eventually confirmed that Nixon aides had attempted to sabotage the Democrats, many began resigning and senior aides faced prosecution.
Nixon's alleged role in ordering a cover-up came to light after the testimony of John Dean. In July 1973, White House aide Alexander Butterfield testified that Nixon had a secret taping system that recorded his conversations and phone calls in the Oval Office. Unlike the tape recordings by earlier Presidents, Nixon's were subpoenaed. The White House refused to release them, citing executive privilege. A tentative deal was reached in which the White House would provide written summaries of the tapes, but this was rejected by Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox, a former member of the Kennedy administration. Cox was fired at the White House's request and was replaced by Leon Jaworski, a former member of the Johnson administration. Jaworski revealed an audio tape of conversations held in the White House on June 20, 1972, which featured an unexplained 18½ minute gap. The first deleted section of about five minutes has been attributed to human error by Rose Mary Woods, the President's personal secretary, who admitted accidentally wiping the section while transcribing the tape. The gap, while not conclusive proof of wrong-doing by the President, cast doubt on Nixon's claim that he was unaware of the cover-up.
Nixon displays the V-for-victory sign as he departs the White House for the final time.
Though Nixon lost much popular support, including from some in his own party, he rejected accusations of wrongdoing and vowed to stay in office. He insisted that he had made mistakes, but had no prior knowledge of the burglary, did not break any laws, and did not learn of the coverup until early 1973. On November 17, 1973, during a televised question and answer session with the press, Nixon said,
"People have got to know whether or not their President is a crook. Well, I'm not a crook. I've earned everything I've got."
Richard Nixon's resignation speech
Play sound
Resignation speech of President Richard Nixon, delivered August 8, 1974.
Problems listening to this file? See media help.
In April 1974, Nixon announced the release of 1,200 pages of transcripts of White House conversations between him and his aides. Despite this, the House Judiciary Committee, controlled by Democrats, opened impeachment hearings against the President on May 9, 1974. These hearings resulted in bi-partisan votes for Articles of Impeachment, the first vote being 27-11 in favor on July 27, 1974 on obstruction of justice. On July 24, the Supreme Court (including 5 Republican-appointed Justices, three of them appointed by Nixon) then ruled unanimously in the case of United States v. Nixon that the tapes must be released to Jaworski; one of the secret recordings, known as the Smoking Gun tape, was released on August 5, 1974, and revealed that Nixon knew of the cover-up from its inception and had suggested to administration officials that they try to stop the FBI's investigation. In light of his loss of political support and the near certainty of impeachment, Nixon resigned the office of the presidency on August 9, 1974, after addressing the nation on television the previous evening.
The resignation speech was delivered on August 8, 1974, at 9:01 p.m. Eastern time from the Oval Office and was carried live on radio and television. The core of the speech was Nixon's announcement that Gerald Ford, as Vice President, would succeed to the presidency, effective at noon Eastern time the next day. Around this announcement, he discussed his feelings about his presidential work and general political issues that would need attention once he left. He never admitted to criminal wrongdoing, although he conceded errors of judgment. During the Watergate scandal, Nixon's approval rating fell to 23%. On May 28, 2009, speaking to Republicans in Litchfield Beach, South Carolina, Ed Nixon said that his brother did not resign "in disgrace" but "resigned in honor. It was a disappointment to him because his missions were cut short." He also said that his brother "held the office of president in high regard."
http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h62/kacee8816/Nixon.jpg
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb262/mechado_2007/nixon.jpg
“There will be no whitewash in the White House.”
Richard M. Nixon
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 01/09/11 at 8:48 am
I liked the video Let's Dance and also when he teamed up with Mick Jagger in 1985 for Dancing In The Street.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9G4jnaznUoQ
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 01/09/11 at 8:54 am
I missed word of the day. :)
Hi Howie :)
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 01/09/11 at 8:54 am
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9G4jnaznUoQ
God,this video had the word "fruity" written all over it,God! ::)
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 01/09/11 at 8:55 am
Hi Howie :)
Hey Ninny haven't seen you in 3 months. :)
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 01/09/11 at 8:57 am
God,this video had the word "fruity" written all over it,God! ::)
It was first shown at Live Aid.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 01/09/11 at 8:58 am
It was first shown at Live Aid.
Then on MTV? ???
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 01/09/11 at 8:59 am
Then on MTV? ???
Not shown on MTV now?
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 01/09/11 at 9:01 am
Not shown on MTV now?
probably the classics.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: CatwomanofV on 01/09/11 at 11:40 am
Famous quotes from Nixon:
"I'm not a crook."
"Sock it to me?"
Cat
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 01/09/11 at 12:20 pm
Famous quotes from Nixon:
"I'm not a crook."
"Sock it to me?"
Cat
Did he have those quotes recorded on tape?
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: CatwomanofV on 01/09/11 at 1:02 pm
Did he have those quotes recorded on tape?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sh163n1lJ4M
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFEhmF-cSi8
Cat
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 01/09/11 at 1:51 pm
Famous quotes from Nixon:
"I'm not a crook."
"Sock it to me?"
Cat
And also The Watergate Scandal.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 01/09/11 at 2:18 pm
And also The Watergate Scandal.
Need we say more?
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 01/10/11 at 11:22 am
The word of the day is ...Bottle
# a glass or plastic vessel used for storing drinks or other liquids; typically cylindrical without handles and with a narrow neck that can be plugged or capped
# store (liquids or gases) in bottles
# the quantity contained in a bottle
# put into bottles; "bottle the mineral water"
# a vessel fitted with a flexible teat and filled with milk or formula; used as a substitute for breast feeding infants and very young children
wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn
# A bottle is a rigid container with a neck that is narrower than the body and a "mouth." Bottles are often made of glass, clay, plastic, aluminum or other impervious materials, and typically used to store liquids such as water, milk, soft drinks, beer, wine, cooking oil, medicine, shampoo, ink ...
http://i1233.photobucket.com/albums/ff398/tsaia/010520112001.jpg
http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff157/hrtsofire2000/Babies/HPIM1803.jpg
http://i953.photobucket.com/albums/ae20/kspicza/bottle.jpg
http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w39/rfelix715/Jamaica/SSPX0901.jpg
http://i1121.photobucket.com/albums/l515/lushussmissilatina/bottle.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 01/10/11 at 11:25 am
The person of the day is ... Jim Croce
James Joseph "Jim" Croce (pronounced /ˈkroʊtʃi/; January 10, 1943 – September 20, 1973) was an American singer-songwriter. Between 1966 and 1973, Croce released six studio albums and eleven singles. His singles "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown" and "Time in a Bottle" were both number one hits on the Billboard Hot 100 charts.
James Joseph Croce, better known as Jim Croce, was born in South Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on January 10, 1943, to Jim and Flora Croce. Jim took a strong interest in music at a very young age. At five, he learned to play his first song on the accordion, “Lady of Spain.” He says, "I was the original underachiever. I'd shake that thing and smile, but I was sort of a late bloomer." Croce attended Upper Darby High School in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania. After his graduation in 1960, Croce went to work for a construction company, staying employed there for three years before deciding to enroll at Villanova University in 1964. During his time as a student at the university, Croce became a member of the Villanova Singers and Villanova Spires, and was a student disc jockey at WXVU.
Croce didn't take music seriously other than a hobby until his time at Villanova, where he formed various bands, performing at fraternity parties, coffee houses, and at universities around Philadelphia, playing "anything that the people wanted to hear: blues, rock, a cappella, railroad music... anything." One of those bands was chosen for a foreign exchange tour of Africa and the Middle East. "We had a good time," Croce later recalled. "We just ate what the people ate, lived in the woods, and played our songs. Of course they didn't speak English over there... but if you mean what you're singing, people understand."
Croce met his future wife Ingrid Jacobson at this time, during a hootenanny at Philadelphia Convention Hall, where he was judging a contest. When they married, he converted to Judaism.
Early career
From the mid-1960s to early 1970s, Croce performed with his wife as a duo. At first, their performances included songs by artists such as Ian and Sylvia, Gordon Lightfoot, Joan Baez, and Woody Guthrie, but in time, they began writing their own music. During this time, Croce got his first long-term gig at a rural bar and steak house in Lima, Pennsylvania, called The Riddle Paddock. His set list included every genre from blues to country to rock 'n roll to folk, with soon-to-be-trademark tender love songs and traditional bawdy ballads, always introduced with a story and an impish grin.
In 1968, Jim and Ingrid Croce were encouraged by record producer Tommy West to move to New York City and record their first album with Capitol Records. During the next two years, they drove more than 300,000 miles playing small clubs and concerts on the college concert circuit promoting their album Jim & Ingrid Croce.
Becoming disillusioned by the music business specifically and New York City in general, they sold all but one guitar to pay the rent and they returned to the Pennsylvania countryside where Jim got a job driving trucks and doing construction to pay the bills while continuing to write songs, often about the characters he enjoyed meeting at the local bars and truck stops.
The couple returned to Philadelphia and Jim decided to be "serious" about becoming a productive member of society. But it was hard to make a living playing in a band, and his previous employment experiences had lost their appeal: "I'd worked construction crews, and I'd been a welder while I was in college. But I'd rather do other things than get burned." His determination to be "serious" led to a job at a Philadelphia R&B radio station, where he translated commercials into soul. "I'd sell airtime to Bronco's Poolroom and then write the spot: "You wanna be cool, and you wanna shoot pool... dig it." Increasingly frustrated, he quit to teach guitar at a summer camp and enlisted in the U.S. Army. He did not have a very illustrious military career, but said he would be prepared if "there's ever a war where we have to defend ourselves with mops".
Success
In 1970, Croce met the classically trained pianist/guitarist and singer-songwriter Maury Muehleisen from Trenton, New Jersey through producer Joe Salviuolo (aka Sal Joseph). Salviuolo had been friends with Croce when they attended Villanova University together, and Salviuolo later discovered Muehleisen when he was teaching at Glassboro State College in New Jersey. Salviuolo brought the Croce and Muehleisen duo together at the production office of Tommy West and Terry Cashman in New York City. Initially, Croce backed Muehleisen on guitar at his gigs. but in time, their roles reversed, with Muehleisen adding lead guitar to Croce's down-to-earth music.
In 1972, Croce signed to a three-record deal with ABC Records and released two LPs, You Don't Mess Around with Jim and Life & Times that same year. The singles "You Don't Mess Around with Jim", "Operator (That's Not The Way It Feels)", and "Time in a Bottle" (written for his then-unborn son, A. J. Croce) all received airplay. Croce's biggest single, "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown", hit #1 on the American charts in July 1973.
Death
Croce, 30, Maury Muehleisen, 24, and four others died in a small commercial plane crash on September 20, 1973, shortly before his ABC single, "I Got a Name", was to be released.
Croce had just completed a concert at Northwestern State University's Prather Coliseum in Natchitoches, Louisiana, and was flying to Sherman, Texas, for a concert at Austin College. The pilot and all passengers (Croce; Muehleisen; Croce's booking agent Kenneth D. Cortose; George Stevens, the comic who was the show's warm-up act; and Dennis Rast, another passenger) were killed instantly at 10:45 p.m. EDT on September 20, 1973, less than an hour after the end of the concert.
Upon takeoff from Natchitoches Regional Airport, despite excellent visibility, the Beechcraft E18 plane did not gain enough altitude to clear a pecan tree at the end of the runway, which investigators said was the only tree for hundreds of yards. The official report from the NTSB hints that the charter pilot, Robert Newton Elliott, who had severe coronary artery disease and had run a portion of the three miles to the airport from a motel, may have suffered a heart attack. A later investigation, source unknown, placed sole blame for the accident on pilot error.
Croce is buried in Haym Solomon Memorial Park, East Whiteland Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania. Muehleisen is buried at Saint Mary's Cemetery in Trenton.
Legacy
The album I Got a Name was released on December 1, 1973. Croce had just finished recording the album barely over a week before his death. The posthumous release included three hits: "Workin' at the Car Wash Blues", "I'll Have to Say I Love You in a Song", and the title song, which had been used as the theme to the film The Last American Hero which was released two months prior his death. The album reached #2 in the US Pop Albums chart, and "I'll Have to Say I Love You in a Song" reached #9 in the U.S. singles chart.
The song "Time in a Bottle" had been featured over the closing credits of the ABC made-for-television movie She Lives!, which aired on September 12, 1973, merely eight days before Croce's death. That appearance had generated significant interest in Croce and his music in the week just prior to the plane crash. That, combined with the news of the death of the singer, sparked a renewed interest in Croce's previous albums as well. Consequently, three months later, "Time in a Bottle", originally released on Croce's first album the year before, hit number-one on December 29, 1973, the third posthumous chart-topping song of the rock era following Otis Redding's "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" and Janis Joplin's recording of "Me and Bobby McGee".
A greatest hits package entitled Photographs & Memories, released in 1974, proved to be extraordinarily popular. Later posthumous releases have included Jim Croce Home Recordings, Facets, Jim Croce: Classic Hits, Down the Highway, and DVD and CD releases of Croce's television performances, Have You Heard – Jim Croce Live.
Croce's catalog became a staple of radio play for years, and still receives significant airplay on a variety of radio formats in to the second decade of the 21st century. In 1990, Croce was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Jim and Ingrid Croce's son Adrian James Croce was born September 28, 1971, and is now an accomplished singer-songwriter, musician, and pianist, performing under the name A.J. Croce. He has released seven CDs of original music, beginning with a self-titled CD in 1993, and one best-of CD (Early On - The American Recordings 1993-1998). A.J. Croce is also the owner/operator of his own record label, Seedling Records.
Croce's widow owns and manages Croce's Restaurant & Jazz Bar, a project she and Jim had jokingly discussed a decade earlier, located in the historic Gaslamp Quarter in downtown San Diego, California. She opened the business in 1985.
Discography
Studio and live albums
* Facets (1966) (re-released with additional tracks, 2003)
* Jim & Ingrid Croce (with Ingrid Croce) (1969)
* You Don't Mess Around with Jim (1972)
* Life and Times (1973)
* I Got a Name (1973)
* The Faces I've Been (1975)
* Jim Croce Live: The Final Tour (1989)
* Home Recordings: Americana (2003)
* Have You Heard - Jim Croce Live (2006)
Compilations
* Photographs & Memories: His Greatest Hits (1974)
* Down the Highway (1975)
* Time in a Bottle: Jim Croce's Greatest Love Songs (1976)
* Bad, Bad Leroy Brown: Jim Croce's Greatest Character Songs (1978)
* The Very Best of Jim Croce (1979)
* The 50th Anniversary Collection (1992) - 2 CDs
* 24 Karat Gold in a Bottle (1994)
* The Definitive Collection: "Time in a Bottle" (1999) - 2 CDs
* Words and Music (1999)
* Classic Hits (2004)
Singles
Year Single Peak chart positions Album
US US AC US Country CAN CAN AC
1972 "You Don't Mess Around with Jim" 8 — — 4 — You Don't Mess Around with Jim
"Operator (That's Not the Way It Feels)" 17 — — 10 —
1973 "One Less Set of Footsteps" 37 — — 41 27 Life and Times
"Bad, Bad Leroy Brown" 1 — — 1 3
"I Got a Name" 10 4 — 8 5 I Got a Name
"Time in a Bottle" 1 1 — 1 1 You Don't Mess Around with Jim
"It Doesn't Have to Be That Way" 64 — — — — Life and Times
1974 "I'll Have to Say I Love You in a Song" 9 1 68 4 — I Got a Name
"Workin' at the Car Wash Blues" 32 9 — 18 2
1976 "Chain Gang Medley" 63 — — 29 42 Down the Highway
"Mississippi Lady" 110 — — — —
"—" denotes releases that did not chart
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f290/Hippie09/untitleddf.jpg
http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn267/foolkinglear/JimCroce.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: CatwomanofV on 01/10/11 at 12:12 pm
I love this song.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_n-NYPBFMxg&feature=related
It is one of those songs that brings tears to my eyes.
Cat
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: nally on 01/10/11 at 1:23 pm
The computer is great Jeff. I have a new tower, keyboard and mouse.
Excellent! Glad you're back with us again. :)
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: nally on 01/10/11 at 1:25 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFEhmF-cSi8
Cat
At his funniest on Laugh-In.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: nally on 01/10/11 at 1:26 pm
Not shown on MTV now?
probably the classics.
VH1 Classic would probably show that kind of stuff now.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 01/10/11 at 2:42 pm
The person of the day is ... Jim Croce
James Joseph "Jim" Croce (pronounced /ˈkroʊtʃi/; January 10, 1943 – September 20, 1973) was an American singer-songwriter. Between 1966 and 1973, Croce released six studio albums and eleven singles. His singles "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown" and "Time in a Bottle" were both number one hits on the Billboard Hot 100 charts.
James Joseph Croce, better known as Jim Croce, was born in South Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on January 10, 1943, to Jim and Flora Croce. Jim took a strong interest in music at a very young age. At five, he learned to play his first song on the accordion, “Lady of Spain.” He says, "I was the original underachiever. I'd shake that thing and smile, but I was sort of a late bloomer." Croce attended Upper Darby High School in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania. After his graduation in 1960, Croce went to work for a construction company, staying employed there for three years before deciding to enroll at Villanova University in 1964. During his time as a student at the university, Croce became a member of the Villanova Singers and Villanova Spires, and was a student disc jockey at WXVU.
Croce didn't take music seriously other than a hobby until his time at Villanova, where he formed various bands, performing at fraternity parties, coffee houses, and at universities around Philadelphia, playing "anything that the people wanted to hear: blues, rock, a cappella, railroad music... anything." One of those bands was chosen for a foreign exchange tour of Africa and the Middle East. "We had a good time," Croce later recalled. "We just ate what the people ate, lived in the woods, and played our songs. Of course they didn't speak English over there... but if you mean what you're singing, people understand."
Croce met his future wife Ingrid Jacobson at this time, during a hootenanny at Philadelphia Convention Hall, where he was judging a contest. When they married, he converted to Judaism.
Early career
From the mid-1960s to early 1970s, Croce performed with his wife as a duo. At first, their performances included songs by artists such as Ian and Sylvia, Gordon Lightfoot, Joan Baez, and Woody Guthrie, but in time, they began writing their own music. During this time, Croce got his first long-term gig at a rural bar and steak house in Lima, Pennsylvania, called The Riddle Paddock. His set list included every genre from blues to country to rock 'n roll to folk, with soon-to-be-trademark tender love songs and traditional bawdy ballads, always introduced with a story and an impish grin.
In 1968, Jim and Ingrid Croce were encouraged by record producer Tommy West to move to New York City and record their first album with Capitol Records. During the next two years, they drove more than 300,000 miles playing small clubs and concerts on the college concert circuit promoting their album Jim & Ingrid Croce.
Becoming disillusioned by the music business specifically and New York City in general, they sold all but one guitar to pay the rent and they returned to the Pennsylvania countryside where Jim got a job driving trucks and doing construction to pay the bills while continuing to write songs, often about the characters he enjoyed meeting at the local bars and truck stops.
The couple returned to Philadelphia and Jim decided to be "serious" about becoming a productive member of society. But it was hard to make a living playing in a band, and his previous employment experiences had lost their appeal: "I'd worked construction crews, and I'd been a welder while I was in college. But I'd rather do other things than get burned." His determination to be "serious" led to a job at a Philadelphia R&B radio station, where he translated commercials into soul. "I'd sell airtime to Bronco's Poolroom and then write the spot: "You wanna be cool, and you wanna shoot pool... dig it." Increasingly frustrated, he quit to teach guitar at a summer camp and enlisted in the U.S. Army. He did not have a very illustrious military career, but said he would be prepared if "there's ever a war where we have to defend ourselves with mops".
Success
In 1970, Croce met the classically trained pianist/guitarist and singer-songwriter Maury Muehleisen from Trenton, New Jersey through producer Joe Salviuolo (aka Sal Joseph). Salviuolo had been friends with Croce when they attended Villanova University together, and Salviuolo later discovered Muehleisen when he was teaching at Glassboro State College in New Jersey. Salviuolo brought the Croce and Muehleisen duo together at the production office of Tommy West and Terry Cashman in New York City. Initially, Croce backed Muehleisen on guitar at his gigs. but in time, their roles reversed, with Muehleisen adding lead guitar to Croce's down-to-earth music.
In 1972, Croce signed to a three-record deal with ABC Records and released two LPs, You Don't Mess Around with Jim and Life & Times that same year. The singles "You Don't Mess Around with Jim", "Operator (That's Not The Way It Feels)", and "Time in a Bottle" (written for his then-unborn son, A. J. Croce) all received airplay. Croce's biggest single, "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown", hit #1 on the American charts in July 1973.
Death
Croce, 30, Maury Muehleisen, 24, and four others died in a small commercial plane crash on September 20, 1973, shortly before his ABC single, "I Got a Name", was to be released.
Croce had just completed a concert at Northwestern State University's Prather Coliseum in Natchitoches, Louisiana, and was flying to Sherman, Texas, for a concert at Austin College. The pilot and all passengers (Croce; Muehleisen; Croce's booking agent Kenneth D. Cortose; George Stevens, the comic who was the show's warm-up act; and Dennis Rast, another passenger) were killed instantly at 10:45 p.m. EDT on September 20, 1973, less than an hour after the end of the concert.
Upon takeoff from Natchitoches Regional Airport, despite excellent visibility, the Beechcraft E18 plane did not gain enough altitude to clear a pecan tree at the end of the runway, which investigators said was the only tree for hundreds of yards. The official report from the NTSB hints that the charter pilot, Robert Newton Elliott, who had severe coronary artery disease and had run a portion of the three miles to the airport from a motel, may have suffered a heart attack. A later investigation, source unknown, placed sole blame for the accident on pilot error.
Croce is buried in Haym Solomon Memorial Park, East Whiteland Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania. Muehleisen is buried at Saint Mary's Cemetery in Trenton.
Legacy
The album I Got a Name was released on December 1, 1973. Croce had just finished recording the album barely over a week before his death. The posthumous release included three hits: "Workin' at the Car Wash Blues", "I'll Have to Say I Love You in a Song", and the title song, which had been used as the theme to the film The Last American Hero which was released two months prior his death. The album reached #2 in the US Pop Albums chart, and "I'll Have to Say I Love You in a Song" reached #9 in the U.S. singles chart.
The song "Time in a Bottle" had been featured over the closing credits of the ABC made-for-television movie She Lives!, which aired on September 12, 1973, merely eight days before Croce's death. That appearance had generated significant interest in Croce and his music in the week just prior to the plane crash. That, combined with the news of the death of the singer, sparked a renewed interest in Croce's previous albums as well. Consequently, three months later, "Time in a Bottle", originally released on Croce's first album the year before, hit number-one on December 29, 1973, the third posthumous chart-topping song of the rock era following Otis Redding's "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" and Janis Joplin's recording of "Me and Bobby McGee".
A greatest hits package entitled Photographs & Memories, released in 1974, proved to be extraordinarily popular. Later posthumous releases have included Jim Croce Home Recordings, Facets, Jim Croce: Classic Hits, Down the Highway, and DVD and CD releases of Croce's television performances, Have You Heard – Jim Croce Live.
Croce's catalog became a staple of radio play for years, and still receives significant airplay on a variety of radio formats in to the second decade of the 21st century. In 1990, Croce was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Jim and Ingrid Croce's son Adrian James Croce was born September 28, 1971, and is now an accomplished singer-songwriter, musician, and pianist, performing under the name A.J. Croce. He has released seven CDs of original music, beginning with a self-titled CD in 1993, and one best-of CD (Early On - The American Recordings 1993-1998). A.J. Croce is also the owner/operator of his own record label, Seedling Records.
Croce's widow owns and manages Croce's Restaurant & Jazz Bar, a project she and Jim had jokingly discussed a decade earlier, located in the historic Gaslamp Quarter in downtown San Diego, California. She opened the business in 1985.
Discography
Studio and live albums
* Facets (1966) (re-released with additional tracks, 2003)
* Jim & Ingrid Croce (with Ingrid Croce) (1969)
* You Don't Mess Around with Jim (1972)
* Life and Times (1973)
* I Got a Name (1973)
* The Faces I've Been (1975)
* Jim Croce Live: The Final Tour (1989)
* Home Recordings: Americana (2003)
* Have You Heard - Jim Croce Live (2006)
Compilations
* Photographs & Memories: His Greatest Hits (1974)
* Down the Highway (1975)
* Time in a Bottle: Jim Croce's Greatest Love Songs (1976)
* Bad, Bad Leroy Brown: Jim Croce's Greatest Character Songs (1978)
* The Very Best of Jim Croce (1979)
* The 50th Anniversary Collection (1992) - 2 CDs
* 24 Karat Gold in a Bottle (1994)
* The Definitive Collection: "Time in a Bottle" (1999) - 2 CDs
* Words and Music (1999)
* Classic Hits (2004)
Singles
Year Single Peak chart positions Album
US US AC US Country CAN CAN AC
1972 "You Don't Mess Around with Jim" 8 — — 4 — You Don't Mess Around with Jim
"Operator (That's Not the Way It Feels)" 17 — — 10 —
1973 "One Less Set of Footsteps" 37 — — 41 27 Life and Times
"Bad, Bad Leroy Brown" 1 — — 1 3
"I Got a Name" 10 4 — 8 5 I Got a Name
"Time in a Bottle" 1 1 — 1 1 You Don't Mess Around with Jim
"It Doesn't Have to Be That Way" 64 — — — — Life and Times
1974 "I'll Have to Say I Love You in a Song" 9 1 68 4 — I Got a Name
"Workin' at the Car Wash Blues" 32 9 — 18 2
1976 "Chain Gang Medley" 63 — — 29 42 Down the Highway
"Mississippi Lady" 110 — — — —
"—" denotes releases that did not chart
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f290/Hippie09/untitleddf.jpg
http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn267/foolkinglear/JimCroce.jpg
:\'(
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 01/10/11 at 3:41 pm
I love this song.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_n-NYPBFMxg&feature=related
It is one of those songs that brings tears to my eyes.
Cat
It is a great song :)
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 01/10/11 at 8:15 pm
Genie In A Bottle Christina Agulera
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 01/10/11 at 8:21 pm
Genie In A Bottle Christina Agulera
:)
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: gibbo on 01/10/11 at 9:15 pm
Ninny ...a new computer eh? You'd better get cracking if you want to win back some championships! ;D
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 01/11/11 at 7:52 am
Ninny ...a new computer eh? You'd better get cracking if you want to win back some championships! ;D
Oh I will ;D ;D
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 01/11/11 at 7:56 am
The person of the day...Mary J. Blige
Mary Jane Blige (surname pronounced /ˈblaɪʒ/; born January 11, 1971), also known as Mary J. Blige, is an American singer, producer, songwriter, actress, and rapper. A recipient of 9 Grammy Awards and 4 American Music Awards. Blige has recorded eight multi-platinum albums. Blige has received the World Music Legends Award for combining hip hop and soul in the early 1990s. She was ranked number 100 in the list of 100 greatest singers of all time by Rolling Stone magazine.
Blige started her musical career in 1992, releasing her multi-platinum US selling debut album, What's the 411? on MCA Records and Uptown. What's the 411? gave Blige her first Billboard 200 top ten album, which has continued since the release of her debut album until her latest album, Stronger with Each Tear (2009). Among Blige's most popular songs to date include "Family Affair", "Real Love", "Not Gon' Cry" and "Be Without You". Blige has had four Billboard Hot 100 top-singles charting in the United States, and has had a total of sixteen total top forty charting singles in the United States. She has had thirty-three singles charting inside the top one hundred on the Billboard Hot 100, making Blige one of the best-performing R&B artists to date.
Despite her musical career, since 1998, Blige has also starred in various movie roles, beginning in The Jamie Foxx Show as Ola Mae. She appeared in the "Papa Don't Preach" episode, Season 2. Since then, Blige has gone on to play major roles in big-budget Hollywood movies, such as Prison Song, where she played the main role as Mrs. Butler.
As of 2010, Blige has sold over 50 million albums and 15 million singles. Blige cites Anita Baker, Chaka Khan, Teena Marie, and Aretha Franklin as influences
In 1998, Blige made her acting debut on the sitcom The Jamie Foxx Show playing a character, the apparently southern Ola Mae; a preacher's daughter who wanted to sing more than gospel music. Her father was portrayed by Ronald Isley of The Isley Brothers. In 2001, Blige starred opposite rapper Q-Tip in the independent film Prison Song. That same year, Blige made a cameo on the Lifetime network series, Strong Medicine; playing the role of Simone Fellows. Blige's character was the lead singer of a band who was sick, but would not seek treatment. In 2000, Blige was featured in a superhero web cartoon in junction with Stan Lee. Blige used the cartoon as part of her performance while on her 2000 Mary Show Tour. In 2004, Blige starred in an off-Broadway play, The Exonerated. The play chronicled the experiences of death row inmates. Blige portrayed Sunny Jacobs, a woman who spent 20 years in prison for a crime she did not commit. In late 2005, it was reported that Blige landed the starring role in the upcoming MTV Films biopic on American singer/pianist Nina Simone. According to IMDB.com the film will be released in 2012.
In February 2007, Blige guest-starred on Ghost Whisperer, in an episode called "Mean Ghost", as the character Jackie Boyd, the school's cheer leader coach grieving for the death of her brother and affected by the ghost of a dead cheerleader. The episode features many of Blige's songs. In August 2007, Blige was a guest star on Entourage, in the role of herself, as a client of Ari Gold's agency. In October 2007, Blige was also a guest star on America's Next Top Model, as a creative director for a photo shoot by Matthew Rolston. In May 2009, Mary made a guest appearance on 30 Rock, as an artist recording a benefit song for a kidney. Blige also had a supporting role in Tyler Perry's Movie I Can Do Bad All By Myself, which was released in September 2009.
Business ventures
In 2004 Blige launched her own record label, Matriarch Records, distributed through Interscope.
In July 2010, Blige launched her first perfume, My Life (through Carol's Daughter), exclusively on HSN.
In October 2010 Blige released a line of sunglasses called "Melodies by MJB". The first Melodies collection will feature four styles with a total of 20 color options. Each style will represent a specific facet of Blige’s life. Essence magazine reported that in the spring of 2011, "Melodies by MJB" will extend their collection to offer more styles.
Blige's production company, along with William Morris Endeavor is also working on several TV and film projects.
Blige has had endorsement contracts with Reebok, Air Jordan, Pepsi, Coca-Cola, Gap, Target, American Express, AT&T, M·A·C, Apple Inc. and Chevrolet. She has also been a spokesperson with Carol's Daughter beauty products and Citibank's with Nickelback program.
Personal life
During the early '90s, Blige dated singer K-Ci from Jodeci. The affair ended in 1997. In 2000, Blige met record industry executive Martin Kendu Isaacs (known as "Kendu") who became her manager. The two were married on December 7, 2003, in a small private ceremony at Blige's home attended by 50 guests.
Blige earned her GED in 2010.
Philanthropy
In 2001, Mary performed "Do Nothin' Till You Hear From Me" for the Red Hot Organization's compilation album Red Hot + Indigo, a tribute to Duke Ellington, which raised money for various charities devoted to increasing AIDS awareness and fighting the disease
On May 9, 2008, The Mary J. Blige and Steve Stoute Foundation for the Advancement of Women Now, Inc. (FFAWN) was inaugurated at Roosevelt High School in Yonkers, New York. FFAWN's purpose is to inspire women "to reach their individual potential". The foundation offers scholarships and programs whose aim is to foster self-esteem and career development. The Mary J. Blige Center for Women has opened in Yonkers.
In 2008, Mary teamed up with Carol's Daughter executive Lisa Price to make a perfume which would be called "My Life". On July 31, 2010, Mary J. Blige was on 6 live televised Home Shopping Network specials to promote and sell her perfume. On that day, "My Life" sold a record breaking 60,000 + units. Her perfume was the first to sell over 60,000 bottles in one day on HSN. Also $1 from each purchase was donated to FFAWN her foundation for women to send more women to college.
Awards
Blige performing in 2009
Mary J. Blige has received 9 Grammy awards and 8 multi-platinum records to date.
Discography
Main article: Mary J. Blige discography
* 1992: What's the 411?
* 1994: My Life
* 1997: Share My World
* 1999: Mary
* 2001: No More Drama
* 2003: Love & Life
* 2005: The Breakthrough
* 2007: Growing Pains
* 2009: Stronger with Each Tear
Tours
* Share My World Tour (1998)
* The Mary Show Tour (2000)
* No More Drama Tour (2002)
* Love & Life Tour (2004)
* The Breakthrough Experience Tour (2006)
* Heart of the City Tour (with Jay-Z) (2008)
* Growing Pains European Tour (2008)
* Love Soul Tour (2008)
* Music Saved My Life Tour (2010–11)
Filmography
Main article: Mary J. Blige videography
Film
Year Film & Television Role Notes
1998 The Jamie Foxx Show Ola Mae "Papa Don't Preach" (episode 14, season 2)
2001 Angel: One More Road to Cross Guardian Angel Direct to DVD
Prison Song Mrs. Butler Main Role
Strong Medicine Simone Fellows "History" (episode 4, season 2)
2007 Ghost Whisperer Jackie Boyd "Mean Ghost" (episode 15, season 2)
2009 I Can Do Bad All By Myself Tanya Supporting Role
30 Rock Herself Guest
2010 American Idol Guest judge/Herself Auditions were held in Atlanta, Georgia at the Georgia Dome when Blige guest judged.
See also
* List of best-selling music artists
* List of awards and nominations received by Mary J. Blige
* List of honorific titles in popular music
http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q315/klparks_02/mary-j-blige-picture-3.jpg
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s17/GAfromSA/blige.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 01/11/11 at 8:17 am
I like her song "Leave A Message".
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 01/12/11 at 7:36 am
The person of the day....Howard Stern
Howard Allan Stern (born January 12, 1954) is an American radio personality, humorist, television host, author and actor, best known for his long-running radio show, The Howard Stern Show. He gained national recognition in the 1990s when he was labelled a "shock jock" for his outspoken and sometimes controversial style. Stern wished for a radio career since he was five; his father, a recording and radio engineer, being a big influence. While studying Communications at Boston University, Stern worked at its campus station WTBU before making his professional début in 1975 at WNTN.
In 1977, Stern began at WRNW at Briarcliff Manor, New York, working on-air, production and managerial duties. Following his departure in 1979, he started to develop a more open personality at WCCC in Hartford, Connecticut. In 1980, he hosted mornings at WWWW in Detroit, Michigan, where he earned his first Billboard radio award. Stern was paired with his current newscaster and co-host Robin Quivers in 1981, while he worked at WWDC in Washington, D.C.. He moved to WNBC in New York City to host afternoons until his firing in 1985. Stern returned to the city's airwaves on WXRK for the next 20 years until his move to Sirius XM in December 2005. In this time, The Howard Stern Show would be syndicated to 60 markets while reaching a peak audience of 20 million listeners. In New York alone, the show was the highest-rated morning program from 1994 to 2001. Stern is an eight-time winner of the Billboard Nationally Syndicated Air Personality of the Year award (1994–2002). He is the highest-paid radio figure, including the most fined, after a history with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) over alleged indecency resulted in $2.5 million being issued to station owners that carried his show.
Stern describes himself as the "King of All Media" for his work outside radio. He has hosted numerous late night television shows, pay-per-view events and home video releases, since 1987. His two books, Private Parts (1993) and Miss America (1995), spent 20 and 16 weeks respectively on The New York Times Best Seller list. The former was adapted into Private Parts (1997), a biographical comedy film starring Stern and his radio show staff as themselves. Making a domestic gross of $41.2 million, the film's soundtrack topped the the Billboard 200 chart.
early 1993, Stern signed a $1 million advance contract with Simon & Schuster to publish his first book. Co-authored with Larry Sloman and edited by Judith Regan, Private Parts was released on October 7, 1993. The book sold its first printing of 225,000 copies within hours of going on sale. After five days, it became the fastest-selling title in Schuster's history. Two weeks later, in its eighth printing, over one million copies had been distributed. Sales were supported by Stern's book signing tour. His first at a Barnes & Noble store on Fifth Avenue attracted an estimated 10,000 fans. The book spent 20 weeks on The New York Times Best-Seller list. Stern has written forewords for Steal This Dream (1998), a biography of Abbie Hoffman, Disgustingly Dirty Joke Book (1998) by Jackie Martling, Too Fat to Fish (2008) by Artie Lange, and Dear Mrs. Fitzsimmons: Tales of Redemption from an Irish Mailbox (2010) by Greg Fitzsimmons.
Stern hosted his second pay-per-view event, The Miss Howard Stern New Year's Eve Pageant, on December 31, 1993. It surpassed the subscriber record for a non-sports event held by a 1990 New Kids on the Block concert. Around 400,000 households purchased Stern's event that grossed an estimated $16 million. In early 1994, the event was released on VHS as Howard Stern's New Year's Rotten Eve 1994. Between his book royalties and pay-per-view profits, Stern's earnings in the latter months of 1993 totalled around $7.5 million. In its 20th anniversary issue in 1993, Radio & Records named Stern the most influential air personality of the past two decades.
On March 21, 1994, Stern announced his candidacy for Governor of New York under the Libertarian Party ticket, challenging Mario Cuomo for re-election. He planned to reinstate the death penalty, stagger highway tolls to improve traffic flow, and limiting road work to night hours. At the party's nomination convention in Albany on April 23, Stern won the required two-thirds majority on the first ballot, receiving 287 of the 381 votes cast (75.33%). James Ostrowski finished second with 34 votes (8.92%). To place his name on the November ballot, Stern was obliged to state his home address and to complete a financial disclosure form under the Ethics in Government Act of 1987. Arguing the law violated his right to privacy and freedom of association, Stern was denied an injunction on August 2. He withdrew his candidacy two days later. Cuomo was defeated in the gubernatorial election on November 8 by George Pataki, whom Stern backed. In 1995, Pataki signed "The Howard Stern Bill" which limited construction on state roads to night hours in New York and Long Island.
In June 1994, six robot cameras were installed in Stern's radio show studio to film a condensed half-hour program on the E! network. Howard Stern ran for 11 years, until the last taped episode was broadcast on July 8, 2005. In conjunction with his move to Sirius, Stern launched Howard Stern on Demand, a subscription video-on-demand service, on November 18, 2005. The service was fully launched as Howard TV on March 16, 2006.
Miss America and Private Parts film (1995–1997)
On April 3, 1995, three days after the shooting of singer Selena, Stern's comments regarding her death and Mexican Americans caused an uproar in the Hispanic community. He criticized her music with added gunfire sound effects. "This music does absolutely nothing for me. Alvin and the Chipmunks have more soul...Spanish people have the worst taste in music. They have no depth". On April 6, Stern responded with a statement in Spanish, stressing his comments were made in satire and not intended to hurt those who loved her. A day later, Justice of the Peace Eloy Cano of Harlingen, Texas issued an arrest warrant on Stern for disorderly conduct.
Stern signed an advance contract with ReganBooks worth $3 million in 1995 to write his second biographical book, Miss America. Stern wrote about his cybersex experiences on the Prodigy service, a private meeting with Michael Jackson, and his past suffering with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The book sold 33,000 copies at Barnes & Noble stores on November 7, the day of its release, setting a new one-day record. Publishers Weekly reported over 1.39 million hardcover copies were sold by the end of 1995, ranking it the third best-seller of the year. Miss America spent a total of 16 weeks on The New York Times best-seller list.
Production for a film adaptation of Private Parts began in May 1996, with all shooting complete in four months. The film premiered at The Theatre at Madison Square Garden on February 27, 1997, where Stern performed "The Great American Nightmare" with Rob Zombie. Private Parts made its general release on March 7, 1997, where it topped the box office in its opening weekend with a gross of $14.6 million, and $41.2 million in total. Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a score of 79%. For his performance, Stern won a Blockbuster Entertainment Award for "Favorite Male Newcomer" and nominated for a Golden Satellite Award for "Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture (Comedy)" and a Golden Raspberry Award for "Worst New Star". Selling 178,000 copies in the first week of release, the film's soundtrack topped the Billboard 200 chart between March 15–21, 1997.
On October 8, 1997, Stern filed a $1.5 million lawsuit against Ministry of Film Inc., claiming it recruited him for a film titled Jane starring Melanie Griffith, while knowing it had insufficient funds. Stern, who was unpaid when production ceased, accused the studio of breach of contract, fraud and negligent representation. A settlement was reached in 1999, with Stern receiving $50,000.
n October 6, 2004, Stern announced his contract with Sirius Satellite Radio, a medium free of FCC regulations, starting from January 2006. The move followed a crackdown on perceived indecency in broadcasting that occurred following the controversy surrounding the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show in February. The incident prompted tighter control over content by station owners and managers, leading to Stern feeling "dead inside" creatively. The five-year deal allows Stern to produce up to three channels on Sirius with a $100 million per year budget for all production, staff and programming costs including the construction of a dedicated studio. On January 9, 2006, the day of his first broadcast, Sirius issued 34.3 million shares of stock worth $218 million to Stern and his agent for exceeding a subscriber target set in 2004. A second stock incentive was paid on January 9, 2007, with Stern earning 22 million shares worth $82.9 million. Following his move, Time magazine included Stern in the Time 100 list in May 2006. He also ranked seventh in Forbes' "World's Most Powerful Celebrities" list a month later.
On February 28, 2006, CBS Radio (formerly Infinity Broadcasting) filed a 43-page lawsuit against Stern, his agent and Sirius. The suit claimed Stern had misused CBS broadcast time to promote Sirius for unjust enrichment during his last 14 months on terrestrial airwaves. In a press conference held hours before the suit was filed, Stern said it was nothing more than a "personal vendetta" against him by CBS president Leslie Moonves. A settlement was reached on May 25, with Sirius paying $2 million to CBS for control of Stern's broadcast archives since 1985.
On December 9, 2010, Stern announced the signing of a new five-year contract with Sirius which ends in 2015.
FCC fines
Main article: FCC fines of The Howard Stern Show
From 1990 to 2004, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has fined owners of radio stations that carried The Howard Stern Show a total of $2.5 million for indecent programming.
Personal life
Stern married Alison Berns on June 4, 1978 at Temple Ohabei Shalom in Brookline, Massachusetts, both 24 years old. They have three daughters – Emily Beth (b. 1983), Debra Jennifer (b. 1986) and Ashley Jade (b. 1993). On October 22, 1999, Stern announced their decision to separate. The marriage ended in 2001 with an amicable divorce and settlement. Stern began a period of single living, dating actresses Angie Everhart and Robin Givens. In 2000, Stern began to date model Beth Ostrosky, co-host of Casino Cinema from 2004 to 2007. She also frequently appeared in the American edition of FHM. On February 14, 2007, after seven years, Stern announced their engagement. They married on October 3, 2008, at Le Cirque restaurant in New York City.
While attending Boston University, Stern developed an interest in Transcendental Meditation, which he practices to this day. He credits it with aiding him in quitting smoking and achieving his goals in radio. Stern has interviewed Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the founder of the technique, twice in his career. Stern also plays on the Internet Chess Club, and has taken lessons from Dan Heisman, a chess master from Philadelphia.
Filmography
Main articles: Howard Stern videography and discography and Howard Stern television shows
Films
Year Film Role Notes
1986 Ryder, P.I. Ben Wah
1997 Private Parts Himself Blockbuster Entertainment Award for "Favourite Male Newcomer" (1998)
Nominated – Golden Raspberry Award for "Worst New Star" (1998)
Nominated – Golden Satellite Award for "Best Male Actor Performance in a Comedy or Musical" (1998)
Home video releases
Year Title Role Notes
1988 Howard Stern's Negligeé and Underpants Party Himself/Host
1989 Howard Stern's U.S. Open Sores
1992 Butt Bongo Fiesta
1994 Howard Stern's New Year's Rotten Eve 1994
Television
Year Title Role Notes
1981 Petey Greene's Washington Himself
1987 Nightlife Himself
1987 The Howard Stern Show Himself - Host Series of 5 pilot episodes that never aired
1988 The New Hollywood Squares Announcer - Guest
1990–1992 The Howard Stern Show Himself - Host
1992 1992 MTV Video Music Awards Fartman
1992–1993 The Howard Stern "Interview" Himself - Host
1993 The Larry Sanders Show Himself Season 2, episode 18
1993 The John Stewart Show Himself Season 1, episode 1
1994–2005 Howard Stern Himself - Host
1997 Saturday Night Live Himself Season 22, episode 14
1998 The Magic Hour Himself
1998 The Roseanne Show Himself Season 1, episode 54
1998–2001 The Howard Stern Radio Show Himself - Host
2001 The Concert for New York City Himself
2004 Extra Himself
2005–present Howard Stern On Demand Himself - Host Known as Howard TV since March 2006
Discography
Main article: Howard Stern videography and discography
Year Album Label Notes
1982 50 Ways to Rank Your Mother Wren Records Re-released as Unclean Beaver (1994) on Ichiban and Citizen X labels
1991 Crucified By the FCC Infinity Broadcasting
1997 Private Parts: The Album Warner Brothers Billboard 200 Number-one album from March 15–21, 1997
Bibliography
* Stern, Howard (1993). Private Parts. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-0671880163.
* Stern, Howard (1995). Miss America. ReganBooks. ISBN 978-0060391676.
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Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 01/12/11 at 8:05 am
I haven't watched his show in quite a while,I love when he has those hot women in his studio. :D
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: nally on 01/12/11 at 1:20 pm
I like her song "Leave A Message".
In the mid-1990s she recorded a cover of the Rose Royce song "I'm Going Down" and it was all over the radio in April 1995 or so. I found myself addicted to it for a week or two.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 01/12/11 at 2:10 pm
In the mid-1990s she recorded a cover of the Rose Royce song "I'm Going Down" and it was all over the radio in April 1995 or so. I found myself addicted to it for a week or two.
I remember that.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 01/12/11 at 2:25 pm
I haven't watched his show in quite a while,I love when he has those hot women in his studio. :D
Yeah, I remember his movie Private Parts & Butt Bongo Fiesta ;D
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 01/13/11 at 6:40 am
The person of the day...Patrick Dempsey
Patrick Galen Dempsey (born January 13, 1966) is an American actor, known for his role as neurosurgeon Dr. Derek Shepherd ("McDreamy") on the medical drama Grey's Anatomy. He has also recently appeared in several films, including Sweet Home Alabama, The Emperor's Club, Freedom Writers, Enchanted, Made of Honor, and Valentine's Day.
career
Dempsey was discovered by an invitation to audition for a role in the stage production of Torch Song Trilogy. His audition was successful, and he spent the following four months touring with the company in Philadelphia. Dempsey also appeared on ABC family on a show Overnight Success by Teri DeSario, where he sings and juggles. He followed this with another tour, Brighton Beach Memoirs, in the lead role, which was directed by Gene Saks. Dempsey has also made notable appearances in the stage productions of On Golden Pond, with the Maine Acting Company, and as Timmy (the Martin Sheen role) in a 1990 Off-Broadway revival of The Subject Was Roses co-starring with John Mahoney and Dana Ivey at the Roundabout Theatre in New York.
Dempsey's first major feature film role was at age 21 with Beverly D'Angelo in the movie In The Mood, the real life WW2 story about Ellsworth Wisecarver who had relationships with older married women which created a national uproar. This was followed by the teen comedy Can't Buy Me Love in 1987 with actress Amanda Peterson and Some Girls with Jennifer Connelly in 1988. This film was a flop. In 1989, he had the lead role in the film Loverboy with actress Kirstie Alley and Happy Together with actress Helen Slater. Although the teen comedy and romance roles led to Dempsey being somewhat typecast for a time, he was able to avoid playing the same character as his career progressed.
1990s and 2000s
Dempsey made a number of featured appearances in television in the 1990s; he was cast several times in pilots that were not picked up for a full season, including lead roles in the TV versions of the films The Player and About A Boy. However he received good reviews as he portrayed real-life mob boss, Meyer Lansky in 1991, when Mobsters was put on the screen. His first major television role was a recurring role as Will's closeted sportscaster boyfriend on Will & Grace. He went on to play the role of Aaron Brooks, Lily & Judy's psychologically unbalanced brother, on Once & Again. Dempsey received an Emmy nomination in 2001 as Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series for the role of Aaron. In 1993, he played a young John F. Kennedy in the 2-part TV mini-series JFK: Reckless Youth. In 2004, he co-starred in the highly acclaimed HBO production, Iron Jawed Angels, opposite Hilary Swank and Anjelica Huston. He also appeared as special guest star in The Practice for 3 episodes finale season (8x13-8x15), as a married man who murdered his lover.
Dempsey had a high-profile role as one of the suitors for Reese Witherspoon in Sweet Home Alabama. He also had a role as Detective Kincaid on Scream 3. When Scream 4 was officially announced, it was speculated Dempsey would return. But in late April, writer Kevin Williamson confirmed the 3 main cast members who had survived the other 3 movies were the only returning characters. Dempsey's most recent roles include the 2007 Disney film Enchanted, and the Paramount Pictures film Freedom Writers where he reunites with his Iron Jawed Angels co-star Hilary Swank. He also voiced the character Kenai in Brother Bear 2.
Dempsey starred in the 2008 film Made of Honor as Tom, and appeared in 2010's romantic comedy Valentine's Day; the latter film, directed by Garry Marshall, follows five interconnecting stories about Los Angelinos anticipating (or in some cases dreading) the holiday of love.
Dempsey has acquired the rights to the prize-winning novel The Art of Racing in the Rain and will produce and star in the screen version. The film will go into production in 2010. He has also signed on to star in the 2011 movie Transformers: Dark of the Moon.
Grey's Anatomy
Main article: Grey's Anatomy
Dempsey has received significant public attention for his role as Dr. Derek Shepherd in the drama Grey's Anatomy. Prior to landing the role of Derek Shepherd, Dempsey auditioned for the role of Dr. Gregory House on another medical show, House. Initially a midseason replacement, the show was very well received and has become a highly rated program. Media attention has been focused on Dempsey's character Derek, often referred to as "McDreamy", for his sex appeal and the character's romance with intern Meredith Grey (played by Ellen Pompeo). Also in a one-off episode of Private Practice, playing the same character as in Grey's Anatomy.
Dempsey was nominated for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Drama at the 2006 Golden Globes for the role. His success on the show has led to his becoming a spokesman for Mazda and State Farm Insurance. He has been the face of L'Oreal and Versace and was featured in ads for Serengeti sun glasses. In November 2008 he launched an Avon fragrance named Unscripted, and due to its success a second fragrance named Patrick Dempsey 2 was launched in October 2009.
Personal life
Dempsey at the 2008 Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona
He has been married twice. In 1987, he married actress and acting coach Rocky Parker, who appeared with Dempsey in the film In the Mood. The couple divorced in 1994.
On July 31, 1999, Dempsey married Jillian Fink, founder of Delux Beauty. The couple have three children: A daughter, Talula Fyfe, born on February 20, 2002, and twin sons Darby Galen and Sullivan Patrick, born on February 1, 2007. The family resides in Malibu and also has homes in Maine and Texas.
Dempsey was diagnosed with dyslexia at age 12. As a result, it is necessary for him to memorize all his lines in order to perform, even for auditions where he was unlikely to get the part.
Entertainment Weekly put Dempsey's hair on its end-of-the-decade "best-of" list, saying, "What made Grey's Anatomy a mega-medi-hit? It could have something to do with creator Shonda Rhimes' scalpel-sharp writing…or McDreamy's impossibly luxurious mane. Just saying."
Race car driver
Dempsey enjoys auto racing in his spare time, having driven the pace car in the Indianapolis 500, and raced in the Rolex 24 at Daytona sports car race and Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 off-road race. He is currently the co-owner of IndyCar Series team Vision Racing and Dempsey Racing, which is presently racing two Mazda RX-8 cars in the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series GT class. He participates in this series as often as his schedule allows, as he is unable to race while filming a movie due to insurance issues. In 2009, he raced a Team Seattle Advanced Engineering Ferrari F430 GT in the 2009 24 Hours of Le Mans's GT2 class, and finished ninth in class.
Dempsey revealed that he will be taking part in the 2011 Rolex 24 at Daytona along with taking part in as many races as he can throughout the season in the Mazda RX-8.
Patrick Dempsey Center for Cancer Hope & Healing and Dempsey Challenge
In 1997, Dempsey's mother was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. She was treated for the disease and had two relapses and had it treated another two times. In response to his mother's bouts with cancer, Dempsey helped start the Patrick Dempsey Center at Central Maine Medical Center in his home town of Lewiston, Maine. In October 2009 when Dempsey introduced the first Dempsey Challenge, registration was closed after reaching the goal of 3,500 cyclists, runners and walkers. The event raised more than one million dollars for the cancer center. His mother was in the crowd as Dempsey finished his 50-mile ride. The Challenge has since become an annual October event presented by Amgen in the Lewiston-Auburn area.
Filmography
Film
Year Film Role Notes
1985 The Stuff Underground Stuff buyer #2
Heaven Help Us Corbet
1986 Meatballs III: Summer Job Rudy
1987 Can't Buy Me Love Ronald Miller Young Artist Award for Best Young Actor in a Motion Picture – Comedy
In the Mood Ellsworth 'Sonny' Wisecarver
1988 Some Girls Michael
In a Shallow Grave Daventry Limited release
1989 Loverboy Randy Bodek
Happy Together Christopher Wooden
1990 Coupe de Ville Robert 'Bobby' Libner
1991 Mobsters Meyer Lansky
Run Charlie Farrow
1993 Bank Robber Billy
1994 With Honors Everett Calloway
Ava's Magical Adventure Jeffrey
1995 Outbreak Jimbo Scott
1997 Hugo Pool Floyd Gaylen Limited release
1998 Denial Sam
The Treat Mike Jonathan Gems film
There's No Fish Food in Heaven The Stranger aka Life in the Fast Lane
1999 Me and Will Fast Eddie
2000 Scream 3 Det. Mark Kincaid
2002 Sweet Home Alabama Andrew Hennings
The Emperor's Club Older Louis Masoudi
2006 Brother Bear 2 Kenai Voice only
Shade Paul Parker Short film
2007 Freedom Writers Scott Casey
Enchanted Robert Philip Nominated—MTV Movie Award for Best Kiss (with Amy Adams)
2008 Made of Honor Tom Bailey
2010 Valentine's Day Harrison Copeland
2011 Transformers: Dark of the Moon Dylan
Son of Tobor TBA
Television
Year Title Role Notes
1986 A Fighting Choice Kellin Taylor TV movie
Fast Times Mike Damone Television series
1989 The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! The Plant 1 episode
1990 The General Motors Playwrights Theater 1 episode "Merry Christmas, Baby"
1993 For Better and for Worse Robert Faldo TV movie
JFK: Reckless Youth John F. Kennedy Miniseries
1995 Bloodknot Tom TV movie
1996 The Right to Remain Silent Tom Harris TV movie
A Season in Purgatory Harrison Burns Miniseries
1997 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea Pierre Arronax Miniseries
The Escape Clayton TV movie
The Player Griffin Mill TV movie
1998 The Bible: Jeremiah Jeremiah TV movie
Crime and Punishment Raskolnikov
2000 Will and Grace Matthew 2000–2001 (3 episodes)
2000 Once and Again Aaron Brooks 2000–2002 (4 episodes)
Nominated—Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series
2001 Blonde Cass Miniseries
2003 Lucky 7 Peter Connor
Karen Sisco Carl 1 episode
About a Boy Carl TV movie
2004 Iron Jawed Angels Ben Weissman TV movie
The Practice Dr. Paul Stewart 3 episodes
2005–present Grey's Anatomy Derek Shepherd 2005–present (110 episodes)
Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Cast in a Drama Series (2006)
People's Choice Award for Favorite Male TV Star (2007, 2008)
Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Drama Series (2005, 2006)
Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Cast in a Drama Series (2006, 2008)
Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actor in a Drama Series (2005)
Nominated—People's Choice Award for Favorite Male TV Star (2009)
2009 Private Practice Derek Shepherd TV episode ("The Ex-Life")
2011 The Alex Vaillancourt Show TBA
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Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 01/13/11 at 8:02 am
Yeah, I remember his movie Private Parts & Butt Bongo Fiesta ;D
Once in a while he'd bring in 2 girls and they'd make out while he'd be watching,probably jerking off or something. ;D
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 01/13/11 at 8:03 am
Patrick Dempsey is a cool actor,I like his films.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 01/14/11 at 7:17 am
The person of the day...Faye Dunaway
Dunaway won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in Network (1976) after receiving previous nominations for the critically acclaimed films Bonnie and Clyde (1967) and Chinatown (1974). She has starred in a variety of films, including The Thomas Crown Affair (both the 1968 and 1999 versions), The Towering Inferno (1974), Three Days of the Condor (1975), and Mommie Dearest (1981).
Dunaway appeared on Broadway in 1962 as the daughter of Thomas More in A Man for All Seasons. Her first screen role was in 1967 in The Happening. In 1967, she was in Hurry Sundown, but that same year, she gained the leading female role in Bonnie and Clyde opposite Warren Beatty, which earned her an Oscar nomination. She also starred in 1968 with Steve McQueen in the caper film The Thomas Crown Affair (and had a small role in the 1999 remake with the same title with Pierce Brosnan).
It was in the 1970s that she began to stretch her acting abilities in such films as Three Days of the Condor, Little Big Man, Chinatown, The Three/Four Musketeers, Eyes of Laura Mars, and Network, for which she won the Academy Award for Best Actress as the scheming TV executive Diana Christensen. She worked with such leading men as Dustin Hoffman, Charlton Heston, Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Tommy Lee Jones, Jack Nicholson, and Robert Duvall.
In the 1980s, although her performances did not waver, the parts grew less compelling. Dunaway would later blame Mommie Dearest (1981) for ruining her career as a leading lady. She received a Razzie Award for Worst Actress, and the critics despised the film, although it grossed a moderate $19 million in its first release and was one of the top 30 grossing films of the year. In 1987, she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama for her performance in Barfly with Mickey Rourke. In a later movie, Don Juan DeMarco (1995), Dunaway co-starred with Johnny Depp and Marlon Brando.
Dunaway starred in the 1986 made-for-television movie Beverly Hills Madam opposite Melody Anderson, Donna Dixon, Terry Farrell and Robin Givens. In 1993, Dunaway briefly starred in a sitcom with Robert Urich, It Had to Be You. Dunaway won an Emmy for a 1994 role as a murderer in "It's All in the Game," an episode of the long-running mystery series Columbo.
In 1996, she toured nationally with the stage play Master Class. The story about opera singer Maria Callas was very powerful and well received. Dunaway bought the rights to the Terrence McNally play for possible film development.
In 2006, Dunaway played a character named Lois O'Neill in the sixth season of the crime drama CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. She served as a judge on the 2005 reality show The Starlet, which sought, American Idol-style, to find the next young actress with the potential to become a major star. In the spring of 2007, the direct-to-DVD movie release of Rain, based on the novel by V. C. Andrews and starring Dunaway, was released. In 2009, Dunaway starred in the film The Bait by Polish film director and producer Dariusz Zawiślak. The Bait is a contemporary version of a drama Balladyna by Polish 19th - century poet Juliusz Słowacki.
Dunaway has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7021 Hollywood Boulevard, which was awarded on October 2, 1996.
Personal life
Dunaway has been married twice, from 1974 to 1979 to Peter Wolf, the lead singer of the rock group The J. Geils Band, and from 1984 to 1987 to Terry O'Neill, a British photographer. She and O'Neill have one child, Liam O'Neill (born 1980). In 2003, despite Dunaway's earlier claims that she had given birth to Liam, Terry revealed that Liam was adopted.
Dunaway is an adult convert to Roman Catholicism.
Filmography
Year Film Role Notes
1967 Hurry Sundown Lou McDowell Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles also for Bonnie and Clyde
The Happening Sandy
Bonnie and Clyde Bonnie Parker Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles also for Hurry Sundown
Nominated — Academy Award for Best Actress
Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama
1968 The Thomas Crown Affair Vicki Anderson
A Place for Lovers Julia
1969 The Extraordinary Seaman Jennifer Winslow
The Arrangement Gwen
1970 Little Big Man Mrs. Louise Pendrake
Puzzle of a Downfall Child Lou Andreas Sand Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama
1971 The Deadly Trap Jill
Doc Katie Elder
1973 Oklahoma Crude Lena Doyle
The Three Musketeers Milady de Winter
1974 Chinatown Evelyn Cross Mulwray 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
The Towering Inferno Susan Franklin
The Four Musketeers Milady de Winter
1975 Three Days of the Condor Kathy Hale Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama
1976 Network Diana Christensen Academy Award for Best Actress
David di Donatello for Best Foreign Actress
Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama
Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress
Nominated — BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role
The disappearance of Aimee Aimee Semple McPherson
Voyage of the Damned Denise Kreisler
1978 Eyes of Laura Mars Laura Mars
1979 The Champ Annie
1980 The First Deadly Sin Barbara Delaney
1981 Mommie Dearest Joan Crawford Razzie Award for Worst Actress (tied with Bo Derek)
Runner-up — National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actress
Runner-up — New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress
Evita Peron Evita Peron
1983 The Wicked Lady Lady Barbara Skelton
1984 Ordeal by Innocence Rachel Argyle
Supergirl Selena
Ellis Island Maud Charteris Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film
Terror in the Aisles archival footage
1985 Thirteen at Dinner Jane Wilkinson
1986 Raspberry Ripple Matron + "M"
1987 Barfly Wanda Wilcox Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama
1988 Midnight Crossing Helen Barton
The Gamble Countess Matilda Von Wallenstein La Partita
Burning Secret Mrs. Sonya Tuchman
1989 Frames from the Edge Herself documentary
On a Moonlit Night Mrs. Colbert In una notte di chiaro di luna
Wait Until Spring, Bandini Mrs. Hildegarde
1990 The Handmaid's Tale Serena Joy
The Two Jakes Evelyn Mulwray voice only
1991 Scorchers Thais
1992 Double Edge Faye Milano Lahav Hatzui
1993 Arizona Dream Elaine Stalker
The Temp Charlene Towne
1995 Unzipped Herself – uncredited Documentary
Don Juan DeMarco Marilyn Mickler
Drunks Becky
1996 Dunston Checks In Mrs. Dubrow
Albino Alligator Janet Boudreaux
The Chamber Lee Cayhall Bowen
1997 In Praise of Older Women Condesa
The Twilight of the Golds Phyllis Gold Nominated — CableACE Award for Supporting Actress in a Movie or Miniseries
Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie
Rebecca Mrs. van Hopper TV miniseries
1998 Gia Wilhelmina Cooper Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress - Series, Miniseries or Television Film
Nominated — Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film
1999 Love Lies Bleeding Josephine Butler
The Thomas Crown Affair The Psychiatrist
The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc Yolande of Aragon
2000 The Yards Kitty Olchin
Stanley's Gig Leila
Running Mates Meg Gable Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film
2001 Yellow Bird Aurora Beavis Short subject – also director
Festival in Cannes Herself Cameo
2002 Mid-Century Blue/Mother
Changing Hearts Betty Miller
The Rules of Attraction Mrs. Eve Denton
Man of Faith Mae West
2003 Blind Horizon Ms. K
2004 Last Goodbye Sean Winston
El Padrino Atty. Gen. Navarro
Jennifer's Shadow Mary Ellen Cassi
2005 Ghosts Never Sleep Kathleen Dolan
2006 Cut Off Marilyn Burton
Love Hollywood Style God
Rain Isabel Hudson
2007 Cougar Club Edith Birnbaum
Say It in Russian Jacqueline de Rossy
The Gene Generation Josephine Hayden
2008 Flick Lieutenant Annie McKenzie
La Rabbia Madre
2009 The Seduction of Dr. Fugazzi Detective Rowland
Midnight Bayou Odette Lifetime made-for-TV movie
Caroline & The Magic Stone Filomena
Balladyna Dr Ash USA-Poland co-production
2010 A Family Thanksgiving Gina Hallmark Channel Original Movie
Guest appearances
Dunaway & Mirosław Baka - Balladyna
* Grey's Anatomy - Season 5, Episode 16 "An Honest Mistake" as Dr. Margaret Campbell (2009)
* CSI: Crime Scene Investigation "Kiss-Kiss, Bye-Bye" January 26, 2006 as Lois O'Neill
* Alias "The Abduction" (2002); "A Higher Echelon" (2003); "The Getaway" (2003), as Ariana Kane
* Soul Food - Season 3, Episode 1 - "Tonight at Noon" (2002)
* Road to Avonlea - Season 6, Episode 76 - "What a Tangled Web We Weave" (1995)
* Columbo: It's All in the Game (1993), as Lauren Staton
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Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 01/15/11 at 9:04 am
The person of the day...Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. (January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American clergyman, activist, and prominent leader in the African American civil rights movement. He is best known for being an iconic figure in the advancement of civil rights in the United States and around the world, using nonviolent methods following the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi. King is often presented as a heroic leader in the history of modern American liberalism.
A Baptist minister, King became a civil rights activist early in his career. He led the 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott and helped found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1957, serving as its first president. King's efforts led to the 1963 March on Washington, where King delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech. There, he expanded American values to include the vision of a color blind society, and established his reputation as one of the greatest orators in American history.
In 1964, King became the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for his work to end racial segregation and racial discrimination through civil disobedience and other nonviolent means. By the time of his death in 1968, he had refocused his efforts on ending poverty and stopping the Vietnam War.
King was assassinated on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee. He was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977 and Congressional Gold Medal in 2004; Martin Luther King, Jr. Day was established as a U.S. federal holiday in 1986.
King, representing SCLC, was among the leaders of the so-called "Big Six" civil rights organizations who were instrumental in the organization of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, which took place on August 28, 1963. The other leaders and organizations comprising the Big Six were: Roy Wilkins from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People; Whitney Young, National Urban League; A. Philip Randolph, Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters; John Lewis, SNCC; and James L. Farmer, Jr. of the Congress of Racial Equality. The primary logistical and strategic organizer was King's colleague Bayard Rustin. For King, this role was another which courted controversy, since he was one of the key figures who acceded to the wishes of President John F. Kennedy in changing the focus of the march. Kennedy initially opposed the march outright, because he was concerned it would negatively impact the drive for passage of civil rights legislation, but the organizers were firm that the march would proceed.
The march originally was conceived as an event to dramatize the desperate condition of blacks in the southern United States and a very public opportunity to place organizers' concerns and grievances squarely before the seat of power in the nation's capital. Organizers intended to excoriate and then challenge the federal government for its failure to safeguard the civil rights and physical safety of civil rights workers and blacks, generally, in the South. However, the group acquiesced to presidential pressure and influence, and the event ultimately took on a far less strident tone. As a result, some civil rights activists felt it presented an inaccurate, sanitized pageant of racial harmony; Malcolm X called it the "Farce on Washington," and members of the Nation of Islam were not permitted to attend the march.
King is most famous for his "I Have a Dream" speech, given in front of the Lincoln Memorial during the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.
The march did, however, make specific demands: an end to racial segregation in public schools; meaningful civil rights legislation, including a law prohibiting racial discrimination in employment; protection of civil rights workers from police brutality; a $2 minimum wage for all workers; and self-government for Washington, D.C., then governed by congressional committee. Despite tensions, the march was a resounding success. More than a quarter million people of diverse ethnicities attended the event, sprawling from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial onto the National Mall and around the reflecting pool. At the time, it was the largest gathering of protesters in Washington's history. King's "I Have a Dream" speech electrified the crowd. It is regarded, along with Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address and Franklin D. Roosevelt's Infamy Speech, as one of the finest speeches in the history of American oratory.
The March, and especially King's speech, helped put civil rights at the very top the liberal political agenda in the United States and facilitated passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
On April 3, King addressed a rally and delivered his "I've Been to the Mountaintop" address at Mason Temple, the world headquarters of the Church of God in Christ. King's flight to Memphis had been delayed by a bomb threat against his plane. In the close of the last speech of his career, in reference to the bomb threat, King said the following:
And then I got to Memphis. And some began to say the threats, or talk about the threats that were out. What would happen to me from some of our sick white brothers? Well, I don't know what will happen now. We've got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn't matter with me now. Because I've been to the mountaintop. And I don't mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land. And I'm happy, tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.
King was booked in room 306 at the Lorraine Motel, owned by Walter Bailey, in Memphis. The Reverend Ralph Abernathy, King's close friend and colleague who was present at the assassination, swore under oath to the United States House Select Committee on Assassinations that King and his entourage stayed at room 306 at the Lorraine Motel so often it was known as the "King-Abernathy suite."
According to Jesse Jackson, who was present, King's last words on the balcony prior to his assassination were spoken to musician Ben Branch, who was scheduled to perform that night at an event King was attending: "Ben, make sure you play "Take My Hand, Precious Lord" in the meeting tonight. Play it real pretty."
Then, at 6:01 p.m., April 4, 1968, a shot rang out as King stood on the motel's second floor balcony. The bullet entered through his right cheek, smashing his jaw, then traveled down his spinal cord before lodging in his shoulder. Abernathy heard the shot from inside the motel room and ran to the balcony to find King on the floor. The events following the shooting have been disputed, as some people have accused Jackson of exaggerating his response.
After emergency chest surgery, King was pronounced dead at St. Joseph's Hospital at 7:05 p.m. According to biographer Taylor Branch, King's autopsy revealed that though only thirty-nine years old, he had the heart of a sixty-year-old man, perhaps a result of the stress of thirteen years in the civil rights movement.
The assassination led to a nationwide wave of riots in Washington DC, Chicago, Baltimore, Louisville, Kentucky, Kansas City, and dozens of other cities. Presidential candidate Robert Kennedy was on his way to Indianapolis for a campaign rally when he was informed of King's death. He gave a short speech to the gathering of supporters informing them of the tragedy and urging them to continue King's ideal of non-violence. James Farmer, Jr. and other civil rights leaders also called for non-violent action, while the more militant Stokely Carmichael called for a more forceful response.
President Lyndon B. Johnson declared April 7 a national day of mourning for the civil rights leader. Vice-President Hubert Humphrey attended King's funeral on behalf of the President, as there were fears that Johnson's presence might incite protests and perhaps violence.
At his widow's request, King's last sermon at Ebenezer Baptist Church was played at the funeral, a recording of his "Drum Major" sermon, given on February 4, 1968. In that sermon, King made a request that at his funeral no mention of his awards and honors be made, but that it be said that he tried to "feed the hungry", "clothe the naked", "be right on the war question", and "love and serve humanity". His good friend Mahalia Jackson sang his favorite hymn, "Take My Hand, Precious Lord", at the funeral.
The city of Memphis quickly settled the strike on terms favorable to the sanitation workers.
Two months after King's death, escaped convict James Earl Ray was captured at London Heathrow Airport while trying to leave the United Kingdom on a false Canadian passport in the name of Ramon George Sneyd on his way to white-ruled Rhodesia. Ray was quickly extradited to Tennessee and charged with King's murder. He confessed to the assassination on March 10, 1969, though he recanted this confession three days later. On the advice of his attorney Percy Foreman, Ray pleaded guilty to avoid a trial conviction and thus the possibility of receiving the death penalty. Ray was sentenced to a 99-year prison term. Ray fired Foreman as his attorney, from then on derisively calling him "Percy Fourflusher". He claimed a man he met in Montreal, Quebec with the alias "Raoul" was involved and that the assassination was the result of a conspiracy. He spent the remainder of his life attempting, unsuccessfully, to withdraw his guilty plea and secure the trial he never had. On June 10, 1977, shortly after Ray had testified to the House Select Committee on Assassinations that he did not shoot King, he and six other convicts escaped from Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary in Petros, Tennessee. They were recaptured on June 13 and returned to prison.
Allegations of conspiracy
Ray's lawyers maintained he was a scapegoat similar to the way that John F. Kennedy assassin Lee Harvey Oswald is seen by conspiracy theorists. One of the claims used to support this assertion is that Ray's confession was given under pressure, and he had been threatened with the death penalty. Ray was a thief and burglar, but he had no record of committing violent crimes with a weapon.
Those suspecting a conspiracy in the assassination point out the two separate ballistics tests conducted on the Remington Gamemaster recovered by police had neither conclusively proved Ray had been the killer nor that it had even been the murder weapon. Moreover, witnesses surrounding King at the moment of his death say the shot came from another location, from behind thick shrubbery near the rooming house – which had been inexplicably cut away in the days following the assassination – and not from the rooming house window.
Martin Luther King & Coretta Scott King's tomb, located on the grounds of the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site
In 1997, King's son Dexter Scott King met with Ray, and publicly supported Ray's efforts to obtain a new trial. Two years later, Coretta Scott King, King's widow, along with the rest of King's family, won a wrongful death claim against Loyd Jowers and "other unknown co-conspirators". Jowers claimed to have received $100,000 to arrange King's assassination. The jury of six whites and six blacks found Jowers guilty and that government agencies were party to the assassination. William F. Pepper represented the King family in the trial. King biographer David Garrow disagrees with William F. Pepper's claims that the government killed King. He is supported by author Gerald Posner who has researched and written about the assassination.
In 2000, the United States Department of Justice completed the investigation about Jowers' claims but did not find evidence to support allegations about conspiracy. The investigation report recommended no further investigation unless some new reliable facts are presented. The New York Times reported a church minister, Rev. Ronald Denton Wilson, claimed his father, Henry Clay Wilson—not James Earl Ray—assassinated Martin Luther King, Jr. He stated, "It wasn't a racist thing; he thought Martin Luther King was connected with communism, and he wanted to get him out of the way."
King's friend and colleague, James Bevel, disputed the argument that Ray acted alone, stating, "There is no way a ten-cent white boy could develop a plan to kill a million-dollar black man." In 2004, Jesse Jackson, who was with King at the time of his death, noted:
The fact is there were saboteurs to disrupt the march. And within our own organization, we found a very key person who was on the government payroll. So infiltration within, saboteurs from without and the press attacks. ...I will never believe that James Earl Ray had the motive, the money and the mobility to have done it himself. Our government was very involved in setting the stage for and I think the escape route for James Earl Ray.
King's main legacy was to secure progress on civil rights in the United States, which has enabled more Americans to reach their potential. He is frequently referenced as a human rights icon today. His name and legacy have often been invoked since his death as people have debated his likely position on various modern political issues.
On the international scene, King's legacy included influences on the Black Consciousness Movement and Civil Rights Movement in South Africa. King's work was cited by and served as an inspiration for Albert Lutuli, another black Nobel Peace prize winner who fought for racial justice in that country. The day following King's assassination, school teacher Jane Elliott conducted her first "Blue Eyes/Brown Eyes" exercise with her class of elementary school students in Riceville, Iowa. Her purpose was to help them understand King's death as it related to racism, something they little understood from having lived in a predominately white community.
King's wife, Coretta Scott King, followed her husband's footsteps and was active in matters of social justice and civil rights until her death in 2006. The same year that Martin Luther King was assassinated, she established the King Center in Atlanta, Georgia, dedicated to preserving his legacy and the work of championing nonviolent conflict resolution and tolerance worldwide. Their son, Dexter King, currently serves as the center's chairman. Daughter Yolanda King is a motivational speaker, author and founder of Higher Ground Productions, an organization specializing in diversity training.
There are opposing views, even within the King family, of the slain civil rights leader's religious and political views about gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people. King's widow Coretta said publicly that she believed her husband would have supported gay rights. However, his daughter Bernice believed he would have been opposed to gay marriage. The King Center includes discrimination, and lists homophobia as one of its examples, in its list of "The Triple Evils" that should be opposed.
In 1980, the Department of Interior designated King's boyhood home in Atlanta and several nearby buildings the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site. In 1996, United States Congress authorized the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity to establish a foundation to manage fund raising and design of a Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial on the Mall in Washington, DC. King was a member of Alpha Phi Alpha, the first intercollegiate Greek-letter fraternity established by and for African Americans. King was the first African American honored with his own memorial in the National Mall area and the first non-President to be commemorated in such a way. The King Memorial will be administered by the National Park Service.
King's life and assassination inspired many artistic works. A 1976 Broadway production, I Have a Dream, was directed by Robert Greenwald and starred Billy Dee Williams as King. In spring of 2006, a stage play Passages of Martin Luther King about King was produced in Beijing, China with King portrayed by Chinese actor, Cao Li. The play was written by Stanford University professor, Clayborne Carson. King spoke earlier about what people should remember him for if they are around for his funeral. He said rather than his awards and where he went to school, people should talk about how he fought peacefully for justice.:
“ I'd like somebody to mention that day that Martin Luther King Jr. tried to give his life serving others. I'd like for somebody to say that day that Martin Luther King Jr. tried to love somebody.
I want you to say that day that I tried to be right on the war question. I want you to be able to say that day that I did try to feed the hungry. I want you to be able to say that day that I did try in my life to clothe those who were naked. I want you to say on that day that I did try in my life to visit those who were in prison. And I want you to say that I tried to love and serve humanity.
Yes, if you want to say that I was a drum major. Say that I was a drum major for justice. Say that I was a drum major for peace. I was a drum major for righteousness. And all of the other shallow things will not matter.http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo234/bcottrell50/martin-luther-king-jr.jpg
http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u117/zbirdgraphix/Martin-Luther-King-Jr.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 01/15/11 at 2:11 pm
The person of the day...Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. (January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American clergyman, activist, and prominent leader in the African American civil rights movement. He is best known for being an iconic figure in the advancement of civil rights in the United States and around the world, using nonviolent methods following the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi. King is often presented as a heroic leader in the history of modern American liberalism.
A Baptist minister, King became a civil rights activist early in his career. He led the 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott and helped found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1957, serving as its first president. King's efforts led to the 1963 March on Washington, where King delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech. There, he expanded American values to include the vision of a color blind society, and established his reputation as one of the greatest orators in American history.
In 1964, King became the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for his work to end racial segregation and racial discrimination through civil disobedience and other nonviolent means. By the time of his death in 1968, he had refocused his efforts on ending poverty and stopping the Vietnam War.
King was assassinated on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee. He was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977 and Congressional Gold Medal in 2004; Martin Luther King, Jr. Day was established as a U.S. federal holiday in 1986.
King, representing SCLC, was among the leaders of the so-called "Big Six" civil rights organizations who were instrumental in the organization of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, which took place on August 28, 1963. The other leaders and organizations comprising the Big Six were: Roy Wilkins from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People; Whitney Young, National Urban League; A. Philip Randolph, Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters; John Lewis, SNCC; and James L. Farmer, Jr. of the Congress of Racial Equality. The primary logistical and strategic organizer was King's colleague Bayard Rustin. For King, this role was another which courted controversy, since he was one of the key figures who acceded to the wishes of President John F. Kennedy in changing the focus of the march. Kennedy initially opposed the march outright, because he was concerned it would negatively impact the drive for passage of civil rights legislation, but the organizers were firm that the march would proceed.
The march originally was conceived as an event to dramatize the desperate condition of blacks in the southern United States and a very public opportunity to place organizers' concerns and grievances squarely before the seat of power in the nation's capital. Organizers intended to excoriate and then challenge the federal government for its failure to safeguard the civil rights and physical safety of civil rights workers and blacks, generally, in the South. However, the group acquiesced to presidential pressure and influence, and the event ultimately took on a far less strident tone. As a result, some civil rights activists felt it presented an inaccurate, sanitized pageant of racial harmony; Malcolm X called it the "Farce on Washington," and members of the Nation of Islam were not permitted to attend the march.
King is most famous for his "I Have a Dream" speech, given in front of the Lincoln Memorial during the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.
The march did, however, make specific demands: an end to racial segregation in public schools; meaningful civil rights legislation, including a law prohibiting racial discrimination in employment; protection of civil rights workers from police brutality; a $2 minimum wage for all workers; and self-government for Washington, D.C., then governed by congressional committee. Despite tensions, the march was a resounding success. More than a quarter million people of diverse ethnicities attended the event, sprawling from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial onto the National Mall and around the reflecting pool. At the time, it was the largest gathering of protesters in Washington's history. King's "I Have a Dream" speech electrified the crowd. It is regarded, along with Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address and Franklin D. Roosevelt's Infamy Speech, as one of the finest speeches in the history of American oratory.
The March, and especially King's speech, helped put civil rights at the very top the liberal political agenda in the United States and facilitated passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
On April 3, King addressed a rally and delivered his "I've Been to the Mountaintop" address at Mason Temple, the world headquarters of the Church of God in Christ. King's flight to Memphis had been delayed by a bomb threat against his plane. In the close of the last speech of his career, in reference to the bomb threat, King said the following:
And then I got to Memphis. And some began to say the threats, or talk about the threats that were out. What would happen to me from some of our sick white brothers? Well, I don't know what will happen now. We've got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn't matter with me now. Because I've been to the mountaintop. And I don't mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land. And I'm happy, tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.
King was booked in room 306 at the Lorraine Motel, owned by Walter Bailey, in Memphis. The Reverend Ralph Abernathy, King's close friend and colleague who was present at the assassination, swore under oath to the United States House Select Committee on Assassinations that King and his entourage stayed at room 306 at the Lorraine Motel so often it was known as the "King-Abernathy suite."
According to Jesse Jackson, who was present, King's last words on the balcony prior to his assassination were spoken to musician Ben Branch, who was scheduled to perform that night at an event King was attending: "Ben, make sure you play "Take My Hand, Precious Lord" in the meeting tonight. Play it real pretty."
Then, at 6:01 p.m., April 4, 1968, a shot rang out as King stood on the motel's second floor balcony. The bullet entered through his right cheek, smashing his jaw, then traveled down his spinal cord before lodging in his shoulder. Abernathy heard the shot from inside the motel room and ran to the balcony to find King on the floor. The events following the shooting have been disputed, as some people have accused Jackson of exaggerating his response.
After emergency chest surgery, King was pronounced dead at St. Joseph's Hospital at 7:05 p.m. According to biographer Taylor Branch, King's autopsy revealed that though only thirty-nine years old, he had the heart of a sixty-year-old man, perhaps a result of the stress of thirteen years in the civil rights movement.
The assassination led to a nationwide wave of riots in Washington DC, Chicago, Baltimore, Louisville, Kentucky, Kansas City, and dozens of other cities. Presidential candidate Robert Kennedy was on his way to Indianapolis for a campaign rally when he was informed of King's death. He gave a short speech to the gathering of supporters informing them of the tragedy and urging them to continue King's ideal of non-violence. James Farmer, Jr. and other civil rights leaders also called for non-violent action, while the more militant Stokely Carmichael called for a more forceful response.
President Lyndon B. Johnson declared April 7 a national day of mourning for the civil rights leader. Vice-President Hubert Humphrey attended King's funeral on behalf of the President, as there were fears that Johnson's presence might incite protests and perhaps violence.
At his widow's request, King's last sermon at Ebenezer Baptist Church was played at the funeral, a recording of his "Drum Major" sermon, given on February 4, 1968. In that sermon, King made a request that at his funeral no mention of his awards and honors be made, but that it be said that he tried to "feed the hungry", "clothe the naked", "be right on the war question", and "love and serve humanity". His good friend Mahalia Jackson sang his favorite hymn, "Take My Hand, Precious Lord", at the funeral.
The city of Memphis quickly settled the strike on terms favorable to the sanitation workers.
Two months after King's death, escaped convict James Earl Ray was captured at London Heathrow Airport while trying to leave the United Kingdom on a false Canadian passport in the name of Ramon George Sneyd on his way to white-ruled Rhodesia. Ray was quickly extradited to Tennessee and charged with King's murder. He confessed to the assassination on March 10, 1969, though he recanted this confession three days later. On the advice of his attorney Percy Foreman, Ray pleaded guilty to avoid a trial conviction and thus the possibility of receiving the death penalty. Ray was sentenced to a 99-year prison term. Ray fired Foreman as his attorney, from then on derisively calling him "Percy Fourflusher". He claimed a man he met in Montreal, Quebec with the alias "Raoul" was involved and that the assassination was the result of a conspiracy. He spent the remainder of his life attempting, unsuccessfully, to withdraw his guilty plea and secure the trial he never had. On June 10, 1977, shortly after Ray had testified to the House Select Committee on Assassinations that he did not shoot King, he and six other convicts escaped from Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary in Petros, Tennessee. They were recaptured on June 13 and returned to prison.
Allegations of conspiracy
Ray's lawyers maintained he was a scapegoat similar to the way that John F. Kennedy assassin Lee Harvey Oswald is seen by conspiracy theorists. One of the claims used to support this assertion is that Ray's confession was given under pressure, and he had been threatened with the death penalty. Ray was a thief and burglar, but he had no record of committing violent crimes with a weapon.
Those suspecting a conspiracy in the assassination point out the two separate ballistics tests conducted on the Remington Gamemaster recovered by police had neither conclusively proved Ray had been the killer nor that it had even been the murder weapon. Moreover, witnesses surrounding King at the moment of his death say the shot came from another location, from behind thick shrubbery near the rooming house – which had been inexplicably cut away in the days following the assassination – and not from the rooming house window.
Martin Luther King & Coretta Scott King's tomb, located on the grounds of the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site
In 1997, King's son Dexter Scott King met with Ray, and publicly supported Ray's efforts to obtain a new trial. Two years later, Coretta Scott King, King's widow, along with the rest of King's family, won a wrongful death claim against Loyd Jowers and "other unknown co-conspirators". Jowers claimed to have received $100,000 to arrange King's assassination. The jury of six whites and six blacks found Jowers guilty and that government agencies were party to the assassination. William F. Pepper represented the King family in the trial. King biographer David Garrow disagrees with William F. Pepper's claims that the government killed King. He is supported by author Gerald Posner who has researched and written about the assassination.
In 2000, the United States Department of Justice completed the investigation about Jowers' claims but did not find evidence to support allegations about conspiracy. The investigation report recommended no further investigation unless some new reliable facts are presented. The New York Times reported a church minister, Rev. Ronald Denton Wilson, claimed his father, Henry Clay Wilson—not James Earl Ray—assassinated Martin Luther King, Jr. He stated, "It wasn't a racist thing; he thought Martin Luther King was connected with communism, and he wanted to get him out of the way."
King's friend and colleague, James Bevel, disputed the argument that Ray acted alone, stating, "There is no way a ten-cent white boy could develop a plan to kill a million-dollar black man." In 2004, Jesse Jackson, who was with King at the time of his death, noted:
The fact is there were saboteurs to disrupt the march. And within our own organization, we found a very key person who was on the government payroll. So infiltration within, saboteurs from without and the press attacks. ...I will never believe that James Earl Ray had the motive, the money and the mobility to have done it himself. Our government was very involved in setting the stage for and I think the escape route for James Earl Ray.
King's main legacy was to secure progress on civil rights in the United States, which has enabled more Americans to reach their potential. He is frequently referenced as a human rights icon today. His name and legacy have often been invoked since his death as people have debated his likely position on various modern political issues.
On the international scene, King's legacy included influences on the Black Consciousness Movement and Civil Rights Movement in South Africa. King's work was cited by and served as an inspiration for Albert Lutuli, another black Nobel Peace prize winner who fought for racial justice in that country. The day following King's assassination, school teacher Jane Elliott conducted her first "Blue Eyes/Brown Eyes" exercise with her class of elementary school students in Riceville, Iowa. Her purpose was to help them understand King's death as it related to racism, something they little understood from having lived in a predominately white community.
King's wife, Coretta Scott King, followed her husband's footsteps and was active in matters of social justice and civil rights until her death in 2006. The same year that Martin Luther King was assassinated, she established the King Center in Atlanta, Georgia, dedicated to preserving his legacy and the work of championing nonviolent conflict resolution and tolerance worldwide. Their son, Dexter King, currently serves as the center's chairman. Daughter Yolanda King is a motivational speaker, author and founder of Higher Ground Productions, an organization specializing in diversity training.
There are opposing views, even within the King family, of the slain civil rights leader's religious and political views about gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people. King's widow Coretta said publicly that she believed her husband would have supported gay rights. However, his daughter Bernice believed he would have been opposed to gay marriage. The King Center includes discrimination, and lists homophobia as one of its examples, in its list of "The Triple Evils" that should be opposed.
In 1980, the Department of Interior designated King's boyhood home in Atlanta and several nearby buildings the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site. In 1996, United States Congress authorized the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity to establish a foundation to manage fund raising and design of a Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial on the Mall in Washington, DC. King was a member of Alpha Phi Alpha, the first intercollegiate Greek-letter fraternity established by and for African Americans. King was the first African American honored with his own memorial in the National Mall area and the first non-President to be commemorated in such a way. The King Memorial will be administered by the National Park Service.
King's life and assassination inspired many artistic works. A 1976 Broadway production, I Have a Dream, was directed by Robert Greenwald and starred Billy Dee Williams as King. In spring of 2006, a stage play Passages of Martin Luther King about King was produced in Beijing, China with King portrayed by Chinese actor, Cao Li. The play was written by Stanford University professor, Clayborne Carson. King spoke earlier about what people should remember him for if they are around for his funeral. He said rather than his awards and where he went to school, people should talk about how he fought peacefully for justice.:
“ I'd like somebody to mention that day that Martin Luther King Jr. tried to give his life serving others. I'd like for somebody to say that day that Martin Luther King Jr. tried to love somebody.
I want you to say that day that I tried to be right on the war question. I want you to be able to say that day that I did try to feed the hungry. I want you to be able to say that day that I did try in my life to clothe those who were naked. I want you to say on that day that I did try in my life to visit those who were in prison. And I want you to say that I tried to love and serve humanity.
Yes, if you want to say that I was a drum major. Say that I was a drum major for justice. Say that I was a drum major for peace. I was a drum major for righteousness. And all of the other shallow things will not matter.http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo234/bcottrell50/martin-luther-king-jr.jpg
http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u117/zbirdgraphix/Martin-Luther-King-Jr.jpg
My Mother was born on April 4th so she's celebrating her birthday with his death.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 01/16/11 at 7:08 am
The person of the day...Sade
Helen Folasade Adu, OBE, (born 16 January 1959), better known as Sade, is a British singer-songwriter, composer, and record producer. She first achieved success in the 1980s as the frontwoman and lead vocalist of the popular Brit and Grammy Award winning English group Sade.
Sade was born in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. Her middle name, Folasade, means honor confers your crown. Her parents, Bisi Adu, a Nigerian lecturer in economics of Yoruba background, and Anne Hayes, an English district nurse, met in London, married in 1955 and moved to Nigeria. Later, when the marriage ran into difficulties, Anne Hayes returned to England, taking four-year-old Sade and her older brother Banji to live with her parents. When Sade was 11, she moved to live at Holland-on-Sea with her mother, and after completing school at 18 she moved to London and studied at the Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design.
While at college, she joined a soul band, Pride, in which she sang backing vocals. Her solo performances of the song Smooth Operator attracted the attention of record companies and in 1983, she signed a solo deal with Epic Records taking three members of the band, Stuart Matthewman, Andrew Hale and Paul Denman, with her. Sade and her band produced the first of a string of hit albums, the debut album Diamond Life, in 1984, and have subsequently sold over 50 million albums. She is the most successful solo female artist in British history.
In 2002, she appeared on the Red Hot Organization's Red Hot and Riot, a compilation CD in tribute to the music of fellow Nigerian musician, Fela Kuti. She recorded a remix of her hit single, "By Your Side," for the album and was billed as a co-producer.
Personal life
In 1989 she married Spanish film director Carlos Pliego. Their marriage ended in 1995. She gave birth to a daughter, Ila Adu, in 1996 after a relationship with a Jamaican musician.
Adu currently resides in Stroud, United Kingdom, with her partner Ian, his son Jack and her daughter Ila. She keeps her personal life private.
She was made a member of the Order of the British Empire in 2002. Prior to the release of Soldier of Love in 2010, the Daily Mail described her as "famously reclusive".
Discography
Sade
For more details on this topic, see Discography of Sade
Studio albums
* 1984: Diamond Life
* 1985: Promise
* 1988: Stronger Than Pride
* 1992: Love Deluxe
* 2000: Lovers Rock
* 2010: Soldier of Love
Other albums
* 1992: Remix Deluxe
* 1994: The Best of Sade
* 2002: Lovers Live
Collaboration
* Absolute Beginners OST (Virgin, 1986)
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm24/LAFE_2008/sade-2.jpg
http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk211/Bobbalouie_photo/A%20Cross%20Section%20Of%20My%20Albums/The%20Beautiful%20Babes%20Top%2010%20Fotos/DSCN0488.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 01/16/11 at 7:23 am
The person of the day...Sade
Helen Folasade Adu, OBE, (born 16 January 1959), better known as Sade, is a British singer-songwriter, composer, and record producer. She first achieved success in the 1980s as the frontwoman and lead vocalist of the popular Brit and Grammy Award winning English group Sade.
Sade was born in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. Her middle name, Folasade, means honor confers your crown. Her parents, Bisi Adu, a Nigerian lecturer in economics of Yoruba background, and Anne Hayes, an English district nurse, met in London, married in 1955 and moved to Nigeria. Later, when the marriage ran into difficulties, Anne Hayes returned to England, taking four-year-old Sade and her older brother Banji to live with her parents. When Sade was 11, she moved to live at Holland-on-Sea with her mother, and after completing school at 18 she moved to London and studied at the Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design.
While at college, she joined a soul band, Pride, in which she sang backing vocals. Her solo performances of the song Smooth Operator attracted the attention of record companies and in 1983, she signed a solo deal with Epic Records taking three members of the band, Stuart Matthewman, Andrew Hale and Paul Denman, with her. Sade and her band produced the first of a string of hit albums, the debut album Diamond Life, in 1984, and have subsequently sold over 50 million albums. She is the most successful solo female artist in British history.
In 2002, she appeared on the Red Hot Organization's Red Hot and Riot, a compilation CD in tribute to the music of fellow Nigerian musician, Fela Kuti. She recorded a remix of her hit single, "By Your Side," for the album and was billed as a co-producer.
Personal life
In 1989 she married Spanish film director Carlos Pliego. Their marriage ended in 1995. She gave birth to a daughter, Ila Adu, in 1996 after a relationship with a Jamaican musician.
Adu currently resides in Stroud, United Kingdom, with her partner Ian, his son Jack and her daughter Ila. She keeps her personal life private.
She was made a member of the Order of the British Empire in 2002. Prior to the release of Soldier of Love in 2010, the Daily Mail described her as "famously reclusive".
Discography
Sade
For more details on this topic, see Discography of Sade
Studio albums
* 1984: Diamond Life
* 1985: Promise
* 1988: Stronger Than Pride
* 1992: Love Deluxe
* 2000: Lovers Rock
* 2010: Soldier of Love
Other albums
* 1992: Remix Deluxe
* 1994: The Best of Sade
* 2002: Lovers Live
Collaboration
* Absolute Beginners OST (Virgin, 1986)
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm24/LAFE_2008/sade-2.jpg
http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk211/Bobbalouie_photo/A%20Cross%20Section%20Of%20My%20Albums/The%20Beautiful%20Babes%20Top%2010%20Fotos/DSCN0488.jpg
She made a comeback last year, but don't think much came of it.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 01/16/11 at 8:38 am
Smooth Operator and Sweetest Taboo are my favorites.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: CatwomanofV on 01/16/11 at 9:56 am
I was listening to Smooth Operator not too long ago-it is the last song on my exercise CD-I cool down to it.
Cat
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 01/16/11 at 11:00 am
She made a comeback last year, but don't think much came of it.
I never knew she made a comeback till I was watching a special on VH1
Smooth Operator and Sweetest Taboo are my favorites.
Those are the only songs I know by her.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 01/16/11 at 1:51 pm
I never knew she made a comeback till I was watching a special on VH1Those are the only songs I know by her.
She also had "Your Love Is King".
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 01/17/11 at 7:00 am
The person of the day...Michelle Obama
Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama (born January 17, 1964) is the wife of the 44th and incumbent President of the United States, Barack Obama, and is the first African-American First Lady of the United States. Raised on the South Side of Chicago, Obama attended Princeton University and Harvard Law School before returning to Chicago and to work at the law firm Sidley Austin, where she met her future husband. Subsequently, she worked as part of the staff of Chicago mayor Richard M. Daley, and for the University of Chicago Medical Center.
Throughout 2007 and 2008, she helped campaign for her husband's presidential bid and delivered a keynote address at the 2008 Democratic National Convention. She is the mother of two daughters, Malia and Sasha, and is the sister of Craig Robinson, men's basketball coach at Oregon State University. As the wife of a Senator, and later the First Lady, she has become a fashion icon and role model for women, and a notable advocate for poverty awareness and healthy eating.
Michelle LaVaughn Robinson was born on January 17, 1964, in Chicago, Illinois to Fraser Robinson III, a city water plant employee and Democratic precinct captain, and Marian (née Shields), a secretary at Spiegel's catalog store. Her mother was a full-time homemaker until Michelle entered high school. The Robinson and Shields families can trace their roots to pre-Civil War African Americans in the American South. Her paternal great-great grandfather, Jim Robinson, was an American slave in the state of South Carolina, where some of her paternal family still reside. Her maternal great-great-great grandmother, Melvinia Shields, also a slave, became pregnant by a white man. His name and the nature of their union have been lost. She gave birth to Michelle's biracial maternal great-great grandfather, Dolphus T. Shields.
She grew up in a two-story house on Euclid Street in Chicago's South Shore community area. Her parents rented a small apartment on the house's second floor from her great-aunt, who lived downstairs. She was raised in what she describes as a "conventional" home, with "the mother at home, the father works, you have dinner around the table". The family entertained together by playing games such as Monopoly and by reading. The family attended services at nearby South Shore Methodist Church. The Robinsons used to vacation in a rustic cabin in White Cloud, Michigan. She and her brother, Craig (who is 21 months older), skipped the second grade. By sixth grade, Michelle joined a gifted class at Bryn Mawr Elementary School (later renamed Bouchet Academy).
She attended Whitney Young High School, Chicago's first magnet high school, where she was on the honor roll for four years, took advanced placement classes, was a member of the National Honor Society and served as student council treasurer. The round trip commute from her South Side home to the Near West Side took three hours. She was a high school classmate of Santita Jackson, the daughter of Jesse Jackson and sister of Jesse Jackson, Jr. She graduated from high school in 1981 as salutatorian.
Michelle was inspired to follow her brother to Princeton University; he graduated in 1983. At Princeton, she challenged the teaching methodology for French because she felt that it should be more conversational. As part of her requirements for graduation, she wrote a thesis entitled "Princeton-Educated Blacks and the Black Community." "I remember being shocked," she says, "by college students who drove BMWs. I didn't even know parents who drove BMWs." While at Princeton, she got involved with the Third World Center (now known as the Carl A. Fields Center), an academic and cultural group that supported minority students, running their day care center which also included after school tutoring. Robinson majored in sociology and minored in African American studies and graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in 1985. She earned her Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from Harvard Law School in 1988. At Harvard she participated in demonstrations advocating the hiring of professors who were members of minorities and worked for the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau, assisting low-income tenants with housing cases. She is the third First Lady with a postgraduate degree, after her two immediate predecessors, Hillary Rodham Clinton and Laura Bush. In July 2008, Obama accepted the invitation to become an honorary member of the 100-year-old black sorority Alpha Kappa Alpha, which had no active undergraduate chapter at Princeton when she attended.
Barack and Michelle Obama, wearing dark outdoor clothes, in front of a crowd. His expression is muted; she has a wide smile.
Barack and Michelle Obama.
She met Barack Obama when they were among the few African Americans at their law firm, Sidley Austin (she has sometimes said only two, although others have pointed out there were others in different departments), and she was assigned to mentor him as a summer associate. Their relationship started with a business lunch and then a community organization meeting where he first impressed her. The couple's first date was to the Spike Lee movie Do the Right Thing. The couple married in October 1992, and they have two daughters, Malia Ann (born 1998) and Natasha (known as Sasha, born 2001). After his election to the U.S. Senate, the Obama family continued to live on Chicago's South Side, choosing to remain there rather than moving to Washington, D.C. Throughout her husband's 2008 campaign for President of the United States, she made a "commitment to be away overnight only once a week — to campaign only two days a week and be home by the end of the second day" for their two children. She is the sister of Craig Robinson, men's basketball coach at Oregon State University. She is the first cousin, once removed, of Rabbi Capers C. Funnye Jr., one of the country’s most prominent black rabbis.
She once requested that her then-fiancé meet her prospective boss, Valerie Jarrett, when considering her first career move. Now Jarrett is one of her husband’s closest advisors. The marital relationship has had its ebbs and flows; the combination of an evolving family life and beginning political career led to many arguments about balancing work and family. Barack Obama wrote in his second book, The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream, that "Tired and stressed, we had little time for conversation, much less romance". However, despite their family obligations and careers, they continue to attempt to schedule date nights.
The Obamas' daughters attended the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools, a private school. As a member of the school's board, Michelle fought to maintain diversity in the school when other board members connected with the University of Chicago tried to reserve more slots for children of the university faculty. This resulted in a plan to expand the school. The Obamas' daughters now attend Sidwell Friends School in Washington, after also considering Georgetown Day School. She stated in an interview on The Ellen DeGeneres Show that the couple does not intend to have any more children. They have received advice from past first ladies Laura Bush, Rosalynn Carter and Hillary Rodham Clinton about raising children in the White House. Marian Robinson, Michelle's mother, has moved into the White House to assist with child care.
Career
Following law school, she was an associate at the Chicago office of the law firm Sidley Austin, where she first met her future husband. At the firm, she worked on marketing and intellectual property.
In 1991, she held public sector positions in the Chicago city government as an Assistant to the Mayor, and as Assistant Commissioner of Planning and Development. In 1993, she became Executive Director for the Chicago office of Public Allies, a non-profit organization encouraging young people to work on social issues in nonprofit groups and government agencies. She worked there nearly four years and set fundraising records for the organization that still stood 12 years after she left.
In 1996, she served as the Associate Dean of Student Services at the University of Chicago, where she developed the University's Community Service Center. In 2002, she began working for the University of Chicago Hospitals, first as executive director for community affairs and, beginning May 2005, as Vice President for Community and External Affairs. She continued to hold the University of Chicago Hospitals position during the primary campaign, but cut back to part time in order to spend time with her daughters as well as work for her husband's election; she subsequently took a leave of absence from her job. According to the couple’s 2006 income tax return, her salary was $273,618 from the University of Chicago Hospitals, while her husband had a salary of $157,082 from the United States Senate. The Obamas' total income, however, was $991,296, which included $51,200 she earned as a member of the board of directors of TreeHouse Foods, and investments and royalties from his books.
She served as a salaried board member of TreeHouse Foods, Inc. (NYSE: THS), a major Wal-Mart supplier with whom she cut ties immediately after her husband made comments critical of Wal-Mart at an AFL-CIO forum in Trenton, New Jersey, on May 14, 2007. She serves on the board of directors of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs
With the ascent of her husband as a prominent national politician, Michelle Obama has become a part of popular culture. In May 2006, Essence listed her among "25 of the World's Most Inspiring Women." In July 2007, Vanity Fair listed her among "10 of the World's Best Dressed People." She was an honorary guest at Oprah Winfrey's Legends Ball as a "young'un" paying tribute to the 'Legends,' which helped pave the way for African American Women. In September 2007, 02138 magazine listed her 58th of 'The Harvard 100'; a list of the prior year's most influential Harvard alumni. Her husband was ranked fourth. In July 2008, she made a repeat appearance on the Vanity Fair international best dressed list. She also appeared on the 2008 People list of best-dressed women and was praised by the magazine for her "classic and confident" look.
Many sources have speculated that, as a high-profile African-American woman in a stable marriage, she will be a positive role model who will influence the view the world has of African-Americans. Her fashion choices were part of Fashion week, but Obama's influence in the field did not have an impact on the paucity of African-American models who participate, as some thought it might.
She has been compared to Jacqueline Kennedy due to her sense of style, and also to Barbara Bush for her discipline and decorum. Her white, one-shoulder Jason Wu 2009 inaugural gown was said to be "an unlikely combination of Nancy Reagan and Jackie Kennedy". Obama's style is described as populist. She often wears clothes by designers Calvin Klein, Oscar de la Renta, Isabel Toledo, Narciso Rodriguez, Donna Ricco and Maria Pinto, and has become a fashion trendsetter, in particular her favoring of sleeveless dresses that showcase her toned arms.
She appeared on the cover and in a photo spread in the March 2009 issue of Vogue. Every First Lady since Lou Hoover (except Bess Truman) has been in Vogue, but only Hillary Clinton had previously appeared on the cover.
The media have been criticized for focusing more on the first lady's fashion sense than her serious contributions. She has stated that she would like to focus attention as First Lady on issues of concern to military and working families. U.S.News & World Report blogger, PBS host and Scripps Howard columnist Bonnie Erbe has argued that Obama's own publicists seem to be feeding the emphasis on style over substance. Erbe has stated on several occasions that she is miscasting herself by overemphasizing style.
Work undertaken and causes promoted
Michelle Obama and Elizabeth II shake hands and smile at each other as Barack enters the room in the background.
Obama is greeted by Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace, April 1, 2009
Michelle Obama and Carla Bruni share a laugh while seated on adjacent couches.
Michelle Obama and Carla Bruni
During her early months as First Lady, she has frequently visited homeless shelters and soup kitchens. She has also sent representatives to schools and advocated public service. On her first trip abroad in April 2009, she toured a cancer ward with Sarah Brown, wife of British Prime Minister Gordon Brown. She has begun advocating on behalf of military families. Like her predecessors Clinton and Bush, who supported the organic movement by instructing the White House kitchens to buy organic food, Obama has received attention by planting an organic garden and installing bee hives on the South Lawn of the White House, which will supply organic produce and honey to the First Family and for state dinners and other official gatherings.
Obama has become an advocate of her husband's policy priorities by promoting bills that support it. Following the enactment of the Pay equity law, Obama hosted a White House reception for women's rights advocates in celebration. She has pronounced her support for the economic stimulus bill in visits to the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development and United States Department of Education. Some observers have looked favorably upon her legislative activities, while others have said that she should be less involved in politics. According to her representatives, she intends to visit all United States Cabinet-level agencies in order to get acquainted with Washington.
She has gained growing public support in her early months as first lady. She is notable for her support from military families and some Republicans. As the public is growing accustomed to her, she is becoming more accepted as a role model. Newsweek described her first trip abroad as an exhibition of her so-called "star power" and MSN described it as an display of sartorial elegance. There were questions raised in the American and British media regarding protocol when the Obamas met Queen Elizabeth II, and Michelle reciprocated a touch on her back by the Queen during a reception, purportedly against traditional royal etiquette. Palace sources denied that any breach in etiquette had occurred.
On June 5, 2009, the White House announced that Michelle Obama was replacing her current chief of staff, Jackie Norris, with Susan Sher, a longtime friend and adviser. Norris will become a senior adviser to the Corporation for National and Community Service. Then in February 2010, the resignation of White House Social Secretary, Desiree Rogers was announced to be effective the following month. Rogers had been at odds with other administration officials, such as David Axelrod, and then the White House State Dinner snafu occurred on November 24, 2009. Rogers was replaced by Julianna Smoot.
After a year as First Lady, she undertook her first lead role in an administrationwide initiative. Her goal was to make progress in reversing the 21st century trend of childhood obesity. She stated that her goal is to make this effort her legacy: "I want to leave something behind that we can say, ‘Because of this time that this person spent here, this thing has changed.’ And my hope is that that’s going to be in the area of childhood obesity." She has named the movement "Let's Move!". This effort does not supplant her other efforts: supporting military families, helping working women balance career and family, encouraging national service, promoting the arts and arts education, and fostering healthy eating and healthy living for children and families across the country. She has earned widespread publicity on the topic of healthy eating by planting the first white house vegetable garden since Eleanor Roosevelt served as first lady.
http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm220/mdcarterncat/Famous%20People/ebony2-760646.jpg
http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/gg198/ProfessorofTruth/Obama/1BlackPoliticsBarackObamaswifeMiche.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 01/17/11 at 7:58 am
Michelle Obama = The Obama Mama.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: CatwomanofV on 01/17/11 at 10:11 am
The person of the day...Michelle Obama
Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama (born January 17, 1964) is the wife of the 44th and incumbent President of the United States, Barack Obama, and is the first African-American First Lady of the United States. Raised on the South Side of Chicago, Obama attended Princeton University and Harvard Law School before returning to Chicago and to work at the law firm Sidley Austin, where she met her future husband. Subsequently, she worked as part of the staff of Chicago mayor Richard M. Daley, and for the University of Chicago Medical Center.
Throughout 2007 and 2008, she helped campaign for her husband's presidential bid and delivered a keynote address at the 2008 Democratic National Convention. She is the mother of two daughters, Malia and Sasha, and is the sister of Craig Robinson, men's basketball coach at Oregon State University. As the wife of a Senator, and later the First Lady, she has become a fashion icon and role model for women, and a notable advocate for poverty awareness and healthy eating.
Michelle LaVaughn Robinson was born on January 17, 1964, in Chicago, Illinois to Fraser Robinson III, a city water plant employee and Democratic precinct captain, and Marian (née Shields), a secretary at Spiegel's catalog store. Her mother was a full-time homemaker until Michelle entered high school. The Robinson and Shields families can trace their roots to pre-Civil War African Americans in the American South. Her paternal great-great grandfather, Jim Robinson, was an American slave in the state of South Carolina, where some of her paternal family still reside. Her maternal great-great-great grandmother, Melvinia Shields, also a slave, became pregnant by a white man. His name and the nature of their union have been lost. She gave birth to Michelle's biracial maternal great-great grandfather, Dolphus T. Shields.
She grew up in a two-story house on Euclid Street in Chicago's South Shore community area. Her parents rented a small apartment on the house's second floor from her great-aunt, who lived downstairs. She was raised in what she describes as a "conventional" home, with "the mother at home, the father works, you have dinner around the table". The family entertained together by playing games such as Monopoly and by reading. The family attended services at nearby South Shore Methodist Church. The Robinsons used to vacation in a rustic cabin in White Cloud, Michigan. She and her brother, Craig (who is 21 months older), skipped the second grade. By sixth grade, Michelle joined a gifted class at Bryn Mawr Elementary School (later renamed Bouchet Academy).
She attended Whitney Young High School, Chicago's first magnet high school, where she was on the honor roll for four years, took advanced placement classes, was a member of the National Honor Society and served as student council treasurer. The round trip commute from her South Side home to the Near West Side took three hours. She was a high school classmate of Santita Jackson, the daughter of Jesse Jackson and sister of Jesse Jackson, Jr. She graduated from high school in 1981 as salutatorian.
Michelle was inspired to follow her brother to Princeton University; he graduated in 1983. At Princeton, she challenged the teaching methodology for French because she felt that it should be more conversational. As part of her requirements for graduation, she wrote a thesis entitled "Princeton-Educated Blacks and the Black Community." "I remember being shocked," she says, "by college students who drove BMWs. I didn't even know parents who drove BMWs." While at Princeton, she got involved with the Third World Center (now known as the Carl A. Fields Center), an academic and cultural group that supported minority students, running their day care center which also included after school tutoring. Robinson majored in sociology and minored in African American studies and graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in 1985. She earned her Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from Harvard Law School in 1988. At Harvard she participated in demonstrations advocating the hiring of professors who were members of minorities and worked for the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau, assisting low-income tenants with housing cases. She is the third First Lady with a postgraduate degree, after her two immediate predecessors, Hillary Rodham Clinton and Laura Bush. In July 2008, Obama accepted the invitation to become an honorary member of the 100-year-old black sorority Alpha Kappa Alpha, which had no active undergraduate chapter at Princeton when she attended.
Barack and Michelle Obama, wearing dark outdoor clothes, in front of a crowd. His expression is muted; she has a wide smile.
Barack and Michelle Obama.
She met Barack Obama when they were among the few African Americans at their law firm, Sidley Austin (she has sometimes said only two, although others have pointed out there were others in different departments), and she was assigned to mentor him as a summer associate. Their relationship started with a business lunch and then a community organization meeting where he first impressed her. The couple's first date was to the Spike Lee movie Do the Right Thing. The couple married in October 1992, and they have two daughters, Malia Ann (born 1998) and Natasha (known as Sasha, born 2001). After his election to the U.S. Senate, the Obama family continued to live on Chicago's South Side, choosing to remain there rather than moving to Washington, D.C. Throughout her husband's 2008 campaign for President of the United States, she made a "commitment to be away overnight only once a week — to campaign only two days a week and be home by the end of the second day" for their two children. She is the sister of Craig Robinson, men's basketball coach at Oregon State University. She is the first cousin, once removed, of Rabbi Capers C. Funnye Jr., one of the country’s most prominent black rabbis.
She once requested that her then-fiancé meet her prospective boss, Valerie Jarrett, when considering her first career move. Now Jarrett is one of her husband’s closest advisors. The marital relationship has had its ebbs and flows; the combination of an evolving family life and beginning political career led to many arguments about balancing work and family. Barack Obama wrote in his second book, The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream, that "Tired and stressed, we had little time for conversation, much less romance". However, despite their family obligations and careers, they continue to attempt to schedule date nights.
The Obamas' daughters attended the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools, a private school. As a member of the school's board, Michelle fought to maintain diversity in the school when other board members connected with the University of Chicago tried to reserve more slots for children of the university faculty. This resulted in a plan to expand the school. The Obamas' daughters now attend Sidwell Friends School in Washington, after also considering Georgetown Day School. She stated in an interview on The Ellen DeGeneres Show that the couple does not intend to have any more children. They have received advice from past first ladies Laura Bush, Rosalynn Carter and Hillary Rodham Clinton about raising children in the White House. Marian Robinson, Michelle's mother, has moved into the White House to assist with child care.
Career
Following law school, she was an associate at the Chicago office of the law firm Sidley Austin, where she first met her future husband. At the firm, she worked on marketing and intellectual property.
In 1991, she held public sector positions in the Chicago city government as an Assistant to the Mayor, and as Assistant Commissioner of Planning and Development. In 1993, she became Executive Director for the Chicago office of Public Allies, a non-profit organization encouraging young people to work on social issues in nonprofit groups and government agencies. She worked there nearly four years and set fundraising records for the organization that still stood 12 years after she left.
In 1996, she served as the Associate Dean of Student Services at the University of Chicago, where she developed the University's Community Service Center. In 2002, she began working for the University of Chicago Hospitals, first as executive director for community affairs and, beginning May 2005, as Vice President for Community and External Affairs. She continued to hold the University of Chicago Hospitals position during the primary campaign, but cut back to part time in order to spend time with her daughters as well as work for her husband's election; she subsequently took a leave of absence from her job. According to the couple’s 2006 income tax return, her salary was $273,618 from the University of Chicago Hospitals, while her husband had a salary of $157,082 from the United States Senate. The Obamas' total income, however, was $991,296, which included $51,200 she earned as a member of the board of directors of TreeHouse Foods, and investments and royalties from his books.
She served as a salaried board member of TreeHouse Foods, Inc. (NYSE: THS), a major Wal-Mart supplier with whom she cut ties immediately after her husband made comments critical of Wal-Mart at an AFL-CIO forum in Trenton, New Jersey, on May 14, 2007. She serves on the board of directors of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs
With the ascent of her husband as a prominent national politician, Michelle Obama has become a part of popular culture. In May 2006, Essence listed her among "25 of the World's Most Inspiring Women." In July 2007, Vanity Fair listed her among "10 of the World's Best Dressed People." She was an honorary guest at Oprah Winfrey's Legends Ball as a "young'un" paying tribute to the 'Legends,' which helped pave the way for African American Women. In September 2007, 02138 magazine listed her 58th of 'The Harvard 100'; a list of the prior year's most influential Harvard alumni. Her husband was ranked fourth. In July 2008, she made a repeat appearance on the Vanity Fair international best dressed list. She also appeared on the 2008 People list of best-dressed women and was praised by the magazine for her "classic and confident" look.
Many sources have speculated that, as a high-profile African-American woman in a stable marriage, she will be a positive role model who will influence the view the world has of African-Americans. Her fashion choices were part of Fashion week, but Obama's influence in the field did not have an impact on the paucity of African-American models who participate, as some thought it might.
She has been compared to Jacqueline Kennedy due to her sense of style, and also to Barbara Bush for her discipline and decorum. Her white, one-shoulder Jason Wu 2009 inaugural gown was said to be "an unlikely combination of Nancy Reagan and Jackie Kennedy". Obama's style is described as populist. She often wears clothes by designers Calvin Klein, Oscar de la Renta, Isabel Toledo, Narciso Rodriguez, Donna Ricco and Maria Pinto, and has become a fashion trendsetter, in particular her favoring of sleeveless dresses that showcase her toned arms.
She appeared on the cover and in a photo spread in the March 2009 issue of Vogue. Every First Lady since Lou Hoover (except Bess Truman) has been in Vogue, but only Hillary Clinton had previously appeared on the cover.
The media have been criticized for focusing more on the first lady's fashion sense than her serious contributions. She has stated that she would like to focus attention as First Lady on issues of concern to military and working families. U.S.News & World Report blogger, PBS host and Scripps Howard columnist Bonnie Erbe has argued that Obama's own publicists seem to be feeding the emphasis on style over substance. Erbe has stated on several occasions that she is miscasting herself by overemphasizing style.
Work undertaken and causes promoted
Michelle Obama and Elizabeth II shake hands and smile at each other as Barack enters the room in the background.
Obama is greeted by Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace, April 1, 2009
Michelle Obama and Carla Bruni share a laugh while seated on adjacent couches.
Michelle Obama and Carla Bruni
During her early months as First Lady, she has frequently visited homeless shelters and soup kitchens. She has also sent representatives to schools and advocated public service. On her first trip abroad in April 2009, she toured a cancer ward with Sarah Brown, wife of British Prime Minister Gordon Brown. She has begun advocating on behalf of military families. Like her predecessors Clinton and Bush, who supported the organic movement by instructing the White House kitchens to buy organic food, Obama has received attention by planting an organic garden and installing bee hives on the South Lawn of the White House, which will supply organic produce and honey to the First Family and for state dinners and other official gatherings.
Obama has become an advocate of her husband's policy priorities by promoting bills that support it. Following the enactment of the Pay equity law, Obama hosted a White House reception for women's rights advocates in celebration. She has pronounced her support for the economic stimulus bill in visits to the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development and United States Department of Education. Some observers have looked favorably upon her legislative activities, while others have said that she should be less involved in politics. According to her representatives, she intends to visit all United States Cabinet-level agencies in order to get acquainted with Washington.
She has gained growing public support in her early months as first lady. She is notable for her support from military families and some Republicans. As the public is growing accustomed to her, she is becoming more accepted as a role model. Newsweek described her first trip abroad as an exhibition of her so-called "star power" and MSN described it as an display of sartorial elegance. There were questions raised in the American and British media regarding protocol when the Obamas met Queen Elizabeth II, and Michelle reciprocated a touch on her back by the Queen during a reception, purportedly against traditional royal etiquette. Palace sources denied that any breach in etiquette had occurred.
On June 5, 2009, the White House announced that Michelle Obama was replacing her current chief of staff, Jackie Norris, with Susan Sher, a longtime friend and adviser. Norris will become a senior adviser to the Corporation for National and Community Service. Then in February 2010, the resignation of White House Social Secretary, Desiree Rogers was announced to be effective the following month. Rogers had been at odds with other administration officials, such as David Axelrod, and then the White House State Dinner snafu occurred on November 24, 2009. Rogers was replaced by Julianna Smoot.
After a year as First Lady, she undertook her first lead role in an administrationwide initiative. Her goal was to make progress in reversing the 21st century trend of childhood obesity. She stated that her goal is to make this effort her legacy: "I want to leave something behind that we can say, ‘Because of this time that this person spent here, this thing has changed.’ And my hope is that that’s going to be in the area of childhood obesity." She has named the movement "Let's Move!". This effort does not supplant her other efforts: supporting military families, helping working women balance career and family, encouraging national service, promoting the arts and arts education, and fostering healthy eating and healthy living for children and families across the country. She has earned widespread publicity on the topic of healthy eating by planting the first white house vegetable garden since Eleanor Roosevelt served as first lady.
http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm220/mdcarterncat/Famous%20People/ebony2-760646.jpg
http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/gg198/ProfessorofTruth/Obama/1BlackPoliticsBarackObamaswifeMiche.jpg
She is SOOOOO beautiful-and super smart. I think she is prettiest First Lady this country has EVER had. It used to be Jackie but Michelle beats Jackie IMO!
Cat
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 01/17/11 at 4:40 pm
She is SOOOOO beautiful-and super smart. I think she is prettiest First Lady this country has EVER had. It used to be Jackie but Michelle beats Jackie IMO!
Cat
She is one very classy first lady. :)
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: CatwomanofV on 01/17/11 at 6:46 pm
She is one very classy first lady. :)
Extremely.
Cat
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 01/18/11 at 7:10 am
The person of the day...Danny Kaye
David Daniel Kaminsky (January 18, 1913 – March 3, 1987) was an American actor, singer, dancer, and comedian. He became extremely popular in films with his bravura performances of patter songs and for children's favorites such as The Inch Worm and The Ugly Duckling. He was the first ambassador-at-large of UNICEF
Danny Kaye made his film debut in a 1935 comedy short titled Moon Over Manhattan. In 1937 he signed with New York–based Educational Pictures for a series of two-reel comedies. Kaye usually played a manic, dark-haired, fast-talking Russian in these low-budget shorts, opposite young hopefuls June Allyson or Imogene Coca. The Kaye series ended abruptly when the studio shut down permanently in 1938.
Kaye scored a personal triumph in 1941, in the hit Broadway comedy Lady in the Dark. His show-stopping number was "Tchaikovsky", by Kurt Weill and Ira Gershwin, in which he sang the names of a whole string of Russian composers at breakneck speed, seemingly without taking a breath.
His feature film debut was in producer Samuel Goldwyn's Technicolor 1944 comedy Up in Arms, a remake of Goldwyn's Eddie Cantor comedy Whoopee! (1930). Kaye's rubber face and fast patter were an instant hit, and rival producer Robert M. Savini cashed in almost immediately by compiling three of Kaye's old Educational Pictures shorts into a makeshift feature, The Birth of a Star (1945).
Kaye starred in several movies with actress Virginia Mayo in the 1940s, and is well known for his roles in films such as The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947), The Inspector General (1949), On the Riviera (1951) co-starring Gene Tierney, Knock on Wood (1954), White Christmas (1954, in a role originally intended for Fred Astaire, then Donald O'Connor),The Court Jester (1956), and Merry Andrew (1958). Kaye starred in two pictures based on biographies, Hans Christian Andersen (1952) about the Danish story-teller, and The Five Pennies (1959) about jazz pioneer Red Nichols. His wife, writer/lyricist Sylvia Fine, wrote many of the witty, tongue-twisting songs Danny Kaye became famous for. Some of Kaye's films included the theme of doubles, two people who look identical (both played by Danny Kaye) being mistaken for each other, to comic effect. The Kaye-Fine marriage, as was the case with many spouses who worked together in the high-pressure world of film-making, was sometimes stormy.
During World War II, the Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated rumors that Kaye dodged the draft by manufacturing a medical condition to gain 4-F status and exemption from military service. FBI files show he was also under investigation for supposed links with Communist groups. The allegations were never substantiated, and he was never charged with any associated crime.
Kaye died of a heart attack in March 1987, following a bout with hepatitis. Kaye had quadruple bypass heart surgery in February 1983; he contracted hepatitis from a blood transfusion he received at that time. He left a widow, Sylvia Fine, and a daughter, Dena. He is interred in the Kensico Cemetery in Valhalla, New York. His grave is adorned with a bench that contains friezes of a baseball and bat, an aircraft, a piano, a flower pot, musical notes, and a glove. Kaye's name, birth and death dates are inscribed on the glove.
Personal life
Kaye and his wife, Sylvia, both grew up in Brooklyn, living only a few blocks apart, but they did not meet until they were both working on an off-Broadway show in 1939. Sylvia was an audition pianist at the time. Danny and Sylvia discovered that the dentist whose office he had been hired to watch was Sylvia's father, Dr. Samuel Fine. They were married on January 3, 1940. Danny, working in Florida at the time, proposed on the telephone; the couple was married in Fort Lauderdale. Their daughter, Dina, was born in 1946.
After Kaye and his wife became estranged, he was allegedly involved with a succession of women, though he and Fine never divorced. The best-known of these women was actress Eve Arden.
There are persistent rumors that Kaye was either homosexual or bisexual, and some sources claim that Kaye and Laurence Olivier had a ten-year relationship in the 1950s while Olivier was still married to Vivien Leigh. A biography of Leigh states that the alleged relationship caused her to have a breakdown. The alleged relationship has been denied by Olivier's official biographer, Terry Coleman. Joan Plowright, Olivier's widow, has dealt with the matter in different ways on different occasions: she deflected the question (but alluded to Olivier's "demons") in a BBC interview and was reported saying on another occasion that "I have always resented the comments that it was I who was the homewrecker of Larry's marriage to Vivien Leigh. Danny Kaye was attached to Larry far earlier than I." However, in her memoirs Plowright denies that there had been an affair between the two men. Producer Perry Lafferty reported: “People would ask me, 'Is he gay? Is he gay?' I never saw anything to substantiate that in all the time I was with him.” Kaye’s final girlfriend, Marlene Sorosky, reported that he told her, “I’ve never had a homosexual experience in my life. I’ve never had any kind of gay relationship. I’ve had opportunities, but I never did anything about them.”
Honors, awards, tributes
* Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award (1981)
* Asteroid 6546 Kaye
* Danny Kaye was knighted by Queen Margrethe II of Denmark in 1983 for his 1952 portrayal of Hans Christian Andersen in the film of the same name.
* Kennedy Center Honor (1984)
* The song I Wish I Was Danny Kaye on Miracle Legion's 1996 album Portrait of a Damaged Family
* On June 23, 1987, Kaye was posthumously presented with the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Ronald Reagan. The award was received by his daughter Dena.
Filmography
Film
# Title Year Role Director Co-stars Filmed in
1. Moon Over Manhattan 1935 Himself Al Christie Sylvia Froos, Marion Martin Black and white
2. Dime a Dance 1937 Eddie Al Christie Imogene Coca, June Allyson Black and white
3. Getting an Eyeful 1938 Russian Al Christie Charles Kemper, Sally Starr Black and white
4. Cupid Takes a Holiday 1938 Nikolai Nikolaevich (bride-seeker) William Watson Douglas Leavitt, Estelle Jayne Black and white
5. Money on Your Life 1938 Russian William Watson Charles Kemper, Sally Starr Black and white
6. Up in Arms 1944 Danny Weems Elliott Nugent Dinah Shore, Dana Andrews Technicolor
7. Wonder Man 1945 Edwin Dingle / Buzzy Bellew H. Bruce Humberstone Virginia Mayo, Vera-Ellen, Steve Cochran Technicolor
8. The Kid from Brooklyn 1946 Burleigh Hubert Sullivan Norman Z. McLeod Virginia Mayo, Vera-Ellen, Steve Cochran, Eve Arden Technicolor
9. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty 1947 Walter Mitty Norman Z. McLeod Virginia Mayo, Boris Karloff, Fay Bainter, Ann Rutherford Technicolor
10. A Song Is Born 1948 Professor Hobart Frisbee Howard Hawks Virginia Mayo, Benny Goodman, Hugh Herbert, Steve Cochran Technicolor
11. It's a Great Feeling 1949 Himself David Bulter Dennis Morgan, Doris Day, Jack Carson Technicolor
12. The Inspector General 1949 Georgi Henry Koster Walter Slezak, Barbara Bates, Elsa Lanchester, Gene Lockhart Technicolor
13. On the Riviera 1951 Jack Martin / Henri Duran Walter Lang Gene Tierney, Corinne Calvet Technicolor
14. Hans Christian Andersen 1952 Hans Christian Andersen Charles Vidor Farley Granger, Zizi Jeanmaire Technicolor
15. Knock on Wood 1954 Jerry Morgan / Papa Morgan Norman Panama
Mevin Frank Mai Zetterling, Torin Thatcher Technicolor
16. White Christmas 1954 Phil Davis Michael Curtiz Bing Crosby, Rosemary Clooney, Vera-Ellen, Dean Jagger VistaVision
Technicolor
17. The Court Jester 1956 Hubert Hawkins Norman Panama
Mevin Frank Glynis Johns, Basil Rathbone, Angela Lansbury VistaVision
Technicolor
18. Merry Andrew 1958 Andrew Larabee Michael Kidd Anna Maria, Pier Angeli CinemaScope
Metrocolor
19. Me and the Colonel 1958 Samuel L. Jacobowsky Peter Glenville Curd Jürgens, Nicole Maurey, Françoise Rosay, Akim Tamiroff Black and white
20. The Five Pennies 1959 Red Nichols Melville Shavelson Barbara Bel Geddes, Louis Armstrong, Tuesday Weld VistaVision
Technicolor
21. On the Double 1961 Pfc. Ernie Williams Melville Shavelson Dana Wynter, Margaret Rutherford, Diana Dors Panavision
Technicolor
22. The Man from the Diner's Club 1963 Ernest Klenk Frank Tashlin Cara Williams, Martha Hyer Black and white
23. The Madwoman of Chaillot 1969 The Ragpicker Bryan Forbes Katharine Hepburn, Charles Boyer Technicolor
Television
* Autumn Laughter (1938) (experimental telecast)
* The Danny Kaye Show with Lucille Ball (1962) (special)
* The Danny Kaye Show (1963–1967) (series)
* The Lucy Show: "Lucy Meets Danny Kaye" (1964) (guest appearance)
* Here Comes Peter Cottontail (1971) (voice)
* The Enchanted World of Danny Kaye: The Emperor's New Clothes (1972) (special)
* An Evening with John Denver (1975) (special)
* Pinocchio (1976) (special)
* Peter Pan (1976) (special)
* The Muppet Show (1978) (guest appearance)
* Disneyland's 25th Anniversary (1980) (special guest appearance)
* An Evening with Danny Kaye (1981) (special)
* Skokie (1981)
* The New Twilight Zone: "Paladin of the Lost Hour" (1985) (guest appearance)
* The Cosby Show: "The Dentist" (1986) (guest appearance)
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f148/slave2moonlight/DannyKayeresize.jpg
http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c162/johnmaloney69/Scandanny.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 01/18/11 at 8:00 am
Danny Kaye was extremely funny,one of the best.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: CatwomanofV on 01/18/11 at 10:23 am
I LOVE Danny Kaye. For all of you who are not familiar with "Tchaikovsky", here it is. Gotta love it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hh-wOvuOHPE
Here is a little FYI. In "Lady in the Dark" which "Tchaikovsky" is from-as the bio states premiered in 1941, the part he played was a gay man. :o :o :o I know, I know-I bet everyone didn't know they had gay men in 1941. :D ;D ;D ;D Actually, that was very risquè for that day & age. I'm not too sure if a gay man was portrayed in a play/movie prior to that-probably but I just don't recall.
Cat
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 01/18/11 at 3:05 pm
I love him also. :) I was on facebook and playing Family Feud and one of the fast money questions was name a famous Danny, so I type in Kaye. Tim said "who" and then laughed when my answer got a big fat 0 ;D
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: CatwomanofV on 01/18/11 at 3:50 pm
I love him also. :) I was on facebook and playing Family Feud and one of the fast money questions was name a famous Danny, so I type in Kaye. Tim said "who" and then laughed when my answer got a big fat 0 ;D
I can't believe your answer got a 0. I wonder who they polled.
Cat
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 01/18/11 at 10:39 pm
I can't believe your answer got a 0. I wonder who they polled.
Cat
most be younger than 50 ;D
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: gibbo on 01/19/11 at 4:24 am
I can't believe your answer got a 0. I wonder who they polled.
Cat
Danny Kaye would have been my first answer....followed by Danny Bonaduce...followed by Danny Boy!!! ;)
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 01/19/11 at 6:14 am
Danny Kaye would have been my first answer....followed by Danny Bonaduce...followed by Danny Boy!!! ;)
I thought of Bonaduce afterward.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 01/19/11 at 6:19 am
The person of the day...Janis Joplin
Janis Lyn Joplin (January 19, 1943 – October 4, 1970) was an American singer, songwriter and music arranger. She rose to prominence in the late 1960s as the lead singer of Big Brother and the Holding Company and later as a solo artist. Rolling Stone magazine ranked Joplin number 46 on its list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time in 2004, and number 28 on its 2008 list of 100 Greatest Singers of All Time
In 1966, Joplin's bluesy vocal style attracted the attention of the psychedelic rock band Big Brother and the Holding Company, a band that had gained some renown among the nascent hippie community in Haight-Ashbury. She was recruited to join the group by Chet Helms, a promoter who had known her in Texas and who at the time was managing Big Brother. Helms brought her back to San Francisco and Joplin joined Big Brother on June 4, 1966. Her first public performance with them was at the Avalon Ballroom in San Francisco. Due to persistent persuading by keyboardist and close friend Stephen Ryder, Joplin avoided drug use for several weeks, enjoining bandmate Dave Getz to promise that using needles would not be allowed in their rehearsal space or in the communal apartment where they lived. When a visitor to the apartment injected drugs in front of Joplin, she angrily reminded Getz that he had broken his promise. A San Francisco concert from that summer was recorded and released in the 1984 album Cheaper Thrills.
On August 23, 1966, during a four week engagement in Chicago, the group signed a deal with independent label Mainstream Records. They recorded tracks in a Chicago recording studio, but the label owner Bob Shad refused to pay their airfare back to San Francisco. Shortly after the five band members drove from Chicago to Northern California with very little money, they moved with the Grateful Dead to a house in Lagunitas, California. It was there that Joplin relapsed into hard drugs.
The Mantra-Rock Dance promotional poster featuring Big Brother and the Holding Company.
One of Joplin's earliest major performances in 1967 was the Mantra-Rock Dance, a musical event held on January 29, 1967—just ten days after her birthday—at the Avalon Ballroom by the San Francisco Hare Krishna temple. Janis Joplin and Big Brother performed there along with the Hare Krishna founder Bhaktivedanta Swami, Allen Ginsberg, Moby Grape, and Grateful Dead, donating proceeds to the Krishna temple.
In early 1967, Joplin met Country Joe McDonald of the group Country Joe and the Fish. The pair lived together as a couple for a few months. Joplin and Big Brother began playing clubs in San Francisco, at the Fillmore West, Winterland and the Avalon Ballroom. They also played at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, as well as in Seattle, Washington and Vancouver, British Columbia, the Psychedelic Supermarket in Boston, Massachusetts, and the Golden Bear Club in Huntington Beach, California.
The band's debut album was released by Columbia Records in August 1967, shortly after the group's breakthrough appearance in June at the Monterey Pop Festival. Two songs from Big Brother's set at Monterey were filmed. "Combination of the Two" and a version of Big Mama Thornton's "Ball and Chain" appeared in D.A. Pennebaker's documentary Monterey Pop. The film captured Cass Elliot in the crowd silently mouthing "Wow! That's really heavy!" during Joplin's performance.
In November 1967, the group parted ways with Chet Helms and signed with top artist manager Albert Grossman. Up to this point, Big Brother had performed mainly in California, but had gained national prominence with their Monterey performance. On February 16, 1968, the group began its first East Coast tour in Philadelphia, and the following day gave their first performance in New York City at the Anderson Theater. On April 7, 1968, the last day of their East Coast tour, Joplin and Big Brother performed with Jimi Hendrix, Buddy Guy, Joni Mitchell, Richie Havens, Paul Butterfield, and Elvin Bishop at the "Wake for Martin Luther King, Jr." concert in New York.
During the spring of 1968, Joplin and Big Brother made their nationwide television debut on The Dick Cavett Show, an ABC daytime variety show hosted by Dick Cavett. Later, she made three appearances on the primetime Cavett program. During this time, the band was billed as "Janis Joplin and Big Brother and the Holding Company," although the media coverage given to Joplin incurred resentment among the other members of the band. The other members of Big Brother thought that Joplin was on a "star trip," while others were telling Joplin that Big Brother was a terrible band and that she ought to dump them.
Time magazine called Joplin "probably the most powerful singer to emerge from the white rock movement," and Richard Goldstein, in Vogue magazine, wrote that Joplin was "the most staggering leading woman in rock... she slinks like tar, scowls like war... clutching the knees of a final stanza, begging it not to leave... Janis Joplin can sing the chic off any listener."
Big Brother's second album, Cheap Thrills, featured a cover design by counterculture cartoonist Robert Crumb. Although Cheap Thrills sounded as if it was mostly "live," only one track ("Ball and Chain") was actually recorded live; the rest of the tracks were studio recordings. The album had a raw quality, including the sound of a cocktail glass breaking and the broken shards being swept away during the song "Turtle Blues." With the documentary film Monterey Pop released in late 1968, the album launched Joplin's successful, albeit short, musical career.
Cheap Thrills, which gave the band a breakthrough hit single, "Piece of My Heart", reached the number one spot on the Billboard charts eight weeks after its release, remaining for eight (nonconsecutive) weeks. The album was certified gold at release and sold over a million copies in the first month of its release. Live at Winterland '68, recorded at the Winterland Ballroom on April 12 and 13, 1968, featured Joplin and Big Brother and the Holding Company at the height of their mutual career working through a selection of tracks from their albums.
The band made another East Coast tour during July–August 1968, performing at the Columbia Records convention in Puerto Rico and the Newport Folk Festival. After returning to San Francisco for two hometown shows at the Palace of Fine Arts Festival on August 31 and September 1, Joplin announced that she would be leaving Big Brother. The group continued touring through the fall and Joplin gave her last official performance with Big Brother at a Family Dog benefit on December 1, 1968.
Solo career: 1969–1970
Kozmic Blues Band
After splitting from Big Brother, Joplin formed a new backup group, the Kozmic Blues Band. The band was influenced by the Stax-Volt Rhythm and Blues bands of the 1960s, as exemplified by Otis Redding and the Bar-Kays, who were major musical influences on Joplin. The Stax-Volt R&B sound was typified by the use of horns and had a more bluesy, funky, soul, pop-oriented sound than most of the hard-rock psychedelic bands of the period.
By early 1969, Joplin was addicted to heroin, allegedly shooting at least $200 worth of heroin per day, although efforts were made to keep her clean during the recording of I Got Dem Ol' Kozmic Blues Again Mama!. Gabriel Mekler, who produced the Kozmic Blues, told publicist-turned-biographer Myra Friedman after Joplin's death that the singer had lived in his house during the June 1969 recording sessions at his insistence so he could keep her away from drugs and her drug-using friends.
The Kozmic Blues album, released in September 1969, was certified gold later that year but did not match the success of Cheap Thrills. Reviews of the new group were mixed. Some music critics, including Ralph Gleason of the San Francisco Chronicle, were negative. Gleason wrote that the new band was a "drag" and that Joplin should "scrap" her new band and "go right back to being a member of Big Brother...(if they'll have her)." Other reviewers, such as reporter Carl Bernstein of the Washington Post generally ignored the flaws and devoted entire articles to celebrating the singer's magic.
Joplin and the Kozmic Blues Band toured North America and Europe throughout 1969, appearing at Woodstock in August. By most accounts, Woodstock was not a happy affair for Joplin. Faced with a ten hour wait after arriving at the festival, she shot heroin and was drinking alcohol, so by the time she hit the stage, she was "three sheets to the wind." Joplin also had problems at Madison Square Garden where, as she told rock journalist David Dalton, the audience watched and listened to "every note with 'Is she gonna make it?' in their eyes." Joplin's performance was not included in the documentary film Woodstock although the 25th anniversary director's cut of Woodstock includes her performance of Work Me, Lord.
At the end of the year, the group broke up. Their final gig with Joplin was at Madison Square Garden in New York City on the night of December 19–20, 1969.
Among her last public appearances were two broadcasts of The Dick Cavett Show. In a June 25, 1970, appearance, she announced that she would attend her ten-year high-school class reunion. When asked if she had been popular in school, she admitted that when in high school, her schoolmates "laughed me out of class, out of town and out of the state." In the August 3, 1970, Cavett broadcast, Joplin referred to her upcoming performance at the Festival for Peace to be held at Shea Stadium in Queens, New York, on August 6, 1970.
Joplin attended the reunion on August 14, accompanied by fellow musician and friend Bob Neuwirth, road manager John Cooke, and her sister Laura, but it reportedly proved to be an unhappy experience for her. Joplin held a press conference in Port Arthur during her reunion visit. Interviewed by Rolling Stone journalist Chet Flippo, she was reported to wear enough jewelry for a "Babylonian whore." When asked by a reporter during the reunion if Joplin entertained at Thomas Jefferson High School when she was a student there, Joplin replied, "Only when I walked down the aisles." Joplin denigrated Port Arthur and the people who'd humiliated her a decade earlier in high school.
Joplin's last public performance, with the Full Tilt Boogie Band, took place on August 12, 1970, at the Harvard Stadium in Boston, Massachusetts. A positive review appeared on the front page of The Harvard Crimson newspaper despite the fact that Full Tilt Boogie performed with makeshift sound amplifiers after their regular equipment was stolen in Boston.
During September 1970, Joplin and her band began recording a new album in Los Angeles with producer Paul A. Rothchild, who had produced recordings for The Doors. Although Joplin died before all the tracks were fully completed, there was still enough usable material to compile an LP. "Mercedes Benz" was included despite it being a first take, and the track "Buried Alive In The Blues", to which Joplin had been scheduled to add her vocals on the day she was found dead, was kept as an instrumental.
The result was the posthumously released Pearl (1971). It became the biggest selling album of her career and featured her biggest hit single, a cover of Kris Kristofferson's "Me and Bobby McGee". Kristofferson had been Joplin's lover not long before her death. Also included was the social commentary of the a cappella "Mercedes Benz", written by Joplin, close friend and song writer Bob Neuwirth and beat poet Michael McClure. In 2003, Pearl was ranked #122 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
During the recording sessions for Pearl, Joplin began seeing Seth Morgan, a 21 year-old Berkeley student, cocaine dealer and future novelist; and checked into the Landmark Motel in Los Angeles to begin recording the Pearl album. She and Morgan became engaged to be married in early September and Joplin threw herself into the recording of songs for her new album.
Death
The last recordings Joplin completed were "Mercedes Benz" and a birthday greeting for John Lennon ("Happy Trails", composed by Dale Evans) on October 1, 1970. Lennon, whose birthday was October 9, later told Dick Cavett that her taped greeting arrived at his home after her death. On October 3, Joplin visited the Sunset Sound Recorders in Los Angeles to listen to the instrumental track for Nick Gravenites' song "Buried Alive in the Blues" prior to recording the vocal track, scheduled for the next day. When she failed to show up at the studio by Sunday afternoon, producer Paul A. Rothchild became concerned. Full Tilt Boogie's road manager, John Cooke, drove to the Landmark Motor Hotel (since renamed the Highland Gardens Hotel) where Joplin had been a guest since August 24. He saw Joplin's psychedelically painted Porsche still in the parking lot. Upon entering her room, he found her dead on the floor. The official cause of death was an overdose of heroin, possibly combined with the effects of alcohol. Cooke believes that Joplin had accidentally been given heroin which was much more potent than normal, as several of her dealer's other customers also overdosed that week.
Joplin was cremated in the Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Mortuary in Los Angeles; her ashes were scattered from a plane into the Pacific Ocean and along Stinson Beach. The only funeral service was a private affair held at Pierce Brothers and attended by Joplin's parents and maternal aunt.
Joplin's will funded $2,500 to throw a wake party in the event of her demise. The party, which took place October 26, 1970, at the Lion's Share, located in San Anselmo California, was attended by her sister Laura and Joplin's close friends, that included tattoo artist Lyle Tuttle; Joplin's fiancé Seth Morgan; Bob Gordon; and her road manager, John Cooke. Brownies laced with hashish were unknowingly passed around. Her death at age 27 has caused her to be included in a phenomenon rock historians call the 27 Club.
Discography
Big Brother and the Holding Company
Title Release date Label Notes
Big Brother and the Holding Company 1967 Mainstream Records
Big Brother and the Holding Company 1967? Columbia Contains 2 extra single tracks
Big Brother and the Holding Company 1967, CD 1999 Columbia Legacy CK66425 Contains 2 extra single tracks
Cheap Thrills 1968 Columbia 2x Multi-Platinum Recording Industry Association of America
Cheap Thrills 1968, CD 1999 Legacy CK65784 Contains 4 extra tracks
Live at Winterland '68 1998 Columbia Legacy ASIN: B000007TSP
Kozmic Blues Band
Title Release date Label Notes
I Got Dem Ol' Kozmic Blues Again Mama! 1969 Columbia Platinum RIAA
I Got Dem Ol' Kozmic Blues Again Mama! 1969, CD 1999 Legacy CK65785 Contains 3 extra tracks
Full Tilt Boogie
Title Release date Label Notes
Pearl 1971 Columbia posthumous, 4x Multi-Platinum RIAA
Pearl 1971, CD unknown date Columbia CD64188
Pearl 1971, CD 1999 Legacy CK65786 Contains 4 extra tracks
Pearl 1971, 2CD 2005 Legacy COL 515134 2 CD1 – 6 other extra tracks
CD2 – full selection from The Festival Express Tour, 3 venues
Big Brother & the Holding Company / Full Tilt Boogie
Title Release date Label Notes
In Concert 1972 Legacy CK65786 ASIN: B0000024Y7
Later collections
Title Release date Label Notes
Janis Joplin's Greatest Hits 1973 Columbia ASIN B00000K2W1, 7x Multi-Platinum RIAA
Janis 1975 CBS 2 discs, Gold RIAA
Anthology 1980 2 discs
Farewell Song 1983 Columbia Records ASIN: B000W44S8E
Cheaper Thrills 1984 Fan Club ASIN: B000LYA9X8
Janis 1993 Columbia Legacy 3 discs – ASIN: B00000286P
18 Essential Songs 1995 Columbia Legacy ASIN: B000002B1A, Gold RIAA
The Collection 1995 3 Discs ASIN: B000BM6ATW
Live at Woodstock: August 19, 1969 1999
Box of Pearls 1999 Sony Legacy 5 Discs – ASIN: B0009YNSK6
Super Hits 2000 Sony ASIN: B00004T1E6
Love, Janis 2001 Sony ASIN: B00005EBIN
Essential Janis Joplin 2003 Sony ASIN: B00007MB6Y
Very Best of Janis Joplin 2007 Import ASIN: B000026A35
The Woodstock Experience 2009 Legacy Recordings
http://i611.photobucket.com/albums/tt200/crazybeautiful_vivacious/joplin.jpg
http://i457.photobucket.com/albums/qq295/Alejo_Ramon/janis_joplin.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 01/19/11 at 7:55 am
Danny Kaye would have been my first answer....followed by Danny Bonaduce...followed by Danny Boy!!! ;)
I dislike Danny Bonaduce.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: CatwomanofV on 01/19/11 at 7:55 am
most be younger than 50 ;D
I'm younger than 50. (Not by much but still younger.) :-\\
Cat
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 01/19/11 at 7:58 am
If she didn't do all those drugs would she have still made music today at 68? ???
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 01/19/11 at 9:26 am
I'm younger than 50. (Not by much but still younger.) :-\\
Cat
:-[ OK 40 then
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: nally on 01/19/11 at 2:05 pm
I dislike Danny Bonaduce.
I don't much care for him either.
From 1999 till about 2003 or so, he became a morning radio show personality, co-hosting a show on 98.7-FM in Los Angeles. I was a regular listener to the station at that time but didn't listen to the program because it was kindof annoying.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: CatwomanofV on 01/19/11 at 2:11 pm
I thought of Bonaduce afterward.
My sister had a big crush on Danny Bonaduce...when she was 10-and I think he was about the same age.
Cat
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 01/19/11 at 2:56 pm
I don't much care for him either.
From 1999 till about 2003 or so, he became a morning radio show personality, co-hosting a show on 98.7-FM in Los Angeles. I was a regular listener to the station at that time but didn't listen to the program because it was kindof annoying.
He just became hard to listen to on TV.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: nally on 01/19/11 at 2:58 pm
He just became hard to listen to on TV.
He still co-hosted a TV talk show in the mid-00's called "The Other Half", but I think that was short lived.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 01/19/11 at 2:59 pm
He still co-hosted a TV talk show in the mid-00's called "The Other Half", but I think that was short lived.
I remember that.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 01/19/11 at 4:26 pm
My sister had a big crush on Danny Bonaduce...when she was 10-and I think he was about the same age.
Cat
I had a crush on Brian Forster who played Chris.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 01/20/11 at 6:38 am
The person of the day...Tom Baker
Thomas Stewart "Tom" Baker (born 20 January 1934) is a British actor and comedian. He is best known for playing the fourth incarnation of the Doctor in the science fiction television series, Doctor Who, a role he played from 1974-81.
1974, Baker took on the role of the Doctor from Jon Pertwee. He was recommended to producer Barry Letts by the BBC's Head of Serials, Bill Slater, who had directed Baker in Play of the Month. Impressed by Baker on meeting him, Letts was convinced he was right for the part after seeing his performance in The Golden Voyage of Sinbad. Baker was working on a construction site at the time, as acting jobs were scarce. Initially he was dubbed "Boiler Suit Tom" by the media, as he had been supplied for a press conference with some old studio set clothes to replace his modest garments.
He quickly made the part his own. As the Doctor, his eccentric style of dress and speech—particularly his trademark long scarf and fondness for jelly babies—made him an immediately recognisable figure, and he quickly caught the viewing public's imagination. Baker played the Doctor for seven consecutive seasons over a seven-year period, making him the longest-serving actor in the part on-screen. Baker himself suggested many aspects of the Fourth Doctor's personality. The distinctive scarf came about by accident: James Acheson, the costume designer, had provided far more wool than was necessary to the knitter, Begonia Pope, and Ms. Pope knitted all the wool she was given; it was Baker who suggested that he wear the resulting—ridiculously over-long—scarf.
The manifestation played by Tom Baker (1974–1981) is often regarded as the most popular of the Doctors. In polls conducted by Doctor Who Magazine, Baker has lost the "Best Doctor" category only three times: Once to Sylvester McCoy in 1990, and twice to David Tennant in 2006 and 2009.
In a poll published by BBC Homes and Antiques magazine in January 2006, Baker was voted the fourth most eccentric star. He was beaten by Björk, Chris Eubank and David Icke.
He continues to be associated with the Doctor, appearing on documentaries such as The Story of Doctor Who and Doctor Who Confidential and giving interviews about his time on the programme. He reappeared as the Doctor for the 1993 charity special Dimensions in Time and audio for the PC game Destiny of the Doctors. He gets interviewed often in documentaries on the extras of Doctor Who DVD releases from his era as the Doctor and has recorded DVD commentaries for many of the stories.
In a 2004 interview regarding the series' revival, Baker suggested that he be cast as the Master. In a 2006 interview with The Sun newspaper, he claims that he has not watched any episodes of the new series because he "just can't be bothered". In June 2006, Baker once again expressed interest in the role in a guest column for Radio Times, noting that he "did watch a little bit of the new Doctor Who and I think the new fella, Tennant, is excellent."
While Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy and Paul McGann have all reprised their roles for audio adventures produced since the 1990s by Big Finish (and sometimes the BBC) Baker had until 2009 declined to voice the Doctor, saying he hadn't seen a script he liked. In July 2009, the BBC announced that Baker would return to the role for a series of five audio dramas, co-starring Richard Franklin as Captain Mike Yates, which would begin release in September. The five audios comprise a single linked story under the banner title Hornets' Nest, written by well-known author Paul Magrs. He returns with a sequel to Hornets' Nest called Demon Quest. Baker has also filmed inserts for a video release of the unfinished Shada and also provided narration for several BBC audio releases of old Doctor Who stories.
Baker has been involved in the reading of old Target novelisations in the BBC Audio range of talking books, "Doctor Who (Classic Novels)". Doctor Who and the Giant Robot was the first release in the range read by Baker, released on 5 November 2007, followed by Baker reading Doctor Who and the Brain of Morbius'(released 4 February 2008), Doctor Who and the Creature from the Pit (released on 7 April 2008) and Doctor Who and the Pyramids of Mars (released 14 August 2008). In October 2009, Baker was interviewed for BBC Radio 4's Last Word to pay tribute to the deceased former Doctor Who producer Barry Letts. He described Letts, who originally cast him in the role, as “the big link in changing my entire life”.
Little Britain
After his work on Lionel Nimrod's Inexplicable World, in 2001 Baker was cast as a similar narrator of Little Britain on BBC Radio 4, and remained in the role when it transferred to television. Baker has suggested that he was chosen for the part in Little Britain due to his popularity with Walliams and Lucas, part of the generation to whom he is the favourite Doctor. "I am now being employed by the children who grew up watching me", he stated in a recent DVD commentary. Another trademark of Little Britain's narration is the deadpan quotation of old rap lyrics, usually in the opening credit sequence.
On 17 November 2005, to mark the start of Series 3 of Little Britain, Baker read the continuity announcements on BBC One from 19:00 to 21:30 GMT. The scripts were written by the same writers as Little Britain (David Walliams and Matt Lucas) and Baker assumed his Little Britain persona. He used lines such as "Hello, tellyviewers. You're watching the BBC One!" and "In half an hour, Jenny Dickens's classic serial Bleak House. But first let's see what the poor people are up to in the first of two visits this evening to the EastEnders.
Baker's first marriage in 1961 was to Anna Wheatcroft (niece of the rose grower Harry Wheatcroft). They had two sons Daniel and Piers, but divorced in 1966 and Baker lost contact with his sons until a chance meeting with Piers in a pub in New Zealand allowing them to renew their relationship. In December 1980 he married Lalla Ward who had co-starred in Doctor Who (playing his companion Romana) with him for two years. However, the marriage lasted only 16 months.
In 1986, Baker married for a third time, this time to Sue Jerrard, who had been an assistant editor on Doctor Who. They moved to an old manse in Boughton Malherbe near Maidstone, Kent where they kept several cats, before emigrating to France in 2002. During this time he was a regular in the Red Lion in Lenham village where his distinctive voice could be heard above all other voices. They sold the property to Vic Reeves, shortly after Baker had worked with him on Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased). In November 2006, Baker returned to live in the UK, buying a house in Tunbridge Wells, later moving to the East Sussex countryside.
Baker has sceptical views on religion and describes himself as irreligious, or occasionally as Buddhist, but not anti-religious. "People are quite happy believing the wrong things. I wasn't unhappy believing all that sheesh. Now I'm not unhappy thinking about it because I can laugh at it." Politically, Baker has expressed disdain for both the Conservatives and the Labour Party saying, in 1998, "When the Conservatives were in I cannot tell you how much I hated them. But I realise how shallow I am because I now hate the Labour Party as much."
Baker has revealed that he is sexually aroused by whipping and bondage (sexual) and has said that this may be related to his Catholic upbringing. At one point in his life, after the end of his first marriage, he attempted suicide.
Works
Filmography
* 1968 - The Winter's Tale - The Bear
* 1971 - Nicholas and Alexandra - Rasputin
* 1972 - The Canterbury Tales (film) (I racconti di Canterbury) - Jenkin
* 1973 - Cari Genitori (Dear Parents) - Karl
* 1973 - The Vault of Horror (film) - Moore
* 1973 - Luther (1973 film) - Tom's character (Pope Leo X) doesn't appear in some versions of the film
* 1973 - Frankenstein: The True Story (TV film) - Sea Captain
* 1973 - The Golden Voyage of Sinbad - Koura
* 1974 - The Mutations (The Freakmaker) - Lynch
* 1984 - The Passionate Pilgrim (film) (short film) - Sir Tom
* 1984 - The Zany Adventures of Robin Hood - Sir Guy de Gisbourne
* 2000 - Dungeons & Dragons - Halvarth
* 2005 - The Magic Roundabout - Zeebad
Television
* 1968 - Dixon of Dock Green - "The Attack" - The man
* 1968 - Market in Honey Lane (ATV soap opera; Tom in 1 episode: "The Matchmakers") - Doorman
* 1968 - George and the Dragon (ATV sitcom; Tom in 1 episode: "The 10:15 Train") - Porter
* 1968 - Z-Cars: "Hudson's Way" (2 episodes) - Harry Russell
* 1968 - Dixon of Dock Green - "Number 13" - Foreman
* 1969 - Thirty-Minute Theatre: The Victims: Frontier - Corporal Schabe
* 1970 - Softly, Softly (aka, Softly Softly: Taskforce) (1 episode: "Like any other Friday") - Site Foreman
* 1972 - BBC Play of the Month: The Millionairess - Dr. Ahmed el Kabir
* 1973 - Arthur of the Britons - series 2 episode "Go Warily" - Brandreth / Gavron
* 1974 - The Author of Beltraffio (TV film) - Mark Ambient
* 1974-1981 - Doctor Who - The Fourth Doctor
* 1978 - four episodes of the BBC2 series Late Night Story - each episode was an eerie tale involving the theme of childhood; episodes ran for fifteen minutes and were aired before the station closed for the night. One episode, Sredni Vashtar, which had been scheduled to start the series, went unscreened due to a writer's strike.
* 1979 - The Book Tower (22 episodes) - Presenter (himself)
* 1980 - The Curse of King Tut's Tomb - Hasan
* 1982 - BBC version of The Hound of the Baskervilles - Sherlock Holmes
* 1983 - Jemima Shore Investigates - "Dr. Ziegler's Casebook" - Dr. Norman Ziegler
* 1984 - Remington Steele - Season 2 episode: 'Hounded Steele' - Interpol agent Anatole Blaylock
* 1985 - Jackanory - The Iron Man by Ted Hughes - Storyteller (himself)
* 1986 - BBC adaptation of The Life and Loves of a She-Devil - Father Ferguson
* 1986 - Blackadder II episode "Potato" - Captain Redbeard Rum
* 1986 - The Kenny Everett Television Show - BBC Season 4, Episode 1 - Patient, aka John Thompson, aka Blu-Tac, aka Tom
* 1990 - The Silver Chair (1990) - Puddleglum
* 1990 - Douglas Adams's futurology documentary Hyperland - Software Agent
* 1990 - Boom - Co-presenter
* 1991 - The Law Lord - Sir Lionel Sweeting
* 1991 - Selling Hitler - Manfred Fischer
* 1992 - Cluedo (series 3) - Professor Plum
* 1992-1995 - Medics - Professor Geoffrey Hoyt
* 1993 - Doctor Who - Dimensions in Time - The Fourth Doctor
* 1994 - The Imaginatively Titled Punt & Dennis Show ep. 6 - Actor in supermarket (11 second cameo)
* 1998 - Have I Got News For You - guest (himself)
* 2000 - This Is Your Life - himself
* 2000-2001 - revival of Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased) - Wyvern
* 2001 - Fun at the Funeral Parlour - Quimby
* 2003 - Swiss Toni (episode 1:"Cars Don't Make You Fat") - Derek Asquith
* 2003 - Strange (final episode: "Asmoth") - Father Bernard
* 2003 - Fort Boyard - The Captain
* 2003-2006 - Little Britain - Narrator
* 2004-2005 - Monarch of the Glen (series 6 & 7 only) - Donald MacDonald
* 2007 - Marple - episode Towards Zero - Frederick Treves
* 2008 - Little Britain USA - Narrator
* 2008 - Have I Got News For You - guest presenter (himself)
* 2010 - Tom Baker - In Confidence (Sky Arts) - Tom interviewed by his old friend Professor Laurie Taylor (sociologist)
Audiography
* 1994 - John Le Carre's The Russia House - Barley Blair (lead role) -
* 1999 - Nicholas Nickleby - Tom played Vincent Crummles in this BBC Radio adaptation of Dickens' classic
* 2009 - Doctor Who: Hornets' Nest - 1 The Stuff of Nightmares
* 2009 - Doctor Who: Hornets' Nest - 2 The Dead Shoes
* 2009 - Doctor Who: Hornets' Nest - 3 The Circus Of Doom
* 2009 - Doctor Who: Hornets' Nest - 4 A Sting In The Tale
* 2009 - Doctor Who: Hornets' Nest - 5 Hive Of Horror
* 2009 - Doctor Who: Hornets’ Nest: The Complete Series
* 2010 - Doctor Who: Demon Quest - 1 The Relics of Time
* 2010 - Doctor Who: Demon Quest - 2 The Demon of Paris
* 2010 - Doctor Who: Demon Quest - 3 A Shard of Ice
* 2010 - Doctor Who: Demon Quest - 4 Starfall
* 2010 - Doctor Who: Demon Quest - 5 Sepulchre
http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii38/robot027/tom_baker.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 01/20/11 at 2:29 pm
The person of the day...Tom Baker
Thomas Stewart "Tom" Baker (born 20 January 1934) is a British actor and comedian. He is best known for playing the fourth incarnation of the Doctor in the science fiction television series, Doctor Who, a role he played from 1974-81.
1974, Baker took on the role of the Doctor from Jon Pertwee. He was recommended to producer Barry Letts by the BBC's Head of Serials, Bill Slater, who had directed Baker in Play of the Month. Impressed by Baker on meeting him, Letts was convinced he was right for the part after seeing his performance in The Golden Voyage of Sinbad. Baker was working on a construction site at the time, as acting jobs were scarce. Initially he was dubbed "Boiler Suit Tom" by the media, as he had been supplied for a press conference with some old studio set clothes to replace his modest garments.
He quickly made the part his own. As the Doctor, his eccentric style of dress and speech—particularly his trademark long scarf and fondness for jelly babies—made him an immediately recognisable figure, and he quickly caught the viewing public's imagination. Baker played the Doctor for seven consecutive seasons over a seven-year period, making him the longest-serving actor in the part on-screen. Baker himself suggested many aspects of the Fourth Doctor's personality. The distinctive scarf came about by accident: James Acheson, the costume designer, had provided far more wool than was necessary to the knitter, Begonia Pope, and Ms. Pope knitted all the wool she was given; it was Baker who suggested that he wear the resulting—ridiculously over-long—scarf.
The manifestation played by Tom Baker (1974–1981) is often regarded as the most popular of the Doctors. In polls conducted by Doctor Who Magazine, Baker has lost the "Best Doctor" category only three times: Once to Sylvester McCoy in 1990, and twice to David Tennant in 2006 and 2009.
In a poll published by BBC Homes and Antiques magazine in January 2006, Baker was voted the fourth most eccentric star. He was beaten by Björk, Chris Eubank and David Icke.
He continues to be associated with the Doctor, appearing on documentaries such as The Story of Doctor Who and Doctor Who Confidential and giving interviews about his time on the programme. He reappeared as the Doctor for the 1993 charity special Dimensions in Time and audio for the PC game Destiny of the Doctors. He gets interviewed often in documentaries on the extras of Doctor Who DVD releases from his era as the Doctor and has recorded DVD commentaries for many of the stories.
In a 2004 interview regarding the series' revival, Baker suggested that he be cast as the Master. In a 2006 interview with The Sun newspaper, he claims that he has not watched any episodes of the new series because he "just can't be bothered". In June 2006, Baker once again expressed interest in the role in a guest column for Radio Times, noting that he "did watch a little bit of the new Doctor Who and I think the new fella, Tennant, is excellent."
While Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy and Paul McGann have all reprised their roles for audio adventures produced since the 1990s by Big Finish (and sometimes the BBC) Baker had until 2009 declined to voice the Doctor, saying he hadn't seen a script he liked. In July 2009, the BBC announced that Baker would return to the role for a series of five audio dramas, co-starring Richard Franklin as Captain Mike Yates, which would begin release in September. The five audios comprise a single linked story under the banner title Hornets' Nest, written by well-known author Paul Magrs. He returns with a sequel to Hornets' Nest called Demon Quest. Baker has also filmed inserts for a video release of the unfinished Shada and also provided narration for several BBC audio releases of old Doctor Who stories.
Baker has been involved in the reading of old Target novelisations in the BBC Audio range of talking books, "Doctor Who (Classic Novels)". Doctor Who and the Giant Robot was the first release in the range read by Baker, released on 5 November 2007, followed by Baker reading Doctor Who and the Brain of Morbius'(released 4 February 2008), Doctor Who and the Creature from the Pit (released on 7 April 2008) and Doctor Who and the Pyramids of Mars (released 14 August 2008). In October 2009, Baker was interviewed for BBC Radio 4's Last Word to pay tribute to the deceased former Doctor Who producer Barry Letts. He described Letts, who originally cast him in the role, as “the big link in changing my entire life”.
Little Britain
After his work on Lionel Nimrod's Inexplicable World, in 2001 Baker was cast as a similar narrator of Little Britain on BBC Radio 4, and remained in the role when it transferred to television. Baker has suggested that he was chosen for the part in Little Britain due to his popularity with Walliams and Lucas, part of the generation to whom he is the favourite Doctor. "I am now being employed by the children who grew up watching me", he stated in a recent DVD commentary. Another trademark of Little Britain's narration is the deadpan quotation of old rap lyrics, usually in the opening credit sequence.
On 17 November 2005, to mark the start of Series 3 of Little Britain, Baker read the continuity announcements on BBC One from 19:00 to 21:30 GMT. The scripts were written by the same writers as Little Britain (David Walliams and Matt Lucas) and Baker assumed his Little Britain persona. He used lines such as "Hello, tellyviewers. You're watching the BBC One!" and "In half an hour, Jenny Dickens's classic serial Bleak House. But first let's see what the poor people are up to in the first of two visits this evening to the EastEnders.
Baker's first marriage in 1961 was to Anna Wheatcroft (niece of the rose grower Harry Wheatcroft). They had two sons Daniel and Piers, but divorced in 1966 and Baker lost contact with his sons until a chance meeting with Piers in a pub in New Zealand allowing them to renew their relationship. In December 1980 he married Lalla Ward who had co-starred in Doctor Who (playing his companion Romana) with him for two years. However, the marriage lasted only 16 months.
In 1986, Baker married for a third time, this time to Sue Jerrard, who had been an assistant editor on Doctor Who. They moved to an old manse in Boughton Malherbe near Maidstone, Kent where they kept several cats, before emigrating to France in 2002. During this time he was a regular in the Red Lion in Lenham village where his distinctive voice could be heard above all other voices. They sold the property to Vic Reeves, shortly after Baker had worked with him on Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased). In November 2006, Baker returned to live in the UK, buying a house in Tunbridge Wells, later moving to the East Sussex countryside.
Baker has sceptical views on religion and describes himself as irreligious, or occasionally as Buddhist, but not anti-religious. "People are quite happy believing the wrong things. I wasn't unhappy believing all that sheesh. Now I'm not unhappy thinking about it because I can laugh at it." Politically, Baker has expressed disdain for both the Conservatives and the Labour Party saying, in 1998, "When the Conservatives were in I cannot tell you how much I hated them. But I realise how shallow I am because I now hate the Labour Party as much."
Baker has revealed that he is sexually aroused by whipping and bondage (sexual) and has said that this may be related to his Catholic upbringing. At one point in his life, after the end of his first marriage, he attempted suicide.
Works
Filmography
* 1968 - The Winter's Tale - The Bear
* 1971 - Nicholas and Alexandra - Rasputin
* 1972 - The Canterbury Tales (film) (I racconti di Canterbury) - Jenkin
* 1973 - Cari Genitori (Dear Parents) - Karl
* 1973 - The Vault of Horror (film) - Moore
* 1973 - Luther (1973 film) - Tom's character (Pope Leo X) doesn't appear in some versions of the film
* 1973 - Frankenstein: The True Story (TV film) - Sea Captain
* 1973 - The Golden Voyage of Sinbad - Koura
* 1974 - The Mutations (The Freakmaker) - Lynch
* 1984 - The Passionate Pilgrim (film) (short film) - Sir Tom
* 1984 - The Zany Adventures of Robin Hood - Sir Guy de Gisbourne
* 2000 - Dungeons & Dragons - Halvarth
* 2005 - The Magic Roundabout - Zeebad
Television
* 1968 - Dixon of Dock Green - "The Attack" - The man
* 1968 - Market in Honey Lane (ATV soap opera; Tom in 1 episode: "The Matchmakers") - Doorman
* 1968 - George and the Dragon (ATV sitcom; Tom in 1 episode: "The 10:15 Train") - Porter
* 1968 - Z-Cars: "Hudson's Way" (2 episodes) - Harry Russell
* 1968 - Dixon of Dock Green - "Number 13" - Foreman
* 1969 - Thirty-Minute Theatre: The Victims: Frontier - Corporal Schabe
* 1970 - Softly, Softly (aka, Softly Softly: Taskforce) (1 episode: "Like any other Friday") - Site Foreman
* 1972 - BBC Play of the Month: The Millionairess - Dr. Ahmed el Kabir
* 1973 - Arthur of the Britons - series 2 episode "Go Warily" - Brandreth / Gavron
* 1974 - The Author of Beltraffio (TV film) - Mark Ambient
* 1974-1981 - Doctor Who - The Fourth Doctor
* 1978 - four episodes of the BBC2 series Late Night Story - each episode was an eerie tale involving the theme of childhood; episodes ran for fifteen minutes and were aired before the station closed for the night. One episode, Sredni Vashtar, which had been scheduled to start the series, went unscreened due to a writer's strike.
* 1979 - The Book Tower (22 episodes) - Presenter (himself)
* 1980 - The Curse of King Tut's Tomb - Hasan
* 1982 - BBC version of The Hound of the Baskervilles - Sherlock Holmes
* 1983 - Jemima Shore Investigates - "Dr. Ziegler's Casebook" - Dr. Norman Ziegler
* 1984 - Remington Steele - Season 2 episode: 'Hounded Steele' - Interpol agent Anatole Blaylock
* 1985 - Jackanory - The Iron Man by Ted Hughes - Storyteller (himself)
* 1986 - BBC adaptation of The Life and Loves of a She-Devil - Father Ferguson
* 1986 - Blackadder II episode "Potato" - Captain Redbeard Rum
* 1986 - The Kenny Everett Television Show - BBC Season 4, Episode 1 - Patient, aka John Thompson, aka Blu-Tac, aka Tom
* 1990 - The Silver Chair (1990) - Puddleglum
* 1990 - Douglas Adams's futurology documentary Hyperland - Software Agent
* 1990 - Boom - Co-presenter
* 1991 - The Law Lord - Sir Lionel Sweeting
* 1991 - Selling Hitler - Manfred Fischer
* 1992 - Cluedo (series 3) - Professor Plum
* 1992-1995 - Medics - Professor Geoffrey Hoyt
* 1993 - Doctor Who - Dimensions in Time - The Fourth Doctor
* 1994 - The Imaginatively Titled Punt & Dennis Show ep. 6 - Actor in supermarket (11 second cameo)
* 1998 - Have I Got News For You - guest (himself)
* 2000 - This Is Your Life - himself
* 2000-2001 - revival of Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased) - Wyvern
* 2001 - Fun at the Funeral Parlour - Quimby
* 2003 - Swiss Toni (episode 1:"Cars Don't Make You Fat") - Derek Asquith
* 2003 - Strange (final episode: "Asmoth") - Father Bernard
* 2003 - Fort Boyard - The Captain
* 2003-2006 - Little Britain - Narrator
* 2004-2005 - Monarch of the Glen (series 6 & 7 only) - Donald MacDonald
* 2007 - Marple - episode Towards Zero - Frederick Treves
* 2008 - Little Britain USA - Narrator
* 2008 - Have I Got News For You - guest presenter (himself)
* 2010 - Tom Baker - In Confidence (Sky Arts) - Tom interviewed by his old friend Professor Laurie Taylor (sociologist)
Audiography
* 1994 - John Le Carre's The Russia House - Barley Blair (lead role) -
* 1999 - Nicholas Nickleby - Tom played Vincent Crummles in this BBC Radio adaptation of Dickens' classic
* 2009 - Doctor Who: Hornets' Nest - 1 The Stuff of Nightmares
* 2009 - Doctor Who: Hornets' Nest - 2 The Dead Shoes
* 2009 - Doctor Who: Hornets' Nest - 3 The Circus Of Doom
* 2009 - Doctor Who: Hornets' Nest - 4 A Sting In The Tale
* 2009 - Doctor Who: Hornets' Nest - 5 Hive Of Horror
* 2009 - Doctor Who: Hornets’ Nest: The Complete Series
* 2010 - Doctor Who: Demon Quest - 1 The Relics of Time
* 2010 - Doctor Who: Demon Quest - 2 The Demon of Paris
* 2010 - Doctor Who: Demon Quest - 3 A Shard of Ice
* 2010 - Doctor Who: Demon Quest - 4 Starfall
* 2010 - Doctor Who: Demon Quest - 5 Sepulchre
http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii38/robot027/tom_baker.jpg
The voice of Little Britain!
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 01/21/11 at 5:32 am
The person of the day...Wolfman Jack
Robert Weston Smith, known commonly as Wolfman Jack (January 21, 1938 – July 1, 1995) was a gravelly-voiced, American disc jockey who became world famous in the 1960s and 1970s.
In the early days, Wolfman Jack made sporadic public appearances, usually as a Master of Ceremonies (an MC) for rock bands at local Los Angeles, California clubs. At each appearance he looked a little different because Smith hadn't decided on what "The Wolfman" should look like. Early pictures show him with a goatee; however, sometimes he combed his straight hair forward and added dark makeup to look somewhat "ethnic". Other times he had a big afro wig and large sunglasses. The ambiguity of his race contributed to the controversy of his program. It wasn't until he appeared in the 1969 film A Session with the Committee (a montage of skits by the seminal comedy troupe The Committee) that mainstream America got a good look at Wolfman Jack.
Wolfman Jack released two albums on the Wooden Nickel label: Wolfman Jack (1972) and Through the Ages (1973). His 1972 single "I Ain't Never Seen a White Man" hit #106 on the Billboard Singles Charts. In 1973 he appeared in director George Lucas' second feature film, American Graffiti, as himself. His broadcasts tie the film together, and Richard Dreyfuss's character catches a glimpse of the mysterious Wolfman in a pivotal scene. In gratitude for Wolfman Jack's participation, Lucas gave him a fraction of a "point"—the division of the profits from a film—and the extreme financial success of American Graffiti provided him with a regular income for life. He also appeared in the film's 1979 sequel More American Graffiti.
Subsequently, Smith appeared in several television shows as Wolfman Jack. They included The Odd Couple; What's Happening!!; Vega$; Hollywood Squares; Married… with Children; Emergency; and—most notoriously -- Galactica 1980. He was the regular announcer and occasional host for The Midnight Special on NBC from 1973 to 1981. He was also the host of his self-titled variety series, The Wolfman Jack Show, which was produced in Canada by CBC Television in 1976, and syndicated to stations in the US.
He promoted Clearasil and Olympia beer in radio and TV commercials in the '70s. In the '80s he promoted the "Rebel" Honda motorcycle in television commercials.
Listening to Wolfman Jack's broadcasting influenced Jim Morrison's lyrics for The WASP (Texas Radio and the Big Beat) song.
He also furnished his voice in The Guess Who's 1974 tribute, the top 40 hit single, "Clap for the Wolfman". A few years earlier, Todd Rundgren recorded a similar tribute, "Wolfman Jack", on the album Something/Anything?. (The single version of the track includes a shouted talk-over intro by the Wolfman but on the album version Rundgren performs that part himself.) Canadian band The Stampeders also released a cover of "Hit the Road Jack" in 1975 featuring Wolfman Jack; the storyline of the song involved a man named "Cornelius" calling Jack on the phone, telling him the story of how his girlfriend had thrown him out of the house, and trying to persuade Jack to let him come and stay with him (at this point, Jack ended the call). His voice is also featured in the songs "Don't Call Us, We'll Call You" by Sugarloaf (Billboard HOT 100 peak #9 in Mar 1975) and "Did You Boogie (With Your Baby)" by Flash Cadillac & the Continental Kids (Billboard HOT 100 peak #29 in Oct 1976). Also in September of 1975, Wolfman Jack appeared on stage with the Stampeders (singing Hit The Road Jack)as a warm-up act for the Beach Boys at the Canadian National Exibition in Toronto, Canada.
A clip of a 1970s radio advertisement featuring Wolfman Jack urging registration with the United States Selective Service (aka "the draft") is incorporated into the Depeche Mode cover of the song "Route 66". Those radio advertisements were extracted from half hour radio programs that were distributed to radio stations across the country. His syndicated music radio series was sponsored by the United States Air Force, designed as a weekly program-length public service infomercial to promote the benefits of joining the Air Force. The series ran from 1971 until 1977.
In July 1974 Wolfman Jack was the MC for the Ozark Music Festival at the Missouri State Fairgrounds, a huge three-day rock festival with an estimated attendance of 350,000 people, making it one of the largest music events in history.
In 1984 Wolfman Jack voice a cartoon version of himself for the short lived DIC Entertainment cartoon Wolf Rock TV (aka Wolf Rock Power Hour) airing Saturday mornings on ABC.
In 1985, Wolfman Jack's voice is heard several times in the ABC made for TV Halloween movie "The Midnight Hour". Jack recorded several bits for the movie and is seen at the beginning of the movie as an extra. The song "Clap for the Wolfman" is heard during the movie as well.
In 1986, Wolfman Jack appeared as the "High Rama Lama" in the CBS animated special Garfield in Paradise
In 1989, he provided the narration for the US version of the arcade game DJ Boy. His voice was not used in the home version of the game, due to memory limitations.
In 2008, Lou Lamb Smith released "Wolfman Jack: Greatest Bits & Ringtones" on CD featuring clips used in the syndicated Wolfman Jack Radio Program.
Radio Caroline
When the one surviving ship in what had originally been a pirate radio network of Radio Caroline North and Radio Caroline South sank in 1980, a search began to find a replacement. Due to the laws passed in the UK in 1967, it became necessary for the sales operation to be situated in the US. For a time Don Kelley, Wolfman Jack's business partner and personal manager, acted as the West Coast agent for the planned new Radio Caroline, but the deal eventually fell apart.
As a part of this process Wolfman Jack was set to deliver the morning shows on the new station. To that end Wolfman Jack did record a number of programs which were never aired, due to the failure of the station to come on air according to schedule. (It eventually returned from a new ship in 1983 which remained at sea until 1990.) Today those tapes are traded among collectors of his work.
Death
Wolfman Jack died of a heart attack in Belvidere, North Carolina, on July 1, 1995. The day before his death, he had finished broadcasting his last live radio program, a weekly program nationally syndicated from Planet Hollywood in downtown Washington, D.C. Wolfman Jack said that night, "I can't wait to get home and give Lou a hug, I haven't missed her this much in years." Wolfman had been on the road, promoting his new autobiography Have Mercy, The Confession of the Original Party Animal, about his early career and parties with celebrities. "He walked up the driveway, went in to hug his wife and then just fell over," said Lonnie Napier, vice president of Wolfman Jack Entertainment.
Parody
Lists of miscellaneous information should be avoided. Please relocate any relevant information into appropriate sections or articles. (March 2009)
In the show Upright Citizens Brigade, Episode 03x01, "Costumes", a woman puts Wolfman Jack novelty bells on everything in the house.
In the Ray Stevens song "The Moonlight Special," Wolfman Jack is parodied as Mr. Sheepdog.
In the mid-1970s, Tony Simon of WCOD in Hyannis, Massachusetts did a weekend radio show parody of Wolfman Jack as "Earphone Jack."
In the skit "Wolfman" on the Adam Sandler album Shhh...Don't Tell, a man pretends to be Wolfman Jack because he is in denial about his sexuality.
A character by the name of "Wolfbane Jack" appeared on the children's television show "The Electric Company".
On the Canadian children's show The Hilarious House of Frightenstein, the show's creator Billy Van played "The Wolfman", a lycanthropic disc jockey (a literal "wolf-man") for radio station EECH, with a voice and mannerism clearly modeled after Wolfman Jack.
A Wolfman Jack functionary ("Wolfguy Jack") appears as the owner of a 1950s'-themed diner in the Simpsons episode "Take My Wife, Sleaze". Wolfguy Jack has a lover named Honey who physically resembles Candy Clark's character in American Graffiti. After howling like a wolf, Wolfguy complains that doing the voice hurts his throat. The business closes a week after Homer and Marge win a motorcycle in a dance contest. As Wolfguy locks the door for the last time, he remarks to Honey that "We still have each other", then turns around to see he is alone, and howls again. In the episode That's entertainment, Evans style of the 70's sitcom Good Times, Bookman (Johny Brown) Impersinates Wolfman Jack at a show the Evans put on to raise money for the local daycare center which is said to be closing down.
Jerry Thunder, the radio station DJ from That '70s Show, is based on Wolfman Jack.
Sesame Street released a video compilation of rock songs (most were parodies of actual rock hits modified, of course, for preschoolers) hosted by "Jackman Wolf", an anthropomorphic purple wolf who always wore sunglasses.
He is parodied in a skit on Marshall Law's (Marshall Law Music) CD "Half Alive & Still Kickin" by Drew Henderson.
In the video game The Movies, one of the radio Radio DJ's is homage to Wolfman Jack.
In the video game Fallout 3, the radio station DJ "Three Dog" is based on Wolfman Jack, including the characteristic howl.
Legacy
A group of business leaders at Del Rio, Texas, wanted to establish a museum to commemorate Wolfman Jack's stint in the border town where he first began his career at radio AM station XERF. Those involved with the project were not successful in raising the required funds necessary to build the museum, and disagreements with the DJ's estate over securing the rights to use copyrighted materials including Wolfman Jack's name on the project, eventually led to the project's failure.
In March 2003 a memorial was dedicated to the Wolfman in Del Rio. Artist Michael Maiden created a two foot tall model sculpture depicting Wolfman Jack dancing a jig on one leg with a rainbow of musical notes and records raining down behind him. The model was for a proposed life-sized installation.
Wolfman Jack was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 1996, and into the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) Broadcasting Hall of Fame in 1999.
In addition, Wolfman Jack's widow, Lou Lamb Smith, leased a one- to two-hour syndicated program built from what were thought to be "lost" archives and airchecks of his shows. The airchecks used in the shows date from the 1960s all the way up to his death in the 1990s. About a dozen oldies-oriented stations in the United States and Canada have picked up the show, and air times for the show vary by station.
Beginning on October 31, 2005, a 1960s-themed channel, "The 60s on 6" on XM Satellite Radio, began airing a regular program utilizing airchecks from Wolfman Jack's older syndicated shows. The first show was broadcast in October and was Halloween themed. The promotion for it was the announcement of a Halloween show so special that they were bringing someone back from the dead. It ended with a squeakly coffin opening and then the voice of the Wolfman saying, (paraphrased) "Hi everyone, it's the Wolfman and I am back. Be sure to join me for a very special ghoulish show this Halloween night". After that Halloween show, Wolfman's show was a nightly regular on XM's '60s channel. The XM show currently airs one hour per week at 11 PM Eastern Time and five hours on Sunday night at 7 PM Eastern Time.
As of December 2007, there are also several terrestrial radio affiliates carrying restored versions of Wolfman Jack's programs, with original air dates ranging from the 1970s up until his death in 1995 (one replayed episode, for instance, featured Wolfman Jack discussing the O. J. Simpson murder case). These programs were restored by Douglas Allen Wedge and syndicated between October 2004 and January 2006 by the San Diego, California-based Astor Broadcast Group. These programs are now syndicated by Lou Lamb Smith through Wolfman Jack Licensing based in Hollywood, California and London, UK-based Blue Revolution (see link below).
http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q149/deanceran/Celebrities/WolfmanJack.jpg
http://i588.photobucket.com/albums/ss327/tirebyterp/wolfmanjack.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 01/21/11 at 8:16 am
He was great back in the days,I wish he was around today to do some more deejaying. :(
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: CatwomanofV on 01/21/11 at 10:20 am
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u12xbLeMY6A
Cat
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 01/21/11 at 10:40 am
He was great back in the days,I wish he was around today to do some more deejaying. :(
Yeah I remember him from the 70's. The Midnight Special.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 01/21/11 at 9:26 pm
Yeah I remember him from the 70's. The Midnight Special.
I remember that show but I was never around to see it.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 01/22/11 at 6:38 am
Yeah I remember him from the 70's. The Midnight Special.
That has not been a part of my television watching in the past.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 01/22/11 at 7:36 am
That has not been a part of my television watching in the past.
I watched it occasionally when my parents would let me stay up. ;D
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 01/22/11 at 7:37 am
I watched it occasionally when my parents would let me stay up. ;D
It was in those days when having a television of your own bedroom was not thought of yet.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 01/22/11 at 7:38 am
The person of the day...Diane Lane
Born and raised in New York City, Lane made her screen debut at the age of 13 in George Roy Hill's 1979 film A Little Romance, starring opposite Sir Laurence Olivier. Soon after, she was featured on the cover of Time magazine. She has since appeared in several notable films, including the 2002 film Unfaithful, which earned her Academy Award, Golden Globes and Screen Actors Guild Award nominations.
Lane has been married to actor Josh Brolin since 2004. She was previously married to actor Christopher Lambert from 1988 to 1994.
Lane's maternal grandmother, Eleanor Scott, was a thrice-married Pentecostal preacher of the Apostolic denomination, and Lane was influenced by the theatrical quality of her grandmother's sermons. Lane began acting professionally at the age of six at the La MaMa Experimental Theater Club in New York, where she appeared in an production of Medea. At 12 she had a role in Joseph Papp's production of The Cherry Orchard with Meryl Streep. Also at this time, Lane was enrolled in an accelerated program at Hunter College High School and was put on notice when her grades suffered from her busy schedule. At 13 years old, she turned down a role in Runaways on Broadway to make her feature film debut opposite Laurence Olivier in A Little Romance. Lane won high praise from Olivier who declared her 'The New Grace Kelly'. At the same time Lane was featured on the cover of Time, which declared her one of Hollywood's "Whiz Kids."
In the early 1980s, Lane made a successful transition from child actor to adult roles. Her breakout performances came with back-to-back adaptations of young adult novels by S. E. Hinton, adapted and directed by Francis Ford Coppola: The Outsiders in 1982 and Rumble Fish in 1983. Both films also featured memorable performances from a number of young male actors who would go on to become leading men in the next decade (as well as members of the so-called "Brat Pack"), including Tom Cruise, Rob Lowe, C. Thomas Howell, Emilio Estevez, the late Patrick Swayze, Mickey Rourke, Nicolas Cage, and Matt Dillon. Lane's distinction among these heavily male casts advanced her career while affiliating her with this young generation of male actors. Andy Warhol proclaimed her, "the undisputed female lead of Hollywood's new rat pack."
However, the two films that could have catapulted her to star status, Streets of Fire (she turned down Splash and Risky Business for this film) and The Cotton Club, were both commercial and critical failures, and her career languished as a result. After The Cotton Club, Lane dropped out of the movie business and lived with her mother in Georgia. According to the actress, "I hadn't been close to my mom for a long time, so we had a lot of homework to do. We had to repair our relationship because I wanted my mother back".
Lane returned to acting to appear in The Big Town and Lady Beware, but it was not until 1989's popular and critically acclaimed TV miniseries Lonesome Dove that Lane made another big impression on a sizable audience, and was nominated for an Emmy Award for her role. She was given positive reviews for her performance in the independent film My New Gun, which was well received at the Cannes Film Festival. She went on to appear as actress Paulette Goddard in Sir Richard Attenborough's big-budget biopic of Charles Chaplin, 1992's Chaplin. Lane won further praise for her role in 1999's A Walk on the Moon, opposite Viggo Mortensen. One reviewer wrote, "Lane, after years in post-teenaged-career limbo, is meltingly effective." The film's director, Tony Goldwyn, described Lane as having "...this potentially volcanic sexuality that is in no way self-conscious or opportunistic." Lane earned an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Female Lead. At this time, she was interested in making a film about actress Jean Seberg in which she would play Seberg.
In 2002, Lane starred in Unfaithful, a drama film directed by Adrian Lyne and adapted from the French film The Unfaithful Wife. Lane played a housewife who indulges in an adulterous fling with a mysterious book dealer. The film featured several sex scenes. Lyne's repeated takes for these scenes were very demanding for the actors involved, especially for Lane, who had to be emotionally and physically fit for the duration. Unfaithful received mostly mixed to negative reviews, though Lane earned widespread praise for her performance. Entertainment Weekly critic Owen Gleiberman stated that "Lane, in the most urgent performance of her career, is a revelation. The play of lust, romance, degradation, and guilt on her face is the movie's real story". She followed that film up with Under the Tuscan Sun, based on the best-selling book by Frances Mayes.
In 2008, Lane reunited with Richard Gere for the romantic drama Nights in Rodanthe. It is the third film Gere and Lane filmed together. The film was based on the novel of the same title by Nicholas Sparks. Lane also starred in Jumper, and Untraceable in the same year. She then appeared in Killshot with Mickey Rourke, which was given a limited theatrical release before being released on DVD in 2009.
In 2008, Lane expressed frustration with being typecast and stated that she was "gunning for something that's not so sympathetic. I need to be a bitch, and I need to be in a comedy. I've decided. No more Miss Nice Guy". The actress has even contemplated quitting acting and spending more time with her family if she is unable to get these kinds of roles. She said in an interview, "I can't do anything official. My agents won't let me. Between you and me, I don't have anything else coming out".
In 2010, Lane starred in Secretariat, a Disney film about the relationship between the 1973 Triple Crown-winning racehorse and his owner, Penny Chenery, whom Lane portrayed.
Awards
Four days before the New York Film Critics Circle's vote in 2002, Lane was given a career tribute by the Film Society of Lincoln Center. A day before that, Lyne held a dinner for the actress at the Four Seasons Hotel. Critics and award voters were invited to both. She went on to win the National Society of Film Critics, the New York Film Critics Circle awards and was nominated for a Golden Globe and an Academy Award for Best Actress. In 2003, she was named ShoWest's 2003 Female Star of the Year.
Lane ranked at #79 on VH1's 100 Greatest Kid Stars. She was ranked #45 on AskMen.com's Top 99 Most Desirable Women in 2005, #85 in 2006 and #98 in 2007.
Personal life
Lane with husband Josh Brolin in December 2009.
In the early 1980s, Lane dated actors Timothy Hutton, Christopher Atkins, Matt Dillon, and later rock star Jon Bon Jovi. Lane met actor Christopher Lambert in Paris while promoting The Cotton Club in 1984. They had a brief affair and split up. They met again two years later in Rome to make a film together, entitled After the Rain, and in two weeks they were a couple again. Lane and Lambert married in October 1988 in Santa Fe, New Mexico. They had a daughter, Eleanor Jasmine Lambert (born September 5, 1993), and were divorced following a prolonged separation in 1994. While making Judge Dredd in 1995, Lane began dating the film's director, Danny Cannon.
Lane became engaged to actor Josh Brolin in July 2003 and they were married on August 15, 2004. On December 20 of that year, she called police after an altercation with him, and he was arrested on a misdemeanor charge of domestic battery. Lane declined to press charges, however, and the couple's spokesperson described the incident as a "misunderstanding".
Lane is also involved in several charities, including Heifer International, which focuses on world hunger, and Artists for Peace and Justice, a Hollywood organization that supports Haiti relief. However, she tries not to draw attention to her humanitarian efforts: "Sometimes I give with my heart. Sometimes I give financially, but there's something about that I think ought to be anonymous. I don't want it to be a boastful thing."
Filmography
Year Film Role Other notes
1979 A Little Romance Lauren King
1980 Touched by Love Karen aka To Elvis, with Love
1981 Great Performances Charity Royall TV (1 episode)
Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains Corinne Burns
Cattle Annie and Little Britches Jenny (Little Britches)
Child Bride of Short Creek Jessica Rae Jacobs TV
1982 National Lampoon Goes to the Movies Liza
Six Pack Breezy
Miss All-American Beauty Sally Butterfield TV
1983 The Outsiders Sherri 'Cherry' Valance
Rumble Fish Patty
1984 Streets of Fire Ellen Aim
The Cotton Club Vera Cicero
1987 Lady Beware Katya Yarno
The Big Town Lorry Dane
1988 Priceless Beauty China
Lonesome Dove Lorena Wood TV miniseries
1990 Vital Signs Gina Wyler
Descending Angel Irina Stroia TV
1992 Knight Moves Kathy Sheppard
My New Gun Debbie Bender
The Setting Sun Cho Renko
Chaplin Paulette Goddard
1993 Indian Summer Jahnvi
Fallen Angels Bernette Stone TV (1 episode)
1994 Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All Lucy Honicut Marsden TV
1995 A Streetcar Named Desire Stella TV
Judge Dredd Judge Hershey
1996 Wild Bill Susannah Moore
Jack Karen Powell
Mad Dog Time Grace Everly aka Trigger Happy (UK)
1997 The Only Thrill Katherine Fitzsimmons
Murder at 1600 Agent Nina Chance
1998 Gunshy Melissa
Grace & Glorie Gloria TV
1999 A Walk on the Moon Pearl Kantrowitz Nominated — Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead
Nominated — Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award for Best Actress
2000 My Dog Skip Ellen Morris
The Virginian Molly Stark TV
The Perfect Storm Christina Cotter
2001 Hardball Elizabeth Wilkes
The Glass House Erin Glass
2002 Unfaithful Connie Sumner National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actress
New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress
Satellite Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama
Nominated — Academy Award for Best Actress
Nominated — Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress
Nominated — Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress
Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama
Nominated — Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Actress
Nominated — Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Actress
Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Actress - Motion Picture
2003 Under the Tuscan Sun Frances Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
Nominated — Satellite Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
2005 Fierce People Liz Earl
Must Love Dogs Sarah Nolan
2006 Hollywoodland Toni Mannix
2008 Untraceable Jennifer Marsh
Jumper Mary Rice
Nights in Rodanthe Adrienne Willis
2009 Killshot Carmen Colson
2010 Secretariat Penny Chenery
2011 Cinema Verite Pat Loud TV
http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f246/caineblack/Chicks/diane-lane.jpg
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb155/viper_schwarz/people/Female%20Young/Blonde/Diane-Lane.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 01/22/11 at 7:39 am
It was in those days when having a television of your own bedroom was not thought of yet.
Not in my house ;D
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 01/22/11 at 7:39 am
http://www.google.com/url?source=imgres&ct=img&q=http://www.hollywoodoutbreak.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/wolfman-jack.jpg&sa=X&ei=2c86Tc6CJsqCgAfmquWeCA&ved=0CAQQ8wc&usg=AFQjCNEZ0hHqD1GcusIXdqCttE7F8mIkMA
He'd be a great DJ today. :)
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: CatwomanofV on 01/22/11 at 8:24 am
Ok, so it is not Diane Lane singing but it still is a GREAT scene.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NB_YKpo3qA8
Cat
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 01/23/11 at 7:08 am
The person of the day...Chita Rivera
Chita Rivera (born January 23, 1933) is an American actress, dancer, and singer best known for her roles in musical theater. She is the first Hispanic woman to receive a Kennedy Center Honors award (December 2002). She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009.
Rivera was born Dolores Conchita Figueroa del Rivero in Washington, D.C., the daughter of Katherine, a government clerk, and Pedro Julio Figueroa del Rivero, a clarinetist and saxophonist for the United States Navy Band. Her father was Puerto Rican and her mother was of Scottish and Italian descent. Rivera was seven years old when her mother was widowed and went to work for The Pentagon.
In 1944, Rivera's mother enrolled her in the Jones-Haywood School of Ballet (now the Jones Haywood School of Dance). Later, when she was 15, a teacher from George Balanchine's School of American Ballet visited their studio and Rivera was one of two students picked to audition in New York City; she was accompanied to the audition by Doris Jones, one of the people who ran the Jones-Haywood School. Rivera's audition was successful and she was accepted into the school and given a scholarship.
Broadway
In 1952, Rivera accompanied a friend to the audition for a Broadway production of Call Me Madam and ended up winning the role herself. She followed this by landing roles in other Broadway productions such as Guys and Dolls and Can-Can. In 1957, she was cast in the role which was destined to make her a Broadway star, the firebrand Anita in West Side Story. (The role would bring fame and an Oscar to another Puerto Rican, Rita Moreno, in the 1961 film version). Rivera starred in a national tour of Can-Can and played the role of Nicky in the film adaptation of Sweet Charity with Shirley MacLaine.
On December 1, 1957, Rivera married dancer Tony Mordente. Her performance was so important for the success of the show that the London production of West Side Story was postponed until she gave birth to the couple's daughter Lisa. In 1963, Rivera was cast opposite Alfred Drake in Zenda. The Broadway-bound musical closed on the road. In 1975 she appeared as Velma Kelly in the original cast of the musical Chicago.
In 1986, Rivera was in a severe accident when her car collided with a taxi on West 86th Street in Manhattan. Injuries sustained included the breaking of her left leg in twelve places, requiring eighteen screws and two braces to mend. After rehabilitation, Rivera continued to perform on stage. Miraculously revitalized, in 1988, she endeavored in a restaurant venture in partnership with the novelist, Daniel Simone. The eatery, located on 42nd Street between 9th and 10th Avenue, was named after her, 'Chita's'. It soon became a significant attraction for the after-theater crowds and remained open until 1994.
Rivera is regarded by many theatre aficionados as a "living legend" and in an In Theatre magazine interview, George Horsfall suggested, "You must be tired of the term 'legend', but let's get it out of the way. You have long been considered a Broadway legend." Rivera replied "Oh, God!" and laughed.
In addition to her ballet instructors, Rivera credited Leonard Bernstein and Gwen Verdon, with whom she starred in Chicago, as being people from whom she learned a great deal.
Later years
Rivera with president Barack Obama prior to receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom, August 2009
Awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009
She appeared in a filmed for the television version of the musical Pippin in 1981, as "Fastrada". In 1993, she received a Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical for her portrayal of Aurora in the Tony-award winning musical Kiss of the Spider Woman written by Kander and Ebb.
Rivera starred in the Goodman Theatre production of the Kander and Ebb musical The Visit as "Claire Zachanassian" in 2001. In 2008 she appeared in a revised production of the musical at the Signature Theatre in Arlington, Virginia, co-starring George Hearn.
In 2003, Rivera returned to Broadway in the 2003 revival of Nine as Liliane La Fleur, and received her eighth career Tony Award nomination (Best Featured Actress in a Musical) and fourth Drama Desk Award nomination (Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical). Chita appeared with Antonio Banderas. She later appeared on the revival's cast album.
On television, Rivera was a guest on the Judy Garland show. She guest-starred along with Michele Lee in a February 2005 episode of Will & Grace, and in December of that year, Chita Rivera: The Dancer's Life, a retrospective of her career, opened on Broadway. She received yet another Tony nomination for her self-portrayal. Though she was expected to reprise her role in a Signature Theatre staging of The Visit in Autumn 2007, that was later postponed to the following season. Instead, she performed at New York's Feinsten's At The Regency supper club in New York for two weeks. Signature Theatre's production of The Visit opened to rapturous reviews on May 13, 2008 and closed June 22, 2008.
Rivera had a cameo in the 2002 movie version of Chicago. Rivera guest-starred on Disney Channel's Johnny and the Sprites as Queen of All Magical Beings. The episode debuted on March 15, 2008.
In November 2009, Rivera released a new album titled, "And Now I Swing" to rave reviews.
Theatre credits
* Mr. Wonderful .... Rita Romano
* West Side Story .... Anita
* Bye Bye Birdie .... Rosie Alvarez
* Bajour .... Anyanka
* Born Yesterday .... Billie Dawn
* The Rose Tattoo
* Call Me Madam .... Principal Dancer
* Threepenny Opera .... Jenny
* Sweet Charity .... Charity Hope Valentine
* Kiss Me, Kate
* Bring Back Birdie .... Rose Grant
* The Rink .... Anna
* Nine the Musical .... Liliane La Fleur
* Merlin: The Magical Musical .... The Queen
* Kiss of the Spider Woman .... Aurora
* The Visit .... Claire Zachanassian
* Chicago .... Velma Kelly
Film and television work (selected)
* Chicago (2002)
* Stonewall 25 - Voices of Pride and Protest (1994)
* Mayflower Madam (TV) (1987)
* That's Singing: The Best of Broadway (Great Performances, TV) (1985)
* Pippin (1981)
* Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1978)
* Once Upon a Brothers Grimm (TV) (1977)
* The Marcus-Nelson Murders (Kojack, TV) (1973)
* Sweet Charity (1969)
* The Outer Limits, (TV) Vol. 20: "The Bellero Shield" (1963)
See also
* List of famous Puerto Ricans
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a288/iluvsquirrels/chita.jpg
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Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 01/24/11 at 6:53 am
The person of the day...Neil Diamond
Neil Leslie Diamond (born January 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. As a successful pop music performer, Diamond scored a number of hits worldwide in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. According to David Wild, common themes in Diamond's songs are "a deep sense of isolation and an equal desire for connection. A yearning for home – and at the same time, the allure of greater freedom. The good, the bad and the ugly about a crazy little thing called love."
As of 2001 Diamond has 115 million records sold worldwide, including 48 million records in the U.S. In terms of Billboard chart success, he is the third most successful Adult Contemporary artist ever, ranking behind only Barbra Streisand and Elton John.
Though his record sales declined somewhat after the 1980s, Diamond continues to tour successfully, and maintains a very loyal following. Diamond's songs have been recorded by a vast array of performers from many different musical genres.
Diamond was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1984, in 2000 received the Sammy Cahn Lifetime Achievement Award, and will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2011.
Diamond’s first recording contract was billed as "Neil and Jack", an Everly Brothers-type duo comprising Diamond and high school friend Jack Packer *(Jack Parker). They recorded two unsuccessful singles, "You Are My Love At Last" b/w "What Will I Do" and "I'm Afraid" b/w "Till You've Tried Love", both released in 1962. Later in 1962, Diamond signed with the Columbia Records label as a solo performer. Columbia Records released the single "At Night" b/w "Clown Town" in July, 1963. Despite a tour of radio stations, the single failed to make the music charts. Billboard gave an excellent review to "Clown Town" in their July 13, 1963, issue, predicting it would be a hit. However, sales were disappointing, and Columbia dropped Diamond. Soon after, Diamond was back to writing songs on an upright piano above the Birdland Club in New York City.
Diamond spent his early career as a songwriter in the Brill Building. His first success as a songwriter came in November, 1965, with "Sunday and Me", a Top 20 hit for Jay and the Americans on the Billboard Charts. Greater success as a writer followed with "I'm a Believer", "A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You", "Look Out (Here Comes Tomorrow)", and "Love to Love," all by the Monkees. There is a popular misconception that Diamond wrote and composed these songs specifically for the made-for-TV quartet. In reality, Diamond had written and recorded these songs for himself, but the cover versions were released before his own. The unintended, but happy, consequence was that Diamond began to gain fame not only as a singer and performer, but also as a songwriter. "I'm a Believer" was the Popular Music Song of the Year in 1966. Other notable artists who recorded early Neil Diamond songs were Elvis Presley, who interpreted “Sweet Caroline” as well as “And The Grass Won’t Pay No Mind”; Mark Lindsay, former lead singer for Paul Revere & the Raiders, who covered "And the Grass Won't Pay No Mind"; the English hard-rock band Deep Purple, which interpreted “Kentucky Woman”; Lulu, who covered “The Boat That I Row”, and Cliff Richard, who released versions of “I’ll Come Running”, “Solitary Man”, "Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon", “I Got The Feelin’ (Oh No No)”, and “Just Another Guy.”
In 1966 Diamond signed a deal with Bert Berns's Bang Records, then a subsidiary of Atlantic Records. His first release on that label, "Solitary Man", became his first hit. Prior to the release of "Solitary Man," Neil had considered using a stage name; he came up with two possibilities, "Noah Kaminsky" and "Eice Chary". But when asked by Bang Records which name he should use, Noah, Eice, or Neil, he thought of his grandmother, who died prior to the release of "Solitary Man". Thus he told Bang, "...go with Neil Diamond and I'll figure it out later". Diamond later followed with "Cherry, Cherry", "Kentucky Woman", "Thank the Lord for the Night Time", "Do It", and others. Diamond's Bang recordings were produced by legendary Brill Building songwriters Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich, both of whom can be heard singing background on many of the tracks.
His first concerts saw him as a "special guest" of, or opening for, everyone from Herman's Hermits to, on one occasion, The Who, which he confirmed on an installment of VH1's documentary series program Behind The Music.
Diamond began to feel restricted by Bang Records, wanting to record more ambitious, introspective music. Finding a loophole in his contract, Diamond tried to sign with a new label, but the result was a series of lawsuits that coincided with a dip in his professional success. Diamond eventually triumphed in court, and secured ownership of his Bang-era master recordings in 1977.
1970s
After Diamond had signed a deal with the MCA Records label of Universal Pictures' parent company, MCA Inc., whose label was then called the Uni Records label in the late 1960s, he moved to Los Angeles in 1970. His sound mellowed, with such songs as "Sweet Caroline", "Holly Holy", "'Cracklin' Rosie", and the country-tinged "Song Sung Blue", the last two reaching No. 1 on the Hot 100. "Sweet Caroline" was Diamond's first major hit after his slump. Diamond admitted in 2007 that he had written "Sweet Caroline" for Caroline Kennedy after seeing her on the cover of Life Magazine in an equestrian riding outfit. It took him just one hour, in a Memphis hotel, to write and compose it. The 1971 release "I Am...I Said" was a Top 5 hit in both the U.S. and UK, and was his most intensely personal effort to date, taking upwards of four months to complete.
In 1972, Diamond played 10 sold-out concerts at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles. During the performance on Thursday, August 24, which was recorded and released as the live double album Hot August Night. A few weeks later, in the fall of 1972, Diamond performed a series of concerts on 20 consecutive nights at the Winter Garden Theater in New York. Every one of these reportedly sold out, and the small (approximately 1,600-seat) Broadway theater provided an intimate concert setting not common at the time.
Hot August Night demonstrates Diamond's skills as a performer and showman, as he reinvigorated his back catalogue of hits with new energy. Many consider it his best work; critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine calls Hot August Night “the ultimate Neil Diamond record ... shows Diamond the icon in full glory.”
The album has become a classic. It was remastered in 2000 with three additional selections: “Walk on Water”, “Kentucky Woman” and “Stones”. In Australia, the album spent a remarkable 29 weeks at No. 1; in 2006, it was voted #16 in a poll of favourite albums of all time in Australia. Also, Diamond's final concert of his 1976 Australian Tour (The "Thank You Australia" Concert) was broadcast to 36 television outlets nationwide on March 6 and remains the country's most-watched music event. It also set a record for the largest attendance at the Sydney Sports Ground. The 1977 concert Love At The Greek, a return to the Greek Theatre, includes a version of "Song Sung Blue" with duets with Helen Reddy and Henry Winkler, a.k.a. Arthur "The Fonz" Fonzarelli of Happy Days.
In 1973, Diamond hopped labels again, returning to the Columbia Records for a lucrative million-dollar-advance-per-album contract. His first project, released as a solo album, was the soundtrack to Hall Bartlett's film version of Jonathan Livingston Seagull. The film received hostile reviews and did poorly at the box office. The album grossed more than the film did. Richard Bach, author of the best-selling source story, disowned the film. Both Bach and Diamond sued the film’s producer. Diamond felt the film butchered his score. Despite the shortcomings of the film, the soundtrack was a success, peaking at No. 2 on the Billboard albums chart. Diamond would also garner a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score and a Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture. From there, Diamond would often include a Jonathan Livingston Seagull suite in his live performances, as he did in his 1977 "Love at The Greek" concert. In 1974, Diamond released the album Serenade, from which "Longfellow Serenade" and "I've Been This Way Before" were issued as singles. The latter had been intended for the Jonathan Livingston Seagull score, but was completed too late for inclusion.
In 1976, he released Beautiful Noise, produced by Robbie Robertson of The Band. On Thanksgiving night, 1976, Neil made an appearance at The Band's farewell concert, The Last Waltz, performing "Dry Your Eyes", which he had written with Robertson, and which had appeared on what was then his most recent album, Beautiful Noise. In addition, he joined the rest of the performers onstage at the end in a rendition of Bob Dylan's "I Shall Be Released". In 1977, Diamond released the album I'm Glad You're Here With Me Tonight, which included "You Don't Bring Me Flowers". He had composed its music and collaborated on its lyrics with Alan Bergman and Marilyn Bergman. The song was covered on Barbra Streisand's Songbird, and a duet, spurred by the success of virtual radio mash-ups, was recorded. The song hit No. 1 in 1978 and became his third song to top the Hot 100 to date. His last 1970s album was September Morn, which included a new version of I'm a Believer. It and Red Red Wine are the two best-known Diamond original songs to have had other artists make more famous than his own versions.
In February 1979, the uptempo "Forever in Blue Jeans," co-written with his guitarist, Richard Bennett, was released as a single from You Don't Bring Me Flowers, Diamond's album from the previous year.
According to Cotton Incorporated, "Neil Diamond might have been right when he named his 1979 #1 hit 'Forever in Blue Jeans:' 81% of women are planning their next jeans purchase to be some shade of blue." The song has been used to promote the sale of blue jeans, most notably via Will Ferrell, impersonating Neil Diamond singing, for The Gap. Ironically, Diamond himself had performed in radio ads for H.I.S. brand jeans in the 1960s, more than a decade before he and Bennett jointly wrote and composed, and he originated, the selection.
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Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 01/24/11 at 8:16 am
Happy Birthday Neil,He is truly a living legend. :)
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: CatwomanofV on 01/24/11 at 10:13 am
I am disappointed in the bio. It doesn't mentioned a movie that I LOVE!!!
http://991.com/newGallery/Neil-Diamond-The-Jazz-Singer-431876.jpg
So, Neil isn't the greatest actor in the world but he did a great job in this movie. If you haven't seen it, I HIGHLY recommend it.
Cat
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 01/24/11 at 1:37 pm
I am disappointed in the bio. It doesn't mentioned a movie that I LOVE!!!
http://991.com/newGallery/Neil-Diamond-The-Jazz-Singer-431876.jpg
So, Neil isn't the greatest actor in the world but he did a great job in this movie. If you haven't seen it, I HIGHLY recommend it.
Cat
Is it on DVD?
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: CatwomanofV on 01/24/11 at 1:41 pm
Is it on DVD?
Yup. If you get Netflix, it is available there, too.
Cat
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: nally on 01/24/11 at 8:25 pm
Happy Birthday Neil,He is truly a living legend. :)
Yes he is; can't believe he's 70 today. So is Aaron Neville, another successful solo male singer.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 01/25/11 at 6:26 am
The person of the day...Etta James
Etta James (born Jamesetta Hawkins, January 25, 1938) is an American blues, soul, R&B, rock & roll, gospel and jazz singer and songwriter. James is the winner of four Grammys and seventeen Blues Music Awards. She was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1993, the Blues Hall of Fame in 2001, and the Grammy Hall of Fame in both 1999 and 2008. In the 1950s and 1960s, she had her biggest success as a blues and R&B singer. She is best known for performing "At Last", which has been featured in movies, television shows, commercials, and web-streaming services. James has a contralto vocal range
In 1960, James signed a recording contract with Chess Records, signing with their subsidiary label, Argo Records (she later also recorded for their other subsidiary label, Cadet). James began her relationship with the label with five major hits, first with a pair of duets with singer, Harvey Fuqua; "If I Can't Have You" and "Spoonful". She had her first major solo hit with the R&B-styled tune, "All I Could Do Is Cry". The song quickly went up the Billboard R&B Chart, peaking at #2 in 1960. This was followed by the Top 5 R&B hit, "My Dearest Darling" the same year. Around the same time, James also sang background vocals on Chuck Berry's hit, "Back in the USA". That same year, James released her debut album off Chess entitled, At Last!. It featured all of James' hits between 1960 and 1961, and also included a few standards, such as Lena Horne's "Stormy Weather", "I Just Want to Make Love to You", and "A Sunday Kind of Love". The album showed James' varied choice in music.
Chess Records head producer, Leonard Chess imagined James as a classic ballad stylist who had potential to cross over onto the Pop charts. Chess began backing James up on her recording sessions with violins and other string instruments, which was first heard on her 1961 hit, "At Last". The song went to #2 on the Billboard R&B chart in 1961, and also peaked at #47 on the Billboard Pop Chart, ultimately becoming her signature song. Although it wasn't as successful as expected on the Pop charts, it did become the most remembered version of the song. In 1961, James had another major hit with "Trust in Me," which also featured string instruments. Also in 1961, James released a second studio album, The Second Time Around, an album inspired by Soul music. The album took the same direction as her previous album, covering many Pop standards, and using strings on many of the songs. The album spawned a Top 15 hit, "The Fool That I Am" and a minor hit on the Pop chart, "Don't Cry Baby."
In 1962, James had three major hits, beginning with the Gospel-inspired, "Something's Got a Hold on Me," which peaked at #4 on the R&B chart, and also reached the Pop Top 40. Another single, "Stop the Wedding" followed and reached #6. In 1963, James cut and released her first live album, Etta James Rocks the House, which was cut in Nashville, Tennessee at the New Era Club. In 1963, James had another Top 10 R&B hit with, "Pushover," which also made the Pop Top 25, and was ultimately one of Etta's two biggest Billboard hits on the Hot 100. "Pushover" also hit #11 on influential pop music station WMCA in New York during May, 1963. It was followed by two other singles that year that were minor hits on the Pop chart, "Pay Back" and "Two Sides (To Every Story)." That year she released her third album, Etta James Top Ten. Within the next year, James scored another Top 10 hit with "Loving You More Each Day" (which also reached #65 on the Pop chart) and had a Top 40 hit with "Baby What You Want Me to Do."
In the mid-1960s, James began to battle a heroin addiction, which would last up until 1974. For years, James would spend much time in and out of Los Angeles' Tarzana Psychiatric Hospital. However, James began recording again in 1967 with guitarist Paul C. Saenz, and achieved her biggest hit in years, "Tell Mama," which reached the R&B Top 10 and #23 on the Hot 100. An album of the same name, produced by Rick Hall at his then-hot Fame studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, also featured a rendition of Otis Redding's song, "Security" which peaked at #11 on the R&B chart. Although she wasn't as successful as she had been, James remained a large concert attraction. She continued to have R&B Top 40 hits up until the mid 1970s, with "Loser Weepers" (an album of the same name was released in 1971) and then with "I Found a Love" in 1972.
James released a new album in 1973 that was self-titled and spawned two minor hits. Produced by Gabriel Mekler, who had previously worked with Steppenwolf and Janis Joplin, the album musically was an ambitious mix of soul, blues, jazz and rock and it was nominated for a Grammy award the following year. Mekler produced a follow-up album called "Out On The Street Again" in 1974. Again critically acclaimed, this also produced only minor hits.
Despite the death of Leonard Chess, James recorded for the label up until 1978, and began using more rock-based songs in her albums. She released her final two albums for Chess in 1978, Etta Is Betta Than Evah and Deep in the Night. That year, James also opened tour dates in the United States for The Rolling Stones and also played at the Montreaux Jazz Festival.
James continued to record for Private Music into the new millennium, finding her next release to be Matriarch of the Blues. It was given much praise from music articles and magazines, such as Rolling Stone Magazine, which said, "A solid return to roots, Matriarch of the Blues finds Etta James reclaiming her throne---and defying anyone to knock her off it." In 2001, she was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame and also was inducted into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame. In 2003, she received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Her next album the following year, Blue Gardenia was another return to a jazz music style. That same year, she also released her third live album, Burnin' Down the House: Live at the House of Blues, which was recorded at the House of Blues in West Hollywood, California. Two years later, she released her final album for Private Music, Let's Roll, which won James another Grammy in 2005 for Best Contemporary Blues Album.
In 2004, Rolling Stone Magazine ranked her #62 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. James has performed at the top world jazz festivals in the world, such as the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1977, 1989, 1990 and 1993, performed nine times at the legendary Monterey Jazz Festival, and the San Francisco Jazz Festival five times. She also performs often at free city outdoor summer arts festivals throughout the US.
James was portrayed by R&B singer and actress Beyoncé Knowles in the film Cadillac Records, which was released to theaters on December 5, 2008. The film is loosely based on the rise and fall of James' record label, Chess Records, and how producer Leonard Chess helped the career of James and her other counterparts at the label, although the film fails to reflect the fact that James was already a successful hit-recording artist before she joined Chess, and was not discovered by Leonard Chess as portrayed. In fact, James's songs performed worse on the charts after she joined Chess. Also, contrary to the impression created in the film, it is doubtful that James and Chess were lovers. Others portrayed in Cadillac Records include Chuck Berry, Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Little Walter and Willie Dixon.
At a Seattle concert on January 28, 2009, James expressed her displeasure with Knowles singing her song "At Last" at the first inaugural ball for Barack Obama, exclaiming that she "can't stand Beyoncé" and that Knowles would "get her ass whipped". James later said that her remarks about Knowles were a joke, but was hurt that she was not invited to sing her song and that she could have performed it better.
On April 7, 2009, Etta James appeared on Dancing with the Stars as a guest performer, singing her classic hit from 1961 "At Last" at age 71. In Memphis, Tennessee on May 7, 2009, the Blues Foundation awarded Etta James the 2009 Soul/Blues Female Artist of the Year—making Etta a nine–time winner of this prestigious award
James was hospitalized in January 2010 to treat an infection caused by MRSA. During her hospitalization, her son Donto revealed that James was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2009, and attributed her previous comments about Beyoncé Knowles to "drug induced dementia". On January 14, 2011 it was announced that James had been diagnosed with leukemia and was undergoing treatment.
Awards
Grammy history
Etta James Grammy Award History
Year Category Title Genre Label Result
2008 Grammy Hall of Fame "The Wallflower" (aka "Roll With Me Henry") R&B Argo (1961) Inducted
2004 Best Traditional Blues Album Blues To The Bone Blues RCA Victor Winner
2003 Best Contemporary Blues Album Let's Roll Blues Private Music Winner
2002 Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award Winner
1999 Grammy Hall of Fame "At Last" R&B Argo (1961) Inducted
1994 Best Jazz Vocal Performance Mystery Lady (Songs of Billie Holiday) Jazz Private Music Winner
The Blues Foundation Awards
Etta James: Blues Music Awards
Year Category Title Result
2009 Soul/Blues-Female Artist of the Year Winner
2007 Traditional Blues Female Artist of the Year Winner
2006 Traditional Blues Female Artist of the Year Winner
2004 Soul/Blues Album of the Year Let's Roll Winner
Soul/Blues-Female Artist of the Year Winner
2003 Soul/Blues Album of the Year Burnin' Down The House Winner
Soul/Blues-Female Artist of the Year Winner
2002 Soul/Blues-Female Artist of the Year Winner
2001 Blues Hall of Fame Inducted
Soul/Blues-Female Artist of the Year Winner
2000 Soul/Blues Female Artist of the Year Winner
1999 Soul/Blues Album of the Year Life, Love, & The Blues Winner
Soul/Blues Female Artist of the Year Winner
1996 Soul/Blues - Female Artist of the Year Winner
1995 Contemporary Blues-Female Artist of the Year Winner
1994 Female Blues Vocalist of the Year Winner
Soul/Blues Female Artist of the Year Winner
1992 Contemporary Blues Female Artist of the Year Winner
1989 Contemporary Blues Female Artist Winner
Other awards
Etta James Award History
Year Company Category Result
2006 Billboard R&B Founders Award Winner
2003 Hollywood Chamber of Commerce Hollywood Walk of Fame Star at 7080 Hollywood Blvd.
Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) Lifetime Achievement Award Winner
1993 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame & Museum Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inducted
1990 NAACP NAACP Image Award Winner
1989 Rhythm and Blues Foundation Pioneer Award Winner
Discography
Main article: Etta James discography
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http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i38/corymar_photos/Etta-James-rv01.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 01/25/11 at 7:49 am
I hope Etta James survives her treatment. :(
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 01/25/11 at 2:51 pm
I hope Etta James survives her treatment. :(
Agreed.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: gibbo on 01/25/11 at 5:23 pm
I hope Etta James survives her treatment. :(
She's probably feeling a little etta already!
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 01/26/11 at 7:36 am
The person of the day...Ellen DeGeneres
Ellen DeGeneres (pronounced /dɨˈdʒɛnərəs/; born January 26, 1958) is an American stand-up comedienne, television host and actress. She hosts the syndicated talk show The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and was also a judge on American Idol for one year, having joined the show in its ninth season.
DeGeneres has hosted both the Academy Awards and the Primetime Emmys. As a film actress, she starred in Mr. Wrong, appeared in EDtv and The Love Letter, and provided the voice of Dory in the Disney-Pixar animated film Finding Nemo, for which she was awarded a Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress, the first and only time a voice performance won a Saturn Award.
She also starred in two television sitcoms, Ellen from 1994 to 1998 and The Ellen Show from 2001 to 2002. During the fourth season of Ellen in 1997, Degeneres came out publicly as a lesbian in an appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show. Shortly afterwards, her character Ellen Morgan also came out to a therapist played by Winfrey, and the series went on to explore various LGBT issues including the coming out process.
The Ellen Show
DeGeneres returned to series television in 2001 with a new CBS sitcom, The Ellen Show.
2001 Emmy Awards
DeGeneres received wide exposure on November 4, 2001 when she hosted the televised broadcast of the Emmy Awards. Presented after two cancellations due to network concerns that a lavish ceremony following the September 11, 2001 attacks would appear insensitive, the show required a more somber tone that would also allow viewers to temporarily forget the tragedy. DeGeneres received several standing ovations for her performance that evening which included the line: "What would bug the Taliban more than seeing a gay woman in a suit surrounded by Jews?"
In August 2005, DeGeneres hosted the 2005 Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony held on September 18, 2005. This was three weeks after Hurricane Katrina, making it the second time she hosted the Emmys following a national tragedy. She also hosted the Grammy Awards in 1996 and in 1997.
Voice acting
DeGeneres lent her voice to the role of Dory, a fish with short-term memory loss, in the summer 2003 hit animated Disney/Pixar film Finding Nemo. The film's director, Andrew Stanton, claimed that he chose Ellen because she "changed the subject five times before one sentence had finished" on her show. For her performance as Dory, DeGeneres won the Saturn Award from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films for "Best Supporting Actress"; "Favorite Voice from an Animated Movie" from the Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards; and the Annie Award from the International Animated Film Association for "Outstanding Voice Acting". She was also nominated for a Chicago Film Critics Association Award in the "Best Supporting Actress" category. She also provided the voice of the dog in the prologue of the Eddie Murphy feature film Dr. Dolittle. Her win of the Saturn Award marked the first and only time the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films has given the acting award for a voice performance.
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
DeGeneres launched a daytime television talk show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show in September 2003. Amid a crop of several celebrity-hosted talk shows surfacing at the beginning of that season, such as those of Sharon Osbourne and Rita Rudner, her show has consistently risen in the Nielsen ratings and received widespread critical praise. It was nominated for 11 Daytime Emmy Awards in its first season, winning four, including Best Talk Show. The show has won 25 Emmy Awards in its first three seasons on the air. DeGeneres is known for her dancing and singing with the audience at the beginning of the show and during commercial breaks. She often gives away free prizes and trips to her studio audience with the help of her sponsors.
DeGeneres celebrated her thirty-year class reunion by flying her graduating class to California to be guests on her show in February 2006. She presented Atlanta High School with a surprise gift of a new electronic LED marquee sign.
In May 2006, DeGeneres made a surprise appearance at the Tulane University commencement in New Orleans. Following George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton to the podium, she came out in a bathrobe and furry slippers. "They told me everyone would be wearing robes," she said. Ellen then went on to make another commencement speech at Tulane in 2009.
The show broadcast for a week from Universal Studios Orlando in March 2007. Skits included DeGeneres going on the Hulk Roller Coaster Ride and the Jaws Boat Ride.
In May 2007 DeGeneres was placed on bed rest due to a torn ligament in her back. She continued hosting her show from a hospital bed, tended to by a nurse, explaining "the show must go on, as they say." Guests sat in hospital beds as well.
On May 1, 2009, DeGeneres celebrated her 1000th episode, featuring celebrity guests such as Oprah, Justin Timberlake, and Paris Hilton, among others.
79th Academy Awards
Ellen DeGeneres at the Emmy Awards, 1997
On September 7, 2006, DeGeneres was selected to host the 79th Academy Awards ceremony, which took place on February 25, 2007. This makes her the first openly gay or lesbian person to have hosted the event. During the Awards show DeGeneres said, "What a wonderful night, such diversity in the room, in a year when there's been so many negative things said about people's race, religion and sexual orientation. And I want to put this out there: if there weren't blacks, Jews and gays, there would be no Oscars, or anyone named Oscar, when you think about that." Reviews of her hosting gig were positive, with one saying, "DeGeneres rocked, as she never forgot that she wasn't just there to entertain the Oscar nominees but also to tickle the audience at home." Regis Philbin said in an interview that "the only complaint was there's not enough Ellen."
DeGeneres was nominated for an Emmy Award as host of the Academy Awards broadcast.
2007 Writers Guild strike
DeGeneres, like many actors who are also writers, is a member of both the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) and the Writers Guild of America (WGA). Thus, although DeGeneres verbally supported the 2007 WGA strike she did not support it when she crossed the picket line the day after the strike began. Her representatives said she was competing with other first-run syndicated shows during the competitive November sweeps period, and that she could not break her contracts or risk her show losing its time slot. As a show of solidarity with the strikers, DeGeneres omitted her monologue during the strike, typically written by WGA writers. The WGA condemned her while the AFTRA defended her.
Commercial spokeswoman
In November 2004, DeGeneres appeared, dancing, in an ad campaign for American Express. Her most recent American Express commercial, a two-minute black-and-white spot where she works with animals, debuted in November 2006 and was created by Ogilvy and Mather. In 2007, the commercial won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Commercial.
DeGeneres began working with Cover Girl Cosmetics in September 2008, for which she has been criticized, as her animal-friendly values clash with Procter and Gamble's (the maker of Cover Girl Cosmetics) animal testing. Her face is the focus of new Cover Girl advertisements starting in January 2009. The beauty campaign will be DeGeneres' first.
American Idol
On September 9, 2009, it was confirmed that DeGeneres would replace Paula Abdul as a judge of the ninth season of American Idol. Her role started after the contestant auditions, at the beginning of "Hollywood Week". DeGeneres also reportedly signed a contract to be a judge on the show for at least five seasons. She made her American Idol debut on February 9, 2010.
On July 29, 2010, DeGeneres and Fox executives announced that the comedienne would be departing from the series after one season. In a statement, DeGeneres said that the series "didn't feel like the right fit for me".
Eleveneleven
On May 26, 2010, Ellen announced on her show that she was starting her own record label entitled "eleveneleven". She mentioned that she had been looking for videos of performances on YouTube to start her label. Her first act to be signed is Greyson Chance, a 12-year-old who gained fame after his cover of Lady Gaga's "Paparazzi" went viral. Ellen explained her choice of name, claiming that she often sees the number 11:11 when looking at her clocks, that she found Greyson on the 11th, and that the singer's soccer jersey has the number 11.
Some months later, on September 16, 2010, Ellen announced her label's second signed artist, 16-year old Tom Andrews, from the United Kingdom.
Also as of 2010, pop singer Jessica Simpson has joined the label.
Personal life
DeGeneres was in a relationship (1997–2000) with former Another World actress Anne Heche, who went on to marry cameraman Coley Laffoon. From 2001 to 2004, DeGeneres and actress/director/photographer Alexandra Hedison were in a relationship. They appeared on the cover of The Advocate after their separation had already been announced to the media.
Since 2004, DeGeneres has had a relationship with former Ally McBeal and Arrested Development star Portia de Rossi. After the overturn of the same-sex marriage ban in California, DeGeneres announced on a May 2008 show that she and de Rossi were engaged, and gave de Rossi a three-carat pink diamond ring. They were married on August 16, 2008 at their home, with nineteen guests including their mothers. The passage of Proposition 8 cast doubt on the legal status of their marriage but a subsequent Supreme Court judgment validated it because it occurred before November 4, 2008.
DeGeneres and de Rossi live in Beverly Hills, with three dogs and four cats, and both are vegan.
On August 6, 2010, de Rossi filed a petition to legally change her name to Portia Lee James DeGeneres The petition was granted on September 23, 2010.
In her book, Love, Ellen, DeGeneres' mother, Betty DeGeneres, describes being initially shocked when her daughter came out as a lesbian, but has become one of her strongest supporters, an active member of Parents & Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) and spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaign's Coming Out Project.
In 2007, Forbes estimated DeGeneres' net worth at US$65 million.
Filmography
Year Film Role Notes
1990 Arduous Moon Herself Short film
1991 Wisecracks Herself Documentary
1993 Coneheads Coach
1994 Trevor Herself Short film
1996 Ellen's Energy Adventure Herself Short film
Mr. Wrong Martha Alston
1998 Goodbye Lover Sgt. Rita Pompano
Dr. Dolittle Prologue Dog Voice
1999 EDtv Cynthia
The Love Letter Janet Hall
2003 Pauly Shore Is Dead Herself
Finding Nemo Dory Voice
Annie Award for Outstanding Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production
Kids' Choice Award for Favorite Voice from an Animated Movie
Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated—Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated—MTV Movie Award for Best Comedic Performance
2004 My Short Film Herself Short film
Television
Year Film Role Notes
1988 Women of the Night Herself Comedy Special
1989 Open House Margo Van Mete Episode: "The Bad Seed"
Episode: "Let's Get Physicals"
1992 Laurie Hill Nancy MacIntyre Episode: "Pilot"
Episode: "The Heart Thing"
Episode: "Walter and Beverly"
1994–1998 Ellen Ellen Morgan 109 episodes
1995 Roseanne Dr. Whitman Episode: "The Blaming of the Shrew"
1998 Mad About You Nancy Bloom Episode: "The Finale"
2000 If These Walls Could Talk 2 Kal Segment: "2000"
2001 On the Edge Operator Segment: "Reaching Normal"
2001–2002 The Ellen Show Ellen Richmond 18 episodes
2003 Ellen DeGeneres: Here and Now Herself Comedy special
MADtv Herself Episode: "9.3"
2003–present The Ellen DeGeneres Show Herself TV show
2004 E! True Hollywood Story Herself
Six Feet Under Herself Episode: "Parallel Play"
2005 Joey Herself Episode: "Joey and the Sex Tape"
2007 Ellen's Really Big Show Herself
Sesame Street Herself Episode: "The Tutu Spell" (uncredited)
Forbes 20 Richest Women in Entertainment Herself
The Bachelorette Herself
2007–2008 American Idol Herself Episode: "Idol Gives Back 2007"
"Idol Gives Back 2008"
2008 Ellen's Even Bigger Really Big Show Herself Comedy special
2009 Ellen's Bigger, Longer & Wider Show Herself Comedy special
So You Think You Can Dance Guest Judge "Week 7 (July 22, 2009)"
2010 American Idol Judge Season 9.
2010 The Simpsons Herself Episode: "Judge Me Tender"
Discography
Year Film Role Notes
1996 Ellen Degeneres: Taste This Stand-up comedy Live CD
Awards
Daytime Emmy Awards
* Outstanding Talk Show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show – 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007
* Outstanding Talk Show Host, The Ellen DeGeneres Show – 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
* Outstanding Special Class Writing, The Ellen DeGeneres Show – 2005, 2006, 2007
Emmy Awards
* Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series, Ellen: "The Puppy Episode" – 1997
People's Choice Awards
* Favorite Funny Female Star – 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
* Favorite Talk Show Host – 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010
* Favorite Yes I Chose This Star – 2008
Kids' Choice Awards
* Favorite Voice from an Animated Movie – 2004
Tulane University President's Medal
* 2009
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http://i766.photobucket.com/albums/xx302/ajithrockscc/Hoje/Ellen-DeGeneres.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 01/26/11 at 7:52 am
I used to watch her talk show and her old comedy show Ellen that used to be on televison years ago.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: nally on 01/26/11 at 3:35 pm
I used to watch her talk show and her old comedy show Ellen that used to be on televison years ago.
Yes, she starred in a sitcom back in the 90's. I may have seen parts of it.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: CatwomanofV on 01/26/11 at 3:43 pm
I remember when she was doing stand-up.
Just keep swimming. Just keep swimming.
Cat
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 01/27/11 at 6:46 am
The person of the day...Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (German: , English see fn.), baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791), was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music. He is among the most enduringly popular of classical composers.
Mozart showed prodigious ability from his earliest childhood in Salzburg. Already competent on keyboard and violin, he composed from the age of five and performed before European royalty. At 17, he was engaged as a court musician in Salzburg, but grew restless and travelled in search of a better position, always composing abundantly. While visiting Vienna in 1781, he was dismissed from his Salzburg position. He chose to stay in the capital, where he achieved fame but little financial security. During his final years in Vienna, he composed many of his best-known symphonies, concertos, and operas, and portions of the Requiem, which was largely unfinished at the time of Mozart's death. The circumstances of his early death have been much mythologized. He was survived by his wife Constanze and two sons.
Mozart learned voraciously from others, and developed a brilliance and maturity of style that encompassed the light and graceful along with the dark and passionate. His influence on subsequent Western art music is profound. Beethoven wrote his own early compositions in the shadow of Mozart, of whom Joseph Haydn wrote that "posterity will not see such a talent again in 100 years
Mozart's new career in Vienna began well. He performed often as a pianist, notably in a competition before the Emperor with Muzio Clementi on 24 December 1781, and he soon "had established himself as the finest keyboard player in Vienna". He also prospered as a composer, and in 1782 completed the opera Die Entführung aus dem Serail ("The Abduction from the Seraglio"), which premiered on 16 July 1782 and achieved a huge success. The work was soon being performed "throughout German-speaking Europe", and fully established Mozart's reputation as a composer.
1782 portrait of Constanze Mozart by her brother-in-law Joseph Lange
Near the height of his quarrels with Colloredo, Mozart moved in with the Weber family, who had moved to Vienna from Mannheim. The father, Fridolin, had died, and the Webers were now taking in lodgers to make ends meet. Aloysia, who had earlier rejected Mozart's suit, was now married to the actor Joseph Lange, and Mozart's interest shifted to the third daughter, Constanze. The courtship did not go entirely smoothly; surviving correspondence indicates that Mozart and Constanze briefly broke up in April 1782. Mozart also faced a very difficult task in getting his father's permission for the marriage. The couple were finally married on 4 August 1782, in St. Stephen's Cathedral, the day before Leopold's consent arrived in the mail.
The couple had six children, of which only two survived infancy:
* Raimund Leopold (17 June – 19 August 1783)
* Karl Thomas Mozart (21 September 1784 – 31 October 1858)
* Johann Thomas Leopold (18 October – 15 November 1786)
* Theresia Constanzia Adelheid Friedericke Maria Anna (27 December 1787 – 29 June 1788)
* Anna Maria (died soon after birth, 25 December 1789)
* Franz Xaver Wolfgang Mozart (26 July 1791 – 29 July 1844)
In the course of 1782 and 1783 Mozart became intimately acquainted with the work of Johann Sebastian Bach and George Frideric Handel as a result of the influence of Gottfried van Swieten, who owned many manuscripts of the Baroque masters. Mozart's study of these scores inspired compositions in Baroque style, and later influenced his personal musical language, for example in fugal passages in Die Zauberflöte ("The Magic Flute") and the finale of Symphony No. 41.
In 1783, Wolfgang and Constanze visited his family in Salzburg. Leopold and Nannerl were, at best, only polite to Constanze, but the visit prompted the composition of one of Mozart's great liturgical pieces, the Mass in C minor. Though not completed, it was premiered in Salzburg, with Constanze singing a solo part.
Mozart met Joseph Haydn in Vienna, and the two composers became friends (see Haydn and Mozart). When Haydn visited Vienna, they sometimes played together in an impromptu string quartet. Mozart's six quartets dedicated to Haydn (K. 387, K. 421, K. 428, K. 458, K. 464, and K. 465) date from the period 1782 to 1785, and are judged to be a response to Haydn's Opus 33 set from 1781. Haydn in 1785 told the visiting Leopold: "I tell you before God, and as an honest man, your son is the greatest composer known to me by person and repute, he has taste and what is more the greatest skill in composition."
From 1782 to 1785 Mozart mounted concerts with himself as soloist, presenting three or four new piano concertos in each season. Since space in the theaters was scarce, he booked unconventional venues: a large room in the Trattnerhof (an apartment building), and the ballroom of the Mehlgrube (a restaurant). The concerts were very popular, and the concertos he premiered at them are still firm fixtures in the repertoire. Solomon writes that during this period Mozart created "a harmonious connection between an eager composer-performer and a delighted audience, which was given the opportunity of witnessing the transformation and perfection of a major musical genre".
With substantial returns from his concerts and elsewhere, he and Constanze adopted a rather plush lifestyle. They moved to an expensive apartment, with a yearly rent of 460 florins. Mozart also bought a fine fortepiano from Anton Walter for about 900 florins, and a billiard table for about 300. The Mozarts sent their son Karl Thomas to an expensive boarding school, and kept servants. Saving was therefore impossible, and the short period of financial success did nothing to soften the hardship the Mozarts were later to experience.
On 14 December 1784, Mozart became a Freemason, admitted to the lodge Zur Wohltätigkeit ("Beneficence"). Freemasonry played an important role in the remainder of Mozart's life: he attended meetings, a number of his friends were Masons, and on various occasions he composed Masonic music. (See Mozart and Freemasonry.)
1786–1787: Return to opera
Despite the great success of Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Mozart did little operatic writing for the next four years, producing only two unfinished works and the one-act Der Schauspieldirektor. He focused instead on his career as a piano soloist and writer of concertos. However, around the end of 1785, Mozart moved away from keyboard writing and began his famous operatic collaboration with the librettist Lorenzo Da Ponte. 1786 saw the successful premiere of The Marriage of Figaro in Vienna. Its reception in Prague later in the year was even warmer, and this led to a second collaboration with Da Ponte: the opera Don Giovanni, which premiered in October 1787 to acclaim in Prague, and also met with success in Vienna in 1788. The two are among Mozart's most important works and are mainstays of the operatic repertoire today, though at their premieres their musical complexity caused difficulty for both listeners and performers. These developments were not witnessed by the composer's father, as Leopold had died on 28 May 1787.
In December 1787 Mozart finally obtained a steady post under aristocratic patronage. Emperor Joseph II appointed him as his "chamber composer", a post that had fallen vacant the previous month on the death of Gluck. It was a part-time appointment, paying just 800 florins per year, and only required Mozart to compose dances for the annual balls in the Redoutensaal. However, even this modest income became important to Mozart when hard times arrived. Court records show that Joseph's aim was to keep the esteemed composer from leaving Vienna in pursuit of better prospects.
In 1787 the young Ludwig van Beethoven spent several weeks in Vienna, hoping to study with Mozart. No reliable records survive to indicate whether the two composers ever met. (See Mozart and Beethoven.)
1788–1790
Drawing of Mozart in silverpoint, made by Dora Stock during Mozart's visit to Dresden, April 1789
Toward the end of the decade, Mozart's circumstances worsened. Around 1786 he had ceased to appear frequently in public concerts, and his income shrank. This was a difficult time for musicians in Vienna because Austria was at war, and both the general level of prosperity and the ability of the aristocracy to support music had declined.
By mid-1788, Mozart and his family had moved from central Vienna to the suburb of Alsergrund. Although it has been thought that Mozart reduced his rental expenses, recent research shows that by moving to the suburb Mozart had certainly not reduced his expenses (as claimed in his letter to Puchberg), but merely increased the housing space at his disposal. Mozart began to borrow money, most often from his friend and fellow Mason Michael Puchberg; "a pitiful sequence of letters pleading for loans" survives. Maynard Solomon and others have suggested that Mozart was suffering from depression, and it seems that his output slowed. Major works of the period include the last three symphonies (Nos. 39, 40, and 41, all from 1788), and the last of the three Da Ponte operas, Così fan tutte, premiered in 1790.
Around this time Mozart made long journeys hoping to improve his fortunes: to Leipzig, Dresden, and Berlin in the spring of 1789 (see Mozart's Berlin journey), and to Frankfurt, Mannheim, and other German cities in 1790. The trips produced only isolated success and did not relieve the family's financial distress.
1791
Mozart's last year was, until his final illness struck, a time of great productivity—and by some accounts a time of personal recovery. He composed a great deal, including some of his most admired works: the opera The Magic Flute, the final piano concerto (K. 595 in B-flat), the Clarinet Concerto K. 622, the last in his great series of string quintets (K. 614 in E-flat), the motet Ave verum corpus K. 618, and the unfinished Requiem K. 626.
Mozart's financial situation, a source of extreme anxiety in 1790, finally began to improve. Although the evidence is inconclusive, it appears that wealthy patrons in Hungary and Amsterdam pledged annuities to Mozart in return for the occasional composition. He probably also benefited from the sale of dance music written in his role as Imperial chamber composer. Mozart no longer borrowed large sums from Puchberg, and made a start on paying off his debts.
He experienced great satisfaction in the public success of some of his works, notably The Magic Flute (performed many times in the short period between its premiere and Mozart's death) and the Little Masonic Cantata K. 623, premiered on 15 November 1791.
Final illness and death
Main article: Death of Mozart
Posthumous painting by Barbara Krafft in 1819
Mozart fell ill while in Prague for the premiere on 6 September of his opera La clemenza di Tito, written in 1791 on commission for the Emperor's coronation festivities. He was able to continue his professional functions for some time, and conducted the premiere of The Magic Flute on 30 September. The illness intensified on 20 November, at which point Mozart became bedridden, suffering from swelling, pain, and vomiting.
Mozart was nursed in his final illness by Constanze and her youngest sister Sophie, and attended by the family doctor, Thomas Franz Closset. It is clear that he was mentally occupied with the task of finishing his Requiem. However, the evidence that he actually dictated passages to his student Süssmayr is very slim.
Mozart died at 1 a.m. on 5 December 1791 at the age of 35. The New Grove gives a matter-of-fact description of his funeral:
Mozart was buried in a common grave, in accordance with contemporary Viennese custom, at the St Marx cemetery outside the city on 7 December. If, as later reports say, no mourners attended, that too is consistent with Viennese burial customs at the time; later Jahn (1856) wrote that Salieri, Süssmayr, van Swieten and two other musicians were present. The tale of a storm and snow is false; the day was calm and mild.
The cause of Mozart's death cannot be known with certainty. The official record has it as "hitziges Frieselfieber" ("severe miliary fever", referring to a rash that looks like millet seeds), a description that does not suffice to identify the cause as it would be diagnosed in modern medicine. Researchers have posited at least 118 causes of death, including trichinosis, influenza, mercury poisoning, and a rare kidney ailment. The most widely accepted hypothesis is that Mozart died of acute rheumatic fever.
Mozart's sparse funeral did not reflect his standing with the public as a composer: memorial services and concerts in Vienna and Prague were well attended. Indeed, in the period immediately after his death, Mozart's reputation rose substantially: Solomon describes an "unprecedented wave of enthusiasm" for his work; biographies were written (first by Schlichtegroll, Niemetschek, and Nissen; see Biographies of Mozart); and publishers vied to produce complete editions of his works.
Appearance and character
Unfinished portrait of Mozart by his brother-in-law Joseph Lange
Mozart's physical appearance was described by tenor Michael Kelly, in his Reminiscences: "a remarkably small man, very thin and pale, with a profusion of fine, fair hair of which he was rather vain". As his early biographer Niemetschek wrote, "there was nothing special about physique. He was small and his countenance, except for his large intense eyes, gave no signs of his genius." His facial complexion was pitted, a reminder of his childhood case of smallpox. He loved elegant clothing. Kelly remembered him at a rehearsal: " was on the stage with his crimson pelisse and gold-laced cocked hat, giving the time of the music to the orchestra." Of his voice Constanze later wrote that it "was a tenor, rather soft in speaking and delicate in singing, but when anything excited him, or it became necessary to exert it, it was both powerful and energetic".
Mozart usually worked long and hard, finishing compositions at a tremendous pace as deadlines approached. He often made sketches and drafts; unlike Beethoven's these are mostly not preserved, as Constanze sought to destroy them after his death. (See: Mozart's compositional method.) He was raised a Roman Catholic and remained a member of the Church throughout his life. (See Mozart and Roman Catholicism.)
Mozart lived at the center of the Viennese musical world, and knew a great number and variety of people: fellow musicians, theatrical performers, fellow Salzburgers, and aristocrats, including some acquaintance with the Emperor Joseph II. Solomon considers his three closest friends to have been Gottfried von Jacquin, Count August Hatzfeld, and Sigmund Barisani; others included his older colleague Joseph Haydn, singers Franz Xaver Gerl and Benedikt Schack, and the horn player Joseph Leutgeb. Leutgeb and Mozart carried on a curious kind of friendly mockery, often with Leutgeb as the butt of Mozart's practical jokes.
He enjoyed billiards and dancing (see Mozart and dance), and kept pets: a canary, a starling, a dog, and also a horse for recreational riding. He had a fondness for scatological humor, which is preserved in his surviving letters, notably those written to his cousin Maria Anna Thekla Mozart around 1777–1778, but also in his correspondence with his sister and parents. Mozart even wrote scatological music, a series of canons that he sang with his friends. See: Mozart and scatology.
Works, musical style, and innovations
See also: List of compositions by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Style
A facsimile sheet of music from the Dies Irae movement of the "Requiem Mass in D Minor" (K. 626) in Mozart's own handwriting. It is located at the Mozarthaus in Vienna.
Mozart's music, like Haydn's, stands as an archetype of the Classical style. At the time he began composing, European music was dominated by the style galant, a reaction against the highly evolved intricacy of the Baroque. Progressively, and in large part at the hands of Mozart himself, the contrapuntal complexities of the late Baroque emerged once more, moderated and disciplined by new forms, and adapted to a new aesthetic and social milieu. Mozart was a versatile composer, and wrote in every major genre, including symphony, opera, the solo concerto, chamber music including string quartet and string quintet, and the piano sonata. These forms were not new, but Mozart advanced their technical sophistication and emotional reach. He almost single-handedly developed and popularized the Classical piano concerto. He wrote a great deal of religious music, including large-scale masses, but also dances, divertimenti, serenades, and other forms of light entertainment.
The central traits of the Classical style are all present in Mozart's music. Clarity, balance, and transparency are the hallmarks of his work, but simplistic notions of its delicacy mask the exceptional power of his finest masterpieces, such as the Piano Concerto No. 24 in C minor, K. 491, the Symphony No. 40 in G minor, K. 550, and the opera Don Giovanni. Charles Rosen makes the point forcefully:
It is only through recognizing the violence and sensuality at the center of Mozart's work that we can make a start towards a comprehension of his structures and an insight into his magnificence. In a paradoxical way, Schumann's superficial characterization of the G minor Symphony can help us to see Mozart's daemon more steadily. In all of Mozart's supreme expressions of suffering and terror, there is something shockingly voluptuous.
Especially during his last decade, Mozart exploited chromatic harmony to a degree rare at the time, with remarkable assurance and to great artistic effect.
Mozart always had a gift for absorbing and adapting valuable features of others' music. His travels helped in the forging of a unique compositional language. In London as a child, he met J.C. Bach and heard his music. In Paris, Mannheim, and Vienna he met with other compositional influences, as well as the avant-garde capabilities of the Mannheim orchestra. In Italy he encountered the Italian overture and opera buffa, both of which deeply affected the evolution of his own practice. In London and Italy, the galant style was in the ascendent: simple, light music with a mania for cadencing; an emphasis on tonic, dominant, and subdominant to the exclusion of other harmonies; symmetrical phrases; and clearly articulated partitions in the overall form of movements. Some of Mozart's early symphonies are Italian overtures, with three movements running into each other; many are homotonal (all three movements having the same key signature, with the slow middle movement being in the relative minor). Others mimic the works of J.C. Bach, and others show the simple rounded binary forms turned out by Viennese composers.
As Mozart matured, he progressively incorporated more features adapted from the Baroque. For example, the Symphony No. 29 in A Major K. 201 has a contrapuntal main theme in its first movement, and experimentation with irregular phrase lengths. Some of his quartets from 1773 have fugal finales, probably influenced by Haydn, who had included three such finales in his recently published Opus 20 set. The influence of the Sturm und Drang ("Storm and Stress") period in music, with its brief foreshadowing of the Romantic era, is evident in the music of both composers at that time. Mozart's Symphony No. 25 in G minor K. 183 is another excellent example.
Mozart would sometimes switch his focus between operas and instrumental music. He produced operas in each of the prevailing styles: opera buffa, such as The Marriage of Figaro, Don Giovanni, and Così fan tutte; opera seria, such as Idomeneo; and Singspiel, of which Die Zauberflöte is the most famous example by any composer. In his later operas he employed subtle changes in instrumentation, orchestral texture, and tone color, for emotional depth and to mark dramatic shifts. Here his advances in opera and instrumental composing interacted: his increasingly sophisticated use of the orchestra in the symphonies and concertos influenced his operatic orchestration, and his developing subtlety in using the orchestra to psychological effect in his operas was in turn reflected in his later non-operatic compositions.
Portrait of Beethoven as a young man by Carl Traugott Riedel (1769–1832)
Influence
Mozart's most famous pupil, whom the Mozarts took into their Vienna home for two years as a child, was probably Johann Nepomuk Hummel, a transitional figure between Classical and Romantic eras. More important is the influence Mozart had on composers of later generations. Ever since the surge in his reputation after his death, studying his scores has been a standard part of the training of classical musicians.
Ludwig van Beethoven, Mozart's junior by fifteen years, was deeply influenced by his work, with which he was acquainted as a teenager. He is thought to have performed Mozart's operas while playing in the court orchestra at Bonn, and he traveled to Vienna in 1787 hoping to study the older composer. Some of Beethoven's works have direct models in comparable works by Mozart, and he wrote cadenzas (WoO 58) to Mozart's D minor piano concerto K. 466.
A number of composers have paid homage to Mozart by writing sets of variations on his themes. Beethoven wrote four such sets (Op. 66, WoO 28, WoO 40, WoO 46). Others include Frédéric Chopin's Variations on "Là ci darem la mano" from Don Giovanni (1827) and Max Reger's Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Mozart (1914), based on the variation theme in the piano sonata K. 331. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky wrote his Orchestral Suite No. 4 in G, "Mozartiana" (1887), as a tribute to Mozart.
http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa180/psipsika/mozart.jpg
http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee219/Supertornade/Mozart.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 01/27/11 at 8:05 am
And that's where Walter Murphy had the idea to a mix of his symphony and disco.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: CatwomanofV on 01/27/11 at 11:05 am
And that's where Walter Murphy had the idea to a mix of his symphony and disco.
That was Beethoven's 5th Symphony.
I LOVE Mozart. Some of my favorites are the overture to the Marriage of Figaro (which I just used in a slide show that I made for my step-son & his wife of their wedding) and the Turkish Rondo.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_oKU94kxv-o
Marriage of Figaro always reminds me of Trading Places.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juLRqSV45vo
Cat
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 01/28/11 at 8:01 am
The person of the day...Elijah Wood
Elijah Jordan Wood (born January 28, 1981) is an American actor. He made his film debut with a minor part in Back to the Future Part II (1989), then landed a succession of larger roles that made him a critically acclaimed child actor by age 9. He is best known for his high-profile role as Frodo Baggins in Peter Jackson's critically acclaimed The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Since then, he has resisted typecasting by choosing varied roles in critically acclaimed films such as Bobby, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Sin City, Green Street and Everything Is Illuminated.
He starred in the film Day Zero (2007) and provided the voice of the main character, Mumble, in the award-winning animated film Happy Feet. He played an American tourist turned vampire in Paris, je t'aime. In 2005, he started his own record label, Simian Records. He was cast in the lead role of an Iggy Pop biopic to be called The Passenger, but after years of development, the project now appears to be shelved.
In 2006, he became a well-known voice actor in video gaming and soon became the voice of the video game icon Spyro the Dragon.
In 2008, he became the first person to cross Victoria Falls on ropes during an appearance on Jack Osbourne's show Adrenaline Junkie.
Wood modeled and did local commercials before moving with his family to Los Angeles in 1988, where he got his first break, a small role in a video by Paula Abdul - "Forever Your Girl", directed by David Fincher. Film work followed almost instantly in Back to the Future Part II (1989). It was Wood's role as Aidan Quinn's son in Barry Levinson's 1990 film Avalon (the third film in the Baltimore trilogy containing 1982's Diner and 1987's Tin Men) that first gave Wood attention, as the film received widespread critical acclaim and was nominated for four Academy Awards.
After a small part in the Richard Gere movie Internal Affairs (1990), he secured his first starring role in Paradise (1991), playing a young boy who brings estranged couple Melanie Griffith and Don Johnson back together. From there, he went on to co-star with Mel Gibson and Jamie Lee Curtis in Forever Young and with Joseph Mazzello in Radio Flyer (both were released in 1992).
In 1993 he had the lead role in The Adventures of Huck Finn and also appeared with Macaulay Culkin in The Good Son. In 1994 he starred in The War (1994), with Kevin Costner. His performance in this movie gained him a nomination for a 'Young Star Award' (for which he was nominated four times, and won twice), and Roger Ebert said in his review of the film:
"Elijah Wood has emerged, I believe, as the most talented actor in his age group, in Hollywood history".
Also in 1994, he had the title role in North, and was featured in a Super Bowl commercial for Wavy Lay's potato chips that had him repeatedly exchanging seats with spectators at a football game (including Dan Quayle) using its famous slogan. In 1995, he appeared in the music video for The Cranberries "Ridiculous Thoughts". The following year, Wood got the lead role in Flipper (1996), which was not very successful, but the subsequent critical and financial success of Ang Lee's The Ice Storm (1997) provided a positive development in the young actor's career.
In 1997, he portrayed the pick-pocketing thief Jack "The Artful Dodger" Dawkins in Tony Bill's Oliver Twist.1998's Deep Impact and The Faculty did not allow Wood the same degree of character development, but were great financial successes and further stepping stones in Wood's evolution from winsome child star to young actor.
Wood's next role was as the boyfriend of a wannabe hip-hop groupie in James Toback's Black and White (1999). He followed this with a role as a junior hitman in Chain of Fools.
1999–2003: The Lord of the Rings
Wood was cast as Frodo Baggins in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, the first installment of director Peter Jackson's adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's novel. His most hotly anticipated project, the 2001 film gave Wood top billing as Baggins, alongside a cast that included Ian McKellen, Liv Tyler, Orlando Bloom, Cate Blanchett, Christopher Lee, Sean Bean, Sean Astin, Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan, Viggo Mortensen,John Rhys Davies,andMiranda Otto.
The Lord of the Rings was filmed in New Zealand and, before the cast left the country, Jackson gave Wood two gifts: one of the One Ring props used on the set and Sting, Frodo's sword. He was also given a pair of prosthetic "hobbit feet" he wore during filming. The same year, the actor appeared in Ed Burns' Ash Wednesday, a crime drama that also featured Oliver Platt and Rosario Dawson.
In 2002, Wood lent his voice to the direct-to-video release of The Adventures of Tom Thumb and Thumbelina. His most substantial role of 2002 was his return to the role of Frodo Baggins in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.
In 2003, he starred in the direct-to-video movie All I Want (also titled Try Seventeen) and once again portrayed Frodo Baggins for The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, the final part of Jackson's trilogy.
2004–2010: Recent career
Hot on the heels of the trilogy, Wood quickly appeared in his first post-Frodo role in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004), playing a lab technician who helps erase heartbreaking memories but then uses his knowledge of the past relationship of an unknowing former patient (Kate Winslet) to woo her. He then played bespectacled serial killer Kevin in director Robert Rodriguez and writer-artist Frank Miller's adaptation of Miller's crime noir comic book series Sin City (2005), appearing opposite Mickey Rourke in the segment "The Hard Goodbye". On May 12, 2005, Wood hosted a program called "MTV Presents: The Next Generation Xbox Revealed", when the new Xbox 360 games console was launched.
Also in 2005, Wood starred in Everything Is Illuminated, in which he plays a young American Jewish man on a quest to find the woman who once saved his grandfather during World War II, and Green Street, as an American college student who falls in with a violent English football firm. Both had limited release, but were critically acclaimed.
Wood shot a small part in Paris, je t'aime, which consists of 18 five-minute sections. Each section is directed by a different director. Wood’s section, called "Quartier de la Madeleine", was directed by Vincenzo Natali. The film opened on May 18 at 2006 Cannes Film Festival and was shown at 2006 Toronto International Film Festival. First Look Pictures acquired the North American rights, and the film opened in the US in early 2007.
In 2006, he was part of the ensemble cast in Emilio Estevez's Bobby, in which his character gets married to change his draft classification. It premiered at the Venice Film Festival and was released on November 17, 2006 in New York and Los Angeles. Wide release followed on November 23.
In Happy Feet, Wood provided the voice of Mumble, a penguin who can tap dance, but not sing. Happy Feet was released on November 17, 2006 and has grossed over $380 million worldwide. The movie also received a Golden Globe Award nomination and won an Academy Award and a BAFTA for Best Animated Feature.
Day Zero, a drama about the draft, had its debut at the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival. Wood portrays draftee, Aaron Feller.
In 2006, Wood hosted the special "Saving a Species: The Great Penguin Rescue" for Discovery Kids Channel, for which he has been nominated for a Daytime Emmy in the category of acting in a children/youth/family special. On January 4, 2007 Wood joined Screen Actors Guild President Alan Rosenberg to announce the nominees for the 13th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards.
In The Oxford Murders, a film adaptation of the novel of the same name by Guillermo Martínez, Wood plays a graduate student, who investigates a series of bizarre, mathematically-based murders in Oxford. It was released in Spain on January 18, 2008.
Wood also voiced the lead in the animated feature film version of the short film 9. A project in which Wood was set to star in, a biopic about singer Iggy Pop, putatively named The Passenger, has not come to fruition after years in development.
Wood's first starring TV role is on the FX pilot Wilfred in which he plays, Ryan. The pilot was shot in the summer of 2010.
In January 2011, it was confirmed that Wood would reprise the role of Frodo Baggins in the The Hobbit parts one and two films to be released in 2012 and 2013.
Other work
In 2005 Wood started his own record label called Simian Records. On September 19, 2006 Wood announced that Simian had signed The Apples in Stereo as their first band, with their new album New Magnetic Wonder released in February 2007. In addition he also directed the music video for "Energy". The other band signed to Simian thus far is Heloise and the Savoir Faire.
Wood has also provided voiceovers for videogames, providing the current voice for Spyro the Dragon since 2006's The Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning, as well as reprising Mumble in the game version of Happy Feet. He also contributed his talents to fellow Lord of the Rings star Viggo Mortensen's album Pandemoniumfromamerica, singing and playing various instruments on the album.
Wood has signed to co-produce the film Black Wings Has My Angel, based on the noir novel of the same name, with Anthony Moody and Rob Malkani of Indalo Productions.
On April 11, 2008, Wood was the guest host of Channel 4's Friday Night Project.
On April 25, 2009, Wood was honored with the Midnight Award by the San Francisco International Film Festival as a dynamic young American actor who "has made outstanding contributions to independent and Hollywood cinema, and who brings striking intelligence, exemplary talent and extraordinary depth of character to his roles".
Wood also starred in an episode of Yo! Gabba Gabba entitled "Eat" where he danced and "went crazy" alongside the rest of the Yo! Gabba Gabba crew.
Wood can be seen in a short film on stepthroughtheportal.com. The site is an interactive website created by Simian Records artist' The Apples in Stereo, promoting their upcoming album, Travelers in Space and Time.
Personal life
Wood in February 2006
Wood keeps his personal life from the media spotlight, and is private about his romantic relationships. He dated Gogol Bordello drummer Pamela Racine for five years. Wood ended their long-term relationship during September 2010 because he was not ready to "settle down". Pamela was not in attendance at the premiere for his new movie The Romantics.
In an interview about Everything Is Illuminated, director Liev Schreiber commented that Wood has a "generosity of spirit" and a "sincere goodness as a human being." He supported campaigns for charity as Keep a Child Alive or ALDO/YouthAIDS. Wood is a music buff owning 4,000 CDs, citing his favorite band as Smashing Pumpkins.
Wood has a tattoo of the word "nine" written in Tengwar script, but in the English language (rather than Quenya or Sindarin as is widely believed) below his waist on the right side, a reference to his character as one of the Fellowship of the Ring. The other actors of "The Fellowship" got the same tattoo (with the exception of John Rhys-Davies).
In May 2006, Autograph Collector Magazine published its list of 10 Best & 10 Worst Hollywood Autograph Signers, Wood was ranked #7 of Best Signers.
Filmography
Films
Year↓ Title↓ Role↓ Notes
1989 Back to the Future Part II Video-Game Boy #2 (Mickey) bit part
1990 Child in the Night Luke TV film
1990 Internal Affairs Sean Stretch minor role
1990 Avalon Michael Kaye major role
1990 The Witness Little Boy short film
1991 Paradise Willard Young
1992 Day-O Day-O TV film
1992 Forever Young Nat Cooper
1992 Radio Flyer Mike
1993 The Adventures of Huck Finn Huckleberry Finn
1993 The Good Son Mark Evans
1994 North North
1994 The War Stuart "Stu" Simmons
1996 Flipper Sandy
1997 Oliver Twist Jack "The Artful Dodger" Dawkins TV film. Wood's first adult role
1997 The Ice Storm Mikey Carver
1998 Deep Impact Leo Biederman
1998 The Faculty Casey Connor
1999 The Bumblebee Flies Anyway Barney Snow
1999 Black and White Wren
2000 Chain of Fools Mikey Direct-to-video
2001 The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Frodo Baggins
2001 Ash Wednesday Sean Sullivan
2002 The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers Frodo Baggins
2002 The Adventures of Tom Thumb and Thumbelina Tom Thumb voice; Direct-to-video
2002 All I Want aka Try Seventeen Jones Dillon Direct-to-video
2003 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Frodo Baggins
2003 The Long and Short of It First Assistant Director Short film
2003 Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over The Guy Cameo
2004 Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind Patrick
2005 Sin City Kevin
2005 Everything Is Illuminated Jonathan Safran Foer
2005 Green Street Matt Buckner
2006 Bobby William Avary
2006 Happy Feet Mumble voice
2007 Paris, je t'aime David
2007 Day Zero Aaron Feller US Release: April 29, 2007
2008 The Oxford Murders Martin Spain Release: January 18, 2008
2009 9 9 voice
2010 The Romantics Chip January 27, 2010 Sundance Film Festival
2011 Happy Feet 2 Mumble voice; US release: November 18, 2011
2012 The Hobbit: Part I Frodo Baggins pre-production
2013 The Hobbit: Part II Frodo Baggins pre-production
Television
Year↓ Title↓ Role↓ Notes
1994 Frasier Ethan voice; "Guess Who's Coming to Breakfast"
1996 Homicide: Life on the Street McPhee Broadman "The True Test"
1996 Adventures from the Book of Virtues Icarus voice; "Responsibility"
2002 Franklin (TV series) Coyote voice
2002 The Electric Playground ?
2003 Saturday Night Live Host
2004 The Osbournes Himself
2004 King of the Hill Jason voice; "Girl, You'll Be a Giant Soon"
2005 I'm Still Here: Real Diaries of Young People Who Lived During the Holocaust Klaus Langer / Dawid Rubinowicz voice
2006 Robot Chicken William David Reynolds voice; "Sausage Fest"
2006 American Dad! Ethan voice; "Iced, Iced Babies"
2006 Punk'd Himself
2006 Saving a Species: The Great Penguin Rescue Host and Narrator Television special
2007 Yo Gabba Gabba! Himself
2008 Friday Night Project Himself Guest host
2008 Celebrity Adrenaline Junkie Himself Became the first person to cross the Victoria Falls on ropes.
2009 Saturday Night Live Himself SNL Digital Short On the Ground
2010 Family Guy Himself "Brian Griffin's House of Payne"
2010 WW2 HD: The Air War Andy Rooney voice
2011 Wilfred Ryan
2011 Treasure Island Ben Gunn TV Two-Part Miniseries
2012 Tron: Uprising Beck voice
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Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 01/28/11 at 9:36 pm
He's an ok actor,I don't think I saw The Hobbit.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 01/29/11 at 5:35 am
He's an ok actor,I don't think I saw The Hobbit.
The Hobbit will not be released till next year.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 01/29/11 at 5:36 am
The person of the day...Edward Burns
Edward Fitzgerald Burns (born January 29, 1968) is an American actor, film producer, writer and director.
Burns was born in Woodside, Queens, New York, the son of Molly (née McKenna), a federal agency manager, and Edward J. Burns, a public relations spokesman and police officer. He was raised a Roman Catholic. Burns is the second of three children (with siblings Mary and Brian) in an Irish American family. He was raised in Valley Stream, New York, on Long Island. He briefly attended Chaminade High School before transferring to Hewlett High School. After high school, Burns attended SUNY Oneonta and SUNY Albany, before earning a degree in English from Hunter College in 1992.
Career
Burns got his start in the film industry right after college as a production assistant on the Oliver Stone film, The Doors. While working as a gofer at Entertainment Tonight, he financed, produced, directed and starred in his first film The Brothers McMullen in his spare time, which was largely shot in his hometown of Valley Stream. Once he completed the film, he was able to get a copy to Robert Redford after an ET junket interview for Quiz Show at the Rhiga Royal Hotel in Manhattan. In 1996, Burns wrote, directed and starred in the ensemble drama She's The One with Jennifer Aniston, Cameron Diaz and Amanda Peet, as well as Sidewalks of New York in 2001.
Burns is also known for his acting work on movies such as Saving Private Ryan (1998), Life or Something Like It (2002), and Confidence (2003). Looking for Kitty (2004), which Burns wrote, directed and starred in, was shot with a hand-held $3,000 digital Panasonic AG-DVX100 camera with a Mini35 adapter. The film's entire budget was $200,000 and was filmed in New York City with a tiny crew and without standard permits. Burns discussed this unusual film-making process in the director's commentary on the DVD and wrote in the Director's Letter "If you are an aspiring filmmaker, in this day of inflating budgets and runaway production, the truth is you can make a movie for no money in New York... and have a blast".
His film Purple Violets premiered exclusively on iTunes on November 20, 2007. Burns began a string of guest appearances on the HBO original series Entourage mid-way through season 3, as well as appearing as Grace Adler's boyfriend in Will & Grace. In Entourage Burns plays himself and is (within the context of the series) writing a new TV series in which Johnny Drama is able to land a part. In 2007, Burns announced plans to partner with Virgin Comics to create a series entitled Dock Walloper. Burns plans to use the comic series as a springboard to a film of the same story.
In March 2009, The Lynch Pin, a series of shorts starring, written and directed by Burns were released via the internet. The ten episodes are only available to view online as of August 2009 and future plans for the project are unknown.
He is currently running a screenwriting contest with the web startup Scripped for a crowdsourced screenplay which he intends to help get produced and will be introducing his new film Nice Guy Johnny at the Tribeca film festival
Personal life
Burns is married to model Christy Turlington and has two children, Grace (2003) and Finn (2006).
Filmography
Writer/Director
* The Brothers McMullen (1995)
* She's the One (1996)
* No Looking Back (1998)
* Sidewalks of New York (2001)
* Ash Wednesday (2002)
* Looking for Kitty (2004)
* The Groomsmen (2006)
* Purple Violets (2007)
* The Lynch Pin (2009)
* Nice Guy Johnny (2010)
Actor
* The Brothers McMullen (1995)
* She's the One (1996)
* No Looking Back (1998)
* Saving Private Ryan (1998)
* 15 Minutes (2001)
* Sidewalks of New York (2001)
* Life or Something Like It (2002)
* Ash Wednesday (2002)
* Confidence (2003)
* Looking for Kitty (2004)
* A Sound of Thunder (2005)
* The River King (2005)
* The Groomsmen (2006)
* The Holiday (2006)
* Entourage (TV Series) (2006–2009)
* Purple Violets (2007)
* One Missed Call (2008)
* 27 Dresses (2008)
* The Lynch Pin (2009)
* Echelon Conspiracy (2009)
* Nice Guy Johnny (2010)
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Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 01/29/11 at 5:37 am
The person of the day...Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (German: , English see fn.), baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791), was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music. He is among the most enduringly popular of classical composers.
Mozart showed prodigious ability from his earliest childhood in Salzburg. Already competent on keyboard and violin, he composed from the age of five and performed before European royalty. At 17, he was engaged as a court musician in Salzburg, but grew restless and travelled in search of a better position, always composing abundantly. While visiting Vienna in 1781, he was dismissed from his Salzburg position. He chose to stay in the capital, where he achieved fame but little financial security. During his final years in Vienna, he composed many of his best-known symphonies, concertos, and operas, and portions of the Requiem, which was largely unfinished at the time of Mozart's death. The circumstances of his early death have been much mythologized. He was survived by his wife Constanze and two sons.
Mozart learned voraciously from others, and developed a brilliance and maturity of style that encompassed the light and graceful along with the dark and passionate. His influence on subsequent Western art music is profound. Beethoven wrote his own early compositions in the shadow of Mozart, of whom Joseph Haydn wrote that "posterity will not see such a talent again in 100 years
Mozart's new career in Vienna began well. He performed often as a pianist, notably in a competition before the Emperor with Muzio Clementi on 24 December 1781, and he soon "had established himself as the finest keyboard player in Vienna". He also prospered as a composer, and in 1782 completed the opera Die Entführung aus dem Serail ("The Abduction from the Seraglio"), which premiered on 16 July 1782 and achieved a huge success. The work was soon being performed "throughout German-speaking Europe", and fully established Mozart's reputation as a composer.
1782 portrait of Constanze Mozart by her brother-in-law Joseph Lange
Near the height of his quarrels with Colloredo, Mozart moved in with the Weber family, who had moved to Vienna from Mannheim. The father, Fridolin, had died, and the Webers were now taking in lodgers to make ends meet. Aloysia, who had earlier rejected Mozart's suit, was now married to the actor Joseph Lange, and Mozart's interest shifted to the third daughter, Constanze. The courtship did not go entirely smoothly; surviving correspondence indicates that Mozart and Constanze briefly broke up in April 1782. Mozart also faced a very difficult task in getting his father's permission for the marriage. The couple were finally married on 4 August 1782, in St. Stephen's Cathedral, the day before Leopold's consent arrived in the mail.
The couple had six children, of which only two survived infancy:
* Raimund Leopold (17 June – 19 August 1783)
* Karl Thomas Mozart (21 September 1784 – 31 October 1858)
* Johann Thomas Leopold (18 October – 15 November 1786)
* Theresia Constanzia Adelheid Friedericke Maria Anna (27 December 1787 – 29 June 1788)
* Anna Maria (died soon after birth, 25 December 1789)
* Franz Xaver Wolfgang Mozart (26 July 1791 – 29 July 1844)
In the course of 1782 and 1783 Mozart became intimately acquainted with the work of Johann Sebastian Bach and George Frideric Handel as a result of the influence of Gottfried van Swieten, who owned many manuscripts of the Baroque masters. Mozart's study of these scores inspired compositions in Baroque style, and later influenced his personal musical language, for example in fugal passages in Die Zauberflöte ("The Magic Flute") and the finale of Symphony No. 41.
In 1783, Wolfgang and Constanze visited his family in Salzburg. Leopold and Nannerl were, at best, only polite to Constanze, but the visit prompted the composition of one of Mozart's great liturgical pieces, the Mass in C minor. Though not completed, it was premiered in Salzburg, with Constanze singing a solo part.
Mozart met Joseph Haydn in Vienna, and the two composers became friends (see Haydn and Mozart). When Haydn visited Vienna, they sometimes played together in an impromptu string quartet. Mozart's six quartets dedicated to Haydn (K. 387, K. 421, K. 428, K. 458, K. 464, and K. 465) date from the period 1782 to 1785, and are judged to be a response to Haydn's Opus 33 set from 1781. Haydn in 1785 told the visiting Leopold: "I tell you before God, and as an honest man, your son is the greatest composer known to me by person and repute, he has taste and what is more the greatest skill in composition."
From 1782 to 1785 Mozart mounted concerts with himself as soloist, presenting three or four new piano concertos in each season. Since space in the theaters was scarce, he booked unconventional venues: a large room in the Trattnerhof (an apartment building), and the ballroom of the Mehlgrube (a restaurant). The concerts were very popular, and the concertos he premiered at them are still firm fixtures in the repertoire. Solomon writes that during this period Mozart created "a harmonious connection between an eager composer-performer and a delighted audience, which was given the opportunity of witnessing the transformation and perfection of a major musical genre".
With substantial returns from his concerts and elsewhere, he and Constanze adopted a rather plush lifestyle. They moved to an expensive apartment, with a yearly rent of 460 florins. Mozart also bought a fine fortepiano from Anton Walter for about 900 florins, and a billiard table for about 300. The Mozarts sent their son Karl Thomas to an expensive boarding school, and kept servants. Saving was therefore impossible, and the short period of financial success did nothing to soften the hardship the Mozarts were later to experience.
On 14 December 1784, Mozart became a Freemason, admitted to the lodge Zur Wohltätigkeit ("Beneficence"). Freemasonry played an important role in the remainder of Mozart's life: he attended meetings, a number of his friends were Masons, and on various occasions he composed Masonic music. (See Mozart and Freemasonry.)
1786–1787: Return to opera
Despite the great success of Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Mozart did little operatic writing for the next four years, producing only two unfinished works and the one-act Der Schauspieldirektor. He focused instead on his career as a piano soloist and writer of concertos. However, around the end of 1785, Mozart moved away from keyboard writing and began his famous operatic collaboration with the librettist Lorenzo Da Ponte. 1786 saw the successful premiere of The Marriage of Figaro in Vienna. Its reception in Prague later in the year was even warmer, and this led to a second collaboration with Da Ponte: the opera Don Giovanni, which premiered in October 1787 to acclaim in Prague, and also met with success in Vienna in 1788. The two are among Mozart's most important works and are mainstays of the operatic repertoire today, though at their premieres their musical complexity caused difficulty for both listeners and performers. These developments were not witnessed by the composer's father, as Leopold had died on 28 May 1787.
In December 1787 Mozart finally obtained a steady post under aristocratic patronage. Emperor Joseph II appointed him as his "chamber composer", a post that had fallen vacant the previous month on the death of Gluck. It was a part-time appointment, paying just 800 florins per year, and only required Mozart to compose dances for the annual balls in the Redoutensaal. However, even this modest income became important to Mozart when hard times arrived. Court records show that Joseph's aim was to keep the esteemed composer from leaving Vienna in pursuit of better prospects.
In 1787 the young Ludwig van Beethoven spent several weeks in Vienna, hoping to study with Mozart. No reliable records survive to indicate whether the two composers ever met. (See Mozart and Beethoven.)
1788–1790
Drawing of Mozart in silverpoint, made by Dora Stock during Mozart's visit to Dresden, April 1789
Toward the end of the decade, Mozart's circumstances worsened. Around 1786 he had ceased to appear frequently in public concerts, and his income shrank. This was a difficult time for musicians in Vienna because Austria was at war, and both the general level of prosperity and the ability of the aristocracy to support music had declined.
By mid-1788, Mozart and his family had moved from central Vienna to the suburb of Alsergrund. Although it has been thought that Mozart reduced his rental expenses, recent research shows that by moving to the suburb Mozart had certainly not reduced his expenses (as claimed in his letter to Puchberg), but merely increased the housing space at his disposal. Mozart began to borrow money, most often from his friend and fellow Mason Michael Puchberg; "a pitiful sequence of letters pleading for loans" survives. Maynard Solomon and others have suggested that Mozart was suffering from depression, and it seems that his output slowed. Major works of the period include the last three symphonies (Nos. 39, 40, and 41, all from 1788), and the last of the three Da Ponte operas, Così fan tutte, premiered in 1790.
Around this time Mozart made long journeys hoping to improve his fortunes: to Leipzig, Dresden, and Berlin in the spring of 1789 (see Mozart's Berlin journey), and to Frankfurt, Mannheim, and other German cities in 1790. The trips produced only isolated success and did not relieve the family's financial distress.
1791
Mozart's last year was, until his final illness struck, a time of great productivity—and by some accounts a time of personal recovery. He composed a great deal, including some of his most admired works: the opera The Magic Flute, the final piano concerto (K. 595 in B-flat), the Clarinet Concerto K. 622, the last in his great series of string quintets (K. 614 in E-flat), the motet Ave verum corpus K. 618, and the unfinished Requiem K. 626.
Mozart's financial situation, a source of extreme anxiety in 1790, finally began to improve. Although the evidence is inconclusive, it appears that wealthy patrons in Hungary and Amsterdam pledged annuities to Mozart in return for the occasional composition. He probably also benefited from the sale of dance music written in his role as Imperial chamber composer. Mozart no longer borrowed large sums from Puchberg, and made a start on paying off his debts.
He experienced great satisfaction in the public success of some of his works, notably The Magic Flute (performed many times in the short period between its premiere and Mozart's death) and the Little Masonic Cantata K. 623, premiered on 15 November 1791.
Final illness and death
Main article: Death of Mozart
Posthumous painting by Barbara Krafft in 1819
Mozart fell ill while in Prague for the premiere on 6 September of his opera La clemenza di Tito, written in 1791 on commission for the Emperor's coronation festivities. He was able to continue his professional functions for some time, and conducted the premiere of The Magic Flute on 30 September. The illness intensified on 20 November, at which point Mozart became bedridden, suffering from swelling, pain, and vomiting.
Mozart was nursed in his final illness by Constanze and her youngest sister Sophie, and attended by the family doctor, Thomas Franz Closset. It is clear that he was mentally occupied with the task of finishing his Requiem. However, the evidence that he actually dictated passages to his student Süssmayr is very slim.
Mozart died at 1 a.m. on 5 December 1791 at the age of 35. The New Grove gives a matter-of-fact description of his funeral:
Mozart was buried in a common grave, in accordance with contemporary Viennese custom, at the St Marx cemetery outside the city on 7 December. If, as later reports say, no mourners attended, that too is consistent with Viennese burial customs at the time; later Jahn (1856) wrote that Salieri, Süssmayr, van Swieten and two other musicians were present. The tale of a storm and snow is false; the day was calm and mild.
The cause of Mozart's death cannot be known with certainty. The official record has it as "hitziges Frieselfieber" ("severe miliary fever", referring to a rash that looks like millet seeds), a description that does not suffice to identify the cause as it would be diagnosed in modern medicine. Researchers have posited at least 118 causes of death, including trichinosis, influenza, mercury poisoning, and a rare kidney ailment. The most widely accepted hypothesis is that Mozart died of acute rheumatic fever.
Mozart's sparse funeral did not reflect his standing with the public as a composer: memorial services and concerts in Vienna and Prague were well attended. Indeed, in the period immediately after his death, Mozart's reputation rose substantially: Solomon describes an "unprecedented wave of enthusiasm" for his work; biographies were written (first by Schlichtegroll, Niemetschek, and Nissen; see Biographies of Mozart); and publishers vied to produce complete editions of his works.
Appearance and character
Unfinished portrait of Mozart by his brother-in-law Joseph Lange
Mozart's physical appearance was described by tenor Michael Kelly, in his Reminiscences: "a remarkably small man, very thin and pale, with a profusion of fine, fair hair of which he was rather vain". As his early biographer Niemetschek wrote, "there was nothing special about physique. He was small and his countenance, except for his large intense eyes, gave no signs of his genius." His facial complexion was pitted, a reminder of his childhood case of smallpox. He loved elegant clothing. Kelly remembered him at a rehearsal: " was on the stage with his crimson pelisse and gold-laced cocked hat, giving the time of the music to the orchestra." Of his voice Constanze later wrote that it "was a tenor, rather soft in speaking and delicate in singing, but when anything excited him, or it became necessary to exert it, it was both powerful and energetic".
Mozart usually worked long and hard, finishing compositions at a tremendous pace as deadlines approached. He often made sketches and drafts; unlike Beethoven's these are mostly not preserved, as Constanze sought to destroy them after his death. (See: Mozart's compositional method.) He was raised a Roman Catholic and remained a member of the Church throughout his life. (See Mozart and Roman Catholicism.)
Mozart lived at the center of the Viennese musical world, and knew a great number and variety of people: fellow musicians, theatrical performers, fellow Salzburgers, and aristocrats, including some acquaintance with the Emperor Joseph II. Solomon considers his three closest friends to have been Gottfried von Jacquin, Count August Hatzfeld, and Sigmund Barisani; others included his older colleague Joseph Haydn, singers Franz Xaver Gerl and Benedikt Schack, and the horn player Joseph Leutgeb. Leutgeb and Mozart carried on a curious kind of friendly mockery, often with Leutgeb as the butt of Mozart's practical jokes.
He enjoyed billiards and dancing (see Mozart and dance), and kept pets: a canary, a starling, a dog, and also a horse for recreational riding. He had a fondness for scatological humor, which is preserved in his surviving letters, notably those written to his cousin Maria Anna Thekla Mozart around 1777–1778, but also in his correspondence with his sister and parents. Mozart even wrote scatological music, a series of canons that he sang with his friends. See: Mozart and scatology.
Works, musical style, and innovations
See also: List of compositions by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Style
A facsimile sheet of music from the Dies Irae movement of the "Requiem Mass in D Minor" (K. 626) in Mozart's own handwriting. It is located at the Mozarthaus in Vienna.
Mozart's music, like Haydn's, stands as an archetype of the Classical style. At the time he began composing, European music was dominated by the style galant, a reaction against the highly evolved intricacy of the Baroque. Progressively, and in large part at the hands of Mozart himself, the contrapuntal complexities of the late Baroque emerged once more, moderated and disciplined by new forms, and adapted to a new aesthetic and social milieu. Mozart was a versatile composer, and wrote in every major genre, including symphony, opera, the solo concerto, chamber music including string quartet and string quintet, and the piano sonata. These forms were not new, but Mozart advanced their technical sophistication and emotional reach. He almost single-handedly developed and popularized the Classical piano concerto. He wrote a great deal of religious music, including large-scale masses, but also dances, divertimenti, serenades, and other forms of light entertainment.
The central traits of the Classical style are all present in Mozart's music. Clarity, balance, and transparency are the hallmarks of his work, but simplistic notions of its delicacy mask the exceptional power of his finest masterpieces, such as the Piano Concerto No. 24 in C minor, K. 491, the Symphony No. 40 in G minor, K. 550, and the opera Don Giovanni. Charles Rosen makes the point forcefully:
It is only through recognizing the violence and sensuality at the center of Mozart's work that we can make a start towards a comprehension of his structures and an insight into his magnificence. In a paradoxical way, Schumann's superficial characterization of the G minor Symphony can help us to see Mozart's daemon more steadily. In all of Mozart's supreme expressions of suffering and terror, there is something shockingly voluptuous.
Especially during his last decade, Mozart exploited chromatic harmony to a degree rare at the time, with remarkable assurance and to great artistic effect.
Mozart always had a gift for absorbing and adapting valuable features of others' music. His travels helped in the forging of a unique compositional language. In London as a child, he met J.C. Bach and heard his music. In Paris, Mannheim, and Vienna he met with other compositional influences, as well as the avant-garde capabilities of the Mannheim orchestra. In Italy he encountered the Italian overture and opera buffa, both of which deeply affected the evolution of his own practice. In London and Italy, the galant style was in the ascendent: simple, light music with a mania for cadencing; an emphasis on tonic, dominant, and subdominant to the exclusion of other harmonies; symmetrical phrases; and clearly articulated partitions in the overall form of movements. Some of Mozart's early symphonies are Italian overtures, with three movements running into each other; many are homotonal (all three movements having the same key signature, with the slow middle movement being in the relative minor). Others mimic the works of J.C. Bach, and others show the simple rounded binary forms turned out by Viennese composers.
As Mozart matured, he progressively incorporated more features adapted from the Baroque. For example, the Symphony No. 29 in A Major K. 201 has a contrapuntal main theme in its first movement, and experimentation with irregular phrase lengths. Some of his quartets from 1773 have fugal finales, probably influenced by Haydn, who had included three such finales in his recently published Opus 20 set. The influence of the Sturm und Drang ("Storm and Stress") period in music, with its brief foreshadowing of the Romantic era, is evident in the music of both composers at that time. Mozart's Symphony No. 25 in G minor K. 183 is another excellent example.
Mozart would sometimes switch his focus between operas and instrumental music. He produced operas in each of the prevailing styles: opera buffa, such as The Marriage of Figaro, Don Giovanni, and Così fan tutte; opera seria, such as Idomeneo; and Singspiel, of which Die Zauberflöte is the most famous example by any composer. In his later operas he employed subtle changes in instrumentation, orchestral texture, and tone color, for emotional depth and to mark dramatic shifts. Here his advances in opera and instrumental composing interacted: his increasingly sophisticated use of the orchestra in the symphonies and concertos influenced his operatic orchestration, and his developing subtlety in using the orchestra to psychological effect in his operas was in turn reflected in his later non-operatic compositions.
Portrait of Beethoven as a young man by Carl Traugott Riedel (1769–1832)
Influence
Mozart's most famous pupil, whom the Mozarts took into their Vienna home for two years as a child, was probably Johann Nepomuk Hummel, a transitional figure between Classical and Romantic eras. More important is the influence Mozart had on composers of later generations. Ever since the surge in his reputation after his death, studying his scores has been a standard part of the training of classical musicians.
Ludwig van Beethoven, Mozart's junior by fifteen years, was deeply influenced by his work, with which he was acquainted as a teenager. He is thought to have performed Mozart's operas while playing in the court orchestra at Bonn, and he traveled to Vienna in 1787 hoping to study the older composer. Some of Beethoven's works have direct models in comparable works by Mozart, and he wrote cadenzas (WoO 58) to Mozart's D minor piano concerto K. 466.
A number of composers have paid homage to Mozart by writing sets of variations on his themes. Beethoven wrote four such sets (Op. 66, WoO 28, WoO 40, WoO 46). Others include Frédéric Chopin's Variations on "Là ci darem la mano" from Don Giovanni (1827) and Max Reger's Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Mozart (1914), based on the variation theme in the piano sonata K. 331. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky wrote his Orchestral Suite No. 4 in G, "Mozartiana" (1887), as a tribute to Mozart.
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Mozart composed music to pay the rent...
...Beethoven composed music to remember!
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 01/29/11 at 5:38 am
The Hobbit will not be released till next year.
Good reason why he hasn't seen it. ;D
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 01/29/11 at 5:39 am
Good reason why he hasn't seen it. ;D
Part One (of the Hobbit) will be 2012 and Part Two in 2013.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 01/29/11 at 5:40 am
Mozart composed music to pay the rent...
...Beethoven composed music to remember!
Not a fan I take it.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 01/29/11 at 5:41 am
Part One (of the Hobbit) will be 2012 and Part Two in 2013.
I'll look forward to that.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 01/29/11 at 5:42 am
Not a fan I take it.
I find Mozart to be to samey
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 01/29/11 at 5:42 am
I'll look forward to that.
I have to see LOTR first!
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 01/29/11 at 5:44 am
And that's where Walter Murphy had the idea to a mix of his symphony and disco.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLUiNAdP-v4
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 01/29/11 at 8:11 am
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLUiNAdP-v4
I keep forgetting the difference between Mozart And Beethoven.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 01/29/11 at 8:23 am
I keep forgetting the difference between Mozart And Beethoven.
Mozart lived before Beethoven.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: nally on 01/29/11 at 11:46 pm
Mozart lived before Beethoven.
In a sense that is true, but both were alive from 1770 to 1791. But they were both acknowledged composers.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 01/30/11 at 7:57 am
The person of the day...Phil Collins
Philip David Charles Collins, LVO (born 30 January 1951) is an English singer-songwriter, drummer, keyboardist and actor best known as a drummer and vocalist for English progressive rock group Genesis and as a solo artist.
Collins sang the lead vocals on several chart hits in the United Kingdom and the United States between 1978 and 1994, either as a solo artist or with Genesis. His singles, often dealing with lost love, ranged from the drum-heavy "In the Air Tonight", dance pop of "Sussudio", piano-driven "Against All Odds", to the political statements of "Another Day in Paradise". His international popularity transformed Genesis from a progressive rock group to a regular on the pop charts and an early MTV mainstay.
Collins's professional music career began as a drummer, first with Flaming Youth and then more famously with Genesis. In Genesis, Collins originally supplied backing vocals for front man Peter Gabriel, singing lead on only two songs: "For Absent Friends" from 1971's Nursery Cryme album and "More Fool Me" from Selling England by the Pound, which was released in 1973. Following Gabriel's departure in 1975, Collins became the group's lead singer. As the decade closed, Genesis's first international hit, "Follow You, Follow Me", demonstrated a drastic change from the band's early years.
His concurrent solo career, heavily influenced by his personal life, brought both him and Genesis commercial success. According to Atlantic Records, Collins's total worldwide sales as a solo artist, as of 2000, were 150 million. He has won seven Grammy Awards, an Academy Award, and two Golden Globes for his solo work. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Genesis in 2010.
Collins is one of only three recording artists (along with Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson) who have sold over 100 million albums worldwide both as solo artists and (separately) as principal members of a band. According to Billboard magazine, when his work with Genesis, his work with other artists, as well as his solo career is totalled, Collins has the most top 40 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for the 1980s. In 2008, Collins was ranked the 22nd most successful artist on the "The Billboard Hot 100 Top All-Time Artists". Genesis placed the ad after having already lost three drummers over two albums. The audition occurred at the home of Peter Gabriel's parents. Prospective candidates performed tracks from the group's second album, Trespass (1970). Collins arrived early, listened to the other auditions while swimming in Gabriel's parents' pool, and memorised the pieces before his turn.
The music video for "Land of Confusion" featured the members of Genesis in puppet form, with the single cover (parodying the With the Beatles album and using puppets from the satirical TV show Spitting Image).
Collins won the audition. Nursery Cryme was released a year later. Although his role remained primarily that of drummer and backing vocalist for the next five years, he twice sang lead vocals: once on "For Absent Friends" (from Nursery Cryme) and once on "More Fool Me" (from Selling England by the Pound).
In 1974, while Genesis were recording the album The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, Brian Eno (who is credited with "Enossification" for electronic vocal effects on the track "Grand Parade of Lifeless Packaging") needed a drummer for his album Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy). Collins was sent to fill the gap, and played drums in lieu of payment for Eno's work with the band.
In 1975, following the final tour supporting the concept album The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, Gabriel left the group to pursue a solo career. Collins became lead vocalist after a lengthy but ultimately fruitless search for Gabriel's replacement (where he sang back up with the over 400 hopefuls that reportedly auditioned). In the short term, the group recruited former Yes and King Crimson drummer Bill Bruford to play drums during live shows, although Collins continued to play during longer instrumental sections. Bruford's drumming can be heard on the track "The Cinema Show" on the live album Seconds Out. He was soon replaced by ex-Frank Zappa band member Chester Thompson, who became a mainstay of the band's live line-up. Collins, however, continued to play drums on all of the band's studio recordings.
The first album with Collins as lead vocalist, 1976's A Trick of the Tail, reached the American Top 40, and peaked high as #3 on the UK charts. Said Rolling Stone, "Genesis has managed to turn the possible catastrophe of Gabriel's departure into their first broad-based American success.". Following the recording of Genesis's next album Wind and Wuthering guitarist Steve Hackett left the group to pursue his own solo career. The group decided to continue as a trio for recording with Mike Rutherford playing guitar and bass in the studio, although the lineup was regularly augmented by Chester Thompson and American guitarist Daryl Stuermer for concert tours.
Collins simultaneously performed in a jazz fusion group called Brand X. The band recorded their first album, Unorthodox Behaviour, with Collins as drummer, but because Genesis was Collins's priority, there were several Brand X tours and albums without him. Collins credits Brand X as his first use of a drum machine as well as his first use of a home 8-track tape machine.
Collins also performed on Steve Hackett's first solo album, Voyage of the Acolyte, on which he sang lead vocals and played drums.
As the decade closed, Genesis began a shift from their progressive rock roots and toward more accessible, radio-friendly pop-rock music. The album ...And Then There Were Three... featured their first UK Top 10 and U.S. Top 40 single, "Follow You Follow Me".
"Dance on a Volcano" (1976)
Play sound
The first track from Genesis's A Trick of the Tail, this was Collins's debut as the group's full-time lead singer. A progressive rock track, it contrasts with the style of his later work.
Problems listening to this file? See media help.
In the 1980s, while Collins developed as a songwriter and established a parallel career as a solo artist, Genesis recorded a series of highly successful albums including Duke, Abacab, Genesis, and Invisible Touch. The latter album's title track reached #1 on the American Billboard singles chart, the only Genesis song to do so. The group received an MTV "Video of the Year" nomination in 1987 for the single "Land of Confusion" (which featured puppet caricatures created by the British satirical team Spitting Image) but lost out to Peter Gabriel's solo hit, "Sledgehammer". Reviews were generally positive, with Rolling Stone's J.D. Considine stating, "every tune is carefully pruned so that each flourish delivers not an instrumental epiphany but a solid hook."
Collins left Genesis in 1996 to focus on his solo career; The last studio album with him as the lead singer was 1991's We Can't Dance. He and Gabriel reunited with other Genesis members in 1999 to re-record "The Carpet Crawlers" for Genesis's Turn It on Again: The Hits. When in the mid-2000s discussions of a possible Genesis reunion arose, Collins stated that he would prefer to return as the drummer, with Gabriel handling the vocals. Eventually Turn It On Again: The Tour was announced for 2007, with the Collins/Rutherford/Banks lineup.
In March 2010, Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio was asked to pay tribute to Genesis, one of his favorite bands, upon being inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. In addition to Anastasio's speech, Phish appeared and performed two Genesis songs, "Watcher of the Skies" and "No Reply At All". Collins and his Genesis bandmates (minus Peter Gabriel) attended the ceremony but they did not perform.
Solo career
Early solo recordings (1981–1983)
The dominant theme running through Collins's early solo recordings (although never specifically mentioned in his songs) was the acrimonious breakdown of his first marriage and then-recent divorce. Two songs he wrote on the Genesis album Duke, "Please Don't Ask", and the Top 20 hit "Misunderstanding", dealt with failed relationships. One year earlier, he had played drums and sung backing vocals on John Martyn's Grace and Danger, an album whose main theme is also marriage break-up. With the recording of his first solo album, Face Value, Collins attributed his divorce as his main influence, as can be inferred from songs such as "If Leaving Me Is Easy". Collins made his live debut as a solo performer, appearing at the invitation of producer Martin Lewis at the Amnesty International benefit show, The Policeman's Other Ball at the Theatre Royal in London in September 1981, performing two songs from Face Value including "In the Air Tonight" and "The Roof is Leaking" accompanying himself on piano. Face Value became a surprise international success topping the charts in at least seven countries and hitting the top ten of the Billboard 200 eventually going triple-platinum in the U.S. Hits from the album included "In the Air Tonight", "I Missed Again" and "If Leaving Me Is Easy". In 1982, he produced ABBA member Frida's solo album, Something's Going On, which helped to spawn the title track, "I Know There's Something Going On", which became a hit.
Much like Face Value, much of the songs from Collins's 1982 follow-up album, Hello, I Must Be Going!, came from Collins's marital problems with his first wife such as "I Don't Care Anymore" and "Do You Know and Do You Care". Collins’s early albums had a dark presence, usually heavy on the drums. Regarding Face Value, he says, "I had a wife, two children, two dogs, and the next day I didn't have anything. So a lot of these songs were written because I was going through these emotional changes." There were occasional poppier influences–Face Value's "Behind the Lines", for example, was a jazzy remake of a Genesis song he co-wrote. Face Value was a critical and multi-platinum success, and saw Collins’s profile increase further. Hello, I Must Be Going! gave him a UK #1 for his cover of The Supremes' "You Can't Hurry Love". The album went triple-platinum in the United States, like its predecessor. The Supremes' cover was his first Top 10 U.S. hit (it also hit the Top 10 of Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart). The album also reached #2 on the UK album chart, spending well over a year there.
Two years before, Collins had played drums on Peter Gabriel's third self-titled record (often referred to as Melt), the first record to feature the "gated reverb" sound, which was used on the song "Intruder". Gabriel reportedly "didn't want any metal on the record" and asked Collins to leave his cymbals at home, to concentrate on the sound of his kit more heavily than usual. Studio engineer Hugh Padgham augmented the drum sound by using a microphone normally intended for studio communication rather than recording and feeding it through a signal processor called a noise gate. This allowed the reverberation added to the drums to be suddenly cut off before it naturally decayed. The result was the arresting "gated reverb" which became Collins signature sound. This was the same 'big drum sound' used on such songs as "In The Air Tonight", "Mama" by Genesis, and Frida's "There's Something Going On".
Superstardom (1984–1992)
Collins changed his musical style with the release of the ballad, "Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)", which was the theme song to the movie of the same name in 1984. The more pop-friendly and radio-accessible single became Collins's first solo single to reach number-one on the Billboard Hot 100. Later that year, Collins contributed to production on Earth, Wind & Fire singer Phillip Bailey's debut album, Chinese Wall, collaborating with Bailey on the hit duet, "Easy Lover". Collins featured on Band Aid's "Do They Know it's Christmas", he played drums and sang on the song. Collins released his most successful album, No Jacket Required, in early 1985. It contained the hits "Sussudio", "One More Night", "Don't Lose My Number", and "Take Me Home", as well as the less known yet equally robust "Who Said I Would", and "Only You Know and I Know". The album featured Sting, Helen Terry and ex-bandmate Peter Gabriel as backing vocalists. He also recorded the successful song "Separate Lives", a duet with Marilyn Martin, and an American number one, for the movie White Nights. Collins had three American number one songs in 1985, the most by any artist that year. No Jacket Required went on to win several Grammy awards including Album of the Year.
No Jacket Required received criticism that the album was too safe, despite its upbeat reviews and commercial success. A positive review by David Fricke of Rolling Stone ended, "After years on the art-rock fringe, Collins has established himself firmly in the middle of the road. Perhaps he should consider testing himself and his new fans' expectations next time around." "Sussudio" also drew criticism for sounding too similar to Prince's "1999", a charge that Collins did not deny. Nevertheless, the album went straight to #1 in the U.S. and UK. In 1985, Collins was invited by Bob Geldof to perform at the Live Aid charity event. Collins had the distinction of being the only performer to appear at both the UK concert at Wembley Stadium and the US concert at JFK Stadium in Philadelphia. He accomplished this by performing early in the day at Wembley as both a solo artist and alongside Sting, then transferring to a Concorde flight to the USA enabling him to perform his solo material, and drum for Led Zeppelin and Eric Clapton in Philadelphia. While being a guest on major artists' hit recordings, Collins continued to enjoy solo success even while on tour with Genesis, besides from his number-one duet with Marilyn Martin in 1986, Collins would score two more hits from movies with the singles, "Two Hearts" (1988) and "Groovy Kind of Love" (1988), the latter two from the soundtrack of his feature film, Buster.
In 1989, Collins produced another successful album, ...But Seriously, featuring the anti-homelessness anthem "Another Day in Paradise", with David Crosby on backing vocals. (Collins later went on to co-write, sing and play on the song "Hero" on Crosby's 1993 album Thousand Roads.) "Another Day in Paradise" went to Number 1 on the Billboard Charts at the end of 1989 and won Collins a Grammy for Record of the Year (1990). In the process, it became the last #1 US pop hit of the 1980s. The album ...But Seriously became the first #1 US album of the 1990s. Other songs included "Something Happened on the Way to Heaven" (#4 US, #15 UK), "Do You Remember?" (not released in the UK, but a #4 hit in the US), and "I Wish It Would Rain Down" (the latter featuring Clapton on guitar) (#3 US, #7 UK). Songs about apartheid and homelessness demonstrated Collins’s turn to politically-driven material. This theme recurred on his later albums. A live album, Serious Hits... Live!, followed.
Later solo work and Genesis reunion (1993–2008)
Collins's record sales began to drop with the 1993 release of Both Sides, a largely experimental album that, according to Collins, included songs that "were becoming so personal, so private, I didn't want anyone else's input". Featuring a less polished sound and fewer up-tempo songs than his previous albums, Both Sides was a significant departure. Collins used no backing musicians, performed all the vocal and instrumental parts at his home studio, and used rough vocal takes for the final product. The album was not well received by radio. Its two biggest hits were "Both Sides of the Story" and "Everyday". Collins worked on the album completely independently of his record company, and took them by surprise when he delivered them a completed album that they were unaware he was making.
Collins officially parted ways with Genesis in 1996 to focus on his solo career (Genesis would produce one album without Collins—...Calling All Stations...—before going on hiatus). Collins attempted a return to pop music with Dance into the Light, which Entertainment Weekly reviewed by saying that "(e)ven Phil Collins must know that we all grew weary of Phil Collins". It included minor hits such as the title track and The Beatles-inspired "It's in Your Eyes". Although the album went Gold in the US, it sold considerably less than his previous albums. Despite this, the subsequent tour regularly sold out arenas.
In 1996, Collins formed The Phil Collins Big Band. With Collins as drummer, the band performed jazz renditions of various Collins and Genesis hits. The Phil Collins Big Band did a world tour in 1998 that included a performance at the Montreux Jazz Festival. In 1999, the group released the CD A Hot Night in Paris including big band versions of "Invisible Touch", "Sussudio", and the more obscure "The Los Endos Suite" from A Trick of the Tail.
Phil Collins's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, 6834 Hollywood Blvd
A compilation album ...Hits was released in 1998 and sold very well, returning Collins to multi-platinum status in America. The album's sole new track, a cover of the Cyndi Lauper hit "True Colors", received considerable play on US Adult Contemporary stations while peaking at #2. Some of Collins's earlier hits (e.g. "I Missed Again", "If Leaving Me Is Easy", etc.) and other successes were not included in this compilation.
Collins's next single, "You'll Be in My Heart", from the Disney animated movie Tarzan, spent 19 weeks at #1 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart – the longest time ever up to that point. The song won Collins an Academy Award for Best Song. It was his third nomination in the songwriters category, after being nominated in 1985 and 1989. Collins was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, on 16 June 1999.
Collins performing in Barcelona, Spain in July 2004.
In 2002 Collins released Testify. Metacritic's roundup of album reviews found this record to be the worst-reviewed album at the time of its release, though it has since been "surpassed" by three more recent releases. The album's "Can't Stop Loving You" (a Leo Sayer cover) was yet another #1 Adult Contemporary smash hit for Collins. Testify sold 140,000 copies in the United States by year's end, although a successful worldwide tour followed.
That same year Collins accepted an invitation to drum for the "house band" at a concert celebrating Queen Elizabeth II's Golden Jubilee. In 2003 announced his last solo tour - the "First Final Farewell Tour", a tongue-in-cheek reference to the multiple farewell tours of other popular artists. In 2006 he worked with Disney on a Broadway production of Tarzan, a musical which received generally mixed reviews. In 2007 Collins reunited with his Genesis bandmates Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford for Turn It On Again: The Tour, a tour of Europe and North America. During the tour Genesis performed at the Live Earth concert at Wembley Stadium. Following the band's performance, presenter Jonathan Ross had to apologise to viewers watching the televised version as Collins had used a swear word while singing "Invisible Touch".
Studio albums
The following list includes all Phil Collins's studio albums. For a complete album list, see Phil Collins discography.
Release date Title
1981 Face Value
1982 Hello, I Must Be Going!
1985 No Jacket Required
1989 ...But Seriously
1993 Both Sides
1996 Dance into the Light
2002 Testify
2010 Going Back
Number one singles
The following singles reached number one in the United Kingdom or United States. For a full singles discography, see Phil Collins discography.
Year Single Peak positions
UK U.S.
1982 "You Can't Hurry Love" 1 10
1984 "Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)" 2 1
"Easy Lover" (With Philip Bailey) 1 2
1985 "One More Night" 4 1
"Sussudio" 12 1
"Separate Lives" (With Marilyn Martin) 4 1
1988 "A Groovy Kind of Love" 1 1
"Two Hearts" 6 1
1989 (Charted in 1990) "Another Day in Paradise" 2 1
"In the Air Tonight" re-entered the New Zealand charts in 2008 at #3 and then peaked at #1, after featuring in the 'Cadbury Gorilla' advert.
http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn96/eltondisney/collins_4.jpg
http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t210/dan_imp_photos/MCR6/Phil-Collins-Photograph-C11799828.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 01/30/11 at 8:00 am
I love Phill Collins,He is a legend. :)
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 01/30/11 at 8:02 am
The person of the day...Phil Collins
Philip David Charles Collins, LVO (born 30 January 1951) is an English singer-songwriter, drummer, keyboardist and actor best known as a drummer and vocalist for English progressive rock group Genesis and as a solo artist.
Collins sang the lead vocals on several chart hits in the United Kingdom and the United States between 1978 and 1994, either as a solo artist or with Genesis. His singles, often dealing with lost love, ranged from the drum-heavy "In the Air Tonight", dance pop of "Sussudio", piano-driven "Against All Odds", to the political statements of "Another Day in Paradise". His international popularity transformed Genesis from a progressive rock group to a regular on the pop charts and an early MTV mainstay.
Collins's professional music career began as a drummer, first with Flaming Youth and then more famously with Genesis. In Genesis, Collins originally supplied backing vocals for front man Peter Gabriel, singing lead on only two songs: "For Absent Friends" from 1971's Nursery Cryme album and "More Fool Me" from Selling England by the Pound, which was released in 1973. Following Gabriel's departure in 1975, Collins became the group's lead singer. As the decade closed, Genesis's first international hit, "Follow You, Follow Me", demonstrated a drastic change from the band's early years.
His concurrent solo career, heavily influenced by his personal life, brought both him and Genesis commercial success. According to Atlantic Records, Collins's total worldwide sales as a solo artist, as of 2000, were 150 million. He has won seven Grammy Awards, an Academy Award, and two Golden Globes for his solo work. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Genesis in 2010.
Collins is one of only three recording artists (along with Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson) who have sold over 100 million albums worldwide both as solo artists and (separately) as principal members of a band. According to Billboard magazine, when his work with Genesis, his work with other artists, as well as his solo career is totalled, Collins has the most top 40 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for the 1980s. In 2008, Collins was ranked the 22nd most successful artist on the "The Billboard Hot 100 Top All-Time Artists". Genesis placed the ad after having already lost three drummers over two albums. The audition occurred at the home of Peter Gabriel's parents. Prospective candidates performed tracks from the group's second album, Trespass (1970). Collins arrived early, listened to the other auditions while swimming in Gabriel's parents' pool, and memorised the pieces before his turn.
The music video for "Land of Confusion" featured the members of Genesis in puppet form, with the single cover (parodying the With the Beatles album and using puppets from the satirical TV show Spitting Image).
Collins won the audition. Nursery Cryme was released a year later. Although his role remained primarily that of drummer and backing vocalist for the next five years, he twice sang lead vocals: once on "For Absent Friends" (from Nursery Cryme) and once on "More Fool Me" (from Selling England by the Pound).
In 1974, while Genesis were recording the album The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, Brian Eno (who is credited with "Enossification" for electronic vocal effects on the track "Grand Parade of Lifeless Packaging") needed a drummer for his album Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy). Collins was sent to fill the gap, and played drums in lieu of payment for Eno's work with the band.
In 1975, following the final tour supporting the concept album The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, Gabriel left the group to pursue a solo career. Collins became lead vocalist after a lengthy but ultimately fruitless search for Gabriel's replacement (where he sang back up with the over 400 hopefuls that reportedly auditioned). In the short term, the group recruited former Yes and King Crimson drummer Bill Bruford to play drums during live shows, although Collins continued to play during longer instrumental sections. Bruford's drumming can be heard on the track "The Cinema Show" on the live album Seconds Out. He was soon replaced by ex-Frank Zappa band member Chester Thompson, who became a mainstay of the band's live line-up. Collins, however, continued to play drums on all of the band's studio recordings.
The first album with Collins as lead vocalist, 1976's A Trick of the Tail, reached the American Top 40, and peaked high as #3 on the UK charts. Said Rolling Stone, "Genesis has managed to turn the possible catastrophe of Gabriel's departure into their first broad-based American success.". Following the recording of Genesis's next album Wind and Wuthering guitarist Steve Hackett left the group to pursue his own solo career. The group decided to continue as a trio for recording with Mike Rutherford playing guitar and bass in the studio, although the lineup was regularly augmented by Chester Thompson and American guitarist Daryl Stuermer for concert tours.
Collins simultaneously performed in a jazz fusion group called Brand X. The band recorded their first album, Unorthodox Behaviour, with Collins as drummer, but because Genesis was Collins's priority, there were several Brand X tours and albums without him. Collins credits Brand X as his first use of a drum machine as well as his first use of a home 8-track tape machine.
Collins also performed on Steve Hackett's first solo album, Voyage of the Acolyte, on which he sang lead vocals and played drums.
As the decade closed, Genesis began a shift from their progressive rock roots and toward more accessible, radio-friendly pop-rock music. The album ...And Then There Were Three... featured their first UK Top 10 and U.S. Top 40 single, "Follow You Follow Me".
"Dance on a Volcano" (1976)
Play sound
The first track from Genesis's A Trick of the Tail, this was Collins's debut as the group's full-time lead singer. A progressive rock track, it contrasts with the style of his later work.
Problems listening to this file? See media help.
In the 1980s, while Collins developed as a songwriter and established a parallel career as a solo artist, Genesis recorded a series of highly successful albums including Duke, Abacab, Genesis, and Invisible Touch. The latter album's title track reached #1 on the American Billboard singles chart, the only Genesis song to do so. The group received an MTV "Video of the Year" nomination in 1987 for the single "Land of Confusion" (which featured puppet caricatures created by the British satirical team Spitting Image) but lost out to Peter Gabriel's solo hit, "Sledgehammer". Reviews were generally positive, with Rolling Stone's J.D. Considine stating, "every tune is carefully pruned so that each flourish delivers not an instrumental epiphany but a solid hook."
Collins left Genesis in 1996 to focus on his solo career; The last studio album with him as the lead singer was 1991's We Can't Dance. He and Gabriel reunited with other Genesis members in 1999 to re-record "The Carpet Crawlers" for Genesis's Turn It on Again: The Hits. When in the mid-2000s discussions of a possible Genesis reunion arose, Collins stated that he would prefer to return as the drummer, with Gabriel handling the vocals. Eventually Turn It On Again: The Tour was announced for 2007, with the Collins/Rutherford/Banks lineup.
In March 2010, Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio was asked to pay tribute to Genesis, one of his favorite bands, upon being inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. In addition to Anastasio's speech, Phish appeared and performed two Genesis songs, "Watcher of the Skies" and "No Reply At All". Collins and his Genesis bandmates (minus Peter Gabriel) attended the ceremony but they did not perform.
Solo career
Early solo recordings (1981–1983)
The dominant theme running through Collins's early solo recordings (although never specifically mentioned in his songs) was the acrimonious breakdown of his first marriage and then-recent divorce. Two songs he wrote on the Genesis album Duke, "Please Don't Ask", and the Top 20 hit "Misunderstanding", dealt with failed relationships. One year earlier, he had played drums and sung backing vocals on John Martyn's Grace and Danger, an album whose main theme is also marriage break-up. With the recording of his first solo album, Face Value, Collins attributed his divorce as his main influence, as can be inferred from songs such as "If Leaving Me Is Easy". Collins made his live debut as a solo performer, appearing at the invitation of producer Martin Lewis at the Amnesty International benefit show, The Policeman's Other Ball at the Theatre Royal in London in September 1981, performing two songs from Face Value including "In the Air Tonight" and "The Roof is Leaking" accompanying himself on piano. Face Value became a surprise international success topping the charts in at least seven countries and hitting the top ten of the Billboard 200 eventually going triple-platinum in the U.S. Hits from the album included "In the Air Tonight", "I Missed Again" and "If Leaving Me Is Easy". In 1982, he produced ABBA member Frida's solo album, Something's Going On, which helped to spawn the title track, "I Know There's Something Going On", which became a hit.
Much like Face Value, much of the songs from Collins's 1982 follow-up album, Hello, I Must Be Going!, came from Collins's marital problems with his first wife such as "I Don't Care Anymore" and "Do You Know and Do You Care". Collins’s early albums had a dark presence, usually heavy on the drums. Regarding Face Value, he says, "I had a wife, two children, two dogs, and the next day I didn't have anything. So a lot of these songs were written because I was going through these emotional changes." There were occasional poppier influences–Face Value's "Behind the Lines", for example, was a jazzy remake of a Genesis song he co-wrote. Face Value was a critical and multi-platinum success, and saw Collins’s profile increase further. Hello, I Must Be Going! gave him a UK #1 for his cover of The Supremes' "You Can't Hurry Love". The album went triple-platinum in the United States, like its predecessor. The Supremes' cover was his first Top 10 U.S. hit (it also hit the Top 10 of Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart). The album also reached #2 on the UK album chart, spending well over a year there.
Two years before, Collins had played drums on Peter Gabriel's third self-titled record (often referred to as Melt), the first record to feature the "gated reverb" sound, which was used on the song "Intruder". Gabriel reportedly "didn't want any metal on the record" and asked Collins to leave his cymbals at home, to concentrate on the sound of his kit more heavily than usual. Studio engineer Hugh Padgham augmented the drum sound by using a microphone normally intended for studio communication rather than recording and feeding it through a signal processor called a noise gate. This allowed the reverberation added to the drums to be suddenly cut off before it naturally decayed. The result was the arresting "gated reverb" which became Collins signature sound. This was the same 'big drum sound' used on such songs as "In The Air Tonight", "Mama" by Genesis, and Frida's "There's Something Going On".
Superstardom (1984–1992)
Collins changed his musical style with the release of the ballad, "Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)", which was the theme song to the movie of the same name in 1984. The more pop-friendly and radio-accessible single became Collins's first solo single to reach number-one on the Billboard Hot 100. Later that year, Collins contributed to production on Earth, Wind & Fire singer Phillip Bailey's debut album, Chinese Wall, collaborating with Bailey on the hit duet, "Easy Lover". Collins featured on Band Aid's "Do They Know it's Christmas", he played drums and sang on the song. Collins released his most successful album, No Jacket Required, in early 1985. It contained the hits "Sussudio", "One More Night", "Don't Lose My Number", and "Take Me Home", as well as the less known yet equally robust "Who Said I Would", and "Only You Know and I Know". The album featured Sting, Helen Terry and ex-bandmate Peter Gabriel as backing vocalists. He also recorded the successful song "Separate Lives", a duet with Marilyn Martin, and an American number one, for the movie White Nights. Collins had three American number one songs in 1985, the most by any artist that year. No Jacket Required went on to win several Grammy awards including Album of the Year.
No Jacket Required received criticism that the album was too safe, despite its upbeat reviews and commercial success. A positive review by David Fricke of Rolling Stone ended, "After years on the art-rock fringe, Collins has established himself firmly in the middle of the road. Perhaps he should consider testing himself and his new fans' expectations next time around." "Sussudio" also drew criticism for sounding too similar to Prince's "1999", a charge that Collins did not deny. Nevertheless, the album went straight to #1 in the U.S. and UK. In 1985, Collins was invited by Bob Geldof to perform at the Live Aid charity event. Collins had the distinction of being the only performer to appear at both the UK concert at Wembley Stadium and the US concert at JFK Stadium in Philadelphia. He accomplished this by performing early in the day at Wembley as both a solo artist and alongside Sting, then transferring to a Concorde flight to the USA enabling him to perform his solo material, and drum for Led Zeppelin and Eric Clapton in Philadelphia. While being a guest on major artists' hit recordings, Collins continued to enjoy solo success even while on tour with Genesis, besides from his number-one duet with Marilyn Martin in 1986, Collins would score two more hits from movies with the singles, "Two Hearts" (1988) and "Groovy Kind of Love" (1988), the latter two from the soundtrack of his feature film, Buster.
In 1989, Collins produced another successful album, ...But Seriously, featuring the anti-homelessness anthem "Another Day in Paradise", with David Crosby on backing vocals. (Collins later went on to co-write, sing and play on the song "Hero" on Crosby's 1993 album Thousand Roads.) "Another Day in Paradise" went to Number 1 on the Billboard Charts at the end of 1989 and won Collins a Grammy for Record of the Year (1990). In the process, it became the last #1 US pop hit of the 1980s. The album ...But Seriously became the first #1 US album of the 1990s. Other songs included "Something Happened on the Way to Heaven" (#4 US, #15 UK), "Do You Remember?" (not released in the UK, but a #4 hit in the US), and "I Wish It Would Rain Down" (the latter featuring Clapton on guitar) (#3 US, #7 UK). Songs about apartheid and homelessness demonstrated Collins’s turn to politically-driven material. This theme recurred on his later albums. A live album, Serious Hits... Live!, followed.
Later solo work and Genesis reunion (1993–2008)
Collins's record sales began to drop with the 1993 release of Both Sides, a largely experimental album that, according to Collins, included songs that "were becoming so personal, so private, I didn't want anyone else's input". Featuring a less polished sound and fewer up-tempo songs than his previous albums, Both Sides was a significant departure. Collins used no backing musicians, performed all the vocal and instrumental parts at his home studio, and used rough vocal takes for the final product. The album was not well received by radio. Its two biggest hits were "Both Sides of the Story" and "Everyday". Collins worked on the album completely independently of his record company, and took them by surprise when he delivered them a completed album that they were unaware he was making.
Collins officially parted ways with Genesis in 1996 to focus on his solo career (Genesis would produce one album without Collins—...Calling All Stations...—before going on hiatus). Collins attempted a return to pop music with Dance into the Light, which Entertainment Weekly reviewed by saying that "(e)ven Phil Collins must know that we all grew weary of Phil Collins". It included minor hits such as the title track and The Beatles-inspired "It's in Your Eyes". Although the album went Gold in the US, it sold considerably less than his previous albums. Despite this, the subsequent tour regularly sold out arenas.
In 1996, Collins formed The Phil Collins Big Band. With Collins as drummer, the band performed jazz renditions of various Collins and Genesis hits. The Phil Collins Big Band did a world tour in 1998 that included a performance at the Montreux Jazz Festival. In 1999, the group released the CD A Hot Night in Paris including big band versions of "Invisible Touch", "Sussudio", and the more obscure "The Los Endos Suite" from A Trick of the Tail.
Phil Collins's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, 6834 Hollywood Blvd
A compilation album ...Hits was released in 1998 and sold very well, returning Collins to multi-platinum status in America. The album's sole new track, a cover of the Cyndi Lauper hit "True Colors", received considerable play on US Adult Contemporary stations while peaking at #2. Some of Collins's earlier hits (e.g. "I Missed Again", "If Leaving Me Is Easy", etc.) and other successes were not included in this compilation.
Collins's next single, "You'll Be in My Heart", from the Disney animated movie Tarzan, spent 19 weeks at #1 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart – the longest time ever up to that point. The song won Collins an Academy Award for Best Song. It was his third nomination in the songwriters category, after being nominated in 1985 and 1989. Collins was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, on 16 June 1999.
Collins performing in Barcelona, Spain in July 2004.
In 2002 Collins released Testify. Metacritic's roundup of album reviews found this record to be the worst-reviewed album at the time of its release, though it has since been "surpassed" by three more recent releases. The album's "Can't Stop Loving You" (a Leo Sayer cover) was yet another #1 Adult Contemporary smash hit for Collins. Testify sold 140,000 copies in the United States by year's end, although a successful worldwide tour followed.
That same year Collins accepted an invitation to drum for the "house band" at a concert celebrating Queen Elizabeth II's Golden Jubilee. In 2003 announced his last solo tour - the "First Final Farewell Tour", a tongue-in-cheek reference to the multiple farewell tours of other popular artists. In 2006 he worked with Disney on a Broadway production of Tarzan, a musical which received generally mixed reviews. In 2007 Collins reunited with his Genesis bandmates Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford for Turn It On Again: The Tour, a tour of Europe and North America. During the tour Genesis performed at the Live Earth concert at Wembley Stadium. Following the band's performance, presenter Jonathan Ross had to apologise to viewers watching the televised version as Collins had used a swear word while singing "Invisible Touch".
Studio albums
The following list includes all Phil Collins's studio albums. For a complete album list, see Phil Collins discography.
Release date Title
1981 Face Value
1982 Hello, I Must Be Going!
1985 No Jacket Required
1989 ...But Seriously
1993 Both Sides
1996 Dance into the Light
2002 Testify
2010 Going Back
Number one singles
The following singles reached number one in the United Kingdom or United States. For a full singles discography, see Phil Collins discography.
Year Single Peak positions
UK U.S.
1982 "You Can't Hurry Love" 1 10
1984 "Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)" 2 1
"Easy Lover" (With Philip Bailey) 1 2
1985 "One More Night" 4 1
"Sussudio" 12 1
"Separate Lives" (With Marilyn Martin) 4 1
1988 "A Groovy Kind of Love" 1 1
"Two Hearts" 6 1
1989 (Charted in 1990) "Another Day in Paradise" 2 1
"In the Air Tonight" re-entered the New Zealand charts in 2008 at #3 and then peaked at #1, after featuring in the 'Cadbury Gorilla' advert.
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I can only listen to Phil Collins for a limited amount of time.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 01/30/11 at 8:04 am
My favorites are Land of Confusion,I Missed Again and Sussudio
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 01/30/11 at 8:04 am
In a sense that is true, but both were alive from 1770 to 1791. But they were both acknowledged composers.
I think that the two did met each other.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: CatwomanofV on 01/30/11 at 10:33 am
My favorites of Phil Collins are:
(With Genesis)
Land of Confusion
That's All
(Solo)
In The Air Tonight
Cat
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 01/30/11 at 10:38 am
I think that the two did met each other.
...and I am not talking about Phil Collins here.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 01/30/11 at 12:22 pm
I love Phill Collins,He is a legend. :)
Me too :)
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: gibbo on 01/30/11 at 6:17 pm
I saw Genesis in concert..but never Phil Collins (as a solo act). I had a ticket to his Brisbane 1985 concert...but my best friend was supposed to go to the Bruse Springsteen concert on the same night (with his fiance). However, he had a big fight that day with his fiance and the engagement was broken off. He asked me to come with him to the Springsteen show instead. I gave my Phil Collins ticket to his younger sister.
I'll never know what I may have missed with the Collins show...but I DO know that Springsteen was the best 'live' act that I have ever gone to. He is magic in concert. I wasn't a fan prior to 1985. You can't capture the essence of his shows on his records at all. I only went because my friend was upset. It was a great decision.... :)
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: seamermar on 01/30/11 at 7:06 pm
I saw Genesis in concert..but never Phil Collins (as a solo act). I had a ticket to his Brisbane 1985 concert...but my best friend was supposed to go to the Bruse Springsteen concert on the same night (with his fiance). However, he had a big fight that day with his fiance and the engagement was broken off. He asked me to come with him to the Springsteen show instead. I gave my Phil Collins ticket to his younger sister.
I'll never know what I may have missed with the Collins show...but I DO know that Springsteen was the best 'live' act that I have ever gone to. He is magic in concert. I wasn't a fan prior to 1985. You can't capture the essence of his shows on his records at all. I only went because my friend was upset. It was a great decision.... :)
Enjoy what you get from coincidence, ;) Gibbo, cuz the boss is the best you can harvest from the stage :P
Yes ninny, Collins is a great singer,
We had the chance he left drums to delight everyone with his ballades, besides he tells and fights for a better world to live on
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 01/30/11 at 8:27 pm
Me too :)
What's your favorite,Ninny? :)
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 01/31/11 at 5:53 am
What's your favorite,Ninny? :)
Groovy Kind of Love (our wedding song). In The Air Tonight and Take Me Home
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 01/31/11 at 5:58 am
The person of the day...John Lydon
John Joseph Lydon (born 31 January 1956), also known by the former stage name Johnny Rotten, is a singer-songwriter and television presenter, best known as the lead singer of punk band the Sex Pistols from 1975 until 1978, and again for various revivals during the 1990s and 2000s. He is also well known as the lead singer of the post-punk band Public Image Ltd., which he founded and fronted from 1978 until 1993, and again in 2009–2010. A highly controversial figure, Lydon has vocalised his contempt for the British Royal Family as well as other contentious issues such as segregated education. Q Magazine remarked that "somehow he's assumed the status of national treasure."
Growing up as the son of Irish immigrants in an impoverished area of London, Lydon's personally crafted image and fashion style led to him being asked to become the singer of the Sex Pistols by their manager, Malcolm McLaren. With the Pistols, he penned singles including "Anarchy in the U.K.", "God Save the Queen" and "Holidays in the Sun", the content of which precipitated the "last and greatest outbreak of pop-based moral pandemonium" in Britain. The band caused nationwide uproar in much of the media, who objected to the content of Lydon’s lyrics, and their antics, which included swearing on live television, in which Steve Jones called Bill Grundy a "fudgeing rotter". Due to the band's appearance in the media, Lydon was largely seen as the figurehead of the punk movement in the public image although this idea was not widely supported amongst the punk movement itself. Despite the negative reaction that they provoked, they are now regarded as one of the most influential acts in the history of popular music.
Lydon left the Pistols in 1978 to found his own band, Public Image Ltd, that was far more experimental in nature, and which has been described as "arguably the first post-rock group". Although never as commercially successful as the Pistols, the band produced eight albums and a string of singles, including "Death Disco", "Rise" and "Disappointed", before they went on indefinite hiatus in 1993.
In subsequent years, Lydon hosted a number of television shows in the UK, USA and Belgium, as well as writing an autobiography, Rotten: No Irish, No Blacks, No Dogs (1993), and producing some solo musical work, such as the album Psycho's Path (1997). In the 2000s, Lydon once more took up being the vocalist for both the Sex Pistols and subsequently also Public Image Ltd as well for a number of reunion tours.
In 1975, Lydon was among a group of youths who regularly hung around Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood's fetish clothing shop SEX. McLaren had returned from a brief stint travelling with American protopunk band the New York Dolls, and he was working on promoting a new band formed by Steve Jones, Glen Matlock and Paul Cook called The Sex Pistols. McLaren was impressed with Lydon's ragged look and unique sense of style, particularly his orange hair and modified Pink Floyd T-shirt (with the band members' eyes scratched out and the words I Hate scrawled in felt-tip pen above the band's logo). After tunelessly singing Alice Cooper's "I'm Eighteen" to the accompaniment of the shop's jukebox, Lydon was chosen as the band's frontman.
In 1977, the band released "God Save the Queen" during the week of Queen Elizabeth II's Silver Jubilee. At the time, Lydon commented -
“ Turn the other cheek too often and you get a razor through it. ”
NME - August 1977
Lydon was also interested in dub music. McLaren was said to have been upset when Lydon revealed during a radio interview that his influences included progressive experimentalists like Magma, Can, Captain Beefheart and Van der Graaf Generator.
Tensions between Lydon and bassist Glen Matlock arose. The reasons for this are disputed, but Lydon claimed in his autobiography that he believed Matlock to be too white-collar and middle-class and that Matlock was "always going on about nice things like the Beatles". Matlock stated in his own autobiography that most of the tension in the band, and between himself and Lydon, were orchestrated by McLaren. Matlock quit and as a replacement, Lydon recommended his school friend John Simon Ritchie. Although Ritchie was an incompetent musician, McLaren agreed that he had the look the band wanted: pale, emaciated, spike-haired, with ripped clothes and a perpetual sneer. Rotten dubbed him "Sid Vicious" as a joke, taking the name from his pet hamster, named Sid the Vicious. According to Kit and Morgan Benson's biography, Ritchie got his name after Sid the hamster bit him on his hand, and he exclaimed: "Sid is really vicious!"
Vicious' chaotic relationship with girlfriend Nancy Spungen, and his worsening heroin addiction, caused a great deal of friction among the band members, particularly with Lydon, whose sarcastic remarks often exacerbated the situation. Lydon closed the final Sid Vicious-era Sex Pistols concert in San Francisco's Winterland in January 1978 with a rhetorical question to the audience: "Ever get the feeling you've been cheated?" Shortly thereafter, McLaren, Jones, and Cook went to Brazil to meet and record with former train robber Ronnie Biggs. Lydon declined to go, deriding the concept as a whole and feeling that they were attempting to make a hero out of a criminal who attacked a train driver and stole "working-class money".
The Sex Pistols' disintegration was documented in Julian Temple's satirical pseudo-biopic, The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle, in which Jones, Cook and Vicious each played a character. Matlock only appeared in previously-recorded live footage and as an animation and did not participate personally. Lydon refused to have anything to do with The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle, feeling that McLaren had far too much control over the project. Although Lydon was highly critical of the film, many years later he agreed to let Temple direct the Sex Pistols documentary The Filth and the Fury. That film included new interviews with band members hidden in shadow, as if they were in a witness protection program. It featured an uncharacteristically emotional Lydon choking up as he discussed Vicious' decline and death. Lydon denounced previous journalistic works regarding the Sex Pistols in the introduction to his autobiography, Rotten - No Irish, No Blacks, No Dogs, which he described as "as close to the truth as one can get".
1978-1993: Public Image Limited, Time Zone and Copkiller
This biographical section needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (September 2008)
Main article: Public Image Ltd.
In 1978, John Lydon formed the post-punk outfit Public Image Limited (PiL). PiL lasted for 14 years with Lydon as the only consistent member. The group enjoyed some early critical acclaim for its 1979 album, Metal Box (a.k.a. Second Edition), and influenced many bands of the later industrial movement. The band was lauded for its innovation and rejection of traditional musical forms. Musicians citing their influence have ranged from the Red Hot Chili Peppers to Massive Attack.
The first lineup of the band included bassist Jah Wobble and former Clash guitarist Keith Levene. They released the albums Public Image (also known as First Issue), Metal Box and Paris in the Spring (live). Wobble then left and Lydon and Levene made The Flowers of Romance. Then came This Is What You Want...This Is What You Get featuring Martin Atkins on drums (he had also appeared on Metal Box and The Flowers of Romance); it featured their biggest hit, "This Is Not A Love Song", which hit #5 in 1983.
In 1983, Lydon co-starred with Harvey Keitel in the movie thriller Corrupt, a.k.a. Copkiller and The Order of Death. While the film was generally panned, Lydon won some praise for his role as a psychotic rich boy. Lydon would act again very occasionally after that, such as a very small role in the 2000 film, The Independent, and as the host of the skateboard film, Sorry, featuring the Flip Skate Team.
In 1984, Lydon worked with Time Zone on their best-known single, "World Destruction". A collaboration between Lydon, Afrika Bambaataa and producer/bassist Bill Laswell, the single was an early example of "rap rock", along with Run-DMC. The song appears on Afrika Bambaataa's 1997 compilation album, Zulu Groove. It was arranged by Laswell after Lydon and Bambaataa had acknowledged respect for each others' work, as described in an interview from 1984:
Afrika Bambaataa: "I was talking to Bill Laswell saying I need somebody who's really crazy, man, and he thought of John Lydon. I knew he was perfect because I'd seen this movie that he'd made (Corrupt, a.k.a. Copkiller and The Order of Death), I knew about all the Sex Pistols and Public Image stuff, so we got together and we did a smashing crazy version, and a version where he cussed the Queen something terrible, which was never released."
John Lydon: "We went in, put a drum beat down on the machine and did the whole thing in about four-and-a-half hours. It was very, very quick."
The single also featured Bernie Worrell, Nicky Skopelitis and Aïyb Dieng, all of whom would later play on PiL's Album; Laswell also played bass and produced.
Then in 1986 Public Image Limited released Album (also known as Compact Disc and Cassette). Most of the tracks on this album were written by Lydon and Bill Laswell. The musicians were session musicians including bassist Jonas Hellborg, guitarist Steve Vai and Cream drummer Ginger Baker. Like the previous album, this also featured a hit, the anti-apartheid anthem "Rise".
The band's performance on the dance/concert TV show American Bandstand saw Lydon giving up on lip synching not long into the performance and dancing with audience members instead.
In 1987 a new lineup was formed consisting of Lydon, former Magazine, Siouxsie & The Banshees and The Armoury Show guitarist John McGeoch, Alan Dias on bass guitar in addition to drummer Bruce Smith and Lu Edmunds. This lineup released Happy? and all except Lu Edmunds released the album 9 in 1989. In 1992 Lydon, Dias and McGeoch were joined by Curt Bisquera on drums and Gregg Arreguin on rhythm guitar for the album That What Is Not. This album also features the Tower of Power on two songs and Jimmie Wood on harmonica. Lydon, McGeoch and Dias also wrote the song "Criminal" for the movie Point Break. After this album, in 1993, Lydon put PiL on indefinite hiatus, in which state they remain today. Recently Lydon has agreed to revive PiL to do a UK tour in December which coincides with the 30th anniversary of the Metal Box album.
All chart positions are UK.
Sex Pistols
Studio albums
* Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols (Virgin, 1977) Platinum #1
Compilations and live albums
* The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle (Virgin, 1979)
* Some Product: Carri On Sex Pistols (Virgin, 1979)
* Kiss This (Virgin, 1992)
* Never Mind the Bollocks / Spunk (aka This is Crap) (Virgin, 1996)
* Filthy Lucre Live (Virgin, 1996)
* The Filth and the Fury (Virgin, 2000)
* Jubilee (Virgin, 2002)
* Sex Pistols Box Set (Virgin, 2002)
Singles
* "Anarchy in the UK" - 1976 #38
* "God Save the Queen" - 1977 #2
* "Pretty Vacant" - 1977 #6
* "Holidays in the Sun" - 1977 #8
* "(I'm Not Your) Stepping Stone" - 1980 #21
* "Anarchy in the UK" (re-issue) - 1992 #33
* "Pretty Vacant" (live) - 1996 # 18
* "God Save the Queen" (re-issue) - 2002 # 15
Public Image Ltd.
Studio albums
* First Issue (Virgin, 1978), #22
* Metal Box (a.k.a. Second Edition) (Virgin, 1979) #18, US #171
* Flowers of Romance (Virgin, 1981) #11, US #114
* Commercial Zone (PiL Records, 1983)
* This Is What You Want... This Is What You Get (Virgin, 1984)
* Album (Virgin, 1986)
* Happy? (Virgin, 1987)
* 9 (Virgin, 1989)
* That What Is Not (Virgin, 1992)
Compilations and live albums
* Paris in the Spring (Paris au Printemps) (Virgin, 1980)
* Live in Tokyo (Virgin, 1983)
* The Greatest Hits, So Far (Virgin, 1990)
Singles
* "Public Image" - 1978 #9
* "Death Disco" - 1979 #20
* "Memories" - 1979 #60
* "Flowers of Romance" - 1981 #24
* "This Is Not a Love Song" - 1983 #5
* "Bad Life" - 1984 #71
* "Rise" - 1986 #11
* "Home" - 1986 #75
* "Seattle" - 1987 #47
* "The Body" - 1987 #100
* "Disappointed" - 1989 #38
* "Don't Ask Me" - 1990 #22
* "Cruel" - 1992 #49
The Lydons and The O'Donnells
Studio albums
* "Family Album" (MBC records, 1986)
Time Zone
Single
* "World Destruction" - 1984
Solo
Studio albums
* Psycho's Path (Virgin, 1997)
Compilations
* The Best of British £1 Notes (Lydon, PiL & Sex Pistols) (Virgin/EMI, 2005)
Singles
* "Open Up" (with Leftfield) – 1993 – #11 UK
* "Sun" – 1997 – #42 UK
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Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 01/31/11 at 7:45 am
Groovy Kind of Love (our wedding song). In The Air Tonight and Take Me Home
How about Phil Bailey with Phil Collins?
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: nally on 01/31/11 at 12:30 pm
How about Phil Bailey with Phil Collins?
They performed a duet called "Easy Lover." :)
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 01/31/11 at 4:00 pm
They performed a duet called "Easy Lover." :)
Another one of my favorites.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 02/01/11 at 6:06 am
The person of the day...Terry Jones
Terence Graham Parry Jones (born 1 February 1942) is a Welsh comedian, screenwriter, actor, film director, children's author, popular historian, political commentator and TV documentary host. He is best known as a member of the Monty Python comedy team.
As a member of the Monty Python troupe, Jones is remembered for his roles as middle-aged women and the bowler-hatted "man in the street". He is renowned by the rest of the group as "the best rat-bag woman in the business". He typically wrote sketches in partnership with Michael Palin.
One of Jones's early concerns was devising a fresh format for the Python TV shows, and it was largely Jones who developed the stream-of-consciousness style which abandoned punchlines and instead encouraged the fluid movement of one sketch to another – allowing the team's conceptual humour the space to “breathe”. Jones also objected to TV directors’ use of sped-up film, over-emphatic music, and static camera style, and took a keen interest in the direction of the shows. He later committed himself to directing the Python films Monty Python and the Holy Grail (with Terry Gilliam), The Life of Brian, and Monty Python's The Meaning of Life, and as director, finally gained fuller control of the projects, devising a visual style that allowed the performers 'space'; for instance, in the use of wide shots for long exchanges of dialogue, and more economical use of music. As demonstrated in many of his sketches with Palin, Jones was also interested in making comedy that was visually impressive, feeling that interesting settings augmented, rather than detracted from, the humour. His methods encouraged many future television comedians to break away from conventional studio-bound shooting styles, as demonstrated into the 21st century by shows such as Green Wing, Little Britain and The League of Gentlemen.
Of Jones's contributions as a performer, his parodic, screechy-voiced depictions of "pepperpots" (middle-aged women, such as the waitress in the "Spam" sketch) are among the most memorable. His humour, in collaboration with Palin, tends to be conceptual in nature; a typical Palin/Jones sketch draws its humour from the absurdity of the scenario. For example, in the “Summarise Proust Competition”, Jones plays a cheesy game show host giving a series of contestants 15 seconds to condense Marcel Proust's lengthy work À la recherche du temps perdu; in the "Mouse Organ" sketch, he plays a tuxedoed man using mallets to bash mice who have been trained to squeak at a select pitch, and when “played” in the correct order reproduce the tune "Bells of St. Mary". In both cases, the laughs originate in the madness of the idea itself. Jones was also notable for his gifts as a Chaplinesque physical comedian: For instance, his performance in the "Undressing in Public" sketch is totally silent, except for an organ rendition of the Colonel Bogey March, which segues into an unplanned striptease. He was often cast as the straight man, or as a nerdy or put-upon character, often with ambitions or dreams beyond his abilities, in contrast to the authority figures often played by John Cleese or Graham Chapman.
Directorial work
Jones co-directed Monty Python and the Holy Grail with Terry Gilliam, and was sole director on two further Monty Python movies, Life of Brian and Monty Python's The Meaning of Life. (The latter featured one of his most famous characters, the grotesquely obese Mr. Creosote.) As a film director, Jones finally gained fuller control of the projects and devised a visual style that complemented the humour. His later films include Erik the Viking (1989) and The Wind in the Willows (1996). In 2008, Jones wrote and directed an opera titled Evil Machines.
On the commentary track of the 2004 "2 Disc Special Edition" DVD for the film Monty Python's The Meaning of Life, Terry Jones stated that to his knowledge Ireland had banned only four movies, three of which he had directed: The Meaning of Life, Monty Python's Life of Brian and Personal Services.
Animation
He was the creator and co-producer of the animated television program Blazing Dragons, which ran for two seasons. Set in a fantasy medieval setting, the series' protagonists are dragons who are beset by evil humans, reversing a common story convention. When the series was broadcast on US television, several episodes were censored due to minor cursing and the implied sexuality of an overtly effeminate character named "Sir Blaze". It was turned into a game for the Sega Saturn in 1994, which starred Jones's voice.
As an author
He co-wrote Ripping Yarns with Palin, and wrote the screenplay for Labyrinth (1986), although his draft went through several rewrites and several other writers before being filmed; much of the finished film wasn't written by Jones at all. He has also written numerous works for children, including Fantastic Stories, The Beast with a Thousand Teeth, and a collection of Comic Verse called The Curse of the Vampire's Socks.
He has written books and presented television documentaries on medieval and ancient history and the history of numeral systems. His series often challenge popular views of history: for example, Terry Jones' Medieval Lives (2004) (for which he received a 2004 Emmy nomination for "Outstanding Writing for Nonfiction Programming") argues that the Middle Ages was a more sophisticated period than is popularly thought, and Terry Jones' Barbarians (2006) presents the cultural achievements of peoples conquered by the Roman Empire in a more positive light than Roman historians typically have, while criticizing the Romans as the true "barbarians" who exploited and destroyed higher civilizations.
He has written numerous editorials for The Guardian, The Daily Telegraph and The Observer condemning the Iraq war. Many of these editorials were published in a paperback collection titled Terry Jones's War on the War on Terror.
Chaucer's Knight: The Portrait of a Medieval Mercenary (1980) offers an alternative take on the historical view of Geoffrey Chaucer's The Knight's Tale as being a paragon of Christian virtue. Jones asserts that, after closer examination of historical rather than literary context, the Knight is actually a typical mercenary and a potentially cold-blooded killer.
He is also a member of the UK Poetry Society and his poems have appeared in Poetry Review.
Working with musicians
Jones has performed with The Carnival Band and appears on their 2007 CD Ringing the changes (Park Records PRKCD98).
In January 2008, the Teatro São Luiz, in Lisbon, Portugal, premiered Evil Machines – a musical play, written by Jones (based on his book) and with original music by Portuguese composer Luis Tinoco. Jones was invited by the Teatro São Luiz to write and direct the play, after a very successful run of Contos Fantásticos, a short play based on Jones' Fantastic Stories, also with music by Luis Tinoco.
As performer
Apart from a cameo in Terry Gilliam's Jabberwocky and a memorable minor role as a drunken vicar in BBC sitcom The Young Ones, Jones has rarely appeared in work outside of his own projects. Since January 2009, however, he has provided narration for The Legend of Dick and Dom, a CBBC fantasy series set in the Middle Ages.
Selected bibliography
Fiction
* Douglas Adams's Starship Titanic (1997), ISBN 0-330-35446-9 – a novel based on the computer game of the same name by Douglas Adams. (Jones claims to have written the entire book while in the nude.)
Illustrated by Michael Foreman
* Fairy Tales (1981), ISBN 0-907516-03-3
* The Saga of Erik the Viking (1983), ISBN 0-907516-23-8 – Children's Book Award 1984
* Nicobobinus (1985), ISBN 1-85145-000-9
* The Curse of the Vampire's Socks and Other Doggerel (1988), ISBN 1-85145-233-8 – poetry
* Fantastic Stories (1992), ISBN 1-85145-957-X
* The Beast with a Thousand Teeth (1993), ISBN 1-85793-070-3
* A Fish of the World (1993), ISBN 1-85793-075-4
* The Sea Tiger (1994), ISBN 1-85793-085-1
* The Fly-by-Night (1994), ISBN 1-85793-090-8
* The Knight and the Squire (1997), ISBN 1-86205-044-9
* The Lady and the Squire (2000), ISBN 1-86205-417-7 – nominated for a Whitbread Award
* Bedtime Stories (2002), ISBN 1-86205-276-X – with Nanette Newman
Illustrated by Brian Froud
* Goblins of the Labyrinth (1986), ISBN 1-85145-058-0
o The Goblin Companion: A Field Guide to Goblins (1996), ISBN 1-85793-795-3 – an abridged re-release, in a smaller format, with the colour plates missing
* Lady Cottington's Pressed Fairy Book (1994), ISBN 1-85793-336-2
* Strange Stains and Mysterious Smells: Quentin Cottington's Journal of Faery Research (1996), ISBN 0-684-83206-2
* Lady Cottington's Pressed Fairy Journal (1998), ISBN 1-86205-024-4
* Lady Cottington's Fairy Album (2002), ISBN 1-86205-559-9
Illustrated by Martin Honeysett & Lolly Honeysett
* Bert Fegg's Nasty Book for Boys and Girls with Michael Palin (1974) ISBN 0-413-32740-X
Non-fiction
* Chaucer's Knight: The Portrait of a Medieval Mercenary (1980), ISBN 0-297-77566-9; rev. ed. (1994), ISBN 0-413-69140-3
* Who Murdered Chaucer?: A Medieval Mystery (2003), ISBN 0-413-75910-5 – with Robert Yeager, Terry Dolan, Alan Fletcher and Juliette Dor
* Terry Jones's War on the War on Terror (2005), ISBN 1-56025-653-2
With Alan Ereira
* Crusades (1994), ISBN 0-563-37007-6
* Terry Jones' Medieval Lives (2004), ISBN 0-563-48793-3
* Terry Jones' Barbarians (2006), ISBN 0-563-49318-6
Screenplays
* And Now for Something Completely Different (1972) with Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle & Michael Palin
* Secrets (1973) – for TV, with Michael Palin
* Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) with Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle & Michael Palin
* Monty Python's Life of Brian (1979) with Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle & Michael Palin
* Monty Python's The Meaning of Life (1983) with Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle & Michael Palin
* Labyrinth (1986)
* Erik the Viking (1989) – includes a notice in the credits specifically disclaiming any link with Jones's earlier novel ("although he hopes it will help the sales")
* The Wind in the Willows (1996)
Documentary series
* Crusades (1995)
* Ancient Inventions – directed by Phil Grabsky & Daniel Percival (1998)
* The Hidden History of Egypt – directed by Phil Grabsky
* The Hidden History of Rome – directed by Phil Grabsky (2002)
* The Secret History of Sex & Love – directed by Phil Grabsky
* Terry Jones' Medieval Lives (2004)
* The Story of 1 (2005)
* Terry Jones' Barbarians (2006)
* Terry Jones' Great Map Mystery (2008)
Political articles
Jones has published a number of articles on political and social commentary, principally in newspapers The Daily Telegraph, The Guardian, The Independent, and The Observer. Many of these articles criticized the war on terror, belittling it as "declaring war on an abstract noun" and comparing it to attempting to "annihilate mockery".
Miscellany
* An asteroid, 9622 Terryjones, is named in his honour. When asked during a webchat if this were the greatest honour he has received, Jones replied, "I didn't realise it was an honour to have a barren lump of rock named after one."
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Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 02/02/11 at 5:47 am
The person of the day...Graham Nash
Graham William Nash, OBE (born 2 February 1942) is a English singer-songwriter known for his light tenor vocals and for his songwriting contributions with the British pop group The Hollies, and with the folk-rock band Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. Nash is a photography collector and a published photographer. Nash was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Crosby, Stills & Nash and as a member of The Hollies in 2010.
Nash was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2010 Birthday Honours for services to music and to charity.
Nash was born in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, in 1942, his mother having been evacuated there from the Nashes' hometown of Salford, Lancashire,(now in Greater Manchester) because of the Second World War. The family subsequently returned to Salford, where Graham grew up. In the early 1960s he was a leading member of The Hollies, one of the UK's most successful pop and "British Invasion" groups ever. Although recognised as a key member of the group, he seldom sang lead vocals, although he did write many of the band's songs, most often in collaboration with Allan Clarke. Nash was pivotal in the forging of a sound and lyrics showing an obvious hippie influence on The Hollies' albums. However, Nash was disappointed when his transition in sound did not register with the audience that the Hollies played to, including when "King Midas in Reverse" did not gain the popularity he expected it to. He greatly influenced the direction of Evolution, and Butterfly, a collection that brought differing opinions on the band's musical direction to the fore.
In 1968, after a visit to the US during which he met David Crosby in Laurel Canyon and began recreational drug use, Nash left The Hollies to form a new group with Crosby and Stephen Stills. A threesome at first, Crosby, Stills & Nash later became a foursome with Neil Young: Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (CSNY). With them, Nash went on to even greater worldwide success. Nash, nicknamed "Willy" by his band mates in CSNY, has been described as the glue that keeps their often fragile alliances together. A mark of this is the loyalty and support Nash showed to his best friend, Crosby, during Crosby's well-documented period of drug addiction ending in the mid 1980s. Nash's solo career has often been shelved in favour of reunions on stage and in the studio with either Crosby and Stills or Crosby, Stills and Young. In addition, Nash briefly rejoined the Hollies in 1983 (to mark their 20th anniversary) to record two albums, "What Goes Around" and "Reunion". His own solo work shows a love of melody and ballads. His solo recordings have experimented with jazz and electronic percussion but tend not to stray too far from a pop format with well-defined hook lines.
Nash became very politically active after moving to California to join with David Crosby and Stephen Stills, as reflected such in Nash songs as "Military Madness" and "Chicago (We Can Change the World)". His song "Immigration Man", Crosby and Nash's biggest hit as a duo (see below), arose from a tiff he had with a US Customs official while trying to enter the country. Nash became an American citizen on August 14, 1978.
Starting in 1972, Nash teamed with Crosby, the two continuing as a successful recording and performing duo until the more or less permanent reformation with Stills for the CSN album of 1977. The pair reunited for another Crosby & Nash studio album in 2004, and a legitimate release of music from a 1970s Crosby-Nash tour as on a widely circulated bootleg appeared in 1998.
In 1979, Nash co-founded Musicians United for Safe Energy.
In 2005, Nash collaborated with Norwegian musicians a-ha on the songs "Over the Treetops" (penned by Paul Waaktaar-Savoy) and "Cosy Prisons" (penned by Magne Furuholmen) for the Analogue recording. In 2006, Nash worked with David Gilmour and David Crosby on the title track of David Gilmour's third solo album, On an Island. In March 2006, the album was released and quickly reached #1 on the UK charts. Nash and Crosby subsequently toured the UK with Gilmour, singing backup on "On an Island", "The Blue", "Shine On You Crazy Diamond", and "Find the Cost of Freedom".
Nash is part of the No Nukes group which is against the expansion of nuclear power. In 2007 the group recorded a music video of a new version of the Buffalo Springfield song "For What It's Worth".
Nash appeared on the season 7 finale of American Idol singing "Teach Your Children" with Brooke White.
In 2010 Nash was inducted a second time to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, this time as a member of The Hollies. He received an OBE 'for services to music and charitable activities', becoming an Officer of the British Empire in the Diplomatic and Overseas Division of the Queen's Birthday Honours List on Saturday, June 12, 2010. Nash received the title of George Eastman Honorary Scholar at the George Eastman House on January 22, 2011, in Rochester, NY.
Photography career
Nash backstage at the Frost Amphitheater, Stanford CA, Spring 1976.
Interested in photography as a child, Nash began to collect photographs in the early 1970s. Having acquired more than a thousand prints by 1976, Nash hired Graham Howe as his photography curator. In 1978 through 1984 a touring exhibition of selections from the Graham Nash Collection toured to more than a dozen museums world wide. Nash decided to sell his 2,000 print collection though Sotheby's auction house in 1990 where it set an auction record for the highest grossing sale of a single private collection of photography.
Early digital fine art printing
In the late 1980s Nash began to experiment with digital images of his photography on Macintosh computers with the assistance R. Mac Holbert who at that time was the tour manager for Crosby, Stills, and Nash as well as handling computer/technical matters for the band. Nash ran into the problem common with all personal computers running graphics software during that period: he could create very sophisticated detailed images on the computer, but there was no output device (computer printer) capable of reproducing what he saw on the computer screen. Nash and Holbert initially experimented with early commercial printers that were then becoming available and printed many images on the large format Fujix inkjet printers at UCLA's JetGraphix digital output center. When Fuji decided to stop supporting the printers, John Bilotta, who was running JetGraphix, recommended that Nash and Holbert look into the IRIS printer, a new large format continuous-tone inkjet printer built for prepress proofing by IRIS Graphics, Inc. Through IRIS Graphics national sales rep Steve Boulter, Nash also met programmer David Coons, a color engineer for Disney, who was already using the IRIS printer there to print images from Disney’s new digital animation system.
Coons worked off hours at Disney to produced large images of 16 of Nash's photographic portraits on arches watercolor paper using Disney’s in-house model 3024 IRIS printer for an April 24, 1990 show at Simon Lowinsky gallery. Since most of the original negatives and prints had been lost in shipment to a book publisher, Coons had to scan contact sheets and enhance the images so they could be printed in large format. He used software he had written to output the photographic images to the IRIS printer, a machine designed to work with proprietary prepress computer systems.
In July 1990 Graham Nash purchased an IRIS Graphics 3047 inkjet printer for $126,000 and set it up in a small carriage house in Manhattan Beach, California near Los Angeles. David Coons and Steve Boulter used it to print an even larger November, 1990 show of Nash's work for Parco Stores in Tokyo. The show entitled Sunlight on Silver was a series of 35 celebrity portraits by Nash which were 3 feet by 4 feet in an edition of 50 prints per image, a total of 1,750 images. Subsequently, Nash exhibited his photographs at the Museum of Photographic Arts in San Diego and elsewhere.
Nash Editions
In 1991 Graham Nash agreed to fund Mac Holbert to start a fine art digital based printing company using the IRIS Graphics 3047 printer sitting in Nash's Manhattan Beach, California carriage house. Holbert retired as road manager for Crosby, Stills, and Nash so that he could run the company. It opened its doors on July 1, 1991 with the name of Nash Editions Ltd. Early employees included David Coons, John Bilotta, and a serigraphic print maker named Jack Duganne. They worked to further adapt the IRIS printer to fine art printing, experimenting with ink sets to try the to overcome the fast fading short longevity of IRIS prints, and even going as far as sawing off part of the print heads so they could be moved back to clear thicker printing paper stocks (voiding the $126,000 machines warranty). Nash and Holbert decided to call their fine art prints "digigraph" although Jack Duganne coined name "Giclée" for these type of prints. The company is still in operation and currently uses Epson based large format printers.
In 2005, Nash donated the original IRIS Graphics 3047 printer and Nash Editions ephemera to the National Museum of American History, a Smithsonian Institution.
Discography
Please also see discographies for The Hollies, Crosby & Nash, and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
* Songs for Beginners, Atlantic 1971, US #15
* Wild Tales, Atlantic 1973, US #34
* Earth & Sky, EMI 1980, US #117
* Innocent Eyes, Atlantic 1986, US #136
* Songs for Survivors, Artemis 2002
* Reflections, Rhino 2009
Other contributions
* Eklektikos Live (2005) - "Our House"
* Francesco Lucarelli - Find The Light (Route61 2010) - Graham sings and plays harmonica on "Mr. Sunshine"
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Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 02/02/11 at 7:50 am
I like listening to Crosby Stills And Nash.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: nally on 02/02/11 at 5:16 pm
I like listening to Crosby Stills And Nash.
I know, they have some great songs.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 02/03/11 at 6:21 am
The person of the day...Nathan Lane
Nathan Lane is an award-winning American actor of stage and screen. He is best known for his roles as Albert in The Birdcage, Max Bialystock in the musical The Producers, Ernie Smuntz in MouseHunt, Nathan Detroit in Guys and Dolls, Pseudolus in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, and his voice work in The Lion King and Stuart Little. In 2008, he was inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame.
Lane was born Joseph Lane in Jersey City, New Jersey, the son of Irish American Catholic parents. He was named after his uncle, a Jesuit priest. His father, Daniel, was a truck driver and an aspiring tenor who died from alcoholism when Lane was eleven; his mother, Nora, was a housewife and secretary, who suffered from manic-depression, and died in 2000. He has two brothers, Robert and Daniel. Lane attended Roman Catholic schools in Jersey City, including Jesuit-run St. Peter's Preparatory High School, where he was selected Best Actor in 1974.
Career
His brother Dan accompanied him to what was supposed to be his first day at St. Joseph's College in Philadelphia. When they arrived, they learned the drama scholarship Lane had won didn't cover enough of the expenses for him to stay. He decided to go back home. "I remember him saying to me, 'College is for people who don't know what they want to do,'" Dan Lane recalled. Because there already was a Joseph Lane registered with Actors Equity, he changed his name to Nathan after the character Nathan Detroit from the musical Guys and Dolls. He moved to New York City where, after a long struggle, his career began to take off, first with some brief success in the world of stand-up comedy with partner, Patrick Stack, and later with Off Broadway productions at Second Stage Theatre, the Roundabout Theatre, the Manhattan Theatre Club, and his 1982 Broadway debut in a revival of Noel Coward's Present Laughter as Roland Maule (Drama Desk nomination) with George C. Scott, Kate Burton, Dana Ivey, and Christine Lahti.
His second Broadway appearance was in the 1983 musical Merlin, starring Chita Rivera and magician Doug Henning. This was followed by Wind in the Willows as Mr. Toad, Some Americans Abroad at Lincoln Center, the national tour of Neil Simon's Broadway Bound, and On Borrowed Time at Circle in the Square Theatre with George C. Scott again. In 1992, he starred in the revival of Guys and Dolls, receiving his first Tony nomination, as well as Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards, playing the character who lent him his name, opposite Peter Gallagher and Faith Prince.
His professional association with his close friend the playwright Terrence McNally includes roles in Lips Together, Teeth Apart, The Lisbon Traviata (Drama Desk and Lucille Lortel Awards), Bad Habits, Love! Valour! Compassion! (Obie, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards), and Dedication or The Stuff of Dreams (Drama Desk nomination). The early 1990s began a stretch of successful Broadway shows for Lane. In 1993, he portrayed Sid Caesar-like Max Prince in Neil Simon's Laughter on the 23rd Floor, inspired by Simon's early career writing sketches for Your Show of Shows. In 1996, he starred in the revival of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, for which he won the Tony, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards.
His association with Sondheim began with the workshop of Assassins, and after Forum he appeared with Victor Garber in the workshop of Wise Guys (later retitled Road Show). Their collaboration continued in 2004 when he revised the original book for and starred in the Broadway debut of the composer's The Frogs at Lincoln Center. He also sang a song written especially for him by Sondheim in the film The Birdcage. In 2000 he starred in the Roundabout revival of The Man Who Came to Dinner as Sheridan Whiteside, with Jean Smart and Harriet Harris. Prior to that he starred in the Encores! production of Do Re Mi.
In addition to the McNally plays, Lane has appeared in numerous other Off Broadway productions, including Love (the musical version of Murray Schisgal's Luv), Measure for Measure directed by Joseph Papp in Central Park, The Common Pursuit, The Film Society, Mizlansky/Zilinsky or Chucks, In a Pig's Valise, Trumbo, She Stoops to Conquer, and A Midsummer Night's Dream. He also appeared at the Williamstown Theatre Festival in The School for Scandal and John Guare's Moon Over Miami .
Lane performed in 1995's The Wizard of Oz in Concert at Lincoln Center to benefit the Children's Defense Fund. The performance was originally broadcast on Turner Network Television (TNT), and issued on CD and video in 1996. Lane won his second Tony Award for his portrayal of Max Bialystock in the musical version of Mel Brooks's The Producers, as well as Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards. He later replaced Richard Dreyfuss in the role in 2004 at London's Theatre Royal Drury Lane at the last minute, and went on to win the Olivier Award as Best Actor in a Musical. He recreated his performance for the film version, for which he received his second Golden Globe nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy.
Lane has performed two roles originated by Zero Mostel, Pseudolus in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum and Max Bialystock in The Producers. He declined the role of Tevye in the 2004 Broadway revival of Fiddler on the Roof because he didn't want to be seen as always following in Mostel's footsteps. Coincidentally, both of Lane's Tony Awards were for Mostel's roles.
In 2005, Lane rejoined his Producers co-star Matthew Broderick for an extremely successful limited run of The Odd Couple. In 2006, he changed gears to take on a primarily dramatic role in a revival of Simon Gray's Butley. He and Broderick were awarded adjacent stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in a joint ceremony on January 9, 2006. They were also immortalized as Max and Leo at Madame Tussauds Wax Museum. He next starred in the new David Mamet play, November, directed by Joe Mantello, and in the critically acclaimed revival of Waiting for Godot (Outer Critics Circle nomination) with Bill Irwin. He is now starring in the musical of The Addams Family as Gomez (Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle nominations). In 2008 he was inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame.
Personal life
A reporter once asked Lane if he was gay; he replied, "I'm 40, single and work in the musical theater. You do the math." When he told his mother he was gay, she replied, "I'd rather you were dead," to which he replied, "I knew you'd understand." Lane, who came out publicly after the death of Matthew Shepard, has been a long-time board member of and fundraiser for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, and has been honored by the Human Rights Campaign, Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, and The Trevor Project for his work in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community.
Lane resides in New York City, with a long time partner. He remains very good friends with Matthew Broderick, Mel Brooks, and Ernie Sabella.
Awards and nominations
Television
He has received three nominations and won two Daytime Emmy Awards, in 1995 for Disney's Timon and Pumbaa and in 2000 for Disney's Teacher's Pet. He has also received two Emmy nominations for guest appearances on Frasier and Mad About You. In 1999 he won the People's Choice Award for Favorite Male Performer in a New TV Series.
Film
* 1997 Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast - The Birdcage
* 1996 American Comedy Award for Funniest Actor in a Motion Picture - The Birdcage
* 2002 National Board of Review Award for Best Ensemble Performance - Nicholas Nickleby
Nominations
* 1997 MTV Movie Award for Best On-Screen Duo - The Birdcage
* 1997 Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy - The Birdcage
* 1997 Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role - The Birdcage
* 2006 Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy - The Producers
Theatre
* 1986 St. Clair Bayfield Award for Shakespearean Performance - Measure For Measure
* 1990 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Play - The Lisbon Traviata
* 1992 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical - Guys and Dolls
* 1992 Obie Award for Sustained Excellence of Performance
* 1995 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play - Love! Valour! Compassion!
* 1995 Obie Award for Ensemble Acting - Love! Valour! Compassion!
* 1996 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical - A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
* 1996 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical - A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
* 2001 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical - The Producers
* 2001 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical - The Producers
* 2005 Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical - The Producers
Nominations
* 1983 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play - Present Laughter
* 1992 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical - Guys and Dolls
* 2006 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Play - Dedication or The Stuff of Dreams
* 2009 Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play - Waiting For Godot
Also the winner of four Outer Critics Circle Awards, and a Lucille Lortel Award for The Lisbon Traviata
Other
* 2002 GLAAD Media Awards Vito Russo Award
* 2006 American Theatre Wing Honor for his commitment to and achievement in theatre
* 2007 The Trevor Project Hero Award
* 2007 Human Rights Campaign Equality Award
* 2010 The Drama League - Distinguished Achievement in Musical Theater
Work
Television
His television credits include One of the Boys with Mickey Rooney and Dana Carvey, The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd, the title role in The Man Who Came to Dinner, and the voices of the title characters in the animated series Teacher's Pet, Timon & Pumbaa, and George and Martha. He has also made guest appearances on Miami Vice, Mad About You, Sex and the City, Frasier, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Absolutely Fabulous, 30 Rock and Modern Family.
He has hosted Saturday Night Live, The Tony Awards (one time as host, and three as co-host), and appeared on Great Performances (Alice In Wonderland, The Last Mile , and as host of the 30th anniversary, A Celebration in Song). He has starred in two television films, The Boys Next Door and Laughter on the 23rd Floor. With the Boston Pops, he performed a tribute concert of Danny Kaye material, as well as appearing in the Harry Connick Christmas Special; Merry Christmas, George Bailey; and A Muppet Christmas: Letters to Santa. His attempts at a regular series of his own, Encore! Encore! and Charlie Lawrence, were ratings disappointments.
Filmography
* Jacqueline Susann's Valley of the Dolls as Stage Manager
* Ironweed (1987) as Harold Allen
* The Lemon Sisters (1990) as Charlie Sorrell
* Joe Versus the Volcano (1990) as Baw, Waponi Advance Man
* He Said, She Said (1991) as Wally Thurman
* Frankie and Johnny (1991) as Tim
* Addams Family Values (1993) as Desk Sergeant
* Life with Mikey (1993) as Ed Chapman
* Jeffrey (1995) as Father Dan
* The Birdcage (1996) as Albert Goldman
* The Boys Next Door (TV) (1996) as Norman Bulansky
* MouseHunt (1997) as Ernest "Ernie" Smuntz
* At First Sight (1999) as Phil
* Get Bruce! (1999) documentary, as himself
* Love's Labours Lost (2000) as Costard
* Isn't She Great (2000) as Irving Mansfield
* Trixie (2000) as Kirk Stans
* Laughter on the 23rd Floor (TV) (2001) as Max Prince
* Nicholas Nickleby (2002) as Vincent Crummles
* Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002) as Mysterious Disco Man
* Win a Date with Tad Hamilton! (2004) as Richard Levy the Driven
* The Producers (2005) as Max Bialystock
* Trumbo (2007) documentary, as himself
* Swing Vote (2008) as Art Crumb
* The Nutcracker (2010) as Uncle Albert
Theater
* A Midsummer Night's Dream (1978-Off Broadway) as Francis Flute
* Present Laughter (1982-Broadway) as Roland Maule
* Merlin (1983-Broadway) as Prince Fergus
* Love (1984-Off Broadway) as Harry Berlin
* She Stoops to Conquer (1984-Off Broadway) as Tony Lumpkin
* Measure for Measure (1985-Off Broadway) as Pompey
* Wind in the Willows (1985-Broadway) as Toad
* The Common Pursuit (1986-Off Broadway) as Nick Finchling
* Claptrap (1987-Off Broadway) as Harvey Wheatcraft
* The Film Society (1988-Off Broadway) as Jonathan Balton
* In a Pig's Valise (1989-Off Broadway) as James Taxi
* The Lisbon Traviata (1989-Off Broadway) as Mendy
* Assassins (1989-New York reading) as Sam Byck
* Bad Habits (1990-Off Broadway) Jason Pepper, M.D./Hugh Gumbs
* Some Americans Abroad (1990-Broadway) as Henry McNeil
* Lips Together, Teeth Apart (1991-Off Broadway) as Sam Truman
* On Borrowed Time (1991-Broadway) as Mr. Brink
* Guys and Dolls (1992-Broadway) as Nathan Detroit
* Laughter on the 23rd Floor (1993-Broadway) as Max Prince
* Love! Valour! Compassion! (1994-Off Broadway and Broadway) as Buzz Hauser
* A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1996-Broadway) as Prologus and Pseudolus
* Angela Lansbury - A Celebration (1996-Broadway benefit) as Host
* Mizlansky/Zilinsky or "Chucks" (1998-Off Broadway) as Davis Mizlansky
* Do Re Mi (1999-Off Broadway) as Hubert Cram
* Wise Guys (1999-New York workshop) as Addison Mizner
* The Frogs (2000-Library of Congress) as Dionysus
* The Man Who Came to Dinner (2000-Broadway) as Sheridan Whiteside
* The Producers (2001-Broadway) as Max Bialystock
* The Play What I Wrote (2003-Broadway) as Mystery Guest Star
* Trumbo: Red White and Blacklisted (2003-Off Broadway) as Dalton Trumbo
* The Frogs (2004-Broadway) as Dionysus
* The Producers (2004-West End, London] as Max Bialystock
* Dedication or The Stuff of Dreams (2005-Off Broadway) as Lou Nuncle
* Catch Me If You Can (2005-New York reading) as Hanratty
* The Odd Couple (2005-Broadway) as Oscar Madison
* Catch Me If You Can (2006-New York Workshop) as Hanratty
* Butley (2006-Broadway) as Ben Butley
* Catch Me If You Can (2007-New York reading) as Hanratty
* November (2008-Broadway) as Charles Smith
* Waiting for Godot (2009-Broadway) as Estragon
* The Addams Family (2010-Broadway) as Gomez Addams
Voice
* The Lion King (1994) as Timon
* The Lion King II: Simba's Pride (1998) as Timon
* Stuart Little (1999) as Snowbell
* George and Martha (1999) as George
* Titan A.E. (2000) as Preed
* Stuart Little 2 (2002) as Snowbell
* The Lion King 1½ (2004) as Timon
* Teacher's Pet (2004) as Spot AKA Scott Leadready II
* Astro Boy (2009) as Hammegg
Other
* Presented Mike Birbiglia's (2008) Off Broadway show Sleepwalk With Me.
Lane provided the voice of Tom Morrow, the Audio-Animatronic host of Disneyland's Innoventions attraction.
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Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 02/03/11 at 7:50 am
The Birdcage with Robin Williams was one of the funniest I've seen.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: seamermar on 02/03/11 at 5:59 pm
I like listening to Crosby Stills And Nash.
javascript:void(0);
I know, they have some great songs.
Maybe your daddies knew and listened this song "teach your children" then,
and now here we are their fathers' hell, nally and howard in the end.
j/k ;D
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 02/04/11 at 6:00 am
The person of the day...Clint Black
Clint Patrick Black (born February 4, 1962) is an American country music singer-songwriter, record producer, multi-instrumentalist and occasional actor. Signed to RCA Records in 1989, Black made his debut with his Killin' Time album, which produced four straight Number One singles on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts. Although his momentum gradually slowed throughout the 1990s, Black consistently charted hit songs into the 2000s. He has amassed more than 30 singles on the U.S. Billboard country charts (of which 22 have reached Number One), in addition to releasing nine studio albums and several compilation albums. In 2003, Black founded his own record label, Equity Music Group. Black has also ventured into acting, having made a cameo appearance in the 1994 film Maverick, as well as a starring role in 1998's Still Holding On: The Legend of Cadillac Jack.
Black soon signed with RCA Records, at that time considered one of the "most aggressive" labels in country music. His first album, Killin' Time, was released in 1989. Each song on the album was penned at least in part by Black; four of them were attributed solely to him, while the rest were collaborations with Nicholas. In a departure from most other country albums, Black used his road band instead of session musicians to record Killin' Time. The album was a critical and commercial success, reaching Number One on the Billboard Country Albums chart and certified platinum in 1990. The first single, "A Better Man", reached number 1 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs in early June. This marked the first time in 14 years that a debut single by a male artist had peaked at the top of the chart. In total, five singles off of his debut album reached number 1, the first time any country artist had accomplished this feat. Black swept the Country Music Association's awards in 1989, winning in six different categories, including the Horizon Award for best newcomer. At the end of the year, his singles, "A Better Man" and "Killin' Time" place number 1 and number 2 on the year-end country singles charts. It had been 36 years since another artist had claimed both top spots in a single year. Looking back at the early stages of his career, Black recalled: "'At one point, I knew I crossed this line out of obscurity and I felt like no matter what happened from that point on I would always be remembered for "Killin' Time." There was this kind of mixed feeling of remorse and excitement.'"
In late 1990, the Los Angeles Times surveyed country music industry insiders to determine which acts could be expected to sell the most records over the next 7 years. Black placed second in the poll, two votes behind Garth Brooks. The survey results were surprising in that 10 of the top 20 artists named were relative newcomers to the industry; in the past, country music had been dominated by artists with several decades experience. The plethora of new acts confused some reviewers, however. Many reviewers lumped many of the new acts together; as Newsweek's David Gates wrote: "Good song, good voice, hot band: who cares which one it is this time?" Black soon became known as one of Nashville's "hat acts"; like other country artists such as Garth Brooks, Alan Jackson, and Mark Chesnutt, Black was a relative newcomer who wore a hat, and had "clean, neotraditional sound with pop appeal".
Killin' Time was certified platinum in 1990. Black's second album, Put Yourself in My Shoes, was released in November 1990. It reached Number 2 on the country chart and was in the top 20 on the pop album charts. This success on the pop charts resulted from a change in the way Billboard calculated album sales; a new reliance on Nielsen SoundScan instead of information from selected record stores showed that sales of country albums had previously been undercounted. The album did not meet with as much critical acclaim as his debut, but nonetheless still included several hit singles. He began touring with Alabama.
Black began dating actress Lisa Hartman in 1990. The couple kept their relationship very quiet. The first picture of the two of them together was not published until the week they were engaged. The couple married in Katy, Texas in October 1991.
1992: Lawsuits and The Hard Way
In March 1992, Black sued his manager, Bill Ham, for breach of contract; Ham promptly countersued. Black sought $2 million in damages and requested that Ham return $4 million in royalties. Under the terms of their initial contract, Ham controlled all publishing royalties for any song that Black wrote or co-wrote for his first eight albums. Because Black wrote all of his own music, this amounted to a fee of 20 to 30 cents per album sold. Industry standards generally counseled songwriters to form their own publication companies, so they would be able to retain more of the royalties.
Ham promptly countersued, blaming the initial lawsuit on poor advice Black received from his new personal assistant, his mother-in-law Jonni Hartman. His lawyer told the press that "Mr. Ham invested $1 million of his own money in Clint Black's career at a time when nobody else would do so. For that commitment, Mr. Black should show a little gratitude and honor his contracts".
Also in March, a woman claiming to be Black's former girlfriend told a national tabloid television show that he had fathered her two-year-old daughter and had failed to live up to his responsibilities. Black declined to comment on the paternity allegation.
By mid-1992, Black's first two albums had sold a combined 5 million copies. The difficulties with Ham caused a delay in the release of Black's third album, The Hard Way, which was released on July 14. The album had been expected the year previously, and during the delay the country music scene changed. Both Alan Jackson and Travis Tritt achieved greater success, and Billy Ray Cyrus became a teen idol. The competition that Black faced was now much stiffer than with his earlier albums.
According to Black, he and producer James Stroud spent more time putting this album together than either of those preceding and were "a lot more aggressive in the way we cut and mixed the album". Black was also more satisfied with the vocals on this album. Several of the songs on The Hard Way, including "Burn One Down", were initially reported to be Black's responses to his situation with Ham. Cowriter Nicholas refuted the rumors, maintaining that most of those songs were written in the late 1980s.
To promote the album, Black launched The Hard Way Tour on June 26, 1992. The tour ran for 11 months. Reviewers noticed that with this album Black presented a "new, sexier image", wearing tighter clothing and in many cases leaving behind his trademark hat. Black commented simply that he was bored wearing the hat all the time.
1993–1999
Black's fourth album, No Time to Kill was released almost a year after The Hard Way. The album received mixed reviews. The Houston Chronicle noted that Black's duet with Wynona Judd, "A Bad Goodbye", was "precisely the kind of radio-ready, big-production ballad that record companies tend to force on their artists when they sense that their careers are in trouble....t sticks out like a sore thumb in his body of work." On the other hand, a review in Time magazine thought the duet helped Black show his emotions more intensely. Some reviewers also noted that in some of the more serious songs on the album, Black's voice sounded strained.
Clint Black's Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
One Emotion followed in 1995. Also a platinum certified album in the US, this album accounted for five straight Top 5 hits. First was the #4 "Untanglin' My Mind", a Merle Haggard co-write. After it came the #3 "Wherever You Go", #1 "Summer's Comin'", the #2 title track and finally the #4 "Life Gets Away." The latter two were also Number One country hits in Canada.
In 1996, Black became the fourth country music singer to earn a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Later that year, he released his first greatest-hits package. This was led off by the chart-topper "Like the Rain", which spent three weeks at Number One. After it came the #6 "Half Way Up", his first single since "One More Payment" to miss Top 5.
Black's next album, 1997's Nothin' but the Taillights, was released to mediocre reviews. Thom Owens of Allmusic said that the album made no attempt to change his sound, and was "sturdy" but less country than his previous efforts. Lead-off single "Still Holding On", a duet with labelmate Martina McBride, became his first single to land outside the Top 10, with a #11 peak that year. He soon recovered his chart momentum with the #2 "Something That We Do" followed by two straight chart-toppers in the album's Steve Wariner-penned title track and "The Shoes You're Wearing". The next two singles — the #12 "Loosen Up My Strings" and #29 "You Don't Need Me Now" — were less successful.
In 1999, Black released D'lectrified, which relied completely on acoustic instruments. Nevertheless, USAToday thought the "album sounds as full and brash as an electric album since he used creative arrangements and horn sections". Three of the songs on the albums were remakes of previous Black singles. Several others featured guest appearances by some of Black's idols, including Waylon Jennings, Kenny Loggins, and Eric Idle. The songs tended to be longer than most of those played on country radio, with many stretching more than 5 minutes.
1999–Present: Later career
Black performing at a benefit concert
Black and Hartman welcomed their only child, Lily Pearl Black, in May 2001. Black took a three-year break from the music industry to stay home with his daughter. He explained that "it ended up not being a smart career move, but it was a real smart dad move. ... I wouldn't go back and try to do anything for my career in exchange for that."
During his sabbatical, Black spent time reassessing his career. After deciding he was unwilling to work within the current recording industry system, he formed his own record label, Equity Music Group. Black admitted that it was difficult to leave RCA. In his 14 years with the label, he had sold over 12 million records.
The new label operated under very different rules than those Black had begun his own career under. Artists were guaranteed ownership of their songs and were granted an equity stake in the label. The first release from the new label was Black's next album, Spend My Time; his eighth studio album was Black's first release in five years . The Houston Chronicle called it "arguably the most adventurous of his career".
His last full studio album was 2005's Drinkin' Songs and Other Logic. Black chose the title of the album first, because "I knew if I didn't give myself some parameters, that I could end up over the line or too close to it. And I wanted a real honky-tonk style album. So I thought that title at least would tell me what I was after."
Black has continued to record new material, however. In 2007, he released the single "The Strong One" the first original song he has recorded that he did not write. The song was included on his first digital EP, released on March 11, 2008. Titled "The Long Cool EP," the collection features Black’s single, "Long Cool Woman", "The Strong One" and a duet with his wife titled "You Still Get to Me". Equity Music Group closed its doors in December 2008 due to economic difficulties.
Black was also a judge for the 8th annual Independent Music Awards to support independent artists.
Songwriting
Few country singers fill their albums primarily with their own material. Although RCA Records often pushed Black to record the material of other artists, he refused. Black recorded only his own songs until 2007, when he released the single "The Strong One". Many of his songs were the result of a collaboration with Hayden Nicholas. Their first collaboration, "Straight From the Factory", took them only 20 minutes to write. Nicholas ruefully commented that "most of 'em weren't that easy". In general, Black writes the lyrics to their songs, while Nicholas provides the melody.
Black explains that he appreciates country music because it "is straightforward, the melodies are there, some of the ballads are as beautiful and sweeping as anything Barbra Streisand has done. But the ... poetry is simple." Reviewers have often praised the songs for their "thoughtful lyrics" Many were incredulous that such a young man (27 at the release of his first album) could have such "a remarkably mature perspective". According to Black, "To me, a song is more than just something to sing. It's something to learn from. It's somebody else's true feeling. I'm always trying to get at the meaning. ... When I write a line, I'm doing the same thing. I'm looking at it from the perspective of if I was driving down the road listening to it, what am I gonna get out of it?"
Many of his songs make use of puns and other creative turns of phrase. While the wordplay in many of the songs on his earlier albums was widely appreciated, by the fourth album reviewers felt that the songs were not as high in quality. Rick Mitchell of the Houston Chronicle pointed out that on The Hard Way "clever wordplay is no substitute for heartfelt emotion".
Film and television
Shortly after his music career took off, Black began receiving offers for acting roles. He turned down every request until 1994, when he was offered a bit part in star-studded comedy Maverick. Although the part required very little actual acting, after the movie's release Black received an increasing number of calls from directors who thought he would be perfect for a particular role. Black has appeared in several television shows, including Wings and The Larry Sanders Show. He has since starred in the 1998 television movie Still Holding On: The Legend of Cadillac Jack, had a major role in another television movie Going Home, and appeared briefly in the 2003 film Anger Management.
He has also had a presence on various reality television shows. In 2003, Black appeared on Nashville Star, where he acted as a mentor to the contestants. He later produced the debut album of series winner Buddy Jewell. In 2004, Clint appeared as himself in the tv show Las Vegas. In 2008, Black was a contestant on a short-lived CBS reality show, Secret Talents of the Stars, in which he practiced stand-up comedy. The following year, he competed on the second season of Celebrity Apprentice. He was fired after the eleventh task, placing himself in fifth place. In 2009, Black appeared on ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.
Black has enjoyed his television experiences, describing acting as "another way for me to expand my creative canvas. ... I love to challenge myself." He believes that most of his fans "just see me as a musician who is stepping into temporarily and either doing it alright or not". He was also more recently in the movie Flicka 2 in 2010
Discography
Main article: Clint Black discography
Studio Albums
* 1989: Killin' Time
* 1990: Put Yourself in My Shoes
* 1992: The Hard Way
* 1993: No Time to Kill
* 1994: One Emotion
* 1997: Nothin' but the Taillights
* 1999: D'lectrified
* 2004: Spend My Time
* 2005: Drinkin' Songs and Other Logic
* 2007: The Love Songs
Awards
Academy of Country Music
* 1989 Album of the Year - "Killin' Time"
* 1989 Top Male Vocalist
* 1989 Top New Male Vocalist
* 1989 Single of the Year - "A Better Man"
* 1999 Vocal Event of the Year with Lisa Hartman Black - "When I Said I Do"
American Music Awards
* 1990 Favorite Country New Artist
Country Music Association
* 1989 Horizon Award
* 1990 Male Vocalist of the Year
Filmography
* Flicka 2 (2010) - Toby
* Anger Management (2003) - Masseur
* Going Home (2000) - Dr. Warren
* Still Holding On: The Legend of Cadillac Jack (1998) - Cadillac Jack Favor
* Maverick (1994) - Sweet-Faced Gambler
* Montana Christmas Skies (1991) - Himself, with John Denver, Kathy Mattea, Patty Loveless
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Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: gibbo on 02/04/11 at 6:27 pm
javascript:void(0);
Maybe your daddies knew and listened this song "teach your children" then,
and now here we are their fathers' hell, nally and howard in the end.
j/k ;D
I used to play Teach Your Children (on guitar). I'd guess Paco's favourite CSN songs would be Wooden Ships and Southern Cross.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: CatwomanofV on 02/04/11 at 6:48 pm
I used to play Teach Your Children (on guitar). I'd guess Paco's favourite CSN songs would be Wooden Ships and Southern Cross.
I always liked Our House.
Cat
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 02/05/11 at 6:04 am
I used to play Teach Your Children (on guitar). I'd guess Paco's favourite CSN songs would be Wooden Ships and Southern Cross.
I always liked Our House.
Cat
Great songs!
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 02/05/11 at 6:05 am
The person of the day...Hank Aaron
Henry Louis "Hank" Aaron (born February 5, 1934), nicknamed "Hammer", "Hammerin' Hank", and "Bad Henry", is a retired American baseball player whose Major League Baseball (MLB) career spanned the years 1954 through 1976. Aaron is widely considered one of the greatest baseball players of all time. In 1999, editors at The Sporting News ranked Hank Aaron fifth on their list of "Greatest Baseball Players".
After playing with the Indianapolis Clowns of the Negro American League and in the minor leagues, Aaron started his major league career in 1954. (He is the last Negro league baseball player to have played in the major leagues.) He played 21 seasons with the Boston, Milwaukee and Atlanta Braves in the National League, and his last two years (1975–76) with the Milwaukee Brewers in the American League. His most notable achievement was setting the MLB record for most career home runs at 755.
During his professional career, Aaron performed at a consistently high level for an extended period of time. He hit 24 or more home runs every year from 1955 through 1973, and is the only player to hit 30 or more home runs in a season at least fifteen times. He is one of only four players to have at least seventeen seasons with 150 or more hits. Aaron made the All-Star team every year from 1955 until 1975 and won three Rawlings Gold Glove Awards. In 1957, he won the National League Most Valuable Player Award, while that same year, the Braves won the World Series, his one World Series victory during his career.
Aaron's consistency helped him to establish a number of important hitting records during his 23-year career. Aaron holds the MLB records for the most career runs batted in (2,297) and the most career extra base hits (1,477). Hank Aaron is also in the top five for career hits with 3,771 (third) and runs with 2,174, which is tied for fourth with Babe Ruth. He also is in second place in at-bats (12,364), and in third place in games played (3,298).
On March 13, 1954, Milwaukee Braves left fielder Bobby Thomson fractured his ankle while sliding into second base during a spring training game. The next day, Aaron made his first spring training start for the Braves' major league team, playing in left field and hitting a home run. This led Hank Aaron to a major league contract and a Braves uniform with the number five. On April 13, Aaron made his major league debut and was hitless in five at-bats against the Cincinnati Reds' left-hander Joe Nuxhall. In the same game, Eddie Mathews hit two home runs, the first of a record 863 home runs the pair would hit as teammates. On April 15, Aaron collected his first major league hit, a single off Cardinals' pitcher Vic Raschi. Aaron hit his first major league home run on April 23, also off Raschi. Over the next 122 games, Aaron batted .280 with thirteen homers before he suffered a fractured ankle on September 5. He then changed his number to 44, which would turn out to look like a "lucky number" for the slugger. Aaron would hit 44 home runs in four different seasons, and he would hit his record-breaking 715th career home run off Dodgers pitcher Al Downing, who coincidentally also wore number 44.
At this point, Aaron was known to family and friends primarily as "Henry". Braves' public relations director Don Davidson, observing Aaron's quiet, reserved nature, began referring to him publicly as "Hank" in order to suggest more accessibility. The nickname quickly gained currency, but "Henry" continued to be cited frequently in the media, both sometimes appearing in the same article, and Aaron would answer to either one. During his rookie year, his other well-known nicknames, "Hammerin' Hank" (by teammates) and "Bad Henry" (by opposing pitchers) are reported to have arisen. (Hank Aaron: The Man Who Beat the Babe, by Phil Musick, 1974, p. 66)
Prime of his career
In 1955, Aaron made his first All-Star team; it was the first of a record-tying 21 All-Star Game appearances. He finished the season with a .314 average, 27 home runs and 106 RBI. Aaron hit .328 in 1956 and captured first of two NL batting titles. He was also named The Sporting News NL Player of the Year.
In 1957, Aaron won his only NL MVP Award. He batted .322 and led the league in home runs and runs batted in. On September 23, 1957, Aaron hit a two-run walk-off in Milwaukee, and Aaron was carried off the field by his teammates. Milwaukee went on to win the World Series against the New York Yankees. Aaron did his part by hitting .393 with three homers and seven RBI.
In 1958, Aaron hit .326, with 30 home runs and 95 RBIs. He led the Braves to another pennant, but this time they lost a seven-game World Series to the Yankees. Aaron finished third in the MVP race, but he picked up his first Gold Glove.
During the next several years, Aaron had some of his best games and best seasons as a major league player. On June 21, 1959 against the San Francisco Giants, he hit three two-run home runs. It was the only time in his career that he hit three home runs in a game.
Aaron nearly won the triple crown in 1963. He led the league with 44 home runs and 130 RBI and finished third in batting average. In that season, Aaron became the third player to steal 30 bases and hit 30 home runs in a single season. Despite that, he again finished third in the MVP voting.
Aaron was the first player to hit 500 home runs and reach 3,000 hits.
The Braves moved from Milwaukee to Atlanta after the 1965 season. but then he recorded 162 hr per game
Home run milestones and 3000th hit
During his days in Atlanta, Aaron reached a number of milestones; he was only the eighth player ever to hit 500 career home runs, with his 500th coming against Mike McCormick of the San Francisco Giants on July 14, 1968—exactly one year after former teammate Eddie Mathews had hit his 500th. He was, at the time, the second-youngest player to attain that plateau.
On July 31, 1969, Aaron hit his 537th home run, passing Mickey Mantle; this moved him into third place on the career home run list, after Willie Mays and Babe Ruth. At the end of the season, Aaron again finished third in the MVP voting.
The 1970 season saw Aaron reach two more career milestones. On May 17, Aaron collected his 3,000th hit, in a game against the Cincinnati Reds, the team against which he played his first game. He was the first player to get 3,000 career hits and 500 career home runs. Also during that year, Aaron established the record for most seasons with thirty or more home runs in the National League.
On April 27, 1971, Aaron hit his 600th career home run, the third player ever to do so. On July 31, Aaron hit a home run in the All-Star Game (played at Detroit's Tiger Stadium) for the first time. He hit his 40th home run of the season against the Giants' Jerry Johnson on August 10, which established a National League record for most seasons with 40 or more home runs (seven). At age 37, he hit a career-high 47 home runs during the season (along with a career-high .669 slugging percentage) and finished third in MVP voting for the sixth time.
During the strike-shortened season of 1972, Aaron tied and then surpassed Willie Mays for second place on the career home run list. Aaron also knocked in the 2,000th run of his career and hit a home run in the first All-Star game played in Atlanta. As the year came to a close, Aaron broke Stan Musial's major league record for total bases (6,134).
While many expected Aaron to break Ruth's home run record in 1973, a key moment of the season came on August 6. This was Hank Aaron Day in Wisconsin and the Braves played the Milwaukee Brewers in an exhibition game. The guests in attendance included Aaron's first manager with the Braves, Charlie Grimm, his teammate from Jacksonville, Felix Mantilla, Eau Claire president Ron Berganson, and Del Crandall, the catcher for the 1957 world champion Braves and the-then manager of the Brewers.
The only position that the Braves wanted Aaron to play was as the designated hitter because the game was held in an American League park; at that time, however, the National League prohibited use of the DH even in scrimmages. Due to the fact that National League president Chub Feeney could not be contacted, it was left to the umpire, Bruce Froemming to make the decision. Froemming ignored the rule, allowing Aaron to be the DH for the Braves. Later on, National League officials ignored the infraction.
Breaking Ruth's record
The jersey Hank Aaron wore when he broke Babe Ruth's record
Although Aaron himself downplayed the "chase" to surpass Babe Ruth, baseball enthusiasts and the national media grew increasingly excited as he closed in on the home run record. During the summer of 1973 Aaron received thousands of letters every week; the Braves ended up hiring a secretary to help him sort through it.
At the age of 39, Aaron hit 40 home runs in 392 at-bats, ending the season one home run short of the record. He hit home run number 713 on September 29, 1973, and with one day remaining in the season, many expected him to tie the record. But in his final game that year, playing against the Houston Astros (led by manager Leo Durocher, who had once roomed with Babe Ruth), he was unable to achieve this. After the game, Aaron stated that his only fear was that he might not live to see the 1974 season.
Over the winter, Aaron was the recipient of death threats and a large assortment of hate mail from people who did not want to see a black man break Ruth's nearly sacrosanct home run record. The threats extended to those providing positive press coverage of Aaron. Lewis Grizzard, then editor of the Atlanta Journal, reported receiving numerous phone calls calling them "****** lovers" for covering Aaron's chase. While preparing the massive coverage of the home run record, he quietly had an obituary written, scared that Aaron might be murdered.
Sports Illustrated pointedly summarized the racist vitriol that Aaron was forced to endure:
"Is this to be the year in which Aaron, at the age of thirty-nine, takes a moon walk above one of the most hallowed individual records in American sport...? Or will it be remembered as the season in which Aaron, the most dignified of athletes, was besieged with hate mail and trapped by the cobwebs and goblins that lurk in baseball's attic?"
Aaron received an outpouring of public support in response to the bigotry. Newspaper cartoonist Charles Schulz satirized the anti-Aaron camp in a series of Peanuts strips printed in August 1973, in which Snoopy attempts to break the Ruth record, only to be besieged with hate mail. (As Lucy puts it in the August 11 strip, "Hank Aaron is a great player...but you! If you break Babe Ruth's record, it'll be a disgrace!") Babe Ruth's widow, Claire Hodgson, even denounced the racism and declared that her husband would have enthusiastically cheered Aaron's attempt at the record. Ruth, who was unprejudiced, had himself been subjected to racial taunts during his youth, by those who fancied that he had Negroid features.
As the 1974 season began, Aaron's pursuit of the record caused a small controversy. The Braves opened the season on the road in Cincinnati with a three-game series against the Cincinnati Reds. Braves management wanted him to break the record in Atlanta, and were therefore going to have Aaron sit out the first three games of the season. But Baseball Commissioner Bowie Kuhn ruled that he had to play two games in the first series. He played two out of three, tying Babe Ruth's record in his very first at bat off Reds pitcher Jack Billingham, but did not hit another home run in the series.
The fence over which Hank Aaron hit his 715th career home run still exists outside of Turner Field.
The team returned to Atlanta, and on April 8, 1974, a crowd of 53,775 people showed up for the game — a Braves attendance record. In the fourth inning, Aaron hit career home run number 715 off Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Al Downing. Although Dodgers outfielder Bill Buckner nearly went over the outfield wall trying to catch it, the ball landed in the Braves' bullpen, where relief pitcher Tom House caught it. While cannons were fired in celebration, two white college students, Cliff Courtney and Britt Gaston, sprinted onto the field and jogged alongside Aaron for part of his circuit around the bases, temporarily startling him. As the fans cheered wildly, Aaron's parents ran onto the field as well.
Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully addressed the racial tension — or apparent lack thereof — in his call of the home run:
"What a marvelous moment for baseball; what a marvelous moment for Atlanta and the state of Georgia; what a marvelous moment for the country and the world. A black man is getting a standing ovation in the Deep South for breaking a record of an all-time baseball idol. And it is a great moment for all of us, and particularly for Henry Aaron. … And for the first time in a long time, that poker face in Aaron shows the tremendous strain and relief of what it must have been like to live with for the past several months."
A few months later, on October 5, 1974, Aaron hit his 733rd and final home run as a Brave, which stood as the National League's home run record until it was broken in 2007. Thirty days later, the Braves traded Aaron to the Milwaukee Brewers for Roger Alexander and Dave May. On May 1, 1975, Aaron broke baseball's all-time RBI record, previously held by Ruth with 2,217. That year, he also made the last of his 21 record-tying (with Musial and Mays) All-Star appearances; he lined out to Dave Concepción as a pinch-hitter in the second inning. This All-Star game, like his first in 1955, was before a home crowd at Milwaukee County Stadium.
On July 20, 1976, Hank Aaron hit his 755th and final home run at Milwaukee County Stadium off Dick Drago of the California Angels.
See also the information box in the upper-right section of this article (at "Career highlights and awards")
Aaron was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1982, his first year of eligibility. In 1988 Aaron was inducted into the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame for his time spent on the Milwaukee Braves.
In 1999, to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Aaron's surpassing of Babe Ruth's career home run mark of 714 home runs, and to honor Aaron's contributions to baseball, MLB created the Hank Aaron Award, an annual award given to the hitters voted the most effective in each respective league. That same year, baseball fans named Aaron to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team. In 2002, scholar Molefi Kete Asante listed Hank Aaron on his list of 100 Greatest African Americans.
Aaron is also an Eagle Scout the highest rank in the Boy Scouts of America.
See also
* List of MLB individual streaks
* List of Major League Baseball Home Run Records
* List of Major League Baseball RBI Records
* List of Major League Baseball doubles records
* 500 home run club
* 3000 hit club
* 3000-500 Club
* List of top 500 Major League Baseball home run hitters
* List of major league players with 2,000 hits
* List of Major League Baseball players with 400 doubles
* List of Major League Baseball players with 100 triples
* List of Major League Baseball players with 1000 runs
* List of Major League Baseball players with 1000 RBI
* List of Major League Baseball leaders in career stolen bases
* List of Major League Baseball RBI champions
* List of Major League Baseball batting champions
* List of Major League Baseball home run champions
* List of Major League Baseball runs scored champions
* List of Major League Baseball doubles champions
* Major League Baseball titles leaders
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Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 02/05/11 at 6:06 am
Great songs!
Agreed :)
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 02/05/11 at 6:06 am
The person of the day...Hank Aaron
Henry Louis "Hank" Aaron (born February 5, 1934), nicknamed "Hammer", "Hammerin' Hank", and "Bad Henry", is a retired American baseball player whose Major League Baseball (MLB) career spanned the years 1954 through 1976. Aaron is widely considered one of the greatest baseball players of all time. In 1999, editors at The Sporting News ranked Hank Aaron fifth on their list of "Greatest Baseball Players".
After playing with the Indianapolis Clowns of the Negro American League and in the minor leagues, Aaron started his major league career in 1954. (He is the last Negro league baseball player to have played in the major leagues.) He played 21 seasons with the Boston, Milwaukee and Atlanta Braves in the National League, and his last two years (1975–76) with the Milwaukee Brewers in the American League. His most notable achievement was setting the MLB record for most career home runs at 755.
During his professional career, Aaron performed at a consistently high level for an extended period of time. He hit 24 or more home runs every year from 1955 through 1973, and is the only player to hit 30 or more home runs in a season at least fifteen times. He is one of only four players to have at least seventeen seasons with 150 or more hits. Aaron made the All-Star team every year from 1955 until 1975 and won three Rawlings Gold Glove Awards. In 1957, he won the National League Most Valuable Player Award, while that same year, the Braves won the World Series, his one World Series victory during his career.
Aaron's consistency helped him to establish a number of important hitting records during his 23-year career. Aaron holds the MLB records for the most career runs batted in (2,297) and the most career extra base hits (1,477). Hank Aaron is also in the top five for career hits with 3,771 (third) and runs with 2,174, which is tied for fourth with Babe Ruth. He also is in second place in at-bats (12,364), and in third place in games played (3,298).
On March 13, 1954, Milwaukee Braves left fielder Bobby Thomson fractured his ankle while sliding into second base during a spring training game. The next day, Aaron made his first spring training start for the Braves' major league team, playing in left field and hitting a home run. This led Hank Aaron to a major league contract and a Braves uniform with the number five. On April 13, Aaron made his major league debut and was hitless in five at-bats against the Cincinnati Reds' left-hander Joe Nuxhall. In the same game, Eddie Mathews hit two home runs, the first of a record 863 home runs the pair would hit as teammates. On April 15, Aaron collected his first major league hit, a single off Cardinals' pitcher Vic Raschi. Aaron hit his first major league home run on April 23, also off Raschi. Over the next 122 games, Aaron batted .280 with thirteen homers before he suffered a fractured ankle on September 5. He then changed his number to 44, which would turn out to look like a "lucky number" for the slugger. Aaron would hit 44 home runs in four different seasons, and he would hit his record-breaking 715th career home run off Dodgers pitcher Al Downing, who coincidentally also wore number 44.
At this point, Aaron was known to family and friends primarily as "Henry". Braves' public relations director Don Davidson, observing Aaron's quiet, reserved nature, began referring to him publicly as "Hank" in order to suggest more accessibility. The nickname quickly gained currency, but "Henry" continued to be cited frequently in the media, both sometimes appearing in the same article, and Aaron would answer to either one. During his rookie year, his other well-known nicknames, "Hammerin' Hank" (by teammates) and "Bad Henry" (by opposing pitchers) are reported to have arisen. (Hank Aaron: The Man Who Beat the Babe, by Phil Musick, 1974, p. 66)
Prime of his career
In 1955, Aaron made his first All-Star team; it was the first of a record-tying 21 All-Star Game appearances. He finished the season with a .314 average, 27 home runs and 106 RBI. Aaron hit .328 in 1956 and captured first of two NL batting titles. He was also named The Sporting News NL Player of the Year.
In 1957, Aaron won his only NL MVP Award. He batted .322 and led the league in home runs and runs batted in. On September 23, 1957, Aaron hit a two-run walk-off in Milwaukee, and Aaron was carried off the field by his teammates. Milwaukee went on to win the World Series against the New York Yankees. Aaron did his part by hitting .393 with three homers and seven RBI.
In 1958, Aaron hit .326, with 30 home runs and 95 RBIs. He led the Braves to another pennant, but this time they lost a seven-game World Series to the Yankees. Aaron finished third in the MVP race, but he picked up his first Gold Glove.
During the next several years, Aaron had some of his best games and best seasons as a major league player. On June 21, 1959 against the San Francisco Giants, he hit three two-run home runs. It was the only time in his career that he hit three home runs in a game.
Aaron nearly won the triple crown in 1963. He led the league with 44 home runs and 130 RBI and finished third in batting average. In that season, Aaron became the third player to steal 30 bases and hit 30 home runs in a single season. Despite that, he again finished third in the MVP voting.
Aaron was the first player to hit 500 home runs and reach 3,000 hits.
The Braves moved from Milwaukee to Atlanta after the 1965 season. but then he recorded 162 hr per game
Home run milestones and 3000th hit
During his days in Atlanta, Aaron reached a number of milestones; he was only the eighth player ever to hit 500 career home runs, with his 500th coming against Mike McCormick of the San Francisco Giants on July 14, 1968—exactly one year after former teammate Eddie Mathews had hit his 500th. He was, at the time, the second-youngest player to attain that plateau.
On July 31, 1969, Aaron hit his 537th home run, passing Mickey Mantle; this moved him into third place on the career home run list, after Willie Mays and Babe Ruth. At the end of the season, Aaron again finished third in the MVP voting.
The 1970 season saw Aaron reach two more career milestones. On May 17, Aaron collected his 3,000th hit, in a game against the Cincinnati Reds, the team against which he played his first game. He was the first player to get 3,000 career hits and 500 career home runs. Also during that year, Aaron established the record for most seasons with thirty or more home runs in the National League.
On April 27, 1971, Aaron hit his 600th career home run, the third player ever to do so. On July 31, Aaron hit a home run in the All-Star Game (played at Detroit's Tiger Stadium) for the first time. He hit his 40th home run of the season against the Giants' Jerry Johnson on August 10, which established a National League record for most seasons with 40 or more home runs (seven). At age 37, he hit a career-high 47 home runs during the season (along with a career-high .669 slugging percentage) and finished third in MVP voting for the sixth time.
During the strike-shortened season of 1972, Aaron tied and then surpassed Willie Mays for second place on the career home run list. Aaron also knocked in the 2,000th run of his career and hit a home run in the first All-Star game played in Atlanta. As the year came to a close, Aaron broke Stan Musial's major league record for total bases (6,134).
While many expected Aaron to break Ruth's home run record in 1973, a key moment of the season came on August 6. This was Hank Aaron Day in Wisconsin and the Braves played the Milwaukee Brewers in an exhibition game. The guests in attendance included Aaron's first manager with the Braves, Charlie Grimm, his teammate from Jacksonville, Felix Mantilla, Eau Claire president Ron Berganson, and Del Crandall, the catcher for the 1957 world champion Braves and the-then manager of the Brewers.
The only position that the Braves wanted Aaron to play was as the designated hitter because the game was held in an American League park; at that time, however, the National League prohibited use of the DH even in scrimmages. Due to the fact that National League president Chub Feeney could not be contacted, it was left to the umpire, Bruce Froemming to make the decision. Froemming ignored the rule, allowing Aaron to be the DH for the Braves. Later on, National League officials ignored the infraction.
Breaking Ruth's record
The jersey Hank Aaron wore when he broke Babe Ruth's record
Although Aaron himself downplayed the "chase" to surpass Babe Ruth, baseball enthusiasts and the national media grew increasingly excited as he closed in on the home run record. During the summer of 1973 Aaron received thousands of letters every week; the Braves ended up hiring a secretary to help him sort through it.
At the age of 39, Aaron hit 40 home runs in 392 at-bats, ending the season one home run short of the record. He hit home run number 713 on September 29, 1973, and with one day remaining in the season, many expected him to tie the record. But in his final game that year, playing against the Houston Astros (led by manager Leo Durocher, who had once roomed with Babe Ruth), he was unable to achieve this. After the game, Aaron stated that his only fear was that he might not live to see the 1974 season.
Over the winter, Aaron was the recipient of death threats and a large assortment of hate mail from people who did not want to see a black man break Ruth's nearly sacrosanct home run record. The threats extended to those providing positive press coverage of Aaron. Lewis Grizzard, then editor of the Atlanta Journal, reported receiving numerous phone calls calling them "****** lovers" for covering Aaron's chase. While preparing the massive coverage of the home run record, he quietly had an obituary written, scared that Aaron might be murdered.
Sports Illustrated pointedly summarized the racist vitriol that Aaron was forced to endure:
"Is this to be the year in which Aaron, at the age of thirty-nine, takes a moon walk above one of the most hallowed individual records in American sport...? Or will it be remembered as the season in which Aaron, the most dignified of athletes, was besieged with hate mail and trapped by the cobwebs and goblins that lurk in baseball's attic?"
Aaron received an outpouring of public support in response to the bigotry. Newspaper cartoonist Charles Schulz satirized the anti-Aaron camp in a series of Peanuts strips printed in August 1973, in which Snoopy attempts to break the Ruth record, only to be besieged with hate mail. (As Lucy puts it in the August 11 strip, "Hank Aaron is a great player...but you! If you break Babe Ruth's record, it'll be a disgrace!") Babe Ruth's widow, Claire Hodgson, even denounced the racism and declared that her husband would have enthusiastically cheered Aaron's attempt at the record. Ruth, who was unprejudiced, had himself been subjected to racial taunts during his youth, by those who fancied that he had Negroid features.
As the 1974 season began, Aaron's pursuit of the record caused a small controversy. The Braves opened the season on the road in Cincinnati with a three-game series against the Cincinnati Reds. Braves management wanted him to break the record in Atlanta, and were therefore going to have Aaron sit out the first three games of the season. But Baseball Commissioner Bowie Kuhn ruled that he had to play two games in the first series. He played two out of three, tying Babe Ruth's record in his very first at bat off Reds pitcher Jack Billingham, but did not hit another home run in the series.
The fence over which Hank Aaron hit his 715th career home run still exists outside of Turner Field.
The team returned to Atlanta, and on April 8, 1974, a crowd of 53,775 people showed up for the game — a Braves attendance record. In the fourth inning, Aaron hit career home run number 715 off Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Al Downing. Although Dodgers outfielder Bill Buckner nearly went over the outfield wall trying to catch it, the ball landed in the Braves' bullpen, where relief pitcher Tom House caught it. While cannons were fired in celebration, two white college students, Cliff Courtney and Britt Gaston, sprinted onto the field and jogged alongside Aaron for part of his circuit around the bases, temporarily startling him. As the fans cheered wildly, Aaron's parents ran onto the field as well.
Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully addressed the racial tension — or apparent lack thereof — in his call of the home run:
"What a marvelous moment for baseball; what a marvelous moment for Atlanta and the state of Georgia; what a marvelous moment for the country and the world. A black man is getting a standing ovation in the Deep South for breaking a record of an all-time baseball idol. And it is a great moment for all of us, and particularly for Henry Aaron. … And for the first time in a long time, that poker face in Aaron shows the tremendous strain and relief of what it must have been like to live with for the past several months."
A few months later, on October 5, 1974, Aaron hit his 733rd and final home run as a Brave, which stood as the National League's home run record until it was broken in 2007. Thirty days later, the Braves traded Aaron to the Milwaukee Brewers for Roger Alexander and Dave May. On May 1, 1975, Aaron broke baseball's all-time RBI record, previously held by Ruth with 2,217. That year, he also made the last of his 21 record-tying (with Musial and Mays) All-Star appearances; he lined out to Dave Concepción as a pinch-hitter in the second inning. This All-Star game, like his first in 1955, was before a home crowd at Milwaukee County Stadium.
On July 20, 1976, Hank Aaron hit his 755th and final home run at Milwaukee County Stadium off Dick Drago of the California Angels.
See also the information box in the upper-right section of this article (at "Career highlights and awards")
Aaron was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1982, his first year of eligibility. In 1988 Aaron was inducted into the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame for his time spent on the Milwaukee Braves.
In 1999, to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Aaron's surpassing of Babe Ruth's career home run mark of 714 home runs, and to honor Aaron's contributions to baseball, MLB created the Hank Aaron Award, an annual award given to the hitters voted the most effective in each respective league. That same year, baseball fans named Aaron to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team. In 2002, scholar Molefi Kete Asante listed Hank Aaron on his list of 100 Greatest African Americans.
Aaron is also an Eagle Scout the highest rank in the Boy Scouts of America.
See also
* List of MLB individual streaks
* List of Major League Baseball Home Run Records
* List of Major League Baseball RBI Records
* List of Major League Baseball doubles records
* 500 home run club
* 3000 hit club
* 3000-500 Club
* List of top 500 Major League Baseball home run hitters
* List of major league players with 2,000 hits
* List of Major League Baseball players with 400 doubles
* List of Major League Baseball players with 100 triples
* List of Major League Baseball players with 1000 runs
* List of Major League Baseball players with 1000 RBI
* List of Major League Baseball leaders in career stolen bases
* List of Major League Baseball RBI champions
* List of Major League Baseball batting champions
* List of Major League Baseball home run champions
* List of Major League Baseball runs scored champions
* List of Major League Baseball doubles champions
* Major League Baseball titles leaders
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii258/mlbpix/aaron_hank.jpg
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii258/mlbpix/aaron_hank03.jpg
....nickname Hammer!
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 02/05/11 at 8:09 am
The original Hammer.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 02/05/11 at 9:49 am
The original Hammer.
When he came out to bat, it was Hammer Time?
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 02/05/11 at 12:20 pm
When he came out to bat, it was Hammer Time?
Maybe he was the inspiration for the song.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 02/05/11 at 2:23 pm
Maybe he was the inspiration for the song.
I doubt it.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 02/05/11 at 2:24 pm
When he came out to bat, it was Hammer Time?
Yes it was.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: nally on 02/05/11 at 3:02 pm
The Birdcage with Robin Williams was one of the funniest I've seen.
I enjoyed seeing it too. :D
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 02/06/11 at 2:31 am
The Birdcage with Robin Williams was one of the funniest I've seen.
It was on yesterday and I missed it.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 02/06/11 at 7:18 am
The person of the day...Zsa Zsa Gabor
Zsa Zsa Gabor (born February 6, 1917) is a Hungarian American actress on stage, film and television. She acted on stage in Vienna, Austria at the age of 15, and was crowned Miss Hungary in 1936 when she was 19. She emigrated to the United States in 1941 and became a sought-after actress with "European flair and style", with a personality that "exuded charm and grace".
Her first movie role was as supporting actress in Lovely to Look At starring Red Skelton. She later acted in We're Not Married with Ginger Rogers and Marilyn Monroe. Her first starring role was in Moulin Rouge (1952), directed by John Huston, who described her as a "creditable" actress. Besides her film and television appearances, she is best-known for having nine husbands, including hotel magnate Conrad Hilton and actor George Sanders. She once stated, "Men have always liked me and I have always liked men. But I like a mannish man, a man who knows how to talk to and treat a woman—not just a man with muscles."
Born as Sári Gábor in Budapest (then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire), the middle of the three daughters of Vilmos Gábor (1884–1962), a soldier, and Jolie Gábor (1896–1997). Her elder sister Magda was a socialite and her younger sister Eva was an actress and businesswoman.
Gabor's mother, Jolie (née Tillemann Jánosné), was a cousin of Annette Tilleman Lantos, the wife (now widow) of Hungarian-born U.S. congressman and Holocaust survivor, Tom Lantos. Jolie was of Jewish descent and barely escaped from Hungary after the Nazis occupied Budapest in 1944. She credits Magda's husband for helping her: "For Magda's Portuguese Ambassador I thank God. It was this man who saved my life." Gabor's maternal grandparents chose to remain in Budapest feeling they "had a good place to hide." However, the U.S. later bombed Nazi positions in Budapest near where her grandparents were in hiding, and they both died during one of the bombing raids.
Following studies at Madame Subilia's, a Swiss boarding school, Zsa Zsa Gabor was discovered by the famous tenor Richard Tauber on a trip to Vienna in 1936 and was invited to sing the soubrette role in his new operetta Der singende Traum ("The Singing Dream") at the Theater an der Wien, her first stage appearance. Author Gerold Frank, who helped Gabor write her autobiography in 1960, describes his impressions of her while the book was being written:
"Zsa Zsa is unique. She's a woman from the court of Louis XV who has somehow managed to live in the 20th century, undamaged by the PTA.... She says she wants to be all the Pompadours and Du Barrys of history rolled into one, but she also says, 'I always goof. I pay all my own bills.... I want to choose the man. I do not permit men to choose me.'"
Television host Merv Griffin, in his autobiography, described the Gabors, "in their heyday," as "glamour personified:"
"All these years later, it's hard to describe the phenomenon of the three glamorous Gabor girls and their ubiquitous mother. They burst onto the society pages and into the gossip columns so suddenly, and with such force, it was as if they'd been dropped out of the sky."
A biopic is to be made on her life by Italian director Gabriela Tagliavini who claimed that Gabor "is a perfect celebrity to be the focus of a movie". According to Insider, Gabor is "an original. Her free spirit, eccentricity and wicked wit made her one of the most memorable celebrities of our time." Gabor's husband will reportedly be involved in the film's production.
Personal life
Gabor has been married nine times. She was divorced seven times, and one marriage was annulled. Her husbands, in chronological order, are:
At a social affair circa 1954
* Burhan Asaf Belge (1937–1941) (divorced)
* Conrad Hilton (April 10, 1942–1947) (divorced)
* George Sanders (April 2, 1949 – April 2, 1954) (divorced)
* Herbert Hutner (November 5, 1962 – March 3, 1966) (divorced)
* Joshua S. Cosden, Jr. (March 9, 1966 – October 18, 1967) (divorced)
* Jack Ryan (January 21, 1975 – August 24, 1976) (divorced)
* Michael O'Hara (August 27, 1976–1983) (divorced)
* Felipe de Alba (April 13, 1983 – April 14, 1983) (annulled)
* Frédéric Prinz von Anhalt (August 14, 1986 – present)
Due to her high number of divorces, she once claimed that she was a good housekeeper because every time she divorced, she kept the house.
In 1974, she purchased a home in Bel Air from Elvis Presley, that was originally built by Howard Hughes and featured an eccentric-looking French roof.
Zsa Zsa was the only Gabor sister to bear a child, Constance Francesca Hilton (born March 10, 1947). According to Gabor's 1991 autobiography One Lifetime Is Not Enough, her pregnancy resulted from rape by then-husband Conrad Hilton.
In 2005, Gabor accused her daughter, known as Francesca, of larceny and fraud, alleging that she had forged her signature to get a $2 million loan on her mother's Bel Air house, and filed a lawsuit against Francesca in a California court. However, the Santa Monica Superior Court threw out the case due to Gabor's refusal to appear in court or to sign an affidavit that she indeed was a co-plaintiff on the original lawsuit filed by her husband, Frédéric Prinz von Anhalt.
Gabor said in a November 27, 1991, interview with David Letterman that she is a Democrat.
Health
In 2002, Gabor was a passenger in an automobile crash, and was hospitalized for several weeks. In 2005, she suffered a stroke, underwent surgery to remove an arterial blockage, and returned home a few weeks later. In 2007, she had surgery related to her previous stroke, and then underwent surgery to treat an infection.
In July 2010, Gabor was taken to the hospital after she fell at home, requiring hip replacement. She was discharged from the hospital but soon returned, and was in critical condition after the removal of two blood clots, at which point she requested last rites.
On August 16, 2010, she left the hospital, but was in and out of the hospital for several months thereafter. She was hospitalized on January 2, 2011, and was scheduled to have a portion of her right leg amputated below the knee after cancerous lesions were discovered by her doctors. Gabor's leg was subsequently amputated above the knee on January 14, 2011. On Tuesday, February 1st 2011, Gabor was transported by ambulance to UCLA Medical Center due to internal bleeding.
Legal difficulties
Publicity photo, c. 1955
On June 14, 1989, in Beverly Hills, California Gabor was accused of slapping the face of a police officer named Paul Kramer when he stopped her for a traffic violation. She poked fun at her role in the incident in various cameo appearances:
* In the 1991 film The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear, Gabor was pulled over by the police car at the end of the opening credits. She then proceeded to step out of the car and slap the red light, then walked away, muttering, "Ach, this happens every fudgeing time when I go shopping."
* In the November 18, 1991, season 2, episode 10 of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, when Gabor showed up as a guest at the Banks' residence, Hilary Banks asked, "There's something that I'm just dying to know." Gabor responded by saying, "Yes, I did it ... and he deserved to be slapped." Subsequently, when Carlton Banks accidentally slapped a cop with a pair of gloves while trying to slap his cousin Will Smith, Gabor replied by saying, "I have witnesses, it wasn't me."
* She discussed the incident in an appearance on Howard Stern's show, making her the oldest celebrity to appear on Stern's program. She also debunked rumours of George Sanders's sexuality, which Stern called into question.
* In the 1993 film version of The Beverly Hillbillies, in a line-up the detective described Zsa Zsa's character as a woman who was involved in what was described as a "drive-by slapping."
Gabor also had a long-running feud with German-born actress Elke Sommer that began in 1984 when both appeared on Circus of the Stars and escalated into a multi-million dollar libel suit by 1993.
Financial problems (2009)
On January 25, 2009, the Associated Press reported that her attorney stated that forensic accountants determined that Gabor may have lost as much as $10 million invested with swindler Bernard Madoff, possibly through a third-party money manager. Marcus Prinz von Anhalt, a German nightclub owner and adopted son of Frédéric Prinz von Anhalt, reportedly provided significant financial assistance to the couple. However, official New York Bankruptcy Court records reportedly do not show Gabor as a victim.
Filmography
* Lovely to Look At (LeRoy, 1952)
* We're Not Married (Goulding, 1952)
* Moulin Rouge (Huston, 1952)
* The Million Dollar Nickel (1952) (short subject)
* The Story of Three Loves (Minnelli, 1953)
* Lili (Walters, 1953)
* L'ennemi public no.1 ("The Most Wanted Man") (Verneuil, 1953)
* Sangre y luces ("Love in a Hot Climate") (Rouquier/Suey, 1954)
* Ball der Nationen ("Ball of the Nations") (Ritter, 1954)
* 3 Ring Circus (Pevney, 1954)
* Death of a Scoundrel (Martin, 1956)
* The Girl in the Kremlin (Birdwell, 1957)
* The Man Who Wouldn't Talk (Wilcox, 1958)
* Country Music Holiday (Ganzer, 1958)
* Touch of Evil (Welles, 1958) (as a "guest star")
* Queen of Outer Space (Bernds, 1958)
* For the First Time (Maté, 1959)
* La contessa azzurra ("The Blue Countess") (Gora, 1960)
* Pepe (Sidney, 1960) (Cameo)
* Lykke og krone (Helander/Sælen, 1962) (documentary)
* The Road to Hong Kong (Panama, 1962) (unbilled cameo)
* Boys' Night Out (Gordon, 1962)
* Picture Mommy Dead (Gordon, 1966)
* Drop Dead Darling (1966)
* Arrivederci, Baby! (Hughes, 1966)
* Jack of Diamonds (Taylor, 1967) (cameo)
* Up the Front (Kellett, 1972)
* Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood (Winner, 1976)
* Every Girl Should Have One (Hyatt, 1978)
* Frankenstein's Great Aunt Tillie (Gold, 1984)
* Charlie Barnett's Terms of Enrollment (1986)
* Smart Alec (Wilson, 1986)
* A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (Russell, 1987) (cameo)
* Johann Strauß: Der König ohne Krone ("Johann Strauss: The King Without a Crown") (Antel, 1987)
* "The People vs. Zsa Zsa Gabor" (1991) (documentary)
* The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear (Zucker, 1991) (cameo)
* The Naked Truth (Mastorakis, 1992)
* Est & Ouest: Les paradis perdus ("East & West: Paradises Lost") (Rival, 1993)
* Happily Ever After (Blossom, 1993) (voice only)
* The Beverly Hillbillies (Spheeris, 1993) (cameo)
* A Very Brady Sequel (Sanford, 1996) (cameo)
Television
* The Red Skelton Show (1955), as Movie Star
* Climax! (1955), as Mme. Florizel, Princess Stephanie
* The Milton Berle Show (1956)
* Sneak Preview (1956)
* The Ford Television Theatre (1956), as Dara Szabo
* The Ford Show, Starring Tennessee Ernie Ford (October 18, 1956), as Herself
* General Electric Theater (1956–1961), as Gloria
* Matinee Theatre (1956–1958), as Eugenia
* The Life of Riley (1957), as Gigi
* Playhouse 90 (1957), as Erika Segnitz, Marta Lorenz
* The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom, as Herself
* Shower of Stars (1958)
* Lux Playhouse (1959), as Helen
* Queen of Outer Space (1959), with Eric Fleming
* Ninotchka (1960)
* Make Room for Daddy (1960), as Lisa Laslow
* Mr. Ed (1962), as herself
* The Dick Powell Show (1963), Girl
* Burke's Law (1963–1964), as Anna, the Maid
* Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre (1965), Pilot
* Gilligan's Island (1965), as Erika Tiffany Smith
* Alice in Wonderland or What's a Nice Kid Like You Doing in a Place Like This? (1966), as The Queen of Hearts (voice)
* The Rounders (1966), as Ilona Hobson in "The Scavenger Hunt"
* F Troop (1966), as Marika
* Bonanza (1967), as Madame Marova
* My Three Sons (1968), as herself
* Rowan and Martin's Laugh In (1968), as herself
* The Name of the Game (1968), as Mira Retzyk
* Batman (1968), as Minerva
* Bracken's World (1969), Cameo
* Mooch Goes to Hollywood (1971), as Narrator
* Night Gallery (1971), as Mrs. Moore
* Let's Make a Deal (1976) (playing for a home viewer)
* 3 Girls 3 (1977)
* Supertrain 1 episode "A Very Formal Heist" (1979), as Audrey
* The Love Boat (1980), as Annette
* Hollywood, ich komme (1980), as Stargast
* The Facts of Life (1981), as world-renowned beautician Countess Calvet
* As the World Turns (cast member in 1981), as Lydia Marlowe
* Matt Houston (1983)
* California Girls (1985)
* Charlie Barnett's Terms of Enrollment (1986)
* Pee-wee's Playhouse Christmas Special (1988)
* It's Garry Shandling's Show as goddess of commitment (1989)
* The Munsters Today (1989) as herself
* City (1990), as Babette Croquette
* The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1991), as Sonya Lamor
* The Late Show with David Letterman (1994), as herself in a sketch
Plays
Gabor appeared in several plays, most notably Forty Carats, on Broadway, and Blithe Spirit (as Elvira), in the national tour.
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http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k125/Painefulness/zsa-zsa-gabor.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 02/06/11 at 7:57 am
Today would have been the 100th birthday of Ronald Reagan if he had survived.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 02/06/11 at 4:45 pm
I'm afraid it'll be Zsa Zsa Gabor's time to go soon. :\'(
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: nally on 02/06/11 at 4:52 pm
I'm afraid it'll be Zsa Zsa Gabor's time to go soon. :\'(
She has made it to the age of 94, which is pretty good though.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 02/07/11 at 2:05 am
I'm afraid it'll be Zsa Zsa Gabor's time to go soon. :\'(
she has a long while yet.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 02/07/11 at 6:06 am
The person of the day...Chris Rock
Christopher Julius "Chris" Rock III (born February 7, 1965) is an American comedian, actor, screenwriter, television producer, film producer and director. He was voted in the US as the 5th greatest stand-up comedian of all time by Comedy Central. He was also voted in the UK as the 9th greatest stand-up comic on Channel 4's 100 Greatest Stand-Ups in 2007, and again in the updated 2010 list as the 8th greatest stand-up comic.
Rock began doing stand-up comedy in 1984 in New York City's Catch a Rising Star. He slowly rose up the ranks of the comedy circuit in addition to earning bit roles in the film I'm Gonna Git You Sucka and the TV series Miami Vice. Upon seeing his act at a nightclub, Eddie Murphy befriended and mentored the aspiring comic. Murphy gave Rock his first film role in Beverly Hills Cop II.
Saturday Night Live
Rock became a cast member of the popular sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live in 1990. He and other new cast members Chris Farley, Adam Sandler, Rob Schneider and David Spade became known as the Bad Boys of SNL. In 1991, he released his first comedy album Born Suspect and won acclaim for his dramatic role as a crack addict in the film New Jack City. His tenure on SNL gave Rock national exposure.
Standup success
A frustrated Rock left Saturday Night Live in 1993, appearing instead as a "special guest" star on the predominantly African American sketch show In Living Color. The show, however, was canceled months later. Rock then decided to concentrate on a film career. He wrote and starred in the mockumentary CB4 but the film was not a success. Acting jobs became scarce, and Rock abandoned Hollywood to concentrate on stand-up comedy.
Rock starred in his first HBO comedy special in 1994 titled Big Ass Jokes. But it was his second stand-up special, 1996's Bring the Pain, that reinvented Rock as one of the best comedians in the industry. His routine, which featured commentaries on race in America, stirred up a great deal of controversy. Rock won two Emmy Awards for that special. Adding to his popularity was his much-publicized role as a commentator for Comedy Central's Politically Incorrect during the 1996 Presidential elections which earned him another Emmy nomination. Rock also was the voice for the "Lil Penny" puppet who was the alter ego to basketball star Penny Hardaway in a series of Nike shoe commercials from 1994–1998, and hosted the '97 MTV Video Music Awards.
Rock later had two more HBO comedy specials: Bigger & Blacker in 1999, and Never Scared in 2004. Articles relating to both specials called Rock "the funniest man in America" in Time and Entertainment Weekly. HBO also aired his talk show, The Chris Rock Show, which gained critical acclaim for Rock's interviews with celebrities and politicians. The show won an Emmy for writing. His television work has won him a total of three Emmy Awards and 15 nominations. By the end of the decade, Rock was established as one of the preeminent stand-up comedians and comic minds of his generation.
During this time, Rock also translated his comedy into print form in the book Rock This! and released the Grammy Award-winning comedy albums, Roll with the New, Bigger & Blacker and Never Scared.
Rock's fifth HBO special, Kill the Messenger, premiered on September 27, 2008, and won him another Emmy for outstanding writing for a variety or music program.
Film and television
It was not until the success of his stand-up act in the late 1990s that Rock began receiving major parts in films. These include roles in Dogma, Beverly Hills Ninja, Lethal Weapon 4, Nurse Betty, The Longest Yard, Bad Company, and a starring role in Down to Earth. Rock has also increasingly worked behind the camera, both as a writer and director of Head of State and I Think I Love My Wife. In the fall of 2005, the UPN television network premiered a comedy series called Everybody Hates Chris, based on Rock's school days, of which he is the executive producer and narrator. The show has garnered both critical and ratings success. The series was nominated for a 2006 Golden Globe for Best TV Series (Musical or Comedy), a 2006 People's Choice Award for Favorite New Television Comedy, and two 2006 Emmy Awards for costuming and cinematography.
Following the release of his first documentary, 2009's Good Hair, Rock is working on a documentary about debt called Credit is the Devil.
Academy Awards
In early 2005, Rock hosted the 77th Academy Awards ceremony. The decision to have Rock host the awards was seen by some as a chance to bring an "edge" to the ceremony, and to make it more relevant or appealing to younger audiences. Jokingly, Rock opened by saying "Welcome to the 77th and LAST Academy Awards!" During one segment Rock asked, "Who is this guy?" in reference to actor Jude Law seemingly appearing in every movie Rock had seen that year and implied Law was a low-rent Tom Cruise (he made a joke about filmmakers rushing production when unable to get the actors they want: "If you want Tom Cruise and all you can get is Jude Law, wait !"). Subsequently, a defensive Sean Penn took the stage to present and said, "In answer to our host's question, Jude Law is one of our finest young actors." (At the time, Penn and Law were shooting All the King's Men.) Law was not the only actor that Rock poked fun at that evening, however—he turned the joke on himself at one point, saying, "If you want Denzel and all you can get is me, wait!" Older Oscar officials were reportedly displeased with Rock's performance, which did not elevate ratings for the ceremony. Rock was also criticized for referring to the Oscars as "idiotic", and asserting that heterosexual men do not watch them, in an interview prior to Oscar night.
Music videos
Rock's first music video was for his song "Your Mother's Got a Big Head" from his album Born Suspect. Rock also made videos for his songs "Champagne" from Roll With the New and "No Sex (In the Champagne Room)" from Bigger & Blacker. Chris Rock also directed and appeared in the music video for the Red Hot Chili Peppers song "Hump de Bump".
Rock appeared in the Big Daddy Kane music video "Smooth Operator" as a guy getting his hair cut.
He also appeared in Johnny Cash's "God's Gonna Cut You Down", one of the many celebrities seen lip-synching the song.
Stage plays
In October 2010, The New York Times reported that Rock will be performing on Broadway in Stephen Adly Guirgis' play The Motherfudgeer with the Hat in the spring of 2011. Other cast members will include Bobby Cannavale and Annabella Sciorra.
Comedic style and views
Rock's subject matter typically involves family, politics, romance, music, class relationships, and race relations in the United States. Though not strictly autobiographical, much of his comic standpoint seem rooted in his teenage experience; his strict parents, concerned about the inadequacies of the local school system, arranged to have the adolescent Rock bused to a nearly all-white high school in Bensonhurst (an Italian-ethnic neighborhood of Brooklyn known at the time for poor race relations). In his memoir Rock This, the comedian recalls, "My parents assumed I'd get a better education in a better neighborhood. What I actually got was a worse education in a worse neighborhood. And a whole bunch of ass-whippings."
The comedian has also expressed discomfort with the notion that success in standup comedy—or, indeed, in any aspect of the entertainment industry—should oblige him to serve as a role model. In this position, he finds himself directly at odds with one of his comic idols, Bill Cosby. Cosby has reprimanded Rock both explicitly—for his famous/notorious Niggas vs. Black People track —and implicitly, for heavy use of the word "******." Rock has not wavered from a position explored in his 1996 Roll With The New show, and reiterated in his 1997 memoir: "Why does the public expect entertainers to behave better than everybody else? It's ridiculous...Of course, this is just for black entertainers. You don't see anyone telling Jerry Seinfeld he's a good role model. Because everyone expects whites to behave themselves...Nowadays, you've got to be an entertainer and a leader. It's too much." Often the subject of tabloids, when asked about paparazzi and the other negative aspects of fame, Rock says he accepts the bad with the good: "You can't be happy that fire cooks your food and be mad it burns your fingertips."
At the London Live Earth concert on July 7, 2007, which was broadcast live on the BBC, before introducing the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Rock called the crowd "motherfudgeers" and "sheesh" after a brief sigh when he said he was joking. Due to the broadcast being at 5:45pm Rock was immediately cut off, and the BBC made several apologies for his use of the word "motherfudgeer".
Filmography
Film Year↓ Title↓ Role↓ Notes
1987 Beverly Hills Cop II Playboy Mansion Valet
1988 Comedy's Dirtiest Dozen Himself Direct-to-video Concert film
1988 I'm Gonna Git You Sucka Rib Joint Customer
1989 Who Is Chris Rock? Himself Documentary Short
1991 New Jack City Pookie
1992 Boomerang Bony T
1993 CB4 Albert Brown/M.C. Gusto Also wrote story, screenplay and was co-producer
1995 The Immortals Deke Anthony
1995 Panther Yuck Mouth
1996 Sgt. Bilko 1st Lt. Oster
1997 Beverly Hills Ninja Joey Washington
1998 Dr. Dolittle Rodney Voice
1998 Lethal Weapon 4 Detective Lee Butters
1999 Torrance Rises Himself Documentary short
1999 Dogma Rufus
2000 Nurse Betty Wesley
2001 Down to Earth Lance Barton Also co-writer and executive producer
2001 AI: Artificial Intelligence Mecha Comedian Voice/cameo
2001 Pootie Tang JB/Radio DJ/Pootie's Father Also producer
2001 Osmosis Jones Osmosis Jones Voice
2001 Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back Chaka Luther King Cameo
2002 Bad Company Jake Hayes/Kevin Pope/Michael Turner
2002 Comedian Himself Documentary
2003 Pauly Shore Is Dead Himself Cameo
2003 Head of State Mays Gilliam Also director, producer and co-writer
2004 The N-Word Himself Documentary
2004 Paparazzi Pizza Delivery Guy Cameo
2005 The Aristocrats Himself Documentary
2005 Madagascar Marty voice
2005 The Longest Yard Farrell Caretaker
2007 I Think I Love My Wife Richard Marcus Cooper Also director and co-writer
2007 Bee Movie Mooseblood the Mosquito Voice
2008 You Don't Mess with the Zohan Taxi Driver Cameo
2008 Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa Marty and other zebras Voice
2009 Good Hair Himself Documentary
2010 Death at a Funeral Aaron Also producer, Remake of the 2007 film of the same name
2010 Grown Ups Kurt McKenzie
Discography
Year Album Peak positions Certifications
U.S. U.S.
R&B
1991 Born Suspect – –
1997 Roll with the New 93 41
1999 Bigger & Blacker 44 26
2004 Never Scared – –
Television
Television Year↓ Title↓ Role↓ Notes
1987 Uptown Comedy Express Himself HBO special
1987 Miami Vice Carson Episode: Missing Hours
1990–1993 Saturday Night Live Various Cast member
1993–1994 In Living Color Various Recurring
1994 Big Ass Jokes Himself HBO special
1995 The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air Maurice/Jasmine Episode: "Get a Job"
1996–1998 The Moxy Show Flea Uncredited voice role
1996 Martin Valentino Episode: "The Love Jones Connection"
1996 Homicide: Life on the Street Carver Episode: "Requiem for Adena"
1996 Bring the Pain Himself HBO special
1996 Politically Incorrect Himself Correspondent
1997 MTV Music Video Awards Himself Host
1997–2000 The Chris Rock Show Himself Cast member, writer
1998 King of the Hill Roger "Booda" Sack Episode: "Traffic Jam"
1999 MTV Music Video Awards Himself Host
1999 Bigger & Blacker Himself HBO special
2003 MTV Music Video Awards Himself HBO special
2004 77th Academy Awards Himself Host
2004 Never Scared Himself HBO special
2005–2009 Everybody Hates Chris Narrator Creator
2008 Kill the Messenger Himself HBO special
Books
* Rock This! (Hyperion Books, 1997) – ISBN 0786862890
Tours
* Bring the Pain (1996)
* Bigger & Blacker (1999)
* Black Ambition (2003–2004)
* No Apologies (2007–2008)
http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa235/tha2ster/Chris_Rock.jpg
http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg256/Sugaqyeens_Icons/Chris_Rock.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 02/07/11 at 6:07 am
She has made it to the age of 94, which is pretty good though.
This is so true.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 02/07/11 at 7:47 am
The person of the day...Chris Rock
Christopher Julius "Chris" Rock III (born February 7, 1965) is an American comedian, actor, screenwriter, television producer, film producer and director. He was voted in the US as the 5th greatest stand-up comedian of all time by Comedy Central. He was also voted in the UK as the 9th greatest stand-up comic on Channel 4's 100 Greatest Stand-Ups in 2007, and again in the updated 2010 list as the 8th greatest stand-up comic.
Rock began doing stand-up comedy in 1984 in New York City's Catch a Rising Star. He slowly rose up the ranks of the comedy circuit in addition to earning bit roles in the film I'm Gonna Git You Sucka and the TV series Miami Vice. Upon seeing his act at a nightclub, Eddie Murphy befriended and mentored the aspiring comic. Murphy gave Rock his first film role in Beverly Hills Cop II.
Saturday Night Live
Rock became a cast member of the popular sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live in 1990. He and other new cast members Chris Farley, Adam Sandler, Rob Schneider and David Spade became known as the Bad Boys of SNL. In 1991, he released his first comedy album Born Suspect and won acclaim for his dramatic role as a crack addict in the film New Jack City. His tenure on SNL gave Rock national exposure.
Standup success
A frustrated Rock left Saturday Night Live in 1993, appearing instead as a "special guest" star on the predominantly African American sketch show In Living Color. The show, however, was canceled months later. Rock then decided to concentrate on a film career. He wrote and starred in the mockumentary CB4 but the film was not a success. Acting jobs became scarce, and Rock abandoned Hollywood to concentrate on stand-up comedy.
Rock starred in his first HBO comedy special in 1994 titled Big Ass Jokes. But it was his second stand-up special, 1996's Bring the Pain, that reinvented Rock as one of the best comedians in the industry. His routine, which featured commentaries on race in America, stirred up a great deal of controversy. Rock won two Emmy Awards for that special. Adding to his popularity was his much-publicized role as a commentator for Comedy Central's Politically Incorrect during the 1996 Presidential elections which earned him another Emmy nomination. Rock also was the voice for the "Lil Penny" puppet who was the alter ego to basketball star Penny Hardaway in a series of Nike shoe commercials from 1994–1998, and hosted the '97 MTV Video Music Awards.
Rock later had two more HBO comedy specials: Bigger & Blacker in 1999, and Never Scared in 2004. Articles relating to both specials called Rock "the funniest man in America" in Time and Entertainment Weekly. HBO also aired his talk show, The Chris Rock Show, which gained critical acclaim for Rock's interviews with celebrities and politicians. The show won an Emmy for writing. His television work has won him a total of three Emmy Awards and 15 nominations. By the end of the decade, Rock was established as one of the preeminent stand-up comedians and comic minds of his generation.
During this time, Rock also translated his comedy into print form in the book Rock This! and released the Grammy Award-winning comedy albums, Roll with the New, Bigger & Blacker and Never Scared.
Rock's fifth HBO special, Kill the Messenger, premiered on September 27, 2008, and won him another Emmy for outstanding writing for a variety or music program.
Film and television
It was not until the success of his stand-up act in the late 1990s that Rock began receiving major parts in films. These include roles in Dogma, Beverly Hills Ninja, Lethal Weapon 4, Nurse Betty, The Longest Yard, Bad Company, and a starring role in Down to Earth. Rock has also increasingly worked behind the camera, both as a writer and director of Head of State and I Think I Love My Wife. In the fall of 2005, the UPN television network premiered a comedy series called Everybody Hates Chris, based on Rock's school days, of which he is the executive producer and narrator. The show has garnered both critical and ratings success. The series was nominated for a 2006 Golden Globe for Best TV Series (Musical or Comedy), a 2006 People's Choice Award for Favorite New Television Comedy, and two 2006 Emmy Awards for costuming and cinematography.
Following the release of his first documentary, 2009's Good Hair, Rock is working on a documentary about debt called Credit is the Devil.
Academy Awards
In early 2005, Rock hosted the 77th Academy Awards ceremony. The decision to have Rock host the awards was seen by some as a chance to bring an "edge" to the ceremony, and to make it more relevant or appealing to younger audiences. Jokingly, Rock opened by saying "Welcome to the 77th and LAST Academy Awards!" During one segment Rock asked, "Who is this guy?" in reference to actor Jude Law seemingly appearing in every movie Rock had seen that year and implied Law was a low-rent Tom Cruise (he made a joke about filmmakers rushing production when unable to get the actors they want: "If you want Tom Cruise and all you can get is Jude Law, wait !"). Subsequently, a defensive Sean Penn took the stage to present and said, "In answer to our host's question, Jude Law is one of our finest young actors." (At the time, Penn and Law were shooting All the King's Men.) Law was not the only actor that Rock poked fun at that evening, however—he turned the joke on himself at one point, saying, "If you want Denzel and all you can get is me, wait!" Older Oscar officials were reportedly displeased with Rock's performance, which did not elevate ratings for the ceremony. Rock was also criticized for referring to the Oscars as "idiotic", and asserting that heterosexual men do not watch them, in an interview prior to Oscar night.
Music videos
Rock's first music video was for his song "Your Mother's Got a Big Head" from his album Born Suspect. Rock also made videos for his songs "Champagne" from Roll With the New and "No Sex (In the Champagne Room)" from Bigger & Blacker. Chris Rock also directed and appeared in the music video for the Red Hot Chili Peppers song "Hump de Bump".
Rock appeared in the Big Daddy Kane music video "Smooth Operator" as a guy getting his hair cut.
He also appeared in Johnny Cash's "God's Gonna Cut You Down", one of the many celebrities seen lip-synching the song.
Stage plays
In October 2010, The New York Times reported that Rock will be performing on Broadway in Stephen Adly Guirgis' play The Motherfudgeer with the Hat in the spring of 2011. Other cast members will include Bobby Cannavale and Annabella Sciorra.
Comedic style and views
Rock's subject matter typically involves family, politics, romance, music, class relationships, and race relations in the United States. Though not strictly autobiographical, much of his comic standpoint seem rooted in his teenage experience; his strict parents, concerned about the inadequacies of the local school system, arranged to have the adolescent Rock bused to a nearly all-white high school in Bensonhurst (an Italian-ethnic neighborhood of Brooklyn known at the time for poor race relations). In his memoir Rock This, the comedian recalls, "My parents assumed I'd get a better education in a better neighborhood. What I actually got was a worse education in a worse neighborhood. And a whole bunch of ass-whippings."
The comedian has also expressed discomfort with the notion that success in standup comedy—or, indeed, in any aspect of the entertainment industry—should oblige him to serve as a role model. In this position, he finds himself directly at odds with one of his comic idols, Bill Cosby. Cosby has reprimanded Rock both explicitly—for his famous/notorious Niggas vs. Black People track —and implicitly, for heavy use of the word "******." Rock has not wavered from a position explored in his 1996 Roll With The New show, and reiterated in his 1997 memoir: "Why does the public expect entertainers to behave better than everybody else? It's ridiculous...Of course, this is just for black entertainers. You don't see anyone telling Jerry Seinfeld he's a good role model. Because everyone expects whites to behave themselves...Nowadays, you've got to be an entertainer and a leader. It's too much." Often the subject of tabloids, when asked about paparazzi and the other negative aspects of fame, Rock says he accepts the bad with the good: "You can't be happy that fire cooks your food and be mad it burns your fingertips."
At the London Live Earth concert on July 7, 2007, which was broadcast live on the BBC, before introducing the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Rock called the crowd "motherfudgeers" and "sheesh" after a brief sigh when he said he was joking. Due to the broadcast being at 5:45pm Rock was immediately cut off, and the BBC made several apologies for his use of the word "motherfudgeer".
Filmography
Film Year↓ Title↓ Role↓ Notes
1987 Beverly Hills Cop II Playboy Mansion Valet
1988 Comedy's Dirtiest Dozen Himself Direct-to-video Concert film
1988 I'm Gonna Git You Sucka Rib Joint Customer
1989 Who Is Chris Rock? Himself Documentary Short
1991 New Jack City Pookie
1992 Boomerang Bony T
1993 CB4 Albert Brown/M.C. Gusto Also wrote story, screenplay and was co-producer
1995 The Immortals Deke Anthony
1995 Panther Yuck Mouth
1996 Sgt. Bilko 1st Lt. Oster
1997 Beverly Hills Ninja Joey Washington
1998 Dr. Dolittle Rodney Voice
1998 Lethal Weapon 4 Detective Lee Butters
1999 Torrance Rises Himself Documentary short
1999 Dogma Rufus
2000 Nurse Betty Wesley
2001 Down to Earth Lance Barton Also co-writer and executive producer
2001 AI: Artificial Intelligence Mecha Comedian Voice/cameo
2001 Pootie Tang JB/Radio DJ/Pootie's Father Also producer
2001 Osmosis Jones Osmosis Jones Voice
2001 Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back Chaka Luther King Cameo
2002 Bad Company Jake Hayes/Kevin Pope/Michael Turner
2002 Comedian Himself Documentary
2003 Pauly Shore Is Dead Himself Cameo
2003 Head of State Mays Gilliam Also director, producer and co-writer
2004 The N-Word Himself Documentary
2004 Paparazzi Pizza Delivery Guy Cameo
2005 The Aristocrats Himself Documentary
2005 Madagascar Marty voice
2005 The Longest Yard Farrell Caretaker
2007 I Think I Love My Wife Richard Marcus Cooper Also director and co-writer
2007 Bee Movie Mooseblood the Mosquito Voice
2008 You Don't Mess with the Zohan Taxi Driver Cameo
2008 Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa Marty and other zebras Voice
2009 Good Hair Himself Documentary
2010 Death at a Funeral Aaron Also producer, Remake of the 2007 film of the same name
2010 Grown Ups Kurt McKenzie
Discography
Year Album Peak positions Certifications
U.S. U.S.
R&B
1991 Born Suspect – –
1997 Roll with the New 93 41
1999 Bigger & Blacker 44 26
2004 Never Scared – –
Television
Television Year↓ Title↓ Role↓ Notes
1987 Uptown Comedy Express Himself HBO special
1987 Miami Vice Carson Episode: Missing Hours
1990–1993 Saturday Night Live Various Cast member
1993–1994 In Living Color Various Recurring
1994 Big Ass Jokes Himself HBO special
1995 The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air Maurice/Jasmine Episode: "Get a Job"
1996–1998 The Moxy Show Flea Uncredited voice role
1996 Martin Valentino Episode: "The Love Jones Connection"
1996 Homicide: Life on the Street Carver Episode: "Requiem for Adena"
1996 Bring the Pain Himself HBO special
1996 Politically Incorrect Himself Correspondent
1997 MTV Music Video Awards Himself Host
1997–2000 The Chris Rock Show Himself Cast member, writer
1998 King of the Hill Roger "Booda" Sack Episode: "Traffic Jam"
1999 MTV Music Video Awards Himself Host
1999 Bigger & Blacker Himself HBO special
2003 MTV Music Video Awards Himself HBO special
2004 77th Academy Awards Himself Host
2004 Never Scared Himself HBO special
2005–2009 Everybody Hates Chris Narrator Creator
2008 Kill the Messenger Himself HBO special
Books
* Rock This! (Hyperion Books, 1997) – ISBN 0786862890
Tours
* Bring the Pain (1996)
* Bigger & Blacker (1999)
* Black Ambition (2003–2004)
* No Apologies (2007–2008)
http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa235/tha2ster/Chris_Rock.jpg
http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg256/Sugaqyeens_Icons/Chris_Rock.jpg
I love Chris Rock,his jokes are quite funny. ;D
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 02/07/11 at 12:57 pm
I love Chris Rock,his jokes are quite funny. ;D
I am wondering have I seen any of his shows, etc.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: gibbo on 02/07/11 at 8:45 pm
I love Chris Rock,his jokes are quite funny. ;D
There's something about him I can't stand!!! 8-P
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 02/07/11 at 8:46 pm
There's something about him I can't stand!!! 8-P
His racial comments? ???
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: gibbo on 02/07/11 at 8:50 pm
His racial comments? ???
Nah ...I have no issue with racial humor. There's just something really sleazy or false about him. :-\\
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 02/07/11 at 8:52 pm
I am wondering have I seen any of his shows, etc.
I forgot a few of his. ???
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 02/08/11 at 6:58 am
The person of the day...John Grisham
John Ray Grisham, Jr. (born February 8, 1955) is an American author, best known for his popular legal thrillers.
John Grisham graduated from Mackinac island elementary before attending the University of Mississippi School of Law in 1981 and practiced criminal law for about a decade. He also served in the House of Representatives in Mississippi from January 1984 to September 1990. Beginning writing in 1984, he had his first novel A Time To Kill published in June 1989. As of 2008, his books had sold over 250 million copies worldwide. A Galaxy British Book Awards winner, Grisham is one of only three authors to sell two million copies on a first printing, the others being Tom Clancy and J. K. Rowling.
Grisham's first best seller was The Firm. Released in 1991, it sold more than seven million copies. The book was adapted as a feature film. In addition, seven more of his novels: The Chamber, The Client, A Painted House, The Pelican Brief, The Rainmaker, The Runaway Jury, and A Time to Kill, were adapted as movies. His books have been translated into 29 languages and published worldwide. His other best-selling books include The Testament, The Summons and The Broker
John Grisham, the second oldest of five siblings, was born in Jonesboro, Arkansas, to Wanda Skidmore Grisham and John Grisham. His father worked as a construction worker and a cotton farmer, while his mother was a homemaker. The family relocated frequently, until they decided to settle in the town of Southaven in DeSoto County, Mississippi; Grisham was four then. As a child, Grisham wanted to be a baseball player. Despite the fact that Grisham's parents lacked formal education, his mother encouraged her son to read and prepare for college.
He went to the Northwest Junior College in Senatobia, Mississippi and later attended Delta State University in Cleveland. Grisham drifted so much during his time at the college that he changed colleges three times before completing a degree. He graduated from Mississippi State University in 1977, receiving a BS degree in accounting. He later enrolled in the Ole Miss Law School to become a tax lawyer, but his interest shifted to general civil litigation. He graduated in 1983 with a specialty in criminal law.
Marriage and family
Grisham married Renee Jones on 8 May 1981, and the couple have two children together: Shea and Ty. The "family splits their time between their Victorian home on a farm" outside Oxford, Mississippi, "and a home near Charlottesville, Virginia."
In 2008, he and his wife bought a condominium at McCorkle Place in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. He and his wife also teach in Sunday school in First Baptist Church of Oxford.
Career
Early career
Grisham started working for a nursery as a teenager - watering bushes for $1.00 an hour. He was soon promoted to a fence crew for $1.50 an hour. He wrote about the job: "there was no future in it." At 16, Grisham took a job with a plumbing contractor; he "never drew inspiration from that miserable work."
Through a contact of his father, he managed to find work on a highway asphalt crew in Mississippi. He was seventeen then. It was during this time that an unfortunate incident got him "serious" about college. A fight had broken out among the crew on a Friday, with gunfire from which Grisham ran to the restroom to escape. He didn't come out until after the police had "hauled away rednecks". He hitchhiked home and started thinking about college
His next work was in retail, as a salesclerk in a department store men's underwear section, which he described as "humiliating". After deciding to quit, he stayed when offered a raise. He was given another raise after asking to be transferred to toys and then to appliances. A confrontation with a company spy posing as a customer convinced him to leave the store.
By this time, Grisham was halfway through college. Planning to become a tax lawyer, he was soon overcome by "the complexity and lunacy" of it. He decided to return to his hometown as a trial lawyer.
Law and politics
Grisham practiced law for about a decade and also won election as a Democrat in the Mississippi state legislature from 1983 to 1990 at an annual salary of $8,000. By his second term at the Mississippi state legislature, he was not only the vice-chairman of the Apportionment and Elections Committee but also a member of several other committees.
Grisham's writing career blossomed with the success of his second book, The Firm, and he gave up practicing law, except for returning briefly in 1996 to fight for the family of a railroad worker who was killed on the job. His official site states that "He was honoring a commitment made before he had retired from the law to become a full-time writer. Grisham successfully argued his clients' case, earning them a jury award of $683,500 - the biggest verdict of his career."
Writing career
This house in Lepanto, Arkansas was the house used in the Hallmark Hall of Fame movie A Painted House
Each year after being elected to the Mississippi House of Representatives, Grisham would spend from January to March in the state capitol dreaming of a big case.
Grisham said the big case came in 1984, but it was not his case. As he was hanging around the court, he overheard a 12-year-old girl telling the jury what had happened to her. Her story intrigued Grisham and he began watching the trial. He saw how the members of the jury cried as she told them about having been raped and beaten. It was then, Grisham later wrote in The New York Times, that a story was born. Musing over "what would have happened if the girl's father had murdered her assailants", Grisham took three years to complete his first book, A Time to Kill.
Finding a publisher was not easy. The book was rejected by 28 publishers before Wynwood Press, an unknown publisher, agreed to give it a modest 5,000-copy printing. It was published in June 1989. The day after Grisham completed A Time to Kill, he began work on his second novel, the story of an ambitious young attorney "lured to an apparently perfect law firm that was not what it appeared." The Firm remained on the The New York Times' bestseller list for 47 weeks, and became the bestselling novel of 1991.
Beginning with A Painted House in 2001, the author broadened his focus from law to the more general rural South, but continued to write legal thrillers. Most of the titles to Grisham's legal thrillers begin with the word "The."
Named in libel suit
On September 28, 2007, former Pontotoc County, Oklahoma, District Attorney Bill Peterson, former Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation agent Gary Rogers, and criminalist Melvin Hett filed a civil suit for libel against Grisham and two other authors. They claimed that Grisham and the others critical of Peterson and his prosecution of murder cases conspired to commit libel and generate publicity for themselves by portraying the plaintiffs in a false light and intentionally inflicting emotional distress. Grisham was named due to his publication of the non-fiction book, The Innocent Man. He examined the faults in the investigation and trial of defendants in the murder of a cocktail waitress in Ada, Oklahoma, and the exoneration by DNA evidence more than 12 years later of wrongfully convicted defendants Ron Williamson and Dennis Fritz. The judge dismissed the libel case on September 18, 2008, saying, "The wrongful convictions of Ron Williamson and Dennis Fritz must be discussed openly and with great vigor."
John Grisham Room
The Mississippi State University Libraries, Manuscript Division, maintains the John Grisham Room, an archive containing materials generated during the author's tenure as Mississippi State Representative and relating to his writings.
Grisham's lifelong passion for baseball is expressed in his novel A Painted House and in his support of Little League activities in both Oxford, Mississippi, and Charlottesville, Virginia. He wrote the original screenplay for and produced the baseball movie Mickey, starring Harry Connick, Jr.. The movie was released on DVD in April 2004. He remains a fan of Mississippi State University's baseball team and wrote about his ties to the university and the Left Field Lounge in the introduction for the book Dudy Noble Field: A Celebration of MSU Baseball.
Grisham is well known within the literary community for his efforts to support the continuing literary tradition of his native South. He has endowed scholarships and writers' residencies in the University of Mississippi's English Department and Graduate Creative Writing Program. He was the founding publisher of the Oxford American, a magazine devoted to literary writing. The magazine is famous for its annual music issue, copies of which include a compilation CD featuring contemporary and classic Southern musicians in genres ranging from blues and gospel to country western and alternative rock.
In an October 2006 interview on the Charlie Rose Show, Grisham stated that he usually takes only six months to write a book and that his favorite author is John le Carré.
Works
Complete collection of 25 John Grisham books, including the latest, The Confession
Novels
* A Time to Kill (1989)
* The Firm (1991)
* The Pelican Brief (1992)
* The Client (1993)
* The Chamber (1994)
* The Rainmaker (1995)
* The Runaway Jury (1996)
* The Partner (1997)
* The Street Lawyer (1998)
* The Testament (1999)
* The Brethren (2000)
* A Painted House† (2001)
* Skipping Christmas† (2001)
* The Summons (2002)
* The King of Torts (2003)
* Bleachers†(2003)
* The Last Juror (2004)
* The Broker (2005)
* Playing for Pizza† (2007)
* The Appeal (2008)
* The Associate (2009)
* Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer (2010)
* The Confession (2010)
† Denotes books not in the legal genre.
Short Stories
* Ford County (2009)
Non Fiction
* The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town (2006)
Film adaptations
* The Firm (1993)
* The Pelican Brief (1993)
* The Client (1994)
* A Time to Kill (1996)
* The Chamber (1996)
* The Rainmaker (1997)
* The Gingerbread Man (1998)
* A Painted House (2003) TV movie
* Runaway Jury (2003)
* Christmas with the Kranks (2004)
Television adaptations
* The Client (1995–1996) 1 season, 20 episodes
* The Street Lawyer (2003) TV pilot
See also
* The Innocence Project
* List of bestselling novels in the United States
http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q71/laytonwoman3rd/john-grisham.jpg
http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f313/Mikesgirl0311/Books/JohnGrisham.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 02/08/11 at 1:12 pm
The person of the day...John Grisham
John Ray Grisham, Jr. (born February 8, 1955) is an American author, best known for his popular legal thrillers.
John Grisham graduated from Mackinac island elementary before attending the University of Mississippi School of Law in 1981 and practiced criminal law for about a decade. He also served in the House of Representatives in Mississippi from January 1984 to September 1990. Beginning writing in 1984, he had his first novel A Time To Kill published in June 1989. As of 2008, his books had sold over 250 million copies worldwide. A Galaxy British Book Awards winner, Grisham is one of only three authors to sell two million copies on a first printing, the others being Tom Clancy and J. K. Rowling.
Grisham's first best seller was The Firm. Released in 1991, it sold more than seven million copies. The book was adapted as a feature film. In addition, seven more of his novels: The Chamber, The Client, A Painted House, The Pelican Brief, The Rainmaker, The Runaway Jury, and A Time to Kill, were adapted as movies. His books have been translated into 29 languages and published worldwide. His other best-selling books include The Testament, The Summons and The Broker
John Grisham, the second oldest of five siblings, was born in Jonesboro, Arkansas, to Wanda Skidmore Grisham and John Grisham. His father worked as a construction worker and a cotton farmer, while his mother was a homemaker. The family relocated frequently, until they decided to settle in the town of Southaven in DeSoto County, Mississippi; Grisham was four then. As a child, Grisham wanted to be a baseball player. Despite the fact that Grisham's parents lacked formal education, his mother encouraged her son to read and prepare for college.
He went to the Northwest Junior College in Senatobia, Mississippi and later attended Delta State University in Cleveland. Grisham drifted so much during his time at the college that he changed colleges three times before completing a degree. He graduated from Mississippi State University in 1977, receiving a BS degree in accounting. He later enrolled in the Ole Miss Law School to become a tax lawyer, but his interest shifted to general civil litigation. He graduated in 1983 with a specialty in criminal law.
Marriage and family
Grisham married Renee Jones on 8 May 1981, and the couple have two children together: Shea and Ty. The "family splits their time between their Victorian home on a farm" outside Oxford, Mississippi, "and a home near Charlottesville, Virginia."
In 2008, he and his wife bought a condominium at McCorkle Place in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. He and his wife also teach in Sunday school in First Baptist Church of Oxford.
Career
Early career
Grisham started working for a nursery as a teenager - watering bushes for $1.00 an hour. He was soon promoted to a fence crew for $1.50 an hour. He wrote about the job: "there was no future in it." At 16, Grisham took a job with a plumbing contractor; he "never drew inspiration from that miserable work."
Through a contact of his father, he managed to find work on a highway asphalt crew in Mississippi. He was seventeen then. It was during this time that an unfortunate incident got him "serious" about college. A fight had broken out among the crew on a Friday, with gunfire from which Grisham ran to the restroom to escape. He didn't come out until after the police had "hauled away rednecks". He hitchhiked home and started thinking about college
His next work was in retail, as a salesclerk in a department store men's underwear section, which he described as "humiliating". After deciding to quit, he stayed when offered a raise. He was given another raise after asking to be transferred to toys and then to appliances. A confrontation with a company spy posing as a customer convinced him to leave the store.
By this time, Grisham was halfway through college. Planning to become a tax lawyer, he was soon overcome by "the complexity and lunacy" of it. He decided to return to his hometown as a trial lawyer.
Law and politics
Grisham practiced law for about a decade and also won election as a Democrat in the Mississippi state legislature from 1983 to 1990 at an annual salary of $8,000. By his second term at the Mississippi state legislature, he was not only the vice-chairman of the Apportionment and Elections Committee but also a member of several other committees.
Grisham's writing career blossomed with the success of his second book, The Firm, and he gave up practicing law, except for returning briefly in 1996 to fight for the family of a railroad worker who was killed on the job. His official site states that "He was honoring a commitment made before he had retired from the law to become a full-time writer. Grisham successfully argued his clients' case, earning them a jury award of $683,500 - the biggest verdict of his career."
Writing career
This house in Lepanto, Arkansas was the house used in the Hallmark Hall of Fame movie A Painted House
Each year after being elected to the Mississippi House of Representatives, Grisham would spend from January to March in the state capitol dreaming of a big case.
Grisham said the big case came in 1984, but it was not his case. As he was hanging around the court, he overheard a 12-year-old girl telling the jury what had happened to her. Her story intrigued Grisham and he began watching the trial. He saw how the members of the jury cried as she told them about having been raped and beaten. It was then, Grisham later wrote in The New York Times, that a story was born. Musing over "what would have happened if the girl's father had murdered her assailants", Grisham took three years to complete his first book, A Time to Kill.
Finding a publisher was not easy. The book was rejected by 28 publishers before Wynwood Press, an unknown publisher, agreed to give it a modest 5,000-copy printing. It was published in June 1989. The day after Grisham completed A Time to Kill, he began work on his second novel, the story of an ambitious young attorney "lured to an apparently perfect law firm that was not what it appeared." The Firm remained on the The New York Times' bestseller list for 47 weeks, and became the bestselling novel of 1991.
Beginning with A Painted House in 2001, the author broadened his focus from law to the more general rural South, but continued to write legal thrillers. Most of the titles to Grisham's legal thrillers begin with the word "The."
Named in libel suit
On September 28, 2007, former Pontotoc County, Oklahoma, District Attorney Bill Peterson, former Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation agent Gary Rogers, and criminalist Melvin Hett filed a civil suit for libel against Grisham and two other authors. They claimed that Grisham and the others critical of Peterson and his prosecution of murder cases conspired to commit libel and generate publicity for themselves by portraying the plaintiffs in a false light and intentionally inflicting emotional distress. Grisham was named due to his publication of the non-fiction book, The Innocent Man. He examined the faults in the investigation and trial of defendants in the murder of a cocktail waitress in Ada, Oklahoma, and the exoneration by DNA evidence more than 12 years later of wrongfully convicted defendants Ron Williamson and Dennis Fritz. The judge dismissed the libel case on September 18, 2008, saying, "The wrongful convictions of Ron Williamson and Dennis Fritz must be discussed openly and with great vigor."
John Grisham Room
The Mississippi State University Libraries, Manuscript Division, maintains the John Grisham Room, an archive containing materials generated during the author's tenure as Mississippi State Representative and relating to his writings.
Grisham's lifelong passion for baseball is expressed in his novel A Painted House and in his support of Little League activities in both Oxford, Mississippi, and Charlottesville, Virginia. He wrote the original screenplay for and produced the baseball movie Mickey, starring Harry Connick, Jr.. The movie was released on DVD in April 2004. He remains a fan of Mississippi State University's baseball team and wrote about his ties to the university and the Left Field Lounge in the introduction for the book Dudy Noble Field: A Celebration of MSU Baseball.
Grisham is well known within the literary community for his efforts to support the continuing literary tradition of his native South. He has endowed scholarships and writers' residencies in the University of Mississippi's English Department and Graduate Creative Writing Program. He was the founding publisher of the Oxford American, a magazine devoted to literary writing. The magazine is famous for its annual music issue, copies of which include a compilation CD featuring contemporary and classic Southern musicians in genres ranging from blues and gospel to country western and alternative rock.
In an October 2006 interview on the Charlie Rose Show, Grisham stated that he usually takes only six months to write a book and that his favorite author is John le Carré.
Works
Complete collection of 25 John Grisham books, including the latest, The Confession
Novels
* A Time to Kill (1989)
* The Firm (1991)
* The Pelican Brief (1992)
* The Client (1993)
* The Chamber (1994)
* The Rainmaker (1995)
* The Runaway Jury (1996)
* The Partner (1997)
* The Street Lawyer (1998)
* The Testament (1999)
* The Brethren (2000)
* A Painted House† (2001)
* Skipping Christmas† (2001)
* The Summons (2002)
* The King of Torts (2003)
* Bleachers†(2003)
* The Last Juror (2004)
* The Broker (2005)
* Playing for Pizza† (2007)
* The Appeal (2008)
* The Associate (2009)
* Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer (2010)
* The Confession (2010)
† Denotes books not in the legal genre.
Short Stories
* Ford County (2009)
Non Fiction
* The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town (2006)
Film adaptations
* The Firm (1993)
* The Pelican Brief (1993)
* The Client (1994)
* A Time to Kill (1996)
* The Chamber (1996)
* The Rainmaker (1997)
* The Gingerbread Man (1998)
* A Painted House (2003) TV movie
* Runaway Jury (2003)
* Christmas with the Kranks (2004)
Television adaptations
* The Client (1995–1996) 1 season, 20 episodes
* The Street Lawyer (2003) TV pilot
See also
* The Innocence Project
* List of bestselling novels in the United States
http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q71/laytonwoman3rd/john-grisham.jpg
http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f313/Mikesgirl0311/Books/JohnGrisham.jpg
I started reading his books and then I stopped!
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 02/09/11 at 7:42 am
I started reading his books and then I stopped!
Somebody must like him ;D
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 02/09/11 at 7:45 am
The person of the day...Carole King
Carole King (born February 9, 1942) is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. King and her former husband Gerry Goffin wrote more than two dozen chart hits for numerous artists during the 1960s, many of which have become standards. As a singer, King's album Tapestry topped the U.S. album chart for 15 weeks, in 1971, and remained on the charts for more than six years.
She was most successful as a performer in the first half of the 1970s, although she was a successful songwriter long before and long after. She had her first No. 1 hit as a songwriter in 1961, at age 18, with "Will You Love Me Tomorrow", which she wrote with Gerry Goffin. In 1997, she co-wrote "The Reason" for Celine Dion.
In 2000, Joel Whitburn, a Billboard Magazine pop music researcher, named her the most successful female songwriter of 1955-99, because she wrote or co-wrote 118 pop hits on the Billboard Hot 100.
King has made 25 solo albums, the most successful being Tapestry. Her most recent non-compilation album is Live at the Troubadour, a collaboration with James Taylor, which reached #4 on the charts, in its first week, and has sold over 400,000 copies.
She has won four Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for her songwriting. In 2009, Carole King was inducted into the "Hit Parade" Hall of Fame. She holds the record for the longest time for an album by a female to remain on the charts and the longest time for an album by a female to hold the #1 position, both for Tapestry.
Goffin and King formed a songwriting partnership for Aldon Music at 1650 Broadway in New York. Their partnership's first success was "Will You Love Me Tomorrow", recorded by The Shirelles. It topped the American charts in 1961, becoming the first No. 1 hit by a girl group. It was later recorded by Linda Ronstadt, Ben E. King, Dusty Springfield, Laura Branigan, Little Eva, Roberta Flack, The Four Seasons, Bryan Ferry and Dionne Warwick, as well as by King herself.
Goffin and King married in September 1960 and had two daughters, Louise Goffin and Sherry Goffin Kondor, both also musicians.
In 1965, Goffin and King wrote a theme song for Sidney Sheldon's television series, I Dream of Jeannie, but an instrumental by Hugo Montenegro was used instead. Goffin and King's 1967 song, "Pleasant Valley Sunday", a number 3 for The Monkees, was inspired by their move to suburban West Orange, New Jersey. Goffin and King also wrote "Porpoise Song (Theme from Head)" for Head, the Monkees' film.
Goffin and King divorced in 1968 but Carole consulted Goffin on music she was writing. King lost touch with Goffin because of his declining mental health and the effect it had on their children.
Solo career
In 1967, King had a hit "Windy Day" with The Executives. In 1968, she was hired with Toni Stern to write for Strawberry Alarm Clock - "Lady of the Lake" and "Blues for a Young Girl Gone"—which appeared on the album, The World in a Seashell.
King sang backup vocals on the demo of Little Eva's "The Loco-Motion". She had had a modest hit in 1962 singing one of her own songs, "It Might As Well Rain Until September" (22 in the US and top 10 in the UK, later a hit in Canada for Gary and Dave), but after "He's a Bad Boy" made 94 in 1963, it took King eight years to reach the Hot 100 singles chart again as a performer.
As the '60s waned, King helped start Tomorrow Records, divorced Goffin and married Charles Larkey (of the Myddle Class), with whom she had two children (Molly and Levi). Moving to the West Coast, Larkey, King and Danny Kortchmar formed The City, which made one album, Now That Everything's Been Said, a commercial failure. King made Writer (1970), also a commercial failure.
King followed Writer in 1971 with Tapestry, featuring new folk-flavored compositions, as well as reinterpretations of two of her songs, "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" and "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman." Tapestry was an instant success. With numerous hit singles – including a Billboard #1 with "It's Too Late" – Tapestry held the #1 spot for 15 consecutive weeks, remained on the charts for nearly six years, sold 10 million copies in the United States, and 25 million worldwide. The album garnered four Grammy Awards including Album of the Year; Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female; Record of the Year ("It's Too Late," lyrics by Toni Stern); and Song of the Year ("You've Got a Friend"). The album signalled the era of platinum albums, though it was issued prior to the invention of the platinum certification by the RIAA. It would eventually be certified Diamond.
Tapestry was the top-selling solo album until Michael Jackson's Thriller in 1982. The album was later placed at 36 on Rolling Stone's "500 Greatest Albums of All Time" list. In addition, "It's Too Late" was placed at #469 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
Carole King: Music was released in December 1971, certified gold on 9 December 1971. It entered the top ten at 8, becoming the first of many weeks Tapestry and Carole King: Music would occupy the top 10 simultaneously. The following week, it rose to 3, and finally #1 on January 1, 1972, staying there for three weeks. The album also spawned a top 10 hit, "Sweet Seasons" (US #9 and AC #2). Music stayed on the Billboard pop album charts for 44 weeks. Carole King: Music was eventually certified platinum.
Rhymes and Reasons (1972), and Fantasy (1973) followed, each earning gold certifications. Rhymes and Reasons produced another hit, "Been to Canaan" (US #24 and AC #1), and Fantasy produced two hits, "Believe in Humanity" (US #28) and "Corazon" (US #37 and AC #5), as well as another song that charted on the Hot 100, "You Light Up My Life" (US #68 and AC #6).
In 1973, King performed a free concert in New York City's Central Park with 100,000 attending.
In September 1974, King released her album Wrap Around Joy, which was certified gold on 16 October 1974 and entered the top ten at 7 on 19 October 1974. Two weeks later it reached 1 and stayed there one week. She toured to promote the album. Wrap Around Joy spawned two hits. Jazzman was a single and reached 2 on 9 November but fell out of the top ten the next week. Nightingale, a single on December 17, went to #9 on 1 March 1975.
In 1975, King scored songs for the animated TV production of Maurice Sendak's Really Rosie, released as an album by the same name, with lyrics by Sendak.
Thoroughbred (1976) was the last studio album she made under the Ode label. In addition to enlisting her long-time friends such as David Crosby, Graham Nash, James Taylor and Waddy Wachtel, King reunited with Gerry Goffin to write four songs for the album. Their partnership continued intermittently. King also did a promotional tour for the album in 1976.
In 1977, King collaborated with another songwriter Rick Evers on Simple Things, the first release with a new label distributed by Capitol Records. Shortly after that King and Evers were married; he died of a heroin overdose one year later. Simple Things was her first album that failed to reach the top 10 on the Billboard since Tapestry, and it was her last Gold-certified record by the RIAA, except for a compilation entitled Her Greatest Hits the following year. Neither Welcome Home (1978), her debut as a co-producer on an album, nor Touch the Sky (1979), reached the top 100.
Pearls - The Songs of Goffin and King (1980) yielded a hit single, an updated version of "One Fine Day." Pearls marked the end of King's career as a hitmaker and a performer, no subsequent single reaching the top 40.
Later life and work
Carole King performing aboard USS Harry S. Truman in the Mediterranean in 2000
King moved to Atlantic Records for One to One (1982), and Speeding Time in 1983, which was a reunion with Tapestry-era producer Lou Adler. In 1983, she played piano in "Chains and Things" on the B.B. King album Why I Sing The Blues. After a well-received concert tour in 1984, journalist Catherine Foster of the Christian Science Monitor dubbed King as "a Queen of Rock." She also called King's performing as "all spunk and exuberance."
In 1985, she wrote and performed "Care-A-Lot," theme to The Care Bears Movie. Also in 1985, she scored and performed (with David Sanborn) the soundtrack to the Martin Ritt-directed movie Murphy's Romance. The soundtrack, again produced by Adler, included the songs "Running Lonely" and "Love For The Last Time (Theme from 'Murphy's Romance')," although a soundtrack album was apparently never officially released. King made a cameo appearance in the film as Tillie, a town hall employee.
In 1989, she returned to Capitol Records and recorded City Streets, with Eric Clapton on two tracks and Branford Marsalis on one, followed by Color of Your Dreams (1993), with an appearance by Slash of Guns N' Roses. Her song, "Now and Forever," was in the opening credits to the 1992 movie A League of Their Own, and was nominated for a Grammy Award.
In 1988, she starred in the off-Broadway production A Minor Incident, and in 1994, she played Mrs Johnstone on Broadway in Blood Brothers. In 1996, she appeared in Brighton Beach Memoirs in Ireland, directed by Peter Sheridan. In 1991, she wrote with Mariah Carey the song "If It's Over", for Carey's second album Emotions. In 1996, she wrote "Wall Of Smiles / Torre De Marfil" with Soraya for her 1997 album of the same title.
In 1997, King wrote and recorded backing vocals on "The Reason" for Celine Dion on her album Let's Talk About Love. The song sold worldwide, including one million in France. It went to number 1 in France, 11 in the UK, and 13 in Ireland. The pair performed a duet on the first VH1 Divas Live benefit concert. King also performed her "You've Got A Friend" with Celine Dion, Gloria Estefan and Shania Twain as well as "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" with Aretha Franklin and others, including Mariah Carey. In 1998, King wrote "Anyone at All", and performed it in You've Got Mail, starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan.
In 2001, King appeared in a television ad for the Gap, with her daughter, Louise Goffin. She performed a new song, "Love Makes the World," which became a title track for her studio album in autumn 2001 on her own label, Rockingale, distributed by Koch Records. The album includes songs she wrote for other artists during the mid-1990s and features Celine Dion, Steven Tyler, Babyface and k.d. lang. Love Makes the World went to 158 in the US and #86 in the UK. It also debuted on Billboard's Top Independent Albums chart and Top Internet Albums chart at #20. An expanded edition of the album was issued six years later called Love Makes the World Deluxe Edition. It contains a bonus disc with five additional tracks, including a remake of "Where You Lead (I Will Follow)" co-written with Toni Stern. The same year, King and Stern wrote "Sayonara Dance," recorded by Yuki, former lead vocalist of the Japanese band Judy and Mary, on her first solo album Prismic the following year. Also in 2001, King composed a song for All About Chemistry album by Semisonic, with the band's frontman Dan Wilson.
King launched her Living Room Tour in July 2004 at the Auditorium Theatre in Chicago. That show, along with shows at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles and the Cape Cod Melody Tent (Hyannis, Massachusetts) were recorded as The Living Room Tour in July 2005. The album sold 44,000 copies in its first week in the US, landing at 17 on the Billboard 200, her highest-charting album since 1977. The album also charted at 51 in Australia. It has sold 330,000 copies in the United States. In August 2006 the album reentered the Billboard 200 at 151. The tour stopped in Canada, Australia and New Zealand. A DVD of the tour, called Welcome to My Living Room, was released in October 2007.
King and James Taylor performing "Up on the Roof" together during their 2010 Troubadour Reunion Tour.
In November 2007, King toured Japan with Mary J. Blige and Fergie from The Black Eyed Peas. Japanese record labels Sony and Victor reissued most of King's albums, including the works from the late 1970s previously unavailable on compact disc. King recorded a duet of the Goffin/King composition "Time Don't Run Out on Me" with Anne Murray on Murray's 2007 album Anne Murray Duets: Friends and Legends. The song had previously been recorded by Murray for her 1984 album Heart Over Mind.
In 2010, King and James Taylor staged their Troubadour Reunion Tour together, recalling the first time they played at The Troubadour in Los Angeles in 1970. The pair had reunited two and a half years earlier with the band they used in 1970 to mark the club's 50th anniversary. They enjoyed it so much that they decided to take the band on the road. The touring band featured players from that original band: Russ Kunkel, Leland Sklar, and Danny Kortchmar. Also present was King's son-in-law, Robbie Kondor. King played piano and Taylor guitar on each others' songs, and they sang together some of the numbers they were both associated with. The tour began in Australia in March, returning to the United States in May. It was a major commercial success, with King playing to some of the largest audiences of her career. Total ticket sales exceeded 700,000 and the tour grossed over 59 million dollars, making it one of the most successful tours of the year.
During their Troubadour Reunion Tour, Carole King released two albums, one with James Taylor. The first, released on April 27, 2010, The Essential Carole King, is a two-disc compilation album. The first disc features many songs Carole King has recorded, mostly her hit singles. The second disc features recordings by other artists of songs that King wrote, most of which made the top 40, and many of which reached #1. The second album was released on May 4, 2010 and is a collaboration of King and James Taylor called Live at the Troubadour, which debuted at #4 in the United States with sales of 78,000 copies. Live at the Troubadour has since received a gold record from the RIAA for shipments of over 500,000 copies in the US and has remained on the charts for 34 weeks, currently charting at #81 on the Billboard 200.
On December 22, 2010, Carole King's mother, Eugenia Gingold, died in the Hospice Care unit at Delray Medical Center in Delray Beach, Florida at the age of 94. King stated that the cause of death was congestive heart failure. Gingold's passing was reported by the Miami Herald on January 1, 2011.
The City
In 1968 King formed The City, a music trio consisting of Charles Larkey, bass, Danny Kortchmar, guitar and vocals, and King on piano and vocals. The trio was assisted by Jim Gordon on drums. The City produced one album, Now That Everything's Been Said in 1968, but King's reluctance to perform live meant sales were slow, and after a change of distributors it got deleted early, and the group disbanded in 1969. The album was re-released in 1999 as a CD, though despite a reappraisal by Kortchmar that the album sowed the seeds for Tapestry the CD was also deleted.
Acting career
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Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2011)
King has appeared sporadically in acting roles, notably three appearances as guest star on the TV series Gilmore Girls as Sophie, the owner of the Stars Hollow music store. King's song "Where You Lead (I Will Follow)" was also the theme song to the series, in a version sung with her daughter Louise.
Political and environmental activism
After relocating to Idaho in 1977, King became involved in environmental issues. Since 1990, she has been working with the Alliance for the Wild Rockies and other groups towards passage of the Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act (NREPA). King has testified on Capitol Hill three times on behalf of NREPA: in 1994, 2007 and again in 2009.
King is also politically active in the United States Democratic Party. In 2003, she began campaigning for John Kerry, performing in private homes for caucus delegates during the Democratic primaries. On July 29, 2004, she made a short speech and sang at the Democratic National Convention, about two hours before Kerry made his acceptance speech for the Democratic nomination for President. King continued her support of Kerry throughout the general election.
In 2008, King appeared on the March 18 episode of The Colbert Report, touching on her politics once more. She stated that she was supporting Hillary Clinton and mentioned that the choice had nothing to do with gender. She also expressed that she would have no issues if Barack Obama were to win the election. Before the show's conclusion, she returned to the stage to perform "I Feel the Earth Move".
Tributes and covers
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An all-star roster of artists paid tribute to King on the 1995 album Tapestry Revisited: A Tribute to Carole King. From the album, Rod Stewart's version of "So Far Away" and Celine Dion's cover of "A Natural Woman" were both Adult Contemporary chart hits. Other artists who appeared on the album included Amy Grant ("It's Too Late"), Richard Marx ("Beautiful"), Aretha Franklin ("You've Got a Friend"), Faith Hill ("Where You Lead"), and the Bee Gees ("Will You Love Me Tomorrow?").
Many other cover versions of King's work have appeared over the years. Most notably, "You've Got a Friend" was a smash #1 hit for James Taylor in 1971 and a top 40 hit for Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway that same year. Isaac Hayes recorded "It's Too Late" for his #1 R&B live album Live at the Sahara Tahoe. Barbra Streisand had a top 40 hit in 1972 with "Where You Lead" twice — by itself and as part of a live medley with "Sweet Inspiration." Streisand also covered "No Easy Way Down" in 1971, "Beautiful" and "You've Got A Friend" in 1972, and "Being At War With Each Other" in 1974. The Carpenters recorded King's "It's Going to Take Some Time" in 1972 ,and reached number 12 on the Billboard charts. Richard Carpenter produced a version of "You've Got A Friend" with then teen singer/actor Scott Grimes in 1989. Martika had a number 25 hit in 1989 with her version of I Feel the Earth Move, and "It's Too Late" reappeared on the Adult Contemporary chart in 1995 by Gloria Estefan. Linda Ronstadt recorded a new version of "Oh No Not My Baby" in 1993. Celine Dion also recorded King's song "The Reason" on her 1997 album Let's Talk About Love with Carole King singing backup and it became a million-seller and was certified Diamond in France. "Where You Lead" (lyrics by Toni Stern) became the title song of TV show Gilmore Girls.
In 1996, a film very loosely based on her life, Grace of My Heart, was released. In the film an aspiring singer sacrifices her own singing career to write hit songs that launch the careers of other singers. Mirroring King's life, the film follows her from her first break, through the pain of rejection from the recording industry and a bad marriage, to her final triumph in realizing her dream to record her own hit album.
Awards and recognition
* In 1987, Goffin and King were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
* In 1988, Goffin and King received the National Academy of Songwriters Lifetime Achievement Award.
* In 1990, King was inducted, along with Goffin, into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the non-performer category for her songwriting achievements.
* In 2002, King was given the "Johnny Mercer Award" by the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
* In 2004, Goffin and King were awarded the Grammy Trustees Award.
* King was inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame in 2007.
Discography and certifications
Main article: Carole King discography
The years given are the years in which the albums and singles were released and not necessarilly the years in which they achieved their peak positions.
U.S. Billboard Top 10 Albums
* 1971 - Tapestry (#1)
* 1971 - Carole King: Music (#1)
* 1972 - Rhymes and Reasons (#2)
* 1973 - Fantasy (#6)
* 1974 - Wrap Around Joy (#1)
* 1976 - Thoroughbred (#3)
* 2010 - Live at the Troubadour (with James Taylor) (#4)
U.S. Billboard Top 10 'Pop' Singles
* 1971 - "I Feel the Earth Move" (#1)
* 1971 - "It's Too Late" (#1)
* 1971 - "Sweet Seasons" (#9)
* 1974 - "Jazzman" (#2)
* 1974 - "Nightingale" (#9)
Albums and singles certifications
Song title Certification
"It's Too Late" Gold
Album title Certification
Tapestry Diamond
Carole King: Music Platinum
Rhymes and Reasons Gold
Fantasy Gold
Wrap Around Joy Gold
Thoroughbred Gold
Simple Things Gold
Live at the Troubadour Gold
See also
* List of songwriter tandems
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Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 02/09/11 at 8:00 am
I like the song "It's too Late".
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: CatwomanofV on 02/09/11 at 9:22 am
I LOVE the entire Tapestry album.
Two of my favs are Too Late & You Got a Friend.
FYI: Carole wrote the song Locomotion that was recorded by Little Eva-who was Carole's babysitter.
Cat
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 02/09/11 at 12:54 pm
I LOVE the entire Tapestry album.
Two of my favs are Too Late & You Got a Friend.
FYI: Carole wrote the song Locomotion that was recorded by Little Eva-who was Carole's babysitter.
Cat
Excellent choices :)
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 02/09/11 at 1:32 pm
I LOVE the entire Tapestry album.
Two of my favs are Too Late & You Got a Friend.
FYI: Carole wrote the song Locomotion that was recorded by Little Eva-who was Carole's babysitter.
Cat
I reheard Tapestry recently and enjoy it.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 02/09/11 at 1:32 pm
FYI: Carole wrote the song Locomotion that was recorded by Little Eva-who was Carole's babysitter.
Cat
I never knew that!
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: CatwomanofV on 02/09/11 at 2:17 pm
I reheard Tapestry recently and enjoy it.
When I was growing up, my sister had the album and she played it all the time. A few years back, I bought it on CD and listened to it and I was so surprised that I still remembered every lyric to every song on it. Like I said, it wasn't even MY album but my sister's.
Cat
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 02/09/11 at 2:24 pm
When I was growing up, my sister had the album and she played it all the time. A few years back, I bought it on CD and listened to it and I was so surprised that I still remembered every lyric to every song on it. Like I said, it wasn't even MY album but my sister's.
Cat
I never really heard the album back then, but I know the songs as released singles.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 02/10/11 at 7:21 am
The person of the day...Mark Spitz
Mark Andrew Spitz (born February 10, 1950) is a retired American swimmer. He won seven gold medals at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games, an achievement surpassed only by Michael Phelps who won eight golds at the 2008 Olympics. Between 1968 and 1972, Spitz won nine Olympic golds plus a silver and a bronze, five Pan American golds, 31 US Amateur Athletic Union titles and eight US National Collegiate Athletic Association titles. During those years, he set 33 world records. He was named World Swimmer of the Year in 1969, 1971 and 1972.
In 1967, he won five gold medals at the V Pan American Games in Winnipeg, thereby setting a record not surpassed for 40 years until Brazilian swimmer Thiago Pereira won six golds at the XV Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro in 2007.
1968 Olympics
Holder of ten world records already, Spitz predicted brashly he would win six golds at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City. However, he won only two team golds: the 4 x 100 meter freestyle in 3:31:70, and the 4 x 200 meter freestyle relay in 7:52:33. In addition, Spitz finished second in the 100m butterfly in 00:56:40. In this event he was beaten by fellow American Doug Russell by a half second, despite holding the world record and having beaten Russell the previous ten times they had swum against each other that year. Russell did briefly match Spitz's world record in late August 1967, holding the world record equally with Spitz for five days before Spitz regained it solely on October 2, 1967. As a result of being beaten by Russell, Spitz did not get to swim in the 4 x 100 meter Medley Relay, which gave Russell his second gold medal and the USA team another World Record swim.
College training
Disappointed in his 1968 Olympic performance, Spitz entered Indiana University (IU) to train with legendary coach Doc Counsilman, who was also his coach in Mexico City. While at IU, Spitz won 8 individual NCAA titles. In 1971, he won the James E. Sullivan Award as the top amateur athlete in the United States. Spitz also set a number of world records during the U.S. Olympic Swim Trials held in Chicago's Portage Park in 1972.
He was nicknamed "Mark the Shark" by his teammates.
1972 Olympics
At the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich (West Germany), Spitz was back to maintain his bid for the six gold medals. He did even more, winning seven Olympic gold medals. Further, Spitz set a new world record in each of the seven events (the 100 m freestyle , 200 m freestyle , 100 m butterfly , 200 m butterfly , 4 x 100 m freestyle relay , 4 x 200 m freestyle relay and the 4 x 100 m medley relay ). Originally Spitz was reluctant to swim the 100m freestyle fearing a less than gold medal finish. Minutes before the race he confessed on the pool deck to ABC's Donna de Varona, "I know I say I don't want to swim before every event but this time I'm serious. If I swim six and win six, I'll be a hero. If I swim seven and win six, I'll be a failure." Spitz won by half a stroke in a world-record 51.22.
Jacket worn by Mark Spitz during the 1972 Summer Olympics.
Spitz is one of five Olympians to win nine or more career gold medals: Larissa Latynina, Paavo Nurmi and Carl Lewis also have nine; only swimmer Michael Phelps has won more with 14. Spitz's record of seven gold medals in a single Olympics was not surpassed until Michael Phelps at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Spitz was evacuated from Munich when 11 athletes and officials from Israel's Olympic team were kidnapped and later killed by Palestinian terrorists. Officials were worried that Spitz might be targeted because of his Jewish heritage. He had already finished his competition.
Retirement
Following the Munich Olympics, even though he was still only 22, Spitz retired from competition.
In 1999, Spitz ranked #33 on ESPN SportsCentury 50 Greatest Athletes, the only aquatic athlete to make the list.
1992 Olympics
Spitz briefly came out of retirement in 1992. He competed for a place on the U.S. Swimming Team at the Barcelona Games at the age of 41. Unfortunately, he was two seconds slower than the requisite qualifying time at the Olympic trials.
Hall of Fame
* International Swimming Hall of Fame, Inducted 1977.
* International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame, Inducted 1979.
* United States Olympic Hall of Fame, Inducted 1983.
* San Jose Sports Hall of Fame, inducted Wednesday, November 14, 2007.
* National Jewish Museum Sports Hall of Fame, Inducted 2007.
* Long Beach City College Hall of Fame, Inducted 2007
* Indiana University Athletics Hall of Fame
After his retirement at age 22, he was managed by the William Morris Agency, which tried to get him into show business while his name was still hot.
A poster featuring Spitz wearing his swimsuit and seven gold medals made him the hottest pin-up since Betty Grable.
In 1973–74, Spitz appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and TV series such as The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour and Emergency! as Pete Barlow, who accidentally shoots his wife, played by his real life wife, Suzy. He also appeared briefly on the Dean Martin Celebrity Roast of then-Governor Ronald Reagan in September 1973. Spitz went to work for ABC Sports in 1976 and worked on many sports presentations, including coverage of the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal and the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. In 1985 he appeared as a TV announcer in Challenge of a Lifetime. He continued as a broadcaster for some time, but within a few years, he had all but vanished as a public figure.
Critical praise
In 2006 he received critical praise for his narration of Freedom's Fury, a Hungarian documentary about the Olympic water polo team's famous Blood in the Water match against Russia during the Revolution of 1956—considered the most famous match in water polo history. The film was executive produced by Quentin Tarantino and Lucy Liu, and made its debut at the Tribeca Film Festival.
Commercials
He appeared in an ad for the California Milk Advisory Board. One of his print advertisements featured the caption "I always drink it-is something I like to do. I want to be loved by the mothers."
In 1974 he was in a number of Schick razors commercials. In 1998 he appeared with Robbie Knievel in a TV commercial for PlayStation.
In 2004 he appeared in a TV commercial for Sprint PCS. Then in November 2007, Spitz made a cameo appearance on Amanda Beard's first television commercial (for GoDaddy) featuring her own seven Olympic medals (won between 1996–2004). The ad was entitled "Shock". Also, in 2007 he appeared in the infomercial for the "Orbitrek Elite" fitness workout.
Cartoon character
The cartoon strip Doonesbury featured the character "Zonker" where he kept thinking he saw Mark Spitz everywhere until he was finally cured when a character of Spitz ended up sitting next to him at a lunch counter.
In 1972, Spitz was accused of product placement during the medal ceremony. Following the 200-meter freestyle race Spitz arrived to obtain his gold medal barefoot and carrying his shoes. He put them down when the American national anthem, "The Star Spangled Banner" was played. After the anthem played, he picked up his shoes and waved to the crowd. The Soviets saw this as product placement. When questioned by the IOC, Spitz explained that the gesture was innocent, the shoes were old and he was not paid. The IOC cleared him of any wrongdoing.
Issues with 2008 Summer Olympics
Spitz felt snubbed by not being asked to attend the 2008 Olympics to watch Michael Phelps break his seven gold medal record. In an article, he is quoted as saying, "I never got invited. You don't go to the Olympics just to say, I am going to go. Especially because of who I am....I am going to sit there and watch Michael Phelps break my record anonymously? That's almost demeaning to me. It is not almost—it is."
Spitz has stated that he has no hard feelings towards Phelps. He is, however, unhappy that he was not invited to the 2008 Summer Olympics. As a result, Spitz refused to attend the games. "They voted me one of the top five Olympians of all time. Some of them are dead. But they invited the other ones to go to the Olympics, but not me," he said. "Yes, I am a bit upset about it."
However, on August 14, 2008 Spitz appeared on NBC's Today Show where he clarified his statement and his pride in Michael Phelps:
“ It’s about time that somebody else takes the throne. And I’m very happy for him. I really, truly am...I was working with a corporate sponsor who elected not to bring their US contingent over to China, and they piled on more work for me here in the United States, which was great. So I wasn't able to get to the Olympics and watch Michael in the first couple of days. And they thought, some of these reporters, that I was supposed to be invited by some entity, and I told them that that wasn't really the case, that doesn't happen that way. And so, I'm sort of disappointed that I wasn't there, but, you know, that interview somehow took a different turn, and I've done hundreds and hundreds of them and I've been true to form about the way I feel about Michael, and he's doing a great job for the United States and inspiring a lot of great performances by the other team members. ”
Also on August 14, 2008, in an interview aired on Los Angeles KNBC-4's morning news show, Today in L.A., Spitz was quoted saying he does believe that, "Michael Phelps is the greatest Olympic athlete ever."
On August 15, 2008, as part of an interview on NBC, Spitz said that he felt Phelps' performance in the 100 fly in Beijing was "epic". Spitz paid this compliment to Phelps just two hours after his record-tying seventh gold medal during a live joint interview with Bob Costas:
“ You know, Bob and Michael, I wondered what I was going to say at this monumental time, when it would happen and who I would say it to, and of course I thought I was going to say it to you for some time now. But, it's the word that comes to mind, "epic". What you did tonight was epic, and it was epic for the whole world to see how great you really are. I never thought for one moment that you were out of that race and contention, because I watched you at Athens win the race by similar margins, and 18 months ago at the World's by similar margins. And, you know, that is a tribute to your greatness. And now the whole world knows. We are so proud of you Michael here in America, and we are so proud of you and the way that you handle yourself, and you represent such an inspiration to all the youngsters around the world. You know, you weren't born when I did what I did, and I'm sure that I was a part of your inspiration, and I take that as a full compliment. And they say that you judge one's character by the company you keep, and I'm happy to keep company with you. And you have a tremendous responsibility for all those people that you are going to inspire over the next number of years, and I know that you will wear the crown well. Congratulations, Mike. ”
Views on drug testing
Mark Spitz has been consistent in criticism of both swimming's world bodies, FINA and the IOC, in their incomplete attempts to keep drugs out of the sport. He has felt that not enough has been done to monitor and encourage drug-free participation. In 1998 he criticized FINA for its "embarrassing" attempts to stamp out drug abuse, urging them to test for all known drugs. In September 1999 Spitz said the IOC had the technology to test for a plethora of drugs but was refusing to do so because of some IOC member protests.
During a radio interview in Australia, Spitz was quoted as saying "They don't want to test for everything because there's tremendous pressure from the television networks because they want the television to have athletic competitions with the world record holders there for the finals. They want the medals not to be tainted in their value of accomplishment by winning them, and it's all about ratings and commercial selling of time and about money. And an International Olympic Committee has got their hand in the pockets of the network television people, so there's a tremendous conflict of interest in what they should do and what they're doing."
In August 2008 the Los Angeles Times reported, that Spitz continued to discuss drug testing and was saying "the IOC has sponsors who demand a good show. Television pays the IOC for the rights to that good show, and its sponsors want that too. Drug news and drug distractions are not a good show. People are not going to tune in to see athletes have their medals taken away from them."
Records and awards
Records
Preceded by
Australia Michael Wenden Men's 100 metre freestyle
world record holder (long course)
August 23, 1970 – June 21, 1975 Succeeded by
United States Jim Montgomery
Preceded by
United States Don Schollander Men's 200 metre freestyle
world record holder (long course)
July 12, 1969 – August 23, 1974 Succeeded by
United States Tim Shaw
Preceded by
Argentina Luis Nicolao Men's 100 metre butterfly
world record holder (long course)
July 31, 1967 – August 27, 1977
Note: Held Jointly with Doug Russell August 29 & October 2, 1967
Succeeded by
United States Joe Bottom
Preceded by
Australia Kevin Berry Men's 200 metre butterfly
world record holder (long course)
July 26, 1967 – August 30, 1967 Succeeded by
United States John Ferris
Preceded by
United States John Ferris Men's 200 metre butterfly
world record holder (long course)
October 8, 1967 – August 22, 1970 Succeeded by
United States Gary Hall Sr.
Preceded by
United States Gary Hall Sr. Men's 200 metre butterfly
world record holder (long course)
August 27, 1971 – August 31, 1971 Succeeded by
West Germany Hans-Joachim Fassnacht
Preceded by
West Germany Hans-Joachim Fassnacht Men's 200 metre butterfly
world record holder (long course)
August 2, 1972 – June 3, 1976 Succeeded by
East Germany Roger Pyttel
Awards
Preceded by
Lee Trevino Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year
1972 Succeeded by
O.J. Simpson
Preceded by
John Kinsella James E. Sullivan Award
1971 Succeeded by
Frank Shorter
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Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 02/10/11 at 7:45 am
Wow,he aged a lot.He even lost his trademark moustache.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: CatwomanofV on 02/10/11 at 9:52 am
I remember when he was all over the place. There was a joke: What does Mark Spitz do when he gets a mouth full of water?
Mark spits.
Yeah, it was a bad joke then and it still is a bad joke. :D ;D ;D ;D ;D
Cat
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 02/10/11 at 4:33 pm
I remember when he was all over the place. There was a joke: What does Mark Spitz do when he gets a mouth full of water?
Mark spits.
Yeah, it was a bad joke then and it still is a bad joke. :D ;D ;D ;D ;D
Cat
:D ;D ;D
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: gibbo on 02/10/11 at 6:33 pm
I remember when he was all over the place. There was a joke: What does Mark Spitz do when he gets a mouth full of water?
Mark spits.
Yeah, it was a bad joke then and it still is a bad joke. :D ;D ;D ;D ;D
Cat
Well...that's what we've come to expectorate!!! :D
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 02/11/11 at 7:01 am
The person of the day...Sheryl Crow
Sheryl Suzanne Crow (born February 11, 1962) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and actress. Her music incorporates elements of rock, folk, hip hop, country and pop. She has won nine Grammy Awards from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.
She has performed with The Rolling Stones and has sung duets with Mick Jagger, Michael Jackson, Eric Clapton, Luciano Pavarotti, John Mellencamp, Kid Rock, Michelle Branch, and Sting among others. She has performed backing vocals for Tina Turner, Don Henley and Belinda Carlisle, on her 1991 hit Little Black Book. Crow has released seven studio albums, two compilations, and a live album, and has contributed to film soundtracks. She has sold 16 million albums in the United States and 35 million albums worldwide and her newest album, 100 Miles from Memphis, was released on July 20, 2010. Recently she appeared on NBC's 30 Rock, ABC's Cougar Town, Disney Channel's Hannah Montana Forever and Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear.
In 1992, Crow recorded her first attempt at her debut album with Phil Collins' producer Hugh Padgham. The self-titled debut album was due to be released on September 22, 1992, but was ultimately rejected by her label. However, a handful of cassette copies of the album were leaked along with press folders to be used for album publicity. This album has been widely dispersed via file sharing networks and fan trading. In the meantime, Crow's songs were recorded by major artists such as Celine Dion, Tina Turner and Wynonna Judd.
International success (1993-1997)
She then began dating Kevin Gilbert and joined him in an ad hoc group of musicians known to everyone in the group as the "Tuesday Music Club." Group members, Gilbert, David Baerwald and David Ricketts (both formerly of David & David), Bill Bottrell, Brian MacLeod, and Dan Schwartz share songwriting credits with Crow on her debut album, Tuesday Night Music Club.
The group existed as a casual songwriting collective prior to its association with Crow, but rapidly developed into a vehicle for her debut album after her arrival. Her relationship with Gilbert became acrimonious soon after the album was released, and disputes arose about songwriting credits.
Crow at The Grove of Los Angeles, California in 2002, with co-guitarist Peter Stroud
Crow appeared in the "New Faces" section of Rolling Stone in 1993. Tuesday Night Music Club featured many of the songs written by Crow's friends, including the second single, "Leaving Las Vegas." The album was slow to garner attention, until "All I Wanna Do" became an unexpected smash hit in the spring of 1994. As she later stated in People, she found an old poetry book in a used book store in the L.A. area and used a poem as lyrics in the song. The singles "Strong Enough" and "Can't Cry Anymore" were also released, with the first song ("Strong Enough") charting at #5 on Billboard and "Can't Cry Anymore" hitting the Top 40. Tuesday Night Music Club went on to sell more than 7 million copies in the US and UK during the 1990s. The album also won Crow three Grammy Awards, in 1995: Record of the Year, Best New Artist and Best Female Vocal Performance. She performed at the 1994 and 1999 Woodstock Festivals, as well as the Another Roadside Attraction in 1997.
Crow supplied background vocals to the song "The Garden of Allah" from Don Henley's 1995 album Actual Miles: Henley's Greatest Hits.
In 1996, Crow released her self titled second album. The album had songs about abortion, homelessness and nuclear war. The debut single, "If It Makes You Happy," became a radio success and netted her two Grammy awards for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance and Best Rock Album. Other singles included "A Change Would Do You Good," "Home" and "Everyday Is A Winding Road." Crow produced the album herself. The album was banned from sale at Wal-Mart, as in the "Love Is A Good Thing" lyric Wal-Mart is implicated (by name) of supplying guns to which children later gain access. In 1997, Crow contributed the theme song to the James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies. Her song "Tomorrow Never Dies" was nominated for a Grammy Award and Best Original Song Golden Globe. Crow collaborated on Scott Weiland's 1998 album, 12 Bar Blues.
The Globe Sessions and Live (1998-1999)
In 1998 Crow released The Globe Sessions. During this period, she discussed in interviews having gone through a deep depression, and there was speculation about a brief affair with Eric Clapton. The debut single from this album, "My Favorite Mistake," was rumored to be about him, although Crow claims otherwise about a philandering ex-boyfriend. Crow has refused to say who the song was about telling Billboard Magazine on the release of her album. "Oh, there will be just so much speculation, and because of that there's great safety and protection in the fact that people will be guessing so many different people and I'm the only person who will ever really know. I'm really private about who I've had relationships with, and I don't talk about them in the press. I don't even really talk about them with the people around me." Despite the difficulties in recording the album, Crow told the BBC in 2005 that: "My favorite single is 'My Favorite Mistake,' it was a lot of fun to record and it's still a lot of fun to play." The album won Best Rock Album at the 1998 Grammy Awards. It was re-released in 1999, with a bonus track, Crow's cover of the Guns N' Roses song "Sweet Child o' Mine," which was included on the soundtrack of the film Big Daddy. The song won the 1999 Grammy for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance. Other singles included "There Goes the Neighborhood," "Anything But Down," and "The Difficult Kind." Crow won Grammy best female rock vocal performance for "There Goes the Neighborhood" in 2001. The Globe Sessions peaked at #5 on the Billboard 200 chart, achieving US sales of 2 million as of January 2008.
Later in 1998, Crow took part in a live concert in tribute to Burt Bacharach, in which she contributed vocals on One Less Bell to Answer.
In 1999, Crow also made her acting debut as an ill-fated drifter in the suspense/drama The Minus Man, which starred her then-boyfriend Owen Wilson as a serial killer.
She also released a live album called Sheryl Crow and Friends: Live From Central Park. The record featured Crow singing many of her hit singles with new musical spins and guest appearances by many other musicians including Sarah McLachlan, Stevie Nicks, the Dixie Chicks, Keith Richards, and Eric Clapton. "There Goes the Neighborhood" was included in the album, eventually winning the Grammy for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance.
2000s
C'mon, C'mon and The Very Best of (2002-2004)
Crow at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.
Crow had been involved with the Scleroderma Research Foundation (SRF) since the late 1990s, performing at fund-raisers and befriending Sharon Monsky. In 2002, as a result of her friend Kent Sexton dying from scleroderma, she interrupted work on her new album C'mon C'mon to record the traditional hymn "Be Still, My Soul," to be played at his funeral. In November of that year it was released as a single, with the proceeds going to SRF.
Crow's fourth studio album, C'mon, C'mon was released in 2002, spawning the hit single "Soak Up the Sun." Second single "Steve McQueen" won the Female Rock Vocal Performance Grammy.
Crow opposed the 2003 invasion of Iraq, wearing a shirt that read "I don't believe in your war, Mr. Bush!" during a performance on Good Morning America and posting an open letter explaining her opposition on her website. Crow, performing with Kid Rock at the 45th annual Grammy Awards, wore a large peace sign and a guitar strap with the words "No War."
Crow recorded the song "Kiss That Girl" for the film Bridget Jones's Diary. She also recorded a cover version of the Beatles' song "Mother Nature's Son" for the film I Am Sam. Crow duetted with rapper Kid Rock on the crossover hit single "Picture." She also assisted Rock on the track "Run Off to L.A."
Crow collaborated with Michelle Branch on the song "Love Me Like That" for Branch's second album, Hotel Paper, released in 2003. Crow was featured on the Johnny Cash album American III: Solitary Man in the song "Field of Diamonds" as a background vocalist, and also played the accordion for the songs "Wayfaring Stranger" and "Mary of the Wild Moor."
In 2003, Crow released a greatest hits compilation called The Very Best of Sheryl Crow. It featured many of her hit singles, as well as some new tracks. Among them was the ballad "The First Cut is the Deepest" (originally a Cat Stevens song), which became her biggest radio hit since "All I Wanna Do." She also released the single "Light In Your Eyes," which received limited airplay. "The First Cut is the Deepest" earned her two American Music Awards for Best Pop/Rock Artist and Adult Contemporary Artist of the Year, respectively.
In 2004, Crow appeared as a musical theater performer in the Cole Porter biopic De-Lovely.
Crow at Crossroads 2007.
Wildflower (2005-2007)
Her fifth studio album Wildflower was released in September 2005. Although the album debuted at #2 on the Billboard charts, it received mixed reviews and was not as commercially successful as her previous albums. In December 2005, the album was nominated for a Best Pop Vocal Album Grammy, while Crow was nominated for a Best Female Pop Vocal Performance Grammy for the first single "Good Is Good." However, she ultimately lost in both categories to Kelly Clarkson. The album got a new boost in 2006 when the second single was announced as "Always on Your Side," re-recorded with British musician Sting and sent off to radio, where it was quickly embraced at Adult Top 40. The collaboration with Sting resulted in a Grammy-nomination for Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals. As of January 2008, Wildflower has sold 949,000 units in the U.S.
In 2006, Crow contributed the opening track, "Real Gone," to the soundtrack for Disney/Pixar's animated film Cars. She also voices Elvis in the film. Crow was diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer in mid-February 2006, her doctors stating that "prognosis for a full recovery is excellent."
Crow's first concert after her cancer diagnosis was on May 18 in Orlando, Florida where she played to over 10,000 information technology professionals at the SAP Sapphire Convention. Her first public appearance was on June 12, when she performed at the Murat Theater in Indianapolis, Indiana.
The singer also appeared on Larry King Live on CNN on August 23, 2006. In this show she talked about her comeback, her breakup with Lance Armstrong, her past job as Michael Jackson's backup singer, and her experience as a breast cancer survivor.
In late 2006, Crow was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for the song "Try Not To Remember" (Best Original Song category) from the film Home of the Brave.
Crow wrote a foreword for the book Crazy Sexy Cancer Tips, author Kris Carr's book that was based on her 2007 documentary film Crazy Sexy Cancer. Crow contributed her cover of the Beatles's "Here Comes the Sun" on the Bee Movie soundtrack in November 2007. She contributed background vocals to the Ryan Adams song "Two" from the album Easy Tiger.
Detours 2008-2009
Crow at Memphis, TN (August 18, 2007).
Crow returned with her sixth studio album Detours, which was released on February 5, 2008. Detours debuted at number two on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, selling about 92,000 copies in its first week and an additional 52,000 copies in its second week.
Detours was recorded at Crow's Nashville farm. Her son, Wyatt, makes an appearance on the song "Lullaby for Wyatt," which is featured in the movie Grace Is Gone. "The songs are very inspired by the last three years of events in my life," Crow said of a time that found her battling breast cancer and splitting with partner Lance Armstrong.
"Shine Over Babylon" was the first promotional single from the album (download only). The first 'official' single to be released from the album was "Love Is Free," followed by "Out of Our Heads."
A liberal political activist, she endorsed Barack Obama for the United States Presidential Election and later performed on the 4th and last day of the 2008 Democratic National Convention.
Crow has also recorded a studio version of "So Glad We Made It" for the "Team USA Olympic Soundtrack" in conjunction with the 2008 U.S. Olympic team sponsors AT&T. Crow also stated that $1 of each ticket purchased for her 2008 tour would be donated to the United Nations World Food Programme.
A&M Records re-released Sheryl's debut album, "Tuesday Night Music Club" as a deluxe version 2CD/DVD set on November 17, 2009. The bonus CD contains unreleased songs and B-sides, and a new mix of "I Shall Believe." The DVD features music videos for each of the album's singles.
2010s
Raise Hope for Congo Compilation
In 2010, Crow contributed the original spoken-word track "My Name is Mwamaroyi" to the Enough Project and Downtown Records' Raise Hope for Congo compilation. Proceeds from the compilation fund efforts to make the protection and empowerment of Congo’s women a priority, as well as inspire individuals around the world to raise their voice for peace in Congo.
100 Miles from Memphis (2010 - )
A&M Records released Crow's seventh studio album, 100 Miles from Memphis, on July 20, 2010. The album has a classic soul vibe and features lead single "Summer Day." 100 Miles from Memphis (released July 20 on A&M Records), the distance from her hometown to the music mecca, is an ode to her formative memories of music - and one that the label hopes can inspire young music fans to investigate the landscape beyond processed pop and Auto-Tune.
Coal Miner's Daughter: A Tribute to Loretta Lynn (2010)
Sheryl Crow performed with Loretta Lynn and Miranda Lambert on the song "Coal Miner's Daughter" from Coal Miner's Daughter: A Tribute to Loretta Lynn (2010).
44th Annual Country Music Awards
On November 10, 2010, Sheryl Crow performed a tribute to Loretta Lynn with Miranda Lambert on the 44th Annual Country Music Awards
Crow began dating cyclist Lance Armstrong in 2003. The couple announced their engagement in September 2005 and their split in February 2006. Immediately following her split from Lance Armstrong, Crow was treated for breast cancer at a Los Angeles-based facility by breast cancer surgeon Dr. Kristi Funk. Crow had "minimally invasive" surgery in late February 2006, followed by radiation therapy.
On May 11, 2007, Crow announced on her official website that she had adopted a two-week-old boy named Wyatt Steven Crow. The child was born on April 29, 2007. She and Wyatt live on a 154-acre (0.62 km2) farm outside Nashville, Tennessee.
On June 4, 2010, Crow announced that she adopted another boy named Levi James Crow, born on April 30, 2010.
She is the great-granddaughter of former congressman Charles A. Crow (1873-1938).
Discography
Main article: Sheryl Crow discography
* 1993: Tuesday Night Music Club
* 1996: Sheryl Crow
* 1998: The Globe Sessions
* 2002: C'mon C'mon
* 2005: Wildflower
* 2008: Detours
* 2010: 100 Miles from Memphis
http://i378.photobucket.com/albums/oo228/ILoveLucy1901/sheryl-crow.jpg
http://i519.photobucket.com/albums/u351/jobud/sheryl_crow3.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 02/12/11 at 6:49 am
The person of the day...Maud Adams
Maud Solveig Christina Wikström (born February 12, 1945), known professionally as Maud Adams, is a Swedish actress, known for her roles as two different Bond girls in The Man with the Golden Gun (1974) and as the title character in Octopussy (1983).
Adams was born Maud Solveig Christina Wikström in Luleå, Sweden, the daughter of Thyra, a government tax inspector, and Gustav Wikström, a comptroller. She had once wanted to work as an interpreter as she is fluent in five languages. She was discovered in 1963 in a shop by a photographer who asked to take her picture, a picture he submitted to the Miss Sweden contest arranged by the magazine Allers. Adams won this contest and from there her modelling career took off.
Career
Adams moved to Paris and later to New York City to work for Eileen Ford. At this time she was one of the highest paid and most exposed models in the world. Her acting career started when she was asked to appear in the 1970 movie The Boys In The Band, in which she played a photo-shoot model in the opening credits. In the 1970s, she guest-starred in such American TV series as Hawaii Five-O and Kojak.
Adams was catapulted to international fame as the doomed villain's mistress in The Man with the Golden Gun with Roger Moore and Christopher Lee where her performance was reviewed as "tough but haunted". In short order, she appeared in Norman Jewison's futuristic Rollerball, several European films, and in the steamy obsession thriller Tattoo with Bruce Dern. She was so well regarded by James Bond film series producer Albert Broccoli that she was asked to return as the title character in Octopussy in 1983, this time as the lead—an exotic and mysterious smuggler, also opposite Roger Moore. Adams had a Swedish co-star on both of her Bond films, Kristina Wayborn as Magda in Octopussy and Britt Ekland as Mary Goodnight in The Man with the Golden Gun. She was also an extra in A View to a Kill (1985). While portraying a Bond girl has not always indicated continued success as an actress, Adams comments, "Looking back on it, how can you not really enjoy the fact that you were a Bond Girl? It’s pop culture and to be part of that is very nice."
Adams parlayed her performance to a US television series Emerald Point NAS in 1983 and 1984, but was unable to sustain her high profile, falling back on second rate material such as Jane and the Lost City in 1987.
She hosted the Swedish TV show Kafé Luleå in 1994 and played a guest role in the Swedish soap opera Vita lögner in 1998.
She guest-starred on That '70s Show in 2000, appearing as a bridesmaid to Tanya Roberts, along with Kristina Wayborn (her Octopussy co-star) and Barbara Carrera; all four share the title of Bond girl (though Carrera was in the unofficial adaptation Never Say Never Again). Adams has remained close to the Bond producers, often attending Bond premieres and other events associated with the series.
She also was the president of a cosmetics company called Scandinavian Biocosmetics.
Personal life
Adams's first marriage, from 1966–1975 to photographer Roy Adams, ended in divorce. She then had relationships with actor Reid Smith and Steven Zax, a plastic surgeon. She married her current husband, private mediator and retired judge, Charles Rubin, in 1999. She has no children.
Filmography
Films
* The Boys in the Band (1970) ... Photo Model
* The Christian Licorice Store (1971) ... Cynthia
* Mahoney's Estate (1972) ... Miriam
* U-Turn (1973) ... Paula/Tracy
* The Man with the Golden Gun (1974) ... Andrea Anders
* Rollerball (1975) ... Ella
* Killer Force (1976) ... Clare
* Merciless Man (1977) ... Marta Mayer
* Laura ... Sarah
* Tattoo (1981) ... Maddy
* Jugando con la muerte (1982) ... Carmen
* Octopussy (1983) ... Octopussy
* A View to a Kill (1985) ... Woman in Fisherman's Wharf Crowd (uncredited)
* Hell Hunters (1986) ... Amanda
* The Women's Club (1987) ... Angie
* Jane and the Lost City (1987) ... Lola Pagola
* Angel III: The Final Chapter (1988) ... Nadine
* The Mysterious Death of Nina Chereau (1988) ... Ariel Dubois
* Deadly Intent (1988) ... Elise Marlowe
* The Kill Reflex (1989) ... Crystal Tarver
* Pasión de hombre (1989) ... Susana
* The Favorite (1989) ... Sineperver
* Initiation: Silent Night, Deadly Night 4 (1990) .. Fima
* Ringer (1996) ... Leslie Polokoff
* The Seekers (2006) ... Ella Swanson
Television
* Love, American Style (1971)
* Gäst hos Hagge (1975)
* Kojak (1977) (2 episodes) ... Elenor Martinson
* Hawaii Five-O (1977) ... Maria Noble
* Big Bob Johnson and His Fantastic Speed Circus (1978) ... Vikki Lee Sanchez
* The Hostage Tower (1980) ... Sabrina Carver
* Playing for Time (1980) ... Mala
* Chicago Story (1982) ... Dr. Judith Bergstrom
* Emerald Point N.A.S. (1983) ... Maggie Farrell
* Nairobi Affair (1984) ... Anne Malone
* Blacke's Magic (1986) ... Andrea Starr
* Hotel (1986) ... Kay Radcliff
* Mission: Impossible (1989) ... Catherine Balzac
* A Perry Mason Mystery: The Case of the Wicked Wives (1993) ... Shelly Talbot Morrison
* Kafé Luleå (1994) ... Host
* Radioskugga (1995) TV-series ... Sister Katarina (Guest)
* Walker, Texas Ranger (1996) ... Simone Deschamps
* Vita lögner (1998) (20 episodes) ... Ellinor Malm
* That '70s Show (2000) ... Holly
As director
* Kafé Luleå (1994) (TV series)
As herself
* Women Who Rate a 10 (1981)
* Battle of the Network Stars XI (1981)
* Så ska det låta (1997) (TV episode)
* The James Bond Story (1999)
* The Men Behind the Mayhem: The Special Effects of James Bond (2000)
* Inside 'The Man with the Golden Gun' (2000)
* Inside 'Octopussy' (2000)
* Inside 'A View to a Kill' (2000)
* Bond Girls are Forever (2002) (TV)
* Premiere Bond: Die Another Day (2002)
* James Bond: A BAFTA Tribute (2002)
http://i1008.photobucket.com/albums/af208/mkbaltimore/Bond%20Girls/OctoBondGirlOctopussy.jpg
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k62/cinemorgue/A%20Index/Adams/Adams-M-MwtGG01.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 02/12/11 at 7:12 am
The person of the day...Maud Adams
Maud Solveig Christina Wikström (born February 12, 1945), known professionally as Maud Adams, is a Swedish actress, known for her roles as two different Bond girls in The Man with the Golden Gun (1974) and as the title character in Octopussy (1983).
Adams was born Maud Solveig Christina Wikström in Luleå, Sweden, the daughter of Thyra, a government tax inspector, and Gustav Wikström, a comptroller. She had once wanted to work as an interpreter as she is fluent in five languages. She was discovered in 1963 in a shop by a photographer who asked to take her picture, a picture he submitted to the Miss Sweden contest arranged by the magazine Allers. Adams won this contest and from there her modelling career took off.
Career
Adams moved to Paris and later to New York City to work for Eileen Ford. At this time she was one of the highest paid and most exposed models in the world. Her acting career started when she was asked to appear in the 1970 movie The Boys In The Band, in which she played a photo-shoot model in the opening credits. In the 1970s, she guest-starred in such American TV series as Hawaii Five-O and Kojak.
Adams was catapulted to international fame as the doomed villain's mistress in The Man with the Golden Gun with Roger Moore and Christopher Lee where her performance was reviewed as "tough but haunted". In short order, she appeared in Norman Jewison's futuristic Rollerball, several European films, and in the steamy obsession thriller Tattoo with Bruce Dern. She was so well regarded by James Bond film series producer Albert Broccoli that she was asked to return as the title character in Octopussy in 1983, this time as the lead—an exotic and mysterious smuggler, also opposite Roger Moore. Adams had a Swedish co-star on both of her Bond films, Kristina Wayborn as Magda in Octopussy and Britt Ekland as Mary Goodnight in The Man with the Golden Gun. She was also an extra in A View to a Kill (1985). While portraying a Bond girl has not always indicated continued success as an actress, Adams comments, "Looking back on it, how can you not really enjoy the fact that you were a Bond Girl? It’s pop culture and to be part of that is very nice."
Adams parlayed her performance to a US television series Emerald Point NAS in 1983 and 1984, but was unable to sustain her high profile, falling back on second rate material such as Jane and the Lost City in 1987.
She hosted the Swedish TV show Kafé Luleå in 1994 and played a guest role in the Swedish soap opera Vita lögner in 1998.
She guest-starred on That '70s Show in 2000, appearing as a bridesmaid to Tanya Roberts, along with Kristina Wayborn (her Octopussy co-star) and Barbara Carrera; all four share the title of Bond girl (though Carrera was in the unofficial adaptation Never Say Never Again). Adams has remained close to the Bond producers, often attending Bond premieres and other events associated with the series.
She also was the president of a cosmetics company called Scandinavian Biocosmetics.
Personal life
Adams's first marriage, from 1966–1975 to photographer Roy Adams, ended in divorce. She then had relationships with actor Reid Smith and Steven Zax, a plastic surgeon. She married her current husband, private mediator and retired judge, Charles Rubin, in 1999. She has no children.
Filmography
Films
* The Boys in the Band (1970) ... Photo Model
* The Christian Licorice Store (1971) ... Cynthia
* Mahoney's Estate (1972) ... Miriam
* U-Turn (1973) ... Paula/Tracy
* The Man with the Golden Gun (1974) ... Andrea Anders
* Rollerball (1975) ... Ella
* Killer Force (1976) ... Clare
* Merciless Man (1977) ... Marta Mayer
* Laura ... Sarah
* Tattoo (1981) ... Maddy
* Jugando con la muerte (1982) ... Carmen
* Octopussy (1983) ... Octopussy
* A View to a Kill (1985) ... Woman in Fisherman's Wharf Crowd (uncredited)
* Hell Hunters (1986) ... Amanda
* The Women's Club (1987) ... Angie
* Jane and the Lost City (1987) ... Lola Pagola
* Angel III: The Final Chapter (1988) ... Nadine
* The Mysterious Death of Nina Chereau (1988) ... Ariel Dubois
* Deadly Intent (1988) ... Elise Marlowe
* The Kill Reflex (1989) ... Crystal Tarver
* Pasión de hombre (1989) ... Susana
* The Favorite (1989) ... Sineperver
* Initiation: Silent Night, Deadly Night 4 (1990) .. Fima
* Ringer (1996) ... Leslie Polokoff
* The Seekers (2006) ... Ella Swanson
Television
* Love, American Style (1971)
* Gäst hos Hagge (1975)
* Kojak (1977) (2 episodes) ... Elenor Martinson
* Hawaii Five-O (1977) ... Maria Noble
* Big Bob Johnson and His Fantastic Speed Circus (1978) ... Vikki Lee Sanchez
* The Hostage Tower (1980) ... Sabrina Carver
* Playing for Time (1980) ... Mala
* Chicago Story (1982) ... Dr. Judith Bergstrom
* Emerald Point N.A.S. (1983) ... Maggie Farrell
* Nairobi Affair (1984) ... Anne Malone
* Blacke's Magic (1986) ... Andrea Starr
* Hotel (1986) ... Kay Radcliff
* Mission: Impossible (1989) ... Catherine Balzac
* A Perry Mason Mystery: The Case of the Wicked Wives (1993) ... Shelly Talbot Morrison
* Kafé Luleå (1994) ... Host
* Radioskugga (1995) TV-series ... Sister Katarina (Guest)
* Walker, Texas Ranger (1996) ... Simone Deschamps
* Vita lögner (1998) (20 episodes) ... Ellinor Malm
* That '70s Show (2000) ... Holly
As director
* Kafé Luleå (1994) (TV series)
As herself
* Women Who Rate a 10 (1981)
* Battle of the Network Stars XI (1981)
* Så ska det låta (1997) (TV episode)
* The James Bond Story (1999)
* The Men Behind the Mayhem: The Special Effects of James Bond (2000)
* Inside 'The Man with the Golden Gun' (2000)
* Inside 'Octopussy' (2000)
* Inside 'A View to a Kill' (2000)
* Bond Girls are Forever (2002) (TV)
* Premiere Bond: Die Another Day (2002)
* James Bond: A BAFTA Tribute (2002)
http://i1008.photobucket.com/albums/af208/mkbaltimore/Bond%20Girls/OctoBondGirlOctopussy.jpg
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k62/cinemorgue/A%20Index/Adams/Adams-M-MwtGG01.jpg
Rollerball, now there is one film I saw ages ago, and have not seen since then.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 02/12/11 at 7:17 am
British Person of the Day: Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin was born on 12 February 1809 in Shrewsbury, Shropshire into a wealthy and well-connected family. His maternal grandfather was china manufacturer Josiah Wedgwood, while his paternal grandfather was Erasmus Darwin, one of the leading intellectuals of 18th century England.
Darwin himself initially planned to follow a medical career, and studied at Edinburgh University but later switched to divinity at Cambridge. In 1831, he joined a five year scientific expedition on the survey ship HMS Beagle.
At this time, most Europeans believed that the world was created by God in seven days as described in the bible. On the voyage, Darwin read Lyell's 'Principles of Geology' which suggested that the fossils found in rocks were actually evidence of animals that had lived many thousands or millions of years ago. Lyell's argument was reinforced in Darwin's own mind by the rich variety of animal life and the geological features he saw during his voyage. The breakthrough in his ideas came in the Galapagos Islands, 500 miles west of South America. Darwin noticed that each island supported its own form of finch which were closely related but differed in important ways.
On his return to England in 1836, Darwin tried to solve the riddles of these observations and the puzzle of how species evolve. Influenced by the ideas of Malthus, he proposed a theory of evolution occurring by the process of natural selection. The animals (or plants) best suited to their environment are more likely to survive and reproduce, passing on the characteristics which helped them survive to their offspring. Gradually, the species changes over time.
Darwin worked on his theory for 20 years. After learning that another naturalist, Alfred Russel Wallace, had developed similar ideas, the two made a joint announcement of their discovery in 1858. In 1859 Darwin published 'On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection'.
The book was extremely controversial, because the logical extension of Darwin's theory was that homo sapiens was simply another form of animal. It made it seem possible that even people might just have evolved - quite possibly from apes - and destroyed the prevailing orthodoxy on how the world was created. Darwin was vehemently attacked, particularly by the Church. However, his ideas soon gained currency and have become the new orthodoxy.
Darwin died on 19 April 1882 and was buried in Westminster Abbey.
http://www.crystalinks.com/darwin.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 02/12/11 at 11:13 am
British Person of the Day: Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin was born on 12 February 1809 in Shrewsbury, Shropshire into a wealthy and well-connected family. His maternal grandfather was china manufacturer Josiah Wedgwood, while his paternal grandfather was Erasmus Darwin, one of the leading intellectuals of 18th century England.
Darwin himself initially planned to follow a medical career, and studied at Edinburgh University but later switched to divinity at Cambridge. In 1831, he joined a five year scientific expedition on the survey ship HMS Beagle.
At this time, most Europeans believed that the world was created by God in seven days as described in the bible. On the voyage, Darwin read Lyell's 'Principles of Geology' which suggested that the fossils found in rocks were actually evidence of animals that had lived many thousands or millions of years ago. Lyell's argument was reinforced in Darwin's own mind by the rich variety of animal life and the geological features he saw during his voyage. The breakthrough in his ideas came in the Galapagos Islands, 500 miles west of South America. Darwin noticed that each island supported its own form of finch which were closely related but differed in important ways.
On his return to England in 1836, Darwin tried to solve the riddles of these observations and the puzzle of how species evolve. Influenced by the ideas of Malthus, he proposed a theory of evolution occurring by the process of natural selection. The animals (or plants) best suited to their environment are more likely to survive and reproduce, passing on the characteristics which helped them survive to their offspring. Gradually, the species changes over time.
Darwin worked on his theory for 20 years. After learning that another naturalist, Alfred Russel Wallace, had developed similar ideas, the two made a joint announcement of their discovery in 1858. In 1859 Darwin published 'On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection'.
The book was extremely controversial, because the logical extension of Darwin's theory was that homo sapiens was simply another form of animal. It made it seem possible that even people might just have evolved - quite possibly from apes - and destroyed the prevailing orthodoxy on how the world was created. Darwin was vehemently attacked, particularly by the Church. However, his ideas soon gained currency and have become the new orthodoxy.
Darwin died on 19 April 1882 and was buried in Westminster Abbey.
http://www.crystalinks.com/darwin.jpg
Darwin's theory of evolution is based on key facts and the inferences drawn from them, which biologist Ernst Mayr summarised as follows:
* Every species is fertile enough that if all offspring survived to reproduce the population would grow (fact).
* Despite periodic fluctuations, populations remain roughly the same size (fact).
* Resources such as food are limited and are relatively stable over time (fact).
* A struggle for survival ensues (inference).
* Individuals in a population vary significantly from one another (fact).
* Much of this variation is inheritable (fact).
* Individuals less suited to the environment are less likely to survive and less likely to reproduce; individuals more suited to the environment are more likely to survive and more likely to reproduce and leave their inheritable traits to future generations, which produces the process of natural selection (inference).
* This slowly effected process results in populations changing to adapt to their environments, and ultimately, these variations accumulate over time to form new species (inference).
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 02/12/11 at 4:23 pm
Maud Adams is very pretty.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 02/13/11 at 3:41 am
British Person of the Day: Oliver Reed
Oliver Reed will probably be better remembered for his off-screen antics than his work as an actor.
His career took off in the 1960s, but he found greater fame as a hard-drinking hellraiser.
He was born in Wimbledon, south London, on 13 February 1938.
But by the time he hit his teens, his wild streak had already surfaced. He ran away from the family home in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, to become a Soho strip club bouncer, fairground boxer and hospital porter.
Acting soon followed, during his national service in Hong Kong, and his long search for a showbusiness break began soon after.
60s heart-throb
The lead role in a BBC series, playing Richard of Gloucester, led to a string of television parts before the movies beckoned in the shape of Hammer horror films.
He was quickly cast as the type of actor people "love to hate" and became one of the handful of British actors never out of a well-paid job.
His larger-than-life screen presence was capitalised on by Ken Russell, who cast him in Debussy on television and then in the films Women in Love, The Devils and Tommy.
But it was the nude wrestling scene with Alan Bates in the 1969 film Women in Love that started the wave of publicity that later threatened to engulf Reed.
'I don't punch people any more'
His hard-drinking reputation and the scrapes he found himself in almost overshadowed later films, including Musketeers' Triple Echo and Castaway.
The actor explained his behaviour by saying that having "cultivated the image of a baddie", he would pursue it, if it was what people wanted to see.
"That is why, if I go on a chat show, I give them the very thing they want, and sometimes I go over the top," he said.
"But I don't punch people any more; I am too old for that now. And very often I have hit someone only to avoid being hit myself."
Escapades which either he or others have recounted include:
* Spiking snooker ace Alex Higgins's whisky with Chanel perfume, followed by Higgins squirting washing-up liquid in his creme de menthe
* His occasional habit of displaying the bird claws tattooed on his private parts, a performance which was once described as his "party trick"
* He denied downing 104 pints of beer in a two-day session before marrying his wife, Josephine. "The event that was reported actually took place during an arm-wrestling competition in Guernsey about 15 years ago," he said. "It was highly exaggerated."
* He once arrived at Galway airport lying drunk on a baggage conveyor
* He once said: "I like the effect drink has on me. What's the point of staying sober?"
16-year-old companion
His notoriety peaked in September 1985 when he married 21-year-old Josephine Burge, who had been his companion since she was 16.
His previous marriage was to Irish model Kate Byrne, with whom he had a son Mark. The marriage was dissolved in 1970 after 10 years.
He also had a daughter, Sarah, from a 12-year relationship with a ballet dancer, Jacquie Daryl.
But beyond the legend there was a man with a marvellous speaking voice who was the ultimate professional - always word perfect and unfailingly courteous to colleagues and technicians.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 02/13/11 at 3:43 am
British Person of the Day: Oliver Reed
Oliver Reed will probably be better remembered for his off-screen antics than his work as an actor.
His career took off in the 1960s, but he found greater fame as a hard-drinking hellraiser.
He was born in Wimbledon, south London, on 13 February 1938.
But by the time he hit his teens, his wild streak had already surfaced. He ran away from the family home in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, to become a Soho strip club bouncer, fairground boxer and hospital porter.
Acting soon followed, during his national service in Hong Kong, and his long search for a showbusiness break began soon after.
60s heart-throb
The lead role in a BBC series, playing Richard of Gloucester, led to a string of television parts before the movies beckoned in the shape of Hammer horror films.
He was quickly cast as the type of actor people "love to hate" and became one of the handful of British actors never out of a well-paid job.
His larger-than-life screen presence was capitalised on by Ken Russell, who cast him in Debussy on television and then in the films Women in Love, The Devils and Tommy.
But it was the nude wrestling scene with Alan Bates in the 1969 film Women in Love that started the wave of publicity that later threatened to engulf Reed.
'I don't punch people any more'
His hard-drinking reputation and the scrapes he found himself in almost overshadowed later films, including Musketeers' Triple Echo and Castaway.
The actor explained his behaviour by saying that having "cultivated the image of a baddie", he would pursue it, if it was what people wanted to see.
"That is why, if I go on a chat show, I give them the very thing they want, and sometimes I go over the top," he said.
"But I don't punch people any more; I am too old for that now. And very often I have hit someone only to avoid being hit myself."
Escapades which either he or others have recounted include:
* Spiking snooker ace Alex Higgins's whisky with Chanel perfume, followed by Higgins squirting washing-up liquid in his creme de menthe
* His occasional habit of displaying the bird claws tattooed on his private parts, a performance which was once described as his "party trick"
* He denied downing 104 pints of beer in a two-day session before marrying his wife, Josephine. "The event that was reported actually took place during an arm-wrestling competition in Guernsey about 15 years ago," he said. "It was highly exaggerated."
* He once arrived at Galway airport lying drunk on a baggage conveyor
* He once said: "I like the effect drink has on me. What's the point of staying sober?"
16-year-old companion
His notoriety peaked in September 1985 when he married 21-year-old Josephine Burge, who had been his companion since she was 16.
His previous marriage was to Irish model Kate Byrne, with whom he had a son Mark. The marriage was dissolved in 1970 after 10 years.
He also had a daughter, Sarah, from a 12-year relationship with a ballet dancer, Jacquie Daryl.
But beyond the legend there was a man with a marvellous speaking voice who was the ultimate professional - always word perfect and unfailingly courteous to colleagues and technicians.
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_xcTUGbF9ZZI/S5hIgsRJ9hI/AAAAAAAAAFI/0hiP7-srzqA/s400/Oliver_Reed_Bill_Sykes.jpg
Oliver Reed as the non-singing Bill Sykes in Oliver!
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: gibbo on 02/13/11 at 4:57 am
I really liked Oliver Reed in the film " The Assassination Bureau" ...with Emma Peel....err, I meant Diana Rigg. ::)
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 02/13/11 at 5:48 am
I really liked Oliver Reed in the film " The Assassination Bureau" ...with Emma Peel....err, I meant Diana Rigg. ::)
How about his naked wrestling with Alan Bates in Women In Love?
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 02/13/11 at 7:00 am
British Person of the Day: Oliver Reed
Oliver Reed will probably be better remembered for his off-screen antics than his work as an actor.
His career took off in the 1960s, but he found greater fame as a hard-drinking hellraiser.
He was born in Wimbledon, south London, on 13 February 1938.
But by the time he hit his teens, his wild streak had already surfaced. He ran away from the family home in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, to become a Soho strip club bouncer, fairground boxer and hospital porter.
Acting soon followed, during his national service in Hong Kong, and his long search for a showbusiness break began soon after.
60s heart-throb
The lead role in a BBC series, playing Richard of Gloucester, led to a string of television parts before the movies beckoned in the shape of Hammer horror films.
He was quickly cast as the type of actor people "love to hate" and became one of the handful of British actors never out of a well-paid job.
His larger-than-life screen presence was capitalised on by Ken Russell, who cast him in Debussy on television and then in the films Women in Love, The Devils and Tommy.
But it was the nude wrestling scene with Alan Bates in the 1969 film Women in Love that started the wave of publicity that later threatened to engulf Reed.
'I don't punch people any more'
His hard-drinking reputation and the scrapes he found himself in almost overshadowed later films, including Musketeers' Triple Echo and Castaway.
The actor explained his behaviour by saying that having "cultivated the image of a baddie", he would pursue it, if it was what people wanted to see.
"That is why, if I go on a chat show, I give them the very thing they want, and sometimes I go over the top," he said.
"But I don't punch people any more; I am too old for that now. And very often I have hit someone only to avoid being hit myself."
Escapades which either he or others have recounted include:
* Spiking snooker ace Alex Higgins's whisky with Chanel perfume, followed by Higgins squirting washing-up liquid in his creme de menthe
* His occasional habit of displaying the bird claws tattooed on his private parts, a performance which was once described as his "party trick"
* He denied downing 104 pints of beer in a two-day session before marrying his wife, Josephine. "The event that was reported actually took place during an arm-wrestling competition in Guernsey about 15 years ago," he said. "It was highly exaggerated."
* He once arrived at Galway airport lying drunk on a baggage conveyor
* He once said: "I like the effect drink has on me. What's the point of staying sober?"
16-year-old companion
His notoriety peaked in September 1985 when he married 21-year-old Josephine Burge, who had been his companion since she was 16.
His previous marriage was to Irish model Kate Byrne, with whom he had a son Mark. The marriage was dissolved in 1970 after 10 years.
He also had a daughter, Sarah, from a 12-year relationship with a ballet dancer, Jacquie Daryl.
But beyond the legend there was a man with a marvellous speaking voice who was the ultimate professional - always word perfect and unfailingly courteous to colleagues and technicians.
Very good choice..I've always liked him. :)
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 02/13/11 at 7:02 am
Very good choice..I've always liked him. :)
For what he was and life he led, he was/is still adorable.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 02/13/11 at 7:04 am
The person of the day...Robbie Williams
Robert Peter "Robbie" Williams (born 13 February 1974) is an English singer-songwriter, vocal coach and occasional actor. He is a member of the pop group Take That. Williams rose to fame in the band's first run in the early- to mid-1990s. After many disagreements with the management and certain group members, Williams left the group in 1995 to launch his solo career. On 15 July 2010, it was announced he had rejoined Take That and that the group intended to release a new album in November 2010.
Williams has sold more than 57 million albums worldwide. He is the best-selling British solo artist in the United Kingdom and the best selling non-Latino artist in Latin America. Six of his albums are among the top 100 biggest-selling albums in the United Kingdom. He has also been honoured with fifteen BRIT Awards—more than any other artist—and seven ECHO Awards. In 2004, he was inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame after being voted as the "Greatest Artist of the 1990s."
In 1990, the sixteen year old Williams was the youngest member to join Take That. According to the documentary Take That: For the Record, his mother read an advertisement seeking members for a new boy band and suggested that he try out for the group. He met fellow member Mark Owen on the day of his audition/interview with Nigel Martin-Smith. During the heights of the band's popularity, Williams was known as the extrovert and practical joker of the band. Although the majority of the band's material was written and performed by Gary Barlow, Williams did perform lead vocals on their first Top Ten hit "Could It Be Magic", "I Found Heaven", and "Everything Changes". However, he had conflicts with Martin-Smith over the restrictive rules for Take That members, and he began drinking more alcohol and dabbling in cocaine.
In July 1995, Williams's drug abuse had escalated to the point of his having a near drug overdose the night before the group was scheduled to perform at the MTV Europe Music Awards. According to the documentary For the Record, he stated that he was unhappy with his musical ideas not being taken seriously by lead singer Barlow and Nigel Martin-Smith, because his desire to explore hip hop and rap conflicted with the band's usual ballads. Barlow explained in interviews that Williams had given up trying to offer creative input and merely did as he was told. As well as Williams's friction with the management of the band, Jason Orange had problems with his increasingly belligerent behaviour, his lack of interest in performing, and his frequent habit of missing the band's rehearsals.
Both Orange and Barlow confronted Martin-Smith about the internal conflict, because they did not want him dropping out while touring and before any possible future touring of America, which never took place. During one of the last rehearsals before the tour commenced, the group confronted Williams about his attitude and stated they wanted to do the tour without him. He agreed to quit the band and left; it would be the last time for twelve years that they were all together. Despite the departure of Williams, Take That completed their Nobody Else Tour as a four-piece band. They later disbanded on 13 February 1996, Williams's twenty-second birthday.
Shortly afterwards, Williams was photographed by the press partying with the members of Oasis at Glastonbury Festival. Following his departure, he became the subject of talk shows and newspapers as he acknowledged his plans to become a solo singer, and he was spotted partying with George Michael in France. However, a clause in his Take That contract prohibited him from releasing any material until after the group was officially dissolved, and he was later sued by Martin-Smith and forced to pay $200,000 in commission. After various legal battles over his right to a solo career, Williams was victorious in getting released from his contract with BMG. On 27 June 1996, Williams formally announced that he had signed with Chrysalis Records.
1996–98: Life Thru a Lens and I've Been Expecting You
After leaving Take That, Williams launched his solo career starting things off in 1996 by covering George Michael's "Freedom", the single reached number two in the UK Singles Chart, twenty-six places higher than George Michael's original.
Recordings for Williams's first album began at London's Maison Rouge studios in March of that year. Shortly after his introduction to Guy Chambers, Williams released "Old Before I Die" which would be the first single taken from his début album. Co-written by Williams with Eric Bazilian and Desmond Child, the single was released in April 1997, hitting number two on the UK Charts; however, it was largely ignored on international charts. The second single, "Lazy Days", was released in mid-1997. Although Williams was going through drug rehabilitation on the advice of his friend Elton John, he was allowed to check out to shoot the video for the song, but promotion for the single was virtually non-existent, so whilst the single charted at number eight in the United Kingdom, it struggled to reach the top forty of any European chart.
His debut album, Life Thru a Lens, was released in September 1997. The album launched with his first live solo gig at the Élysée Montmartre theatre in Paris, France. At first, the album was slow to take off, debuting at number eleven of the UK Album Charts. The third single of the album, "South of the Border", failed to make a significant impact on the UK Charts. When it was released in September 1997, it reached number fourteen.
After Williams met the record company's concerns about his future, he released what would be the fourth single taken from his album, not knowing it would become his biggest single in the United Kingdom so far, and one of his best-known and most successful songs to date. "Angels" became Williams' best-seller in the United Kingdom, being certified 2x Platinum by the BPI. The song, apart from becoming a hit around Europe and Latin America, caused sales of his album to skyrocket. The album remained inside the British top ten for forty weeks and spent 218 weeks there altogether, making it the 58th best selling album in UK History with sales of over 2.4 million. The album eventually managed to sell over three million copies in Europe alone.
Williams and Chambers started writing the second album in Jamaica in early 1998. The first single, "Millennium", was inspired by John Barry's, theme song for You Only Live Twice, the James Bond movie. The song became Williams' first solo number one single in the United Kingdom when it was released in September of that year. The song went on to sell over 400,000 copies in the UK alone being certified Gold by the BPI in November 1998. It also became a top twenty hit in many European countries, as well becoming a hit in Latin America and Australia.
When the album I've Been Expecting You was released in late October 1998, it débuted at number one in the UK Albums Chart. The album received more attention outside the United Kingdom, leaving its mark in the European and Latin American markets with hits such as "No Regrets", a collaboration with The Pet Shop Boys' singer Neil Tennant and The Divine Comedy's Neil Hannon. The single "No Regrets" was released in November 1998, reaching number four in the UK Singles Chart, backed with the cover of Adam and the Ants, "Antmusic". The single eventually sold over 200,000 copies in the United Kingdom being certified Silver in October 2004, almost six years after its original release.
The third single "Strong" from the album debuted at number four in the United Kingdom and number nine in New Zealand, however peaked moderately at only number 68 in Germany, number 99 in France and number 55 in the Netherlands. The fourth single, "She's the One", a cover of a track from World Party's album, Egyptology, became his second number one hit in the United Kingdom. The single was released as a double a-side with "It's Only Us", the official theme for FIFA 2000. The single became a massive success selling over 400,000 copies in the UK alone being certified Gold by the BPI in early 2000. Williams finished the year with an extensive European Tour late in 1999.
The album I've Been Expecting You was a smash hit, selling almost 3 million copies in the United Kingdom alone: certified 10x Platinum by the BPI. In Europe alone, the album sold over 4 million copies.
1999–2001: Sing When You're Winning and Swing When You're Winning
In 1999, Williams was signed to Capitol Records in the United States, which is a part of EMI. Williams embarked on a US promotional tour and when his first U.S. and Canadian single, "Millennium" was released, it hit number 72 on the Billboard Hot 100, the album The Ego Has Landed was released in July 1999 in the United States and Canada, not having the success that he enjoyed in Europe - the album peaked at number 63 in the U.S. Billboard Albums Chart and number 17 on the Canadian SoundScan album chart. Despite this, Williams enjoyed good video airplay and received a nomination for the MTV Video Music Awards for "Best Male Video" – he did not win, but the exposure helped sales of the album.
Capitol Records, trying to make Williams a bigger star, released a second single from the album, the ballad "Angels". Williams shot a new video for it, and when it was released in fall of that year, the song became a somewhat bigger hit than "Millennium", peaking at number 53, but this was not enough for Williams, so he concentrated on the rest of the world where he was already an established act. The album went on to sell 596,000 copies in the United States, certified Gold by the RIAA in November of that year. The compilation was released worldwide (as a limited edition in Europe); the album was a success in New Zealand reaching number one on the official album charts.
In the middle of promotion and the tours in 1999, becoming an established worldwide pop star, Williams found time to start work on what would be his third studio album. This time he had finally found his inner confidence.
The first single taken from the album was "Rock DJ", a song inspired by Williams's UNICEF mentor, the late Ian Dury. The video showed Williams in an attempt to get noticed by a group of females, first stripping and then tearing chunks of skin and muscle from his body, and caused controversy in the United Kingdom and many other countries. The video was edited by Top of the Pops for its graphic content and many other channels followed suit. The song became an instant hit, making number one in the United Kingdom and becoming his third number one single as a solo artist exactly a year after his sell-out concert at the Slane Castle. The song also reached number one in New Zealand and hit the Top 10 placings in many countries including Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Norway, Italy and Australia. Despite this success, the song failed to break into the United States charts, but it did get some TV Airplay on channels such as MTV and VH1. The song went on to win several awards; among them, "Best Song of 2000" at the MTV Europe Music Awards, "Best Single of the Year" at the BRIT Awards and an MTV Video Music Award for Best Special Effects. It sold over 600,000 copies in the UK alone, being certified Platinum by the BPI.
When the album, Sing When You're Winning was released in August 2000, it topped the charts in many different countries all over the world including Germany, New Zealand and The Netherlands and secured top ten placings in Italy, Austria, Australia, Finland and Sweden, among many others. As for the UK, the album débuted at number one being certified 2x Platinum on its first week of release.
The album's second single, a collaboration with Australian singer Kylie Minogue, titled "Kids", was written when Minogue approached Williams to write material for what would be her first album under Parlophone – Light Years. Williams decided to include the track on his album and release it as a single. It was an instant hit when it was released in October of that year, hitting number two in the United Kingdom and reaching top twenty placings in countries like Australia and New Zealand. Kids became one of the biggest hits of that year selling over 200,000 copies in the UK alone and was certified Silver.
Further singles, such as "Supreme" (which Williams also recorded in French), and "Better Man" became big hits reaching the top 10 in numerous countries around the world.
"Eternity", a track that was not featured on the album, was released in mid 2001 backed with "The Road to Mandalay" - the former was written by Williams. It became his fourth number one single in the United Kingdom, selling over 70,000 copies in its first week in the UK alone, and also hit the top 10 in many countries including Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Italy among others.
The album spent 91 weeks inside the UK Charts, going on to sell 2.4 million copies in the UK alone and was certified 8x Platinum by the BPI. It became the 51st Best Selling album in UK Music History and went on to sell over 4 million copies in Europe alone.
After the success of his third album, Williams wanted to take another musical direction. He took two weeks off from his tour to record what would be his fourth studio album, the big band album he had always dreamed of making. Born from his life-long love for Frank Sinatra – combined with the success of the track "Have You Met Miss Jones?" that he recorded for the film Bridget Jones' Diary in early 2001 – the album was recorded at the Capitol Studios in Los Angeles, California.
Williams took the chance to duet with his long-time friend Jonathan Wilkes, Little Voice star Jane Horrocks, Saturday Night Live star Jon Lovitz, Rupert Everett and the Academy Award winning actress Nicole Kidman. The first single released from the album was a duet with Kidman, on "Somethin' Stupid". Originally a hit for Frank and Nancy Sinatra, the song became Williams' fifth number one hit in the United Kingdom, selling almost 100,000 copies in its first week of release, as well as hitting the top 5 in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, The Netherlands, Belgium and New Zealand. It eventually went on to become one of the biggest hits of 2001, selling over 200,000 copies in the UK alone. After spending three weeks at the top of the charts in 2001, it was certified Silver in January 2002.
When the album Swing When You're Winning (in reference to his 2000 studio album Sing When You're Winning) was released in late 2001, it became an instant hit in the United Kingdom (spending six consecutive weeks at number one), Ireland, New Zealand, Austria, Germany and Switzerland and it reached the top ten in the rest of the world, going on to sell over 2 million copies by the end of 2001 and over 7 million altogether. A second single was released from the album, a double a-side "Mr. Bojangles/I Will Talk and Hollywood Will Listen". It was, however, released only in Central and Eastern Europe. "Mack the Knife" was released as a radio single in Mexico.
The album spent 85 weeks inside the UK Charts, selling more than 2.1 million copies. It was certified 7x Platinum in the United Kingdom and ultimately became the 49th Best Selling Album in UK Music History. "Beyond the Sea" was put in the credits of the film Finding Nemo in 2003 and was also released on the film's soundtrack CD.
A DVD called Robbie Williams Live at the Albert Hall was released in December of that year. So far, it has become one of the best selling music DVDs in Europe, being certified 6x Platinum in the United Kingdom and 2x Platinum in Germany
n June 2010, it was officially announced that Williams was ready to release his second greatest hits album, In and Out of Consciousness: The Greatest Hits 1990–2010, to celebrate his 20 years as a performing artist. Williams new single, also included on the album, will be "Shame", which is written and sung by Williams and Gary Barlow, his Take That bandmate. The single was set to released on 4 October 2010, while the album was set for release on 11 October 2010 in both CD and DVD formats.
On 15 July 2010, Robbie Williams announced he was returning to Take That. A joint statement between Williams and the group said "The rumours are true... Take That: the original lineup, have written and recorded a new album, to be called, Progress for release later this year," read the band's statement. "Following months of speculation Gary Barlow, Howard Donald, Jason Orange, Mark Owen and Robbie Williams confirmed they have been recording a new studio album as a five-piece, which they will release in November."
On 26 August 2010, it was announced Williams would become a guest vocal coach on the ninth series of German reality television show Popstars: Girls forever to teach candidates for a girl group. On 20 September 2010, Williams released his second book called "You Know Me" in collaboration with Chris Heath. The book features a personal photo collection from the past 20 years of his career and behind-the-scenes insight from Williams.
In October, Media Control named Robbie Williams the most successful album-artist of the millennium due to the fact that he had spent No. 1 on the German Albums Chart for 38 weeks since 2000. He also reached that chart's Top Ten 135 times.
Other projects
Reunion of Take That
Williams announced in December 2008 that he was planning to relocate to the UK prior to releasing his eighth studio album in late-2009, and a possible reunion with Take That. Photos also showed Williams with his new tattoo of the Take That logo on his right arm, in tribute to his former bandmates. Williams bought a £7 million home in the village of Compton Bassett, Wiltshire.
On 27 March 2009, Williams stated he felt ready to re-join Take That. He said: "I'm in regular contact with them, even Gaz, and it's looking more likely by the week. The lads all seem up for it and some people think it's a done deal. I think it would be fun." Williams was eager to re-join the band on their The Circus Live tour, but these plans never materialised. In September 2009, Williams was reported to be working in New York with Take That, however these rumours were never confirmed.
While it was rumoured that Williams would reunite with Take That on 12 November 2009 for a Children In Need charity concert at The Royal Albert Hall, they merely greeted each other warmly on stage between performances. However, both did join with the other acts in the final song of the evening, with Robbie putting his arm around Gary Barlow and singing Hey Jude happily together. Williams subsequently implied in an interview that a proper reunion was still a distinct possibility. On 15 February 2010, tabloid newspaper The Sun printed an interview with Robbie, stating that he and Take That had been sighted going to an Los Angeles studio together.
It was announced on 15 July that Robbie Williams had rejoined Take That. In November 2010 the Take That album Progress was released, becoming the fastest selling album since 2000 and second fastest selling album in UK history. Robbie explained that the long-standing friction between himself and Gary has been resolved, and how close they are now.
The band also announced the Progress Live 2011 tour which will travel across the UK in the Summer and finish with a record breaking 8 nights at Wembley Stadium in London. The tour will also visit some of the biggest venues across Europe after the tour of the UK. The tour was the fastest selling tour in UK history with ticket hotlines and websites crashing under the demand.
Reception in North America
Williams's first United States single, "Millennium", made it to #72 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Its highest position on American charts was #20 in Top 40 Mainstream. His second single, "Angels", was a success on the Hot Adult Contemporary Chart where it peaked at #10. It also hit #41 in the Hot 100, becoming his highest peaking track on the main American chart and the most commonly known Robbie Williams song in the United States (later covers by Jessica Simpson and David Archuleta would be released as singles). In 1999, Williams released a special, US only, compilation of his first two albums, titled The Ego Has Landed. The album peaked at #63 and went Gold selling over 500,000 copies in the US.
Later in 2000, "Rock DJ", a single taken from Williams's second US album Sing When You're Winning, was released; it reached #24 in the Hot Dance Club Play Chart, but failed to chart on the Hot 100. The album peaked at #110 on the Billboard 200 and only stayed on the charts for four weeks.
Together with a promotional tour, EMI hoped that the release of Escapology would be the album to successfully break the American market. Williams performed the lead song "Feel" on such shows as Good Morning America and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. However, this single did not reach Hot 100 but peaked at #28 on the Adult Top 40. The album Escapology also failed to catch fire in America and peaked at #43 on the US Album Billboard Charts. Intensive Care and Rudebox were not released on an American label, but they were made available on iTunes. Williams's 2009 album, Reality Killed The Video Star, was released in the US, but was also a commercial failure, peaking at #160 and remained on the chart for only one week.
Williams's single "Lovelight" was released in the United States by Virgin Records, debuting at #23 in the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play Chart on March 2008 and eventually peaking at #8 by May 2008. It was the third single from the British singer to hit the American dance chart. It was also his sixth single to reach American charts and his second highest-charting single in an American chart to date. Other singles from Rudebox were released in the United States: She's Madonna, We're the Pet Shop Boys and We're the Pet Shop Boys (Close My Eyes). These songs peaked at #12, #5 and #7 respectively in the Hot Dance Club Play chart.
In Canada, Williams has enjoyed more success, with "Feel" reaching the top ten there. A few of his other songs have gained popularity there, notably "Angels", "Millennium", "Rock DJ", "Tripping" and "She's Madonna". Williams has received a Platinum certification for his The Ego Has Landed for sales of over 100,000 and Gold for Swing When You're Winning as well as for Escapology selling over 50,000 units of each.
Collaborations
One of his most famous collaborations was on the song "Kids", a duet with Australian pop star Kylie Minogue. The single peaked at number 2 on the UK singles charts in 2000. Williams also collaborated with Australian film star Nicole Kidman on a cover of Frank and Nancy Sinatra's "Somethin' Stupid". The single reached number 1 on the UK singles chart in 2001. His single "No Regrets" featured Neil Tennant, and Neil Hannon on backing vocals.
In 2002, Williams appeared on the track "My Culture" on the 1 Giant Leap album, alongside rapper Maxi Jazz (which features lyrics from the hidden track "Hello Sir" from Life Thru a Lens). Williams also features on a double CD titled Concrete which was released on the same day as Rudebox. The CD features a concert recorded for the BBC featuring the Pet Shop Boys and Williams singing their classic hit "Jealousy". Their joint effort, "She's Madonna", was released as a single in March 2007. On 13 August 2007, a Dean Martin duets album was released, on which Williams sings "Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone". Most recently it was announced that Williams has recorded what is going to be Mexican singer Thalía's first single from her upcoming English-language album. In 2010 he announced that he was to release "Shame", a duet with Take That lead singer songwriter Gary Barlow as the first single from his greatest hits collection In and Out of Consciousness: The Greatest Hits 1990–2010.
Discography
Main article: Robbie Williams discography
Studio albums
* Life thru a Lens (1997)
* I've Been Expecting You (1998)
* Sing When You're Winning (2000)
* Swing When You're Winning (2001)
* Escapology (2002)
* Intensive Care (2005)
* Rudebox (2006)
* Reality Killed the Video Star (2009)
Compilation albums
* The Ego Has Landed (1999)
* Greatest Hits (2004)
* The Best So Far (2006) (released only in Brazil)
* Songbook (2009) (released only in the UK with The Mail on Sunday)
* In and Out of Consciousness: Greatest Hits 1990–2010 (2010)
Live albums
* Live at Knebworth (2003)
http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o215/FloraAshley/Robbie_williams.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v305/Bea2/Robbie.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 02/13/11 at 7:05 am
For what he was and life he led, he was/is still adorable.
Someone to meet at the pub and hang out with. :)
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 02/13/11 at 7:14 am
Someone to meet at the pub and hang out with. :)
...but sadly not now.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 02/13/11 at 7:15 am
Someone to meet at the pub and hang out with. :)
Which reminds me, I still have to see Gladiator.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: CatwomanofV on 02/13/11 at 8:35 am
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_xcTUGbF9ZZI/S5hIgsRJ9hI/AAAAAAAAAFI/0hiP7-srzqA/s400/Oliver_Reed_Bill_Sykes.jpg
Oliver Reed as the non-singing Bill Sykes in Oliver!
He did an outstanding job in that part.
Cat
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 02/13/11 at 8:37 am
He did an outstanding job in that part.
Cat
...but still did not sing the song "My Name" for Bill Sykes composed by Lionel Bart for the original stage production.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 02/13/11 at 8:39 am
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KeaT8RsFVIQ&feature=fvst
From Beat Girl (1960) featuring a young Oliver Reed.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 02/13/11 at 8:41 am
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4M10GShuSZg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: CatwomanofV on 02/13/11 at 9:30 am
...but still did not sing the song "My Name" for Bill Sykes composed by Lionel Bart for the original stage production.
I don't remember the song at all. We used to have the album to the play. I guess we didn't listen to it much like we did with the other albums to plays we had. I always hated when they cut songs from the plays to the movies. I am so glad that people FINALLY got the idea to just film the play on stage. It is so much better than Hollywood rewriting the play to suit the actors. It really gets me how they used to cast people who couldn't sing or dance in musicals. Made no since to me.
Cat
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 02/13/11 at 10:02 am
I don't remember the song at all. We used to have the album to the play. I guess we didn't listen to it much like we did with the other albums to plays we had. I always hated when they cut songs from the plays to the movies. I am so glad that people FINALLY got the idea to just film the play on stage. It is so much better than Hollywood rewriting the play to suit the actors. It really gets me how they used to cast people who couldn't sing or dance in musicals. Made no since to me.
Cat
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvnINNY2FWk
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: CatwomanofV on 02/13/11 at 4:51 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvnINNY2FWk
Thanks, but I can't listen to it right now. My hook-up is not much better than dial-up.
Cat
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 02/14/11 at 6:23 am
The person of the day...Murray The K
Murray Kaufman (February 14, 1922 – February 21, 1982), professionally known as Murray the K, was an influential rock and roll impresario and disc jockey of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. During the early days of Beatlemania, he frequently referred to himself as the fifth Beatle.
Murray Kaufman came from a show business family: his mother, Jean, played piano in vaudeville and wrote music and his aunt was a character actress on the stage and in film. He was a child actor - an extra - in several 1930s Hollywood films. He attended a military boarding school, and later was inducted into the United States Army where he arranged entertainment for the troops. Following the war, he put together shows in the Catskills' "Borscht Belt", also doing warm-ups for the headline performers.
Post-war
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In the late 1940s and early 1950s, he worked in public relations and as a song plugger, helping to promote tunes like Bob Merrill's "How Much Is That Doggie In The Window." From there, he worked as a radio producer and co-host at WMCA (and briefly thereafter at WMGM), working with personalities such as Laraine Day on the late night interview program "Day At Night" and with Eva Gabor. At the same time, he was doing promotion for several baseball players, including Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays, and his radio beginnings may be attributable to his connection with the New York Giants, whose manager, Leo Durocher, was the husband of Laraine Day. His work on those shows earned him his own late-night show that often featured his wife as co-host, as was popular at the time. For a while in the 1950s he was president of the National Conference of Disk Jockeys.
Deejay: from AM to FM
"This meeting of the Swingin' Soiree is now in session!"
Murray the K Fan Club promo, c. 1960
Kaufman's big break came in 1958 after he moved to WINS-AM to do the all-night show, which he titled "The Swingin' Soiree." Shortly after his arrival, WINS's high energy star disk jockey, Alan Freed, was indicted for tax evasion and forced off the air. Though Freed's spot was briefly occupied by Bruce Morrow, who later became known as Cousin Brucie on WABC, Murray soon was moved into the 7-11PM time period and remained there for the next seven years, always opening his show with Sinatra and making radio history with his innovative segues, jingles, sound effects, antics, and frenetic, creative programming. Jeff Rice, writing in M/C Journal, says that Tom Wolfe calls Murray "the original hysterical disk jockey"
"The Fifth Beatle"
Murray the K reached his peak of popularity in the mid 1960s when, as the top-rated radio host in New York City, he became an early and ardent supporter and friend of The Beatles. When the Beatles came to New York in February, 1964, Murray was the first DJ they welcomed into their circle, having heard about him and his Brooklyn Fox shows from American acts who visited England. Murray did his radio show from their Plaza Hotel room their first night in New York and accompanied them to Washington, D.C. for their first U.S. concert, was backstage at their Ed Sullivan Show premiere, and roomed with Beatles guitarist George Harrison in Miami, broadcasting his shows from there. He came to be referred to as the "Fifth Beatle," a moniker he said he was given either by Harrison during the train ride to the Beatles' first concert in Washington D.C. or by Ringo Starr at a press conference before that concert. (However, in The Beatles: The First U.S. Visit he is seen christening himself thus in a phone conversation with the Beatles on the morning of their arrival in New York). His radio station WINS picked up on the name and billed him as the Fifth Beatle, a moniker he came to regret. He was invited to the set of A Hard Day's Night in England and made several treks to England during 1964, giving WINS listeners more Beatle exclusives.
The move to FM
By the end of 1964, Murray found out that WINS was going to change to an all news format the following year. He resigned on the air in December 1964 (breaking news about the sale of the station and the change in format before the station and Group W released it) and did his last show on February 27 prior to the format change that occurred in April 1965. A year later, in 1966, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) ruled that AM and FM radio stations could no longer simply simultaneously broadcast the same content, opening the door for Murray to become program director and primetime dj on WOR-FM — one of the first FM rock stations, soon airing such djs as Rosko and Scott Muni in the new FM format. Murray played long album cuts rather than singles, often playing groups of songs by one artist, or thematically linked songs, uninterrupted by commercials. He combined live in-studio interviews with folk-rock — he called it "attitude music" — and all forms of popular music in a free-form format. He played artists like Bob Dylan and Janis Ian, the long album versions of their songs that came to be known as the "FM cuts". Al Aronowitz quotes Murray as saying, about his this formula, "You didn't have to hype the record any more. The music was speaking for itself."
Dylan
During that time Murray was often a champion of the much-maligned electric Bob Dylan. He introduced him to boos at a huge Forest Hills Tennis Stadium concert in August 1965, saying "It's not rock, it's not folk, it's a new thing called Dylan."
He defended Dylan on a WABC-TV panel:
"Even in his months of seclusion after the motorcycle accident, WABC-TV dedicated a television show to a discussion of what Bob Dylan was really like. When one member of the panel accused Dylan of all but inventing juvenile delinquency, there was only Murray the K to defend him. 'Is Bob Dylan every kid's father?' Murray asked."
Last years in radio
WOR switched to an oldies format and Murray the K left New York radio to host programs in Toronto - on CHUM -and on WHFS in the Washington, D.C. area. He returned to New York in 1970 on the weekend show NBC Monitor and as a fill-in morning dj, and then in 1972 moved to a regular evening weekend program on WNBC radio where Don Imus was broadcasting; he was joined there by the legendary Wolfman Jack, a year later. Although it was low-key, Murray's WNBC show featured his own innovative trademark programming style, including telling stories that were illustrated by selected songs, his unique segues, and his pairing cuts by theme or idiosyncratic associations. In early 1975, he was brought on for a brief stint at legendary Long Island alternative rock station WLIR, and his final New York radio show ran later that year on WKTU-FM after which - already in ill health - he moved to Los Angeles.
Brooklyn Fox shows
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Throughout his New York radio career, Kaufman produced multi-racial rock 'n' roll shows he produced three or four times a year, usually during the Easter school recess, the week before Labor Day, and between Christmas and New Year at the Brooklyn Fox Theater. Those shows featured the top performers of the era and introduced new acts, such as Dionne Warwick, The Delicates, Chuck Jackson, The Zombies, Little Anthony & The Imperials, the Ronettes, the Shangri-Las, Gene Pitney, Ben E. King, the Four Tops, Wayne Newton, Bobby Vinton (who was the leader of the house band when he asked for a chance to perform as a singer), The Lovin' Spoonful, Cream, and The Who, among many others.
Records, television, stage, and syndication
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Throughout his radio career, from the 1950s through the 1970s, Murray also released numerous LP record albums, often compilations of hits by the acts that appeared in his famous Brooklyn Fox shows. These albums frequently had names such as "Murray the K's Blasts from the Past" or "Murray the K's Sing Along with the Original Golden Gassers".
"Meusurray" (named after a language Murray invented and used quite often on his 1010 WINS radio show) was a single by a girl group called The Delicates, released on the United Artists label. The Delicates were Denise Ferri, Arleen Lanzotti and Peggy Santiglia, known as Murray's "dancing girls". They wrote the song which was arranged by Don Costa. The Delicates also wrote and recorded his "Submarine Race Watcher" theme, used to open and close his radio show. It was during the "twist craze" that Kaufman introduced a song sung by an unidentified artist named, "The Lone Twister". Of course, the artist was Murray.
In the mid-1960s, Kaufman also produced and hosted television variety shows featuring rock performers. The best known was a national broadcast entitled It's What's Happening, Baby which was made under the auspices of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The show aired on June 28, 1965 and featured performances by many of the popular artists of the day like Jan & Dean, Mary Wells, the Dave Clark Five, Gary Lewis and the Playboys, Diana Ross & The Supremes, Patti LaBelle & the Bluebelles, The Drifters, Smokey Robinson & the Miracles, Ray Charles, Marvin Gaye, The Ronettes, The Righteous Brothers and Little Anthony & the Imperials That show also introduced the first music video-style programming, pre-dating MTV by 15 years.
In 1967, Murray produced and wrote "Murray the K in New York" which expanded on the music video-style approach he began in It's What's Happening, Baby and featured an eclectic line-up of stars, including The Doors, Otis Redding, Aretha Franklin, Spanky & Our Gang, and The Four Tops with guest appearances by Ed Sullivan and Joe Namath.
Other locally broadcast shows from the period included "Murray the K at Shea" with James Brown and The Four Seasons and "Music in the Year 2000."
In 1968, Murray produced and hosted a studio panel discussion program entitled "The Sound is Now"; it included appearances by The Critters and Sonny and Cher who were grilled by Henry Morgan and Tex McCrary.
Kaufman also created Murray the K's World, a multimedia discothèque in an abandoned airplane hangar at Roosevelt Field on Long Island where live and recorded music played while slides and film were projected.
During the early 1970s, Murray acted as a special consultant to the stage show Beatlemania, and he toured the country giving interviews on behalf of the show.
In Los Angeles in the late 1970s he hosted Watermark's syndicated "Soundtrack of the '60s" until ill health forced him to resign and forced the cancellation of "A Salute to Murray the K," a tribute concert slated for Madison Square Garden.
Film
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Kaufman was parodied in the film The Rutles - All You Need Is Cash as a radio host named Bill Murray the K, played by actor Bill Murray. Kaufman appeared as a guest star on the 1960s television series Coronet Blue and also appeared as himself in the film I Wanna Hold Your Hand. He also appeared in the 1975 film That's the Way of the World.
Family and death
He was married six times and had three sons, Peter (Altschuler), Jeff and Keith. His first wife, Anna May, died in childbirth. He was married to his second, Toni, for three years; his third, Beverly, for three months; his fourth, Claire, for about nine years in the 1950s; his fifth, Jackie Hayes (called "Jackie the K"), until about 1973; and finally, his sixth, actress Jackie Zeman for just one year, although they were together for seven years before marrying.
Kaufman died of cancer a week after his 60th birthday on February 21, 1982.
Legacy
He shares writing credit with his mother and Bobby Darin for Darin's breakout song, "Splish Splash"
Beginning in 1960, Kaufman's rock 'n' roll shows at the Brooklyn Paramount theater (as co-host with Clay Cole), Manhattan's Academy of Music theater on 14th Street and, predominantly, the Brooklyn Fox theater provided an inter-racial environment in which the performers and the audiences both thrived. The week-long, eight-show-a-day presentations continued throughout the most explosive periods of civil rights unrest in the mid-'60s, culminating in Kaufman's final show at the RKO 58th Street theater in Manhattan with a line-up that included The Who and Cream in their American debuts.
Murray was the author of a 1966 book, Murray the K Tells It Like It Is, Baby.
Kaufman was program director and primetime evening DJ on the nation's first FM rock station WOR-FM, changing the way in which radio listeners heard rock music. During the short run of progressive rock programming - the station switched to an oldies format within the first year - listeners would have been able to hear the full, album versions of songs like Positively Fourth Street and Society's Child which were either played in shorter versions on AM radio or not played at all.
He is mentioned in the 1980 Ramones song Do You Remember Rock 'n' Roll Radio? as well as Who Will Save Rock 'n' Roll by the Dictators.
Murray the K introduced Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band as the band took the stage on November 4, 1976 in New York City.
He was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 1997.
Recordings made by Murray Kaufman
* April, 1955 Fraternity F-714 "The Crazy Otto Rag" as by Ludwig Von Kaufman/"Out Of The Bushes" as by Murray Kaufman (made while a DJ at WMCA)
* 1959 Murray Kaufman Part 1/Part 2 (Part 1 is a 1010WINS radio jingle item featuring Murray and the Delicates and his themes; Part 2 is his "Ah, Bey, ah bey, koowi zowa zowa" chant, along with an explanation of its meaning.) The chant was lifted intact from a Thomas J. Valentino music library recording (on the Major Records label) entitled "African Drums With Native Chants" on the A side and "Drums (African)," "Native Work Chant (African)," and "Native Choral Chant (African)" on the B side.
* 1961 Atlantic 2130 "The Lone Twister"/"Twistin' Up A Storm" as by The Lone Twister
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Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: nally on 02/14/11 at 12:18 pm
I reheard Tapestry recently and enjoy it.
Yes, there are some great tracks on that album. 8) :)
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: gibbo on 02/14/11 at 5:34 pm
I LOVE the entire Tapestry album.
Two of my favs are Too Late & You Got a Friend.
FYI: Carole wrote the song Locomotion that was recorded by Little Eva-who was Carole's babysitter.
Cat
I must've missed the Carole King day. :-[ I agree with Cat. IMO Tapestry is one of the greatest albums ever recorded. KIng was (and still is) a giant talent!!!
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 02/15/11 at 6:29 am
The person of the day...Matt Groening
Matthew Abram "Matt" Groening (pronounced /ˈɡreɪnɪŋ/ GRAY-ning; born February 15, 1954) is an American cartoonist, screenwriter and producer. He is the creator of the comic strip Life in Hell as well as two successful television series, The Simpsons and Futurama.
Groening made his first professional cartoon sale of Life in Hell to the avant-garde Wet magazine in 1978. The cartoon is still carried in 250 weekly newspapers. Life in Hell caught the attention of James L. Brooks. In 1985, Brooks contacted Groening with the proposition of working in animation for the Fox variety show The Tracey Ullman Show. Originally, Brooks wanted Groening to adapt his Life in Hell characters for the show. Fearing the loss of ownership rights, Groening decided to create something new and came up with a cartoon family, The Simpsons, and named the members after his own parents and sisters — while Bart was an anagram of the word brat. The shorts would be spun off into their own series: The Simpsons, which has since aired over 450 episodes. In 1997, Groening, along with former Simpsons writer David X. Cohen, developed Futurama, an animated series about life in the year 3000, which premiered in 1999. After four years on the air, the show was canceled by Fox in 2003, but Comedy Central commissioned 16 new episodes from four direct-to-DVD movies in 2008. Then, in June 2009, Comedy Central ordered 26 new episodes of Futurama, to be aired over two seasons.
Groening has won 11 Primetime Emmy Awards, ten for The Simpsons and one for Futurama as well as a British Comedy Award for "outstanding contribution to comedy" in 2004. In 2002, he won the National Cartoonist Society Reuben Award for his work on Life in Hell.
Groening described life in Los Angeles to his friends in the form of the self-published comic book Life in Hell, which was loosely inspired by the chapter "How to Go to Hell" in Walter Kaufmann's book Critique of Religion and Philosophy. Groening distributed the comic book in the book corner of Licorice Pizza, a record store in which he worked. He made his first professional cartoon sale to the avant-garde Wet magazine in 1978. The strip, titled "Forbidden Words," appeared in the September/October issue of that year.
Groening gained employment at the Los Angeles Reader, a newly formed alternative newspaper, delivering papers, typesetting, editing and answering phones. He showed his cartoons to the editor, James Vowell, who was impressed and eventually gave him a spot in the paper. Life in Hell made its official debut as a comic strip in the Reader on April 25, 1980. Vowell also gave Groening his own weekly music column, "Sound Mix," in 1982. However, the column would rarely actually be about music, as he would often write about his "various enthusiasms, obsessions, pet peeves and problems" instead. In an effort to add more music to the column, he "just made stuff up," concocting and reviewing fictional bands and non-existent records. In the following week's column, he would confess to fabricating everything in the previous column and swear that everything in the new column was true. Eventually, he was finally asked to give up the "music" column. Amongst the fans of the column was Harry Shearer, who would later become a voice on The Simpsons.
Life in Hell became popular almost immediately. In November 1984, Deborah Caplan, Groening's then-girlfriend and co-worker at the Reader, offered to publish "Love is Hell", a series of relationship-themed Life in Hell strips, in book form. Released a month later, the book was an underground success, selling 22,000 copies in its first two printings. Work is Hell soon followed, also published by Caplan. Soon afterward, Caplan and Groening left and put together the Life in Hell Co., which handled merchandising for Life in Hell. Groening also started a syndicate, Acme Features Syndicate, which syndicated Life in Hell, Lynda Barry and John Callahan, but now only syndicates Life in Hell. Life in Hell is still carried in 250 weekly newspapers and has been anthologized in a series of books, including School is Hell, Childhood is Hell, The Big Book of Hell and The Huge Book of Hell. Groening has stated, "I'll never give up the comic strip. It's my foundation."
The Simpsons
Main article: The Simpsons
Creation
A cartoon drawing of a family, with a baby, two children, and two parents. They are dressed in casual and formal clothing, and have yellow skin.
The design of the Simpson family, circa 1987.
Life in Hell caught the eye of Hollywood writer-producer and Gracie Films founder James L. Brooks, who had been shown the strip by fellow producer Polly Platt. In 1985, Brooks contacted Groening with the proposition of working in animation on an undefined future project, which would turn out to be developing a series of short animated skits, called "bumpers," for the Fox variety show The Tracey Ullman Show. Originally, Brooks wanted Groening to adapt his Life in Hell characters for the show. Groening feared that he would have to give up his ownership rights, and that the show would fail and would take down his comic strip with it. Groening conceived of the idea for The Simpsons in the lobby of James L. Brooks's office and hurriedly sketched out his version of a dysfunctional family: Homer, the overweight father; Marge, the slim mother; Bart, the bratty oldest child; Lisa, the intelligent middle child; and Maggie, the baby. Groening famously named the main Simpson characters after members of his own family: his parents, Homer and Margaret (Marge or Marjorie in full), and his younger sisters, Lisa and Margaret (Maggie). Claiming that it was a bit too obvious to name a character after himself, he chose the name "Bart," an anagram of brat. However, he stresses that aside from some of the sibling rivalry, his family is nothing like the Simpsons. Groening also has an older brother and sister, Mark and Patty, and in a 1995 interview Groening divulged that Mark "is the actual inspiration for Bart."
Maggie Groening has co-written a few Simpsons books featuring her cartoon namesake.
The Tracey Ullman Show
The family was crudely drawn, because Groening had submitted basic sketches to the animators, assuming they would clean them up; instead, they just traced over his drawings. The entire Simpson family was designed so that they would be recognizable in silhouette. When Groening originally designed Homer, he put his own initials into the character's hairline and ear: the hairline resembled an 'M', and the right ear resembled a 'G'. Groening decided that this would be too distracting though, and redesigned the ear to look normal. He still draws the ear as a 'G' when he draws pictures of Homer for fans. Marge's distinct beehive hairstyle was inspired by The Bride of Frankenstein and the style that Margaret Groening wore during the 1960s, although her hair was never blue. Bart's original design, which appeared in the first shorts, had spikier hair, and the spikes were of different lengths. The number was later limited to nine spikes, all of the same size. At the time Groening was primarily drawing in black and "not thinking that would eventually be drawn in color" gave him spikes that appear to be an extension of his head. Lisa's physical features are generally not used in other characters; for example, in the later seasons, no character other than Maggie shares her hairline. While designing Lisa, Groening "couldn't be bothered to even think about girls' hair styles". When designing Lisa and Maggie, he "just gave them this kind of spiky starfish hair style, not thinking that they would eventually be drawn in color". Groening storyboarded and scripted every short (now known as The Simpsons shorts), which were then animated by a team including David Silverman and Wes Archer, both of whom would later become directors on the series.
The Simpsons shorts first appeared in The Tracey Ullman Show on April 19, 1987. Another family member, Grampa Simpson, was introduced in the later shorts. Years later, during the early seasons of The Simpsons, when it came time to give Grampa a first name, Groening says he refused to name him after his own grandfather, Abraham Groening, leaving it to other writers to choose a name. By coincidence, they chose Abraham, unaware that it was the name of Groening's grandfather.
Half-hour
Although The Tracey Ullman Show was not a big hit, the popularity of the shorts led to a half-hour spin-off in 1989. A team of production companies adapted The Simpsons into a half-hour series for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The team included what is now the Klasky Csupo animation house. James L. Brooks negotiated a provision in the contract with the Fox network that prevented Fox from interfering with the show's content. Groening said his goal in creating the show was to offer the audience an alternative to what he called "the mainstream trash" that they were watching. The half-hour series premiered on December 17, 1989 with "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire", a Christmas special. "Some Enchanted Evening" was the first full-length episode produced, but it did not broadcast until May 1990, as the last episode of the first season, because of animation problems.
The series quickly became a worldwide phenomenon, to the surprise of many. Groening said: "Nobody thought The Simpsons was going to be a big hit. It sneaked up on everybody." The Simpsons was co-developed by Groening, Brooks, and Sam Simon, a writer-producer with whom Brooks had worked on previous projects. Groening and Simon, however, did not get along and were often in conflict over the show; Groening once described their relationship as "very contentious." Simon eventually left the show in 1993 over creative differences.
Like the main family members, several characters from the show have names that were inspired by people, locations or films. The name "Wiggum" for police chief Clancy Wiggum is Groening's mother's maiden name. The names of a few other characters were taken from major street names in Groening's hometown of Portland, Oregon, including Flanders, Lovejoy, Powell, Quimby and Kearney. Despite common fan belief that Sideshow Bob Terwilliger was named after SW Terwilliger Boulevard in Portland, he was actually named after the character Dr. Terwilliker from the film The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T.
Although Groening has pitched a number of spin-offs from The Simpsons, those attempts have been unsuccessful. In 1994, Groening and other Simpsons producers pitched a live-action spin-off about Krusty the Clown (with Dan Castellaneta playing the lead role), but were unsuccessful in getting it off the ground. Groening has also pitched "Young Homer" and a spin-off about the non-Simpsons citizens of Springfield.
In 1995, Groening got into a major disagreement with Brooks and other Simpsons producers over "A Star Is Burns", a crossover episode with The Critic, an animated show also produced by Brooks and staffed with many former Simpsons crew members. Groening claimed that he feared viewers would "see it as nothing but a pathetic attempt to advertise The Critic at the expense of The Simpsons," and was concerned about the possible implication that he had created or produced The Critic. He requested his name be taken off the episode.
Groening is credited with writing or co-writing the episodes "Some Enchanted Evening", "The Telltale Head", "Colonel Homer" and "22 Short Films About Springfield", as well as The Simpsons Movie, released in 2007. He has had several cameo appearances in the show, with a speaking role in the episode "My Big Fat Geek Wedding". He currently serves at The Simpsons as an executive producer and creative consultant.
Futurama
Main article: Futurama
After spending a few years researching science fiction, Groening got together with Simpsons writer/producer David X. Cohen (still known as David S. Cohen at the time) in 1997 and developed Futurama, an animated series about life in the year 3000. By the time they pitched the series to Fox in April 1998, Groening and Cohen had composed many characters and storylines; Groening claimed they had gone "overboard" in their discussions. Groening described trying to get the show on the air as "by far the worst experience of grown-up life." The show premiered on March 28, 1999. Groening's writing credits for the show are for the premiere episode, "Space Pilot 3000" (co-written with Cohen), "Rebirth" (story) and "In-A-Gadda-Da-Leela" (story).
Two men sit at a table behind microphones, both have glasses, and one is shorter than the other.
David X. Cohen and Groening at the Futurama panel of Comic-Con 2009.
After four years on the air, the show was canceled by Fox. In a similar situation as Family Guy, however, strong DVD sales and very stable ratings on Adult Swim brought Futurama back to life. When Comedy Central began negotiating for the rights to air Futurama reruns, Fox suggested that there was a possibility of also creating new episodes. When Comedy Central committed to sixteen new episodes, it was decided that four straight-to-DVD films—Bender's Big Score (2007), The Beast with a Billion Backs (2008), Bender's Game (2008) and Into the Wild Green Yonder (2009)—would be produced. Since no new Futurama projects were in production, the movie Into the Wild Green Yonder was designed to stand as the Futurama series finale. However, Groening had expressed a desire to continue the Futurama franchise in some form, including as a theatrical film. In an interview with CNN, Groening said that "we have a great relationship with Comedy Central and we would love to do more episodes for them, but I don't know...We're having discussions and there is some enthusiasm but I can't tell if it's just me."
On June 9, 2009, it was confirmed that Comedy Central had picked up the show for 26 new episodes that began airing on June 24, 2010.
Other pursuits
In 1994, Groening formed Bongo Comics Group (named after the character Bongo from Life in Hell) with Steve Vance, Cindy Vance and Bill Morrison, which publishes comic books based on The Simpsons and Futurama (including Futurama Simpsons Infinitely Secret Crossover Crisis, a crossover between the two), as well as a few original titles. According to Groening, the goal with Bongo is to " to bring humor into the fairly grim comic book market." He also formed Zongo Comics in 1995, an imprint of Bongo that published comics for more mature readers, which included three issues of Mary Fleener's Fleener and seven issues of his close friend Gary Panter's Jimbo comics.
Groening is known for his eclectic taste in music. His favorite band is Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band; Groening claims favorite album as being Trout Mask Replica. He guest-edited Da Capo Press's Best Music Writing 2003 and curated a US All Tomorrow's Parties music festival in 2003. In May 2010, he curated another edition of All Tomorrow's Parties in Minehead, England. He also plays the cowbell in the all-author rock and roll band The Rock Bottom Remainders, whose other members include Dave Barry, Ridley Pearson, Scott Turow, Amy Tan, James McBride, Mitch Albom, Roy Blount Jr., Stephen King, Kathi Kamen Goldmark, Sam Barry and Greg Iles.
Awards
Groening has been nominated for 25 Emmy awards and has won eleven: ten for The Simpsons and one for Futurama in the "Outstanding Animated Program (for programming one hour or less)" category. Groening received the 2002 National Cartoonist Society Reuben Award, and had been nominated for the same award in 2000. He received a British Comedy Award for "outstanding contribution to comedy" in 2004. In 2007, he was ranked fourth (and highest American by birth) in a list of the "top 100 living geniuses", published by British newspaper The Daily Telegraph.
Personal life
Groening and Deborah Caplan married in 1986 and had two sons together, Homer (who goes by Will) and Abe, both of whom Groening occasionally portrays as rabbits in Life in Hell. The couple divorced in 1999 after thirteen years of marriage. He is the brother-in-law of Hey Arnold! creator, Craig Bartlett, who is married to Groening's sister, Lisa. Arnold used to appear in Simpsons Illustrated.
Groening identifies himself as agnostic and a liberal and has often made campaign contributions to Democratic Party candidates. His first cousin, Laurie Monnes Anderson, is a member of the Oregon State Senate representing eastern Multnomah County.
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Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 02/15/11 at 8:09 am
One of the best creators and cartoonist of today,always watch The Simpsons.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: nally on 02/15/11 at 6:37 pm
One of the best creators and cartoonist of today,always watch The Simpsons.
He sure is. I never expected that his show would last this long!! :o
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 02/16/11 at 6:13 am
The person of the day...Jill Kinmont
Jill Kinmont Boothe (born February 16, 1936 in Los Angeles, California) is a former alpine ski racer, who competed in the mid-1950s.
Jill Kinmont grew up in Bishop, California, skiing and racing at Mammoth Mountain. In early 1955, she was the reigning national champion in the slalom, and a top prospect for a medal at the 1956 Winter Olympics, a year away. While competing in the downhill at the Snow Cup in Alta, Utah, on 30 January, 1955, she suffered a near-fatal accident which resulted in paralysis from the neck down. It ironically occurred the same week that Kinmont, weeks shy of her 19th birthday, was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated magazine dated 31 January 1955.
After her rehabilitation, she went on to graduate from UCLA and earned a teaching credential from the University of Washington. She had a long career as an educator first in Washington and then in Beverly Hills, California. She taught special education at Bishop Union Elementary School from 1975-96 in her hometown of Bishop. She is an accomplished painter who has had many exhibitions of her artwork.
Kinmont was the subject of two movies: The Other Side of the Mountain in 1975, and The Other Side of the Mountain Part II in 1978. Both films starred Marilyn Hassett as Kinmont.
Jill married trucker John Boothe in November 1976, and they made their home in Bishop where they continue to reside today.
She was inducted into the National Ski Hall of Fame in 1967.
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Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 02/16/11 at 8:22 am
He sure is. I never expected that his show would last this long!! :o
and I'd thought The Simpsons would grow older by now 20 years later.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: nally on 02/16/11 at 1:20 pm
and I'd thought The Simpsons would grow older by now 20 years later.
In animated television shows, characters usually don't grow older as time progresses, which I find rather awkward. The Simpson kids would all be grown up by now, possibly with their own families.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 02/16/11 at 9:40 pm
In animated television shows, characters usually don't grow older as time progresses, which I find rather awkward. The Simpson kids would all be grown up by now, possibly with their own families.
They did an episode on that years ago.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: nally on 02/17/11 at 12:04 am
They did an episode on that years ago.
I think they did it at least twice. Both episodes I remember were visions on what life would be like for them in the future. The first time was with Lisa getting married, and the second time was with Bart and Lisa imagining themselves as teens.
There might've been others, but I can't think of 'em right now.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 02/17/11 at 8:09 am
The person of the day...Billie Joe Armstrong
Billie Joe Armstrong (born February 17, 1972) is an American rock musician and occasional actor, best known as the lead vocalist, chief songwriter and lead guitarist for the American punk rock band Green Day. He is also a guitarist and vocalist for the punk rock band Pinhead Gunpowder and sings for garage rock band Foxboro Hot Tubs when not working with Green Day.
Raised in Rodeo, California, Armstrong developed an interest in music at a young age, and recorded his first song at the age of five. He met Mike Dirnt while attending elementary school, and the two instantly bonded over their mutual interest in music, forming the band Sweet Children when the two were fifteen years old. The band changed its name to Green Day, and became one of the most successful rock groups of all time. Armstrong has also pursued musical projects outside of Green Day's work, including numerous collaborations with other musicians as well as serving as the primary vocalist for the bands Pinhead Gunpowder and Foxboro Hot Tubs.
Billie Joe Armstrong was born in Piedmont, California, a small town surrounded by the city of Oakland, and was raised in Rodeo, California, as the youngest of six children to Andrew "Andy" Armstrong and Ollie Jackson. His father worked as a jazz musician and truck driver for Safeway Inc. to support his family. He died of esophageal cancer on September 10, 1982. The song "Wake Me Up When September Ends" is a memorial to his father. He has five older siblings: David, Alan, Marci, Hollie, and Anna. His mother worked at Rod's Hickory Pit restaurant (now closed, with a Target store taking its place) in El Cerrito. Armstrong and Mike Dirnt got one of their first gigs at Rod's Hickory Pit during their early years; their first gig was in Davis, a college town approximately an hour's drive northeast of the Bay.
Armstrong's interest in music started at a young age. He attended Hillcrest Elementary School in Rodeo, where a teacher encouraged him to record a song titled "Look for Love" at the age of five on the Bay Area label "Fiat Records". After his father died, his mother married a man whom her children disliked, which made Armstrong retreat further into music. Armstrong dedicated a song to him called "Why Do You Want Him". At the age of 10, Mike Dirnt and Armstrong met in the school cafeteria and they immediately bonded over their love of music. He became interested in punk rock after being introduced to punk rock by his brothers. Armstrong has also cited Minneapolis-based bands The Replacements and Hüsker Dü as major musical influences.
Armstrong attended John Swett High School, also in Crockett, and later Pinole Valley High School, in Pinole, California, but then dropped out to pursue his musical career.
Career
Armstrong in 1994
In 1987, Armstrong formed a band called Sweet Children with childhood friend Mike Dirnt at the age of 15. In the beginning, Dirnt and Armstrong were both on guitar, with John Kiffmeyer, also known as Al Sobrante, on drums, and Sean Hughes on bass. After a few gigs, Hughes left the band in 1988; Dirnt switched to bass and they became a three-piece band. They changed their name to Green Day in April 1989, allegedly choosing the name because of their fondness for marijuana. That same year, they recorded the EPs 39/Smooth, 1,000 Hours, and Slappy, later combined into the compilation 1,039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours on Lookout! Records. Tré Cool eventually became Green Day's drummer in late 1990 when Sobrante left Green Day in order to go to college. California punk band Rancid's lead singer Tim Armstrong asked Armstrong to join his band, but he refused due to the progress with Green Day. Cool made his debut on Green Day's second album, Kerplunk. With their next album, Dookie (1994), the band broke through into the mainstream, and have remained one of the most popular rock bands of the 1990s and 2000s with over 60 million records sold worldwide. In 2009, their hit American Idiot became a musical on Broadway.
Apart from working with Green Day and side-band Pinhead Gunpowder, Armstrong has collaborated with many artists over the years. He has co-written for The Go-Go's ("Unforgiven") and former Avengers singer Penelope Houston ("The Angel and The Jerk" and "New Day"), co-written a song with Rancid ("Radio"), and sung backing vocals with Melissa Auf der Maur on Ryan Adams' "Do Miss America" (where they acted as the backing band for Iggy Pop on his Skull Ring album ("Private Hell" and "Supermarket"). Armstrong has produced an album for The Riverdales. He has also been confirmed to be part of a side project called The Network, which released an album called Money Money 2020. Money Money 2020 was released on Adeline Records, a record label co-owned by Armstrong.
In 2010, Armstrong joined the cast of the Tony Award-winning musical, American Idiot, for one week in the role of St. Jimmy. He replaced the original Broadway cast member Tony Vincent from September 28 to October 3. American Idiot is an adaption of Green Day's concept album of the same name. Armstrong returned to the role of St. Jimmy for 50 performances beginning January 1, 2011.
Instruments
Armstrong performing in 2009 with a replica of "Blue".
Armstrong's first guitar was a Cherry Red Hohner acoustic, which his father bought for him. He then received his first electric guitar, a Fender Stratocaster copy that he named "Blue", when he was ten. His mother got "Blue" from George Cole who taught Armstrong electric guitar for 10 years. Armstrong says in a 1995 MTV interview, "Basically, it wasn't like guitar lessons because I never really learned how to read music. So he just taught me how to put my hands on the thing." Cole bought the guitar new from David Margen of the band Santana. Cole gave Armstrong a Bill Lawrence Humbucking pickup and told him to install the pickup in the bridge position. After the pickup was destroyed at Woodstock '94, Armstrong then switched to the Duncan JB model. "Armstrong fetishized his teacher's guitar, partly because the blue instrument had a sound quality and Van Halen–worthy fluidity he couldn't get from his little red Hohner. He prized it mostly, however, because of his relationship with Cole, another father figure after the death of Andy." He toured with this guitar from the band's early days and still uses it to this day. "Blue" also appears in several of their music videos starting with "Longview", "Basket Case", "Brain Stew/Jaded", "Hitchin' a Ride", and most recently in "Minority".
Today, Armstrong mainly uses Gibson and Fender guitars. Twenty of his Gibson guitars are Les Paul Junior models from the mid- to late-1950s. His Fender collection includes: Stratocaster, Jazzmaster, Telecaster, a Gretsch hollowbody and his copies of "Blue". He states that his favorite guitar is a 1956 Gibson Les Paul Junior he calls "Floyd". He bought this guitar in 2000 just before recording their album Warning.
Armstrong also has his own line of Les Paul Junior guitars from Gibson, modeled closely after “Floyd,” Billie Joe’s original 1956 Les Paul Junior.
He plays several other instruments as well. He recorded harmonica and mandolin parts in the past, piano parts on 21st Century Breakdown, and plays drums live from time to time.
Personal life
In 1990, Armstrong met Adrienne Nesser at one of Green Day's early shows in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They married on July 2, 1994, and the day after their wedding, Adrienne discovered she was pregnant. Their first child, Joseph Marciano Armstrong, who was born on February 28, 1995, plays drums in a Berkeley-based band. Their second child, Jakob Danger Armstrong, was born on September 12, 1998. Billie Joe is the co-owner of Adeline Records, along with his wife.
Armstrong has identified himself as bisexual, saying in a 1995 interview with The Advocate, "I think I've always been bisexual. I mean, it's something that I've always been interested in. I think people are born bisexual, and it's just that our parents and society kind of veer us off into this feeling of 'Oh, I can't.' They say it's taboo. It's ingrained in our heads that it's bad, when it's not bad at all. It's a very beautiful thing." In a later interview for Out magazine's April 2010 issue, Armstrong stated: "There were a lot of people who didn't accept it, who were homophobic." Armstrong continued, saying, "The fact that it's an issue is kind of phobic within itself. At some point, you gotta think, this should be something that's just accepted." Armstrong added: "I don't really classify myself as anything. And when it comes to sex, there are parts of me that are very shy and conservative. I want to respect my wife."
"Working Class Hero"
Play sound
"Working Class Hero", a cover of John Lennon song, was released on the Instant Karma CD.
Problems listening to this file? See media help.
Armstrong was arrested in January 2003 for drinking and driving after being pulled over for speeding. He received a breathalyzer reading of 0.17%, more than twice the nation-wide legal limit of 0.08%.
In April 2007, Armstrong and his wife Adrienne sent photos of their spring break working with Habitat For Humanity and a diary to GreenDay.net. Armstrong is also fascinated with sport, and has publicly declared his admiration for American owned Manchester United in an interview.
Armstrong supported Barack Obama during the 2008 presidential election.
Discography
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Awards
Green Day portal
Main article: List of awards and nominations received by Green Day
Green Day
* 39/Smooth (1990) – lead vocals, guitar
* Kerplunk! (1992) – lead vocals, guitar, drums on "Dominated Love Slave"
* Dookie (1994) – lead vocals, guitar, percussion on "All by Myself" (hidden track)
* Insomniac (1995) – lead vocals, guitar
* Nimrod (1997) – lead vocals, guitar, harmonica
* Warning (2000) – lead vocals, mandolin, guitar, harmonica
* American Idiot (2004) – lead vocals, guitar
* 21st Century Breakdown (2009) – lead vocals, guitar, piano
* American Idiot: The Original Broadway Cast Recording (2010) – vocals, guitar, piano
Pinhead Gunpowder
Vocals and guitar on all
* Jump Salty (1995)
* Carry the Banner (1995)
* Goodbye Ellston Avenue (1997)
* Shoot the Moon (EP) (1999)
* Compulsive Disclosure (2003)
* West Side Highway (EP) (2008)
The Network
* Money Money 2020 (2003) – guitar, vocals
Foxboro Hot Tubs
* Stop Drop and Roll!!! (2008) – lead vocals
Other media appearances
* King of the Hill (TV series, 1997) – Face
* Haunted (TV series, 2002) – Irv Kratser (cameo)
* Riding in Vans with Boys (film, 2003) – himself
* Live Freaky! Die Freaky! (film, 2006) – "Charles Hanson"
* Tony Hawk's American Wasteland (video game, 2006) – himself
* The Simpsons Movie (film, 2007) – himself
* Heart Like a Hand Grenade (film, 2008) – himself
* Green Day: Rock Band (video game, 2010) – himself
* American Idiot (musical) (2010, then again in 2011) – St. Jimmy
http://i1137.photobucket.com/albums/n518/RikkySocialReject/other%202/billie_joe_armstrong_001_110309.jpg
http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu211/thefuturerocker/cats.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 02/17/11 at 4:11 pm
I think they did it at least twice. Both episodes I remember were visions on what life would be like for them in the future. The first time was with Lisa getting married, and the second time was with Bart and Lisa imagining themselves as teens.
There might've been others, but I can't think of 'em right now.
Has it ever been established the birthdays of the Simpsons characters, which date of the year?
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 02/17/11 at 9:30 pm
Billie Joe Always changes his hairstyle.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: nally on 02/17/11 at 11:55 pm
Has it ever been established the birthdays of the Simpsons characters, which date of the year?
Not really. Even characters on live-action programs seem to lack specific birthdays.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: nally on 02/17/11 at 11:58 pm
Billie Joe Always changes his hairstyle.
I never knew all the info about him that was provided above. Good to know that he has loved music for the majority of his life.
I kinda like their songs "When I Come Around" and "Good Riddance/Time Of Your Life" the best.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 02/18/11 at 5:28 am
I never knew all the info about him that was provided above. Good to know that he has loved music for the majority of his life.
I kinda like their songs "When I Come Around" and "Good Riddance/Time Of Your Life" the best.
"Good Riddance/Time Of Your Life" is my favorite.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 02/18/11 at 5:32 am
The person of the day...Matt Dillon
Matthew Raymond "Matt" Dillon (born February 18, 1964) is an American actor. He began acting in the late 1970s, gaining fame as a teenage idol during the 1980s.
Matthew Raymond Dillon was born in New Rochelle, New York, to second-generation Irish American parents Mary Ellen, a homemaker, and Paul Dillon, a portrait painter and sales manager for Union Camp, a packing material manufacturer. He was raised in a close-knit Roman Catholic family as the second of six children. Through his father, Dillon is related to comic strip artist Alex Raymond. Dillon has one sister and four brothers, one of whom, Kevin Dillon, is also an actor, and appears on the hit TV series Entourage. Dillon grew up in Mamaroneck, New York and before dropping out in junior year he attended Mamaroneck High School.
Career
In 1977, Jane Bernstein and a friend were helping director Jonathan Kaplan cast the violent teen drama Over the Edge when they found Dillon cutting class at Hommocks Middle School in Larchmont. Dillon auditioned for a role and made his debut in the film. The film received a regional, limited theatrical release in May 1979, and grossed only slightly over $200,000. Dillon's performance was well-received, which led to his casting in two films released the following year; the teenage sex comedy Little Darlings, in which Kristy McNichol's character loses her virginity to a boy from the camp across the lake, played by Dillon, and the more serious teen dramedy My Bodyguard, where he played a high-school bully opposite Chris Makepeace. The films, released in March and July 1980, respectively, were box office successes and raised Dillon's profile among teenage audiences.
Another of Dillon's early roles was in the Jean Shepherd PBS special The Great American Fourth of July. The only available copies of this film are stored at UCLA, where a legal dispute makes it unavailable to the public.
One of his next roles was in Liar's Moon, where he played Jack Duncan, a poor Texas boy madly in love with a rich banker's daughter. In the early 1980s, Dillon also had prominent roles in three adaptations of S. E. Hinton novels: Tex (1982), The Outsiders (1983) and Rumble Fish (1983). All three films were shot in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Hinton's hometown. The Outsiders and Rumble Fish had Dillon working with Francis Ford Coppola and Diane Lane. He followed it up with The Flamingo Kid in 1984. He made his Broadway debut with the play The Boys of Winter in 1985.
Dillon did voiceover work in the 1987 documentary film Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam. In 1989, Dillon won critical acclaim for his performance as a drug addict in Gus Van Sant's Drugstore Cowboy.
Dillon continued to work in the early 1990s with roles in movies like Singles (1992). He had somewhat of a career resurgence when he played Nicole Kidman's husband in To Die For (1995), as well as starring roles in Wild Things (1998) and There's Something About Mary (1998), for which he received an MTV Movie Award for Best Villain.
In 2002, he wrote and directed the film City of Ghosts, starring himself, James Caan and Gérard Depardieu. That same year he starred in Factotum, a film adaptation of an autobiographical work by Charles Bukowski. Two years later he received critical praise and earned a Best Supporting Actor Golden Globe along with Oscar nominations for his role in Crash, a film co-written and directed by Paul Haggis. In 2005 Dillon co-starred in Disney's Herbie: Fully Loaded and on March 11, 2006 hosted Saturday Night Live, in which he impersonated Greg Anderson and Rod Serling in sketches.
Dillon starred in the comedy You, Me and Dupree, opposite Kate Hudson and Owen Wilson. The film opened on July 14, 2006. On September 29, 2006, Dillon was honored with the Premio Donostia prize in the San Sebastian International Film Festival.
Dillon contributed his voice as the narrator, Sal Paradise, in an audiobook version of Jack Kerouac's novel On the Road. In 2006, he narrated Once in a Lifetime: The Extraordinary Story of the New York Cosmos.
Dillon appeared in several music videos during his career. He made a cameo appearance as a detective in Madonna's Bad Girl music video which also stars Christopher Walken. Dillon appeared in 1987 in the music video for "Fairytale Of New York" by the Irish folk-punk band The Pogues playing a cop who escorts lead singer Shane MacGowan into the drunk tank.
In 2007, the band Dinosaur Jr. hired Dillon to direct the video for their single "Been There All The Time" from the album Beyond. That year, he starred in The Simpsons episode "Midnight Towboy".
Personal life
Dillon had a 3-year relationship with actress Cameron Diaz in the late '90s.
On December 30, 2008, he was arrested by the Vermont State Police after he was clocked traveling at 106 miles per hour northbound on Interstate 91 near Newbury, Vermont. He was charged with negligent operation of a vehicle. His attorney, Mark Kaplan, entered a plea of not guilty on Dillon's behalf in a January appearance in Orange County Court in Chelsea, and also appeared in court on February 25, 2009. He faced a maximum of one year in jail, and a fine of $1,000. He pleaded guilty to speeding and paid a $828 fine on March 30, 2009; in return, the negligence charge was dismissed by prosecutors.
Cultural influence
Dillon is mentioned on Jeff Buckley's Live at Sin-é: Legacy Edition CD. On the fifth track Buckley mentions that he cut his hair because people thought he looked like Matt Dillon. Dillon's name is dropped in the lyrics of "After the Fire", a song that Pete Townshend wrote for Roger Daltrey's solo album Under A Raging Moon:
I saw Matt Dillon in black and white/There ain't no colour in memories/He rode his brother's Harley across the TV/ While I was laughing at Dom deLuise
Dillon is also mentioned in Pencey Prep's "Don Quixote" from the album Heartbreak in Stereo.
I dance the same dance every night;/ It's only you you're killing./ Super glue the queen of hearts and the information she's spilling,/ Matt Dillon.
In Nick Hornby's 1998 novel About a Boy, protagonist Will Freeman wears "a black leather jacket that he liked to think made him look like Matt Dillon in Drugstore Cowboy" when he goes on to meet his love interest, Rachel.
Filmography
Dillon at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival.
Film
Year Film Role Other notes
1979 Over the Edge Richie White Film debut
1980 My Bodyguard Melvin Moody
Little Darlings Randy Adams
1981 Gunmen's Blues Lake short film
1982 Tex Tex McCormick
Liar's Moon Jack Duncan
1983 Rumble Fish Rusty James
Amazed Ewan Willson
The Outsiders Dallas 'Dally' Winston
1984 The Flamingo Kid Jeffrey Willis
1985 Target Chris Lloyd/Derek Potter
1986 Native Son Jan
Rebel Rebel
1987 The Big Town J. C. Cullen
1988 Kansas Doyle Kennedy
1989 Drugstore Cowboy Bob Won- Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead
Bloodhounds of Broadway Regret
1991 A Kiss Before Dying Jonathan Corliss
1992 Singles Cliff Poncier
1993 The Saint of Fort Washington Matthew
Mr. Wonderful Gus
1994 Golden Gate Kevin Walker
1995 To Die For Larry Maretto
Frankie Starlight Terry Klout
1996 Grace of My Heart Jay Phillips
Albino Alligator Dova
Beautiful Girls Tommy 'Birdman' Rowland
1997 In and Out Cameron Drake
1998 There's Something About Mary Patrick (Pat) Healy Won-MTV Movie Award for Best Villain
Wild Things Sam Lombardo
2001 One Night at McCool's Randy
2002 Deuces Wild Fritzy
City of Ghosts Jimmy also director and writer
2003 Abby Singer Himself
2004 Employee of the Month David Walsh
2005 Herbie: Fully Loaded Trip Murphy
Crash Sgt. John Ryan Nominated–Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
Won-Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male
2006 Factotum Henry Chinaski playing Charles Bukowski
You, Me and Dupree Carl Peterson
Loverboy Mark limited release
2008 Nothing But the Truth Patton Dubois
2009 Old Dogs Barry
Armored Mike Cochrane
2010 Takers Det. Jack Welles
2012 God of Carnage unknown (pre-production)
Television
Year Title Role Notes
1982 The Great American Fourth of July and Other Disasters Ralph PBS TV-Movie
1991 Women & Men 2: In Love There Are No Rules Eddie Megeffin HBO TV-Movie
1991 Fishing With John IFC
1999 Oz Director of Episode:
Napoleon's Boney Parts
2007 The Simpsons Louie Voice/Episode:
Midnight Towboy
2011 Modern Family Robbie Sullivan Episode:
Princess Party
Awards and nominations
Matt Dillon has won several awards in his career including Screen Actors Guild Award, MTV Movie Award and Independent Spirit Award. He also nominated for many awards which includes Academy Award, Golden Globe and BAFTA with the film Crash. He was also honored in the San Sebastián International Film Festival where he received the "Donostia Lifetime Archievement Award." This list includes awards and nominations for his work. In the "Best Ensemble" category, he shared the award with the rest of the ensemble cast.
Year Ceremony/Award Nomination Film Result
1981 Young Artist Awards Best Young Motion Picture Actor My Bodyguard Nominated
1983 Best Young Actor – Motion Picture Tex Nominated
1990 Independent Spirit Awards Best Actor Drugstore Cowboy Won
1999 MTV Movie Awards Best Villain (tied) There's Something About Mary Won
Best Kiss (shared) Wild Things Nominated
Teen Choice Awards Film – Funniest Scene There's Something About Mary Won
Blockbuster Entertainment Awards Favorite Supporting Actor – Comedy There's Something About Mary Won
2005 Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Awards Best Supporting Actor Crash Won
Gotham Awards Tribute Award - Won
Best Ensemble Cast Crash Nominated
Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards Best Supporting Actor Crash Won
Washington DC Area Film Critics Association Best Supporting Actor Crash Nominated
Hollywood Film Festival Ensemble of the Year Crash Won
Satellite Awards Best Ensemble Crash Won
Washington DC Area Film Critics Association Best Cast Crash Won
Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards Best Cast Crash Won
2006 Academy Awards Best Supporting Actor Crash Nominated
BAFTA Awards Best Supporting Actor Nominated
Black Reel Awards Best Ensemble Nominated
Chicago Film Critics Association Awards Best Supporting Actor Nominated
Critics' Choice Award Best Supporting Actor Nominated
Best Ensemble Won
Empire Awards Best Actor Nominated
Golden Globe Best Supporting Actor Nominated
Independent Spirit Awards Best Supporting Actor Won
Online Film Critics Society Awards Best Supporting Actor Nominated
SAG Awards Best Supporting Actor Nominated
Best Cast Won
San Sebastián International Film Festival Donostia Lifetime Archievement Award - Won
2007 Cairo International Film Festival Special Award - Won
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm160/ispeak4thetrees/matt-dillon.jpg
http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj97/StockholmByMorning/Matt%20Dillon/MattDillonD18.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 02/18/11 at 7:42 am
"Good Riddance/Time Of Your Life" is my favorite.
Me Too.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 02/18/11 at 7:44 am
The person of the day...Matt Dillon
Matthew Raymond "Matt" Dillon (born February 18, 1964) is an American actor. He began acting in the late 1970s, gaining fame as a teenage idol during the 1980s.
Matthew Raymond Dillon was born in New Rochelle, New York, to second-generation Irish American parents Mary Ellen, a homemaker, and Paul Dillon, a portrait painter and sales manager for Union Camp, a packing material manufacturer. He was raised in a close-knit Roman Catholic family as the second of six children. Through his father, Dillon is related to comic strip artist Alex Raymond. Dillon has one sister and four brothers, one of whom, Kevin Dillon, is also an actor, and appears on the hit TV series Entourage. Dillon grew up in Mamaroneck, New York and before dropping out in junior year he attended Mamaroneck High School.
Career
In 1977, Jane Bernstein and a friend were helping director Jonathan Kaplan cast the violent teen drama Over the Edge when they found Dillon cutting class at Hommocks Middle School in Larchmont. Dillon auditioned for a role and made his debut in the film. The film received a regional, limited theatrical release in May 1979, and grossed only slightly over $200,000. Dillon's performance was well-received, which led to his casting in two films released the following year; the teenage sex comedy Little Darlings, in which Kristy McNichol's character loses her virginity to a boy from the camp across the lake, played by Dillon, and the more serious teen dramedy My Bodyguard, where he played a high-school bully opposite Chris Makepeace. The films, released in March and July 1980, respectively, were box office successes and raised Dillon's profile among teenage audiences.
Another of Dillon's early roles was in the Jean Shepherd PBS special The Great American Fourth of July. The only available copies of this film are stored at UCLA, where a legal dispute makes it unavailable to the public.
One of his next roles was in Liar's Moon, where he played Jack Duncan, a poor Texas boy madly in love with a rich banker's daughter. In the early 1980s, Dillon also had prominent roles in three adaptations of S. E. Hinton novels: Tex (1982), The Outsiders (1983) and Rumble Fish (1983). All three films were shot in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Hinton's hometown. The Outsiders and Rumble Fish had Dillon working with Francis Ford Coppola and Diane Lane. He followed it up with The Flamingo Kid in 1984. He made his Broadway debut with the play The Boys of Winter in 1985.
Dillon did voiceover work in the 1987 documentary film Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam. In 1989, Dillon won critical acclaim for his performance as a drug addict in Gus Van Sant's Drugstore Cowboy.
Dillon continued to work in the early 1990s with roles in movies like Singles (1992). He had somewhat of a career resurgence when he played Nicole Kidman's husband in To Die For (1995), as well as starring roles in Wild Things (1998) and There's Something About Mary (1998), for which he received an MTV Movie Award for Best Villain.
In 2002, he wrote and directed the film City of Ghosts, starring himself, James Caan and Gérard Depardieu. That same year he starred in Factotum, a film adaptation of an autobiographical work by Charles Bukowski. Two years later he received critical praise and earned a Best Supporting Actor Golden Globe along with Oscar nominations for his role in Crash, a film co-written and directed by Paul Haggis. In 2005 Dillon co-starred in Disney's Herbie: Fully Loaded and on March 11, 2006 hosted Saturday Night Live, in which he impersonated Greg Anderson and Rod Serling in sketches.
Dillon starred in the comedy You, Me and Dupree, opposite Kate Hudson and Owen Wilson. The film opened on July 14, 2006. On September 29, 2006, Dillon was honored with the Premio Donostia prize in the San Sebastian International Film Festival.
Dillon contributed his voice as the narrator, Sal Paradise, in an audiobook version of Jack Kerouac's novel On the Road. In 2006, he narrated Once in a Lifetime: The Extraordinary Story of the New York Cosmos.
Dillon appeared in several music videos during his career. He made a cameo appearance as a detective in Madonna's Bad Girl music video which also stars Christopher Walken. Dillon appeared in 1987 in the music video for "Fairytale Of New York" by the Irish folk-punk band The Pogues playing a cop who escorts lead singer Shane MacGowan into the drunk tank.
In 2007, the band Dinosaur Jr. hired Dillon to direct the video for their single "Been There All The Time" from the album Beyond. That year, he starred in The Simpsons episode "Midnight Towboy".
Personal life
Dillon had a 3-year relationship with actress Cameron Diaz in the late '90s.
On December 30, 2008, he was arrested by the Vermont State Police after he was clocked traveling at 106 miles per hour northbound on Interstate 91 near Newbury, Vermont. He was charged with negligent operation of a vehicle. His attorney, Mark Kaplan, entered a plea of not guilty on Dillon's behalf in a January appearance in Orange County Court in Chelsea, and also appeared in court on February 25, 2009. He faced a maximum of one year in jail, and a fine of $1,000. He pleaded guilty to speeding and paid a $828 fine on March 30, 2009; in return, the negligence charge was dismissed by prosecutors.
Cultural influence
Dillon is mentioned on Jeff Buckley's Live at Sin-é: Legacy Edition CD. On the fifth track Buckley mentions that he cut his hair because people thought he looked like Matt Dillon. Dillon's name is dropped in the lyrics of "After the Fire", a song that Pete Townshend wrote for Roger Daltrey's solo album Under A Raging Moon:
I saw Matt Dillon in black and white/There ain't no colour in memories/He rode his brother's Harley across the TV/ While I was laughing at Dom deLuise
Dillon is also mentioned in Pencey Prep's "Don Quixote" from the album Heartbreak in Stereo.
I dance the same dance every night;/ It's only you you're killing./ Super glue the queen of hearts and the information she's spilling,/ Matt Dillon.
In Nick Hornby's 1998 novel About a Boy, protagonist Will Freeman wears "a black leather jacket that he liked to think made him look like Matt Dillon in Drugstore Cowboy" when he goes on to meet his love interest, Rachel.
Filmography
Dillon at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival.
Film
Year Film Role Other notes
1979 Over the Edge Richie White Film debut
1980 My Bodyguard Melvin Moody
Little Darlings Randy Adams
1981 Gunmen's Blues Lake short film
1982 Tex Tex McCormick
Liar's Moon Jack Duncan
1983 Rumble Fish Rusty James
Amazed Ewan Willson
The Outsiders Dallas 'Dally' Winston
1984 The Flamingo Kid Jeffrey Willis
1985 Target Chris Lloyd/Derek Potter
1986 Native Son Jan
Rebel Rebel
1987 The Big Town J. C. Cullen
1988 Kansas Doyle Kennedy
1989 Drugstore Cowboy Bob Won- Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead
Bloodhounds of Broadway Regret
1991 A Kiss Before Dying Jonathan Corliss
1992 Singles Cliff Poncier
1993 The Saint of Fort Washington Matthew
Mr. Wonderful Gus
1994 Golden Gate Kevin Walker
1995 To Die For Larry Maretto
Frankie Starlight Terry Klout
1996 Grace of My Heart Jay Phillips
Albino Alligator Dova
Beautiful Girls Tommy 'Birdman' Rowland
1997 In and Out Cameron Drake
1998 There's Something About Mary Patrick (Pat) Healy Won-MTV Movie Award for Best Villain
Wild Things Sam Lombardo
2001 One Night at McCool's Randy
2002 Deuces Wild Fritzy
City of Ghosts Jimmy also director and writer
2003 Abby Singer Himself
2004 Employee of the Month David Walsh
2005 Herbie: Fully Loaded Trip Murphy
Crash Sgt. John Ryan Nominated–Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
Won-Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male
2006 Factotum Henry Chinaski playing Charles Bukowski
You, Me and Dupree Carl Peterson
Loverboy Mark limited release
2008 Nothing But the Truth Patton Dubois
2009 Old Dogs Barry
Armored Mike Cochrane
2010 Takers Det. Jack Welles
2012 God of Carnage unknown (pre-production)
Television
Year Title Role Notes
1982 The Great American Fourth of July and Other Disasters Ralph PBS TV-Movie
1991 Women & Men 2: In Love There Are No Rules Eddie Megeffin HBO TV-Movie
1991 Fishing With John IFC
1999 Oz Director of Episode:
Napoleon's Boney Parts
2007 The Simpsons Louie Voice/Episode:
Midnight Towboy
2011 Modern Family Robbie Sullivan Episode:
Princess Party
Awards and nominations
Matt Dillon has won several awards in his career including Screen Actors Guild Award, MTV Movie Award and Independent Spirit Award. He also nominated for many awards which includes Academy Award, Golden Globe and BAFTA with the film Crash. He was also honored in the San Sebastián International Film Festival where he received the "Donostia Lifetime Archievement Award." This list includes awards and nominations for his work. In the "Best Ensemble" category, he shared the award with the rest of the ensemble cast.
Year Ceremony/Award Nomination Film Result
1981 Young Artist Awards Best Young Motion Picture Actor My Bodyguard Nominated
1983 Best Young Actor – Motion Picture Tex Nominated
1990 Independent Spirit Awards Best Actor Drugstore Cowboy Won
1999 MTV Movie Awards Best Villain (tied) There's Something About Mary Won
Best Kiss (shared) Wild Things Nominated
Teen Choice Awards Film – Funniest Scene There's Something About Mary Won
Blockbuster Entertainment Awards Favorite Supporting Actor – Comedy There's Something About Mary Won
2005 Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Awards Best Supporting Actor Crash Won
Gotham Awards Tribute Award - Won
Best Ensemble Cast Crash Nominated
Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards Best Supporting Actor Crash Won
Washington DC Area Film Critics Association Best Supporting Actor Crash Nominated
Hollywood Film Festival Ensemble of the Year Crash Won
Satellite Awards Best Ensemble Crash Won
Washington DC Area Film Critics Association Best Cast Crash Won
Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards Best Cast Crash Won
2006 Academy Awards Best Supporting Actor Crash Nominated
BAFTA Awards Best Supporting Actor Nominated
Black Reel Awards Best Ensemble Nominated
Chicago Film Critics Association Awards Best Supporting Actor Nominated
Critics' Choice Award Best Supporting Actor Nominated
Best Ensemble Won
Empire Awards Best Actor Nominated
Golden Globe Best Supporting Actor Nominated
Independent Spirit Awards Best Supporting Actor Won
Online Film Critics Society Awards Best Supporting Actor Nominated
SAG Awards Best Supporting Actor Nominated
Best Cast Won
San Sebastián International Film Festival Donostia Lifetime Archievement Award - Won
2007 Cairo International Film Festival Special Award - Won
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm160/ispeak4thetrees/matt-dillon.jpg
http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj97/StockholmByMorning/Matt%20Dillon/MattDillonD18.jpg
I liked Matt Dillon in his 80's films.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: CatwomanofV on 02/18/11 at 9:41 am
I don't know why but I never really cared for Matt Dillon. I always thought he was a punk.
Cat
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 02/18/11 at 12:10 pm
I don't know why but I never really cared for Matt Dillon. I always thought he was a punk.
Cat
I like him more now that he's older, when he was younger he was a punk.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: CatwomanofV on 02/18/11 at 12:23 pm
I like him more now that he's older, when he was younger he was a punk.
Yeah, I do like him more now.
Cat
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 02/19/11 at 7:13 am
The person of the day...Tony Iommi
Francis Anthony Melby "Tony" Iommi (born 19 February 1948, in Aston, Birmingham, England) is an English guitarist and songwriter best known as the founding member of pioneering heavy metal band Black Sabbath, and the sole constant band member through multiple personnel changes.
Iommi is widely recognised as one of the most important and influential guitarists in heavy metal music. According to Allmusic, "Iommi is one of only two guitarists (the other being Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page) that can take full credit for pioneering the mammoth riffs of heavy metal." In 2003, Iommi was ranked 86th in Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" and, in 2004, number one on Guitar World's "100 Greatest Metal Guitarists of All Time".
The son of Italian immigrants, Tony Iommi wanted to start with the drums, but due to the noise it produces, he picked up the guitar as a teenager, after being inspired by the likes of Hank Marvin and The Shadows. He plays guitar left-handed. In an industrial accident at the age of 17 on his last day of work in a sheet metal factory, he lost the tips of the middle and ring finger of his right hand. After attempting to learn to play right-handed, Iommi strung his guitars with lighter strings and made thimbles to extend his fingers.
Pre-Black Sabbath
Iommi had played in several blues/rock bands, the earliest of which was The Rockin' Chevrolets between 1964 and 1965. The band had regular bookings and when they were offered work in Germany, Iommi decided to leave his factory job to take up the opportunity. Between 1966 and 1967 Iommi played in a band named The Rest. This was the first time Iommi played with old school friend and future Black Sabbath drummer Bill Ward.
From January 1968 till July 1968, Iommi was guitarist in Mythology, with Ward joining a month later in mid-February. In May 1968, police raided the group's practice flat and found cannabis resin, which resulted in a £15 fine and a two-year conditional discharge for Iommi, Ward, Smith and Marshall. Mythology split up after a gig in Silloth on 13 July 1968.
In August 1968, at the same time as the breakup of Mythology, a band called Rare Breed also broke up. Rare Breed vocalist John "Ozzy" Osbourne and rhythm guitarist Terry "Geezer" Butler joined with Iommi and Ward from Mythology and also slide guitarist Jimmy Phillips and saxophonist Alan "Aker" Clarke. The six-piece band, now with Butler as bassist, were named the Polka Tulk Blues Company. After just two gigs (the last of which was at the Banklands Youth Club in Workington), Phillips and Clarke were dismissed from the band, which soon after shortened its name to Polka Tulk.
Earth and Jethro Tull
Main article: Jethro Tull (band)
Iommi, Butler, Ward and Osbourne renamed their band Earth in September 1968. They carried on under this moniker until December 1968 when Iommi briefly departed to play in Jethro Tull. However after only one performance (an appearance on "The Rolling Stones Rock & Roll Circus" in which the band mimed "A Song For Jeffrey", whilst Ian Anderson sang live), Iommi was back with Earth once more.
Tony Iommi on his brief working relationship with Jethro Tull vocalist Ian Anderson:
I learned quite a lot from him, I must say. I learned that you have got to work at it. You have to rehearse. When I came back and I got the band (Earth) back together, I made sure that everybody was up early in the morning and rehearsing. I used to go and pick them up. I was the only one at the time that could drive. I used to have to drive the bloody van and get them up at quarter to nine every morning; which was, believe me, early for us then. I said to them, "This is how we have got to do it because this is how Jethro Tull did it." They had a schedule and they knew that they were going to work from this time till that time. I tried that with our band and we got into doing it. It worked. Instead of just strolling in at any hour, it made it more like we were saying, "Let’s do it!"
Black Sabbath
Main article: Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath: Iommi (left) with Ozzy Osbourne in 1973
In August 1969, following the confusion with another group named Earth (who had minor success in England), the group renamed themselves Black Sabbath. His aforementioned factory accident affected the Black Sabbath sound later on, as Iommi detuned his guitar from E to C# (a minor third down), in order to ease the tension on his fingers; Black Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler did the same to match Iommi. Sabbath were among the first bands to detune, and the technique became a mainstay of heavy metal music. The first two Black Sabbath albums are actually in E tuning, however, as Iommi didn't start tuning down to C# until 1971's Master of Reality. Iommi combined blues-like guitar solos and dark, minor-key riffing with a revolutionary high-gain, heavily distorted tone with his use of a modified treble-boosting effect-pedal and a Gibson SG, as well as plugging his guitar into his amp's bass input.
Rob Halford, vocalist for Judas Priest, when filling in for Ozzy Osbourne during an August 2004 concert in Philadelphia, introduced Tony Iommi to the audience as "The man who invented the heavy metal riff".
By the mid 1970s, incessant drug usage, managerial problems and constant touring had taken its toll on the band, and Ozzy Osbourne was fired in 1979 by Iommi. Osbourne was replaced with Ronnie James Dio, the vocalist for Rainbow (a band formed by former Deep Purple guitarist Ritchie Blackmore). With Dio, Black Sabbath produced Heaven and Hell, prior to replacing Bill Ward with Vinny Appice. With Iommi and Geezer Butler the only original members, this line-up produced Mob Rules. During the '80s and '90s Iommi rebuilt the band with many lineup changes with vocalists including Ian Gillan (formerly of Deep Purple), Glenn Hughes, Tony Martin and Ray Gillen. After Ian Gillan departed the band in 1984, Iommi recorded his first solo album, entitled Seventh Star. The album featured Glenn Hughes (formerly of Deep Purple) on vocals, but due to label pressures, it was billed as a release by "Black Sabbath featuring Tony Iommi."
In 1992, Iommi appeared at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert, playing four songs with the remaining members of Queen and other guest artists. Also, in the following year Iommi teamed up with fellow Black Country band Diamond Head and co-wrote the song Starcrossed (Lovers in the Night) for their 1993 Death and Progress album. At Ozzy's 'farewell' concert at Costa Mesa in 1992, Ronnie James Dio refused to perform and abruptly left the band. As a result, Rob Halford (vocalist for Judas Priest) was recruited to perform as the vocalist for two gigs (Halford also sang at one of the dates on the 2004 Ozzfest tour, when Ozzy couldn't perform due to bronchitis). The show concluded with Ozzy bringing out the other members of the original Black Sabbath line-up (following the end of Osbourne's solo set) for a 4-song reunion.
Black Sabbath went on to record two further albums with another of their previous vocalists Tony Martin before the original line-up reunited as a touring band in 1997. Although Bill Ward played at the two initial reunion shows at Birmingham NEC in December 1997, he was not present for the following two reunion tours, his second absence due to a heart attack. Ward was replaced by Mike Bordin and then Vinny Appice.
Solo career
Main article: Iommi (album)
In 2000, Iommi finally released his first legitimate solo album, titled Iommi. The album featured several guest vocalists that included Ian Astbury, Henry Rollins, Serj Tankian, Dave Grohl, Billy Corgan, Phil Anselmo, Peter Steele and Ozzy Osbourne. Also in the vocal mix was Skin (of the band Skunk Anansie). In late 2004, Iommi's second solo album was released, entitled The 1996 DEP Sessions. This album was originally recorded in 1996, but was never officially released. However, a copy with a drum track by Dave Holland was available as a bootleg called Eighth Star. Glenn Hughes performed vocals on the album, and he furthered his collaboration with Hughes with the release of his third solo album, Fused. Released on 12 July 2005, John Mellencamp drummer Kenny Aronoff completed the trio on the album.
Iommi has signed with Mike Fleiss' movie production company Next Films to score a series of horror films entitled Black Sabbath.
Heaven & Hell
Main article: Heaven & Hell (band)
Star on Birmingham Walk of Stars
In October 2006 it was reported that Iommi would tour with Bill Ward, Geezer Butler and Ronnie James Dio again, but under the moniker Heaven & Hell. Later it was announced that Ward had decided not to participate and Vinny Appice was hired as his replacement. Rhino Records released "The Dio Years" (under the 'Black Sabbath' moniker) album on 3 April 2007. The album showcased older tracks with Dio and also included three brand new songs recorded with Dio and Vinny Appice.
The band started an American tour in April 2007 with Megadeth and Down as opening acts. The tour finished in November in England with the prospect of an album to follow in 2008. During this period the band's show at the New York Radio City Music Hall was released as both a DVD and CD with a vinyl release expected in the UK in 2008. During the summer of 2008, the band embarked on the Metal Masters Tour along with Judas Priest, Motörhead and Testament. The band's first and only studio album, The Devil You Know, was released on April 28, 2009.
In November 2008, Iommi had a star revealed on the Birmingham Walk of Stars. On June 14, 2010, Iommi announced that Heaven & Hell would perform a one-off tribute to Ronnie James Dio at the High Voltage Festival, London on 24 July 2010. This was the band's last performance under the name Heaven and Hell.
Equipment
Iommi's deep and heavy sound was partly born out of necessity--his "revolutionary signature sound" being the result of the accident and the subsequent downtuning by three steps. He said that his "extreme volume" was likewise necessary, "because we were fed up with people talking over us while we were playing."
Guitars
"It was the same with 24-fret necks. I put money into a company because I couldn't get guitars built the way I wanted them. I had to prove it to the manufacturers. So I put money into John Birch guitars, and he built my guitars. I had to prove it worked. All of this was done by experimenting and trial and error. I paid for that myself in the early days to show it could be done. And I paid for all these companies to get the benefits nowadays. Back then they all said it couldn't be done. I also used locking nuts years and years ago without a tremolo, before locking nuts were the norm."
Tony Iommi
* Jaydee Custom SG's
Built in Birmingham by luthier John Diggins sometime between 1975 and 1978, the guitar was first used for overdubs on the 'Heaven and Hell' album and later became one of Iommi's main guitars. The guitar is equipped with a 24 fret neck with custom cross inlays, five control knobs (three of which are functional) and a highly distressed finish. He had two more built for him. One was made to the same specifications of his first Jaydee SG with a red finish. Another one was made and used during the Born Again era, which can be seen on the music videos for "Trashed" and "Zero the Hero." The differences are the finish, headstock, use of a stoptail brige, and use of rail humbuckers, as opposed to the 24-pole humbuckers on his two other versions.
* Gibson SG, aka "Monkey"
A 1965 Gibson SG Special in red finish fitted with a Gibson P-90 pickup in the bridge position and a custom-wound John Birch P-90 style single coil in the neck position. The guitar became Iommi's main instrument after his white Stratocaster's neck pickup failed during the recording of Black Sabbath's self-titled album.
* Gibson Custom Shop SG
The guitar was built by the Gibson Custom Shop in Nashville after Iommi's specifications and finished in 1997. The guitar is one of two made as prototypes for the Gibson Custom Shop Limited Edition Iommi Special SG. The guitar features a neck with 24 frets and four control knobs, of which only two are active (much like his old Jaydee Custom guitar).
On August 11, 2010, Iommi announced on his website that this guitar was stolen from the RJD tribute show that Heaven & Hell performed at High Voltage on July 24, 2010. He is asking that anyone with information or leads let them know. He is offering a reward for its safe return.
* Epiphone P94 Iommi SG
A stock Epiphone SG signature model in black finish fitted with P-94 pickups which is a version of the Gibson P-90 pickup designed to fit into existing humbucker housings.
* Gibson SG Standard
A regular left-handed version of the SG fitted with two extra frets to give Iommi the full two octaves which he prefers. The guitar is equipped with his signature pickup. Iommi was the first guitarist to have a signature pickup designed and built by Gibson. He also has another model fitted with a Floyd Rose floating tremolo.
"I also came up with a guitar with interchangeable pickups you could slot in from the back. It was a John Birch guitar. We only sold one, and Roy Orbison bought it. I came up with that years ago and the first one was made for me to use in the studio. At the time I had a lot of problems tuning guitars because of the neck and the light strings on the Gibson. I decided to come up with a guitar that I could use in the studio with different sounds so that I didn't have to keep changing guitars. You could slot a pickup in it and get a Fender sound, then slot a different pickup in it and get a Gibson sound. That was the idea. I did use it for a while, but they were too expensive to mass-produce."
Tony Iommi
* Fender Stratocaster
Iommi played a Fender Stratocaster that was spraypainted white by Iommi and his father during the early days with Black Sabbath. However, the pickup malfunctioned during the recording of their first album so Iommi quickly turned to his backup Gibson SG to finish the record. Currently Iommi owns two Stratocasters, one of which has been modified with his signature pickup in the bridge position.
* BC Rich Ironbird.
Custom built for Iommi by BC Rich. Features include Dimarzio pickups, two built-in preamps,scalloped fretboard and Iommi's trademark cross inlays. This guitar can be seen in Tony's star licks video, along with a left handed BC Rich mockingbird.
* Gibson Barney Kessel
A rare left-handed version of the jazz guitarist Barney Kessel artist model, built sometime in the first half of the 1960s.
* Epiphone Riviera 12 string
Originally a regular right-handed version in red finish that was converted by Epiphone to a left-handed version to fit Iommi.
* LaBella custom gauge strings
* Shure Wireless systems
Effects
* Tycobrahe Wah Pedal
* Korg Rackmount Delay Model SDD1000
* Boss Chorus pedal
* Korg DL8000R multi-tap delay
* Peavey Addverb III
* Boss Octave Divider
* Drawmer LX22 Compressor
* Dallas Rangemaster Treble Booster
Amplifiers
* Laney GH 100 TI Tony Iommi Signature amplifiers: current main amplifier
* Engl Powerball Amplifiers: only used in 2009
* Laney 4x12 cabinets
* Various Marshall amplifiers: from early-mid 80's to 1993, including 9005 Power Amplifiers and 9001 Preamps, 4x12" speaker cabinets, 2554 Silver Jubilee Combo, 2558 Silver Jubilee Combo, Paul Reed Smith modded JCM800 head.
* Laney Supergroup heads: his main amplifier from 1968–1979
* Mesa Boogie Mark series heads: from the mid 1980's to the early 1990s
Controversy
In 2009, Iommi was sued by bandmate Ozzy Osbourne over ownership of the "Black Sabbath" name. A Manhattan federal judge ruled in February 2010 that Osbourne could proceed with the suit, but urged both sides to consider resuming mediation. In June 2010, the legal battle between Osbourne and Iommi over the trademarking of the Black Sabbath name ended, but the terms of the settlement have not been disclosed.
Discography
Solo
* Iommi (2000)
* The 1996 DEP Sessions (2004)
* Fused (2005)
with Black Sabbath
Main article: Black Sabbath discography
with Heaven and Hell
* Live from Radio City Music Hall (2007)
* The Devil You Know (2009)
* Neon Nights: 30 Years of Heaven & Hell (2010)
Guest appearances
* Various Artists - Heavy Metal Soundtrack (1981)
* Various Artists - Rock Aid Armenia (1989)
* Various Artists - Guitar Speak II (1990)
* Queen & Various Artists - The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert (1992)
* Diamond Head - Death and Progress (1993)
* Ozzy Osbourne - Live and Loud (1993)
* Cathedral - The Carnival Bizarre (1995)
* Various Artists - Twang! - A Tribute to Hank Marvin & The Shadows (1996)
* Ozzy Osbourne - The Ozzman Cometh (1997)
* Various Artists - Party at the Palace: The Queen’s Concerts, Buckingham Palace (2002)
http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s244/lhuntzinger/TONY.jpg
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r129/electricmelon/iommi_082883.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 02/19/11 at 7:18 am
British Person of the Day: Prince Andrew, Duke of York
Title: Prince Andrew, Duke of York
Full Name: Andrew Albert Christian Edward
Father: Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
Mother: Queen Elizabeth II
Relation to Elizabeth II: Son
Born: February 19, 1960 at Buckingham Palace, London
Current Age: 51 years,
Married: Sarah Ferguson on July 23, 1986 at Westminster Abbey
Divorced: May 30, 1996
Children: Princess Beatrice, Princess Eugenie
Prince Andrew is the second son and third child of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip. He was born on 19 February 1960 in Buckingham Palace, and was named after his paternal grandfather Prince Philip’s father Prince Andrew of Greece. He was the first child born to a reigning British monarch since Queen Victoria’s youngest daughter Princess Beatrice. He was baptised on 8 April 1960.
Prince Andrew was educated at Heatherdown Preparatory School, Berkshire, before like his brother and father before him going to Gordounston School in Scotland. He left with 3 A levels and joined the Royal Navy attending Britannia Royal Naval College at Dartmouth. He undertook the Royal Marine Green Beret course, and learned to fly Gazelle and Sea King helicopters. In 1982 he joined the aircraft carrier HMS Invincible, and saw front line action during the Falklands War flying Anti-Submarine and Anti-Surface warfare missions and search and rescue operations. In 1983 he transferred to Lynx helicopters and 1984 - 1991 saw service aboard HMS Brazen as a flight pilot and as flight commander on HMS Campbletown. He became a Lieutenant Commander in 1992 and commanded a Minehunter HMS Cottesmore. In 1995 he was was senior pilot of 815 Naval Air Squadron, and in 2001 finished his naval career as a Commander in the Ministry of Defence in London. He is Colonel-in-Chief of a number of regiments including Canadian regiments.
He has known Sarah Ferguson since childhood though their families shared interest in polo, and on 23 July 1986 Prince Andrew and Sarah were married in Westminster Abbey. He was created Duke of York, Earl of Inverness and Baron Killyleagh titles previously held by his maternal grandfather George VI. Sarah became Duchess of York. They have two children Princess Beatrice born in 1988, and Princess Eugenie born in 1990. Sarah received considerably media attention but he was frequently away on naval duties and the marriage broke down. They were separated in March 1992, and following pictures in the press of Sarah with her American financial advisor, they were divorced on 30 May 1996 although their friendship continues and they remain on good terms.
The Duke of York currently works for the UK Department of Trade and Industry, and travels throughout the world representing the UK at trade and export events. He is Commodore of the Royal Yacht club, Trustee of the National Maritime Museum, and patron of charities including the Deaf Association, and National Society of the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. He also attends official ceremonies on behalf of the Queen.
http://www.britroyals.com/images/signature/andrew_sig.jpg
Prince Andrew's Signature
http://www.britroyals.com/images/andrew.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 02/19/11 at 8:04 am
Black Sabbath was a cool rock band. :)
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 02/19/11 at 8:05 am
Black Sabbath was a cool rock band. :)
Black Sabbath are too noisy for me.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 02/19/11 at 8:10 am
Black Sabbath are too noisy for me.
A lot of rock bands are noisy.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 02/19/11 at 8:10 am
A lot of rock bands are noisy.
Heavy noise!
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 02/19/11 at 8:11 am
Heavy noise!
and a lot of screaming.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 02/19/11 at 8:13 am
and a lot of screaming.
Lyrics sung very fast.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 02/19/11 at 8:13 am
Lyrics sung very fast.
and electric guitars.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 02/20/11 at 7:12 am
The person of the day...Kurt Cobain
Kurt Donald Cobain (February 20, 1967 – c. April 5, 1994) was an American singer-songwriter, musician and artist, best known as the lead singer and guitarist of the grunge band Nirvana.
Cobain formed Nirvana with Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington in 1985 and established it as part of the Seattle music scene, having its debut album Bleach released on the independent record label Sub Pop in 1989. After signing with major label DGC Records, the band found breakthrough success with "Smells Like Teen Spirit" from its second album Nevermind (1991). Following the success of Nevermind, Nirvana was labeled "the flagship band" of Generation X, and Cobain hailed as "the spokesman of a generation". Cobain however was often uncomfortable and frustrated, believing his message and artistic vision to have been misinterpreted by the public, with his personal issues often subject to media attention. He challenged Nirvana's audience with its final studio album In Utero (1993).
During the last years of his life, Cobain struggled with heroin addiction, his fame and public image, as well as the professional and lifelong personal pressures surrounding himself and his wife, musician Courtney Love. He also struggled with illness and depression for most of his life. On April 8, 1994, Cobain was found dead at his home in Seattle, the victim of what was officially ruled a suicide by a self-inflicted shotgun wound to the head. The circumstances of his death have become a topic of public fascination and debate. Since their debut, Nirvana, with Cobain as a songwriter, sold over twenty-five million albums in the US alone, and over fifty million worldwide.
The Beatles were an early and lasting influence on Cobain; his aunt Mari remembers him singing "Hey Jude" at the age of two. "My aunts would give me Beatles records," Cobain told Jon Savage in 1993, "so for the most part the Beatles , and if I was lucky, I'd be able to buy a single." Cobain expressed a particular fondness for John Lennon, whom he called his "idol" in his posthumously-released journals, and he admitted that he wrote the song "About a Girl," from Nirvana 1989 debut album Bleach, after spending three hours listening to Meet the Beatles.
Cobain was also a fan of classic rock bands from the 1970s, including Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, Black Sabbath, Aerosmith, Queen, and Kiss. Nirvana occasionally played cover songs by these bands, including Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song", "Dazed and Confused" and "Heartbreaker", Black Sabbath's "Hand of Doom," and Kiss' "Do You Love Me?", and wrote the Incesticide song "Aero Zeppelin" as a tribute to Led Zeppelin and Aerosmith.
Punk rock proved to be a profound influence on a teenaged Cobain's attitude and artistic style. His first punk rock album was Sandinista! by The Clash, but he became a bigger fan of a fellow 1970s British punk band, the Sex Pistols, describing them as "one million times more important than the Clash" in his journals. He was introduced to 1980s American hardcore bands like Black Flag, Bad Brains, Millions of Dead Cops and Flipper by Buzz Osbourne, lead singer and guitarist of the Melvins and fellow Aberdeen, Washington native. The Melvins themselves were an important early musical influence on Cobain, with their heavy, grungy sound mimicked by Nirvana on many songs from Bleach.
Cobain was also a fan of protopunk acts like the Stooges, whose 1973 album Raw Power he listed as his favorite of all time in his journals, and the Velvet Underground, whose 1968 song "Here She Comes Now" the band covered both live and in the studio.
The 1980s American alternative rock band Pixies were instrumental in helping an adult Cobain develop his own songwriting style. In a 1992 interview with Melody Maker, Cobain said that hearing their 1988 debut album, Surfer Rosa, "convinced him to abandon his more Black Flag-influenced songwriting in favor of the "Iggy Pop / Aerosmith" type songwriting that appeared on Nevermind. In a 1993 interview with Rolling Stone, he said that "Smells Like Teen Spirit" was his attempt at "trying to rip off the Pixies. I have to admit it. When I heard the Pixies for the first time, I connected with that band so heavily that I should have been in that band— or at least a Pixies cover band. We used their sense of dynamics, being soft and quiet and then loud and hard."
Cobain's appreciation of early alternative rock bands also extended to Sonic Youth and R.E.M., both of which the members of Nirvana befriended and looked up to for advice. It was under recommendation from Sonic Youth's Kim Gordon that Nirvana signed to DGC in 1990, and both bands did a two week tour of Europe in the summer of 1991, as documented in the 1992 documentary, 1991: The Year Punk Broke. In 1993, Cobain said of R.E.M.: "If I could write just a couple of songs as good as what they’ve written …I don’t know how that band does what they do. God, they’re the greatest. They’ve dealt with their success like saints, and they keep delivering great music."
After attaining mainstream success, Cobain became a devoted champion of lesser known indie bands, covering songs by the Vaselines, Meat Puppets, Wipers and Fang onstage and/ or in the studio, wearing Daniel Johnston t-shirts during photo shoots, and enlisting bands like The Butthole Surfers, Shonen Knife, Chokebore and Half Japanese along for the In Utero tour in late 1993 and early 1994. Cobain even invited his favorite musicians to perform with him: ex-Germs guitarist Pat Smear joined the band in 1993, and the Meat Puppets appeared onstage during Nirvana's 1993 MTV Unplugged appearance, to perform three songs from their second album, Meat Puppets II.
Nirvana's Unplugged set also included renditions of "The Man Who Sold the World," by British rock musician David Bowie, and the American folk song, "Where Did You Sleep Last Night," as adapted by the American folk musician, Lead Belly. Cobain introduced the latter by calling Lead Belly his favorite performer, and in a 1993 interview revealed he had been introduced to him from reading the American author, William S. Burroughs. "I remember saying in an interview, “These new rock’n'roll kids should just throw away their guitars and listen to something with real soul, like Leadbelly,'" Cobain said. "I’d never heard about Leadbelly before so I bought a couple of records, and now he turns out to be my absolute favorite of all time in music. I absolutely love it more than any rock’n'roll I ever heard."
Nirvana's acoustic Unplugged set, which was released posthumously as an album in 1994, may have provided a hint of Cobain's future musical direction. The record has drawn comparisons to R.E.M.'s 1992 release, Automatic for the People, and in 1993, Cobain himself predicted that the next Nirvana album would be "pretty ethereal, acoustic, like R.E.M.'s last album."
"Yeah, he talked a lot about what direction he was heading in," Cobain's friend, R.E.M.'s lead singer Michael Stipe, told Newsweek in 1994. "I mean, I know what the next Nirvana recording was going to sound like. It was going to be very quiet and acoustic, with lots of stringed instruments. It was going to be an amazing fudgeing record, and I’m a little bit angry at him for killing himself. He and I were going to record a trial run of the album, a demo tape. It was all set up. He had a plane ticket. He had a car picking him up. And at the last minute he called and said, 'I can't come.'"
Artistry
Dave Grohl stated that Cobain believed "Music comes first, lyrics come second". Cobain focused, foremost, on the melodies of his songs. Cobain complained when fans and rock journalists attempted to decipher his singing and extract meaning from his lyrics, writing "Why in the hell do journalists insist on coming up with a second-rate Freudian evaluation of my lyrics, when 90 percent of the time they've transcribed them incorrectly?" While Cobain would insist of the subjectivity and unimportance of his lyrics, he was known to labor and procrastinate in writing them, often changing the content and order of lyrics during performances. Cobain would describe his lyrics himself as "a big pile of contradictions. They're split down the middle between very sincere opinions that I have and sarcastic opinions and feelings that I have and sarcastic and hopeful, humorous rebuttals toward cliché bohemian ideals that have been exhausted for years."
Cobain originally wanted Nevermind to be divided into two sides. A "Boy"-side, for the songs written about the experiences of his early life and childhood, and a "Girl"-side, for the songs written about his dysfunctional relationship with Tobi Vail. Charles R. Cross would write "In the four months following their break-up, Kurt would write a half dozen of his most memorable songs, all of them about Tobi Vail". Though "Lithium" had been written before Cobain knew Vail, the lyrics of the song were changed to reference her. Cobain would say in an interview with Musician that "some of my very personal experiences, like breaking up with girlfriends and having bad relationships, feeling that death void that the person in the song is feeling. Very lonely, sick." While Cobain would regard In Utero "for the most part very impersonal", on the album he dealt with the childhood divorce of his parents, his newfound fame and the public image and perception of himself and Courtney Love on "Serve the Servants", with his enamored relationship with Love conveyed through lyrical themes of pregnancy and the female anatomy on "Heart-Shaped Box". Cobain wrote "Rape Me" not only as an objective discussion of rape, but a metaphorical protest against his treatment by the media. He wrote about fame, drug addiction and abortion on "Pennyroyal Tea", as well as women's rights and the life of Seattle-born Frances Farmer on "Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge on Seattle".
Cobain was affected enough to write the song "Polly" from Nevermind, after reading a newspaper story of an incident in 1987, where a young girl was kidnapped after attending a punk rock show, then raped and tortured with a blowtorch. She managed to escape after gaining the trust of her captor through flirting with him. After seeing Nirvana perform, Bob Dylan would cite "Polly" as the best of Nirvana's songs, and was quoted as saying about Cobain, "the kid has heart". Patrick Süskind, whose novel Perfume: The Story of a Murderer inspired Cobain to write the song "Scentless Apprentice" from In Utero. The book is an historical horror novel about a perfumer's apprentice born with no body odor of his own but with a highly developed sense of smell, and who attempts to create the "ultimate perfume" by killing virginal women and taking their scent.
Cobain immersed himself in artistic projects throughout his life, as much so as he did in songwriting. The sentiments of his art work followed the same subjects of his lyrics, often expressed through a dark and macabre sense of humor. Noted was his fascination with physiology, his own rare medical conditions, and the human anatomy. Often unable to afford artistic resources, Cobain would improvise with materials, painting on board games and album sleeves, and painting with an array of substances, including his own bodily fluids. The artwork seen in his Journals would later draw acclaim as being of a high artistic standard. Many of Cobain's paintings, collages, and sculptures would appear in the artwork of Nirvana's albums. His artistic concepts would feature notably in Nirvana's music videos; the production and direction of which were acrimonious due to the artistic perfectionism of his visions.
Cobain would contribute backing guitar for a spoken word recording of beat poet William S. Burroughs' entitled "the "Priest" they called him". Cobain regarded Burroughs as a hero. During Nirvana's European tour Cobain kept a copy of Burroughs' Naked Lunch, purchased in a London bookstall. Ana Finel-Honigman, in her introduction to an interview with the artist Stella Vine on the Saatchi Gallery website, described Vine's art as bitterly honest in the same way Cobain's songs were; "acid outrage over adult lies and injustice", Holden Caulfield's observations about "a world filled with phonies", and Sylvia Plath's poetry an "over-heated anger and bitterness at the world's betrayals".
Nirvana
Main article: Nirvana (band)
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Cobain began learning guitar with a few covers, including "Louie Louie" and The Cars' "My Best Friend's Girl", and soon began working on his own songs. During high school, Cobain rarely found anyone with whom he could play music. While hanging out at the Melvins' practice space, he met Krist Novoselic, a fellow devotee of punk rock. Novoselic's mother owned a hair salon. Cobain and Novoselic would occasionally practice in the upstairs room of the salon. A few years later, Cobain tried to convince Novoselic to form a band with him by lending him a copy of a home demo recorded by Cobain's earlier band, Fecal Matter. After months of asking, Novoselic finally agreed to join Cobain, forming the beginnings of Nirvana.
Cobain was disenchanted after early touring, due to the band's inability to draw substantial crowds and the apparent difficulty in sustaining themselves. During their first few years playing together, Novoselic and Cobain were hosts to a rotating list of drummers. Eventually, the band settled on Chad Channing, with whom Nirvana recorded the album Bleach, released on Sub Pop Records in 1989. Cobain, however, became dissatisfied with Channing's style, leading the band to find a new drummer, eventually settling on Dave Grohl. With Grohl, the band found their greatest success via their 1991 major-label debut, Nevermind.
With the lead single "Smells Like Teen Spirit" from Nirvana's second album Nevermind (1991), Nirvana entered the mainstream, popularizing a subgenre of alternative rock, euphemistically titled grunge. Since their debut, Nirvana, with Cobain as a songwriter, sold over 25 million albums in the United States alone, and over 50 million worldwide.
The success of Nevermind provided numerous Seattle bands such as Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam, and Soundgarden wider audiences, and as a result, alternative rock became a dominant genre on radio and music television in the United States during the early-to-middle 1990s. Nirvana was considered the "flagship band of Generation X", and frontman Cobain found himself reluctantly anointed by the media as the generation's "spokesman." Cobain's discomfort with the media attention prompted him to focus on the band's music and, believing their message and artistic vision to have been misinterpreted by the public, challenged the band's audience with its third studio album In Utero (1993).
Cobain struggled to reconcile the massive success of Nirvana to his underground roots. He also felt persecuted by the media, comparing himself to Frances Farmer. He began to harbour resentments for people who claimed to be fans of the band yet refused to acknowledge, or misinterpreted, the band's social and political views. A vocal opponent of sexism, racism and homophobia, he was publicly proud that Nirvana had played at a gay rights benefit supporting No-on-Nine in Oregon in 1992, in opposition to Ballot Measure Nine, a ballot measure, that if passed, would have prohibited schools in the state from acknowledging or positively accepting LGBT rights and welfare.
Cobain was a vocal supporter of the pro-choice movement, and had been involved in Rock for Choice from the campaign inception by L7. He received death threats from a small number of anti-abortion activists for doing so, with one activist threatening Cobain that he would be shot as soon as he stepped on stage. The liner notes from Incesticide declared "if any of you in any way hate homosexuals, people of different color, or women, please do this one favor for us-leave us the fudge alone! Don't come to our shows and don't buy our records". An article from his posthumously released Journals declares that social liberation could be made possible only through the eradication of sexism.
Relationships and family
Courtney Love
Courtney Love met Cobain, on January 12, 1990, in Portland's Satyricon nightclub when they both still led ardent underground rock bands. Love made advances, but Cobain was evasive. Early in their interactions, Cobain broke off dates and ignored Love’s advances because he was unsure he wanted a relationship. Cobain noted, "I was determined to be a bachelor for a few months But I knew that I liked Courtney so much right away that it was a really hard struggle to stay away from her for so many months." Courtney Love first saw Cobain perform in 1989 at a show in Portland, Oregon; they talked briefly after the show and Love developed a crush on him.
Cobain was already aware of Love through her role in the 1987 film Straight to Hell. According to journalist Everett True, the pair were formally introduced at an L7 and Butthole Surfers concert in Los Angeles in May 1991. In the weeks that followed, after learning from Dave Grohl that Cobain shared mutual interests with her, Love began pursuing Cobain. In late 1991 the two were often together and bonded through drug use.
Around the time of Nirvana's 1992 performance on Saturday Night Live, Love discovered that she was pregnant with Cobain's child. On February 24, 1992, a few days after the conclusion of Nirvana's Pacific Rim tour, Cobain and Love were married on Waikiki Beach in Hawaii. Love wore a satin and lace dress once owned by the actress Frances Farmer, and Cobain wore green pajamas, because he had been "too lazy to put on a tux". In an interview with The Guardian, Love revealed the opposition to their marriage from various people: "Kim Gordon sits me down and says, 'If you marry him your life is not going to happen, it will destroy your life.' But I said, 'Whatever! I love him, and I want to be with him!'... It wasn't his fault. He wasn't trying to do that."
Frances Bean Cobain
On August 18, 1992, the couple's daughter Frances Bean Cobain was born.
In a 1992 article in Vanity Fair, Love admitted to using heroin while unknowingly pregnant. Love claimed that Vanity Fair had misquoted her, but the event created a media controversy for the couple. While Cobain and Love's romance had always been a media attraction, they found themselves hounded by tabloid reporters after the article was published, many wanting to know if Frances was addicted to drugs at birth. The Los Angeles County Department of Children's Services took the Cobains to court, claiming that the couple's drug usage made them unfit parents. Two-week-old Frances was ordered by the judge to be taken from their custody and placed with Courtney's sister Jamie for several weeks, after which the couple obtained custody in an exchange agreement to submit to urine tests and regular visits from a social worker. After months of legal wrangling, the couple were eventually granted full custody of their daughter.
Health history
Throughout most of his life, Cobain suffered from chronic bronchitis and intense physical pain due to an undiagnosed chronic stomach condition. His first drug experience was with marijuana in 1980, at age 13. He regularly used the drug during adulthood. Cobain also had a period of consuming "notable" amounts of LSD, as observed by Tracy Marander, and "really into getting fudgeed up: drugs, acid, any kind of drug", observed Krist Novoselic; Cobain was also prone to alcoholism and solvent abuse. Cobain's cousin Beverly, a nurse, claimed Cobain was diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder as a child, and bipolar disorder as an adult. She also brought attention to the history of suicide, mental illness and alcoholism in the Cobain family, noting two of her uncles who had committed suicide with guns.
Cobain's stomach condition was emotionally debilitating to him, and he intermittently tried to find its cause, usually at the insistence of Love. None of the many doctors he consulted were able to pinpoint the specific cause. He suffered from an acute self-consciousness and developed a poor body image, due to his low body weight; which was primarily due to malnourishment caused by his stomach condition, poor diet (as attributed by numerous doctors), or a combination of both.
Cobain's first experience with heroin occurred sometime in 1986, administered to him by a local drug dealer in Tacoma, Washington who had previously supplied him with Percodan. He used heroin sporadically for several years, but, by the end of 1990, his use developed into a full-fledged addiction. Cobain claimed that he was "determined to get a habit" as a way to self-medicate his stomach condition. "It started with three days in a row of doing heroin and I don't have a stomach pain. That was such a relief," he related.
His heroin use began to affect the band's Nevermind supporting tour, Cobain fell unconscious during photo shoots. One memorable example came the day of the band's 1992 performance on Saturday Night Live, where Nirvana had a photographic session with photographer Michael Levine. Having taken heroin beforehand, Cobain fell asleep several times during the shoot. Cobain divulged to biographer Michael Azerrad, "I mean, what are they supposed to do? They're not going to be able to tell me to stop. So I really didn't care. Obviously to them it was like practicing witchcraft or something. They didn't know anything about it so they thought that any second, I was going to die."
Slowly, Cobain's heroin addiction worsened. His first attempt at rehab was made in early 1992, not long after he and Love discovered they were going to become parents. Immediately after leaving rehab, Nirvana embarked on their Australian tour, with Cobain appearing pale and gaunt while suffering through withdrawals. Not long after returning home, Cobain's heroin use resumed.
Prior to a performance at the New Music Seminar in New York City in July 1993, Cobain suffered a heroin overdose. Rather than calling for an ambulance, Love injected Cobain with Narcan to bring him out of his unconscious state. Cobain proceeded to perform with Nirvana, giving the public no indication that anything out of the ordinary had taken place.
Death
Main article: Death of Kurt Cobain
Following a tour stop at Terminal Eins in Munich, Germany, on March 1, 1994, Cobain was diagnosed with bronchitis and severe laryngitis. He flew to Rome the next day for medical treatment, and was joined there by his wife on March 3, 1994. The next morning, Love awoke to find that Cobain had overdosed on a combination of champagne and Rohypnol. Cobain was immediately rushed to the hospital, and spent the rest of the day unconscious. After five days in the hospital, Cobain was released and returned to Seattle. Love later stated that the incident was Cobain's first suicide attempt.
On March 18, 1994, Love phoned Seattle police informing them that Cobain was suicidal and had locked himself in a room with a gun. Police arrived and confiscated several guns and a bottle of pills from Cobain, who insisted that he was not suicidal and had locked himself in the room to hide from Love. When questioned by police, Love said that Cobain had never mentioned that he was suicidal and that she had not seen him with a gun.
Love arranged an intervention regarding Cobain's drug use on March 25, 1994. The ten people involved included musician friends, record company executives, and one of Cobain's closest friends, Dylan Carlson. The intervention was initially unsuccessful, with an angry Cobain insulting and heaping scorn on its participants and eventually locking himself in the upstairs bedroom. However, by the end of the day, Cobain had agreed to undergo a detox program. Cobain arrived at the Exodus Recovery Center in Los Angeles, California on March 30, 1994. The staff at the facility were unaware of Cobain's history of depression and prior attempts at suicide. When visited by friends, there was no indication to them that Cobain was in any negative or suicidal state of mind. He spent the day talking to counselors about his drug abuse and personal problems, happily playing with his daughter Frances. These interactions were the last time she would see her father. The following night, Cobain walked outside to have a cigarette, climbed over a six-foot-high fence to leave the facility (which he joked earlier in the day would be a stupid feat to attempt). He took a taxi to Los Angeles Airport and flew back to Seattle. On the flight, he sat next to Duff McKagan of Guns N' Roses. With Cobain's own personal animosity towards Guns N' Roses and specifically Axl Rose, Cobain "seemed happy" to see McKagan. McKagan later stated he knew from "all of my instincts that something was wrong." On April 2 and April 3, 1994, Cobain was spotted in various locations around Seattle, although most of his close friends and family were unaware of his whereabouts. He was not seen on April 4, 1994. On April 3, 1994, Love contacted a private investigator, Tom Grant, and hired him to find Cobain. On April 7, 1994, amid rumors of Nirvana breaking up, the band pulled out of that year's Lollapalooza music festival.
On April 8, 1994, at the age of 27, Cobain's body was discovered at his Lake Washington home by an electrician who had arrived to install a security system. Apart from a minor amount of blood coming out of Cobain's ear, the electrician reported seeing no visible signs of trauma, and initially believed that Cobain was asleep until he saw the shotgun pointing at his chin. A suicide note was found, addressed to Cobain's childhood imaginary friend "Boddah", that said, paraphrasing, "I haven't felt the excitement of listening to as well as creating music, along with really writing . . . for too many years now". A high concentration of heroin and traces of Valium were also found in his body. Cobain's body had been lying there for days; the coroner's report estimated Cobain to have died on April 5, 1994.
A public vigil was held for Cobain on April 10, 1994 at a park at Seattle Center drawing approximately seven thousand mourners. Prerecorded messages by Krist Novoselic and Courtney Love were played at the memorial. Love read portions of Cobain's suicide note to the crowd, crying and chastising Cobain. Near the end of the vigil, Love arrived at the park and distributed some of Cobain's clothing to those who still remained. Dave Grohl would say that the news of Cobain's death was "probably the worst thing that has happened to me in my life. I remember the day after that I woke up and I was heartbroken that he was gone. I just felt like, 'Okay, so I get to wake up today and have another day and he doesn't.'" He also believed that he knew Cobain would die at an early age, saying that "sometimes you just can't save someone from themselves," and "in some ways, you kind of prepare yourself emotionally for that to be a reality." Dave Reed, who for a short time was Cobain's foster father, said that "he had the desperation, not the courage, to be himself. Once you do that, you can't go wrong, because you can't make any mistakes when people love you for being yourself. But for Kurt, it didn't matter that other people loved him; he simply didn't love himself enough."
A final ceremony was arranged for Cobain by his mother on May 31, 1999, attended by both Courtney Love and Tracey Marander. As a Buddhist monk chanted, his daughter Frances Bean scattered his ashes into McLane Creek in Olympia, the city where he "had found his true artistic muse."
Cobain's artistic endeavors and struggles with heroin addiction, illness and depression, as well as the circumstances of his death have become a frequent topic of fascination, debate, and controversy throughout the world. He is one of the well known members of the 27 Club.
Legacy
The bench in Viretta Park has become a notable memorial to Cobain.
In 2005, a sign was put up in Aberdeen, Washington that reads "Welcome to Aberdeen - Come As You Are" as a tribute to Cobain.
Cobain has been remembered as one of the most iconic rock musicians in the history of alternative music. He was ranked by Rolling Stone as the 12th greatest guitarist and 45th greatest singer of all time, and by MTV as 7th in the "22 Greatest Voices in Music". In 2006, he was placed at number twenty by Hit Parader on their list of the "100 Greatest Metal Singers of All Time". Reflecting on Cobain's death over ten years later, MSNBC's Eric Olsen wrote, "In the intervening decade, Cobain, a small, frail but handsome man in life, has become an abstract Generation X icon, viewed by many as the 'last real rock star' a messiah and martyr whose every utterance has been plundered and parsed".
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Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 02/20/11 at 8:04 am
Who's the lead singer now of Nirvana? ???
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: CatwomanofV on 02/20/11 at 8:41 am
Who's the lead singer now of Nirvana? ???
The group Nirvana doesn't exist anymore-so the answer is no one.
Cat
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 02/20/11 at 11:17 am
Who's the lead singer now of Nirvana? ???
The group Nirvana doesn't exist anymore-so the answer is no one.
Cat
The band ceased-to-be following the suicide of Cobain in 1994.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 02/21/11 at 6:28 am
The person of the day...Alan Rickman
Alan Sidney Patrick Rickman (born 21 February 1946) is an English actor and theatre director. He is a renowned stage actor in modern and classical productions and a former member of the Royal Shakespeare Company. Rickman is known for his film performances as Hans Gruber in Die Hard, Severus Snape in the Harry Potter film series, Eamon de Valera in Michael Collins, and Metatron in Dogma.
He is also known for his prominent roles as the Sheriff of Nottingham in the 1991 film, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, and as Colonel Brandon in Ang Lee's 1995 film Sense and Sensibility. More recently he played Judge Turpin in Tim Burton's Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street and voiced the Caterpillar in Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland. The Guardian named Rickman as one of the best actors never to have received an Academy Award nomination.
After graduating from the RADA, Rickman worked extensively with various British repertory and experimental theatre groups on productions including The Seagull and Snoo Wilson's The Grass Widow at the Royal Court Theatre, and has appeared three times at the Edinburgh International Festival. In 1978, he played with the Court Drama Group, performing in several plays, most notably Romeo And Juliet and A View from the Bridge. While working with the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) he starred in, among other things, As You Like It.
In 1982, British television audiences came to know Alan Rickman as the Reverend Obadiah Slope in the BBC's adaptation of Barchester Towers known as The Barchester Chronicles. In 1985, Rickman was given the male lead, Le Vicomte de Valmont, in the Royal Shakespeare Company's production of Les Liaisons Dangereuses, directed by Christopher Hampton, which was a sellout. When the show went to Broadway in 1987, Rickman earned both a Tony Award nomination and a Drama Desk Award nomination for his performance.
While Rickman's career has been filled with a wide variety of roles, for example, Éamon de Valera, (future Irish Taoiseach and president, in the film Michael Collins), he has also played romantic leads, for example Colonel Brandon in Sense and Sensibility, and Jamie in Truly, Madly, Deeply. Yet, he has not been able to escape the over-the-top villains he has played in the Hollywood big budget films - German terrorist Hans Gruber in Die Hard (1988), the Sheriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991) and most recently Severus Snape, the seemingly sinister potions master in the Harry Potter saga (2001–2011). In 1995, Rickman had turned down the role of Alec Trevelyan in the James Bond film GoldenEye. He has taken issue with being labelled as a "villain actor", citing the fact that he has not portrayed a stock villain character since the Sheriff of Nottingham in 1991. He has further said that he has continued to portray characters of complex and varying emotions, and does not think it is fair to assign characters a label of good or evil, hero or villain.
Nevertheless, his role in Die Hard earned him a spot on the AFI's 100 years...100 Heroes & Villains as the 46th best villain in film history. His performance as the Sheriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves also made him known as one of the best actors to portray a villain in films. In 2007, Entertainment Weekly named him one of their favourite people in pop culture, saying that in the Harry Potter films, "he may not be on screen long - but he owns every minute," and that he is capable of "turning a simple retort into a mini-symphony of contempt.".
During his long career Rickman has also played a number of comedic roles. Sending up classically trained British actors who take on "lesser roles" as the character Sir Alexander Dane / Dr. Lazarus in the Science Fiction spoof Galaxy Quest, portraying the angel Metatron, the voice of God in Dogma, appearing as Emma Thompson's foolish husband Harry in Love Actually, providing the voice of Marvin the Paranoid Android in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy film, and the egotistical, narcissistic, Nobel prize winning father in Nobel Son. Perhaps one of his best comedic roles is as the title role in the independent film The Search for John Gissing.
Rickman has also received acclaim for two biographical pieces he did for HBO, he won a Golden Globe and an Emmy for his performance as Rasputin: Dark Servant of Destiny in 1996, and was also nominated for an Emmy for his work as Dr. Alfred Blalock in 2004's Something the Lord Made. He also starred in the independent film Snow Cake (with Sigourney Weaver and Carrie-Anne Moss) which had its debut at the Berlinale, and also Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (with Dustin Hoffman), directed by Tom Tykwer.
In 2007, Rickman appeared in the critically-acclaimed Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street directed by Tim Burton, alongside Harry Potter co-stars Helena Bonham Carter and Timothy Spall; he played antagonist Judge Turpin. According to Miami Herald, Rickman's performance "makes the judge's villainy something to simultaneously savor and despise", with his "oozing moral rot and arrogance". Rickman also appeared as Absolem the Caterpillar in the 2010 Tim Burton film Alice in Wonderland. Rickman has performed on stage in Noël Coward's romantic comedy Private Lives, which transferred to Broadway after its successful run in London at the Albery Theatre and ended in September 2002. Rickman had reunited with his Les Liaisons Dangereuses co-star Lindsay Duncan, and director Howard Davies for this Tony Award-winning production.
His previous stage performance was as Mark Antony, opposite Helen Mirren as Cleopatra, in the Royal National Theatre's production of Antony and Cleopatra at the Olivier Theatre in London, which ran from 20 October to 3 December 1998. Before that, he performed in Yukio Ninagawa's Tango at the End of Winter in London's West End and the Riverside Studio production of Hamlet in 1991, directed by Robert Sturua.
Rickman had also directed The Winter Guest at London's Almeida Theatre in 1995 and the film version of the same play in 1996 starring Emma Thompson and her real life mother Phyllida Law. He also directed the play My Name Is Rachel Corrie in April 2005 at the Royal Court Theatre, London, and won the Theatre Goers' Choice Awards for best director. In May 2010, he finished directing Strindberg's play Creditors at the Brooklyn Academy of Music Harvey Theatre after its previous run at London's Donmar Warehouse in 2008.
In October and November 2010, Rickman starred in the eponymous role in Ibsen's John Gabriel Borkman at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin alongside Lindsay Duncan and Fiona Shaw. The Irish Independent called Rickman's performance breathtaking. This production subsequently travelled to the Brooklyn Academy of Music for performances in January and February 2011.
In 2009 Rickman was given the James Joyce Award by University College Dublin’s Literary and Historical Society.
In the media
Rickman was chosen by Empire as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history (No 34) in 1995 and ranked No 59 in Empire's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list in October 1997. In 2009 and 2010 Rickman ranked once again as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars by Empire, both times Rickman was placed 8th out of the 50 actors chosen. Rickman became Vice-Chairman of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in 2003. He was voted No 19 in Empire magazine's Greatest Living Movie Stars over the age of 50 and was twice nominated for Broadway's Tony Award as Best Actor (Play): in 1987 for Les Liaisons Dangereuses, and in 2002 for a revival of Noel Coward's Private Lives.
Two researchers, a linguist and a sound engineer, found "the perfect voice" to be a combination of Rickman's and Jeremy Irons's voices based on a sample of 50 voices. Coincidentally, the two actors played brothers in the Die Hard series of films.
Rickman has also been featured in several musical works — most notably in a song composed by the English songwriter Adam Leonard entitled Not Alan Rickman. Moreover, the actor played a "Master of Ceremonies" part in announcing the various instruments in Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells II on the track The Bell. Rickman was one of the many artists who recited Shakespearian sonnets on the 2002-released When Love Speaks CD, and is also featured prominently in a music video by the band Texas entitled In Demand, which premiered on Europe MTV in August 2000. In the video, lead singer Sharleen Spiteri danced the tango with Rickman: the clip was nominated for Best British Video at the Brit Awards.
Personal life
In 1965, Rickman met Rima Horton, an economics professor and London Labour party politician. As of 2006, Rickman and Horton have remained a couple and live together in west London. Rickman is also a supporter of the Labour party and has made many appearances for charity.
Filmography and awards
Year↓ Title↓ Role↓ Notes
1978 Romeo and Juliet Tybalt BBC Television Shakespeare
1982 Barchester Chronicles, TheThe Barchester Chronicles The Rev. Obadiah Slope BBC Miniseries
1985 Return of the Native Narrator Won British Audiobook Publishing Association's "Talkie Award" for Best Unabridged Classic Recording
1988 Die Hard Hans Gruber
1989 January Man, TheThe January Man Ed, the painter
1990 Quigley Down Under Elliot Marston, an unscrupulous ranch owner
1991 Truly, Madly, Deeply Jamie Nominated BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role
1991 Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves Sheriff of Nottingham Won BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role
1991 Close My Eyes Sinclair Bryant
1991 Closet Land The Interrogator
1992 Bob Roberts Lukas Hart III
1994 Mesmer Franz Anton Mesmer Won Award for Best actor on the World Film Festival, Montreal
1995 Awfully Big Adventure, AnAn Awfully Big Adventure P.L. O'Hara
1995 Sense and Sensibility Colonel Brandon Nominated BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role
1996 Rasputin: Dark Servant of Destiny Grigori Rasputin Won Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor - Miniseries or a Movie
Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Miniseries or Television Film
Screen Actors' Guild Award for Outstanding Male Actor - Miniseries or Television Film
1996 Michael Collins Éamon de Valera Nominated BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role
1996 Castle Ghosts of Ireland Living Tyde Documentary
1997 Winter Guest, TheThe Winter Guest Man in street (uncredited) Director, co-writer
Won Audience Award
Won Gold Hugo Award for Best Film
Nominated Chlotrudis Award for Best Director
Nominated Czech Lion Award for Best Foreign Language Film
Won 'CinemAwenire' Award
Won OCIC Award
Nominated Golden Lion Award
1998 Judas Kiss Detective David Friedman
1998 Dark Harbor David Weinberg
1999 Dogma The Metatron
1999 Galaxy Quest Alexander Dane/Dr. Lazarus
2000 Play M
2000 Help! I'm a Fish! Joe Voice
2001 Blow Dry Phil Allen
2001 Search for John Gissing, TheThe Search for John Gissing John Gissing
2001 Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone Severus Snape Known as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in the United States
2002 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Severus Snape Nominated PFCS Award for Best Acting Ensemble
2002 King of the Hill King Philip Voice
2003 Love Actually Harry Nominated PFCS Award for Best Acting Ensemble
2004 Something the Lord Made Dr. Alfred Blalock Nominated Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor - Miniseries or a Movie
2004 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban Severus Snape
2005 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Severus Snape
2005 Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, TheThe Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Marvin the Paranoid Android Voice
2006 Perfume: The Story of a Murderer Antoine Richis
2006 Snow Cake Alex Hughes
2007 Nobel Son Eli Michaelson, Nobel laureate
2007 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Severus Snape
2007 Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street Judge Turpin Nominated Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor
2008 Bottle Shock Steven Spurrier Won The Golden Space Needle Award for Best Actor
2009 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Severus Snape Won Spike TV Scream Award for Best Ensemble
2010 Alice in Wonderland Absolem the Caterpillar Voice
2010 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 Severus Snape
2010 Wildest Dream, TheThe Wildest Dream Noel Odell
2010 Song of Lunch, TheThe Song of Lunch He BBC Drama Production
2011 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 Severus Snape
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Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: CatwomanofV on 02/21/11 at 8:13 am
I LOVE Alan Rickman. He plays the perfect sleaziod-first as the Sheriff in Prince of Thieves (where I think he stole the show) & of course Snape. I think he is an outstanding actor.
Cat
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 02/21/11 at 10:04 am
I LOVE Alan Rickman. He plays the perfect sleaziod-first as the Sheriff in Prince of Thieves (where I think he stole the show) & of course Snape. I think he is an outstanding actor.
Cat
I agree :)
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 02/22/11 at 7:02 am
The person of the day...Steve Irwin
Stephen Robert Irwin (22 February 1962 – 4 September 2006), known simply as Steve Irwin and nicknamed "The Crocodile Hunter", was an Australian television personality, wildlife expert, and conservationist.
Irwin achieved worldwide fame from the television series The Crocodile Hunter, an internationally broadcast wildlife documentary series which he co-hosted with his wife Terri. Together, the couple also co-owned and operated Australia Zoo, founded by Irwin's parents in Beerwah, about 80 km (50 miles) north of the Queensland state capital city of Brisbane.
Irwin died on 4 September 2006 after being pierced in the chest by a stingray barb while filming in Australia's Great Barrier Reef. Since her husband's death, Terri Irwin has continued to operate Australia Zoo and raise their two children. The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society ship MY Steve Irwin was named in his honour.
In 1991, Irwin met Terri Raines, an American naturalist from Eugene, Oregon who was visiting wildlife rehabilitation facilities in Australia and had decided to visit the zoo. According to the couple, it was love at first sight. Terri said at the time, "I thought there was no one like this anywhere in the world. He sounded like an environmental Tarzan, a larger-than-life superhero guy." They were engaged four months later and were married in Eugene on 4 June 1992. Together they had two children: a daughter, Bindi Sue Irwin (born 24 July 1998), and a son, Robert Clarence "Bob" (named after Irwin's father) Irwin (born 1 December 2003). Bindi Sue is jointly named after two of Steve Irwin's favourite animals: Bindi, a saltwater crocodile, and Sui, a Staffordshire Bull Terrier who died in June 2004. Irwin was as enthusiastic about his family as he was about his work. He once described his daughter Bindi as "the reason was put on the Earth." His wife once said, "The only thing that could ever keep him away from the animals he loves are the people he loves even more." Although the Irwins were happily married, they did not wear wedding rings; they believed that in their line of work, wearing jewellery could pose a hazard to them and/or the animals.
The Crocodile Hunter and related work
Steve and Terri spent their honeymoon trapping crocodiles together. Film footage of their honeymoon, taken by John Stainton, became the first episode of The Crocodile Hunter. The series debuted on Australian TV screens in 1996, and made its way onto North American television the following year. The Crocodile Hunter became successful in the United States, the UK, and over 130 other countries, reaching 500 million people. Irwin's exuberant and enthusiastic presenting style, broad Australian accent, signature khaki shorts, and catchphrase "Crikey!" became known worldwide. Sir David Attenborough praised Irwin for introducing many to the natural world, saying "He taught them how wonderful and exciting it was, he was a born communicator."
American satellite and cable television channel Animal Planet ended The Crocodile Hunter with a series finale entitled "Steve's Last Adventure." The last Crocodile Hunter documentary spanned three hours with footage of Irwin's across-the-world adventure in locations including the Himalayas, the Yangtze River, Borneo, and the Kruger National Park. Irwin went on to star in other Animal Planet documentaries, including Croc Files, The Crocodile Hunter Diaries, and New Breed Vets. During a January 2006 interview on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Irwin announced that Discovery Kids would be developing a show for his daughter, Bindi Sue Irwin — a plan realised after his death as the series Bindi the Jungle Girl.
Other television and film work
In 1998, Irwin continued, working with director Mark Strickson, to present The Ten Deadliest Snakes in the World. He appeared on several episodes of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. A 2000 FedEx commercial with Irwin lightheartedly dealt with the possibility of occupational death from snakebite and the fanciful notion that FedEx would have saved him, if only FedEx were used.
Under Irwin's leadership, the operations grew to include the zoo, the television series, the Steve Irwin Conservation Foundation (later renamed Wildlife Warriors), and the International Crocodile Rescue. Improvements to the Australia Zoo include the Animal Planet Crocoseum, the rainforest aviary and Tiger Temple. Irwin mentioned that he was considering opening an Australia Zoo in Las Vegas, Nevada, and possibly at other sites around the world.
In 2001, Irwin appeared in a cameo role in the Eddie Murphy film Dr. Dolittle 2, in which a crocodile warns Dolittle that he knows Irwin is going to grab him and is prepared to attack when he does, but Dolittle fails to warn Irwin in time. Irwin's only starring feature film role was in 2002's The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course, which was released to mixed reviews. In the film Irwin (who portrayed himself and performed numerous stunts) mistakes some CIA agents for poachers. He sets out to stop them from capturing a crocodile, which, unknown to him, has actually swallowed a tracking transmitter. The film won the Best Family Feature Film award for a comedy film at the Young Artist Awards. The film was produced on a budget of about $12 million, and has grossed $33 million. To promote the film, Irwin was featured in an animated short produced by Animax Entertainment for Intermix.
In 2002, Irwin and his family appeared in the Wiggles video/DVD release Wiggly Safari, which was set in Australia Zoo and featured singing and dancing inspired by Australian wildlife.
In 2006, Irwin provided his voice for the 2006 animated film Happy Feet, as an elephant seal named Trev. The film was dedicated to Irwin, as he died during post-production. Another, previously incomplete scene, featuring Irwin providing the voice of an albatross and essentially playing himself, was restored to the DVD release.
Media campaigns
A poster from Irwin's Quarantine Matters! campaign.
Irwin was also involved in several media campaigns. He enthusiastically joined with the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service to promote Australia's strict quarantine/customs requirements, with advertisements and posters featuring slogans such as, "Quarantine Matters! Don't muck with it". His payments for these advertising campaigns were directed into his wildlife fund.
In 2004, Irwin was appointed ambassador for The Ghan, the passenger train running from Adelaide to Alice Springs in the central Australian outback, when the line was extended all the way to Darwin on the northern coast that year. For some time he was sponsored by Toyota.
Irwin was a keen promoter for Australian tourism in general and Queensland tourism in particular. In 2002, the Australia Zoo was voted Queensland's top tourist attraction. His immense popularity in the United States meant he often promoted Australia as a tourist destination there. As a part of the United States' "Australia Week" celebrations in January 2006, Irwin appeared at UCLA's Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles, California.
Search and rescue in Mexico
In November 2003, Irwin was filming a documentary on sea lions off the coast of Mexico's Baja California Peninsula when he heard via his boat's radio that two scuba divers were reported missing in the area. Irwin and his entire crew suspended operations to aid in the search. His team's divers searched with the rescue divers, and Irwin used his vessel to patrol the waters around the island where the incident occurred, as well as using his satellite communications system to call in a rescue plane. On the second day of the search, kayakers found one of the divers, Scott Jones, perched on a narrow rock ledge jutting out from the side of a cliff. Irwin and a crewmember escorted him to Irwin's boat. Jones did not recognise Irwin. The other lost diver, Katie Vrooman, was found dead by a search plane later the same day not far from Jones' location.
Honours
In 1997, while on a fishing trip on the coast of Queensland with his father, Irwin discovered a new species of turtle. Later given the honour of naming the newly discovered species, he named it Irwin's turtle (Elseya irwini) after his family. Another newly discovered Australian animal — a species of air-breathing land snail, Crikey steveirwini, was named after Irwin in 2009.
In 2001, Irwin was awarded the Centenary Medal by the Australian government for his "service to global conservation and to Australian tourism". In 2004, he was recognised as Tourism Export of the Year. He was also nominated in 2004 for Australian of the Year — an honour which was won that year by Australian cricket captain Steve Waugh. Shortly before his death, Irwin was to be named an adjunct professor at the University of Queensland's School of Integrative Biology. On 14 November 2007, Irwin was awarded the adjunct professorship posthumously.
In May 2007, the government of Rwanda announced that it would name a baby gorilla after Irwin as a tribute to his work in wildlife conservation. Also in 2007, the state government of Kerala, India named the Crocodile Rehabilitation and Research Centre at Neyyar Wildlife Sanctuary in his honour; however, Terri objected that this action had been taken without her permission and asked the Kerala government in 2009 to stop using Irwin's name and images — a request which the state government complied with in mid-2009.
Environmentalism
See also: Wildlife Warriors
Irwin was a passionate conservationist and believed in promoting environmentalism by sharing his excitement about the natural world rather than preaching to people. He was concerned with conservation of endangered animals and land clearing leading to loss of habitat. He considered conservation to be the most important part of his work: "I consider myself a wildlife warrior. My mission is to save the world's endangered species." Irwin bought "large tracts of land" in Australia, Vanuatu, Fiji and the United States, which he described as "like national parks" and stressed the importance of people realising that they could each make a difference.
Irwin founded the Steve Irwin Conservation Foundation, which became an independent charity and was later renamed "Wildlife Warriors Worldwide". He also helped found International Crocodile Rescue, the Lyn Irwin Memorial Fund (named in memory of his mother, who died in an automobile crash in 2000), and the Iron Bark Station Wildlife Rehabilitation Facility.
Irwin urged people to take part in considerate tourism and not support illegal poaching through the purchase of items such as turtle shells or shark-fin soup.
Sir David Attenborough was an inspiration to Irwin, according to his widow. When presenting a Lifetime Achievement Award to Attenborough after Irwin's death at the British National Television Awards on 31 October 2006, Terri Irwin said, "If there's one person who directly inspired my husband it's the person being honoured tonight.... real, true love was conservation - and the influence of tonight's recipient in preserving the natural world has been immense." Attenborough reciprocated by praising Irwin for introducing many to the natural world, saying, "He taught them how wonderful and exciting it was, he was a born communicator."
Irwin was described after his death by Mark Townend, CEO of RSPCA Queensland, as a "modern-day Noah." British naturalist David Bellamy lauded his skills as a natural historian and media performer. Canadian environmentalist David Suzuki paid tribute to Irwin, noting that "umanity will not protect that which we fear or do not understand. Steve Irwin helped us understand those things that many people thought were a nuisance at best, a horror at worst. That made him a great educator and conservationist."
After his death, the vessel MV Robert Hunter owned by the environmental action group Sea Shepherd was renamed MY Steve Irwin. Shortly before his death, Irwin had been investigating joining Sea Shepherd's 2007–2008 voyage to Antarctica to disrupt Japanese whaling activity. Following his death, the organisation suggested renaming their vessel, and this idea was endorsed by Terri Irwin. Regarding the ship and its new name, Terri said, "If Steve were alive, he'd be aboard with them!"
Sporting activities
Irwin loved mixed martial arts competitions and trained with Greg Jackson in the fighting/grappling system of Gaidojutsu.
Like many Australians, he was a avid cricket fan. This was seen during his visit to Sri Lanka where he played cricket with some local children and said "I love cricket" and "It's a shame we have to go catch some snakes now". This was seen during the Crocodile Hunter episode “Island of the Snakes".
Having grown up in Essendon, Irwin was a fan of the Essendon Bombers, an Australian rules football club in the Australian Football League. Irwin took part in an Australian Rules football promotion in Los Angeles as part of "Australia Week" in early 2006. After his death, a picture of Irwin wearing a Bombers Guernsey was shown by ESPN.com in their Bottom 10 ranking of the worst Division I FBS college football teams after Week 1 of the season in tribute to him.
Having lived in Queensland most of his life, Irwin was also a fan of rugby league. As a teenager, he played for the Caloundra Sharks as a second-rower, and as an adult he was known to be a passionate Brisbane Broncos fan and was involved with the club on several occasions. On one occasion after turning up to training he asked if he could tackle the largest player, Shane Webcke. Despite being thrown to the ground and looking like he'd been crushed he was jovial about the experience. Irwin laughingly shared the experience with the Queensland State of Origin squad before the 2006 series. Irwin also supported rugby union, being a fan of the national team, the Wallabies. He once wore a Wallaby jersey during a demonstration at the zoo. A behind-the-scenes episode of The Crocodile Hunter showed Irwin and the crew finding a petrol station in a remote part of Namibia to watch the Wallabies defeat France in the 1999 Rugby World Cup Final. Irwin was also a talented surfer.
Controversies
MV Steve Irwin approaching Melbourne in February 2008
A controversial incident occurred during a public show on 2 January 2004, when Irwin carried his one-month-old son, Bob, in his arm while hand-feeding a chicken carcass to Murray, a 3.8-metre (12 ft 6 in) saltwater crocodile. The infant was close to the crocodile, and comparisons were made in the press to Michael Jackson's dangling his son outside a German hotel window. In addition, child welfare groups, animal rights groups, and some of Irwin's television viewers criticised his actions as irresponsible and tantamount to child abuse. Irwin apologised on the US NBC Today Show. Both he and his wife publicly stated that Irwin was in complete control of the situation, as he had dealt with crocodiles since he was a small child, and based on his lifetime of experience neither he nor his son were in any danger. He also showed footage of the event shot from a different angle, demonstrating that they were much further from the crocodile than they had appeared in the publicised clip. Terri Irwin said their child was in no more danger than one being taught to swim. No charges were filed; according to one journalist, Irwin told officials he would not repeat the action. The incident prompted the Queensland government to change its crocodile-handling laws, banning children and untrained adults from entering crocodile enclosures.
In June 2004, allegations were made that he disturbed wildlife (namely whales, seals and penguins) while filming a documentary, Ice Breaker, in Antarctica. The matter was subsequently closed without charges being laid.
After questions arose in 2003 about Irwin being paid $175,000 worth of taxpayers' money to appear in a television advertisement and his possible political ties, Irwin told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) that he was a conservationist and did not choose sides in politics. His comments describing Australian Prime Minister John Howard as the "greatest leader in the world" earned him scorn in the media.
Irwin was criticised for having an unsophisticated view of conservation in Australia that seemed more linked to tourism than to the problems Australia faces as a continent. In response to questions of Australia's problems with overgrazing, salinity, and erosion, Irwin responded, "Cows have been on our land for so long that Australia has evolved to handle those big animals." The Sydney Morning Herald concluded with the opinion that his message was confusing and amounted to "eating roos and crocs is bad for tourism, and therefore more cruel than eating other animals".
Death
Wikinews has related news: Crocodile Hunter's Steve Irwin dies at 44
On 4 September 2006, Irwin was fatally pierced in the chest by a stingray spine while snorkelling at the Great Barrier Reef, at Batt Reef, which is located off the coast of Port Douglas in north Queensland. Irwin was in the area filming his own documentary, Ocean's Deadliest, but weather had stalled filming. Irwin decided to take the opportunity to film some shallow water shots for a segment in the television program his daughter Bindi Irwin was hosting when the ray suddenly turned and lashed out at him with the spine on its tail.
The events were caught on camera, and a copy of the footage was handed to the Queensland Police. In an interview with TIME, marine documentary filmmaker and former spearfisherman Ben Cropp concluded that Irwin had accidentally boxed the ray in, causing it to attack: "It stopped and twisted and threw up its tail with the spike, and it caught him in the chest.... It's a defensive thing. It's like being stabbed with a dirty dagger.... It's a one-in-a-million thing. I have swum with many rays, and I have only had one do that to me."
Initially, when CNN's Larry King interviewed Irwin's colleague John Stainton late on 4 September 2006, Stainton denied the suggestion that Irwin had pulled the spine out of his chest or that he had seen footage of the event, insisting that the anecdote was "absolute rubbish." However, the following day, when he first described the video to the media, he stated, "Steve came over the top of the ray and the tail came up, and spiked him here , and he pulled it out and the next minute he's gone."
It is thought, in the absence of a coroner's report, that a combination of the toxins and the puncture wound from the spine caused Irwin to die of cardiac arrest, with most of the damage being inflicted by tears to arteries or other main blood vessels. A similar incident in Florida a month later, in which a man survived a stingray barb through the heart, suggested that Irwin's removing the barb might have caused or hastened his death.
Crew members aboard his boat called the emergency services in the nearest city of Cairns and administered CPR as they rushed the boat to the nearby Low Islets to meet an emergency rescue helicopter. However, despite the best efforts of Irwin's crew, medical staff pronounced him dead when they arrived a short time later. According to Dr Ed O'Loughlin, who treated Irwin, "it became clear fairly soon that he had non-survivable injuries. He had a penetrating injury to the left front of his chest. He had lost his pulse and wasn't breathing."
Cairns, Queensland
Irwin's body was flown to a morgue in Cairns. His wife, Terri Irwin, who was on a walking tour in Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park in Tasmania at the time, returned via a private plane from Devonport to the Sunshine Coast with their two children.
Stainton told CNN's Larry King that, in his opinion, the videotape of Irwin's fatal accident "should be destroyed". In an interview with Barbara Walters on the American ABC network shortly after Irwin's death, Terri Irwin said she had not seen the film of her husband's deadly encounter with the stingray and that it would not be shown on television. On 3 January 2007, the only video footage showing the events that led to Irwin's death was handed over to Terri, who said that her family had not seen the video and that it would never be made public. In an 11 January 2007 interview with Access Hollywood, Terri said that "all footage been destroyed." Despite these statements, numerous videos and still pictures claiming to be of Irwin's death surfaced on YouTube and other Internet sites.
Production was completed on Ocean's Deadliest, which aired for the first time on the Discovery Channel on 21 January 2007. The documentary was completed with footage shot in the weeks following the accident. According to Stainton, "Anything to do with the day that he died, that film is not available." Irwin's death is not mentioned in the film, aside from a still image of him at the end alongside the text "In Memory of Steve Irwin". Terri Irwin reported in 2007 that Steve had an ongoing premonition that he would die before he reached age 40. She wrote about this in a book about their lives together, Steve and Me.
Reaction
News of Irwin's death prompted reactions around the world. Then Australian Prime Minister John Howard expressed his "shock and distress" at the death, saying that "Australia has lost a wonderful and colourful son." Queensland Premier Peter Beattie commented in a Channel Seven television interview that Irwin would "be remembered as not just a great Queenslander, but a great Australian". The Australian federal parliament opened on 5 September 2006 with condolence speeches by both the Prime Minister, John Howard, and the Leader of the Opposition, Kim Beazley. Flags at the Sydney Harbour Bridge were lowered to half mast in honour of Irwin.
Several Australian news websites went down because of high web traffic, and for the first time, the "top ten" list of most-viewed stories for Fairfax Digital news sites was swept by a single topic. Talk-back radio experienced a high volume of callers expressing their grief. The television interview show Enough Rope re-broadcast a 2003 interview between Irwin and Andrew Denton on the evening of his death. The Seven Network aired a television memorial show as a tribute to Irwin on 5 September 2006, as did the Nine Network on 6 September.
The U.S. feed of the Animal Planet cable television channel aired a special tribute to Irwin that started on Monday, 4 September. The tribute continued with the Animal Planet channel showing highlights of Irwin's more than 200 appearances on Discovery Network's shows. CNN showed a repeat of his 2004 interview on Larry King Live. Late-night talk show host Jay Leno—on whose show Irwin had appeared more than ten times—delivered a tribute describing Irwin as a great ambassador of Australia. There were also tributes on Live with Regis & Kelly and Barbara Walters' The View.
Hundreds of people visited Australia Zoo to pay tribute to the deceased entertainer and conservationist. The day after his death, the volume of people coming to pay their respects affected traffic so much that police reduced the speed limit near the zoo and told motorists to expect delays. BBC reported on 13 September that thousands of fans had been to Australia Zoo since Irwin's death, bringing flowers, candles, stuffed animals and messages of support. In the weeks after his death, Irwin's conservation foundation, Wildlife Warriors, reported that thousands of people from around the world were offering their support via donations to the conservation group.
Dan Mathews, vice-president of the animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, said it was "no shock at all that Steve Irwin should die provoking a dangerous animal." He added that "Irwin made his career out of antagonising frightened wild animals, that's a very dangerous message to send to children." He also made a comparison with another well known conservationist: "If you compare with a responsible conservationist like Jacques Cousteau, he looks like a cheap reality TV star." The son of Jacques Cousteau, Jean-Michel Cousteau—also a producer of wildlife documentaries—took issue as well with Irwin's hands-on approach to nature television, saying, "You don't touch nature, you just look at it." Cousteau went on to say that although Irwin's approach "goes very well on television", it would "interfere with nature, jump on animals, grab them, hold them, and have this very, very spectacular, dramatic way of presenting things" which he felt was "very misleading". Jacques Cousteau's grandson and Jean-Michel's nephew, Philippe Cousteau Jr., however, was working with Irwin on the "Ocean's Deadliest" documentary at the time of the accident and later described him as "a remarkable individual." Describing their project, he said, "I think why Steve was so excited about it that we were looking at these animals that people think of as, you know, dangerous and deadly monsters, and they're not. They all have an important place in the environment and in the world. And that was what his whole message was about."
A public service was held at the 5,500-seat Crocoseum at Australia Zoo on 20 September. The service was broadcast live, commercial free, in the eastern states of Australia, by free-to-air channels Seven, Nine and the ABC in Australia, as well as live on subscription channel Sky News Australia. In addition, it was broadcast live and without commercials on Animal Planet in the United States, as well as to Germany, the UK, and Asia. It is estimated that over 300 million viewers worldwide watched the service. The memorial was also rebroadcast in the US on Animal Planet on 1 January 2007, as part of their New Year's Day celebration, and again the following day.
The "Crocoseum" at Australia Zoo, where Steve Irwin's memorial service was held.
The memorial included a speech by Australian Prime Minister John Howard, as well as messages by celebrities from Australia and around the world including Hugh Jackman, Cameron Diaz, Justin Timberlake, Kevin Costner, Russell Crowe, David Wenham, Kelly Ripa and Larry King. Costner called Irwin a fearless man who was brave enough to let people see him as he was. Irwin's father, Bob Irwin, spoke at the memorial, as did his daughter Bindi and associates Wes Mannion and John Stainton. Anthony Field of The Wiggles partly hosted the service, often sharing the screen with various animals, from koalas to elephants. Australian music star John Williamson sang True Blue, which was Irwin's favourite song. In a symbolic finish to the service, Irwin's truck was loaded up with gear and driven out of the arena for the last time as Williamson sang. As a final tribute, Australia Zoo staff spelled out Irwin's catchphrase "Crikey" in yellow flowers as Irwin's truck was driven from the Crocoseum for the last time to end the service.
Filmography
Year Film Role Other notes
1997–2004 The Crocodile Hunter Himself
1999–2000 Croc Files Himself
2001 Dr. Dolittle 2 Himself Cameo role
2002 Mystery Hunters Himself One episode
2002 The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course Himself
2004 The Fairly OddParents The Bad Parent Hunter (voice)
2006 5 Takes: Pacific Rim Himself One Episode
2006 Happy Feet Trev (voice)
2007 Ocean's Deadliest Himself TV Special (Released after death), In Memory of.
2007-2008 Bindi the Jungle Girl Himself TV series, released after death. New and Archive Footage
http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f321/reads1/MySpace%20Pictures/489px-steve_irwin.jpg
http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u22/bfamtime/critters/steve%20irwin/steve_irwin2.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 02/22/11 at 7:46 am
He was one of the funniest on television. ;D
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: nally on 02/22/11 at 1:24 pm
Black Sabbath are too noisy for me.
The only song I know of theirs is "Iron Man."
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: nally on 02/22/11 at 1:25 pm
The band ceased-to-be following the suicide of Cobain in 1994.
Drummer Dave Grohl went on to form the band Foo Fighters, and be their frontman.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 02/22/11 at 2:20 pm
The person of the day...Steve Irwin
Stephen Robert Irwin (22 February 1962 – 4 September 2006), known simply as Steve Irwin and nicknamed "The Crocodile Hunter", was an Australian television personality, wildlife expert, and conservationist.
Irwin achieved worldwide fame from the television series The Crocodile Hunter, an internationally broadcast wildlife documentary series which he co-hosted with his wife Terri. Together, the couple also co-owned and operated Australia Zoo, founded by Irwin's parents in Beerwah, about 80 km (50 miles) north of the Queensland state capital city of Brisbane.
Irwin died on 4 September 2006 after being pierced in the chest by a stingray barb while filming in Australia's Great Barrier Reef. Since her husband's death, Terri Irwin has continued to operate Australia Zoo and raise their two children. The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society ship MY Steve Irwin was named in his honour.
In 1991, Irwin met Terri Raines, an American naturalist from Eugene, Oregon who was visiting wildlife rehabilitation facilities in Australia and had decided to visit the zoo. According to the couple, it was love at first sight. Terri said at the time, "I thought there was no one like this anywhere in the world. He sounded like an environmental Tarzan, a larger-than-life superhero guy." They were engaged four months later and were married in Eugene on 4 June 1992. Together they had two children: a daughter, Bindi Sue Irwin (born 24 July 1998), and a son, Robert Clarence "Bob" (named after Irwin's father) Irwin (born 1 December 2003). Bindi Sue is jointly named after two of Steve Irwin's favourite animals: Bindi, a saltwater crocodile, and Sui, a Staffordshire Bull Terrier who died in June 2004. Irwin was as enthusiastic about his family as he was about his work. He once described his daughter Bindi as "the reason was put on the Earth." His wife once said, "The only thing that could ever keep him away from the animals he loves are the people he loves even more." Although the Irwins were happily married, they did not wear wedding rings; they believed that in their line of work, wearing jewellery could pose a hazard to them and/or the animals.
The Crocodile Hunter and related work
Steve and Terri spent their honeymoon trapping crocodiles together. Film footage of their honeymoon, taken by John Stainton, became the first episode of The Crocodile Hunter. The series debuted on Australian TV screens in 1996, and made its way onto North American television the following year. The Crocodile Hunter became successful in the United States, the UK, and over 130 other countries, reaching 500 million people. Irwin's exuberant and enthusiastic presenting style, broad Australian accent, signature khaki shorts, and catchphrase "Crikey!" became known worldwide. Sir David Attenborough praised Irwin for introducing many to the natural world, saying "He taught them how wonderful and exciting it was, he was a born communicator."
American satellite and cable television channel Animal Planet ended The Crocodile Hunter with a series finale entitled "Steve's Last Adventure." The last Crocodile Hunter documentary spanned three hours with footage of Irwin's across-the-world adventure in locations including the Himalayas, the Yangtze River, Borneo, and the Kruger National Park. Irwin went on to star in other Animal Planet documentaries, including Croc Files, The Crocodile Hunter Diaries, and New Breed Vets. During a January 2006 interview on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Irwin announced that Discovery Kids would be developing a show for his daughter, Bindi Sue Irwin — a plan realised after his death as the series Bindi the Jungle Girl.
Other television and film work
In 1998, Irwin continued, working with director Mark Strickson, to present The Ten Deadliest Snakes in the World. He appeared on several episodes of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. A 2000 FedEx commercial with Irwin lightheartedly dealt with the possibility of occupational death from snakebite and the fanciful notion that FedEx would have saved him, if only FedEx were used.
Under Irwin's leadership, the operations grew to include the zoo, the television series, the Steve Irwin Conservation Foundation (later renamed Wildlife Warriors), and the International Crocodile Rescue. Improvements to the Australia Zoo include the Animal Planet Crocoseum, the rainforest aviary and Tiger Temple. Irwin mentioned that he was considering opening an Australia Zoo in Las Vegas, Nevada, and possibly at other sites around the world.
In 2001, Irwin appeared in a cameo role in the Eddie Murphy film Dr. Dolittle 2, in which a crocodile warns Dolittle that he knows Irwin is going to grab him and is prepared to attack when he does, but Dolittle fails to warn Irwin in time. Irwin's only starring feature film role was in 2002's The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course, which was released to mixed reviews. In the film Irwin (who portrayed himself and performed numerous stunts) mistakes some CIA agents for poachers. He sets out to stop them from capturing a crocodile, which, unknown to him, has actually swallowed a tracking transmitter. The film won the Best Family Feature Film award for a comedy film at the Young Artist Awards. The film was produced on a budget of about $12 million, and has grossed $33 million. To promote the film, Irwin was featured in an animated short produced by Animax Entertainment for Intermix.
In 2002, Irwin and his family appeared in the Wiggles video/DVD release Wiggly Safari, which was set in Australia Zoo and featured singing and dancing inspired by Australian wildlife.
In 2006, Irwin provided his voice for the 2006 animated film Happy Feet, as an elephant seal named Trev. The film was dedicated to Irwin, as he died during post-production. Another, previously incomplete scene, featuring Irwin providing the voice of an albatross and essentially playing himself, was restored to the DVD release.
Media campaigns
A poster from Irwin's Quarantine Matters! campaign.
Irwin was also involved in several media campaigns. He enthusiastically joined with the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service to promote Australia's strict quarantine/customs requirements, with advertisements and posters featuring slogans such as, "Quarantine Matters! Don't muck with it". His payments for these advertising campaigns were directed into his wildlife fund.
In 2004, Irwin was appointed ambassador for The Ghan, the passenger train running from Adelaide to Alice Springs in the central Australian outback, when the line was extended all the way to Darwin on the northern coast that year. For some time he was sponsored by Toyota.
Irwin was a keen promoter for Australian tourism in general and Queensland tourism in particular. In 2002, the Australia Zoo was voted Queensland's top tourist attraction. His immense popularity in the United States meant he often promoted Australia as a tourist destination there. As a part of the United States' "Australia Week" celebrations in January 2006, Irwin appeared at UCLA's Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles, California.
Search and rescue in Mexico
In November 2003, Irwin was filming a documentary on sea lions off the coast of Mexico's Baja California Peninsula when he heard via his boat's radio that two scuba divers were reported missing in the area. Irwin and his entire crew suspended operations to aid in the search. His team's divers searched with the rescue divers, and Irwin used his vessel to patrol the waters around the island where the incident occurred, as well as using his satellite communications system to call in a rescue plane. On the second day of the search, kayakers found one of the divers, Scott Jones, perched on a narrow rock ledge jutting out from the side of a cliff. Irwin and a crewmember escorted him to Irwin's boat. Jones did not recognise Irwin. The other lost diver, Katie Vrooman, was found dead by a search plane later the same day not far from Jones' location.
Honours
In 1997, while on a fishing trip on the coast of Queensland with his father, Irwin discovered a new species of turtle. Later given the honour of naming the newly discovered species, he named it Irwin's turtle (Elseya irwini) after his family. Another newly discovered Australian animal — a species of air-breathing land snail, Crikey steveirwini, was named after Irwin in 2009.
In 2001, Irwin was awarded the Centenary Medal by the Australian government for his "service to global conservation and to Australian tourism". In 2004, he was recognised as Tourism Export of the Year. He was also nominated in 2004 for Australian of the Year — an honour which was won that year by Australian cricket captain Steve Waugh. Shortly before his death, Irwin was to be named an adjunct professor at the University of Queensland's School of Integrative Biology. On 14 November 2007, Irwin was awarded the adjunct professorship posthumously.
In May 2007, the government of Rwanda announced that it would name a baby gorilla after Irwin as a tribute to his work in wildlife conservation. Also in 2007, the state government of Kerala, India named the Crocodile Rehabilitation and Research Centre at Neyyar Wildlife Sanctuary in his honour; however, Terri objected that this action had been taken without her permission and asked the Kerala government in 2009 to stop using Irwin's name and images — a request which the state government complied with in mid-2009.
Environmentalism
See also: Wildlife Warriors
Irwin was a passionate conservationist and believed in promoting environmentalism by sharing his excitement about the natural world rather than preaching to people. He was concerned with conservation of endangered animals and land clearing leading to loss of habitat. He considered conservation to be the most important part of his work: "I consider myself a wildlife warrior. My mission is to save the world's endangered species." Irwin bought "large tracts of land" in Australia, Vanuatu, Fiji and the United States, which he described as "like national parks" and stressed the importance of people realising that they could each make a difference.
Irwin founded the Steve Irwin Conservation Foundation, which became an independent charity and was later renamed "Wildlife Warriors Worldwide". He also helped found International Crocodile Rescue, the Lyn Irwin Memorial Fund (named in memory of his mother, who died in an automobile crash in 2000), and the Iron Bark Station Wildlife Rehabilitation Facility.
Irwin urged people to take part in considerate tourism and not support illegal poaching through the purchase of items such as turtle shells or shark-fin soup.
Sir David Attenborough was an inspiration to Irwin, according to his widow. When presenting a Lifetime Achievement Award to Attenborough after Irwin's death at the British National Television Awards on 31 October 2006, Terri Irwin said, "If there's one person who directly inspired my husband it's the person being honoured tonight.... real, true love was conservation - and the influence of tonight's recipient in preserving the natural world has been immense." Attenborough reciprocated by praising Irwin for introducing many to the natural world, saying, "He taught them how wonderful and exciting it was, he was a born communicator."
Irwin was described after his death by Mark Townend, CEO of RSPCA Queensland, as a "modern-day Noah." British naturalist David Bellamy lauded his skills as a natural historian and media performer. Canadian environmentalist David Suzuki paid tribute to Irwin, noting that "umanity will not protect that which we fear or do not understand. Steve Irwin helped us understand those things that many people thought were a nuisance at best, a horror at worst. That made him a great educator and conservationist."
After his death, the vessel MV Robert Hunter owned by the environmental action group Sea Shepherd was renamed MY Steve Irwin. Shortly before his death, Irwin had been investigating joining Sea Shepherd's 2007–2008 voyage to Antarctica to disrupt Japanese whaling activity. Following his death, the organisation suggested renaming their vessel, and this idea was endorsed by Terri Irwin. Regarding the ship and its new name, Terri said, "If Steve were alive, he'd be aboard with them!"
Sporting activities
Irwin loved mixed martial arts competitions and trained with Greg Jackson in the fighting/grappling system of Gaidojutsu.
Like many Australians, he was a avid cricket fan. This was seen during his visit to Sri Lanka where he played cricket with some local children and said "I love cricket" and "It's a shame we have to go catch some snakes now". This was seen during the Crocodile Hunter episode “Island of the Snakes".
Having grown up in Essendon, Irwin was a fan of the Essendon Bombers, an Australian rules football club in the Australian Football League. Irwin took part in an Australian Rules football promotion in Los Angeles as part of "Australia Week" in early 2006. After his death, a picture of Irwin wearing a Bombers Guernsey was shown by ESPN.com in their Bottom 10 ranking of the worst Division I FBS college football teams after Week 1 of the season in tribute to him.
Having lived in Queensland most of his life, Irwin was also a fan of rugby league. As a teenager, he played for the Caloundra Sharks as a second-rower, and as an adult he was known to be a passionate Brisbane Broncos fan and was involved with the club on several occasions. On one occasion after turning up to training he asked if he could tackle the largest player, Shane Webcke. Despite being thrown to the ground and looking like he'd been crushed he was jovial about the experience. Irwin laughingly shared the experience with the Queensland State of Origin squad before the 2006 series. Irwin also supported rugby union, being a fan of the national team, the Wallabies. He once wore a Wallaby jersey during a demonstration at the zoo. A behind-the-scenes episode of The Crocodile Hunter showed Irwin and the crew finding a petrol station in a remote part of Namibia to watch the Wallabies defeat France in the 1999 Rugby World Cup Final. Irwin was also a talented surfer.
Controversies
MV Steve Irwin approaching Melbourne in February 2008
A controversial incident occurred during a public show on 2 January 2004, when Irwin carried his one-month-old son, Bob, in his arm while hand-feeding a chicken carcass to Murray, a 3.8-metre (12 ft 6 in) saltwater crocodile. The infant was close to the crocodile, and comparisons were made in the press to Michael Jackson's dangling his son outside a German hotel window. In addition, child welfare groups, animal rights groups, and some of Irwin's television viewers criticised his actions as irresponsible and tantamount to child abuse. Irwin apologised on the US NBC Today Show. Both he and his wife publicly stated that Irwin was in complete control of the situation, as he had dealt with crocodiles since he was a small child, and based on his lifetime of experience neither he nor his son were in any danger. He also showed footage of the event shot from a different angle, demonstrating that they were much further from the crocodile than they had appeared in the publicised clip. Terri Irwin said their child was in no more danger than one being taught to swim. No charges were filed; according to one journalist, Irwin told officials he would not repeat the action. The incident prompted the Queensland government to change its crocodile-handling laws, banning children and untrained adults from entering crocodile enclosures.
In June 2004, allegations were made that he disturbed wildlife (namely whales, seals and penguins) while filming a documentary, Ice Breaker, in Antarctica. The matter was subsequently closed without charges being laid.
After questions arose in 2003 about Irwin being paid $175,000 worth of taxpayers' money to appear in a television advertisement and his possible political ties, Irwin told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) that he was a conservationist and did not choose sides in politics. His comments describing Australian Prime Minister John Howard as the "greatest leader in the world" earned him scorn in the media.
Irwin was criticised for having an unsophisticated view of conservation in Australia that seemed more linked to tourism than to the problems Australia faces as a continent. In response to questions of Australia's problems with overgrazing, salinity, and erosion, Irwin responded, "Cows have been on our land for so long that Australia has evolved to handle those big animals." The Sydney Morning Herald concluded with the opinion that his message was confusing and amounted to "eating roos and crocs is bad for tourism, and therefore more cruel than eating other animals".
Death
Wikinews has related news: Crocodile Hunter's Steve Irwin dies at 44
On 4 September 2006, Irwin was fatally pierced in the chest by a stingray spine while snorkelling at the Great Barrier Reef, at Batt Reef, which is located off the coast of Port Douglas in north Queensland. Irwin was in the area filming his own documentary, Ocean's Deadliest, but weather had stalled filming. Irwin decided to take the opportunity to film some shallow water shots for a segment in the television program his daughter Bindi Irwin was hosting when the ray suddenly turned and lashed out at him with the spine on its tail.
The events were caught on camera, and a copy of the footage was handed to the Queensland Police. In an interview with TIME, marine documentary filmmaker and former spearfisherman Ben Cropp concluded that Irwin had accidentally boxed the ray in, causing it to attack: "It stopped and twisted and threw up its tail with the spike, and it caught him in the chest.... It's a defensive thing. It's like being stabbed with a dirty dagger.... It's a one-in-a-million thing. I have swum with many rays, and I have only had one do that to me."
Initially, when CNN's Larry King interviewed Irwin's colleague John Stainton late on 4 September 2006, Stainton denied the suggestion that Irwin had pulled the spine out of his chest or that he had seen footage of the event, insisting that the anecdote was "absolute rubbish." However, the following day, when he first described the video to the media, he stated, "Steve came over the top of the ray and the tail came up, and spiked him here , and he pulled it out and the next minute he's gone."
It is thought, in the absence of a coroner's report, that a combination of the toxins and the puncture wound from the spine caused Irwin to die of cardiac arrest, with most of the damage being inflicted by tears to arteries or other main blood vessels. A similar incident in Florida a month later, in which a man survived a stingray barb through the heart, suggested that Irwin's removing the barb might have caused or hastened his death.
Crew members aboard his boat called the emergency services in the nearest city of Cairns and administered CPR as they rushed the boat to the nearby Low Islets to meet an emergency rescue helicopter. However, despite the best efforts of Irwin's crew, medical staff pronounced him dead when they arrived a short time later. According to Dr Ed O'Loughlin, who treated Irwin, "it became clear fairly soon that he had non-survivable injuries. He had a penetrating injury to the left front of his chest. He had lost his pulse and wasn't breathing."
Cairns, Queensland
Irwin's body was flown to a morgue in Cairns. His wife, Terri Irwin, who was on a walking tour in Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park in Tasmania at the time, returned via a private plane from Devonport to the Sunshine Coast with their two children.
Stainton told CNN's Larry King that, in his opinion, the videotape of Irwin's fatal accident "should be destroyed". In an interview with Barbara Walters on the American ABC network shortly after Irwin's death, Terri Irwin said she had not seen the film of her husband's deadly encounter with the stingray and that it would not be shown on television. On 3 January 2007, the only video footage showing the events that led to Irwin's death was handed over to Terri, who said that her family had not seen the video and that it would never be made public. In an 11 January 2007 interview with Access Hollywood, Terri said that "all footage been destroyed." Despite these statements, numerous videos and still pictures claiming to be of Irwin's death surfaced on YouTube and other Internet sites.
Production was completed on Ocean's Deadliest, which aired for the first time on the Discovery Channel on 21 January 2007. The documentary was completed with footage shot in the weeks following the accident. According to Stainton, "Anything to do with the day that he died, that film is not available." Irwin's death is not mentioned in the film, aside from a still image of him at the end alongside the text "In Memory of Steve Irwin". Terri Irwin reported in 2007 that Steve had an ongoing premonition that he would die before he reached age 40. She wrote about this in a book about their lives together, Steve and Me.
Reaction
News of Irwin's death prompted reactions around the world. Then Australian Prime Minister John Howard expressed his "shock and distress" at the death, saying that "Australia has lost a wonderful and colourful son." Queensland Premier Peter Beattie commented in a Channel Seven television interview that Irwin would "be remembered as not just a great Queenslander, but a great Australian". The Australian federal parliament opened on 5 September 2006 with condolence speeches by both the Prime Minister, John Howard, and the Leader of the Opposition, Kim Beazley. Flags at the Sydney Harbour Bridge were lowered to half mast in honour of Irwin.
Several Australian news websites went down because of high web traffic, and for the first time, the "top ten" list of most-viewed stories for Fairfax Digital news sites was swept by a single topic. Talk-back radio experienced a high volume of callers expressing their grief. The television interview show Enough Rope re-broadcast a 2003 interview between Irwin and Andrew Denton on the evening of his death. The Seven Network aired a television memorial show as a tribute to Irwin on 5 September 2006, as did the Nine Network on 6 September.
The U.S. feed of the Animal Planet cable television channel aired a special tribute to Irwin that started on Monday, 4 September. The tribute continued with the Animal Planet channel showing highlights of Irwin's more than 200 appearances on Discovery Network's shows. CNN showed a repeat of his 2004 interview on Larry King Live. Late-night talk show host Jay Leno—on whose show Irwin had appeared more than ten times—delivered a tribute describing Irwin as a great ambassador of Australia. There were also tributes on Live with Regis & Kelly and Barbara Walters' The View.
Hundreds of people visited Australia Zoo to pay tribute to the deceased entertainer and conservationist. The day after his death, the volume of people coming to pay their respects affected traffic so much that police reduced the speed limit near the zoo and told motorists to expect delays. BBC reported on 13 September that thousands of fans had been to Australia Zoo since Irwin's death, bringing flowers, candles, stuffed animals and messages of support. In the weeks after his death, Irwin's conservation foundation, Wildlife Warriors, reported that thousands of people from around the world were offering their support via donations to the conservation group.
Dan Mathews, vice-president of the animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, said it was "no shock at all that Steve Irwin should die provoking a dangerous animal." He added that "Irwin made his career out of antagonising frightened wild animals, that's a very dangerous message to send to children." He also made a comparison with another well known conservationist: "If you compare with a responsible conservationist like Jacques Cousteau, he looks like a cheap reality TV star." The son of Jacques Cousteau, Jean-Michel Cousteau—also a producer of wildlife documentaries—took issue as well with Irwin's hands-on approach to nature television, saying, "You don't touch nature, you just look at it." Cousteau went on to say that although Irwin's approach "goes very well on television", it would "interfere with nature, jump on animals, grab them, hold them, and have this very, very spectacular, dramatic way of presenting things" which he felt was "very misleading". Jacques Cousteau's grandson and Jean-Michel's nephew, Philippe Cousteau Jr., however, was working with Irwin on the "Ocean's Deadliest" documentary at the time of the accident and later described him as "a remarkable individual." Describing their project, he said, "I think why Steve was so excited about it that we were looking at these animals that people think of as, you know, dangerous and deadly monsters, and they're not. They all have an important place in the environment and in the world. And that was what his whole message was about."
A public service was held at the 5,500-seat Crocoseum at Australia Zoo on 20 September. The service was broadcast live, commercial free, in the eastern states of Australia, by free-to-air channels Seven, Nine and the ABC in Australia, as well as live on subscription channel Sky News Australia. In addition, it was broadcast live and without commercials on Animal Planet in the United States, as well as to Germany, the UK, and Asia. It is estimated that over 300 million viewers worldwide watched the service. The memorial was also rebroadcast in the US on Animal Planet on 1 January 2007, as part of their New Year's Day celebration, and again the following day.
The "Crocoseum" at Australia Zoo, where Steve Irwin's memorial service was held.
The memorial included a speech by Australian Prime Minister John Howard, as well as messages by celebrities from Australia and around the world including Hugh Jackman, Cameron Diaz, Justin Timberlake, Kevin Costner, Russell Crowe, David Wenham, Kelly Ripa and Larry King. Costner called Irwin a fearless man who was brave enough to let people see him as he was. Irwin's father, Bob Irwin, spoke at the memorial, as did his daughter Bindi and associates Wes Mannion and John Stainton. Anthony Field of The Wiggles partly hosted the service, often sharing the screen with various animals, from koalas to elephants. Australian music star John Williamson sang True Blue, which was Irwin's favourite song. In a symbolic finish to the service, Irwin's truck was loaded up with gear and driven out of the arena for the last time as Williamson sang. As a final tribute, Australia Zoo staff spelled out Irwin's catchphrase "Crikey" in yellow flowers as Irwin's truck was driven from the Crocoseum for the last time to end the service.
Filmography
Year Film Role Other notes
1997–2004 The Crocodile Hunter Himself
1999–2000 Croc Files Himself
2001 Dr. Dolittle 2 Himself Cameo role
2002 Mystery Hunters Himself One episode
2002 The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course Himself
2004 The Fairly OddParents The Bad Parent Hunter (voice)
2006 5 Takes: Pacific Rim Himself One Episode
2006 Happy Feet Trev (voice)
2007 Ocean's Deadliest Himself TV Special (Released after death), In Memory of.
2007-2008 Bindi the Jungle Girl Himself TV series, released after death. New and Archive Footage
http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f321/reads1/MySpace%20Pictures/489px-steve_irwin.jpg
http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u22/bfamtime/critters/steve%20irwin/steve_irwin2.jpg
Sadly missed.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 02/22/11 at 8:48 pm
The only song I know of theirs is "Iron Man."
Good song. :)
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: nally on 02/22/11 at 8:54 pm
Good song. :)
Former MLB player Cal Ripken Jr. had the nickname "Iron man."