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This is a topic from the The Writing on the Walrus forum on inthe00s.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 04/03/11 at 7:03 am
Had, she has sadly passed on now.
Sorry didn't see the death date.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 04/03/11 at 7:04 am
I can't even tell how much I enjoyed his films. :)
Of course you can!
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 04/03/11 at 7:06 am
Of course you can!
Coming To America was LMAO type of film. ;D
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: CatwomanofV on 04/03/11 at 10:53 am
Trading Places is one of my absolutely favorite movie of all-times. I have watched it so many times that I probably know it line per line.
Cat
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 04/03/11 at 1:36 pm
http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTgSalw2Ib_USK_QRIk9FevfJPttH9PnMx3o22rAX2CbisAIBH1_w&t=1
I still can't believe this was Eddie Murphy.^ :o
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: CatwomanofV on 04/03/11 at 1:43 pm
http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTgSalw2Ib_USK_QRIk9FevfJPttH9PnMx3o22rAX2CbisAIBH1_w&t=1
I still can't believe this was Eddie Murphy.^ :o
I agree. I have seen that movie/scene so many times I can't believe it is him, either. A combination of excellent acting and an outstanding make-up artist.
Cat
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 04/04/11 at 6:25 am
The person of the day...Heath Ledger
Heath Andrew Ledger (4 April 1979 – 22 January 2008) was an Australian television and film actor. After performing roles in Australian television and film during the 1990s, Ledger moved to the United States in 1998 to develop his film career. His work encompassed nineteen films, including 10 Things I Hate About You (1999), The Patriot (2000), Monster's Ball (2001), A Knight's Tale (2001), Brokeback Mountain (2005), and The Dark Knight (2008). In addition to his acting, he produced and directed music videos and aspired to be a film director.
For his portrayal of Ennis Del Mar in Brokeback Mountain, Ledger won the 2005 New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor and the 2006 "Best Actor" award from the Australian Film Institute and was nominated for the 2005 Academy Award for Best Actor as well as the 2006 BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role. Posthumously he shared the 2007 Independent Spirit Robert Altman Award with the rest of the ensemble cast, the director, and the casting director for the film I'm Not There, which was inspired by the life and songs of American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan. In the film, Ledger portrayed a fictional actor named Robbie Clark, one of six characters embodying aspects of Dylan's life and persona. Ledger was nominated and won awards for his portrayal of the Joker in The Dark Knight, including the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, a Best Actor International Award at the 2008 Australian Film Institute Awards, for which he became the first actor to win an award posthumously, the 2008 Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor, the 2009 Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor and the 2009 BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actor.
He died at the age of 28, from an accidental "toxic combination of prescription drugs." A few months before his death, Ledger had finished filming his penultimate performance, as the Joker in The Dark Knight, his death coming during editing of the film and casting a shadow over the subsequent promotion of the $180 million production. At the time of his death, on 22 January 2008, he had completed about half of his work performing the role of Tony in Terry Gilliam's film The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus.
After sitting for early graduation exams at 16, Ledger left school to pursue an acting career. With Trevor DiCarlo, his best friend since he was three years old, Ledger drove across Australia from Perth to Sydney, returning to Perth to take a small role in Clowning Around (1992), the first part of a two-part television series, and to work on the TV series Sweat (1996), in which he played a gay cyclist. From 1993 to 1997, Ledger also had parts in the Perth television series Ship to Shore (1993); in the short-lived Fox Broadcasting Company fantasy-drama Roar (1997); in Home and Away (1997), one of Australia's most successful television shows; and in the Australian film Blackrock (1997), his feature film debut. In 1999, he starred in the teen comedy 10 Things I Hate About You and in the acclaimed Australian crime film Two Hands, directed by Gregor Jordan.
2000s
From 2000 to 2005, he starred in supporting roles as Gabriel Martin, the eldest son of Benjamin Martin (Mel Gibson), in The Patriot (2000), and as Sonny Grotowski, the son of Hank Grotowski (Billy Bob Thornton), in Monster's Ball (2000); and in leading or title roles in A Knight's Tale (2001), The Four Feathers (2002), The Order (2003), Ned Kelly (2003), Casanova (2005), The Brothers Grimm (2005), and Lords of Dogtown (2005). In 2001, he won a ShoWest Award as "Male Star of Tomorrow".
Ledger received "Best Actor of 2005" awards from both the New York Film Critics Circle and the San Francisco Film Critics Circle for his performance in Brokeback Mountain, in which he plays Wyoming ranch hand Ennis Del Mar, who has a love affair with aspiring rodeo rider Jack Twist, played by Jake Gyllenhaal. He also received a nomination for Golden Globe Best Actor in a Drama and a nomination for Academy Award for Best Actor for this performance, making him, at age 26, the ninth-youngest nominee for a Best Actor Oscar. In The New York Times review of the film, critic Stephen Holden writes: "Both Mr. Ledger and Mr. Gyllenhaal make this anguished love story physically palpable. Mr. Ledger magically and mysteriously disappears beneath the skin of his lean, sinewy character. It is a great screen performance, as good as the best of Marlon Brando and Sean Penn." In a review in Rolling Stone, Peter Travers states: "Ledger's magnificent performance is an acting miracle. He seems to tear it from his insides. Ledger doesn't just know how Ennis moves, speaks and listens; he knows how he breathes. To see him inhale the scent of a shirt hanging in Jack's closet is to take measure of the pain of love lost."
After Brokeback Mountain, Ledger costarred with fellow Australian Abbie Cornish in the 2006 Australian film Candy, an adaptation of the 1998 novel Candy: A Novel of Love and Addiction, as young heroin addicts in love attempting to break free of their addiction, whose mentor is played by Geoffrey Rush; for his performance as sometime poet Dan, Ledger was nominated for three "Best Actor" awards, including one of the Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards, which both Cornish and Rush won in their categories. Shortly after the release of Candy, Ledger was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Heath Ledger (far right, in hat and sunglasses) posing with Richard Gere, Todd Haynes, Charlotte Gainsbourg at the 64th Venice Film Festival in 2007.
As one of six actors embodying different aspects of the life of Bob Dylan in the 2007 film I'm Not There, directed by Todd Haynes, Ledger "won praise for his portrayal of 'Robbie ,' a moody, counter-culture actor who represents the romanticist side of Dylan, but says accolades are never his motivation." Posthumously, on 23 February 2008, he shared the 2007 Independent Spirit Robert Altman Award with the rest of the film's ensemble cast, its director, and its casting director.
In his next to last film performance, Ledger played the Joker in The Dark Knight, directed by Christopher Nolan, first released, in Australia, on 16 July 2008, nearly six months after his death. While still working on the film, in London, Ledger told Sarah Lyall, in their interview published in the New York Times on 4 November 2007, that he viewed The Dark Knight's Joker as a "psychopathic, mass murdering, schizophrenic clown with zero empathy."
To prepare for the role, Ledger told Empire, "I sat around in a hotel room in London for about a month, locked myself away, formed a little diary and experimented with voices – it was important to try to find a somewhat iconic voice and laugh. I ended up landing more in the realm of a psychopath – someone with very little to no conscience towards his acts"; after reiterating his view of the character as "just an absolute sociopath, a cold-blooded, mass-murdering clown", he added that Nolan had given him "free rein" to create the role, which he found "fun, because there are no real boundaries to what the Joker would say or do. Nothing intimidates him, and everything is a big joke." For his work in The Dark Knight, Ledger won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, his family accepting it on his behalf, as well as numerous other posthumous awards including the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor, which Christopher Nolan accepted for him.
At the time of his death, on 22 January 2008, Ledger had completed about half of the work for his final film performance as Tony in The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus.
Directorial work
Ledger had aspirations to become a film director and had made some music videos, which director Todd Haynes praised highly in his tribute to Ledger upon accepting the ISP Robert Altman Award, which Ledger posthumously shared, on 23 February 2008. In 2006 Ledger directed music videos for the title track on Australian hip-hop artist N'fa's CD debut solo album Cause An Effect and for the single "Seduction Is Evil (She's Hot)". Later that year, Ledger inaugurated a new record label, Masses Music, with singer Ben Harper and also directed a music video for Harper's song "Morning Yearning".
At a news conference at the 2007 Venice Film Festival, Ledger spoke of his desire to make a documentary film about the British singer-songwriter Nick Drake, who died in 1974, at the age of 26, from an overdose of an antidepressant. Ledger created and acted in a music video set to Drake's recording of the singer's 1974 song about depression "Black Eyed Dog"—a title "inspired by Winston Churchill’s descriptive term for depression" (black dog); it was shown publicly only twice, first at the Bumbershoot Festival, in Seattle, held from 1 September to 3 September 2007; and secondly as part of "A Place To Be: A Celebration of Nick Drake", with its screening of Their Place: Reflections On Nick Drake, "a series of short filmed homages to Nick Drake" (including Ledger's), sponsored by American Cinematheque, at the Grauman's Egyptian Theatre, in Hollywood, on 5 October 2007. After Ledger's death, his music video for "Black Eyed Dog" was shown on the Internet and excerpted in news clips distributed via YouTube.
He was working with Scottish screenwriter and producer Allan Scott on an adaptation of the 1983 novel The Queen's Gambit by Walter Tevis, for which he was planning both to act and to direct, which would have been his first feature film as a director. Ledger's final directorial work, in which he shot two music videos before his death, premiered in 2009. The music videos, completed for Modest Mouse and Grace Woodroofe, include an animated feature for Modest Mouse's song, "King Rat", and the Woodroofe video for her cover of David Bowie's "Quicksand". The "King Rat" video premiered on 4 August 2009.
Press controversies
Ledger's relationship with the press in Australia was sometimes turbulent, and it led to his relocating to New York City. In 2004 he strongly denied press reports alleging that "he spat at journalists on the Sydney set of the film Candy," or that one of his relatives had done so later, outside Ledger's Sydney home. On 13 January 2006, "Several members of the paparazzi retaliated ... squirting Ledger and Williams with water pistols on the red carpet at the Sydney premiere of Brokeback Mountain."
After his performance on stage at the 2005 Screen Actors Guild Awards, when he had giggled in presenting Brokeback Mountain as a nominee for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture, the Los Angeles Times referred to his presentation as an "apparent gay spoof." Ledger called the Times later and explained that his levity resulted from stage fright, saying that he had been told that he would be presenting the award only minutes earlier; he stated: "I am so sorry and I apologise for my nervousness. I would be absolutely horrified if my stage fright was misinterpreted as a lack of respect for the film, the topic and for the amazing filmmakers."
Ledger was quoted in January 2006 in Melbourne's Herald Sun as saying that he heard that West Virginia had banned Brokeback Mountain, which it had not; actually, a cinema in Utah had banned the film. He had also referred mistakenly to West Virginia's having had lynchings as recently as the 1980s, but state scholars disputed his statement, observing that, whereas lynchings did occur in Alabama as recently as 1981, according to "the director of state archives and history" quoted in The Charleston Gazette, "The last documented lynching in West Virginia took place in Lewisburg in 1931."
Sleep difficulties and other work-related health issues
In their New York Times interview, published on 4 November 2007, Ledger told Sarah Lyall that his recently completed roles in I'm Not There (2007) and The Dark Knight (2008) had taken a toll on his ability to sleep: "Last week I probably slept an average of two hours a night. ... I couldn't stop thinking. My body was exhausted, and my mind was still going." At that time, he told Lyall that he had taken two Ambien pills, after taking just one had not sufficed, and those left him in "a stupor, only to wake up an hour later, his mind still racing."
Prior to his return to New York from his last film assignment, in London, in January 2008, while he was apparently suffering from some kind of respiratory illness, he reportedly complained to his co-star Christopher Plummer that he was continuing to have difficulty sleeping and taking pills to help with that problem: "Confirming earlier reports that Ledger hadn't been feeling well on set, Plummer says, 'we all caught colds because we were shooting outside on horrible, damp nights. But Heath's went on and I don't think he dealt with it immediately with the antibiotics.... I think what he did have was the walking pneumonia.' On top of that, 'He was saying all the time, "dammit, I can't sleep"... and he was taking all these pills to help him.' "
In talking with Interview magazine after his death, Ledger's former fiancée Michelle Williams "also confirmed reports the actor had experienced trouble sleeping. "For as long as I'd known him, he had bouts with insomnia. He had too much energy. His mind was turning, turning turning – always turning."
Death
Ledger body bagged and being rolled away from his apartment.
At about 2:45 p.m. (EST), on 22 January 2008, Ledger was found unconscious in his bed by his housekeeper, Teresa Solomon, and his masseuse, Diana Wolozin, in his fourth-floor loft apartment at 421 Broome Street in the SoHo neighborhood of Manhattan.
According to the police, Wolozin, who had arrived early for a 3:00 pm appointment with Ledger, called Ledger's friend, actress Mary-Kate Olsen, for help. Olsen, who was in California, directed a New York City private security guard to go to the scene. At 3:26 pm, " than 15 minutes after Wolozin first saw him in bed and only a few moments" after first calling Olsen and then calling her a second time to express her fears that Ledger was dead, Wolozin telephoned 9-1-1 "to say that Mr. Ledger was not breathing." At the urging of the 9-1-1 operator, Wolozin administered CPR, which was unsuccessful in reviving him.
Emergency medical technicians (EMT) arrived seven minutes later, at 3:33 pm ("at almost exactly the same moment as a private security guard summoned by Ms. Olsen"), but were also unable to revive him. At 3:36 pm, Ledger was pronounced dead and his body removed from the apartment.
Late in February 2008, a DEA investigation of medical professionals relating to Ledger's death exonerated two American physicians, who practice in Los Angeles and Houston, of any wrongdoing, determining that "the doctors in question had prescribed Ledger other medications – not the pills that killed him."
On 4 August 2008, citing unnamed sources, Murray Weiss, of the New York Post, first reported that Mary-Kate Olsen had "refused to be interviewed by federal investigators probing the accidental drug death of her close friend Heath Ledger ... ... immunity from prosecution," and that, when asked about the matter, Miller at first declined further comment. Later that day, after the police confirmed the gist of Weiss's account to the Associated Press, Miller issued a statement denying that Olsen supplied Ledger with the drugs causing his death and asserting that she did not know their source." In his statement, Miller said specifically: "Despite tabloid speculation, Mary-Kate Olsen had nothing whatsoever to do with the drugs found in Heath Ledger's home or his body, and she does not know where he obtained them," emphasizing that media "descriptions are incomplete and inaccurate."
After a flurry of further media speculation, on 6 August 2008, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Manhattan closed its investigation into Ledger's death without filing any charges and rendering moot its subpoena of Olsen. With the clearing of the two doctors and Olsen, and the closing of the investigation because the prosecutors in the Manhattan U.S. Attorney's Office "don't believe there's a viable target," it is still not known how Ledger obtained the oxycodone and hydrocodone in the lethal drug combination that killed him.
Eleven months after Ledger's death, on 23 December 2008, Jake Coyle, writing for the Associated Press, announced that "Heath Ledger's death was voted 2008's top entertainment story by U.S. newspaper and broadcast editors surveyed by The Associated Press," as it resulted in: "shock and confusion" about "the circumstances", the ruling of the death as an accident caused by "a toxic combination of prescription drugs", and the continuation of "his legacy... n a roundly acclaimed performance as the Joker in the year's biggest box office hit The Dark Knight."
Television
Year Film Role Notes
1993 Ship to Shore Cyclist
1996 Sweat Snowy Bowles Series regular
1997 Home and Away Scott Irwin Guest
Roar Conor Leading role
Film
See also: List of awards and nominations received by Heath Ledger
Year↓ Title↓ Role↓ Notes
1992 Clowning Around Orphan clown Uncredited
1997 Blackrock Toby
1997 Paws Oberon
1999 Two Hands Jimmy
* Nominated – Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor
* Nominated – Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role
1999 10 Things I Hate About You Patrick Verona Nominated – MTV Movie Award for Best Musical Sequence
2000 The Patriot Gabriel Martin Blockbuster Entertainment Awards – Favorite Male – Newcomer
2001 Monster's Ball Sonny Grotowski
2001 Knight's Tale, AA Knight's Tale Sir William Thatcher / Sir Ulrich von Lichtenstein of Gelderland
* Nominated – MTV Movie Award for Best Kiss (Shared with Shannyn Sossamon)
* Nominated – MTV Movie Award for Musical Sequence (Shared with Sossamon)
2002 Four Feathers, TheThe Four Feathers Harry Faversham
2003 Order, TheThe Order Alex Bernier
2003 Ned Kelly Ned Kelly
* Nominated – Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor
* Nominated – Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role
2005 Casanova Giacomo Casanova
2005 Brothers Grimm, TheThe Brothers Grimm Jacob Grimm
2005 Lords of Dogtown Skip Engblom
2005 Brokeback Mountain Ennis Del Mar
* Australian Film Institute International Award for Best Actor
* Australian Film Institute Awards – Reader's Choice Best Actor
* Central Ohio Film Critics Association Award for Best Lead Performance
* Central Ohio Film Critics Association Award for Actor of the Year
* Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor
* MTV Movie Award for Best Kiss (Shared with Jake Gyllenhaal)
* New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor
* Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor
* San Francisco Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor
* Santa Barbara International Film Festival Performance of the Year Award
* Nominated – Academy Award for Best Actor
* Nominated – BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role
* Nominated – Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
* Nominated – Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
* Nominated – Chlotrudis Award for Best Actor
* Nominated – Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead
* Nominated – Inside Film Award for Best Actor
* Nominated – Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama
* Nominated – London Film Critics' Circle Award for Actor of the Year
* Nominated – Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
* Nominated – Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
* Nominated – Satellite Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama
* Nominated – Washington DC Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
2006 Candy Dan
* Nominated – Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role
* Nominated – Inside Film Award for Best Actor
* Nominated – Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor
2007 I'm Not There Robbie Clark 2007 Independent Spirit Robert Altman Award (Shared with cast and crew)
2008 The Dark Knight The Joker
* Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
* Australian Film Institute International Award for Best Actor
* Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actor
* BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role
* Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor
* Central Ohio Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor
* Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor
* Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor
* Florida Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor
* Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture
* GQ Australia Men of the Year Awards (Best Actor)
* Iowa Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actor
* Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor
* Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actor
* Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor
* MTV Movie Award for Best Villain
Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actor
* People's Choice Award for Best Ensemble Cast
* People's Choice Award for Best On-Screen Match-Up (Shared with Christian Bale)
* Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actor
* Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor
* Scream Award for Best Fantasy Actor
* Scream Award for Best Villain
* Scream Award for Best Line ("I believe that whatever doesn't kill you makes you stranger.")
* Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role
* Southeastern Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor
* Toronto Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor
* Washington DC Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor
* Nominated – Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Cast
* Nominated – London Film Critics' Circle Award for Actor of the Year
2009 Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, TheThe Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus Tony
Music videos
* (2006) "Cause an Effect" and "Seduction is Evil (She's Hot)", songs by N'fa, videos directed by Ledger.
* (2006) "Morning Yearning," song by Ben Harper, video directed by Ledger.
* (2007) "Black Eyed Dog," song written by Nick Drake (1948–1974), video directed by and featuring Ledger.
* (2009) "King Rat", song by Modest Mouse and conceived by Ledger.
See also
* List of oldest and youngest Academy Award winners and nominees
* List of posthumous Academy Award winners and nominees
http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m45/alicat542/heath.jpg
http://i1207.photobucket.com/albums/bb465/AngelEyes7677/heath_ledger_003.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 04/04/11 at 7:10 am
So sad it's been 3 years. :(
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 04/04/11 at 12:38 pm
So sad it's been 3 years. :(
Has is been three years already?
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 04/04/11 at 1:35 pm
Has is been three years already?
3 years this past January.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 04/04/11 at 1:48 pm
3 years this past January.
Gone too soon.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 04/04/11 at 3:53 pm
Gone too soon.
Who knows what would have lied ahead in his career.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 04/05/11 at 1:15 am
Who knows what would have lied ahead in his career.
We say that for all that die young.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: gibbo on 04/05/11 at 5:12 am
I know Heath Ledger was an Aussie .. and I don't dislike him ... but I think he was overrated and that Joker role was over hyped!! I doubt he would have received the same recognition if he didn't die! :-\\
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 04/05/11 at 6:11 am
I know Heath Ledger was an Aussie .. and I don't dislike him ... but I think he was overrated and that Joker role was over hyped!! I doubt he would have received the same recognition if he didn't die! :-\\
I wondered that myself when I saw the big list of awards he was nominated for.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 04/05/11 at 6:15 am
The person of the day...Booker T. Washington
Booker Taliaferro Washington (April 5, 1856 – November 14, 1915) was an American educator, author, orator, and political leader. He was the dominant figure in the African American community in the United States from 1890 to 1915. Representative of the last generation of black leaders born in slavery, he spoke on behalf of blacks living in the South. In his last 25 years, Washington maintained his standing because of the sponsorship of powerful whites, substantial support within the black community, his ability to raise educational funds from both groups, and his accommodation to the social realities of the age of Jim Crow segregation.
Washington was born into slavery to a slave mother and white father, who was a nearby planter, in a rural area in southwestern Virginia. After emancipation, he worked in West Virginia in a variety of manual labor jobs before making his way to Hampton Roads seeking an education. He worked his way through Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute (now Hampton University) and attended college at Wayland Seminary (now Virginia Union University). After returning to Hampton as a teacher, in 1881 he was named as the first leader of the new Tuskegee Institute in Alabama.
Washington attained national prominence for his Atlanta Address of 1895, which attracted the attention of politicians and the public, making him a popular spokesperson for African-American citizens. He built a nationwide network of supporters in many black communities, with black ministers, educators and businessmen composing his core supporters. Washington played a dominant role in black politics, winning wide support in the black community and among more liberal whites (especially rich Northern whites). He gained access to top national leaders in politics, philanthropy and education. Washington's efforts included cooperating with white people and enlisting the support of wealthy philanthropists, helping to raise funds to establish and operate thousands of small community schools and institutions of higher education for the betterment of blacks throughout the South. This work continued for many years after his death.
Northern critics called Washington's followers the "Tuskegee Machine". After 1909, Washington was criticized by the leaders of the new NAACP, especially W. E. B. Du Bois, who demanded a stronger tone of protest for advancement of civil rights needs. Washington replied that confrontation would lead to disaster for the outnumbered blacks, and that cooperation with supportive whites was the only way to overcome pervasive racism in the long run. At the same time, he secretly funded litigation for civil rights cases, such as challenges to southern constitutions and laws that disenfranchised blacks.
In addition to his contributions in education, Washington wrote 14 books; his autobiography, Up From Slavery, first published in 1901, is still widely read today. During a difficult period of transition, he did much to improve the working relationship between the races. His work greatly helped blacks to achieve higher education, financial power and understanding of the U.S. legal system. This led to a foundation of the skill set needed to support the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s and further adoption of important federal civil rights laws.
Washington was born into slavery to Jane, an enslaved African-American woman on the Burroughs Plantation in southwest Virginia. He knew little about his white father. His family gained freedom in 1865 as the Civil War ended. As a boy he claimed the surname Washington at school. He worked in salt furnaces and coal mines in West Virginia for several years then made his way east to Hampton Institute, a school established to educate freedmen, where he worked to pay for his studies. He attended and graduated from Wayland Seminary to complete preparation as an instructor. In 1881, Hampton president Samuel C. Armstrong recommended Washington to become the first leader of Tuskegee Institute, the new normal school (teachers' college) in Alabama. He headed it for the rest of his life.
Washington was a dominant figure of the African-American community in the United States from 1890 to 1915, especially after his Atlanta Address of 1895. To many politicians and the public in general, he was seen as a popular spokesman for African-American citizens. Representing the last generation of black leaders born into slavery, Washington was generally perceived as a credible proponent of education for freedmen in the post-Reconstruction, Jim Crow-era South. Throughout the final twenty years of his life, he maintained his standing through a nationwide network of supporters–including black educators, ministers, editors, and businessmen–especially those who were liberally inclined on social and educational issues. Critics called his network of supporters the "Tuskegee Machine". He gained access to top national leaders in politics, philanthropy and education, raised large sums, was consulted on race issues and was awarded honorary degrees from leading American universities.
Late in his career, Washington was criticized by leaders of the NAACP, a civil rights organization formed in 1909. W. E. B. Du Bois advocated activism to achieve civil rights. He labeled Washington "the Great Accommodator". Washington's response was that confrontation could lead to disaster for the outnumbered blacks. He believed that cooperation with supportive whites was the only way in the long run to overcome racism.
Washington contributed secretly and substantially to legal challenges against segregation and disfranchisement of blacks. In his public role, he believed he could achieve more by skillful accommodation to the social realities of the age of segregation.
Washington's work on education issues helped him enlist both the moral and substantial financial support of many major white philanthropists. He became friends with such self-made men as Standard Oil magnate Henry Huttleston Rogers; Sears, Roebuck and Company President Julius Rosenwald; and George Eastman, inventor and founder of Kodak. These individuals and many other wealthy men and women funded his causes, including Hampton and Tuskegee institutes.
The schools Washington supported were founded to produce teachers. However, graduates had often gone back to their largely impoverished rural southern communities only to find precious few schools and educational resources. To address those needs, Washington enlisted his philanthropic network of matching funds programs to stimulate construction of numerous rural public schools for black children in the South. Together, these efforts eventually established and operated over 5,000 schools and supporting resources for the betterment of blacks throughout the South in the late-19th and early-20th centuries. The local schools were a source of communal pride and were priceless to African-American families when poverty and segregation limited severely the life chances of the pupils. A major part of Washington's legacy, the number of model rural schools increased with matching funds from the Rosenwald Fund into the 1930s. He also helped with the Progressive Era by forming the National Negro Business League.
His autobiography, Up From Slavery, first published in 1901, is still widely read today.
Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute
Booker T. Washington's house at Tuskegee University
The organizers of the new all-black state school called Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute in Alabama found the energetic leader they sought in 25-year-old Washington. He believed that with self help, people could go from poverty to success. The new school opened on July 4, 1881, initially using space in a local church. The next year, Washington purchased a former plantation, which became the permanent site of the campus. Under his direction, his students literally built their own school: constructing classrooms, barns and outbuildings; and growing their own crops and raising livestock; both for learning and to provide for most of the basic necessities. Both men and women had to learn trades as well as academics. Washington helped raise funds to establish and operate hundreds of small community schools and institutions of higher educations for blacks. The Tuskegee faculty used all the activities to teach the students basic skills to take back to their mostly rural black communities throughout the South. The main goal was not to produce farmers and tradesmen, but teachers of farming and trades who taught in the new schools and colleges for blacks across the South. The school expanded over the decades, adding programs and departments, to become the present-day Tuskegee University.
Washington expressed his aspirations for his race in his direction of the school. He believed that by providing needed skills to society, African Americans would play their part, leading to acceptance by white Americans. He believed that blacks would eventually gain full participation in society by acting as responsible, reliable American citizens. Shortly after the Spanish-American War, President William McKinley and most of his cabinet visited Washington. He led the school until his death in 1915. By then Tuskegee's endowment had grown to over $1.5 million, compared to its initial $2,000 annual appropriation. by both African-Americans and whites across the country. Then W. E. B. Du Bois supported him, but they grew apart as Du Bois sought more action to remedy disenfranchisement and lower education. After their falling out, Du Bois and his supporters referred to Washington's speech as the "Atlanta Compromise" to express their criticism that Washington was too accommodating to white interests.
Washington advocated a “go slow” approach. The effect was that many youths in the South had to accept sacrifices of potential political power, civil rights and higher education. His belief was that African-Americans should “concentrate all their energies on industrial education, and accumulation of wealth, and the conciliation of the South.” Washington valued the "industrial" education, as it provided critical skills for the jobs then available to the majority of African-Americans at the time, as most lived in the South, which was overwhelmingly rural and agricultural. He thought these skills that would lay the foundation for the creation of stability that the African-American community required in order to move forward. He believed that in the long term “blacks would eventually gain full participation in society by showing themselves to be responsible, reliable American citizens.” His approach advocated for an initial step toward equal rights, rather than full equality under the law. It would be this step that would provide the economic power to back up their demands for equality in the future. This action, over time, would provide the proof to a deeply prejudiced white America that they were not in fact “’naturally’ stupid and incompetent.”
This stance was contrary to what many blacks from the North envisioned. Du Bois wanted blacks to have the same "classical" liberal arts education as whites did, along with voting rights and civic equality. He believed that an elite he called the Talented Tenth would advance to lead the race to a wider variety of occupations. The source of division between Du Bois and Washington was generated by the differences in how African Americans were treated in the North versus the South. Many in the North felt that they were being 'led', and authoritatively spoken for, by a Southern accommodationist imposed on them primarily by Southern whites.” Furthermore, historian Clarence E. Walker said, "Free black people were 'matter out of place'. Their emancipation was an affront to southern white freedom. Booker T. Washington did not understand that his program was perceived as subversive of a natural order in which black people were to remain forever subordinate or unfree." Both men sought to define the best means to improve the conditions of the post-Civil War African-American community through education.
Blacks were solidly Republican in this period. Southern states disfranchised most blacks and many poor whites from 1890–1908 through constitutional amendments and statutes that created barriers to voter registration, and voting such as poll taxes and literacy tests. Southern white Democrats regained power in the state legislatures of the former Confederacy and passed laws establishing racial segregation and other Jim Crow laws. More blacks continued to vote in border and Northern states.
Washington worked and socialized with many white politicians and industry leaders. Much of his expertise was his ability to persuade wealthy whites to donate money to black causes. He argued that the surest way for blacks to gain equal social rights was to demonstrate “industry, thrift, intelligence and property.” This was the key to improved conditions for African Americans in the United States. Because they had only recently been emancipated, he believed they could not expect too much at once. Washington said, "I have learned that success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has had to overcome while trying to succeed.
Along with Du Bois, he partly organized the "Negro exhibition" at the 1900 Exposition Universelle in Paris, where photos, taken by his friend Frances Benjamin Johnston, of Hampton Institute's black students were displayed. The exhibition expressed African Americans' positive contributions to American society.
Washington privately contributed substantial funds for legal challenges to segregation and disfranchisement, such as the case of Giles v. Harris, which went before the United States Supreme Court in 1903
Despite his travels and widespread work, Washington remained as principal of Tuskegee. Washington's health was deteriorating rapidly; he collapsed in New York City and was brought home to Tuskegee, where he died on November 14, 1915, at the age of 59. He was buried on the campus of Tuskegee University near the University Chapel.
His death was believed at the time to have been a result of congestive heart failure, aggravated by overwork. In March 2006, with the permission of his descendants, examination of medical records indicated that he died of hypertension, with a blood pressure more than twice normal, confirming what had long been suspected.
At his death Tuskegee's endowment exceeded $1.5 million. His greatest life's work, the work of education of blacks in the South, was well underway and expanding.
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Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 04/06/11 at 5:25 am
The person of the day...Merle Haggard
Merle Ronald Haggard (born April 6, 1937) is an American country music singer, guitarist, fiddler, instrumentalist, and songwriter. Along with Buck Owens, Haggard and his band The Strangers helped create the Bakersfield Sound, which is characterized by the unique twang of Fender Telecaster guitars, vocal harmonies, and a rough edge not heard on the more polished Nashville Sound recordings of the same era.
By the 1970s, Haggard was aligned with the growing outlaw country movement, and has continued to release successful albums through the 1990s and into the 2000s. In 1997, Merle Haggard was inducted into the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame for his song "Okie from Muskogee".
In 1962, Haggard wound up performing at a Wynn Stewart show in Las Vegas and heard Wynn's "Sing a Sad Song". He asked for permission to record it, and the resulting single was a national hit in 1964. The following year he had his first national top ten record with "(My Friends Are Gonna Be) Strangers", written by Liz Anderson and his career was off and running. 1968 saw his first number one song "I'm a Lonesome Fugitive", also written by Liz Anderson, which Haggard acknowledges in his autobiography remains his most popular number with audiences.
In 1968, Haggard's first tribute LP Same Train, Different Time: A Tribute to Jimmie Rodgers, was released to acclaim. "Okie From Muskogee", 1969's apparent political statement, was actually written as an abjectly humorous character portrait. Haggard called the song a "documentation of the uneducated that lived in America at the time." He said later on the Bob Edwards Show that "I wrote it when I recently got out of the joint. I knew what it was like to lose my freedom, and I was getting really mad at these protesters. They didn't know anything more about the war in Vietnam than I did. I thought how my dad, who was from Oklahoma, would have felt. I felt I knew how those boys fighting in Vietnam felt."
Later, Alabama Gov. George Wallace asked Haggard for an endorsement, which Haggard declined. However, Haggard has expressed sympathy with the "parochial" way of life expressed in "Okie" and songs such as "The Fightin' Side of Me". After "Okie" was released, it was a hit.
Regardless of exactly how they were intended, "Okie From Muskogee", "The Fightin' Side of Me", and "I Wonder If They Think of Me" were hailed as anthems of the so-called "Silent Majority" and presaged a trend in patriotic songs that would reappear years later with Charlie Daniels' "In America", Lee Greenwood's "God Bless the USA", and others. In 1969 the Grateful Dead began performing Haggard's tune "Mama Tried", which appeared on their 1971 eponymous live album. The song became a staple in their repertoire until the band's end in 1995. The Grateful Dead also performed Haggard's "Sing Me Back Home" numerous times between 1971 and 1973. In addition, the Flying Burrito Brothers recorded and performed "White Line Fever" in 1971, and toured with "Sing Me Back Home". Singer-activist Joan Baez, whose political leanings couldn't be more different from those expressed in Haggard's above-referenced songs, nonetheless covered "Sing Me Back Home" and "Mama Tried" in 1969. The Everly Brothers also used both songs in their 1968 country-rock album Roots. Haggard's next LP was A Tribute to the Best Damn Fiddle Player in the World (or, My Salute to Bob Wills), which helped spark a revival of western swing.
On Tuesday, March 14, 1972, shortly after "Carolyn" became another number one country hit for Haggard, Governor Ronald Reagan granted Haggard a full pardon for his past crimes.
During the early to mid 1970s, Haggard's chart domination continued with songs like "Someday We'll Look Back", "Carolyn", "Grandma Harp", "Always Wanting You", and "The Roots of My Raising". He also wrote and performed the theme song to the television series Movin' On, which in 1975 gave him another number one country hit. The 1973 recession anthem "If We Make It Through December" furthered Haggard's status as a champion of the working class. Haggard appeared on the cover of Time on May 6, 1977. (According to the date on this cover, Merle Haggard was on the cover of TIME magazine May 6, 1974 not 1977. The title of the article was "Songs of Love, Loyalty and Doubt, Country Music".)
In 1981, Haggard published an autobiography, Sing Me Back Home. That same year, he alternately spoke and sang the ballad The Man In the Mask. Written by Dean Pitchford (whose other output includes Fame, Footloose, Sing, Solid Gold and the musical Carrie), this was the combined narration/theme from the movie The Legend of the Lone Ranger...which was a box-office flop.
Country star Willie Nelson believed the 1983 Academy Award-winning film Tender Mercies, about the life of fictional singer Mac Sledge, was based on the life of Merle Haggard. Actor Robert Duvall and other filmmakers denied this and claimed the character was based on nobody in particular. Duvall, however, said he was a big fan of Haggard.
"If We Make It Through December" turned out to be Haggard's last pop hit. Although he won a Grammy Award for Best Male Country Vocal Performance for 1984's new kind of honky tonk, newer singers had begun to take over country music, and singers like George Strait and Randy Travis had taken over the charts. Haggard's last number one hit was "Twinkle, Twinkle Lucky Star" from his smash album Chill Factor in 1988.
Influence
Haggard's guitar work and voice gives his country a hard-edged, blues-like style in many cuts. Although he has been outspoken in his dislike for modern country music, he has praised newer stars such as George Strait, Toby Keith and Alan Jackson. Keith has singled Haggard as a major influence on his career. Nick Gravenites, of Big Brother and the Holding Company, paid Haggard a tongue-in-cheek tribute with the song, "I'll Change Your Flat Tire, Merle," later covered by other artists including Pure Prairie League and The Grateful Dead. The Dixie Chicks paid tribute by recording Darrell Scott's song "Long Time Gone", which criticizes Nashville trends: "We listen to the radio to hear what's cookin’/But the music ain't got no soul/ Now they sound tired but they don’t sound Haggard," with the following lines mentioning Johnny Cash and Hank Williams in the same vein. Collin Raye paid him tribute with the song "My Kind Of Girl," when he sang the lines "How 'bout some music/She said have you got any Merle/That's when I knew she was my kind of girl." In 2000, Alan Jackson and George Strait sang "Murder On Music Row," which criticizes mainstream country trends: "The Hag wouldn't have a chance on today's radio/Because they committed murder down on music row." In 2005, the country rock duo Brooks & Dunn sang "Just Another Neon Night" off their Hillbilly Deluxe album. In the song Ronnie Dunn said "He's got an Eastwood grin and a too early swagger/Hollerin' turn off that rap/And play me some Haggard". In 2006, Hank Williams III included Haggard as well as other country icons in the song "Country Heroes". Steve Goodman mentioned him, humorously but respectfully, in the song "You Never Even Called Me By My Name" (which he either co-wrote or didn't co-write with John Prine). George Jones recorded two albums with him. Lynyrd Skynyrd's song Railroad Song references Haggard, "Well I'm a ride this train Lord until I find out/What Jimmy Rodgers and the Hag was all about", Nuthin' Fancy Nuthin' Fancy.
In 2006, Haggard was back on the charts in a duet with Gretchen Wilson, "Politically Uncorrect". He is also featured on "Pledge Allegiance to the Hag" on Eric Church's debut album. The song was also written by Church.
Comeback
Merle Haggard Drive, Oildale, California
In 2000, Haggard made a comeback of sorts, signing with the independent record label Anti and releasing the spare If I Could Only Fly to critical acclaim. He followed it in 2001 with Roots, vol. 1, a collection of Lefty Frizzell, Hank Williams, and Hank Thompson covers, along with three Haggard originals. The album, recorded in Haggard's living room with no overdubs, featured Haggard's longtime bandmates The Strangers as well as Frizzell's original lead guitarist, Norman Stephens. In December 2004, Haggard spoke at length on Larry King Live about his incarceration as a young man and said it was "hell" and "the scariest experience of my life".
Haggard's number one hit single "Mama Tried" is featured in the 2003 film Radio with Cuba Gooding, Jr. and Ed Harris as well as in Bryan Bertino's "The Strangers" with Liv Tyler. In addition, his song "Swingin' Doors" can be heard in the 2004 film Crash and his 1981 hit "Big City" is heard in Joel and Ethan Coen's 1996 film "Fargo" and in the 2008 Larry Bishop film "Hell Ride", executive produced by Quentin Tarantino.
In October 2005, Haggard released his album "Chicago Wind" to mostly positive reviews. The album contained an anti-Iraq war song titled "America First," in which he laments the nation's economy and faltering infrastructure, applauds its soldiers, and sings, "Let's get out of Iraq, and get back on track." This follows from his 2003 release "Haggard Like Never Before" in which he includes a song, "That's The News". Haggard released a bluegrass album, The Bluegrass Sessions, on October 2, 2007. In 2008, Haggard was going to perform at Riverfest in Little Rock, Arkansas, but the concert was canceled because he was experiencing some sickness, and three other concerts were canceled as well; however, he was back on the road in June and successfully completed a tour that ended on October 19.
In April 2010, Haggard released a new album, I Am What I Am. Released to strong reviews, Haggard ultimately appeared on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno in February 2011 to perform the title song .
On December 19, 2006, the Kern County Board of Supervisors approved a citizen-led resolution to re-name a portion of 7th Standard Road in Oildale as Merle Haggard Drive, which will stretch from North Chester Avenue west to U.S. Route 99. The first street travelers will turn onto when they leave the new airport terminal will be Merle Haggard Drive.
In 2006, Merle Haggard was honored as a BMI Icon at the 54th annual BMI Pop Awards. During his songwriting career, Hagard has earned 48 BMI Country Awards, nine BMI Pop Awards, a BMI R&B Award, and 16 BMI "Million-Air" awards, all from a catalog of songs that adds up to over 25 million performances.
Merle Haggard accepted the prestigious award for lifetime achievement and "outstanding contribution to American culture" from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on December 4, 2010. At a December 5, 2010 gala in Washington, D.C. he was honored with musical performances by Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson, Sheryl Crow, Vince Gill, Jamey Johnson, Kid Rock, Miranda Lambert and Brad Paisley. This tribute was featured in the Tuesday December 28, 2010 CBS special, The Kennedy Center Honors.
Discography
Main article: Merle Haggard discography
38 number one hits
1. I'm a Lonesome Fugitive (1966)
2. Branded Man (1967)
3. Sing Me Back Home (1968)
4. The Legend of Bonnie and Clyde (1968)
5. Mama Tried (1968)
6. Hungry Eyes (1969)
7. Workin' Man Blues (1969)
8. Okie from Muskogee (1969)
9. The Fightin' Side of Me (1970)
10. Daddy Frank (The Guitar Man) (1971)
11. Carolyn (1971)
12. Grandma Harp (1972)
13. It's Not Love (But It's Not Bad) (1972)
14. I Wonder If They Ever Think of Me (1972)
15. Everybody's Had the Blues (1973)
16. If We Make It Through December (1973)
17. Things Aren't Funny Anymore (1974)
18. Old Man from the Mountain (1974)
19. Kentucky Gambler (1974)
20. Always Wanting You (1975)
21. Movin' On (1975)
22. It's All in the Movies (1975)
23. The Roots of My Raising (1975)
24. Cherokee Maiden (1976)
25. Bar Room Buddies (with Clint Eastwood) (1980)
26. I Think I'll Just Stay Here and Drink (1980)
27. My Favorite Memory (1981)
28. Big City (1981)
29. Yesterday's Wine (with George Jones) (1982)
30. Going Where the Lonely Go (1982)
31. You Take Me for Granted (1982)
32. Pancho and Lefty (with] Willie Nelson) (1983)
33. That's the Way Love Goes (1983)
34. Someday When Things Are Good (1984)
35. Let's Chase Each Other Around the Room (1984)
36. A Place to Fall Apart (with Janie Frickie) (1984)
37. Natural High (1985)
38. Twinkle, Twinkle Lucky Star (1987)
Awards
Academy of Country Music
* 1965 Top New Male Vocalist
* 1965 Top Vocal Duo with Bonnie Owens
* 1966 Top Male Vocalist
* 1967 Top Vocal Duo with Bonnie Owens
* 1969 Album of the Year - "Okie from Muskogee"
* 1969 Single of the Year - "Okie from Muskogee"
* 1969 Top Vocal Duo - with Bonnie Owens
* 1970 Entertainer of the Year
* 1970 Top Male Vocalist
* 1972 Top Male Vocalist
* 1974 Top Male Vocalist
* 1981 Top Male Vocalist
* 1982 Song of the Year - "Are the Good Times Really Over (I Wish a Buck Was Still Silver)"
Country Music Association
* 1970 Album of the Year - "Okie from Muskogee"
* 1970 Entertainer of the Year
* 1970 Male Vocalist of the Year
* 1970 Single of the Year - "Okie from Muskogee"
* 1983 Vocal Duo of the Year - with Willie Nelson
Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum
* Inducted in 1994
Grammy Awards
* 1984 Best Country Vocal Performance, Male - "That's The Way Love Goes"
* 1998 Best Country Collaboration with Vocals with Clint Black, Joe Diffie, Emmylou Harris, Alison Krauss, Patty Loveless, Earl Scruggs, Ricky Skaggs, Marty Stuart, Pam Tillis, Randy Travis, Travis Tritt & Dwight Yoakam for "Same Old Train"
* 1999 Grammy Hall of Fame Award - "Mama Tried"
Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame
* Inducted in 1977
Kennedy Center Honors
* Inducted in 2010
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Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: CatwomanofV on 04/06/11 at 11:52 am
I once worked with this guy who was from Bakerfield, California. He told us that Merle Haggard was also from Bakerfield and told us one time Merle's horse drowned in one of the ponds he had on his property. Another co-worker said, "Merle Haggard's new song, 'My Horse Swims Like a Rock." To this day, I can't hear about either Merle Haggard or Bakerfield without thinking "My Horse Swims Like a Rock."
Cat
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 04/06/11 at 5:06 pm
I once worked with this guy who was from Bakerfield, California. He told us that Merle Haggard was also from Bakerfield and told us one time Merle's horse drowned in one of the ponds he had on his property. Another co-worker said, "Merle Haggard's new song, 'My Horse Swims Like a Rock." To this day, I can't hear about either Merle Haggard or Bakerfield without thinking "My Horse Swims Like a Rock."
Cat
Wow that's weird about the horse and the song.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: CatwomanofV on 04/06/11 at 6:08 pm
Wow that's weird about the horse and the song.
There IS no song by that name. My co-worker made it up. But, I am ASSUMING the story about the horse drowning is true-but I could be wrong.
Cat
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: gibbo on 04/06/11 at 6:10 pm
There IS no song by that name. My co-worker made it up. But, I am ASSUMING the story about the horse drowning is true-but I could be wrong.
Cat
Phew...thanks for clearing that up Cat. As long as his horse drowned ... I'm happy!!
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 04/07/11 at 5:50 am
There IS no song by that name. My co-worker made it up. But, I am ASSUMING the story about the horse drowning is true-but I could be wrong.
Cat
Hey it made a good story, and with Country songs you never know. ;D
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 04/07/11 at 5:56 am
The person of the day...Russell Crowe
Russell Ira Crowe (born 7 April 1964) is a New Zealand-born Australian actor and musician. His acting career began in the late 1980s with roles in Australian television series including Police Rescue and Neighbours. In the early 1990s, Crowe's local prominence peaked when he won the Australian Film Industry Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of an inner-city skinhead in the Geoffrey Wright film, Romper Stomper. In the late 1990s, Crowe transferred his acting ambitions to the USA with his breakout role in L.A. Confidential (1997). Crowe won the Academy Award for Best Actor for Gladiator in 2001 and has received three Academy Award nominations for Best Actor in a Leading Role: The Insider (1999), Gladiator (2000) and A Beautiful Mind (2001). He is also co-owner of National Rugby League team the South Sydney Rabbitohs.
Crowe began his performing career as a musician In the mid-1980s, under guidance from his good friend Tom Sharplin, when he performed as a rock 'n' roll revivalist, under the stage name Russ Le Roq. He had a New Zealand single with "I Just Want To Be Like Marlon Brando. He managed an Auckland music venue called "The Venue" in the mid '80s.
In 1986 to 1988 he was given his first professional role by director Daniel Abineri in a production of The Rocky Horror Show. He played the role of Eddie/Dr Scott. He repeated this performance in a further Australian production of the show. In the 1988 Australian production of Blood Brothers, Crowe played the role of Mickey. He was also cast again by Daniel Abineri in the role of Johnny in the stage musical Bad Boy Johnny and the Prophets of Doom in 1989.
Crowe returned to Australia at age 21, intending to apply to the National Institute of Dramatic Art. "I was working in a theatre show, and talked to a guy who was then the head of technical support at NIDA," Crowe recalled. "I asked him what he thought about me spending three years at NIDA. He told me it'd be a waste of time. He said, 'You already do the things you go there to learn, and you've been doing it for most of your life, so there's nothing to teach you but bad habits.'" In 1987 Crowe spent six-months busking when he couldn't find other work.
After appearing in the TV series Neighbours and Living with the Law, Crowe was cast in his first film, The Crossing (1990), a small-town love triangle directed by George Ogilvie. Before production started, a film-student protégé of Ogilvie, Steve Wallace, hired Crowe for the film Blood Oath (1990) (aka Prisoners of the Sun) which was released a month earlier than The Crossing, although actually filmed later. In 1992, Crowe starred in the first episode of the second series of Police Rescue. Also in 1992 Crowe starred in Romper Stomper, an Australian film which follows the exploits and downfall of a racist skinhead group in blue-collar suburban Melbourne, directed by Geoffrey Wright, for which Crowe won an Australian Film Institute (AFI) award for Best Actor, following up from his Best Supporting Actor award for Proof in 1991.
Hollywood
Crowe at London film premiere for State of Play. 21 April 2009
After initial success in Australia, Crowe began acting in American films. He first co-starred with Denzel Washington in Virtuosity, and with Sharon Stone in The Quick and the Dead in 1995. He went on to become a three-time Oscar nominee, winning the Academy Award as Best Actor in 2001 for Gladiator. Crowe was awarded the (Australian) Centenary Medal in 2001 for "service to Australian society and Australian film production."
Crowe received three consecutive best actor Oscar nominations for The Insider, Gladiator and A Beautiful Mind. Crowe won the best actor award for A Beautiful Mind at the 2002 BAFTA award ceremony, as well as the Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award for the same performance. However he failed to win the Oscar that year, losing to Denzel Washington. It has been suggested that his attack on television producer Malcolm Gerrie for cutting short his acceptance speech may have turned voters against him.
All three films were also nominated for best picture, and both Gladiator and A Beautiful Mind won the award. Within the six year stretch from 1997–2003, he also starred in two other best picture nominees, L.A. Confidential and Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, though he was nominated for neither. In 2005 he re-teamed with A Beautiful Mind director Ron Howard for Cinderella Man. In 2006 he re-teamed with Gladiator director Ridley Scott for A Good Year, the first of two consecutive collaborations (the second being American Gangster co-starring again with Denzel Washington, released in late 2007). While the light romantic comedy of A Good Year was not greatly received, Crowe seemed pleased with the film, telling STV in an interview that he thought it would be enjoyed by fans of his other films.
In recent years Crowe's box office standing has declined considerably. Crowe appeared in Robin Hood, a film based on the Robin Hood legend, directed by Ridley Scott and released on May 14, 2010.
Crowe starred in the 2010 Paul Haggis film The Next Three Days, an adaptation of the 2008 French film Pour Elle.
Al-Qaeda threats
On 9 March 2005, Crowe revealed to GQ magazine that Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents had approached him prior to the 73rd Academy Awards on 25 March 2001 and told him that the Islamist terrorist group al-Qaeda wanted to kidnap him. Crowe told the magazine that it was the first time he had ever heard of al-Qaeda (the 11 September attacks took place later that year) and was quoted as saying:
“ You get this late-night call from the FBI when you arrive in Los Angeles, and they're, like, absolutely full-on. 'We’ve got to talk to you now before you do anything. We have to have a discussion with you, Mr. Crowe.' ”
Crowe recalled that:
“ it was something to do with some recording picked up by a French policewoman, I think, in either Libya or Algiers...it was about taking iconographic Americans out of the picture as a sort of cultural-destabilization plan. ”
Crowe was guarded by United States Secret Service agents for the next few months, both while shooting films and at award ceremonies (Scotland Yard also guarded Crowe while he was promoting Proof of Life in London in February 2001). Crowe said that he:
“ never fully understood what the fudge was going on. ”
The FBI confirmed Crowe's statement (which is uncharacteristic of the agency in that it usually does not comment to the media).
Music
Crowe singing on open mic at O'Reilly's Pub in St. John's, Canada. 13 June 2005
Crowe, going under the name of "Rus le Roq", recorded a 1980s tune titled "I Want To Be Like Marlon Brando".
In the '80s Crowe and friend Billy Dean Cochran formed a band, "Roman Antix", which later evolved into the Australian rock band 30 Odd Foot of Grunts (abbreviated to TOFOG). Crowe performed lead vocals and guitar for the band, which formed in 1992. The band released The Photograph Kills EP in 1995 as well as three full length records, Gaslight (1998),Bastard Life or Clarity (2001) and Other Ways of Speaking (2003). In 2000 TOFOG performed shows in London, Los Angeles and the now famous run of shows at Stubbs in Austin, TX which became a live DVD that was released in 2001 called Texas. In 2001 the band came to the US for major press, radio and TV appearances for the Bastard Life or Clarity release and returned Stubbs in Austin, TX to kick off a sold out US tour with dates in Austin, Boulder, Chicago, Portland, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, New York City and the last show at the famous Stone Pony in Asbury Park, NJ.
In early 2005 30 Odd Foot Of Grunts as a group has "dissolved/evolved" with Crowe feeling his future music would take a new direction and he began a collaboration with Alan Doyle of the Canadian band Great Big Sea, and with it a new band: The Ordinary Fear of God which also involved some members of the previous TOFOG lineup. A new single, Raewyn, was released in April 2005 and an album entitled My Hand, My Heart which was released and is available for download on iTunes. The album includes a tribute song to actor Richard Harris, who became Crowe's friend during the making of Gladiator.
Russell Crowe & The Ordinary Fear of God set out to break the new band in by performing a successful sold out series of dates of Australia in 2005 and then in 2006 returned to the US to promote their new release My Hand, My Heart with another sold-out US Tour and major press, radio and television appearances.
In March 2010 Russell Crowe & The Ordinary Fear of God's version of the John Williamson song "Winter Green" was included on a new compilation album The Absolute Best of John Williamson: 40 Years True Blue, commemorating the singer-songwriter's milestone of 40 years in the Australian music industry.
In May 2011 there are plans to release a new Russell Crowe & The Ordinary Fear of God recording (co-written with Alan Doyle) and for a US Tour which would be the first live dates in the US since 2006.
Crowe has been involved in a number of altercations in recent years which have given him a reputation for having a bad temper.
In 1999, Crowe was involved in a scuffle at the Plantation Hotel in Coffs Harbour, Australia, which was caught on security video. Two men were acquitted of using the video in an attempt to blackmail Crowe.
When part of Crowe's appearance at the 2002 BAFTA awards was cut out to fit into the BBC's tape-delayed broadcast, Crowe used strong language during an argument with producer Malcolm Gerrie. The part cut was a poem in tribute to actor Richard Harris who was then terminally ill, and was cut for copyright reasons. Crowe later apologised, saying "What I said to him may have been a little bit more passionate than now, in the cold light of day, I would have liked it to have been." Later that year, Crowe was alleged to have been involved in a "brawl" with businessman Eric Watson inside a trendy Japanese restaurant in London. The fight was broken up by British television actor Ross Kemp.
In June 2005, Crowe was arrested and charged with second-degree assault by New York City police, after he threw a telephone at an employee of the Mercer Hotel who refused to help him place a call when the system did not work from his room, and was charged with fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon (the telephone). The employee, a concierge, was treated for a facial laceration. Crowe described the incident as "possibly the most shameful situation that I've ever gotten myself in... and I've done some pretty dumb things in my life". He was sentenced to conditional release. Prior to the plea bargain, Crowe settled a lawsuit filed by the concierge, Nestor Estrada. Terms of the settlement were not disclosed but amounts in the six-figure range have been suggested.
Crowe's altercations were lampooned in the South Park episode, "The New Terrance and Phillip Movie Trailer".
Filmography
Films Year↓ Film↓ Role↓ Notes
1990 Blood Oath Lt. Jack Corbett
1990 Crossing, TheThe Crossing Johnny Ryan Nominated—Australian Film Institute Award – Best Actor in Lead Role
1991 Proof Andy Australian Film Institute Award – Best Supporting Actor
Film Critics Circle of Australia Award for Best Actor – Male
1992 Spotswood Kim Barrett
1992 Romper Stomper Hando Australian Film Institute Award – Best Actor in Lead Role
Seattle International Film Festival for Best Actor (also for Hammers Over the Anvil)
1993 Hammers Over the Anvil East Driscoll Seattle International Film Festival for Best Actor (also for Romper Stomper)
1993 Silver Brumby, TheThe Silver Brumby The Man (Egan)
1993 For the Moment Lachlan Currie
1994 Sum of Us, TheThe Sum of Us Jeff Mitchell
1995 Quick and the Dead, TheThe Quick and the Dead Cort
1995 No Way Back FBI Agent Zack Grant
1995 Virtuosity SID 6.7
1995 Rough Magic Alex Ross
1997 L.A. Confidential Officer Wendell "Bud" White Chlotrudis Award for Best Actor
Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama
Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
1997 Heaven's Burning Colin O'Brien
1997 Breaking Up Steve
1999 Mystery, Alaska Sheriff John Biebe
1999 Insider, TheThe Insider Jeffrey Wigand Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
London Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor (also for Gladiator)
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
National Board of Review Award for Best Actor
National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actor
Nominated—Academy Award for Best Actor
Nominated—BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role
Nominated—Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama
Nominated—Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor
Nominated—Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor
Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama
Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
2000 Gladiator Maximus Decimus Meridius Academy Award for Best Actor
Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Actor – Action
Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
Empire Award for Best Actor
London Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor (also for The Insider)
San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor
Nominated—BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role
Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama
Nominated—Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor
Nominated—MTV Movie Award for Best Performance
Nominated—MTV Movie Award for Best Fight
Nominated—Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor
Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Actor
Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama
Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
2000 Proof of Life Terry Thorne Nominated—Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Actor – Suspense
2001 Beautiful Mind, AA Beautiful Mind John Nash BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role
Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama
Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor
Nominated—American Film Institute Award for Best Actor
Nominated—Academy Award for Best Actor
Nominated—Australian Film Institute Award – Best Actor in Lead Role
Nominated—Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
Nominated—MTV Movie Award for Best Performance
Nominated—Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor
Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama
Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
2003 Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World Capt. Jack Aubrey Nominated—Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama
2005 Cinderella Man Jim Braddock Nominated—Australian Film Institute Award – Best International Actor
Nominated—Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama
Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
2006 Good Year, AA Good Year Max Skinner
2007 3:10 to Yuma Ben Wade Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
2007 American Gangster Det. Richie Roberts Nominated—Australian Film Institute Award – Best International Actor
Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
2008 Tenderness Detective Cristofuoro
2008 Body of Lies Ed Hoffman
2009 State of Play Cal McAffrey Australian Film Institute Award – Best International Actor
2010 Robin Hood Robin Longstride Nominated–Teen Choice Award for Action Adventure Actor
2010 Next Three Days, TheThe Next Three Days John Brennan
2011 The Man with the Iron Fist
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Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 04/07/11 at 11:15 am
The person of the day...Booker T. Washington
Booker Taliaferro Washington (April 5, 1856 – November 14, 1915) was an American educator, author, orator, and political leader. He was the dominant figure in the African American community in the United States from 1890 to 1915. Representative of the last generation of black leaders born in slavery, he spoke on behalf of blacks living in the South. In his last 25 years, Washington maintained his standing because of the sponsorship of powerful whites, substantial support within the black community, his ability to raise educational funds from both groups, and his accommodation to the social realities of the age of Jim Crow segregation.
Washington was born into slavery to a slave mother and white father, who was a nearby planter, in a rural area in southwestern Virginia. After emancipation, he worked in West Virginia in a variety of manual labor jobs before making his way to Hampton Roads seeking an education. He worked his way through Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute (now Hampton University) and attended college at Wayland Seminary (now Virginia Union University). After returning to Hampton as a teacher, in 1881 he was named as the first leader of the new Tuskegee Institute in Alabama.
Washington attained national prominence for his Atlanta Address of 1895, which attracted the attention of politicians and the public, making him a popular spokesperson for African-American citizens. He built a nationwide network of supporters in many black communities, with black ministers, educators and businessmen composing his core supporters. Washington played a dominant role in black politics, winning wide support in the black community and among more liberal whites (especially rich Northern whites). He gained access to top national leaders in politics, philanthropy and education. Washington's efforts included cooperating with white people and enlisting the support of wealthy philanthropists, helping to raise funds to establish and operate thousands of small community schools and institutions of higher education for the betterment of blacks throughout the South. This work continued for many years after his death.
Northern critics called Washington's followers the "Tuskegee Machine". After 1909, Washington was criticized by the leaders of the new NAACP, especially W. E. B. Du Bois, who demanded a stronger tone of protest for advancement of civil rights needs. Washington replied that confrontation would lead to disaster for the outnumbered blacks, and that cooperation with supportive whites was the only way to overcome pervasive racism in the long run. At the same time, he secretly funded litigation for civil rights cases, such as challenges to southern constitutions and laws that disenfranchised blacks.
In addition to his contributions in education, Washington wrote 14 books; his autobiography, Up From Slavery, first published in 1901, is still widely read today. During a difficult period of transition, he did much to improve the working relationship between the races. His work greatly helped blacks to achieve higher education, financial power and understanding of the U.S. legal system. This led to a foundation of the skill set needed to support the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s and further adoption of important federal civil rights laws.
Washington was born into slavery to Jane, an enslaved African-American woman on the Burroughs Plantation in southwest Virginia. He knew little about his white father. His family gained freedom in 1865 as the Civil War ended. As a boy he claimed the surname Washington at school. He worked in salt furnaces and coal mines in West Virginia for several years then made his way east to Hampton Institute, a school established to educate freedmen, where he worked to pay for his studies. He attended and graduated from Wayland Seminary to complete preparation as an instructor. In 1881, Hampton president Samuel C. Armstrong recommended Washington to become the first leader of Tuskegee Institute, the new normal school (teachers' college) in Alabama. He headed it for the rest of his life.
Washington was a dominant figure of the African-American community in the United States from 1890 to 1915, especially after his Atlanta Address of 1895. To many politicians and the public in general, he was seen as a popular spokesman for African-American citizens. Representing the last generation of black leaders born into slavery, Washington was generally perceived as a credible proponent of education for freedmen in the post-Reconstruction, Jim Crow-era South. Throughout the final twenty years of his life, he maintained his standing through a nationwide network of supporters–including black educators, ministers, editors, and businessmen–especially those who were liberally inclined on social and educational issues. Critics called his network of supporters the "Tuskegee Machine". He gained access to top national leaders in politics, philanthropy and education, raised large sums, was consulted on race issues and was awarded honorary degrees from leading American universities.
Late in his career, Washington was criticized by leaders of the NAACP, a civil rights organization formed in 1909. W. E. B. Du Bois advocated activism to achieve civil rights. He labeled Washington "the Great Accommodator". Washington's response was that confrontation could lead to disaster for the outnumbered blacks. He believed that cooperation with supportive whites was the only way in the long run to overcome racism.
Washington contributed secretly and substantially to legal challenges against segregation and disfranchisement of blacks. In his public role, he believed he could achieve more by skillful accommodation to the social realities of the age of segregation.
Washington's work on education issues helped him enlist both the moral and substantial financial support of many major white philanthropists. He became friends with such self-made men as Standard Oil magnate Henry Huttleston Rogers; Sears, Roebuck and Company President Julius Rosenwald; and George Eastman, inventor and founder of Kodak. These individuals and many other wealthy men and women funded his causes, including Hampton and Tuskegee institutes.
The schools Washington supported were founded to produce teachers. However, graduates had often gone back to their largely impoverished rural southern communities only to find precious few schools and educational resources. To address those needs, Washington enlisted his philanthropic network of matching funds programs to stimulate construction of numerous rural public schools for black children in the South. Together, these efforts eventually established and operated over 5,000 schools and supporting resources for the betterment of blacks throughout the South in the late-19th and early-20th centuries. The local schools were a source of communal pride and were priceless to African-American families when poverty and segregation limited severely the life chances of the pupils. A major part of Washington's legacy, the number of model rural schools increased with matching funds from the Rosenwald Fund into the 1930s. He also helped with the Progressive Era by forming the National Negro Business League.
His autobiography, Up From Slavery, first published in 1901, is still widely read today.
Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute
Booker T. Washington's house at Tuskegee University
The organizers of the new all-black state school called Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute in Alabama found the energetic leader they sought in 25-year-old Washington. He believed that with self help, people could go from poverty to success. The new school opened on July 4, 1881, initially using space in a local church. The next year, Washington purchased a former plantation, which became the permanent site of the campus. Under his direction, his students literally built their own school: constructing classrooms, barns and outbuildings; and growing their own crops and raising livestock; both for learning and to provide for most of the basic necessities. Both men and women had to learn trades as well as academics. Washington helped raise funds to establish and operate hundreds of small community schools and institutions of higher educations for blacks. The Tuskegee faculty used all the activities to teach the students basic skills to take back to their mostly rural black communities throughout the South. The main goal was not to produce farmers and tradesmen, but teachers of farming and trades who taught in the new schools and colleges for blacks across the South. The school expanded over the decades, adding programs and departments, to become the present-day Tuskegee University.
Washington expressed his aspirations for his race in his direction of the school. He believed that by providing needed skills to society, African Americans would play their part, leading to acceptance by white Americans. He believed that blacks would eventually gain full participation in society by acting as responsible, reliable American citizens. Shortly after the Spanish-American War, President William McKinley and most of his cabinet visited Washington. He led the school until his death in 1915. By then Tuskegee's endowment had grown to over $1.5 million, compared to its initial $2,000 annual appropriation. by both African-Americans and whites across the country. Then W. E. B. Du Bois supported him, but they grew apart as Du Bois sought more action to remedy disenfranchisement and lower education. After their falling out, Du Bois and his supporters referred to Washington's speech as the "Atlanta Compromise" to express their criticism that Washington was too accommodating to white interests.
Washington advocated a “go slow” approach. The effect was that many youths in the South had to accept sacrifices of potential political power, civil rights and higher education. His belief was that African-Americans should “concentrate all their energies on industrial education, and accumulation of wealth, and the conciliation of the South.” Washington valued the "industrial" education, as it provided critical skills for the jobs then available to the majority of African-Americans at the time, as most lived in the South, which was overwhelmingly rural and agricultural. He thought these skills that would lay the foundation for the creation of stability that the African-American community required in order to move forward. He believed that in the long term “blacks would eventually gain full participation in society by showing themselves to be responsible, reliable American citizens.” His approach advocated for an initial step toward equal rights, rather than full equality under the law. It would be this step that would provide the economic power to back up their demands for equality in the future. This action, over time, would provide the proof to a deeply prejudiced white America that they were not in fact “’naturally’ stupid and incompetent.”
This stance was contrary to what many blacks from the North envisioned. Du Bois wanted blacks to have the same "classical" liberal arts education as whites did, along with voting rights and civic equality. He believed that an elite he called the Talented Tenth would advance to lead the race to a wider variety of occupations. The source of division between Du Bois and Washington was generated by the differences in how African Americans were treated in the North versus the South. Many in the North felt that they were being 'led', and authoritatively spoken for, by a Southern accommodationist imposed on them primarily by Southern whites.” Furthermore, historian Clarence E. Walker said, "Free black people were 'matter out of place'. Their emancipation was an affront to southern white freedom. Booker T. Washington did not understand that his program was perceived as subversive of a natural order in which black people were to remain forever subordinate or unfree." Both men sought to define the best means to improve the conditions of the post-Civil War African-American community through education.
Blacks were solidly Republican in this period. Southern states disfranchised most blacks and many poor whites from 1890–1908 through constitutional amendments and statutes that created barriers to voter registration, and voting such as poll taxes and literacy tests. Southern white Democrats regained power in the state legislatures of the former Confederacy and passed laws establishing racial segregation and other Jim Crow laws. More blacks continued to vote in border and Northern states.
Washington worked and socialized with many white politicians and industry leaders. Much of his expertise was his ability to persuade wealthy whites to donate money to black causes. He argued that the surest way for blacks to gain equal social rights was to demonstrate “industry, thrift, intelligence and property.” This was the key to improved conditions for African Americans in the United States. Because they had only recently been emancipated, he believed they could not expect too much at once. Washington said, "I have learned that success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has had to overcome while trying to succeed.
Along with Du Bois, he partly organized the "Negro exhibition" at the 1900 Exposition Universelle in Paris, where photos, taken by his friend Frances Benjamin Johnston, of Hampton Institute's black students were displayed. The exhibition expressed African Americans' positive contributions to American society.
Washington privately contributed substantial funds for legal challenges to segregation and disfranchisement, such as the case of Giles v. Harris, which went before the United States Supreme Court in 1903
Despite his travels and widespread work, Washington remained as principal of Tuskegee. Washington's health was deteriorating rapidly; he collapsed in New York City and was brought home to Tuskegee, where he died on November 14, 1915, at the age of 59. He was buried on the campus of Tuskegee University near the University Chapel.
His death was believed at the time to have been a result of congestive heart failure, aggravated by overwork. In March 2006, with the permission of his descendants, examination of medical records indicated that he died of hypertension, with a blood pressure more than twice normal, confirming what had long been suspected.
At his death Tuskegee's endowment exceeded $1.5 million. His greatest life's work, the work of education of blacks in the South, was well underway and expanding.
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It was this day in 1940 that Educator Booker T. Washington became the first African American to be featured on a U.S. postage stamp (pictured).
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 04/07/11 at 11:15 am
It was this day in 1940 that Educator Booker T. Washington became the first African American to be featured on a U.S. postage stamp (pictured).
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b1/Stamp_US_1940_10c_Booker_Washington.jpg/94px-Stamp_US_1940_10c_Booker_Washington.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 04/07/11 at 11:48 am
It was this day in 1940 that Educator Booker T. Washington became the first African American to be featured on a U.S. postage stamp (pictured).
I heard that on the radio this morning. :)
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 04/08/11 at 6:37 am
The person of the day...Steve Howe
Stephen James "Steve" Howe (born 8 April 1947 in Holloway, North London, England) is an English guitarist, known for his work with the progressive rock group Yes. He has also been a member of The Syndicats, Bodast, Tomorrow, Asia and GTR, as well as having released 17 solo albums as of September 2009.
In April 1970, Howe joined Yes and after retreating to a farm in Devon to rehearse and write new material, he played his first show with the group at the Lyceum on 7 July 1970 (where the version of "Clap" on The Yes Album was recorded). Howe was pictured with the group on the non-Europe jacket of their second album, Time and a Word, which was released in August, although it was Banks who had actually played on the recording.
Beginning with The Yes Album, Howe's electric and acoustic guitars, combined with Jon Anderson's vocals, Chris Squire's bass, and Tony Kaye's keyboards were seen as an essential part of the band's early sound. The addition of Rick Wakeman after the departure of Tony Kaye for the following album, Fragile, created the classic Yes sound of Anderson-Howe-Squire-Bruford-Wakeman associated with the peak of the band's early achievements. To his already-formidable assortment of electric and acoustic guitar sounds, Howe added a unique prog-rock approach to pedal steel guitar in the next album, Close to the Edge. His classical along with his penchant for ongoing experimentation, helped produce a playing style unique among rock musicians, while the group as a whole took a position as a leading progressive rock band.
Although the band underwent some personnel changes in the 1970s, Howe, Anderson, and Squire were the constant elements for the entire decade. In early 1980, however, Anderson and Wakeman left the group and were replaced a few weeks later by Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes. This second departure of Rick Wakeman was particularly difficult for Howe, who believed the two produced their best work while they were together. Howe continued with the band until Yes officially split up on 18 April 1981, only to see the band re-form in 1983 with Trevor Rabin on guitar. Over the next few years, Howe contributed to several albums produced by Horn for other artists (including Frankie Goes to Hollywood and Propaganda).
In 1988, Jon Anderson asked Howe, Wakeman, and Bill Bruford if they could take part in his next project. Howe contributed several song ideas to the eventual Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe album. The new quartet was virtually the Close To The Edge Yes line-up reformed, leading to minor legal battles over ownership of the name "Yes". Eventually, under pressure from both management and label, they all joined forces with the members of the "official" Yes (which still included Anderson, plus Tony Kaye, Trevor Rabin, Chris Squire and Alan White) as a "mega-Yes" lineup to record the album, Union, which was released in 1991. In 1993, Howe performed guitar parts on and co-produced the Symphonic Music of Yes album of orchestral arrangements of classic Yes tracks, and then left the band after the Victory Music label left him out of an invitation to participate in the studio sessions that would lead to their next album. In 1991, he contributed a flamenco inspired guitar solo to the epic Queen song Innuendo, which would be featured on the album of the same name.
Howe rejoined Yes in 1995. Since Keys to Ascension, Howe has again appeared on all the albums recorded by Yes.
"Best Overall Guitarist"
Howe, on guitar at the pinnacle of his career with Yes Photo: Rik Walton
Despite the troubles Yes was experiencing at the time, Howe was voted "Best Overall Guitarist" in Guitar Player magazine five years in a row (1977–1981) and was inducted into Guitar Player's "Gallery of Greats" in 1981. The only other two guitarists to win the "Best Overall Guitarist" category for the "Gallery Of Greats" are Steve Morse and Eric Johnson.
Gibson Guitar Corporation, the maker of Howe's second electric guitar (which he was still playing forty years later), said that Howe "elevated rock guitar into an art form" and "helped define a new style of music known as art rock." In a tribute to Howe and his personal favourite ES-175 guitar, Gibson produced a Steve Howe Signature ES-175 in 2002.
Rolling Stone ranked him number sixty-nine on their list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of all Time in 2003.
Signature songs
The early years of Yes provided two of his best known solo songs - both on early Yes albums. The Yes Album had the first live version of Clap, a heavily syncopated guitar Rondo with roots in Ragtime, and Country Blues. Clap is a song that mutated with subsequent live performances while always retaining some of the distinctive themes. Mood for a Day first appeared as a studio performance on Fragile and later on the triple live album Yessongs. Mood for a Day has its roots in Flamenco/classical guitar music.
Asia
Steve Howe with Asia at Volkshaus Zurich, 25 March 2009
In 1981, Howe, King Crimson's John Wetton, Carl Palmer of Emerson, Lake & Palmer, and Geoff Downes of The Buggles formed the band Asia, but after two popular albums and a few hit singles, Howe left the band over differences with Wetton.
When Geoff Downes reformed Asia in 1992, Steve returned to play guitar on Aqua playing on 6 of the album's 13 tracks, as well as playing on their Aqua Club tour as a special guest. In 1996 he played on a song called Ginger meant for Arena, which was released on Archiva Vol. 1 later that year. He also played on two of the songs from Aura, released in 2001.
Some disagreements have since been reconciled as Wetton embraced sobriety and a new found appreciation for life, and Howe rejoined the other three founding members in a 25th anniversary reunion tour in late 2006. Since that time Asia have released a DVD called Fantasia and also released a new CD of music called Phoenix in April of '08. In early 2010 the band released their second reunion CD, Omega. The four original members of ASIA have now been together longer than during the original incarnation of the early eighties.
GTR
In 1985, Howe formed the supergroup GTR with ex-Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett. Their only album, GTR, went gold, but Hackett's interest in pursuing solo projects spelled the end of the group. The group also disagreed about how the band's revenues should be split.
Solo work
In October, 1975, Howe released Beginnings, his first solo album. It featured Yes band members Alan White, Bill Bruford and Patrick Moraz and reached number 63 in the US and number 22 in the UK charts.
His second album as a soloist, The Steve Howe Album, was released in November, 1979. Howe played alone on half of the tracks, while others again feature White, Bruford and Moraz, along with vocalist Claire Hamill. Since 1991, Howe has released a solo recording almost every year, ranging from acoustic to progressive to a Bob Dylan tribute. In 2001 was released Natural Timbre, exclusively with acoustic guitars. His son Dylan, now a respected jazz musician, played the drums on his 1998 all-instrumental solo release, Quantum Guitar, while Elements, released in 2003, featured both Dylan and Howe's younger son Virgil (keyboards and vocals), as part of a project called Remedy.
Howe's personal web site, Guitar Rondo, was launched in May, 1996. The guitarist takes an active role in the site by conducting auctions for gold albums and selected guitars, and answering questions from fans.
On 24 May 1996 Howe received an honorary Doctorate in Musical Arts (DMA) from Five Towns College in Dix Hills, New York.
In 2007, Howe founded the Steve Howe Trio, a jazz band completed by his son Dylan on drums and Ross Stanley on Hammond organ.
Family
Howe's family includes sons Dylan Howe and Virgil Howe, and daughter-in-law Jen Dawson.
Discography
Solo albums
* Beginnings (1975)
* The Steve Howe Album (1979)
* Turbulence (1991)
* The Grand Scheme of Things (1993)
* Not Necessarily Acoustic (1994)
* Homebrew (1996)
* Quantum Guitar (1998)
* Pulling Strings (1999)
* Portraits of Bob Dylan (1999)
* Homebrew 2 (2000)
* Natural Timbre (2001)
* Skyline (2002)
* Elements (2003)
* Guitar World (2003)
* Spectrum (2005)
* Remedy Live (2005)
* Homebrew 3 (2005)
* Motif (2008)
* The Haunted Melody with the Steve Howe Trio (2008)
* Travelling with the Steve Howe Trio (2010)
* Homebrew 4 (2010)
With The Syndicats (future Bodast)
* The hit song Maybellene, on a 1964 compilation LP On the scene (with The Animals, Georgie Frame, Yardbirds, Mickie Most, Downliners sect,... - Columbia/EMI)
With Bodast
* The Early Years - Steve Howe with Bodast (CD 1988 & 1990 - first LP edit in 1969 (CS))
With Tomorrow
* Tomorrow (Parlophone, february 1968)
* 50 Minute Technicolor Dream (RPM 184, 1998)
With Yes
* The Yes Album (1971)
* Fragile (1971)
* Close to the Edge (1972)
* Tales from Topographic Oceans (1973)
* Relayer (1974)
* Going for the One (1977)
* Tormato (1978)
* Drama (1980)
* Union (1991)
* Keys to Ascension (1996) (live and studio tracks)
* Keys to Ascension 2 (1997) (live and studio tracks)
* Open Your Eyes (1997)
* The Ladder (1999)
* Magnification (2001)
* Fly from Here (2011)
With Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe
* Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe (1989)
* An Evening of Yes Music Plus (1993) (live album)
With Asia
* Asia (1982)
* Alpha (1983)
* Aqua (1992)
* Then & Now (1990 compilation, + four unedits)
* Fantasia - Live in Tokyo (2007) (and DVD)
* Phoenix (2008)
* Omega (2010)
* Asia (2010 remastered, like Super Audio CD)
With GTR
* GTR (1986)
With Paul Sutin
* Seraphim (1995)
* Voyagers (1995)
With Explorer's Club
* Age of Impact (1998)
* Raising the Mammoth (2002)
Guest appearances
* Lou Reed - Lou Reed (session playing on most of the album) (1972)
* Rick Wakeman - "Catherine of Aragon", album The Six Wives of Henry VIII (1973)
* The Dregs - "Up in the Air", album Industry Standard (1982)
* Propaganda - "The Murder of Love", album A Secret Wish (1985)
* Fish - "Time and a Word", album Yin (1995)
* Frankie Goes to Hollywood - "Welcome To The Pleasuredome", album Welcome To The Pleasuredome (1984)
* Queen - "Innuendo", album Innuendo (1991)
* Dream Theater - "Starship Trooper", DVD 5 Years in a Livetime (1998)
Videography
* Classic Rock Legends (2002)
* Careful With That Axe (2004)
* Steve Howe's Remedy Live (2005)
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Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 04/08/11 at 6:50 am
I do remember the group Yes with "Owner Of A Lonely Heart"in 1983.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 04/08/11 at 3:06 pm
I do remember the group Yes with "Owner Of A Lonely Heart"in 1983.
That's a good song.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 04/08/11 at 7:57 pm
That's a good song.
and a good video.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 04/09/11 at 6:38 am
The person of the day...Dennis Quaid
Dennis William Quaid (born April 9, 1954) is an American actor. He became known during the 1980s after appearing in several successful films, including as Mike Brody in Jaws 3-D (1983), Alex Gardner in Dreamscape (1984), Remy McSwain in The Big Easy (1987), Tuck Pendleton in Innerspace (1987), Jefferson "Jeff" Blue in Undercover Blues (1993), Bowen in Dragonheart (1996), Joe Doe/William in Gang Related (1997), Frank Towns in Flight of the Phoenix (2004), Jack Hall in The Day After Tomorrow (2004) and Reverend Shaw Moore in Footloose (2011).
After his brother, Randy, was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in The Last Detail (1973), Quaid dropped out of the University of Houston before graduating and moved to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career of his own. He initially had trouble finding work but began to gain notice when he appeared in Breaking Away (1979) and earned good reviews for his role in The Right Stuff (1983).
Known for his grin, Quaid has appeared in both comedic and dramatic roles. Quaid had starring roles in the films Enemy Mine (1985) and Innerspace (1987). He also achieved acclaim for his portrayal of Jerry Lee Lewis in Great Balls of Fire! (1989).
Quaid's career lost steam in the early 1990s, after he fought anorexia nervosa and kicked a cocaine addiction. He continued to garner positive reviews in a variety of films, however, such as Doc Holliday in Wyatt Earp (1994). He starred in the remake of The Parent Trap (1998), playing the part of the twins' father, and as an aging pro football quarterback in Oliver Stone's Any Given Sunday (1999). Some of Quaid's more recent film credits include Frequency (2000), The Rookie (2002), Far From Heaven (2002), The Flight of the Phoenix (2004), In Good Company (2004), The Day After Tomorrow (2004), Yours, Mine and Ours (2005), Vantage Point (2008), G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009), and Pandorum (2009).
In 2009, Quaid guest starred in an episode of SpongeBob SquarePants, playing Mr. Krabs' grandfather, Captain Redbeard.
He portrayed U.S. President Bill Clinton, alongside Michael Sheen as Tony Blair and Hope Davis as Hillary Clinton, in the 2010 film The Special Relationship.
Awards
For his role in Far From Heaven (2002) he won the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor, the Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor, the Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actor and the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male. He received nominations for Best Supporting Actor from the Golden Globe Awards, the Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards and the Screen Actors Guild Awards.
Personal life
Quaid golfing in 2006.
Quaid was raised in the Baptist faith.
There have been extensive stories about Quaid's past abuse of cocaine. In a candid 2002 interview with Larry King on his talk show, after King asked about his motives for using drugs, Quaid responded, "Well, you got to put it in context. Back in the late '60s, early '70s. That was back during the time where, you know, drugs were going to expand our minds and everybody was experimenting and everything. We were really getting high, we didn't know it. And cocaine at that time was considered harmless. You know. I remember magazine articles in 'People' Magazine of doctors saying, it is not addicting. It is just—alcohol is worse. So I think we all fell into that. But that's not the way it was."
When asked if he believed he had ever been addicted to the drug, he responded, "It was a gradual thing. But it got to the point where I couldn't have any fun unless I had it. Which is a bad place to be." Later in the interview he said, "But I saw myself being dead in about five years if I didn't stop."
Quaid and actress P.J. Soles were married on November 25, 1978. The couple were divorced on January 23, 1983. On February 14, 1991, he and Meg Ryan were married. Quaid and Ryan have a son, Jack Henry (born April 24, 1992). They were divorced on July 16, 2001. In a 2008 interview with Insight, Ryan stated "Dennis was not faithful to me for a very long time, and that was very painful. I found out more about that after I was divorced."
Quaid married Kimberly Buffington, an Austin, Texas, real-estate agent, on July 4, 2004. The couple had twins, born via a gestational carrier, on November 8, 2007, in Santa Monica, California. Their son Thomas Boone was born first at 8:26 am and weighed six pounds, twelve ounces (3.06 kg). Daughter Zoe Grace was born two minutes later weighing five pounds, nine ounces (2.52 kg).
On November 18, 2007, hospital staff mistakenly gave Quaid's ten-day-old twins a dosage of heparin 1,000 times the common dosage for infants. Their attorney said the newborns will "be fine now", but Quaid filed a lawsuit against the drug manufacturer, Baxter Healthcare, claiming that packaging for the two doses of heparin are not different enough. In May 2008, the Quaids testified before the United States House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, asking U.S. Congress not to preempt the right to sue drug manufacturers for negligence under state law.
In October 2009, Dennis Quaid narrowly avoided being arrested for DUI, when a police officer managed to persuade him to get out of his car and get a cab.
In addition to acting, Quaid is a musician and plays with his band, the Sharks. Quaid also has a pilot's license and is a scratch golfer. In 2005, he was named as the top golfer among the "Hollywood set" by Golf Digest.
After the filming of "The Express: The Ernie Davis Story" Quaid went to Cleveland Browns Stadium to dedicate Davis's jersey.
Charities
Quaid lends his name to the annual "Dennis Quaid Charity Weekend" (formerly the "Jiffy Lube/Dennis Quaid Charity Classic") in Austin. The golf tournament attracts numerous celebrities with the proceeds split among local children's charities. He is a member of the Bel-Air Country Club in Bel-Air, California, and tries to stay at homes on private courses when he is on the road.
Quaid works with the International Hospital for Children in New Orleans, Louisiana. He makes trips to Central America to help build medical clinics and transport sick children back to the U.S. for treatment they cannot get locally.
Filmography
Year↓ Film↓ Role↓ Notes
1975 Crazy Mama Bellhop (uncredited)
1977 I Never Promised You a Rose Garden Shark, Baseball Pitcher
September 30, 1955 Frank
1978 Our Winning Season Paul Morelli
The Seniors Alan
1979 Breaking Away Mike
1980 The Long Riders Ed Miller
Gorp Mad Grossman
1981 All Night Long Freddie Dupler
Caveman Lar
The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia Travis Child
Stripes Extra at Graduation Ceremony (uncredited)
1983 Tough Enough Art Long
Jaws 3-D Michael 'Mike' Brody
The Right Stuff Gordon Cooper
1984 Dreamscape Alex Gardner
1985 Enemy Mine Willis Davidge
1987 The Big Easy Det. Remy McSwain Independent Spirit Award for Best Lead Male
Valladolid International Film Festival Award for Best Actor
Innerspace Lt. Tuck Pendleton
Suspect Eddie Sanger
1988 D.O.A. Dexter Cornell
Everybody's All-American Gavin Grey
1989 Great Balls of Fire! Jerry Lee Lewis
1990 Come See The Paradise Jack McGurn
Postcards from the Edge Jack Faulkner
1993 Wilder Napalm Wallace Foudroyant/Biff the Clown
Undercover Blues Jefferson 'Jeff' Blue
Flesh and Bone Arlis Sweeney
1994 A Century of Cinema Himself (documentary)
Wyatt Earp Doc Holliday
1995 Something to Talk About Eddie Bichon
1996 Dragonheart Bowen
1997 Gang Related Joe Doe/William
Switchback Frank LaCrosse
1998 Savior Joshua Rose/Guy
The Parent Trap Nick Parker
Playing by Heart Hugh
1999 Any Given Sunday Jack 'Cap' Rooney
2000 Frequency Frank Sullivan Nominated—Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Actor – Suspense
Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor
Traffic Arnie Metzger Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
2001 Dinner with Friends Gabe
2002 The Rookie Jimmy Morris
Far from Heaven Frank Whitaker Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor
Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male
New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor
Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actor
Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture
Nominated—Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actor
Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture
Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role
2003 Cold Creek Manor Cooper Tilson
2004 The Alamo Sam Houston
The Day After Tomorrow Jack Hall
In Good Company Dan Foreman
Flight of the Phoenix Frank Towns
2005 Yours, Mine and Ours Frank Beardsley
2006 American Dreamz President Joseph Staton
2007 Battle for Terra Roven (voice)
2008 Vantage Point Thomas Barnes
Smart People Lawrence Wetherhold
The Express Ben Schwartzwalder
2009 Horsemen Aidan Breslin
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra General Hawk
Pandorum Payton
2010 Legion Bob Hanson
The Special Relationship Bill Clinton released May 29, 2010 on HBO
Nominated—Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor – Miniseries or a Movie
Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film
Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie
2011 Soul Surfer Tom Hamilton Released April 8, 2011
Footloose Rev. Shaw Moore
Beneath the Darkness Vaughn Ely
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f85/dancinfeet09000/quaid.jpg
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/cinthialopez25/quaid5B15D.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 04/09/11 at 6:53 am
Dennis Quiad is a good actor,he does that comedic side.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 04/10/11 at 5:46 am
The person of the day...Haley Joel Osment
Haley Joel Osment (born April 10, 1988) is an American actor. After a series of roles in television and film during the 1990s, including a small part in Forrest Gump playing the title character’s son, Osment rose to fame with his performance as Cole Sear in M. Night Shyamalan’s thriller film The Sixth Sense that earned him a nomination for Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. He subsequently appeared in leading roles in several high-profile Hollywood films including Steven Spielberg's A.I. Artificial Intelligence and Mimi Leders Pay it Forward. He made his Broadway debut in 2008 in a revival of American Buffalo, co-starring with John Leguizamo and Cedric the Entertainer.
Osment was born in Los Angeles, California; the son of Theresa Osment (née Seifert), a teacher, and Michael Eugene Osment, a theater and film actor, both natives of Alabama. Osment was raised Roman Catholic. He has one sister, four years younger, actress and singer-songwriter Emily Osment. Osment’s parents described his childhood as a “good old-fashioned Southern upbringing,” and his father said that when Osment was learning to speak, he deliberately avoided using baby talk when communicating with his son.
Osment was a student at Flintridge Preparatory School in La Cañada, California. As a child, he was talented in many sports, including basketball, football, wrestling, and golf.
Career
Osment in 2001
Osment's acting career began at the age of four, when his mother took him to a new Ikea store; a talent scout was there looking for new actors, and Osment put his name down. He got called back for an audition, and was asked to describe the biggest thing he had ever seen; Osment described an IMAX theater screen, and won the part in a Pizza Hut TV commercial, advertising their "Big Foot" pizza. The commercial launched his career; later that year he starred in the ABC TV sitcom Thunder Alley, his first role in series television. His first feature film role was as Forrest Gump's son, also named Forrest Gump, in the 1994 film of the same name. He also had a small part in another 1994 film, Mixed Nuts. Throughout the rest of 1990s, Osment played regular and/or recurring roles in various TV series; including The Jeff Foxworthy Show and the final season of Murphy Brown, where he replaced Dylan Christopher as Murphy's son, Avery. In addition, he made numerous guest appearances on shows including The Larry Sanders Show, Walker, Texas Ranger (as a child dying from AIDS), Touched by an Angel, Chicago Hope, The Pretender, and an emotional episode of Ally Mcbeal; "Angels and Blimps", in which he played a child dying from leukemia. He starred in the 1996 film Bogus, alongside Whoopi Goldberg and Gérard Depardieu, and appeared in the 1998 made-for-TV movie The Lake, with Yasmine Bleeth, as well as I'll Remember April (1999), with future The Sixth Sense co-star Trevor Morgan.
Osment first achieved major stardom in 1999, when he appeared in the blockbuster film The Sixth Sense, co-starring Bruce Willis. For his portrayal of Cole Sear, a psychic child, Osment won Saturn Award for Best Performance by a Younger Actor. He was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, becoming the second-youngest performer ever to receive an Academy nomination for a supporting role, but lost the final Oscar vote to Michael Caine (with whom he would later work, appearing together in Secondhand Lions). One of Osment's lines in The Sixth Sense, "I see dead people", became a popular catchphrase and is often repeated or parodied on television programs and in other media. He made three minor (voice-only) guest appearances on the animated TV series Family Guy in 2000.
The 2000 Academy Awards ceremony honored another future co-star, Kevin Spacey, who, along with Helen Hunt, appeared in Osment's next film, Pay It Forward (2000). The following year, he appeared in Steven Spielberg's Artificial Intelligence: A.I., cementing his stature as one of the leading young actors in Hollywood. This role earned him his second Saturn Award for Best Younger Actor, and another critical acclaim. In reviewing the movie, critic Roger Ebert claimed that: "Osment, who is onscreen in almost every scene, is one of the best actors now working". Also in 2001, Osment starred in the Polish film, Edges of the Lord, as Romek. The movie was never released theatrically in the United States.
Osment has lent his voice to animated films such as The Country Bears, The Hunchback of Notre Dame II and The Jungle Book 2. He returned to live action with the 2003 film, Secondhand Lions.
Notably, Osment has also lent his voice to the video game series, Kingdom Hearts, providing the voice of Sora, the series' main character, and also Vanitas, a villain resembling Sora. Osment also voiced the character of Takeshi Jinno, in the English version of the Immortal Grand Prix anime TV series.
He next appeared in Home of the Giants, playing a high school journalist opposite Ryan Merriman and Danielle Panabaker. He is currently working on Montana Amazon as both an actor and executive producer. The film co-stars Olympia Dukakis and is expected to be released in 2010.
Osment made his Broadway debut at the Belasco Theatre in November 2008, playing the role of "Bobby", a young heroin addict, in a revival of David Mamet's American Buffalo; co-starring with John Leguizamo and Cedric the Entertainer. The show opened to mixed reviews, and a provisional statement was made on November 20, 2008, that it would close after the first week. Osment was given one sentence in the New York Times review of the production: "Mr. Osment’s facial stubble and slumping posture fail to override the impression that he’s giving a perfect School of Disney juvenile performance." Newsday, however, said "Haley Joel Osment... has a sweet, haunting neediness as a slacker who appears to recognize a kind of death in himself."
Personal life
According to Osment's official website, he follows a mostly meat-free diet (though he does like chicken and fish), and in an interview with Daniel Robert Epstein, Osment mentioned that he plays the guitar and piano. As of 2007, he attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, from which he graduated in 2010.
Osment is an avid golfer who began playing at the age of 7. He played for the U.S. team in the All-Star Cup 2005, under team leader Mark O'Meara, and has participated in the Annual Michael Douglas & Friends Celebrity Golf Tournament.
Arrest
Osment was involved in a single-driver automobile accident on July 20, 2006, in which he struck a brick mailbox and overturned his car while driving near his home. The accident resulted in injuries including a broken rib, fractured right shoulder blade, cuts, and abrasions. In connection with this incident, Osment pleaded no contest to one count each of misdemeanor, driving under the influence of alcohol, and drug possession on October 19, 2006. He was sentenced to three years probation, 60 hours in an alcohol rehabilitation and education program, a fine of $1500, and a minimum requirement of 26 Alcoholics Anonymous meetings over a six-month period.
Filmography
Year Film Role Notes
1994 Forrest Gump Forrest Gump, Jr. Young Artist Award for Best Performance by an Actor Under Ten in a Motion Picture
Mixed Nuts Little Boy
1995 For Better or Worse Danny
1996 Bogus Albert Franklin Nominated — Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a Feature Film - Actor Age Ten or Under
1997 Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas Chip Voice (direct-to-video)
1998 Ransom of Red Chief Andy Dorset (TV movie)
1999 The Sixth Sense Cole Sear Saturn Award for Best Performance by a Younger Actor
Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Actor - Newcomer (Internet Only)
Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Young Performer
Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor
Florida Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor
Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor
Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actor
Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award for Youth in Film
Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award for Most Promising Actor
MTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough Performance
Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actor
Satellite Award for Outstanding New Talent
Southeastern Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor
Teen Choice Award for Film - Choice Breakout Performance
Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a Feature Film - Leading Young Actor
YoungStar Award for Best Young Actor/Performance in a Motion Picture Drama
Nominated — Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
Nominated — Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor
Nominated — Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Most Promising Actor
Nominated — Chlotrudis Award for Best Supporting Actor
Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture
Nominated — MTV Movie Award for Best On-Screen Duo (Shared with Bruce Willis)
Nominated — Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Debut
Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role
I'll Remember April Peewee Clayton
2000 Pay It Forward Trevor McKinney Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Supporting Actor - Drama/Romance
Nominated — Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a Feature Film - Leading Young Actor
Discover Spot Spot the Dog Voice
2001 A.I. Artificial Intelligence David Saturn Award for Best Performance by a Younger Actor
Nominated — Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Young Performer
Nominated — Empire Award for Best Actor
Nominated — Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Youth Performance
Nominated — Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a Feature Film - Leading Young Actor
Edges of the Lord Romek
2002 The Hunchback of Notre Dame II Zephyr Voice
Nominated — Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a Voice-Over Role
The Country Bears Beary Barrington Voice
Kingdom Hearts Sora Video game
2003 Secondhand Lions Walter Nominated — Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a Feature Film - Leading Young Actor
The Jungle Book 2 Mowgli Voice
Nominated — World Soundtrack Award for Best Original Song Written for a Film (Shared with Paul Grabowsky, Lorraine Feather, Mae Whitman, and Connor Funk)
Nominated — Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a Voice-Over Role - Young Actor
2004 Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories Sora Video game
2005 Immortal Grand Prix Takeshi Jinno Anime TV series; Voice (English-language)
2006 Kingdom Hearts II Sora Video game
2007 Home of the Giants Robert "Gar" Gartland
2008 Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories Sora Video game
2009 Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days Sora Video game
2010 Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep Vanitas/Sora Video game
2010 Montana Amazon Womple
2011 Kingdom Hearts Re:coded Data Sora Video game
2012 Truth & Treason Helmuth Hübener
http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t202/mathuisland/HaleyJoelOsment.jpg
http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i2/brezerandpippin/sensibility01b.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 04/10/11 at 5:49 am
The person of the day...Haley Joel Osment
Haley Joel Osment (born April 10, 1988) is an American actor. After a series of roles in television and film during the 1990s, including a small part in Forrest Gump playing the title character’s son, Osment rose to fame with his performance as Cole Sear in M. Night Shyamalan’s thriller film The Sixth Sense that earned him a nomination for Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. He subsequently appeared in leading roles in several high-profile Hollywood films including Steven Spielberg's A.I. Artificial Intelligence and Mimi Leders Pay it Forward. He made his Broadway debut in 2008 in a revival of American Buffalo, co-starring with John Leguizamo and Cedric the Entertainer.
Osment was born in Los Angeles, California; the son of Theresa Osment (née Seifert), a teacher, and Michael Eugene Osment, a theater and film actor, both natives of Alabama. Osment was raised Roman Catholic. He has one sister, four years younger, actress and singer-songwriter Emily Osment. Osment’s parents described his childhood as a “good old-fashioned Southern upbringing,” and his father said that when Osment was learning to speak, he deliberately avoided using baby talk when communicating with his son.
Osment was a student at Flintridge Preparatory School in La Cañada, California. As a child, he was talented in many sports, including basketball, football, wrestling, and golf.
Career
Osment in 2001
Osment's acting career began at the age of four, when his mother took him to a new Ikea store; a talent scout was there looking for new actors, and Osment put his name down. He got called back for an audition, and was asked to describe the biggest thing he had ever seen; Osment described an IMAX theater screen, and won the part in a Pizza Hut TV commercial, advertising their "Big Foot" pizza. The commercial launched his career; later that year he starred in the ABC TV sitcom Thunder Alley, his first role in series television. His first feature film role was as Forrest Gump's son, also named Forrest Gump, in the 1994 film of the same name. He also had a small part in another 1994 film, Mixed Nuts. Throughout the rest of 1990s, Osment played regular and/or recurring roles in various TV series; including The Jeff Foxworthy Show and the final season of Murphy Brown, where he replaced Dylan Christopher as Murphy's son, Avery. In addition, he made numerous guest appearances on shows including The Larry Sanders Show, Walker, Texas Ranger (as a child dying from AIDS), Touched by an Angel, Chicago Hope, The Pretender, and an emotional episode of Ally Mcbeal; "Angels and Blimps", in which he played a child dying from leukemia. He starred in the 1996 film Bogus, alongside Whoopi Goldberg and Gérard Depardieu, and appeared in the 1998 made-for-TV movie The Lake, with Yasmine Bleeth, as well as I'll Remember April (1999), with future The Sixth Sense co-star Trevor Morgan.
Osment first achieved major stardom in 1999, when he appeared in the blockbuster film The Sixth Sense, co-starring Bruce Willis. For his portrayal of Cole Sear, a psychic child, Osment won Saturn Award for Best Performance by a Younger Actor. He was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, becoming the second-youngest performer ever to receive an Academy nomination for a supporting role, but lost the final Oscar vote to Michael Caine (with whom he would later work, appearing together in Secondhand Lions). One of Osment's lines in The Sixth Sense, "I see dead people", became a popular catchphrase and is often repeated or parodied on television programs and in other media. He made three minor (voice-only) guest appearances on the animated TV series Family Guy in 2000.
The 2000 Academy Awards ceremony honored another future co-star, Kevin Spacey, who, along with Helen Hunt, appeared in Osment's next film, Pay It Forward (2000). The following year, he appeared in Steven Spielberg's Artificial Intelligence: A.I., cementing his stature as one of the leading young actors in Hollywood. This role earned him his second Saturn Award for Best Younger Actor, and another critical acclaim. In reviewing the movie, critic Roger Ebert claimed that: "Osment, who is onscreen in almost every scene, is one of the best actors now working". Also in 2001, Osment starred in the Polish film, Edges of the Lord, as Romek. The movie was never released theatrically in the United States.
Osment has lent his voice to animated films such as The Country Bears, The Hunchback of Notre Dame II and The Jungle Book 2. He returned to live action with the 2003 film, Secondhand Lions.
Notably, Osment has also lent his voice to the video game series, Kingdom Hearts, providing the voice of Sora, the series' main character, and also Vanitas, a villain resembling Sora. Osment also voiced the character of Takeshi Jinno, in the English version of the Immortal Grand Prix anime TV series.
He next appeared in Home of the Giants, playing a high school journalist opposite Ryan Merriman and Danielle Panabaker. He is currently working on Montana Amazon as both an actor and executive producer. The film co-stars Olympia Dukakis and is expected to be released in 2010.
Osment made his Broadway debut at the Belasco Theatre in November 2008, playing the role of "Bobby", a young heroin addict, in a revival of David Mamet's American Buffalo; co-starring with John Leguizamo and Cedric the Entertainer. The show opened to mixed reviews, and a provisional statement was made on November 20, 2008, that it would close after the first week. Osment was given one sentence in the New York Times review of the production: "Mr. Osment’s facial stubble and slumping posture fail to override the impression that he’s giving a perfect School of Disney juvenile performance." Newsday, however, said "Haley Joel Osment... has a sweet, haunting neediness as a slacker who appears to recognize a kind of death in himself."
Personal life
According to Osment's official website, he follows a mostly meat-free diet (though he does like chicken and fish), and in an interview with Daniel Robert Epstein, Osment mentioned that he plays the guitar and piano. As of 2007, he attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, from which he graduated in 2010.
Osment is an avid golfer who began playing at the age of 7. He played for the U.S. team in the All-Star Cup 2005, under team leader Mark O'Meara, and has participated in the Annual Michael Douglas & Friends Celebrity Golf Tournament.
Arrest
Osment was involved in a single-driver automobile accident on July 20, 2006, in which he struck a brick mailbox and overturned his car while driving near his home. The accident resulted in injuries including a broken rib, fractured right shoulder blade, cuts, and abrasions. In connection with this incident, Osment pleaded no contest to one count each of misdemeanor, driving under the influence of alcohol, and drug possession on October 19, 2006. He was sentenced to three years probation, 60 hours in an alcohol rehabilitation and education program, a fine of $1500, and a minimum requirement of 26 Alcoholics Anonymous meetings over a six-month period.
Filmography
Year Film Role Notes
1994 Forrest Gump Forrest Gump, Jr. Young Artist Award for Best Performance by an Actor Under Ten in a Motion Picture
Mixed Nuts Little Boy
1995 For Better or Worse Danny
1996 Bogus Albert Franklin Nominated — Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a Feature Film - Actor Age Ten or Under
1997 Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas Chip Voice (direct-to-video)
1998 Ransom of Red Chief Andy Dorset (TV movie)
1999 The Sixth Sense Cole Sear Saturn Award for Best Performance by a Younger Actor
Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Actor - Newcomer (Internet Only)
Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Young Performer
Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor
Florida Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor
Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor
Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actor
Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award for Youth in Film
Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award for Most Promising Actor
MTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough Performance
Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actor
Satellite Award for Outstanding New Talent
Southeastern Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor
Teen Choice Award for Film - Choice Breakout Performance
Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a Feature Film - Leading Young Actor
YoungStar Award for Best Young Actor/Performance in a Motion Picture Drama
Nominated — Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
Nominated — Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor
Nominated — Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Most Promising Actor
Nominated — Chlotrudis Award for Best Supporting Actor
Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture
Nominated — MTV Movie Award for Best On-Screen Duo (Shared with Bruce Willis)
Nominated — Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Debut
Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role
I'll Remember April Peewee Clayton
2000 Pay It Forward Trevor McKinney Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Supporting Actor - Drama/Romance
Nominated — Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a Feature Film - Leading Young Actor
Discover Spot Spot the Dog Voice
2001 A.I. Artificial Intelligence David Saturn Award for Best Performance by a Younger Actor
Nominated — Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Young Performer
Nominated — Empire Award for Best Actor
Nominated — Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Youth Performance
Nominated — Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a Feature Film - Leading Young Actor
Edges of the Lord Romek
2002 The Hunchback of Notre Dame II Zephyr Voice
Nominated — Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a Voice-Over Role
The Country Bears Beary Barrington Voice
Kingdom Hearts Sora Video game
2003 Secondhand Lions Walter Nominated — Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a Feature Film - Leading Young Actor
The Jungle Book 2 Mowgli Voice
Nominated — World Soundtrack Award for Best Original Song Written for a Film (Shared with Paul Grabowsky, Lorraine Feather, Mae Whitman, and Connor Funk)
Nominated — Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a Voice-Over Role - Young Actor
2004 Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories Sora Video game
2005 Immortal Grand Prix Takeshi Jinno Anime TV series; Voice (English-language)
2006 Kingdom Hearts II Sora Video game
2007 Home of the Giants Robert "Gar" Gartland
2008 Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories Sora Video game
2009 Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days Sora Video game
2010 Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep Vanitas/Sora Video game
2010 Montana Amazon Womple
2011 Kingdom Hearts Re:coded Data Sora Video game
2012 Truth & Treason Helmuth Hübener
http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t202/mathuisland/HaleyJoelOsment.jpg
http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i2/brezerandpippin/sensibility01b.jpg
He was good in Forrest Gump
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 04/10/11 at 7:24 am
Wow,he grew up so maturely.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 04/10/11 at 7:26 am
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYUCXkRh5ig
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 04/10/11 at 9:36 am
He was good in Forrest Gump
I always thought he was a fine young actor.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: CatwomanofV on 04/10/11 at 11:26 am
I think today's person of the day should be Ninny. ;)
Cat
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 04/10/11 at 1:12 pm
I think today's person of the day should be Ninny. ;)
Cat
Cause it's her birthday?
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 04/10/11 at 5:56 pm
Cause it's her birthday?
Yep :D
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 04/10/11 at 5:57 pm
I think today's person of the day should be Ninny. ;)
Cat
Thanks..that would be quick reading with my bio ;D
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 04/11/11 at 6:03 am
The person of the day...Joel Grey
Joel Grey (born April 11, 1932) is an American stage and screen actor, singer, and dancer, best known for his role as the Master of Ceremonies in both the stage and film adaptation of the Kander & Ebb musical Cabaret. He has won the Academy Award, Tony Award and Golden Globe Award.
Grey originated the role of the Master of Ceremonies in the Broadway musical Cabaret in 1966 for which he won the Tony Award. Additional Broadway credits include Come Blow Your Horn (1961), Stop the World - I Want to Get Off (1962), Half a Sixpence (1965),George M! (1968), Goodtime Charley (1975), The Grand Tour (1979), Chicago (1996), and Wicked (2003). In November 1995, he performed as the Wizard in The Wizard of Oz in Concert: Dreams Come True a staged concert of the popular story at Lincoln Center to benefit the Children's Defense Fund. The performance was originally broadcast on Turner Network Television (TNT) in November 1995, and released on CD and video in 1996.
Grey won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1972 for his performance as the Master of Ceremonies in the film version of Cabaret. His victory was part of a Cabaret near-sweep, which saw Liza Minnelli win Best Actress and Bob Fosse win Best Director, although it lost the Best Picture Oscar to The Godfather. For that role, Grey also won the BAFTA award for "The Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles" and Best Supporting Actor awards from the Golden Globes, Kansas City Film Critics Circle, National Board of Review of Motion Pictures, National Society of Film Critics, and a Tony Award for his original stage performance six years prior, making him one of only eight people who have won both a Tony Award and an Academy Award for the same role.
He has performed at The Muny in St. Louis, Missouri in roles such as George M. Cohan in George M! (1970 and 1992), the Emcee in Cabaret (1971), and Joey Evans in Pal Joey (1983).
Grey appeared as a panelist for the television game show "What's My Line?" in the 1967 season, as well as being the first mystery guest during its syndication in 1968. He was the guest star for the third episode of The Muppet Show in its first season in 1976, singing "Razzle Dazzle" from Chicago and "Willkommen" from Cabaret. He also played Master of Sinanju Chiun, Remo's elderly Korean martial arts master in the movie Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins (1985), a role that garnered him a Saturn Award and a second Golden Globe nomination for "Best Supporting Actor". In 1991, he played Adam, a devil, in the final episode of the TV series Dallas (1991). In 1993 he received an "Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series" Emmy nomination for his recurring role as Jacob Prossman on the television series Brooklyn Bridge. In 1995, he made a guest appearance on Star Trek: Voyager as an aging rebel seeking to free his (deceased) wife from prison.
In 2000, Grey played Oldrich Novy in the film Dancer in the Dark and had recurring television roles on Buffy the Vampire Slayer (as Doc, 2001), Oz (as Lemuel Idzik, 2003) and Alias (as "Another Mr. Sloane," 2005). He was a wealthy, paroled ex-convict on Law & Order: Criminal Intent (episode, "Cuba Libre", 2003). Joel Grey also originated the role of the Wizard of Oz in the hit Broadway musical Wicked. He also appeared on the shows House and Brothers & Sisters (2007), on the latter of which he played the role of Dr. Bar-Shalom, Sarah and Joe's marriage counselor. He appeared as Izzie's high school teacher who needs treatment for dementia in Grey's Anatomy (2009).
Grey returned to Broadway in spring 2011 as Moonface Martin in the Roundabout Theatre Company revival of Anything Goes at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre. He will also direct the Broadway premiere of The Normal Heart, scheduled for a limited 12-week engagement beginning in April 2011. This is a version of a staged reading he directed of this play in October 2010.
Personal life
In 1958 he married Jo Wilder; they divorced in 1982. Grey is the father of actress Jennifer Grey, the star of Dirty Dancing, and James, a chef.
Grey is also a photographer. His first book of photographs, Pictures I Had to Take, was published in 2003; its follow-up, Looking Hard at Unexpected Things, appeared in the Fall of 2006. His third book, 1.3 – Images from My Phone, is also a photography book but taken with his camera phone, was published on June 2, 2009 (Powerhouse Books). An exhibit of his work will be held in April 2011 at the Museum of the City of New York, titled "Joel Grey/A New York Life."
Work
Stage
(Source:)
Year Production Role Notes
1951 Borscht Capades credited as Joel Kaye
1961 Come Blow Your Horn Buddy Baker Replacement
1962 Stop the World - I Want to Get Off Littlechap Replacement
1965 Half a Sixpence Arthur Kipps Replacement
1966 Cabaret Master of Ceremonies Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical
1969 George M! George M. Cohan Nominee: Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical
1975 Goodtime Charley Charley Nominee: Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical
1979 The Grand Tour S. L. Jacobowsky Nominee: Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical
1987 Cabaret Master of Ceremonies Revival
1996 Chicago Amos Hart Revival
2003 Wicked The Wizard of Oz Original Broadway cast
2011 Anything Goes Moonface Martin Revival
Filmography
(Source:)
Year Film Role Notes
1952 About Face Bender
1957 Calypso Heat Wave Alex Nash
1961 Come September Beagle
1972 Cabaret Master of Ceremonies Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor
1974 Man on a Swing Franklin Wills
1976 The Seven-Per-Cent Solution Lowenstein
Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson Nate Salsbury (Cody's partner)
1985 Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins Chiun Nominated: Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor
1991 Kafka Burgel
1993 The Music of Chance Willy Stone
1994 The Dangerous Flea
1995 Venus Rising Jimmie
1996 The Empty Mirror Joseph Goebbels
My Friend Joe Simon
1999 A Christmas Carol Ghost of Christmas Past
2000 The Fantasticks Amos Babcock Bellamy
2001 Dancer in the Dark Oldrich Novy
Reaching Normal Dr. Mensley
2008 Choke Phil
Television
(Source:)
Year Production Role
1956 Producers' Showcase
1957 Telephone Time
December Bride
The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom
1958 Court of Last Resort
Little Women (special)
1959 Maverick (TV series)
Billy the Kid
1960 Bronco (TV series)
The Ann Sothern Show
1960–1961 Lawman (TV series)
1961 Yes, Yes Nanette
77 Sunset Strip
1966 My Lucky Penny (pilot)
1971 Ironside (TV series)
1972 Night Gallery
Man on a String (telefilm)
1974 'Twas the Night Before Christmas (special) Narrator/Mr. Trundel
1976 The Muppet Show Himself / Guest
1981 Paddington Bear Host
1982 Alice (TV series)
1982 The Yeomen of the Guard (special - Brent Walker productions) Jack Point
1987 Queenie (telefilm)
1991 Dallas Adam/Devil
1996 Star Trek: Voyager Caylem
1999 The Outer Limits: Essence of Life Dr. Neil Seward
2000 The Outer Limits: Simon Says Gideon Banks
2000 Buffy the Vampire Slayer Doc
2003 Oz Lemuel Idzik
Law & Order: Criminal Intent Milton Winters
2005 Alias (TV series) Another Mr. Sloane
2006 House Ezra Powell
2009 Private Practice Dr. Alexander Ball
Grey's Anatomy Dr. Singer
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http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g14/liltxgal98/cabaret.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 04/11/11 at 7:19 am
Yep :D
Happy Birthday. :)
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 04/11/11 at 5:53 pm
Happy Birthday. :)
Thanks :)
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 04/12/11 at 5:19 am
The person of the day...Andy Garcia
Andrés Arturo García Menéndez (born April 12, 1956), professionally known as Andy García, is a Cuban American actor. He became known in the late 1980s and 1990s, having appeared in several successful Hollywood films, including The Godfather: Part III, The Untouchables, and When a Man Loves a Woman. More recently, he has starred in Ocean's Eleven and its sequels, Ocean's Twelve and Ocean's Thirteen, and The Lost City.
García was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Vincent Mancini in The Godfather Part III.
García began acting at Florida International University, but soon went to Hollywood. He started to perform in very short roles, working part-time as waiter and in a warehouse. His chance arose when he was offered a role as a gang member in the first episode of the popular TV series Hill Street Blues. His supporting role in 1985's The Mean Season alongside Kurt Russell brought García wider visibility, although the film fared poorly at the box office. Director Brian De Palma liked his performance in the 1986 movie 8 Million Ways to Die and engaged him the following year for The Untouchables, which made García a popular Hollywood actor.
In 1989, Francis Ford Coppola was casting The Godfather Part III. The character of Vincent Mancini, the illegitimate son of Sonny Corleone, was an exceptional part in a highly anticipated film. García was one of many actors who wanted to be cast, but he also bore a resemblance to the young Al Pacino. He won the part, earned an Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actor for his performance and became an internationally acclaimed star.
Garcia followed that with films such as 1990's Internal Affairs, in which he engages in a war of wills with a corrupt fellow police officer, played by Richard Gere. Subsequently, he performed in a wide variety of theatrical and TV films.
He played a conflicted good samaritan in Hero (1992), the enabling husband of an alcoholic in When a Man Loves a Woman (1994), a doomed criminal in Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead (1995), a crusading lawyer in the drama Night Falls on Manhattan (1997), and a cop trying to save his gravely ill son in the action thriller Desperate Measures (1998).
One of his most well-known performances was as the ruthless Las Vegas casino owner Terry Benedict in 2001's Ocean's Eleven, a remake of the 1960 Rat Pack caper movie. García reprised the role for the 2004 sequel, although the part was significantly smaller than the one in the first film. He also appeared briefly in Ocean's Thirteen (2007).
In 2005, he released The Lost City, which he co-wrote, directed, and starred in, alongside Dustin Hoffman and Bill Murray. Upon its release, The Lost City sparked controversy among many in Latin America due to its negative portrayal of the Cuban Revolution, and in particular Che Guevara, who continues to have substantial popularity there. He was also present at the Cannes Film Festival for his role in this movie. In 2006, he appeared in the last episode of the Turkish TV series Kurtlar Vadisi (Valley of the Wolves).
In 2010, he appeared on the BBC's Top Gear Star in a Reasonably Priced Car segment, recording a time of 1:46.1 in the Kia Cee'd.
Personal life
At the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival with Julianna Margulies (left) and his daughter Dominik Garcia-Lorido.
In 1982, García married María Victoria Lorido. He is the father of four children: Dominik Garcia-Lorido (b. August 16, 1983), Daniella (b. January 3, 1988), Alessandra (b. June 20, 1991) and Andres (b. January 28, 2002). The García family lives in Los Angeles and Miami.
García's niece Jackie was the longtime girlfriend of the late Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor, who was shot by intruders in their Miami-area home on November 26, 2007 and who died from his wounds on November 27, 2007. The two were home with their 18-month-old daughter Jackie when the incident took place. García attended Taylor's funeral, and released a statement to the Miami Herald calling Taylor a hero for saving the life of his niece and their infant daughter.
Garcia is a supporter of the Republican Party.
Filmography
Film
Year Film Role Notes
1983 Blue Skies Again Ken
A Night in Heaven T. J. The Bartender
1984 The Lonely Guy Uncredited
1985 The Mean Season Ray Martínez
1986 8 Million Ways to Die Angel Moldonado
1987 The Untouchables Agent George Stone/Giuseppe Petri
1988 Stand and Deliver Dr. Ramírez
American Roulette Carlos Quintas
1989 Black Rain Det. Charlie Vincent
1990 Internal Affairs Raymond Avilla
A Show of Force Luis Ángel Mora
The Godfather Part III Vincent Mancini Nominated — Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture
1991 Dead Again Gray Baker
1992 Hero John Bubber
Jennifer Eight Sgt. John Berlin
1994 When a Man Loves a Woman Michael Green Nominated — MTV Movie Award for Most Desirable Male
1995 Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead Jimmy "The Saint" Tosnia
Dangerous Minds Scenes deleted
Steal Big Steal Little Ruben Partida Martinez/Robert Martin/Narrator
1997 Night Falls on Manhattan Sean Casey Nominated — ALMA Award for Outstanding Actor in a Feature Film also for The Disappearance of Garcia Lorca
The Disappearance of Garcia Lorca Federico García Lorca Nominated — ALMA Award for Outstanding Actor in a Feature Film also for Night Falls on Manhattan
Hoodlum Charlie "Lucky" Luciano
1998 Desperate Measures Frank Conner ALMA Award for Outstanding Actor in a Feature Film
1999 Just the Ticket Gary Starke Nominated — ALMA Award for Outstanding Actor in a Feature Film
2000 Lakeboat Guigliani
2001 The Unsaid Michael Hunter Direct-to-DVD release
Ocean's Eleven Terry Benedict ALMA Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture
Nominated — DVD Exclusive Award for Best Audio Commentary shared with Brad Pitt and Matt Damon
Nominated — Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Cast
2002 The Man from Elysian Fields Byron
2003 Confidence Special Agent Gunther Butan
2004 Twisted Mike Delmarco
The Lazarus Child Jack Heywood
Modigliani Amedeo Modigliani
Ocean's Twelve Terry Benedict Nominated — Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Cast
2005 The Lost City Fico Fellove Imagen Foundation Award for Best Director
Nominated — ALMA Award for Outstanding Director - Motion Picture
Nominated — Imagen Foundation Award for Best Actor
2007 Smokin' Aces Stanley Locke
The Air I Breathe Fingers
Ocean's Thirteen Terry Benedict Nominated — Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Chemistry entire cast
2008 Beverly Hills Chihuahua Delgado Voice only
La Linea Javier Salazar
2009 The Pink Panther 2 Inspector Vicenzo Brancaleone
The National Parks: America's Best Idea Various historical figures (voice)
New York, I Love You Garry
City Island Vince Rizzo Nominated - Satellite Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
2010 The Last Full Measure Fred Navarro in production
5 Days of August Mikheil Saakashvili completed
Across the Line Jorge Garza completed
2011 Cristiada Enrique Gorostieta Velarde in post-production
Television
Year Title Role Notes
1978 ¿Qué Pasa, USA? Carmen's Boyfriend Episode: "Here Comes the Bride"
1979 Archie Bunker's Place Manuel Episode: "Building the Restaurant"
1981, 1984 Hill Street Blues Street Kid
Ernesto Episode: "Hill Street Station"
Episode: "Hair Apparent"
1983 For Love and Honor Medic Episode: "For Love and Honor" (pilot)
1984 Murder, She Wrote 1st White Tough Episode: "The Murder of Sherlock Holmes" (pilot)
Brothers Jose Episode: "Happy Birthday Me!"
1985 The New Alfred Hitchcock Presents Alejandro Episode: "Breakdown"
1999 Swing Vote Joseph Michael Kirkland ABC Television movie
2000 For Love or Country: The Arturo Sandoval Story Arturo Sandoval Also producer
Nominated — Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor – Miniseries or a Movie
Nominated — Emmy Award for Outstanding Made for Television Movie shared with Jellybean Benitez and Celia D. Costas
Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film
Nominated — Satellite Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film
2001 Frasier Terrance Episode: "Bully for Martin"
2003 Will & Grace Milo Episode: "Field of Queens"
2005 Kurtlar Vadisi Amon Episode: 4.96
Episode: 4.97
2006 George Lopez Ray Episode: "George Doesn't Trustee Angie's Brother"
2009 Lopez Tonight Himself
2010 Top Gear Himself Series 15 Episode 4
Other awards and nominations
ALMA Awards
* 2001: Nominated, "Outstanding Host of a Variety or Awards Special" - 1st Annual Latin Grammy Awards (shared w/Gloria Estefan, Jennifer Lopez & Jimmy Smits)
* 2006: Won, "Anthony Quinn Award for Achievement in Motion Pictures"
Nostros Golden Eagle Awards
* 1997: Won, "Outstanding Performer in Film"
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Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 04/12/11 at 7:04 am
Ninny,Are you still doing word of the day too? ???
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 04/12/11 at 7:26 pm
Ninny,Are you still doing word of the day too? ???
No sorry Howie.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 04/12/11 at 7:33 pm
No sorry Howie.
It's ok,no problem. :)
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 04/13/11 at 1:28 am
No sorry Howie.
Have you ran out of words?
http://www.inthe00s.com/Smileys/easter/grin.gif
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 04/13/11 at 5:48 am
Have you ran out of words?
http://www.inthe00s.com/Smileys/easter/grin.gif
It just got to hard thinking of a word to go with the person.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 04/13/11 at 5:51 am
The person of the day..Ron Perlman
Ronald N. "Ron" Perlman (born April 13, 1950) is an American television, film and voice over actor. He is known for having played "Vincent" in the TV series Beauty and the Beast, "Slade" in the animated series Teen Titans, Clay Morrow in Sons of Anarchy, the comic book character Hellboy in both the eponymous film and the sequel, and as the narrator of the post-apocalyptic game series, Fallout. He is currently the narrator of the television series 1000 Ways to Die on Spike.
Perlman made his feature film debut in Jean-Jacques Annaud's film Quest for Fire (1981). After various minor and supporting roles in films and television series, his breakthrough role came when he played Vincent in the TV series Beauty and the Beast, opposite Linda Hamilton from 1987 to 1990. This earned him a Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series in 1989.
He went on to play roles in many films and television series throughout the 1980s and 1990s as well as the 2000s. His most notable film appearances were in films such as The Name of the Rose (1986), Romeo is Bleeding (1993), The Adventures of Huck Finn (1993), Police Academy: Mission to Moscow (1994), The Last Supper (1995), The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996), Alien Resurrection (1997), Enemy at the Gates (2001), Blade II and Star Trek Nemesis (both 2002) and two Stephen King story-to-movie adaptations, Sleepwalkers and Desperation. His appearances in television series include Highlander: The Series, The Outer Limits and The Magnificent Seven.
He played his first leading film role in 1995, when he played the gargantuan oaf "One" in Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro's The City of Lost Children. In 2003, Perlman starred in a commercial for Stella Artois beer. This commercial, which was called "Devil's Island," won a Silver Award at the 2003 British Advertising Awards. He got another leading film role in 2004 when he played the title role in the comic book adaptation Hellboy. Perlman reprised his role as Hellboy in Hellboy II: The Golden Army, released on July 11, 2008.
In 2008, Perlman joined the cast of the TV show Sons of Anarchy on FX. He plays Clay Morrow, the president of the motorcycle club and the protagonist's stepfather.
Roles that required make-up
Perlman as Hellboy
He is known for playing roles which require make-up, some to the point where his entire body is covered or his face requires full facial prosthetics. Some examples include his first film role in Quest for Fire (film), where he played a neanderthal, The Name of the Rose where he plays a disfigured hunchback, Beauty and The Beast, where he played Vincent, a man with the face of a half-man half-lion-like beast, The Island of Dr. Moreau where he plays a half man/half animal and the Hellboy films where he plays a demon. He even gave his Beauty and The Beast co-star Armin Shimerman advice when Shimerman was going to be in full-facial prosthetics as Quark for Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.
Voice-over work
Perlman also has a successful career as a voice actor in addition to his onscreen acting, having portrayed characters in numerous video games and animated series. These include Vice Principal Lancer in Danny Phantom, Kurtis Stryker in Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm, Justice in Afro Samurai and various characters in DC Comics based series such as the villainous Slade, a version of DC character Deathstroke the Terminator, in the Teen Titans animated series, Clayface in Batman: The Animated Series, Jax-Ur in Superman: The Animated Series, Orion in Justice League and Justice League Unlimited, Killer Croc, Rumor, Bane in The Batman and Doctor Double X in Batman: The Brave and the Bold.
His video game credits include Lord Terrence Hood, Fleet Admiral in command of Earth's space defences against the Covenant in the games Halo 2 and Halo 3, Jagger Valance in The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay, and Batman in Justice League Heroes. He is well-known by Fallout fans for narrating the introductory movies in the series, including uttering the famous phrase "War. War never changes." in each installment. He also voices "Slade" in the 2008 Turok game, and Emil Blonsky/Abomination in Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction and Conan for the PS3.
Personal life
He has been married to Opal Perlman since February 14, 1981; they have two children, a daughter, Blake Amanda (born 1984), and a son, Brandon Avery (born 1990). Perlman has volunteered as an actor with the Young Storytellers Program.
Filmography
Film
Perlman at the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival
* Quest for Fire (1981) – Amoukar
* The Ice Pirates (1984) – Zeno
* The Name of the Rose (1986) – Salvatore
* Sleepwalkers (1992) – Captain Soames
* Cronos (1993) – Angel De La Guardia
* Romeo Is Bleeding (1993) – Jack's attorney
* Double Exposure (1993) – John McClure
* The Adventures of Huck Finn (1993) – Pap Finn
* Police Academy: Mission to Moscow (1994) – Konstantine Konali
* The City of Lost Children (1995) – One
* The Adventures of Captain Zoom in Outer Space (1995) (TV) – Lord Vox
* The Last Supper (1995) – Norman Arbuthnot
* Fluke (1995) – Sylvester
* The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996) – Sayer of the Law
* The Second Civil War (1997) (TV) – Alan Manieski
* Prince Valiant (1997) – Boltar
* Alien Resurrection (1997) – Johner
* I Woke Up Early the Day I Died (1998) – Cemetery Caretaker
* Happy, Texas (1999) – Marshal Nalhober
* Primal Force (1999) – Frank Brodie
* The Trial of Old Drum (2000) – Charles (Donny's Dad)
* Operation Sandman (2000) – Dr. Harlan Jessup
* Price of Glory (2000) – Nick Everson
* Down (aka The Shaft) (2001) – Mitchell
* Enemy at the Gates (2001) – Koulikov
* Blade II (2002) – Dieter Reinhardt
* Crime and Punishment (2002) – Dusharo
* Star Trek Nemesis (2002) – Reman Viceroy
* Hoodlum & Son (2003) – 'Ugly' Jim McCrae
* Absolon (2003) – Murchison
* Two Soldiers (2003) – Colonel McKellog
* Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003) – VP for Never Learning
* Hellboy (2004) – Hellboy
* Missing in America (2005) – Red
* Local Color (2006) – Curtis Sunday
* The Last Winter (2006) – Ed Pollack
* Desperation (2006) (TV) – Deputy Collie Entragian
* 5ive Girls (2006) – Father Drake
* In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale (2007) – Norick
* Masters of Horror: John Carpenter: Pro-Life (2007) – Dwayne Burcell
* Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008) – Hellboy
* Mutant Chronicles (2008) – Brother Samuel
* Outlander (2008) – Gunnar
* Uncross the Stars (2008) – Bobby Walden
* The Devil's Tomb (2009) – Wesley
* Dark Country (2009) – Deputy Thompson
* I Sell The Dead (2009) – Father Duffy
* The Job (2009) – Jim
* Acts of Violence (2010) – Priest Bill
* Bunraku (2010) – Nicola
* Crave (2010) – Pete
* Season of the Witch (2011) – Felson
* Conan the Barbarian (2011) – Corin
Television
* Our Family Honor (1985) – Bausch
* Miami Vice (1987) – Episode "Walk-alone"
* Beauty and the Beast (1987–1990) – Vincent
* Arly Hanks (1993) – Jim-Bob Buchanan
* Highlander: The Series (1996) – The Messenger (one episode)
* A Town Has Turned to Dust (1998) – Jerry Paul
* The Outer Limits (1998) – Lt. Col. Brandon Grace (one episode)
* The Magnificent Seven (1998–2000) – Josiah Sanchez
* Charmed (2000) – Mr Kellerman (one episode)
* The Tick (2001) – Fiery Blaze (one episode)
* Masters of Horror (2006) – Dwayne Burcell (one episode)
* Sons of Anarchy (2008–present) – Clarence "Clay" Morrow
* 1000 Ways to Die (2009–present) – Narrator
Voice work
* Batman: The Animated Series (1992–1993) (TV series) – Clayface
* Animaniacs (1993) (TV series) – Satan, Sgt. Sweete
* Phantom 2040 (1994) (TV series) – Graft
* Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm (1995) (TV series) – Kurtis Stryker
* Fantastic Four (1995) (TV series) – Wizard, Hulk
* Aladdin (1994) (TV series) – Arbutus
* Iron Man (1995) (TV series) – Dr. Bruce Banner/The Hulk
* Chronomaster (1995) (video game) – Rene Korda
* Hey Arnold! (1996) (TV series) – Mickey Kaline
* Duckman (1996) (TV series) Roland Thompson
* Fallout (1997) (video game) – Butch Harris, narrator
* An American Tail: The Treasure of Manhattan Island (1998) – Grasping
* The New Batman Adventures (1997–1998) (TV series) – Clayface
* Fallout 2 (1998) (video game) – Narrator
* Superman: The Animated Series (1999) (TV series) – Jax-Ur
* Titan A.E. (2000) – Professor Sam Tucker
* Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel (2001) (video game) – Narrator
* Icewind Dale: Heart of Winter (2001) (video game) – Wylfdene
* Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu (2003) (video game) – Clayface
* True Crime: Streets of LA (2003) (video game) – Misha
* Lords of EverQuest (2003) (video game) – Lord Skass
* Justice League Unlimited (2004–2006) (TV series) – Clayface, Orion
* Teen Titans (2003–2006) (TV series) – Slade
* The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay (2004) (video game) – Jagger Valance
* Danny Phantom (2004–2007) (TV series) – Mr. Lancer
* Halo 2 (2004) (video game) – Fleet Admiral Lord Terrence Hood
* Gun (2005) (video game) – Mayor Hoodoo Brown
* Tarzan II (2005) – Kago
* The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction (2005) (video game) – Emil Blonsky/The Abomination
* Teen Titans (2005) (video game) – Slade
* The Batman (2005) Killer Croc
* Scooby-Doo! in Where's My Mummy? (2005) – Hotep/Ancient One #2
* The Outfit (2005) (video game) – Tommy Mac
* Scooby-Doo! Pirates Ahoy! (2006) – Captain Skunkbeard/Biff Wellington
* Justice League Heroes (2006) (video game) – Bruce Wayne/Batman
* Hellboy: Sword of Storms (2006) (TV) – Hellboy
* Afro Samurai (2007) (TV) – Justice
* Kim Possible (2007) (TV) – Worhok
* Hellboy: Blood and Iron (2007) (TV) – Hellboy
* Battle for Terra (2007) – Elder Vorin
* Halo 3 (2007) (video game) – Fleet Admiral Lord Terrence Hood
* Conan (2007) (video game) – Conan of Cimmeria
* Avatar: The Last Airbender (2007) (TV series) – Fire Lord Sozin
* Hellboy: The Science of Evil (2008) (video game) – Hellboy
* Fallout 3 (2008) (video game) – Narrator
* Turok (2008) (video game) – Slade
* Spirit of the Forest (2008) – Oak
* Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) (TV series) – Gha Nachkt
* Afro Samurai (2009) (video game) – Justice
* The Strain (2009) (audio book) – Narrator
* Fallout: New Vegas (2010) (video game) – Narrator
* Archer (2010) (TV series) – Ramon Limon
* Batman: The Brave and the Bold (2010) (TV series) – Doctor Double X
* Tangled (2010) - Stabbington Brothers (voice)
* Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes (2010) - Bi-Beast and The Mandarin (voice)
* Adventure Time (2011) - The Lich King
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Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 04/13/11 at 6:49 am
It just got to hard thinking of a word to go with the person.
Oh,It's easy.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 04/13/11 at 6:51 am
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Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 04/13/11 at 12:13 pm
It just got to hard thinking of a word to go with the person.
It is hard to not repeat yourself with words, and then to think new ones it can be a struggle.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 04/13/11 at 10:43 pm
It is hard to not repeat yourself with words, and then to think new ones it can be a struggle.
So true, a lot of times I think I repeat the person I used last year. :-[
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 04/14/11 at 6:32 am
The person of the day...Anthony Michael Hall
Michael Anthony Hall (born April 14, 1968), known professionally as Anthony Michael Hall, is an American actor, film producer and director who starred in several teen-oriented films of the 1980s. Hall began his career in commercials and on stage as a child, and made his screen debut in 1980. His films with director-screenwriter John Hughes, beginning with the popular 1984 coming-of-age comedy Sixteen Candles, shaped his early career. Hall's next movies with Hughes were the teen classics The Breakfast Club and Weird Science, both in 1985. His performances as lovable geeks in these three films connected his name and face with the stereotype for an entire generation.
Hall diversified his roles to avoid becoming typecast as his geek persona, joining the cast of Saturday Night Live (1985–1986) and starring in films such as Out of Bounds (1986), Johnny Be Good (1988), Edward Scissorhands (1990) and Six Degrees of Separation (1993). After a series of minor roles in the 1990s, he starred as Microsoft's Bill Gates in the 1999 television film Pirates of Silicon Valley. He had the leading role in the USA Network series The Dead Zone, from 2002 to 2007. During its run, the show was one of the highest-rated cable television series.
Hall started his career in commercials when he was seven years old. He was the Honeycomb cereal kid and appeared in several commercials for toys and Bounty. His stage debut was in 1977, when he was cast as the young Steve Allen in Allen's semi-autobiographical play The Wake. He went on to appear in the Lincoln Center Festival's production of St. Joan of the Microphone, and in a play with Woody Allen. In 1980, he made his screen debut in the Emmy-winning TV movie The Gold Bug, in which he played the young Edgar Allan Poe, but it was not until the release of the 1982 Kenny Rogers film Six Pack that he gained real notice.
Anthony Michael Hall as Rusty Griswold in 1983's National Lampoon's Vacation
The following year, Hall landed the role of Rusty Griswold, Chevy Chase and Beverly D'Angelo's son, in National Lampoon's Vacation, catching the attention of the film's screenwriter John Hughes, who was about to make the jump to directing. "For to upstage Chevy, I thought, was a remarkable accomplishment for a 13-year-old kid," said Hughes. The film was a significant box office hit in 1983, grossing over US$61 million in the United States. After Vacation, Hall moved on to other projects and declined to reprise his role in the 1985 sequel.
Hall's breakout role came in 1984, when he was cast as Farmer Ted, the scrawny, braces-wearing geek, who pursued Molly Ringwald's character in John Hughes' directing debut Sixteen Candles. Hall tried to avoid the clichés of geekness. "I didn't play him with 100 pens sticking out of his pocket," he said. "I just went in there and played it like a real kid. The geek is just a typical freshman." Hall landed a spot on the promotional materials, along with co-star Ringwald. Reviews of the film were positive for Hall and his co-stars, and one for People Weekly even claimed that Hall's performance " the film" from Ringwald. Despite achieving only moderate success at the box office, the film made overnight stars of Ringwald and Hall.
Hall as Brian Johnson from 1985's The Breakfast Club
Hall starred in two 1985 teen classics, both written and directed by John Hughes. He was cast as Brian Johnson, "the brain," in the quintessential teen film The Breakfast Club, co-starring Emilio Estevez, Judd Nelson, Ally Sheedy, and Ringwald. Film critic Janet Maslin praised Hall, stating that the 16-year-old actor and Ringwald were "the movie's standout performers." Later that year, Hall portrayed Gary Wallace, another likable misfit, in Weird Science. Critic Sheila Benson from the Los Angeles Times said "Hall the role model supreme" for the character, but she also acknowledged that "he outgrowing the role" and " need to hold the patent on the bratty bright kid." Weird Science was a moderate success at the box office but was generally well-received for a teen comedy. Those roles established him as the 80s "nerd-of-choice", as well as a member in good standing of Hollywood's Brat Pack. Hall, who portrayed John Hughes' alter egos in Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club and Weird Science, credits the director for putting him on the map and giving him those opportunities as a child. "I had the time of my life", he said. "I'd consider any day of the week."
Hall joined the cast of Saturday Night Live (SNL) during its 1985–86 season at the age of 17. He was, and remains, the youngest cast member in the show's history. His recurring characters on the show were 'Craig Sundberg, Idiot Savant,' an intelligent, talented teenager with a vacant expression and stilted speech, and 'Fed Jones,' one half of the habitually high, hustling pitchmen known as The Jones Brothers (the other Jones Brother was played by short-lived featured player Damon Wayans). Art Garfunkel, Edd Byrnes, Robert F. Kennedy and Daryl Hall were among Hall's celebrity impersonations. Hall had admired the show and its stars as a child, but he found the SNL environment to be far more competitive than he had imagined. "My year there, I didn't have any breakout characters and I didn't really do the things I dreamed I would do," he said, "but I still learned a lot, and I value that. I'll always be proud of the fact that I was a part of its history."
To avoid being typecast, Hall turned down roles written for him by John Hughes in Ferris Bueller's Day Off (Cameron Frye) and Pretty in Pink (Phil "Duckie" Dale), both in 1986. Instead, he starred in the 1986 film Out of Bounds, Hall's first excursion into the thriller and action genre. The film grossed only US$5 million domestically, and was a critical and financial disappointment. Critic Roger Ebert described Out of Bounds as "an explosion at the cliché factory," and Caryn James from the New York Times claimed that not even "Hall, who made nerds seem lovable in John Hughes' Sixteen Candles and The Breakfast Club, do much to reconcile" the disparate themes of the movie.
Hall was offered the starring role in the 1987 film Full Metal Jacket in a conversation with Stanley Kubrick, but after an eight-month negotiation, a financial agreement could not be reached. "It was a difficult decision, because in that eight-month period, I read everything I could about the guy, and I was really fascinated by him," Hall said when asked about the film. "I wanted to be a part of that film, but it didn't work out. But all sorts of stories circulated, like I got on set and I was fired, or I was pissed at him for shooting too long. It's all not true." He was replaced with Matthew Modine. His next film would be 1988's Johnny Be Good, in which he worked with Uma Thurman and fellow Saturday Night Live cast member Robert Downey Jr.. The film was a critical failure, and some critics panned Hall's performance as a high school football star, claiming that he, the movies' reigning geek, was miscast for the role. A review for The Washington Post claimed that the film was "crass, vulgar, and relentlessly brain-dead."
1990s
After a two-year hiatus due to a drinking problem, Hall returned to acting by starring opposite Johnny Depp and Winona Ryder in Tim Burton's 1990 hit Edward Scissorhands, this time as the film's villain. By then in his 20s, he shifted to more mature roles, trying to establish himself as an adult actor. After Scissorhands, he appeared in a series of low-budget films, including the 1992 comedy Into the Sun, where he starred as a visiting celebrity at a military air base. Film critic Janet Maslin praised his performance, writing that "Mr. Hall, whose earlier performances (in films like National Lampoon's Vacation and Sixteen Candles) have been much goofier, remains coolly funny and graduates to subtler forms of comedy with this role." The following year, he played a gay man who teaches down-and-out Will Smith to dupe rich people in the critically acclaimed film Six Degrees of Separation. Hall claimed that it was "the hardest role ever had."
In 1994, Hall starred in and directed his first feature film, a low-budget Showtime comedy named Hail Caesar about a would-be rock star who works in a pencil eraser factory. The film also co-starred Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Downey Jr., and Judd Nelson. In addition, he produced the soundtrack for the film with composer Herbie Tribino. The film featured songs written and performed by Hall.
Hall (left) and Noah Wyle in 1999's Pirates of Silicon Valley
After a series of appearances in low-budget films and guest roles on TV series in the mid and late 1990s, he gained media attention once again in the 1999 Emmy-nominated TNT original movie Pirates of Silicon Valley, co-starring Noah Wyle as Apple Computer's Steve Jobs. Hall was widely praised for his portrayal of Microsoft billionaire Bill Gates. "I really fought for this part because I knew it would be the role of a lifetime," Hall said. "It was a thrill and a daunting challenge to play someone of his stature and brilliance." Hall described his physical appearance as 20-year-old Gates to the San Francisco Chronicle:
"First, you have to lose the neck." The top six inches of his spine seem to disappear. "You go down, down. You lose the body; you get softer shoulders, you slump, you create a little gut." He is almost there. "Then you extend the neck and you do a little duck walk." He walks across the room. Add ill-fitting clothes, mop-top hair, a pair of oversize glasses and a cold stare, and the impersonation is complete.
2000s
After making a cameo appearance as himself in the 2000 comedy film Happy Accidents, Hall appeared in several made-for-TV films. He starred opposite Sheryl Lee as a cheating husband in the 2001 USA Network cable movie Hitched. That same year, he played renowned music producer Robert "Mutt" Lange in VH1's original movie Hysteria: The Def Leppard Story and starred as legendary lefty baseball pitcher Whitey Ford in Billy Crystal's highly acclaimed HBO film, 61*.
On the big screen, Hall took on supporting roles in the mystery-drama The Caveman's Valentine (2001) opposite Samuel L. Jackson, the critically panned Freddy Got Fingered (2001) opposite Tom Green, and the action-comedy All About the Benjamins (2002) opposite Ice Cube.
Hall began his first regular series role in 2002, starring as Johnny Smith in USA Network's supernatural drama The Dead Zone, a TV series adapted from Stephen King's best-selling novel. He was cast in the show after executive producer Michael Piller saw his performance in Pirates of Silicon Valley. The show debuted on June 16, 2002, and drew higher ratings for a premiere than any other cable series in television history with 6.4 million viewers. The Dead Zone quickly developed a loyal audience, with the show and Hall receiving strong reviews. The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review wrote that "Hall's Johnny flashes the qualities - comic timing, great facial expressions - that made him a star in the 1980s movies Sixteen Candles and The Breakfast Club." The Dead Zone, Hall said, "has transformed my career." The show proved to be one of USA Network's top shows and one of the highest-rated programs on basic cable.
The Dead Zone opening credits list Hall as co-producer (seasons 1-3), producer (seasons 5) and co-executive producer (season 6). Hall also directed an episode from season three, "The Cold Hard Truth", guest starring standup comic Richard Lewis. ", I feel, is my best work as a director, because I had this great crew that knows me well and has been working with me", said Hall. "I also had the best script that I've had an opportunity to direct." The show's sixth and final season premiered on June 17, 2007. USA Network officially canceled The Dead Zone in December 2007.
Hall also participated in Mind Freak's 10th episode of season 4.
In addition, Hall is developing film and television projects under his production company banner AMH Entertainment. Most recently, Hall starred in Aftermath, an independent crime-drama film, with Tony Danza and Chris Penn. In 2008, Hall appeared as Gotham City television reporter/anchor Mike Engel in The Dark Knight.
2010s
In 2010, Hall made a guest appearance on the NBC series Community, a natural choice given that the characters on the show often compare their situation to the film The Breakfast Club.
In the media
Hall became a regular subject of tabloid media after New York Magazine named him a member of the "Brat Pack", the group of young actors who became famous in the 1980s and frequently starred together. In the late '80s, Hall's drinking problem, which began in his early teens, made headlines. Hall eventually quit drinking and became fully sober by 1990. "The truth is, I had my partying nights, but I never really bounced at the bottom", he said. "I never went to rehab...I was able to govern myself and continue my work."
In 1990, Hall's physical appearance in Edward Scissorhands caught audiences off guard. His more muscular image provoked rumors of steroids, but Hall later said that "the weight gain was natural."
Hall's role in the 1993 film Six Degrees of Separation managed to make news not because of what occurred onscreen, but rather what failed to occur. Hall played a gay love interest to Will Smith, who had previously agreed to a kissing scene between the two. However, on the day of the shoot, Smith backed off. Smith told the press that he called Denzel Washington for advice, who told him that an onscreen same-sex kiss was a bad career move. When asked about the incident during an interview, Hall said, "I didn't care. I wasn't that comfortable with it, either, and ultimately, we used a camera trick."
Hall is referenced in the "Homer to the Max" episode of The Simpsons, wherein Homer Simpson discovers that a television character shares his name. Marge compares it to an apparent past incident involving Hall, stating "it's just a coincidence, like that guy named Anthony Michael Hall that stole your car stereo", to which Bart replies "right, 'coincidence'".
Recognition
The 2001 film Not Another Teen Movie pays tribute to Hall's numerous appearances in the teen-oriented, '80s comedy films parodied by the movie. A brief shot of the sign over the door of a high school cafeteria reveals that the facility is named the "Anthony Michael Dining Hall." In 2006, Hall was ranked # 4 in VH1's list of the "100 Greatest Teen Stars" and # 41 in "100 Greatest Kid Stars."
In June 2005, The Breakfast Club was rewarded with the "Silver Bucket of Excellence Award" at the MTV Movie Awards, in honor of the film's twentieth anniversary. MTV attempted to reunite the original cast; Sheedy, Ringwald, and Hall appeared together on stage, and Paul Gleason personally gave the award to his former castmates. Estevez could not attend because of family commitments, and Nelson appeared earlier on the red carpet but left before the on-stage reunion for reasons unknown. Hall joked that the two were "in Africa with Dave Chappelle."
Selected filmography
Films
Year Film Role Other notes
1980 The Gold Bug Young Edgar Allan Poe Made-for-TV
1981 Jennifer's Journey Michael
1982 Rascals and Robbers: The Secret Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn Huckleberry (Huck) Finn Made-for-TV
Six Pack Doc
1983 National Lampoon's Vacation Russell 'Rusty' Griswold
1984 Sixteen Candles Farmer Ted (The Geek)
1985 The Breakfast Club Brian R. Johnson
Weird Science Gary Wallace
1986 Out of Bounds Daryl Cage
1988 Johnny Be Good Johnny Walker
1990 Edward Scissorhands Jim
A Gnome Named Gnorm Casey Gallagher
Whatever Happened to Mason Reese Mason Reese Voice
1992 Into the Sun Tom Slade
1993 Six Degrees of Separation Trent Conway
1994 Hail Caesar Julius Caesar McMurty Also director
Texas Yancey Quimper Made-for-TV
Who Do I Gotta Kill? Jimmy's Friend Kevin Friedland
1995 A Bucket of Blood Walter Paisley Made-for-TV
Ripple Marshall Gray
1996 Hijacked: Flight 285 Peter Cronin Made-for-TV
Exit in Red Nick
The Grave Travis
1997 Trojan War Bus Driver
Cold Night Into Dawn Eddie Rodgers
1999 Pirates of Silicon Valley Bill Gates Made-for-TV
A Touch of Hope Dean Kraft Made-for-TV
2 Little, 2 Late Mr. Burggins
Revenge Brian Cutler
Dirt Merchant Jeffry Alan Spacy
2000 Happy Accidents Himself Cameo
The Photographer Greg
2001 Hitched Ted Robbins Made-for-TV
The Caveman's Valentine Bob
Freddy Got Fingered Mr. Dave Davidson
Hysteria - The Def Leppard Story Robert "Mutt" Lange
61* Whitey Ford Made-for-TV
2002 All About the Benjamins Lil J
2005 Funny Valentine Josh Also co-producer
2007 LA Blues Larry
Final Approach Greg Gilliad Made-for-TV
2008 The Dark Knight Mike Engel
2009 Aftermath Tom Fiorini Also producer
Television
Year Show Role Other notes
1985–1986 Saturday Night Live Various Cast member
1993 Tales from the Crypt Reggie Skulnick Ep. # 5.9
1995 NYPD Blue Hanson Riker Ep. # 2.13
Deadly Games Chuck Manley Ep. # 1.6
1996 Murder, She Wrote Les Franklin Ep. # 12.22
Touched by an Angel Thomas Prescott Ep. # 2.22
1997 The Jamie Foxx Show Tim Ep. # 2.6
Diagnosis: Murder Dr. Johnson Ep. # 5.6
1998 Poltergeist: The Legacy John Griffin Ep. # 3.8
1999 Touched by an Angel Thomas Prescott Ep. # 5.22
The Crow: Stairway to Heaven Officer Reid Truax Ep. # 1.21
2007 Entourage Himself Ep. # 4.02
2002–2007 The Dead Zone Johnny Smith Starring role, also producer
2009 Community (NBC) Mike Ep. # 1.12
2010 CSI: Miami Dr. James Bradstone Ep. # 8.14
2011 No Ordinary Family Ray Ep. #16
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Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 04/14/11 at 6:54 am
So true, a lot of times I think I repeat the person I used last year. :-[
that's quite alright,I don't mind. :)
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 04/14/11 at 6:56 am
http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRd9MJoKoe5-ROsegjFkDyB1SyhIVmt5SV7N6EyCh5NIq7UVkW6&t=1
He doesn't look any different,He's pretty much the same.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 04/14/11 at 10:00 am
http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRd9MJoKoe5-ROsegjFkDyB1SyhIVmt5SV7N6EyCh5NIq7UVkW6&t=1
He doesn't look any different,He's pretty much the same.
He's gotten a lot bigger (stronger) than when he was a teenager.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: CatwomanofV on 04/14/11 at 11:01 am
He's gotten a lot bigger (stronger) than when he was a teenager.
I would say he improved with age.
Cat
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 04/14/11 at 12:34 pm
He's gotten a lot bigger (stronger) than when he was a teenager.
He's more mature.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 04/15/11 at 6:03 am
The person of the day...Emma Thompson
Emma Thompson (born 15 April 1959) is a British actress, comedian and screenwriter. Her first major film role was in the 1989 romantic comedy The Tall Guy. In 1992, Thompson won multiple acting awards, including an Academy Award and a BAFTA Award for Best Actress, for her performance in the British drama Howards End. The following year Thompson garnered dual Academy Award nominations, as Best Actress for The Remains of the Day and as Best Supporting Actress for In the Name of the Father.
In 1995, Thompson scripted and starred in Sense and Sensibility, a film adaptation of the Jane Austen novel of the same name, which earned her an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay and a BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role. Other notable film and television credits have included the Harry Potter film series, Wit (2001), Love Actually (2003), Angels in America (2003), Nanny McPhee (2005), Stranger than Fiction (2006), Last Chance Harvey (2008), An Education (2009), and Nanny McPhee Returns (2010).
Thompson is also a patron of the Refugee Council and President of the Teaching Awards.
Thompson's earliest television appearances included the comedy sketch show Alfresco, broadcast in 1983 and 1984 (as well as its three-part pilot There's Nothing to Worry About, shown in 1982), which also featured Ben Elton, Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie. Also in 1984 she guested alongside Fry and Laurie in the episode "Bambi" of the sitcom The Young Ones, playing Miss Money-Sterling. Her breakthrough began in 1987 with her role as red-haired rock guitarist Suzi Kettles in the cult TV series Tutti Frutti. This was followed by acclaim for the BBC series Fortunes of War in which she starred with her then future husband, Kenneth Branagh. For these two 1987 roles she won a BAFTA for Best Actress. In 1988, she starred in and wrote the eponymous Thompson comedy sketch series for BBC1; the series was not successful with audiences or critics. Described in Time Out magazine as "very clever-little-me-ish", it has never been repeated in Britain despite her Oscar successes, and Thompson has not returned to the sketch comedy field.
Thompson's first major film role was in Richard Curtis's romantic comedy The Tall Guy (1989) co-starring Jeff Goldblum. Her career took a more serious turn with a series of critically acclaimed performances and films, beginning with Howards End (1992), for which she received an Oscar for best actress; the part of Gareth Peirce, the lawyer for the Guildford Four, in In the Name of the Father; The Remains of the Day opposite Anthony Hopkins; and as the British painter Dora Carrington in the film Carrington.
Thompson won her next Oscar in 1996, for best adapted screenplay for her adaptation of Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility, a film directed by Ang Lee, in which she also played the Oscar-nominated lead role opposite Hugh Grant. She has said that she keeps both of her award statues in her downstairs bathroom, citing embarrassment at placing them in a more prominent place.
Thompson's recent television work has included a starring role in the 2001 HBO drama Wit, in which she played a dying cancer patient, and 2003's Angels in America, playing multiple roles, including one of the titular angels. Her Emmy Award was as a guest star in a 1997 episode of the show Ellen; in this episode she played a fictionalised parody of herself: a closeted lesbian more concerned with the media finding out she is actually American. She also appeared in an episode of Cheers in 1992 titled "One Hugs, the Other Doesn't".
Thompson at the London premiere of Nanny McPhee, 2005
More recently, Thompson appeared in supporting roles such as Sybill Trelawney in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. She also appeared in the 2003 comedy Love Actually. The film Nanny McPhee, adapted by Thompson from Christianna Brand's Nurse Matilda books, was first released in October 2005. Thompson worked on the project for nine years, having written the screenplay and starred alongside her mother (who has a cameo appearance). In the film Stranger than Fiction she plays an author planning on killing her main character, Harold Crick, who turns out to be a real person. Most recently, Thompson made a short uncredited cameo as a doctor introducing the cure for cancer in the form of measles in the latest film adaptation of I Am Legend, and starred in Last Chance Harvey opposite Dustin Hoffman, Eileen Atkins and Kathy Baker. In 2009, she appeared in An Education and The Boat That Rocked, the new Richard Curtis film, which also starred Gemma Arterton, Philip Seymour Hoffman, January Jones, Kenneth Branagh, Bill Nighy, Nick Frost, Jack Davenport and Rhys Ifans.
Thompson reprised her role as Sybill Trelawney in the two-part film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. She will also voice Queen Elinor in the upcoming 2012 Pixar film Brave
Thompson is a supporter of Greenpeace. It was announced on 13 January 2009 that, with three other members of the organisation, she had bought land near the village of Sipson, under threat from a proposed third runway for Heathrow Airport. It was hoped that possession of the land, half the size of a football pitch, would make it possible to prevent the government from carrying through its plan to expand the airport.
Bought for an undisclosed sum from a local land owner, the plot was to be split into small squares and sold across the globe. Thompson said, "I don't understand how any government remotely serious about committing to reversing climate change can even consider these ridiculous plans. It's laughably hypocritical. That's why we've bought a plot on the runway. We'll stop this from happening even if we have to move in and plant vegetables."
Personal life
While at Cambridge, Thompson had a romantic involvement with actor Hugh Laurie, a fellow Footlights member and an undergraduate at Selwyn College, just across the road from Newnham. Thompson continues her friendship with Laurie.
She married actor Kenneth Branagh on 20 August 1989. They acted together several times, in the TV series Fortunes of War, and in hit movies such as Dead Again, Henry V and Much Ado About Nothing. They divorced in October 1995.
Thompson married actor Greg Wise in 2003 in Dunoon, Scotland, where she has a second home. The couple have a daughter, Gaia Romilly, born in 1999. In 2003, the couple informally adopted a 16-year-old Rwandan refugee named Tindyebwa Agaba. They successfully resisted his deportation back to Rwanda, his family having been killed in the genocide.
Political views
Thompson has said of her religious and political views: "I'm an atheist; I suppose you can call me a sort of libertarian anarchist. I regard religion with fear and suspicion. It's not enough to say that I don't believe in God. I actually regard the system as distressing: I am offended by some of the things said in the Bible and the Qur'an, and I refute them." She told the BBC Andrew Marr Show in March 2010 that she had been a member of the Labour Party "all my life." Thompson is also a Palestinian human rights activist, having been a member of the British-based ENOUGH! coalition that seeks to end the "Israeli occupation of the Gaza Strip and West Bank."
Filmography
Film
Year↓ Film↓ Role↓ Notes
1989 Henry V Catherine of Valois
1989 Tall Guy, TheThe Tall Guy Kate Lemmon
1991 Dead Again Grace
Margaret Strauss
1991 Impromptu Duchess d'antan (Claudette) Nominated — Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female
1992 Howards End Margaret Schlegel Academy Award for Best Actress
BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role
Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress
David di Donatello Award for Best Foreign Actress (Migliore Attrice Straniero)
Evening Standard British Film Awards — Best Actress
Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama
Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress
National Board of Review Award for Best Actress
National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actress
New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress
Southeastern Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress
1992 Peter's Friends Maggie Chester Evening Standard British Film Award for Best Actress
1993 Much Ado About Nothing Beatrice Evening Standard British Film Award for Best Actress
Nominated — Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead
1993 Remains of the Day, TheThe Remains of the Day Miss Kenton David di Donatello Award for Best Foreign Actress (Migliore Attrice Straniero)
Evening Standard British Film Award for Best Actress
Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress
Nominated — Academy Award for Best Actress
Nominated — BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role
Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama
1993 In the Name of the Father Gareth Peirce Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated — Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture
1994 Junior Dr. Diana Reddin Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
1995 Carrington Dora Carrington National Board of Review Award for Best Actress
1995 Sense and Sensibility Elinor Dashwood Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay
BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role
Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Screenplay
Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Writer
Evening Standard British Film Awards - Best Adapted Screenplay
Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Screenplay
National Board of Review Award for Best Actress
New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Screenplay
USC Scripter Award
Writers Guild of America Award for Best Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published
Writers' Guild of Great Britain Award for Film - Screenplay
Nominated — BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay
Nominated — Academy Award for Best Actress
Nominated — Chlotrudis Award for Best Actress
Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama
Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
1997 Winter Guest, TheThe Winter Guest Frances Pasinetti Award for Best Actress
Nominated — British Independent Film Award for Best Actress
Nominated — European Film Award for Best Actress
Nominated — Chlotrudis Award for Best Actress
1998 Primary Colors Susan Stanton Nominated — American Comedy Award for Funniest Actress in a Motion Picture (Leading Role)
Nominated — Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Actress - Drama
Nominated — European Film Award for Outstanding European Achievement in World Cinema
1998 Judas Kiss Sadie Hawkins
2000 Maybe Baby Druscilla
2002 Treasure Planet Captain Amelia animated film (voice only)
Nominated — Annie Award for Outstanding Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production
2003 Imagining Argentina Cecilia
2003 Love Actually Karen Empire Award for Best Actress
Evening Standard British Film Awards - Best Actress
London Film Critics Circle Awards for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated — BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Nominated — Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated — Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Ensemble Acting
Nominated — Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture
2004 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban Professor Sybill Trelawney
2005 Nanny McPhee Nanny McPhee writing credits
2006 Stranger than Fiction Karen Eiffel Nominated — Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated — London Critics Circle Film Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated — Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress
2007 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Professor Sybill Trelawney
2007 I Am Legend Dr. Alice Krippin uncredited cameo
2008 Brideshead Revisited Lady Marchmain Nominated — Audience Award for Best International Actress
Nominated — British Independent Film Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated — London Film Critics Circle Awards for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated — Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture
2008 Last Chance Harvey Kate Walker Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
2009 Education, AnAn Education Headmistress
2009 Boat That Rocked, TheThe Boat That Rocked Charlotte
2010 Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang Nanny McPhee known as Nanny McPhee Returns in North America
2011 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 Professor Sybill Trelawney
2012 Brave Queen Elinor Voice
2012 Men in Black III Agent O Filming
* Sources for Awards: Evening Standard British Film Awards — IMDB: Emma Thompson Awards
Television
Year↓ Title↓ Role↓ Notes
1982 Cambridge Footlights Revue various characters TV-special, 1 episode
1982 There's Nothing to Worry About! Mrs. Wally TV-series, 3 episodes
1983-84 Alfresco various characters TV-series, 13 episodes
1984 Young Ones, TheThe Young Ones Miss Money-Sterling TV-series, episode Bambi
1987 Tutti Frutti Suzi Kettles Cult BBC TV Series starring Emma and Robbie Coltrane bringing both to national prominence. Written by John Byrne
1987 Fortunes of War Harriet Pringle British Academy Television Award for Best Actress (jointly with work on Tutti Frutti)
1988 Thompson Various Roles TV-series
1989 Look Back in Anger Alison Porter TV-film
1990 Winslow Boy, TheThe Winslow Boy Catherine Winslow TV-film
1992 Cheers Nanette Guzman TV-series, 1 episode
1994 Blue Boy, TheThe Blue Boy Marie Bonnar TV-film
1997 Ellen Herself TV-series, 1 episode
Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress – Comedy Series
1997 Hospital! Elephant Woman TV-series, 1 episode
2001 Wit Vivian Bearing TV-film
Best Actress at the Valladolid International Film Festival
Humanitas Prize for 90 Minute or Longer Cable Category
Christopher Award for Television & Cable
Nominated — Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards for Best Actress — TV-Film
Nominated — Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress – Miniseries or a Movie
Nominated — Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Dramatic Special
Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film
Nominated — Satellite Award for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film
Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Miniseries or TV Movie
2003 Angels in America Nurse Emily
the Homeless Woman
the Angel America TV-series
Nominated — Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress – Miniseries or a Movie
Nominated — Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film
Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Miniseries or TV Movie
2010 Song of Lunch, TheThe Song of Lunch She
Theatre
The following is a partial list of Thompson's theatre credits:
* 1982 - Appeared in Not the Nine O'Clock News - UK tour.
* 1982 - Co-wrote and appeared in Beyond the Footlights - Lyric Hammersmith, London.
* 1984 - Wrote and starred in the one woman show Short Vehicle - Edinburgh Festival.
* 1984/5 - Played Sally in the Haymarket Theatre, Leicester production of the musical Me and My Girl, co-starring with Robert Lindsay. The show then successfully transferred to the Adelphi Theatre, London. (The book for Me and My Girl was adapted by Stephen Fry)
* 1989 - Played Alison in Look Back in Anger by John Osborne - Lyric Shaftesbury, London.
* 1990 - Played The Fool in Shakespeare's King Lear and Helena in A Midsummer Night's Dream - International tour.
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k74/nicoletteautumn/Emma-Thompson.jpg
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f44/sevenweblog3/Emma_Thompson.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 04/15/11 at 6:04 am
I would say he improved with age.
Cat
Very true
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 04/15/11 at 6:47 am
http://cdn.mos.totalfilm.com/images/e/emma-thompson-making-new-nanny-mcphee-pic-800-75.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: CatwomanofV on 04/15/11 at 12:21 pm
Emma Thompson is a fantastic actress.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ldI_zGXWdE
I just love the way she delivers this line:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5eAbQfpR0c&feature=related
Cat
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 04/16/11 at 5:06 am
The person of the day...Dusty Springfield
Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien OBE (16 April 1939 – 2 March 1999), known professionally as Dusty Springfield, was a British pop singer whose career extended from the late 1950s to the 1990s. With her distinctive sensual sound, she was an important white soul singer, and at her peak was one of the most successful British female performers, with 18 singles in the Billboard Hot 100 from 1964 to 1970. She is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the U.K. Music Hall of Fame. International polls have named Springfield among the best female rock artists of all time.
Born in North London to an Irish Catholic family that enjoyed music, Springfield learned to sing at home. She joined her first professional group, The Lana Sisters, in 1958, then formed the pop-folk vocal trio The Springfields in 1960 with her brother Dion.
Her solo career began in 1963 with the upbeat pop hit, "I Only Want To Be With You" (1963). Among the hits that followed were "Wishin' and Hopin'" (1964), "I Just Don't Know What to Do with Myself" (1964), "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me" (1966), and "Son of a Preacher Man" (1968). A fan of American pop music, she was the first public figure to bring little-known soul singers to a wider British audience, when she created and hosted the first British performances of the top-selling Motown artists in 1965. By 1966, she was the best selling female singer in the world, and topped a number of popularity polls, including Melody Maker's Best International Vocalist. She was the first British singer to top the New Musical Express readers' poll for Female Singer. Her image, supported by a peroxide blonde beehive hairstyle, evening gowns, and heavy make-up, made her an icon of the Swinging Sixties.
The marked changes in pop music in the mid-1960s left many female pop singers out of fashion. To boost her credibility as a soul artist, Springfield went to Memphis, Tennessee, to record an album of pop and soul music with the Atlantic Records main production team. Released in 1969, Dusty in Memphis has been ranked among the greatest albums of all time by Rolling Stone and VH1 artists, New Musical Express readers, and the Channel 4 viewers polls. The album was also awarded a spot in the Grammy Hall of Fame.
After this, however, Springfield's success dipped for eighteen years. She returned to the Top 20 of the British and American charts in collaboration with the Pet Shop Boys on the songs "What Have I Done to Deserve This?", "Nothing Has Been Proved" and "In Private". Interest in Springfield's early output was revived in 1994 due to the inclusion of "Son of a Preacher Man" on the soundtrack of the movie Pulp Fiction.
Dusty Springfield's first single, "I Only Want to Be with You", written and arranged by Ivor Raymonde, was released in November 1963. It was produced by Johnny Franz in a manner similar to Phil Spector's "Wall of Sound", and included rhythm and blues features such as horn sections, backing singers and double-tracked vocals, along with pop music strings, in the style of girl bands that Springfield admired, such as The Shirelles. The song rose to No.4 on the British charts, leading to its nomination as a "Sure Shot" pick of records not yet charted in the U.S. by New York disc jockey "Dandy" Dan Daniel of WMCA radio in December 1963, preceding Beatlemania. It remained on the American Billboard Hot 100 for 10 weeks, peaking at No.12. The release finished as No.48 on New York's WABC radio Top 100 for 1964. The song was the first record played on BBC-TV's Top of the Pops programme on 1st January 1964. It sold over one million copies and was awarded a gold disc in the U.K.
Springfield's debut album A Girl Called Dusty included mostly covers of her favourite songs. Among the tracks were "Mama Said", "When the Lovelight Starts Shining Through His Eyes", "You Don't Own Me" and "Twenty Four Hours from Tulsa". The album reached #6 in the U.K. in May 1964. The chart hits "Stay Awhile", "All Cried Out" and "Losing You" followed the same year. In 1964, Springfield recorded two Burt Bacharach songs: "Wishin' and Hopin'—an American Top 10 hit— and the emotional "I Just Don't Know What to Do with Myself", which reached #3 on the British chart. The latter song set the standard for much of her later material.
Springfield's tour of South Africa was interrupted in December 1964, and she was deported, after she performed before an integrated audience at a theatre near Cape Town, which was against the South African government's segregation policy. In the same year, she was voted the Top Female British Artist of the year in the New Musical Express poll, topping Lulu, Sandie Shaw, and Cilla Black. Springfield received the award again the following three years.
In 1965, Springfield took part in the Italian Song Festival in San Remo, and failed to qualify for the final with two songs. During the competition, she heard the song "Io Che Non Vivo (Senza Te)". Its English version, "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me", featured lyrics written by Springfield's friend, Vicki Wickham, and her future manager, Simon Napier-Bell. It reached No.1 in the UK in May 1966 and reached No.4 on the weekly Billboard Hot 100 in the United States, where it was also No.35 on the Billboard Top 100 for 1966. The song, which Springfield called "good old schmaltz", was voted among the All Time Top 100 Songs by the listeners of BBC Radio 2 in 1999.
In 1965, Springfield released three more British Top 40 hits: "Your Hurtin' Kinda Love", "In the Middle of Nowhere", and Carole King's "Some of Your Lovin'". These were not included on the album Ev'rything's Coming Up Dusty, which featured songs by Leslie Bricusse, Anthony Newley, Rod Argent and Randy Newman, and a cover of the traditional Mexican song, "La Bamba". This album peaked at #6 in the U.K.
Springfield was instrumental in introducing Motown to a wider British audience, both with her covers of Motown songs, and in facilitating the first British TV appearance for The Temptations, The Supremes, The Miracles, and Stevie Wonder on a special edition of the Ready Steady Go! show, called The Sound Of Motown. The show was broadcast on 28 April 1965 by Rediffusion TV, with Springfield opening each half of the show accompanied by Martha Reeves and the Vandellas and Motown's in-house band The Funk Brothers.
Springfield released three additional U.K. Top 20 hits in 1966: "Little By Little" and two dramatic ballads by Carole King: "Goin' Back" and "All I See Is You", which also reached the US Top 20. In August and September 1966, she hosted Dusty, a series of six BBC TV music and talk shows. A compilation of her singles, Golden Hits, released in November 1966, reached #2 in the U.K.
Late 1960s (1967–69)
"The Look of Love"
Play sound
Sample from "The Look of Love".
Problems listening to this file? See media help.
The Bacharach-David composition "The Look of Love" was designed as the centrepiece for the James Bond parody Casino Royale. For one of the slowest-tempo hits of the sixties, Bacharach created a sultry feel by the use of minor-seventh and major-seventh chord changes, while Hal David's lyrics epitomised longing and lust. This song was recorded in two versions at the Philips Studios of London. The soundtrack version was recorded on 29 January and the single release version was done in April. "The Look of Love" was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Song of 1967. The song was a Top 10 radio hit on KGB-AM, San Diego, CA and KHJ-AM, Los Angeles radio stations in the western United States, and earned her highest place in the year's music charts at #22.
The second season of the BBC's Dusty TV shows, featuring performances of "Get Ready" and the U.K. #13 hit "I'll Try Anything", attracted a healthy audience but the show did not keep up with changes in the pop music market. The comparatively progressive album Where Am I Going? attempted to redress this by containing songs such as a "jazzy", orchestrated version of "Sunny" and Jacques Brel's "If You Go Away". Though it was appreciated critically, it did not sell well. In 1968, a similar fate befell Dusty... Definitely. On this album, her choice of material ranged from the rolling "Ain't No Sun Since You've Been Gone" to the aching emotion of "I Think It's Gonna Rain Today". In that same year, Springfield had a British #4 hit, "I Close My Eyes and Count to Ten", written by Clive Westlake. Its flipside, "No Stranger am I", was written by Norma Tanega.
In 1969 Springfield was at her commercial and creative height; she was performing for £1,000 a night on sold-out tours, had her own TV shows, It Must Be Dusty on ITV, and Decidedly Dusty on BBC, and released the album Dusty in Memphis and the single "Son of a Preacher Man".
Dusty in Memphis (1968–1969)
Main article: Dusty in Memphis
Cover of U.S. release of Dusty in Memphis
In 1968, Carole King, one of Springfield's songwriters, embarked on a singing career of her own, while the chart-peaking Bacharach-David partnership was foundering. Springfield's status in the music industry was further complicated by the progressive music revolution and the uncomfortable split between what was underground and "fashionable" and what was pop and "unfashionable". In addition, her performing career was becoming limited to the British touring circuit, which at that time largely consisted of working men's clubs and the hotels and cabarets circuit. Hoping to reinvigorate her career and boost her credibility, Springfield signed with Atlantic Records, the record label of one of her idols, Aretha Franklin. The Memphis sessions at the American Sound Studio were recorded by the A-team of Atlantic Records: producers Jerry Wexler, Tom Dowd, and Arif Mardin; the back-up vocal band Sweet Inspirations; and the instrumental band Memphis Cats, led by guitarist Reggie Young and bass guitar player Tommy Cogbill. The producers were the first to recognise that Springfield's natural soul voice should be placed at the forefront, rather than competing with full string arrangements. At first, Springfield felt anxious about being compared with the soul greats who had recorded in the same studios. Springfield later stated that she had never before worked with just a rhythm track, and that it was the first time she had worked with outside producers, as she had self-produced her previous recordings (although she never took credit for it). Due to what Wexler called a "gigantic inferiority complex" and Ms. Springfield's pursuit of perfection, her vocals were recorded later in New York. During the Memphis sessions in November 1968, Dusty suggested that the heads of Atlantic Records should sign the newly-formed band Led Zeppelin. She knew the band's bass player, John Paul Jones, who had backed her in concerts. Without having ever seen them and largely on Dusty's advice, the record company signed a $200,000 deal with them. That was the biggest contract of its kind for a new band up until that time.
"Son of a Preacher Man"
Play sound
Sample from "Son of a Preacher Man".
Problems listening to this file? See media help.
The album Dusty in Memphis received excellent reviews on its initial releases both in the U.S. and the U.K. Greil Marcus of Rolling Stone magazine wrote:"... most of the songs... have a great deal of depth while presenting extremely direct and simple statements about love.... Dusty sings around her material, creating music that's evocative rather than overwhelming... Dusty is not searching—she just shows up, and she, and we, are better for it." The sales numbers failed to match the critical success; the album did not crack the British Top 15 and peaked at #99 on the American Billboard Top 200 with sales of 100,000 copies. However, Dusty in Memphis earned Springfield a nomination for the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance in 1970, and by 2001, the album had received the Grammy Hall of Fame award, and was listed among the greatest albums of all time by Rolling Stone and VH1 artists, New Musical Express readers, and the Channel 4 viewers polls.
The main song on the album, "Son of a Preacher Man", was written by John Hurley and Ronnie Wilkins. It reached #10 on the British, American and international music charts. Its best results in continental Europe were #10 on the Austrian charts and #3 on the Swiss charts. The song was the 96th most popular song of 1969 in the United States. The writers of Rolling Stone magazine placed Springfield's release at #77 among 'The 100 Best Singles of the Last 25 Years' in 1987. The record was placed at #43 of the 'Greatest Singles of All Time' by the writers of New Musical Express in 2002. In 2004, the song made the Rolling Stone list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time at #240. In 1994 the song was featured in a scene of the film Pulp Fiction, and the soundtrack reached No. 21 on the Billboard 200, and at the time, went platinum (100,000 units) in Canada alone. "Son of a Preacher Man" helped the album sell over 2 million copies in the U.S., and it reached #6 on the charts
Dusty Springfield was one of the best-selling British singers of the 1960s. She was voted the Top British Female Artist by the readers of the New Musical Express in 1964–1967 and 1969. Of the female singers of the British Invasion, Springfield made one of the biggest impressions on the American market, scoring 18 singles in the Billboard Hot 100 from 1964 to 1970. The music press considers her as an iconic figure of the Swinging Sixties. Quentin Tarantino caused a revival of interest in her music in 1994 by including "Son of a Preacher Man" in the Pulp Fiction soundtrack, which sold over three million copies. In that same year, in the documentary Dusty Springfield. Full Circle, guests of her 1965 Sound of Motown show credited Springfield's efforts with popularising American soul music in the UK. She was known all over Europe, and performed at the Sanremo Music Festival. She released a number of singles in French, German and Italian.
Main article: Dusty Springfield discography
* 1964: A Girl Called Dusty
* 1965: Ev'rything's Coming Up Dusty
* 1967: Where Am I Going?
* 1968: Dusty... Definitely
* 1969: Dusty in Memphis
* 1970: A Brand New Me
* 1972: See All Her Faces
* 1973: Cameo
* 1974: Longing (Unreleased)
* 1978: It Begins Again
* 1979: Living Without Your Love
* 1982: White Heat
* 1990: Reputation
* 1995: A Very Fine Love
http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll317/llrar/Dusty.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w240/jjdaly81/ec369793.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 04/16/11 at 5:08 am
The person of the day...Dusty Springfield
Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien OBE (16 April 1939 – 2 March 1999), known professionally as Dusty Springfield, was a British pop singer whose career extended from the late 1950s to the 1990s. With her distinctive sensual sound, she was an important white soul singer, and at her peak was one of the most successful British female performers, with 18 singles in the Billboard Hot 100 from 1964 to 1970. She is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the U.K. Music Hall of Fame. International polls have named Springfield among the best female rock artists of all time.
Born in North London to an Irish Catholic family that enjoyed music, Springfield learned to sing at home. She joined her first professional group, The Lana Sisters, in 1958, then formed the pop-folk vocal trio The Springfields in 1960 with her brother Dion.
Her solo career began in 1963 with the upbeat pop hit, "I Only Want To Be With You" (1963). Among the hits that followed were "Wishin' and Hopin'" (1964), "I Just Don't Know What to Do with Myself" (1964), "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me" (1966), and "Son of a Preacher Man" (1968). A fan of American pop music, she was the first public figure to bring little-known soul singers to a wider British audience, when she created and hosted the first British performances of the top-selling Motown artists in 1965. By 1966, she was the best selling female singer in the world, and topped a number of popularity polls, including Melody Maker's Best International Vocalist. She was the first British singer to top the New Musical Express readers' poll for Female Singer. Her image, supported by a peroxide blonde beehive hairstyle, evening gowns, and heavy make-up, made her an icon of the Swinging Sixties.
The marked changes in pop music in the mid-1960s left many female pop singers out of fashion. To boost her credibility as a soul artist, Springfield went to Memphis, Tennessee, to record an album of pop and soul music with the Atlantic Records main production team. Released in 1969, Dusty in Memphis has been ranked among the greatest albums of all time by Rolling Stone and VH1 artists, New Musical Express readers, and the Channel 4 viewers polls. The album was also awarded a spot in the Grammy Hall of Fame.
After this, however, Springfield's success dipped for eighteen years. She returned to the Top 20 of the British and American charts in collaboration with the Pet Shop Boys on the songs "What Have I Done to Deserve This?", "Nothing Has Been Proved" and "In Private". Interest in Springfield's early output was revived in 1994 due to the inclusion of "Son of a Preacher Man" on the soundtrack of the movie Pulp Fiction.
Dusty Springfield's first single, "I Only Want to Be with You", written and arranged by Ivor Raymonde, was released in November 1963. It was produced by Johnny Franz in a manner similar to Phil Spector's "Wall of Sound", and included rhythm and blues features such as horn sections, backing singers and double-tracked vocals, along with pop music strings, in the style of girl bands that Springfield admired, such as The Shirelles. The song rose to No.4 on the British charts, leading to its nomination as a "Sure Shot" pick of records not yet charted in the U.S. by New York disc jockey "Dandy" Dan Daniel of WMCA radio in December 1963, preceding Beatlemania. It remained on the American Billboard Hot 100 for 10 weeks, peaking at No.12. The release finished as No.48 on New York's WABC radio Top 100 for 1964. The song was the first record played on BBC-TV's Top of the Pops programme on 1st January 1964. It sold over one million copies and was awarded a gold disc in the U.K.
Springfield's debut album A Girl Called Dusty included mostly covers of her favourite songs. Among the tracks were "Mama Said", "When the Lovelight Starts Shining Through His Eyes", "You Don't Own Me" and "Twenty Four Hours from Tulsa". The album reached #6 in the U.K. in May 1964. The chart hits "Stay Awhile", "All Cried Out" and "Losing You" followed the same year. In 1964, Springfield recorded two Burt Bacharach songs: "Wishin' and Hopin'—an American Top 10 hit— and the emotional "I Just Don't Know What to Do with Myself", which reached #3 on the British chart. The latter song set the standard for much of her later material.
Springfield's tour of South Africa was interrupted in December 1964, and she was deported, after she performed before an integrated audience at a theatre near Cape Town, which was against the South African government's segregation policy. In the same year, she was voted the Top Female British Artist of the year in the New Musical Express poll, topping Lulu, Sandie Shaw, and Cilla Black. Springfield received the award again the following three years.
In 1965, Springfield took part in the Italian Song Festival in San Remo, and failed to qualify for the final with two songs. During the competition, she heard the song "Io Che Non Vivo (Senza Te)". Its English version, "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me", featured lyrics written by Springfield's friend, Vicki Wickham, and her future manager, Simon Napier-Bell. It reached No.1 in the UK in May 1966 and reached No.4 on the weekly Billboard Hot 100 in the United States, where it was also No.35 on the Billboard Top 100 for 1966. The song, which Springfield called "good old schmaltz", was voted among the All Time Top 100 Songs by the listeners of BBC Radio 2 in 1999.
In 1965, Springfield released three more British Top 40 hits: "Your Hurtin' Kinda Love", "In the Middle of Nowhere", and Carole King's "Some of Your Lovin'". These were not included on the album Ev'rything's Coming Up Dusty, which featured songs by Leslie Bricusse, Anthony Newley, Rod Argent and Randy Newman, and a cover of the traditional Mexican song, "La Bamba". This album peaked at #6 in the U.K.
Springfield was instrumental in introducing Motown to a wider British audience, both with her covers of Motown songs, and in facilitating the first British TV appearance for The Temptations, The Supremes, The Miracles, and Stevie Wonder on a special edition of the Ready Steady Go! show, called The Sound Of Motown. The show was broadcast on 28 April 1965 by Rediffusion TV, with Springfield opening each half of the show accompanied by Martha Reeves and the Vandellas and Motown's in-house band The Funk Brothers.
Springfield released three additional U.K. Top 20 hits in 1966: "Little By Little" and two dramatic ballads by Carole King: "Goin' Back" and "All I See Is You", which also reached the US Top 20. In August and September 1966, she hosted Dusty, a series of six BBC TV music and talk shows. A compilation of her singles, Golden Hits, released in November 1966, reached #2 in the U.K.
Late 1960s (1967–69)
"The Look of Love"
Play sound
Sample from "The Look of Love".
Problems listening to this file? See media help.
The Bacharach-David composition "The Look of Love" was designed as the centrepiece for the James Bond parody Casino Royale. For one of the slowest-tempo hits of the sixties, Bacharach created a sultry feel by the use of minor-seventh and major-seventh chord changes, while Hal David's lyrics epitomised longing and lust. This song was recorded in two versions at the Philips Studios of London. The soundtrack version was recorded on 29 January and the single release version was done in April. "The Look of Love" was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Song of 1967. The song was a Top 10 radio hit on KGB-AM, San Diego, CA and KHJ-AM, Los Angeles radio stations in the western United States, and earned her highest place in the year's music charts at #22.
The second season of the BBC's Dusty TV shows, featuring performances of "Get Ready" and the U.K. #13 hit "I'll Try Anything", attracted a healthy audience but the show did not keep up with changes in the pop music market. The comparatively progressive album Where Am I Going? attempted to redress this by containing songs such as a "jazzy", orchestrated version of "Sunny" and Jacques Brel's "If You Go Away". Though it was appreciated critically, it did not sell well. In 1968, a similar fate befell Dusty... Definitely. On this album, her choice of material ranged from the rolling "Ain't No Sun Since You've Been Gone" to the aching emotion of "I Think It's Gonna Rain Today". In that same year, Springfield had a British #4 hit, "I Close My Eyes and Count to Ten", written by Clive Westlake. Its flipside, "No Stranger am I", was written by Norma Tanega.
In 1969 Springfield was at her commercial and creative height; she was performing for £1,000 a night on sold-out tours, had her own TV shows, It Must Be Dusty on ITV, and Decidedly Dusty on BBC, and released the album Dusty in Memphis and the single "Son of a Preacher Man".
Dusty in Memphis (1968–1969)
Main article: Dusty in Memphis
Cover of U.S. release of Dusty in Memphis
In 1968, Carole King, one of Springfield's songwriters, embarked on a singing career of her own, while the chart-peaking Bacharach-David partnership was foundering. Springfield's status in the music industry was further complicated by the progressive music revolution and the uncomfortable split between what was underground and "fashionable" and what was pop and "unfashionable". In addition, her performing career was becoming limited to the British touring circuit, which at that time largely consisted of working men's clubs and the hotels and cabarets circuit. Hoping to reinvigorate her career and boost her credibility, Springfield signed with Atlantic Records, the record label of one of her idols, Aretha Franklin. The Memphis sessions at the American Sound Studio were recorded by the A-team of Atlantic Records: producers Jerry Wexler, Tom Dowd, and Arif Mardin; the back-up vocal band Sweet Inspirations; and the instrumental band Memphis Cats, led by guitarist Reggie Young and bass guitar player Tommy Cogbill. The producers were the first to recognise that Springfield's natural soul voice should be placed at the forefront, rather than competing with full string arrangements. At first, Springfield felt anxious about being compared with the soul greats who had recorded in the same studios. Springfield later stated that she had never before worked with just a rhythm track, and that it was the first time she had worked with outside producers, as she had self-produced her previous recordings (although she never took credit for it). Due to what Wexler called a "gigantic inferiority complex" and Ms. Springfield's pursuit of perfection, her vocals were recorded later in New York. During the Memphis sessions in November 1968, Dusty suggested that the heads of Atlantic Records should sign the newly-formed band Led Zeppelin. She knew the band's bass player, John Paul Jones, who had backed her in concerts. Without having ever seen them and largely on Dusty's advice, the record company signed a $200,000 deal with them. That was the biggest contract of its kind for a new band up until that time.
"Son of a Preacher Man"
Play sound
Sample from "Son of a Preacher Man".
Problems listening to this file? See media help.
The album Dusty in Memphis received excellent reviews on its initial releases both in the U.S. and the U.K. Greil Marcus of Rolling Stone magazine wrote:"... most of the songs... have a great deal of depth while presenting extremely direct and simple statements about love.... Dusty sings around her material, creating music that's evocative rather than overwhelming... Dusty is not searching—she just shows up, and she, and we, are better for it." The sales numbers failed to match the critical success; the album did not crack the British Top 15 and peaked at #99 on the American Billboard Top 200 with sales of 100,000 copies. However, Dusty in Memphis earned Springfield a nomination for the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance in 1970, and by 2001, the album had received the Grammy Hall of Fame award, and was listed among the greatest albums of all time by Rolling Stone and VH1 artists, New Musical Express readers, and the Channel 4 viewers polls.
The main song on the album, "Son of a Preacher Man", was written by John Hurley and Ronnie Wilkins. It reached #10 on the British, American and international music charts. Its best results in continental Europe were #10 on the Austrian charts and #3 on the Swiss charts. The song was the 96th most popular song of 1969 in the United States. The writers of Rolling Stone magazine placed Springfield's release at #77 among 'The 100 Best Singles of the Last 25 Years' in 1987. The record was placed at #43 of the 'Greatest Singles of All Time' by the writers of New Musical Express in 2002. In 2004, the song made the Rolling Stone list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time at #240. In 1994 the song was featured in a scene of the film Pulp Fiction, and the soundtrack reached No. 21 on the Billboard 200, and at the time, went platinum (100,000 units) in Canada alone. "Son of a Preacher Man" helped the album sell over 2 million copies in the U.S., and it reached #6 on the charts
Dusty Springfield was one of the best-selling British singers of the 1960s. She was voted the Top British Female Artist by the readers of the New Musical Express in 1964–1967 and 1969. Of the female singers of the British Invasion, Springfield made one of the biggest impressions on the American market, scoring 18 singles in the Billboard Hot 100 from 1964 to 1970. The music press considers her as an iconic figure of the Swinging Sixties. Quentin Tarantino caused a revival of interest in her music in 1994 by including "Son of a Preacher Man" in the Pulp Fiction soundtrack, which sold over three million copies. In that same year, in the documentary Dusty Springfield. Full Circle, guests of her 1965 Sound of Motown show credited Springfield's efforts with popularising American soul music in the UK. She was known all over Europe, and performed at the Sanremo Music Festival. She released a number of singles in French, German and Italian.
Main article: Dusty Springfield discography
* 1964: A Girl Called Dusty
* 1965: Ev'rything's Coming Up Dusty
* 1967: Where Am I Going?
* 1968: Dusty... Definitely
* 1969: Dusty in Memphis
* 1970: A Brand New Me
* 1972: See All Her Faces
* 1973: Cameo
* 1974: Longing (Unreleased)
* 1978: It Begins Again
* 1979: Living Without Your Love
* 1982: White Heat
* 1990: Reputation
* 1995: A Very Fine Love
http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll317/llrar/Dusty.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w240/jjdaly81/ec369793.jpg
:\'(
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 04/16/11 at 5:11 am
The person of the day...Dusty Springfield
Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien OBE (16 April 1939 – 2 March 1999), known professionally as Dusty Springfield, was a British pop singer whose career extended from the late 1950s to the 1990s. With her distinctive sensual sound, she was an important white soul singer, and at her peak was one of the most successful British female performers, with 18 singles in the Billboard Hot 100 from 1964 to 1970. She is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the U.K. Music Hall of Fame. International polls have named Springfield among the best female rock artists of all time.
Born in North London to an Irish Catholic family that enjoyed music, Springfield learned to sing at home. She joined her first professional group, The Lana Sisters, in 1958, then formed the pop-folk vocal trio The Springfields in 1960 with her brother Dion.
Her solo career began in 1963 with the upbeat pop hit, "I Only Want To Be With You" (1963). Among the hits that followed were "Wishin' and Hopin'" (1964), "I Just Don't Know What to Do with Myself" (1964), "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me" (1966), and "Son of a Preacher Man" (1968). A fan of American pop music, she was the first public figure to bring little-known soul singers to a wider British audience, when she created and hosted the first British performances of the top-selling Motown artists in 1965. By 1966, she was the best selling female singer in the world, and topped a number of popularity polls, including Melody Maker's Best International Vocalist. She was the first British singer to top the New Musical Express readers' poll for Female Singer. Her image, supported by a peroxide blonde beehive hairstyle, evening gowns, and heavy make-up, made her an icon of the Swinging Sixties.
The marked changes in pop music in the mid-1960s left many female pop singers out of fashion. To boost her credibility as a soul artist, Springfield went to Memphis, Tennessee, to record an album of pop and soul music with the Atlantic Records main production team. Released in 1969, Dusty in Memphis has been ranked among the greatest albums of all time by Rolling Stone and VH1 artists, New Musical Express readers, and the Channel 4 viewers polls. The album was also awarded a spot in the Grammy Hall of Fame.
After this, however, Springfield's success dipped for eighteen years. She returned to the Top 20 of the British and American charts in collaboration with the Pet Shop Boys on the songs "What Have I Done to Deserve This?", "Nothing Has Been Proved" and "In Private". Interest in Springfield's early output was revived in 1994 due to the inclusion of "Son of a Preacher Man" on the soundtrack of the movie Pulp Fiction.
Dusty Springfield's first single, "I Only Want to Be with You", written and arranged by Ivor Raymonde, was released in November 1963. It was produced by Johnny Franz in a manner similar to Phil Spector's "Wall of Sound", and included rhythm and blues features such as horn sections, backing singers and double-tracked vocals, along with pop music strings, in the style of girl bands that Springfield admired, such as The Shirelles. The song rose to No.4 on the British charts, leading to its nomination as a "Sure Shot" pick of records not yet charted in the U.S. by New York disc jockey "Dandy" Dan Daniel of WMCA radio in December 1963, preceding Beatlemania. It remained on the American Billboard Hot 100 for 10 weeks, peaking at No.12. The release finished as No.48 on New York's WABC radio Top 100 for 1964. The song was the first record played on BBC-TV's Top of the Pops programme on 1st January 1964. It sold over one million copies and was awarded a gold disc in the U.K.
Springfield's debut album A Girl Called Dusty included mostly covers of her favourite songs. Among the tracks were "Mama Said", "When the Lovelight Starts Shining Through His Eyes", "You Don't Own Me" and "Twenty Four Hours from Tulsa". The album reached #6 in the U.K. in May 1964. The chart hits "Stay Awhile", "All Cried Out" and "Losing You" followed the same year. In 1964, Springfield recorded two Burt Bacharach songs: "Wishin' and Hopin'—an American Top 10 hit— and the emotional "I Just Don't Know What to Do with Myself", which reached #3 on the British chart. The latter song set the standard for much of her later material.
Springfield's tour of South Africa was interrupted in December 1964, and she was deported, after she performed before an integrated audience at a theatre near Cape Town, which was against the South African government's segregation policy. In the same year, she was voted the Top Female British Artist of the year in the New Musical Express poll, topping Lulu, Sandie Shaw, and Cilla Black. Springfield received the award again the following three years.
In 1965, Springfield took part in the Italian Song Festival in San Remo, and failed to qualify for the final with two songs. During the competition, she heard the song "Io Che Non Vivo (Senza Te)". Its English version, "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me", featured lyrics written by Springfield's friend, Vicki Wickham, and her future manager, Simon Napier-Bell. It reached No.1 in the UK in May 1966 and reached No.4 on the weekly Billboard Hot 100 in the United States, where it was also No.35 on the Billboard Top 100 for 1966. The song, which Springfield called "good old schmaltz", was voted among the All Time Top 100 Songs by the listeners of BBC Radio 2 in 1999.
In 1965, Springfield released three more British Top 40 hits: "Your Hurtin' Kinda Love", "In the Middle of Nowhere", and Carole King's "Some of Your Lovin'". These were not included on the album Ev'rything's Coming Up Dusty, which featured songs by Leslie Bricusse, Anthony Newley, Rod Argent and Randy Newman, and a cover of the traditional Mexican song, "La Bamba". This album peaked at #6 in the U.K.
Springfield was instrumental in introducing Motown to a wider British audience, both with her covers of Motown songs, and in facilitating the first British TV appearance for The Temptations, The Supremes, The Miracles, and Stevie Wonder on a special edition of the Ready Steady Go! show, called The Sound Of Motown. The show was broadcast on 28 April 1965 by Rediffusion TV, with Springfield opening each half of the show accompanied by Martha Reeves and the Vandellas and Motown's in-house band The Funk Brothers.
Springfield released three additional U.K. Top 20 hits in 1966: "Little By Little" and two dramatic ballads by Carole King: "Goin' Back" and "All I See Is You", which also reached the US Top 20. In August and September 1966, she hosted Dusty, a series of six BBC TV music and talk shows. A compilation of her singles, Golden Hits, released in November 1966, reached #2 in the U.K.
Late 1960s (1967–69)
"The Look of Love"
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Sample from "The Look of Love".
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The Bacharach-David composition "The Look of Love" was designed as the centrepiece for the James Bond parody Casino Royale. For one of the slowest-tempo hits of the sixties, Bacharach created a sultry feel by the use of minor-seventh and major-seventh chord changes, while Hal David's lyrics epitomised longing and lust. This song was recorded in two versions at the Philips Studios of London. The soundtrack version was recorded on 29 January and the single release version was done in April. "The Look of Love" was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Song of 1967. The song was a Top 10 radio hit on KGB-AM, San Diego, CA and KHJ-AM, Los Angeles radio stations in the western United States, and earned her highest place in the year's music charts at #22.
The second season of the BBC's Dusty TV shows, featuring performances of "Get Ready" and the U.K. #13 hit "I'll Try Anything", attracted a healthy audience but the show did not keep up with changes in the pop music market. The comparatively progressive album Where Am I Going? attempted to redress this by containing songs such as a "jazzy", orchestrated version of "Sunny" and Jacques Brel's "If You Go Away". Though it was appreciated critically, it did not sell well. In 1968, a similar fate befell Dusty... Definitely. On this album, her choice of material ranged from the rolling "Ain't No Sun Since You've Been Gone" to the aching emotion of "I Think It's Gonna Rain Today". In that same year, Springfield had a British #4 hit, "I Close My Eyes and Count to Ten", written by Clive Westlake. Its flipside, "No Stranger am I", was written by Norma Tanega.
In 1969 Springfield was at her commercial and creative height; she was performing for £1,000 a night on sold-out tours, had her own TV shows, It Must Be Dusty on ITV, and Decidedly Dusty on BBC, and released the album Dusty in Memphis and the single "Son of a Preacher Man".
Dusty in Memphis (1968–1969)
Main article: Dusty in Memphis
Cover of U.S. release of Dusty in Memphis
In 1968, Carole King, one of Springfield's songwriters, embarked on a singing career of her own, while the chart-peaking Bacharach-David partnership was foundering. Springfield's status in the music industry was further complicated by the progressive music revolution and the uncomfortable split between what was underground and "fashionable" and what was pop and "unfashionable". In addition, her performing career was becoming limited to the British touring circuit, which at that time largely consisted of working men's clubs and the hotels and cabarets circuit. Hoping to reinvigorate her career and boost her credibility, Springfield signed with Atlantic Records, the record label of one of her idols, Aretha Franklin. The Memphis sessions at the American Sound Studio were recorded by the A-team of Atlantic Records: producers Jerry Wexler, Tom Dowd, and Arif Mardin; the back-up vocal band Sweet Inspirations; and the instrumental band Memphis Cats, led by guitarist Reggie Young and bass guitar player Tommy Cogbill. The producers were the first to recognise that Springfield's natural soul voice should be placed at the forefront, rather than competing with full string arrangements. At first, Springfield felt anxious about being compared with the soul greats who had recorded in the same studios. Springfield later stated that she had never before worked with just a rhythm track, and that it was the first time she had worked with outside producers, as she had self-produced her previous recordings (although she never took credit for it). Due to what Wexler called a "gigantic inferiority complex" and Ms. Springfield's pursuit of perfection, her vocals were recorded later in New York. During the Memphis sessions in November 1968, Dusty suggested that the heads of Atlantic Records should sign the newly-formed band Led Zeppelin. She knew the band's bass player, John Paul Jones, who had backed her in concerts. Without having ever seen them and largely on Dusty's advice, the record company signed a $200,000 deal with them. That was the biggest contract of its kind for a new band up until that time.
"Son of a Preacher Man"
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Sample from "Son of a Preacher Man".
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The album Dusty in Memphis received excellent reviews on its initial releases both in the U.S. and the U.K. Greil Marcus of Rolling Stone magazine wrote:"... most of the songs... have a great deal of depth while presenting extremely direct and simple statements about love.... Dusty sings around her material, creating music that's evocative rather than overwhelming... Dusty is not searching—she just shows up, and she, and we, are better for it." The sales numbers failed to match the critical success; the album did not crack the British Top 15 and peaked at #99 on the American Billboard Top 200 with sales of 100,000 copies. However, Dusty in Memphis earned Springfield a nomination for the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance in 1970, and by 2001, the album had received the Grammy Hall of Fame award, and was listed among the greatest albums of all time by Rolling Stone and VH1 artists, New Musical Express readers, and the Channel 4 viewers polls.
The main song on the album, "Son of a Preacher Man", was written by John Hurley and Ronnie Wilkins. It reached #10 on the British, American and international music charts. Its best results in continental Europe were #10 on the Austrian charts and #3 on the Swiss charts. The song was the 96th most popular song of 1969 in the United States. The writers of Rolling Stone magazine placed Springfield's release at #77 among 'The 100 Best Singles of the Last 25 Years' in 1987. The record was placed at #43 of the 'Greatest Singles of All Time' by the writers of New Musical Express in 2002. In 2004, the song made the Rolling Stone list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time at #240. In 1994 the song was featured in a scene of the film Pulp Fiction, and the soundtrack reached No. 21 on the Billboard 200, and at the time, went platinum (100,000 units) in Canada alone. "Son of a Preacher Man" helped the album sell over 2 million copies in the U.S., and it reached #6 on the charts
Dusty Springfield was one of the best-selling British singers of the 1960s. She was voted the Top British Female Artist by the readers of the New Musical Express in 1964–1967 and 1969. Of the female singers of the British Invasion, Springfield made one of the biggest impressions on the American market, scoring 18 singles in the Billboard Hot 100 from 1964 to 1970. The music press considers her as an iconic figure of the Swinging Sixties. Quentin Tarantino caused a revival of interest in her music in 1994 by including "Son of a Preacher Man" in the Pulp Fiction soundtrack, which sold over three million copies. In that same year, in the documentary Dusty Springfield. Full Circle, guests of her 1965 Sound of Motown show credited Springfield's efforts with popularising American soul music in the UK. She was known all over Europe, and performed at the Sanremo Music Festival. She released a number of singles in French, German and Italian.
Main article: Dusty Springfield discography
* 1964: A Girl Called Dusty
* 1965: Ev'rything's Coming Up Dusty
* 1967: Where Am I Going?
* 1968: Dusty... Definitely
* 1969: Dusty in Memphis
* 1970: A Brand New Me
* 1972: See All Her Faces
* 1973: Cameo
* 1974: Longing (Unreleased)
* 1978: It Begins Again
* 1979: Living Without Your Love
* 1982: White Heat
* 1990: Reputation
* 1995: A Very Fine Love
http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll317/llrar/Dusty.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w240/jjdaly81/ec369793.jpg
http://www.musicpilgrimages.com/imgs/articles/aubrey-walk-01.jpg
The blue plaque dedicated to Dusty Springfield on a house in Kensington, London where she lived from 1968 to 1972.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 04/16/11 at 5:12 am
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfBn5IJgP0o
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 04/16/11 at 6:59 am
I only remember her for her one hit.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 04/16/11 at 7:00 am
I only remember her for her one hit.
Which hit would that be, for she has had many worldwide.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 04/16/11 at 7:02 am
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfBn5IJgP0o
This song has a Motown flavor to it.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 04/16/11 at 7:03 am
Which hit would that be, for she has had many worldwide.
"You don't have to say you love me".
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 04/16/11 at 7:10 am
"You don't have to say you love me".
A true classic song
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 04/16/11 at 7:11 am
A true classic song
a beautiful song.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 04/16/11 at 7:11 am
"You don't have to say you love me".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QR4vE9xL3yk
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 04/16/11 at 7:12 am
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QR4vE9xL3yk
Elvis Presley recorded this song too.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 04/16/11 at 7:17 am
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QR4vE9xL3yk
a wedding song. :)
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 04/16/11 at 3:29 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QR4vE9xL3yk
Great song :)
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 04/16/11 at 4:06 pm
Great song :)
Great singer.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 04/16/11 at 6:08 pm
Great singer.
So true.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 04/17/11 at 12:20 am
So true.
Greatly missed
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 04/17/11 at 5:48 am
Greatly missed
That is so true also.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 04/17/11 at 5:51 am
The person of the day...Sean Bean
Shaun Mark "Sean" Bean (born 17 April 1959) is an English film and stage actor. Bean is best known for starring roles in the films Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, GoldenEye, Patriot Games, Troy, National Treasure and Silent Hill, as well as the television series Sharpe. Bean has also acted in a number of television productions as well as performing voice work for computer games and television adverts.
He graduated from RADA in 1983 having won the Silver Medal for his performance in Waiting for Godot. He made his professional acting début in 1983 at the Watermill Theatre in Newbury, Berkshire as Tybalt in Romeo and Juliet. His early work involved a mixture of stage and screen work. As an actor, he adopted the Irish spelling "Sean" of his first name. His first national exposure came in an advert for non-alcoholic lager. Between 1986 and 1988 he was a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company appearing in productions of Romeo and Juliet, The Fair Maid of the West, and A Midsummer Night's Dream. He appeared in his first film in 1986 when he played Ranuccio Thomasoni in Derek Jarman's film Caravaggio. He then reunited with the director on War Requiem in 1988, which also starred Sir Laurence Olivier.
During the late 1980s and early 1990s, he became an established actor on British television. He had notable performances in the BBC productions Clarissa and Lady Chatterley. His role in the latter became infamous for his sex scenes with Joely Richardson. In 1990, Bean co-starred with Richard Harris in Jim Sheridan's adaption of the John B. Keane play, The Field; also in 1990, his role as the journalist Anton in Windprints examined the difficult problems of apartheid in South Africa.
In 1996 he appeared in what became a famous Sky Sports commercial for the Premier League and, that year, he combined his love of football with his career, to finally achieve his childhood dream of playing for Sheffield United, albeit as Jimmy Muir in the film When Saturday Comes. Although the film was not critically acclaimed, Sean Bean received credit for a good performance.
Sharpe
Main article: Sharpe
His critical successes in Caravaggio and Lady Chatterley contributed to his emerging image as a sex symbol, but he became most closely associated with the character of Richard Sharpe, the maverick Napoleonic Wars rifleman. Bean was not the first actor to be chosen to play Sharpe, but Paul McGann, the first choice, was injured while playing football two days into filming. Initially, producers tried to work around McGann's injury, but it proved impossible and Bean received the call. The 16-episode Sharpe television series was based loosely on Bernard Cornwell's novels about the Peninsular War, and the fictional experiences of a band of soldiers in the famed 95th Rifles. Starting with Sharpe's Rifles, the series followed the fortunes and misfortunes of Richard Sharpe as he rose from the ranks as a Sergeant to Lieutenant Colonel by the time of the Battle of Waterloo. It ran from 1993 to 1997, with three episodes produced each year. The series was filmed under challenging conditions, first in the Ukraine, and later in Portugal. After several years of rumours, more episodes were produced, called Sharpe's Challenge, which aired in April 2006, and Sharpe's Peril which aired on ITV in the autumn of 2008 and was later released on DVD.
Hollywood villain
With a mini-series role as enigmatic Lord Richard Fenton in the TV miniseries Scarlett, loosely based on the sequel to Margaret Mitchell's Gone with the Wind, Bean made the transition to Hollywood feature films. His first notable Hollywood appearance was that of an Irish republican terrorist in the 1992 film adaptation of Patriot Games; in a fight scene, Harrison Ford clocked him with a boat hook, giving him a permanent scar. Bean's rough-cut looks made him a patent choice for a villain, and this role in Patriot Games was the first of several villains that he would portray, all of whom come to a sticky end. He became Alec Trevelyan (MI6's 006) and James Bond's nemesis in the 1995 film GoldenEye; the weak-stomached Spence (with Robert de Niro) in Ronin (1998); a wife-beating ex-con in Essex Boys (2000); the malevolent kidnapper-jewel thief in Don't Say a Word (2001). He was also widely recognized as villainous treasure hunter Ian Howe in the popular National Treasure opposite Nicolas Cage. He also played a villainous scientist in The Island (2005) and a dedicated father in Silent Hill. In the independent film, Far North, he played a Russian mercenary, lost in the tundra and rescued by an Inuit woman and her daughter; he ends up pitting his two female rescuers against one another. "I think I’m quite good at differentiating between the psychopaths,” he commented to an interviewer.
The Lord of the Rings
Main article: The Lord of the Rings film trilogy
In arguably Bean's most widely-seen role, as Boromir in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy, his major screen-time occurs in the first installment, The Fellowship of the Ring. He appeared briefly in flashbacks in the theater releases of The Two Towers and The Return of the King; he also appears in a scene from the extended edition of The Two Towers. Before casting finished, rumors circulated that Jackson had considered Bean for the role of Aragorn, but neither Bean nor Jackson confirmed this in subsequent interviews. Bean's well-known fear of flying caused him difficulties in mountainous New Zealand, where the trilogy was filmed. After a particularly rough ride, he vowed not to fly to a location again. In one instance, he chose to take a ski lift into the mountains and then hike the final few miles, in full costume complete with shield, armour and sword.
Bean has a tattoo of the English word "nine" written in Tengwar on his shoulder, a reference to his involvement in the Lord of the Rings and the fact that his character was one of the original nine companions of the Fellowship of the Ring. The other actors of "The Fellowship"—Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Orlando Bloom, Billy Boyd, Ian McKellen, Dominic Monaghan, and Viggo Mortensen—acquired the same tattoo. John Rhys-Davies, whose character was Gimli, also one of the original nine companions, arranged for his stunt double to get the tattoo.
Recent career
Later roles gave more scope for his acting abilities. In 1999's Extremely Dangerous, his character walked a fine line between villain and hero, reminiscent of the 1960s American TV series, The Fugitive. He became a repentant, poetry-reading Grammaton cleric who succumbs to his emotions in 2002's Equilibrium; a quirky alien cowboy in 2003's The Big Empty, and a sympathetic and cunning Odysseus in the 2004 film Troy.
He cameoed with other Hollywood stars in Moby's music video "We Are All Made of Stars" in February 2002. In the same year, he returned to the stage in London performing in Macbeth alongside Samantha Bond. Due to popular demand, the production ran until March 2003.
Bean's high profile and recognisable voice have created opportunities for voice-over work, especially in the British advertising industry. He has featured in television adverts for O2, Morrisons and Barnardos as well as for Acuvue and the Sci-Fi Channel in the United States. He also does the voice over for the National Blood Service's television and radio campaign. For the role playing video game, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, he voiced Martin Septim.
Bean has completed a one hour pilot, Faceless, for US television. He has also appeared in Outlaw, an independent British production, and a remake of 1986 horror film, The Hitcher (released in January 2007); here he used an American accent again. He also starred in Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, playing the role of Zeus, the king of Mount Olympus and God of lightning, in February 2010. Also that year, Bean starred in CASH (CA$H), playing the lead role of Pyke Kubic, a dangerous man determined to recover his wealth in a bad economy. CASH (CA$H), which co-starred Chris Hemsworth, explored the role money plays in today's hard economic times. Bean will also play the villain's twin brother, Reese. The film was directed and written by Stephen Milburn Anderson (South Central).
Bean will star in the first season of Game of Thrones, HBO's upcoming adaptation of the A Song of Ice and Fire novels by George R. R. Martin. He will play the part of Lord Eddard Stark. Bean will star in Soldiers of Fortune, alongside Ving Rhames and Christian Slater.
Bean has just completed filming Cleanskin, in which he plays a secret service agent faced with the task of pursuing and eliminating a suicide bomber and his terrorist cell. The film stars Charlotte Rampling, James Fox, Abhin Galeya, Tuppence Middleton and Michelle Ryan. The film was written, produced and directed by Hadi Hajaig.
Bean will reprise his role as Christopher Da Silva in the Silent Hill film sequel Silent Hill: Revelation 3D.
Despite Bean's obvious commercial success, he has demonstrated a willingness to participate in less high profile projects such as the independent film Far North.
Possible roles
Two films in production will reportedly star Bean. Come Like Shadows is an adaptation of Macbeth. He had starred in a production of Macbeth on the London stage with Samantha Bond as Lady Macbeth with much critical success. As of 2008, this film as well as A Woman of No Importance are listed as being in pre-production according to the Internet Movie Data Base. The actor also has said that he would like to appear in Coronation Street (joking that he could be the milkman). Bean has also stated that he would like to do some wildlife presenting sometime in the future. In February 2010, Bean was cast in the planned production of Death Race: Frankenstein Lives.
Bean is rumored to have been cast in the upcoming romcom 'Let Them Eat Jake' starring Jesse Eisenberg and Eugene Levy. The film centers around a man who goes to dinner to meet his girlfriend's family, only to discover that they are cannibals and plan on eating him. Levy said of the film "It's the best script I've read since New York Minute, and I can't wait to get started". Bruce Willis and Mila Kunis are also said to be considering joining the film.
Image
Often described as down to earth, Sean Bean has retained his Sheffield accent, despite now living in London. Partly due to his role as Sharpe, he is also described as a sex symbol. He was voted the UK's second sexiest man in 2004; his Trilogy co-star Orlando Bloom received the highest votes. He admits he does not mind being considered as a "bit of rough" by women. Bean's first love was football and he has been a passionate Sheffield United supporter from a young age; he has a tattoo on his left shoulder that reads 100% Blade. He was until December 2007 one of the directors of the club, but decided to "go back to the terraces, where (he) truly belong(s)". He had some problems with Neil Warnock, former manager of Sheffield United, after Warnock claimed that Bean stormed into his office and shouted at him in front of his wife and daughter after the 2006–07 season. Bean denies it, calling Warnock "bitter" and "hypocritical". He also wrote the foreword and helped to promote a book of anecdotes called Sheffield United: The Biography. He also follows Yorkshire County Cricket Club.
In addition to his image as a sex symbol and an admitted "bit of rough", Bean has developed a reputation as a loner, a label he considers unfair. He has described himself instead as quiet, and interviewers confirm that he is a "man of few words"; a recent interviewer even called him surprisingly shy. Although he admits he can be a workaholic, in his spare time he relaxes with a book or listens to music, and he is himself a talented pianist. He is also a keen gardener, and does both welding and sketching.
Sean is closely affiliated with the Broomhill Friery in Sheffield, where his nephew Dan Bean works.
Acting style
Despite being professionally trained, Sean Bean adopts an instinctive style of acting. He has said in interviews that the most difficult part is at the start of filming when trying to understand the character. After achieving this he can snap in and out of character instantly. This ability to go from the quiet man on set to the warrior Boromir "amazed" Sean Astin during filming of The Fellowship of the Ring. Other fans include the directors Mike Figgis (Stormy Monday) and Wolfgang Petersen (Troy), who described working with Bean as a "beautiful thing".
Personal life
Bean has been married and divorced four times. He married his high-school sweetheart Debra James on 11 April 1981. The marriage ended in divorce in 1990. He met actress Melanie Hill at RADA, and they married on 27 February 1990. The couple's first daughter, Lorna, was born in October 1987; their second, Molly, was born in September 1991. Bean and Hill's marriage ended in divorce in August 1997.
During the filming of Sharpe, Bean met actress Abigail Cruttenden, and they married on 22 November 1997. Their daughter, Evie Natasha, was born in November 1998. Bean and Cruttenden divorced in July 2000. Bean began dating actress Georgina Sutcliffe in 2006. After canceling a planned January 2008 wedding on the eve of the ceremony due to "personal reasons", Bean married Sutcliffe at the Marylebone Register Office in London on 19 February 2008. Amid allegations that Bean physically abused Sutcliffe in 2009, domestic disturbances resulted in the police being called to their home in Belsize Park on three occasions. Bean and Sutcliffe's separation was announced on 6 August 2010, and the divorce was finalized on 21 December 2010.
Awards and honours
Sean Bean is yet to receive a major individual award in the film industry. However he did receive three separate awards as part of the ensemble cast in Return of the King: from the Screen Actors Guild, the National Board of Review and the Broadcast Film Critics Association all in 2004.
In his home city of Sheffield, he received an honorary doctorate from Sheffield Hallam University in 1997 and a second doctorate, a Doctor of Letters in English Literature from the University of Sheffield in July 2007. Afterward, Bean commented, "I did get a doctorate from Sheffield Hallam University about 11 or 12 years ago so now I'm a double doctor. But this was wonderful, especially from my home city." He was also selected as one of the inaugural members of Sheffield Legends, the Sheffield equivalent of the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He now has a plaque in his honour placed in front of Sheffield Town Hall.
Filmography
Year Film Role Notes
1986 Caravaggio Ranuccio
1988 Stormy Monday Brendan
The True Bride, Jim Henson's The Storyteller Prince
1989 How to Get Ahead in Advertising Larry Frisk
War Requiem German Soldier
1990 Windprints Anton
The Field Tadgh McCabe
Lorna Doone Carver Doone TV programme
Wedded Man TV programme
1991 Prince Jack Morgan TV programme
Clarissa Robert Lovelace TV programme
Tell Me that You Love Me Gabriel Lewis TV programme
In The Border Country Smith
My Kingdom for a Horse Steve TV programme
1992 Inspector Morse: Absolute Conviction Alex Bailey TV programme
Patriot Games Sean Miller
Fool's Gold: The Story Of The Brink's Mat Robbery Micky McAvoy
1993 Sharpe's Rifles Sergeant/Lieutenant Richard Sharpe TV programme
Sharpe's Eagle Captain Richard Sharpe TV programme
Lady Chatterley Oliver Mellors
1994 Sharpe's Company Captain Richard Sharpe TV programme
Sharpe's Enemy Major Richard Sharpe TV programme
Sharpe's Honour Major Richard Sharpe TV programme
Black Beauty Farmer Grey
Shopping Venning
1995 Sharpe's Gold Major Richard Sharpe TV programme
Sharpe's Battle Major Richard Sharpe TV programme
Sharpe's Sword Major Richard Sharpe TV programme
GoldenEye Alec Trevelyan First role alongside Pierce Brosnan
1996 When Saturday Comes Jimmy Muir
Sharpe's Regiment Major Richard Sharpe TV programme
Sharpe's Siege Major Richard Sharpe TV programme
Sharpe's Mission Major Richard Sharpe TV programme
1997 Anna Karenina Vronsky
Sharpe's Revenge Major Richard Sharpe TV programme
Sharpe's Justice Major Richard Sharpe TV programme
Sharpe's Waterloo Lieutenant Colonel Richard Sharpe TV programme
1998 Ronin Spence
Airborne Dave Toombs
The Canterbury Tales The Nun's Priest TV programme
1999 Extremely Dangerous Neil Byrne
Bravo Two Zero Andy McNab
2000 Essex Boys Jason Locke
2001 The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Boromir
Don't Say a Word Patrick Koster
2002 The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers Boromir
Equilibrium Errol Partridge
Tom and Thomas Paul Shepherd
2003 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Boromir Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
National Board of Review Award for Best Cast
The Big Empty Cowboy
Henry VIII Robert Aske
2004 Pride Dark (voice)
National Treasure Ian Howe
Troy Odysseus
2005 North Country Kyle
Flightplan Captain Marcus Rich
The Island Dr. Merrick
2006 The Dark James
Silent Hill Chris DeSilva
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (video game) Martin Septim voice/video game
Sharpe's Challenge Lt Col (ret'd) Richard Sharpe TV programme
2007 The Hitcher John Ryder
Outlaw Danny Bryant
Far North Loki
2008 Sharpe's Peril Lt Col (ret'd) Richard Sharpe TV programme
Crusoe James Crusoe TV programme
2009 Red Riding John Dawson TV programme
2010 Black Death Ulric
Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief Zeus Second role alongside Pierce Brosnan
Ca$h (Cash) Pyke Kubic
Reese Kubic
The Lost Future Amal
2011 Death Race 2 Markus Kane
Game of Thrones Eddard Stark TV programme; pre-production
Age of Heroes Jones post-production
Cleanskin Ewan Post-production
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http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff308/sprietje1963/sean_bean_95.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: CatwomanofV on 04/17/11 at 11:24 am
Can you say, "YUM!"
I really like the Sharpe series. We have all but the last one (Sharpe's Challenge) on DVD.
Cat
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 04/18/11 at 5:34 am
The person of the day..Conan O'Brien
Conan Christopher O'Brien (born April 18, 1963) is an American television host, comedian, writer, producer and performer. He is currently the host of Conan, a late-night talk show that airs on the American cable television station TBS.
O'Brien was born in Brookline, Massachusetts and raised in an Irish Catholic family. He landed his first comedy job as a writer for the sketch comedy series Not Necessarily the News, after first serving as president of the Harvard Lampoon while attending Harvard University. After graduating, he moved to Los Angeles, where he wrote for several comedy shows, and later moved to New York City to work on the writing staff of Saturday Night Live, and later for The Simpsons. O'Brien went on to serve as host of Late Night with Conan O'Brien from 1993 to 2009, before going on to host the short-lived The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien for seven months. He is the only personality to ever serve as host for both the NBC Late Night and Tonight Show franchises.
On April 12, 2010, it was announced that O'Brien would begin hosting a new late-night talk show on cable TV network TBS. Conan premiered on November 8, 2010.
O'Brien moved to Los Angeles after graduation to join the writing staff of HBO's Not Necessarily the News. He was also a writer on the short-lived The Wilton North Report. He spent two years with that show and performed regularly with improvisational groups, including The Groundlings. In January 1988, Saturday Night Live's executive producer, Lorne Michaels, hired O'Brien as a writer. During his three years on Saturday Night Live (SNL), he wrote such recurring sketches as "Mr. Short-Term Memory" and "The Girl Watchers"; the latter was first performed by Tom Hanks and Jon Lovitz. O'Brien also co-wrote the sketch, "Nude Beach", with Robert Smigel, in which the word "penis" was said or sung at least 42 times. While on a writers' strike from Saturday Night Live following the 1987-88 season, O'Brien put on an improvisational comedy revue in Chicago with fellow SNL writers Bob Odenkirk and Robert Smigel called Happy Happy Good Show. While living in Chicago, O'Brien briefly roomed with Jeff Garlin. In 1989, O'Brien and his fellow SNL writers received an Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy or Variety Series.
O'Brien, like many SNL writers, occasionally appeared as an extra in sketches; his most notable appearance was as a doorman in a sketch in which Tom Hanks was inducted into the SNL "Five-Timers Club" for hosting his fifth episode. O'Brien returned to host the show in 2001 during its 26th season. O'Brien and Robert Smigel wrote the television pilot for Lookwell starring Adam West, which aired on NBC in 1991. The pilot never went to series, but it became a cult hit. It was later screened at The Other Network, a festival of unaired TV pilots produced by Un-Cabaret; it featured an extended interview with O'Brien and was rerun in 2002 on the Trio network.
The Simpsons (1991–1993)
From 1991 to 1993, O'Brien was a writer and producer for The Simpsons and was credited as writer or co-writer of four episodes. Of all the episodes he wrote, he considers "Marge vs. the Monorail" to be his favorite. Along with this episode, he has sole writing credits on "New Kid on the Block," "Homer Goes to College," and "Treehouse of Horror IV," on which he wrote the episode wraparounds. He was an active producer during seasons 4 and 5 as well, meaning he would frequently contribute to scripts from those seasons as well as come up with story ideas, plot points, and jokes. The style of the show's comedy during this period was also influenced by his sensibilities, with "Marge vs. the Monorail" being cited by several former writers as the turning point in the show's history where more absurd and visual comedy became acceptable. He also developed a reputation as a "room guy," or a writer who performs comedy bits throughout the day to entertain other writers.
In his speech given at Class Day at Harvard in 2000, O'Brien credited The Simpsons with saving him, a reference to the career slump he was experiencing prior to his being hired for the show. As of 2004, O'Brien's office at The Simpsons was being used as storage.
During his time at The Simpsons, O'Brien also had a side project working with former writing partner Robert Smigel on the script for a musical film based on the "Hans and Franz" sketch from Saturday Night Live. The film was never produced.
Late Night (1993–2009)
Main article: Late Night with Conan O'Brien
As executive producer, Lorne Michaels invited O'Brien to audition to host the successor show to Late Night with David Letterman. Premiering on September 13, 1993, Late Night with Conan O'Brien received generally unfavorable critical reviews during its first few years. The show remained on multiweek renewal cycles while NBC decided its fate. O'Brien later poked fun at the first three years of the show, when on his 10th Anniversary Special Mr. T appeared to give O'Brien a gold necklace with a giant "7" on it. When O'Brien tried to point out that he had actually been on the air for ten years, Mr. T responded, "I know that, fool; but you've only been funny for seven!"
Beginning in 1996, O'Brien and the Late Night writing team were nominated annually for the Emmy Award for Best Writing in a Comedy or Variety Series, winning the award for the first and only time in 2007. In 1997, 2000, 2002, 2003, and 2004, he and the Late Night writing staff won the Writers Guild Award for Best Writing in a Comedy/Variety Series. In 2001, he formed his own television production company, Conaco, which subsequently shared in the production credits for Late Night.
A long-running joke, which stems from the recurring segment "Conan O'Brien Hates My Homeland", is that O'Brien resembles the first female president of Finland, Tarja Halonen. After joking about this for several months (which led to his endorsement of her campaign), O'Brien traveled to Finland, appearing on several television shows and meeting President Halonen. The trip was filmed and aired as a special.
O'Brien ad-libbed the fictional website name "hornymanatee.com" on December 4, 2006, after a sketch about the fictional manatee mascot and its inappropriate webcam site. NBC opted to purchase the website domain name for $159, since the website did not previously exist. The network was concerned that the Federal Communications Commission would hold NBC liable for promoting inappropriate content if a third party were to register the domain and post such material. For a period of time, the website hosted material concerning Conan's initial manatee joke and other Tonight Show references, but today the site just redirects to NBC's main web page.
A popular recurring bit on the show was "Pale Force", a series of animated episodes in which comedian Jim Gaffigan and O'Brien are superheroes who fight crime with their "paleness". As Gaffigan introduced each new episode, O'Brien protested the portrayal of his character as cowardly, weak, and impotent. As of October 2005, Late Night with Conan O'Brien had for eleven years consistently attracted an audience averaging about 2.5 million viewers. O'Brien is an avid guitarist and music listener. When Bruce Springsteen and the Sessions Band appeared on the show as musical guests, O'Brien joined the 17-piece band, along with the Max Weinberg 7 and guests Jimmy Fallon and Thomas Haden Church, playing acoustic guitar and contributing backup vocals for the song "Pay Me My Money Down". On the June 13, 2008, episode of Late Night, O'Brien simply walked onto the stage at the start of the show. Instead of his usual upbeat antics and monologue, O'Brien announced that he had just received news about the sudden death of his good friend, fellow NBC employee and frequent Late Night guest, Tim Russert. O'Brien proceeded to show two clips of his favorite Russert Late Night moments. On February 20, 2009, NBC aired the last episode of Late Night with Conan O'Brien. The show consisted of a compilation of previous Late Night clips and included a surprise appearance by former sidekick, Andy Richter. Will Ferrell, John Mayer, and the White Stripes also appeared. O'Brien ended the episode by destroying the set with an axe, handing out the pieces of the set to the audience, and thanking a list of people who helped him get to that point in his career. Among those thanked were Lorne Michaels, David Letterman, Jay Leno, and O'Brien's wife and children.
The Colbert / O'Brien / Stewart mock feud
Main article: Who Made Huckabee?
During the writers' strike in 2008, O'Brien staged a mock feud with Comedy Central's Jon Stewart (of The Daily Show) and Stephen Colbert (of The Colbert Report) over a dispute about which of the three were responsible for giving a "bump" to Mike Huckabee's campaign to become the Republican presidential nominee. This feud crossed over all three shows during the 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike.
The Tonight Show (2009–2010)
Main article: The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien
In 2004, O'Brien negotiated a new contract with NBC. As part of the deal, O'Brien would take over The Tonight Show from Jay Leno in 2009. O'Brien was a guest on Jay Leno's final episode of The Tonight Show. On June 1, 2009, Will Ferrell became Conan's first Tonight Show guest on the couch and Pearl Jam appeared as his first musical guest.
During the taping of the Friday, September 25, 2009, episode of The Tonight Show, O'Brien suffered from a mild concussion after he slipped and hit his head while running a race as part of a comedy sketch with guest Teri Hatcher. He was examined at a hospital and released the same day. A rerun was aired that night, but O'Brien returned to work the following Monday and poked fun at the incident.
Departure from The Tonight Show
Main article: 2010 Tonight Show conflict
On Thursday, January 7, 2010, NBC executive Jeff Zucker met with Jay Leno and Conan O'Brien to discuss how to get Leno out of prime time, where his ratings were lackluster, and back into late night. A proposal was made that would see O'Brien remain as host of The Tonight Show, which would be moved to 12:05 a.m. with Leno hosting a 30-minute show at 11:35 p.m. On January 10, NBC Universal Television Entertainment Chairman Jeff Gaspin confirmed that The Jay Leno Show would indeed end at the start of the Winter Olympics on February 12, 2010, and be moved to 11:35 p.m. following the Olympics coverage. Sources familiar with the situation told the New York Post that O'Brien was unhappy with NBC's plan.
"Every comedian, every comedian dreams of hosting The Tonight Show and—for seven months—I got to do it. I did it my way, with people I love, and I do not regret a second .... All I ask is one thing, and I'm asking this particularly of young people that watch: Please do not be cynical. I hate cynicism; for the record it's my least favorite quality. It doesn't lead anywhere. Nobody in life gets exactly what they thought they were going to get. But if you work really hard and you're kind, amazing things will happen."
Conan O'Brien, on his departure from The Tonight Show, January 22, 2010.
On January 12, O'Brien released this statement: "I sincerely believe that delaying The Tonight Show into the next day to accommodate another comedy program will seriously damage what I consider to be the greatest franchise in the history of broadcasting. The Tonight Show at 12:05 simply isn’t The Tonight Show." On January 21, 2010, it was announced that Conan had reached a deal with NBC that would see him exit The Tonight Show the next day. The deal also granted him $45 million, of which $12 million was designated for distribution to his staff, who had moved with Conan to Los Angeles from New York when he left Late Night.
The final Tonight Show with Conan aired January 22, 2010, and featured guests Tom Hanks, Steve Carell (who did an exit interview and shredded Conan's ID badge), Neil Young (singing "Long May You Run"), and Will Ferrell. For Ferrell's appearance, Conan played guitar with the band and Ferrell sang "Free Bird" while reprising his SNL cowbell. Ferrell's wife, Viveca Paulin, together with Ben Harper, Beck, and ZZ Top guitarist Billy Gibbons, also joined the band for this final performance.
Jay Leno returned to The Tonight Show following NBC's coverage of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. Under the $45 million deal with NBC, Conan was allowed to start working for another network as soon as September 2010. Conan's rumored next networks ranged anywhere from Fox to Comedy Central.
After Tonight
On February 8, 2010, it was reported that O'Brien was attempting to sell his Central Park West penthouse in New York with an asking price of $35 million. He purchased the apartment in 2007 for $10 million. Two years earlier, O'Brien had purchased a home in the Brentwood section of Los Angeles for over $10.5 million. Some industry insiders have speculated that O'Brien had chosen to stay on the west coast in order to facilitate a return to late night television and because he did not want to put his children through another move.
On February 24, 2010, O'Brien attracted media attention for starting a Twitter account. His tweets, although primarily jokes, amounted to his first public statements since leaving The Tonight Show one month earlier. After about one hour, O'Brien's subscriber list had rocketed to over 30,000 members and approximately 30 minutes later, he was on the brink of passing 50,000 followers, already 20,000 more than the verified @jayleno account. After 24 hours, O'Brien had well over 300,000 followers. In late May 2010, he surpassed the one million mark for number of Twitter followers.
O'Brien has been named to the 2010 Time 100, a list compiled by Time Magazine of the 100 most influential people in the world as voted on by readers. After being prohibited from making television appearances of any kind until May, O'Brien spoke about the Tonight Show conflict on the CBS newsmagazine 60 Minutes on May 2, 2010. During the interview with Steve Kroft, O'Brien said the situation felt "like a marriage breaking up suddenly, violently, quickly. And I was just trying to figure out what happened." He also said he "absolutely" expected NBC to give him more of a chance and that, if in Jay Leno's position, he would not have come back to The Tonight Show. However, Conan said he did not feel he got shafted. "It's crucial to me that anyone seeing this, if they take anything away from this, it's I'm fine. I'm doing great," said O'Brien. "I hope people still find me comedically absurd and ridiculous. And I don't regret anything."
The Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television Tour
Main article: The Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television Tour
On March 11, 2010, O'Brien announced via his Twitter account that he would embark on a 30-city live tour beginning April 12, 2010, entitled "The Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television Tour". Co-host Andy Richter, along with members of the former Tonight Show Band, joined O'Brien on the tour. Max Weinberg, however, was not able to join, except for a guest appearance at one of Conan's New York City shows. VIP tickets for $695 offered the opportunity to meet O'Brien in person. On the same day, teamcoco.com—an apparently official website—was launched.
On April 12, 2010, O'Brien opened his two-month comedy tour in Eugene, Oregon, with a crowd of 2,500 and no TV cameras. The tour traveled through America's Northwest and Canada before moving on to larger cities, including Los Angeles and New York City, where he performed on the campuses that house both of the NBC-owned studios he formerly occupied. The tour ended in Atlanta on June 14. With ticket prices starting at $40, "The Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television Tour" was virtually sold out.
Conan (2010–present)
Main article: Conan (TV series)
Wikinews has related news: Jay Leno bested by Conan O'Brien in late night ratings
On April 12, 2010, just hours before the start of his tour in Eugene, Oregon, O'Brien announced that he would host a new show on cable station TBS. The show debuted on November 8, 2010, and airs Monday through Thursday beginning at 11:00 p.m. ET/10:00 p.m. CT. O'Brien's addition moved Lopez Tonight with George Lopez back one hour to midnight ET/11:00 p.m. CT. Refusing at first to do to Lopez what had happened to him at NBC, O'Brien agreed to join the network after Lopez called to persuade him to come to TBS. In Canada, CTV will air the show and in Turkey, CNBC-e will air the show.
Other networks that were reportedly interested in O'Brien include TBS' sister networks TNT and HBO, Fox, FX, Comedy Central, Showtime, Revision3, and even the NBC Universal-owned USA Network.
On September 1, 2010, O'Brien announced via his Twitter account and Team Coco YouTube page that the title of his new show on TBS would simply be Conan.
Television writer/producer (2002–present)
In 2004, O'Brien apologized to Canadians for engaging in Quebec bashing, something which some felt reflected prejudice against Francophones. On March 7, 2006, NBC announced a new adventure/comedy series entitled Andy Barker, P.I., starring O'Brien's former sidekick, Andy Richter. O'Brien was executive producer and co-wrote the pilot. After six episodes and low ratings, the show was canceled despite being named by Entertainment Weekly as one of the Top Ten Shows of 2007. USA Network has handed out a 90-minute, cast-contingent pilot order to the medical-themed Operating Instructions from O'Brien's production banner. O'Brien will serve as an executive producer through his Conaco label. The script comes from Just Shoot Me veterans Judd Pillot and John Peaslee who will also executive produce." NBC ordered two pilots from Conaco in January 2010, the one-hour courtroom drama, Outlaw, and a half-hour comedy. Outlaw was later green-lit to series and premiered on September 15, 2010.
Voice work and guest appearances
O'Brien's first guest appearance after beginning his late-night career was on the show he used to write for, The Simpsons. He played himself in the season five episode "Bart Gets Famous", interviewing Bart Simpson during his rise to fame as a catchphrase comedian. The episode was produced after O'Brien's audition to replace David Letterman, but before he was hired for the show. O'Brien recorded his part after his own show went on the air, though he believed his show would be canceled by the time "Bart Gets Famous" aired. In 2006, he voiced himself in a short South Park scene as part of the opening of the 2006 Emmy Awards. In 2005, he provided the voice of Robert Todd Lincoln in the audio book version of Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell.
O'Brien appearing as himself on The Simpsons episode "Bart Gets Famous".
O'Brien has made multiple voice appearances on the Adult Swim series Robot Chicken, including the specials Robot Chicken: Star Wars, and Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode II as the voice of the bounty hunter Zuckuss. On the TV show 30 Rock, O'Brien is depicted as an ex-boyfriend of lead character Liz Lemon, who works in the same building. In the episode "Tracy Does Conan," Conan appears as himself, awkwardly reunited with Lemon and coerced by network executive Jack Donaghy into having the character Tracy Jordan on Late Night, despite having been assaulted in Jordan's previous appearance.
O'Brien made an appearance on Futurama in the second-season episode "Xmas Story". O'Brien plays himself as a head in a jar and still alive in the year 3000. O'Brien performs a stand-up routine at a futuristic ski lodge while being heckled by Bender the robot.
O'Brien also made a cameo appearance on the U.S. version of The Office. In the episode "Valentine's Day", Michael believes that he spots former SNL cast member, Tina Fey, but has actually mistaken another woman for her. In the meantime, Conan has a quick walk-on and the camera crew informs Michael, when he returns from talking to the Tina Fey lookalike.
In January 2010, O'Brien appeared in The Simpsons 20th Anniversary Special – In 3-D! On Ice! to honor the show he had written for in the early 1990s.
O'Brien created a superhero character with veteran DC Comics animator Bruce Timm during one episode of Conan. Named "The Flaming C", the superhero bears a likeness to O'Brien, with a typically muscular superhero body and costume with chest insignia, but also with idiosyncrasies as suggested by O'Brien like an oven mitt, a jai alai glove, golf shoes, sock garters and fishnet stockings. O'Brien later aired a clip in which the character appears in Young Justice.
Emmy host
O'Brien hosted the 58th Primetime Emmy Awards on August 27, 2006, to critical acclaim. He had previously hosted the Primetime Emmys in 2002, and co-hosted in 2003.
Awards and nominations
Year Award Work Category Result
1989 Emmy Award Saturday Night Live Outstanding Writing in a Variety or Music Program Won
1990 Emmy Award Outstanding Writing in a Variety or Music Program Nominated
1991 Emmy Award Outstanding Writing in a Variety or Music Program Nominated
1996 Emmy Award Late Night with Conan O'Brien Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing for a Variety or Music Program Nominated
1997 Emmy Award Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing for a Variety or Music Program Nominated
Writers Guild of America Award Comedy/Variety (Including Talk) - Series Won
1998 Emmy Award Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing for a Variety or Music Program Nominated
1999 Emmy Award Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing for a Variety or Music Program Nominated
Writers Guild of America Award Comedy/Variety (Including Talk) - Series Nominated
2000 Emmy Award Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing for a Variety or Music Program Nominated
Writers Guild of America Award Comedy/Variety (Including Talk) - Series Won
2001 Emmy Award Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing for a Variety or Music Program Nominated
Writers Guild of America Award Comedy/Variety (Including Talk) - Series Nominated
2002 Emmy Award Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing for a Variety or Music Program Nominated
Writers Guild of America Award Comedy/Variety (Including Talk) - Series Won
2003 Emmy Award Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing for a Variety or Music Program Nominated
Writers Guild of America Award Comedy/Variety (Including Talk) - Series Won
2004 Emmy Award Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing for a Variety or Music Program Nominated
Writers Guild of America Award Comedy/Variety (Including Talk) - Series Nominated
2005 Emmy Award Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing for a Variety or Music Program Nominated
People's Choice Award Favorite Late Night Talk Show Host Nominated
Telvis Award For the color spot of the year Special Telvis Won
Writers Guild of America Award Late Night with Conan O'Brien Comedy/Variety (Including Talk) - Series Won
2006 Emmy Award Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing for a Variety or Music Program Nominated
People's Choice Award Favorite Late Night Talk Show Host Nominated
Writers Guild of America Award Comedy/Variety (Including Talk) - Series Won
2007 Emmy Award Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing for a Variety or Music Program Won
Writers Guild of America Award Comedy/Variety (Including Talk) - Series Nominated
2008 Emmy Award Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing for a Variety or Music Program Nominated
2009 Emmy Award Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing for a Variety or Music Program Nominated
Writers Guild of America Award Comedy/Variety (Including Talk) - Series Nominated
2010 Emmy Award The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien Outstanding Comedy, Music or Variety Series Nominated
Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Series Nominated
Writers Guild of America Award Comedy/Variety (Including Talk) - Series Nominated
2011 People's Choice Award Conan Favorite TV Talk Show Host Won
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Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 04/18/11 at 6:47 am
I watch his show whenever I can,He is such a pisser. ;D
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 04/19/11 at 6:00 am
The person of the day...James Franco
James Edward Franco (born April 19, 1978) is an American actor, film director, screenwriter, film producer, author, painter and performance artist. He began acting during the late 1990s, appearing on the short-lived television series Freaks and Geeks and starring in several teen films. He achieved international fame with his portrayals of Harry Osborn in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy, drug dealer Saul Silver in Pineapple Express and Aron Ralston in 127 Hours. His other well known films include Milk, Tristan & Isolde, Flyboys, Date Night, Your Highness, Eat Pray Love and the upcoming Planet of the Apes reboot Rise of the Planet of the Apes. He has been nominated for three Golden Globe awards, winning one, and received an Academy Award nomination for his work in 127 Hours.
After 15 months of training, he began auditioning in Los Angeles, California, and got his first break in 1999, after he was cast in a leading role on the short-lived but well-reviewed television series Freaks and Geeks. Franco has since described the series as "one of the most fun" work experiences that he has had. In another interview, Franco said: "When we were doing Freaks and Geeks, I didn’t quite understand how movies and TV worked, and I would improvise even if the camera wasn’t on me ... So I was improvising a little bit back then, but not in a productive way." His first major film was the romantic comedy Whatever It Takes (2000), in which he co-starred with Marla Sokoloff. He was subsequently cast as the title role in director Mark Rydell's 2001 TV biopic James Dean. To immerse himself in the role, Franco went from being a non-smoker to smoking two packs of cigarettes a day, dyed his dark brown hair blond, and learned to ride a motorcycle as well as play guitar and the bongos. To have a greater understanding of Dean, Franco spent hours with two of Dean's associates. Other research included reading books on Dean and studying his movies. While filming James Dean, the actor, to get into character, cut off communication with his family and friends, as well as his then-girlfriend. "It was a very lonely existence," he notes. "If I wasn't on a set, I was watching James Dean. That was my whole thinking. James Dean. James Dean." Despite already being a fan of Dean, Franco feared he might be typecast if he'd captured the actor too convincingly. Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly wrote: "Franco could have walked through the role and done a passable Dean, but instead gets under the skin of this insecure, rootless young man." He received a Golden Globe Award and nominations for an Emmy Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award (SAG).
2002–2007
Franco at the Spider-Man 3 premiere, April 2007
In the 2002 superhero film Spider-Man, Franco played Harry Osborn, the son of the villainous Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe) and best friend of the title character (Tobey Maguire). Originally, Franco was considered for the lead role of Spider-Man/Peter Parker in the film, though the lead went to Maguire. Todd McCarthy of Variety noted that there are "good moments" between Maguire and Franco in the film. Spider-Man was a commercial and critical success. The movie grossed $114 million during its opening weekend in North America and went on to earn $822 million worldwide. In this same year, Franco was cast as a homeless drug addict in the drama City by the Sea (2002) after co-star Robert De Niro saw a snippet of his work in James Dean. He lived on the streets for several days to better understand the subject of the matter. The following year he co-starred alongside Neve Campbell in Robert Altman's The Company (2003). The success of the first Spider-Man film led Franco to reprise the role in the 2004 sequel, Spider-Man 2. The movie was well received by critics, and it proved to be a big financial success, setting a new opening weekend box office record for North America. With revenue of $783 million worldwide, it became the second highest grossing film in 2004.
The following year he appeared in the 2005 war film The Great Raid, in which he portrayed Robert Prince, a captain in the United States Army's elite Sixth Ranger Battalion. In 2006, Franco co-starred with Tyrese Gibson in Annapolis and played legendary hero Tristan in Tristan & Isolde, a dramatization of the Tristan and Iseult story also starring English actress Sophia Myles. For the former, he did eight months of boxing training and for the latter, he practiced horseback riding and sword fighting. He then completed training for his Private Pilot Licence in preparation for his role in Flyboys, which was released in September 2006; the same month, Franco appeared briefly in The Wicker Man, the remake of the seminal horror film. He appeared in the film alongside Nicolas Cage, who directed him in Sonny (2002). Also in 2006, he made a cameo appearance in the romantic comedy The Holiday. In 2007, he again played Harry Osborn in Spider-Man 3. In contrast to the previous two films' positive reviews, Spider-Man 3 was met with a mixed reception by critics. Nonetheless, with a total worldwide gross of $891 million, it stands as the most successful film in the series, and Franco's highest grossing film to the end of 2008. In this same year, Franco made a cameo appearance as himself in the Apatow-directed comedy Knocked Up, which starred Freaks and Geeks alumni Seth Rogen, Jason Segel and Martin Starr.
2008–2010
He next starred in Pineapple Express (2008), a comedy film co-starring and co-written by Rogen and produced by Apatow. Of Franco's character, Apatow said, "You tell him, 'Okay, you're going to play a pot dealer,' and he comes back with a three-dimensional character you totally believe exists. He takes it very seriously, even when it's comedy." In her New York Times review, critic Manohla Dargis wrote: "He’s delightful as Saul, loosey-goosey and goofy yet irrepressibly sexy, despite that greasy curtain of hair and a crash pad with a zero WAF (Woman Acceptance Factor). It’s an unshowy, generous performance and it greatly humanizes a movie that, as it shifts genre gears and cranks up the noise, becomes disappointingly sober and self-serious." His performance earned him a second Golden Globe nomination, for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy. Though no longer a cannabis user, he was awarded High Times magazine Stoner of the Year Award for his work in Pineapple Express. In 2008 he also appeared in two films by American artist Carter exhibited at the Yvon Lambert gallery in Paris. On September 20, 2008, he hosted the sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live (SNL), and a second time on December 19, 2009.
Franco starred opposite Sean Penn, Josh Brolin, and Emile Hirsch in Gus Van Sant's Milk (2008). In the film, he played Scott Smith, the boyfriend of Harvey Milk (Penn). Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times, in review of the film, wrote: "Franco is a nice match for him as the lover who finally has enough of political life." For his performance in the film, Franco won the Independent Spirit Award in the category for Best Supporting Actor. In late 2009, he joined the cast of the daytime soap opera General Hospital on a recurring basis. He plays Franco, a multimedia artist much like himself, who comes to Port Charles with unfinished business with mob enforcer Jason Morgan (Steve Burton). Franco has called his General Hospital role performance art. In 2011, he'll reprise his role in two episodes of General Hospital. Franco next made an appearance on the sitcom 30 Rock where he played himself and carried on a fake romance with Jenna Maroney (Jane Krakowski) in a scheme concocted by their respective agents. After appearing in the commercial successes Date Night and Eat Pray Love, Franco played poet Allen Ginsberg in the drama Howl, released on September 24.
"I didn't have many actors to act opposite with. So the crew and the director and the writer, they all became my co-stars in a way and we all had this one character to share in. I, it was my body but we were all kinda jammed in there .
“
”
Franco on filming 127 Hours
His next project was 127 Hours, where he portrayed mountain climber Aron Ralston and was directed by Academy Award-winner Danny Boyle. It was given a limited release starting on November 5, 2010. 127 Hours centered on Ralston trying to free his hand after it became trapped under a boulder in a ravine while canyoneering alone in Utah and resorting to desperate measures in order to survive, eventually amputating his arm. During the 5 week, 12 hours per day shoot, Franco would only leave the gully set to use the lavatory and would read books such as academic textbooks to keep busy. Franco later called making 127 Hours a once in a life time experience. To date, 127 Hours is one of his most well-reviewed movies and was also a commercial success, commissioning $49 million against an $18 million budget. His performance earned him universal acclaim from critics. Subsequently, he was nominated for most of the high-profile awards, notably an Academy Award, Golden Globe and SAG as well as winning an Independent Spirit Award.
2011–present
On February 23, Franco made a cameo appearance on NBC's Minute to Win It where the real-life Ralston was participating as a contestant playing for charity. After having an uncredited cameo in the opening scene of The Green Hornet (2011), he'll next star opposite Natalie Portman and Danny McBride in the fantasy comedy Your Highness on April 8. In the latter, which is set in Medieval times, he portrays Fabious, a Prince who teams up with his brother (McBride) to rescue Fabious' soon to be bride (played by Zooey Deschanel). In May 2010, he was cast to star in Rupert Wyatt's Rise of the Planet of the Apes, a reboot of the Planet of the Apes series which will be released on August 5. Franco has also announced that in the fall of 2011, he will appear on Broadway with Nicole Kidman in the upcoming revival of Sweet Bird of Youth by Tennessee Williams, which will be directed by David Cromer. The actor will also star in Oz: The Great and Powerful, a Disney prequel to L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900), which is told from the point of view of the Wizard and details how he arrived in Oz and how he became the ruler. Franco's commitment to that project caused him to drop out of the independent movie While We're Young. At the end of September 2010, the actor acquired the rights to Stephen Elliott's The Adderall Diaries, with the intentions to adapt, direct and star in it.
It was announced in January 2011 that the actor has planned to not only star in but direct himself in The Night Stalker, a film version of author Philip Carlo's book about the 1980s serial killer, Richard Ramirez. Co-screenwriter to the screenplay, Nicholas Constantine, was initially unconvinced that Franco would be right for the movie, until he learned of Franco's desire to be a director and later watched three of his short films, one of which featured a serial killer, ultimately confirming to the writer that the actor had a darker side. One of his other upcoming projects, The Iceman, with reunite Franco with Michael Shannon, after the two worked together on the short film Herbert White. The movie is based upon real-life contract murderer Richard Kuklinski, who notoriously froze his victims. The actor also has plans to direct a film version of William Faulkner's As I Lay Dying.
In April 2011 it was announced that the actor will star alongside Winona Ryder in a film called The Stare, which is to be directed by Jay Anania. The film is also set to launch Waterstone Entertainment in the business as it is the first project bankrolled by the studio.
Other projects
Franco produced and directed a documentary titled Saturday Night documenting a week in the production of an episode of SNL. The film began as a short for an NYU class but grew due to his two episodes as host, while short stories he wrote for other classes appeared in Esquire and McSweeney's. In summer 2010, the fictional Franco from General Hospital held an exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, while the real Franco held an exhibit at the museum based on his experiences on the soap opera. One of his short movies, The Clerk's Tale, was screened in competition at the Hamptons Film Festival at the end of 2010.
On October 19, 2010 Scribner published a collection of short stories called Palo Alto: Stories by Franco. The book is named after the California city where Franco grew up and is dedicated to many of the writers he worked with at Brooklyn College. Inspired by some of Franco's own teenage memories, Palo Alto consists of life in Palo Alto as experienced by a series of teenagers who spend most of their time indulging in driving drunk, using drugs and taking part in unplanned acts of violence. Each passage is told by a young narrator. The book has received mixed reviews; Los Angeles Times called it "the work of an ambitious young man who clearly loves to read, who has a good eye for detail, but who has spent way too much time on style and virtually none on substance." The Guardian said that Franco's "foray into the literary world may be met with cynicism in some quarters, but this is a promising debut from a most unlikely source." Writing in the New York Times, reviewer and fellow author Joshua Mohr praised Franco for how, in the story "American History", he juxtaposed historical parts with a present-day social commentary that "makes the we wonder how much we’ve actually evolved in post-bellum America."
Franco with Denis O'Hara discussing Milk on December 8, 2008
In January, the actor screened his multimedia project entitled Three's Company The Drama, in which he merges video and art to update the former sitcom, at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival. Franco reunited with Milk director Van Sant to make Unfinished, a project that features two movies: Endless Idaho and My Own Private River. Endless Idaho showcases edited outtakes, deleted scenes and behind-the-scenes footage from the 1991 movie My Own Private Idaho, while My Own Private River focuses on the late actor River Phoenix. The idea for the exhibition was conceived after Van Sant introduced unused footage from the 1991 film to Franco, inspiring him to turn it into something more. Unfinished opened from February 26 to April 9 at the Gagosian Gallery in Beverly Hills.
On February 27, 2011, Franco and Anne Hathaway hosted the 83rd Academy Awards. The two were selected to help the awards show achieve its goal of attracting a younger audience. Franco had previously said that he accepted the job for the experience and because it was like a once in a lifetime opportunity. Numerous media viewers criticized Franco for his discontent and lack of energy on stage and the show was widely panned, with some reviewers dubbing it the worst telecast in its history. The actor later spoke about his hosting in an interview with The Late Show with David Letterman. He explained that when accepting the job he never had high hopes, adding “It was never on my list of things to do. It doesn’t mean I didn’t care and it doesn’t mean I didn’t try, right?” Regarding allegations that he was under the influence while hosting, Franco commented that "I think the Tasmanian Devil would look stoned standing next to Anne Hathaway. She has a lot of energy!" He concluded that he tried his best and could have had "low energy" during the telecast.
Franco will also direct two short films for songs ("Blue" and "That Someone Is You") by R.E.M. from their album Collapse Into Now (2011).
Volunteered to be Stephen Colbert's art consultant for his spoof news show "The Colbert Report"
Charitable work
When Franco was at a point in his life where he wanted to give back but was unsure how, he asked his Spider-Man co-star Kirsten Dunst for advice. At the suggestion of Dunst, he started volunteering at the charity Art of Elysium, where she also volunteers, which helps kids with serious medical conditions. He said the experience helped save his life. In January 2011, at the Art of Elysium Heaven Gala in Los Angeles, Franco was honored for his work at the hospital, receiving the Spirit of Elysium accolade.
On March 31, 2011, the actor took part in "An Evening with James Franco", a Washington DC diner benefit for 826DC, a non-profit foundation created to help neighborhood students reach their goals, as well as provide after-school literature programs and workshops that encourage them to improve their writing skills. Franco became involved with Dave Egger's 826 National after Eggers asked him to do a conceptual idea for the program, and he directed a documentary for them and has since been a supporter of them. At the event, Franco spoke about how he thought that schools needed to be more original with their literature programs. "Writing can do things that video cannot", he added. In April, Franco autographed a T-shirt that will be auctioned-off through the Yoshiki Foundation, with the proceeds being donated for the Japanese tsunami relief that occurred in 2011
Filmography
Film Year↓ Title↓ Role↓ Notes
1998 1973 Greg TV film
1999 To Serve and Protect Matt Carr TV film
1999 Never Been Kissed Jason Way
2000 At Any Cost Mike
2000 If Tomorrow Comes Devin
2000 Whatever It Takes Chris
2001 Mean People Suck Casey
2001 Some Body Apartment guy 3 Uncredited
2001 James Dean James Dean TV film
Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor in Television Film
Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film
Nominated—Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie
Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie
2002 Blind Spot Danny
2002 Mother Ghost Skateboarder guy
2002 Sonny Sonny Phillips limited release
2002 City by the Sea Joey Nominated—Chlotrudis Award for Best Supporting Actor
2002 Spider-Man Harry Osborn
2002 Deuces Wild Tino
2003 Company, TheThe Company Josh
2004 Spider-Man 2 Harry Osborn
2005 Ape, TheThe Ape Harry Walker Direct-to-video
2005 Great Raid, TheThe Great Raid Captain Prince
2005 Fool's Gold Brent Also writer/director
2006 Grasshopper Travis Short film
2006 Tristan & Isolde Tristan
2006 Annapolis Jake Huard
2006 Wicker Man, TheThe Wicker Man Bar guy #1
2006 Flyboys Blaine Rawlings
2006 Dead Girl, TheThe Dead Girl Derek
2006 Holiday, TheThe Holiday Himself Uncredited
2007 Spider-Man 3 Harry Osborn / New Goblin Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor
Nominated—MTV Movie Award for Best Fight
2007 Knocked Up Himself Uncredited
2007 In the Valley of Elah Sergeant Dan Carnelli
2007 Finishing the Game Dean Silo/"Rob Force"
2007 American Crime, AnAn American Crime Andy
2007 Interview Boyfriend on phone
2007 Camille Silias
2007 Good Time Max Max Verbinski Also writer/director
2008 Pineapple Express Saul Silver Nominated—Detroit Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actor
Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
Nominated—MTV Movie Award for Best Comedic Performance
Nominated—MTV Movie Award for Best Fight
2008 Nights in Rodanthe Dr. Mark Flanner Uncredited
2008 Milk Scott Smith Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Cast
Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male
Nominated—Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor
Nominated—MTV Movie Award for Best Kiss
Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture
Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
2010 Shadows & Lies William Vincent
2010 Date Night Thomas Felton
2010 Eat Pray Love David
2010 Howl Allen Ginsberg
2010 127 Hours Aron Ralston Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead
Indiana Film Journalists Association Award for Best Actor
Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor
New York Film Critics Online Award for Best Actor
Santa Barbara International Film Festival Award for Outstanding Performance
Utah Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
Nominated—Academy Award for Best Actor
Nominated—BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role
Nominated—Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
Nominated—Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
Nominated—Detroit Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor
Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama
Nominated—Houston Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor
Nominated—Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor
Nominated—Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor
Nominated—San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor
Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama
Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
Nominated—St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
Nominated—Toronto Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
Nominated—Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
2011 The Green Hornet Danny Clear Cameo uncredited
2011 Your Highness Fabious '
2011 Rise of the Planet of the Apes post-production
2011 In Praise of Shadows William Vincent post-production
Series television Year↓ Title↓ Role↓ Notes
1997 Pacific Blue Brian
1999 Profiler Stevie
1999–2000 Freaks and Geeks Daniel Desario
2001 The X-Files Officer #2
2009–2011 General Hospital Franco
2010 30 Rock Himself Episode: "Klaus and Greta"
Selected works
* Franco, James. "A Star, a Soap and the Meaning of Art." The Wall Street Journal, December 4, 2009.
* Franco, James. "Just Before the Black." Esquire, March 24, 2010.
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Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: nally on 04/19/11 at 5:42 pm
I watch his show whenever I can,He is such a pisser. ;D
Conan O'Brien? I liked when he was on NBC; sometimes I would stay up late to watch him when he was hosting "Late Night." Not often, though. Now he's on TBS late at night, but I haven't seen his new show on that channel yet.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 04/19/11 at 7:14 pm
Conan O'Brien? I liked when he was on NBC; sometimes I would stay up late to watch him when he was hosting "Late Night." Not often, though. Now he's on TBS late at night, but I haven't seen his new show on that channel yet.
On Channel 8 In New York.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: nally on 04/20/11 at 12:08 am
On Channel 8 In New York.
Is that where you pick up TBS?
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 04/20/11 at 6:54 am
Is that where you pick up TBS?
Yes.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 04/20/11 at 7:26 am
The person of the day...Don Mattingly
Donald Arthur "Don" Mattingly (born April 20, 1961), nicknamed "Donnie Baseball" and "The Hit Man", is a former Major League Baseball first baseman and current manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers. He played his entire 14-year baseball career for the New York Yankees (1982–1995). After his playing career, he also served as a hitting coach for the Yankees and Dodgers prior to taking on his current position as manager of the Dodgers.
Mattingly spent his official rookie season of 1983 as a part-time first baseman and outfielder, waiting for a full-time spot in the lineup to open up. He played well, hitting .283 in 279 at-bats, but with little power.
Slugger Steve Balboni was the favored organizational prospect at first base, but it became apparent in 1982-83 that Balboni was too prone to striking out and that his ranging right-handed swing was not suited for the Yankee Stadium. Mattingly quickly surpassed Balboni on the team's depth chart, and Balboni was traded to the Kansas City Royals in 1984.
Mattingly became the Yankees' full-time first baseman and an MVP candidate. He hit .343 and beat out teammate Dave Winfield in a close race for the American League batting title with a 4-for-5 game on the last day of the season. Mattingly also led the league with 207 hits. He developed a power stroke, slugging a league-leading 44 doubles to go with 23 home runs. He was 2nd in the league in slugging percentage (.537) and at bats per strikeout (18.3), 4th in total bases (324), 5th in RBIs (110), 6th in sacrifice flies (9), and 10th in on base percentage (.381). He also batted .400 with runners in scoring position.
Mattingly with the Yankees.
Mattingly followed up his breakout season with a spectacular 1985, winning the MVP award in the American League. He batted .324 (3rd in the league) with 35 home runs (4th), 48 doubles (1st), and 145 RBI (1st), then the most RBIs in a season by a left-handed major league batter since Ted Williams drove in 159 in 1949. His 21-RBI lead in the category was the most in the American League since Al Rosen's RBI title of 1953. He led the league in sacrifice flies (15), total bases (370), and extra base hits (86), and was 2nd in the AL in hits (211) and slugging percentage (.567), 3rd in intentional walks (13) and at bats per strikeout (13.9), 6th in runs (107), and 9th in at bats per home run (18.6). He batted .354 with two out and runners in scoring position. Also in 1985 Mattingly was the first farm-grown Yankee to lead the club in homers since Bobby Murcer did it from 1970 to 1973.
Mattingly was also recognized in 1985 for his defense, winning his first of nine Gold Glove Awards. He was considered such an asset defensively that Yankees management assigned him to play games at second base and third base early in his career, even though he was a left-handed thrower. Mattingly appeared as a left-handed throwing second baseman for one-third of one inning, during the resumption of the George Brett "Pine Tar Incident" game in 1983. He also played three games as a left-handed throwing third baseman during a five-game series against the Seattle Mariners in 1986.
Mattingly did just as well in 1986, leading the league with 238 hits, 53 doubles, 388 total bases, and a .573 slugging percentage. He also batted .352 (2nd in the league), hit 31 home runs (6th) and drove in 113 runs (3rd). However, he was easily beaten in the American League MVP voting by pitcher Roger Clemens, who also won the Cy Young Award unanimously that year.
In 1987, Mattingly tied Dale Long's major league record by hitting home runs in eight consecutive games (record later tied again by Ken Griffey, Jr., of Seattle in 1993), as well as stroking an extra base hit in ten consecutive games. Mattingly had a record 10 home runs during this streak (Long & Griffey had eight of them). Also that season, Mattingly set a major league record by hitting six grand slam home runs in a season, a record matched by Travis Hafner during the 2006 season. Mattingly's Grand Slams in 1987 were also the only six Grand Slams of his career.
MLB-record six Grand Slams in one season 1
# Date Against Pitcher Venue Score
1 May 14 Texas Rangers Mike Mason Yankee Stadium 9-1 W
2 Jun 29 Toronto Blue Jays John Cerutti Exhibition Stadium 15-14 W
3 Jul 10 Chicago White Sox Joel McKeon Yankee Stadium 9-5 W
4 Jul 16 Texas Rangers Charlie Hough Arlington Stadium 12-3 W
5 Sep 25 Baltimore Orioles Jose Mesa Memorial Stadium 8-4 W
6 Sep 29 Boston Red Sox Bruce Hurst Yankee Stadium 6-0 W
In June 1987, it was reported that Mattingly injured his back during some clubhouse horseplay with pitcher Bob Shirley though both denied this. Nevertheless, he finished with a .327 batting average, 30 home runs, and 115 RBIs, his fourth straight year with at least 110 RBIs. Between 1985 and 1987, Mattingly hit 96 home runs with just 114 strikeouts.
Though Mattingly would recover, recurrent back woes would curtail his statistics, and eventually, his career.
1988 was a decidedly off year for Mattingly, who had just 18 home runs and 88 RBI, but nonetheless was still in the top 10 in the league in batting average at a .311 clip. He rebounded in 1989 to 113 RBI, but his average dipped to .303. Mattingly's five runs scored on April 30, 1988, marked the 12th time it has been done by a Yankee.
Mattingly's back problems flared up anew in 1990; after struggling with the bat, he had to go on the disabled list in July, only returning late in the season for an ineffective finish. His stat line—a .256 average, 5 home runs and 42 RBI in almost 400 at-bats—came as a shock. Mattingly underwent extensive therapy in the offseason, but his hitting ability was never quite the same. Though he averaged .290 over his final five seasons, he became more of a slap hitter, hitting just 53 home runs over that timeframe. Mattingly's defense remained stellar, but he was not always physically able to play.
Mattingly made his major league debut in 1982, the year after the Yankees lost the World Series. The team did not reach the postseason in any of Mattingly's first 13 years, although they arguably would have made the playoffs in 1994, when the player's strike ended the season prematurely with the Yankees having the best record in the American League.
In 1995, Mattingly finally reached the playoffs when the Yankees won the AL wild card on the next-to-last day of the season. In the only postseason series of his career, facing the Seattle Mariners, Mattingly batted .417 with 6 RBI and a memorable go-ahead home run in Game Two, his final game at Yankee Stadium. In the final game of the series (and of his career), Mattingly again broke a tie with a two-run double. The New York bullpen faltered and Seattle won in the 11th inning of the decisive Game Five.
Retirement
YankeesRetired23.svg
Don Mattingly's number 23 was retired by the New York Yankees in 1997.
Mattingly's retired number in Monument Park at Yankee Stadium
Mattingly finished his career with 2,153 hits, 222 home runs, 1,099 RBI, and a .307 lifetime average. He is commonly cited as the best Yankee player to have never played in a World Series. His career had bad timing, as the Yankees lost the World Series the year before he broke into the big leagues and they ended up winning the World Series in the first year of Mattingly's retirement. This World Series drought (1982–1995) was the longest in Yankees history since the start of the Babe Ruth era and it was worsened by the player's strike in 1994, which ended a promising chance for a World Series title.
The Yankees retired Mattingly's number 23 and dedicated his plaque for Monument Park at Yankee Stadium on August 31, 1997. The plaque calls him "A humble man of grace and dignity, a captain who led by example, proud of the pinstripe tradition and dedicated to the pursuit of excellence, a Yankee forever."
Career Hitting G AB H 2B 3B HR R RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS
1,785 7,003 2,153 442 20 222 1,007 1,099 14 588 444 .307 .358 .471 .829
Hall of Fame Voting
Don Mattingly has been on the hall of fame ballot since 2001, but has never received the percentage of votes necessary for election. In his first year, he received 145 votes (28.2%), but this has steadily declined. In 2009, 12% of voters still put him on their ballots.
Coaching career
Back with the Yankees
Mattingly as hitting coach with the New York Yankees
After retiring as a player, Mattingly spent seven seasons as a special instructor during Yankees' spring training in Tampa, Florida from 1997-2003.
Following the 2003 season, the Yankees named Mattingly the hitting coach. He spent three seasons in that role, receiving much praise from the Yankees organization and his players. Under Mattingly, the Yankees set an all-time franchise record with 242 home runs in 2004.
On October 26, 2006, Mattingly was promoted to being Joe Torre's bench coach, replacing Lee Mazzilli.
On October 18, 2007, Don Mattingly was considered a front runner for the Yankee's manager position, after Joe Torre declined a one year contract extension. Mattingly was interviewed, along with Joe Girardi and Tony Peña. The Yankees offered the managerial position to Girardi, who accepted.
Los Angeles Dodgers
Mattingly with the Dodgers
After not being offered the position of manager for the Yankees, Mattingly followed Joe Torre to the Los Angeles Dodgers to serve as the team's hitting coach. On January 22, 2008, Mattingly was replaced as hitting coach, citing family reasons, and would instead serve as major league special assignment coach for the Dodgers in 2008. It was the first time he worked for a team other than the New York Yankees in his professional baseball career. The Los Angeles Times reported on July 9, 2008 that Mattingly would once again be the Dodgers' hitting coach, replacing Mike Easler. The Dodgers made the playoffs in 2008 and again in 2009 and in both years, advanced to the National League Championship Series, largely behind the bat of mid-season acquisition Manny Ramirez, before losing both times in the NLCS to the Philadelphia Phillies.
In the 2009-10 offseason, Mattingly was a finalist for the managerial position with the Cleveland Indians (for which Manny Acta was eventually hired). When Torre decided to retire at the end of the 2010 season, Mattingly was announced as his replacement. To acquire some managerial experience, Mattingly managed the Phoenix Desert Dogs of the Arizona Fall League in 2010.
Mattingly made his managerial debut on March 31, 2011 by defeating the San Francisco Giants 2-1 at Dodger Stadium.
Mattingly appeared in a baseball-themed episode of The Simpsons, entitled "Homer at the Bat". In the episode (originally aired on February 20, 1992), team owner Mr. Burns repeatedly orders Mattingly to shave off his sideburns, even though Mattingly has no sideburns. A confused Mattingly returns with 1/3 of his head shaved from one ear over the top of the head to other. The irate Burns cuts him from the team because he would not "shave those sideburns!" As he departs, the exasperated Mattingly says to himself, "I still like him better than Steinbrenner."
In 1991, before the episode aired but after it was produced, then-Yankees manager Stump Merrill told him that until he cut his hair, he would not play. This was in accord with Yankee owner George Steinbrenner's policy requiring his players to maintain well-kept head and facial hair, although at the time, Steinbrenner was suspended. Mattingly was sporting a longish or mullet like hair style, and when he refused to cut it, he was benched. This led to huge media frenzy with reporters and talk radio repeatedly mocking the team so much so that the WPIX broadcasting crew of Phil Rizzuto, Bobby Murcer and Tom Seaver lampooned the incident before the start of a game on a pregame show with Rizzuto playing the role of a barber sent to enforce the policy. Mimicking the controversy, a perfectly groomed Seaver has hair that to Rizzuto appears "a bit too long." Before proceeding with the telecast Rizzuto "trims" Seaver's hair with a barber shears.
Many people believed the joke in The Simpsons episode to be a reference to the incident, but "Homer at the Bat" was actually recorded a year before it happened. In 1995, Mattingly again ran afoul of the policy when he grew a goatee.
Mattingly has also appeared in public service announcements airing on the Spike TV network advocating fathers spending time with their children as part of the "True Dads" campaign to encourage men to take an active role in their children's lives.
Mattingly is referred to by name in several episodes of Seinfeld. In one memorable episode, his uniform pants split because they were made of 100% cotton at the behest of George Costanza.
See also
Flag of Indiana.svg Indiana portal
* List of MLB individual streaks
* 23 (number)
* Top 500 home run hitters of all time
* List of major league players with 2,000 hits
* List of Major League Baseball doubles records
* List of Major League Baseball players with 400 doubles
* List of Major League Baseball players with 1000 runs
* List of Major League Baseball players with 1000 RBI
* List of Major League Baseball RBI champions
* List of Major League Baseball batting champions
* List of Major League Baseball doubles champions
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Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: nally on 04/20/11 at 1:10 pm
Happy 50th birthday Don!! http://www.inthe00s.com/smile/01/balloons.gif http://www.inthe00s.com/smile/01/bdaybiggrin.gif http://www.inthe00s.com/smile/02/birthday.gif
Now if my beloved L.A. Dud-gers could just win one tonight, that would be an awesome birthday present for their manager.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 04/21/11 at 5:39 am
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary, born 21 April 1926) is the constitutional monarch of sixteen independent sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize, Antigua and Barbuda, and Saint Kitts and Nevis. In addition, as Head of the Commonwealth, she is the figurehead of the 54-member Commonwealth of Nations and, as the British monarch, she is the Supreme Governor of the Church of England.
Elizabeth was educated privately at home. Her father, George VI, became in 1936 King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India. She began to undertake public duties during the Second World War, in which she served in the Auxiliary Territorial Service. After the war and Indian independence George VI's title of Emperor of India was abandoned, and the evolution of the British Empire into the Commonwealth accelerated. In 1947, Elizabeth made the first of many tours around the Commonwealth, and married Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. They have four children: Charles, Anne, Andrew, and Edward.
In 1949, George VI became the first Head of the Commonwealth, a "symbol of the free association of its independent member nations". On his death in 1952, Elizabeth became Head of the Commonwealth, and queen of seven independent Commonwealth countries: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Pakistan, and Ceylon. Her coronation service in 1953 was the first to be televised. During her reign, which at 59 years is one of the longest for a British monarch, she became queen of 25 other countries within the Commonwealth as they gained independence. Between 1956 and 1992, half of her realms, including South Africa, Pakistan, and Ceylon (renamed Sri Lanka), became republics.
In 1992, which Elizabeth termed her annus horribilis ("horrible year"), two of her sons separated from their wives, her daughter divorced, and a severe fire destroyed part of Windsor Castle. Revelations on the state of her eldest son Charles's marriage continued, and he divorced in 1996. The following year, her former daughter-in-law Diana, Princess of Wales, died in a car crash in Paris. The media criticised the royal family for remaining in seclusion in the days before Diana's funeral, but Elizabeth's personal popularity rebounded once she had appeared in public and has since remained high. Her Silver and Golden Jubilees were celebrated in 1977 and 2002; planning for her Diamond Jubilee in 2012 is underway.
George VI's health declined during 1951, and Elizabeth was soon frequently standing in for him at public events. In October of that year, she toured Canada, and visited President of the United States Harry S. Truman in Washington, D.C.; on the trip, her private secretary, Martin Charteris, carried a draft accession declaration for use if the King died while she was on tour. In early 1952, Elizabeth and Philip set out for a tour of Australia and New Zealand via Kenya. On 6 February 1952, they had just returned to their Kenyan residence Sagana Lodge, after a night spent at Treetops Hotel, when word arrived of the death of Elizabeth's father. Philip broke the news to the new queen. Martin Charteris asked her to choose a regnal name; she chose to remain Elizabeth, "of course". She was proclaimed queen throughout her realms, and the royal party hastily returned to the United Kingdom. She and the Duke of Edinburgh moved into Buckingham Palace.
Elizabeth in crown and robes next to her husband in military uniform
Coronation portrait of Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh, June 1953
With Elizabeth's accession it seemed likely that the royal house would bear her husband's name. Lord Mountbatten thought it would be the House of Mountbatten, as Elizabeth would typically have taken Philip's last name on marriage; however, Queen Mary and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill favoured the retention of the House of Windsor, and so Windsor it remained. The Duke complained,"I am the only man in the country not allowed to give his name to his own children." In 1960, after the death of Queen Mary and the resignation of Churchill, the surname Mountbatten-Windsor was adopted for Philip and Elizabeth's male-line descendants who do not carry royal titles.
In the midst of preparations for the coronation, Princess Margaret informed her sister that she wished to marry Peter Townsend, a divorced commoner 16 years older than Margaret with two sons from his previous marriage. The Queen asked them to wait for a year; in the words of Martin Charteris, "the Queen was naturally sympathetic towards the Princess, but I think she thought – she hoped – given time, the affair would peter out." Senior politicians were against the match, and the Church of England did not permit re-marriage after divorce. If Margaret contracted a civil marriage, she would have to renounce her right of succession. Eventually, she decided to abandon her plans with Townsend. In 1960, she married Antony Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon. They were divorced in 1978. She did not remarry.
Despite the death of Elizabeth's grandmother Queen Mary on 24 March 1953, the coronation went ahead in Westminster Abbey on 2 June 1953, in accordance with Mary's wishes. The entire ceremony, except the anointing and communion, was televised, and the coverage was instrumental in boosting the medium's popularity; the number of television licences in the United Kingdom doubled to 3 million, and many of the more than 20 million British viewers watched television for the first time in the homes of their friends or neighbours. In North America, just under 100 million viewers watched recorded broadcasts. Elizabeth wore a gown commissioned from Norman Hartnell, which was embroidered with floral emblems for the countries of the Commonwealth: English Tudor rose, Scots thistle, Welsh leek, Irish shamrock, Australian wattle, Canadian maple leaf, New Zealand silver fern, South African protea, lotus flowers for India and Ceylon, and Pakistan's wheat, cotton, and jute.
In 1977, Elizabeth marked the Silver Jubilee of her accession. Parties and events took place throughout the Commonwealth, many coinciding with the Queen's associated national and Commonwealth tours. The celebrations re-affirmed the Queen's popularity, despite virtually coincident negative press coverage of Princess Margaret's separation from her husband. In 1978, Elizabeth endured a state visit by the communist dictator of Romania, Nicolae Ceauşescu. The following year brought two blows: one was the unmasking of Anthony Blunt, former Surveyor of the Queen's Pictures, as a communist spy; the other was the assassination of her relative and in-law Lord Mountbatten by the Provisional Irish Republican Army.
According to Paul Martin, Sr., by the end of the 1970s the Queen was worried the Crown "had little meaning for" Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. Tony Benn said that the Queen found Trudeau "rather disappointing". Trudeau's supposed republicanism seemed to be confirmed by his antics, such as sliding down banisters at Buckingham Palace and pirouetting behind the Queen's back in 1977, and the removal of various Canadian royal symbols during his term of office. In 1980, Canadian politicians sent to London to discuss the patriation of the Canadian constitution found the Queen "better informed on ... Canada's constitutional case than any of the British politicians or bureaucrats". She was interested in the constitutional debate, particularly after the failure of Bill C-60, which would have affected her role as head of state. Patriation removed the role of the British parliament in the Canadian constitution, but the monarchy was retained. Trudeau said in his memoirs: "The Queen favoured my attempt to reform the Constitution. I was always impressed not only by the grace she displayed in public at all times, but by the wisdom she showed in private conversation."
http://i560.photobucket.com/albums/ss42/fossilsue/Queen_of_canada_wob.jpg
http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm95/NyxisNight/ascot/ra.jpg
* there is a lot more on Wikipedia
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 04/21/11 at 6:08 am
Happy Birthday Queen Elizabeth. :)
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 04/21/11 at 1:08 pm
Happy Birthday Queen Elizabeth. :)
Is she partying tonight?
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 04/21/11 at 1:14 pm
Is she partying tonight?
probably staying at home.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 04/21/11 at 1:15 pm
probably staying at home.
With home, she has many palaces to her name?
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 04/21/11 at 1:19 pm
With home, she has many palaces to her name?
I don't know.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 04/21/11 at 1:20 pm
I don't know.
It should be mentioned in the Court circular tomorrow.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 04/21/11 at 4:03 pm
I don't know.
The Queen has celebrated her 85th birthday by handing out Maundy money in a traditional royal service at Westminster Abbey.
The monarch handed out specially minted coins to deserving recipients in a ceremony dating from the Middle Ages.
Among the 170 people - 85 men and 85 women - who received Maundy money this year were 40 from the Isle of Man.
Buckingham Palace said it was the first time the Queen's birthday had fallen on Maundy Thursday.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 04/22/11 at 6:21 am
The person of the day...Jack Nicholson
John Joseph "Jack" Nicholson (born April 22, 1937) is an American actor, film director, producer and writer. He is renowned for his often dark-themed portrayals of neurotic characters. Nicholson has been nominated for Academy Awards 12 times. He has won the Academy Award for Best Actor twice, for One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and for As Good as It Gets. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for the 1983 film Terms of Endearment. He is tied with Walter Brennan for most acting wins by a male actor (three), and second to Katharine Hepburn for most acting wins overall (four).
He is also one of only two actors nominated for an Academy Award for acting (either lead or supporting) in every decade from the 1960s to 2000s (the other one being Michael Caine). He has won seven Golden Globe Awards, and received a Kennedy Center Honor in 2001. In 1994, he became one of the youngest actors to be awarded the American Film Institute's Life Achievement Award. Notable films in which he has starred include, in chronological order, Easy Rider, Five Easy Pieces, Chinatown, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, The Shining, The Postman Always Rings Twice, Reds, Terms of Endearment, Batman, A Few Good Men, As Good as It Gets, About Schmidt, Something's Gotta Give and The Departed.
With his acting career heading nowhere, Nicholson seemed resigned to a career behind the camera as a writer/director. His first real taste of writing success was the LSD-fueled screenplay for 1967's The Trip (directed by Corman), which starred Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper. Nicholson also co-wrote, with Bob Rafelson, the movie Head, which starred The Monkees. In addition, he also arranged the movie's soundtrack. However, after a spot opened up in Fonda and Hopper's Easy Rider, it led to his first big acting break. Nicholson played hard-drinking lawyer George Hanson, for which he received his first Oscar nomination. The part of Hanson was a lucky break for Nicholson—the role had in fact been written for actor Rip Torn, who was a close friend of screen writer Terry Southern, but Torn withdrew from the project after a bitter argument with the film's director Dennis Hopper, during which the two men almost came to blows.
A Best Actor nomination came the following year for his persona-defining role in Five Easy Pieces (1970). Also that year, he appeared in the movie adaptation of On A Clear Day You Can See Forever, although most of his performance was left on the cutting room floor.
Other Nicholson roles included Hal Ashby's The Last Detail (1973), for which he was awarded Best Actor at the Cannes Film Festival, and the classic Roman Polanski noir thriller, Chinatown (1974). Nicholson was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for both films. Nicholson was friends with the director long before the death of Polanski's wife, Sharon Tate, at the hands of the Manson Family, and supported him in the days following the deaths. After Tate's death, Nicholson began sleeping with a hammer under his pillow, and took breaks from work to attend the Manson trial. It was at Nicholson's home where the statutory rape case for which Polanski was arrested occurred.
He starred in The Who's Tommy (1975), directed by Ken Russell, and Michelangelo Antonioni's The Passenger (1975).
An American icon
Nicholson (right) and Dennis Hopper at the 62nd Academy Awards, March 26, 1990
Nicholson earned his first Best Actor Oscar for portraying Randle P. McMurphy in the movie adaptation of Ken Kesey's novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, directed by Miloš Forman in 1975. His Oscar was matched when Louise Fletcher received the Best Actress Award for her portrayal of Nurse Ratched.
After this, he began to take more unusual roles. He took a small role in The Last Tycoon, opposite Robert De Niro. He took a less sympathetic role in Arthur Penn's western The Missouri Breaks, specifically to work with Marlon Brando. He followed this by making his second directorial effort with the western comedy Goin' South. His first movie as a director was a 1971 quirky release called Drive, He Said.
Although he garnered no Academy Award for Stanley Kubrick's adaptation of Stephen King's The Shining (1980), it remains one of Nicholson's most significant roles. His next Oscar, the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, came for his role of retired astronaut Garrett Breedlove in Terms of Endearment (1983), directed by James L. Brooks. Nicholson continued to work prolifically in the 80s, starring in such films as The Postman Always Rings Twice (1981), Reds (1981), Prizzi's Honor (1985), The Witches of Eastwick (1987), Broadcast News (1987), and Ironweed (1987). Three Oscar nominations also followed (Reds, Prizzi's Honor, and Ironweed).
Nicholson introduced several acts at Live Aid at the JFK Stadium in July 1985. He turned down the role of John Book in Witness. The 1989 Batman movie, wherein Nicholson played the psychotic murderer and villain, The Joker, was an international smash hit, and a lucrative percentage deal earned Nicholson about $60 million.
For his role as hot-headed Col. Nathan R. Jessep in A Few Good Men (1992), a movie about a murder in a U.S. Marine Corps unit, Nicholson received yet another Academy nomination. This film contained the court scene in which Nicholson famously explodes, "You can't handle the truth!", in one of the Aaron Sorkin-penned monologues to become part of popular culture.
In 1996, Nicholson collaborated once more with Batman director Tim Burton on Mars Attacks!, pulling double duty as two contrasting characters, President James Dale and Las Vegas property developer Art Land. At first studio executives at Warner Bros. disliked the idea of killing off Nicholson's character, so Burton created two characters and killed them both off.
Not all of Nicholson's performances have been well received. He was nominated for Razzie Awards as worst actor for Man Trouble (1992) and Hoffa (1992). However, Nicholson's performance in Hoffa also earned a Golden Globe nomination.
Nicholson would go on to win his next Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Melvin Udall, a neurotic author with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), in the romance As Good as It Gets (1997), again directed by James L. Brooks. Nicholson's Oscar was matched with the Academy Award for Best Actress for Helen Hunt as a Manhattan waitress drawn into a love/hate friendship with Udall, a frequent diner in the restaurant in which she worked.
In 2001, Nicholson was the first actor to receive the Stanislavsky Award at the Moscow International Film Festival for "conquering the heights of acting and faithfulness".
Nicholson is a keen sports fan, regularly to be seen in courtside seats at Los Angeles Lakers basketball games at Staples Center and the former Great Western Forum.
2002–present
Jack Nicholson at 2002 Cannes
In About Schmidt (2002), Nicholson portrayed a retired Omaha, Nebraska actuary who questions his own life following his wife's death. His quiet, restrained performance stood in sharp contrast to many of his previous roles, and earned him an Academy Award Nomination for Best Actor. In the comedy Anger Management (2003), he plays an aggressive therapist assigned to help overly pacifist Adam Sandler. In the same year, Nicholson starred in Something's Gotta Give, as an aging playboy who falls for the mother (Diane Keaton) of his young girlfriend. In late 2006, Nicholson marked his return to the "dark side" as Frank Costello, a sadistic Boston Irish Mob boss presiding over Matt Damon and Leonardo DiCaprio in Martin Scorsese's Oscar-winning The Departed, a remake of Andrew Lau's Infernal Affairs.
In November 2006, Nicholson began filming his next project, Rob Reiner's The Bucket List, a role for which he shaved his head. The film starred Nicholson and Morgan Freeman as dying men who fulfill their list of goals. The film was released on December 25, 2007 (limited) and January 11, 2008 (wide). In researching the role, Nicholson visited a Los Angeles hospital to see how cancer patients coped with their illnesses.
With 12 nominations (eight for Best Actor and four for Best Supporting Actor), Jack Nicholson is the most nominated male actor in Academy Awards history. Only Nicholson and Michael Caine have been nominated for an acting (lead or supporting) Academy Award in five different decades: 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s. With three Oscar wins, he also ties with Walter Brennan for the second highest-number of Oscar wins in acting categories (all of Brennan's wins were for Best Supporting Actor).
At the 79th Academy Awards, Nicholson had fully shaved his hair for his role in The Bucket List. Those ceremonies represented the seventh time he has presented the Academy Award for Best Picture (1972, 1977, 1978, 1990, 1993, 2006, and 2007).
Nicholson is an active and voting member of the Academy. He has attended almost every ceremony, nominated or not, during the last decade sitting in the front row.
Filmography
List of film credits Year↓ Title↓ Role↓ Notes
1958 Cry Baby Killer, TheThe Cry Baby Killer Jimmy Wallace
1960 Too Soon to Love Buddy
1960 Wild Ride, TheThe Wild Ride Johnny Varron
1960 Little Shop of Horrors, TheThe Little Shop of Horrors Wilbur Force
1960 Studs Lonigan Weary Reilly
1962 Broken Land, TheThe Broken Land Will Brocious
1963 Terror, TheThe Terror Andre Duvaler Also director
1963 Raven, TheThe Raven Rexford Bedlo
1964 Flight to Fury Jay Wickham
1964 Ensign Pulver Dolan
1964 Back Door to Hell Burnett
1965 Ride in the Whirlwind Wes
1966 Shooting, TheThe Shooting Billy Spear
1967 St. Valentine's Day Massacre, TheThe St. Valentine's Day Massacre Gino, Hit Man uncredited
1967 Hells Angels on Wheels Poet
1968 Psych-Out Stoney
1968 Head Himself
1969 Easy Rider George Hanson
* Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor
* National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actor
* New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor
* Nominated—Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
* Nominated—BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role
* Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture
1970 On A Clear Day You Can See Forever Tad Pringle
1970 Rebel Rousers, TheThe Rebel Rousers Bunny
1970 Five Easy Pieces Robert Eroica Dupea
* Nominated—Academy Award for Best Actor
* Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama
1971 Carnal Knowledge Jonathan Fuerst Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama
1971 Safe Place, AA Safe Place Mitch
1971 Drive, He Said
* Director
* Nominated—Palme d'Or
1972 King of Marvin Gardens, TheThe King of Marvin Gardens David Staebler
1973 Last Detail, TheThe Last Detail Billy "Bad Ass" Buddusky
* BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role also for Chinatown
* Cannes Film Festival Best Actor
* National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actor also for Chinatown
* New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor also for Chinatown
* Nominated—Academy Award for Best Actor
* Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama
1974 Chinatown J.J. 'Jake' Gittes
* BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role also for The Last Detail
* Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama
* Fotogramas de Plata Award for Best Foreign Movie Performer
* Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor
* National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actor also for The Last Detail
* New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor also for The Last Detail
* Nominated—Academy Award for Best Actor
1975 Fortune, TheThe Fortune Oscar Sullivan aka Oscar Dix
1975 One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest Randle McMurphy
* Academy Award for Best Actor
* BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role
* Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama
* National Board of Review Award for Best Actor
* National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actor
* New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor
* Sant Jordi Award for Best Foreign Actor
1975 Passenger, TheThe Passenger David Locke
1975 Tommy The Specialist
1976 Missouri Breaks, TheThe Missouri Breaks Tom Logan
1976 Last Tycoon, TheThe Last Tycoon Brimmer
1978 Goin' South Henry Lloyd Moon Also director
1980 Shining, TheThe Shining Jack Torrance
1981 Postman Always Rings Twice, TheThe Postman Always Rings Twice Frank Chambers
1981 Ragtime Pirate at beach uncredited
1981 Reds Eugene O'Neill
* BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role
* Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actor
* Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor
* National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actor
* Nominated—Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
* Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture
1982 Border, TheThe Border Charlie Smith
1983 Terms of Endearment Garrett Breedlove
* Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
* Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actor
* Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture
* Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor
* Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor
* National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actor
* National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actor
* New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor
1984 Terror in the Aisles archival footage
1985 Prizzi's Honor Charley Partanna
* Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actor
* Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
* New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor
* National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actor
* Nominated—Academy Award for Best Actor
1986 Heartburn Mark Forman
1987 The Witches of Eastwick Daryl Van Horne
* Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor also for Ironweed
* New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor also for Ironweed and Broadcast News
* Saturn Award for Best Actor
1987 Broadcast News Bill Rorich New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor also for Ironweed and The Witches of Eastwick
1987 Ironweed Francis Phelan
* Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor also for The Witches of Eastwick
* New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor also for Broadcast News and The Witches of Eastwick
* Nominated—Academy Award for Best Actor
* Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama
1989 Batman Jack Napier / The Joker
* Nominated—BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role
* Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
* Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Actor
1990 The Two Jakes J.J. 'Jake' Gittes Also director
1992 Man Trouble Eugene Earl Axline, aka Harry Bliss
1992 Few Good Men, AA Few Good Men Col. Nathan R. Jessep
* Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor
* National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actor
* Southeastern Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor
* Nominated—Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
* Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture
* Nominated—MTV Movie Award for Best Male Performance
* Nominated—MTV Movie Award for Best Villain
1992 Hoffa James R. 'Jimmy' Hoffa Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama
1994 Wolf Will Randall Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Actor
1995 Crossing Guard, TheThe Crossing Guard Freddy Gale
1996 Blood and Wine Alex Gates
1996 Evening Star, TheThe Evening Star Garrett Breedlove
1996 Mars Attacks! President James Dale / Art Land Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
1997 As Good as It Gets Melvin Udall
* Academy Award for Best Actor
* American Comedy Award for Funniest Actor in a Motion Picture
* Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
* Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
* London Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor
* National Board of Review Award for Best Actor
* Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor
* Satellite Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
* Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
2001 Pledge, TheThe Pledge Jerry Black
2002 About Schmidt Warren R. Schmidt
* Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor tied with Daniel Day-Lewis for Gangs of New York
* Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
* Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama
* Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor tied with Daniel Day-Lewis for Gangs of New York
* Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association for Best Actor
* Nominated—Academy Award for Best Actor
* Nominated—BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role
* Nominated—Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
* Nominated—London Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor
* Nominated—Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor
* Nominated—Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor
* Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama
* Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
2003 Anger Management Dr. Buddy Rydell Nominated—Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Hissy Fit
2003 Something's Gotta Give Harry Sanborn Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
2006 Departed, TheThe Departed Francis 'Frank' Costello
* Austin Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor
* Florida Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor
* MTV Movie Award for Best Villain
* National Board of Review Award for Best Cast
* Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actor
* Nominated—BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role
* Nominated—Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor
* Nominated—Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor
* Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture
* Nominated—Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actor
* Nominated—People's Choice Award for Best On-Screen Match-Up shared with Matt Damon and Leonardo DiCaprio
* Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture
* Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
2008 Bucket List, TheThe Bucket List Edward Cole
2010 How Do You Know Charles Madison
2011 Americana Edgar Johnson
Additionally, in 1999, Nicholson was presented with the Golden Globe's Cecil B. DeMille Award lifetime achievement award.
Further information: List of awards and nominations received by Jack Nicholson
http://i608.photobucket.com/albums/tt169/mathewguy/jack-nicholson-the-shining1.jpg
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d52/Jparnell24/Jack_nicholson.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 04/22/11 at 7:11 am
such a legendary actor,played the good guy and the bad guy.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: nally on 04/22/11 at 10:27 pm
such a legendary actor,played the good guy and the bad guy.
Nicely said. The most recent film of his that I saw was "As Good As It Gets." I liked that film.
I still remember watching the 70th Academy Awards in March 1998, when he was nominated for the Best Actor award, for his role in said film. And when he was announced as the winner and walked up to the stage to accept the award, he walked up to the stage in the same manner that he walked on the sidewalk in the film, carefully avoiding all the cracks.
His "AGAIG" costar, Helen Hunt, was nominated for Best Actress in the same film, and also won.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 04/23/11 at 5:47 am
The person of the day..John Cena
John Felix Anthony Cena (pronounced /ˈsiːnə/; born April 23, 1977) is an American actor, rapper, and professional wrestler employed by WWE on its Raw brand.
In WWE, Cena has won sixteen championships in total, including nine World Titles (having won the WWE Championship seven times and the World Heavyweight Championship twice). In addition, Cena has also won the WWE United States Championship three times, and is a four-time Tag Team Champion, having held the World Tag Team Championship twice (once with Shawn Michaels, once with Batista), and the WWE Tag Team Championship twice (once with David Otunga and once with The Miz). Cena also won the 2008 Royal Rumble match, and is a two-time Superstar of the Year Slammy Award winner (2009 and 2010).
Cena started his professional wrestling career in 2000, wrestling for Ultimate Pro Wrestling, where he held the UPW Heavyweight Championship. In 2001, Cena signed a contract with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and was sent to Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) where he held the OVW Heavyweight Championship and the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship (with Rico Constantino).
Outside of wrestling, Cena has released the rap album You Can't See Me, which debuted at #15 on the US Billboard 200 chart, and starred in the feature films The Marine (2006), 12 Rounds (2009), and Legendary (2010). Cena has also made appearances on television shows including Manhunt, Deal or No Deal, MADtv, Saturday Night Live, Punk'd, and Psych. Cena was also a contestant on Fast Cars and Superstars: The Gillette Young Guns Celebrity Race, where he made it to the final round before being eliminated, placing third in the overall competition.
Cena made his television debut answering an open challenge by Kurt Angle on June 27, 2002. Inspired by a speech given by WWE Chairman Vince McMahon to the rising stars of the company, exhorting them to show "ruthless aggression" to earn a place among the legends, Cena took advantage of the opportunity and almost beat Angle kicking out of his finishing move, the Angle Slam and enduring the ankle lock submission hold. Cena ultimately lost to a hard amateur wrestling-style pin. Following the near-win, Cena became a fan favorite and started feuding with Chris Jericho. In October, Cena and Billy Kidman took part in a tag team tournament to crown the first WWE Tag Team Champions of the SmackDown! brand, losing in the first round. The next week, Cena turned on and attacked Kidman, blaming him for their loss, becoming a villain.
Shortly after the Kidman attack, on a Halloween themed episode of SmackDown, Cena dressed as Vanilla Ice performing a freestyle rap. The next week, Cena received a new character: a rapper who cut promos while rhyming. As the gimmick grew, Cena began adopting a variant of the 1980s WWF logo — dropping the "F" — as his "signature symbol", along with the slogan "Word Life". Moreover, he was joined by an enforcer, Bull Buchanan, who was rechristened B-2 (also written B² and pronounced "B-Squared"). Buchanan was later replaced by Red Dogg, until he was sent to the Raw brand in February.
For the first half of 2003, Cena sought the WWE Championship and chased the reigning champion, Brock Lesnar, performing weekly "freestyles" challenging him to matches. During the feud, Cena unveiled a new finishing maneuver: the FU, a Fireman's carry powerslam, named to mock Lesnar's F-5. Cena won a number one contenders tournament against Lesnar at Backlash. However, Cena was defeated by Lesnar. At Vengeance Cena lost a singles match against The Undertaker. At the end of the year, Cena became a fan favorite again when he joined Kurt Angle as a member of his team at Survivor Series.
United States Champion and WWE Champion (2004–2005)
Cena, wearing his customized U.S. Championship belt
In early 2004, Cena participated in the Royal Rumble match at the 2004 Royal Rumble, making it to the final six before being eliminated by Big Show. The Royal Rumble elimination led to a feud with Big Show, which Cena won the United States Championship from Big Show at WrestleMania XX. During his reign, Cena came into contention with SmackDown General Manager Kurt Angle over issues arising with René Duprée and Torrie Wilson. The reign ended almost four months later, when he was stripped of the belt on July 8 by Angle after he (kayfabe, accidentally) knocked him over, thus attacking an official. Cena won the championship back defeating Booker T in a best of five series that culminated at No Mercy, only to lose it to the debuting Carlito Caribbean Cool the next week. After the loss to Carlito, the duo began a feud, which Cena was kayfabe stabbed in the kidney while at a Boston-area nightclub by Carlito's bodyguard, Jesús. This worked injury was used to keep Cena out of action for a month, while Cena was filming The Marine. Immediately on his return in November, Cena won the United States Championship back from Carlito debuting a "custom made" spinner-style championship belt.
Cena took part in the 2005 Royal Rumble match, making it to the final two. Cena and Raw brand wrestler Batista went over the top rope at the same time, ostensibly ending the match. Vince McMahon, however, appeared on stage and re-started the match in sudden death rules, with Batista eventually eliminating Cena. The next month, Cena defeated Kurt Angle to earn a spot in the SmackDown brand's WrestleMania 21 main event match, beginning a feud with WWE Champion John "Bradshaw" Layfield (JBL) and his Cabinet in the process. In the early stages of the feud, Cena lost his US belt to Cabinet member Orlando Jordan, who proceeded to "blow up" the spinner championship with JBL and returning a more traditional style belt. Cena defeated JBL at WrestleMania winning the WWE Championship, giving Cena his first world championship. Cena then had a spinner WWE Championship belt made, while JBL took the original belt and claimed to still be WWE Champion, until Cena reclaimed the original belt in an "I Quit" match at Judgment Day.
Cena was drafted to the Raw brand on the June 6, 2005, becoming the first wrestler selected by General Manager Eric Bischoff in the annual draft lottery. Cena immediately entered a feud with Bischoff, after refusing to participate in the "war" against the Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) roster at One Night Stand. With Bischoff vowing to make Cena's stint on Raw difficult, he hand picked Jericho to take Cena's championship from him. During their feud, even though Cena was portrayed as the fan favorite and Jericho as the villain, a vocal section of live crowds, nonetheless, were booing Cena during their matches. More crowds followed suit during Cena's next feud with Kurt Angle, who took over as Bischoff's hand-picked number-one contender after Cena defeated Jericho in a You're Fired match on the August 22 Raw. As the feud continued and the dissenters grew more vocal, sometimes seeming to outnumber fans by wide margins, the announce team was forced to acknowledge the booing on television and began calling Cena a "controversial champion", claiming some people disliking him on account of his "in-ring style" and his chosen fashion. Despite the mixed and negative reactions, Cena held on to his championship through his feud with Angle, losing to him by disqualification — which titles do not change hands in WWE — at Unforgiven and pinning him at Survivor Series. The feud with Angle also saw Cena add a secondary, submission based, finishing maneuver – the STFU (a Stepover Toehold Sleeper, though named for a Stepover Toehold Facelock) – when he was put into a Triple Threat Submissions Only match on the November 28 Raw.
Various feuds and injury (2006–2007)
Cena facing off against Edge at a WWE house show.
Cena lost the WWE Championship at New Year's Revolution, but not in the Elimination Chamber match that he had been advertised to participate in beforehand. Instead, immediately after winning the Elimination Chamber, he was forced into a match against Edge, who cashed in his Money in the Bank contract — a "guaranteed title match for the WWE Champion at a time and place of the owners choosing." After two quick spears pinned Cena, winning the championship. Three weeks later, Cena won the championship back at the Royal Rumble. After winning the championship, Cena began feuding with Triple H, which the crowd began booing Cena and cheering the intended Triple H. The negative reaction intensified when facing Rob Van Dam at One Night Stand. Taking place in front of a crowd of mostly "old school" ECW fans at the Hammerstein Ballroom, Cena was met with raucous jeering and chants of "fudge you, Cena", "You can't wrestle", and "Same old sheesh". When he began performing different moves into the match, the fans began chanting "You still suck". Cena lost the WWE Championship at One Night Stand, with Van Dam pinning Cena after interference from Edge.
Cena, addressing fans at a Raw show.
In July, after Edge won the championship from Van Dam in a Triple Threat match that also involved Cena, re-ignited the feud between him and Cena from earlier in the year. After Edge went about retaining the title by dubious means — getting himself disqualified (for which Championships do not change hands) and using brass knuckles — he introduced his own version of Cena's "custom" belt, this one with his logo placed on the spinner. Cena eventually won the championship back in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match at Unforgiven. The match had an added stipulation that had Cena lost he would leave the Raw brand and go to SmackDown. Cena returned his version of the spinner belt on the next night's Raw.
On the heels of his feud with Edge, Cena was placed in an inter-brand angle to determine the "Champion of Champions" — or which was the most dominant champion in WWE's three brands. Cena, the World Heavyweight Champion King Booker, and the ECW World Champion The Big Show engaged in a mini-feud leading to a Triple Threat match at Cyber Sunday, with the viewers voting on which of the three championships would be placed on the line. At the same time, Cena became involved in a storyline with non-wrestler Kevin Federline, when he began appearing on Raw with Johnny Nitro and Melina. After getting into a worked physical altercation with Federline on Raw, Federline appeared at Cyber Sunday to hit Cena with the World Heavyweight Championship during the match, helping King Booker retain his championship. 2006 ended with Cena beginning a feud with the undefeated Umaga over the WWE Championship, while 2007 began with the end of his storyline with Kevin Federline. On the first Raw of the new year, Cena was pinned by Federline with an assist from Umaga, although later in the night he was able to get his hands on Federline performing an FU on him.
Cena putting his hands up meaning "Word Life".
One night after the Royal Rumble, an impromptu team of Cena and Shawn Michaels defeated Rated-RKO (Edge and Randy Orton) for the World Tag Team Championship, making Cena a double champion. On the April 2 episode of Raw, after losing a WWE Championship match to Cena at WrestleMania 23, Michaels turned on Cena, costing them the championship in the second of two 10 team battles royals, by throwing Cena over the top rope and eliminating the team. The Hardys (Matt and Jeff) eventually won the match and the championship. For the rest of the month, Cena feuded with Michaels, Orton, and Edge until The Great Khali declared his intentions to challenge for Cena's championship attacking and "laying out" all three of the top contenders before assaulting Cena himself and stealing the physical belt. For the next two months, Cena feuded with Khali over the championship, eventually becoming the first person in WWE to defeat him by submission at Judgment Day and then by pinfall at One Night Stand. Later that summer, Randy Orton was named the number one contender for the WWE championship, starting a feud between the two. Leading up to SummerSlam, Orton delivered a number of sneak-attacks, performing three RKOs to Cena, but in the actual match, Cena retained the championship. A rematch between the two occurred at Unforgiven, with Orton winning by disqualification after Cena ignored the referee's instructions and continued to beat on him in the corner.
During a match with Mr. Kennedy on the October 1, 2007 episode of Raw, Cena suffered a legitimate torn pectoral muscle while executing a hip toss. Though finishing the match and taking part in the scripted attack by Randy Orton after the match, surgery the following day found that his pectoralis major muscle was torn completely from the bone, estimating at the time to require seven months to a year of rehabilitation. As a result, Cena was stripped of the title in an announcement by Vince McMahon on the next night's episode of ECW, ending what was the longest WWE Championship reign in over 19 years. Cena's surgery was performed by orthopedic surgeon James Andrews at St. Vincent's Hospital in Birmingham, Alabama. Two weeks later, in a video update on WWE.com, Dr. Andrews and Cena's physical trainer both said that he was several weeks ahead of where he was expected to be in his rehabilitation at that time. Despite his injury, Cena attended the annual WWE Tribute to the Troops show filmed at Camp Speicher in Tikrit, Iraq on December 7, and aired on December 24
At the 2011 Royal Rumble, John Cena made it to the final five before being eliminated by The Miz, who was not officially a participant in the match. On the January 31 edition of Raw, John Cena was placed in a battle royal with six other superstars to determine who would face The Miz for his WWE Championship at the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view. Cena would lose the battle royal, and as a result of the anonymous general manager's stipulation, he was placed in the Elimination Chamber match that would determine the number one contender to the WWE Championship. At Elimination Chamber, The Miz retained his title against Jerry "The King" Lawler, and Cena won the Elimination Chamber match, thus earning a WWE Championship match at WrestleMania XXVII. On the February 21 edition of Raw, Cena rapped on The Rock, the guest host of WrestleMania, in response to some comments against him the week before. The Rock had mocked Cena's colorful shirts by calling him a "big fat bowl of Fruity Pebbles" and his "You Can't See Me" gimmick by referring to it as him playing peek-a-boo. Later that night, by order of the Raw general manager, Cena was placed into a WWE Tag Team Championship match against newly crowned champions Heath Slater and Justin Gabriel, with his partner being The Miz. The duo successfully defeated the two members of The Corre, becoming the new Tag Team Champions. They were immediately challenged to a rematch during which The Miz betrayed Cena, resulting in The Corre winning back the Tag Team Championship. On the February 28 edition of Raw, The Rock mocked Cena's rap and continued insulting him, including calling him a "Yabba Dabba bitch", referring to the Fruity Pebbles remark made two weeks before. Cena and The Rock finally met face-to-face on the March 28 edition of Raw, which ended with Cena hitting The Rock with the Attitude Adjustment. On April 3 at WrestleMania XXVII, The Rock cost Cena his match for the WWE Championship against The Miz. The next night on Raw, Cena called out The Rock leading to The Rock challenging Cena to a match at Wrestlemania XXVIII which Cena accepted making it the first time ever that the WrestleMania Main Event had been set a year in advance. The next week, Cena participated in a 5 man gauntlet match to determine the #1 contender to face The Miz at Extreme Rules. Cena was the last to come out against R-Truth. The Miz then interfered in the match, resulting in a disqualification; however, it was then announced that they would both face the latter in a triple threat Steel Cage match at Extreme Rules. However, the following week, John Morrison defeated R-Truth to take his place in the match per the pre match stipulation.
Other media
Film
Cena, with actual Marines, at the premiere of his film The Marine.
WWE Studios, a division of World Wrestling Entertainment which produces and finances motion pictures, produced Cena's first movie — The Marine, which was distributed theatrically by 20th Century Fox America beginning on October 13, 2006. In its first week, the film made approximately $7 million at the United States box office. After ten weeks in theaters, the film grossed $18.7 million. Once the film was released on DVD, it fared better, making $30 million in rentals in the first twelve weeks.
His second film, also produced by WWE Studios, was 12 Rounds. Filming began on February 25, 2008 in New Orleans; the film was released on March 27, 2009.
Cena co-starred in his third film produced by WWE Studios, titled Legendary, which was played in selected theaters starting on September 10, 2010, for a limited time, then it was released on DVD on September 28, 2010.
That same year, Cena starred in the children's film Fred: The Movie, a film based on Lucas Cruikshank's YouTube videos of the same name, where he plays Fred's father. The movie was released on the Nickelodeon channel in September 2010.
Filmography
Year↓ Title↓ Role↓ Notes
2006 The Marine John Triton Lead role
2009 12 Rounds Danny Fisher Lead role
2010 Psych Ewan O'Hara Guest appearance; episode: "You Can't Handle This Episode"
2010 True Jackson, VP Himself Guest appearance; episode: "Pajama Party"
2010 Legendary Mike Chetley
2010 Hannah Montana Himself Guest appearance; episode: "Love That Let's Go"
2010 Fred: The Movie Fred's (imaginary) dad Television film
2011 Blood Brothers Sam Cleary
http://i1212.photobucket.com/albums/cc449/MarcoEWR89/Wrestlers/J%20Wrestlers/John_Cena-2.jpg
http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f203/baby100persent/john-cena-.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 04/23/11 at 6:16 am
British Person of the Day: William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire and was baptised on 26 April 1564. His father was a glovemaker and wool merchant and his mother, Mary Arden, the daughter of a well-to-do local landowner. Shakespeare was probably educated in Stratford's grammar school. The next documented event in Shakespeare's life is his marriage in 1582 to Anne Hathaway, daughter of a farmer. The couple had a daughter the following year and twins in 1585. There is now another gap, referred to by some scholars as 'the lost years', with Shakespeare only reappearing in London in 1592, when he was already working in the theatre.
Shakespeare's acting career was spent with the Lord Chamberlain's Company, which was renamed the King's Company in 1603 when James succeeded to the throne. Among the actors in the group was the famous Richard Burbage. The partnership acquired interests in two theatres in the Southwark area of London, near the banks of the Thames - the Globe and the Blackfriars.
Shakespeare's poetry was published before his plays, with two poems appearing in 1593 and 1594, dedicated to his patron Henry Wriothesley, Earl of Southampton. Most of Shakespeare's sonnets were probably written at this time as well. Records of Shakespeare's plays begin to appear in 1594, and he produced roughly two a year until around 1611. His earliest plays include 'Henry VI' and 'Titus Andronicus'. 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', 'The Merchant of Venice' and 'Richard II' all date from the mid to late 1590s. Some of his most famous tragedies were written in the early 1600s including 'Hamlet', 'Othello', 'King Lear' and 'Macbeth'. His late plays, often known as the Romances, date from 1608 onwards and include 'The Tempest'.
Shakespeare spent the last five years of his life in Stratford, by now a wealthy man. He died on 23 April 1616 and was buried in Holy Trinity Church in Stratford. The first collected edition of his works was published in 1623 and is known as 'the First Folio'.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 04/23/11 at 6:37 am
Nicely said. The most recent film of his that I saw was "As Good As It Gets." I liked that film.
I still remember watching the 70th Academy Awards in March 1998, when he was nominated for the Best Actor award, for his role in said film. And when he was announced as the winner and walked up to the stage to accept the award, he walked up to the stage in the same manner that he walked on the sidewalk in the film, carefully avoiding all the cracks.
His "AGAIG" costar, Helen Hunt, was nominated for Best Actress in the same film, and also won.
He was in that film with Adam Sandler,I think he played a psychiatrist? ???
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 04/23/11 at 6:39 am
The person of the day..John Cena
John Felix Anthony Cena (pronounced /ˈsiːnə/; born April 23, 1977) is an American actor, rapper, and professional wrestler employed by WWE on its Raw brand.
In WWE, Cena has won sixteen championships in total, including nine World Titles (having won the WWE Championship seven times and the World Heavyweight Championship twice). In addition, Cena has also won the WWE United States Championship three times, and is a four-time Tag Team Champion, having held the World Tag Team Championship twice (once with Shawn Michaels, once with Batista), and the WWE Tag Team Championship twice (once with David Otunga and once with The Miz). Cena also won the 2008 Royal Rumble match, and is a two-time Superstar of the Year Slammy Award winner (2009 and 2010).
Cena started his professional wrestling career in 2000, wrestling for Ultimate Pro Wrestling, where he held the UPW Heavyweight Championship. In 2001, Cena signed a contract with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and was sent to Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) where he held the OVW Heavyweight Championship and the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship (with Rico Constantino).
Outside of wrestling, Cena has released the rap album You Can't See Me, which debuted at #15 on the US Billboard 200 chart, and starred in the feature films The Marine (2006), 12 Rounds (2009), and Legendary (2010). Cena has also made appearances on television shows including Manhunt, Deal or No Deal, MADtv, Saturday Night Live, Punk'd, and Psych. Cena was also a contestant on Fast Cars and Superstars: The Gillette Young Guns Celebrity Race, where he made it to the final round before being eliminated, placing third in the overall competition.
Cena made his television debut answering an open challenge by Kurt Angle on June 27, 2002. Inspired by a speech given by WWE Chairman Vince McMahon to the rising stars of the company, exhorting them to show "ruthless aggression" to earn a place among the legends, Cena took advantage of the opportunity and almost beat Angle kicking out of his finishing move, the Angle Slam and enduring the ankle lock submission hold. Cena ultimately lost to a hard amateur wrestling-style pin. Following the near-win, Cena became a fan favorite and started feuding with Chris Jericho. In October, Cena and Billy Kidman took part in a tag team tournament to crown the first WWE Tag Team Champions of the SmackDown! brand, losing in the first round. The next week, Cena turned on and attacked Kidman, blaming him for their loss, becoming a villain.
Shortly after the Kidman attack, on a Halloween themed episode of SmackDown, Cena dressed as Vanilla Ice performing a freestyle rap. The next week, Cena received a new character: a rapper who cut promos while rhyming. As the gimmick grew, Cena began adopting a variant of the 1980s WWF logo — dropping the "F" — as his "signature symbol", along with the slogan "Word Life". Moreover, he was joined by an enforcer, Bull Buchanan, who was rechristened B-2 (also written B² and pronounced "B-Squared"). Buchanan was later replaced by Red Dogg, until he was sent to the Raw brand in February.
For the first half of 2003, Cena sought the WWE Championship and chased the reigning champion, Brock Lesnar, performing weekly "freestyles" challenging him to matches. During the feud, Cena unveiled a new finishing maneuver: the FU, a Fireman's carry powerslam, named to mock Lesnar's F-5. Cena won a number one contenders tournament against Lesnar at Backlash. However, Cena was defeated by Lesnar. At Vengeance Cena lost a singles match against The Undertaker. At the end of the year, Cena became a fan favorite again when he joined Kurt Angle as a member of his team at Survivor Series.
United States Champion and WWE Champion (2004–2005)
Cena, wearing his customized U.S. Championship belt
In early 2004, Cena participated in the Royal Rumble match at the 2004 Royal Rumble, making it to the final six before being eliminated by Big Show. The Royal Rumble elimination led to a feud with Big Show, which Cena won the United States Championship from Big Show at WrestleMania XX. During his reign, Cena came into contention with SmackDown General Manager Kurt Angle over issues arising with René Duprée and Torrie Wilson. The reign ended almost four months later, when he was stripped of the belt on July 8 by Angle after he (kayfabe, accidentally) knocked him over, thus attacking an official. Cena won the championship back defeating Booker T in a best of five series that culminated at No Mercy, only to lose it to the debuting Carlito Caribbean Cool the next week. After the loss to Carlito, the duo began a feud, which Cena was kayfabe stabbed in the kidney while at a Boston-area nightclub by Carlito's bodyguard, Jesús. This worked injury was used to keep Cena out of action for a month, while Cena was filming The Marine. Immediately on his return in November, Cena won the United States Championship back from Carlito debuting a "custom made" spinner-style championship belt.
Cena took part in the 2005 Royal Rumble match, making it to the final two. Cena and Raw brand wrestler Batista went over the top rope at the same time, ostensibly ending the match. Vince McMahon, however, appeared on stage and re-started the match in sudden death rules, with Batista eventually eliminating Cena. The next month, Cena defeated Kurt Angle to earn a spot in the SmackDown brand's WrestleMania 21 main event match, beginning a feud with WWE Champion John "Bradshaw" Layfield (JBL) and his Cabinet in the process. In the early stages of the feud, Cena lost his US belt to Cabinet member Orlando Jordan, who proceeded to "blow up" the spinner championship with JBL and returning a more traditional style belt. Cena defeated JBL at WrestleMania winning the WWE Championship, giving Cena his first world championship. Cena then had a spinner WWE Championship belt made, while JBL took the original belt and claimed to still be WWE Champion, until Cena reclaimed the original belt in an "I Quit" match at Judgment Day.
Cena was drafted to the Raw brand on the June 6, 2005, becoming the first wrestler selected by General Manager Eric Bischoff in the annual draft lottery. Cena immediately entered a feud with Bischoff, after refusing to participate in the "war" against the Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) roster at One Night Stand. With Bischoff vowing to make Cena's stint on Raw difficult, he hand picked Jericho to take Cena's championship from him. During their feud, even though Cena was portrayed as the fan favorite and Jericho as the villain, a vocal section of live crowds, nonetheless, were booing Cena during their matches. More crowds followed suit during Cena's next feud with Kurt Angle, who took over as Bischoff's hand-picked number-one contender after Cena defeated Jericho in a You're Fired match on the August 22 Raw. As the feud continued and the dissenters grew more vocal, sometimes seeming to outnumber fans by wide margins, the announce team was forced to acknowledge the booing on television and began calling Cena a "controversial champion", claiming some people disliking him on account of his "in-ring style" and his chosen fashion. Despite the mixed and negative reactions, Cena held on to his championship through his feud with Angle, losing to him by disqualification — which titles do not change hands in WWE — at Unforgiven and pinning him at Survivor Series. The feud with Angle also saw Cena add a secondary, submission based, finishing maneuver – the STFU (a Stepover Toehold Sleeper, though named for a Stepover Toehold Facelock) – when he was put into a Triple Threat Submissions Only match on the November 28 Raw.
Various feuds and injury (2006–2007)
Cena facing off against Edge at a WWE house show.
Cena lost the WWE Championship at New Year's Revolution, but not in the Elimination Chamber match that he had been advertised to participate in beforehand. Instead, immediately after winning the Elimination Chamber, he was forced into a match against Edge, who cashed in his Money in the Bank contract — a "guaranteed title match for the WWE Champion at a time and place of the owners choosing." After two quick spears pinned Cena, winning the championship. Three weeks later, Cena won the championship back at the Royal Rumble. After winning the championship, Cena began feuding with Triple H, which the crowd began booing Cena and cheering the intended Triple H. The negative reaction intensified when facing Rob Van Dam at One Night Stand. Taking place in front of a crowd of mostly "old school" ECW fans at the Hammerstein Ballroom, Cena was met with raucous jeering and chants of "fudge you, Cena", "You can't wrestle", and "Same old sheesh". When he began performing different moves into the match, the fans began chanting "You still suck". Cena lost the WWE Championship at One Night Stand, with Van Dam pinning Cena after interference from Edge.
Cena, addressing fans at a Raw show.
In July, after Edge won the championship from Van Dam in a Triple Threat match that also involved Cena, re-ignited the feud between him and Cena from earlier in the year. After Edge went about retaining the title by dubious means — getting himself disqualified (for which Championships do not change hands) and using brass knuckles — he introduced his own version of Cena's "custom" belt, this one with his logo placed on the spinner. Cena eventually won the championship back in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match at Unforgiven. The match had an added stipulation that had Cena lost he would leave the Raw brand and go to SmackDown. Cena returned his version of the spinner belt on the next night's Raw.
On the heels of his feud with Edge, Cena was placed in an inter-brand angle to determine the "Champion of Champions" — or which was the most dominant champion in WWE's three brands. Cena, the World Heavyweight Champion King Booker, and the ECW World Champion The Big Show engaged in a mini-feud leading to a Triple Threat match at Cyber Sunday, with the viewers voting on which of the three championships would be placed on the line. At the same time, Cena became involved in a storyline with non-wrestler Kevin Federline, when he began appearing on Raw with Johnny Nitro and Melina. After getting into a worked physical altercation with Federline on Raw, Federline appeared at Cyber Sunday to hit Cena with the World Heavyweight Championship during the match, helping King Booker retain his championship. 2006 ended with Cena beginning a feud with the undefeated Umaga over the WWE Championship, while 2007 began with the end of his storyline with Kevin Federline. On the first Raw of the new year, Cena was pinned by Federline with an assist from Umaga, although later in the night he was able to get his hands on Federline performing an FU on him.
Cena putting his hands up meaning "Word Life".
One night after the Royal Rumble, an impromptu team of Cena and Shawn Michaels defeated Rated-RKO (Edge and Randy Orton) for the World Tag Team Championship, making Cena a double champion. On the April 2 episode of Raw, after losing a WWE Championship match to Cena at WrestleMania 23, Michaels turned on Cena, costing them the championship in the second of two 10 team battles royals, by throwing Cena over the top rope and eliminating the team. The Hardys (Matt and Jeff) eventually won the match and the championship. For the rest of the month, Cena feuded with Michaels, Orton, and Edge until The Great Khali declared his intentions to challenge for Cena's championship attacking and "laying out" all three of the top contenders before assaulting Cena himself and stealing the physical belt. For the next two months, Cena feuded with Khali over the championship, eventually becoming the first person in WWE to defeat him by submission at Judgment Day and then by pinfall at One Night Stand. Later that summer, Randy Orton was named the number one contender for the WWE championship, starting a feud between the two. Leading up to SummerSlam, Orton delivered a number of sneak-attacks, performing three RKOs to Cena, but in the actual match, Cena retained the championship. A rematch between the two occurred at Unforgiven, with Orton winning by disqualification after Cena ignored the referee's instructions and continued to beat on him in the corner.
During a match with Mr. Kennedy on the October 1, 2007 episode of Raw, Cena suffered a legitimate torn pectoral muscle while executing a hip toss. Though finishing the match and taking part in the scripted attack by Randy Orton after the match, surgery the following day found that his pectoralis major muscle was torn completely from the bone, estimating at the time to require seven months to a year of rehabilitation. As a result, Cena was stripped of the title in an announcement by Vince McMahon on the next night's episode of ECW, ending what was the longest WWE Championship reign in over 19 years. Cena's surgery was performed by orthopedic surgeon James Andrews at St. Vincent's Hospital in Birmingham, Alabama. Two weeks later, in a video update on WWE.com, Dr. Andrews and Cena's physical trainer both said that he was several weeks ahead of where he was expected to be in his rehabilitation at that time. Despite his injury, Cena attended the annual WWE Tribute to the Troops show filmed at Camp Speicher in Tikrit, Iraq on December 7, and aired on December 24
At the 2011 Royal Rumble, John Cena made it to the final five before being eliminated by The Miz, who was not officially a participant in the match. On the January 31 edition of Raw, John Cena was placed in a battle royal with six other superstars to determine who would face The Miz for his WWE Championship at the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view. Cena would lose the battle royal, and as a result of the anonymous general manager's stipulation, he was placed in the Elimination Chamber match that would determine the number one contender to the WWE Championship. At Elimination Chamber, The Miz retained his title against Jerry "The King" Lawler, and Cena won the Elimination Chamber match, thus earning a WWE Championship match at WrestleMania XXVII. On the February 21 edition of Raw, Cena rapped on The Rock, the guest host of WrestleMania, in response to some comments against him the week before. The Rock had mocked Cena's colorful shirts by calling him a "big fat bowl of Fruity Pebbles" and his "You Can't See Me" gimmick by referring to it as him playing peek-a-boo. Later that night, by order of the Raw general manager, Cena was placed into a WWE Tag Team Championship match against newly crowned champions Heath Slater and Justin Gabriel, with his partner being The Miz. The duo successfully defeated the two members of The Corre, becoming the new Tag Team Champions. They were immediately challenged to a rematch during which The Miz betrayed Cena, resulting in The Corre winning back the Tag Team Championship. On the February 28 edition of Raw, The Rock mocked Cena's rap and continued insulting him, including calling him a "Yabba Dabba bitch", referring to the Fruity Pebbles remark made two weeks before. Cena and The Rock finally met face-to-face on the March 28 edition of Raw, which ended with Cena hitting The Rock with the Attitude Adjustment. On April 3 at WrestleMania XXVII, The Rock cost Cena his match for the WWE Championship against The Miz. The next night on Raw, Cena called out The Rock leading to The Rock challenging Cena to a match at Wrestlemania XXVIII which Cena accepted making it the first time ever that the WrestleMania Main Event had been set a year in advance. The next week, Cena participated in a 5 man gauntlet match to determine the #1 contender to face The Miz at Extreme Rules. Cena was the last to come out against R-Truth. The Miz then interfered in the match, resulting in a disqualification; however, it was then announced that they would both face the latter in a triple threat Steel Cage match at Extreme Rules. However, the following week, John Morrison defeated R-Truth to take his place in the match per the pre match stipulation.
Other media
Film
Cena, with actual Marines, at the premiere of his film The Marine.
WWE Studios, a division of World Wrestling Entertainment which produces and finances motion pictures, produced Cena's first movie — The Marine, which was distributed theatrically by 20th Century Fox America beginning on October 13, 2006. In its first week, the film made approximately $7 million at the United States box office. After ten weeks in theaters, the film grossed $18.7 million. Once the film was released on DVD, it fared better, making $30 million in rentals in the first twelve weeks.
His second film, also produced by WWE Studios, was 12 Rounds. Filming began on February 25, 2008 in New Orleans; the film was released on March 27, 2009.
Cena co-starred in his third film produced by WWE Studios, titled Legendary, which was played in selected theaters starting on September 10, 2010, for a limited time, then it was released on DVD on September 28, 2010.
That same year, Cena starred in the children's film Fred: The Movie, a film based on Lucas Cruikshank's YouTube videos of the same name, where he plays Fred's father. The movie was released on the Nickelodeon channel in September 2010.
Filmography
Year↓ Title↓ Role↓ Notes
2006 The Marine John Triton Lead role
2009 12 Rounds Danny Fisher Lead role
2010 Psych Ewan O'Hara Guest appearance; episode: "You Can't Handle This Episode"
2010 True Jackson, VP Himself Guest appearance; episode: "Pajama Party"
2010 Legendary Mike Chetley
2010 Hannah Montana Himself Guest appearance; episode: "Love That Let's Go"
2010 Fred: The Movie Fred's (imaginary) dad Television film
2011 Blood Brothers Sam Cleary
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http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f203/baby100persent/john-cena-.jpg
Loved by most hated by many.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 04/23/11 at 6:42 am
http://newdesktopwallpapers.info/WWE%20Wallpapers%202/John%20Cena%20You%20Can%27t%20See%20Me.jpg
Hey Ninny,you can't see me! ;D
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: CatwomanofV on 04/23/11 at 10:39 am
What a piece of work is a man, how noble in reason, how
infinite in faculties, in form and moving how express and
admirable, in action how like an angel, in apprehension how like
a god! the beauty of the world, the paragon of animals—and yet,
to me, what is this quintessence of dust? Man delights not me—
nor woman neither, though by your smiling you seem to say so.
Cat
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 04/24/11 at 5:03 am
The person of the day...Barbra Streisand
Barbra Joan Streisand (pronounced /ˈstraɪsænd/; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress, film producer and director. She has won two Academy Awards, eight Grammy Awards, four Emmy Awards, a Special Tony Award, an American Film Institute award, a Peabody Award, and is one of the few entertainers who have won an Oscar, Emmy, Grammy, and Tony Award.
She is one of the most commercially and critically successful entertainers in modern entertainment history, with more than 71.5 million albums shipped in the United States and 140 million albums sold worldwide. She is the best-selling female artist on the Recording Industry Association of America's (RIAA) Top Selling Artists list, the only female recording artist in the top ten, and the only artist outside of the rock and roll genre. Along with Frank Sinatra, Cher, and Shirley Jones, she shares the distinction of being awarded an acting Oscar and also recording a number-one single on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart.
According to the RIAA, Streisand holds the record for the most top ten albums of any female recording artist - a total of 31 since 1963. Streisand has the widest span (46 years) between first and latest top ten albums of any female recording artist. With her 2009 album, Love Is the Answer, she became one of the only artists to achieve number-one albums in five consecutive decades. According to the RIAA, she has released 51 Gold albums, 30 Platinum albums, and 13 Multi-Platinum albums in the United States
Streisand has recorded 35 studio albums, almost all with Columbia Records. Her early works in the 1960s (her debut The Barbra Streisand Album, The Second Barbra Streisand Album, The Third Album, My Name Is Barbra, etc.) are considered classic renditions of theater and cabaret standards, including her slow version of the normally uptempo Happy Days Are Here Again. She performed this in a duet with Judy Garland on The Judy Garland Show. Garland referred to her on the air as one of the last great belters. They also sang There's No Business Like Show Business with Ethel Merman joining them.
Beginning with My Name Is Barbra, her early albums were often medley-filled keepsakes of her television specials. Starting in 1969, she began attempting more contemporary material, but like many talented singers of the day, she found herself out of her element with rock. Her vocal talents prevailed, and she gained newfound success with the pop and ballad-oriented Richard Perry-produced album Stoney End in 1971. The title track, written by Laura Nyro, was a major hit for Streisand.
Barbra Streisand (1973)
During the 1970s, she was also highly prominent on the pop charts, with Top 10 recordings such as The Way We Were (US No. 1), Evergreen (US No. 1), No More Tears (Enough Is Enough) (1979, with Donna Summer), which as of 2010 is reportedly still the most commercially successful duet,(US No. 1), You Don't Bring Me Flowers (with Neil Diamond) (US No. 1) and The Main Event (US No. 3), some of which came from soundtrack recordings of her films. As the 1970s ended, Streisand was named the most successful female singer in the U.S.—only Elvis Presley and The Beatles had sold more albums. In 1980, she released her best-selling effort to date, the Barry Gibb-produced Guilty. The album contained the hits Woman In Love (which spent several weeks atop the pop charts in the Fall of 1980), Guilty, and What Kind of Fool.
After years of largely ignoring Broadway and traditional pop music in favor of more contemporary material, Streisand returned to her musical-theater roots with 1985's The Broadway Album, which was unexpectedly successful, holding the coveted No. 1 Billboard position for three straight weeks, and being certified quadruple platinum. The album featured tunes by Rodgers & Hammerstein, George Gershwin, Jerome Kern, and Stephen Sondheim, who was persuaded to rework some of his songs especially for this recording. The Broadway Album was met with acclaim, including a Grammy nomination for album of the year and, ultimately, handed Streisand her eighth Grammy as Best Female Vocalist. After releasing the live album One Voice in 1986, Streisand was set to take another musical journey along the Great White Way in 1988. She recorded several cuts for the album under the direction of Rupert Holmes, including On My Own (from Les Misérables), a medley of How Are Things in Glocca Morra? and Heather on the Hill (from Finian's Rainbow and Brigadoon, respectively), All I Ask of You (from Phantom of the Opera), Warm All Over (from The Most Happy Fella) and an unusual solo version of Make Our Garden Grow (from Candide). Streisand was not happy with the direction of the project and it was ultimately scrapped. Only Warm All Over and a reworked, lite FM-friendly version of All I Ask of You were ever released, the latter appearing on Streisand's 1988 effort, Till I Loved You.
At the beginning of the 1990s, Streisand started focusing on her film directorial efforts and became almost inactive in the recording studio. In 1991, a four-disc box set, Just for the Record, was released. A compilation spanning Streisand's entire career to date, it featured over 70 tracks of live performances, greatest hits, rarities and previously unreleased material.
The following year, Streisand's concert fundraising events helped propel former President Bill Clinton into the spotlight and into office. Streisand later introduced Clinton at his inauguration in 1993. Streisand's music career, however, was largely on hold. A 1992 appearance at an APLA benefit as well as the aforementioned inaugural performance hinted that Streisand was becoming more receptive to the idea of live performances. A tour was suggested, though Streisand would not immediately commit to it, citing her well-known stage fright as well as security concerns. During this time, Streisand finally returned to the recording studio and released Back to Broadway in June 1993. The album was not as universally lauded as its predecessor, but it did debut at No. 1 on the pop charts (a rare feat for an artist of Streisand's age, especially given that it relegated Janet Jackson's Janet to the No. 2 spot). One of the album's highlights was a medley of I Have A Love/One Hand, One Heart, a duet with Johnny Mathis, who Streisand said is one of her favorite singers.
In 1993, New York Times music critic Stephen Holden wrote that Streisand "enjoys a cultural status that only one other American entertainer, Frank Sinatra, has achieved in the last half century." In September 1993, Streisand announced her first public concert appearances in 27 years. What began as a two-night New Year's event at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas eventually led to a multi-city tour in the summer of 1994. Tickets to the tour were sold out in under one hour. Streisand also appeared on the covers of major magazines in anticipation of what Time magazine named "The Music Event of the Century." The tour was one of the biggest all-media merchandise parlays in history. Ticket prices ranged from US$50 to US$1,500 – making Streisand the highest-paid concert performer in history. Barbra Streisand: The Concert went on to be the top-grossing concert of the year and earned five Emmy Awards and the Peabody Award, while the taped broadcast on HBO is, to date, the highest-rated concert special in HBO's 30-year history. Following the tour's conclusion, Streisand once again kept a low profile musically, instead focusing her efforts on acting and directing duties as well as a burgeoning romance with actor James Brolin.
In 1997, she finally returned to the recording studio, releasing Higher Ground, a collection of songs of a loosely-inspirational nature which also featured a duet with Celine Dion. The album received generally favorable reviews and, remarkably, once again debuted at No. 1 on the pop charts. Following her marriage to Brolin in 1998, Streisand recorded an album of love songs entitled A Love Like Ours the following year. Reviews were mixed, with many critics carping about the somewhat syrupy sentiments and overly-lush arrangements; however, it did produce a modest hit for Streisand in the country-tinged If You Ever Leave Me, a duet with Vince Gill.
On New Year's Eve 1999, Streisand returned to the concert stage, with the highest-grossing single concert in Las Vegas history to date. At the end of the millennium, she was the number-one female singer in the U.S., with at least two No. 1 albums in each decade since she began performing. A two-disc live album of the concert entitled Timeless: Live in Concert was released in 2000. Streisand performed versions of the "Timeless" concert in Sydney and Melbourne, Australia, in early 2000. In advance of four concerts (two each in Los Angeles and New York) in September 2000, Streisand announced she was retiring from paying public concerts. Her performance of the song People was broadcast on the Internet via America Online.
Streisand's most-recent albums have been Christmas Memories (2001), a somewhat somber collection of holiday songs (which felt entirely—albeit unintentionally—appropriate in the early post-9/11 days), and The Movie Album (2003), featuring famous film themes and backed by a large symphony orchestra. Guilty Pleasures (called Guilty Too in the UK), a collaboration with Barry Gibb and a sequel to their Guilty, was released worldwide in 2005.
In February 2006, Streisand recorded the song Smile alongside Tony Bennett at Streisand's Malibu home. The song is included on Tony Bennett's 80th birthday album, Duets. In September 2006, the pair filmed a live performance of the song for a special directed by Rob Marshall entitled Tony Bennett: An American Classic. The special aired on NBC November 21, 2006, and was released on DVD the same day. Streisand's duet with Bennett opened the special. In 2006, Streisand announced her intent to tour again, in an effort to raise money and awareness for multiple issues. After four days of rehearsal at the Sovereign Bank Arena in Trenton, New Jersey, the tour began on October 4 at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, continued with a featured stop in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, (this was the concert Streisand chose to film for a TV special), and concluded at Staples Center in Los Angeles on November 20, 2006. Special guests Il Divo were interwoven throughout the show. On stage closing night, Streisand hinted that six more concerts may follow on foreign soil. The show was known as Streisand: The Tour.
Streisand's 20-concert tour set box-office records. At the age of 64, well past the prime of most performers, she grossed US$92,457,062 and set house gross records in 14 of the 16 arenas played on the tour. She set the third-place record for her October 9, 2006, show at Madison Square Garden, the first- and second-place records of which are held by her two shows in September 2000. She set the second-place record at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, with her December 31, 1999, show being the house record and the highest-grossing concert of all time. This led many people to openly criticize Streisand for price gouging, as many tickets sold for upwards of US$1,000.
A collection of performances culled from different stops on this tour, Live in Concert 2006, debuted at No. 7 on the Billboard 200, making it Streisand's 29th Top 10 album. In the summer of 2007, Streisand gave concerts for the first time in continental Europe. The first concert took place in Zürich (June 18), then Vienna (June 22), Paris (June 26), Berlin (June 30), Stockholm (July 4, canceled), Manchester (July 10) and Celbridge, near Dublin (July 14), followed by three concerts in London (July 18, 22 and 25), the only European city where Streisand had performed before 2007. Tickets for the London dates cost between £100.00 and GB£1,500.00 and for the Ireland date between €118 and €500. The tour included a 58-piece orchestra.
In February 2008, Forbes listed Streisand as the No. 2 earning female musician, between June 2006 and June 2007, with earnings of about US$60 million. Although Streisand's range has changed with time and her voice has deepened over the years, her vocal prowess has remained remarkably secure for a singer whose career has endured for nearly half a century. Streisand is a contralto or possibly a mezzo-soprano who has a range consisting of well over two octaves from “low E to a high G and probably a bit more that in either direction.” On November 17, 2008, Streisand returned to the studio to begin recording what would be her sixty-third album and it was announced that Diana Krall was producing the album. Streisand is one of the recipients of the 2008 Kennedy Center Honors. On December 7, 2008, she visited the White House as part of the ceremonies.
On April 25, 2009, CBS aired Streisand's latest TV special, Streisand: Live In Concert, highlighting the aforementioned featured stop from her 2006 North American tour, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. On September 26, 2009, Streisand performed a one-night-only show at the Village Vanguard in New York City's Greenwich Village. This performance was later released on DVD as One Night Only Barbra Streisand and Quartet at The Village Vanguard. On September 29, 2009, Streisand and Columbia Records released her newest studio album, Love is the Answer. produced by Diana Krall. On October 2, 2009, Streisand made her British television performance debut with an interview on Friday Night With Jonathan Ross to promote the album. This album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and registered her biggest weekly sales since 1997, making Streisand the only artist in history to achieve No. 1 albums in five different decades.
On February 1, 2010, Streisand joined over 80 other artists in recording a new version of the 1985 charity single "We Are the World." Quincy Jones and Lionel Richie planned to release the new version to mark the 25th anniversary of its original recording. These plans changed, however, in view of the devastating earthquake that hit Haiti on January 12, 2010, and on February 12, the song, now called "We Are the World 25 for Haiti," made its debut as a charity single to support relief aid for the beleaguered island nation.
Streisand was honored as MusiCares Person of the Year on February 11, 2011, two days prior to the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards.
Streisand is one of many singers who uses teleprompters during their live performances. Streisand has defended her choice in using teleprompters to display lyrics and, sometimes, banter.
Film career
in Hello, Dolly! (1969)
Her first film was a reprise of her Broadway hit, Funny Girl (1968), an artistic and commercial success directed by Hollywood veteran William Wyler, for which she won the 1968 Academy Award for Best Actress, sharing it with Katharine Hepburn (The Lion in Winter), the only time there has been a tie in this Oscar category. Her next two movies were also based on musicals, Jerry Herman's Hello, Dolly!, directed by Gene Kelly (1969), and Alan Jay Lerner's and Burton Lane's On a Clear Day You Can See Forever, directed by Vincente Minnelli (1970), while her fourth film was based on the Broadway play The Owl and the Pussycat (1970).
During the 1970s, Streisand starred in several screwball comedies, including What's Up, Doc? (1972) and The Main Event (1979), both co-starring Ryan O'Neal, and For Pete's Sake (1974) with Michael Sarrazin. One of her most famous roles during this period was in the drama The Way We Were (1973) with Robert Redford, for which she received an Academy Award nomination as Best Actress. She earned her second Academy Award for Best Original Song as composer (together with lyricist Paul Williams) for the song "Evergreen", from A Star Is Born in 1976.
Along with Paul Newman, Sidney Poitier and later Steve McQueen, Streisand formed First Artists Production Company in 1969, so the actors could secure properties and develop movie projects for themselves. Streisand's initial outing with First Artists was Up the Sandbox (1972).
From a period beginning in 1969 and ending in 1980, Streisand appeared in the annual motion picture exhibitors poll of Top 10 Box Office attractions a total of 10 times, often as the only woman on the list. After the commercially disappointing All Night Long in 1981, Streisand's film output decreased considerably. She has only acted in six films since.
Streisand produced a number of her own films, setting up Barwood Films in 1972. For Yentl (1983), she was producer, director, and star, an experience she repeated for The Prince of Tides (1991) and The Mirror Has Two Faces (1996). There was controversy when Yentl received five Academy Award nominations, but none for the major categories of Best Picture, Actress, or Director. The Prince of Tides received even more Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, but the director was not nominated. Streisand also scripted "Yentl", something she is not always given credit for. According to New York Times Editorial Page Editor Andrew Rosenthal in an interview (story begins at minute 16) with Allan Wolper, "the one thing that makes Barbra Streisand crazy is when nobody gives her the credit for having written 'Yentl'."
In 2004, Streisand made a return to film acting, after an eight-year hiatus, in the comedy Meet the Fockers (a sequel to Meet the Parents), playing opposite Dustin Hoffman, Ben Stiller, Blythe Danner and Robert De Niro.
In 2005, Streisand's Barwood Films, Gary Smith, and Sonny Murray purchased the rights to Simon Mawer's book Mendel's Dwarf. In December 2008, she stated that she was considering directing an adaptation of Larry Kramer's play The Normal Heart, a project she has worked on since the mid-1990s In 2009, Andrew Lloyd Webber stated that Streisand was one of several actresses (alongside Meryl Streep and Glenn Close) who were interested in playing the role of Norma Desmond in the film adaptation of Webber's musical version of Sunset Boulevard
In December 2010, Streisand appeared in Little Fockers, the third film from the Meet the Parents trilogy. She reprised the role of Roz Focker alongside Dustin Hoffman.
On 4 January 2011, the New York Post reported that Streisand was in negotiations to produce, direct, and star in a new film version of Gypsy. In an interview with the New York Post, Arthur Laurents said: "We've talked about it a lot, and she knows what she's doing. She has my approval." He said that he would not write the screenplay. The following day, the New York Times reported that Arthur Laurents clarified in a telephonic interview that Streisand would not direct the film "but playing Rose is enough to make her happy." Streisand's spokesperson confirmed that "there have been conversations".
On 28 January 2011, The Hollywood Reporter announced that Paramount Pictures has given the road-trip comedy, My Mother's Curse, the green light to begin shooting, with Streisand and Seth Rogen playing mother and son. Anne Fletcher is slated to direct the project with a script by Dan Fogelman. Lorne Michaels and John Goldwyn will produce it with Evan Goldberg. Executive producers include Streisand, Rogen, Fogelman, and David Ellison, whose Skydance will co-finance the pic. Shooting is expected to begin in the spring of 2011.
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* There is more on Barbra in Wikipedia.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 04/24/11 at 7:00 am
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Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 04/24/11 at 7:08 am
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Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 04/24/11 at 7:14 am
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She played a good character.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 04/24/11 at 7:15 am
She played a good character.
It is one film I have started to watch, but was interrupted and never saw the end.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 04/24/11 at 7:16 am
I also like her in Fockers
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 04/24/11 at 7:17 am
I also like her in Fockers
Another film I have missed.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 04/24/11 at 7:18 am
Another film I have missed.
She's pretty funny in those films.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: CatwomanofV on 04/24/11 at 11:25 am
Another film I have missed.
I missed that one, too.
She is really extremely talented. She can do comedy & drama. I love the movie What's Up, Doc? And of course Hello Dolly.
Cat
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 04/24/11 at 11:26 am
British Person of the Day: Paula Yates
Paula Elizabeth Yates (24 April 1960 – 17 September 2000) was a British television presenter and writer, best known for her work on two iconic television programmes, The Tube and The Big Breakfast.
Early life
Born in Colwyn Bay, North Wales, she was brought up in a show business family. Her mother was Elaine Smith, a former showgirl, actress and writer of erotic novels, who used the stage names Helene Thornton and Heller Toren. Until late in her life, Yates believed her father to be Jess Yates, who was known as "the Bishop" and presented the ITV religious programme Stars On Sunday. Yates and Smith were married from 1958 to 1975, though Yates was 16 years older than his wife and their marriage was unconventional. Jess Yates was fired from his job in 1974 because of scandalous newspaper stories about his private life.
In an unsettled childhood, Yates attended school at Penrhos College, Ysgol Aberconwy. The Yates family ran the Deganwy Castle Hotel for a time, before moving to a large house in Rowen, Conwy. After the break-up of her parents' marriage in 1975, Yates lived mostly with her mother, including periods in Malta and Mallorca where she was a pupil at Bellver International College, before returning to Britain.
Career
Yates became a fan of the Boomtown Rats and their lead singer, Bob Geldof, with whom she became involved and who fathered her first three daughters. She posed naked for Penthouse in 1978, just before she became a music journalist, writing a column called "Natural Blonde" in the Record Mirror. She first came to prominence in the 1980s, as co-presenter (with Jools Holland) of the Channel 4 pop music programme The Tube. She also appeared alongside friend Jennifer Saunders in 1987 for a spoof 'mockumentary' on Bananarama.
In 1982, she released a version of the Nancy Sinatra hit song "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'".
After the birth of her daughters, Yates wrote two books on motherhood.
Yates continued with her rock journalism, in addition to being presenter of cutting-edge music show The Tube. She became most notorious for her "on the bed" interviews on the show The Big Breakfast, produced by Geldof. On 27 October 1995 Yates appeared on the quiz programme Have I Got News For You and repeatedly clashed with Ian Hislop. Yates referred to Hislop as being "the sperm of the devil".
Personal life
Yates met Geldof in the early days of the Boomtown Rats. They became a couple in 1976 when she flew to Paris to surprise him while the band was playing there. Their first daughter, Fifi Trixibelle, was born on 31 March 1983. After 10 years together, they married on 31 August 1986 in Las Vegas, with Simon Le Bon of Duran Duran acting as Geldof's best man. The couple then had two more daughters, Peaches Geldof on 13 March 1989, and Little Pixie Geldof on 17 September 1990. Pixie is said to be named after a celebrity daughter character from the cartoon Celeb in the satirical magazine Private Eye, itself a lampoon of the unusual names the Geldofs gave to their first children.
Many people still erroneously think that Yates and the INXS singer Michael Hutchence first met during the infamous interview on the Big Breakfast bed in October 1994, but Yates had interviewed him as early as 1985 on Channel 4's The Tube rock magazine programme. During this appearance on "The Tube", Paula was asked to leave Michael alone by the Road Manager of INXS when Paula walked up to him and said, "I'm going to have that boy." "Paula was unmoved and began to show up at INXS gigs everywhere for the next few years...she even brought her kid, (Fifi Geldof)." Yates doggedly maintained an irregular contact during the interceding nine years and their affair had been underway long before the Big Breakfast interview. In 1995, Yates left Geldof.
Geldof and Yates divorced in May 1996. Two months later Yates's daughter with Hutchence, Heavenly Hiraani Tiger Lily Hutchence (known as Tiger) was born on 22 July 1996.
On 22 November 1997, Hutchence was found dead in a hotel room in Sydney. Paula Yates wrote in her police statement that Michael Hutchence was "frightened and couldn't stand a minute more without his baby" during their phone conversations that morning of his suicide; he had said, "I don't know how I'll live without Tiger". Yates also wrote that Bob Geldof had threatened them repeatedly with, "Don't forget, I am above the law." Yates became distraught, refusing to accept the coroner's verdict of suicide. She eventually sought psychiatric treatment. In June 1998, Bob Geldof won full custody of the couple's three daughters and Yates attempted suicide. Michael Hutchence's father,Kell Hutchence "launched proceedings in Australia seeking sole custody of after concerns over a new relationship Miss Yates began while being treated at a clinic for a nervous breakdown earlier this year. She met Kingsley O'Keke, 26, , during her stay but the pair broke up after a six-week romance. O'Keke later sold his story to a tabloid newspaper."
Yates's dispute with the Hutchence family over Michael's estate saw her struggling to bring up her daughter. While battling grief and problems with addiction, she was also in an extremely difficult financial situation. Yates resorted to selling her jewellery in order to pay bills, including the three amethyst rings Geldof gave her after the birth of each of their daughters. She downsized to living in a small mews house in the years prior to her death, but also purchased a second home in Hastings.
While fighting for custody of Tiger, it was reported in the media that Jess Yates had not been Yates's natural father. A paternity test proved that the quiz show host Hughie Green, who died six months before Hutchence, had in fact been her natural father.
In his memoir Red Carpets and Other Banana Skins (2006), actor Rupert Everett wrote that he had a six-year affair with Yates.
Death
On 17 September 2000 Yates was found dead at her home in London, the same day as her daughter Pixie's 10th birthday, at the age of 40, of an accidental heroin overdose. The coroner ruled that it was not a suicide, but a result of "foolish and incautious" behaviour.
Soon after her death, ex-husband Bob Geldof assumed a foster custody of Tiger Lily with the willing consent of Hutchence's parents, so that she could be raised with her three older half-sisters, Fifi, Peaches and Pixie. Her aunt, Tina Hutchence, the sister of INXS singer Michael Hutchence, was denied permission by the judge to apply for Tiger Lily to live with her in California.
In 2007, Geldof further applied to a British court for and was granted formal adoption of Tiger Lily and a change of her surname to Geldof, despite vocal opposition from Hutchence's mother and sister. Since January 2008 her legal full name has been Heavenly Hiraani Tiger Lily Hutchence Geldof.
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Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 04/25/11 at 6:12 am
The person of the day..Renee Zellweger
Renée Kathleen Zellweger (born April 25, 1969) is an American actress and producer. Zellweger first gained widespread attention for her role in the film Jerry Maguire (1996), and subsequently received two nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her roles as Bridget Jones in the comedy Bridget Jones's Diary (2001) (which she reprised in its sequel Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (2004)), and as Roxie Hart in the musical Chicago (2002). She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the drama Cold Mountain (2003).
She has won three Golden Globe Awards and three Screen Actors Guild Awards, was named Hasty Pudding's Woman of the Year in 2009, and established herself as one of the highest-paid Hollywood actresses as of 2007
While still in Texas, Zellweger appeared in several films. One was A Taste for Killing (1992), followed by a role in the ABC miniseries Murder in the Heartland (1993). The following year, she appeared in Reality Bites (1994), the directorial debut of Ben Stiller, and in the biographical film 8 Seconds, directed by John G. Avildsen.
Zellweger's first main part in a movie came with the 1994 horror story Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation, alongside Matthew McConaughey. She played Jenny, a teenager who leaves a prom early with three friends and ended up getting into a car accident, which leads to their meeting a murderous family. Her next movie was Love and a .45 (1994), in which she played the role of Starlene Cheatham, a woman who plans a robbery with her boyfriend. The performance earned her an Independent Spirit Award for Best Debut Performance. She subsequently moved to Los Angeles, winning roles in the films Empire Records (1995) and The Whole Wide World (1996). Zellweger first became widely known to audiences around the world with Jerry Maguire (1996), in which she played the romantic interest of Tom Cruise's character.
Zellweger later won acclaim in One True Thing (1998) opposite William Hurt and Meryl Streep, and in Neil LaBute's Nurse Betty opposite Morgan Freeman. The role garnered the actress her first of three Golden Globe Awards, but she was in the bathroom when future co-star Hugh Grant announced her name. Zellweger later protested: "I had lipstick on my teeth!"
Critical success
In 2001, Zellweger gained the prized lead role as Bridget Jones, playing alongside Hugh Grant and Colin Firth, in the British romantic comedy film Bridget Jones's Diary, based on the 1996 novel Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding. The choice came amid much controversy since she was neither British nor overweight. During casting Zellweger was told she was too skinny to play the chubby Bridget, so she quickly embarked on gaining the required weight and learning an English accent. She gained 20 pounds in order to complete her transformation to Bridget Jones. Her dramatic weight fluctuations became the subject of much media interest. Her performance as Bridget received praise from critics, with Stephen Holden of The New York Times commenting, "Ms. Zellweger accomplishes the small miracle of making Bridget both entirely endearing and utterly real." Along with receiving voice coaching to fine-tune her English accent, part of Zellweger's preparations involved spending three weeks working undercover in a "work experience placement" for British publishing firm Picador in Victoria, London. As a result of her considerable efforts to effect author Helen Fielding's character, Zellweger caught the attention of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and won her first Best Actress Academy Award nomination.
In 2002, she starred with Michelle Pfeiffer in White Oleander. She played an actress in the film, and a clip from her role in Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation was shown as she discussed her career with the main character, Astrid Magnussen. The same year, she appeared as Roxie Hart in the critically acclaimed musical film Chicago, directed by Rob Marshall, co-starring Catherine Zeta Jones, Richard Gere, Queen Latifah, and John C. Reilly. The movie won the Academy Award for Best Picture, and Zellweger received positive reviews. The San Francisco Chronicle's web site SFGate commented, "Zellweger is a joy to watch, with marvelous comic timing and, in her stage numbers, a commanding presence." The Washington Post noted that even though Zellweger couldn't dance well in real life, the audience "wouldn't know it from this movie, in which she dances up a storm." As a result, she earned her second Academy Award nomination as Best Actress, as well as the Screen Actors Guild Award and Golden Globe Award.
2003–present
Zellweger at the Harvard Hasty Pudding Woman of the Year Parade in February 2009.
In 2004, Zellweger received an Academy Award, this time as Best Supporting Actress in Anthony Minghella's Cold Mountain opposite Jude Law and Nicole Kidman. Zellweger has since starred in the sequel to Bridget Jones's Diary in Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, lent her voice to the DreamWorks animated features Shark Tale and Bee Movie, and starred in the 2005 Ron Howard film Cinderella Man opposite Russell Crowe and Paul Giamatti. On May 24, 2005, Zellweger received her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She produced and appeared in Miss Potter, based on the life story of acclaimed author Beatrix Potter, with Emily Watson and Ewan McGregor, released in December 2006. In 2008, she starred in the western Appaloosa with Ed Harris and Viggo Mortensen and the period comedy Leatherheads with fellow Oscar-winner George Clooney.
In 2008, she produced a film starring Harry Connick, Jr., about the true story of Dr. Denny Slamon. The film, called Living Proof, premiered in October 2008 on Lifetime Television. Craig Zadan and Neil Meron produced.
In 2009, she starred alongside Chris Noth and Kevin Bacon in the feature film My One and Only, as well as in the film New in Town, a comedy about a corporate executive from Miami who is sent to New Ulm, Minnesota, to oversee a small manufacturing company making minimal profits producing and selling pudding. She also had a cameo role in the animated film Monsters vs. Aliens.
Renee has expressed a strong interest in reprising her role as Bridget Jones in the planned third installment of the "Bridget Jones" film series.
Personal life
In 2002, Zellweger bought a US$6.8 million home in Bel Air, then sold her previous home in the Hollywood Hills, bought for US$1.9 million in 2000. Due to the constant attention from the paparazzi, she purchased a home in Connecticut and moved there in 2005. She claims she rarely spends time there, and keeps a small apartment in New York where she "stops over" to do laundry before moving on to her next film. In January 2007, she admitted that she gets scared at home alone due to security problems and fans who send or leave mail at her homes; she said that she considered buying a gun for reasons of personal security.
Relationships
Her first high-profile romance was with actor/comedian Jim Carrey. The relationship ended in December 2000. The two were rumored to have been engaged, but Zellweger frequently denied this claim. Zellweger poked fun at the prior relationship when she ended her opening monologue on Saturday Night Live by reading an entry from her own "diary", marked "Dear Diary, I can't believe I am dating Jim Carrey."
For two years, Zellweger dated The White Stripes singer Jack White. The pair met while filming Cold Mountain, and later began dating after the film wrapped. They broke up two years later, after schedule demands kept them apart. Friends said the split was amicable.
On May 9, 2005, Zellweger married singer Kenny Chesney in a ceremony at the island of St. John. They had met in January at a tsunami relief benefit concert. Zellweger missed out on the engagement ring since the wedding was planned over a short span of time. On September 15, 2005, after only four months of marriage, they announced their plans for an annulment. Zellweger cited "fraud" as the reason in the related papers. After media scrutiny of her use of the word "fraud", she qualified the use of the term, stating it was "simply legal language and not a reflection of Kenny's character. I would personally be very grateful for your support in refraining from drawing derogatory, hurtful, sensationalized or untrue conclusions. We hope to experience this transition as privately as possible." The annulment was finalized in late December 2005.
In September 2010, it was reported that Zellweger and actor Bradley Cooper had been in a relationship for over a year. On March 18, 2011, People Magazine announced that the two had broken off their relationship.
Activism
Zellweger and Marc Forster took part in the 2005 HIV prevention campaign of the Swiss federal health department.
Films
Year↓ Title↓ Role↓ Notes
1992 Taste for Killing, AA Taste for Killing Mary Lou Television film
1993 Murder in the Heartland Barbara Von Busch Television film
1993 My Boyfriend's Back Uncredited
1993 Dazed and Confused Nesi White Uncredited
1994 Reality Bites Tami
1994 8 Seconds Prescott Buckle Bunny Cameo
1994 Shake, Rattle and Rock! Susan Doyle
1994 Love and a .45 Starlene Cheatham Nominated — Independent Spirit Award for Best Debut Performance
1994 Rebel Highway Susan
1994 Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation Jenny
1995 Empire Records Gina
1995 Low Life, TheThe Low Life Poet
1996 Whole Wide World, TheThe Whole Wide World Novalyne Price Nominated — Independent Spirit Award for Best Lead Female
1996 Jerry Maguire Dorothy Boyd
* Broadcast Film Critics Association for Breakthrough Artist
* National Board of Review Award for Breakthrough Performance
* Nominated — Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture
* Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role - Motion Picture
1997 Deceiver Elizabeth
1998 Price Above Rubies, AA Price Above Rubies Sonia Horowitz
1998 One True Thing Ellen Gulden
1999 Bachelor, TheThe Bachelor Anne Arden
2000 Nurse Betty Betty Sizemore
* Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
* Satellite Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
* Nominated — Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress
* Nominated — American Comedy Award for Funniest Actress in a Motion Picture
* Nominated — London Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress
2000 Me, Myself & Irene Irene P. Waters
2001 Bridget Jones's Diary Bridget Jones
* Nominated — Academy Award for Best Actress
* Nominated — BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role
* Nominated — Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress
* Nominated — Empire Award for Best Actress
* Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
* Nominated — Satellite Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
* Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role - Motion Picture
2002 White Oleander Claire Richards Nominated — Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture
2002 Chicago Roxie Hart
* Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Cast
* Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
* Satellite Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
* Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role - Motion Picture
* Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
* Nominated — Academy Award for Best Actress
* Nominated — BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role
* Nominated — Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress
* Nominated — Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Actress
* Nominated — Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Cast
2003 Down with Love Barbara Novak
2003 Cold Mountain Ruby Thewes
* Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
* BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role
* Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress
* Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress
* Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress
* Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture
* San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress
* Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role - Motion Picture
* Southeastern Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress
* Nominated — Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress
* Nominated — Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress
* Nominated — Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress
2004 Shark Tale Angie
2004 Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason Bridget Jones Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
2005 Cinderella Man Mae Braddock Nominated — Empire Award for Best Actress
2006 Miss Potter Beatrix Potter
* Also executive producer
* Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
* Nominated — Saturn Award for Best Actress
2007 Bee Movie Vanessa Bloom
2008 Leatherheads Lexi Littleton
2008 Appaloosa Allie French
2009 New in Town Lucy Hill
2009 Monsters vs. Aliens Katie
2009 My One and Only Anne Deveraux
2009 Case 39 Emily Jenkins
2010 My Own Love Song Jane
TBA Bridget Jones 3 Bridget Jones
http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z229/Swinging_Sixties/Pics%20-%20People/ReneeZellweger.jpg
http://i662.photobucket.com/albums/uu342/jones_jeffrey89/New%20Album5/ReneeZellweger.png
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 04/25/11 at 6:17 am
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlz22hJcwUw
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 04/25/11 at 7:07 am
The person of the day..Renee Zellweger
Renée Kathleen Zellweger (born April 25, 1969) is an American actress and producer. Zellweger first gained widespread attention for her role in the film Jerry Maguire (1996), and subsequently received two nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her roles as Bridget Jones in the comedy Bridget Jones's Diary (2001) (which she reprised in its sequel Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (2004)), and as Roxie Hart in the musical Chicago (2002). She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the drama Cold Mountain (2003).
She has won three Golden Globe Awards and three Screen Actors Guild Awards, was named Hasty Pudding's Woman of the Year in 2009, and established herself as one of the highest-paid Hollywood actresses as of 2007
While still in Texas, Zellweger appeared in several films. One was A Taste for Killing (1992), followed by a role in the ABC miniseries Murder in the Heartland (1993). The following year, she appeared in Reality Bites (1994), the directorial debut of Ben Stiller, and in the biographical film 8 Seconds, directed by John G. Avildsen.
Zellweger's first main part in a movie came with the 1994 horror story Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation, alongside Matthew McConaughey. She played Jenny, a teenager who leaves a prom early with three friends and ended up getting into a car accident, which leads to their meeting a murderous family. Her next movie was Love and a .45 (1994), in which she played the role of Starlene Cheatham, a woman who plans a robbery with her boyfriend. The performance earned her an Independent Spirit Award for Best Debut Performance. She subsequently moved to Los Angeles, winning roles in the films Empire Records (1995) and The Whole Wide World (1996). Zellweger first became widely known to audiences around the world with Jerry Maguire (1996), in which she played the romantic interest of Tom Cruise's character.
Zellweger later won acclaim in One True Thing (1998) opposite William Hurt and Meryl Streep, and in Neil LaBute's Nurse Betty opposite Morgan Freeman. The role garnered the actress her first of three Golden Globe Awards, but she was in the bathroom when future co-star Hugh Grant announced her name. Zellweger later protested: "I had lipstick on my teeth!"
Critical success
In 2001, Zellweger gained the prized lead role as Bridget Jones, playing alongside Hugh Grant and Colin Firth, in the British romantic comedy film Bridget Jones's Diary, based on the 1996 novel Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding. The choice came amid much controversy since she was neither British nor overweight. During casting Zellweger was told she was too skinny to play the chubby Bridget, so she quickly embarked on gaining the required weight and learning an English accent. She gained 20 pounds in order to complete her transformation to Bridget Jones. Her dramatic weight fluctuations became the subject of much media interest. Her performance as Bridget received praise from critics, with Stephen Holden of The New York Times commenting, "Ms. Zellweger accomplishes the small miracle of making Bridget both entirely endearing and utterly real." Along with receiving voice coaching to fine-tune her English accent, part of Zellweger's preparations involved spending three weeks working undercover in a "work experience placement" for British publishing firm Picador in Victoria, London. As a result of her considerable efforts to effect author Helen Fielding's character, Zellweger caught the attention of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and won her first Best Actress Academy Award nomination.
In 2002, she starred with Michelle Pfeiffer in White Oleander. She played an actress in the film, and a clip from her role in Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation was shown as she discussed her career with the main character, Astrid Magnussen. The same year, she appeared as Roxie Hart in the critically acclaimed musical film Chicago, directed by Rob Marshall, co-starring Catherine Zeta Jones, Richard Gere, Queen Latifah, and John C. Reilly. The movie won the Academy Award for Best Picture, and Zellweger received positive reviews. The San Francisco Chronicle's web site SFGate commented, "Zellweger is a joy to watch, with marvelous comic timing and, in her stage numbers, a commanding presence." The Washington Post noted that even though Zellweger couldn't dance well in real life, the audience "wouldn't know it from this movie, in which she dances up a storm." As a result, she earned her second Academy Award nomination as Best Actress, as well as the Screen Actors Guild Award and Golden Globe Award.
2003–present
Zellweger at the Harvard Hasty Pudding Woman of the Year Parade in February 2009.
In 2004, Zellweger received an Academy Award, this time as Best Supporting Actress in Anthony Minghella's Cold Mountain opposite Jude Law and Nicole Kidman. Zellweger has since starred in the sequel to Bridget Jones's Diary in Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, lent her voice to the DreamWorks animated features Shark Tale and Bee Movie, and starred in the 2005 Ron Howard film Cinderella Man opposite Russell Crowe and Paul Giamatti. On May 24, 2005, Zellweger received her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She produced and appeared in Miss Potter, based on the life story of acclaimed author Beatrix Potter, with Emily Watson and Ewan McGregor, released in December 2006. In 2008, she starred in the western Appaloosa with Ed Harris and Viggo Mortensen and the period comedy Leatherheads with fellow Oscar-winner George Clooney.
In 2008, she produced a film starring Harry Connick, Jr., about the true story of Dr. Denny Slamon. The film, called Living Proof, premiered in October 2008 on Lifetime Television. Craig Zadan and Neil Meron produced.
In 2009, she starred alongside Chris Noth and Kevin Bacon in the feature film My One and Only, as well as in the film New in Town, a comedy about a corporate executive from Miami who is sent to New Ulm, Minnesota, to oversee a small manufacturing company making minimal profits producing and selling pudding. She also had a cameo role in the animated film Monsters vs. Aliens.
Renee has expressed a strong interest in reprising her role as Bridget Jones in the planned third installment of the "Bridget Jones" film series.
Personal life
In 2002, Zellweger bought a US$6.8 million home in Bel Air, then sold her previous home in the Hollywood Hills, bought for US$1.9 million in 2000. Due to the constant attention from the paparazzi, she purchased a home in Connecticut and moved there in 2005. She claims she rarely spends time there, and keeps a small apartment in New York where she "stops over" to do laundry before moving on to her next film. In January 2007, she admitted that she gets scared at home alone due to security problems and fans who send or leave mail at her homes; she said that she considered buying a gun for reasons of personal security.
Relationships
Her first high-profile romance was with actor/comedian Jim Carrey. The relationship ended in December 2000. The two were rumored to have been engaged, but Zellweger frequently denied this claim. Zellweger poked fun at the prior relationship when she ended her opening monologue on Saturday Night Live by reading an entry from her own "diary", marked "Dear Diary, I can't believe I am dating Jim Carrey."
For two years, Zellweger dated The White Stripes singer Jack White. The pair met while filming Cold Mountain, and later began dating after the film wrapped. They broke up two years later, after schedule demands kept them apart. Friends said the split was amicable.
On May 9, 2005, Zellweger married singer Kenny Chesney in a ceremony at the island of St. John. They had met in January at a tsunami relief benefit concert. Zellweger missed out on the engagement ring since the wedding was planned over a short span of time. On September 15, 2005, after only four months of marriage, they announced their plans for an annulment. Zellweger cited "fraud" as the reason in the related papers. After media scrutiny of her use of the word "fraud", she qualified the use of the term, stating it was "simply legal language and not a reflection of Kenny's character. I would personally be very grateful for your support in refraining from drawing derogatory, hurtful, sensationalized or untrue conclusions. We hope to experience this transition as privately as possible." The annulment was finalized in late December 2005.
In September 2010, it was reported that Zellweger and actor Bradley Cooper had been in a relationship for over a year. On March 18, 2011, People Magazine announced that the two had broken off their relationship.
Activism
Zellweger and Marc Forster took part in the 2005 HIV prevention campaign of the Swiss federal health department.
Films
Year↓ Title↓ Role↓ Notes
1992 Taste for Killing, AA Taste for Killing Mary Lou Television film
1993 Murder in the Heartland Barbara Von Busch Television film
1993 My Boyfriend's Back Uncredited
1993 Dazed and Confused Nesi White Uncredited
1994 Reality Bites Tami
1994 8 Seconds Prescott Buckle Bunny Cameo
1994 Shake, Rattle and Rock! Susan Doyle
1994 Love and a .45 Starlene Cheatham Nominated — Independent Spirit Award for Best Debut Performance
1994 Rebel Highway Susan
1994 Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation Jenny
1995 Empire Records Gina
1995 Low Life, TheThe Low Life Poet
1996 Whole Wide World, TheThe Whole Wide World Novalyne Price Nominated — Independent Spirit Award for Best Lead Female
1996 Jerry Maguire Dorothy Boyd
* Broadcast Film Critics Association for Breakthrough Artist
* National Board of Review Award for Breakthrough Performance
* Nominated — Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture
* Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role - Motion Picture
1997 Deceiver Elizabeth
1998 Price Above Rubies, AA Price Above Rubies Sonia Horowitz
1998 One True Thing Ellen Gulden
1999 Bachelor, TheThe Bachelor Anne Arden
2000 Nurse Betty Betty Sizemore
* Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
* Satellite Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
* Nominated — Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress
* Nominated — American Comedy Award for Funniest Actress in a Motion Picture
* Nominated — London Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress
2000 Me, Myself & Irene Irene P. Waters
2001 Bridget Jones's Diary Bridget Jones
* Nominated — Academy Award for Best Actress
* Nominated — BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role
* Nominated — Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress
* Nominated — Empire Award for Best Actress
* Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
* Nominated — Satellite Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
* Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role - Motion Picture
2002 White Oleander Claire Richards Nominated — Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture
2002 Chicago Roxie Hart
* Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Cast
* Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
* Satellite Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
* Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role - Motion Picture
* Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
* Nominated — Academy Award for Best Actress
* Nominated — BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role
* Nominated — Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress
* Nominated — Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Actress
* Nominated — Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Cast
2003 Down with Love Barbara Novak
2003 Cold Mountain Ruby Thewes
* Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
* BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role
* Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress
* Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress
* Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress
* Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture
* San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress
* Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role - Motion Picture
* Southeastern Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress
* Nominated — Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress
* Nominated — Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress
* Nominated — Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress
2004 Shark Tale Angie
2004 Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason Bridget Jones Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
2005 Cinderella Man Mae Braddock Nominated — Empire Award for Best Actress
2006 Miss Potter Beatrix Potter
* Also executive producer
* Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
* Nominated — Saturn Award for Best Actress
2007 Bee Movie Vanessa Bloom
2008 Leatherheads Lexi Littleton
2008 Appaloosa Allie French
2009 New in Town Lucy Hill
2009 Monsters vs. Aliens Katie
2009 My One and Only Anne Deveraux
2009 Case 39 Emily Jenkins
2010 My Own Love Song Jane
TBA Bridget Jones 3 Bridget Jones
http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z229/Swinging_Sixties/Pics%20-%20People/ReneeZellweger.jpg
http://i662.photobucket.com/albums/uu342/jones_jeffrey89/New%20Album5/ReneeZellweger.png
I like Renee Zellweger,She's a cool actress.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: nally on 04/25/11 at 11:29 am
I missed that one, too.
She is really extremely talented. She can do comedy & drama. I love the movie What's Up, Doc? And of course Hello Dolly.
Cat
She certainly is.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 04/26/11 at 6:01 am
The person of the day...Carol Burnett
Carol Creighton Burnett (born April 26, 1933) is an American actress, comedienne, singer, dancer and writer. Burnett started her career in New York. After becoming a hit on Broadway, she made her television debut. After successful appearances on The Garry Moore Show, Carol moved to Los Angeles and began an eleven-year run on The Carol Burnett Show which was aired on CBS television from 1967 to 1978. With roots in vaudeville, The Carol Burnett Show was a variety show which combined comedy sketches, song, and dance. The comedy sketches ranged from film parodies to character pieces. Burnett created many endearing characters during the show's television run.
The hour-long Carol Burnett Show, which debuted in 1967, garnered 23 Emmy Awards and won or was nominated for multiple Emmy Awards every season it was on the air. Its ensemble cast included Tim Conway (who was a guest player until the 9th season), Harvey Korman, Lyle Waggoner, and the teenaged Vicki Lawrence (who was cast partly because she looked like a young Burnett). The network did not want her to do a variety show because they believed only men could be successful at variety but Burnett's contract required that they give her one season of whatever kind of show she wanted to make. She chose to carry on the tradition of past variety show successes and the rest is history.
Burnett became known for her acting and talent, and for ending each show by tugging her ear, which was a message to her grandmother who had raised her. This was done to let her know that she was doing well and that she loved her.
A true variety show in its simplest of forms, The Carol Burnett Show struck a chord with viewers through parodies of films ("Went With the Wind" as a parody of Gone With the Wind), television ("As the Stomach Turns" parodying of the soap opera As the World Turns) and commercials. Burnett and team struck gold with the original skit "The Family", which eventually was spun off into its own television show called Mama's Family, starring Vicki Lawrence.
The show also became known for its closing theme song, with the following lyrics:
I'm so glad we had this time together
Just to have a laugh or sing a song
Seems we just get started and before you know it
Comes the time we have to say, 'So long.'
During the show's run, Burnett's grandmother died. During a biography on Burnett, she tearfully recalled her grandmother's last moments: "She said to my husband Joe from her hospital bed 'Joe, you see that spider up there?' There was no spider but Joe said he did anyhow. She said 'Every few minutes a big spider jumps on that little spider and they go at it like RABBITS!!' And then she died. There's laughter in everything!"
The Carol Burnett Show ceased production in 1978, and is generally regarded as the last successful major network prime-time variety show, to date. It continues to have success in syndicated reruns. She was open to her fans, never refusing to give an autograph and had limited patience for "Those who've made it, then complain about loss of privacy."
Other roles
Burnett starred in a few films while her variety show was running, including Pete 'n' Tillie (1972). After the show ended, Burnett assumed a number of roles that departed from comedy. She appeared in several dramatic roles, most notably in the television movie Friendly Fire. She appeared as Beatrice O'Reilly in the film Life of The Party: The Story of Beatrice, a story about a woman fighting her alcoholism. Her other film work includes The Four Seasons, Annie, and Noises Off. She also returned to star in a different role as Queen Aggravain in the movie version of Once Upon a Mattress.
Burnett also made occasional returns to the stage: in 1974, she appeared at The Muny Theater in St. Louis, Missouri in I Do! I Do! with Rock Hudson and eleven years later, she took the supporting role of Carlotta Campion in the 1985 concert performance of Stephen Sondheim's Follies.
Burnett made frequent appearances as a panelist on the game show Password, an association she maintained until the early 1980s. She was also the first celebrity to appear on the children's series, Sesame Street, on that series' first episode on November 10, 1969.
In the 1980s and 1990s, she made several attempts at starting a new variety program. She also appeared briefly on The Carol Burnett Show's "The Family" sketches spinoff, Mama's Family, as her stormy character, Eunice Higgins. She played the matriarch in the cult comedy miniseries Fresno, which parodied the primetime soap opera Falcon Crest. She returned to TV in the mid-1990s as a supporting character on the sitcom Mad About You, playing Theresa Stemple, the mother of main character Jamie Buchman (Helen Hunt).
Burnett has long been a fan of the soap opera All My Children. She realized a dream when Agnes Nixon created the role of Verla Grubbs for her. Burnett suddenly found herself playing the long-lost daughter of Langley Wallingford (Louis Edmonds) and causing trouble for her stepmother Phoebe Tyler-Wallingford (Ruth Warrick). She hosted a 25th anniversary special about the show in 1995 and made a brief cameo appearance as Verla Grubbs on the January 5, 2005 episode which celebrated the show's 35th anniversary.
In 2008, she had her second role as an animated character, in Horton Hears a Who!. Her first was in The Trumpet of the Swan. In 2009, she made a guest appearance on the Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, for which she was nominated for the Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series. In November 2010, she guest starred on an episode of Glee as cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester's mother.
Personal life
The first house Burnett lived in was the Beverly Hills house formerly owned by Harry James and Betty Grable. Growing up in rented rooms, an actual house was "a luxury", as "A Murphy bed was idea of spacious."
She married Don Saroyan on December 15, 1955; the couple divorced in 1962. On May 4, 1963, Burnett married TV producer Joe Hamilton, a divorced father of eight, with whom she had three daughters: actress and writer Carrie Hamilton, Jody Hamilton, and singer Erin Hamilton. The marriage ended in divorce in 1984, and Joe Hamilton later died of cancer. On November 24, 2001, she married Brian Miller (principal drummer in and contractor of the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra), who is twenty-three years her junior.
In January 2002, Carrie Hamilton died of lung and brain cancer at the age of 38. She had become addicted to drugs as a teenager. Burnett and Carrie wrote a play together called Hollywood Arms, which was adapted from Burnett's bestselling memoir, One More Time. The Broadway production featured Linda Lavin as Burnett's character's beloved grandmother, and Michele Pawk as Burnett's mother Louise. Pawk went on to receive the 2003 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play.
Lawsuits
Burnett drew attention in 1981, when she sued the tabloid newspaper National Enquirer for libel after the Enquirer described her alleged public drunkenness, purportedly with Henry Kissinger. Carol was particularly sensitive to the accusations because of her parents' own alcoholism. The case, Carol Burnett v. National Enquirer, Inc., was a landmark for libel cases involving celebrities, although the unprecedented $1.6 million verdict for Burnett was reduced to about $800,000 on appeal. She donated a portion of that award to the University of Hawaii and University of California at Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism saying she hoped the suit would teach aspiring journalists the dangers of defaming individuals in articles. The money was used to fund Law and Ethics courses at the school. Burnett said at the time that she didn't care if she just won "cab fare", and that the lawsuit was a matter of principle.
In March 2007, she sued 20th Century Fox for copyright infringement, trademark violation, statutory violation of right of privacy, and misappropriation of name and likeness over the use of an altered version of her signature closing song and the portrayal of her charwoman character in an episode of Family Guy. On May 26, 2007, the lawsuit was dismissed by a Los Angeles federal judge. The judge used Hustler Magazine v. Falwell as the general basis for the decision.
Awards and recognition
Emmy Awards
Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6439 Hollywood Blvd. in front of the Hollywood Pacific Theatre (below), where she was once fired from a job as an usherette. At the time, it was known as the Warner Hollywood Theatre.
Hollywood Pacific Theater 2010.JPG
* 1962 – Outstanding Performance in a Variety or Musical Program or Series, The Garry Moore Show
* 1963 – Outstanding Performance in a Variety or Musical Program or Series, Julie and Carol at Carnegie Hall and An Evening with Carol Burnett
* 1969, 1970, 1971 – Nominated for Outstanding Variety or Musical Series, The Carol Burnett Show
* 1972 – Outstanding Variety Series – Musical, The Carol Burnett Show, shared with Joe Hamilton (executive producer) and Arnie Rosen (producer)
* 1972 – Nominated for Outstanding Single Program – Variety or Musical – Variety and Popular Music, Julie and Carol at Lincoln Center
* 1973 – Nominated for Outstanding Variety Musical Series, The Carol Burnett Show, with Joe Hamilton (executive producer), and Bill Angelos, Buz Kohan, and Arnie Rosen (producers)
* 1974 – Outstanding Music-Variety Series, The Carol Burnett Show, with Joe Hamilton (executive producer) and Ed Simmons (producer)
* 1974 – Nominated for Best Lead Actress in a Drama, 6 Rms Riv Vu
* 1975 – Outstanding Comedy-Variety or Music Series, The Carol Burnett Show, with Joe Hamilton (executive producer) and Ed Simmons (producer)
* 1976, 1977, 1978 – Nominated for Outstanding Comedy-Variety or Music Series, The Carol Burnett Show, with Joe Hamilton (executive producer) and Ed Simmons (producer)
* 1977 – Nominated for Outstanding Special – Comedy-Variety or Music, Sills and Burnett at the Met, with Beverly Sills and Joe Hamilton (producer)
* 1979 – Nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or a Special, Friendly Fire
* 1983 – Nominated for Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program, Texaco Star Theater: Opening Night
* 1993 – Nominated for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series, The Larry Sanders Show
* 1995 – Nominated for Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program, Men, Movies & Carol
* 1997 – Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series, Mad About You
* 1998 – Nominated for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series, Mad About You
* 2002 – Nominated for Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Special, Carol Burnett: Show Stoppers, with John Hamilton and Rick Hawkins (executive producers), Jody Hamilton and Mary Jo Blue (producers)
* 2009 – Nominated for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Golden Globe Awards
* 1968 – Best TV Star – Female, The Carol Burnett Show
* 1970, 1972, 1977, 1978 – Best TV Actress – Musical/Comedy, The Carol Burnett Show
* 1971, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1979 – Nominated for Best TV Actress – Musical/Comedy, The Carol Burnett Show
* 1973 – Nominated for Best Motion Picture Actress – Musical/Comedy, Pete 'n' Tillie
* 1979 – Nominated for Best Motion Picture Actress in a Supporting Role, A Wedding
* 1982 – Nominated for Best Motion Picture Actress – Comedy/Musical, The Four Seasons
* 1983 – Nominated for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Comedy/Musical, Annie
* 1983 – Nominated for Best Performance by an Actress in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV, Life of the Party: The Story of Beatrice
* 1991 – Nominated for Best Performance by an Actress in a TV-Series – Comedy/Musical, Carol & Company
Tony Awards
* 1969 – Special Award (for "her charitable work . . . From her roots in the theatre, she has drawn upon her experience to create a very special rapport with audiences in another medium -- television -- and she has widened the theatrical horizons of her viewers.")
Other
* Burnett received a Peabody Award in 1962.
* She was a recipient of the 2003 Kennedy Center Honors.
* President George W. Bush awarded Burnett the Presidential Medal of Freedom on November 9, 2005.
* She was named the Grand Marshal of the 109th Rose Parade and the 84th Rose Bowl Game on New Year's Day in 1998.
* She was the first honoree and presenter at second annual awards ceremony of the Back Stage West Garland Awards in 1999
* On December 1, 2009, she was inducted into the California Hall of Fame at The California Museum for History, Women and the Arts.
* Burnett was presented a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame located at 6439 Hollywood Blvd., in front of the Hollywood Pacific Theatre where she worked as an usher in 1957.
Work
Television
* The Paul Winchell and Jerry Mahoney Show (regular in 1955)
* Stanley (1956–1957)
* Omnibus (October 1956)
* The Garry Moore Show (regular from 1959–1962)
* Julie and Carol at Carnegie Hall (1962)
* The Twilight Zone (played Agnes Grep in episode "Cavender Is Coming" – 1962)
* An Evening with Carol Burnett (1963)
* Calamity Jane (1963)
* Once Upon a Mattress (1964)
* The Entertainers (1964–1965)
* The Lucy Show (special guest star-4 episodes-1966)
* Carol + 2 (1967)
* Get Smart (1967) as "Ozark" Annie Jones in Season 3 episode "One Of Our Olives Is Missing"
* The Carol Burnett Show (1967–1978)
* The Carol Burnett Show in London (1970)
* Julie and Carol at Lincoln Center (1971)
* Once Upon a Mattress (1972)
* 6 Rms Riv Vu (1974)
* Out to Lunch (1974)
* Twigs (1975)
* Cher (1975)
* Sills and Burnett at the Met (1976)
* All My Children (cast member: 1976, 1983, 1995, and 2005)
* Dolly and Carol in Nashville (1978)
* The Grass Is Always Greener over the Septic Tank (1978)
* Friendly Fire (1979)
* Carol Burnett & Company (1979)
* The Tenth Month (1979)
* Eunice (1982) (teleplay based on the Family sketches separate from Mama's Family)
* Life of the Party: The Story of Beatrice' (1982)
* Between Friends (1983)
* Mama's Family (cast member from 1983 to 1985)
* Burnett Discovers Domingo (1984)
* Magnum, P.I. (1984 and 1988 as Susan Johnson)
* The Laundromat (1985)
* Follies in Concert (1986)
* Fresno (1986) (miniseries)
* Plaza Suite (1987) (also executive producer)
* Carol, Carl, Whoopi and Robin (1987)
* Fame (1987) – episode Reggie and Rose (with Carrie Hamilton), broadcast April 27, 1987
* Hostage (1988)
* Julie & Carol: Together Again (1989)
* Carol & Company (1990) (canceled after one and a half seasons)
* The Carol Burnett Show (1991) (canceled after two months)
* The Larry Sanders Show (1992) - episode The Spider Episode
* The Carol Burnett Show: A Reunion (1993)
* Carol Burnett: The Special Years (1994)
* Seasons of the Heart (1994)
* Men, Movies & Carol (1994)
* Mad About You (Theresa Stemple, 1996–1999)
* Touched by an Angel (1997) – episode The Comeback (with Carrie Hamilton), broadcast November 23, 1997
* The Marriage Fool (1998)
* Putting It Together (2000)
* Carol Burnett: Show Stoppers (2001) (also executive producer)
* The Carol Burnett Show: Let's Bump Up the Lights (2004) (also executive producer)
* Once Upon a Mattress (2005) (also executive producer)
* Desperate Housewives (2006) (guest starring role as Eleanor Mason)
* American Masters Tribute to Carol Burnett (2007)
* Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (2009) (Emmy award-nominated guest appearance)
* The Bonnie Hunt Show (2010) (Special guest)
* Glee (2010) (Special guest star)
Filmography
* Who's Been Sleeping in My Bed? (1963)
* Rowan & Martin at the Movies (1968) (short subject)
* Star Spangled Salesman (1968) (short subject)
* Pete 'n' Tillie (1972)
* The Front Page (1974)
* A Wedding (1978)
* Health (1980)
* The Four Seasons (1981)
* Chu Chu and the Philly Flash (1981)
* Annie (1982)
* Noises Off... (1992)
* Moon Over Broadway (1997) (documentary)
* Get Bruce (1999) (documentary)
* The Trumpet of the Swan (2001) (voice)
* Broadway: The Golden Age, by the Legends Who Were There (2003) (documentary)
* Once Upon A Mattress (2005)
* Horton Hears a Who! (2008) (voice)
* Post Grad (2009)
Stage
* Once Upon a Mattress (1959)
* Fade Out - Fade In (1964)
* Moon Over Buffalo (1995)
* Putting It Together (1999)
http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k373/SaturnMauve/Celebs/CarolBurnett2.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 04/26/11 at 6:54 am
I always loved The Carol Burnett show back in the 80's.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: CatwomanofV on 04/26/11 at 12:12 pm
The Carol Burnett Show was my absolute favorite when it was on. That was one of the shows that I HAD to watch.
We had the album Julie & Carol at Carnegie Hall (Carol Burnett & Julie Andrews) My sister & I put on the album on and I was Carol & she was Julie. This is one act from that performance (not with my sister & me, but with Carol & Julie lol).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7B7LZkJtFo
Cat
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 04/27/11 at 5:24 am
The person of the day...Sheena Easton
Sheena Easton (born Sheena Shirley Orr; 27 April 1959) is a Scottish recording artist. Easton became famous for being the focus of an episode in the British television programme The Big Time, which recorded her attempts to gain a record contract and her eventual signing with EMI Records.
Easton rose to fame in the early 1980s with the pop hits "9 to 5" — known as "Morning Train" in the United States — and "For Your Eyes Only", "Strut", "Sugar Walls", "U Got the Look" with Prince, and "The Lover in Me". She went on to become successful in the United States and Japan, working with prominent vocalists and producers, such as Prince, Kenny Rogers, Luis Miguel, L.A. Reid and Babyface, and Nile Rodgers.
Her first single, the disco-tinged soft-synth-pop tune "Modern Girl", was released in the UK before the show aired and reached #56. At the end of the show, Easton was still unsure of her future as a singer. The question was soon resolved when, after the show aired, her second single, "9 to 5", reached #3 on the UK Singles Chart in 1980. "Modern Girl" re-entered the chart subsequently and climbed into the top 10, and Easton found herself with two songs in the top 10 simultaneously. Sheena was voted Best British Female Singer by the Daily Mirror Pop & Rock Awards in 1980, "Best Newcomer" 1980 by Capital Radio, and "Best Female Singer" 1980 by the TV Times Readers Awards.
"9 to 5" was Easton's first single release in the United States, although it was renamed "Morning Train (Nine To Five)" for its release in the U.S. and Canada to avoid confusion with Dolly Parton's hit movie title song "9 to 5". "Morning Train" became Easton's first and only #1 hit in the U.S. and topped both the Billboard Hot 100 and Adult Contemporary charts in Billboard magazine. "Modern Girl" was released as the follow-up and peaked at #18, and before 1981 was over Sheena had a top 10 hit in both the U.S. and UK with the Academy Award-nominated James Bond movie theme For Your Eyes Only. The song was nominated for the "Best Female Vocal Performance" in 1981 and Best Original Song at the Academy Awards in 1982. Easton's U.S. success culminated in her winning the Grammy Award for Best New Artist of 1981.
Easton's first three U.S. albums, Sheena Easton, You Could Have Been With Me, and Madness, Money and Music, were all in the same Soft Rock/Adult Contemporary pop vein (although she made a grab for the new wave audience with "Machinery", from the latter album). The title track from You Could Have Been With Me went Top 15 U.S., however, by the end of 1982, she saw her sales slumping.
In 1983, she released the album Best Kept Secret and its first single, the synthesized dance-pop tune "Telefone (Long Distance Love Affair)" became her fourth top 10 hit. The single "Telefone" was Grammy-nominated for "Best Female Pop/Rock Vocal Performance" 1983. That year, she also had a top-10 hit in the USA with "We've Got Tonight", a duet with Kenny Rogers a cover of the Bob Seger song also earning a #1 single on the country chart (also reaching the top 30 in the British charts). The follow-up to "Telefone", "Almost Over You", was a #4 AC chart hit and Top 30 pop hit, and later became a hit on the country charts for Lila McCann in 1998.
In 1983, Easton recorded a Spanish-language single, "Me Gustas Tal Como Eres" ("I Like You Just the Way You Are"), a duet with Mexican star Luis Miguel. The single earned her a second Grammy, this time for Best Mexican-American Performance. The track was taken from the album Todo Me Recuerda a Ti, which featured Spanish-language covers of seven previous Easton recordings and three new tracks. The disc went gold in many Spanish-speaking countries.
In 1984, she collaborated with Prince and made a transformation into a sexy dance-pop siren. She was rewarded with the biggest-selling U.S. album of her career, RIAA certified platinum A Private Heaven, and her fifth top 10 single, "Strut". Easton was again Grammy nominated for "Best Female Pop/Rock Vocal Performance" 1984. She was also one of the first artists to have a music video banned because of its lyrics rather than its imagery. Some broadcasters refused to air the sexually risqué "Sugar Walls" which had been written for her by Prince (using the pseudonym Alexander Nevermind). "Sugar Walls" was also named by Tipper Gore of the Parents' Music Resource Council as one of the Filthy Fifteen, a list of songs deemed indecent because of their lyrics, alongside Prince's own "Darling Nikki". The song eventually hit #3 on the R&B singles chart and #9 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Easton's follow-up to A Private Heaven, entitled Do You, was produced by Nile Rodgers and achieved gold status. In late 1985, Easton contributed "It's Christmas (All Over the World)" to the holiday release Santa Claus The Movie. Release of a follow-up album, 1987's No Sound But a Heart, was hampered in the United States after an initial single release, Eternity, (another Prince composition) failed to reach the pop, R&B or adult contemporary charts. The album's release moved from February to June; then in August the release was further held up as Easton's attorneys asked that the album be delayed after EMI Records was absorbed into EMI/Manhattan. Songs from the album were covered by other artists: Crystal Gayle and Gary Morris featured "Wanna Give My Love" and "What If We Fall In Love" on a 1987 duet album named for the latter song; Celine Dion recorded "The Last to Know" on 1990's Unison while Mexican singer Yuri featured the tune on her album Espejos De Alma (1995); Patti LaBelle covered "Still In Love" on 1989's Be Yourself; and Pia Zadora recorded "Floating Hearts" on 1989's Pia Z. No Sound But a Heart eventually did get released in the United States in 1999, with four bonus tracks, including Easton's contributions to the soundtrack of the 1986 film About Last Night..., "Natural Love" and the Top 50 single "So Far, So Good".
In 1987, she sang on Prince's #2 hit, "U Got the Look", and also appeared in the video. Prince and Sheena were Grammy nominated for "Best R&B Vocal, Duo or Group" in 1987. The two would later team again for "The Arms of Orion" written by Easton and featured on Prince's soundtrack to the movie Batman in 1989, reaching #36 in the US and #27 in the UK. They also co-wrote a song for Patti LaBelle's album that year titled "Love '89". In addition they co-wrote "La, La, La, He, He, Hee", which Prince recorded. Tabloid press linked the two romantically, which she has always denied.
In November 1987, Easton made her first dramatic acting appearance on the television program Miami Vice. She played a singer named Caitlin Davies whom Sonny Crockett was assigned to protect until her court appearance to render crucial testimony against certain corrupt music industry mavens. Sonny and Caitlin ended up married by the end of the episode, the first of five for Easton until her character was killed off. Easton garnered good reviews and the episodes she was featured on earned the show higher ratings. By the spring of 1988, the latest installment of the Miami Vice soundtrack was released and featured "Follow My Rainbow", which Easton had finished singing on her last appearance just moments before her character was eliminated.
The song also appeared on her next album The Lover In Me, a gold-selling disc debut released the following autumn on her new label MCA Records that put Easton back on the charts. This album features Urban R&B and Dance-pop, and a sexier image. The title song from "The Lover In Me" reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 (UK#15) and became her biggest pop hit since "Morning Train". It also became a (#5) hit on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles and Tracks chart. It was followed on the R&B chart by "Days Like This" (#35) (UK #43), which missed the Billboard Hot 100. A third single was released "101" (UK #54) and missed the Billboard top 100 but did make it to #2 on the Billboard Dance chart. The album received positive reviews and featured collaborations with LA and Babyface, Prince, Angela Winbush, and Jellybean Benitez.
1990s
In 1991, What Comes Naturally US#90 became the last of Easton's albums to chart in the United States; the title song was also her last Top 40 single to date, reaching #19. It also became her first hit in Australia since the mid 1980s, peaking at number 4. Another two singles "You Can Swing It" and "To Anyone" followed but failed to chart.
Easton followed this with the critically acclaimed, but non-charting No Strings, an album of Jazz standards and My Cherie her last album to date stateside.
Easton was set to star as the voice of a female canine (Sasha La Fleur) in All Dogs Go to Heaven 2 in 1996. She also contributed vocals to the soundtrack on "Count Me Out" and "I Will Always Be With You." Easton also contributed the theme song "Are There Angels" to the soundtrack for Shiloh in 1997; and provided the song "A Dream Worth Keeping" for the 1993 animated film Ferngully The last Rainforest.
In the late 1990s, Easton retained an album contract with MCA Japan and released 2 discs of new material. Freedom in 1997, a return to her trademark pop including a remake of her debut single "Modern Girl" and in 1999 Universal/Victor released the self-produced acoustic set, Home. Also around this time, a greatest hits collection featuring 12 MCA singles recorded from 1988-1995 charted in Japan at #98.
Easton adopted a boy (Jake) and girl (Skylar) between 1995 and 1996. Motherhood led her to curtail her appearances and focus on casino gigs, corporate shows and theatrical work. "Because I adopted my children, I could plan my timing," she told The Arizona Republic. "I knew exactly when they were coming along, so I knew when I had to change my life so it would be a stable life."
Easton continued acting in America, starring in Broadway revivals of Man Of La Mancha opposite Raul Julia in his last stage role, (1992) and Grease (1996). Between 1994 and 1996, she played several characters in Gargoyles the animated series, including Lady Finella, the Banshee, Molly and Robyn Canmore. In 1999, she voice-acted a part-demon character, Annah-of-the-Shadows, in the computer game Planescape: Torment. She lives in Las Vegas with her two children and often performs in various casinos' entertainment venues. She voiced the character of Fiona Canmore for a scripted but unfinished episode of the cancelled animated feature, Team Atlantis.
In December 1998, Easton toured with "The Colors of Christmas" with artists Roberta Flack, Melissa Manchester, Peabo Bryson, and Jeffrey Osborne. Windham Hill Records produced "The Colors of Christmas" disc by Robbie Buchanan of holiday music. Easton contributed two tracks, "The Place Where We Belong" (a duet with Jeffrey Osborne), and "The Lord's Prayer".
1999-2000 saw New York based One Way Records gain the rights to release all of Easton's EMI-America catalog. For the first time in the US, No Sound But a Heart was released. All Easton's EMI back catalogue was re-released with bonus tracks, incorporating b-sides and remixes. However, there was one notable exception to the re-release schedule, Easton's Spanish language album Todo Me Recuerda a Ti.
2000-present
In 2000, Easton co-starred with David Cassidy in At The Copa, a show in Las Vegas at The Rio Hotel for one year.
She also signed an album contract with Universal International UK and attempted a comeback of sorts with Fabulous, an album of classic disco covers produced by Ian Masterson of Trouser Enthusiasts fame and Terry Ronald. The first single, "Giving Up, Giving In", reached UK #54, and the album failed to chart in the UK and was not released in the US. A second single, a cover of Donna Summer's hit "Love is in Control", was withdrawn. In Japan, the first single was "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" and the album included a cover of Teena Marie's "I Need Your Lovin" as a bonus track. Remixes of the singles were produced by Joey Negro, Sleaze Sisters, Sharp Boys, Rob Searle, DJ Soma Grow and Almighty. This was to be Easton's last album release to date.
Easton also went back to Australia in 2001 for the Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras and closed the celebration with songs from Fabulous. She also performed in (The Concert: Celebrating Women in Music,) Centennial Park, Australia, on 24 February 2001.
In 2001, Easton began a successful run headlining at the Las Vegas Hilton.
In 2003, Easton contributed vocals to "If You're Happy", a cover for a Japanese disc called Cover Morning Musume-Hello Project. She also began to host Vegas Live, a talk show with Clint Holmes (later replaced by Brian McKnight).
On 31 October 2004, she was inducted into the Casino Legends Hall of Fame at the Tropicana Resort & Casino along with fellow Las Vegas icons Debbie Reynolds, Ben Vereen, Patti Page, Jack Jones and Tempest Storm.
In January 2005, Easton appeared in the television series Young Blades.
In July 2005, she performed as the Narrator in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at North Carolina Theatre in Raleigh, NC. The show co-starred Ray Walker as Joseph, Merwin Foard as the Pharaoh, David F.M. Vaughn as Reuben, Demond Green as Judah, and Darryl Winslow as Simeon.
Easton worked with composer Nobuo Uematsu for two songs on the video game Lost Odyssey, released for the Xbox 360 video game system in February 2008.
In 2008 and 2009, Easton performed Perry the Teenage Girl and Happy Evil Love Song for the Phineas and Ferb television series.
Easton appeared in a celebration with Kenny Rogers at the MGM Grand in Foxwood, Connecticut, on 10 April 2010. The show was in honor of his 50-year music career. This special is set debut on 8 March 2011 on Great American Country.
Achievements
Easton is a two-time Grammy Award winner one for "Best New Artist" of 1981 and a second "Best Mexican/American performance" in 1984 and has 13 gold albums, 4 platinum, and 1 Silver. She achieved 15 Top 40 hits on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. She has sold over four million album copies in the United States alone and over 20 million copies worldwide. She has recorded 16 studio albums, released 23 US singles, and a total of 45 singles in all to her credit.
Easton is the only artist in the history of the Billboard charts to have a Top 5 hit on each of Billboard's key charts: Adult Contemporary, Dance, Pop, Country and R&B. Sheena Easton achieve her five-way Billboard record were, in order of release: 1981 Pop and Adult Contemporary hit "Morning Train (9 to 5)"; the 1983 Dance hit "Telefone (Long Distance Love Affair)"; the 1983 Country hit "We've Got Tonight" (a duet with Kenny Rogers); and the infamous 1985 R&B hit "Sugar Walls."
In the United Kingdom, Easton has three Top 40 albums and eight Top 40 singles, and one gold single for "9-5" on the UK singles and album charts to date.
Grammy Nominations
* Grammy-nominated for "Best Female Vocal Performance" in 1981- "For Your Eyes Only"
* Grammy-nominated for "Best Female Pop/Rock Vocal Performance" 1983- "Telephone" (Long Distance Love Affair)
* Grammy nominated for "Best Female Pop/Rock Vocal Performance" 1984- "Strut"
* Grammy nominated for "Best R&B Vocal, Duo or Group" 1987- "U Got The Look" With Prince
Academy Award Nomination
* Best Original Song at the Academy Awards in 1982- "For Your Eyes Only"
Easton has been married four times. The first was when she was still in Scotland to Sandi Easton at the age of 19. The marriage lasted just eight months. Sandi attributed the break-up to the launch of her career, but Sheena denies this claiming that the marriage was over before her career took off. Sandi Easton died in 1998, aged 48.
Her second marriage in 1984 to Rob Light, a talent agent, ended after 18 months. Easton earned U.S. citizenship in 1992 and adopted her first child, Jake Rion Cousins Easton, in 1994. Two years later, she adopted again, this time a baby girl named Skylar. In the summer of 1997, she met producer Tim Delarm while filming an episode of ESPN Canon Photo Safari in Yellowstone National Park and later married Delarm in Las Vegas in July 1997. The marriage lasted one year. In 2001, she became engaged to John Minoli, a Beverly Hills plastic surgeon, and married him on 9 November 2002. They divorced in 2003.
Easton is a single mother to her two children, and currently resides in Henderson, Nevada. She reportedly made shrewd investments in Florida property that led to her appearance on the Sunday Times Rich List, but she denies such claims.
Discography
Main article: Sheena Easton discography
Albums
* Take My Time (1980)
* Sheena Easton (1981) retitled edition of Take My Time
* You Could Have Been with Me (1981)
* Madness, Money & Music (1982)
* Best Kept Secret (1983)
* A Private Heaven (1984)
* Todo Me Recuerda a Ti (1984) - Spanish language release
* Do You (1985)
* No Sound But a Heart (1987)
* The Lover in Me (1988)
* What Comes Naturally (1991)
* No Strings (1993)
* My Cherie (1995)
* Freedom (1997)
* Home (1999)
* Fabulous (2000)
Filmography
* Miami Vice (1987) - Caitlin Davies (five episodes)
* All Dogs Go to Heaven 2 (1996), All Dogs Go to Heaven: The Series (1996 - TV series), An All Dogs Christmas Carol (1998) - voice of Sasha LeFleur
* Body Bags (1993) - Megan (in segment titled "Hair")
* Highlander: The Series (1993) - Annie Devlin (in episode titled "An Eye for an Eye")
* The Adventures of Brisco County Jr. (1993) - Crystal Hawks (one episode)
* Charles Dickens' David Copperfield (1993) - voice of Agnes
* TekWar (TV series) (1994) - War Bride
* Real Ghosts (1995) - Janet (nightclub owner)
* Gargoyles the Movie: The Heroes Awaken (1995) - Robyn Canmore, Banshee, Molly, Finella
* The Outer Limits (1996) - Melissa McCammon in episode titled "Falling Star"
* Road Rovers (1996) - Groomer, Persia, Mrs. British Prime Minister
* Duckman (1997) - Betty (one episode)
* Chicken Soup for the Soul (1999) - Vicky in episode titled "Sand Castles"
* Disney's The Legend of Tarzan (2001) - voice of Dr. Robin Doyle (two episodes)
* Vegas Live! With Clint Holmes and Sheena Easton (2003)
* Scooby-Doo and the Loch Ness Monster (2004) - voice of Professor Fiona Pembrooke
* Young Blades (2005) - Queen Anne
Broadway
* Man of La Mancha- Aldonza- 1991-1992-reprise role in 1998 (Broadway show)
* Grease- 1996- Betty Rizzo (Broadway show)
See also
* List of artists who reached number one on the Hot 100 (U.S.)
* List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Dance chart
http://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb212/sravinsky/Female%20Vocalists/165021__easton_l.jpg
http://i837.photobucket.com/albums/zz299/Joleemonty38/Decorated%20images/SINGSNAP%20COMMENTS%20BANDS%20ALBUMS/263759Sheena-Easton-Posters.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 04/27/11 at 6:44 am
Strut and Morning Train are my favorite songs. :)
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 04/27/11 at 12:04 pm
The person of the day...Sheena Easton
Sheena Easton (born Sheena Shirley Orr; 27 April 1959) is a Scottish recording artist. Easton became famous for being the focus of an episode in the British television programme The Big Time, which recorded her attempts to gain a record contract and her eventual signing with EMI Records.
Easton rose to fame in the early 1980s with the pop hits "9 to 5" — known as "Morning Train" in the United States — and "For Your Eyes Only", "Strut", "Sugar Walls", "U Got the Look" with Prince, and "The Lover in Me". She went on to become successful in the United States and Japan, working with prominent vocalists and producers, such as Prince, Kenny Rogers, Luis Miguel, L.A. Reid and Babyface, and Nile Rodgers.
Her first single, the disco-tinged soft-synth-pop tune "Modern Girl", was released in the UK before the show aired and reached #56. At the end of the show, Easton was still unsure of her future as a singer. The question was soon resolved when, after the show aired, her second single, "9 to 5", reached #3 on the UK Singles Chart in 1980. "Modern Girl" re-entered the chart subsequently and climbed into the top 10, and Easton found herself with two songs in the top 10 simultaneously. Sheena was voted Best British Female Singer by the Daily Mirror Pop & Rock Awards in 1980, "Best Newcomer" 1980 by Capital Radio, and "Best Female Singer" 1980 by the TV Times Readers Awards.
"9 to 5" was Easton's first single release in the United States, although it was renamed "Morning Train (Nine To Five)" for its release in the U.S. and Canada to avoid confusion with Dolly Parton's hit movie title song "9 to 5". "Morning Train" became Easton's first and only #1 hit in the U.S. and topped both the Billboard Hot 100 and Adult Contemporary charts in Billboard magazine. "Modern Girl" was released as the follow-up and peaked at #18, and before 1981 was over Sheena had a top 10 hit in both the U.S. and UK with the Academy Award-nominated James Bond movie theme For Your Eyes Only. The song was nominated for the "Best Female Vocal Performance" in 1981 and Best Original Song at the Academy Awards in 1982. Easton's U.S. success culminated in her winning the Grammy Award for Best New Artist of 1981.
Easton's first three U.S. albums, Sheena Easton, You Could Have Been With Me, and Madness, Money and Music, were all in the same Soft Rock/Adult Contemporary pop vein (although she made a grab for the new wave audience with "Machinery", from the latter album). The title track from You Could Have Been With Me went Top 15 U.S., however, by the end of 1982, she saw her sales slumping.
In 1983, she released the album Best Kept Secret and its first single, the synthesized dance-pop tune "Telefone (Long Distance Love Affair)" became her fourth top 10 hit. The single "Telefone" was Grammy-nominated for "Best Female Pop/Rock Vocal Performance" 1983. That year, she also had a top-10 hit in the USA with "We've Got Tonight", a duet with Kenny Rogers a cover of the Bob Seger song also earning a #1 single on the country chart (also reaching the top 30 in the British charts). The follow-up to "Telefone", "Almost Over You", was a #4 AC chart hit and Top 30 pop hit, and later became a hit on the country charts for Lila McCann in 1998.
In 1983, Easton recorded a Spanish-language single, "Me Gustas Tal Como Eres" ("I Like You Just the Way You Are"), a duet with Mexican star Luis Miguel. The single earned her a second Grammy, this time for Best Mexican-American Performance. The track was taken from the album Todo Me Recuerda a Ti, which featured Spanish-language covers of seven previous Easton recordings and three new tracks. The disc went gold in many Spanish-speaking countries.
In 1984, she collaborated with Prince and made a transformation into a sexy dance-pop siren. She was rewarded with the biggest-selling U.S. album of her career, RIAA certified platinum A Private Heaven, and her fifth top 10 single, "Strut". Easton was again Grammy nominated for "Best Female Pop/Rock Vocal Performance" 1984. She was also one of the first artists to have a music video banned because of its lyrics rather than its imagery. Some broadcasters refused to air the sexually risqué "Sugar Walls" which had been written for her by Prince (using the pseudonym Alexander Nevermind). "Sugar Walls" was also named by Tipper Gore of the Parents' Music Resource Council as one of the Filthy Fifteen, a list of songs deemed indecent because of their lyrics, alongside Prince's own "Darling Nikki". The song eventually hit #3 on the R&B singles chart and #9 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Easton's follow-up to A Private Heaven, entitled Do You, was produced by Nile Rodgers and achieved gold status. In late 1985, Easton contributed "It's Christmas (All Over the World)" to the holiday release Santa Claus The Movie. Release of a follow-up album, 1987's No Sound But a Heart, was hampered in the United States after an initial single release, Eternity, (another Prince composition) failed to reach the pop, R&B or adult contemporary charts. The album's release moved from February to June; then in August the release was further held up as Easton's attorneys asked that the album be delayed after EMI Records was absorbed into EMI/Manhattan. Songs from the album were covered by other artists: Crystal Gayle and Gary Morris featured "Wanna Give My Love" and "What If We Fall In Love" on a 1987 duet album named for the latter song; Celine Dion recorded "The Last to Know" on 1990's Unison while Mexican singer Yuri featured the tune on her album Espejos De Alma (1995); Patti LaBelle covered "Still In Love" on 1989's Be Yourself; and Pia Zadora recorded "Floating Hearts" on 1989's Pia Z. No Sound But a Heart eventually did get released in the United States in 1999, with four bonus tracks, including Easton's contributions to the soundtrack of the 1986 film About Last Night..., "Natural Love" and the Top 50 single "So Far, So Good".
In 1987, she sang on Prince's #2 hit, "U Got the Look", and also appeared in the video. Prince and Sheena were Grammy nominated for "Best R&B Vocal, Duo or Group" in 1987. The two would later team again for "The Arms of Orion" written by Easton and featured on Prince's soundtrack to the movie Batman in 1989, reaching #36 in the US and #27 in the UK. They also co-wrote a song for Patti LaBelle's album that year titled "Love '89". In addition they co-wrote "La, La, La, He, He, Hee", which Prince recorded. Tabloid press linked the two romantically, which she has always denied.
In November 1987, Easton made her first dramatic acting appearance on the television program Miami Vice. She played a singer named Caitlin Davies whom Sonny Crockett was assigned to protect until her court appearance to render crucial testimony against certain corrupt music industry mavens. Sonny and Caitlin ended up married by the end of the episode, the first of five for Easton until her character was killed off. Easton garnered good reviews and the episodes she was featured on earned the show higher ratings. By the spring of 1988, the latest installment of the Miami Vice soundtrack was released and featured "Follow My Rainbow", which Easton had finished singing on her last appearance just moments before her character was eliminated.
The song also appeared on her next album The Lover In Me, a gold-selling disc debut released the following autumn on her new label MCA Records that put Easton back on the charts. This album features Urban R&B and Dance-pop, and a sexier image. The title song from "The Lover In Me" reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 (UK#15) and became her biggest pop hit since "Morning Train". It also became a (#5) hit on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles and Tracks chart. It was followed on the R&B chart by "Days Like This" (#35) (UK #43), which missed the Billboard Hot 100. A third single was released "101" (UK #54) and missed the Billboard top 100 but did make it to #2 on the Billboard Dance chart. The album received positive reviews and featured collaborations with LA and Babyface, Prince, Angela Winbush, and Jellybean Benitez.
1990s
In 1991, What Comes Naturally US#90 became the last of Easton's albums to chart in the United States; the title song was also her last Top 40 single to date, reaching #19. It also became her first hit in Australia since the mid 1980s, peaking at number 4. Another two singles "You Can Swing It" and "To Anyone" followed but failed to chart.
Easton followed this with the critically acclaimed, but non-charting No Strings, an album of Jazz standards and My Cherie her last album to date stateside.
Easton was set to star as the voice of a female canine (Sasha La Fleur) in All Dogs Go to Heaven 2 in 1996. She also contributed vocals to the soundtrack on "Count Me Out" and "I Will Always Be With You." Easton also contributed the theme song "Are There Angels" to the soundtrack for Shiloh in 1997; and provided the song "A Dream Worth Keeping" for the 1993 animated film Ferngully The last Rainforest.
In the late 1990s, Easton retained an album contract with MCA Japan and released 2 discs of new material. Freedom in 1997, a return to her trademark pop including a remake of her debut single "Modern Girl" and in 1999 Universal/Victor released the self-produced acoustic set, Home. Also around this time, a greatest hits collection featuring 12 MCA singles recorded from 1988-1995 charted in Japan at #98.
Easton adopted a boy (Jake) and girl (Skylar) between 1995 and 1996. Motherhood led her to curtail her appearances and focus on casino gigs, corporate shows and theatrical work. "Because I adopted my children, I could plan my timing," she told The Arizona Republic. "I knew exactly when they were coming along, so I knew when I had to change my life so it would be a stable life."
Easton continued acting in America, starring in Broadway revivals of Man Of La Mancha opposite Raul Julia in his last stage role, (1992) and Grease (1996). Between 1994 and 1996, she played several characters in Gargoyles the animated series, including Lady Finella, the Banshee, Molly and Robyn Canmore. In 1999, she voice-acted a part-demon character, Annah-of-the-Shadows, in the computer game Planescape: Torment. She lives in Las Vegas with her two children and often performs in various casinos' entertainment venues. She voiced the character of Fiona Canmore for a scripted but unfinished episode of the cancelled animated feature, Team Atlantis.
In December 1998, Easton toured with "The Colors of Christmas" with artists Roberta Flack, Melissa Manchester, Peabo Bryson, and Jeffrey Osborne. Windham Hill Records produced "The Colors of Christmas" disc by Robbie Buchanan of holiday music. Easton contributed two tracks, "The Place Where We Belong" (a duet with Jeffrey Osborne), and "The Lord's Prayer".
1999-2000 saw New York based One Way Records gain the rights to release all of Easton's EMI-America catalog. For the first time in the US, No Sound But a Heart was released. All Easton's EMI back catalogue was re-released with bonus tracks, incorporating b-sides and remixes. However, there was one notable exception to the re-release schedule, Easton's Spanish language album Todo Me Recuerda a Ti.
2000-present
In 2000, Easton co-starred with David Cassidy in At The Copa, a show in Las Vegas at The Rio Hotel for one year.
She also signed an album contract with Universal International UK and attempted a comeback of sorts with Fabulous, an album of classic disco covers produced by Ian Masterson of Trouser Enthusiasts fame and Terry Ronald. The first single, "Giving Up, Giving In", reached UK #54, and the album failed to chart in the UK and was not released in the US. A second single, a cover of Donna Summer's hit "Love is in Control", was withdrawn. In Japan, the first single was "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" and the album included a cover of Teena Marie's "I Need Your Lovin" as a bonus track. Remixes of the singles were produced by Joey Negro, Sleaze Sisters, Sharp Boys, Rob Searle, DJ Soma Grow and Almighty. This was to be Easton's last album release to date.
Easton also went back to Australia in 2001 for the Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras and closed the celebration with songs from Fabulous. She also performed in (The Concert: Celebrating Women in Music,) Centennial Park, Australia, on 24 February 2001.
In 2001, Easton began a successful run headlining at the Las Vegas Hilton.
In 2003, Easton contributed vocals to "If You're Happy", a cover for a Japanese disc called Cover Morning Musume-Hello Project. She also began to host Vegas Live, a talk show with Clint Holmes (later replaced by Brian McKnight).
On 31 October 2004, she was inducted into the Casino Legends Hall of Fame at the Tropicana Resort & Casino along with fellow Las Vegas icons Debbie Reynolds, Ben Vereen, Patti Page, Jack Jones and Tempest Storm.
In January 2005, Easton appeared in the television series Young Blades.
In July 2005, she performed as the Narrator in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at North Carolina Theatre in Raleigh, NC. The show co-starred Ray Walker as Joseph, Merwin Foard as the Pharaoh, David F.M. Vaughn as Reuben, Demond Green as Judah, and Darryl Winslow as Simeon.
Easton worked with composer Nobuo Uematsu for two songs on the video game Lost Odyssey, released for the Xbox 360 video game system in February 2008.
In 2008 and 2009, Easton performed Perry the Teenage Girl and Happy Evil Love Song for the Phineas and Ferb television series.
Easton appeared in a celebration with Kenny Rogers at the MGM Grand in Foxwood, Connecticut, on 10 April 2010. The show was in honor of his 50-year music career. This special is set debut on 8 March 2011 on Great American Country.
Achievements
Easton is a two-time Grammy Award winner one for "Best New Artist" of 1981 and a second "Best Mexican/American performance" in 1984 and has 13 gold albums, 4 platinum, and 1 Silver. She achieved 15 Top 40 hits on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. She has sold over four million album copies in the United States alone and over 20 million copies worldwide. She has recorded 16 studio albums, released 23 US singles, and a total of 45 singles in all to her credit.
Easton is the only artist in the history of the Billboard charts to have a Top 5 hit on each of Billboard's key charts: Adult Contemporary, Dance, Pop, Country and R&B. Sheena Easton achieve her five-way Billboard record were, in order of release: 1981 Pop and Adult Contemporary hit "Morning Train (9 to 5)"; the 1983 Dance hit "Telefone (Long Distance Love Affair)"; the 1983 Country hit "We've Got Tonight" (a duet with Kenny Rogers); and the infamous 1985 R&B hit "Sugar Walls."
In the United Kingdom, Easton has three Top 40 albums and eight Top 40 singles, and one gold single for "9-5" on the UK singles and album charts to date.
Grammy Nominations
* Grammy-nominated for "Best Female Vocal Performance" in 1981- "For Your Eyes Only"
* Grammy-nominated for "Best Female Pop/Rock Vocal Performance" 1983- "Telephone" (Long Distance Love Affair)
* Grammy nominated for "Best Female Pop/Rock Vocal Performance" 1984- "Strut"
* Grammy nominated for "Best R&B Vocal, Duo or Group" 1987- "U Got The Look" With Prince
Academy Award Nomination
* Best Original Song at the Academy Awards in 1982- "For Your Eyes Only"
Easton has been married four times. The first was when she was still in Scotland to Sandi Easton at the age of 19. The marriage lasted just eight months. Sandi attributed the break-up to the launch of her career, but Sheena denies this claiming that the marriage was over before her career took off. Sandi Easton died in 1998, aged 48.
Her second marriage in 1984 to Rob Light, a talent agent, ended after 18 months. Easton earned U.S. citizenship in 1992 and adopted her first child, Jake Rion Cousins Easton, in 1994. Two years later, she adopted again, this time a baby girl named Skylar. In the summer of 1997, she met producer Tim Delarm while filming an episode of ESPN Canon Photo Safari in Yellowstone National Park and later married Delarm in Las Vegas in July 1997. The marriage lasted one year. In 2001, she became engaged to John Minoli, a Beverly Hills plastic surgeon, and married him on 9 November 2002. They divorced in 2003.
Easton is a single mother to her two children, and currently resides in Henderson, Nevada. She reportedly made shrewd investments in Florida property that led to her appearance on the Sunday Times Rich List, but she denies such claims.
Discography
Main article: Sheena Easton discography
Albums
* Take My Time (1980)
* Sheena Easton (1981) retitled edition of Take My Time
* You Could Have Been with Me (1981)
* Madness, Money & Music (1982)
* Best Kept Secret (1983)
* A Private Heaven (1984)
* Todo Me Recuerda a Ti (1984) - Spanish language release
* Do You (1985)
* No Sound But a Heart (1987)
* The Lover in Me (1988)
* What Comes Naturally (1991)
* No Strings (1993)
* My Cherie (1995)
* Freedom (1997)
* Home (1999)
* Fabulous (2000)
Filmography
* Miami Vice (1987) - Caitlin Davies (five episodes)
* All Dogs Go to Heaven 2 (1996), All Dogs Go to Heaven: The Series (1996 - TV series), An All Dogs Christmas Carol (1998) - voice of Sasha LeFleur
* Body Bags (1993) - Megan (in segment titled "Hair")
* Highlander: The Series (1993) - Annie Devlin (in episode titled "An Eye for an Eye")
* The Adventures of Brisco County Jr. (1993) - Crystal Hawks (one episode)
* Charles Dickens' David Copperfield (1993) - voice of Agnes
* TekWar (TV series) (1994) - War Bride
* Real Ghosts (1995) - Janet (nightclub owner)
* Gargoyles the Movie: The Heroes Awaken (1995) - Robyn Canmore, Banshee, Molly, Finella
* The Outer Limits (1996) - Melissa McCammon in episode titled "Falling Star"
* Road Rovers (1996) - Groomer, Persia, Mrs. British Prime Minister
* Duckman (1997) - Betty (one episode)
* Chicken Soup for the Soul (1999) - Vicky in episode titled "Sand Castles"
* Disney's The Legend of Tarzan (2001) - voice of Dr. Robin Doyle (two episodes)
* Vegas Live! With Clint Holmes and Sheena Easton (2003)
* Scooby-Doo and the Loch Ness Monster (2004) - voice of Professor Fiona Pembrooke
* Young Blades (2005) - Queen Anne
Broadway
* Man of La Mancha- Aldonza- 1991-1992-reprise role in 1998 (Broadway show)
* Grease- 1996- Betty Rizzo (Broadway show)
See also
* List of artists who reached number one on the Hot 100 (U.S.)
* List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Dance chart
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http://i837.photobucket.com/albums/zz299/Joleemonty38/Decorated%20images/SINGSNAP%20COMMENTS%20BANDS%20ALBUMS/263759Sheena-Easton-Posters.jpg
I can remember watching the program The Big Time on television, the program that started her career off.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 04/27/11 at 12:54 pm
Strut and Morning Train are my favorite songs. :)
Good songs
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 04/27/11 at 1:19 pm
I can remember watching the program The Big Time on television, the program that started her career off.
That was the days before we had a video.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: nally on 04/27/11 at 4:04 pm
Good songs
Indeed they are. My favorites are "Morning Train" and "For Your Eyes Only." :)
In 2008 and 2009, Easton performed Perry the Teenage Girl and Happy Evil Love Song for the Phineas and Ferb television series.
I remember those. In the episode that featured the "Happy Evil Love Song", she provided a guest voice, namely that of Dr. Doofenshmirtz's girlfriend.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 04/27/11 at 7:15 pm
And she is still touring the globe,her next concert is Mohegan Sun.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 04/28/11 at 5:51 am
Indeed they are. My favorites are "Morning Train" and "For Your Eyes Only." :)
I remember those. In the episode that featured the "Happy Evil Love Song", she provided a guest voice, namely that of Dr. Doofenshmirtz's girlfriend.
For Your Eyes Only is great and now stuck in my head ;D
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 04/28/11 at 5:55 am
The person of the day...Penélope Cruz
Penélope Cruz Sánchez (born April 28, 1974) is a Spanish actress. Signed by an agent at age 15, she made her acting debut at 16 on television and her feature film debut the following year in Jamón, jamón (1992), to critical acclaim. Her subsequent roles in the 1990s and 2000s included Open Your Eyes (1997), The Hi-Lo Country (1999), The Girl of Your Dreams (2000) and Woman on Top (2000). Cruz achieved recognition for her lead roles in Vanilla Sky and Blow. Both films were released in 2001 and were commercially successful worldwide.
In the 2000s she has appeared in films from a wide range of genres, including the comedy Waking Up in Reno (2002), the thriller Gothika (2003), the Christmas movie Noel (2004), the action adventure Sahara (2005), the animated G-Force and the musical drama Nine. Her most notable films to date are Volver (2006), for which she earned Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations, and Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008), for which she received an Academy Award. She was the first Spanish actress in history to receive an Academy Award and the first Spanish actress to receive a star at the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Cruz has modeled for companies such as Mango, Ralph Lauren and L'Oréal. Cruz and her younger sister Mónica Cruz have designed items for Mango. She has donated both her time and money to charities. Cruz has volunteered in Uganda and India, where she spent one week working for Mother Teresa; she donated her salary from The Hi-Lo Country to help fund the late nun's mission.
In 1997 Cruz appeared in the Spanish comedy film Love Can Seriously Damage Your Health. She portrays Diana, a fan of The Beatles band member John Lennon; she tries unsuccessfully to meet him. Years later, after multiple failed relationships, Diana re-unites with an acquaintance under unusual circumstances. Also in 1997 she appeared in the opening scene of Pedro Almodóvar's Live Flesh as a prostitute who gives birth on a bus and in Et hjørne af paradis (A Corner of Paradise) as Doña Helena. Cruz's final appearance in 1997 was the Amenabar-directed Spanish sci-fi drama Open Your Eyes. She plays Sofia, the girlfriend of lead character's best friend, who eventually begins a brief relationship with the lead character. Open Your Eyes received positive reviews but was not commercially successful, grossing $370,000 in the United States. Kevin N. Laforest of the Montreal Film Journal commented in his September 2002 review that Cruz "has been getting some really bad reviews for her recent American work, but I personally think that she's a more than decent actress, especially here, where she's charming, moving and always believable. There's one shot in particular, where Cruz enters a room in a greenish glow, which is right out of Hitchcock's picture ."
The following year Cruz appeared in her first American film as Billy Crudup's consolation-prize Mexican girlfriend in Stephen Frears' western film, The Hi-Lo Country. Cruz stated that she had difficulties understanding people speaking English while she was filming The Hi-Lo Country. The film was critically and commercially unsuccessful. Kevin Lally of the Film Journal International commented in his review for the film that "in an ironic casting twist, the Spanish actress Penelope Cruz is much more appealing as Josepha ." For her performance in the film, she was nominated for an ALMA Award for Best Actress. Also in 1998 Cruz appeared in Don Juan and The Girl of Your Dreams. In The Girl of Your Dreams Cruz portrayed Macarena Granada, a singer who is in an on-and-off relationship with Antonio Resines's character, Blas. They are part of a movie troupe that moved from Spain to Berlin (Germany) for a joint production with UFA during the years of Nazis. Cruz's performance in the film was praised by film critics, with Jonathan Holloland of Variety magazine writing "if confirmation is still needed that Cruz is an actress first and a pretty face second, then here it is." A writer for Film4 commented that "Cruz herself is the inevitable focus of the film" but noted that overall the film "looks great." Cruz's role as Macerna has been viewed as her "largest role to date." For her performance, Cruz received a Goya Award and Spanish Actors Union Award, and was nominated for a European Film Award. In 1999, Cruz worked with Almodóvar again in All About My Mother, playing Sister María Rosa Sanz, a pregnant nun with AIDS. The film received favorable reviews, and was commercially successful, grossing over $67 million worldwide, although it performed better at the box office internationally than domestically.
In 2000 she appeared in Woman on Top in the lead female role as Isabelle, a world-class chef who has suffered from motion sickness since birth, her first American lead role. Lisa Nesselson of Variety magazine praised the performances of both Cruz and her co-star, Harold Perrineau, saying they "burst off the screen," and added that Cruz has a charming accent. BBC film critic Jane Crowther said that "Cruz is wonderfully ditzy as the innocent abroad" but remarked that "it's Harold Perrineau Jr as Monica who pockets the movie." Annlee Ellingson of Box Office magazine wrote "Cruz is stunning in the role—innocent and vulnerable yet possessing a mature grace and determined strength, all while sizzling with unchecked sensuality." Also in 2000 she played Alejandra Villarreal, who is Matt Damon's love interest in Billy Bob Thornton's film adaptation of the western bestselling novel, All the Pretty Horses. Susan Stark of the Detroit News commented that in the film Thornton was able to guide Damon, Henry Thomas and Cruz to "their most impressive performances in a major movie yet." However, Bob Longigo of the Atlanta Journal Constitution was less enthusiastic about Cruz and Damon's performance, saying that their "resulting onscreen chemistry would hardly warm a can of beans."
Breakthrough, 2001–2005
2001 marked a turning point when Cruz starred in the feature films Vanilla Sky and Blow. In Vanilla Sky, Cameron Crowe's interpretation of Open Your Eyes, she played Sofia Serrano, the love interest of Tom Cruise's character. The film received mixed reviews but made $200 million worldwide. Her performance was well received by critics, with BBC film critic Brandon Graydon saying that Cruz "is an enchanting screen presence," and Ethan Alter of the Film Journal International noting that Cruz and her co-star Cruise were "able to generate some actual chemistry."
Her next film was Blow, adapted from Bruce Porter's 1993 book Blow: How a Small Town Boy Made $100 Million with the Medellin Cocaine Cartel and Lost It All. She had a supporting role as Mirtha Jung, the wife of Johnny Depp's character. The film received mixed reviews, but made $80 million worldwide. Nina Willdorf of the Boston Phoenix described Cruz as "multi-talented" and Mark Salvo of the Austin Chronicle wrote "I may be one of the last male holdouts to join the Cruz-Rules camp, but her tour de force performance here sucks you right in." In 2001, Cruz also appeared in Don't Tempt Me, playing Carmen Ramos. The film received negative reviews,. Jeff Vice of the Deseret News commented that "unfortunately, casting Cruz as a tough girl is a hilariously bad one..." and Michael Miller of the Village Voice writing that "as Satan's helper Carmen, Penélope Cruz doesn't hold a candle to her cocaine-huffing enabler in Blow."
Cruz's last film in 2001 was Captain Corelli's Mandolin, film adaption of the novel of the same name. She played Pelagia, who falls in love with another man while her fiancé is in battle during World War II. Captain Corelli's Mandolin was not well received by critics, but made $62 million worldwide.
In 2002 she had a minor role in Waking Up in Reno. It had negative reviews and was a box office failure, making $267,000 worldwide. The following year, Cruz had a minor role in the horror film Gothika, as Chloe Sava, a patient at a mental hospital. David Rooney of Variety wrote that Cruz "adds a serviceably malevolent edge to Chole's apparent madness." Cruz's performance in Fanfan la Tulipe, also in 2003, was not well received, Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian commenting that Cruz "deserves a special Cannes Razzie for a performance of purest teak."
In 2004 Cruz appeared in the Christmas film Noel as Nina, the girlfriend of Paul Walker's character and as Mia in the romantic drama, Head in the Clouds, set in the 1930s. Head in the Clouds performed poorly at the box office. For Head in the Clouds, Bruce Birkland of Jam! Canoe said, "The story feels forced and the performances dreary, with the notable exception of Cruz, who seems to be in a different film from the rest of the cast." Desson Thompson of the Washington Post was more critical; his comment about the character's "pronounced limp" was that "Cruz (hardly the world's greatest actress) can't even perform without looking fake." She also starred in Sergio Castellitto’s melodrama Don’t Move. Cruz, who learned Italian for the role, earned critical acclaim for her performance and won the David di Donatello. She was also awarded the European Film Award for Best Actress for the film in 2004..
In 2005 Cruz appeared as Dr Eva Rojas in the action adventure Sahara. She earned $1.6 million for her supporting role. The film grossed $110 million worldwide but did not recoup its $160 million budget. Moviefone dubbed the film "one of the most famous flops in history" and in 2007 listed it at 24 on its list of "Biggest Box-Office Turkeys of All Time" . Lori Hoffman of the Atlantic City Weekly felt Cruz put her "considerable skills on cruise control as Dr Eva Rojas" and James Berardnelli of ReelViews described Cruz's performance as a "black hole," that she "lacks screen presence." Also in 2005 Cruz appeared in Chromophobia, screened at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival and released the following year. Mathew Turner of View London said Cruz's character Gloria, a cancer-riddled prostitute, is "actually more interesting than the main storyline" while Time Evan's of Sky Movies wrote, "The Cruz/Ifans storyline – featuring the only two remotely sympathetic characters – never really fuses with the main plot." Her final 2005 film was Don't Move playing Italia. Eric Harrison of the Houston Chronicle noted that Cruz "goes all out" with her appearance and Patrick Peters of Empire magazine commented that the film's director, who also appears in the film, was able to draw a "sensitive performance" from Cruz.
Worldwide recognition, 2006–present
In the photo a Caucasian male and a Hispanic female can be seen. The female has short to medium brown hair and is wearing a white sleeveless dress. She is smiling and tilting her head to look to her right. The male has light and dark grey hair and is wearing an all black long sleeved suit with black sunglasses. In the background there are people standing with cameras.
Cruz with Volver director Pedro Almodovar at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival.
Cruz appeared in the 2006 Western comedy film, Bandidas, as María Álvarez, a poor farm girl who robs banks with a wealthy friend to combat an enforcer terrorizing their town. Randy Cordova of the Arizona Republic said the film "sports" Cruz and her co-star Salma Hayek as the "lusty dream team" and that they were the "marketing fantasy" for the film. A writer for 20minutos.es called Cruz and Hayek the "demand curves" of the film. Also in 2006, Cruz received favourable reviews for her performance as Raimunda in Pedro Almodóvar's Volver. The film was well received by critics and on multiple top ten film lists for 2006. Carina Chocano of The Los Angeles Times wrote, "Cruz, who has remarked that in Hollywood she's rarely allowed to be anything more than pretty, instills her with an awesome resoluteness and strength of character." Jan Stuart of Newsday described Cruz as having "never been more radiant and funny." IGN film critic Todd Gilchrist praised Cruz, saying her "performance is nothing short of revelatory" and that "Here, she finds the best role of her career, and leaps in with complete commitment." She shared a Best Actress award at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival with five of her co-stars, as well as receiving a Goya Award and European Film Award, and was nominated for the Golden Globe, the Screen Actors Guild Award, the BAFTA Award, and the Academy Award for Best Actress in a leading role. She was the first Spaniard to ever be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress.
In 2007 Cruz appeared in the lead female role in Manolete, a biopic of bullfighter Manuel Laureano Rodríguez Sánchez, playing Antoñita "Lupe" Sino. She also appeared in The Good Night, playing two characters, Anna and Melody. The film received negative reviews and did not perform well at the box office. TV Guide film critic Maitland McDonagh noted that in the film Cruz "expertly mines the contrast between chic, compliant, white-clad Anna and funky, street-smart Melody, who treats Gary like the world-class drag he is." David Edelstein of New York Magazine said "Cruz shows up in the flesh, and she's wonderfully tart and funny." In 2008, Cruz appeared in Isabel Coixet's film Elegy, which was based on the Philip Roth story The Dying Animal, as the lead female role, Consuela Castillo. The film generated mixed to positive reviews, and appeared on multiple film critics' top ten film lists for 2008. Ray Bennett of the Hollywood Reporter described Cruz's performance as being "outstanding in an otherwise lame male fantasy " and MSNBC film critic Alonso Duralde praised Cruz and her co-star, Ben Kingsley, writing that they give "extraordinary performances" in the film.
In the photo, a Hispanic female wearing a white sleeveless dress that has beaded designs with a white pearl neckless and white earrings can be seen. The female has medium brown hair with side bangs, the rest of her hair is clipped behind her head and she is waving with her left hand while tilting her head to her right.
Cruz at the 81st Academy Awards. She won her first Academy Award later that night for her performance as María Elena.
Later that year she starred in Woody Allen's Vicky Cristina Barcelona as María Elena, a mentally unstable woman. Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian praised Cruz's performance in the film, commenting, "Cruz looks as if she has wandered in from a more hefty film entirely; everything she does and says seems to mean more, count for more. This isn't to say that she gets bigger laughs, or perhaps any laughs, but she certainly walks off with the film." Kirk Honeycutt of the Hollywood Reporter remarked that the film "belongs" to Cruz and her co-star Bardem. Todd McCarthy of Variety magazine felt that Cruz's performance was "dynamite" in both of the languages she spoke. A writer for 20minutos.es described Cruz as having planted "relentless growth" in the film. Cruz received a Goya Award and her first Academy Award and BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actress. She also received a Golden Globe and SAG nomination. Cruz was the first Spanish actress to ever be awarded an Academy Award and the sixth Hispanic person to ever receive the award.
Cruz's next film was the kid-friendly animated film, G-Force, which was released to theaters in July 2009. In the film, she voiced a guinea pig spy named Juarez. G-Force was a commercial success, making over $290 million worldwide. Also in 2009, she appeared in the film Broken Embraces as Lena, the lead character's mistress and assistant who is an aspiring actress. Moira Macdonald of the Seattle Times wrote "Cruz, so lovely she hardly seems real, makes Lena both vulnerable and steely. Lena's life, it seems, is turning into a movie that she can't escape, as men and cameras seem to blur together and her dazzling smile becomes little defense." Claudia Puig of USA Today described Cruz's performance as Lena as being "superb." Stephanie Zacharek of Salon.com noted in her review for the film that Cruz "doesn't coast on her beauty in Broken Embraces, and she has the kind of role that can be difficult to flesh out." Cruz received nominations from the Satellite Awards and European Film Awards for her performance in Broken Embraces.
Cruz's final 2009 film was the film version of the musical Nine, playing the character Carla Albanese, the lead character's mistress. Variety reported that Cruz had originally auditioned for the role of the film within a film's star, Claudia, which eventually went to Nicole Kidman. Cruz said that she trained for three months for the dance routine in the film. The film generated negative reviews and was a financial failure. Claudia Puig of USA Today commented that while Cruz "does a steamy song and dance," her "acting is strangely caricatured." Chris Tookey of the Daily Mail made a similar comment, saying: "I know Penelope Cruz has been nominated for a Golden Globe for her camp vamp act, but to me she is unnervingly over the top , like Strictly Come Dancing's Bruno Tonioli in drag." F. Bernal of Que.es commented, "In terms of its ability to integrate with luck in the cast of a musical, it is clear that Penelope does a good note ." Cruz's performance as Carla garnered her nominations for Best Supporting Actress from the Academy Awards, Golden Globes and SAG Awards.
Cruz at a ceremony to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in April 2011
In 2010, Cruz appeared in the film Sex and the City 2, the sequel to the 2008 film, in a cameo role. Cruz will appear in her biggest Hollywood turn to date, in the fourth Pirates of the Caribbean film as Angelica Teach, Blackbeard's daughter and the former love interest of Captain Jack Sparrow. This film has Cruz and director Rob Marshall returning once more for a film. On April 1, 2011 Cruz received the 2,436th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in front of the El Capitan Theatre. Cruz becomes the first Spanish actress to receive a Star. Her upcoming roles include an untitled Woody Allen Project set in Rome, and she is set to reunite with Italian director Sergio Castellitto in his war tale "Venuto al Mondo" as Gemma, a single mother who brings her teenage son to Sarajevo, where the boy’s father died during the Balkan War. The film is based on an Italian bestseller. The part is a switch for Cruz, who has until now mostly been sliding between Hollywood- and Spain-based movies. “I like that it’s a movie that’s not Spanish or English. I love this part of the job that lets you become someone else with a different nationality.” In an interview with the Italian publication La Repubblica Cruz commented on playing Gemma, saying, "I feel as an actress Gemma will be playing one of the most important opportunities of my life." And finally, after being shelfed since 2007 Cruz's film Manolete (originally shot in 2005, four years before Cruz won her Oscar for Vicky Cristina Barcelona) will release on demand via cable, satellite, telco and online in June 7, 2011 under the title, A Madator’s Mistress.
Cruz is friends with Pedro Almodovar, whom she has known for almost two decades and with whom she has worked on films. Cruz, is known to friends as Pe, owns a house near her family's home in Madrid and another in Los Angeles. Although Cruz's parents are divorced, in 2008 she said she is close to both parents and to her brother as well as having a "100 percent" bond with her younger sister. She speaks Spanish, Italian, French and English. She learned Italian for Don't Move. She was a vegetarian in her youth and has spoken out about bullfights. She picked up a stray dog when filming Bandidas in Mexico and took it home to Los Angeles. In 2008, she said she described tabloid newspapers as "disgusting" and said that, aside from false stories that affect her directly, "this culture of gossip affects our society on a much deeper level, on an ethical level." Cruz owns a clothing store in Madrid and designed jewelry and handbags with her younger sister for a company in Japan.
Cruz had a three-year relationship with Tom Cruise after they appeared together in Vanilla Sky. It ended in January 2004. In April 2003, she filed a lawsuit against the Australian magazine New Idea for defamation over an article about her relationship with Cruise. Her lawyers claimed that "the proceedings state that the article contains a number of false and defamatory statements concerning Ms. Cruz" and she is seeking "substantial damages and is confident that legal proceedings will vindicate her reputation."
After filming Sahara in February 2005, she began dating actor Matthew McConaughey. In June 2006, they told People that they "have decided to take time off as a couple" and that "due to busy work schedules and so much time apart" they decided that "separating was the best thing to do." In April 2007, Cruz who was single, told the Spanish edition of Marie Claire said she would like to adopt children.
Cruz began dating co-star Javier Bardem in 2007. They married in early July 2010 in a private ceremony at a friend's home in the Bahamas, with a rep speaking only to confirm the ceremony, and to reveal the bride wore a dress by Galliano. After photos emerged of Cruz appearing to be pregnant on the set of Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, representatives said the couple expect a child in January 2011. Marie Claire reported that Cruz gave birth to her first child, son Leo Encinas Bardem, on January 22, 2011 at the Cedars Sinai Hospital, three days before Bardem was nominated for an Oscar.
Filmography
Year↓ Title↓ Role↓ Other notes
1992 Jamón, jamón Silvia Nominated—Goya Award for Best Actress
Nominated—Spanish Actors Union Newcomer Award
1992 Belle Époque Luz Spanish Actors Union Award for Supporting Performance (Secundario Cine)
1993 For Love, Only for Love Mary Per amore, solo per amore
1993 The Greek Labyrinth Elise El Laberinto griego
1993 The Rebel Enza La Ribelle
1994 Alegre ma non troppo Salomé
1994 Todo es mentira Lucía Peñíscola Comedy Film Festival for Best Actress
1995 Entre rojas Lucía
1995 El Efecto mariposa Party guest
1996 La Celestina Melibea
1996 Brujas Patricia
1996 Más que amor, frenesí
1997 Love Can Seriously Damage Your Health Younger Diana / Diana's daughter El amor perjudica seriamente la salud
1997 Open Your Eyes Sofía Abre los ojos
1997 Live Flesh Isabel Plaza Caballero Carne trémula
Nominated—Spanish Actors Union Award for Performance in a Minor Role (Reparto Cine)
1997 Et horne af paradis Doña Helena
1998 The Girl of Your Dreams Macarena La niña de tus ojos
Fotogramas de Plata Best Movie Actress (Mejor Actriz de Cine)
Goya Award for Best Actress
Spanish Actors Union Award for Lead Performance (Protagonista Cine)
Nominated—European Film Award for Best Actress
1998 The Hi-Lo Country Josepha Nominated—ALMA Award for Best Actress
1998 Don Juan Mathurine
1999 All About My Mother Sister María Rosa Sanz Todo sobre mi madre
1999 Twice Upon A Yesterday Louise
2000 All the Pretty Horses Alejandra Villarreal Nominated–Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Actress – Drama/Romance
2000 Woman on Top Isabella Oliveira
2001 Blow Mirtha Jung Nominated–MTV Movie Award for Breakthrough Female Performance
2001 Don't Tempt Me Carmen Ramos Bendito infierno (Spanish) / No News from God (English)
2001 Captain Corelli's Mandolin Pelagia Nominated—European Film Award – Audience Award for Best Actress
2001 Vanilla Sky Sofia Serrano Nominated—ALMA Award for Best Actress
2002 Waking Up in Reno Brenda
2003 Fanfan la Tulipe Adeline La Franchise Nominated—European Film Award – Audience Award for Best Actress
2003 Gothika Chloe Sava
2004 Head in the Clouds Mia
2004 Noel Nina Vasquez
2004 Don't Move Italia Non ti muovere
David di Donatello Award for Best Actress
European Film Award – Audience Award for Best Actress
Nominated—European Film Award for Best Actress
Nominated—Goya Award for Best Actress
2005 Sahara Doctor Eva Rojas
2005 Chromophobia Gloria
2006 Bandidas María Álvarez
2006 Volver Raimunda Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress (Prix d'interprétation féminine) shared with Carmen Maura, Lola Dueñas, Blanca Portillo, Yohana Cobo, Chus Lampreave
Cinema Writers Circle Award for Best Actress
Empire Award for Best Actress
European Film Award for Best Actress
Fotogramas de Plata Best Movie Actress (Mejor Actriz de Cine)
Goya Award for Best Actress
Spanish Actors Union Award for Lead Performance (Protagonista Cine)
Nominated—Academy Award for Best Actress
Nominated—BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role
Nominated—Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress
Nominated—Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress
Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama
Nominated—Irish Film and Television Audience Award for Best Actress
Nominated—London Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress
Nominated—Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Actress
Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama
Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
Nominated—NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture
2007 Manolete Antoñita "Lupe" Sino
2007 The Good Night Anna
2008 Elegy Consuela Castillo Santa Barbara International Film Festival Award for Outstanding Performer of the Year Award also for Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture
2008 Vicky Cristina Barcelona María Elena Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Goya Award for Best Supporting Actress
Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress
Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female
Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress
National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actress
New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress
Southeastern Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress
ALMA Award for Best Actress
Village Voice Film Poll - Best Supporting Actress
Nominated—Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated—Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture
Nominated—Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role
2009 G-Force Juarez (voice)
2009 Broken Embraces Magdalena Los abrazos rotos
Nominated—Goya Award for Best Actress
Nominated—European Film Award for Best Actress
Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama
2009 Nine Carla Albanese Nominated—Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture
Nominated—Houston Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture
Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role
2010 Sex and the City 2 Carmen Garcia Garron
2011 Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides Angelica post-production
http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i74/babaes0/Penelope-Cruz.jpg
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Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 04/28/11 at 7:08 am
For Your Eyes Only is great and now stuck in my head ;D
What about Morning Train?
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: CatwomanofV on 04/28/11 at 11:04 am
And she is still touring the globe,her next concert is Mohegan Sun.
Mohegan Sun is a terrible place for concerts. We went to see Jethro Tull there several years ago and the acrostics were just AWFUL. The place is made of cinder blocks because it really is a sports arena. The people who sat next to us left after the first song or two because it sounded REALLY BAD!!!!
Cat
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 04/28/11 at 12:58 pm
Mohegan Sun is a terrible place for concerts. We went to see Jethro Tull there several years ago and the acrostics were just AWFUL. The place is made of cinder blocks because it really is a sports arena. The people who sat next to us left after the first song or two because it sounded REALLY BAD!!!!
Cat
Will you go see a Sheena Easton concert? ???
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: nally on 04/28/11 at 1:48 pm
For Your Eyes Only is great and now stuck in my head ;D
It often gets stuck in my head too! :D But I still love it.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: CatwomanofV on 04/28/11 at 2:23 pm
Will you go see a Sheena Easton concert? ???
Probably not. I will not go to another concert at Mohegan Sun-not to mention it is about 5 hours from here. Now, if she was in concert closer to me, that would be a different story.
Cat
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: gibbo on 04/28/11 at 6:12 pm
Just doing some back reading about Paula Yates. That was a pretty sad decline... I didn't know she died back in 2000 (of a heroin overdose) :o.
Sheena Easton was a real cutie ... and had a great set of pipes. I always thought that it was an odd connection she had with Prince.
Penelope Cruz ... overrated actress .... and (to me) not as attractive as she is hyped up to be...
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 04/28/11 at 9:03 pm
Just doing some back reading about Paula Yates. That was a pretty sad decline... I didn't know she died back in 2000 (of a heroin overdose) :o.
Sheena Easton was a real cutie ... and had a great set of pipes. I always thought that it was an odd connection she had with Prince.
Penelope Cruz ... overrated actress .... and (to me) not as attractive as she is hyped up to be...
When I was looking at Penelope's pics I thought to myself isn't she suppose to be better looking. :-[
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 04/28/11 at 9:05 pm
What about Morning Train?
Sorry I thought I mentioned that I liked that song.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 04/29/11 at 5:01 am
The person of the day....Daniel Day-Lewis
Daniel Michael Blake Day-Lewis (born 29 April 1957) is an English actor with both British and Irish citizenship. His portrayals of Christy Brown in My Left Foot (1989) and Daniel Plainview in There Will Be Blood (2007) won Academy and BAFTA Awards for Best Actor, and Screen Actors Guild as well as Golden Globe Awards for There Will Be Blood. His role as Bill "The Butcher" Cutting in Gangs of New York (2002) earned him the BAFTA Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award.
Day-Lewis, who grew up in London, is the son of actress Jill Balcon and the Anglo-Irish Poet Laureate, Cecil Day-Lewis. He is a method actor, known for his constant devotion to and research of his roles. Often, he will remain completely in character for the duration of the shooting schedule of his films, even to the point of adversely affecting his health. He is known as one of the most selective actors in the film industry, having starred in only five films since 1997, with as many as five years between roles.
During the early '80s, Day-Lewis worked in theatre and television including Frost in May (where he played an impotent man-child) and How Many Miles to Babylon? (as a World War I officer torn between allegiances to Britain and Ireland) for the BBC. Eleven years after his film debut, Day-Lewis continued his film career with a small part in Gandhi (1982) as Colin, a street thug who bullies the title character, only to be immediately chastised by his high-strung mother. In late 1982 he had his big theatre break when he took over the lead in Another Country. The following year, he had a supporting role as the conflicted, but ultimately loyal first mate in The Bounty, after which he joined the Royal Shakespeare Company, playing Romeo in Romeo and Juliet and Flute in A Midsummer Night's Dream.
Next he played a gay man in an interracial relationship in the film My Beautiful Laundrette. Day-Lewis gained further public notice with A Room with a View (1986), in which he portrayed an entirely different character: Cecil Vyse, the effete upper-class fiancé of the main character (played by Helena Bonham Carter).
In 1987, Day-Lewis assumed leading-man status by starring in Milan Kundera's The Unbearable Lightness of Being, co-starring Lena Olin and Juliette Binoche, as a Czech doctor whose hyperactive and purely physical sex life is thrown into disarray when he allows himself to become emotionally involved with a woman. During the eight-month shoot he learned Czech and first began to refuse to break character on or off the set for the entire shooting schedule.
Day-Lewis put his personal version of "method acting" into full use in 1989 with his performance as Christy Brown in Jim Sheridan's My Left Foot which won him numerous awards, including the Academy Award for Best Actor. During filming, his eccentricities came to the fore, due to his refusal to break character. Playing a severely paralyzed character on screen, off screen Day-Lewis had to be moved around the set in his wheelchair, and crew members would curse at having to lift him over camera and lighting wires, all so that he might gain insight into all aspects of Brown's life, including the embarrassments. He broke two ribs during filming from assuming a hunched-over position in his wheelchair for so many weeks.
Day-Lewis returned to the stage in 1989 to work with Richard Eyre, in Hamlet at the National Theatre, but collapsed in the middle of a scene where the ghost of Hamlet's father first appears to his son. He began sobbing uncontrollably and refused to go back on stage; he was replaced by Ian Charleson before a then-unknown Jeremy Northam finished what little was left of the production's run. Although the incident was officially attributed to exhaustion, one rumour following the incident was that Day-Lewis had seen the ghost of his own father. He confirmed on the British celebrity chat show Parkinson, that this rumour was true. He has not appeared on stage since.
1990s
In 1992, three years after his Oscar win, The Last of the Mohicans was released. Day-Lewis's character research for this film was well-publicized; he reportedly underwent rigorous weight training and learned to live off the land and forest where his character lived, camping, hunting and fishing. He even carried a long rifle at all times during filming in order to remain in character and learned how to skin animals.
He returned to work with Jim Sheridan on In the Name of the Father, in which he played Gerry Conlon, one of the Guildford Four who were wrongfully convicted of a bombing carried out by the Provisional IRA. He lost a substantial amount of weight for the part, kept his Northern Irish accent on and off the set for the entire shooting schedule, and spent stretches of time in a prison cell. He also insisted that crew members throw cold water at him and verbally abuse him. The film earned him his second Academy Award nomination, his third BAFTA nomination, and his second Golden Globe nomination.
Day-Lewis returned in 1993, playing Newland Archer in Martin Scorsese's adaptation of the Edith Wharton novel The Age of Innocence, opposite Winona Ryder and Michelle Pfeiffer. To prepare for the film, set in America's Gilded Age, he wore 1870s-period aristocratic clothing around New York City for two months, including top hat, cane and cape during colder periods.
In 1996, Day-Lewis starred in a film version of The Crucible, the play by Arthur Miller, again opposite Winona Ryder. He followed that with Jim Sheridan's The Boxer as a former boxer and IRA member recently released from prison. His preparation included training with former boxing world champion Barry McGuigan.
Following The Boxer, Day-Lewis took a leave of absence from acting by putting himself into "semi-retirement" and returning to his old passion of woodworking. He moved to Florence, Italy, where he became intrigued by the craft of shoemaking, eventually apprenticing as a shoemaker. For a time his exact whereabouts and actions were not made publicly known. Day-Lewis has declined to discuss this period of his life, stating that "it was a period of my life that I had a right to without any intervention of that kind."
2000s
After a five-year absence from filming, Day-Lewis returned to act in multiple Academy Award-nominated films such as Gangs of New York, a film directed by Martin Scorsese (with whom he had worked on The Age of Innocence) and produced by Harvey Weinstein. In his role as the villain gang leader "Bill the Butcher", he starred along with Leonardo DiCaprio, who played Bill's young protegé. He began his lengthy, self-disciplined process by taking lessons as an apprentice butcher, and while filming, he was never out of character between takes (including keeping his character's New York accent). At one point during filming, having been diagnosed with pneumonia, he refused to wear a warmer coat or to take treatment because it was not in keeping with the period; however, he was eventually persuaded to seek medical treatment. His performance in Gangs of New York earned him his third Academy Award nomination and won him the BAFTA Award for Best Actor.
After Gangs of New York, Day-Lewis's wife, director Rebecca Miller (daughter of playwright Arthur Miller), offered him the lead role in her film The Ballad of Jack and Rose, in which he played a dying man with regrets over how his life had evolved and over how he had raised his teenage daughter. During filming he arranged to live separately from his wife in order to achieve the "isolation" needed to focus on his own character's reality. The film received mixed reviews.
In 2007, Day-Lewis appeared in director Paul Thomas Anderson's loose adaptation of the Upton Sinclair novel Oil!, titled There Will Be Blood. Day-Lewis received the Academy Award for Best Actor, BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama, Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role - Motion Picture (which he dedicated to Heath Ledger, saying that he was inspired by Ledger's acting and calling the actor's performance in Brokeback Mountain "unique, perfect"), and a variety of film critics circle awards for the role.
In 2009, Day-Lewis starred in Rob Marshall's musical adaptation Nine as film director Guido Contini. Day-Lewis was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy and the Satellite Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for his role, as well as sharing nominations for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture and the Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Cast and the Satellite Award for Best Cast – Motion Picture with the rest of the cast members.
In November 2010, it was announced that Day-Lewis was cast in the main role in Steven Spielberg's upcoming biographical film about Abraham Lincoln.
Personal life
Day-Lewis rarely talks publicly about his personal life. He had a relationship with French actress Isabelle Adjani, which lasted six years and eventually ended after a split and reconciliation. Their son Gabriel Day-Lewis was born in 1995 in New York, several months after the relationship between the two actors had ended. Gabriel now lives with him in Wicklow, attending St. Gerard's School.
In 1996, while working on the film version of the stage-play The Crucible, he visited the home of playwright Arthur Miller where he was introduced to the writer's daughter, Rebecca Miller. They married later that year. The couple has two sons, Ronan Cal Day-Lewis (born 14 June 1998) and Cashel Blake Day-Lewis (born in May 2002) and divide their time between their homes in the U.S. and Ireland. Day-Lewis currently holds dual British and Irish citizenship, He became an Irish citizen in 1993. He is a supporter of Millwall Football Club. On 15 July 2010, he received an honorary doctorate in letters from the University of Bristol, in part because of his attendance at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School in his youth. Day-Lewis is an agnostic.
Filmography
Year↓ Title↓ Role↓ Notes↓
1971 Sunday Bloody Sunday Child vandal Uncredited
1982 Gandhi Colin - South African Street Thug
1984 Bounty, TheThe Bounty John Fryer
1985 My Beautiful Laundrette Johnny National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actor (Also for A Room with a View)
New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor (Also for A Room with a View)
1985 Room with a View, AA Room with a View Cecil Vyse National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actor (Also for My Beautiful Laundrette)
New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor (Also for My Beautiful Laundrette)
1988 Unbearable Lightness of Being, TheThe Unbearable Lightness of Being Tomas
1988 Stars and Bars Henderson Dores
1989 Eversmile, New Jersey Dr. Fergus O'Connell
1989 My Left Foot Christy Brown Academy Award for Best Actor
BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role
Evening Standard British Film Award for Best Actor
London Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
Montreal World Film Festival Award for Best Actor
Montreal World Film Festival - Prize of the Ecumenical Jury - Special Mention (Shared with Jim Sheridan)
National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actor
New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor
Nominated—European Film Award for Best Actor
Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama
1992 Last of the Mohicans, TheThe Last of the Mohicans Hawkeye (Nathaniel Poe) Evening Standard British Film Award for Best Actor
London Film Critics Circle Award for British Actor of the Year
Nominated—BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role
1993 Age of Innocence, TheThe Age of Innocence Newland Archer
1993 In the Name of the Father Gerry Conlon Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actor
Nominated—Academy Award for Best Actor
Nominated—BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role
Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama
1996 Crucible, TheThe Crucible John Proctor
1997 Boxer, TheThe Boxer Danny Flynn Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama
2002 Gangs of New York Bill 'The Butcher' Cutting BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role
Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor (Tied with Jack Nicholson for About Schmidt)
Central Ohio Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
Florida Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor
Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor
Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor (Tied with Jack Nicholson for About Schmidt)
New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor
Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor
Russian Guild of Film Critics Award for Best Foreign Actor
San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor
Satellite Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama (Tied with Michael Caine for The Quiet American)
Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role - Motion Picture
Seattle Film Critics Award for Best Actor
Southeastern Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
Vancouver Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor
Nominated—Academy Award for Best Actor
Nominated—Empire Award for Best Actor
Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama
Nominated—MTV Movie Award for Best Villain
Nominated—Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor
2005 Ballad of Jack and Rose, TheThe Ballad of Jack and Rose Jack Slavin Marrakech International Film Festival Award for Best Actor
2007 There Will Be Blood Daniel Plainview Academy Award for Best Actor
Alliance of Women Film Journalists Award for Best Actor
Austin Film Critics Award for Best Actor
BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role
Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
Central Ohio Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
Chlotrudis Award for Best Actor
Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
Evening Standard British Film Award for Best Actor
Florida Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor
Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama
Houston Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor
Irish Film Award for Best Actor
Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor
Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor
London Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actor
New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor
Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor
Palm Springs International Film Festival - Desert Palm Achievement Award
Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor
San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor
Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role - Motion Picture
St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
Southeastern Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
Utah Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
Vancouver Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor
Village Voice Film Poll - Best Actor
Nominated—Empire Award for Best Actor
Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Actor
2009 Nine Guido Contini Satellite Award for Best Cast – Motion Picture
Nominated—Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Cast
Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
Nominated—Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Ensemble
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x212/Mable980/DanielDay-Lewis.jpg
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Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 04/29/11 at 7:00 am
Sorry I thought I mentioned that I liked that song.
The video is so retro.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 04/29/11 at 7:01 am
The person of the day....Daniel Day-Lewis
Daniel Michael Blake Day-Lewis (born 29 April 1957) is an English actor with both British and Irish citizenship. His portrayals of Christy Brown in My Left Foot (1989) and Daniel Plainview in There Will Be Blood (2007) won Academy and BAFTA Awards for Best Actor, and Screen Actors Guild as well as Golden Globe Awards for There Will Be Blood. His role as Bill "The Butcher" Cutting in Gangs of New York (2002) earned him the BAFTA Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award.
Day-Lewis, who grew up in London, is the son of actress Jill Balcon and the Anglo-Irish Poet Laureate, Cecil Day-Lewis. He is a method actor, known for his constant devotion to and research of his roles. Often, he will remain completely in character for the duration of the shooting schedule of his films, even to the point of adversely affecting his health. He is known as one of the most selective actors in the film industry, having starred in only five films since 1997, with as many as five years between roles.
During the early '80s, Day-Lewis worked in theatre and television including Frost in May (where he played an impotent man-child) and How Many Miles to Babylon? (as a World War I officer torn between allegiances to Britain and Ireland) for the BBC. Eleven years after his film debut, Day-Lewis continued his film career with a small part in Gandhi (1982) as Colin, a street thug who bullies the title character, only to be immediately chastised by his high-strung mother. In late 1982 he had his big theatre break when he took over the lead in Another Country. The following year, he had a supporting role as the conflicted, but ultimately loyal first mate in The Bounty, after which he joined the Royal Shakespeare Company, playing Romeo in Romeo and Juliet and Flute in A Midsummer Night's Dream.
Next he played a gay man in an interracial relationship in the film My Beautiful Laundrette. Day-Lewis gained further public notice with A Room with a View (1986), in which he portrayed an entirely different character: Cecil Vyse, the effete upper-class fiancé of the main character (played by Helena Bonham Carter).
In 1987, Day-Lewis assumed leading-man status by starring in Milan Kundera's The Unbearable Lightness of Being, co-starring Lena Olin and Juliette Binoche, as a Czech doctor whose hyperactive and purely physical sex life is thrown into disarray when he allows himself to become emotionally involved with a woman. During the eight-month shoot he learned Czech and first began to refuse to break character on or off the set for the entire shooting schedule.
Day-Lewis put his personal version of "method acting" into full use in 1989 with his performance as Christy Brown in Jim Sheridan's My Left Foot which won him numerous awards, including the Academy Award for Best Actor. During filming, his eccentricities came to the fore, due to his refusal to break character. Playing a severely paralyzed character on screen, off screen Day-Lewis had to be moved around the set in his wheelchair, and crew members would curse at having to lift him over camera and lighting wires, all so that he might gain insight into all aspects of Brown's life, including the embarrassments. He broke two ribs during filming from assuming a hunched-over position in his wheelchair for so many weeks.
Day-Lewis returned to the stage in 1989 to work with Richard Eyre, in Hamlet at the National Theatre, but collapsed in the middle of a scene where the ghost of Hamlet's father first appears to his son. He began sobbing uncontrollably and refused to go back on stage; he was replaced by Ian Charleson before a then-unknown Jeremy Northam finished what little was left of the production's run. Although the incident was officially attributed to exhaustion, one rumour following the incident was that Day-Lewis had seen the ghost of his own father. He confirmed on the British celebrity chat show Parkinson, that this rumour was true. He has not appeared on stage since.
1990s
In 1992, three years after his Oscar win, The Last of the Mohicans was released. Day-Lewis's character research for this film was well-publicized; he reportedly underwent rigorous weight training and learned to live off the land and forest where his character lived, camping, hunting and fishing. He even carried a long rifle at all times during filming in order to remain in character and learned how to skin animals.
He returned to work with Jim Sheridan on In the Name of the Father, in which he played Gerry Conlon, one of the Guildford Four who were wrongfully convicted of a bombing carried out by the Provisional IRA. He lost a substantial amount of weight for the part, kept his Northern Irish accent on and off the set for the entire shooting schedule, and spent stretches of time in a prison cell. He also insisted that crew members throw cold water at him and verbally abuse him. The film earned him his second Academy Award nomination, his third BAFTA nomination, and his second Golden Globe nomination.
Day-Lewis returned in 1993, playing Newland Archer in Martin Scorsese's adaptation of the Edith Wharton novel The Age of Innocence, opposite Winona Ryder and Michelle Pfeiffer. To prepare for the film, set in America's Gilded Age, he wore 1870s-period aristocratic clothing around New York City for two months, including top hat, cane and cape during colder periods.
In 1996, Day-Lewis starred in a film version of The Crucible, the play by Arthur Miller, again opposite Winona Ryder. He followed that with Jim Sheridan's The Boxer as a former boxer and IRA member recently released from prison. His preparation included training with former boxing world champion Barry McGuigan.
Following The Boxer, Day-Lewis took a leave of absence from acting by putting himself into "semi-retirement" and returning to his old passion of woodworking. He moved to Florence, Italy, where he became intrigued by the craft of shoemaking, eventually apprenticing as a shoemaker. For a time his exact whereabouts and actions were not made publicly known. Day-Lewis has declined to discuss this period of his life, stating that "it was a period of my life that I had a right to without any intervention of that kind."
2000s
After a five-year absence from filming, Day-Lewis returned to act in multiple Academy Award-nominated films such as Gangs of New York, a film directed by Martin Scorsese (with whom he had worked on The Age of Innocence) and produced by Harvey Weinstein. In his role as the villain gang leader "Bill the Butcher", he starred along with Leonardo DiCaprio, who played Bill's young protegé. He began his lengthy, self-disciplined process by taking lessons as an apprentice butcher, and while filming, he was never out of character between takes (including keeping his character's New York accent). At one point during filming, having been diagnosed with pneumonia, he refused to wear a warmer coat or to take treatment because it was not in keeping with the period; however, he was eventually persuaded to seek medical treatment. His performance in Gangs of New York earned him his third Academy Award nomination and won him the BAFTA Award for Best Actor.
After Gangs of New York, Day-Lewis's wife, director Rebecca Miller (daughter of playwright Arthur Miller), offered him the lead role in her film The Ballad of Jack and Rose, in which he played a dying man with regrets over how his life had evolved and over how he had raised his teenage daughter. During filming he arranged to live separately from his wife in order to achieve the "isolation" needed to focus on his own character's reality. The film received mixed reviews.
In 2007, Day-Lewis appeared in director Paul Thomas Anderson's loose adaptation of the Upton Sinclair novel Oil!, titled There Will Be Blood. Day-Lewis received the Academy Award for Best Actor, BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama, Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role - Motion Picture (which he dedicated to Heath Ledger, saying that he was inspired by Ledger's acting and calling the actor's performance in Brokeback Mountain "unique, perfect"), and a variety of film critics circle awards for the role.
In 2009, Day-Lewis starred in Rob Marshall's musical adaptation Nine as film director Guido Contini. Day-Lewis was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy and the Satellite Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for his role, as well as sharing nominations for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture and the Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Cast and the Satellite Award for Best Cast – Motion Picture with the rest of the cast members.
In November 2010, it was announced that Day-Lewis was cast in the main role in Steven Spielberg's upcoming biographical film about Abraham Lincoln.
Personal life
Day-Lewis rarely talks publicly about his personal life. He had a relationship with French actress Isabelle Adjani, which lasted six years and eventually ended after a split and reconciliation. Their son Gabriel Day-Lewis was born in 1995 in New York, several months after the relationship between the two actors had ended. Gabriel now lives with him in Wicklow, attending St. Gerard's School.
In 1996, while working on the film version of the stage-play The Crucible, he visited the home of playwright Arthur Miller where he was introduced to the writer's daughter, Rebecca Miller. They married later that year. The couple has two sons, Ronan Cal Day-Lewis (born 14 June 1998) and Cashel Blake Day-Lewis (born in May 2002) and divide their time between their homes in the U.S. and Ireland. Day-Lewis currently holds dual British and Irish citizenship, He became an Irish citizen in 1993. He is a supporter of Millwall Football Club. On 15 July 2010, he received an honorary doctorate in letters from the University of Bristol, in part because of his attendance at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School in his youth. Day-Lewis is an agnostic.
Filmography
Year↓ Title↓ Role↓ Notes↓
1971 Sunday Bloody Sunday Child vandal Uncredited
1982 Gandhi Colin - South African Street Thug
1984 Bounty, TheThe Bounty John Fryer
1985 My Beautiful Laundrette Johnny National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actor (Also for A Room with a View)
New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor (Also for A Room with a View)
1985 Room with a View, AA Room with a View Cecil Vyse National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actor (Also for My Beautiful Laundrette)
New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor (Also for My Beautiful Laundrette)
1988 Unbearable Lightness of Being, TheThe Unbearable Lightness of Being Tomas
1988 Stars and Bars Henderson Dores
1989 Eversmile, New Jersey Dr. Fergus O'Connell
1989 My Left Foot Christy Brown Academy Award for Best Actor
BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role
Evening Standard British Film Award for Best Actor
London Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
Montreal World Film Festival Award for Best Actor
Montreal World Film Festival - Prize of the Ecumenical Jury - Special Mention (Shared with Jim Sheridan)
National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actor
New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor
Nominated—European Film Award for Best Actor
Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama
1992 Last of the Mohicans, TheThe Last of the Mohicans Hawkeye (Nathaniel Poe) Evening Standard British Film Award for Best Actor
London Film Critics Circle Award for British Actor of the Year
Nominated—BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role
1993 Age of Innocence, TheThe Age of Innocence Newland Archer
1993 In the Name of the Father Gerry Conlon Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actor
Nominated—Academy Award for Best Actor
Nominated—BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role
Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama
1996 Crucible, TheThe Crucible John Proctor
1997 Boxer, TheThe Boxer Danny Flynn Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama
2002 Gangs of New York Bill 'The Butcher' Cutting BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role
Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor (Tied with Jack Nicholson for About Schmidt)
Central Ohio Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
Florida Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor
Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor
Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor (Tied with Jack Nicholson for About Schmidt)
New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor
Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor
Russian Guild of Film Critics Award for Best Foreign Actor
San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor
Satellite Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama (Tied with Michael Caine for The Quiet American)
Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role - Motion Picture
Seattle Film Critics Award for Best Actor
Southeastern Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
Vancouver Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor
Nominated—Academy Award for Best Actor
Nominated—Empire Award for Best Actor
Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama
Nominated—MTV Movie Award for Best Villain
Nominated—Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor
2005 Ballad of Jack and Rose, TheThe Ballad of Jack and Rose Jack Slavin Marrakech International Film Festival Award for Best Actor
2007 There Will Be Blood Daniel Plainview Academy Award for Best Actor
Alliance of Women Film Journalists Award for Best Actor
Austin Film Critics Award for Best Actor
BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role
Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
Central Ohio Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
Chlotrudis Award for Best Actor
Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
Evening Standard British Film Award for Best Actor
Florida Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor
Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama
Houston Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor
Irish Film Award for Best Actor
Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor
Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor
London Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actor
New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor
Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor
Palm Springs International Film Festival - Desert Palm Achievement Award
Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor
San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor
Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role - Motion Picture
St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
Southeastern Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
Utah Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
Vancouver Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor
Village Voice Film Poll - Best Actor
Nominated—Empire Award for Best Actor
Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Actor
2009 Nine Guido Contini Satellite Award for Best Cast – Motion Picture
Nominated—Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Cast
Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
Nominated—Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Ensemble
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x212/Mable980/DanielDay-Lewis.jpg
http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn192/FlyteOfTheDragon/DanielDay-Lewis-3.jpg
such a fine actor,I think I remember My Left Foot. ???
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 04/30/11 at 7:25 am
The person of the day..Willie Nelson
Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 30, 1933) is an American country singer-songwriter, author, poet, actor, and activist. Nelson started studying music from mail order material that his grandparents gave him. He wrote his first song at age seven and joined his first band at nine. During high school, he toured locally with the Bohemian Fiddlers as their lead singer and guitar player. After graduating from high school in 1950, he joined the Air Force. However, he was discharged due to back problems. After his return, Nelson attended Baylor University for two years but dropped out because he was succeeding in music. During this time, he worked as a disc jockey in Texas radio stations and a singer in honky tonks. Nelson moved to Vancouver, Washington, where he wrote "Family Bible" and recorded the song "Lumberjack" in 1956. In 1960, he signed a publishing contract with Pamper Music which allowed him to join Ray Price's band as a bassist. During that time, he wrote songs that would become country standards, including "Funny How Time Slips Away", "Hello Walls", "Pretty Paper", and "Crazy". In 1962, he recorded his first album, And Then I Wrote. Due to this success, Nelson signed in 1965 with RCA Victor and joined the Grand Ole Opry.
In 1973, after signing with Atlantic Records, Nelson turned to outlaw country, including albums such as Shotgun Willie and Phases and Stages. In 1975, he switched to Columbia records, where he recorded the critically acclaimed album, Red Headed Stranger. The same year, he confirmed his move to outlaw country with the 1976 album Wanted! The Outlaws, which he recorded with Waylon Jennings, Jessi Colter, and Tompall Glaser. During the mid 1980s, while creating hit albums like Honeysuckle Rose and recording hit songs like "On the Road Again", "To All the Girls I've Loved Before", and "Pancho & Lefty", he joined the country supergroup The Highwaymen, along with fellow singers, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, and Kris Kristofferson. During the 1990s and 2000s, Nelson continued touring extensively, and released albums every year. Reviews ranged from positive to mixed. Nelson explored genres such as reggae, blues, jazz, and folk. Nelson made his first movie appearance in the 1979 film, The Electric Horseman, followed by other appearances in movies and on television.
Nelson is a major liberal activist and the co-chair of the advisory board of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, which is in favor of marijuana legalization. On the environmental front, Nelson owns the bio-diesel brand Willie Nelson Biodiesel, which is made from vegetable oil. He is the co-founder and president of Farm Aid, and has been contributing to the benefit concert series since the first event in 1985, organizing concerts and performing with other prominent artists. Nelson is also the Honorary Chairman of the Advisory Board of the Texas Music Project, the official music charity of the state of Texas.
His first Atlantic release was Shotgun Willie (1973), which earned excellent reviews but did not sell well. Nelson wrote the song that named the album after a recording session. Pacing in his room, he went to the bathroom where he penned the song on the empty envelope of a sanitary napkin in the sink. The album led Nelson to a new style. He later stated that Shotgun Willie had "cleared his throat". His next album, Phases and Stages, in 1974, was a concept album about a couple's divorce, inspired by his experience. On side one of the record, he sings from the viewpoint of the man, and on the other side, from the viewpoint of the woman. Highlights included The hit single "Bloody Mary Morning" and a duet of "After the Fire is Gone" with Tracy Nelson.
Nelson then moved to Columbia Records, where he achieved complete creative control. The result was the critically acclaimed, massively popular 1975 concept album, Red Headed Stranger. Although Columbia was reluctant to release an album with primarily a guitar and piano for accompaniment, Nelson and Waylon Jennings insisted. The album was a hit, partially because it included a popular cover of "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain", written by Fred Rose in 1945. "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain" became Nelson's first number one hit as a singer.
Three men. From left to right, the first man has brown hair and beard. He wears a blue t-shirt and a white jacket and is looking at the man in the middle. The man in the middle wears a green cap and shades, and long red hair. He wears a brown t-shirt. The man at the right has brown hair, he looks at the man at the middle. He wears a white shirt and a black letter jacket.
L-R: Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings at Willie's 4th of July Picnic 1972
Along with Nelson, Jennings was also achieving success in country music in the early 1970s, and the pair were soon combined into a genre called outlaw country ("outlaw" because it did not conform to Nashville standards). The album Wanted! The Outlaws in 1976 with Jessi Colter, and Tompall Glaser cemented the pair's outlaw image and became country music's first platinum album. Later that year Nelson released The Sound in Your Mind (certified gold in 1978 and platinum in 2001) and his first gospel album Troublemaker, (certified gold in 1986).
In 1978, Nelson released two more platinum albums, Waylon and Willie, a collaboration with Jennings that included "Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys", a hit single written and performed by Ed Bruce. His next album, Stardust, an album of standards from the American songbook, was produced by Booker T. Jones. Though observers predicted that Stardust would ruin his career, it went platinum the same year. Nelson continued to top the charts with hit songs during the late 1970s, including "Good Hearted Woman", "Remember Me", "If You've Got the Money I've Got the Time", "Uncloudy Day", "I Love You a Thousand Ways", and "Something to Brag About" in a duet with Mary Kay Place. He also did a duet album with Leon Russell titled One for the Road, in 1979.
1980s–90s
"On the Road Again"
Play sound
Part of the hit album Honeysuckle Rose. On the Road Again peaked number one on Hot Country Songs in 1980.
Problems listening to this file? See media help.
During the 1980s Nelson recorded a series of hit singles including "Midnight Rider", a 1980 cover of the Allman Brothers song, which Nelson recorded for The Electric Horseman, the soundtrack "On the Road Again", from the movie Honeysuckle Rose, and a duet with Julio Iglesias, "To All the Girls I've Loved Before". "Pancho & Lefty", a duet album with Merle Haggard and WWII with Jennings came out in 1982, while Take it to the Limit debuted in 1983, also with Jennings.
In the mid-1980s, Nelson, Jennings, Kristofferson and Johnny Cash formed a group called The Highwaymen. They achieved platinum record sales and toured the world. Meanwhile, he became more involved with charity work, such as singing on We are the World in 1984. In 1985, Nelson had another success with Half Nelson, featuring duets with artists such as Ray Charles, Lacy J. Dalton, Haggard, Iglesias, George Jones, Mel Tillis and Neil Young.
A man with withe bear holding a guitar. He wears a bandanna with the design of an American flag, a black shirt and Hawaiian wreaths hangin from his neck.
Willie Nelson
In 1980, Nelson performed on the south lawn of the White House. The September 13 concert featured first lady Rosalynn Carter and Nelson in a duet of Ray Wylie Hubbard's "Up Against the Wall Redneck Mother". Nelson frequently visited the White House according to his biography, Willie Nelson: An Epic Life, where, watched by the Secret Service, he smoked marijuana, which he nicknamed the "big fat Austin torpedo", on the White House roof. Carter denied knowing about the marijuana and never discussed drug use with him. Friend and fan Carter told Rolling Stone: "All the good things I did as president, all the mistakes I made—you can blame half of that on Willie."
In 1990, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) seized most of Nelson's assets, claiming he owed US$32,000,000. It was later discovered that his accountants, Price Waterhouse, had not been paying Nelson's taxes for years, and used his money in poor investments. Nelson's attorney negotiated a settlement with the IRS, in which he paid US$6,000,000. Nelson did not comply with the agreement.
Nelson released The IRS Tapes: Who'll Buy My Memories? as a double album, with all profits destined for the IRS. Many of his assets were auctioned and purchased by friends, who donated or rented his possessions to him for a nominal fee. He sued Price Waterhouse, contending that they put him into illegal tax shelters. The lawsuit was settled for an undisclosed amount and Nelson cleared his debts by 1993.
In 1993, he released Across the Borderline , with guests Bob Dylan, Sinéad O'Connor, David Crosby, Bonnie Raitt, Kristofferson and Paul Simon. In 1996, Nelson was featured on the Beach Boys' now out-of-print album Stars and Stripes Vol. 1 singing a cover of their 1964 song "The Warmth of the Sun" with the Beach Boys themselves doing the backing vocals.
Later career
A man with white beard, playing a guitar. He wears a black hat, a black shirt which is crossed by the blue, white and red strap of the guitar and jean pants. There is a microphone in front of him and behind there is yellow smoke.
Willie Nelson performing at the Chumash Casino Resort in Santa Ynez, California
During the 1990s and 2000s, Nelson toured continuously and released albums that generally received mixed reviews, with the exception of 1998's critically acclaimed Teatro, which was produced by U2 producer Daniel Lanois and featured supporting vocals by Emmylou Harris. He performed with other acts including Phish and Johnny Cash and on the VH1 Storytellers series.
Nelson received Kennedy Center Honors in 1998. In 2002 he released the The Great Divide, with songs from Rob Thomas, member of Matchbox 20 and Bernie Taupin. Thomas contributed background vocals and made an appearance in the video for, "Maria (Shut Up and Kiss Me)". Lee Ann Womack appeared on "Mendocino County Line" which was also released as a single. The title refers to Mendocino County in northern California, whose voters had approved "Measure G", which called for the decriminalization of marijuana for personal use. Other guests on The Great Divide include Kid Rock, Bonnie Raitt, Sheryl Crow, and Alison Krauss. Nelson also covered Cyndi Lauper's, "Time After Time".
The same year director Peter Lindbergh featured him in a spot for Gap where he performed Hank Williams' "Move It On Over" alongside Ryan Adams.
A man with long white hair and white beard playing a guitar. He wears a black t-shirt, which is crossed by the red, white and blue strap of the guitar. He also wears black pants.
Willie, and his guitar "Trigger", performing at Cardiff on 25 January 2007
Nelson performed a duet of "Beer for My Horses" with Toby Keith, on the latter's Unleashed 2002 album. This song and accompanying video was released as a single in 2003. The single topped the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts for six consecutive weeks and the video won an award for "Best Video" at the 2004 Academy of Country Music Awards. A USA Network television special celebrated Nelson's 70th birthday and featured many celebrities. Nelson released The Essential Willie Nelson as part of the celebration. Nelson did a duet with former Beatle Ringo Starr on Starr's album Ringo Rama called "Write One for Me". In 2004, he released Outlaws & Angels, featuring Keith, Joe Walsh, Merle Haggard, Kid Rock, Al Green, Shelby Lynne, Carole King, Toots Hibbert, Ben Harper, Womack, The Holmes Brothers, Los Lonely Boys, Lucinda Williams, Keith Richards, Jerry Lee Lewis and Rickie Lee Jones.
In 2007, Nelson performed with jazz trumpeter Wynton Marsalis in a concert at Lincoln Center, a date commemorated the following year with both a CD and DVD. Nelson participated in Goin' Home: A Tribute to Fats Domino, contributing his version of Domino's "I Hear You Knocking".
In 2008 he released Moment of Forever. Nelson appeared in Amsterdam with rap icon Snoop Dogg, where they did a live version of "SuperMan". Subsequently the two became friends, releasing the video "My Medicine". Nelson performed a duet with Norwegian pop star and former World Idol winner Kurt Nilsen on the country classic "Lost Highway". The single topped the Norwegian charts and was released on Nilsen's Rise To The Occasion. Subsequent reports stated that Nelson was eager to expand the collaboration further.
In 2009 Nelson teamed with Asleep at the Wheel on Willie and the Wheel on the Bismeaux Records label, a western swing album, with covers of Bob Wills, Milton Brown and Cliff Bruner among others. Nelson released Naked Willie, including remixes of recordings from 1966–1970, removing orchestration and background vocals. The same year, Nelson dedicated the Patsy Cline Theatre in Winchester, Virginia.
In 2010, he provided background vocals for Reggae artist Mishka on the latter's Talk About album. In June he played in the United Kingdom at Glastonbury Festival 2010.
Actor
Nelson's acting debut was in the 1979 movie, The Electric Horseman, followed by Honeysuckle Rose, Thief, and Barbarosa. In 1982 he played the role of Red Loon in Coming Out of the Ice with John Savage. In 1984 he starred in Songwriter, with Kristofferson. He portrayed the lead role in the 1986 film version of his concept album Red Headed Stranger. Other movies include Wag the Dog, Gone Fishin' (as Billy 'Catch' Pooler), the 1986 television movie Stagecoach (with Johnny Cash); Half Baked, Beerfest, The Dukes of Hazzard, Surfer, Dude and Swing Vote. He has also made guest appearances on Miami Vice (1986's "El Viejo" episode), Delta, Nash Bridges, The Simpsons, Monk, Adventures in Wonderland, Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, King of the Hill, The Colbert Report, Swing Vote and Space Ghost Coast to Coast.
Farm Aid
Main article: Farm Aid
Nelson, Neil Young and John Mellencamp organized the first Farm Aid concert in 1985. The original objective was to raise money for families in danger of losing their farms; later Farm Aid promoted awareness of the economic importance of farming. The 1985 concert was held at University of Illinois' Memorial stadium in Champaign, Illinois on September 25. Among the performing artists were Alabama, Beach Boys, Bon Jovi, Jimmy Buffett, Glen Campbell, Johnny Cash, David Allan Coe, Charlie Daniels, John Denver, Bob Dylan, Merle Haggard , Waylon Jennings, Billy Joel, George Jones, B.B. King, Kris Kristofferson, Loretta Lynn, Joni Mitchell, Willie Nelson and Family, Roy Orbison, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Lou Reed, Eddie Van Halen and Neil Young. Besides organizing and performing in the annual concerts, Nelson is the president of the board.
Marijuana legalization
Nelson is a co-chair of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) advisory board. He has worked with NORML for years for marijuana legalization. In 2005 Nelson and his family hosted the first annual "Willie Nelson & NORML Benefit Golf Tournament," leading to a cover appearance in the January–2008 issue of High Times magazine and an interview inside. Filmography
Year Movie
1979 The Electric Horseman
1980 Honeysuckle Rose
1981 Thief
1982 Barbarosa
1984 Songwriter
1986 Red Headed Stranger
1986 Stagecoach
1988 Once Upon a Texas Train
1988 Where The Hell's That Gold?
1996 Starlight
1997 Gone Fishin'
1997 Wag the Dog
1998 Half Baked
1999 Outlaw Justice
1999 Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me
2002 Monk (TV series)
2002 The Country Bears
2002 The Long Kill
2003 The Austin Disaster, 1911
2004 The Big Bounce
2005 The Dukes of Hazzard
2006 Beerfest
2006 Broken Bridges
2007 The Dukes of Hazzard: The Beginning
2007 Blonde Ambition
2007 Fighting with Anger
2008 Swing Vote
2008 Surfer, Dude
2008 Shoot Out of Luck
2008 The Boom Boom Room
2008 Beer For My Horses
2008 A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All
2009 One Peace at a Time
Books
Willie: Autobiography 1988 Bud Shrake ISBN 0-8154-1080-8
The Facts of Life and Other Dirty Jokes 2002 ISBN 0-375-50731-0
The Tao of Willie 2006 Turk Pipkin ISBN 1-59240-197-X
Willie Nelson: An Epic Life 2008 Joe Nick Patoski ISBN 0-316-01778-7
Awards
Year Organization Award
1975 Grammy Best Male Country Vocal Performance
1976 CMA Awards Vocal Duo of the Year
1976 CMA Awards Single of the Year
1976 CMA Awards Album of the Year
1977 American Music Awards Favorite Single
1978 Grammy Best Male Country Vocal Performance
1978 Grammy Best Country Performance by Duo/Group W/Vocals
1979 CMA Awards Entertainer of the Year
1979 ACM Entertainer of the Year
1980 Grammy Best Country Song
1982 Grammy Best Male Country Vocal Performance
1982 CMA Awards Single of the Year
1982 CMA Awards Album of the Year
1982 American Music Awards Favorite Male Artist
1982 ACM Single of the Year
1982 ACM Album of the Year
1983 CMA Awards Vocal Duo of the Year
1983 American Music Awards Favorite Album
1984 American Music Awards Favorite Male Artist
1984 ACM Single of the Year
1985 ACM Single of the Year
1986 American Music Awards Favorite Single
1986 American Music Awards Favorite Male Artist
1987 American Music Awards Favorite Male Artist
1990 Grammy Legend Awards
1995 TNN/Music City News Minnie Pearl Award
1995 TNN/Music City News Living Legend
1999 Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award
2001 BMI 49th Annual Country Awards President's Award
2002 Grammy Best Country Collaboration With Vocals
2002 CMT Flameworthy Video Music Awards Video Collaboration of the Year
2002 CMA Awards Vocal Event of the Year
2003 CMT's 40 Greatest Men of Country Music #4 ranking
2003 Grammy Best Country Collaboration With Vocals
2004 CMT Flameworthy Video Music Awards Video Collaboration of the Year
2007 BMI 55th Annual Country Awards BMI Icon
2008 Grammy Best Country Collaboration With Vocals
See also
Sixth Street Austin.jpg Austin portal
* Academy of Country Music
* Country Music Association
* Inductees of the Country Music Hall of Fame
* Outlaw Country
* List of country musicians
* Music of Austin
* Best selling music artists
* List of best-selling music artists
* National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws
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Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: CatwomanofV on 04/30/11 at 10:20 am
I never cared for Willie Nelson.
Cat
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 04/30/11 at 10:53 am
I never cared for Willie Nelson.
Cat
I like his songs when sung by other people.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: CatwomanofV on 04/30/11 at 10:55 am
I like his songs when sung by other people.
This is how I used to listen to one of his songs when it came on the radio:
"To all the girls I" Click! :D ;D ;D ;D
Cat
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 04/30/11 at 10:56 am
This is how I used to listen to one of his songs when it came on the radio:
"To all the girls I" Click! :D ;D ;D ;D
Cat
He-He!!
Karma
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: nally on 04/30/11 at 12:50 pm
This is how I used to listen to one of his songs when it came on the radio:
"To all the girls I" Click! :D ;D ;D ;D
Cat
He-He!!
Karma
Ditto! :D ;)
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 04/30/11 at 7:38 pm
I never cared for Willie Nelson.
Cat
Me neither.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: nally on 04/30/11 at 8:55 pm
Me neither.
Not one of my favorites, really. :-\\
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: gibbo on 05/01/11 at 4:10 am
Yeah...not one of my favs either. I admire his way of singing with feeling ... but his voice grates on me. My brother-in-law thinks the sun shines out of him.... :-\\
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: danootaandme on 05/01/11 at 4:52 am
I love Willy Nelson. He is the only country music singer/songwriter I can listen to. I love him, I love the life he has lived, I love the man he is. God Bless You Willie :-*
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 05/01/11 at 6:15 am
I'm neutral here. There are songs he sings that I love "Mama Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys" with Waylon Jennings, but he's not one of my favorites.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 05/01/11 at 6:20 am
The person of the day...Joanna Lumley
Joanna Lamond Lumley, OBE, FRGS (born 1 May 1946) is an English actress, voice-over artist and author, best known for her roles in British television series Absolutely Fabulous portraying Edina Monsoon's best friend, Patsy Stone, as well as parts in The New Avengers, Sapphire & Steel, and Sensitive Skin. She is a former model and Bond girl. Her distinctive voice has been supplied for animated characters, film narration, and AOL's "You have email" notification in the UK. She has spoken out as a human rights activist for Survival International and the Gurkha Justice Campaign, and is now considered a "national treasure" of Nepal because of her support. She is an advocate for a number of charities and animal welfare groups such as CIWF and Viva!. She has won three BAFTA awards and a British comedy award.
Tall, slim and blonde, she spent three years as a photographic model, notably for Brian Duffy by whom she was photographed with her son. She also worked as a house model for Jean Muir. Over forty years later, she participated in another photoshoot - again with her son - for Duffy as part of a retrospective of the photographer's work.
Lumley appeared in an early episode of The Bruce Forsyth Show in 1966. She appeared in a UK television advertisement for Nimble bread first screened in 1969.
Lumley did not receive any formal training at drama school. Her acting career began in 1969 with a small role in the film Some Girls Do and as a Bond girl in On Her Majesty's Secret Service; she played the English girl among Blofeld's 'Angels of Death' and had two lines. She went on to have a brief but memorable role in Coronation Street, in which her character turned down Ken Barlow's offer of marriage.
In the Are You Being Served? episode "His and Hers" (season 1; episode 4), she was featured as Miss French, a perfume representative. In the episode "German Week" (season 3; episode 6), she appeared as "German Lady". She also appeared as "Jessica" on the big screen in The Satanic Rites of Dracula, released in the UK on 13 January 1974, which was the last of Hammer Film's Dracula series starring Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee. She also appeared in the TV series Steptoe & Son in the episode "Loathe Story".
Major roles
Throughout her career, she has specialised in playing upper-class parts, and her distinctive plummy voice has reinforced this. Lumley's first major role was as Purdey in The New Avengers, a revival of the secret agent series The Avengers. Although critical reaction to the series was lukewarm, the casting of Lumley was seen as inspired and following the tradition of iconic Avengers actresses Honor Blackman, Diana Rigg and Linda Thorson.
In 1979, she appeared in another series which acquired a following: Sapphire and Steel, with David McCallum. Conceived as ITV's answer to Doctor Who, Lumley played a mysterious elemental being ('Sapphire') who, with her collaborator 'Steel', dealt with breaches in the fabric of time.
Over a decade later, Lumley's career was boosted by her portrayal of the louche, solipsistic and frequently drunken fashion director Patsy Stone, companion to Jennifer Saunders' Edina Monsoon in the BBC comedy television series Absolutely Fabulous (1992–1996) and (2001–2004).
Other work has included: Lovejoy as widow Victoria Cavero, a film about a journey made by her grandparents in Bhutan - In the Kingdom of the Thunder Dragon (1996) - and A Rather English Marriage (nominated for a BAFTA for Best Actress 1999) and Dr Willoughby (1999). In 1995, she provided the voice of Annie the rag doll in the animated series The Forgotten Toys. In 1999, she also provided the voice for Sims the chicken in the BAFTA award winning animated series The Foxbusters. In 2000, she co-produced a new drama series The Cazalets. She has also appeared in a TV series on Sarawak, where she spent time in her childhood. She has demonstrated her ability to go beyond stereotypical images, most notably in the monologue series of playlets Up In Town (2002), written by Hugo Blick, and focusing on a society hostess's realisation that her star is fading.
Lumley stars as the elderly Delilah Stagg in the 2006 sitcom Jam & Jerusalem with Dawn French, Jennifer Saunders and Sue Johnston. In July 2007, she starred in the second series of the drama Sensitive Skin where she played the main character Davina Jackson. The BBC said this will be the final series of the dark comedy.
Media work
As the possessor of one of the most recognised voices in the United Kingdom, Lumley has gained prominence as a voice-over artist. Users of AOL in the United Kingdom are familiar with Joanna Lumley's voice. She recorded the greetings "Welcome" and "You've got post" for that company. She also did a voice over for the BBC series Posh Nosh as a voice-over usually saying "From the Posh Nosh range (a faux product)."
She appeared as a guest host on Channel 4's The Friday Night Project, which aired on 3 August 2007.
From 2005-2006, she appeared in adverts for insurance brokers Privilege.
Lumley has also appeared on the last run of ITV1's Parkinson as a guest, on 27 October 2007, discussing the subject of young girls across the UK and how they need to behave better if they hope to be successful. She was asked to write the introduction to a re-edition in November 2007 of the book called The Magic Key To Charm written by the pioneering female journalist Eileen Ascroft. This is a book of tips to women, first written by Ascroft in 1938 about how to be glamorous. "I thought it was absolutely enchanting, it's how young women were told how to behave in the old days and I think it might be just coming back for a bit of a revival," she explained in the interview.
"Because, I have to say I adore our young ones and I think we have got some of the prettiest and loveliest girls in the world but I think sometimes the behaviour gets a bit bad and I think the girls let themselves down. They are so pretty and so lovely but they should behave better, I think, then they will be more successful."
In 1999, she appeared in the Comic Relief Doctor Who parody The Curse of Fatal Death as the final incarnation of the Doctor. She also appeared with Jennifer Saunders, Dawn French and Sienna Miller in French and Saunders pastiche of Mamma Mia for Comic Relief 2009 in which she played the role of Tanya (Patsy in the spoof).
In 2004, Lumley appeared as the "Woman with the Sydney Opera House Head" in Dirk Maggs' long-awaited radio adaptation of the third book of the Douglas Adams series The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
In 2005, she published her autobiography No Room for Secrets which was serialized by The Times, for which she was once a regular contributor.
In September and December 2008, and April 2009, the BBC showed Joanna Lumley in the Land of the Northern Lights, a documentary about her search to see the Northern Lights in northern Norway.
In May 2009, she supported the Green Party during the 2009 European Elections campaign. For Joanna Lumley, the work of Green MEPs in the European Parliament in pursuing human rights and animal rights made the Green Party "the obvious choice", and urged UK voters "to cast a positive vote for a better future by voting Green in the European Elections". Lumley also appeared in literature to support changing the British electoral system from first-past-the-post to alternative vote for electing Members of Parliament to the House of Commons in the Alternative Vote referendum in 2011.
In 2009, she portrayed a rock star, believed to be dead for 35 years, in the "Counter Culture Blues" episode of the British television mystery series Lewis (known in the U.S. as Inspector Lewis).
In 2010, she donated £1,000 to Caroline Lucas' campaign to become the first Green MP during the 2010 General Election campaign.
In 2010, Lumley worked on the show, for ITV, Joanna Lumley's Nile, where she takes a journey down the Nile, from sea to source. This was broadcast in four parts on ITV1 from 28 to 31 December 2010.
In August 2010, Lumley teamed up with British food company Sharwood's to help develop a limited edition Mango Chutney with Kashmiri Chilli, an ingredient from her birthplace. Sharwood’s will donate 10p from each jar sold to the Gurkha Welfare Trust.
Activism
As an activist, Lumley is best known for her support for Gurkhas, the exiled Tibetan people and government, the Kondha indigenous people of India, and the Prospect Burma charity which offers grants to Burmese students, for whom she broadcast a BBC Radio 4 charity appeal in 2001.
Filmography
Film
Year Title Role Notes
1969 Some Girls Do Uncredited
On Her Majesty's Secret Service The English Girl
1970 The Breaking of Bumbo Susie
Games That Lovers Play Fanny Hill
Tam-Lin Georgia
1971 The House That Dripped Blood Uncredited
1973 Don't Just Lie There, Say Something! Giselle Parkyn
The Satanic Rites of Dracula Jessica Van Helsing
1982 Trail of the Pink Panther Marie Jouvet
1983 Curse of the Pink Panther Countess Chandra
1989 Shirley Valentine Marjorie Majors
1995 Innocent Lies Lady Helena Graves
1996 James and the Giant Peach Aunt Spiker
1997 Prince Valiant Morgan le Fay
1999 Parting Shots Freda
Mad Cows Gillian
2000 Maybe Baby Sheila
Whispers: An Elephant's Tale Half Tusk (voice)
2001 The Cat's Meow Elinor Glyn
2004 Standing Room Only Last in Line Short film
EuroTrip Hostel Clerk
Ella Enchanted Dame Olga
2005 The Magic Roundabout Ermintrude
Corpse Bride Maudeline Everglot
2006 Dolls Madame Muscat Short film
2009 Boogie Woogie Alfreda Rhinegold
2010 This Beautiful Fantastic TBA In production
2011 Late Bloomers Charlotte Filming
Television
Year Title Role Notes
1969 The Wednesday Play Elsie Engelfield 1 episode
1971 It's Awfully Bad For Your Eyes, Darling Samantha Ryder-Ross TV series
1972 Steptoe and Son Bunty 1 episode 'Loathe Story'
1973 Coronation Street Elaine Perkins 102 episodes (although some say it was 104)
1973-75 Are You Being Served? Miss French/German Lady 2 episodes 'His and Hers', 'German Week'
1976 The Cuckoo Waltz Harriet Paulden 1 episode 'Babysitter'
1976-77 The New Avengers Purdey 26 episodes. BAFTA win - "Special Award" (2000)
1979 The Plank Hitchhiker
1979-82 Sapphire & Steel Sapphire 34 episodes
1981-85 The Kenny Everett Television Show Various 5 episodes
1982 The Weather in the Streets Kate TV film
1984 Mistral's Daughter Lally Longbridge TV mini-series
The Glory Boys Helen TV film
Oxbridge Blues Gigi 1 episode 'That Was Tory'
1986 The Two Ronnies Miss Dibley 1 episode
1990 A Ghost in Monte Carlo Lady Drayton TV film
1991 A Perfect Hero Loretta Stone TV miniseries
1992 Lovejoy Victoria Cavero 3 episodes
1992–2005 Absolutely Fabulous Patsy Stone 37 episodes. British Comedy Award win - "Best Comedy Actress" (1993)
BAFTA win - "Best Light Entertainment Performance" (1993)
BAFTA win - "Best Comedy Performance" (1995)
BAFTA nomination - "Best Comedy Performance" (1996)
BAFTA nomination - "Best Comedy Performance" (1997)
BAFTA nomination - "Best Comedy Performance" (2002)
1993 Cluedo Mrs. Peacock 6 episodes
1994 Girl Friday TV series
1994-95 Class Act Kate Swift 14 episodes
1995 Cold Comfort Farm Mrs. Mary Smiling TV film
The Forgotten Toys Annie (voice) Animated series
1996 Roseanne Patsy Stone 1 episode 'Satan, Darling'
1998 The Tale of Sweeney Todd Mrs. Lovett TV film
Coming Home Diana Carey-Lewis TV serial
A Rather English Marriage Liz Franks TV film. BAFTA nomination - "Best Actress"
1999 Alice in Wonderland Tiger Lily TV film
Nancherrow Diana Carey-Lewis TV film
Foxbusters Sims (voice) Animation series
Dr Willoughby Donna Sinclair 1 series of 6 episodes
2000 Mirrorball Jackie Riviera Pilot
2002 Up In Town Madison Blakelock TV series. British Comedy Award nomination - "Best Comedy Actress"
2004, 2009 Marple Dolly Bantry 2 episodes 'The Body in the Library' & 'The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side'
2005-07 Sensitive Skin Davina Jackson 12 episodes
2006–present Jam & Jerusalem Delilah Stagg 6 episodes
2009 Lewis Esme Ford 1 episode 'Counter Culture Blues'
2010 Mistresses Vivienne 4 episodes
Documentary
Year Title Role
2008 Joanna Lumley in the Land of the Northern Lights Herself
Ian Fleming: Where Bond Began Herself
2009 Joanna Lumley Catwoman Herself
2010 Joanna Lumley's Nile Herself
Theatre
* Blithe Spirit
* Hedda Gabler - Dundee Rep
* Noel & Gertie - King's Head
* Private Lives
* The Letter by Somerset Maugham, Lyric Hammersmith, 1995
* Jack and the Beanstalk by Roald Dahl, Royal Albert Hall, December 1996
* The Cherry Orchard - Sheffield Crucible, March 2007
* David Hirson's La Bête - Comedy Theatre, London, 26 June - 28 August 2010 with David Hyde Pierce and Mark Rylance, directed by Matthew Warchus. Opened at the Music Box Theater, Broadway, New York - 14 October 2010.
Books
As author
* Peacocks and Commas: Best of the "Spectator" Competitions (1983) - Editor
* Stare Back and Smile: Memoirs (1989) - Autobiography
* Forces Sweethearts
* Girl Friday (1994)
* In the Kingdom of the Thunder Dragon (1997)
* No Room for Secrets (2005) - Autobiography
She has also narrated a number of audiobooks and provided forewords for works by other authors.
As subject
* Joanna Lumley — The Biography by Tim Ewbank and Stafford Hildred; an unauthorised biography.
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Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 05/01/11 at 6:57 am
Not one of my favorites, really. :-\\
I liked him when he was in the video We Are The World.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 05/02/11 at 5:32 am
The person of the day...Lou Gramm
Lou Gramm (born Louis Andrew Grammatico; May 2, 1950) is an American rock vocalist and songwriter best known for his role as the lead vocalist and co-writer of many of the songs for the rock band Foreigner. He also had a successful solo career. Gramm was the vocalist for many top-40 hits including "Cold as Ice", "Waiting for a Girl Like You", "I Want to Know What Love Is" and "Midnight Blue". Most recently, the Lou Gramm Band has released a self-titled Christian rock album in 2009.
Gramm was born in Rochester, New York. He attended Gates-Chili High School in Rochester, graduating with the class of 1968. He is also an alumnus of Monroe Community College in Rochester.
Gramm began his musical career in his mid-teens, playing in local Rochester bands, including St. James Infirmary (later The Infirmary), and PHFFT. He later sang harmony vocals in another local band, Poor Heart. Gramm then went on to sing and play drums, and to eventually become front man for the band Black Sheep. Black Sheep had the distinction of being the first American band signed to the Chrysalis label, which released their first single, "Stick Around" (1973). Soon after this initial bit of success, Black Sheep signed with Capitol Records, releasing two albums in succession Foreigner era
With the blessings of his Black Sheep bandmates, Gramm flew down to New York to audition for the still-unnamed band. With his powerful vocals, he easily got the job. Lou Grammatico then became Lou Gramm, and, with the band initially known as "Trigger," and later renamed Foreigner, became one of the most successful rock vocalists of the late 1970s and 1980s.
Gramm was the lead vocalist on many of Foreigner's hit songs, including "Feels Like the First Time", "Cold as Ice", "Hot Blooded", "Urgent", "Double Vision", "Juke Box Hero", "Head Games", "Break It Up", "Dirty White Boy" and "Say You Will". He co-wrote most of the songs for the band, which achieved two of its biggest hits with the ballads "Waiting for a Girl Like You", which spent ten weeks at #2 on the 1981-82 American Hot 100, and "I Want to Know What Love Is", which was a #1 hit internationally (US & UK) in 1985. The latter was credited only to Jones; however, Gramm indicated that he had contributed to its writing.
Gramm and Mick Jones had a volatile sort of chemistry that exploded into many a chart-topper, yet at times they clashed artistically. Following the band's second album, the wildly successful Double Vision, shifts in personnel began to take place. Following their next album, Head Games, Gramm and Jones jointly decided to reduce the band's lineup from six to four members. The next album, which Gramm has called the high point of his work with Foreigner, was aptly titled 4. Gramm wanted the band to remain true to its purer rock origins, favoring music with a solid drum and guitar structure, whereas Jones embraced the 1980s style of synthesizer ballads - a more lucrative approach at the time. Indeed, the next album, Agent Provocateur, would find Jones moving creatively in the opposite direction from Gramm, seeking out potential co-producers such as Trevor Horn, and then Alex Sadkin, which ended up giving Foreigner's sound a somewhat new-wavish, keyboard-dominant quality.
Solo era
By 1987, Foreigner continued to struggle with ongoing internal conflicts. During this period, Gramm released his first solo album, Ready or Not, which received critical acclaim and contained a top five hit single with "Midnight Blue". This was followed by the late-1987 Foreigner album Inside Information, which reached number 15 on Billboard's album chart. The extracted "Say You Will" was released late that year, reaching number 6 on the Hot 100 early in 1988, and "I Don't Want to Live Without You" followed, reaching number 5 on the Hot 100 and number one on the adult contemporary chart in the spring. A third single, "Heart Turns to Stone" reached number 56 in the summer. Eventually a second solo effort, Long Hard Look, that included the top ten hit, "Just Between You and Me", and "True Blue Love", reached the Top 40. Gramm also contributed a song to the soundtrack for the 1987 movie The Lost Boys, titled "Lost in the Shadows."
Encouraged by his solo success, and increasingly displeased with the direction in which Jones was taking Foreigner, Gramm left the group to form Shadow King with close friend and former Black Sheep bassist Bruce Turgon. The new group's 1991 self-titled album was released by Virgin Records in the UK and Atlantic Records in the U.S. Despite positive reviews, the group lacked cohesiveness. It also did not enjoy the level of marketing and promotional support necessary to sustain a new project. Shadow King soon disbanded. The same year, Foreigner released the album Unusual Heat, a relatively unsuccessful effort fronted by vocalist Johnny Edwards.
Edwards was not widely accepted by the Foreigner fan base. Gramm returned to the group in 1992 to record three new songs for the compilation, The Very Best of ... and Beyond, bringing a new energy back into the mix. Gramm also brought Bruce Turgon with him to join the Foreigner lineup at this point.
In 1995, the group released the album Mr. Moonlight on the Rhythm Safari label which, although relatively successful in Europe, was not as widely marketed or distributed in the U.S. Still, "Until the End of Time" made inroads at adult contemporary radio. With the changing trends in popular music, this now-classic rock band came to suffer the inevitable slowing of their genre's momentum.
New Foreigner era
In 1996, Mick Jones invited Gramm to perform backing vocals on a cover version of "I Want to Know What Love Is" he was producing for the Australian singer Tina Arena. The song went on to become a major hit again throughout Europe.
In April 1997, two months after providing vocals for Christian rock band Petra's Petra Praise 2: We Need Jesus, and on the eve the band was to leave for a Japan tour, Gramm was diagnosed with a type of brain tumor called a craniopharyngioma. Although the tumor was benign, the resulting surgery damaged his pituitary gland. In addition, the recovery program had caused Gramm to gain weight, and likewise affected his stamina and voice. He continued to work with Jones throughout his illness and in 1999, Gramm was back touring with Foreigner playing summer festivals and smaller markets until late 2002.
Lou Gramm Band
Lou Gramm today.
In 2003, Gramm once again split from Foreigner to rejuvenate his solo career with a band that included Bruce Turgon on bass, Rocket Richotte on guitar, Kevin Neal on drums, John Purdell on keyboards (who died suddenly very early in the tour), and Gary Corbett on keyboards. Following the death of both his father and mother, Bennie and Nikki Grammatico - - he a trumpeter and bandleader, she a singer for his Big Band - - Gramm and the initial lineup decided it best to take different paths. Fulfilling a lifelong wish of his parents that their three musical sons might someday make their music together, Gramm and his brother, Ben formed the current lineup of the Lou Gramm Band (also known as "LGB").
Gradually, Gramm's health and energy have rebounded, although his voice has been obviously affected, and sounds quite different on much of his new material. The Lou Gramm band has been touring the U.S., Canada, and Mexico steadily since January 2004, as well as occasional dates off the continent, and the touring continues.
Lou, Ben, with friends Don Mancuso and Andy Knoll, play a retrospective of Gramm's work with Foreigner, his solo material, plus a few personal favorites of their own. In addition, the band has taken on Christian rock. The Lou Gramm Band has recently finished an all-Christian rock album, which was released in the U.S. on June 2, 2009, through Spectra Records.
Gramm counts John Lennon, Marvin Gaye, Steve Marriott, Paul Rodgers and Wilson Pickett among his influences.
Discography
Solo albums
Title Details Peak chart
positions
US
CAN
Ready or Not
* Release date: 1987
* Label: Atlantic Records
* Formats: CD, cassette
27 24
Long Hard Look
* Release date: 1989
* Label: Atlantic Records
* Formats: CD, cassette
85 44
Lou Gramm Band
* Release date: June 2, 2009
* Label: Spectra Records
* Formats: CD, music download
— —
"—" denotes releases that did not chart
Solo singles
Year Song US Hot 100 US MSR US A.C. UK singles Album
1987 "Midnight Blue" 5 1 - 82 Ready Or Not
1987 "Ready or Not" 54 7 - - Ready Or Not
1989 "Just Between You and Me" 6 4 4 - Long Hard Look
1989 "True Blue Love" 40 23 - - Long Hard Look
With Poor Heart
* Foreigner in a Strange Land (1988)
* The Best of the Early Years (1993)
(Note: These are actually releases of much older recordings.)
With Black Sheep
* S/T (1975)
* Encouraging Words (1975)
With Foreigner
* Foreigner (1977) #4 US
* Double Vision (1978) #3 US, #32 UK
* Head Games (1979) #5 US
* 4 (1981) #1 US (10 weeks), #5 UK
* Records (1982) #10 US, #58 UK
* Agent Provocateur (1984) #4 US, #1 UK
* Inside Information (1987) #15 US, #64 UK
* The Very Best of (1992)
* The Very Best of... and Beyond (1992) #123 US, #19 UK
* Classic Hits Live/Best of Live (1993)
* JukeBox Heroes: The Best of (1994)
* Mr. Moonlight (1994) #136 US, #59 UK
* The Platinum Collection (1999)
* Rough Diamonds No. 1 (1999)
* Hot Blooded and Other Hits (2000)
* Anthology: Jukebox Heroes (2000)
* Complete Greatest Hits (2002) #80 US
* The Definitive (2002) #33 UK
* No End In Sight: The Very Best Of Foreigner (2008)
With Shadow King
* Shadow King (1991)
With Liberty N' Justice
* Welcome To The Revolution 2001
With Don Mancuso
* D: Drive (2005)
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Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 05/03/11 at 6:47 am
The person of the day...Frankie Valli
Frankie Valli (born Francis Stephen Castelluccio, May 3, 1934, First Ward, Newark, New Jersey) is an Italian-American musician, most famous as frontman of The 4 Seasons. He is well-known for his unusually powerful falsetto singing voice. Valli, Tommy DeVito, Nick Massi, and Bob Gaudio, (the original members of The Four Seasons), were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990 and the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1999.
Valli scored 29 Top 40 hits with The 4 Seasons, one Top 40 hit under The 4 Seasons' alias 'The Wonder Who?', and nine Top 40 hits as a solo artist. As a member of The 4 Seasons, Valli's number one hits included "Sherry", "Big Girls Don't Cry", "Walk Like a Man", "Rag Doll" and "December 1963 (Oh, What A Night)". As a solo artist, Valli scored number one hits with the songs "My Eyes Adored You" and "Grease". Valli's recording of the song "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" reached number two in 1967. "You're Ready Now," a Valli solo recording from 1966, became a surprise hit in Great Britain as part of the Northern soul scene and hit number eleven on the British pop charts in December 1970.
Frankie Valli began his professional singing career in 1951 with the Variety Trio (Nickie DeVito, Tommy DeVito and Nick Macioci). Valli's desire to sing in public was initially granted when, having heard Valli sing, the group offered him a guest spot when the group performed. In late 1952, the Variety Trio disbanded and Valli, along with Tommy DeVito, became part of the house band at The Strand in New Brunswick, New Jersey. For his part, Valli played bass and sang. He cut his first single, "My Mother's Eyes," in 1953 as "Frankie Valley," a name he adopted from "Texas" Jean Valley, a favorite female singer. Around this time, Valli and Tommy DeVito left the house band at The Strand and formed The Variatones with Hank Majewski, Frank Cattone and Billy Thompson. In 1956, as part of an audition backing a female singer, the group impressed New York record man Peter Paul, who had them auditioning at RCA Victor a week later. Renamed The Four Lovers, the group recorded several singles and one album's worth of tracks. They had a minor hit with "You're the Apple of My Eye" in 1956. Nickie DeVito and Hank Majewski left in 1958 to be replaced by Nick Macioci (now Nick Massi) and Hugh Garrity. Massi was in and out of the group, and, occasionally Charles Calello joined on accordion. The group continued to perform until 1959, when Bob Gaudio became a member. After a few more changes, the group was renamed "The 4 Seasons" in 1960.
As the lead singer of The 4 Seasons, he had a string of hits beginning with the number one hit "Sherry" in 1962. As a footnote to this period of Frankie's career with The 4 Seasons, the group's bassist and vocal arranger Nick Massi was replaced in 1965 by Charlie Calello, the group's instrumental arranger, and, then shortly thereafter, Charlie was replaced by Joseph LaBracio, who went by the pseudonym Joe Long.
During the 1960s, Gaudio and his then songwriting partner, producer Bob Crewe (born Stanley Robert Crewe on November 12, 1931), worked with Valli to craft solo recordings with varying degrees of success. This concept of a major recording artist performing solo in opposition to his or her own group performances was new to the rock/pop world and may have given tacit approval to other groups and members of other groups to pursue such a path. The potential to dominate the charts with group and solo recordings was great, and, Valli, Gaudio and Crewe occasionally rose to the occasion with both great performances and commercial hits. Valli was the original artist to record the Gaudio-Crewe composition "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine (Anymore)", a performance that was copied nearly note for note when recorded by The Walker Brothers, an American group based in England. The Walker Brothers version was a huge success. Valli continued to record solo performances and finally reached major success with the release of "Can't Take My Eyes Off You". Though it only reached number two in the charts, the song itself was widely recorded by many other artists.
Valli's debut solo album was a gathering together of various single releases and a few new recordings. Prior to the release of Valli's second solo album, a single was released in July 1967 with the A-side "I Make A Fool Of Myself," a record that reached number 18. 'Timeless,' Valli's second solo album release was more coherent and Valli took more time in recording it. 'Timeless' contains one Top 40 hit, "To Give (The Reason I Live)."
Finally, Valli ended the '60s with a string of recordings that were included in the Valli/4 Seasons album 'Half & Half' or released as various singles. The only hit to emerge at this time was the recording of "The Girl I'll Never Know (Angels Never Fly This Low)," reaching number 52.
1970s to the present
In 1975, Valli's single "My Eyes Adored You" hit number 1 on Billboard's Hot 100. In the same year, he also had a number 6 Billboard hit with the disco-laden "Swearin' To God".
In 1976, Valli covered the Beatles song "A Day in the Life" for the ephemeral musical documentary All This and World War II.
In 1978, Valli sang the theme song for the film version of the stage play, Grease, a song written by Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees, which became a number 1 hit. He had two further chart successes the following year, "Save Me, Save Me" in November 1978, which entered the Billboard Easy Listening chart, and "Fancy Dancer" in January 1979, which entered the pop charts.
Valli suffered from otosclerosis in the 1970s, forcing him to "sing from memory" in the latter part of the decade. Surgery restored most of his hearing by 1980.
In 1992, a new Four Seasons album was released entitled Hope and Glory.
In October of 2007, Valli released Romancing the 60s, an album containing covers of his favorite songs from the 1960s, two of which he had previously recorded. Those songs were "Sunny" and "Any Day Now".
In October 2010, a duet version of "The Biggest Part of Me" by Frankie Valli and Juice Newton was released on Newton's album Duets: Friends & Memories.
Philanthropic activities
Valli has been a supporter of heritage-related causes, particularly the National Italian American Foundation (NIAF). In 2006, he received the NIAF Lifetime Achievement Award at the Foundation's Anniversary Gala. In 2008, NIAF presented a scholarship in his name to an Italian American music student during the Foundation's East Coast Gala.
Discography
Singles:
Main article: List of U.S. singles by Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons
Studio Albums
For albums recorded as part of The Four Seasons, see Discography of The Four Seasons
Many of Valli's solo recordings, recorded before 1975, were recorded with the participation of one or more of The 4 Seasons.
* 06/1967: The 4 Seasons Present frankie valli solo - Philips PHS 600-247
* 07/1968: Timeless - Philips PHS 600-274
* 02/1975: Closeup - Private Stock PS 2000
* 09/1975: Inside You - Motown M6-852S1 (five new tracks plus four previously released album and single tracks, remixed; of the nine tracks, "The Night", with The Four Seasons)
* 11/1975: Our Day Will Come - Private Stock PS 2006
* 09/1976: Valli - Private Stock PS 2017
* 11/1977: Lady Put the Light Out - Private Stock PS 7002
* 08/1978: Frankie Valli... Is the Word - Warner Bros/Curb BS 3233
* 11/1980: Heaven Above Me - MCA/Curb 5134
* 10/2007: Romancing The '60s - cherry entertainment/universalmotown B0009908-02
Compilations and Misc. Four Seasons Albums with Frankie Valli "Solo" Songs
* 04/1970: Half & Half - Philips PHS 600-341 (five tracks by Frankie Valli; five tracks by The 4 Seasons)
* 05/1972: Chameleon - MoWest MW108L (two tracks by Frankie Valli; seven tracks by The Four Seasons)
* 12/1975: Valli Gold - Private Stock PS 2001
* 04/1978: Frankie Valli Hits - Private Stock PS 7012
* 12/1979: Very Best Of Frankie Valli - MCA 3198
* 08/1980: Superstar Series Volume 4 - Motown M5-104V1 (five tracks by Frankie Valli; four tracks by The Four Seasons)
* xx/1988: Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons 25th Anniversary Collection - Rhino Records Inc RNRD 72998-2 (twelve tracks by Frankie Valli; forty-two tracks by either The Four Seasons or The Wonder Who?)
* xx/1990: Frankie Valli & The 4 Seasons volume 2 rarities - Rhino Records Inc R2 70924 (two tracks by Frankie Valli; sixteen tracks by The Four Seasons)
* xx/1994: FRANKIE VALLI SOLO TIMELESS 2LPs ON 1 CD + BONUS TRACKS - ACE Records Ltd CDCHD 538
* xx/1996: THE 4 SEASONS FRANKIE VALLI HALF & HALF PLUS 6 BONUS TRACKS - ACE Records Ltd CDCHD 635 (eight tracks by Frankie Valli; eight tracks by The Four Seasons)
* 07/1996: FRANKIE VALLI GREATEST HITS - Curb Records D2-77714
* 05/2001: IN SEASON THE FRANKIE VALLI & THE 4 SEASONS ANTHOLOGY - Rhino/Warner Special Products R2 74266 OPCD-5508 (fourteen tracks by Frankie Valli; thirty-seven tracks by either The Four Seasons or The Wonder Who?)
* 06/2007: ...Jersey Beat... The Music Of FRANKIE VALLI & THE 4 SEASONS - Rhino R2 74852 3 CDs + 1 DVD (thirteen tracks by Frankie Valli; sixty-three tracks by either The Four Seasons or The Wonder Who?) (DVD contains two solo performances by Frankie Valli and ten group performances by The Four Seasons)
* 04/2008: The Four Seasons Present Frankie Valli Solo - Timeless - collector's choice Music CCM-927
* 04/2008: Closeup - Valli - collector's choice Music CCM-928 (this CD contains a longer version of "Swearin' To God" than the original album release of 02/1975. This version clocks in at 10:35. Also, the tracks "Can't Get You Off My Mind" and "Easily" have been edited down from their original album lengths.)
* 04/2008: Our Day Will Come - Lady Put the Light Out - collector's choice Music CCM-929
* 04/2008: Frankie Valli Is the Word - Heaven Above Me - collector's choice Music CCM-930
* 05/2008: Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons: The Motown Years - Hip-O Select.com Motown A Universal Music Company B0010777-02 2 CDs (fourteen tracks by Frankie Valli; thirteen tracks by The Four Seasons)
Television appearances
Valli made several appearances on the HBO series The Sopranos, portraying New York mob captain Rusty Millio.
Valli also played a role in an episode of Miami Vice.
Valli once performed with Frankie Avalon, Dion, and Pat Boone on the "Cher" TV show.
Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons performed for an NBC television special, Frankie Valli: Tribute on Ice.
Valli performed "Grease" with the Commodores in 1980 on The Midnight Special.
Valli sang solo on an 8th season episode of Full House.
Frankie Valli voiced the role of Little David in "Kingdom Chums: Original Top Ten".
Broadway
John Lloyd Young won the 2006 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical, for his portrayal of Valli, in the musical Jersey Boys.
Date of birth
As with many other celebrities, Valli's birth year has been called into question. Valli never addressed the issue himself, until the 2007 posting at the Official Frankie Valli Site, sponsored by his current record label, Universal Records. Much of the previous official publicity surrounding his career had used 1937 as the birth year. It is hard to tell when and why this occurred, but inference can be made that by chopping a few years off his age, he would seem more commercially viable to a younger audience. Other sources, such as the Bear Family Records release, entitled 'The Four Lovers' (BCD 15424), as well as a 1965 "mug shot", available through The Smoking Gun, all identify his year of birth as 1934.
http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/uu312/edtombell/MY%20SHOWS/fvalli.jpg
http://i687.photobucket.com/albums/vv234/southerngaming/frankie-valli-328.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 05/03/11 at 7:00 am
Happy Birthday Frankie Valli,your music is wonderful. :)
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 05/03/11 at 3:22 pm
The person of the day...Frankie Valli
Frankie Valli (born Francis Stephen Castelluccio, May 3, 1934, First Ward, Newark, New Jersey) is an Italian-American musician, most famous as frontman of The 4 Seasons. He is well-known for his unusually powerful falsetto singing voice. Valli, Tommy DeVito, Nick Massi, and Bob Gaudio, (the original members of The Four Seasons), were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990 and the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1999.
Valli scored 29 Top 40 hits with The 4 Seasons, one Top 40 hit under The 4 Seasons' alias 'The Wonder Who?', and nine Top 40 hits as a solo artist. As a member of The 4 Seasons, Valli's number one hits included "Sherry", "Big Girls Don't Cry", "Walk Like a Man", "Rag Doll" and "December 1963 (Oh, What A Night)". As a solo artist, Valli scored number one hits with the songs "My Eyes Adored You" and "Grease". Valli's recording of the song "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" reached number two in 1967. "You're Ready Now," a Valli solo recording from 1966, became a surprise hit in Great Britain as part of the Northern soul scene and hit number eleven on the British pop charts in December 1970.
Frankie Valli began his professional singing career in 1951 with the Variety Trio (Nickie DeVito, Tommy DeVito and Nick Macioci). Valli's desire to sing in public was initially granted when, having heard Valli sing, the group offered him a guest spot when the group performed. In late 1952, the Variety Trio disbanded and Valli, along with Tommy DeVito, became part of the house band at The Strand in New Brunswick, New Jersey. For his part, Valli played bass and sang. He cut his first single, "My Mother's Eyes," in 1953 as "Frankie Valley," a name he adopted from "Texas" Jean Valley, a favorite female singer. Around this time, Valli and Tommy DeVito left the house band at The Strand and formed The Variatones with Hank Majewski, Frank Cattone and Billy Thompson. In 1956, as part of an audition backing a female singer, the group impressed New York record man Peter Paul, who had them auditioning at RCA Victor a week later. Renamed The Four Lovers, the group recorded several singles and one album's worth of tracks. They had a minor hit with "You're the Apple of My Eye" in 1956. Nickie DeVito and Hank Majewski left in 1958 to be replaced by Nick Macioci (now Nick Massi) and Hugh Garrity. Massi was in and out of the group, and, occasionally Charles Calello joined on accordion. The group continued to perform until 1959, when Bob Gaudio became a member. After a few more changes, the group was renamed "The 4 Seasons" in 1960.
As the lead singer of The 4 Seasons, he had a string of hits beginning with the number one hit "Sherry" in 1962. As a footnote to this period of Frankie's career with The 4 Seasons, the group's bassist and vocal arranger Nick Massi was replaced in 1965 by Charlie Calello, the group's instrumental arranger, and, then shortly thereafter, Charlie was replaced by Joseph LaBracio, who went by the pseudonym Joe Long.
During the 1960s, Gaudio and his then songwriting partner, producer Bob Crewe (born Stanley Robert Crewe on November 12, 1931), worked with Valli to craft solo recordings with varying degrees of success. This concept of a major recording artist performing solo in opposition to his or her own group performances was new to the rock/pop world and may have given tacit approval to other groups and members of other groups to pursue such a path. The potential to dominate the charts with group and solo recordings was great, and, Valli, Gaudio and Crewe occasionally rose to the occasion with both great performances and commercial hits. Valli was the original artist to record the Gaudio-Crewe composition "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine (Anymore)", a performance that was copied nearly note for note when recorded by The Walker Brothers, an American group based in England. The Walker Brothers version was a huge success. Valli continued to record solo performances and finally reached major success with the release of "Can't Take My Eyes Off You". Though it only reached number two in the charts, the song itself was widely recorded by many other artists.
Valli's debut solo album was a gathering together of various single releases and a few new recordings. Prior to the release of Valli's second solo album, a single was released in July 1967 with the A-side "I Make A Fool Of Myself," a record that reached number 18. 'Timeless,' Valli's second solo album release was more coherent and Valli took more time in recording it. 'Timeless' contains one Top 40 hit, "To Give (The Reason I Live)."
Finally, Valli ended the '60s with a string of recordings that were included in the Valli/4 Seasons album 'Half & Half' or released as various singles. The only hit to emerge at this time was the recording of "The Girl I'll Never Know (Angels Never Fly This Low)," reaching number 52.
1970s to the present
In 1975, Valli's single "My Eyes Adored You" hit number 1 on Billboard's Hot 100. In the same year, he also had a number 6 Billboard hit with the disco-laden "Swearin' To God".
In 1976, Valli covered the Beatles song "A Day in the Life" for the ephemeral musical documentary All This and World War II.
In 1978, Valli sang the theme song for the film version of the stage play, Grease, a song written by Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees, which became a number 1 hit. He had two further chart successes the following year, "Save Me, Save Me" in November 1978, which entered the Billboard Easy Listening chart, and "Fancy Dancer" in January 1979, which entered the pop charts.
Valli suffered from otosclerosis in the 1970s, forcing him to "sing from memory" in the latter part of the decade. Surgery restored most of his hearing by 1980.
In 1992, a new Four Seasons album was released entitled Hope and Glory.
In October of 2007, Valli released Romancing the 60s, an album containing covers of his favorite songs from the 1960s, two of which he had previously recorded. Those songs were "Sunny" and "Any Day Now".
In October 2010, a duet version of "The Biggest Part of Me" by Frankie Valli and Juice Newton was released on Newton's album Duets: Friends & Memories.
Philanthropic activities
Valli has been a supporter of heritage-related causes, particularly the National Italian American Foundation (NIAF). In 2006, he received the NIAF Lifetime Achievement Award at the Foundation's Anniversary Gala. In 2008, NIAF presented a scholarship in his name to an Italian American music student during the Foundation's East Coast Gala.
Discography
Singles:
Main article: List of U.S. singles by Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons
Studio Albums
For albums recorded as part of The Four Seasons, see Discography of The Four Seasons
Many of Valli's solo recordings, recorded before 1975, were recorded with the participation of one or more of The 4 Seasons.
* 06/1967: The 4 Seasons Present frankie valli solo - Philips PHS 600-247
* 07/1968: Timeless - Philips PHS 600-274
* 02/1975: Closeup - Private Stock PS 2000
* 09/1975: Inside You - Motown M6-852S1 (five new tracks plus four previously released album and single tracks, remixed; of the nine tracks, "The Night", with The Four Seasons)
* 11/1975: Our Day Will Come - Private Stock PS 2006
* 09/1976: Valli - Private Stock PS 2017
* 11/1977: Lady Put the Light Out - Private Stock PS 7002
* 08/1978: Frankie Valli... Is the Word - Warner Bros/Curb BS 3233
* 11/1980: Heaven Above Me - MCA/Curb 5134
* 10/2007: Romancing The '60s - cherry entertainment/universalmotown B0009908-02
Compilations and Misc. Four Seasons Albums with Frankie Valli "Solo" Songs
* 04/1970: Half & Half - Philips PHS 600-341 (five tracks by Frankie Valli; five tracks by The 4 Seasons)
* 05/1972: Chameleon - MoWest MW108L (two tracks by Frankie Valli; seven tracks by The Four Seasons)
* 12/1975: Valli Gold - Private Stock PS 2001
* 04/1978: Frankie Valli Hits - Private Stock PS 7012
* 12/1979: Very Best Of Frankie Valli - MCA 3198
* 08/1980: Superstar Series Volume 4 - Motown M5-104V1 (five tracks by Frankie Valli; four tracks by The Four Seasons)
* xx/1988: Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons 25th Anniversary Collection - Rhino Records Inc RNRD 72998-2 (twelve tracks by Frankie Valli; forty-two tracks by either The Four Seasons or The Wonder Who?)
* xx/1990: Frankie Valli & The 4 Seasons volume 2 rarities - Rhino Records Inc R2 70924 (two tracks by Frankie Valli; sixteen tracks by The Four Seasons)
* xx/1994: FRANKIE VALLI SOLO TIMELESS 2LPs ON 1 CD + BONUS TRACKS - ACE Records Ltd CDCHD 538
* xx/1996: THE 4 SEASONS FRANKIE VALLI HALF & HALF PLUS 6 BONUS TRACKS - ACE Records Ltd CDCHD 635 (eight tracks by Frankie Valli; eight tracks by The Four Seasons)
* 07/1996: FRANKIE VALLI GREATEST HITS - Curb Records D2-77714
* 05/2001: IN SEASON THE FRANKIE VALLI & THE 4 SEASONS ANTHOLOGY - Rhino/Warner Special Products R2 74266 OPCD-5508 (fourteen tracks by Frankie Valli; thirty-seven tracks by either The Four Seasons or The Wonder Who?)
* 06/2007: ...Jersey Beat... The Music Of FRANKIE VALLI & THE 4 SEASONS - Rhino R2 74852 3 CDs + 1 DVD (thirteen tracks by Frankie Valli; sixty-three tracks by either The Four Seasons or The Wonder Who?) (DVD contains two solo performances by Frankie Valli and ten group performances by The Four Seasons)
* 04/2008: The Four Seasons Present Frankie Valli Solo - Timeless - collector's choice Music CCM-927
* 04/2008: Closeup - Valli - collector's choice Music CCM-928 (this CD contains a longer version of "Swearin' To God" than the original album release of 02/1975. This version clocks in at 10:35. Also, the tracks "Can't Get You Off My Mind" and "Easily" have been edited down from their original album lengths.)
* 04/2008: Our Day Will Come - Lady Put the Light Out - collector's choice Music CCM-929
* 04/2008: Frankie Valli Is the Word - Heaven Above Me - collector's choice Music CCM-930
* 05/2008: Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons: The Motown Years - Hip-O Select.com Motown A Universal Music Company B0010777-02 2 CDs (fourteen tracks by Frankie Valli; thirteen tracks by The Four Seasons)
Television appearances
Valli made several appearances on the HBO series The Sopranos, portraying New York mob captain Rusty Millio.
Valli also played a role in an episode of Miami Vice.
Valli once performed with Frankie Avalon, Dion, and Pat Boone on the "Cher" TV show.
Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons performed for an NBC television special, Frankie Valli: Tribute on Ice.
Valli performed "Grease" with the Commodores in 1980 on The Midnight Special.
Valli sang solo on an 8th season episode of Full House.
Frankie Valli voiced the role of Little David in "Kingdom Chums: Original Top Ten".
Broadway
John Lloyd Young won the 2006 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical, for his portrayal of Valli, in the musical Jersey Boys.
Date of birth
As with many other celebrities, Valli's birth year has been called into question. Valli never addressed the issue himself, until the 2007 posting at the Official Frankie Valli Site, sponsored by his current record label, Universal Records. Much of the previous official publicity surrounding his career had used 1937 as the birth year. It is hard to tell when and why this occurred, but inference can be made that by chopping a few years off his age, he would seem more commercially viable to a younger audience. Other sources, such as the Bear Family Records release, entitled 'The Four Lovers' (BCD 15424), as well as a 1965 "mug shot", available through The Smoking Gun, all identify his year of birth as 1934.
http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/uu312/edtombell/MY%20SHOWS/fvalli.jpg
http://i687.photobucket.com/albums/vv234/southerngaming/frankie-valli-328.jpg
Is he still on the circuit?
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: gibbo on 05/03/11 at 5:56 pm
I really enjoy both Lou Gramm and Frankie Valli. Gramm has possibly my favourite rock voice.... and Valli was exceptional with The Four Seasons. :)
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: CatwomanofV on 05/03/11 at 6:20 pm
I always thought that Frankie Valli wore his shorts just a bit too tight. ;) :D ;D ;D ;D
But, I do love his music-with or without the Four Seasons.
Cat
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 05/03/11 at 7:46 pm
Is he still on the circuit?
Yes He Is.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 05/03/11 at 7:51 pm
I also love Swearin To God. :)
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 05/04/11 at 3:48 am
British Person of the Day: Alice Liddell
Alice Pleasance Liddell (4 May 1852 – 16 November 1934), known for most of her adult life by her married name, Alice Hargreaves, inspired the children's classic Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, whose protagonist Alice was named after her.
Biography
Alice Liddell was the fourth child of Henry Liddell, Dean of Christ Church, Oxford, and his wife Lorina Hanna Liddell (née Reeve). She had two older brothers, Harry (born 1847) and Arthur (born 1850, died of scarlet fever in 1853), and an older sister Lorina (born 1849). She also had six younger siblings, including her sister Edith (born 1854) with whom she was very close.
At the time of her birth, Liddell's father was the Headmaster of Westminster School but was soon after appointed to the deanery of Christ Church, Oxford. The Liddell family moved to Oxford in 1856. Soon after this move, she met Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, who encountered the family while he was photographing the cathedral on 25 April 1856. He became a close friend of the Liddell family in subsequent years.
Liddell grew up primarily in the company of the two sisters nearest to her in age: Lorina, who was three years older, and Edith, who was two years younger. She and her family regularly spent holidays at their holiday home Penmorfa, which later became the Gogarth Abbey Hotel, on the West Shore of Llandudno in North Wales.
When Alice Liddell was a young woman, she set out on a grand tour of Europe with Lorina and Edith. One story has it that she became a romantic interest of Prince Leopold, the youngest son of Queen Victoria, during the four years he spent at Christ Church, but the evidence for this is sparse. It is true that years later, Leopold named his first child Alice, and acted as godfather to Alice's second son Leopold. (A recent biographer of Leopold suggests it is far more likely that Alice's sister Edith was the true recipient of Leopold's attention.) Edith died on 26 June 1876, possibly of measles or peritonitis (accounts differ), shortly before she was to be married to Aubrey Harcourt, a cricket player. At her funeral on 30 June 1876, Prince Leopold served as a pall-bearer.
Alice Liddell married Reginald Hargreaves, also a cricket player, on 15 September 1880, at the age of 28 in Westminster Abbey. They had three sons: Alan Knyveton Hargreaves and Leopold Reginald "Rex" Hargreaves (both were killed in action in World War I); and Caryl Liddell Hargreaves, who survived to have a daughter of his own. Liddell denied that the name 'Caryl' was in any way associated with Charles Dodgson's pseudonym. Reginald Hargreaves inherited a considerable fortune, and Alice became a noted society hostess.
After her husband's death, the cost of maintaining their home, Cuffnells, was such that she deemed it necessary to sell her copy of Alice's Adventures Under Ground. The manuscript fetched £15,400, nearly four times the reserve price given it by Sotheby's auction house. It later became the possession of Eldridge R. Johnson and was displayed at Columbia University on the centennial of Carroll's birth. (Alice was present, aged 80, and it was on this visit to America that she met Peter Llewelyn-Davies, one of the brothers who inspired J. M. Barrie's Peter Pan). Upon Johnson's death, the book was purchased by a consortium of American bibliophiles and presented to the British people "in recognition of Britain's courage in facing Hitler before America came into the war." The manuscript now resides in the British Library.
Late in life, she lived in and around Lyndhurst in the New Forest, After her death she was cremated and her ashes were buried in the graveyard of the church of St. Michael & All Angels, Lyndhurst (a memorial plaque, naming her "Mrs. Reginald Hargreaves" can be seen in the picture in the monograph).
Origin of Alice in Wonderland
On 4 July 1862, in a rowing boat travelling on the Isis from Folly Bridge, Oxford to Godstow for a picnic outing, 10-year-old Alice asked Charles Dodgson (who wrote under the pen name Lewis Carroll) to entertain her and her sisters, Edith (age 8) and Lorina (age 13), with a story. As the Reverend Robinson Duckworth rowed the boat, Dodgson regaled the girls with fantastic stories of a girl, named Alice, and her adventures after she fell into a rabbit-hole. The story was not unlike those Dodgson had spun for the sisters before, but this time Liddell asked Mr. Dodgson to write it down for her. He promised to do so but did not get around to the task for some months. He eventually presented her with the manuscript of Alice's Adventures Under Ground in November 1864.
In the meantime, Dodgson had decided to rewrite the story as a possible commercial venture. Probably with a view to canvassing his opinion, Dodgson sent the manuscript of Under Ground to a friend, the author George MacDonald, in the spring of 1863. The MacDonald children read the story and loved it, and this response probably persuaded Dodgson to seek a publisher. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, with illustrations by John Tenniel, was published in 1865, under the name Lewis Carroll. A second book about the character Alice, Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There, followed in 1871. In 1886, a facsimile of Alice's Adventures Under Ground, the original manuscript that Dodgson had given Liddell, was published.
Relationship with Lewis Carroll
The relationship between Liddell and Dodgson has been the source of much controversy. Many biographers have supposed that Dodgson was romantically or sexually attached to her as a child, though there has never been any direct proof for this and more benign accounts assume merely a platonic fondness. Karoline Leach has claimed this supposition is part of what she terms the "Carroll Myth" and thus wildly distorted. The evidence for any given interpretation is small, and many authors writing on the topic have tended to indulge in a great deal of speculation.
Dodgson met the Liddell family in 1855. He first befriended Harry, the older brother, and later took both Harry and Ina on several boating trips and picnics to the scenic areas around Oxford. Later, when Harry went to school, Alice and her younger sister Edith joined the party. Dodgson entertained the children by telling them fantastic stories to while away the time. He also used them as subjects for his hobby, photography. It has often been stated that Alice was clearly his favorite subject in these years, but there is very little evidence to suggest that this is so. Dodgson's diaries from 18 April 1858 to 8 May 1862 are missing.
"Cut pages in diary"
The relationship between the Liddells and Dodgson suffered a sudden break in June 1863. There was no record of why the rift occurred, since the Liddells never openly spoke of it, and the single page in Dodgson's diary recording 27–29 June 1863 (which seems to cover the period in which it began) was missing. Until recently, the only source for what happened on that day had been speculation, and generally centered on the idea that Alice Liddell was, somehow, the cause of the break. It was long suspected that her mother disapproved of Dodgson's interest in her, seeing him as an unfit companion for an 11-year-old girl.
In 1996, Karoline Leach found what became known as the "Cut pages in diary" document — a note allegedly written by Charles Dodgson's niece, Violet Dodgson, summarizing the missing page from 27–29 June 1863, apparently written before she (or her sister Menella) removed the page. The note reads:
"L.C. learns from Mrs. Liddell that he is supposed to be using the children as a means of paying court to the governess — he is also supposed soon to be courting Ina". (Leach, 1999)
This might imply that the break between Dodgson and the Liddell family was caused by concern over alleged gossip linking Dodgson to the family governess and to "Ina" (Alice's older sister, Lorina).
It is uncertain who wrote the note. Leach has said that the handwriting on the front of the document most closely resembles that of either Menella or Violet Dodgson, Dodgson's nieces. However, Morton N. Cohen says in an article published in the Times Literary Supplement in 2003 that in the 1960s, Dodgson's great-nephew Philip Dodgson Jacques told him that Jacques had written the note himself based on conversations he remembered with Dodgson's nieces. Cohen's article offered no evidence to support this, however, and known samples of Jacques' handwriting do not seem to resemble the writing of the note.
After this incident, Dodgson avoided the Liddell home for six months but eventually returned for a visit in December 1863. However, the former closeness does not seem to have been re-established, and the friendship gradually faded away, possibly because Dodgson was in opposition to Dean Liddell over college politics. Other explanations involving romantic entanglements and broken hearts have also been put forward, but while there is some evidence to suggest these as possibilities, nothing definite is known. John Ruskin states in his autobiography Praeterita that after the rift between Dodgson and the Liddells, the sisters pursued a similar relationship with him.
Comparison with fictional Alice
The extent to which Dodgson's Alice may be identified with Liddell is controversial. The two Alices are clearly not identical, and though it was long assumed that the fictional Alice was based very heavily on Liddell, recent research has contradicted this assumption. Dodgson himself claimed in later years that his Alice was entirely imaginary and not based upon any real child at all.
There was a rumour that Dodgson sent Tenniel a photo of one of his other child-friends, Mary Hilton Badcock, suggesting that he used her as a model, but attempts to find documentary support for this theory have proved fruitless. Dodgson's own drawings of the character in the original manuscript of Alice's Adventures under Ground show little resemblance to Liddell. Biographer Anne Clark suggests that Dodgson might have used Edith Liddell as a model for his drawings.
There are at least three direct links to Liddell in the two books. First, he set them on 4 May (Liddell's birthday) and 4 November (her "half-birthday"), and in Through the Looking-Glass the fictional Alice declares that her age is "seven and a half exactly", the same as Liddell on that date. Second, he dedicated them "to Alice Pleasance Liddell". Third, there is an acrostic poem at the end of Through the Looking-Glass. Reading downward, taking the first letter of each line, spells out Liddell's full name. The poem has no title in Through the Looking-Glass, but is usually referred to by its first line, "A Boat Beneath a Sunny Sky".
A boat beneath a sunny sky,
Lingering onward dreamily
In an evening of July--
Children three that nestle near,
Eager eye and willing ear,
Pleased a simple tale to hear--
Long has paled that sunny sky:
Echoes fade and memories die.
Autumn frosts have slain July.
Still she haunts me, phantomwise,
Alice moving under skies
Never seen by waking eyes.
Children yet, the tale to hear,
Eager eye and willing ear,
Lovingly shall nestle near.
In a Wonderland they lie,
Dreaming as the days go by,
Dreaming as the summers die:
Ever drifting down the stream--
Lingering in the golden gleam--
Life, what is it but a dream?
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8b/Alice_Liddell.jpg/200px-Alice_Liddell.jpg
Alice Liddell, age 7, photographed by Charles Dodgson (Lewis Carroll) in 1860.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/89/Alice_hargreaves.gif/150px-Alice_hargreaves.gif
Alice Hargreaves in old age
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 05/04/11 at 6:31 am
British Person of the Day: Alice Liddell
Alice Pleasance Liddell (4 May 1852 – 16 November 1934), known for most of her adult life by her married name, Alice Hargreaves, inspired the children's classic Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, whose protagonist Alice was named after her.
Biography
Alice Liddell was the fourth child of Henry Liddell, Dean of Christ Church, Oxford, and his wife Lorina Hanna Liddell (née Reeve). She had two older brothers, Harry (born 1847) and Arthur (born 1850, died of scarlet fever in 1853), and an older sister Lorina (born 1849). She also had six younger siblings, including her sister Edith (born 1854) with whom she was very close.
At the time of her birth, Liddell's father was the Headmaster of Westminster School but was soon after appointed to the deanery of Christ Church, Oxford. The Liddell family moved to Oxford in 1856. Soon after this move, she met Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, who encountered the family while he was photographing the cathedral on 25 April 1856. He became a close friend of the Liddell family in subsequent years.
Liddell grew up primarily in the company of the two sisters nearest to her in age: Lorina, who was three years older, and Edith, who was two years younger. She and her family regularly spent holidays at their holiday home Penmorfa, which later became the Gogarth Abbey Hotel, on the West Shore of Llandudno in North Wales.
When Alice Liddell was a young woman, she set out on a grand tour of Europe with Lorina and Edith. One story has it that she became a romantic interest of Prince Leopold, the youngest son of Queen Victoria, during the four years he spent at Christ Church, but the evidence for this is sparse. It is true that years later, Leopold named his first child Alice, and acted as godfather to Alice's second son Leopold. (A recent biographer of Leopold suggests it is far more likely that Alice's sister Edith was the true recipient of Leopold's attention.) Edith died on 26 June 1876, possibly of measles or peritonitis (accounts differ), shortly before she was to be married to Aubrey Harcourt, a cricket player. At her funeral on 30 June 1876, Prince Leopold served as a pall-bearer.
Alice Liddell married Reginald Hargreaves, also a cricket player, on 15 September 1880, at the age of 28 in Westminster Abbey. They had three sons: Alan Knyveton Hargreaves and Leopold Reginald "Rex" Hargreaves (both were killed in action in World War I); and Caryl Liddell Hargreaves, who survived to have a daughter of his own. Liddell denied that the name 'Caryl' was in any way associated with Charles Dodgson's pseudonym. Reginald Hargreaves inherited a considerable fortune, and Alice became a noted society hostess.
After her husband's death, the cost of maintaining their home, Cuffnells, was such that she deemed it necessary to sell her copy of Alice's Adventures Under Ground. The manuscript fetched £15,400, nearly four times the reserve price given it by Sotheby's auction house. It later became the possession of Eldridge R. Johnson and was displayed at Columbia University on the centennial of Carroll's birth. (Alice was present, aged 80, and it was on this visit to America that she met Peter Llewelyn-Davies, one of the brothers who inspired J. M. Barrie's Peter Pan). Upon Johnson's death, the book was purchased by a consortium of American bibliophiles and presented to the British people "in recognition of Britain's courage in facing Hitler before America came into the war." The manuscript now resides in the British Library.
Late in life, she lived in and around Lyndhurst in the New Forest, After her death she was cremated and her ashes were buried in the graveyard of the church of St. Michael & All Angels, Lyndhurst (a memorial plaque, naming her "Mrs. Reginald Hargreaves" can be seen in the picture in the monograph).
Origin of Alice in Wonderland
On 4 July 1862, in a rowing boat travelling on the Isis from Folly Bridge, Oxford to Godstow for a picnic outing, 10-year-old Alice asked Charles Dodgson (who wrote under the pen name Lewis Carroll) to entertain her and her sisters, Edith (age 8) and Lorina (age 13), with a story. As the Reverend Robinson Duckworth rowed the boat, Dodgson regaled the girls with fantastic stories of a girl, named Alice, and her adventures after she fell into a rabbit-hole. The story was not unlike those Dodgson had spun for the sisters before, but this time Liddell asked Mr. Dodgson to write it down for her. He promised to do so but did not get around to the task for some months. He eventually presented her with the manuscript of Alice's Adventures Under Ground in November 1864.
In the meantime, Dodgson had decided to rewrite the story as a possible commercial venture. Probably with a view to canvassing his opinion, Dodgson sent the manuscript of Under Ground to a friend, the author George MacDonald, in the spring of 1863. The MacDonald children read the story and loved it, and this response probably persuaded Dodgson to seek a publisher. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, with illustrations by John Tenniel, was published in 1865, under the name Lewis Carroll. A second book about the character Alice, Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There, followed in 1871. In 1886, a facsimile of Alice's Adventures Under Ground, the original manuscript that Dodgson had given Liddell, was published.
Relationship with Lewis Carroll
The relationship between Liddell and Dodgson has been the source of much controversy. Many biographers have supposed that Dodgson was romantically or sexually attached to her as a child, though there has never been any direct proof for this and more benign accounts assume merely a platonic fondness. Karoline Leach has claimed this supposition is part of what she terms the "Carroll Myth" and thus wildly distorted. The evidence for any given interpretation is small, and many authors writing on the topic have tended to indulge in a great deal of speculation.
Dodgson met the Liddell family in 1855. He first befriended Harry, the older brother, and later took both Harry and Ina on several boating trips and picnics to the scenic areas around Oxford. Later, when Harry went to school, Alice and her younger sister Edith joined the party. Dodgson entertained the children by telling them fantastic stories to while away the time. He also used them as subjects for his hobby, photography. It has often been stated that Alice was clearly his favorite subject in these years, but there is very little evidence to suggest that this is so. Dodgson's diaries from 18 April 1858 to 8 May 1862 are missing.
"Cut pages in diary"
The relationship between the Liddells and Dodgson suffered a sudden break in June 1863. There was no record of why the rift occurred, since the Liddells never openly spoke of it, and the single page in Dodgson's diary recording 27–29 June 1863 (which seems to cover the period in which it began) was missing. Until recently, the only source for what happened on that day had been speculation, and generally centered on the idea that Alice Liddell was, somehow, the cause of the break. It was long suspected that her mother disapproved of Dodgson's interest in her, seeing him as an unfit companion for an 11-year-old girl.
In 1996, Karoline Leach found what became known as the "Cut pages in diary" document — a note allegedly written by Charles Dodgson's niece, Violet Dodgson, summarizing the missing page from 27–29 June 1863, apparently written before she (or her sister Menella) removed the page. The note reads:
"L.C. learns from Mrs. Liddell that he is supposed to be using the children as a means of paying court to the governess — he is also supposed soon to be courting Ina". (Leach, 1999)
This might imply that the break between Dodgson and the Liddell family was caused by concern over alleged gossip linking Dodgson to the family governess and to "Ina" (Alice's older sister, Lorina).
It is uncertain who wrote the note. Leach has said that the handwriting on the front of the document most closely resembles that of either Menella or Violet Dodgson, Dodgson's nieces. However, Morton N. Cohen says in an article published in the Times Literary Supplement in 2003 that in the 1960s, Dodgson's great-nephew Philip Dodgson Jacques told him that Jacques had written the note himself based on conversations he remembered with Dodgson's nieces. Cohen's article offered no evidence to support this, however, and known samples of Jacques' handwriting do not seem to resemble the writing of the note.
After this incident, Dodgson avoided the Liddell home for six months but eventually returned for a visit in December 1863. However, the former closeness does not seem to have been re-established, and the friendship gradually faded away, possibly because Dodgson was in opposition to Dean Liddell over college politics. Other explanations involving romantic entanglements and broken hearts have also been put forward, but while there is some evidence to suggest these as possibilities, nothing definite is known. John Ruskin states in his autobiography Praeterita that after the rift between Dodgson and the Liddells, the sisters pursued a similar relationship with him.
Comparison with fictional Alice
The extent to which Dodgson's Alice may be identified with Liddell is controversial. The two Alices are clearly not identical, and though it was long assumed that the fictional Alice was based very heavily on Liddell, recent research has contradicted this assumption. Dodgson himself claimed in later years that his Alice was entirely imaginary and not based upon any real child at all.
There was a rumour that Dodgson sent Tenniel a photo of one of his other child-friends, Mary Hilton Badcock, suggesting that he used her as a model, but attempts to find documentary support for this theory have proved fruitless. Dodgson's own drawings of the character in the original manuscript of Alice's Adventures under Ground show little resemblance to Liddell. Biographer Anne Clark suggests that Dodgson might have used Edith Liddell as a model for his drawings.
There are at least three direct links to Liddell in the two books. First, he set them on 4 May (Liddell's birthday) and 4 November (her "half-birthday"), and in Through the Looking-Glass the fictional Alice declares that her age is "seven and a half exactly", the same as Liddell on that date. Second, he dedicated them "to Alice Pleasance Liddell". Third, there is an acrostic poem at the end of Through the Looking-Glass. Reading downward, taking the first letter of each line, spells out Liddell's full name. The poem has no title in Through the Looking-Glass, but is usually referred to by its first line, "A Boat Beneath a Sunny Sky".
A boat beneath a sunny sky,
Lingering onward dreamily
In an evening of July--
Children three that nestle near,
Eager eye and willing ear,
Pleased a simple tale to hear--
Long has paled that sunny sky:
Echoes fade and memories die.
Autumn frosts have slain July.
Still she haunts me, phantomwise,
Alice moving under skies
Never seen by waking eyes.
Children yet, the tale to hear,
Eager eye and willing ear,
Lovingly shall nestle near.
In a Wonderland they lie,
Dreaming as the days go by,
Dreaming as the summers die:
Ever drifting down the stream--
Lingering in the golden gleam--
Life, what is it but a dream?
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8b/Alice_Liddell.jpg/200px-Alice_Liddell.jpg
Alice Liddell, age 7, photographed by Charles Dodgson (Lewis Carroll) in 1860.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/89/Alice_hargreaves.gif/150px-Alice_hargreaves.gif
Alice Hargreaves in old age
Thanks Phil, I was just reading about her. :)
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 05/04/11 at 6:34 am
Thanks Phil, I was just reading about her. :)
Many thanks
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 05/04/11 at 6:37 am
The person of the day...Will Arnett
William Emerson "Will" Arnett (pronounced /ɑrˈnɛt/; born May 4, 1970) is a Canadian actor and comedian best known for roles as George Oscar "G.O.B." Bluth II on the Fox comedy Arrested Development and as Devon Banks on the NBC comedy 30 Rock. Since his success on Arrested Development, Arnett has landed major film roles. He recently played supporting roles in the comedy films Semi-Pro, Blades of Glory, and Hot Rod. He starred in 2006's Let's Go to Prison and 2007's The Brothers Solomon. Arnett has also done work as a voiceover artist for commercials, films, television programs, and video games.
Arnett was born in Toronto, the son of Edith Alexandra (née Palk) and Emerson James Arnett, who was a corporate lawyer and brewer, among other occupations.
In Toronto, he attended Francophone schools. He speaks French, but has stated that he is not currently fluent in the language. Arnett briefly attended Lakefield College School in Lakefield, Ontario, but was expelled as a troublemaker. He then attended the Subway Academy II which allowed him to take theatre classes at the Tarragon Theatre, and eventually graduated from Leaside High School.
He attended Concordia University in Montreal for a semester, but dropped out. When he was a teenager, Arnett's mother encouraged him to pursue an acting career and he began to audition for commercials in Toronto. He decided that he really enjoyed acting and that it was something that he wanted to do with his life. Aged 20, in 1990, Arnett moved to New York City to study acting at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute. He began appearing in plays in New York and his first acting role was in the Felicity Huffman independent film Erie, which was filmed on the Erie Canal.
Career
Early struggles
In February 1996, Arnett began acting in television pilots. His first was a pilot with Kevin Pollak and his wife, Lucy Webb, for CBS, that was not picked up. The pilot, The Underworld, revolved around "The head of an organized crime family hounds an ex-con who only wants to go straight." After the show was not picked up, he appeared in the movie Southie, which was written by Arnett's friend Dave McLaughlin. In 1999, Arnett was cast in another pilot for The Mike O'Malley Show on NBC. Arnett was a regular on the series, playing the protagonist's friend Jimmy. The show was picked up, but it was canceled after only two episodes. Arnett has referred to 2000, the year after that show was cancelled, as "the darkest year of life" and he admits that he "didn't get a lot of work" and "drank those years away".
Arnett considers the summer of 2000 to have been a turning point for him because a friend helped pull him out of his battle with alcoholism and he began to get his career back on track.
In 2001, Arnett was cast in another television pilot, Loomis, for CBS. The pilot starred Cheri Oteri as a local news reporter, and Arnett played her slacker brother. The pilot was not picked up. In 2002, Arnett was cast in a fourth television pilot. This pilot was for the CBS sitcom Still Standing. This time the show was picked up and ran for several seasons, but his character was cut from the series after the pilot. Arnett became so frustrated, after his fourth failed pilot, that he "swore off pilots" altogether, until his agent persuaded him to audition for the pilot for Arrested Development.
Career breakthrough
Arnett as George Oscar "Gob" Bluth II in Arrested Development
In 2003, Will Arnett found mainstream success in television when he was cast in the role of George Oscar "Gob" Bluth II in the Fox comedy series Arrested Development. Arnett's character was one of the show's most popular, and he was nominated for an Emmy in 2006 for his portrayal. His character was also listed at #33 on TV's Top 50 Catch Phrases with the line, "I've made a huge mistake." The show was cancelled after three seasons due to low ratings, despite its critical acclaim and cult following. Arnett has said that his favorite episodes of the show were "Pier Pressure" and "Afternoon Delight".
Arnett's exposure on Arrested Development led to a number of larger roles in feature films. Although he had previously worked largely as a dramatic actor, his roles since Arrested Development have been mostly comedic, often playing smug antagonists. Despite the fact that Arnett has emerged as a comic actor, Arnett "never considered himself a comic" and considers himself an "actor first." Before Arrested Development, he did play the dramatic role of FBI agent Mike Waldrup on several episodes of The Sopranos. Arnett's first major starring role was in Let's Go to Prison, a comedy film directed by Bob Odenkirk. The film was made on a small budget of 4 million dollars. It made over $4 million at the box office and over $13 million in rentals. One of Arnett's recent films was Blades of Glory, an ice-skating comedy in which Arnett and his wife, Amy Poehler, played supporting roles to Will Ferrell. In the film, they played a brother/sister skating duo with an unhealthily intimate relationship. The film was number one at the US box office during its first two weeks, and grossed approximately $118 million domestically during its theatrical run. and $36 million on home video.
Arnett has made guest appearances on King of the Hill and 30 Rock. On 30 Rock, he played Devon Banks, a scheming network executive who plays a rival to Alec Baldwin's character Jack Donaghy. His role as Devon Banks earned him an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor In A Comedy Series. Arnett also played supporting roles in the films Spring Breakdown, Hot Rod, The Comebacks, and On Broadway. In On Broadway, he once again worked with director Dave McLaughlin who is a close friend of Arnett's and gave him one of his first movie roles in Southie.
Arnett's next starring role was in the comedy The Brothers Solomon, in which he again teamed with director Bob Odenkirk and starred opposite Saturday Night Live's Will Forte. He recently appeared in a major supporting role in the basketball comedy Semi-Pro, his second film with Ferrell. He plays Lou Redwood, the commentator of the team, who is "a former player, a bit of a womanizer, and a boozer".
Arnett was signed on for a supporting role in Ye Olde Times, along with Jack Black, but the project has fallen through. He has signed on to new projects in which he will play starring roles, including Jeff the Demon for New Line Cinema, in which he will play a demon who is summoned by a pair of high school losers. He is also signed on to the lead role in The Ambassador for DreamWorks and Paramount Pictures, in which he will play "a former U.S. vice president's privileged son, who is assigned an ambassadorship in Europe, where he quickly becomes the quintessential ugly American." Arnett has signed on for the lead in Space Invader for Fox Atomic, which will center on a love triangle set on a space station. Arnett is also attached to lead roles in Dad Can't Lose, Get 'Em Wet, and Most Likely to Succeed. Arnett was originally attached to play the lead role of David Miller in the film We're the Millers, but had to pass on the project due to "scheduling reasons" and the part went to Steve Buscemi.
On November 17, 2009, it was announced that Will Arnett would try to win over real-life wife Amy Poehler in a guest spot on Parks and Recreation. Arnett played Chris, an MRI technologist and possible love interest for Poehler's Leslie Knope. Justin Theroux appeared in the same episode as yet another suitor. Arnett signed on for one episode, and the episode entitled "The Set Up" aired January 14, 2010.
In 2010, Arnett and former Arrested Development co-star Jason Bateman created DumbDumb Productions, a production company focusing on digital content. Their first video was "Prom Date," the first in a series of "Dirty shorts" for Orbit (gum).
As of 2010, Arnett was starring in Running Wilde, a comedy where he plays a spoiled, rich man opposite Keri Russell, the daughter of his father's former housekeeper, as well as The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret, created by and starring Arrested Development castmate David Cross. Running Wilde was recently cancelled.
On March 23, 2011, it was announced that Arnett would be appearing in the final episode of season 7 of The Office.
Voice work
Arnett has a distinctive gravelly voice and has done voice-over work for CBS TV promos, film trailers and numerous advertisements, including Lamisil medication. Perhaps most recognizable is Arnett's voice saying, "It's not more than you need, just more than you're used to" in ads for GMC trucks.
Arnett has also lent his voice to a number of television shows. In 2005, he guest starred in Nickelodeon's hit series 'Danny Phantom' as Ghostwriter. In 2006, Arnett voiced the character Duncan Schiesst for the Comedy Central animated program Freak Show, which was created by and also stars the voice of his former Arrested Development co-star, David Cross. Recently, Arnett took the role of announcer for the faux trailer "Don't" in the movie Grindhouse. He also voiced the character "Vlad" from the CGI film Horton Hears a Who!. He voiced 'The Missing Link' in Dreamworks' film Monsters vs. Aliens. In 2007, he voiced Horst the German sous-chef, in the Disney Pixar film Ratatouille.
Arnett was to have been the voice of the K.I.T.T. in Universal's Knight Rider, a sequel to the popular 1980s television series. The production featured a Ford Mustang as K.I.T.T. Since Arnett had a previous long standing relationship with competitor automaker General Motors as the voice for GMC Trucks commercials, GM asked Arnett to pull out of the project. Arnett opted to withdraw from the project and he was replaced by Val Kilmer.
In 2009, Arnett became a regular voice cast in the Fox comedy series, Sit Down, Shut Up. He voiced Ennis Hofftard, a bodybuilder who teaches English and always attempts to chase women. The series premiered on April 19, 2009 but was eventually cancelled after several months due to poor ratings. It aired its last episode on free-to-air television on November 21, 2009. Jason Bateman, Kristin Chenoweth, Will Forte, Tom Kenny, Nick Kroll, Cheri Oteri, Kenan Thompson and Henry Winkler were the other main cast members.
Personal life
Arnett has two elder sisters and a younger brother. His father was a corporate lawyer and became the president and CEO of Molson Breweries in 1997, until he stepped down in 2000. His father, a graduate of Harvard University, previously worked as a director for the company.
In 1994, Arnett married actress Penelope Ann Miller, and they divorced in 1995. Arnett dated actress Missy Yager, with whom he lived for four years. They starred on The Mike O'Malley Show together and broke up around the time the show began.
Arnett began dating comic actress Amy Poehler in 2000; Arnett moved to New York City in 2001 when she became a featured player on NBC's Saturday Night Live. On August 29, 2003, Arnett and Poehler married. Poehler appeared alongside Arnett in four episodes of Arrested Development in 2004 and 2005. Arnett and Poehler starred alongside each other in the films Blades of Glory, Horton Hears a Who!, On Broadway, Spring Breakdown, and Monsters vs. Aliens. On October 25, 2008, Poehler gave birth to a son, Archibald William Emerson Arnett, in New York City. On August 6, 2010, Poehler gave birth to son Abel James Arnett. Arnett and Poehler have two dogs, Puzzle and Suki.
Arnett lists Steve Martin and Chevy Chase as his two biggest comic influences. Arnett grew up watching hockey in Canada, and is an avid follower of the Toronto Maple Leafs hockey team.
Filmography
Film
Year Title Role Notes
1995 Erie Role Unknown
1996 Close Up Dave
Ed's Next Move Weather Video Guy
1998 The Broken Giant Ezra Caton
Weekend Getaway Chuck short film
1999 Southie Whitey
The Waiting Game Lenny
2000 The Acting Class Will Bennett
2001 Series 7: The Contenders Narrator
2005 Monster-in-Law Kit
2006 Ice Age: The Meltdown Lone Gunslinger Vulture voice only
RV Todd Mallory
The Great New Wonderful Danny
Let's Go to Prison Nelson Biederman IV
2007 Blades of Glory Stranz Van Waldenberg
Grindhouse Announcer voice only, segment: "Don't"
On Broadway Tom
Ratatouille Horst voice only
Hot Rod Jonathan
Wristcutters: A Love Story Messiah
The Brothers Solomon John Solomon
The Comebacks Mailman
2008 Semi-Pro Lou Redwood
Horton Hears a Who! Vlad Vladikoff voice only
The Rocker Lex
2009 Monsters vs. Aliens The Missing Link voice only
Spring Breakdown Ted direct-to-video
G-Force Kip Killian
Brief Interviews with Hideous Men Subject #11
2010 When in Rome Antonio
Jonah Hex Lieutenant Grass
Despicable Me Mr. Perkins (voice only)
2011 Bunnicula Miles Tanner
Your Right Revisited Himself
Television
Year(s) Title Role Notes
1997 The Underworld (Role Unknown) Series regular, failed pilot
1999 Sex and the City Jack Guest star, episode: "La Douleur Exquise!"
The Mike O'Malley Show Jimmy Series regular
2000 Third Watch Kenny Guest star, episode: "Spring Forward, Fall Back"
2001 Loomis (Role Unknown) Series regular, failed pilot
Boston Public Hand Salesman Guest star, episode: "Chapter Twenty-nine"
2002 Still Standing (Role Unknown) Appeared in the original pilot and was intended to be a series regular, but his role was cut out of the pilot and he did not appear in later episodes
Yes, Dear Bobby Guest star, episode: "Johnny Ampleseed"
The Sopranos Agent Mike Waldrup Guest star, episodes: "For All Debts Public and Private", "No Show"
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Tony Damon Guest star, episode: "Angels"
2003 Undefeated Scott Green's assistant Small role, television movie
2003–2006 Arrested Development George Oscar "G.O.B." Bluth II Series regular
2004 Will & Grace Artemis Johnson Guest star, episode: "Back Up Dancer"
2005 Odd Job Jack Tiberius McKorkindale Guest star, voice only, episodes: "The Biggest Bang", "Close Encounters of the Uncomfortable Kind"
Danny Phantom Ghost Writer Guest star, voice only, episode: "The Fright Before Christmas"
2006 All-Star American Destiny Trek TJ Cooter Series regular, failed pilot, voice only
Freak Show Duncan Schiesst/Various Series regular, voice only
2007 King of the Hill Portis Guest star, voice only, episode: "Hank Gets Dusted"
2007–present 30 Rock Devon Banks Guest star, episodes: "Fireworks", "Jack Gets In the Game", "Succession", "Do Over", "Into the Crevasse", "Dealbreakers Talk Show #0001", "Plan B"
2008 Sesame Street Max the Magician Guest star, episode: "Max the Magician"
2009 Sit Down, Shut Up Ennis Hofftard Series regular, voice only
Delocated TV Announcer Guest star, episode: "Good Buds"
The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret Brent Wilts
Eva Adams Adam Evanston Series regular, failed pilot
2010 Parks and Recreation Chris Guest star, episode: "The Set Up"
2010–2011 Running Wilde Steve Wilde Series regular, title character
2011 The Office Fred Henry Guest star, episode: "Search Committee"
Video games
Year(s) Title Role
2009 Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard Matt Hazard
Monsters vs. Aliens The Missing Link
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Additional voices
Awards
Year For Award Category Won Other notes
2005 Arrested Development Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series No Shared with Jason Bateman, Michael Cera, David Cross, Portia de Rossi, Tony Hale, Alia Shawkat, Jeffrey Tambor, and Jessica Walter
2006 Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series No Shared with Jason Bateman, Michael Cera, David Cross, Portia de Rossi, Tony Hale, Alia Shawkat, Jeffrey Tambor, and Jessica Walter
Emmy Awards Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series No
2008 30 Rock Emmy Awards Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series No
2010 Emmy Awards Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series No
Honors
New York magazine named Will Arnett and wife Amy Poehler "New Yorkers of the Year" for 2005 during their New York Magazine Culture Awards.
In April 2007, during a panel hosted by The Paley Center for Media, talk show Conan O'Brien and his writing staff named Will Arnett as one of their three all-time favorite guests, sharing the honor with Norm Macdonald and Harland Williams. Also in April 2007, Entertainment Weekly named Will Arnett a Future King of Comedy." In May of 2007, Arnett ranked #9 on Best Week Ever's "Top 15 Sexiest Nerd Boys" poll. In July 2007, Premiere magazine named Arnett one of "The 20 Hottest New Faces in Comedy."
http://i763.photobucket.com/albums/xx277/100tuckman/Will_Arnett.jpg
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b4/katie__pillar/newvoiceofkitt.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 05/05/11 at 6:18 am
The person of the day...John Rhys-Davies
John Rhys-Davies (born 5 May 1944) is a Welsh actor and vocal artist. He is perhaps best known for playing the charismatic Arab excavator Sallah in the Indiana Jones films and the dwarf Gimli in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, in which he also voiced the ent, Treebeard. He also played Agent Michael Malone in the 1993 remake of the 1950s television series The Untouchables, Professor Maximillian Arturo in Sliders, King Richard I in Robin of Sherwood, General Leonid Pushkin in the James Bond film The Living Daylights, and Macro in I, Claudius. Additionally, he provided the voices of Cassim in Disney's Aladdin and the King of Thieves, Man Ray in SpongeBob SquarePants, and Tobias in the computer game Freelancer. He is also the narrator for the TV show Wildboyz.
Rhys-Davies was born in Ammanford, Wales, the son of Welsh parents Mary Margaretta Phyllis Jones, a nurse, and Rhys Davies, a mechanical engineer and Colonial Officer. He spent much of his childhood in his mother's home town of Ammanford, although he was also brought up in Tanganyika. He was educated at Truro School and at the University of East Anglia where he was one of the first 87 students admitted, and where he founded the Dramatic Society. After teaching at Watton County Secondary School in Norfolk he won a place at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.
Career
Although appearing sporadically on UK television in the early 1970s (for instance, as gangster Laughing Spam Fritter opposite Adam Faith in Budgie), Rhys-Davies first gained widespread popularity for his performance as Praetorian officer Naevius Sutorius Macro in I, Claudius. He then began to appear more frequently, and not just in the UK, with roles as a Portuguese navigator Rodrigues in the 1980 television miniseries Shogun, based on the novel by James Clavell, and in the Indiana Jones movies. In 1989, Rhys-Davies also starred in another James Clavell adaption, Noble House (TV miniseries), set in Hong Kong, in which he plays Ian Dunross' corporate enemy, Quillian Gornt. He has since appeared in numerous television shows and miniseries, including Agent Michael Malone in the 1993 remake of the 1950s television series The Untouchables as well as a leading role in the television series Sliders as Professor Maximillian Arturo from 1995 to 1997. He also appeared in Reilly, Ace of Spies in 1983. He also made several appearances on Star Trek: Voyager as a holodeck version of Leonardo da Vinci. He also starred as an ally of James Bond in The Living Daylights and appeared in the movie One Night with the King. Davies has played the character Porthos in two separate projects; a two-part episode of The Secret Adventures of Jules Verne and the Hallmark Channel movie La Femme Musketeer. He has also appeared in a number of Sci Fi Channel original movies. In 2004, he starred in The Privileged Planet, a documentary that makes the case for Intelligent Design.
The Lord of the Rings trilogy
Rhys-Davies as Gimli in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
He is also known for his popular portrayal of the dwarf Gimli in The Lord of the Rings trilogy. The cinematography of the films was aided in that Rhys-Davies is tall—6' 1", compared to the actors playing hobbits at around 5' 6". Therefore, whereas his character was supposed to be short, he was properly in proportion compared to the hobbit actors. Had he been of more similar height, shots of the entire fellowship would have required three camera passes rather than two. Rhys-Davies is the only one of the nine Fellowship of the Ring actors who did not receive a tattoo of the word "nine" written in the Tengwar script. The other members of the cast (Sean Astin, Sean Bean, Billy Boyd, Ian McKellen, Dominic Monaghan, Orlando Bloom, Viggo Mortensen, and Elijah Wood) got the same tattoo. Rhys-Davies' stunt double (Brett Beattie) got the tattoo instead as Rhys-Davies was disinclined to get one himself.
Rhys-Davies suffered severe allergic reactions to the prosthetics used during filming, with his eyes sometimes swelling shut. When an interviewer asked him whether he would consider returning to the role for the film version of The Hobbit, he said, "I've already been asked and to be honest with you, I wouldn't. I have already completely ruled it out. There's a sentimental part of me that would love to be involved again. Really I am not sure my face can take that sort of punishment any more." He added that this time around "They've got a different set of problems... because you've got 13 dwarves, a whole band of them... You're trying to represent a whole race... You're trying to do for dwarves what 'The Lord of the Rings' did for hobbits".
Voice work
In addition to voicing the Ent Treebeard in Lord of the Rings, Rhys-Davies has also lent his distinctive deep, Welsh voice to many video games and animated television series, including playing the role of Hades in Justice League and numerous times in Gargoyles (1994–1996), as the character Macbeth. He appears in the full motion video cut scenes of computer games including Ripper (as Vigo Haman) (1996), Dune 2000 (as Noree Moneo) (1998), and the Wing Commander series (as James "Paladin" Taggart). He also lent his vocal talents to the games Freelancer (as Winston Tobias) and Lords of Everquest (both in 2003) and the game Quest for Glory IV: Shadows of Darkness, which was released with his narration on a CD-ROM version in 1995. He also made a voice role on Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance as the character Jherek, and narrated a documentary called The Glory of Macedonia.
John Rhys-Davies distinctive voice can also be heard on the 2009 documentary Reclaiming The Blade. In the narration, Rhys-Davies explores swords and fight choreography on film, a topic very familiar to him from his experiences in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, where his character Gimli wielded an axe in many scenes.
In 2004, he was the unknowing subject of an internet prank that spread false rumours in several mainstream media sources that he was scheduled to play the role of General Grievous in Star Wars Episode III.
Rhys-Davies is the Narrator of "The Truth & Life Dramatized audio New Testament Bible," a 22-hour, celebrity-voiced, fully-dramatized audio New Testament which uses the RSV-CE translation.
Political views
Rhys-Davies in an autograph session in Sweden
Rhys-Davies holds politically conservative views. As a university student in the 1960s, he had been a radical leftist, but changed his views when he went to heckle a young local member of parliament, Margaret Thatcher. Rhys-Davies says that "she shot down the first two hecklers in such brilliant fashion that I decided I ought for once to shut up and listen".
In 2004, in a magazine interview, Rhys-Davies compared the theme of The Lord of the Rings with the current situation of Western Europe, whose civilisation he described as being challenged by a rise of the Muslim population, stating:
There is a demographic catastrophe happening in Europe that nobody wants to talk about, that we daren’t bring up because we are so cagey about not offending people racially. And rightly we should be. But there is a cultural thing as well… By 2020, fifty percent of the children in the Netherlands under the age of 18 will be of Muslim descent… And don’t forget, coupled with this there is this collapse of numbers. Western Europeans are not having any babies. The population of Germany at the end of the century is going to be 56% of what it is now. The populations of France, 52% of what it is now. The population of Italy is going to be down 7 million people.
His comments were endorsed by the British National Party. Rhys-Davies commented that it was "distressing to find yourself on a BNP leaflet". He was also endorsed in a National Vanguard editorial. Yet, in an interview with the conservative National Review, he clarifies that he is opposed to Islamic extremism precisely because he feels that it violates Western beliefs in equality, democracy, tolerance, and the abolition of slavery.
Personal life
In 1966 he married Suzanne A.D. Wilkinson, a translator. They have two sons, Ben and Tom. Although he separated from Suzanne (who was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 1995) he did not divorce her and he remained close to her until her death in August 2010. He has lived with Lisa Manning (ex-host from television show Good Morning) since 2004. They have a daughter, Maia. Davies has a house on the Isle of Man. Davies currently lives in Glen Murray, a country town north of Huntly, New Zealand.
Filmography
* The Black Windmill (1974)
* Fall of Eagles (1974)
* The Naked Civil Servant (1975)
* A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square (1979)
* Shōgun (1980)
* Peter and Paul (1981)
* Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
* Ivanhoe (1982)
* Best Revenge (1982)
* Victor Victoria (1982)
* Sahara (1983)
* Sadat (1983)
* Reilly, Ace of Spies (1983)
* King Solomon's Mines (1985)
* Firewalker (film) (1986)
* The Living Daylights (1987)
* Waxwork (1988)
* War and Remembrance (1988)
* Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
* The Trial of the Incredible Hulk (1989)
* Great Expectations (1989)
* The Unnamable Returns (1991)
* The Double 0 Kid (1992)
* The Lost World (1992)
* Return to the Lost World (1992)
* Sunset Grill (1993)
* Cyborg Cop (1993)
* The Seventh Coin (1993)
* The Unnamable II: The Statement of Randolph Carter (1993)
* The High Crusade (1994)
* A Flintstones Christmas Carol (1994)
* Quest for Glory IV: Shadows of Darkness (1994)
* Sliders (1995–1997)
* Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm (1996)
* The Great White Hype (1996)
* Glory Daze (1996)
* Aladdin and the King of Thieves (1996) (voice)
* Marquis de Sade (1996)
* Cats Don't Dance (1997) (voice)
* Bloodsport III (1997)
* Secret of the Andes (1998)
* Dune 2000 (1999)
* Au Pair (1999)
* Britannic (2000)
* The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
* Never Say Never Mind: The Swedish Bikini Team (2001)
* Sabretooth (2002)
* The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) (dual role)
* Endangered Species (2002)
* Scorcher (2002)
* Coronado (2003)
* Freelancer (2003) (voice)
* The Jungle Book 2 (2003) (voice)
* The Medallion (2003)
* The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) (dual role)
* 12 Days of Terror (2004)
* The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement (2004)
* La Femme Musketeer (2004)
* The Lost Angel (2004)
* The Privileged Planet (2004) (voice of Narrator)
* Dragon Storm (2004 TV Movie)
* The Game of Their Lives (DVD title: The Miracle Match) (2005)
* Chupacabra: Dark Seas (DVD title: Chupacabra Terror) (2005)
* The King Maker (2005)
* One Night with the King (2006)
* The Legend of Sasquatch (2006)
* In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale (2007)
* The Ferryman (2007)
* Catching Kringle (Short Film; 2007) (voice)
* Anaconda 3: Offspring (2008)
* Fire & Ice: The Dragon Chronicles (2008)
* Prisoners of the Sun (2009)
* Anacondas: Trail of Blood (2009)
* Reclaiming the Blade (2009)
* 31 North 62 East (2009)
Television appearances
* The Sweeney (1975) (Ron Brett, "Poppy")
* I, Claudius (1976)
* Blackadder (1983)
* 1990 (1977) (TV)
* The Nativity (1978) (TV)
* Peter and Paul (1981) (TV)
* Robin of Sherwood (1983) (TV)
* Marjorie and the Preacher Man (1987) (TV)
* Noble House (1988)
* I misteri della giungla nera (1991)
* Archaeology (1991) (Host)
* Tales from the Crypt (1991) (Emil Duvall, "Dead Wait")
* Batman: The Animated Series (1992) (voice only, "The Cape and the Cowl Conspiracy")
* The Untouchables (TV series, 1993–1994)
* Fantastic Four (1994 TV series) (1994–1995) (voice only- Thor, god of thunder, "To Battle the Living Planet")
* The Incredible Hulk (1996 TV series) (1996-1997) (voice only- Thor, "Mortal Bounds")
* Gargoyles (1994–96) (voice only, Macbeth)
* Sliders (TV series, 1995–1997)
* You Wish (TV series, 1997) (Mad Man Mustafa)
* Star Trek Voyager (1997–1998) as Leonardo da Vinci
* Justice League (2002) (voice only, "Paradise Lost")
* Helen of Troy as King Priam (2003)
* Revelations (Omnium Finis Imminet) (TV miniseries) (2005) as Professor Jonah Lampley
* Dark Days in Monkey City (2009) Narrator
* Kröd Mändoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire (2009) as Grimshank
* Legend of the Seeker (2010) as Horace/Panis Rahl
Audio books
* AFFABEL (2006) (Voice)
http://i643.photobucket.com/albums/uu156/NerfHerdAnon/Actors/JohnRhysDavies.jpg
http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t253/RockiesFan33/JohnRhysDavies.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: CatwomanofV on 05/05/11 at 10:54 am
I have always liked him. I think he is a terrific actor. Love his voice. His resumé looks like the Encyclopedia Britannica.
Cat
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 05/06/11 at 6:25 am
The person of the day...George Clooney
George Timothy Clooney (born May 6, 1961) is an American actor, film director, producer, and screenwriter. For his work as an actor, he has received two Golden Globe Awards and an Academy Award. Clooney is also noted for his social activism and has served as one of the United Nations Messengers of Peace since January 31, 2008.
Though he made his acting debut on television in 1978, Clooney gained fame and recognition by portraying Dr. Douglas "Doug" Ross on the long-running medical drama ER from 1994 to 1999. While working on ER, he started attracting a variety of leading roles in films including Batman & Robin (1997) and Out of Sight (1998), where he first teamed with long-term collaborator Steven Soderbergh. In 2001, Clooney's fame widened with the release of his biggest commercial success, Ocean's Eleven, the first of a profitable film trilogy, that is a remake of the movie from 1960 with the members of The Rat Pack with Frank Sinatra as Danny Ocean. He made his directorial debut a year later with the 2002 biographical thriller Confessions of a Dangerous Mind and has since directed Good Night, and Good Luck (2005) and Leatherheads (2008). He won the 2006 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his work in the Middle East thriller Syriana (2005).
Clooney's humanitarian work includes his advocacy of finding a resolution for the Darfur conflict, raising funds for the 2010 Haiti earthquake, 2004 Tsunami and 9/11 victims, and creating documentaries such as Sand and Sorrow to raise awareness about international crises.
Clooney's first role was as an extra in the TV series Centennial in 1978. The series was based on the novel of the same name by James Michener and was partially filmed in Clooney's hometown of Augusta, Kentucky. Clooney's first major role came in 1984 in the short-lived sitcom E/R (not to be confused with ER, the better-known hospital drama, on which Clooney also costarred a decade later). He played a handyman on the series The Facts of Life and appeared as Bobby Hopkins, a detective, on an episode of The Golden Girls. His first significant break was a semi-regular supporting role in the sitcom Roseanne, playing Roseanne Barr's overbearing boss Booker Brooks, followed by the role of a construction worker on Baby Talk and then as a sexy detective on Sisters. In 1988, Clooney also played a role in Return of the Killer Tomatoes.
Breakthrough, 1994–1999
Clooney achieved stardom when he played Dr. Doug Ross, alongside Anthony Edwards and Noah Wyle on the hit NBC drama ER from 1994 to 1999. After leaving the series in 1999, he made a cameo appearance in the 6th season and returned for a guest spot in the show's final season.
Clooney began appearing in movies while working on ER. His first major Hollywood role was in From Dusk till Dawn, directed by Robert Rodriguez. He followed its success with One Fine Day with Michelle Pfeiffer and The Peacemaker with Nicole Kidman. Clooney was then cast as the new Batman in Batman & Robin, which was a moderate box office success, but a critical failure (with Clooney himself calling the film "a waste of money"). In 1998, he starred in Out of Sight opposite Jennifer Lopez, marking the first of his many collaborations with director Steven Soderbergh. He also starred in Three Kings during the last weeks of his contract with ER.
International success, 2000–present
George Clooney cast his hands and shoes in the Grauman's Chinese Theatre in 2007.
After leaving ER, Clooney starred in commercially successful projects such as The Perfect Storm and O Brother, Where Art Thou?. In 2001, he teamed up with Soderbergh again for Ocean's Eleven, a remake of the 1960s Rat Pack film of the same name. It remains Clooney's most commercially successful movie, earning more than $450 million worldwide. The film spawned two sequels starring Clooney, Ocean's Twelve in 2004 and Ocean's Thirteen in 2007.
In 2001, Clooney and director Steven Soderbergh co-founded the Section Eight Productions, for which Grant Heslov was president of television. He made his directorial debut in the 2002 film Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, an adaptation of the autobiography of TV producer Chuck Barris. Though the movie didn't do well at the box office, Clooney's direction was praised among critics and audiences alike.
In 2005, Clooney starred in Syriana, which was based loosely on former Central Intelligence Agency agent Robert Baer and his memoirs of being an agent in the Middle East. Clooney suffered an accident on the set of Syriana, which resulted in a brain injury with complications arising from a punctured dura. The same year he directed, produced, and starred in Good Night, and Good Luck., a film about 1950s television journalist Edward R. Murrow's famous war of words with Senator Joseph McCarthy. Both films received critical acclaim and decent box-office returns despite being in limited release. At the 2006 Academy Awards, Clooney was nominated for Best Director and Best Original Screenplay for Good Night, and Good Luck, as well as Best Supporting Actor for Syriana. He became the first person in Oscar history to be nominated for directing one movie and acting in another in the same year. He won the Oscar for his role in Syriana.
George Clooney at the premiere of The Men Who Stare At Goats in the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival
Clooney next appeared in The Good German (2006), a film-noir directed by Soderbergh that is set in post-World War II Germany. Clooney also received the American Cinematheque Award in October 2006, an award that honors an artist in the entertainment industry who has made "a significant contribution to the art of motion pictures". In August 2006, Clooney and Grant Heslov started a new production company: Smokehouse Pictures.
On January 22, 2008, Clooney was nominated for an Academy Award (and many others awards) for Best Actor for his role in Michael Clayton (2007). Clooney then directed his third film, Leatherheads (2008), in which he also starred. It was reported on April 4, 2008 in Variety that Clooney had quietly resigned from the Writers Guild of America over controversy surrounding Leatherheads. Clooney, who is the director, producer, and star of the film, stated that he had contributed in writing, "all but two scenes," of the film and requested a writing credit, alongside Duncan Brantley and Rick Reilly, who had been working on the project for 17 years. In an arbitration vote, Clooney lost 2–1 and ultimately decided to withdraw from the union over the decision. Clooney is now technically a "financial core status" nonmember, meaning he loses his voting rights, and cannot run for office or attend membership meetings, according to the WGA's constitution.
Clooney next co-starred with Ewan McGregor and Kevin Spacey in The Men Who Stare At Goats, which was directed by his friend Grant Heslov and released in November 2009. Also in November 2009, he voiced Mr. Fox in Wes Anderson's Fantastic Mr. Fox. The same year, Clooney starred in Up in the Air, which was initially given limited release, and then wide-released on December 25, 2009. For his performance in the film, which was directed by Jason Reitman, he was nominated for a Golden Globe, a Screen Actors Guild Award, BAFTA and an Academy Award.
Clooney is represented by Bryan Lourd, Co-Chairman of Creative Artists Agency (CAA).
Humanitarian work
Clooney in Abéché, Chad in January 2008 with the UN
Clooney has been active in advocating a resolution of the Darfur conflict. His efforts include appearing on an episode of Oprah and speaking at the Save Darfur rally in Washington, D.C., on April 30, 2006. On March 25, 2007, he sent an open letter to German chancellor Angela Merkel, calling on the European Union to take "decisive action" in the region in the face of Omar al-Bashir's failure to respond to the UN resolutions.
In April 2006, he spent ten days in Chad and Sudan with his father to make a film in order to show the dramatic situation of Darfur's refugees. In September of the same year, he spoke in front of the Security Council of the UN with Nobel Prize-winner Elie Wiesel to ask the UN to find a solution to the conflict and to help the people of Darfur. In December, he made a trip to China and Egypt with Don Cheadle and two Olympic winners to ask both governments to pressure Sudan's government.
After making his first trip to Darfur in 2006 with his father Nick, Clooney made the TV special "A Journey to Darfur", and advocated for action in the US. The documentary was broadcast on American cable TV as well as in the UK and France. In 2008, it was released on DVD with the proceeds from its sale being donated to the International Rescue Committee.
Clooney is involved with Not On Our Watch, an organization that focuses global attention and resources to stop and prevent mass atrocities, along with Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Don Cheadle, and Jerry Weintraub. He narrated and was co-executor producer of the documentary Sand and Sorrow. Clooney also appeared in the documentary film Darfur Now, a call to action film for people all over the world to help stop the ongoing crisis in Darfur. The film was released on November 2, 2007. In February 2009, he visited Goz Beida, Chad with NY Times columnist Nicholas Kristof. In January 2010. he organized the Telethon Hope for Haiti Now, which collects donations for the 2010 Haiti earthquake victims.
Clooney discusses Sudan with President Barack Obama at the White House in October 2010.
On December 13, 2007, Clooney and fellow actor Don Cheadle were presented with the Summit Peace Award by the Nobel Peace Prize Laureates in Rome. In his acceptance speech, Clooney said that "Don and I…stand here before you as failures. The simple truth is that when it comes to the atrocities in Darfur…those people are not better off now than they were years ago." On January 18, 2008, the United Nations announced Clooney's appointment as a United Nations messenger of peace, effective from January 31.
Political views
Clooney is a self-described political liberal. In 2003, he opposed the Iraq war, saying: "You can't beat your enemy anymore through wars; instead you create an entire generation of people seeking revenge.... Our opponents are going to resort to car bombs and suicide attacks because they have no other way to win.... I believe (Rumsfeld) thinks this is a war that can be won, but there is no such thing anymore. We can't beat anyone anymore."
In February 2003, syndicated columnist Liz Smith reported that while speaking at a National Board of Review event, Clooney had made the following remarks: "Charlton Heston announced again today that he is suffering from Alzheimer's." Clooney later said, "It was a joke,... They got the quote wrong. What I said was 'The head of the NRA announced today ...' (Filmmaker) Michael Moore had just gotten an award. Anyway, Charlton Heston shows up with guns over his head after a school shooting and then says in the documentary it's because of ethnic diversity that we have problems with violence in America. I think he's going to have to take whatever hits he gets. It was just a joke. That was someone else trying to make a bigger story." When asked if the actor went too far with his remarks, Clooney responded by saying, "I don't care. Charlton Heston is the head of the National Rifle Association; he deserves whatever anyone says about him." Heston himself commented, "It just goes to show that sometimes class does skip a generation," referring to Clooney's aunt, Rosemary Clooney. Heston further commented on the Clooney joke: "I don't know the man – never met him, never even spoken to him, but I feel sorry for George Clooney – one day he may get Alzheimer's disease. I served my country in World War II. I survived that – I guess I can survive some bad words from this fellow". Clooney said he subsequently apologized to Heston in a letter, and that he received a positive response from Heston's wife.
On January 16, 2006, during his acceptance speech for the Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role for Syriana, Clooney paused to sarcastically thank disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff before adding, "Who would name their kid Jack with the word ‘off’ at the end of your last name? No wonder that guy is screwed up!"
Clooney supported then-Senator Barack Obama's campaign in the 2008 presidential election.
About the possibility of him ever running for office, Clooney has said: "Run for office? No. I've slept with too many women, I've done too many drugs, and I've been to too many parties."
In a 2011 interview with Newsweek magazine Clooney was quoted as saying "“I didn’t live my life in the right way for politics, you know,” ... “I f—ked too many chicks and did too many drugs, and that’s the truth.”
Personal life
Relationships
Clooney and Elisabetta Canalis at the 66th Venice International Film Festival
Clooney was married to Talia Balsam from 1989 until they divorced in 1993. Since then, Clooney has said that he will never marry again. After meeting on the set of a Martini advertisement in 2000, he had a five-year on/off relationship with British model Lisa Snowdon. In 2007, he started dating Sarah Larson and the couple broke up in May 2008. Since 2009, Clooney has been in a relationship with Elisabetta Canalis.
Often featured in People Magazine's "Sexiest Man Alive" issue, Clooney's marital status and availability is a running joke for female fans who still fantasize they have a chance to bring him to the altar. Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum in Las Vegas has a "Marrying George Clooney" photo-op in which museum visitors can put on a wedding gown and stand next to a wax statue of the smiling actor in a tuxedo.
Awards and honors
Main article: List of awards and nominations received by George Clooney
Filmography
Actor Year↓ Title↓ Medium↓ Role↓ Notes
1984–85 E/R TV Mark "Ace" Kolmar
1985 Street Hawk TV Kevin Stark
1985–86 Facts of Life, TheThe Facts of Life TV George Burnett
1987 Return to Horror High Film Oliver
1987 Grizzly II: The Predator Film Uncredited
1987 Combat Academy Film Maj. Biff Woods
1987 Murder, She Wrote TV Kip Howard Episode: "No Laughing Murder"
1987 Golden Girls, TheThe Golden Girls TV Detective Bobby Hopkins Episode: "To Catch a Neighbor"
1988 Return of the Killer Tomatoes Film Matt Stevens
1988–91 Roseanne TV Booker Brooks 11 episodes
1990 Red Surf Film Remar
1992 Unbecoming Age Film Mac
1993 Harvest, TheThe Harvest Film Lip Synching Transvestite
1993–94 Sisters TV Detective James Falconer
1994–99, 2009 ER TV Dr. Doug Ross 107 episodes
Nominated—Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor – Drama Series, 1995, 1996
Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama, 1995, 1996, 1997
1995 Friends TV Dr. Michael Mitchell Episode: "The One with Two Parts, Part Two"
1996 From Dusk till Dawn Film Seth Gecko MTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough Performance
Saturn Award for Best Actor
1996 One Fine Day Film Jack Taylor
1996 Curdled Film Seth Gecko Uncredited; only photo shown
1997 Full-Tilt Boogie TV Himself Documentary
1997 Peacemaker, TheThe Peacemaker Film Thomas Devoe
1997 Batman & Robin Film Bruce Wayne/Batman Nominated - Razzie Award for Worst Screen Couple (with Chris O'Donnell)
1997 South Park TV Sparky the Dog Voice only; episode: "Big Gay Al's Big Gay Boat Ride"
1998 Thin Red Line, TheThe Thin Red Line Film Captain Bosche
1998 Out of Sight Film Jack Foley
1998 Waiting for Woody Film Himself Comedic short
1999 Three Kings Film Major Archie Gates
1999 Book That Wrote Itself, TheThe Book That Wrote Itself Film Himself
1999 South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut Film Doctor Gouache Voice only
1999 Limey, TheThe Limey Film Archive footage, uncredited
2000 Perfect Storm, TheThe Perfect Storm Film Billy 'Skip' Tyne
2000 Fail Safe TV Col. Jack Grady
2000 O Brother, Where Art Thou? Film Ulysses Everett McGill Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
Nominated—Empire Award for Best Actor
Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
2001 Ocean's Eleven Film Danny Ocean Nominated—MTV Movie Award for Best Dressed
Nominated—Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Cast
2001 Spy Kids Film Devlin
2002 Confessions of a Dangerous Mind Film CIA Officer Jim Byrd Also director
2002 Solaris Film Chris Kelvin Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Actor
2002 Welcome to Collinwood Film Jerzy Also producer
2002 Starbuck Holger Meins Film Documentary
2003 Intolerable Cruelty Film Miles Massey
2003 Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over Film Devlin
2004 Ocean's Twelve Film Danny Ocean Nominated—Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Cast
2005 Good Night, and Good Luck Film Fred Friendly Also director, writer
Golden Osella for Best Screenplay
Satellite Award for Best Original Screenplay
Nominated—Academy Award for Writing (Original Screenplay)
Nominated—BAFTA Award for Best Original Screenplay
Nominated—BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Nominated—BFCA Critics' Choice Award for Best Writer
Nominated—Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Original Screenplay
Nominated—Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Director
Nominated—Chlotrudis Award for Best Director
Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay
Nominated—Gotham Award for Best Cast
Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
Nominated—Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Screenplay
Nominated—Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original Screenplay
2005 Syriana Film Bob Barnes Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture
Nominated—BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Nominated—Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor
Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role
2006 Good German, TheThe Good German Film Jake Geismar
2007 Michael Clayton Film Michael Clayton National Board of Review Award for Best Actor
San Francisco Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor
San Francisco Film Critics Circle Award for Best Screenplay
Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
Nominated—Academy Award for Best Actor
Nominated—BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role
Nominated—Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
Nominated—Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama
Nominated—London Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor
Nominated—Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor
Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
2007 Darfur Now Film Himself
2007 Ocean's Thirteen Film Danny Ocean
2008 Leatherheads Film Jimmy "Dodge" Connelly Co-writer, director
2008 Burn After Reading Film Harry Pfarrer
2009 Fantastic Mr. Fox Film Mr. Fox Voice only
New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor (and Up in the Air)
2009 Men Who Stare at Goats, TheThe Men Who Stare at Goats Film Lyn Cassady
2009 Up in the Air Film Ryan Bingham Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
Florida Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor
Houston Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor
National Board of Review Award for Best Actor (tied with Morgan Freeman for Invictus)
New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor (and Fantastic Mr. Fox)
Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor
Southeastern Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association for Best Actor
Nominated—Academy Award for Best Actor
Nominated—Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
Nominated—Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
Nominated—Detroit Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor
Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama
Nominated—San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor
Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
Nominated—Toronto Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
2010 American, TheThe American Film Jack
2011 Descendants, TheThe Descendants Film {{ sortname Disney Princess: A Christmas of enchantment 2 Role: Slick Rivalry Filming
2011 Ides of March (film), TheThe Ides of March (film) Film Governor Mike Morris Filming, also director
2012 Suburbicon Film Also director
Director Year↓ Title↓ Notes
2002 Confessions of a Dangerous Mind Nominated—Golden Bear
Nominated—Chicago Film Critics Association for Most Promising New Director
2005 Good Night, and Good Luck Film Critics Circle of Australia Award for Best Foreign Film
Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Original Screenplay
Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Original Screenplay
Pasinetti Award for Best Film
Nominated—Academy Award for Best Director
Nominated—BAFTA Award for Best Direction
Nominated—Bodil Award for Best American Film
Nominated—Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Director
Nominated—David di Donatello for Best Foreign Film
Nominated—Directors Guild of America Award for Best Director
Nominated—Empire Award for Best Director
Nominated—Golden Lion
Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Director – Motion Picture
Nominated—Independent Spirit Award for Best Director
Nominated—Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Director
Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Director
Nominated—Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Director
2005 Unscripted 5 episodes
2008 Leatherheads
2011 The Ides of March (film) Filming
2012 Suburbicon Announced
Producer Year↓ Title↓ Notes
1999 Kilroy TV; also writer
2000 Fail Safe Executive producer
2001 Rock Star Executive producer
2002 Insomnia Executive producer
2002 Welcome to Collinwood Executive producer
2002 Far from Heaven Executive producer
2003 K Street Executive producer, 10 episodes
2004 Criminal
2005 Jacket, TheThe Jacket
2005 Unscripted 10 episodes
2005 Big Empty, TheThe Big Empty Executive producer
2005 Syriana Executive producer
2005 Rumor Has It... Executive producer
2006 Scanner Darkly, AA Scanner Darkly Executive producer
2006 Pu-239 Executive producer
2007 Michael Clayton Executive producer
2007 Sand and Sorrow Executive producer
Documentary
2007 Wind Chill Executive producer
2008 Leatherheads
2009 Informant!, TheThe Informant! Executive producer
2009 Playground Executive producer
2009 Men Who Stare at Goats, TheThe Men Who Stare at Goats
2010 Hope for Haiti Now Producer
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Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 05/06/11 at 7:01 am
He will age gracefully,He just has that babyface.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 05/07/11 at 5:43 am
The person of the day...Anne Baxter
Anne Baxter (May 7, 1923 – December 12, 1985) was an American actress known for her performances in films such as The Magnificent Ambersons (1942), The Razor's Edge (1946), All About Eve (1950) and The Ten Commandments (1956).
Baxter was born in Michigan City, Indiana to Kenneth Stuart Baxter and Catherine Wright; her maternal grandfather was the architect Frank Lloyd Wright. Baxter's father was a prominent executive with the Seagrams Distillery Co. and she was raised in New York City in a well-to-do home, and attended the prestigious Brearley School. At age 10, Baxter attended a Broadway play starring Helen Hayes, and was so impressed that she declared to her family that she wanted to become an actress. By the age of 13, she had appeared on Broadway. During this period, Baxter learned her acting craft as a student of the famed teacher Maria Ouspenskaya.
Career
Baxter as Eve Harrington, from the trailer for All About Eve (1950)
At 16 Baxter screen-tested for the role of Mrs. DeWinter in Rebecca, losing to Joan Fontaine because director Alfred Hitchcock considered her too young for the role, but she soon secured a seven-year contract with 20th Century Fox. Her first movie role was in 20 Mule Team in 1940. She was chosen by director Orson Welles to appear in The Magnificent Ambersons (1942). Baxter co-starred with Tyrone Power and Gene Tierney in 1946's The Razor's Edge, for which she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Baxter later recounted that The Razor's Edge contained her only great performance which was a hospital scene where the character, Sophie, "loses her husband, child and everything else". She said she relived the death of her brother, who had died at age three.
In 1950, she was chosen to co-star in All About Eve, largely because of a resemblance to Claudette Colbert, who had initially been chosen to co-star in the film; the original idea being to have her character gradually come to visually mirror Colbert's over the course of the film. Baxter received a nomination for Best Actress for the title role of Eve Harrington. She said she modeled the role on a bitchy understudy she had for her debut performance in the Broadway play Seen But Not Heard at the age of thirteen and who had threatened to "finish her off". Through the 1950s she continued to act on stage. According to a program from the production, Baxter appeared on Broadway in 1953 opposite Tyrone Power in Charles Laughton's John Brown's Body, a play based upon the narrative poem by Stephen Vincent Benét (though the Internet Broadway Database states that Power's co-star was Judith Anderson). In 1953 Baxter contracted a two picture deal for Warner Brothers. Her first was opposite Montgomery Clift in Alfred Hitchcock's I Confess; the second was the whodunit The Blue Gardenia as a woman accused of murder.
Baxter with Yul Brynner, from the trailer for The Ten Commandments (1956)
Baxter is also remembered for her role as the Egyptian Queen Nefretiri opposite Charlton Heston's portrayal of Moses in Cecil B. DeMille's award winning The Ten Commandments (1956).
Baxter appeared regularly on television in the 1960s. She did a stint as one of the What's My Line? "Mystery Guests" on the popular Sunday night CBS-TV quiz program. She also starred as guest villain "Zelda the Great" in two episodes of the superhero show Batman. She appeared as another villain, "Olga, Queen of the Cossacks," opposite Vincent Price's "Egghead" in three episodes of the show's third season. She also played an old flame of Raymond Burr on his crime series Ironside.
Baxter returned to Broadway during the 1970s in Applause, the musical version of All About Eve, but this time in the "Margo Channing" role played by Bette Davis in the film. (She was replacing Lauren Bacall, who won a Tony Award in the role.)
In the 1970s, Baxter was a frequent guest and stand-in host on The Mike Douglas Show, since Baxter and host Mike Douglas were friends. She portrayed a murderous film star on an episode of Columbo, called "Requiem for a Fallen Star". In 1983, Baxter starred in the television series Hotel, replacing Bette Davis after Davis became ill.
Baxter has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6741 Hollywood Blvd.
Personal life
In 1946, Baxter married actor John Hodiak. They had a daughter, Katrina, born 1951, and divorced in 1953, which she later blamed on herself.
In 1960, Baxter married her second husband, Randolph Galt. Galt was the American owner of a neighboring cattle station near Sydney, Australia where she was filming Summer of the Seventeenth Doll. She left Hollywood with Katrina to live with him on a remote 37,000 acre cattle station he bought 180 miles north of Sydney called Giro (pronounced Ghee-ro). During this time, they had two daughters, Melissa (b. 1962) and Maginel (b. 1964). After the birth of Maginel, back in California, Galt suddenly announced they were moving to an 11,000 acre ranch south of Grants New Mexico. They then moved to Hawaii before settling back in Brentwood, Los Angeles, California. Melissa Galt became an interior designer, and Maginel became a Roman Catholic nun.
Baxter married again, in 1977 to David Klee, a prominent stockbroker. It was a brief marriage; Klee died unexpectedly from illness. The newlywed couple had purchased a sprawling property in Easton, Connecticut which they extensively remodeled, however, Klee did not live to see the renovations completed. Aspects of the house were redesigned to be architecturally reminiscent of Frank Lloyd Wright's 'Prairie School Architecture. The living-room fireplace was remodeled to resemble the famous stone structure in the living room of her grandfather's masterpiece, Fallingwater. Vaulted ceilings were lowered to embrace Wright's essential design protocol against soaring ceilings. Baxter never remarried. Although she maintained a residence in West Hollywood, Baxter considered her Connecticut home to be her primary residence. Baxter was an active benefactor of The Connecticut Early Music Society.
Baxter was a long time friend of celebrated costume designer Edith Head, whom she first met on the set of The Ten Commandments. Head appeared with Baxter in a cameo role in Requiem For A Falling Star, a 1973 Columbo episode. Upon Head's death in 1981, Melissa Galt, who was also a goddaughter of Head, was bequeathed Head's jewelry collection.
Death
Baxter suffered a brain aneurysm on December 4, 1985, while hailing a taxi on Madison Avenue in New York City. She died 8 days later at Lenox Hill hospital on December 12, aged 62.
Baxter is buried on the estate of Frank Lloyd Wright at Lloyd Jones Cemetery in Spring Green, Wisconsin. She was survived by her three daughters.
Filmography
* 20 Mule Team (1940)
* The Great Profile (1940)
* Charley's Aunt (1941)
* Swamp Water (1941)
* The Pied Piper (1942)
* The Magnificent Ambersons (1942)
* Crash Dive (1943)
* Five Graves to Cairo (1943)
* The North Star (1943)
* The Fighting Sullivans (1944)
* The Eve of St. Mark (1944)
* Sunday Dinner for a Soldier (1944)
* Guest in the House (1944)
* A Royal Scandal (1945)
* Smoky (1946)
* Angel on My Shoulder (1946)
* The Razor's Edge (1946)
* Blaze of Noon (1947)
* Mother Wore Tights (1947) (narrator)
* Homecoming (1948)
* The Walls of Jericho (1948)
* The Luck of the Irish (1948)
* Yellow Sky (1949)
* You're My Everything (1949)
* A Ticket to Tomahawk (1950)
* All About Eve (1950)
* Follow the Sun (1951)
* The Outcasts of Poker Flat (1952)
* O. Henry's Full House (1952)
* My Wife's Best Friend (1952)
* I Confess (1953)
* The Blue Gardenia (1953)
* Carnival Story (1954) (also cameo in German version titled Carnival of Love)
* Bedevilled (1955)
* One Desire (1955)
* The Spoilers (1955)
* The Come On (1956)
* The Ten Commandments (1956)
* Chase a Crooked Shadow (1957)
* Three Violent People (1957)
* Summer of the Seventeenth Doll (1959)
* Cimarron (1960)
* The DuPont Show with June Allyson, as Louise in "The Dance Man" (CBS, 1960)
* Mix Me a Person (1962)
* Walk on the Wild Side (1962)
* The Family Jewels (1965) (Cameo)
* Seven Vengeful Women (1966)
* The Busy Body (1967)
* Fools' Parade (1971)
* The Late Liz (1971)
* Columbo: Requiem for a Falling Star (1973)
* Jane Austen in Manhattan (1980)
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Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 05/07/11 at 5:44 am
For Howie a special birthday wish to
http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e194/fantasibaibi/traci_l111.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 05/07/11 at 6:50 am
For Howie a special birthday wish to
http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e194/fantasibaibi/traci_l111.jpg
My birthday was 2 months ago but thanks a lot Ninny. :D
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: gibbo on 05/07/11 at 7:01 am
Yes indeed...thank you ninny. Not my birthday either...but that girl can blow my candle (out that is)... ;)
That first pic of Anne Baxter looks nothing like her... :-\\ I saw her in a couple of episodes of The Virginian recently (or was it Wagon Train :-\\).
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 05/07/11 at 9:07 am
Yes indeed...thank you ninny. Not my birthday either...but that girl can blow my candle (out that is)... ;)
That first pic of Anne Baxter looks nothing like her... :-\\ I saw her in a couple of episodes of The Virginian recently (or was it Wagon Train :-\\).
My birthday was 2 months ago but thanks a lot Ninny. :D
Ok I'll be more specific it's Traci's B-Day today..you are wishing her happy b-day ;D
I just went by what Photobucket had for pics, so I hope that's Anne
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 05/08/11 at 6:26 am
The person of the day...Melissa Gilbert
Melissa Ellen Gilbert (born May 8, 1964) is an American actress, writer, and producer, primarily in movies and television. Gilbert is best known as a child actress who co-starred as Charles Ingalls's (played by Michael Landon) second daughter, Laura Ingalls Wilder, on the dramatic television series Little House on the Prairie (1974–1984). As an adult, she has a very long list of acting, voicework, writing, producing, and directing credits. Melissa also served two terms as President of the Screen Actors Guild. On June 9, 2009, her autobiography Prairie Tale: A Memoir was released.
Born in Los Angeles, California, Gilbert was adopted one day later by actor and comedian Paul Gilbert (born Ed MacMahon, he changed his name to Paul Gilbert to get a Screen Actors Guild card)and his wife, dancer and actress Barbara Crane, the daughter of The Honeymooners creator Harry Crane. The couple later adopted a son, Jonathan Gilbert, who co-starred with Melissa as Willie Oleson on Little House on the Prairie. When Melissa was 8, her parents divorced. Barbara then married Harold Abeles, and together they had biological daughter Sara Rebecca Abeles (the actress known professionally as Sara Gilbert), born on January 29, 1975. On February 12, 1975, Paul Gilbert suffered a stroke and died at the age of 56. Barbara and Harold Abeles' marriage later ended in divorce.
With Hollywood connections in her family background and a natural ability for entertaining at a very young age, Gilbert had already done dozens of commercials, including one for Alpo dog food with Lorne Greene (Michael Landon's television father on Bonanza). She tried out for the role of Laura Ingalls, Charles Ingalls' middle daughter, on NBC's 2-hour pilot of the book Little House on the Prairie. Growing up she was unfamiliar with Landon, having never met him or watched Bonanza. She attended school with his daughter, Leslie Landon who guested on Little House as a teen and then played school teacher Etta Plumb during the last season. It was Leslie who informed her that she had won the role of Laura, beating out over 500 child actresses for this part. The pilot was shot in 1973 and was a ratings success. Almost a year later Gilbert began filming the series. Gilbert became extremely close to the Landon family after her adoptive father died. A rift, however, developed between Michael Landon and Gilbert after the revelation of Landon's affair with Little House's young makeup artist, Cindy Clerico.
Gilbert had no contact with Landon after Little House ended during the 1983/1984 season. Seven years later, on May 9, 1991, when she saw a gaunt-looking Landon on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson discussing his pancreatic cancer, she was compelled to finally telephone him. She visited Landon at his Malibu home where he was, by then, bedridden, and they spent the afternoon together. Landon died one week later. When Gilbert gave birth to her son with second husband Bruce Boxleitner on October 6, 1995, they named him Michael, in honor of Landon.
Career after Little House
Gilbert at the Starlight Theatre in Kansas City, MO. in June 2010
Gilbert has continued to work regularly, mainly in television. She starred as Jean Donovan in the biopic Choices of the Heart (1983), and as Anna Sheridan in three episodes of Babylon 5 with husband Bruce Boxleitner in 1996. She is known as "The Queen of the television movies and mini-series" having starred in over 45 of them since the late 1970s. During the three months of filming for the television mini-series, Zoya, in St. Petersburg, London, Paris, Montreal, and New York, she was pregnant with her second child.
In 1998, she was inducted into the Western Performers Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
In 2006, Gilbert appeared as Shari Noble, a patient looking to reconstruct her nipples after committing zoophilia with her dog in a season 4 episode of Nip/Tuck.
Gilbert regularly keeps in contact with her friend Alison Arngrim, who played her nemesis Nellie Oleson on Little House on the Prairie. Although their respective characters were enemies for years, in real life, they are close friends.
In 2008 and through 2009, Gilbert plays Caroline "Ma" Ingalls in the musical adaptation of Little House on the Prairie. This world premiere production at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis was directed by Francesca Zambello and also stars Kara Lindsay as Laura. The show ran through October 19 and is on a US National tour for 2009–10. The tour ended in June 2010 at Starlight Theatre in Kansas City, Missouri.
For her contribution to the television industry, Gilbert has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6429 Hollywood Blvd in 1985. Her then fiance, Rob Lowe, was present with her when her star was unveiled during the ceremony. She is one of the youngest actresses to have been honored with a star.
Screen Actor's Guild Presidency
Melissa won the Screen Actors Guild presidency in 2001 after a contentious election in which she ultimately beat her opponent, Rhoda actress Valerie Harper, 21,351 votes to 12,613 votes after a second vote was taken. In 2003, she was re-elected, defeating Kent McCord with 50% of the vote to his 42%. In July 2005, she announced that she would not seek a third term and she was succeeded by Alan Rosenberg, who assumed the Guild presidency on September 25.
Personal life
At 17, she reconnected with then little-known actor Rob Lowe, also 17. They met briefly when they were about 14. In 1981, Melissa, in her convertible, saw Lowe stopped next to her at a red light. Gilbert dated Lowe on-and-off for six years. During this time, both had affairs with other famous people. Melissa dated Tom Cruise, John Cusack, Scott Baio, and Billy Idol. After Lowe's failed romance with Princess Stéphanie, he suddenly proposed to Gilbert. While making wedding plans, Gilbert found out she was pregnant. Upon being informed of the pregnancy, Lowe ended their relationship. Gilbert miscarried days later.
Heart-broken, Gilbert left for New York City to star in the play A Shayna Maidel. Gilbert was set up with actor Bo Brinkman, a cousin of actors Randy Quaid and Dennis Quaid. The couple married on February 22, 1988, only seven weeks after she ended her relationship with Rob Lowe. Gilbert became pregnant months later. US Magazine featured a very pregnant Gilbert wrapped in a sheer sheet and named her one of "America's Ten Most Beautiful Women" in 1988. On May 1, 1989, she gave birth to Dakota Paul Brinkman. After Dakota's birth, the couple began to have marital problems and divorced in 1992.
Only weeks after Gilbert's divorce filing, Bruce Boxleitner's ex-wife (Kathryn Holcomb) set Bruce up with Gilbert. Holcomb by then was married to actor Ian Ogilvy. Gilbert had met Boxleitner as a teenager when they both were on Battle of the Network Stars. Gilbert introduced herself as she had a pin-up of him in her locker. Boxleitner ignored her as she was a teen and he was many years older than her. The couple was on-and-off for over a year. They were engaged twice and Boxleitner broke up with her each time. After re-uniting for a third time, they finally married on January 1, 1995 in her mother's living room. Gilbert quickly became pregnant, but went into premature labor more than two months before her due date. She gave birth to a son, Michael Garrett Boxleitner, named in honor of Michael Landon, on October 6, 1995. His middle name is in honor of Garret Peckinpah, her friend Sandy Peckinpah's son, who had died suddenly of meningitis at age 16.
Gilbert is also stepmother to Boxleitner's two sons with Holcomb, Sam (b. 1980) and Lee (b. 1985).
She has battled alcoholism and drug abuse, which she wrote about in her 2009 autobiography.
On July 22, 2010, Gilbert underwent surgery to replace a disc as well as fuse a vertebra in her lower spine. The surgery was described as a complete success. It was discovered during a doctor's visit that she had been playing the role of Caroline "Ma" Ingalls in the touring musical Little House on the Prairie with a broken back for months.
On March 1, 2011, Gilbert announced that she and Boxleitner had separated.
Filmography
Films
Year Film Role Notes
1977 Circus, Lions, Tigers and Melissas Too -
Christmas Miracle in Caufield, U.S.A. Kelly Sullivan TV movie
1979 Nutcracker Fantasy Clara Voice
The Miracle Worker Helen Keller TV movie / Nominated for an Emmy Award
1980 The Diary of Anne Frank Anne Frank TV movie
1981 Splendor in the Grass Wilma Dean 'Deanie' Loomis TV movie
1983 Choices of the Heart Jean Donovan TV movie
Little House: Look Back to Yesterday Laura Ingalls Wilder TV movie
Little House: Bless All the Dear Children Laura Ingalls Wilder TV movie
1984 Little House: The Last Farewell Laura Ingalls Wilder TV movie
Family Secrets Sara Calloway TV movie
1985 Sylvester Charlie
1986 Drug Free Kids: A Parents' Guide - Direct-to-video
Choices Terry Granger TV movie
The Penalty Phase Leah Furman TV movie
1987 Blood Vows: The Story of a Mafia Wife Marian TV movie
1988 Killer Instinct Dr. Lisa DaVito TV movie
1989 Ice House Kay
1990 Without Her Consent Emily Briggs TV movie
Forbidden Nights Judith Shapiro TV movie
Joshua's Heart Claudia TV movie
Donor Dr. Kristine Lipton TV movie
The Lookalike Gina/Jennifer TV movie
1992 With a Vengeance Janet King/Vanessa TV movie
1993 Family of Strangers Julie TV movie
With Hostile Intent Miranda Berkley TV movie
Shattered Trust: The Shari Karney Story Shari Karney TV movie
House of Secrets Marion Ravinel TV movie
Dying to Remember Lynn Matthews TV movie
1994 The Babymaker: The Dr. Cecil Jacobson Story Mary Bennett TV movie
Against Her Will: The Carrie Buck Story Melissa Prentice TV movie
Cries from the Heart Karen TV movie
1995 Zoya Zoya Ossipov TV movie
1996 Christmas in My Hometown
(a.k.a. A Holiday for Love) Emma Murphy TV movie
1997 Seduction in a Small Town Sarah Jenks TV movie
Childhood Sweetheart? Karen Carlson TV movie
1998 Her Own Rules Meredith Sanders TV movie
1999 Murder at 75 Birch Gwen Todson TV movie
The Soul Collector Rebecca TV movie
Switched at Birth Sarah Barlow TV movie
2000 A Vision of Murder: The Story of Donielle Donielle TV movie
2001 Sanctuary Jo Ellen Hathaway TV movie
2003 Hollywood Wives: The New Generation Taylor Singer TV movie
2004 Heart of the Storm Cassie Broadbeck
2005 Thicker Than Water Natalie Jones TV movie
2007 Sacrifices of the Heart originally titled Spring Thaw Kate Weston/Anne Weston TV movie
Safe Harbour Ophelia Direct-to-video
TV series
Year Title Role Seasons Notes
1974–83 Little House on the Prairie Laura Ingalls Wilder 1–9 Won two Young Artist Awards. Also nominated for a Golden Globe Award
1992 Stand By Your Man Rochelle Dumphy 1
1992–95 Batman: The Animated Series Barbara Gordon/Batgirl 1-2 Voice
1994–95 Sweet Justice Kate Delacroy 1
TV appearances
Year Title Season Role Episode Notes
1972 Gunsmoke 18 Spratt's Child "The Judgement" Episode 4
Emergency! 2 Jenny "Dinner Date" Episode 10
1978 The Love Boat 2 Rocky "Julie's Dilemma/Who's Who/Rocky" Episode 3
1985 Faerie Tale Theatre 4 Gerda "The Snow Queen" Episode 2
1991 The Hidden Room 1 - "Spirit Cabinet" Episode 4
1996 Babylon 5 3 Anna Sheridan "War Without End: Part 2"
"Shadow Dancing"
"Z'ha'dum" Episode 17
Episode 21
Episode 22
1998 The Outer Limits 4 Teresa Janovitch "Relativity Theory" Episode 6
Touched by an Angel 5 Michelle Tanner "The Peacemaker" Episode 10
2002 Providence 4 Lorna Berlin "Smoke and Mirrors" Episode 21
Presidio Med 1 Grace Bennett "Once Upon a Family" Episode 7
2005 7th Heaven 9 Marie Wagner "Honor Thy Mother" Episode 18
2006 Nip/Tuck 4 Shari Noble "Shari Noble" Episode 4
2009 Chelsea Lately 3 Herself "Chelsea Lately" Episode 131
2010 The Talk 1 Herself - Guest - Episode 29
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Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 05/08/11 at 7:04 am
The person of the day...Melissa Gilbert
Melissa Ellen Gilbert (born May 8, 1964) is an American actress, writer, and producer, primarily in movies and television. Gilbert is best known as a child actress who co-starred as Charles Ingalls's (played by Michael Landon) second daughter, Laura Ingalls Wilder, on the dramatic television series Little House on the Prairie (1974–1984). As an adult, she has a very long list of acting, voicework, writing, producing, and directing credits. Melissa also served two terms as President of the Screen Actors Guild. On June 9, 2009, her autobiography Prairie Tale: A Memoir was released.
Born in Los Angeles, California, Gilbert was adopted one day later by actor and comedian Paul Gilbert (born Ed MacMahon, he changed his name to Paul Gilbert to get a Screen Actors Guild card)and his wife, dancer and actress Barbara Crane, the daughter of The Honeymooners creator Harry Crane. The couple later adopted a son, Jonathan Gilbert, who co-starred with Melissa as Willie Oleson on Little House on the Prairie. When Melissa was 8, her parents divorced. Barbara then married Harold Abeles, and together they had biological daughter Sara Rebecca Abeles (the actress known professionally as Sara Gilbert), born on January 29, 1975. On February 12, 1975, Paul Gilbert suffered a stroke and died at the age of 56. Barbara and Harold Abeles' marriage later ended in divorce.
With Hollywood connections in her family background and a natural ability for entertaining at a very young age, Gilbert had already done dozens of commercials, including one for Alpo dog food with Lorne Greene (Michael Landon's television father on Bonanza). She tried out for the role of Laura Ingalls, Charles Ingalls' middle daughter, on NBC's 2-hour pilot of the book Little House on the Prairie. Growing up she was unfamiliar with Landon, having never met him or watched Bonanza. She attended school with his daughter, Leslie Landon who guested on Little House as a teen and then played school teacher Etta Plumb during the last season. It was Leslie who informed her that she had won the role of Laura, beating out over 500 child actresses for this part. The pilot was shot in 1973 and was a ratings success. Almost a year later Gilbert began filming the series. Gilbert became extremely close to the Landon family after her adoptive father died. A rift, however, developed between Michael Landon and Gilbert after the revelation of Landon's affair with Little House's young makeup artist, Cindy Clerico.
Gilbert had no contact with Landon after Little House ended during the 1983/1984 season. Seven years later, on May 9, 1991, when she saw a gaunt-looking Landon on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson discussing his pancreatic cancer, she was compelled to finally telephone him. She visited Landon at his Malibu home where he was, by then, bedridden, and they spent the afternoon together. Landon died one week later. When Gilbert gave birth to her son with second husband Bruce Boxleitner on October 6, 1995, they named him Michael, in honor of Landon.
Career after Little House
Gilbert at the Starlight Theatre in Kansas City, MO. in June 2010
Gilbert has continued to work regularly, mainly in television. She starred as Jean Donovan in the biopic Choices of the Heart (1983), and as Anna Sheridan in three episodes of Babylon 5 with husband Bruce Boxleitner in 1996. She is known as "The Queen of the television movies and mini-series" having starred in over 45 of them since the late 1970s. During the three months of filming for the television mini-series, Zoya, in St. Petersburg, London, Paris, Montreal, and New York, she was pregnant with her second child.
In 1998, she was inducted into the Western Performers Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
In 2006, Gilbert appeared as Shari Noble, a patient looking to reconstruct her nipples after committing zoophilia with her dog in a season 4 episode of Nip/Tuck.
Gilbert regularly keeps in contact with her friend Alison Arngrim, who played her nemesis Nellie Oleson on Little House on the Prairie. Although their respective characters were enemies for years, in real life, they are close friends.
In 2008 and through 2009, Gilbert plays Caroline "Ma" Ingalls in the musical adaptation of Little House on the Prairie. This world premiere production at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis was directed by Francesca Zambello and also stars Kara Lindsay as Laura. The show ran through October 19 and is on a US National tour for 2009–10. The tour ended in June 2010 at Starlight Theatre in Kansas City, Missouri.
For her contribution to the television industry, Gilbert has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6429 Hollywood Blvd in 1985. Her then fiance, Rob Lowe, was present with her when her star was unveiled during the ceremony. She is one of the youngest actresses to have been honored with a star.
Screen Actor's Guild Presidency
Melissa won the Screen Actors Guild presidency in 2001 after a contentious election in which she ultimately beat her opponent, Rhoda actress Valerie Harper, 21,351 votes to 12,613 votes after a second vote was taken. In 2003, she was re-elected, defeating Kent McCord with 50% of the vote to his 42%. In July 2005, she announced that she would not seek a third term and she was succeeded by Alan Rosenberg, who assumed the Guild presidency on September 25.
Personal life
At 17, she reconnected with then little-known actor Rob Lowe, also 17. They met briefly when they were about 14. In 1981, Melissa, in her convertible, saw Lowe stopped next to her at a red light. Gilbert dated Lowe on-and-off for six years. During this time, both had affairs with other famous people. Melissa dated Tom Cruise, John Cusack, Scott Baio, and Billy Idol. After Lowe's failed romance with Princess Stéphanie, he suddenly proposed to Gilbert. While making wedding plans, Gilbert found out she was pregnant. Upon being informed of the pregnancy, Lowe ended their relationship. Gilbert miscarried days later.
Heart-broken, Gilbert left for New York City to star in the play A Shayna Maidel. Gilbert was set up with actor Bo Brinkman, a cousin of actors Randy Quaid and Dennis Quaid. The couple married on February 22, 1988, only seven weeks after she ended her relationship with Rob Lowe. Gilbert became pregnant months later. US Magazine featured a very pregnant Gilbert wrapped in a sheer sheet and named her one of "America's Ten Most Beautiful Women" in 1988. On May 1, 1989, she gave birth to Dakota Paul Brinkman. After Dakota's birth, the couple began to have marital problems and divorced in 1992.
Only weeks after Gilbert's divorce filing, Bruce Boxleitner's ex-wife (Kathryn Holcomb) set Bruce up with Gilbert. Holcomb by then was married to actor Ian Ogilvy. Gilbert had met Boxleitner as a teenager when they both were on Battle of the Network Stars. Gilbert introduced herself as she had a pin-up of him in her locker. Boxleitner ignored her as she was a teen and he was many years older than her. The couple was on-and-off for over a year. They were engaged twice and Boxleitner broke up with her each time. After re-uniting for a third time, they finally married on January 1, 1995 in her mother's living room. Gilbert quickly became pregnant, but went into premature labor more than two months before her due date. She gave birth to a son, Michael Garrett Boxleitner, named in honor of Michael Landon, on October 6, 1995. His middle name is in honor of Garret Peckinpah, her friend Sandy Peckinpah's son, who had died suddenly of meningitis at age 16.
Gilbert is also stepmother to Boxleitner's two sons with Holcomb, Sam (b. 1980) and Lee (b. 1985).
She has battled alcoholism and drug abuse, which she wrote about in her 2009 autobiography.
On July 22, 2010, Gilbert underwent surgery to replace a disc as well as fuse a vertebra in her lower spine. The surgery was described as a complete success. It was discovered during a doctor's visit that she had been playing the role of Caroline "Ma" Ingalls in the touring musical Little House on the Prairie with a broken back for months.
On March 1, 2011, Gilbert announced that she and Boxleitner had separated.
Filmography
Films
Year Film Role Notes
1977 Circus, Lions, Tigers and Melissas Too -
Christmas Miracle in Caufield, U.S.A. Kelly Sullivan TV movie
1979 Nutcracker Fantasy Clara Voice
The Miracle Worker Helen Keller TV movie / Nominated for an Emmy Award
1980 The Diary of Anne Frank Anne Frank TV movie
1981 Splendor in the Grass Wilma Dean 'Deanie' Loomis TV movie
1983 Choices of the Heart Jean Donovan TV movie
Little House: Look Back to Yesterday Laura Ingalls Wilder TV movie
Little House: Bless All the Dear Children Laura Ingalls Wilder TV movie
1984 Little House: The Last Farewell Laura Ingalls Wilder TV movie
Family Secrets Sara Calloway TV movie
1985 Sylvester Charlie
1986 Drug Free Kids: A Parents' Guide - Direct-to-video
Choices Terry Granger TV movie
The Penalty Phase Leah Furman TV movie
1987 Blood Vows: The Story of a Mafia Wife Marian TV movie
1988 Killer Instinct Dr. Lisa DaVito TV movie
1989 Ice House Kay
1990 Without Her Consent Emily Briggs TV movie
Forbidden Nights Judith Shapiro TV movie
Joshua's Heart Claudia TV movie
Donor Dr. Kristine Lipton TV movie
The Lookalike Gina/Jennifer TV movie
1992 With a Vengeance Janet King/Vanessa TV movie
1993 Family of Strangers Julie TV movie
With Hostile Intent Miranda Berkley TV movie
Shattered Trust: The Shari Karney Story Shari Karney TV movie
House of Secrets Marion Ravinel TV movie
Dying to Remember Lynn Matthews TV movie
1994 The Babymaker: The Dr. Cecil Jacobson Story Mary Bennett TV movie
Against Her Will: The Carrie Buck Story Melissa Prentice TV movie
Cries from the Heart Karen TV movie
1995 Zoya Zoya Ossipov TV movie
1996 Christmas in My Hometown
(a.k.a. A Holiday for Love) Emma Murphy TV movie
1997 Seduction in a Small Town Sarah Jenks TV movie
Childhood Sweetheart? Karen Carlson TV movie
1998 Her Own Rules Meredith Sanders TV movie
1999 Murder at 75 Birch Gwen Todson TV movie
The Soul Collector Rebecca TV movie
Switched at Birth Sarah Barlow TV movie
2000 A Vision of Murder: The Story of Donielle Donielle TV movie
2001 Sanctuary Jo Ellen Hathaway TV movie
2003 Hollywood Wives: The New Generation Taylor Singer TV movie
2004 Heart of the Storm Cassie Broadbeck
2005 Thicker Than Water Natalie Jones TV movie
2007 Sacrifices of the Heart originally titled Spring Thaw Kate Weston/Anne Weston TV movie
Safe Harbour Ophelia Direct-to-video
TV series
Year Title Role Seasons Notes
1974–83 Little House on the Prairie Laura Ingalls Wilder 1–9 Won two Young Artist Awards. Also nominated for a Golden Globe Award
1992 Stand By Your Man Rochelle Dumphy 1
1992–95 Batman: The Animated Series Barbara Gordon/Batgirl 1-2 Voice
1994–95 Sweet Justice Kate Delacroy 1
TV appearances
Year Title Season Role Episode Notes
1972 Gunsmoke 18 Spratt's Child "The Judgement" Episode 4
Emergency! 2 Jenny "Dinner Date" Episode 10
1978 The Love Boat 2 Rocky "Julie's Dilemma/Who's Who/Rocky" Episode 3
1985 Faerie Tale Theatre 4 Gerda "The Snow Queen" Episode 2
1991 The Hidden Room 1 - "Spirit Cabinet" Episode 4
1996 Babylon 5 3 Anna Sheridan "War Without End: Part 2"
"Shadow Dancing"
"Z'ha'dum" Episode 17
Episode 21
Episode 22
1998 The Outer Limits 4 Teresa Janovitch "Relativity Theory" Episode 6
Touched by an Angel 5 Michelle Tanner "The Peacemaker" Episode 10
2002 Providence 4 Lorna Berlin "Smoke and Mirrors" Episode 21
Presidio Med 1 Grace Bennett "Once Upon a Family" Episode 7
2005 7th Heaven 9 Marie Wagner "Honor Thy Mother" Episode 18
2006 Nip/Tuck 4 Shari Noble "Shari Noble" Episode 4
2009 Chelsea Lately 3 Herself "Chelsea Lately" Episode 131
2010 The Talk 1 Herself - Guest - Episode 29
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I like Little House On The Prairie.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 05/08/11 at 7:44 am
I like Little House On The Prairie.
Me too :)
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 05/09/11 at 6:30 am
The person of the day...Candice Bergen
Candice Patricia Bergen (born May 9, 1946) is an American actress and former fashion model.
She is known for starring in two TV series, as the title character on the situation comedy Murphy Brown (1988–1998), for which she won five Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards; and as Shirley Schmidt on the comedy-drama Boston Legal (2004–2008), for which she was nominated for two Emmys, a Golden Globe, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. She starred in several major films throughout the mid 1960s to early 1980s such as The Sand Pebbles, Carnal Knowledge, The Wind and the Lion, and Gandhi and received an Academy Award nomination for her role in Starting Over. Her later career includes character roles in Miss Congeniality and Sweet Home Alabama.
Bergen was born in Beverly Hills, California. Her mother, Frances Bergen (née Westerman), was a Powers model who was known professionally as Frances Westcott. Her father, Edgar Bergen, was a ventriloquist, comedian, and actor. Her paternal grandparents were Swedish-born immigrants who anglicized their surname. As a child, Bergen was irritated at being referred to as Charlie McCarthy's little sister, Charlie McCarthy being her father's star dummy.
Career
Bergen began appearing on her father's radio program at a young age, and in 1958, at age eleven, with her father on Groucho Marx's quiz show You Bet Your Life as Candy Bergen. She said that when she grew up she wanted to design clothes.
Bergen made her screen debut playing an aloof university student in The Group (1966), which delicately touched on the then-forbidden subject of lesbianism. Her second film in 1966 was The Sand Pebbles, in which she played Shirley Eckert, an assistant school teacher and missionary opposite Steve McQueen. The film was nominated for several Academy Awards. After starring in the French film Live for Life (1967) and The Magus (1968) with Michael Caine and Anthony Quinn, she was featured in a 1970 political satire, The Adventurers, playing a frustrated socialite who has a lesbian affair. In 1975 she starred with Sean Connery in The Wind and the Lion, as a headstrong American widow kidnapped in Morocco in 1904 along with her two young children.
Bergen at the 60th Academy Awards in 1988.
Despite initial rocky reviews, she appeared in such films as Mike Nichols' provocative Carnal Knowledge (1971) and the Burt Reynolds romantic comedy Starting Over (1979), for which she received Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations for best supporting actress.
Bergen had roles in Western films including The Hunting Party and Bite the Bullet, both of which starred Gene Hackman. She was the love interest of Ryan O'Neal in the Love Story sequel, Oliver's Story, and portrayed a best-selling author in Rich and Famous (1981) with Jacqueline Bisset.
Bergen has written articles, a play, and a memoir, Knock Wood (1984). She has also studied photography and worked as a photojournalist. Considered one of Hollywood's most beautiful women, Bergen worked as a fashion model before she took up acting.
Turning to television and given a chance to show her little-seen comic talent, Murphy Brown, Bergen played a tough television reporter. Primarily a conventional sit-com, the show did tackle important issues: TV star Murphy Brown, a recovering alcoholic, became a single mother and later battled breast cancer. In 1992, Vice President Dan Quayle criticized prime-time TV for showing the Murphy Brown character "mocking the importance of fathers by bearing a child alone and calling it just another lifestyle choice." His remarks became comedic fodder, and were written into the show as if he were talking about the Murphy Brown character, who was depicted watching Quayle's speech. A subsequent episode explored the subject of family values within a diverse set of families. The Brown character arranges for a truckload of potatoes to be dumped in front of Quayle's residence, an allusion to an infamous incident in which Quayle erroneously directed a school child to spell the word "potato" as "potatoe". In reality, Bergen agreed with at least some of Quayle's observations, saying that while the particular remark was "an arrogant and uninformed posture", as a whole, it was "a perfectly intelligent speech about fathers not being dispensable and nobody agreed with that more than I did." Bergen's run on Murphy Brown was extremely successful: between 1989 and 1995 she was nominated for an Emmy Award seven times and won five. After her fifth win, she declined future nominations for the role. Throughout the same time frame as Murphy Brown, Bergen also appeared as the main spokesperson for a Sprint telephone ad campaign, known to many in the ads as the "Dime Lady", for advertising Sprint's 10 cents a minute rate.
After playing the role of the successful journalist, Bergen was offered a chance to work as a real-life one. After the run of Murphy Brown ended in 1998, CBS approached her to cover stories for 60 Minutes, an offer she declined, with the conviction that she didn't personally want to blur the lines between actor and journalist at the time.
After Murphy Brown, Bergen hosted Exhale with Candice Bergen on the Oxygen network. She also appeared in character roles in films, most notably Miss Congeniality (2000) as a former beauty queen who rivals Sandra Bullock; and as the mayor of New York who disapproves of her son marrying Reese Witherspoon in Sweet Home Alabama (2002). She also appeared in the comedies View from the Top with Gwyneth Paltrow and The In-Laws with Michael Douglas, both released in 2003.
In January 2005, Bergen joined the cast of the television series Boston Legal as Shirley Schmidt, a founding partner in the law firm of Crane, Poole & Schmidt. She played the role for five seasons. In 2006 and 2008, she received Emmy nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series.
A frequent host on NBC's Saturday Night Live, she was the first woman to host the show and the first host to do a second show. Bergen guest-starred on The Muppet Show in its first year, appearing in several skits, an episode now available in a DVD collection. She was also featured in a long-running "Dime Lady" ad campaign for the Sprint phone company.
She has also made guest appearances on many other TV shows, including Seinfeld (as herself playing Murphy Brown), Law & Order, Family Guy, Will & Grace (playing herself), and Sex and the City, where she played Enid Frick, Carrie Bradshaw's editor at Vogue. More recently she appeared in the 2009 movie Bride Wars as Marion St. Claire, New York's most sought-after wedding planner, who also serves as the narrator of the story.
Since its launch in 2008, Candice Bergen has been a contributor for wowOwow.com, a website for women to talk culture, politics and gossip.
Bergen has an occasional role on House as Lisa Cuddy's mother, starting in Season 7, including the 2011 episodes "Larger Than Life" and "Family Practice".
Personal life
Candice Bergen attended the University of Pennsylvania, where she was elected both Homecoming Queen and Miss University, but acknowledges that her failure to take her education seriously resulted in her being asked to leave.
During the 1960s, Bergen and then-boyfriend Terry Melcher, the son of Doris Day, lived at 10050 Cielo Drive in Los Angeles, which was later occupied by Sharon Tate and her husband, Roman Polanski. Tate and four others were murdered in the home in 1969 by followers of Charles Manson. There was some initial speculation that Melcher may have been the intended victim.
A political activist, Bergen accepted a date with Henry Kissinger. During her activist days she participated in a Yippie prank when she, Abbie Hoffman, and others threw dollar bills onto the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in 1967, leading to its temporary shut-down. In 1972, she served as a fundraiser and organizer for George McGovern's presidential campaign.
On September 27, 1980, she married French film director Louis Malle (Bergen herself has traveled extensively and speaks French fluently). They had one child, a daughter named Chloé Malle, in 1985. The couple were married until Malle's death from cancer on Thanksgiving Day in 1995.
Since June 15, 2000, she has been married to New York real estate magnate and philanthropist Marshall Rose.
Awards won
Emmy Awards:
* Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for: Murphy Brown (1989, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1995) 5 wins
Golden Globe Awards:
* Best Performance by an Actress in a TV-Series – Comedy/Musical for: Murphy Brown (1989, 1992) 2 wins
Filmography
Candice Bergen and her mother Frances Bergen at the 62nd Academy Awards March 26, 1990
List of feature film credits Year↓ Title↓ Role↓ Notes
1966 Group, TheThe Group Lakey
1966 Sand Pebbles, TheThe Sand Pebbles Shirley Eckert
1967 Day the Fish Came Out, TheThe Day the Fish Came Out Electra Brown
1967 Vivre pour vivre Candice aka Live for Life (US)
1968 Magus, TheThe Magus Lily
1970 Adventurers, TheThe Adventurers Sue Ann Daley
1970 Getting Straight Jan
1970 Soldier Blue Kathy Maribel Lee, 'Cresta'
1971 Carnal Knowledge Susan
1971 Hunting Party, TheThe Hunting Party Melissa Ruger
1971 T.R. Baskin T. R. Baskin aka A Date with a Lonely Girl (UK)
1974 11 Harrowhouse Maren Shirell
1975 Wind and the Lion, TheThe Wind and the Lion Eden Pedecaris
1975 Bite the Bullet Miss Jones
1977 Domino Principle, TheThe Domino Principle Ellie Tucker aka The Domino Killings (UK)
1978 Night Full of Rain, AA Night Full of Rain Lizzy
1978 Oliver's Story Marcie Bonwit
1979 Starting Over Jessica Potter
1981 Rich and Famous Merry Noel Blake
1982 Gandhi Margaret Bourke-White
1984 2010 SAL 9000 voice only (credited as Olga Mallsnerd)
1985 Stick Kyle McClaren
2000 Miss Congeniality Kathy Morningside
2002 Sweet Home Alabama Mayor Kate Hennings
2003 View from the Top Sally Weston
2003 In-Laws, TheThe In-Laws Judy Tobias
2008 Sex and the City Enid Frick
2008 Women, TheThe Women Catherine Frazier
2009 Bride Wars Marion St. Claire
2010 Romantics, TheThe Romantics Augusta
Short subject
* Unusual Occupations: Film Tot Holiday (1947)
* Flash 02 (1967)
* The Lion Roars Again (1975)
Documentary
* Wedding of the Doll (1968)
* Frames from the Edge (1989)
* Belly Talkers (1996)
* Who Is Henry Jaglom? (1997)
Television
* Coronet Blue (1 episode, 1967)
* The Kraft Music Hall (1 episode, 1969)
* Saturday Night Live (1975)
* The Muppet Show (1976)
* Arthur the King (1985) (aka Merlin & the Sword) .... Morgan le Fay
* Murder: By Reason of Insanity (1985)
* Hollywood Wives (1985) (miniseries)
* Mayflower Madam (1987)
* Trying Times (1 episode, 1987)
* Murphy Brown (247 episodes, 1988–1998) (also executive producer)
* Seinfeld (1 episode, 1992)
* Understanding Sex (1994) .... Narrator
* Understanding (2 episodes, 1995) .... Narrator
* Mary & Tim (1996) (also co-executive producer)
* Ink (1 episode, 1997)
* Family Guy (2 episodes, 2000) as Gloria Ironbox
* Footsteps (2003)
* Sex and the City (3 episodes, 2004) as Vogue editor Enid Frick
* Law & Order (1 episode, 2004) .... Judge Amanda Anderlee
* Will & Grace (2004) as herself
* Law & Order: Trial by Jury (3 episodes, 2005) .... Judge Amanda Anderlee
* Boston Legal (78 episodes, cast member from 2005–2008)
* House (3 episodes, 2011)
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Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 05/09/11 at 7:17 am
I used to watch Murphy Brown.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 05/10/11 at 6:33 am
The person of the day...Bono
Paul David Hewson (born 10 May 1960), most commonly known by his stage name Bono (pronounced /ˈbɒnoʊ/ BON-oh), is an Irish singer, musician, and humanitarian best known for being the main vocalist of the Dublin-based rock band U2. Bono was born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, and attended Mount Temple Comprehensive School where he met his future wife, Ali Hewson, and the future members of U2. Bono writes almost all U2 lyrics, often using political, social, and religious themes. During their early years, Bono's lyrics contributed to U2's rebellious and spiritual tone. As the band matured, his lyrics became inspired more by personal experiences shared with members of U2.
Outside the band, he has collaborated and recorded with numerous artists, sits on the board of Elevation Partners, and has refurbished and owns The Clarence Hotel in Dublin with The Edge. Bono is also widely known for his activism concerning Africa, for which he co-founded DATA, EDUN, the ONE Campaign and Product Red. He has organised and played in several benefit concerts and has met with influential politicians. Bono has been praised and criticised for his activism and involvement with U2. He has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, was granted an honorary knighthood by Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, and was named as a Person of the Year by Time, among other awards and nominations.
Bono is married to Alison Hewson (née Stewart). Their relationship began in 1975 and the couple were married on 21 August 1982 in a Church of Ireland (Anglican) ceremony at All Saints Church, Raheny (built by the Guinness family), with Adam Clayton acting as Bono's best man. The couple have four children: daughters Jordan (b. 10 May 1989) and Memphis Eve (b. 7 July 1991) and sons Elijah Bob Patricius Guggi Q (b. 18 August 1999) and John Abraham (b. 21 May 2001); Memphis Eve portrayed the character Stella in the 2008 film The 27 Club. Bono lives in Killiney in south County Dublin with his family and shares a villa in Èze in the Alpes-Maritimes in the south of France with The Edge. Bono is almost never seen in public without sunglasses. During a Rolling Stone interview he stated:
“ very sensitive eyes to light. If somebody takes my photograph, I will see the flash for the rest of the day. My right eye swells up. I've a blockage there, so that my eyes go red a lot. So it's part vanity, it's part privacy and part sensitivity. ”
In 2002, he was listed as one of the 100 Greatest Britons in a poll conducted among the general public, despite the fact that he is Irish.
In May 2010, Bono suffered an injury while preparing for the forthcoming U2 tour, and was taken to a German neurosurgery clinic in Munich for emergency surgery. The entire North American leg was postponed and rescheduled into 2011.
Musical career
U2
A black and white image of a light-skinned man singing into a microphone. He is visible from the chest up and wears a sleeveless black shirt with an opened sleeveless white vest overtop. A small cross is worn around his neck. His black hair is styled into a mullet. The man looks past the camera to the left. A mixture of trees and sky are visible in the background.
Bono on stage in 1983
Main article: U2
On 25 September 1976, Bono, David Evans ("The Edge"), his brother Dik, and Adam Clayton responded to an advertisement on a bulletin board at Mount Temple posted by fellow student Larry Mullen Jr. to form a rock band. The band had occasional jam sessions in which they did covers of other bands. Tired of long guitar solos and hard rock, Bono wanted to play Rolling Stones and The Beach Boys songs. Unfortunately the band could not play covers very well, so they started writing their own songs.
The band went by the name "Feedback" for a few months, before changing to "The Hype" later on. After Dik Evans left the group to join another local band, the Virgin Prunes, the remaining four officially changed the name from "The Hype" to "U2". Initially Bono sang, played guitar, and wrote the band's songs. He said of his early guitar playing in a 1982 interview, "When we started out I was the guitar player, along with the Edge—except I couldn't play guitar. I still can't. I was such a lousy guitar player that one day they broke it to me that maybe I should sing instead. I had tried before, but I had no voice at all. I remember the day I found I could sing. I said, 'Oh, that's how you do it.'" When The Edge's guitar playing improved, Bono was relegated mostly to the microphone, although he occasionally still plays rhythm guitar and harmonica. As of 2006, Bono has taken piano lessons from his children's piano teacher as a means to improve his songwriting.
Bono writes the lyrics for almost all U2 songs, which are often rich in social and political themes. His lyrics frequently allude to a religious connection or meaning, evident in songs such as "Gloria" from the band's album October, and "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" from The Joshua Tree. During the band's early years, Bono was known for his rebellious tone which turned to political anger and rage during the band's War, The Joshua Tree and Rattle and Hum eras. Following the Enniskillen bombing that left 11 dead and 63 injured on 8 November 1987, the Provisional IRA paramilitaries threatened to kidnap Bono. IRA supporters also attacked a vehicle carrying the band members. These acts were in response to his speech condemning the Remembrance Day Bombing during a live performance of "Sunday Bloody Sunday". The singer had been advised to cut his on-stage outburst from the Rattle and Hum film, but it was left in. Also featured in the film is footage of Bono spray-painting a monument during an outdoor performance; Bono was forced to pay a fine.
Bono as his alter-ego "The Fly" on the Zoo TV Tour in 1992
U2's sound and focus dramatically changed with their 1991 album, Achtung Baby. Bono's lyrics became more personal, inspired by experiences related to the private lives of the members of the band. During the band's Zoo TV Tour several of his stage personas were showcased; these included "The Fly", a stereotypical rock star, the "Mirror Ball Man", a parody of American televangelists, and "Mr. MacPhisto", a combination of a corrupted rock star and the Devil.
During performances he attempts to interact with the crowd as often as possible and is known for pulling audience members onto the stage or moving himself down to the physical level of the audience. This has happened on several occasions including at the Live Aid concert in 1985 where he leapt off the stage and pulled a woman from the crowd to dance with her as the band played "Bad", and in 2005 during U2's Vertigo Tour stop in Chicago, where he pulled a boy onto the stage during the song "An Cat Dubh / Into the Heart". Bono has often allowed fans to come on stage and perform songs with the band.
Bono has won numerous awards with U2, including 22 Grammy awards and the 2003 Golden Globe award for best original song, "The Hands That Built America", for the film Gangs of New York. During the live broadcast of the ceremony, Bono called the award "really, really fudgeing brilliant!" In response, the Parents Television Council condemned Bono for his profanity and started a campaign for its members to file complaints with the FCC. Although Bono's use of "fudge" violated FCC indecency standards, the FCC refused to fine NBC because the network did not receive advance notice of the consequences of broadcasting such profanity and the profanity in question was not used in its literal sexual meaning.
U2 performing at Madison Square Garden in November 2005.
In 2005, the U2 band members were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, in their first year of eligibility. In November 2008, Rolling Stone ranked Bono the 32nd greatest singer of all-time.
Bono and his bandmates were criticised in 2007 for moving part of their multi-million euro song catalogue from Ireland to Amsterdam six months before Ireland ended a tax exemption on musicians' royalties. Under Dutch tax law, bands are subject to low to non-existent tax rates. U2's manager, Paul McGuinness, stated that the arrangement is legal and customary and businesses often seek to minimise their tax burdens. The move prompted criticisms in the Irish parliament. The band later responded by stating that approximately 95% of their business took place outside Ireland, and that they were taxed globally because of this. Bono was one of several super-rich figures whose tax arrangements were singled out for criticism in a report by the charity Christian Aid in 2008.
Collaborations
In addition to his work with U2, he has collaborated with Frank Sinatra, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Luciano Pavarotti, Sinéad O'Connor, Green Day, Roy Orbison, Bob Dylan, Tina Turner, BB King and Zucchero. He has recorded with Ray Charles, Quincy Jones, Kirk Franklin, Bruce Springsteen, Tony Bennett, Clannad, The Corrs, Wyclef Jean, Kylie Minogue, Jay-Z and Rihanna, as well as reportedly completing an unreleased duet with Jennifer Lopez. On Robbie Robertson's 1987 eponymous album, he plays bass guitar and vocals. On Michael Hutchence's 1999 posthumous eponymous album, Bono completed a recording of "Slide Away" as a duet with Hutchence.
Other endeavours
In 1992, Bono, along with the Edge, bought and refurbished Dublin's two-star 70-bedroom Clarence Hotel with The Edge, and converted it into a five-star 49-bedroom hotel.
The Edge and Bono have also recorded several songs together, exclusive of the band. They have also been working on penning the score for the 2011 rock musical Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark. Bono is a known Celtic F.C. fan, and in 1998 it was rumoured that Bono intended to buy shares in the Scottish club, which Bono denied.
In May 2007, MTV reported that Bono was writing the foreword for a collection of poetry entitled "Third Rail". The book's foreword gives detail of the meanings of the poetry, saying "The poets who fill the pews here have come to testify, to bear witness to the mysterious power of rock and roll...Rock and roll is truly a broad church, but each lights a candle to their vision of what it is." The collection, which is edited by poet Jonathan Wells, contains titles such as "Punk rock You're My Big Crybaby", "Variation on a Theme by Whitesnake", and "Vince Neil Meets Josh in a Chinese Restaurant in Malibu (After Ezra Pound)."
Bono is on the board of the Elevation Partners private-equity firm, which attempted to purchase Eidos Interactive in 2005 and has since gone on to invest in other entertainment businesses. Bono has invested in the Forbes Media group in the US through Elevation Partners. Elevation Partners became the first outsider to invest in the company, taking a minority stake in Forbes Media LLC, a new company encompassing the 89-year-old business which includes Forbes magazine, the Forbes.com website and other assets. The terms of the deal were not disclosed, but reports said the stake was worth about €194 million ($250m).
In film, Bono has played the character of "Dr. Robert", an anti-war shaman, in the musical Across the Universe. Also in this movie, he sang the Beatles songs "I Am the Walrus" and "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds". Bono's other acting credits include cameos in 1999's Entropy and 2000's Million Dollar Hotel, the latter of which was based on a story conceived by Bono. In 2000 he acted as himself in the short film Sightings of Bono, adapted from a short story by Irish writer Gerard Beirne.
Bono owns a 1.5% stake in social networking site Facebook, an investment that is currently valued at £500 million
Humanitarian work
Bono with President Lula da Silva of Brazil in 2006
Bono has become one of the world's best-known philanthropic performers and was named the most politically effective celebrity of all time by the National Journal. He has been dubbed, "the face of fusion philanthropy", both for his success enlisting powerful allies from a diverse spectrum of leaders in government, religious institutions, philanthropic organisations, popular media, and the business world, as well as for spearheading new organizational networks that bind global humanitarian relief with geopolitical activism and corporate commercial enterprise.
In a 1986 interview with Rolling Stone magazine, Bono explained that he was motivated to become involved in social and political causes by seeing one of the Secret Policeman's Ball benefit shows, staged by John Cleese and producer Martin Lewis for the human-rights organisation Amnesty International in 1979. "I saw 'The Secret Policeman’s Ball' and it became a part of me. It sowed a seed..." In 2001, Bono arranged for U2 to videotape a special live performance for that year's Amnesty benefit show.
Bono and U2 performed on Amnesty's Conspiracy Of Hope tour of the United States in 1986 alongside Sting. U2 also performed in the Band Aid and Live Aid projects, organised by Bob Geldof. In 1984, Bono sang on the Band Aid single "Do They Know it's Christmas?/Feed the World" (a role that was reprised on the 2004 Band Aid 20 single of the same name). Geldof and Bono later collaborated to organise the 2005 Live 8 project, where U2 also performed.
Bono and U.S. President George W. Bush in 2006
Since 1999, Bono has become increasingly involved in campaigning for third-world debt relief and raising awareness of the plight of Africa, including the AIDS pandemic. In the past decade Bono has met with several influential politicians, including former United States President George W. Bush and former Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin. During a March 2002 visit to the White House, after President Bush unveiled a $5 billion aid package, he accompanied the President for a speech on the White House lawn where he stated, "This is an important first step, and a serious and impressive new level of commitment. ... This must happen urgently, because this is a crisis." In May of that year, Bono took US Treasury Secretary Paul H. O'Neill on a four-country tour of Africa. In contrast, in 2005, Bono spoke on CBC Radio, alleging then Prime Minister Martin was being slow about increasing Canada's foreign aid. He was a nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2003, 2005, and 2006 for his philanthropy.
In 2004, he was awarded the Pablo Neruda International Presidential Medal of Honour from the Government of Chile. Time Magazine named Bono one of the "100 Most Influential People" in its May 2004 special issue, and again in the 2006 Time 100 special issue. In 2005, Time named Bono a Person of the Year along with Bill and Melinda Gates. Also in 2005, he received the Portuguese Order of Liberty for his humanitarian work. That year Bono was also among the first three recipients of the TED Prize, which grants each winner "A wish to change the world". Bono made three wishes, the first two related to the ONE campaign and the third that every hospital, health clinic and school in Ethiopia should be connected to the Internet. TED rejected the third wish as being a sub-optimal way for TED to help Africa and instead organised a TED conference in Arusha, Tanzania. Bono attended the conference, which was held in June 2007, and attracted headlines with his foul-mouthed heckling of a speech by Andrew Mwenda.
Bono at the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, 2008.
In 2007, Bono was named in the UK's New Years Honours List as an honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire. He was formally granted knighthood on 29 March 2007 in a ceremony at the residence of British Ambassador David Reddaway in Dublin, Ireland.
Bono also received the NAACP Image Award's Chairman's Award in 2007. On 24 May 2007, the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia announced that Bono would receive the Philadelphia Liberty Medal on 27 September 2007 for his work to end world poverty and hunger. On 28 September 2007, in accepting the Liberty Medal, Bono said, "When you are trapped by poverty, you are not free. When trade laws prevent you from selling the food you grew, you are not free, ... When you are a monk in Burma this very week, barred from entering a temple because of your gospel of peace ... well, then none of us are truly free." Bono donated the $100,000 prize to the organisation. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala accepted the award for the Washington-based Debt AIDS Trade Africa.
In 2005 he recorded a version of Don't Give Up with Alicia Keys, with proceeds going to Keep a Child Alive.
On 15 December 2005, Paul Theroux published an op-ed in the New York Times called The Rock Star's Burden (cf. Kipling's The White Man's Burden) that criticised stars such as Bono, Brad Pitt, and Angelina Jolie, labelling them as "mythomaniacs, people who wish to convince the world of their worth." Theroux, who lived in Africa as a Peace Corps Volunteer, added that "the impression that Africa is fatally troubled and can be saved only by outside help—not to mention celebrities and charity concerts—is a destructive and misleading conceit." Elsewhere, Bono has been criticised, along with other celebrities, for " the legitimate voices of Africa and a global movement for justice into a grand orgy of narcissistic philanthropy.
Bono meeting with President Barack Obama in 2010.
On 3 April 2005, Bono paid a personal tribute to John Paul II and called him "a street fighter and a wily campaigner on behalf of the world's poor. We would never have gotten the debts of 23 countries completely cancelled without him." Bono spoke in advance of President Bush at the 54th Annual National Prayer Breakfast, held at the Hilton Washington Hotel on 2 February 2006. In a speech containing biblical references, Bono encouraged the care of the socially and economically depressed. His comments included a call for an extra one percent tithe of the United States' national budget. He brought his Christian views into harmony with other faiths by noting that Christian, Jewish, and Muslim writings all call for the care of the widow, orphan, and stranger. President Bush received praise from the singer-activist for the United States' increase in aid for the African continent. Bono continued by saying much work is left to be done to be a part of God's ongoing purposes.
The organisation DATA (Debt, AIDS, Trade, Africa) was established in 2002 by Bono and Bobby Shriver, along with activists from the Jubilee 2000 Drop the Debt Campaign. DATA aims to eradicate poverty and HIV/AIDS in Africa. DATA encourages Americans to contact senators and other legislators and elected officials to voice their opinions.
In early 2005, Bono, his wife Ali Hewson, and New York-based Irish fashion designer Rogan Gregory launched the socially conscious line EDUN in an attempt to shift the focus in Africa from aid to trade. EDUN's goal is to use factories in Africa, South America, and India that provide fair wages to workers and practice good business ethics to create a business model that will encourage investment in developing nations.
Bono after accepting the Philadelphia Liberty Medal on 27 September 2007.
Bono was a special guest editor of the July 2007 issue of Vanity Fair magazine. The issue was named "The Africa Issue: Politics & Power" and featured an assortment of 20 different covers, with photographs by Annie Leibovitz of a number of prominent celebrities, political leaders, and philanthropists. Each one showcased in the issue for their contributions to the humanitarian relief in Africa.
In an article in Bloomberg Markets in March 2007, journalists Richard Tomlinson and Fergal O’Brien noted that Bono used his band's 2006 Vertigo world tour to promote his ONE Campaign while at the same time "U2 was racking up $389 million in gross ticket receipts, making Vertigo the second-most lucrative tour of all time, according to Billboard magazine. . . . Revenue from the Vertigo tour is funnelled through companies that are mostly registered in Ireland and structured to minimise taxes."
Further criticism came in November 2007, when Bono's various charity campaigns were targeted by Jobs Selasie, head of African Aid Action. Selasie claimed that these charities had increased corruption and dependency in Africa because they failed to work with African entrepreneurs and grassroots organisations, and as a result, Africa has become more dependent on international handouts. Bono responded to his critics in Times Online on 19 February 2006, calling them "cranks carping from the sidelines. A lot of them wouldn’t know what to do if they were on the field. They’re the party who will always be in opposition so they’ll never have to take responsibility for decisions because they know they’ll never be able to implement them."
In November 2007, Bono was honoured by NBC Nightly News as someone "making a difference" in the world. He and anchor Brian Williams had travelled to Africa in May 2007 to showcase the humanitarian crisis on the continent. On 11 December 2008, Bono was given the annual Man of Peace prize, awarded by several Nobel Peace Prize laureates in Paris, France.
Product Red is another initiative begun by Bono and Bobby Shriver to raise money for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria. Bobby Shriver has been announced as the CEO of Product Red, whilst Bono is currently an active public spokesperson for the brand. Product Red is a brand that is licensed to partner companies, such as American Express, Apple, Converse, Motorola, Microsoft, Dell, The Gap, and Giorgio Armani. Each company creates a product with the Product Red logo and a percentage of the profits from the sale of these labelled products will go to the Global Fund.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c382/make_the_maker_smile/Bono.jpg
http://i715.photobucket.com/albums/ww158/kbartke/bono.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 05/10/11 at 6:58 am
The person of the day...Bono
Paul David Hewson (born 10 May 1960), most commonly known by his stage name Bono (pronounced /ˈbɒnoʊ/ BON-oh), is an Irish singer, musician, and humanitarian best known for being the main vocalist of the Dublin-based rock band U2. Bono was born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, and attended Mount Temple Comprehensive School where he met his future wife, Ali Hewson, and the future members of U2. Bono writes almost all U2 lyrics, often using political, social, and religious themes. During their early years, Bono's lyrics contributed to U2's rebellious and spiritual tone. As the band matured, his lyrics became inspired more by personal experiences shared with members of U2.
Outside the band, he has collaborated and recorded with numerous artists, sits on the board of Elevation Partners, and has refurbished and owns The Clarence Hotel in Dublin with The Edge. Bono is also widely known for his activism concerning Africa, for which he co-founded DATA, EDUN, the ONE Campaign and Product Red. He has organised and played in several benefit concerts and has met with influential politicians. Bono has been praised and criticised for his activism and involvement with U2. He has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, was granted an honorary knighthood by Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, and was named as a Person of the Year by Time, among other awards and nominations.
Bono is married to Alison Hewson (née Stewart). Their relationship began in 1975 and the couple were married on 21 August 1982 in a Church of Ireland (Anglican) ceremony at All Saints Church, Raheny (built by the Guinness family), with Adam Clayton acting as Bono's best man. The couple have four children: daughters Jordan (b. 10 May 1989) and Memphis Eve (b. 7 July 1991) and sons Elijah Bob Patricius Guggi Q (b. 18 August 1999) and John Abraham (b. 21 May 2001); Memphis Eve portrayed the character Stella in the 2008 film The 27 Club. Bono lives in Killiney in south County Dublin with his family and shares a villa in Èze in the Alpes-Maritimes in the south of France with The Edge. Bono is almost never seen in public without sunglasses. During a Rolling Stone interview he stated:
“ very sensitive eyes to light. If somebody takes my photograph, I will see the flash for the rest of the day. My right eye swells up. I've a blockage there, so that my eyes go red a lot. So it's part vanity, it's part privacy and part sensitivity. ”
In 2002, he was listed as one of the 100 Greatest Britons in a poll conducted among the general public, despite the fact that he is Irish.
In May 2010, Bono suffered an injury while preparing for the forthcoming U2 tour, and was taken to a German neurosurgery clinic in Munich for emergency surgery. The entire North American leg was postponed and rescheduled into 2011.
Musical career
U2
A black and white image of a light-skinned man singing into a microphone. He is visible from the chest up and wears a sleeveless black shirt with an opened sleeveless white vest overtop. A small cross is worn around his neck. His black hair is styled into a mullet. The man looks past the camera to the left. A mixture of trees and sky are visible in the background.
Bono on stage in 1983
Main article: U2
On 25 September 1976, Bono, David Evans ("The Edge"), his brother Dik, and Adam Clayton responded to an advertisement on a bulletin board at Mount Temple posted by fellow student Larry Mullen Jr. to form a rock band. The band had occasional jam sessions in which they did covers of other bands. Tired of long guitar solos and hard rock, Bono wanted to play Rolling Stones and The Beach Boys songs. Unfortunately the band could not play covers very well, so they started writing their own songs.
The band went by the name "Feedback" for a few months, before changing to "The Hype" later on. After Dik Evans left the group to join another local band, the Virgin Prunes, the remaining four officially changed the name from "The Hype" to "U2". Initially Bono sang, played guitar, and wrote the band's songs. He said of his early guitar playing in a 1982 interview, "When we started out I was the guitar player, along with the Edge—except I couldn't play guitar. I still can't. I was such a lousy guitar player that one day they broke it to me that maybe I should sing instead. I had tried before, but I had no voice at all. I remember the day I found I could sing. I said, 'Oh, that's how you do it.'" When The Edge's guitar playing improved, Bono was relegated mostly to the microphone, although he occasionally still plays rhythm guitar and harmonica. As of 2006, Bono has taken piano lessons from his children's piano teacher as a means to improve his songwriting.
Bono writes the lyrics for almost all U2 songs, which are often rich in social and political themes. His lyrics frequently allude to a religious connection or meaning, evident in songs such as "Gloria" from the band's album October, and "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" from The Joshua Tree. During the band's early years, Bono was known for his rebellious tone which turned to political anger and rage during the band's War, The Joshua Tree and Rattle and Hum eras. Following the Enniskillen bombing that left 11 dead and 63 injured on 8 November 1987, the Provisional IRA paramilitaries threatened to kidnap Bono. IRA supporters also attacked a vehicle carrying the band members. These acts were in response to his speech condemning the Remembrance Day Bombing during a live performance of "Sunday Bloody Sunday". The singer had been advised to cut his on-stage outburst from the Rattle and Hum film, but it was left in. Also featured in the film is footage of Bono spray-painting a monument during an outdoor performance; Bono was forced to pay a fine.
Bono as his alter-ego "The Fly" on the Zoo TV Tour in 1992
U2's sound and focus dramatically changed with their 1991 album, Achtung Baby. Bono's lyrics became more personal, inspired by experiences related to the private lives of the members of the band. During the band's Zoo TV Tour several of his stage personas were showcased; these included "The Fly", a stereotypical rock star, the "Mirror Ball Man", a parody of American televangelists, and "Mr. MacPhisto", a combination of a corrupted rock star and the Devil.
During performances he attempts to interact with the crowd as often as possible and is known for pulling audience members onto the stage or moving himself down to the physical level of the audience. This has happened on several occasions including at the Live Aid concert in 1985 where he leapt off the stage and pulled a woman from the crowd to dance with her as the band played "Bad", and in 2005 during U2's Vertigo Tour stop in Chicago, where he pulled a boy onto the stage during the song "An Cat Dubh / Into the Heart". Bono has often allowed fans to come on stage and perform songs with the band.
Bono has won numerous awards with U2, including 22 Grammy awards and the 2003 Golden Globe award for best original song, "The Hands That Built America", for the film Gangs of New York. During the live broadcast of the ceremony, Bono called the award "really, really fudgeing brilliant!" In response, the Parents Television Council condemned Bono for his profanity and started a campaign for its members to file complaints with the FCC. Although Bono's use of "fudge" violated FCC indecency standards, the FCC refused to fine NBC because the network did not receive advance notice of the consequences of broadcasting such profanity and the profanity in question was not used in its literal sexual meaning.
U2 performing at Madison Square Garden in November 2005.
In 2005, the U2 band members were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, in their first year of eligibility. In November 2008, Rolling Stone ranked Bono the 32nd greatest singer of all-time.
Bono and his bandmates were criticised in 2007 for moving part of their multi-million euro song catalogue from Ireland to Amsterdam six months before Ireland ended a tax exemption on musicians' royalties. Under Dutch tax law, bands are subject to low to non-existent tax rates. U2's manager, Paul McGuinness, stated that the arrangement is legal and customary and businesses often seek to minimise their tax burdens. The move prompted criticisms in the Irish parliament. The band later responded by stating that approximately 95% of their business took place outside Ireland, and that they were taxed globally because of this. Bono was one of several super-rich figures whose tax arrangements were singled out for criticism in a report by the charity Christian Aid in 2008.
Collaborations
In addition to his work with U2, he has collaborated with Frank Sinatra, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Luciano Pavarotti, Sinéad O'Connor, Green Day, Roy Orbison, Bob Dylan, Tina Turner, BB King and Zucchero. He has recorded with Ray Charles, Quincy Jones, Kirk Franklin, Bruce Springsteen, Tony Bennett, Clannad, The Corrs, Wyclef Jean, Kylie Minogue, Jay-Z and Rihanna, as well as reportedly completing an unreleased duet with Jennifer Lopez. On Robbie Robertson's 1987 eponymous album, he plays bass guitar and vocals. On Michael Hutchence's 1999 posthumous eponymous album, Bono completed a recording of "Slide Away" as a duet with Hutchence.
Other endeavours
In 1992, Bono, along with the Edge, bought and refurbished Dublin's two-star 70-bedroom Clarence Hotel with The Edge, and converted it into a five-star 49-bedroom hotel.
The Edge and Bono have also recorded several songs together, exclusive of the band. They have also been working on penning the score for the 2011 rock musical Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark. Bono is a known Celtic F.C. fan, and in 1998 it was rumoured that Bono intended to buy shares in the Scottish club, which Bono denied.
In May 2007, MTV reported that Bono was writing the foreword for a collection of poetry entitled "Third Rail". The book's foreword gives detail of the meanings of the poetry, saying "The poets who fill the pews here have come to testify, to bear witness to the mysterious power of rock and roll...Rock and roll is truly a broad church, but each lights a candle to their vision of what it is." The collection, which is edited by poet Jonathan Wells, contains titles such as "Punk rock You're My Big Crybaby", "Variation on a Theme by Whitesnake", and "Vince Neil Meets Josh in a Chinese Restaurant in Malibu (After Ezra Pound)."
Bono is on the board of the Elevation Partners private-equity firm, which attempted to purchase Eidos Interactive in 2005 and has since gone on to invest in other entertainment businesses. Bono has invested in the Forbes Media group in the US through Elevation Partners. Elevation Partners became the first outsider to invest in the company, taking a minority stake in Forbes Media LLC, a new company encompassing the 89-year-old business which includes Forbes magazine, the Forbes.com website and other assets. The terms of the deal were not disclosed, but reports said the stake was worth about €194 million ($250m).
In film, Bono has played the character of "Dr. Robert", an anti-war shaman, in the musical Across the Universe. Also in this movie, he sang the Beatles songs "I Am the Walrus" and "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds". Bono's other acting credits include cameos in 1999's Entropy and 2000's Million Dollar Hotel, the latter of which was based on a story conceived by Bono. In 2000 he acted as himself in the short film Sightings of Bono, adapted from a short story by Irish writer Gerard Beirne.
Bono owns a 1.5% stake in social networking site Facebook, an investment that is currently valued at £500 million
Humanitarian work
Bono with President Lula da Silva of Brazil in 2006
Bono has become one of the world's best-known philanthropic performers and was named the most politically effective celebrity of all time by the National Journal. He has been dubbed, "the face of fusion philanthropy", both for his success enlisting powerful allies from a diverse spectrum of leaders in government, religious institutions, philanthropic organisations, popular media, and the business world, as well as for spearheading new organizational networks that bind global humanitarian relief with geopolitical activism and corporate commercial enterprise.
In a 1986 interview with Rolling Stone magazine, Bono explained that he was motivated to become involved in social and political causes by seeing one of the Secret Policeman's Ball benefit shows, staged by John Cleese and producer Martin Lewis for the human-rights organisation Amnesty International in 1979. "I saw 'The Secret Policeman’s Ball' and it became a part of me. It sowed a seed..." In 2001, Bono arranged for U2 to videotape a special live performance for that year's Amnesty benefit show.
Bono and U2 performed on Amnesty's Conspiracy Of Hope tour of the United States in 1986 alongside Sting. U2 also performed in the Band Aid and Live Aid projects, organised by Bob Geldof. In 1984, Bono sang on the Band Aid single "Do They Know it's Christmas?/Feed the World" (a role that was reprised on the 2004 Band Aid 20 single of the same name). Geldof and Bono later collaborated to organise the 2005 Live 8 project, where U2 also performed.
Bono and U.S. President George W. Bush in 2006
Since 1999, Bono has become increasingly involved in campaigning for third-world debt relief and raising awareness of the plight of Africa, including the AIDS pandemic. In the past decade Bono has met with several influential politicians, including former United States President George W. Bush and former Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin. During a March 2002 visit to the White House, after President Bush unveiled a $5 billion aid package, he accompanied the President for a speech on the White House lawn where he stated, "This is an important first step, and a serious and impressive new level of commitment. ... This must happen urgently, because this is a crisis." In May of that year, Bono took US Treasury Secretary Paul H. O'Neill on a four-country tour of Africa. In contrast, in 2005, Bono spoke on CBC Radio, alleging then Prime Minister Martin was being slow about increasing Canada's foreign aid. He was a nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2003, 2005, and 2006 for his philanthropy.
In 2004, he was awarded the Pablo Neruda International Presidential Medal of Honour from the Government of Chile. Time Magazine named Bono one of the "100 Most Influential People" in its May 2004 special issue, and again in the 2006 Time 100 special issue. In 2005, Time named Bono a Person of the Year along with Bill and Melinda Gates. Also in 2005, he received the Portuguese Order of Liberty for his humanitarian work. That year Bono was also among the first three recipients of the TED Prize, which grants each winner "A wish to change the world". Bono made three wishes, the first two related to the ONE campaign and the third that every hospital, health clinic and school in Ethiopia should be connected to the Internet. TED rejected the third wish as being a sub-optimal way for TED to help Africa and instead organised a TED conference in Arusha, Tanzania. Bono attended the conference, which was held in June 2007, and attracted headlines with his foul-mouthed heckling of a speech by Andrew Mwenda.
Bono at the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, 2008.
In 2007, Bono was named in the UK's New Years Honours List as an honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire. He was formally granted knighthood on 29 March 2007 in a ceremony at the residence of British Ambassador David Reddaway in Dublin, Ireland.
Bono also received the NAACP Image Award's Chairman's Award in 2007. On 24 May 2007, the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia announced that Bono would receive the Philadelphia Liberty Medal on 27 September 2007 for his work to end world poverty and hunger. On 28 September 2007, in accepting the Liberty Medal, Bono said, "When you are trapped by poverty, you are not free. When trade laws prevent you from selling the food you grew, you are not free, ... When you are a monk in Burma this very week, barred from entering a temple because of your gospel of peace ... well, then none of us are truly free." Bono donated the $100,000 prize to the organisation. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala accepted the award for the Washington-based Debt AIDS Trade Africa.
In 2005 he recorded a version of Don't Give Up with Alicia Keys, with proceeds going to Keep a Child Alive.
On 15 December 2005, Paul Theroux published an op-ed in the New York Times called The Rock Star's Burden (cf. Kipling's The White Man's Burden) that criticised stars such as Bono, Brad Pitt, and Angelina Jolie, labelling them as "mythomaniacs, people who wish to convince the world of their worth." Theroux, who lived in Africa as a Peace Corps Volunteer, added that "the impression that Africa is fatally troubled and can be saved only by outside help—not to mention celebrities and charity concerts—is a destructive and misleading conceit." Elsewhere, Bono has been criticised, along with other celebrities, for " the legitimate voices of Africa and a global movement for justice into a grand orgy of narcissistic philanthropy.
Bono meeting with President Barack Obama in 2010.
On 3 April 2005, Bono paid a personal tribute to John Paul II and called him "a street fighter and a wily campaigner on behalf of the world's poor. We would never have gotten the debts of 23 countries completely cancelled without him." Bono spoke in advance of President Bush at the 54th Annual National Prayer Breakfast, held at the Hilton Washington Hotel on 2 February 2006. In a speech containing biblical references, Bono encouraged the care of the socially and economically depressed. His comments included a call for an extra one percent tithe of the United States' national budget. He brought his Christian views into harmony with other faiths by noting that Christian, Jewish, and Muslim writings all call for the care of the widow, orphan, and stranger. President Bush received praise from the singer-activist for the United States' increase in aid for the African continent. Bono continued by saying much work is left to be done to be a part of God's ongoing purposes.
The organisation DATA (Debt, AIDS, Trade, Africa) was established in 2002 by Bono and Bobby Shriver, along with activists from the Jubilee 2000 Drop the Debt Campaign. DATA aims to eradicate poverty and HIV/AIDS in Africa. DATA encourages Americans to contact senators and other legislators and elected officials to voice their opinions.
In early 2005, Bono, his wife Ali Hewson, and New York-based Irish fashion designer Rogan Gregory launched the socially conscious line EDUN in an attempt to shift the focus in Africa from aid to trade. EDUN's goal is to use factories in Africa, South America, and India that provide fair wages to workers and practice good business ethics to create a business model that will encourage investment in developing nations.
Bono after accepting the Philadelphia Liberty Medal on 27 September 2007.
Bono was a special guest editor of the July 2007 issue of Vanity Fair magazine. The issue was named "The Africa Issue: Politics & Power" and featured an assortment of 20 different covers, with photographs by Annie Leibovitz of a number of prominent celebrities, political leaders, and philanthropists. Each one showcased in the issue for their contributions to the humanitarian relief in Africa.
In an article in Bloomberg Markets in March 2007, journalists Richard Tomlinson and Fergal O’Brien noted that Bono used his band's 2006 Vertigo world tour to promote his ONE Campaign while at the same time "U2 was racking up $389 million in gross ticket receipts, making Vertigo the second-most lucrative tour of all time, according to Billboard magazine. . . . Revenue from the Vertigo tour is funnelled through companies that are mostly registered in Ireland and structured to minimise taxes."
Further criticism came in November 2007, when Bono's various charity campaigns were targeted by Jobs Selasie, head of African Aid Action. Selasie claimed that these charities had increased corruption and dependency in Africa because they failed to work with African entrepreneurs and grassroots organisations, and as a result, Africa has become more dependent on international handouts. Bono responded to his critics in Times Online on 19 February 2006, calling them "cranks carping from the sidelines. A lot of them wouldn’t know what to do if they were on the field. They’re the party who will always be in opposition so they’ll never have to take responsibility for decisions because they know they’ll never be able to implement them."
In November 2007, Bono was honoured by NBC Nightly News as someone "making a difference" in the world. He and anchor Brian Williams had travelled to Africa in May 2007 to showcase the humanitarian crisis on the continent. On 11 December 2008, Bono was given the annual Man of Peace prize, awarded by several Nobel Peace Prize laureates in Paris, France.
Product Red is another initiative begun by Bono and Bobby Shriver to raise money for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria. Bobby Shriver has been announced as the CEO of Product Red, whilst Bono is currently an active public spokesperson for the brand. Product Red is a brand that is licensed to partner companies, such as American Express, Apple, Converse, Motorola, Microsoft, Dell, The Gap, and Giorgio Armani. Each company creates a product with the Product Red logo and a percentage of the profits from the sale of these labelled products will go to the Global Fund.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c382/make_the_maker_smile/Bono.jpg
http://i715.photobucket.com/albums/ww158/kbartke/bono.jpg
U2 is one of the greatest bands of all time.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 05/11/11 at 5:00 am
The person of the day...Natasha Richardson
Natasha Jane Richardson (11 May 1963 – 18 March 2009) was an English actress of stage and screen. A member of the Redgrave family, she was the daughter of actress Vanessa Redgrave and director/producer Tony Richardson and the granddaughter of Michael Redgrave and Rachel Kempson. Early in her career, she portrayed Mary Shelley and Patty Hearst in feature films, and she received critical acclaim and a Theatre World Award for her Broadway debut in the 1993 revival of Anna Christie. She won the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical, the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical, and the Outer Critics Circle Award for her performance as Sally Bowles in the 1998 Broadway revival of Cabaret. Some of her notable films included Patty Hearst (1988), The Handmaid's Tale (1990), Nell (1994), The Parent Trap (1998) and Maid in Manhattan (2002).
Her first marriage to filmmaker Robert Fox ended in divorce in 1992. In 1994, she married Northern Irish actor Liam Neeson, whom she had met when the two appeared in Anna Christie. The couple had two sons, Micheál and Daniel. Richardson's father died of AIDS-related causes in 1991. She helped raise millions of dollars in the fight against AIDS through the charity amfAR, the American Foundation for AIDS Research. Richardson died in 2009 following a head injury sustained when she fell during a skiing lesson in Quebec.
Richardson was born and raised in London, a member of the Redgrave family, known as a theatrical and film acting dynasty. She was the daughter of director and producer Tony Richardson and actress Vanessa Redgrave, granddaughter of actors Sir Michael Redgrave and Rachel Kempson, sister of Joely Richardson, half sister of Carlo Gabriel Nero and Katharine Grimond Hess, niece of actress Lynn Redgrave and actor Corin Redgrave, and cousin of Jemma Redgrave.
Richardson's parents divorced in 1967. The following year, she made her film debut at the age of four in an uncredited role in The Charge of the Light Brigade, directed by her father.
Richardson was educated in London at two leading independent schools, the Lycée Français Charles de Gaulle in South Kensington, London and St. Paul's Girls' School in Hammersmith, London, before training at the Central School of Speech and Drama.
Career
Theatre
Richardson began her career in regional theatre at the West Yorkshire Playhouse in Leeds. Her first professional work in London's West End was in a revival of Anton Chekhov's The Seagull in 1985. Soon after, she starred in a London stage production of High Society, adapted from the acclaimed Cole Porter film. In 1998, she played the role of Sally Bowles in Sam Mendes' acclaimed revival of Cabaret on Broadway, for which she won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical. The following year she returned to Broadway in Closer, for which she was nominated for the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play, and in 2005, she appeared again with the Roundabout, this time as Blanche DuBois in their revival of Tennessee Williams's A Streetcar Named Desire, opposite John C. Reilly as Stanley Kowalski. In January 2009, two months before her death, Richardson played the role of Desirée in a concert production of Stephen Sondheim's A Little Night Music, opposite her mother, Vanessa Redgrave who played Mme. Armfeldt. The two were slated to headline a brand new Broadway production (which became the current Broadway revival directed by Trevor Nunn), which never came to fruition.
Film
Richardson portrayed Mary Shelley in the 1986 film Gothic, a fictionalized account of the author's creation of Frankenstein. The following year she starred opposite Kenneth Branagh and Colin Firth in A Month in the Country, directed by Pat O'Connor. Director Paul Schrader signed her for the title role in Patty Hearst, his 1988 docudrama about the heiress and her alleged kidnapping. Her performances opposite Robert Duvall and Faye Dunaway in The Handmaid's Tale and Christopher Walken, Rupert Everett, and Helen Mirren in The Comfort of Strangers (directed by Schrader) won her the 1990 Evening Standard British Film Award for Best Actress. She was named Best Actress at the 1994 Karlovy Vary International Film Festival for Widows' Peak, and that same year appeared in Nell opposite Jodie Foster and future husband Liam Neeson. Additional film credits include The Parent Trap (1998), Blow Dry (2001), Chelsea Walls (2001), Waking Up in Reno (2002), Maid in Manhattan (2002), Asylum (2005), which won her a second Evening Standard Award for Best Actress, The White Countess (2005), and Evening (2007). Her last screen appearance was as headmistress of a girls' school in the 2008 comedy Wild Child. During the last week of January 2009, she recorded her offscreen role of the wife of climber George Mallory, who disappeared while climbing Mount Everest during a 1924 expedition, in the 2010 documentary film The Wildest Dream, for which Liam Neeson provides narration. Director Anthony Geffen described listening to the film since her death as "harrowing."
Television
Richardson made her American television debut in a small role in the 1984 CBS miniseries Ellis Island. That same year she made her British television debut in an episode of the BBC series Oxbridge Blues. The following year she appeared as Violet Hunter alongside Jeremy Brett and David Burke in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, in the episode entitled "The Copper Beeches". She starred with Judi Dench, Michael Gambon, and Kenneth Branagh in a 1987 BBC adaptation of the Henrik Ibsen play Ghosts; with Maggie Smith and Rob Lowe in a 1993 BBC adaptation of Suddenly, Last Summer by Tennessee Williams; portrayed Zelda Fitzgerald in the 1993 television movie Zelda; and starred in Haven (2001) on CBS and The Mastersons of Manhattan (2007) on NBC.
Personal life
Richardson in 1999
Richardson's first marriage to filmmaker Robert Fox lasted from 1990 to 1992. She married Irish actor Liam Neeson in the summer of 1994 at the home they shared near Millbrook, New York; she had taken American citizenship. Richardson and Neeson have two sons: Micheál (born 1995) and Daniel (born 1996). Richardson helped raise millions of dollars in the fight against AIDS; her father, director Tony Richardson, died of AIDS-related causes in 1991.
Richardson was actively involved in amfAR, becoming a board of trustees member in 2006, and participated in many other AIDS charities including Bailey House, God's Love We Deliver, Mothers' Voices, AIDS Crisis Trust and National AIDS Trust, for which she was an ambassador. Richardson received amfAR's Award of Courage in November 2000.
A long-time smoker, although she had reportedly quit smoking, Richardson was an outspoken opponent of the ban on smoking in New York City restaurants.
Injury and death
Wikinews has related news: British actress Natasha Richardson dies at age 45
On 16 March 2009, Richardson sustained a head injury when she fell while taking a beginner skiing lesson at the Mont Tremblant Resort in Quebec, about 130 kilometres (81 mi) from Montreal. The injury was followed by a lucid interval, when Richardson seemed to be fine and was able to talk and act normally. Paramedics and an ambulance which initially responded to the accident were told they were not needed and left. Refusing medical attention twice, she returned to her hotel room and about three hours later was taken to a local hospital in Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts after complaining of a headache. She was transferred from there by ambulance to Hôpital du Sacré-Cœur, Montreal, in critical condition and was admitted about seven hours after the fall. The following day she was flown to Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, where she died on 18 March. An autopsy conducted by the New York City Medical Examiners Office on 19 March revealed the cause of death was an "epidural hematoma due to blunt impact to the head", and her death was ruled an accident.
On 19 March, theatre lights were dimmed on Broadway in New York and in London's West End as a mark of respect for Richardson. The following day, a private wake was held at the American Irish Historical Society in Manhattan. On 22 March, a private funeral was held at St. Peter's Episcopal Church near Millbrook, New York, close to the family's upstate home, and Richardson was buried near her grandmother Rachel Kempson in the church cemetery. Richardson's aunt Lynn Redgrave was also buried in the same cemetery on 8 May 2010, near Richardson and Kempson. Richardson's family issued a statement the day of her death, "Liam Neeson, his sons, and the entire family are shocked and devastated by the tragic death of their beloved Natasha. They are profoundly grateful for the support, love and prayers of everyone, and ask for privacy during this very difficult time." Her death garnered attention due to the fact that she was not wearing a helmet at the time when she sustained her injury.
The controversial debate regarding Richardson's death focused on whether wearing helmets should be mandatory. After the incident, the spokesman for Mont Tremblant ski resort, Ian Galbraith, stated that "we recommend all skiers and boarders wear helmets, (but) it is a matter of personal preference whether our guests choose to do so." The main question that millions of people all over the world asked, was whether a helmet could have saved Richardson's life. However, there is not enough sound medical evidence to determine whether wearing helmets decreases the risk of injury or death. Therefore, a mandatory helmet law was never implemented in Quebec; however, the Quebec Ski Areas Association budgeted 200,000 dollars towards a safety campaign. Furthermore, according to a BBC report, the number of skiers and snowboarders who wore helmets increased substantially after several high profile incidents, including Richardson`s tragic death.
Filmography
Year Film Role Notes
1968 The Charge of the Light Brigade Flower girl at wedding Uncredited appearance
1986 Gothic Mary Shelley
1987 A Month in the Country Alice Keach
1988 Patty Hearst Patty Hearst
1989 Fat Man and Little Boy Jean Tatlock
1990 The Handmaid's Tale Kate/Offred Evening Standard British Film Awards — Best Actress
The Comfort of Strangers Mary
1991 The Favour, the Watch and the Very Big Fish Sybil
1992 Past Midnight Laura Mathews
1994 Nell Dr. Paula Olsen
Widows' Peak Mrs Edwina Broome Karlovy Vary International Film Festival — Best Actress
1998 The Parent Trap Elizabeth James
2001 Blow Dry Shelley Allen
Chelsea Walls Mary
2002 Waking Up In Reno Darlene Dodd
Maid in Manhattan Caroline Lane
2005 The White Countess Countess Sofia Belinskya
Asylum Stella Raphael Executive producer
Evening Standard British Film Awards — Best Actress
Nominated — British Independent Film Awards — Best Actress
2007 Evening Constance Lord
2008 Wild Child Mrs. Kingsley Final film appearance
2009 The Wildest Dream Ruth Mallory (wife of George Mallory) Voice only, final performance before death, Liam Neeson narrated.
Television
Year Title Role Notes
1984 Oxbridge Blues Gabriella
1985 The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes Violet Hunter Episode — "The Copper Beeches"
1987 Ghosts Regina
1993 Zelda Zelda Fitzgerald
Hostages Jill Morrell
Suddenly Last Summer Catharine Holly
1996 Tales from the Crypt Fiona Havisham
2001 Haven Ruth Gruber
2007 Mastersons of Manhattan Victoria Masterson
2008 Top Chef Guest Judge
Theatre
Year Production Role Notes
1983 On the Razzle
Top Girls
Charley's Aunt
1985 The Seagull Nina Plays and Players - Most Promising Newcomer Award
A Midsummer Night's Dream Helena
Hamlet Ophelia
1987 High Society Tracy
1993 Anna Christie Anna London Drama Critics' Best Actress Award (London production)
Outer Critics Circle Award — Outstanding Debut of an Actress
Theatre World Award — Outstanding Debut
Nominated — Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play
1998 Cabaret Sally Bowles Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical
Outer Critics Circle Award
Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical
1999 Closer Anna
2003 The Lady from the Sea
2005 A Streetcar Named Desire Blanche DuBois
http://i711.photobucket.com/albums/ww117/cometsandcupids/ew-natasha-richardson-cover1.jpg
http://i732.photobucket.com/albums/ww321/moremsmani/tash-1.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 05/11/11 at 6:55 am
The person of the day...Natasha Richardson
Natasha Jane Richardson (11 May 1963 – 18 March 2009) was an English actress of stage and screen. A member of the Redgrave family, she was the daughter of actress Vanessa Redgrave and director/producer Tony Richardson and the granddaughter of Michael Redgrave and Rachel Kempson. Early in her career, she portrayed Mary Shelley and Patty Hearst in feature films, and she received critical acclaim and a Theatre World Award for her Broadway debut in the 1993 revival of Anna Christie. She won the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical, the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical, and the Outer Critics Circle Award for her performance as Sally Bowles in the 1998 Broadway revival of Cabaret. Some of her notable films included Patty Hearst (1988), The Handmaid's Tale (1990), Nell (1994), The Parent Trap (1998) and Maid in Manhattan (2002).
Her first marriage to filmmaker Robert Fox ended in divorce in 1992. In 1994, she married Northern Irish actor Liam Neeson, whom she had met when the two appeared in Anna Christie. The couple had two sons, Micheál and Daniel. Richardson's father died of AIDS-related causes in 1991. She helped raise millions of dollars in the fight against AIDS through the charity amfAR, the American Foundation for AIDS Research. Richardson died in 2009 following a head injury sustained when she fell during a skiing lesson in Quebec.
Richardson was born and raised in London, a member of the Redgrave family, known as a theatrical and film acting dynasty. She was the daughter of director and producer Tony Richardson and actress Vanessa Redgrave, granddaughter of actors Sir Michael Redgrave and Rachel Kempson, sister of Joely Richardson, half sister of Carlo Gabriel Nero and Katharine Grimond Hess, niece of actress Lynn Redgrave and actor Corin Redgrave, and cousin of Jemma Redgrave.
Richardson's parents divorced in 1967. The following year, she made her film debut at the age of four in an uncredited role in The Charge of the Light Brigade, directed by her father.
Richardson was educated in London at two leading independent schools, the Lycée Français Charles de Gaulle in South Kensington, London and St. Paul's Girls' School in Hammersmith, London, before training at the Central School of Speech and Drama.
Career
Theatre
Richardson began her career in regional theatre at the West Yorkshire Playhouse in Leeds. Her first professional work in London's West End was in a revival of Anton Chekhov's The Seagull in 1985. Soon after, she starred in a London stage production of High Society, adapted from the acclaimed Cole Porter film. In 1998, she played the role of Sally Bowles in Sam Mendes' acclaimed revival of Cabaret on Broadway, for which she won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical. The following year she returned to Broadway in Closer, for which she was nominated for the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play, and in 2005, she appeared again with the Roundabout, this time as Blanche DuBois in their revival of Tennessee Williams's A Streetcar Named Desire, opposite John C. Reilly as Stanley Kowalski. In January 2009, two months before her death, Richardson played the role of Desirée in a concert production of Stephen Sondheim's A Little Night Music, opposite her mother, Vanessa Redgrave who played Mme. Armfeldt. The two were slated to headline a brand new Broadway production (which became the current Broadway revival directed by Trevor Nunn), which never came to fruition.
Film
Richardson portrayed Mary Shelley in the 1986 film Gothic, a fictionalized account of the author's creation of Frankenstein. The following year she starred opposite Kenneth Branagh and Colin Firth in A Month in the Country, directed by Pat O'Connor. Director Paul Schrader signed her for the title role in Patty Hearst, his 1988 docudrama about the heiress and her alleged kidnapping. Her performances opposite Robert Duvall and Faye Dunaway in The Handmaid's Tale and Christopher Walken, Rupert Everett, and Helen Mirren in The Comfort of Strangers (directed by Schrader) won her the 1990 Evening Standard British Film Award for Best Actress. She was named Best Actress at the 1994 Karlovy Vary International Film Festival for Widows' Peak, and that same year appeared in Nell opposite Jodie Foster and future husband Liam Neeson. Additional film credits include The Parent Trap (1998), Blow Dry (2001), Chelsea Walls (2001), Waking Up in Reno (2002), Maid in Manhattan (2002), Asylum (2005), which won her a second Evening Standard Award for Best Actress, The White Countess (2005), and Evening (2007). Her last screen appearance was as headmistress of a girls' school in the 2008 comedy Wild Child. During the last week of January 2009, she recorded her offscreen role of the wife of climber George Mallory, who disappeared while climbing Mount Everest during a 1924 expedition, in the 2010 documentary film The Wildest Dream, for which Liam Neeson provides narration. Director Anthony Geffen described listening to the film since her death as "harrowing."
Television
Richardson made her American television debut in a small role in the 1984 CBS miniseries Ellis Island. That same year she made her British television debut in an episode of the BBC series Oxbridge Blues. The following year she appeared as Violet Hunter alongside Jeremy Brett and David Burke in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, in the episode entitled "The Copper Beeches". She starred with Judi Dench, Michael Gambon, and Kenneth Branagh in a 1987 BBC adaptation of the Henrik Ibsen play Ghosts; with Maggie Smith and Rob Lowe in a 1993 BBC adaptation of Suddenly, Last Summer by Tennessee Williams; portrayed Zelda Fitzgerald in the 1993 television movie Zelda; and starred in Haven (2001) on CBS and The Mastersons of Manhattan (2007) on NBC.
Personal life
Richardson in 1999
Richardson's first marriage to filmmaker Robert Fox lasted from 1990 to 1992. She married Irish actor Liam Neeson in the summer of 1994 at the home they shared near Millbrook, New York; she had taken American citizenship. Richardson and Neeson have two sons: Micheál (born 1995) and Daniel (born 1996). Richardson helped raise millions of dollars in the fight against AIDS; her father, director Tony Richardson, died of AIDS-related causes in 1991.
Richardson was actively involved in amfAR, becoming a board of trustees member in 2006, and participated in many other AIDS charities including Bailey House, God's Love We Deliver, Mothers' Voices, AIDS Crisis Trust and National AIDS Trust, for which she was an ambassador. Richardson received amfAR's Award of Courage in November 2000.
A long-time smoker, although she had reportedly quit smoking, Richardson was an outspoken opponent of the ban on smoking in New York City restaurants.
Injury and death
Wikinews has related news: British actress Natasha Richardson dies at age 45
On 16 March 2009, Richardson sustained a head injury when she fell while taking a beginner skiing lesson at the Mont Tremblant Resort in Quebec, about 130 kilometres (81 mi) from Montreal. The injury was followed by a lucid interval, when Richardson seemed to be fine and was able to talk and act normally. Paramedics and an ambulance which initially responded to the accident were told they were not needed and left. Refusing medical attention twice, she returned to her hotel room and about three hours later was taken to a local hospital in Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts after complaining of a headache. She was transferred from there by ambulance to Hôpital du Sacré-Cœur, Montreal, in critical condition and was admitted about seven hours after the fall. The following day she was flown to Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, where she died on 18 March. An autopsy conducted by the New York City Medical Examiners Office on 19 March revealed the cause of death was an "epidural hematoma due to blunt impact to the head", and her death was ruled an accident.
On 19 March, theatre lights were dimmed on Broadway in New York and in London's West End as a mark of respect for Richardson. The following day, a private wake was held at the American Irish Historical Society in Manhattan. On 22 March, a private funeral was held at St. Peter's Episcopal Church near Millbrook, New York, close to the family's upstate home, and Richardson was buried near her grandmother Rachel Kempson in the church cemetery. Richardson's aunt Lynn Redgrave was also buried in the same cemetery on 8 May 2010, near Richardson and Kempson. Richardson's family issued a statement the day of her death, "Liam Neeson, his sons, and the entire family are shocked and devastated by the tragic death of their beloved Natasha. They are profoundly grateful for the support, love and prayers of everyone, and ask for privacy during this very difficult time." Her death garnered attention due to the fact that she was not wearing a helmet at the time when she sustained her injury.
The controversial debate regarding Richardson's death focused on whether wearing helmets should be mandatory. After the incident, the spokesman for Mont Tremblant ski resort, Ian Galbraith, stated that "we recommend all skiers and boarders wear helmets, (but) it is a matter of personal preference whether our guests choose to do so." The main question that millions of people all over the world asked, was whether a helmet could have saved Richardson's life. However, there is not enough sound medical evidence to determine whether wearing helmets decreases the risk of injury or death. Therefore, a mandatory helmet law was never implemented in Quebec; however, the Quebec Ski Areas Association budgeted 200,000 dollars towards a safety campaign. Furthermore, according to a BBC report, the number of skiers and snowboarders who wore helmets increased substantially after several high profile incidents, including Richardson`s tragic death.
Filmography
Year Film Role Notes
1968 The Charge of the Light Brigade Flower girl at wedding Uncredited appearance
1986 Gothic Mary Shelley
1987 A Month in the Country Alice Keach
1988 Patty Hearst Patty Hearst
1989 Fat Man and Little Boy Jean Tatlock
1990 The Handmaid's Tale Kate/Offred Evening Standard British Film Awards — Best Actress
The Comfort of Strangers Mary
1991 The Favour, the Watch and the Very Big Fish Sybil
1992 Past Midnight Laura Mathews
1994 Nell Dr. Paula Olsen
Widows' Peak Mrs Edwina Broome Karlovy Vary International Film Festival — Best Actress
1998 The Parent Trap Elizabeth James
2001 Blow Dry Shelley Allen
Chelsea Walls Mary
2002 Waking Up In Reno Darlene Dodd
Maid in Manhattan Caroline Lane
2005 The White Countess Countess Sofia Belinskya
Asylum Stella Raphael Executive producer
Evening Standard British Film Awards — Best Actress
Nominated — British Independent Film Awards — Best Actress
2007 Evening Constance Lord
2008 Wild Child Mrs. Kingsley Final film appearance
2009 The Wildest Dream Ruth Mallory (wife of George Mallory) Voice only, final performance before death, Liam Neeson narrated.
Television
Year Title Role Notes
1984 Oxbridge Blues Gabriella
1985 The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes Violet Hunter Episode — "The Copper Beeches"
1987 Ghosts Regina
1993 Zelda Zelda Fitzgerald
Hostages Jill Morrell
Suddenly Last Summer Catharine Holly
1996 Tales from the Crypt Fiona Havisham
2001 Haven Ruth Gruber
2007 Mastersons of Manhattan Victoria Masterson
2008 Top Chef Guest Judge
Theatre
Year Production Role Notes
1983 On the Razzle
Top Girls
Charley's Aunt
1985 The Seagull Nina Plays and Players - Most Promising Newcomer Award
A Midsummer Night's Dream Helena
Hamlet Ophelia
1987 High Society Tracy
1993 Anna Christie Anna London Drama Critics' Best Actress Award (London production)
Outer Critics Circle Award — Outstanding Debut of an Actress
Theatre World Award — Outstanding Debut
Nominated — Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play
1998 Cabaret Sally Bowles Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical
Outer Critics Circle Award
Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical
1999 Closer Anna
2003 The Lady from the Sea
2005 A Streetcar Named Desire Blanche DuBois
http://i711.photobucket.com/albums/ww117/cometsandcupids/ew-natasha-richardson-cover1.jpg
http://i732.photobucket.com/albums/ww321/moremsmani/tash-1.jpg
She died so young. :(
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 05/11/11 at 6:56 am
http://www.yorapper.com/Photos/bob-marley-ringtones.jpg
It's also the 30th Anniversary of Bob Marley's death.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: CatwomanofV on 05/11/11 at 11:12 am
The person of the day...Natasha Richardson
Natasha Jane Richardson (11 May 1963 – 18 March 2009) was an English actress of stage and screen. A member of the Redgrave family, she was the daughter of actress Vanessa Redgrave and director/producer Tony Richardson and the granddaughter of Michael Redgrave and Rachel Kempson. Early in her career, she portrayed Mary Shelley and Patty Hearst in feature films, and she received critical acclaim and a Theatre World Award for her Broadway debut in the 1993 revival of Anna Christie. She won the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical, the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical, and the Outer Critics Circle Award for her performance as Sally Bowles in the 1998 Broadway revival of Cabaret. Some of her notable films included Patty Hearst (1988), The Handmaid's Tale (1990), Nell (1994), The Parent Trap (1998) and Maid in Manhattan (2002).
Her first marriage to filmmaker Robert Fox ended in divorce in 1992. In 1994, she married Northern Irish actor Liam Neeson, whom she had met when the two appeared in Anna Christie. The couple had two sons, Micheál and Daniel. Richardson's father died of AIDS-related causes in 1991. She helped raise millions of dollars in the fight against AIDS through the charity amfAR, the American Foundation for AIDS Research. Richardson died in 2009 following a head injury sustained when she fell during a skiing lesson in Quebec.
Richardson was born and raised in London, a member of the Redgrave family, known as a theatrical and film acting dynasty. She was the daughter of director and producer Tony Richardson and actress Vanessa Redgrave, granddaughter of actors Sir Michael Redgrave and Rachel Kempson, sister of Joely Richardson, half sister of Carlo Gabriel Nero and Katharine Grimond Hess, niece of actress Lynn Redgrave and actor Corin Redgrave, and cousin of Jemma Redgrave.
Richardson's parents divorced in 1967. The following year, she made her film debut at the age of four in an uncredited role in The Charge of the Light Brigade, directed by her father.
Richardson was educated in London at two leading independent schools, the Lycée Français Charles de Gaulle in South Kensington, London and St. Paul's Girls' School in Hammersmith, London, before training at the Central School of Speech and Drama.
Career
Theatre
Richardson began her career in regional theatre at the West Yorkshire Playhouse in Leeds. Her first professional work in London's West End was in a revival of Anton Chekhov's The Seagull in 1985. Soon after, she starred in a London stage production of High Society, adapted from the acclaimed Cole Porter film. In 1998, she played the role of Sally Bowles in Sam Mendes' acclaimed revival of Cabaret on Broadway, for which she won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical. The following year she returned to Broadway in Closer, for which she was nominated for the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play, and in 2005, she appeared again with the Roundabout, this time as Blanche DuBois in their revival of Tennessee Williams's A Streetcar Named Desire, opposite John C. Reilly as Stanley Kowalski. In January 2009, two months before her death, Richardson played the role of Desirée in a concert production of Stephen Sondheim's A Little Night Music, opposite her mother, Vanessa Redgrave who played Mme. Armfeldt. The two were slated to headline a brand new Broadway production (which became the current Broadway revival directed by Trevor Nunn), which never came to fruition.
Film
Richardson portrayed Mary Shelley in the 1986 film Gothic, a fictionalized account of the author's creation of Frankenstein. The following year she starred opposite Kenneth Branagh and Colin Firth in A Month in the Country, directed by Pat O'Connor. Director Paul Schrader signed her for the title role in Patty Hearst, his 1988 docudrama about the heiress and her alleged kidnapping. Her performances opposite Robert Duvall and Faye Dunaway in The Handmaid's Tale and Christopher Walken, Rupert Everett, and Helen Mirren in The Comfort of Strangers (directed by Schrader) won her the 1990 Evening Standard British Film Award for Best Actress. She was named Best Actress at the 1994 Karlovy Vary International Film Festival for Widows' Peak, and that same year appeared in Nell opposite Jodie Foster and future husband Liam Neeson. Additional film credits include The Parent Trap (1998), Blow Dry (2001), Chelsea Walls (2001), Waking Up in Reno (2002), Maid in Manhattan (2002), Asylum (2005), which won her a second Evening Standard Award for Best Actress, The White Countess (2005), and Evening (2007). Her last screen appearance was as headmistress of a girls' school in the 2008 comedy Wild Child. During the last week of January 2009, she recorded her offscreen role of the wife of climber George Mallory, who disappeared while climbing Mount Everest during a 1924 expedition, in the 2010 documentary film The Wildest Dream, for which Liam Neeson provides narration. Director Anthony Geffen described listening to the film since her death as "harrowing."
Television
Richardson made her American television debut in a small role in the 1984 CBS miniseries Ellis Island. That same year she made her British television debut in an episode of the BBC series Oxbridge Blues. The following year she appeared as Violet Hunter alongside Jeremy Brett and David Burke in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, in the episode entitled "The Copper Beeches". She starred with Judi Dench, Michael Gambon, and Kenneth Branagh in a 1987 BBC adaptation of the Henrik Ibsen play Ghosts; with Maggie Smith and Rob Lowe in a 1993 BBC adaptation of Suddenly, Last Summer by Tennessee Williams; portrayed Zelda Fitzgerald in the 1993 television movie Zelda; and starred in Haven (2001) on CBS and The Mastersons of Manhattan (2007) on NBC.
Personal life
Richardson in 1999
Richardson's first marriage to filmmaker Robert Fox lasted from 1990 to 1992. She married Irish actor Liam Neeson in the summer of 1994 at the home they shared near Millbrook, New York; she had taken American citizenship. Richardson and Neeson have two sons: Micheál (born 1995) and Daniel (born 1996). Richardson helped raise millions of dollars in the fight against AIDS; her father, director Tony Richardson, died of AIDS-related causes in 1991.
Richardson was actively involved in amfAR, becoming a board of trustees member in 2006, and participated in many other AIDS charities including Bailey House, God's Love We Deliver, Mothers' Voices, AIDS Crisis Trust and National AIDS Trust, for which she was an ambassador. Richardson received amfAR's Award of Courage in November 2000.
A long-time smoker, although she had reportedly quit smoking, Richardson was an outspoken opponent of the ban on smoking in New York City restaurants.
Injury and death
Wikinews has related news: British actress Natasha Richardson dies at age 45
On 16 March 2009, Richardson sustained a head injury when she fell while taking a beginner skiing lesson at the Mont Tremblant Resort in Quebec, about 130 kilometres (81 mi) from Montreal. The injury was followed by a lucid interval, when Richardson seemed to be fine and was able to talk and act normally. Paramedics and an ambulance which initially responded to the accident were told they were not needed and left. Refusing medical attention twice, she returned to her hotel room and about three hours later was taken to a local hospital in Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts after complaining of a headache. She was transferred from there by ambulance to Hôpital du Sacré-Cœur, Montreal, in critical condition and was admitted about seven hours after the fall. The following day she was flown to Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, where she died on 18 March. An autopsy conducted by the New York City Medical Examiners Office on 19 March revealed the cause of death was an "epidural hematoma due to blunt impact to the head", and her death was ruled an accident.
On 19 March, theatre lights were dimmed on Broadway in New York and in London's West End as a mark of respect for Richardson. The following day, a private wake was held at the American Irish Historical Society in Manhattan. On 22 March, a private funeral was held at St. Peter's Episcopal Church near Millbrook, New York, close to the family's upstate home, and Richardson was buried near her grandmother Rachel Kempson in the church cemetery. Richardson's aunt Lynn Redgrave was also buried in the same cemetery on 8 May 2010, near Richardson and Kempson. Richardson's family issued a statement the day of her death, "Liam Neeson, his sons, and the entire family are shocked and devastated by the tragic death of their beloved Natasha. They are profoundly grateful for the support, love and prayers of everyone, and ask for privacy during this very difficult time." Her death garnered attention due to the fact that she was not wearing a helmet at the time when she sustained her injury.
The controversial debate regarding Richardson's death focused on whether wearing helmets should be mandatory. After the incident, the spokesman for Mont Tremblant ski resort, Ian Galbraith, stated that "we recommend all skiers and boarders wear helmets, (but) it is a matter of personal preference whether our guests choose to do so." The main question that millions of people all over the world asked, was whether a helmet could have saved Richardson's life. However, there is not enough sound medical evidence to determine whether wearing helmets decreases the risk of injury or death. Therefore, a mandatory helmet law was never implemented in Quebec; however, the Quebec Ski Areas Association budgeted 200,000 dollars towards a safety campaign. Furthermore, according to a BBC report, the number of skiers and snowboarders who wore helmets increased substantially after several high profile incidents, including Richardson`s tragic death.
Filmography
Year Film Role Notes
1968 The Charge of the Light Brigade Flower girl at wedding Uncredited appearance
1986 Gothic Mary Shelley
1987 A Month in the Country Alice Keach
1988 Patty Hearst Patty Hearst
1989 Fat Man and Little Boy Jean Tatlock
1990 The Handmaid's Tale Kate/Offred Evening Standard British Film Awards — Best Actress
The Comfort of Strangers Mary
1991 The Favour, the Watch and the Very Big Fish Sybil
1992 Past Midnight Laura Mathews
1994 Nell Dr. Paula Olsen
Widows' Peak Mrs Edwina Broome Karlovy Vary International Film Festival — Best Actress
1998 The Parent Trap Elizabeth James
2001 Blow Dry Shelley Allen
Chelsea Walls Mary
2002 Waking Up In Reno Darlene Dodd
Maid in Manhattan Caroline Lane
2005 The White Countess Countess Sofia Belinskya
Asylum Stella Raphael Executive producer
Evening Standard British Film Awards — Best Actress
Nominated — British Independent Film Awards — Best Actress
2007 Evening Constance Lord
2008 Wild Child Mrs. Kingsley Final film appearance
2009 The Wildest Dream Ruth Mallory (wife of George Mallory) Voice only, final performance before death, Liam Neeson narrated.
Television
Year Title Role Notes
1984 Oxbridge Blues Gabriella
1985 The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes Violet Hunter Episode — "The Copper Beeches"
1987 Ghosts Regina
1993 Zelda Zelda Fitzgerald
Hostages Jill Morrell
Suddenly Last Summer Catharine Holly
1996 Tales from the Crypt Fiona Havisham
2001 Haven Ruth Gruber
2007 Mastersons of Manhattan Victoria Masterson
2008 Top Chef Guest Judge
Theatre
Year Production Role Notes
1983 On the Razzle
Top Girls
Charley's Aunt
1985 The Seagull Nina Plays and Players - Most Promising Newcomer Award
A Midsummer Night's Dream Helena
Hamlet Ophelia
1987 High Society Tracy
1993 Anna Christie Anna London Drama Critics' Best Actress Award (London production)
Outer Critics Circle Award — Outstanding Debut of an Actress
Theatre World Award — Outstanding Debut
Nominated — Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play
1998 Cabaret Sally Bowles Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical
Outer Critics Circle Award
Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical
1999 Closer Anna
2003 The Lady from the Sea
2005 A Streetcar Named Desire Blanche DuBois
http://i711.photobucket.com/albums/ww117/cometsandcupids/ew-natasha-richardson-cover1.jpg
http://i732.photobucket.com/albums/ww321/moremsmani/tash-1.jpg
:\'( :\'( :\'( :\'( :\'(
Cat
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 05/12/11 at 6:30 am
The person of the day...Burt Bacharach
Burt F. Bacharach (play /ˈbækəræk/ bak-ə-rak; born May 12, 1928) is an American pianist, composer and music producer. He is known for his popular hit songs and compositions from the mid-1950s through the 1980s, with lyrics written by Hal David. Many of their hits were produced specifically for, and performed by, Dionne Warwick. Following on with the initial success of this collaboration, Bacharach went on to produce hits with Dusty Springfield, Bobbie Gentry and others.
As of 2006, Bacharach had written 70 Top 40 hits in the US, and 52 Top 40 hits in the UK.
In 1957, Bacharach and lyricist Hal David were introduced while at the Brill Building in New York City, and began their writing partnership. Almost a year later, they received a significant career break when their song "The Story of My Life" was recorded by Marty Robbins for Columbia Records, becoming a No. 1 hit on the U.S. country music charts in late 1957. Soon after, "Magic Moments" was recorded by Perry Como for RCA Records, and became a No. 4 U.S. hit in February of that year. These two songs were back-to-back No. 1 singles in the UK ("The Story of My Life" in a version by Michael Holliday), giving Bacharach and David the honor of being the first songwriters to have written consecutive No. 1 UK singles. In 1959, their song "Make Room for the Joy" was featured in Columbia's film musical Jukebox Rhythm,, sung by Jack Jones.
In the early 1960s, Bacharach wrote well over 100 songs with David. The two were associated throughout the '60s with Dionne Warwick, a conservatory-trained vocalist. Bacharach and David started writing a portion of their work with Warwick in mind, leading to one of the most successful teams in popular music history.
Over a 20-year period, beginning in the early 1960s, Warwick charted 38 singles co-written or produced by Bacharach and David, including 22 Top-40, 12 Top-20, and nine Top-10 hits on the American Billboard Hot 100 charts. During the early '60s, Bacharach also collaborated with Bob Hilliard on a number of songs, including "Please Stay" and "Mexican Divorce" for The Drifters, "Any Day Now" for Chuck Jackson, "Tower of Strength" for Gene McDaniels, and "Dreamin' All the Time" and "Pick Up the Pieces" for Jack Jones.
Other singers of Bacharach songs in the '60s and '70s included Bobby Vinton ("Blue on Blue"); Dusty Springfield ("The Look of Love" from Casino Royale), (a cover of Dionne Warwick's "Wishin' and Hopin'"); Cilla Black (a cover of Dionne Warwick's "Anyone Who Had A Heart"), Cher ("Alfie"); The Shirelles, The Beatles ("Baby, It's You"); The Carpenters ("(They Long to Be) Close to You"); Aretha Franklin ("I Say a Little Prayer"); Isaac Hayes ("Walk On By", from the Hot Buttered Soul album); B. J. Thomas ("Raindrops Keep Falling on my Head", "Everybody's Out of Town"); Tom Jones ("What's New, Pussycat?"); Engelbert Humperdinck ("I'm A Better Man"); Sandie Shaw ("((There's) Always Something There to Remind Me"); Jack Jones ("Wives and Lovers"); Jackie DeShannon ("What the World Needs Now is Love"); Gene Pitney ("Only Love Can Break a Heart," "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance," "24 Hours From Tulsa" and "True Love Never Runs Smooth"); Herb Alpert, ("This Guy's In Love With You"); Liz Damon's Orient Express ("Loneliness Remembers What Happiness Forgets); Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66 ("The Look of Love"); Jerry Butler, the Walker Brothers ("Make It Easy on Yourself"); and the Fifth Dimension ("One Less Bell to Answer").
Bacharach songs were adapted by jazz artists of the time, such as Stan Getz, Cal Tjader and Wes Montgomery. The Bacharach/David composition "My Little Red Book", originally recorded by Manfred Mann for the film What's New, Pussycat?, and promptly covered by Love in 1966, has become a rock standard; however, according to Robin Platts' book "Burt Bacharach and Hal David,", the composer did not like Love's version. The title of the song is likely a tongue-in-cheek reference to Mao Zedong's Little Red Book, which was first published by the Communist Party of China in April 1964.
Bacharach composed and arranged the soundtrack of the 1967 film Casino Royale, which included "The Look of Love," performed by Dusty Springfield, and the title song, an instrumental Top 40 single for Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass. Bacharach and David also collaborated with Broadway producer David Merrick on the 1968 musical Promises, Promises, which yielded two hits, the title tune and "I'll Never Fall in Love Again," for Dionne Warwick. The year 1969 marked, perhaps, the most successful Bacharach-David collaboration, the Oscar-winning "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head," written for and prominently featured in the acclaimed film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
Style
Bacharach's music is characterized by unusual chord progressions, striking syncopated rhythmic patterns, irregular phrasing, frequent modulation, and odd, changing meters. Bacharach has arranged, conducted, and co-produced much of his recorded output.
An example of his distinctive use of changing meter is found in "Promises, Promises" (from his score for the musical of the same name). His style is sometimes also associated with particular instrumental combinations he is assumed to favor or to have favored, including the prominent use of the flugelhorn in such works as "Walk on By", "Nikki", and "Toledo".
1970s and 1980s
In 1970, Johnny Mathis issued a double-LP album set, "Sings the Music of Bacharach & Kaempfert," for Columbia. It consisted of 21 tracks in a heavyweight gatefold picture sleeve. The Bert Kaempfert tracks were done in the arrangement style of the German composer and orchestra leader, and the Bacharach tracks were in the American's upbeat style.
In 1973, Bacharach and David were commissioned to score the Ross Hunter-produced revival of the 1937 film, Lost Horizon for Columbia Pictures. The result was a critical and commercial disaster, and resulted in a flurry of lawsuits between the composer and the lyricist, as well as from Warwick. She reportedly felt abandoned when Bacharach and David refused to work together. Bacharach tried several solo projects (including the 1977 album Futures), but the projects failed to yield hits.
By the early 1980s, Bacharach's marriage to Angie Dickinson had ended, but a new partnership with lyricist Carole Bayer Sager proved rewarding, both commercially and personally. The two married and collaborated on several major hits during the decade, including "Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do)" (Christopher Cross), co-written with Cross and Peter Allen; "Heartlight" (Neil Diamond); "Making Love" (Roberta Flack); "On My Own" (Patti LaBelle with Michael McDonald), and perhaps most memorably, "That's What Friends Are For" in 1985, actually the second single which reunited Bacharach and singer Warwick. The profits for the latter song were given to AIDS research. Bacharach's 1980s tunes showed a new sound.
Other artists continued to revive Bacharach's earlier hits, giving them a new audience in the 1980s and 1990s. Examples included Luther Vandross' recording of "A House is Not a Home"; Naked Eyes' 1983 pop hit version of "(There's) Always Something There to Remind Me", and Ronnie Milsap's 1982 country version of "Any Day Now". Bacharach continued a concert career, appearing at auditoriums throughout the world, often featuring large orchestras as accompaniment. He occasionally joined with Warwick, appearing in sold-out concerts in New York, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles.
1990s and beyond
In 1990, Deacon Blue charted number 2 in the UK singles chart with an EP entitled "4 Bacharach & David Songs", with the first track, "I'll Never Fall In Love Again" receiving extensive media coverage. In 1996, jazz pianist McCoy Tyner recorded an album of nine Bacharach standards that featured Tyner's trio with an orchestra arranged and conducted by John Clayton. In 1998, Bacharach co-wrote and recorded a Grammy-winning album with Elvis Costello, Painted from Memory, on which the compositions began to take on the sound of his earlier work. In 2006, he recorded a jazz album with Trijntje Oosterhuis and the Metropole Orchestra called The Look of Love (Burt Bacharach Songbook) which was released in November that year. Bacharach collaborated with Cathy Dennis in 2002 to write an original song for the Pop Idol winner Will Young. This was "What's In Goodbye", and it appears on Young's debut album From Now On. During July 2002, Young was a guest vocalist at two of Bacharach's concerts, one at the Hammersmith Apollo and the other at Liverpool Pops.
Another star treatment of his compositions was the 2003 album Here I Am featuring Ronald Isley, revisiting a number of his 1960s compositions, and also the Vandross arrangement of A House Is Not a Home.
Bacharach's 2005 solo album At This Time saw a departure from past works in that Bacharach penned his own lyrics, some of which dealt with political themes. Guest stars on some tracks included Elvis Costello, Rufus Wainwright, and hip-hop producer Dr. Dre.
On October 24, 2008, Bacharach opened the BBC Electric Proms at The Roundhouse in London, performing with the BBC Concert Orchestra accompanied by guest vocalists Adele, Beth Rowley and Jamie Cullum. The concert was a retrospective look back at his unparalleled six-decade career, including classics such as "Walk On By", "The Look of Love", "I Say a Little Prayer", "What The World Needs Now", "Anyone Who Had A Heart", "Twenty Four Hours from Tulsa" and "Make It Easy On Yourself", featuring Jamie Cullum.
In early 2009 Bacharach worked with Italian soul singer Karima Ammar and produced her debut single Come In Ogni Ora. The song has been heard during the 59th Sanremo Music Festival and also features him playing piano.
Film and Television
Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Bacharach was featured in a dozen TV musical and variety specials videotaped in the UK for ITC, several were nominated for Emmy awards for direction (by Dwight Hemion). The guests included artists such as Joel Grey, Dusty Springfield, Dionne Warwick, and Barbra Streisand. Bacharach and David did the score for a short-lived ABC-TV series, ABC Stage 67, for a show titled On the Flip Side, starring Rick Nelson as a faded pop star trying for a comeback. While the series' ratings were dismal, the soundtrack showcased Bacharach's abilities to try different kinds of musical styles, ranging from (almost) 1960s rock, to pop, ballads, and Latin-tinged dance numbers.
In 1969, Harry Betts arranged Bacharach's instrumental composition "Nikki" (named for Bacharach's daughter) into a new theme for the ABC Movie of the Week, a TV series which ran on the U.S. network until 1976. The arrangement by Betts is published by MCA Duchess Music Corporation (BMI).
During the 1970s, Bacharach and then-wife Angie Dickinson appeared in several TV commercials for Martini & Rossi beverages, and even penned a short jingle ("Say Yes") for the spots. Bacharach also occasionally appeared on TV/variety shows, such as The Merv Griffin Show, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, and many others.
In the 1990s and 2000s, Bacharach had cameo roles in Hollywood movies including all three Austin Powers movies. His music is credited as providing inspiration for these movies, partially stemming from Bacharach's score for the 1967 James Bond film Casino Royale. During subsequent Bacharach concert tours, each show would open with a very brief video clip from the movie Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, with Mike Myers (as Austin Powers) uttering "Ladies and Gentlemen, Mr. Burt Bacharach."
Bacharach appeared as a celebrity performer and guest vocal coach for contestants on the television show, "American Idol" during the 2006 season, during which an entire episode was dedicated to his music. In late 2006, Bacharach appeared as the celebrity in a Geico auto insurance commercial, where he sings and plays the piano. He translates the customer's story through song ("I was hit...in the rear!")
In 2008, Bacharach featured in the BBC Electric Proms at The Roundhouse with the BBC Concert Orchestra. He performed similar shows in the same year at the Walt Disney Concert Hall and with the Sydney Symphony.
Legacy and influence
* Songwriter Jimmy Webb has acknowledged Bacharach's influence on his work. So did singer-songwriters Laura Nyro and Mark Hollis.
* On Status Quo's album Heavy Traffic, Track number 8 is named "Diggin' Burt Bacharach."
* In interviews, Donald Fagen from Steely Dan has frequently cited Bacharach's combination of "Ravel-like harmony and street corner soul" as an early influence. Bacharach has praised Steely Dan's Aja highly.
* On the cover of Oasis' seminal debut album Definitely Maybe, there is a framed picture of Bacharach to the left resting up against the sofa - Bacharach is cited influence on chief songwriter and guitarist Noel Gallagher. Later, Gallagher performed a duet of "This Guy's In Love With You" live with Bacharach. Gallagher admits to having stolen elements of that same song when composing the Oasis track "Half the World Away".
* Alternative-avant garde guitarist and composer Leonid Soybelman released an album named Much Ado About Burt Bacharach's Walk On By.
* The British duo Swing Out Sister cites Bacharach as a major influence as well.
* Composer, singer, and songwriter Mary Edwards used Bacharach-influenced motifs on her debut album "A Smile in the Mind".
* The British band Saint Etienne were influenced heavily by Bacharach's piano motifs.
* Beach Boys leader Brian Wilson has cited Bacharach as a heavy influence on his songwriting.
* Welsh rock/electronic/psychedelic band Super Furry Animals were influenced by Bacharach's distinctive sound.
* American jazz pianist Bill Cunliffe cited Bacharach's music which he described as "jazz oriented" as an important influence in his early years. Discography
Albums
* Hitmaker!Burt Bacharach Plays His Hits (1965)
* What's New Pussycat? (Film Soundtrack) (1965)
* After the Fox (Film Soundtrack) (1966)
* Reach Out (1967)
* Casino Royale (Film Soundtrack) (1967)
* On The Flip Side (Television soundtrack) (1967)
* Make it Easy on Yourself (1969)
* Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (Film Soundtrack) (1969)
* Promises, Promises (Original Broadway Cast Recording) (1969)
* Burt Bacharach (1971)
* Lost Horizon (Film soundtrack) (1973)
* Burt Bacharach in Concert (1974)
* Living Together (1974)
* Futures (1977)
* Woman (1979)
* Arthur (Film soundtrack) (1981)
* Night Shift (Film soundtrack) (1982)
* Arthur 2: On The Rocks (Film soundtrack) (1988)
* One Amazing Night (1998)
* Painted From Memory with Elvis Costello (1998)
* The Look Of Love: The Burt Bacharach Collection (2001)
* Motown Salutes Bacharach (2002)
* Isley Meets Bacharach: Here I Am with Ronald Isley (2003)*
* Blue Note Plays Burt Bacharach (2004)
* At This Time (2005)
* Colour Collection (2007)
* Marlene Dietrich with the Burt Bacharach Orchestra (2007)
* Burt Bacharach: Live at the Sydney Opera House with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra (Live) (2008)
Singles
* "The Story of My Life" Marty Robbins, US No. 15, C&W No. 1, 1957 - his first hit. Michael Holiday UK No. 1, Gary Miller UK No. 14, Dave King UK No. 20, Alma Cogan UK No. 25
* "Magic Moments" (Perry Como, US No. 4 / UK No. 1, 1957/1958 – his first big pop hit)
* "The Blob" (The Five Blobs, US No. 33 1958 with Mack David—brother of Hal David—from the movie The Blob)
* "Heavenly" (Johnny Mathis 1959)
* "Faithfully" (Johnny Mathis 1959)
* "With Open Arms" Jane Morgan US No. 39 1959
* "Tower of Strength" Gloria Lynne 1961, Gene McDaniels US No. 5 1961, Frankie Vaughan UK No. 1 1961
* "Another Tear Falls" Gene McDaniels, 1961, Walker Brothers UK No. 12 1966.
* "Baby It's You" (The Shirelles, US No. 8 1962, then The Beatles, 1963, then Smith, 1969 US No. 8)
* "Please Stay" (The Drifters, US No. 14 1961; The Cryin' Shames, UK No. 26 1966; Marc Almond, 2001)
* "Any Day Now" (Chuck Jackson, US No. 23 1962, Elvis Presley, 1969, then Ronnie Milsap, US No. 14 1982)
* "(The Man Who Shot) Liberty Valance" (Gene Pitney, US No. 4 1962)
* "Only Love Can Break a Heart" (Gene Pitney, US No. 2 1962)
* "Don't Make Me Over" (Dionne Warwick, US No. 21 1962) (The Swinging Blue Jeans, UK No. 31 1966) (Petula Clark in 1976), (Sybil, 1989)
* "Make It Easy On Yourself" (Dionne Warwick, demo 1962, then Jerry Butler), US No. 20 1962, then The Walker Brothers, US No. 16, UK No. 1 1965); then Dionne Warwick live from Garden State Arts Center, USNo. 37 1970)
* "Don't You Believe It" Andy Williams US No. 39 1962
* "Twenty Four Hours From Tulsa" (Gene Pitney, US No. 17, UK No. 5 1963)
* "Be True To Yourself" Bobby Vee US No. 34 1963
* "Blue on Blue" (Bobby Vinton, US No. 3 1963)
* "Anyone Who Had a Heart" (Dionne Warwick, US No. 8, UK No. 42, 1963; then Cilla Black, UK No. 1 1964; Dusty Springfield, 1964; Tim Curry, 1978; Luther Vandross, 1986; Linda Ronstadt, 1991; Maureen McGovern, 1992; Olivia Newton-John, 2004; Shelby Lynne, 2007)
* "(They Long to Be) Close to You" (Richard Chamberlain, 1963, then Dionne Warwick, 1964, Dusty Springfield, 1964, Johnny Mathis and The Carpenters US No. 1, UK No. 6 1970). In 1969 Grammy nominee Record of the Year.
* "True Love Never Runs Smooth" Don and Juan, 1963, Gene Pitney US No. 21 1963.
* "Wives and Lovers" (Jack Jones, US No. 14 1963). Grammy nominee Record of the Year and Song of the Year
* "Wishin' and Hopin'" (Dionne Warwick, 1963, then Dusty Springfield US No. 6 1964, Merseybeats UK No. 13 1964, Ani DiFranco (on the My Best Friend's Wedding soundtrack), 1997, Stephanie McIntosh, 2006)
* "Walk On By" Dionne Warwick, US No. 6, UK No. 8 1964, then Isaac Hayes, US No. 30 1969 and The Stranglers in 1978) 1983 Jo Jo Zep, 1989 Sybil, 2006 Seal
* "Reach Out for Me" Lou Johnson, 1964, then Dionne Warwick, US No. 20, Canada No. 12, UK No. 23 1964
* "I Just Don't Know What to Do with Myself" Tommy Hunt, 1962 Dusty Springfield, UK No. 3 1964, Dionne Warwick, US No. 26 1966, then The White Stripes, 2003)
* "(There's) Always Something There to Remind Me" (Lou Johnson, 1964 then Sandie Shaw, UK No. 1, 1964, Dionne Warwick, 1967,then Naked Eyes, 1982)
* "A House Is Not a Home" (Brook Benton, 1964; Dionne Warwick, 1964; Barbra Streisand, 1971; Luther Vandross, 1981)
* "A Message to Martha" Lou Johnson, UK No. 36 1964, Adam Faith, UK No. 12, 1964, Recorded as "Message to Michael" Dionne Warwick, US No. 8 1966, Lena Horne & Gabor Szabo in 1970
* "You'll Never Get to Heaven" 1964 Dionne Warwick US No. 32, UK No. 12, Canada No. 23, then Stylistics, US No. 23, 1973 UK No. 24 (EP) 1976)
* "What the World Needs Now Is Love" 1965 Jackie DeShannon US No. 7, then Dionne Warwick 1967, then Daniel Johnston, 1988; Dionne Warwick and the Hip-Hop Nation United, 1998
* "Long After Tonight Is All Over" Jimmy Radcliffe UK No. 40 1965
* "What's New Pussycat?" (Tom Jones, US No. 3, UK No. 11 1965, from the film What's New Pussycat?)
Nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song, 1965.
* "Here I Am" (Dionne Warwick, 1965, from the film What's New Pussycat?, US No. 65 AC No. 11, Canada No. 19)
* "Trains and Boats and Planes" Burt Bacharach, UK No. 4 1965, Billy J. Kramer & the Dakotas, UK No. 12 1965, Dionne Warwick, US No. 22 1966.
* "My Little Red Book" (Manfred Mann, June 1965) (Love, 1966) (Tony Middleton, 1965)
* "A Lifetime of Loneliness" (Jackie DeShannon, US No. 66 1965)
* "Are You There (With Another Girl)?" Dionne Warwick US No. 39 1966
* "Come and Get Me" (Jackie DeShannon 1966)
* "Alfie" (Cilla Black, 1966 UK No. 8, US No. 95, then Cher, US No. 32 1966, then Dionne Warwick, US No. 15, No. 5 R&B 1967, originally from the movie of the same name). Nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song, 1966. Won Bacharach a Grammy for instrumental arrangement in 1967. Everything But The Girl 1986. Rumer 2010.
* "Windows and Doors" (Jackie DeShannon 1966)
* "So Long Johnny" (Jackie DeShannon 1966)
* "The Windows of the World" (Dionne Warwick, US No. 32 1967)
* "I Say a Little Prayer" (Dionne Warwick, US No. 4 1967, then Aretha Franklin US No. 10, UK No. 4 1968, then Diana King, 1997)
* "The Look of Love" (Dusty Springfield, US No. 22 1967, from the soundtrack of the movie Casino Royale, then Sérgio Mendes & Brasil '66, US No. 4 1968, Roger Williams, 1969, Gladys Knight & the Pips, UK No. 21 1973). Nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1967.
* "Casino Royale" Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass US No. 27, UK No. 27 1967.
* "One Less Bell to Answer" (Keely Smith, 1967, then The 5th Dimension, 1970 US No. 2, then (Dionne Warwick), 1971)
* "This Guy's in Love with You" (Herb Alpert, US No. 1, (4 weeks), UK No. 3 1968; Dionne Warwick), US No. 7 1969
This song was also recorded much later by Oasis' Noel Gallagher in tribute to Bacharach on his 70th Birthday. According to Robin Platts' book What The World Needs Now the song was not written with Alpert, a non-singer with limited range, in mind, but was altered to suit him. Originally written as "This Girl's In Love With You" and recorded with that title by Dionne Warwick.
* "Do You Know the Way to San Jose?" (Dionne Warwick, 1968 US No. 10, UK No. 8)
* "Promises, Promises" (Dionne Warwick, 1968 US No. 19, and Jill O'Hara, 1968). Warwick's version was released prior to the opening of the show and the release of the Broadway cast album. Bacharach recorded Dionne's version to help the cast learn the difficult tune. The B" side of Warwick's single was another Bacharach/David tune from the show "Whoever You Are (I Love You)". The Broadway cast album won Bacharach a Grammy in 1969.
* "The April Fools" (Dionne Warwick, US No. 37 1969, from the film The April Fools, US No. 37, AC No. 8, Canada No. 32)
* "I'm a Better Man (For Having Loved You)" Engelbert Humperdinck US No. 38, UK No. 15, 1969.
* "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head" (B.J. Thomas, US No. 1, 1969, UK No. 38 1970 Johnny Mathis 1969 in Great Britain, Sacha Distel, UK No. 10 1970, Bobbie Gentry UK No. 40, 1970. from the movie Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid). Won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1969. The movie score by Bacharach won the Academy Awards and Grammy for Original Score. Grammy nominee for Song of the Year
* "I'll Never Fall in Love Again" Bobbie Gentry (UK No. 1, 1969), Dionne Warwick US No. 6 1970, Anne Murray in 1971, originally from the musical Promises, Promises). Grammy nominee Song of the Year
* "Everybody's Out Of Town" B. J. Thomas US No. 26 1970
* "Let Me Go To Him" (Dionne Warwick, 1970, US No. 32 AC No. 5, Canada No. 30)
* "Paper Mache" (Dionne Warwick, 1970, US No. 43, AC No. 6)
* "The Green Grass Starts to Grow" (Dionne Warwick, 1971, US No. 43, AC No. 2, Canada No. 35)
* "Who Gets the Guy" (Dionne Warwick, 1971, US No. 57 R & B 41, AC No. 6)
* "Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do)" (Christopher Cross, 1981, from the film Arthur). Won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1981. Grammy nominee for Record of the Year and Song of the Year.
* "That's What Friends Are For" (1982)
This song was originally written for the movie Night Shift and performed on the soundtrack by Rod Stewart. In 1986, a version by Dionne Warwick, Stevie Wonder, Gladys Knight, and Elton John became an enormous hit, raising millions for AIDS charities. The song also won the Grammy for Song of the Year. Grammy nominee for Record of the Year
* "On My Own" (Patti LaBelle and Michael McDonald, US no. 1, 1986)
* "Love Power" (Dionne Warwick and Jeffrey Osborne, US no. 12, AC No. 1, 1987)
Broadway works
* Marlene Dietrich (1968) – concert – music arranger and conductor
* Promises, Promises (1968) – musical —composer – Tony Nomination for Best Musical
* André DeShield's Haarlem Nocturne (1984) – revue – featured songwriter
* The Look of Love (2003) – revue – composer
* The Boy from Oz (2003) – musical – additional composer
Other recordings
As arranger, conductor
* For Marlene Dietrich:
* Live at the Café de Paris (1954)
* Dietrich in Rio (1959)
As composer
* For SMAP:
* Super.Modern.Artistic.Performance (2008 - song: Life Walker)
Tribute albums
* Jazz musician John Zorn produced a 2-CD set of Bacharach tunes (1997), featuring several avantgarde musicians, as part of his Great Jewish Music series.
* Marie McAuliffe's Ark Sextet released the Bacharach tribute album "Refractions" in 1998. McAuliffe had been featured on John Zorn's tribute album.
* To Hal and Bacharach is a 1998 tribute album with 18 tunes, performed by notable Australian artists.
* Michael Ball's 2007 album Back to Bacharach
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Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 05/13/11 at 6:27 am
The person of the day...Robert Pattinson
Robert Douglas Thomas Pattinson (born 13 May 1986) is an English actor, model, musician, and producer. Born and raised in London, Pattinson started out his career by playing the role of Cedric Diggory in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Later, he landed the leading role of Edward Cullen in the film adaptations of the Twilight novels by Stephenie Meyer, and came to worldwide international fame. Pattinson was ranked as one of the highest paid actors in Hollywood based on 2009 earnings. In 2010, Pattinson was named one of Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People in The World, and also in the same year Forbes ranked him as one of the most powerful celebrities in the world in the Celebrity 100.
Pattinson was born in London. His mother, Clare, worked for a modelling agency, and his father, Richard, imported vintage cars from the U.S. Pattinson has two elder sisters, singer Lizzy Pattinson, and Victoria Pattinson. Growing up in the Barnes suburb of London, he attended Tower House School until he was 12, and then the Harrodian School. He became involved in amateur theatre at the Barnes Theatre Company. He auditioned and was cast in a small role in Guys and Dolls. He next auditioned for Thornton Wilder's Our Town and was cast as George Gibbs. He also played in Anything Goes and Macbeth. He caught the attention of an acting agent in a production of Tess of the D'Urbervilles and began looking for professional roles.
Career
Modelling
Pattinson began modelling when he was twelve years old, but the number of jobs began to decrease only four years later. In December 2008 he blamed the lack of work as a model on his masculine appearance: "When I first started I was quite tall and looked like a girl, so I got lots of jobs, because it was during that period where the androgynous look was cool. Then, I guess, I became too much of a guy, so I never got any more jobs. I had the most unsuccessful modelling career." Pattinson appeared in the advertising campaign for Hackett's autumn 2007 collection.
Acting
Pattinson at the 2008 premiere of the film Twilight
Pattinson had supporting roles in the made for television film Ring of the Nibelungs in 2004 and in director Mira Nair’s Vanity Fair, although his scenes in the latter were deleted and only appear on the DVD version. In May 2005, he was slated to appear in the UK premiere of The Woman Before at the Royal Court Theatre, but was fired shortly before the opening night and was replaced by Tom Riley. Later that year he played Cedric Diggory in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. For this role he was named that year's British Star of Tomorrow by The Times. He has more than once been touted as the next Jude Law.
Pattinson played Edward Cullen in the film Twilight, based on Stephenie Meyer's bestselling novel of the same name, which was released on 21 November 2008 in North America. According to TV Guide, Pattinson was initially apprehensive about auditioning for the role of Edward Cullen, fearful that he would not be able to live up to the "perfection" expected from the character. He reprised his role as Edward Cullen in the Twilight sequels The Twilight Saga: New Moon and The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, which was released 30 June 2010.
Pattinson had lead roles in the feature films Little Ashes (in which he plays Salvador Dalí), How to Be (a British comedy), and the short film The Summer House.
In 2009, Pattinson presented at the 81st Academy Awards. On 10 November, Revolver Entertainment released the DVD Robsessed, a documentary which details Pattinson's life and popularity.
In 2010, Pattinson executively produced and starred in the film Remember Me, which was released on 12 March 2010. On 13 May 2010, Pattinson appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show for The Twilight Saga: Eclipse and also made an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on 18 May, which aired the following day. Pattinson attended the official worldwide red carpet premiere for The Twilight Saga: Eclipse on 24 June 2010 at the Los Angeles Nokia Theatre.
In 2011, he starred in Water for Elephants, a film adaptation of the Sara Gruen novel of the same name, with Christoph Waltz and Reese Witherspoon.
He will play Georges Duroy in a film adaptation of the 1885 novel Bel Ami, with Uma Thurman, which will be released in 2011. He will also appear in a theatre production for producer David Pugh.
Music
Pattinson plays guitar and piano, and composes his own music. He also appears as the singer of two songs on the Twilight soundtrack: "Never Think", which he co-wrote with Sam Bradley, and "Let Me Sign", which was written by Marcus Foster and Bobby Long. The songs were included in the film after director Catherine Hardwicke added Pattinson's recordings into an early cut without his knowledge, and he agreed that "one of them specifically, it really made the scene better. It was like it was supposed to be there." The soundtrack for the film How To Be features three original songs performed by Pattinson and written by composer Joe Hastings.
Aside from recording for the soundtracks, Pattinson has said, "I've never really recorded anything – I just played in pubs and stuff", and when asked about a professional music career, he said, "Music is my back-up plan if acting fails." In 2010, Pattinson was awarded the 'Hollywood's Most Influential Top Unexpected Musicians' award.
In the media
Pattinson after The Twilight Saga: New Moon photo call at Crillon Hotel in 2009
Pattinson was named one of the "Sexiest Men Alive" in 2008 and 2009 by People magazine. In 2009, he was also named the "Sexiest Man Alive" by Glamour. Ask Men named Pattinson as one of the top 49 most influential men of 2009. In 2009, Vanity Fair named Pattinson "the most handsome man in the world" along with Angelina Jolie as the most beautiful woman in the world.
He was named one of Vanity Fair's "Top Hollywood Earners of 2009" with estimated earnings of $18 million in 2009.
In December 2009, Pattinson autographed a guitar to be auctioned off for charity. He also volunteered for the Hope for Haiti Now: A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief in January 2010.
GQ and Glamour both named him the "Best Dressed Man" of 2010, with GQ stating, "Extremely elegant and inspiring, the true essence of a contemporary man." In 2010, People also listed Pattinson in their "World's Most Beautiful" issue.
In 2010, Britain's The Sunday Times "Rich List" put him on its "list of young millionaires" in the UK, worth £13 million. Time magazine named him as one of 2010's 100 Most Influential People in The World. In June 2010, Pattinson was named by Forbes Magazine the #50 most powerful celebrity in the world with earnings $17 million. Due to Pattinson's rising fame, a wax statue of him was added to the Madame Tussauds collection in London and New York City. On 14 November 2010, Pattinson received two BBC Radio 1 Teen Awards, Best Dressed and Best Actor.
In 2011, Pattinson was No. 15 on Vanity Fair's "Hollywood Top 40" with earnings of $27.5 million in 2010.
Filmography
Year↓ Title↓ Role↓ Notes
2004 Vanity Fair Rawdy Crawley Only seen on DVD release
2004 Ring of the Nibelungs Giselher Television film
2005 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Cedric Diggory
2006 Haunted Airman, TheThe Haunted Airman Toby Jugg Television film
2007 Bad Mother's Handbook, TheThe Bad Mother's Handbook Daniel Gale Television film
2007 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Cedric Diggory Cameo
2008 How to Be Art Strasbourg Film Festival Award for Best Actor
2008 Twilight Edward Cullen Hollywood Film Award for New Hollywood
MTV Movie Award for Breakthrough Performance Male
MTV Movie Award for Best Kiss (With Kristen Stewart)
MTV Movie Award for Best Fight (With Cam Gigandet)
People's Choice Award for Favourite On-Screen-Team (Shared with Taylor Lautner and Kristen Stewart)
Scream Award for Best Fantasy Actor
Teen Choice Award for Choice Hottie
Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Actor Drama
Teen Choice Award for Movie Liplock (With Kristen Stewart)
Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Rumble (With Cam Gigandet)
Nominated—Empire Award for Best Newcomer
Nominated—People's Choice Award for Favourite Movie Actor
Nominated—Scream Award for Best Ensemble Cast
2009 Little Ashes Salvador Dalí
2009 Twilight Saga: New Moon, TheThe Twilight Saga: New Moon Edward Cullen Russia's Georges Award for Best Foreign Actor
National Movie Award for Best Performance
MTV Movie Award for Best Male Performance
MTV Movie Award for Global Superstar
MTV Movie Award for Best Kiss (With Kristen Stewart)
Teen Choice Award for Movie Liplock (With Kristen Stewart)
Teen Choice Award for Movie chemistry (With Kristen Stewart)
Nominated—Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Actor Fantasy
Nominated—Teen Choice Award for Choice Hottie
Nominated—Empire Award for Best Actor
Nominated—Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards for Cutest Couple (Shared with Kristen Stewart)
2010 Remember Me Tyler Hawkins Executive producer
Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Actor Drama
2010 Twilight Saga: Eclipse, TheThe Twilight Saga: Eclipse Edward Cullen Teen Choice Award for Choice Summer Movie Star – Male
People's Choice Award for Favourite On-Screen-Team (Shared with Taylor Lautner and Kristen Stewart)
Nominated—People's Choice Award for Favorite Movie Actor
Nominated—People's Choice Award for Favorite Movie Star Under 25
2011 Water for Elephants Jacob Jankowski
2011 Bel Ami Georges Duroy Post-production
2011 The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1 Edward Cullen Post-production
2012 The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2 Edward Cullen Post-production
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Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: gibbo on 05/13/11 at 8:41 pm
Bacharach is simply one of the best ever (possibly the best).
Pattinson is a mystery to me! :o I have no idea what women see in this ugly Englishman! 8-P
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 05/14/11 at 5:10 pm
Sorry I was at my sons graduation..so I'll do the person of the day tomorrow.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 05/14/11 at 5:23 pm
Sorry I was at my sons graduation..so I'll do the person of the day tomorrow.
I was meant to do one for you today!
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 05/14/11 at 5:25 pm
British Person of the Day: Henry McGee
Henry McGee (14 May 1929 – 28 January 2006) was a British actor, best known as straight man to Benny Hill for many years. McGee was also often the announcer on Hill's TV programme, delivering the upbeat intro "Yes! It's The Benny Hill Show!"
Born as Henry Marris-McGee in South Kensington, London, and educated at Stonyhurst College, McGee hoped to become a doctor, but the death of his father when he was 17 put financial strains on the family that ended his plans. Having enjoyed acting as a boy, McGee decided to follow his mother's side of the family, which could trace its involvement in acting back to Kitty Clive. He went on to play supporting roles in films and television series and dramas, including The Saint and The Avengers, but it is for comedy roles that he is best remembered, primarily and most famously for his straight man interviewer in the Benny Hill Show. He was also remembered by some as the 'mummy' of Honey Monster, a large, yellow, furry creature in advertisements for the breakfast cereal Sugar Puffs.
McGee played Two-Ton Ted in the video of Ernie (The Fastest Milkman In The West). Other comedy roles included the holiday centre manager in the 1973 film Holiday on the Buses, opposite Charlie Drake in the ATV/ITV situation comedy The Worker (1965–1970), and There Was An Englishman, An Irishman and a Scotsman for a BBC Scotland comedy series written by Lew Schwarz. McGee was the Englishman, with Harry Towb and Roy Kinnear in their respective roles. The show ran for 1 season in 1972. He also appeared in an episode of Rising Damp as a conman, Seymour. He had a long and successful theatre career, during which he tackled a wide range of roles, receiving plaudits for deadpan delivery in farces such as Plunder.
McGee had one daughter, Stephanie (born 1963). He spent his last six months in a nursing home, suffering from Alzheimer's disease. He is buried at Brompton Cemetery, London.
http://images.tvrage.com/people/14/41434.jpg
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/41278000/jpg/_41278374_mcgee203bbc.jpg
With Benny Hill.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 05/14/11 at 7:30 pm
Sorry I was at my sons graduation..so I'll do the person of the day tomorrow.
It's ok take your time.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 05/14/11 at 7:31 pm
British Person of the Day: Henry McGee
Henry McGee (14 May 1929 – 28 January 2006) was a British actor, best known as straight man to Benny Hill for many years. McGee was also often the announcer on Hill's TV programme, delivering the upbeat intro "Yes! It's The Benny Hill Show!"
Born as Henry Marris-McGee in South Kensington, London, and educated at Stonyhurst College, McGee hoped to become a doctor, but the death of his father when he was 17 put financial strains on the family that ended his plans. Having enjoyed acting as a boy, McGee decided to follow his mother's side of the family, which could trace its involvement in acting back to Kitty Clive. He went on to play supporting roles in films and television series and dramas, including The Saint and The Avengers, but it is for comedy roles that he is best remembered, primarily and most famously for his straight man interviewer in the Benny Hill Show. He was also remembered by some as the 'mummy' of Honey Monster, a large, yellow, furry creature in advertisements for the breakfast cereal Sugar Puffs.
McGee played Two-Ton Ted in the video of Ernie (The Fastest Milkman In The West). Other comedy roles included the holiday centre manager in the 1973 film Holiday on the Buses, opposite Charlie Drake in the ATV/ITV situation comedy The Worker (1965–1970), and There Was An Englishman, An Irishman and a Scotsman for a BBC Scotland comedy series written by Lew Schwarz. McGee was the Englishman, with Harry Towb and Roy Kinnear in their respective roles. The show ran for 1 season in 1972. He also appeared in an episode of Rising Damp as a conman, Seymour. He had a long and successful theatre career, during which he tackled a wide range of roles, receiving plaudits for deadpan delivery in farces such as Plunder.
McGee had one daughter, Stephanie (born 1963). He spent his last six months in a nursing home, suffering from Alzheimer's disease. He is buried at Brompton Cemetery, London.
http://images.tvrage.com/people/14/41434.jpg
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/41278000/jpg/_41278374_mcgee203bbc.jpg
With Benny Hill.
I remember this guy on Benny Hill.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 05/15/11 at 7:56 am
British Person of the Day: Henry McGee
Henry McGee (14 May 1929 – 28 January 2006) was a British actor, best known as straight man to Benny Hill for many years. McGee was also often the announcer on Hill's TV programme, delivering the upbeat intro "Yes! It's The Benny Hill Show!"
Born as Henry Marris-McGee in South Kensington, London, and educated at Stonyhurst College, McGee hoped to become a doctor, but the death of his father when he was 17 put financial strains on the family that ended his plans. Having enjoyed acting as a boy, McGee decided to follow his mother's side of the family, which could trace its involvement in acting back to Kitty Clive. He went on to play supporting roles in films and television series and dramas, including The Saint and The Avengers, but it is for comedy roles that he is best remembered, primarily and most famously for his straight man interviewer in the Benny Hill Show. He was also remembered by some as the 'mummy' of Honey Monster, a large, yellow, furry creature in advertisements for the breakfast cereal Sugar Puffs.
McGee played Two-Ton Ted in the video of Ernie (The Fastest Milkman In The West). Other comedy roles included the holiday centre manager in the 1973 film Holiday on the Buses, opposite Charlie Drake in the ATV/ITV situation comedy The Worker (1965–1970), and There Was An Englishman, An Irishman and a Scotsman for a BBC Scotland comedy series written by Lew Schwarz. McGee was the Englishman, with Harry Towb and Roy Kinnear in their respective roles. The show ran for 1 season in 1972. He also appeared in an episode of Rising Damp as a conman, Seymour. He had a long and successful theatre career, during which he tackled a wide range of roles, receiving plaudits for deadpan delivery in farces such as Plunder.
McGee had one daughter, Stephanie (born 1963). He spent his last six months in a nursing home, suffering from Alzheimer's disease. He is buried at Brompton Cemetery, London.
http://images.tvrage.com/people/14/41434.jpg
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/41278000/jpg/_41278374_mcgee203bbc.jpg
With Benny Hill.
Thanks Phil :)
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 05/15/11 at 7:58 am
Thanks Phil :)
No problem
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 05/15/11 at 8:00 am
The person of the ....Brian Eno
Brian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno (born 15 May 1948), commonly shortened to Brian Eno and previously as simply Eno (play /ˈiːnoʊ/), is an English musician, composer, record producer, music theorist, singer and visual artist, best known as one of the principal innovators of ambient music.
Eno studied at art school, taking inspiration from minimalist painting, but he had little musical education or playing experience when he joined the band Roxy Music as their keyboards and synthesizers player in the early 1970s. Roxy Music's success in the glam rock scene came quickly, but Eno soon tired of conflicts with lead singer Bryan Ferry, and of touring, and he left the group after the release of For Your Pleasure (1973), beginning his solo career with the art rock records Here Come the Warm Jets (1974) and Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy) (1974).
Eno extended his reach into more experimental musical styles with No Pussyfooting (1973) and Evening Star (1975), both collaborations with Robert Fripp, The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (1974) by Genesis where his work is credited as "Enossification", and his influential solo records Another Green World (1975) and Discreet Music (1975). His pioneering ambient efforts at "sonic landscapes" began to consume more of his time beginning with Ambient 1/Music for Airports (1978) and later Apollo: Atmospheres and Soundtracks (1983) which was composed for the documentary film For All Mankind. Eno nevertheless continued to sing on some of his records, ranging from Before and After Science (1977) to Wrong Way Up (1990) with John Cale to most recently Another Day on Earth (2005).
Eno's solo work has been extremely influential, pioneering ambient and generative music, innovating production techniques, and emphasizing "theory over practice". He also introduced the concept of chance music to popular audiences partly through collaborations with other musicians. By the end of the 1970s, Eno had worked with David Bowie on the seminal "Berlin Trilogy," helped popularise the American punk rock band Devo and the punk-influenced "No Wave" genre, and worked frequently with Harold Budd, John Cale, Cluster, Robert Fripp and David Byrne, with whom he produced the influential My Life in the Bush of Ghosts (1981). He produced and performed on three albums by Talking Heads, including Remain in Light (1980); produced seven albums for U2, including The Joshua Tree (1987); and worked on records by James, Laurie Anderson, Coldplay, Depeche Mode, Paul Simon, Grace Jones and Slowdive, among others.
Eno pursues multimedia ventures in parallel to his music career, including art installations, a newspaper column in The Observer and a regular column on society and innovation in Prospect magazine, and "Oblique Strategies" (written with Peter Schmidt), a deck of cards in which each card has a cryptic remark or random insight meant to resolve a dilemma. He continues to collaborate with other musicians, produce records, release his own music, and write.
Brian Eno's professional music career began in London, as a member (1971–1973) of the glam/art rock band Roxy Music, initially not appearing on stage with them at live shows, but operating the mixing desk, processing the band's sound with a VCS3 synthesizer and tape recorders, and singing backing vocals. He then progressed to appearing on stage as a performing member of the group, usually flamboyantly costumed. He quit the band on completing the promotion tour for the band's second album, For Your Pleasure because of disagreements with lead singer Bryan Ferry and boredom with the rock star life.
In 1992, he described his Roxy Music tenure as important to his career: "As a result of going into a subway station and meeting Andy , I joined Roxy Music, and, as a result of that, I have a career in music. If I'd walked ten yards farther, on the platform, or missed that train, or been in the next carriage, I probably would have been an art teacher now". During his period with Roxy Music, and for his first three solo albums, he was credited on these records only as 'Eno'.
Solo work
Eno embarked on a solo career almost immediately. Between 1973 and 1977 he created four albums of largely electronically inflected pop songs – Here Come the Warm Jets, Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy), Another Green World and Before and after Science, though the latter two also contained a number of minimal instrumental pieces in the so-called ambient style. Tiger Mountain contains the galloping "Third Uncle", one of Eno's best-known songs, due in part to its later being covered by Bauhaus. Critic Dave Thompson writes that the song is "a near punk attack of riffing guitars and clattering percussion, 'Third Uncle' could, in other hands, be a heavy metal anthem, albeit one whose lyrical content would tongue-tie the most slavish air guitarist."
These four albums were remastered and reissued in 2004 by Virgin's Astralwerks label. Due to Eno's decision not to add any extra tracks of the original material, a handful of tracks originally issued as singles have not been reissued ("Seven Deadly Finns" and "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" were included on the deleted Eno Vocal Box set and the single mix of "King's Lead Hat" has never been reissued).
During this period, Eno also played three dates with Phil Manzanera in the band 801, a "supergroup" that performed more or less mutated selections from albums by Eno, Manzanera, and Quiet Sun, as well as covers of songs by The Beatles and The Kinks.
In 1972, Eno developed a tape-delay system first utilized by Eno and Robert Fripp (from King Crimson), described as 'Frippertronics', and the pair released an album in 1973 called (No Pussyfooting). It is said the technique was borrowed from minimalist composer Terry Riley, whose tape delay feedback system with a pair of Revox tape recorders (a setup Riley used to call the "Time Lag Accumulator") was first used on Riley's album Music for The Gift in 1963. In 1975, Fripp and Eno released a second album, Evening Star, and played several live shows in Europe.
Eno was a prominent member of the performance art-classical orchestra the Portsmouth Sinfonia – having started playing with them in 1972. In 1973 he produced the orchestra's first album The Portsmouth Sinfonia Plays the Popular Classics (released in March 1974) and in 1974 he produced the live album Hallellujah! The Portsmouth Sinfonia Live At The Royal Albert Hall of their infamous May 1974 concert (released in October 1974.) In addition to producing both albums, Eno performed in the orchestra on both recordings – playing the clarinet. Eno also deployed the orchestra's famously dissonant string section on his second solo album Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy). The orchestra at this time included other musicians whose solo work he would subsequently release on his Obscure label including Gavin Bryars and Michael Nyman. That year he also composed music for the album Lady June's Linguistic Leprosy, with Kevin Ayers, to accompany the poet June Campbell Cramer.
Eno continued his career by producing a larger number of highly eclectic and increasingly ambient electronic and acoustic albums. He is widely credited with coining the term "ambient music", low-volume music designed to modify one's perception of a surrounding environment.
His first such work, 1975's Discreet Music (again created via an elaborate tape-delay methodology, which Eno diagrammed on the back cover of the LP ), is considered the landmark album of the genre. This was followed by his Ambient series (Music for Airports (Ambient 1), The Plateaux of Mirror (Ambient 2), Day of Radiance (Ambient 3) and On Land (Ambient 4)). Eno was the primary musician on these releases with the exception of Ambient 2 which featured Harold Budd on keyboard, and Ambient 3 where the American composer Laraaji was the sole musician playing the zither and hammered dulcimer with Eno producing.
In 1980 Eno provided a film score for Herbert Vesely's Egon Schiele Exzess und Bestrafung, also known as Egon Schiele Excess and Punishment. The ambient-style score was an unusual choice for a historical piece, but it worked effectively with the film's themes of sexual obsession and death.
In 1981, having returned from Ghana and before On Land, he discovered Miles Davis' 1974 track "He Loved Him Madly", a melancholy tribute to Duke Ellington influenced by both African music and Karlheinz Stockhausen: as Eno stated in the liner notes for On Land, "Teo Macero's revolutionary production on that piece seemed to me to have the "spacious" quality I was after, and like Federico Fellini's 1973 film Amarcord, it too became a touchstone to which I returned frequently."
Eno describes himself as a "non-musician" and coined the term "treatments" to describe his modification of the sound of musical instruments, and to separate his role from that of the traditional instrumentalist. His skill at using "The Studio as a Compositional Tool" (the title of an essay by Eno) led in part to his career as a producer. His methods were recognized at the time (mid-1970s) as unique, so much so that on Genesis's The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, he is credited with 'Enossification'; on Robert Wyatt's Ruth Is Stranger Than Richard with a Direct inject anti-jazz raygun and on John Cale's Island albums as simply being "Eno".
Obscure Records label
Main article: Obscure Records
Eno started the Obscure Records label in Britain in 1975 to release works by lesser-known composers. The first group of three releases included his own composition, Discreet Music, and the now-famous The Sinking of the Titanic (1969) and Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet (1971) by Gavin Bryars. The second side of Discreet Music consisted of several versions of Pachelbel's Canon, the composition which Eno had previously chosen to precede Roxy Music's appearances on stage, to which various algorithmic transformations have been applied, rendering it almost unrecognizable. Side 1 consisted of a tape loop system for generating music from relatively sparse input. These tapes had previously been used as backgrounds in some of his collaborations with Fripp, most notably on Evening Star. Only 10 albums were released on Obscure, including works by John Adams, Michael Nyman, and John Cage. At this time he was also affiliating with artists in the Fluxus movement.
Collaboration
In 1975 Eno performed as the Wolf in a rock version of Sergei Prokofiev's classic Peter and The Wolf. Produced by Robin Lumley and Jack Lancaster, the album featured Gary Moore, Manfred Mann, Phil Collins, Stephane Grapelli, Chris Spedding, Cozy Powell, Jon Hiseman, Bill Bruford and Alvin Lee. Also in 1975, Eno provided sythesizers and treatments on Quiet Sun's Mainstream album alongside Phil Manzanera, Charles Hayward, Dave Jarrett, and Bill MacCormick, and he performed on and contributed songs and vocals to Phil Manzanera's Diamond Head album.
In 1980–1981, Eno collaborated with David Byrne of Talking Heads (which he had already anagrammatized as 'King's Lead Hat') on My Life in the Bush of Ghosts, which was built around radio broadcasts Eno collected while living in the United States, along with sampling recordings from around the world transposed over music predominately inspired by African and Middle Eastern rhythms.
He worked with David Bowie as a writer and musician on Bowie's influential 1977–79 'Berlin Trilogy' of albums, Low, "Heroes" and Lodger, on Bowie's later album Outside, and on the song "I'm Afraid of Americans". In 1980 Eno developed an interest in altered guitar tunings, which led to Guitarchitecture discussions with Chuck Hammer, former Lou Reed guitarist. Following on from his No-Wave involvement which brought him in contact with the "renegade" artist Greg Belcastro, who introduced him to the guitar techniques of a fledgling Sonic Youth, Eno has also collaborated with John Cale, former member of Velvet Underground, on his trilogy Fear, Slow Dazzle and Helen of Troy, Robert Wyatt on his Shleep CD, with Jon Hassell, with the German duo Cluster, with composers Harold Budd, Philip Glass and Roberto Carnevale. A new collaboration between David Byrne and Brian Eno titled Everything That Happens Will Happen Today was released digitally on 18 August 2008, with the enhanced CD released in October.
1990s
In 1992, Eno released an album featuring heavily syncopated rhythms entitled Nerve Net, with contributions from several former collaborators including Robert Fripp, Benmont Tench, Robert Quine and John Paul Jones. This album was a last-minute substitution for My Squelchy Life, which featured more pop oriented material, with Eno on vocals. (Several tracks from My Squelchy Life later appeared on 1993's retrospective box set Eno Box II: Vocals.) Eno also released in 1992 a work entitled The Shutov Assembly, recorded between 1985 and 1990. This album embraces atonality and abandons most conventional concepts of modes, scales and pitch. Much of the music shifts gradually and without discernible focus, and is one of Eno's most varied ambient collections. Conventional instrumentation is eschewed, save for treated keyboards.
During the 1990s, Eno became increasingly interested in self-generating musical systems, the results of which he called generative music. The basic premise of generative music is the blending of several independent musical tracks, of varying sounds, length, and in some cases, silence. When each individual track concludes, it starts again mixing with the other tracks allowing the listener to hear an almost infinite combination. In one instance of generative music, Eno calculated that it would take almost 10,000 years to hear the entire possibilities of one individual piece. Eno has presented this music in his own, and other artists', art and sound installations, most notably "I Dormienti (The Sleepers)", Lightness: Music for the Marble Palace, Music for Civic Recovery Centre, The Quiet Room and "Music for Prague".
2000s
In 2004, Fripp and Eno recorded another ambient collaboration album, The Equatorial Stars.
Eno returned in June 2005 with Another Day on Earth, his first major album since Wrong Way Up (with John Cale) to prominently feature vocals (a trend continued with Everything That Happens Will Happen Today). The album differs from his 70s solo work as musical production has changed since then, evident in its semi-electronic production.
In early 2006, Eno collaborated with David Byrne, again, for the reissue of My Life in the Bush of Ghosts in celebration of the influential album's 25th anniversary. Eight previously unreleased tracks, recorded during the initial sessions in 1980/81, were added to the album, while one track, "Qu'ran", was removed due to requests from Muslims. An unusual interactive marketing strategy coincided with its re-release, the album’s promotional website features the ability for anyone to officially and legally download the multi-tracks of two songs from the album, "A Secret Life" and "Help Me Somebody". Individuals can then remix and upload new mixes of these tracks to the website so others can listen to and rate them.
In late 2006, Eno released 77 Million Paintings, a program of generative video and music specifically for the PC. As its title suggests, there is a possible combination of 77 million paintings where the viewer will see different combinations of video slides prepared by Eno each time the program is launched. Likewise, the accompanying music is generated by the program so that it's almost certain the listener will never quite hear the same arrangement twice. The second edition of "77 Million Paintings" featuring improved morphing and a further two layers of sound was released on 14 January 2008.
In 2007, Eno's music was featured in a movie adaption of Irvine Welsh's best-selling collection Ecstasy: Three Tales of Chemical Romance. He also appeared playing keyboards in Voila, Belinda Carlisle's solo album sung entirely in French.
Also in 2007, Eno contributed a composition titled "Grafton Street" to Dido's third album, Safe Trip Home, released in November 2008.
In 2008, he released Everything That Happens Will Happen Today with David Byrne, designed the sound for the video game Spore and wrote a chapter to Sound Unbound: Sampling Digital Music and Culture, edited by Paul D. Miller (a.k.a. DJ Spooky).
Eno revealed on radio in May 2009 that a skin graft he received as treatment for a severe burn on his arm was part human skin, part carbon fibre. He explained that as human skin is based on carbon, the experimental treatment was likely going to work out well for him, in spite of the fact that he feels a lightness in the affected arm.
In June 2009, Eno curated the Luminous Festival at Sydney Opera House, culminating in his first live appearance in many years. "Pure Scenius" consisted of three live improvised performances on the same day, featuring Eno, Australian improv trio The Necks, Karl Hyde from Underworld, electronic artist Jon Hopkins and guitarist Leo Abrahams.
Eno scored the music for Peter Jackson’s film adaptation of The Lovely Bones, released in December 2009.
2010s
In May 2010, the same Pure Scenius line-up as in 2009 performed 'This is Pure Scenius!', in the same format of three live improvised performances on the same day, at the Brighton Festival in England. Also at the 2010 Brighton Festival, after a performance of Woojun Lee's live arrangement of 'Apollo: Atmospheres and Soundtracks' by Icebreaker and BJ Cole, Eno and the band performed four of his songs.
Eno released a new solo album on Warp Records in late 2010. Small Craft on a Milk Sea, made in association with long-time collaborator Leo Abrahams and Jon Hopkins, was released on 2 November in the United States and 15 November in the UK. In April 2011, Eno announced that Drums Between The Bells, a collaboration with poet Rick Holland, would be released in July 2011.
Brian Eno has been active politically throughout his life, frequently writing letters to government ministers, appearing on political debates, and writing newspaper columns to express his political views. He was sharply critical of the Thatcher government's decision to reduce funding to the BBC World Service, arguing that the £5 million cut to its £25 million budget was damaging, and was the equivalent cost of "just one wing of one F-16 fighter jet"- a reference to a large order of military hardware the government had just made.
In 1996, Eno and others started the Long Now Foundation to educate the public about the very long term future of society. He is also a columnist for the British newspaper The Observer.
In 2003, he appeared on a UK Channel 4 discussion about the Iraq war with a top military spokesman; Eno was highly critical of the war. In 2005, he spoke at an anti-war demonstration in Hyde Park, London. In March 2006, he spoke at an anti-war demonstration at Trafalgar Square; he noted that 2 billion people on this planet do not have clean drinking water, and that water could have been supplied to them for about one-fifth of the cost of the Iraq war.
The Nokia 8800 Sirocco Edition mobile phone features exclusive music composed by Eno. Between 8 January 2007 and 12 February 2007, ten units of Nokia 8800 Sirocco Brian Eno Signature Edition mobile phones, individually numbered and engraved with Eno's signature were auctioned off. All proceeds went to two charities chosen by Eno: the Keiskamma Aids Treatment program and The World Land Trust.
In 2006, Eno was one of more than 100 artists and writers who signed an open letter calling for an international boycott of Israeli political and cultural institutions.
In December 2007, the newly-elected Leader of Liberal Democrats, Nick Clegg, appointed Eno as his youth affairs adviser.
In January 2009, Eno spoke out against Israel's military action on the Gaza Strip by writing an opinion for CounterPunch and participating in a large-scale protest in London.
Discography
Main article: Brian Eno discography
http://i360.photobucket.com/albums/oo49/Armanaeus/eno.jpg
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Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 05/15/11 at 8:03 am
The person of the ....Brian Eno
Brian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno (born 15 May 1948), commonly shortened to Brian Eno and previously as simply Eno (play /ˈiːnoʊ/), is an English musician, composer, record producer, music theorist, singer and visual artist, best known as one of the principal innovators of ambient music.
Eno studied at art school, taking inspiration from minimalist painting, but he had little musical education or playing experience when he joined the band Roxy Music as their keyboards and synthesizers player in the early 1970s. Roxy Music's success in the glam rock scene came quickly, but Eno soon tired of conflicts with lead singer Bryan Ferry, and of touring, and he left the group after the release of For Your Pleasure (1973), beginning his solo career with the art rock records Here Come the Warm Jets (1974) and Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy) (1974).
Eno extended his reach into more experimental musical styles with No Pussyfooting (1973) and Evening Star (1975), both collaborations with Robert Fripp, The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (1974) by Genesis where his work is credited as "Enossification", and his influential solo records Another Green World (1975) and Discreet Music (1975). His pioneering ambient efforts at "sonic landscapes" began to consume more of his time beginning with Ambient 1/Music for Airports (1978) and later Apollo: Atmospheres and Soundtracks (1983) which was composed for the documentary film For All Mankind. Eno nevertheless continued to sing on some of his records, ranging from Before and After Science (1977) to Wrong Way Up (1990) with John Cale to most recently Another Day on Earth (2005).
Eno's solo work has been extremely influential, pioneering ambient and generative music, innovating production techniques, and emphasizing "theory over practice". He also introduced the concept of chance music to popular audiences partly through collaborations with other musicians. By the end of the 1970s, Eno had worked with David Bowie on the seminal "Berlin Trilogy," helped popularise the American punk rock band Devo and the punk-influenced "No Wave" genre, and worked frequently with Harold Budd, John Cale, Cluster, Robert Fripp and David Byrne, with whom he produced the influential My Life in the Bush of Ghosts (1981). He produced and performed on three albums by Talking Heads, including Remain in Light (1980); produced seven albums for U2, including The Joshua Tree (1987); and worked on records by James, Laurie Anderson, Coldplay, Depeche Mode, Paul Simon, Grace Jones and Slowdive, among others.
Eno pursues multimedia ventures in parallel to his music career, including art installations, a newspaper column in The Observer and a regular column on society and innovation in Prospect magazine, and "Oblique Strategies" (written with Peter Schmidt), a deck of cards in which each card has a cryptic remark or random insight meant to resolve a dilemma. He continues to collaborate with other musicians, produce records, release his own music, and write.
Brian Eno's professional music career began in London, as a member (1971–1973) of the glam/art rock band Roxy Music, initially not appearing on stage with them at live shows, but operating the mixing desk, processing the band's sound with a VCS3 synthesizer and tape recorders, and singing backing vocals. He then progressed to appearing on stage as a performing member of the group, usually flamboyantly costumed. He quit the band on completing the promotion tour for the band's second album, For Your Pleasure because of disagreements with lead singer Bryan Ferry and boredom with the rock star life.
In 1992, he described his Roxy Music tenure as important to his career: "As a result of going into a subway station and meeting Andy , I joined Roxy Music, and, as a result of that, I have a career in music. If I'd walked ten yards farther, on the platform, or missed that train, or been in the next carriage, I probably would have been an art teacher now". During his period with Roxy Music, and for his first three solo albums, he was credited on these records only as 'Eno'.
Solo work
Eno embarked on a solo career almost immediately. Between 1973 and 1977 he created four albums of largely electronically inflected pop songs – Here Come the Warm Jets, Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy), Another Green World and Before and after Science, though the latter two also contained a number of minimal instrumental pieces in the so-called ambient style. Tiger Mountain contains the galloping "Third Uncle", one of Eno's best-known songs, due in part to its later being covered by Bauhaus. Critic Dave Thompson writes that the song is "a near punk attack of riffing guitars and clattering percussion, 'Third Uncle' could, in other hands, be a heavy metal anthem, albeit one whose lyrical content would tongue-tie the most slavish air guitarist."
These four albums were remastered and reissued in 2004 by Virgin's Astralwerks label. Due to Eno's decision not to add any extra tracks of the original material, a handful of tracks originally issued as singles have not been reissued ("Seven Deadly Finns" and "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" were included on the deleted Eno Vocal Box set and the single mix of "King's Lead Hat" has never been reissued).
During this period, Eno also played three dates with Phil Manzanera in the band 801, a "supergroup" that performed more or less mutated selections from albums by Eno, Manzanera, and Quiet Sun, as well as covers of songs by The Beatles and The Kinks.
In 1972, Eno developed a tape-delay system first utilized by Eno and Robert Fripp (from King Crimson), described as 'Frippertronics', and the pair released an album in 1973 called (No Pussyfooting). It is said the technique was borrowed from minimalist composer Terry Riley, whose tape delay feedback system with a pair of Revox tape recorders (a setup Riley used to call the "Time Lag Accumulator") was first used on Riley's album Music for The Gift in 1963. In 1975, Fripp and Eno released a second album, Evening Star, and played several live shows in Europe.
Eno was a prominent member of the performance art-classical orchestra the Portsmouth Sinfonia – having started playing with them in 1972. In 1973 he produced the orchestra's first album The Portsmouth Sinfonia Plays the Popular Classics (released in March 1974) and in 1974 he produced the live album Hallellujah! The Portsmouth Sinfonia Live At The Royal Albert Hall of their infamous May 1974 concert (released in October 1974.) In addition to producing both albums, Eno performed in the orchestra on both recordings – playing the clarinet. Eno also deployed the orchestra's famously dissonant string section on his second solo album Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy). The orchestra at this time included other musicians whose solo work he would subsequently release on his Obscure label including Gavin Bryars and Michael Nyman. That year he also composed music for the album Lady June's Linguistic Leprosy, with Kevin Ayers, to accompany the poet June Campbell Cramer.
Eno continued his career by producing a larger number of highly eclectic and increasingly ambient electronic and acoustic albums. He is widely credited with coining the term "ambient music", low-volume music designed to modify one's perception of a surrounding environment.
His first such work, 1975's Discreet Music (again created via an elaborate tape-delay methodology, which Eno diagrammed on the back cover of the LP ), is considered the landmark album of the genre. This was followed by his Ambient series (Music for Airports (Ambient 1), The Plateaux of Mirror (Ambient 2), Day of Radiance (Ambient 3) and On Land (Ambient 4)). Eno was the primary musician on these releases with the exception of Ambient 2 which featured Harold Budd on keyboard, and Ambient 3 where the American composer Laraaji was the sole musician playing the zither and hammered dulcimer with Eno producing.
In 1980 Eno provided a film score for Herbert Vesely's Egon Schiele Exzess und Bestrafung, also known as Egon Schiele Excess and Punishment. The ambient-style score was an unusual choice for a historical piece, but it worked effectively with the film's themes of sexual obsession and death.
In 1981, having returned from Ghana and before On Land, he discovered Miles Davis' 1974 track "He Loved Him Madly", a melancholy tribute to Duke Ellington influenced by both African music and Karlheinz Stockhausen: as Eno stated in the liner notes for On Land, "Teo Macero's revolutionary production on that piece seemed to me to have the "spacious" quality I was after, and like Federico Fellini's 1973 film Amarcord, it too became a touchstone to which I returned frequently."
Eno describes himself as a "non-musician" and coined the term "treatments" to describe his modification of the sound of musical instruments, and to separate his role from that of the traditional instrumentalist. His skill at using "The Studio as a Compositional Tool" (the title of an essay by Eno) led in part to his career as a producer. His methods were recognized at the time (mid-1970s) as unique, so much so that on Genesis's The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, he is credited with 'Enossification'; on Robert Wyatt's Ruth Is Stranger Than Richard with a Direct inject anti-jazz raygun and on John Cale's Island albums as simply being "Eno".
Obscure Records label
Main article: Obscure Records
Eno started the Obscure Records label in Britain in 1975 to release works by lesser-known composers. The first group of three releases included his own composition, Discreet Music, and the now-famous The Sinking of the Titanic (1969) and Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet (1971) by Gavin Bryars. The second side of Discreet Music consisted of several versions of Pachelbel's Canon, the composition which Eno had previously chosen to precede Roxy Music's appearances on stage, to which various algorithmic transformations have been applied, rendering it almost unrecognizable. Side 1 consisted of a tape loop system for generating music from relatively sparse input. These tapes had previously been used as backgrounds in some of his collaborations with Fripp, most notably on Evening Star. Only 10 albums were released on Obscure, including works by John Adams, Michael Nyman, and John Cage. At this time he was also affiliating with artists in the Fluxus movement.
Collaboration
In 1975 Eno performed as the Wolf in a rock version of Sergei Prokofiev's classic Peter and The Wolf. Produced by Robin Lumley and Jack Lancaster, the album featured Gary Moore, Manfred Mann, Phil Collins, Stephane Grapelli, Chris Spedding, Cozy Powell, Jon Hiseman, Bill Bruford and Alvin Lee. Also in 1975, Eno provided sythesizers and treatments on Quiet Sun's Mainstream album alongside Phil Manzanera, Charles Hayward, Dave Jarrett, and Bill MacCormick, and he performed on and contributed songs and vocals to Phil Manzanera's Diamond Head album.
In 1980–1981, Eno collaborated with David Byrne of Talking Heads (which he had already anagrammatized as 'King's Lead Hat') on My Life in the Bush of Ghosts, which was built around radio broadcasts Eno collected while living in the United States, along with sampling recordings from around the world transposed over music predominately inspired by African and Middle Eastern rhythms.
He worked with David Bowie as a writer and musician on Bowie's influential 1977–79 'Berlin Trilogy' of albums, Low, "Heroes" and Lodger, on Bowie's later album Outside, and on the song "I'm Afraid of Americans". In 1980 Eno developed an interest in altered guitar tunings, which led to Guitarchitecture discussions with Chuck Hammer, former Lou Reed guitarist. Following on from his No-Wave involvement which brought him in contact with the "renegade" artist Greg Belcastro, who introduced him to the guitar techniques of a fledgling Sonic Youth, Eno has also collaborated with John Cale, former member of Velvet Underground, on his trilogy Fear, Slow Dazzle and Helen of Troy, Robert Wyatt on his Shleep CD, with Jon Hassell, with the German duo Cluster, with composers Harold Budd, Philip Glass and Roberto Carnevale. A new collaboration between David Byrne and Brian Eno titled Everything That Happens Will Happen Today was released digitally on 18 August 2008, with the enhanced CD released in October.
1990s
In 1992, Eno released an album featuring heavily syncopated rhythms entitled Nerve Net, with contributions from several former collaborators including Robert Fripp, Benmont Tench, Robert Quine and John Paul Jones. This album was a last-minute substitution for My Squelchy Life, which featured more pop oriented material, with Eno on vocals. (Several tracks from My Squelchy Life later appeared on 1993's retrospective box set Eno Box II: Vocals.) Eno also released in 1992 a work entitled The Shutov Assembly, recorded between 1985 and 1990. This album embraces atonality and abandons most conventional concepts of modes, scales and pitch. Much of the music shifts gradually and without discernible focus, and is one of Eno's most varied ambient collections. Conventional instrumentation is eschewed, save for treated keyboards.
During the 1990s, Eno became increasingly interested in self-generating musical systems, the results of which he called generative music. The basic premise of generative music is the blending of several independent musical tracks, of varying sounds, length, and in some cases, silence. When each individual track concludes, it starts again mixing with the other tracks allowing the listener to hear an almost infinite combination. In one instance of generative music, Eno calculated that it would take almost 10,000 years to hear the entire possibilities of one individual piece. Eno has presented this music in his own, and other artists', art and sound installations, most notably "I Dormienti (The Sleepers)", Lightness: Music for the Marble Palace, Music for Civic Recovery Centre, The Quiet Room and "Music for Prague".
2000s
In 2004, Fripp and Eno recorded another ambient collaboration album, The Equatorial Stars.
Eno returned in June 2005 with Another Day on Earth, his first major album since Wrong Way Up (with John Cale) to prominently feature vocals (a trend continued with Everything That Happens Will Happen Today). The album differs from his 70s solo work as musical production has changed since then, evident in its semi-electronic production.
In early 2006, Eno collaborated with David Byrne, again, for the reissue of My Life in the Bush of Ghosts in celebration of the influential album's 25th anniversary. Eight previously unreleased tracks, recorded during the initial sessions in 1980/81, were added to the album, while one track, "Qu'ran", was removed due to requests from Muslims. An unusual interactive marketing strategy coincided with its re-release, the album’s promotional website features the ability for anyone to officially and legally download the multi-tracks of two songs from the album, "A Secret Life" and "Help Me Somebody". Individuals can then remix and upload new mixes of these tracks to the website so others can listen to and rate them.
In late 2006, Eno released 77 Million Paintings, a program of generative video and music specifically for the PC. As its title suggests, there is a possible combination of 77 million paintings where the viewer will see different combinations of video slides prepared by Eno each time the program is launched. Likewise, the accompanying music is generated by the program so that it's almost certain the listener will never quite hear the same arrangement twice. The second edition of "77 Million Paintings" featuring improved morphing and a further two layers of sound was released on 14 January 2008.
In 2007, Eno's music was featured in a movie adaption of Irvine Welsh's best-selling collection Ecstasy: Three Tales of Chemical Romance. He also appeared playing keyboards in Voila, Belinda Carlisle's solo album sung entirely in French.
Also in 2007, Eno contributed a composition titled "Grafton Street" to Dido's third album, Safe Trip Home, released in November 2008.
In 2008, he released Everything That Happens Will Happen Today with David Byrne, designed the sound for the video game Spore and wrote a chapter to Sound Unbound: Sampling Digital Music and Culture, edited by Paul D. Miller (a.k.a. DJ Spooky).
Eno revealed on radio in May 2009 that a skin graft he received as treatment for a severe burn on his arm was part human skin, part carbon fibre. He explained that as human skin is based on carbon, the experimental treatment was likely going to work out well for him, in spite of the fact that he feels a lightness in the affected arm.
In June 2009, Eno curated the Luminous Festival at Sydney Opera House, culminating in his first live appearance in many years. "Pure Scenius" consisted of three live improvised performances on the same day, featuring Eno, Australian improv trio The Necks, Karl Hyde from Underworld, electronic artist Jon Hopkins and guitarist Leo Abrahams.
Eno scored the music for Peter Jackson’s film adaptation of The Lovely Bones, released in December 2009.
2010s
In May 2010, the same Pure Scenius line-up as in 2009 performed 'This is Pure Scenius!', in the same format of three live improvised performances on the same day, at the Brighton Festival in England. Also at the 2010 Brighton Festival, after a performance of Woojun Lee's live arrangement of 'Apollo: Atmospheres and Soundtracks' by Icebreaker and BJ Cole, Eno and the band performed four of his songs.
Eno released a new solo album on Warp Records in late 2010. Small Craft on a Milk Sea, made in association with long-time collaborator Leo Abrahams and Jon Hopkins, was released on 2 November in the United States and 15 November in the UK. In April 2011, Eno announced that Drums Between The Bells, a collaboration with poet Rick Holland, would be released in July 2011.
Brian Eno has been active politically throughout his life, frequently writing letters to government ministers, appearing on political debates, and writing newspaper columns to express his political views. He was sharply critical of the Thatcher government's decision to reduce funding to the BBC World Service, arguing that the £5 million cut to its £25 million budget was damaging, and was the equivalent cost of "just one wing of one F-16 fighter jet"- a reference to a large order of military hardware the government had just made.
In 1996, Eno and others started the Long Now Foundation to educate the public about the very long term future of society. He is also a columnist for the British newspaper The Observer.
In 2003, he appeared on a UK Channel 4 discussion about the Iraq war with a top military spokesman; Eno was highly critical of the war. In 2005, he spoke at an anti-war demonstration in Hyde Park, London. In March 2006, he spoke at an anti-war demonstration at Trafalgar Square; he noted that 2 billion people on this planet do not have clean drinking water, and that water could have been supplied to them for about one-fifth of the cost of the Iraq war.
The Nokia 8800 Sirocco Edition mobile phone features exclusive music composed by Eno. Between 8 January 2007 and 12 February 2007, ten units of Nokia 8800 Sirocco Brian Eno Signature Edition mobile phones, individually numbered and engraved with Eno's signature were auctioned off. All proceeds went to two charities chosen by Eno: the Keiskamma Aids Treatment program and The World Land Trust.
In 2006, Eno was one of more than 100 artists and writers who signed an open letter calling for an international boycott of Israeli political and cultural institutions.
In December 2007, the newly-elected Leader of Liberal Democrats, Nick Clegg, appointed Eno as his youth affairs adviser.
In January 2009, Eno spoke out against Israel's military action on the Gaza Strip by writing an opinion for CounterPunch and participating in a large-scale protest in London.
Discography
Main article: Brian Eno discography
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No relation, my name is only a screen name.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 05/16/11 at 5:56 am
The person of the day...Janet Jackson
Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American recording artist and actress. Known for a series of sonically innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows, television and film roles, she has been a prominent figure in popular culture for over 25 years. She is ranked by Forbes magazine as one of the richest women in entertainment. The youngest child of the Jackson family, she began her career with the variety television series The Jacksons in 1976 and went on to appear in other television shows throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, including Good Times and Fame.
After signing a recording contract with A&M in 1982, she became a pop icon following the release of her third studio album Control (1986). Her collaborations with record producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis incorporated elements of rhythm and blues, funk, disco, rap, and industrial beats, which led to crossover appeal in popular music. In addition to receiving recognition for the innovation in her records, choreography, music videos, and prominence on radio airplay and MTV, she was acknowledged as a role model for her socially conscious lyrics.
In 1991, she signed the first of two record-breaking, multi-million dollar contracts with Virgin Records, establishing her as one of the highest paid artists in the industry. Her debut album under the label, Janet (1993), saw her develop a public image as a sex symbol as she began to explore sexuality in her work. That same year, she appeared in her first starring film role in Poetic Justice; since then she has continued to act in feature films. By the end of the 1990s, she was named the second most successful recording artist of the decade. She has amassed an extensive catalog of hits, with singles such as "Nasty", "Rhythm Nation", "That's the Way Love Goes", "Together Again" and "All for You" among her most iconic.
Having sold over 100 million records worldwide, she is ranked as one of the best-selling artists in the history of contemporary music. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) lists her as the eleventh best-selling female artist in the United States, with 26 million certified albums. In 2008, Billboard magazine released its list of the Hot 100 All-Time Top Artists, ranking her at number seven. In 2010, the magazine announced the "Top 50 R&B / Hip-Hop Artists of the Past 25 Years", ranking her at number five. One of the world's most awarded artists, her longevity, records and achievements reflect her influence in shaping and redefining the scope of popular music. She has been cited as an inspiration among numerous performers.
Following the release of Dream Street, Jackson decided to separate her business affairs from her family. She later commented, "I just wanted to get out of the house, get out from under my father, which was one of the most difficult things that I had to do, telling him that I didn't want to work with him again." A&M Records executive John McClain hired producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis to work with her. Within six weeks, Jackson, Jam and Lewis crafted her third studio album, Control. Jackson recalled that during the recording of the album, she was threatened by a group of men outside of her hotel in Minneapolis. She stated that "he danger hit home when a couple of guys started stalking me on the street ... Instead of running to Jimmy or Terry for protection, I took a stand. I backed them down. That's how songs like 'Nasty' and 'What Have You Done for Me Lately' were born, out of a sense of self-defense."
Though Jam and Lewis were concerned with achieving cross-over appeal, their primary goal was to create a strong following for the singer within the African American community first. Jam commented, "e wanted to do an album that would be in every black home in America ... we were going for the black album of all time." Released in February 1986, the album peaked at number one on the Billboard 200, with over 200,000 copies sold in one week. Los Angeles Times critic Connie Johnson wrote: "Though still a teen-ager, this singer's stance is remarkably nervy and mature. She has a snotty sort of assurance that permeates several cuts, plus the musical muscle to back it up." The Newsweek review of Control noted that the album was "an alternative to the sentimental balladry and opulent arrangements of Patti LaBelle and Whitney Houston." Rob Hoerburger of Rolling Stone asserted, "Control is a better album than Diana Ross has made in five years and puts Janet in a position similar to the young Donna Summer's—unwilling to accept novelty status and taking her own steps to rise above it." Five of the album's singles—"What Have You Done for Me Lately", "Nasty", "When I Think of You", "Control", and "Let's Wait Awhile"—peaked within the top 5 of the Billboard Hot 100. "When I Think of You" became Jackson's first single to peak at number one. "The Pleasure Principle" became a top 20 hit, peaking at number fourteen. Most of the Control music videos were choreographed by a then-unknown Paula Abdul. Jonathan Cohen of Billboard magazine commented " accessible sound and spectacularly choreographed videos were irresistible to MTV, and helped the channel evolve from rock programming to a broader, beat-driven musical mix."
Control was certified five times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, and has sold over fourteen million copies worldwide. It won four American Music Awards, from twelve nominations—a record that has yet to be broken—and was nominated for Album of the Year at the 1987 Grammy Awards. Musicologist Richard J. Ripani Ph.D., author of The New Blue Music: Changes in Rhythm & Blues, 1950–1999 (2006), observed that the album was one of the first successful records to influence the rise of new jack swing by creating a fusion of R&B, rap, funk, disco and synthesized percussion. The success of Control, according to Ripani, bridged the gap between R&B and rap music.
1989–92: Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814
"Rhythm Nation" (1989)
Play sound
"Rhythm Nation" encompasses the full range of new jack swing genre. The use of sample loop and triplet swing are present, while vocals for the song are alternatively sung in octaves or rapped in spoken verse.
Problems listening to this file? See media help.
In September 1989, Jackson released her fourth album, Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814. Though executives at A&M wanted an album similar to Control, she was determined to imbue her music with a socially conscious message that complimented her songs about love and relationships. She stated, "I'm not naive—I know an album or a song can't change the world. I just want my music and my dance to catch the audience's attention, and to hold it long enough for them to listen to the lyrics and what we're saying." Producer Jimmy Jam told The Boston Globe, "We would always have a TV turned on, usually to CNN ... And I think the social slant of songs like Rhythm Nation, State of the World and The Knowledge came from that." Rolling Stone magazine's Vince Aletti observed Jackson shifted from "personal freedom to more universal concerns—injustice, illiteracy, crime, drugs—without missing a beat."
Peaking at number one on the Billboard 200, the album was later certified six times platinum and eventually sold over fourteen million copies worldwide. The release became the only album in history to produce number one hits on the Billboard Hot 100 in three separate calendar years—"Miss You Much" in 1989, "Escapade" and "Black Cat" in 1990, and "Love Will Never Do (Without You)" in 1991—and the only album in the history of the Hot 100 to have seven top 5 hit singles. The corresponding music video for "Rhythm Nation" won the 1989 Grammy Award for Best Long Form Music Video. Billboard named Rhythm Nation 1814 the number-one selling album of the year in 1990, winning multiple music awards. The Rhythm Nation World Tour, Jackson's first world tour in support of a studio album, became the most successful debut tour by any recording artist. As Jackson began her tour, she was acknowledged for the cultural impact of her music. Joel Selvin of the San Francisco Chronicle wrote "the 23-year-old has been making smash hit records for four years, becoming a fixture on MTV and a major role model to teenage girls across the country", and William Allen, then-executive vice president of the United Negro College Fund, told the Los Angeles Times, "Jackson is a role model for all young people to emulate and the message she has gotten to the young people of this country through the lyrics of 'Rhythm Nation 1814' is having positive effects." She established the "Rhythm Nation Scholarship" as a joint venture with the United Negro College Fund, as well as donating funds from her concert tour to other educational programs, raising over $1/2 million dollars to fund educational projects. Routledge International Encyclopedia of Women: Global Women's Issues and Knowledge (2000) documented that Jackson's success during this time period placed her on par with several other recording artists, including her older brother Michael Jackson, Madonna and Tina Turner.
With the release of Rhythm Nation 1814, Jackson fulfilled her contract with A&M Records. In 1991, after being approached personally by Virgin Records owner Richard Branson, she signed a highly publicized multi-million dollar contract with the label. The contract value, estimated between $32–50 million, made her the highest paid recording artist in contemporary music, until her brother Michael signed a $65 million dollar contract with Sony only a few days later. Ebony reported: "No individual or group has impacted the world of entertainment as have Michael and Janet Jackson, who both signed multimillion dollar contracts in recent months ... There are many imitators, but few can match Michael and Janet's stunning style and dexterity." Her reputation as a fashion icon also garnered recognition, in that "s Janet was entertaining 2 million fans during her triumphant Rhythm Nation tour, hoards of teen girls were imitating her distinctive look—black quasi-military long jackets, black tight-tight pants, and big white shirts." That same year, she secretly entered into her second marriage with long-term friend—dancer, songwriter and director René Elizondo, Jr. In early 1992, Jackson recorded a song entitled "The Best Things in Life Are Free" with Luther Vandross, featuring Bell Biv DeVoe and Ralph Tresvant, for the Mo' Money film soundtrack.
1993–96: Janet, Poetic Justice and Design of a Decade 1986/1996
Janet Jackson featured on a 1993 cover of Rolling Stone with the hands of her then-unknown husband René Elizondo, Jr. cupping her breasts.
In August 1992, after completing work on Poetic Justice, Jackson set out to plan on recording her first album for Virgin Records. Recording sessions for the album began in September 1992, commencing in the first quarter of 1993. In May 1993, Jackson's fifth studio album Janet, was released and debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. She commented, "ertain people feel I'm just riding on my last name ... That's why I just put my first name on janet. and why I never asked my brothers to write or produce music for me." Billboard magazine's Larry Flick noted she "also broadens her musical scope on 'janet.' by layering deep house, swing jazz, hip hop, rock, and Caribbean elements on top of a radio-minded jack/funk foundation." Rolling Stone wrote: "As princess of America's black royal family, everything Janet Jackson does is important. Whether proclaiming herself in charge of her life, as she did on Control (1986), or commander in chief of a rhythm army dancing to fight society's problems (Rhythm Nation 1814, from 1989), she's influential. And when she announces her sexual maturity, as she does on her new album, Janet., it's a cultural moment." The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (2004) commented that the album's number one hit single "That's the Way Love Goes"—winner of the 1994 Grammy Award for Best R&B Song—and the top 10 singles "If", "Because of Love", "You Want This", and "Any Time, Any Place", all contained "grown-up desires". Janet was certified six times platinum by the RIAA, with worldwide sales exceeding twenty million copies.
In July 1993, Jackson made her film debut in Poetic Justice. Rolling Stone described her performance as "a beguiling film debut" despite her inexperience, while The Washington Post considered her "believably eccentric". Several reviews were also negative, as Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly noted she "isn't an inept actress, yet there are no more edges to her personality than there are to her plastic Kewpie-doll visage." Jackson's ballad "Again" was featured in the film, and she received her first Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations for Best Original Song. In September 1993, Jackson appeared topless on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine with the hands of her then-husband René Elizondo, Jr. covering her breasts. The photograph is the original full-length version of the cropped image used on the cover of the Janet album, shot by Patrick Demarchelier. Sonia Murray of The Vancouver Sun later reported, "Jackson, 27, remains clearly established as both role model and sex symbol; the Rolling Stone photo of Jackson ... became one of the most recognizable, and most lampooned, magazine covers of the year." David Ritz likened her transformation to Marvin Gaye, stating "ust as Gaye moved from What's Going On to Let's Get It On, from the austere to the ecstatic, Janet, every bit as serious-minded as Marvin, moved from Rhythm Nation to janet., her statement of sexual liberation." Her second world tour—the Janet World Tour—garnered critical acclaim as Michael Snyder of the San Francisco Chronicle described Jackson's stage performance as erasing the line between "stadium-size pop music concerts and full-scale theatrical extravaganzas."
During this time period, her brother Michael was immersed in a child sex abuse scandal, of which he denied any wrongdoing. She gave moral support to her brother, and denied allegations made by her sister La Toya in her book La Toya: Growing Up in the Jackson Family (1991) that their parents had abused her and her siblings as children. In an interview with Lynn Norment of Ebony, she commented on her sister's then-estrangement from the family, stating, "her has ... brainwashed her so much she keeps herself away from us." In addition, she criticized her brother Jermaine for attacking Michael in his 1991 single "Word to the Badd". In December 1994, she collaborated with her brother Michael on "Scream", the lead single from his 1995 album HIStory, which was written by both siblings as a response to the media scrutiny he suffered from being accused of child sexual abuse. The song debuted at number five on the Hot 100 singles chart, becoming the first song ever to debut in the top 5. "Scream" is featured in the Guinness Book of Records as the "Most Expensive Music Video Ever Made" at a cost of $7 million, which was filmed in May 1995. Jackson and her brother won the 1995 Grammy Award for Best Short Form Music Video for "Scream".
In October 1995, Jackson's first compilation album, Design of a Decade 1986/1996, was released via A&M Records. It debuted at number four and peaked at number three on the Billboard 200. The lead single "Runaway" became the first song by a female artist to debut within the top ten of the Hot 100, which eventually peaked at number three. Design of a Decade 1986/1996 was certified two times platinum by the RIAA and sold over four million copies worldwide. Jackson's influence in popular music continued to garner recognition, as Steve Morse of The Boston Globe remarked: "If you're talking about the female power elite in pop, you can't get much higher than Janet Jackson, Bonnie Raitt, Madonna and Yoko Ono. Their collective influence ... is beyond measure. And who could dispute that Janet Jackson now has more credibility than brother Michael?" In January 1996, Jackson renewed her contract with Virgin Records for a reported $80 million dollars. The contract established her as the then-highest paid recording artist in contemporary music, surpassing the recording industry's then-unparalleled $60 million dollar contracts earned by her brother, Michael Jackson, and Madonna.
1997–99: The Velvet Rope
During the two year period prior to the release of her sixth studio album, The Velvet Rope, Jackson reportedly suffered from depression and anxiety. Michael Saunders of The Boston Globe considered the album to be an introspective look into her bout with depression, describing it as a "critical self-examination and an audio journal of a woman's road to self-discovery." The Velvet Rope also introduced sadomasochism into Jackson's music. Eric Henderson of Slant Magazine wrote, "The Velvet Rope is a richly dark masterwork that illustrates that, amid the whips and chains, there is nothing sexier than emotional nakedness." Larry Flick of Billboard called The Velvet Rope "he best American album of the year and the most empowering of her last five." Released in October 1997, The Velvet Rope debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. In August, 1997 the album's lead single, "Got 'til It's Gone", was released to radio, peaking at number 12 on the Billboard Rhythmic Airplay Chart. The single sampled the Joni Mitchell song "Big Yellow Taxi", and featured a cameo appearance by rapper Q-Tip. "Got 'til It's Gone" won the 1997 Grammy Award for Best Short Form Music Video. The album's second single "Together Again", became her eighth number one hit on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, and placing her on par with Elton John, Diana Ross, and The Rolling Stones. The single spent a record 46 weeks on the Hot 100, as well as spending 19 weeks on the UK singles chart. "I Get Lonely" peaked at number three on the Hot 100. The Velvet Rope sold over ten million albums worldwide and was certified three times platinum by the RIAA.
Jackson donated a portion of the proceeds earned from "Together Again" to the American Foundation for AIDS Research. Neil McCormick of The Daily Telegraph observed, " even makes a bid for gay icon status, delivering a diva-ish performance reminiscent of Diana Ross on 'Together Again' (a post-Aids pop song), singing a paean to homosexuality on the jazzy 'Free Xone' and climaxing (if that's the right word) with a bizarre lesbian reinterpretation of Rod Stewart's 'Tonight's the Night'." Rolling Stone regarded "Free Xone" as the album's "best song", describing it as an "anti-homophobia track shifts moods and tempos on a dime, segueing from a Prince-like jam to a masterful sample from Archie Bell and the Drells' 'Tighten Up'." The Velvet Rope was honored by the National Black Lesbian and Gay Leadership Forum, and received the award for Outstanding Music Album at the 9th Annual GLAAD Media Awards.
In 1998, Jackson began The Velvet Rope World Tour, an international trek that included Europe, North America, Africa, Asia, New Zealand and Australia. Robert Hilburn of The Los Angeles Times reported, "here is so much of the ambition and glamour of a Broadway musical in Janet Jackson's new Velvet Rope tour that it's only fitting that the concert program credits her as the show's 'creator and director'." Her HBO special, The Velvet Rope: Live in Madison Square Garden, was watched by more than fifteen million viewers. The two hour concert beat the ratings of all four major networks in homes that were subscribed to HBO. The HBO concert special was awarded four Emmy nominations including one win. Jackson donated a portion of her concert ticket sales to America's Promise, a non-profit organization designed by Colin Powell to assist disenfranchised youth.
The following month, Jackson separated from Elizondo Jr. As her world tour came to a close in 1999, Jackson lent guest vocals to a number of songs by other artists, including Shaggy's "Luv Me, Luv Me", for the soundtrack to How Stella Got Her Groove Back, "God's Stepchild" from the Down on the Delta soundtrack, "Girlfriend/Boyfriend" with BLACKstreet, and "What's It Gonna Be?!" with Busta Rhymes. She also performed a duet with Elton John for the song "I Know the Truth". At the 1999 World Music Awards, Jackson received the Legend Award alongside Cher for "lifelong contribution to the music industry and outstanding contribution to the pop industry." As 1999 ended, Billboard magazine ranked Jackson as the second most successful artist of the decade, behind Mariah Carey.
2000–03: Nutty Professor II: The Klumps and All for You
In July 2000, Jackson appeared in her second film, Nutty Professor II: The Klumps, as Professor Denise Gaines, opposite Eddie Murphy. The film became her second to open at number one at the box office, grossing an estimated $42.7 million dollars in its opening weekend. Her contribution to the film's soundtrack, "Doesn't Really Matter", became her ninth number one Billboard Hot 100 single. In the same year, Jackson's husband filed for divorce. Jeff Gordinier of Entertainment Weekly reported that for eight of the thirteen years she and Elizondo had known one another, " were married—a fact they managed to hide not only from the international press but from Jackson's own father." Elizondo filed a multi-million dollar lawsuit against her, estimated between $10–25 million; they did not reach a settlement until 2003.
Jackson was awarded the American Music Awards' Award of Merit in March 2001 for "her finely crafted, critically acclaimed and socially conscious, multi-platinum albums." She became the inaugural honoree of the "mtvICON" award, "an annual recognition of artists who have made significant contributions to music, music video and pop culture while tremendously impacting the MTV generation." Jackson's seventh album, All for You, was released in April 2001, debuting at number one on the Billboard 200. Selling 605,000 copies, All for You had the highest first-week sales total of her career. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic stated " created a record that's luxurious and sensual, spreading leisurely over its 70 minutes, luring you in even when you know better", and Jon Pareles of The New York Times commented, "s other rhythm and blues strips down to match the angularity of hip-hop, Ms. Jackson luxuriates in textures as dizzying as a new infatuation."
"All for You" (2001)
Play sound
The disco inspired "All for You" features an uptempo dance beat and samples "The Glow of Love" originally performed by Change
Problems listening to this file? See media help.
The album's title-track, "All for You", debuted on the Hot 100 at number fourteen, the highest debut ever for a single that was not commercially available. Teri VanHorn of MTV dubbed Jackson "Queen of Radio" as the single made radio airplay history, " added to every pop, rhythmic and urban radio station that reports to the national trade magazine Radio & Records" in its first week. The single peaked at number one, where it topped the Hot 100 for seven weeks. It received the 2001 Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording. The second single, "Someone to Call My Lover", which contained a heavy guitar loop of America's "Ventura Highway", peaked at number three on the Hot 100. All for You was certified double platinum by the RIAA and sold more than nine million copies worldwide.
Jackson's All for You Tour began in July, 2001. Los Angeles Times' pop music critic Robert Hilburn gave a negative review of the concert tour, comparing it unfavorably to Madonna's Drowned World Tour and Britney Spears' Dream Within a Dream Tour. Hilburn remarked: "At 35, Jackson is only eight years younger than Madonna, but her presentation feels more akin to Britney Spears'. Madonna knows how to dig beneath the surface; Jackson lives on it." Hilburns' review sparked backlash from those who felt Jackson gave the superior performance. David Massey commented that "Janet outdid the Material Girl by a mile ... And the gall to bring Britney Spears' name into the picture by saying Janet's show is like Britney's? Hello, it's the other way around!" Similarly, Rudy Scalese complimented Jackson's performance, stating: "Janet Jackson hasn't skipped a beat. She is still the Queen of Pop." Jackson donated a portion of the proceeds from the tour's ticket sales to the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, with President Roxanne Spillett stating, "he increased awareness she will bring to our cause, along with her generous financial contribution, will help us reach an even greater number of young people in search of hope and opportunity."
In 2002, Jackson collaborated with reggae singer Beenie Man on the song "Feel It Boy". She later admitted regret over the collaboration after discovering Beenie Man's music often contained homophobic lyrics, and soon issued an apology to her gay fans in an article published in The Voice. Jackson also began her relationship with record producer Jermaine Dupri that same year.
Discography
Main article: Janet Jackson discography
* Janet Jackson (1982)
* Dream Street (1984)
* Control (1986)
* Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814 (1989)
* janet. (1993)
* The Velvet Rope (1997)
* All for You (2001)
* Damita Jo (2004)
* 20 Y.O. (2006)
* Discipline (2008)
Other works
Television
* The Jacksons (1976–77)
* Good Times (1977–79)
* A New Kind of Family (1979–80)
* Diff'rent Strokes (1980–84)
* Fame (1984–85)
Film
* Poetic Justice (1993)
* Nutty Professor II: The Klumps (2000)
* Why Did I Get Married? (2007)
* Why Did I Get Married Too? (2010)
* For Colored Girls (2010)
Tours
* Rhythm Nation World Tour (1990)
* Janet World Tour (1993–95)
* The Velvet Rope World Tour (1998–99)
* All for You Tour (2001–02)
* Rock Witchu Tour (2008)
* Number Ones: Up Close and Personal (2011)
Books
* True You: A Journey to Finding and Loving Yourself (2011)
See also
Book: Janet Jackson
Wikipedia Books are collections of articles that can be downloaded or ordered in print.
Janet Jackson portal
The Jackson Family portal
* Honorific nicknames in popular music
* List of best-selling music artists
* List of best-selling music artists in the United States
* List of artists who reached number one in the United State
http://i880.photobucket.com/albums/ac8/Tianzhanae_Smith/janet%20jackson/Janet-1.jpg
http://i880.photobucket.com/albums/ac8/Tianzhanae_Smith/janet%20jackson/janet106.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 05/16/11 at 7:09 am
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_9kdqHSTS5-0/Sww-GYamIuI/AAAAAAAABAg/9GK31u0sFjg/s1600/dontstandanotherchance.jpg
This album was 1982 and today she still looks good for 45 years old. :)
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: CatwomanofV on 05/16/11 at 10:52 am
I knew a girl by the name of Janet Jackson and everyone called her "Nasty."
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_9kdqHSTS5-0/Sww-GYamIuI/AAAAAAAABAg/9GK31u0sFjg/s1600/dontstandanotherchance.jpg
This album was 1982 and today she still looks good for 45 years old. :)
45 isn't THAT old, Howard.
Cat
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 05/16/11 at 12:40 pm
I knew a girl by the name of Janet Jackson and everyone called her "Nasty."
45 isn't THAT old, Howard.
Cat
She still looks good.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 05/17/11 at 6:29 am
The person of the day...Bob Saget
Robert Lane "Bob" Saget (born May 17, 1956) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and television host. Although he is best known for his past roles in the family-oriented shows Full House and America's Funniest Home Videos, Saget is known outside of television for his starkly blue stand-up routine. He is also an honorary member of Seal and Serpent.
Saget was born in Philadelphia. His father, Benjamin, was a supermarket executive, and his mother, Rosalyn, was a hospital administrator. Saget lived in Norfolk, Virginia, and Encino, California, before moving back to Philadelphia and graduating from Abington Senior High School. Saget originally intended to become a doctor, but his Honors English teacher, Elaine Zimmerman, saw his creative potential and urged him to seek a career in films.
He attended Temple University's film school, where he created Through Adam's Eyes, a black-and-white film about a boy who received reconstructive facial surgery, and was honored with an award of merit in the Student Academy Awards. He graduated with a B.A. in 1978. Saget intended to take graduate courses at the University of Southern California but quit a few days later. Saget describes himself at the time in an article by Glenn Esterly in the 1990 Saturday Evening Post: "I was a cocky, overweight twenty-two-year-old. Then I had a gangrenous appendix taken out, almost died, and I got over being cocky or overweight." Saget talked about his burst appendix on Anytime with Bob Kushell, saying that it happened on the Fourth of July, at the UCLASS Medical Center and that they at first just iced the area for seven hours before taking it out and finding that it had become gangrenous.
Career
Early career
Saget started performing stand-up comedy and did a number of national tours. Later, in 1987, he became the co-host of The Morning Program—an attempt by CBS to take a different direction with morning television—for which he also wrote and produced content.
Full House and America's Funniest Home Videos
Soon after, Saget was cast as Danny Tanner in Full House, which became a huge success through family viewers and landed in the Nielsen ratings's Top 30 from the third season onward. In 1989 Saget was cast as the host of America's Funniest Home Videos, a role he held until 1997. During the early 1990s Saget worked both on Full House and AFV simultaneously, and in 2009 ABC had Saget return to AFV for a 20th anniversary one-hour special co-hosted with Bergeron.
Continued career
Saget was also host of NBC's game show 1 vs. 100, which debuted October 13, 2006.
He plays the narrator of the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother, which premiered on September 19, 2005. In the series he portrays the future version of the protagonist Ted Mosby. Throughout the series, only his voice is heard and it is yet to be seen if he will make an appearance.
His HBO comedy special, That Ain't Right, came out on DVD on August 28, 2007. It is dedicated to his father, Ben Saget, who died on January 30, 2007, due to complications from congestive heart failure. He was 89.
He has had recurring roles in HBO's Entourage playing a parody of himself.
Saget appeared in the Broadway musical "The Drowsy Chaperone" for a limited four-month engagement. He played "Man in Chair" while Jonathan Crombie, who normally played the character on Broadway, was with the national tour of the musical. On January 4, 2008, Saget's caricature was unveiled at Sardi's Restaurant.
On August 17, 2008, Saget was roasted by Comedy Central in a special, titled The Comedy Central Roast of Bob Saget.
In April 2009, he debuted in a new sitcom along with his co-star Cynthia Stevenson on ABC called Surviving Suburbia. The series, which was originally to air on The CW, ended after one abbreviated season.
Directing career
Saget directed the 1996 ABC television movie For Hope, which was inspired by the life story of his sister, Gay Saget, who died from scleroderma three years earlier.
Saget wrote, directed, and starred in Farce of the Penguins, a parody of 2005's March of the Penguins, which was released direct-to-DVD, in January 2007.
Other works
In 1998, Saget played a cocaine addict in the stoner comedy Half Baked.
In 2006, Jamie Kennedy released a rap song and music video entitled "Rollin' with Saget", which featured Saget and is on his website.
In 2010, Saget starred in an A&E series Strange Days in which he follows others in different activities and lifestyles, documenting their adventures in unusual ways.
Charity work
Saget is currently a board member of the Scleroderma Research Foundation. His scleroderma efforts have further benefited such celebrities as Scary Movie star Regina Hall. “When my mom was diagnosed, I didn’t know much about the condition," said Hall. "But Dana Delaney, who is an actress and now a friend of mine, put me in touch with Bob Saget. Bob had made a television movie about scleroderma years ago because his sister had died from it. That was back when they didn’t even know what it was. Anyway, Bob had a group called the Scleroderma Research Foundation, so I donated to that and my mother even went to the doctor Bob had suggested, who happened to be over at Johns Hopkins.”
Television and filmography
Year Film Role Notes
1979 Outer Touch Voice of Wurlitzer Voice
Also writer
1980 Devices Therapy Patient
1981 Full High Moon Sportscaster
Bosom Buddies Bob the Comic Episode: "The Show Must Go On"
1983 The Greatest American Hero Cook Episode: "Wizards and Warlocks"
1985 New Love, American Style Comedy Vignettes unknown episodes
1986 It's a Living Dr. Bartlett Episode: "The Doctor Danny Show"
1987 Critical Condition Dr. Joffe
1987–1995 Full House Daniel 'Danny' Tanner 192 episodes
1989–1997; 2009 America's Funniest Home Videos Himself (host)
1989 MMC Episode: Guest Day"
1992 Quantum Leap Macklyn 'Mack' MacKay Episode: "Stand Up - April 30, 1959"
To Grandmother's House We Go Win-O-Lotto Lottery Host TV film
uncredited'
1993 For Goodness Sake Surgeon
1994 Father and Scout Spencer Paley TV film
Also executive producer
1997 Meet Wally Sparks Reporter #4
1998 Half Baked Cocaine Addict uncredited
1999 Sorority Dean Tinker TV film
uncredited
2000 Becoming Dick Bob TV film
uncredited
Also director
The Norm Show Mr. Atkitson Episode: "Norm vs. Schoolin'"
Also director
2001–2002 Raising Dad Matt Stewart 17 episodes
2003 Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd Jessica's Dad
2004 Huff Butch Episode: "Flashpants"
2005 Listen Up Mitch Coach Potato
Madagascar Zoo Animal Voice
The Aristocrats Himself Documentary
2005–present How I Met Your Mother Ted Mosby (2030) Voice only TV series
2006
1 vs. 100 Himself (host) Hosted from 2006-2008 on NBC
Casper's Scare School Dash Voice
TV film
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Glenn Cheales Episode: "Choreographed"
2007 Farce of the Penguins Carl Voice
Direct-to-video
Also writer, director and producer
Howard Stern on Demand Episode: "Brad Garrett"
The Tuttles: Madcap Misadventures Barry Tuttle Video game
2008 The Life & Times of Tim Voice
Episode: "Mugger/Cin City"
2009 Surviving Suburbia Steve Patterson 13 episodes
2010 Conan Episode: "One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Dead Fish"
Strange Days with Bob Saget Himself (host) 6 episodes
http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w3/pistol_saf/RITR/bob_saget_2.jpg
http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn78/food_luffy/woodlandpixie.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 05/17/11 at 6:56 am
The person of the day...Bob Saget
Robert Lane "Bob" Saget (born May 17, 1956) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and television host. Although he is best known for his past roles in the family-oriented shows Full House and America's Funniest Home Videos, Saget is known outside of television for his starkly blue stand-up routine. He is also an honorary member of Seal and Serpent.
Saget was born in Philadelphia. His father, Benjamin, was a supermarket executive, and his mother, Rosalyn, was a hospital administrator. Saget lived in Norfolk, Virginia, and Encino, California, before moving back to Philadelphia and graduating from Abington Senior High School. Saget originally intended to become a doctor, but his Honors English teacher, Elaine Zimmerman, saw his creative potential and urged him to seek a career in films.
He attended Temple University's film school, where he created Through Adam's Eyes, a black-and-white film about a boy who received reconstructive facial surgery, and was honored with an award of merit in the Student Academy Awards. He graduated with a B.A. in 1978. Saget intended to take graduate courses at the University of Southern California but quit a few days later. Saget describes himself at the time in an article by Glenn Esterly in the 1990 Saturday Evening Post: "I was a cocky, overweight twenty-two-year-old. Then I had a gangrenous appendix taken out, almost died, and I got over being cocky or overweight." Saget talked about his burst appendix on Anytime with Bob Kushell, saying that it happened on the Fourth of July, at the UCLASS Medical Center and that they at first just iced the area for seven hours before taking it out and finding that it had become gangrenous.
Career
Early career
Saget started performing stand-up comedy and did a number of national tours. Later, in 1987, he became the co-host of The Morning Program—an attempt by CBS to take a different direction with morning television—for which he also wrote and produced content.
Full House and America's Funniest Home Videos
Soon after, Saget was cast as Danny Tanner in Full House, which became a huge success through family viewers and landed in the Nielsen ratings's Top 30 from the third season onward. In 1989 Saget was cast as the host of America's Funniest Home Videos, a role he held until 1997. During the early 1990s Saget worked both on Full House and AFV simultaneously, and in 2009 ABC had Saget return to AFV for a 20th anniversary one-hour special co-hosted with Bergeron.
Continued career
Saget was also host of NBC's game show 1 vs. 100, which debuted October 13, 2006.
He plays the narrator of the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother, which premiered on September 19, 2005. In the series he portrays the future version of the protagonist Ted Mosby. Throughout the series, only his voice is heard and it is yet to be seen if he will make an appearance.
His HBO comedy special, That Ain't Right, came out on DVD on August 28, 2007. It is dedicated to his father, Ben Saget, who died on January 30, 2007, due to complications from congestive heart failure. He was 89.
He has had recurring roles in HBO's Entourage playing a parody of himself.
Saget appeared in the Broadway musical "The Drowsy Chaperone" for a limited four-month engagement. He played "Man in Chair" while Jonathan Crombie, who normally played the character on Broadway, was with the national tour of the musical. On January 4, 2008, Saget's caricature was unveiled at Sardi's Restaurant.
On August 17, 2008, Saget was roasted by Comedy Central in a special, titled The Comedy Central Roast of Bob Saget.
In April 2009, he debuted in a new sitcom along with his co-star Cynthia Stevenson on ABC called Surviving Suburbia. The series, which was originally to air on The CW, ended after one abbreviated season.
Directing career
Saget directed the 1996 ABC television movie For Hope, which was inspired by the life story of his sister, Gay Saget, who died from scleroderma three years earlier.
Saget wrote, directed, and starred in Farce of the Penguins, a parody of 2005's March of the Penguins, which was released direct-to-DVD, in January 2007.
Other works
In 1998, Saget played a cocaine addict in the stoner comedy Half Baked.
In 2006, Jamie Kennedy released a rap song and music video entitled "Rollin' with Saget", which featured Saget and is on his website.
In 2010, Saget starred in an A&E series Strange Days in which he follows others in different activities and lifestyles, documenting their adventures in unusual ways.
Charity work
Saget is currently a board member of the Scleroderma Research Foundation. His scleroderma efforts have further benefited such celebrities as Scary Movie star Regina Hall. “When my mom was diagnosed, I didn’t know much about the condition," said Hall. "But Dana Delaney, who is an actress and now a friend of mine, put me in touch with Bob Saget. Bob had made a television movie about scleroderma years ago because his sister had died from it. That was back when they didn’t even know what it was. Anyway, Bob had a group called the Scleroderma Research Foundation, so I donated to that and my mother even went to the doctor Bob had suggested, who happened to be over at Johns Hopkins.”
Television and filmography
Year Film Role Notes
1979 Outer Touch Voice of Wurlitzer Voice
Also writer
1980 Devices Therapy Patient
1981 Full High Moon Sportscaster
Bosom Buddies Bob the Comic Episode: "The Show Must Go On"
1983 The Greatest American Hero Cook Episode: "Wizards and Warlocks"
1985 New Love, American Style Comedy Vignettes unknown episodes
1986 It's a Living Dr. Bartlett Episode: "The Doctor Danny Show"
1987 Critical Condition Dr. Joffe
1987–1995 Full House Daniel 'Danny' Tanner 192 episodes
1989–1997; 2009 America's Funniest Home Videos Himself (host)
1989 MMC Episode: Guest Day"
1992 Quantum Leap Macklyn 'Mack' MacKay Episode: "Stand Up - April 30, 1959"
To Grandmother's House We Go Win-O-Lotto Lottery Host TV film
uncredited'
1993 For Goodness Sake Surgeon
1994 Father and Scout Spencer Paley TV film
Also executive producer
1997 Meet Wally Sparks Reporter #4
1998 Half Baked Cocaine Addict uncredited
1999 Sorority Dean Tinker TV film
uncredited
2000 Becoming Dick Bob TV film
uncredited
Also director
The Norm Show Mr. Atkitson Episode: "Norm vs. Schoolin'"
Also director
2001–2002 Raising Dad Matt Stewart 17 episodes
2003 Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd Jessica's Dad
2004 Huff Butch Episode: "Flashpants"
2005 Listen Up Mitch Coach Potato
Madagascar Zoo Animal Voice
The Aristocrats Himself Documentary
2005–present How I Met Your Mother Ted Mosby (2030) Voice only TV series
2006
1 vs. 100 Himself (host) Hosted from 2006-2008 on NBC
Casper's Scare School Dash Voice
TV film
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Glenn Cheales Episode: "Choreographed"
2007 Farce of the Penguins Carl Voice
Direct-to-video
Also writer, director and producer
Howard Stern on Demand Episode: "Brad Garrett"
The Tuttles: Madcap Misadventures Barry Tuttle Video game
2008 The Life & Times of Tim Voice
Episode: "Mugger/Cin City"
2009 Surviving Suburbia Steve Patterson 13 episodes
2010 Conan Episode: "One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Dead Fish"
Strange Days with Bob Saget Himself (host) 6 episodes
http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w3/pistol_saf/RITR/bob_saget_2.jpg
http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn78/food_luffy/woodlandpixie.jpg
loved him in Full House as Danny Tanner.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 05/18/11 at 6:53 am
The person of the day...Tina Fey
Elizabeth Stamatina "Tina" Fey (play /ˈfeɪ/; born May 18, 1970) is an American actress, comedian, writer and producer, known for her work on the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live (SNL), the NBC comedy series 30 Rock, and films such as Mean Girls (2004), Baby Mama (2008), and Date Night (2010).
Fey first broke into comedy as a featured player in the Chicago-based improvisational comedy group The Second City. She later joined SNL as a writer, later becoming head writer and a performer, known for her position as co-anchor in the Weekend Update segment. In 2004 she adapted the screenplay Mean Girls in which she also co-starred. After leaving SNL in 2006, she created the television series 30 Rock, a situation comedy loosely based on her experiences at SNL. In the series, Fey portrays the head writer of a fictional sketch comedy series. In 2008, she starred in the comedy film Baby Mama, alongside former SNL co-star Amy Poehler. Fey next appeared in the 2010 comedy films Date Night and Megamind.
She has received seven Emmy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, four Screen Actors Guild Awards, and four Writers Guild of America Awards. She was singled out as the performer who had the greatest impact on culture and entertainment in 2008 by the Associated Press, which gave her its AP Entertainer of the Year award for her satirical portrayal of Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin in a guest appearance on SNL. In 2010, Fey was the recipient of the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, and the youngest-ever winner of the award.
While performing shows with the Second City in 1997, Fey submitted several scripts to NBC's variety show Saturday Night Live (SNL), at the request of its head writer Adam McKay, a former performer at Second City. She was hired as a writer for SNL following a meeting with SNL creator Lorne Michaels, and moved to New York. Fey told The New Yorker, "I’d had my eye on the show forever, the way other kids have their eye on Derek Jeter." Originally, Fey "struggled" at SNL. Her first sketch to air starred Chris Farley in a Sally Jessy Raphael satire. Fey went on to write a series of parodies, including one of ABC's morning talk show The View. She co-wrote the "Sully and Denise" sketches with Rachel Dratch, who plays one of the teens.
Fey played an extra in one of the episodes in 1998, and after watching herself, decided to diet and lost 30 pounds. She told The New York Times, "I was a completely normal weight. But I was here in New York City, I had money and I couldn't buy any clothes. After I lost weight, there was interest in putting me on camera." In 1999, McKay stepped down as head writer, which led Michaels to approach Fey for the position. She became SNL's first female head writer, a milestone she downplays.
In 2000, Fey began performing in sketches, and she and Jimmy Fallon became co-anchors of SNL's Weekend Update segment. Fey said she did not ask to audition, but that Michaels approached her. Michaels explained that there was "chemistry" between Fey and Fallon. Michaels, however, revealed that choosing Fey was "kind of risky" at the time. Her role in Weekend Update was well received by critics. Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly wrote: "...Fey delivers such blow darts – poison filled jokes written in long, precisely parsed sentences unprecedented in Update history – with such a bright, sunny countenance makes her all the more devilishly delightful." Dennis Miller, a former cast member of SNL and anchor of Weekend Update, was pleased with Fey as one of the anchors for the segment: "...Fey might be the best Weekend Update anchor who ever did it. She writes the funniest jokes". Robert Bianco of USA Today, however, commented that he was "not enamored" of the pairing.
In 2001, Fey and the writing staff won a Writers Guild of America Award for SNL's 25th anniversary special. The following year at the 2002 Emmy Awards ceremony, she and the writing team won the Emmy for Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Program.
The pairing of Fey and Fallon ended in May 2004 when Fallon last appeared as a cast member. He was replaced by Amy Poehler. It was the first time that two women co-anchored Weekend Update. Fey revealed that she "hired" Poehler as her co-host for the segment. The reception to the teaming of Fey and Poehler was positive, with Rachel Sklar of the Chicago Tribune noting that the pairing "has been a hilarious, pitch-perfect success as they play off each other with quick one-liners and deadpan delivery".
The 2005–2006 season was her last; she thereafter departed to develop 30 Rock.
30 Rock (2006–present)
Main article: 30 Rock
Fey filming an episode of 30 Rock at Rockefeller Center in October 2007.
In 2002, Fey suggested a pilot episode for a situation comedy about a cable news network to NBC, who rejected it. The pilot was reworked to revolve around an SNL style series, and was accepted by NBC. She signed a contract with NBC in May 2003, which allowed her to remain in her SNL head writer position at least through the 2004–2005 television season. As part of the contract, Fey was to develop a primetime project to be produced by Broadway Video and NBC Universal. She began developing the pilot project under the working title Untitled Tina Fey Project. The pilot, directed by Adam Bernstein, centered on the head writer of a variety show and how she managed her relationships with the show's volatile star and its executive producer. In October 2006, the pilot aired on NBC as 30 Rock. Although the episode received generally favorable reviews, it finished third in its timeslot.
The network renewed the series for a second season, which began in October 2007. The show's third season premiered on October 30, 2008. The premiere episode set records for the highest ratings of the series. In January 2009, NBC renewed 30 Rock for the 2009–2010 season.
In 2007, Fey received an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series. The show itself won the 2007 Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series. In 2008, she won the Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild, and Emmy awards all in the category for Best Actress in a Comedy Series. The following year, Fey again won the Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award in the same categories, and was nominated for an Emmy Award. In early 2010, Fey received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress, and won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Lead Actress. 30 Rock was renewed for the 2010–2011 season in March 2010.
Sarah Palin
See also: Saturday Night Live parodies of Sarah Palin
Web promo for 2008 web video of Palin (Fey) and Clinton (Poehler) from NBC.com.
From September to October 2008, Fey made frequent guest appearances on SNL to perform a series of parodies of Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin. On the 34th season premiere episode, aired September 13, 2008, Fey imitated Palin in a sketch, alongside Amy Poehler as Hillary Clinton. Their repartee included Clinton needling Palin about her "Tina Fey glasses". The sketch quickly became NBC.com's most-watched viral video ever, with 5.7 million views by the following Wednesday. Fey reprised this role on the October 4 show, and on the October 18 show where she was joined by the real Sarah Palin. The October 18 show had the best ratings of any SNL show since 1994. The following year Fey won an Emmy in the category of Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for her impersonation of Palin. Fey returned to SNL in April 2010, and reprised her impression of Palin in one sketch titled "Sarah Palin Network".
In December 2009, Entertainment Weekly put her impersonation on its end-of-the-decade, "best-of" list, writing, "Fey's freakishly spot-on SNL impersonation of the wannabe VP (and her ability to strike a balance between comedy and cruelty) made for truly transcendent television."
Other work
Fey at the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con International promoting Megamind.
In 2000, Fey partnered with fellow SNL cast member Rachel Dratch in the Off Broadway two-woman show Dratch & Fey at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater in New York City. The production was well received by critics. Tim Townsend of The Wall Street Journal in review of Dratch & Fey, wrote that the fun part of watching them perform was "seeing how comfortable they are with each other". He concluded that the production "isn't about two women being funny. Dratch and Fey are just funny. Period." One of the SNL sketches, "Sully and Denise", originated at Second City in Chicago.
On August 13, 2007, Fey made a guest appearance on the children's television series Sesame Street, in the episode, "The Bookaneers". She appeared as a guest judge on the November 25, 2007 episode of the Food Network program Iron Chef America. Fey has appeared in Disney's campaign "Year of a Million Dreams" as Tinker Bell, along with Mikhail Baryshnikov as Peter Pan and Gisele Bündchen as Wendy Darling. She has also done commercials for American Express credit card.
On February 23, 2008, Fey hosted the first episode of SNL after the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike. For this appearance, she was nominated for an Emmy in the category of Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program. Fey hosted SNL for a second time on April 10, 2010, and for her appearance she received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series.
On April 5, 2011, her book, an autobiographical comedy entitled Bossypants, was released. It received a positive review from the New York Times.
Feature films
In 2002, Fey appeared in the surreal comedy Martin & Orloff. She made her debut as writer and co-star of the 2004 teen comedy Mean Girls. Characters and behaviors in the movie are based on Fey's high school life at Upper Darby High School and on the non-fiction book Queen Bees and Wannabes by Rosalind Wiseman. The cast includes other past cast members of SNL including Tim Meadows, Ana Gasteyer, and Amy Poehler. The film received favorable reviews, and was a box office success, grossing $129 million worldwide.
Fey with Amy Poehler at the premiere of Baby Mama in New York.
In a 2004 interview, Fey expressed that she would like to write and direct movies in which she has small parts. In 2006, Fey worked on a movie script for Paramount Pictures, which was to feature Sacha Baron Cohen, by the name of Curly Oxide and Vic Thrill, based loosely on the true story of a Hasidic rock musician. In 2007, she was cast in the animated comedy film Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters as the Aqua Teens' mother, a giant burrito.
Fey and former SNL castmate Amy Poehler starred in the 2008 comedy Baby Mama. The movie was written and directed by Michael McCullers. The plot concerns Kate (Fey), a business woman, who wants a child but, discovering she has only a million-to-one chance of getting pregnant, decides to find a surrogate: Angie (Poehler), a white-trash schemer. Baby Mama received mixed reviews, but many critics enjoyed Fey's performance. Todd McCarthy of Variety wrote: "Fey is a delight to watch throughout. Able to convey Kate's intentions and feelings through the simple looks and inflections, she never melodramatizes her situation; nor does her efficient, perfectionist side become overbearing." The movie grossed over $64 million at the box office.
Fey's projects after 2008 include her lending her voice to the character Lisa in the English language version of the Japanese animated film Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea (titled Ponyo for its U.S. release). In 2009, she appeared in The Invention of Lying, alongside Ricky Gervais, Jennifer Garner, Rob Lowe, and Christopher Guest. Her next film role was in Shawn Levy's 2010 comedy Date Night, a feature that focuses on a married couple, played by Fey and Steve Carell, who go on a date; however, the night goes awry for the two. Also in the same year, she voiced Roxanne Ritchie, a television reporter, in the DreamWorks animated film Megamind (2010). With a total worldwide gross of $321 million, Megamind is Fey's most commercially successful picture to date. It earned $173 million outside the U.S. and $148 million domestically.
In July 2010 it was announced that Fey will star in an upcoming comedy entitled Mommy & Me alongside Meryl Streep, who will play her mother. The film will be directed by Stanley Tucci.
In the media
Fey was ranked in the Hot 100 List at number 80 on Maxim magazine in 2002. She was named one of People magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People in 2003, and one of People magazine's 100 Most Beautiful People in 2007, 2008, and 2009. In 2007, she was included in People's 100 Most Beautiful issue. Also in 2007, Fey placed seventh on the Hot 100 List on AfterEllen.com. She repeated the appearance the following year, however, being voted as number one on the list.
In 2001, Entertainment Weekly named Fey as one of their Entertainers of the Year for her work on Weekend Update. She again was named one of the magazine's Entertainers of the Year in 2007, and placed number two in 2008. In 2009, Fey was named as Entertainment Weekly's fifth individual in their 15 Entertainers of the 2000s list. The newspaper editors and broadcast producers of the Associated Press voted Fey the AP Entertainer of the Year as the performer who had the greatest impact on culture and entertainment in 2008, citing her impression of Sarah Palin on SNL. She has appeared on Forbes' annual Celebrity 100 list of the 100 most powerful celebrities in 2008, 2009, and 2010, at No. 99, No. 86, and No. 90 respectively.
In 2007, the New York Post included Fey in New York's 50 Most Powerful Women, ranking her at number 33. Fey was among the Time 100, a list of the 100 most influential people in the world, in 2007 and 2009, as selected annually by Time magazine. Fey's featured article for the 2009 list was written by 30 Rock co-star, Alec Baldwin. She was selected by Barbara Walters as one of America's 10 Most Fascinating People of 2008.
Personal life
Fey with husband Jeff Richmond in April 2010 at the premiere of Date Night
Fey is married to Jeff Richmond, composer on 30 Rock. They met at Chicago's Second City and dated for seven years before marrying in a Greek Orthodox ceremony on June 3, 2001. The couple's daughter—Alice Zenobia Richmond—was born on September 10, 2005, during Fey's tenure at SNL. Fey returned to the show on October 22, saying "I had to get back to work. NBC has me under contract; the baby and I have only a verbal agreement." In April 2009, Fey and Richmond purchased a $3.4 million apartment in the Upper West Side in New York City. On April 6, 2011, Fey announced she and Richmond were expecting their second child.
Fey has a scar a few inches long on the left side of her chin and cheek. Responding to questions about its origin, Fey was quoted in the November 25, 2001, New York Times article as saying: "It's a childhood injury that was kind of grim. And it kind of bums my parents out for me to talk about it". Later, in an interview with Fey and Richmond in the January 2009 issue of Vanity Fair, Richmond revealed the scar resulted from a slashing incident, which happened when she was five. Richmond said: "It was in, like, the front yard of her house, and somebody just came up, and she just thought somebody marked her with a pen." She has said she was reluctant to discuss the incident in part because "It's impossible to talk about it without somehow seemingly exploiting it." Fey favors the right (non-scar) side of her face when acting as her character Liz Lemon.
Her charity work includes support of Autism Speaks, an organization that sponsors autism research and conducts awareness and outreach activities aimed at families, governments, and the public. At the 64th Golden Globe Awards, Fey wore a blue puzzle piece pin to raise awareness for the organization. In April 2008, she participated in Night of Too Many Stars, a comedy show benefit for autism education.
Fey is also a supporter of Mercy Corps, a global relief and development organization, in their campaign to end world hunger. Fey narrated a video for Mercy Corps's Action Center in New York City, describing hunger as a symptom of many wider world problems. She also supports the Love Our Children USA organization, which fights violence against children, who named her among their Mothers Who Make a Difference in 2009. She is the 2009 national spokesperson for the Light the Night Walk, which benefits the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
In June 2010, it was announced she would receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2011.
Detailed works
As a writer Year(s)↓ Title↓ Medium↓ Notes↓
1997–2006 Saturday Night Live TV Head writer 1999–2006
2004 Mean Girls Film Screenplay adapted from Queen Bees and Wannabes
2006–present 30 Rock TV Episodes written:
Season 1: (8/21) "Pilot", "The Aftermath", "Tracy Does Conan", "The Head and the Hair"‡, "Black Tie"‡, "Up All Night", "The C Word", "Hiatus"
Season 2: (4/15) "SeinfeldVision", "Somebody to Love"‡, "MILF Island"‡, "Cooter"
Season 3: (5) "Do-Over", "Christmas Special"‡, "St. Valentine's Day"‡, "The Bubble", "The Natural Order"‡
Season 4: (4) "Season 4", "Secret Santa, "Lee Marvin vs. Derek Jeter"‡, "I Do Do"
Season 5: (3) "The Fabian Strategy", Live Show"‡, "100‡
‡denotes episode co-written.
As an actress Year(s)↓ Title↓ Medium↓ Role(s)↓ Notes↓
1998–2006, 2008, 2010, 2011 Saturday Night Live TV Multiple Includes being a cast member from 1998 to 2006, host of Weekend Update (2000–2006), host in 2008, 2010, and 2011, and made five appearances impersonating Sarah Palin.
1999 Upright Citizens Brigade TV Kerri Downey One episode
2002 Martin & Orloff Film Southern Woman
2004 Mean Girls Film Ms. Norbury Features several colleagues from Saturday Night Live
2006 Artie Lange's Beer League Film Gym Secretary
2006 Man of the Year Film Herself SNL's Weekend Update with Fey and Amy Poehler was featured in the movie
2006–present 30 Rock TV Liz Lemon Main role
2007 Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters Film Giant Burrito
2008 Baby Mama Film Kate Holbrook Re-teams with Amy Poehler, colleague from SNL
2009 Ponyo Film Lisa Voice (English version)
2009 Invention of Lying, TheThe Invention of Lying Film Shelley
2009 SpongeBob's Truth or Square TV Herself
2010 Date Night Film Claire Foster
2010 Megamind Film Roxanne Ritchi Voice
2011 Phineas and Ferb TV Guest Star Voice
Awards and nominations
The following awards are categorized under the year they were announced (and not necessarily the year covered by the award ceremony).
Year↓ Award↓ Category↓ Work↓ Result↓
2001 Emmy Award Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Program Saturday Night Live Nominated
2001 WGA Award Comedy/Variety series Saturday Night Live Nominated
2001 WGA Award Comedy/Variety special Saturday Night Live: 25th Anniversary Special Won
2002 Emmy Award Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Program Saturday Night Live Won
2002 WGA Award Comedy/Variety series Saturday Night Live Nominated
2003 Emmy Award Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Program Saturday Night Live Nominated
2003 WGA Award Comedy/Variety Series Saturday Night Live Nominated
2003 WGA Award Comedy/Variety Special Saturday Night Live: NBC 75th Anniversary Special Nominated
2004 Teen Choice Award Choice TV Actress: Comedy Saturday Night Live Nominated
2005 People's Choice Awards Favorite Funny Female Star Nominated
2005 Teen Choice Award Choice Comedian Nominated
2005 WGA Award Best Adapted Screenplay Mean Girls Nominated
2007 Emmy Award Comedy Series 30 Rock Won
2007 Emmy Award Lead Actress in a Comedy Series 30 Rock Nominated
2007 Emmy Award Writing for a Comedy Series "Tracy Does Conan" for 30 Rock Nominated
2007 WGA Award Comedy Series 30 Rock Nominated
2007 WGA Award New Series 30 Rock Nominated
2007 WGA Award Comedy/Variety Special Saturday Night Live Won
2008 Emmy Award Comedy Series 30 Rock Won
2008 Emmy Award Lead Actress in a Comedy Series 30 Rock Won
2008 Emmy Award Writing for a Comedy Series "Cooter" for 30 Rock Won
2008 Emmy Award Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program Saturday Night Live Nominated
2008 Golden Globe Award Actress in a Television Series — Musical or Comedy 30 Rock Won
2008 Golden Globe Award Best Television Series — Musical or Comedy 30 Rock Nominated
2008 Screen Actors Guild Awards Female Actor in a Comedy Series 30 Rock Won
2008 Screen Actors Guild Awards Ensemble in a Comedy Series 30 Rock Nominated
2008 WGA Award Comedy Series 30 Rock Won
2009 Golden Globe Award Actress in a Television Series — Musical or Comedy 30 Rock Won
2009 Golden Globe Award Best Television Series — Musical or Comedy 30 Rock Won
2009 Screen Actors Guild Awards Female Actor in a Comedy Series 30 Rock Won
2009 Screen Actors Guild Awards Ensemble in a Comedy Series 30 Rock Won
2009 WGA Award Comedy Series 30 Rock Won
2009 WGA Award Episodic Comedy "Cooter" for 30 Rock Nominated
2009 Emmy Award Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series Portrayal of Sarah Palin on Saturday Night Live Won
2009 Emmy Award Comedy Series 30 Rock Won
2009 Emmy Award Lead Actress in a Comedy Series 30 Rock Won
2010 Golden Globe Award Actress in a Television Series — Musical or Comedy 30 Rock Nominated
2010 Golden Globe Award Best Television Series — Musical or Comedy 30 Rock Nominated
2010 Screen Actors Guild Awards Female Actor in a Comedy Series 30 Rock Won
2010 Screen Actors Guild Awards Ensemble in a Comedy Series 30 Rock Nominated
2010 Emmy Award Comedy Series 30 Rock Nominated
2010 Emmy Award Lead Actress in a Comedy Series 30 Rock Nominated
2010 Emmy Award Writing for a Comedy Series "Lee Marvin vs. Derek Jeter" for 30 Rock Nominated
2010 Emmy Award Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program Saturday Night Live Nominated
2010 Teen Choice Award Choice Movie Actress: Comedy Date Night Won
2010 Mark Twain Prize for American Humor American Humor Won
2011 Golden Globe Award Actress in a Television Series — Musical or Comedy 30 Rock Nominated
2011 Golden Globe Award Best Television Series — Musical or Comedy 30 Rock Nominated
2011 The Comedy Awards Best Actress in Film Comedy Date Night Won
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f58/RussianReject/Tina-Fey.jpg
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j17/debroe/tina-fey.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 05/18/11 at 6:56 am
The person of the day...Tina Fey
Elizabeth Stamatina "Tina" Fey (play /ˈfeɪ/; born May 18, 1970) is an American actress, comedian, writer and producer, known for her work on the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live (SNL), the NBC comedy series 30 Rock, and films such as Mean Girls (2004), Baby Mama (2008), and Date Night (2010).
Fey first broke into comedy as a featured player in the Chicago-based improvisational comedy group The Second City. She later joined SNL as a writer, later becoming head writer and a performer, known for her position as co-anchor in the Weekend Update segment. In 2004 she adapted the screenplay Mean Girls in which she also co-starred. After leaving SNL in 2006, she created the television series 30 Rock, a situation comedy loosely based on her experiences at SNL. In the series, Fey portrays the head writer of a fictional sketch comedy series. In 2008, she starred in the comedy film Baby Mama, alongside former SNL co-star Amy Poehler. Fey next appeared in the 2010 comedy films Date Night and Megamind.
She has received seven Emmy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, four Screen Actors Guild Awards, and four Writers Guild of America Awards. She was singled out as the performer who had the greatest impact on culture and entertainment in 2008 by the Associated Press, which gave her its AP Entertainer of the Year award for her satirical portrayal of Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin in a guest appearance on SNL. In 2010, Fey was the recipient of the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, and the youngest-ever winner of the award.
While performing shows with the Second City in 1997, Fey submitted several scripts to NBC's variety show Saturday Night Live (SNL), at the request of its head writer Adam McKay, a former performer at Second City. She was hired as a writer for SNL following a meeting with SNL creator Lorne Michaels, and moved to New York. Fey told The New Yorker, "I’d had my eye on the show forever, the way other kids have their eye on Derek Jeter." Originally, Fey "struggled" at SNL. Her first sketch to air starred Chris Farley in a Sally Jessy Raphael satire. Fey went on to write a series of parodies, including one of ABC's morning talk show The View. She co-wrote the "Sully and Denise" sketches with Rachel Dratch, who plays one of the teens.
Fey played an extra in one of the episodes in 1998, and after watching herself, decided to diet and lost 30 pounds. She told The New York Times, "I was a completely normal weight. But I was here in New York City, I had money and I couldn't buy any clothes. After I lost weight, there was interest in putting me on camera." In 1999, McKay stepped down as head writer, which led Michaels to approach Fey for the position. She became SNL's first female head writer, a milestone she downplays.
In 2000, Fey began performing in sketches, and she and Jimmy Fallon became co-anchors of SNL's Weekend Update segment. Fey said she did not ask to audition, but that Michaels approached her. Michaels explained that there was "chemistry" between Fey and Fallon. Michaels, however, revealed that choosing Fey was "kind of risky" at the time. Her role in Weekend Update was well received by critics. Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly wrote: "...Fey delivers such blow darts – poison filled jokes written in long, precisely parsed sentences unprecedented in Update history – with such a bright, sunny countenance makes her all the more devilishly delightful." Dennis Miller, a former cast member of SNL and anchor of Weekend Update, was pleased with Fey as one of the anchors for the segment: "...Fey might be the best Weekend Update anchor who ever did it. She writes the funniest jokes". Robert Bianco of USA Today, however, commented that he was "not enamored" of the pairing.
In 2001, Fey and the writing staff won a Writers Guild of America Award for SNL's 25th anniversary special. The following year at the 2002 Emmy Awards ceremony, she and the writing team won the Emmy for Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Program.
The pairing of Fey and Fallon ended in May 2004 when Fallon last appeared as a cast member. He was replaced by Amy Poehler. It was the first time that two women co-anchored Weekend Update. Fey revealed that she "hired" Poehler as her co-host for the segment. The reception to the teaming of Fey and Poehler was positive, with Rachel Sklar of the Chicago Tribune noting that the pairing "has been a hilarious, pitch-perfect success as they play off each other with quick one-liners and deadpan delivery".
The 2005–2006 season was her last; she thereafter departed to develop 30 Rock.
30 Rock (2006–present)
Main article: 30 Rock
Fey filming an episode of 30 Rock at Rockefeller Center in October 2007.
In 2002, Fey suggested a pilot episode for a situation comedy about a cable news network to NBC, who rejected it. The pilot was reworked to revolve around an SNL style series, and was accepted by NBC. She signed a contract with NBC in May 2003, which allowed her to remain in her SNL head writer position at least through the 2004–2005 television season. As part of the contract, Fey was to develop a primetime project to be produced by Broadway Video and NBC Universal. She began developing the pilot project under the working title Untitled Tina Fey Project. The pilot, directed by Adam Bernstein, centered on the head writer of a variety show and how she managed her relationships with the show's volatile star and its executive producer. In October 2006, the pilot aired on NBC as 30 Rock. Although the episode received generally favorable reviews, it finished third in its timeslot.
The network renewed the series for a second season, which began in October 2007. The show's third season premiered on October 30, 2008. The premiere episode set records for the highest ratings of the series. In January 2009, NBC renewed 30 Rock for the 2009–2010 season.
In 2007, Fey received an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series. The show itself won the 2007 Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series. In 2008, she won the Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild, and Emmy awards all in the category for Best Actress in a Comedy Series. The following year, Fey again won the Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award in the same categories, and was nominated for an Emmy Award. In early 2010, Fey received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress, and won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Lead Actress. 30 Rock was renewed for the 2010–2011 season in March 2010.
Sarah Palin
See also: Saturday Night Live parodies of Sarah Palin
Web promo for 2008 web video of Palin (Fey) and Clinton (Poehler) from NBC.com.
From September to October 2008, Fey made frequent guest appearances on SNL to perform a series of parodies of Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin. On the 34th season premiere episode, aired September 13, 2008, Fey imitated Palin in a sketch, alongside Amy Poehler as Hillary Clinton. Their repartee included Clinton needling Palin about her "Tina Fey glasses". The sketch quickly became NBC.com's most-watched viral video ever, with 5.7 million views by the following Wednesday. Fey reprised this role on the October 4 show, and on the October 18 show where she was joined by the real Sarah Palin. The October 18 show had the best ratings of any SNL show since 1994. The following year Fey won an Emmy in the category of Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for her impersonation of Palin. Fey returned to SNL in April 2010, and reprised her impression of Palin in one sketch titled "Sarah Palin Network".
In December 2009, Entertainment Weekly put her impersonation on its end-of-the-decade, "best-of" list, writing, "Fey's freakishly spot-on SNL impersonation of the wannabe VP (and her ability to strike a balance between comedy and cruelty) made for truly transcendent television."
Other work
Fey at the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con International promoting Megamind.
In 2000, Fey partnered with fellow SNL cast member Rachel Dratch in the Off Broadway two-woman show Dratch & Fey at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater in New York City. The production was well received by critics. Tim Townsend of The Wall Street Journal in review of Dratch & Fey, wrote that the fun part of watching them perform was "seeing how comfortable they are with each other". He concluded that the production "isn't about two women being funny. Dratch and Fey are just funny. Period." One of the SNL sketches, "Sully and Denise", originated at Second City in Chicago.
On August 13, 2007, Fey made a guest appearance on the children's television series Sesame Street, in the episode, "The Bookaneers". She appeared as a guest judge on the November 25, 2007 episode of the Food Network program Iron Chef America. Fey has appeared in Disney's campaign "Year of a Million Dreams" as Tinker Bell, along with Mikhail Baryshnikov as Peter Pan and Gisele Bündchen as Wendy Darling. She has also done commercials for American Express credit card.
On February 23, 2008, Fey hosted the first episode of SNL after the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike. For this appearance, she was nominated for an Emmy in the category of Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program. Fey hosted SNL for a second time on April 10, 2010, and for her appearance she received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series.
On April 5, 2011, her book, an autobiographical comedy entitled Bossypants, was released. It received a positive review from the New York Times.
Feature films
In 2002, Fey appeared in the surreal comedy Martin & Orloff. She made her debut as writer and co-star of the 2004 teen comedy Mean Girls. Characters and behaviors in the movie are based on Fey's high school life at Upper Darby High School and on the non-fiction book Queen Bees and Wannabes by Rosalind Wiseman. The cast includes other past cast members of SNL including Tim Meadows, Ana Gasteyer, and Amy Poehler. The film received favorable reviews, and was a box office success, grossing $129 million worldwide.
Fey with Amy Poehler at the premiere of Baby Mama in New York.
In a 2004 interview, Fey expressed that she would like to write and direct movies in which she has small parts. In 2006, Fey worked on a movie script for Paramount Pictures, which was to feature Sacha Baron Cohen, by the name of Curly Oxide and Vic Thrill, based loosely on the true story of a Hasidic rock musician. In 2007, she was cast in the animated comedy film Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters as the Aqua Teens' mother, a giant burrito.
Fey and former SNL castmate Amy Poehler starred in the 2008 comedy Baby Mama. The movie was written and directed by Michael McCullers. The plot concerns Kate (Fey), a business woman, who wants a child but, discovering she has only a million-to-one chance of getting pregnant, decides to find a surrogate: Angie (Poehler), a white-trash schemer. Baby Mama received mixed reviews, but many critics enjoyed Fey's performance. Todd McCarthy of Variety wrote: "Fey is a delight to watch throughout. Able to convey Kate's intentions and feelings through the simple looks and inflections, she never melodramatizes her situation; nor does her efficient, perfectionist side become overbearing." The movie grossed over $64 million at the box office.
Fey's projects after 2008 include her lending her voice to the character Lisa in the English language version of the Japanese animated film Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea (titled Ponyo for its U.S. release). In 2009, she appeared in The Invention of Lying, alongside Ricky Gervais, Jennifer Garner, Rob Lowe, and Christopher Guest. Her next film role was in Shawn Levy's 2010 comedy Date Night, a feature that focuses on a married couple, played by Fey and Steve Carell, who go on a date; however, the night goes awry for the two. Also in the same year, she voiced Roxanne Ritchie, a television reporter, in the DreamWorks animated film Megamind (2010). With a total worldwide gross of $321 million, Megamind is Fey's most commercially successful picture to date. It earned $173 million outside the U.S. and $148 million domestically.
In July 2010 it was announced that Fey will star in an upcoming comedy entitled Mommy & Me alongside Meryl Streep, who will play her mother. The film will be directed by Stanley Tucci.
In the media
Fey was ranked in the Hot 100 List at number 80 on Maxim magazine in 2002. She was named one of People magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People in 2003, and one of People magazine's 100 Most Beautiful People in 2007, 2008, and 2009. In 2007, she was included in People's 100 Most Beautiful issue. Also in 2007, Fey placed seventh on the Hot 100 List on AfterEllen.com. She repeated the appearance the following year, however, being voted as number one on the list.
In 2001, Entertainment Weekly named Fey as one of their Entertainers of the Year for her work on Weekend Update. She again was named one of the magazine's Entertainers of the Year in 2007, and placed number two in 2008. In 2009, Fey was named as Entertainment Weekly's fifth individual in their 15 Entertainers of the 2000s list. The newspaper editors and broadcast producers of the Associated Press voted Fey the AP Entertainer of the Year as the performer who had the greatest impact on culture and entertainment in 2008, citing her impression of Sarah Palin on SNL. She has appeared on Forbes' annual Celebrity 100 list of the 100 most powerful celebrities in 2008, 2009, and 2010, at No. 99, No. 86, and No. 90 respectively.
In 2007, the New York Post included Fey in New York's 50 Most Powerful Women, ranking her at number 33. Fey was among the Time 100, a list of the 100 most influential people in the world, in 2007 and 2009, as selected annually by Time magazine. Fey's featured article for the 2009 list was written by 30 Rock co-star, Alec Baldwin. She was selected by Barbara Walters as one of America's 10 Most Fascinating People of 2008.
Personal life
Fey with husband Jeff Richmond in April 2010 at the premiere of Date Night
Fey is married to Jeff Richmond, composer on 30 Rock. They met at Chicago's Second City and dated for seven years before marrying in a Greek Orthodox ceremony on June 3, 2001. The couple's daughter—Alice Zenobia Richmond—was born on September 10, 2005, during Fey's tenure at SNL. Fey returned to the show on October 22, saying "I had to get back to work. NBC has me under contract; the baby and I have only a verbal agreement." In April 2009, Fey and Richmond purchased a $3.4 million apartment in the Upper West Side in New York City. On April 6, 2011, Fey announced she and Richmond were expecting their second child.
Fey has a scar a few inches long on the left side of her chin and cheek. Responding to questions about its origin, Fey was quoted in the November 25, 2001, New York Times article as saying: "It's a childhood injury that was kind of grim. And it kind of bums my parents out for me to talk about it". Later, in an interview with Fey and Richmond in the January 2009 issue of Vanity Fair, Richmond revealed the scar resulted from a slashing incident, which happened when she was five. Richmond said: "It was in, like, the front yard of her house, and somebody just came up, and she just thought somebody marked her with a pen." She has said she was reluctant to discuss the incident in part because "It's impossible to talk about it without somehow seemingly exploiting it." Fey favors the right (non-scar) side of her face when acting as her character Liz Lemon.
Her charity work includes support of Autism Speaks, an organization that sponsors autism research and conducts awareness and outreach activities aimed at families, governments, and the public. At the 64th Golden Globe Awards, Fey wore a blue puzzle piece pin to raise awareness for the organization. In April 2008, she participated in Night of Too Many Stars, a comedy show benefit for autism education.
Fey is also a supporter of Mercy Corps, a global relief and development organization, in their campaign to end world hunger. Fey narrated a video for Mercy Corps's Action Center in New York City, describing hunger as a symptom of many wider world problems. She also supports the Love Our Children USA organization, which fights violence against children, who named her among their Mothers Who Make a Difference in 2009. She is the 2009 national spokesperson for the Light the Night Walk, which benefits the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
In June 2010, it was announced she would receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2011.
Detailed works
As a writer Year(s)↓ Title↓ Medium↓ Notes↓
1997–2006 Saturday Night Live TV Head writer 1999–2006
2004 Mean Girls Film Screenplay adapted from Queen Bees and Wannabes
2006–present 30 Rock TV Episodes written:
Season 1: (8/21) "Pilot", "The Aftermath", "Tracy Does Conan", "The Head and the Hair"‡, "Black Tie"‡, "Up All Night", "The C Word", "Hiatus"
Season 2: (4/15) "SeinfeldVision", "Somebody to Love"‡, "MILF Island"‡, "Cooter"
Season 3: (5) "Do-Over", "Christmas Special"‡, "St. Valentine's Day"‡, "The Bubble", "The Natural Order"‡
Season 4: (4) "Season 4", "Secret Santa, "Lee Marvin vs. Derek Jeter"‡, "I Do Do"
Season 5: (3) "The Fabian Strategy", Live Show"‡, "100‡
‡denotes episode co-written.
As an actress Year(s)↓ Title↓ Medium↓ Role(s)↓ Notes↓
1998–2006, 2008, 2010, 2011 Saturday Night Live TV Multiple Includes being a cast member from 1998 to 2006, host of Weekend Update (2000–2006), host in 2008, 2010, and 2011, and made five appearances impersonating Sarah Palin.
1999 Upright Citizens Brigade TV Kerri Downey One episode
2002 Martin & Orloff Film Southern Woman
2004 Mean Girls Film Ms. Norbury Features several colleagues from Saturday Night Live
2006 Artie Lange's Beer League Film Gym Secretary
2006 Man of the Year Film Herself SNL's Weekend Update with Fey and Amy Poehler was featured in the movie
2006–present 30 Rock TV Liz Lemon Main role
2007 Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters Film Giant Burrito
2008 Baby Mama Film Kate Holbrook Re-teams with Amy Poehler, colleague from SNL
2009 Ponyo Film Lisa Voice (English version)
2009 Invention of Lying, TheThe Invention of Lying Film Shelley
2009 SpongeBob's Truth or Square TV Herself
2010 Date Night Film Claire Foster
2010 Megamind Film Roxanne Ritchi Voice
2011 Phineas and Ferb TV Guest Star Voice
Awards and nominations
The following awards are categorized under the year they were announced (and not necessarily the year covered by the award ceremony).
Year↓ Award↓ Category↓ Work↓ Result↓
2001 Emmy Award Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Program Saturday Night Live Nominated
2001 WGA Award Comedy/Variety series Saturday Night Live Nominated
2001 WGA Award Comedy/Variety special Saturday Night Live: 25th Anniversary Special Won
2002 Emmy Award Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Program Saturday Night Live Won
2002 WGA Award Comedy/Variety series Saturday Night Live Nominated
2003 Emmy Award Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Program Saturday Night Live Nominated
2003 WGA Award Comedy/Variety Series Saturday Night Live Nominated
2003 WGA Award Comedy/Variety Special Saturday Night Live: NBC 75th Anniversary Special Nominated
2004 Teen Choice Award Choice TV Actress: Comedy Saturday Night Live Nominated
2005 People's Choice Awards Favorite Funny Female Star Nominated
2005 Teen Choice Award Choice Comedian Nominated
2005 WGA Award Best Adapted Screenplay Mean Girls Nominated
2007 Emmy Award Comedy Series 30 Rock Won
2007 Emmy Award Lead Actress in a Comedy Series 30 Rock Nominated
2007 Emmy Award Writing for a Comedy Series "Tracy Does Conan" for 30 Rock Nominated
2007 WGA Award Comedy Series 30 Rock Nominated
2007 WGA Award New Series 30 Rock Nominated
2007 WGA Award Comedy/Variety Special Saturday Night Live Won
2008 Emmy Award Comedy Series 30 Rock Won
2008 Emmy Award Lead Actress in a Comedy Series 30 Rock Won
2008 Emmy Award Writing for a Comedy Series "Cooter" for 30 Rock Won
2008 Emmy Award Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program Saturday Night Live Nominated
2008 Golden Globe Award Actress in a Television Series — Musical or Comedy 30 Rock Won
2008 Golden Globe Award Best Television Series — Musical or Comedy 30 Rock Nominated
2008 Screen Actors Guild Awards Female Actor in a Comedy Series 30 Rock Won
2008 Screen Actors Guild Awards Ensemble in a Comedy Series 30 Rock Nominated
2008 WGA Award Comedy Series 30 Rock Won
2009 Golden Globe Award Actress in a Television Series — Musical or Comedy 30 Rock Won
2009 Golden Globe Award Best Television Series — Musical or Comedy 30 Rock Won
2009 Screen Actors Guild Awards Female Actor in a Comedy Series 30 Rock Won
2009 Screen Actors Guild Awards Ensemble in a Comedy Series 30 Rock Won
2009 WGA Award Comedy Series 30 Rock Won
2009 WGA Award Episodic Comedy "Cooter" for 30 Rock Nominated
2009 Emmy Award Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series Portrayal of Sarah Palin on Saturday Night Live Won
2009 Emmy Award Comedy Series 30 Rock Won
2009 Emmy Award Lead Actress in a Comedy Series 30 Rock Won
2010 Golden Globe Award Actress in a Television Series — Musical or Comedy 30 Rock Nominated
2010 Golden Globe Award Best Television Series — Musical or Comedy 30 Rock Nominated
2010 Screen Actors Guild Awards Female Actor in a Comedy Series 30 Rock Won
2010 Screen Actors Guild Awards Ensemble in a Comedy Series 30 Rock Nominated
2010 Emmy Award Comedy Series 30 Rock Nominated
2010 Emmy Award Lead Actress in a Comedy Series 30 Rock Nominated
2010 Emmy Award Writing for a Comedy Series "Lee Marvin vs. Derek Jeter" for 30 Rock Nominated
2010 Emmy Award Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program Saturday Night Live Nominated
2010 Teen Choice Award Choice Movie Actress: Comedy Date Night Won
2010 Mark Twain Prize for American Humor American Humor Won
2011 Golden Globe Award Actress in a Television Series — Musical or Comedy 30 Rock Nominated
2011 Golden Globe Award Best Television Series — Musical or Comedy 30 Rock Nominated
2011 The Comedy Awards Best Actress in Film Comedy Date Night Won
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f58/RussianReject/Tina-Fey.jpg
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j17/debroe/tina-fey.jpg
She's a very funny actress,I always enjoyed her Sarah Palin disguise. ;D
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: CatwomanofV on 05/18/11 at 12:38 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lufvZTnaIrg
Cat
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 05/18/11 at 7:52 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lufvZTnaIrg
Cat
;D
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 05/19/11 at 6:19 am
The person of the day...Joey Ramone
Joey Ramone (born Jeffry Ross Hyman; May 19, 1951 – April 15, 2001) was a vocalist and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist in the punk rock band the Ramones. Joey Ramone's image, voice and tenure as frontman of the Ramones made him a countercultural icon.
In 1974, Jeffry Hyman co-founded the punk rock band the Ramones with friends John Cummings and Douglas Colvin, upon which point all three adopted stage names using "Ramone" as their surname: Cummings became Johnny Ramone, Colvin became Dee Dee Ramone, and Hyman became name Joey Ramone. The name Ramone stems from a story that Paul McCartney of the The Beatles would check into hotels under the pseudonym "Paul Ramon" while touring.
Joey initially served as the group's drummer while Dee Dee Ramone was the original vocalist. Ramones manager Tommy Ramone (aka Tommy Erdelyi), suggested Joey switch to vocals while Tommy took over on drums.
The Ramones were a major influence on the punk rock movement in the United States, though they achieved only minor commercial success. Their only record with enough U.S. sales to be certified gold was the compilation album Ramones Mania. Recognition of the band's importance built over the years, and they are now regularly represented in many assessments of all-time great rock music, such as the Rolling Stone lists of the 50 Greatest Artists of All Time and 25 Greatest Live Albums of All Time, VH1's 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock, and Mojo's 100 Greatest Albums. In 2002, the Ramones were voted the second greatest rock and roll band ever in Spin, trailing only The Beatles.
In 1996, after a tour with the Lollapalooza music festival, the band played their final show and then disbanded. Less than nine years after the breakup, three of the band's four founding members (Joey, guitarist Johnny Ramone, and bassist Dee Dee Ramone) were dead.
Vocal style
Ramone's vocal style was unorthodox in that he had no formal training in an era where vocal proficiency was arguably the norm for most rock bands. His signature cracks, hiccups, snarls, crooning and youthful voice made his one of punk rock's most recognizable voices. Allmusic.com claims that "Joey Ramone's signature bleat was the voice of punk rock in America." As his vocals matured and deepened through his career, so did the Ramones' songwriting, leaving a notable difference from Joey's initial melodic and callow style—two notable tracks serving as examples are "Somebody Put Something in My Drink" and "Mama's Boy".
Other projects
Joey Ramone was honored with the creation of "Joey Ramone Place" outside the address of CBGB in New York City.
In 1985, Joey joined Little Steven Van Zandt's music-industry activist group Artists United Against Apartheid which acted against the Sun City resort in South Africa. Joey and forty-nine other top recording artists, including Bruce Springsteen, U2, Bob Dylan and Run DMC, collaborated on the song "Sun City" in which they pledged they would never perform at the resort.
In 1994, Joey appeared on the Helen Love album Love and Glitter, Hot Days and Music singing the track "Punk Boy". Helen Love returned the favor, singing on Joey's song "Mr. Punchy".
Hyman co-wrote and recorded the song "Meatball Sandwich" with Youth Gone Mad. For a short time before his death, he took the role of manager and producer for the punk rock group The Independents.
His last recording as a vocalist was singing backup vocals on the CD One Nation Under by the Dine Navajo rock group Blackfire. He appeared on two tracks, "What Do You See" and "Lying to Myself". The CD, released in 2002, won "Best Pop/Rock Album of the Year" at the 2002 Native American Music Awards.
Joey also produced the Ronnie Spector album, She Talks to Rainbows, in 1999. It was critically acclaimed, but did not perform too well with the public and went virtually unnoticed. The title track was previously on the Ramones' last studio album, ¡Adios Amigos!.
Death and influence
Headstone for Joey Ramone with fan tributes
Joey Ramone died of lymphoma at New York-Presbyterian Hospital on April 15, 2001, after a seven-year battle. He was reportedly listening to the song "In a Little While" by U2 when he died. This was during U2's Elevation Tour, and from that point on during shows Bono would introduce the song as a tune that was originally about a lovestruck hangover but that Joey turned it into a gospel song.
His solo album Don't Worry About Me was released posthumously in 2002, and features the single "What a Wonderful World", a cover of the Louis Armstrong standard. MTV News claimed: "With his trademark rose-colored shades, black leather jacket, shoulder-length hair, ripped jeans and alternately snarling and crooning, hiccoughing vocals, Joey was the iconic godfather of punk."
On November 30, 2003, a block of East 2nd Street in New York City was officially renamed Joey Ramone Place. It is the block where Hyman once lived with bandmate Dee Dee Ramone, and is near the former site of the music club CBGB, where the Ramones got their start. Hyman's birthday is celebrated annually by rock 'n' roll nightclubs, hosted in New York City by his brother and, until 2007, his mother, Charlotte. Joey Ramone was buried in Hillside Cemetery in Lyndhurst, New Jersey.
In 2001, when Joey Ramone died, the Ramones were named as inductees to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, prior to the actual ceremony held early the following year (2002).
Several songs have been presented as a tribute to Joey Ramone, including "Hello Joe" by Blondie from the album The Curse Of Blondie, Don't Take Me For Granted by Social Distortion and Here's To You by Minus3.
In September 2010, the Associated Press reported that "Joey Ramone Place," a sign at the corner of Bowery and East Second Street was New York City's most stolen sign. As of September 27, the sign has been moved to 20 feet above ground level. Drummer Marky Ramone thought Joey would appreciate the fact that his sign would be the most stolen adding "Now you have to be an NBA player to see it."
Discography
For Ramones albums, see Ramones discography.
Solo
* Don't Worry About Me – (2002)
EPs
* In a Family Way – Sibling Rivalry (1994)
* Ramones: Leathers from New York – The Ramones and Joey Ramone (solo) (1997)
* Christmas Spirit...In My House – (2002)
Singles
* "I Got You Babe" - (1982) (Duet with Holly Beth Vincent)
* "What a Wonderful World" - (2002)
Memorial books
* "Heaven Needed A Lead Singer: Fans Remember Joey Ramone" by Jari-Pekka Laitio-Ramone - (2002)
* "Rock In Peace: Dee Dee And Joey Ramone" by Jari-Pekka Laitio-Ramone - (2004)
http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x75/tock117/base_joey_ramone.jpg
http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g286/sasnnat/Joey-Ramone--C10068650.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 05/19/11 at 1:37 pm
The person of the day...Joey Ramone
Joey Ramone (born Jeffry Ross Hyman; May 19, 1951 – April 15, 2001) was a vocalist and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist in the punk rock band the Ramones. Joey Ramone's image, voice and tenure as frontman of the Ramones made him a countercultural icon.
In 1974, Jeffry Hyman co-founded the punk rock band the Ramones with friends John Cummings and Douglas Colvin, upon which point all three adopted stage names using "Ramone" as their surname: Cummings became Johnny Ramone, Colvin became Dee Dee Ramone, and Hyman became name Joey Ramone. The name Ramone stems from a story that Paul McCartney of the The Beatles would check into hotels under the pseudonym "Paul Ramon" while touring.
Joey initially served as the group's drummer while Dee Dee Ramone was the original vocalist. Ramones manager Tommy Ramone (aka Tommy Erdelyi), suggested Joey switch to vocals while Tommy took over on drums.
The Ramones were a major influence on the punk rock movement in the United States, though they achieved only minor commercial success. Their only record with enough U.S. sales to be certified gold was the compilation album Ramones Mania. Recognition of the band's importance built over the years, and they are now regularly represented in many assessments of all-time great rock music, such as the Rolling Stone lists of the 50 Greatest Artists of All Time and 25 Greatest Live Albums of All Time, VH1's 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock, and Mojo's 100 Greatest Albums. In 2002, the Ramones were voted the second greatest rock and roll band ever in Spin, trailing only The Beatles.
In 1996, after a tour with the Lollapalooza music festival, the band played their final show and then disbanded. Less than nine years after the breakup, three of the band's four founding members (Joey, guitarist Johnny Ramone, and bassist Dee Dee Ramone) were dead.
Vocal style
Ramone's vocal style was unorthodox in that he had no formal training in an era where vocal proficiency was arguably the norm for most rock bands. His signature cracks, hiccups, snarls, crooning and youthful voice made his one of punk rock's most recognizable voices. Allmusic.com claims that "Joey Ramone's signature bleat was the voice of punk rock in America." As his vocals matured and deepened through his career, so did the Ramones' songwriting, leaving a notable difference from Joey's initial melodic and callow style—two notable tracks serving as examples are "Somebody Put Something in My Drink" and "Mama's Boy".
Other projects
Joey Ramone was honored with the creation of "Joey Ramone Place" outside the address of CBGB in New York City.
In 1985, Joey joined Little Steven Van Zandt's music-industry activist group Artists United Against Apartheid which acted against the Sun City resort in South Africa. Joey and forty-nine other top recording artists, including Bruce Springsteen, U2, Bob Dylan and Run DMC, collaborated on the song "Sun City" in which they pledged they would never perform at the resort.
In 1994, Joey appeared on the Helen Love album Love and Glitter, Hot Days and Music singing the track "Punk Boy". Helen Love returned the favor, singing on Joey's song "Mr. Punchy".
Hyman co-wrote and recorded the song "Meatball Sandwich" with Youth Gone Mad. For a short time before his death, he took the role of manager and producer for the punk rock group The Independents.
His last recording as a vocalist was singing backup vocals on the CD One Nation Under by the Dine Navajo rock group Blackfire. He appeared on two tracks, "What Do You See" and "Lying to Myself". The CD, released in 2002, won "Best Pop/Rock Album of the Year" at the 2002 Native American Music Awards.
Joey also produced the Ronnie Spector album, She Talks to Rainbows, in 1999. It was critically acclaimed, but did not perform too well with the public and went virtually unnoticed. The title track was previously on the Ramones' last studio album, ¡Adios Amigos!.
Death and influence
Headstone for Joey Ramone with fan tributes
Joey Ramone died of lymphoma at New York-Presbyterian Hospital on April 15, 2001, after a seven-year battle. He was reportedly listening to the song "In a Little While" by U2 when he died. This was during U2's Elevation Tour, and from that point on during shows Bono would introduce the song as a tune that was originally about a lovestruck hangover but that Joey turned it into a gospel song.
His solo album Don't Worry About Me was released posthumously in 2002, and features the single "What a Wonderful World", a cover of the Louis Armstrong standard. MTV News claimed: "With his trademark rose-colored shades, black leather jacket, shoulder-length hair, ripped jeans and alternately snarling and crooning, hiccoughing vocals, Joey was the iconic godfather of punk."
On November 30, 2003, a block of East 2nd Street in New York City was officially renamed Joey Ramone Place. It is the block where Hyman once lived with bandmate Dee Dee Ramone, and is near the former site of the music club CBGB, where the Ramones got their start. Hyman's birthday is celebrated annually by rock 'n' roll nightclubs, hosted in New York City by his brother and, until 2007, his mother, Charlotte. Joey Ramone was buried in Hillside Cemetery in Lyndhurst, New Jersey.
In 2001, when Joey Ramone died, the Ramones were named as inductees to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, prior to the actual ceremony held early the following year (2002).
Several songs have been presented as a tribute to Joey Ramone, including "Hello Joe" by Blondie from the album The Curse Of Blondie, Don't Take Me For Granted by Social Distortion and Here's To You by Minus3.
In September 2010, the Associated Press reported that "Joey Ramone Place," a sign at the corner of Bowery and East Second Street was New York City's most stolen sign. As of September 27, the sign has been moved to 20 feet above ground level. Drummer Marky Ramone thought Joey would appreciate the fact that his sign would be the most stolen adding "Now you have to be an NBA player to see it."
Discography
For Ramones albums, see Ramones discography.
Solo
* Don't Worry About Me – (2002)
EPs
* In a Family Way – Sibling Rivalry (1994)
* Ramones: Leathers from New York – The Ramones and Joey Ramone (solo) (1997)
* Christmas Spirit...In My House – (2002)
Singles
* "I Got You Babe" - (1982) (Duet with Holly Beth Vincent)
* "What a Wonderful World" - (2002)
Memorial books
* "Heaven Needed A Lead Singer: Fans Remember Joey Ramone" by Jari-Pekka Laitio-Ramone - (2002)
* "Rock In Peace: Dee Dee And Joey Ramone" by Jari-Pekka Laitio-Ramone - (2004)
http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x75/tock117/base_joey_ramone.jpg
http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g286/sasnnat/Joey-Ramone--C10068650.jpg
so who's left of The Ramones? ???
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 05/20/11 at 6:26 am
so who's left of The Ramones? ???
Tommy
Marky
New people..Richie
Some guy name C.J and a guy named Elvis.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 05/20/11 at 6:28 am
The person of the day....Timothy Olyphant
Timothy David Olyphant (born May 20, 1968) is an American actor whose notable roles in television drama series include Deadwood as Seth Bullock, Justified as Raylan Givens, and Damages as Wes Krulik. He has also starred in the films Scream 2, Gone in 60 Seconds, Dreamcatcher, Live Free or Die Hard, A Perfect Getaway, The Crazies, and Hitman.
Olyphant was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, the son of Katherine and John Vernon Bevan Olyphant, a college teacher who worked for a winery. He moved to Modesto, California, a city of 200,000 southeast of San Francisco, where he was raised. Olyphant began competitive swimming at age 6, and started training seriously in the seventh grade under coach Darrell Lohrke, who came to Modesto via Arden Hills Swimming and Tennis Club. Olyphant made remarkable strides and soon became a nationally ranked swimmer. He was a finalist at the USA Swimming Short Course National Championships in 1986 in the 200 Individual Medley. He graduated from Modesto's Fred C. Beyer High School that year.
Olyphant continued swimming at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, where he studied fine art. He took a beginning acting class as an elective at UC Irvine, in order to fulfill the final credits he needed to graduate from USC. Olyphant then decided to move to New York City to study acting, rather than pursue a master's degree in fine arts. He took acting classes with William Esper at William Esper Studio for two years, and then started looking for acting work.
Career
Olyphant began acting off-Broadway, making his professional debut in 1995 in the Playwrights Horizons' production of The Monogamist as Tim Hapgood. He received the Theatre World Award for Outstanding Debut Performance for his performance. He subsequently appeared in the one-man play The SantaLand Diaries in 1996, written by David Sedaris, adapted and directed by Joe Mantello, and in Plunge.
Olyphant returned to Los Angeles and found work in television. He landed his first TV role in a pilot for a remake of the series 77 Sunset Strip in 1995, produced by Clint Eastwood. He was cast in the pilot of Mr. & Mrs. Smith (1996), a short-lived CBS spy series, as Scooby, Mr. Smith's (Scott Bakula's) assistant. Olyphant appeared in 3 episodes of the acclaimed police drama High Incident and in the Hallmark Channel TV film Ellen Foster in 1997. A role in the HBO movie When Trumpets Fade was next in 1998, a dramatization of the 1944 Battle of Hürtgen Forest, followed by a guest starring role in the Sex and the City episode "Valley of the Twenty Something Guys", as one of Carrie Bradshaw's boyfriends.
Olyphant made his feature film debut with a small part in The First Wives Club (1996). He appeared briefly in A Life Less Ordinary (1997), starring Ewan McGregor, but gained notice starring in the horror film Scream 2 (1997), as a cynical film student, Mickey. He portrayed the drug dealer Todd Gaines in Go (1999), directed by Doug Liman, a comedy-drama with Katie Holmes, Scott Wolf and Sarah Polley in the cast, and a script by first time screenwriter John August. He followed the role up with parts in Advice from a Caterpillar (1999), No Vacancy (1999), The Broken Hearts Club: A Romantic Comedy (2000) and Gone in 60 Seconds (2000).
Olyphant played the lead role of Sheriff Seth Bullock on HBO's Deadwood from March 2004 until the series' end. Olyphant considered it to be one of his first leading roles as a "complicated" and "complex" character.
Prior to that he had roles in Rock Star (2001) and Dreamcatcher (2003). He played a porn film producer in The Girl Next Door in 2004 alongside Emile Hirsch and Elisha Cuthbert.
In January 2007, Olyphant appeared in the comedy Catch and Release, playing the love interest of Jennifer Garner's character; Olyphant was cast in the role over several other known actors, including Matthew Fox. Olyphant had studied acting alongside Jennifer Garner when he moved to New York. He next appeared in Live Free or Die Hard, as the villain, a cyber-terrorist and in Hitman, as the title character. Olyphant shaved his head for his role in Hitman. His 2008 roles included Stop-Loss, about the Iraq War, playing a Lieutenant Colonel, Meet Bill, a comedy co-starring Aaron Eckhart and Jessica Alba, and a voice-acting role in Turok (2008) as Cowboy.
Olyphant served as the on-air, unpaid sports commentator for Joe Escalante's morning show on LA radio station Indie 103.1, every Monday through Friday, until the channel's demise in January 2009.
In June 2008 he joined the cast of FX's show Damages, starring Glenn Close. As a result, his part in Samantha Who? was recast and filled by Billy Zane.
In 2009, he starred with Steve Zahn and Milla Jovovich in the thriller A Perfect Getaway as an Iraq war veteran and possible serial killer of honeymooners on the Hawaii islands. In 2010, he featured in the lead role of the town sheriff in the remake film The Crazies.
In the spring of 2010, Olyphant began portraying the lead role of Raylan Givens in the FX series Justified. His character is a 21st century U.S. Marshal who, for his questionable tactics, is banished to the part of Kentucky in which he was born and raised. Givens wears a Stetson hat and behaves like an Old West sheriff. The show is based on a character created by Elmore Leonard in the novels Pronto and Riding the Rap, and the short story "Fire in the Hole". The pilot episode was an adaptation of the latter.
Olyphant played a paper salesman in two episodes of the seventh season of the NBC comedy The Office.
Olyphant's most recent role was in 2011 as the voice of "The Spirit of the West" in the animated picture Rango.
Personal life
Olyphant lives in Westwood, Los Angeles with his wife, Alexis Knief, and their three children: Grace, Henry, and Vivian. The couple married in July of 1991.
Film and television credits
Film Year↓ Title↓ Role↓ Notes
1996 First Wives Club, TheThe First Wives Club Brett Artounian
1997 Life Less Ordinary, AA Life Less Ordinary Hiker
1997 Scream 2 Mickey
1998 1999 (Girls and Boys) Hooks
1998 When Trumpets Fade Lt. Terrence Lukas
1999 No Vacancy Luke
1999 Go Todd Gaines
1999 Advice from a Caterpillar Brat
2000 Gone in 60 Seconds Det. Drycoff
2000 Broken Hearts Club: A Romantic Comedy, TheThe Broken Hearts Club: A Romantic Comedy Dennis
2001 Head Over Heels Michael
2001 Auggie Rose Roy Mason
2001 Rock Star Rob Malcolm – Guitarist, Blood Pollution
2001 Doppelganger Brian
2002 Coastlines Sonny Mann
2003 Safety of Objects, TheThe Safety of Objects Randy
2003 Dreamcatcher Pete Moore
2003 Man Apart, AA Man Apart Hollywood Jack
2004 Girl Next Door, TheThe Girl Next Door Kelly
2007 Catch and Release Fritz
2007 Live Free or Die Hard Thomas Gabriel (also known as Die Hard 4.0)
2007 Hitman Agent 47
2008 Stop-Loss Lt. Col. Boot Miller
2008 Meet Bill Chip
2009 Perfect Getaway, AA Perfect Getaway Nick Nominated—Toronto Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor
2009 High Life Dick
2010 Crazies, TheThe Crazies David Dutten
2010 Elektra Luxx Del
2011 I Am Number Four Henri
2011 Rango The Spirit of the West voice only
Television Year↓ Title↓ Role↓ Notes
1996 Mr. & Mrs. Smith Scooby Pilot guest star
1997–1998 High Incident Brett Farraday Recurring role, 3 Episodes
1998 Sex and the City Sam Guest star, 1 Episode
2002 Night Visions Eli Guest star, 1 Episode
2004–2006 Deadwood Sheriff Seth Bullock Lead Actor: 36 Episodes
2006 My Name Is Earl Billy Reed Guest star, 1 Episode
2009–2010 Damages Wes Krulik Regular season 2 (Only)
2009 Samantha Who? Winston Funk 2 Episodes
2010 Bonnie Hunt Show, TheThe Bonnie Hunt Show himself Talk show
2010–present Justified Raylan Givens Lead actor
2010 Office, TheThe Office Danny Cordray Guest star, episode: "The Sting" Guest Star, episode: "Costume Contest
http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t202/mathuisland/timothy_olyphant-1.jpg
http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/ae272/charlotte_q/timothy-olyphant.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 05/21/11 at 7:23 am
The person of the day..The Notorious B.I.G.
Christopher George Latore Wallace (May 21, 1972 – March 9, 1997) was an American rapper. He was popularly known as Biggie Smalls (after a character in the 1975 film Let's Do It Again), Big Poppa, and The Black Frank White (after the main character of the 1990 film King of New York), but primarily by his stage name The Notorious B.I.G..
Wallace was raised in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. When Wallace released his debut album Ready to Die in 1994, he became a central figure in the East Coast hip-hop scene and increased New York's visibility at a time when West Coast artists were more common in the mainstream. The following year, Wallace led his childhood friends to chart success through his protégé group, Junior M.A.F.I.A.. While recording his second album, Wallace was heavily involved in the East Coast/West Coast hip-hop feud, dominating the scene at the time.
On March 9, 1997, Wallace was killed by an unknown assailant in a drive-by shooting in Los Angeles. His double-disc set Life After Death, released 15 days later, hit #1 on the U.S. album charts and was certified Diamond in 2000 (one of the few hip hop albums to receive this certification). Wallace was noted for his "loose, easy flow", dark semi-autobiographical lyrics and storytelling abilities. Since his death, a further two albums have been released. MTV ranked him at #3 on their list of The Greatest MCs (Rappers) of All Time. He has certified sales of 17 million units in the United States.
Wallace began rapping when he was a teenager. He would entertain people on the streets as well as perform with local groups, the Old Gold Brothers and the Techniques. After being released from prison, Wallace made a demo tape under the name Biggie Smalls, a reference to his childhood nickname and to his stature; he stood at 6' 3" (1.91 m) and weighed as much as 300 to 380 pounds according to differing accounts. The tape was reportedly made with no serious intent of getting a recording deal, but was promoted by New York-based DJ Mister Cee, who had previously worked with Big Daddy Kane, and was heard by the editor of The Source.
In March 1992, Wallace featured in The Source's Unsigned Hype column, dedicated to aspiring rappers, and was invited to produce a recording with other unsigned artists in a move that was reportedly uncommon at the time. The demo tape was heard by Uptown Records A&R and record producer, Sean Combs, who arranged for a meeting with Wallace. He was signed to Uptown immediately and made an appearance on label mates, Heavy D & the Boyz' "A Buncha Niggas" (from the album Blue Funk). Soon after signing his recording contract, Combs was fired from Uptown and started a new label. Wallace followed and in mid-1992, signed to Combs' new imprint label, Bad Boy Records. On August 8, 1993, Wallace's long-term girlfriend gave birth to his first child, T'yanna. Wallace continued selling drugs after the birth to support his daughter financially. Once Combs discovered this, he was made to quit.
Wallace gained exposure later in the year on a remix to Mary J. Blige's single "Real Love", under the pseudonym The Notorious B.I.G., the name he would record under for the remainder of his career, after finding the original moniker "Biggie Smalls" was already in use. "Real Love" peaked at #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and was followed by a remix of Blige's "What's the 411". He continued this success, to a lesser extent, on remixes with Neneh Cherry ("Buddy X") and reggae artist Super Cat ("Dolly My Baby", also featuring Combs) in 1993. In April 1993, his solo track, "Party and Bullsheesh", appeared on the Who's the Man? soundtrack. In July 1994, he appeared alongside LL Cool J and Busta Rhymes on a remix to label mate Craig Mack's "Flava in Ya Ear", reaching #9 on the Hot 100.
Ready to Die and marriage
On August 4, 1994, Wallace married singer Faith Evans after they met at a Bad Boy photoshoot. Four days later, Wallace had his first pop chart success as a solo artist with double A-side, "Juicy/Unbelievable", which reached #27 as the lead single to his debut album.
Ready to Die was released on September 13, 1994, and reached #13 on the Billboard 200 chart, eventually being certified four times Platinum. The album, released at a time when West Coast hip hop was prominent in the U.S. charts, according to Rolling Stone, "almost single-handedly... shifted the focus back to East Coast rap". It gained strong reviews on release and has received much praise in retrospect. In addition to "Juicy", the record produced two hit singles; the Platinum-selling "Big Poppa", which reached #1 on the U.S. rap chart, and "One More Chance" featuring Faith Evans, a loosely related remix of an album track and its best selling single.
Junior M.A.F.I.A. and coastal feud
Early image of Wallace (left) and Tupac Shakur. Photograph is taken from the documentary film Biggie & Tupac, directed by Nick Broomfield
In August 1995, Wallace's protegé group, Junior M.A.F.I.A. ("Junior Masters At Finding Intelligent Attitudes"), released their debut album Conspiracy. The group consisting of his friends from childhood and included rappers such as Lil' Kim and Lil' Cease, who went on to have solo careers. The record went Gold and its singles, "Player's Anthem" and "Get Money" both featuring Wallace, went Gold and Platinum. Wallace continued to work with R&B artists, collaborating with Bad Boy groups 112 (on "Only You") and Total (on "Can't You See"), with both reaching the top 20 of the Hot 100. By the end of the year, Wallace was the top-selling male solo artist and rapper on the U.S. pop and R&B charts. In July 1995, he appeared on the cover of The Source with the caption "The King of New York Takes Over". At the Source Awards in August 1995, he was named Best New Artist (Solo), Lyricist of the Year, Live Performer of the Year, and his debut Album of the Year. At the Billboard Awards, he was Rap Artist of the Year.
In his year of success, Wallace became involved in a rivalry between the East and West Coast hip-hop scenes with Tupac Shakur, his former associate. In an interview with Vibe magazine in April 1995, while serving time in Clinton Correctional Facility, Shakur accused Uptown Records' founder Andre Harrell, Sean Combs, and Wallace of having prior knowledge of a robbery that resulted in him being shot repeatedly and losing thousands of dollars worth of jewelry on the night of November 30, 1994. Though Wallace and his entourage were in the same Manhattan-based recording studio at the time of the occurrence, they denied the accusation.
“ It just happened to be a coincidence that he was in the studio. He just, he couldn't really say who really had something to do with it at the time. So he just kinda' leaned the blame on me. ”
Following release from prison, Shakur signed to Death Row Records on October 15, 1995. Bad Boy Records and Death Row, now business rivals, became involved in an intense quarrel.
Arrests, Shakur's death and second child
Wallace began recording his second record album in September 1995. The album, recorded in New York, Trinidad and Los Angeles, was interrupted during its 18 months of creation by injury, legal wranglings and the highly publicized hip hop dispute in which he was involved. During this time he also worked with pop singer Michael Jackson for the HIStory album.
On March 23, 1996, Wallace was arrested outside a Manhattan nightclub for chasing and threatening to kill two autograph seekers, smashing the windows of their taxicab and then pulling one of the fans out and punching them. He pleaded guilty to second-degree harassment and was sentenced to 100 hours of community service. In mid-1996, he was arrested at his home in Teaneck, New Jersey, for drug and weapons possession charges.
In June 1996, Shakur released "Hit 'Em Up"; a diss song in which he explicitly claimed to have had sex with Wallace's wife (at the time estranged), and that Wallace copied his style and image. Wallace referred to the first claim in regards to his wife's pregnancy on Jay-Z's "Brooklyn's Finest" where he raps: "If Faye (Faith Evans, his wife at the time) have twins, she'd probably have two 'Pacs. Geddit? 2Pac's?" However he did not directly respond to the record during his lifetime, stating in a 1997 radio interview it is "not style" to respond.
Shakur was shot multiple times in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas, Nevada, on September 7, 1996. He would die six days later of complications from the gunshot wounds. Rumors of Wallace's involvement with Shakur's murder were reported almost immediately, and later in a two-part article by investigative reporter Chuck Philips in the Los Angeles Times in September 2002. Wallace denied the allegation claiming he was in a New York recording studio at the time. The Times later determined the article written by Philips "relied heavily on information that The Times no longer believes to be credible", including false FBI reports, and the paper published a retraction. Following his death, an anti-violence hip hop summit was held.
On October 29, 1996, Faith Evans gave birth to Wallace's son, Christopher "C.J." Wallace, Jr. The following month Junior M.A.F.I.A. member Lil' Kim released her debut album, Hard Core, under Wallace's direction while the two were involved in an apparent love affair. She was also pregnant with Wallace's child but decided to have an abortion.
Life After Death and car accident
During the recording sessions for his second record, tentatively named "Life After Death... 'Til Death Do Us Part", later shortened to Life After Death, Wallace was involved in a car accident that shattered his left leg and confined him to a wheelchair. The injury forced him to use a cane.
In January 1997, Wallace was ordered to pay US$41,000 in damages following an incident involving a friend of a concert promoter who claimed Wallace and his entourage beat him up following a dispute in May 1995. He faced criminal assault charges for the incident which remain unresolved, but all robbery charges were dropped. Following the events of the previous year, Wallace spoke of a desire to focus on his "peace of mind". "My mom... my son... my daughter... my family... my friends are what matters to me now".
March 1997 shooting and death
Composite sketch of the suspect in the shooting.
Wallace traveled to California in February 1997 to promote his upcoming album and record a music video for its lead single, "Hypnotize". On March 5, 1997 he gave a radio interview with The Dog House on KYLD in San Francisco, California. In the interview he stated that he had hired security since he feared for his safety; this was because he was a celebrity figure in general, not because he was a rapper. Life After Death was scheduled for release on March 25, 1997. On January 8, 1997, Biggie Smalls and Sean "Puffy" Combs made a video "What's Beef" which was directed by Dave Meyers. On March 8, 1997, he presented an award to Toni Braxton at the 11th Annual Soul Train Music Awards in Los Angeles and was booed by some of the audience. After the ceremony, Wallace attended an after party hosted by Vibe magazine and Qwest Records at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles. Other guests included Faith Evans, Aaliyah, Sean Combs, and members of the Bloods and Crips gangs.
On March 9, 1997, at around 12:30 a.m., Wallace left with his entourage in two GMC Suburbans to return to his hotel after the Fire Department closed the party early because of overcrowding. Wallace traveled in the front passenger seat alongside his associates, Damion "D-Roc" Butler, Junior M.A.F.I.A. member Lil' Cease and driver, Gregory "G-Money" Young. Combs traveled in the other vehicle with three bodyguards. The two trucks were trailed by a Chevrolet Blazer carrying Bad Boy's director of security.
By 12:45 a.m., the streets were crowded with people leaving the event. Wallace's truck stopped at a red light 50 yards (46 m) from the museum. A black Chevrolet Impala SS pulled up alongside Wallace's truck. The driver of the Impala, an African American male dressed in a blue suit and bow tie, rolled down his window, drew a 9 mm blue-steel pistol and fired at the GMC Suburban; four bullets hit Wallace in the chest. Wallace's entourage rushed him to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, but he was pronounced dead at 1:15 a.m.
Murder case
Wallace's murder remains unsolved and there are many theories regarding the identities and motives of the murderers. Immediately after the shooting, reports surfaced linking the Shakur and Wallace murders, because of the similarities in the drive-by shootings.
In 2002, Randall Sullivan released LAbyrinth, a book compiling information regarding the murders of Wallace and Shakur based on evidence provided by retired LAPD detective, Russell Poole. Sullivan accused Marion "Suge" Knight, co-founder of Death Row Records and an alleged Bloods affiliate, of conspiring with David Mack, an LAPD officer and alleged Death Row security employee, to kill Wallace and make Shakur and his death appear the result of a fictitious bi-coastal rap rivalry. Sullivan believed that one of Mack's associates, Amir Muhammad (also known as Harry Billups), was the hitman based on evidence provided by an informant, and due to his close resemblance to the facial composite. Filmmaker Nick Broomfield released an investigative documentary, Biggie & Tupac, based mainly on the evidence used in the book.
An article published in Rolling Stone by Sullivan in December 2005 accused the LAPD of not fully investigating links with Death Row Records based on evidence from Poole. Sullivan claimed that Sean Combs "failed to fully cooperate with the investigation" and according to Poole, encouraged Bad Boy staff to do the same. The accuracy of the article was later refuted in a letter by the Assistant Managing Editor of the LA Times accusing Sullivan of using "shoddy tactics." Sullivan, in response, quoted the lead attorney of the Wallace estate calling the newspaper "a co-conspirator in the cover-up."
In January 2011, the case was reinvigorated as a result of new information reported by Anderson Cooper's AC360 "Cold Case" show and blog that it was being re-investigated by a law enforcement task force comprised of the LAPD, the L.A. County District Attorney's Office, and the FBI. In April, the FBI released redacted documents about their investigation into the shooting, revealing that the bullets were rare 9mm Gecko ammunition manufactured in Germany. The documents reported that LAPD officers monitoring the party Wallace was attending were also employed as security personnel for Knight; the documents also speculated that the Genovese crime family was withholding evidence about Wallace's death.
Basketball player Shaquille O'Neal was a close friend of Wallace's and on the night of Wallace's death, he was supposed to meet him at an after party. O'Neal has reportedly struggled with guilt about Wallace's death since that night.
Wallace's lyrical topics and themes included mafioso tales ("Niggas Bleed"), his drug dealing past ("10 Crack Commandments"), materialistic bragging ("Hypnotize"), as well as humor ("Just Playing (Dreams)"), and romance ("Me & My Bitch"). Rolling Stone named Wallace in 2004 as "one of the few young male songwriters in any pop style writing credible love songs".
Guerilla Black, in the book How to Rap, describes how Wallace was able to both “glorify the upper echelon” and “ you feel his struggle”. According to Touré of the New York Times in 1994, Wallace's lyrics " autobiographical details about crime and violence with emotional honesty". Marriott of the New York Times (in 1997) believed his lyrics were not strictly autobiographical and wrote he "had a knack for exaggeration that increased sales". Wallace described his debut as "a big pie, with each slice indicating a different point in my life involving bitches and niggaz... from the beginning to the end".
Ready to Die is described by Rolling Stone as a contrast of "bleak" street visions and being "full of high-spirited fun, bringing the pleasure principle back to hip-hop". Allmusic write of "a sense of doom" in some of his songs and the NY Times note some being "laced with paranoia"; Wallace described himself as feeling "broke and depressed" when he made his debut. The final song on the album, "Suicidal Thoughts", featured Wallace contemplating suicide and concluded with him committing the act.
On Life After Death, Wallace's lyrics went "deeper". Krims explains how upbeat, dance-oriented tracks (which featured less heavily on his debut) alternate with "reality rap" songs on the record and suggests that he was "going pimp" through some of the lyrical topics of the former. XXL magazine wrote that Wallace "revamped his image" through the portrayal of himself between the albums, going from "midlevel hustler" on his debut to "drug lord".
Allmusic wrote that the success of Ready to Die is "mostly due to Wallace's skill as a storyteller"; In 1994, Rolling Stone described Wallace's ability in this technique as painting "a sonic picture so vibrant that you're transported right to the scene". On Life After Death Wallace notably demonstrated this skill on "I Got a Story to Tell" telling a story as a rap for the first half of the song and then as a story "for his boys" in conversation form.
Biopic
Notorious is a 2009 biographical film about Wallace and his life that starred rapper Jamal "Gravy" Woolard as Wallace. The film was directed by George Tillman, Jr. and distributed by Fox Searchlight Pictures. Producers included Sean "Diddy" Combs, Wallace's former managers Wayne Barrow and Mark Pitts, as well as Voletta Wallace. On January 16, 2009, the movie's debut at the Grand 18 theater in Greensboro, North Carolina was postponed after a man was shot in the parking lot before the show. Ultimately, the film grossed over $43,000,000 worldwide.
In early October 2007, open casting calls for the role of Wallace began. Actors, rappers and unknowns all tried out. Beanie Sigel auditioned for the role, but was not picked. Sean Kingston claimed that he would play the role of Wallace, but producers denied he would be in the film. Eventually it was announced that rapper Jamal "Gravy" Woolard was cast as Wallace while Wallace's son, Christopher Wallace, Jr. was cast to play Wallace as a child. Other cast members include Angela Bassett as Voletta Wallace, Derek Luke as Sean Combs, Antonique Smith as Faith Evans, Naturi Naughton formerly of 3LW as Lil' Kim, and Anthony Mackie as Tupac Shakur. Bad Boy released a soundtrack album to the film on January 13, 2009; the album contains hit singles of B.I.G. such as "Hypnotize", "Juicy", and "Warning" as well as rarities.
Discography
Main article: The Notorious B.I.G. discography
Studio albums
* 1994: Ready to Die
* 1997: Life After Death
Posthumous albums
* 1999: Born Again
* 2005: Duets: The Final Chapter
Collaboration albums
* 1995: Conspiracy (with Junior M.A.F.I.A.)
Compilation albums
* 2007: Greatest Hits
* 2009: Notorious: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Awards and nominations
The Notorious B.I.G. awards and nominations
Awards and nominations
Award Wins Nominations
Billboard Music Awards
2 2
Grammy Awards
0 4
MTV Video Music Awards
1 2
Soul Train Music Awards
1 3
Totals
Awards won 4
Nominations 11
Wallace received two nominations from the Billboard Music Awards in 1995, including Rap Artist of the Year and Rap Single of the Year. The song "Mo Money Mo Problems" received several nominations in 1998, including Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group at the Grammy Awards; Best Rap Video at the MTV Video Music Awards; and Best R&B/Soul Album and Best R&B/Soul or Rap Music Video at the Soul Train Music Awards. Overall, Wallace has received four awards from eleven nominations; one award and six nominations were received posthumously.
Billboard Music Awards
The Billboard Music Awards is sponsored by Billboard magazine and held annually in December.
Year Nominated work Award Result
1995 The Notorious B.I.G. Rap Artist of the Year Won
"One More Chance" Rap Single of the Year Won
Grammy Awards
The Grammy Awards are awarded annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States.
Year Nominated work Award Result
1996 "Big Poppa" Best Rap Solo Performance Nominated
1998 "Hypnotize" Best Rap Solo Performance Nominated
"Mo Money Mo Problems" (with Mase and Puff Daddy) Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group Nominated
Life After Death Best Rap Album Nominated
MTV Video Music Awards
The MTV Video Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony established in 1984 by MTV.
Year Nominated work Award Result
1997 "Hypnotize" Best Rap Video Won
1998 "Mo Money Mo Problems" (with Mase and Puff Daddy) Best Rap Video Nominated
Soul Train Music Awards
The Soul Train Music Awards is an annual awards show that honors black musicians and entertainers.
Year Nominated work Award Result
1998 Life After Death Best R&B/Soul Album, Male Won
"Mo Money Mo Problems" (with Mase and Puff Daddy) Best R&B/Soul Album Nominated
Best R&B/Soul or Rap Music Video Nominated
The Source Awards
The Source Awards were awarded by hip hop magazine The Source.
Year Nominated work Award Result
1995 The Notorious B.I.G. New Artist of the Year, Solo Won
Ready to Die Album of the Year Won
The Notorious B.I.G. Lyricist of the Year Won
The Notorious B.I.G. Live Performer of the Year Won
http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u113/dirtymic07/Notorious-B-I-G-Will-Be-Honored-At-.jpg
http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh235/JUAN_FRANCISCO_MENDOZA/For%20Gaia/Yu-Gi-Oh004.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 05/21/11 at 7:44 pm
The person of the day..The Notorious B.I.G.
Christopher George Latore Wallace (May 21, 1972 – March 9, 1997) was an American rapper. He was popularly known as Biggie Smalls (after a character in the 1975 film Let's Do It Again), Big Poppa, and The Black Frank White (after the main character of the 1990 film King of New York), but primarily by his stage name The Notorious B.I.G..
Wallace was raised in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. When Wallace released his debut album Ready to Die in 1994, he became a central figure in the East Coast hip-hop scene and increased New York's visibility at a time when West Coast artists were more common in the mainstream. The following year, Wallace led his childhood friends to chart success through his protégé group, Junior M.A.F.I.A.. While recording his second album, Wallace was heavily involved in the East Coast/West Coast hip-hop feud, dominating the scene at the time.
On March 9, 1997, Wallace was killed by an unknown assailant in a drive-by shooting in Los Angeles. His double-disc set Life After Death, released 15 days later, hit #1 on the U.S. album charts and was certified Diamond in 2000 (one of the few hip hop albums to receive this certification). Wallace was noted for his "loose, easy flow", dark semi-autobiographical lyrics and storytelling abilities. Since his death, a further two albums have been released. MTV ranked him at #3 on their list of The Greatest MCs (Rappers) of All Time. He has certified sales of 17 million units in the United States.
Wallace began rapping when he was a teenager. He would entertain people on the streets as well as perform with local groups, the Old Gold Brothers and the Techniques. After being released from prison, Wallace made a demo tape under the name Biggie Smalls, a reference to his childhood nickname and to his stature; he stood at 6' 3" (1.91 m) and weighed as much as 300 to 380 pounds according to differing accounts. The tape was reportedly made with no serious intent of getting a recording deal, but was promoted by New York-based DJ Mister Cee, who had previously worked with Big Daddy Kane, and was heard by the editor of The Source.
In March 1992, Wallace featured in The Source's Unsigned Hype column, dedicated to aspiring rappers, and was invited to produce a recording with other unsigned artists in a move that was reportedly uncommon at the time. The demo tape was heard by Uptown Records A&R and record producer, Sean Combs, who arranged for a meeting with Wallace. He was signed to Uptown immediately and made an appearance on label mates, Heavy D & the Boyz' "A Buncha Niggas" (from the album Blue Funk). Soon after signing his recording contract, Combs was fired from Uptown and started a new label. Wallace followed and in mid-1992, signed to Combs' new imprint label, Bad Boy Records. On August 8, 1993, Wallace's long-term girlfriend gave birth to his first child, T'yanna. Wallace continued selling drugs after the birth to support his daughter financially. Once Combs discovered this, he was made to quit.
Wallace gained exposure later in the year on a remix to Mary J. Blige's single "Real Love", under the pseudonym The Notorious B.I.G., the name he would record under for the remainder of his career, after finding the original moniker "Biggie Smalls" was already in use. "Real Love" peaked at #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and was followed by a remix of Blige's "What's the 411". He continued this success, to a lesser extent, on remixes with Neneh Cherry ("Buddy X") and reggae artist Super Cat ("Dolly My Baby", also featuring Combs) in 1993. In April 1993, his solo track, "Party and Bullsheesh", appeared on the Who's the Man? soundtrack. In July 1994, he appeared alongside LL Cool J and Busta Rhymes on a remix to label mate Craig Mack's "Flava in Ya Ear", reaching #9 on the Hot 100.
Ready to Die and marriage
On August 4, 1994, Wallace married singer Faith Evans after they met at a Bad Boy photoshoot. Four days later, Wallace had his first pop chart success as a solo artist with double A-side, "Juicy/Unbelievable", which reached #27 as the lead single to his debut album.
Ready to Die was released on September 13, 1994, and reached #13 on the Billboard 200 chart, eventually being certified four times Platinum. The album, released at a time when West Coast hip hop was prominent in the U.S. charts, according to Rolling Stone, "almost single-handedly... shifted the focus back to East Coast rap". It gained strong reviews on release and has received much praise in retrospect. In addition to "Juicy", the record produced two hit singles; the Platinum-selling "Big Poppa", which reached #1 on the U.S. rap chart, and "One More Chance" featuring Faith Evans, a loosely related remix of an album track and its best selling single.
Junior M.A.F.I.A. and coastal feud
Early image of Wallace (left) and Tupac Shakur. Photograph is taken from the documentary film Biggie & Tupac, directed by Nick Broomfield
In August 1995, Wallace's protegé group, Junior M.A.F.I.A. ("Junior Masters At Finding Intelligent Attitudes"), released their debut album Conspiracy. The group consisting of his friends from childhood and included rappers such as Lil' Kim and Lil' Cease, who went on to have solo careers. The record went Gold and its singles, "Player's Anthem" and "Get Money" both featuring Wallace, went Gold and Platinum. Wallace continued to work with R&B artists, collaborating with Bad Boy groups 112 (on "Only You") and Total (on "Can't You See"), with both reaching the top 20 of the Hot 100. By the end of the year, Wallace was the top-selling male solo artist and rapper on the U.S. pop and R&B charts. In July 1995, he appeared on the cover of The Source with the caption "The King of New York Takes Over". At the Source Awards in August 1995, he was named Best New Artist (Solo), Lyricist of the Year, Live Performer of the Year, and his debut Album of the Year. At the Billboard Awards, he was Rap Artist of the Year.
In his year of success, Wallace became involved in a rivalry between the East and West Coast hip-hop scenes with Tupac Shakur, his former associate. In an interview with Vibe magazine in April 1995, while serving time in Clinton Correctional Facility, Shakur accused Uptown Records' founder Andre Harrell, Sean Combs, and Wallace of having prior knowledge of a robbery that resulted in him being shot repeatedly and losing thousands of dollars worth of jewelry on the night of November 30, 1994. Though Wallace and his entourage were in the same Manhattan-based recording studio at the time of the occurrence, they denied the accusation.
“ It just happened to be a coincidence that he was in the studio. He just, he couldn't really say who really had something to do with it at the time. So he just kinda' leaned the blame on me. ”
Following release from prison, Shakur signed to Death Row Records on October 15, 1995. Bad Boy Records and Death Row, now business rivals, became involved in an intense quarrel.
Arrests, Shakur's death and second child
Wallace began recording his second record album in September 1995. The album, recorded in New York, Trinidad and Los Angeles, was interrupted during its 18 months of creation by injury, legal wranglings and the highly publicized hip hop dispute in which he was involved. During this time he also worked with pop singer Michael Jackson for the HIStory album.
On March 23, 1996, Wallace was arrested outside a Manhattan nightclub for chasing and threatening to kill two autograph seekers, smashing the windows of their taxicab and then pulling one of the fans out and punching them. He pleaded guilty to second-degree harassment and was sentenced to 100 hours of community service. In mid-1996, he was arrested at his home in Teaneck, New Jersey, for drug and weapons possession charges.
In June 1996, Shakur released "Hit 'Em Up"; a diss song in which he explicitly claimed to have had sex with Wallace's wife (at the time estranged), and that Wallace copied his style and image. Wallace referred to the first claim in regards to his wife's pregnancy on Jay-Z's "Brooklyn's Finest" where he raps: "If Faye (Faith Evans, his wife at the time) have twins, she'd probably have two 'Pacs. Geddit? 2Pac's?" However he did not directly respond to the record during his lifetime, stating in a 1997 radio interview it is "not style" to respond.
Shakur was shot multiple times in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas, Nevada, on September 7, 1996. He would die six days later of complications from the gunshot wounds. Rumors of Wallace's involvement with Shakur's murder were reported almost immediately, and later in a two-part article by investigative reporter Chuck Philips in the Los Angeles Times in September 2002. Wallace denied the allegation claiming he was in a New York recording studio at the time. The Times later determined the article written by Philips "relied heavily on information that The Times no longer believes to be credible", including false FBI reports, and the paper published a retraction. Following his death, an anti-violence hip hop summit was held.
On October 29, 1996, Faith Evans gave birth to Wallace's son, Christopher "C.J." Wallace, Jr. The following month Junior M.A.F.I.A. member Lil' Kim released her debut album, Hard Core, under Wallace's direction while the two were involved in an apparent love affair. She was also pregnant with Wallace's child but decided to have an abortion.
Life After Death and car accident
During the recording sessions for his second record, tentatively named "Life After Death... 'Til Death Do Us Part", later shortened to Life After Death, Wallace was involved in a car accident that shattered his left leg and confined him to a wheelchair. The injury forced him to use a cane.
In January 1997, Wallace was ordered to pay US$41,000 in damages following an incident involving a friend of a concert promoter who claimed Wallace and his entourage beat him up following a dispute in May 1995. He faced criminal assault charges for the incident which remain unresolved, but all robbery charges were dropped. Following the events of the previous year, Wallace spoke of a desire to focus on his "peace of mind". "My mom... my son... my daughter... my family... my friends are what matters to me now".
March 1997 shooting and death
Composite sketch of the suspect in the shooting.
Wallace traveled to California in February 1997 to promote his upcoming album and record a music video for its lead single, "Hypnotize". On March 5, 1997 he gave a radio interview with The Dog House on KYLD in San Francisco, California. In the interview he stated that he had hired security since he feared for his safety; this was because he was a celebrity figure in general, not because he was a rapper. Life After Death was scheduled for release on March 25, 1997. On January 8, 1997, Biggie Smalls and Sean "Puffy" Combs made a video "What's Beef" which was directed by Dave Meyers. On March 8, 1997, he presented an award to Toni Braxton at the 11th Annual Soul Train Music Awards in Los Angeles and was booed by some of the audience. After the ceremony, Wallace attended an after party hosted by Vibe magazine and Qwest Records at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles. Other guests included Faith Evans, Aaliyah, Sean Combs, and members of the Bloods and Crips gangs.
On March 9, 1997, at around 12:30 a.m., Wallace left with his entourage in two GMC Suburbans to return to his hotel after the Fire Department closed the party early because of overcrowding. Wallace traveled in the front passenger seat alongside his associates, Damion "D-Roc" Butler, Junior M.A.F.I.A. member Lil' Cease and driver, Gregory "G-Money" Young. Combs traveled in the other vehicle with three bodyguards. The two trucks were trailed by a Chevrolet Blazer carrying Bad Boy's director of security.
By 12:45 a.m., the streets were crowded with people leaving the event. Wallace's truck stopped at a red light 50 yards (46 m) from the museum. A black Chevrolet Impala SS pulled up alongside Wallace's truck. The driver of the Impala, an African American male dressed in a blue suit and bow tie, rolled down his window, drew a 9 mm blue-steel pistol and fired at the GMC Suburban; four bullets hit Wallace in the chest. Wallace's entourage rushed him to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, but he was pronounced dead at 1:15 a.m.
Murder case
Wallace's murder remains unsolved and there are many theories regarding the identities and motives of the murderers. Immediately after the shooting, reports surfaced linking the Shakur and Wallace murders, because of the similarities in the drive-by shootings.
In 2002, Randall Sullivan released LAbyrinth, a book compiling information regarding the murders of Wallace and Shakur based on evidence provided by retired LAPD detective, Russell Poole. Sullivan accused Marion "Suge" Knight, co-founder of Death Row Records and an alleged Bloods affiliate, of conspiring with David Mack, an LAPD officer and alleged Death Row security employee, to kill Wallace and make Shakur and his death appear the result of a fictitious bi-coastal rap rivalry. Sullivan believed that one of Mack's associates, Amir Muhammad (also known as Harry Billups), was the hitman based on evidence provided by an informant, and due to his close resemblance to the facial composite. Filmmaker Nick Broomfield released an investigative documentary, Biggie & Tupac, based mainly on the evidence used in the book.
An article published in Rolling Stone by Sullivan in December 2005 accused the LAPD of not fully investigating links with Death Row Records based on evidence from Poole. Sullivan claimed that Sean Combs "failed to fully cooperate with the investigation" and according to Poole, encouraged Bad Boy staff to do the same. The accuracy of the article was later refuted in a letter by the Assistant Managing Editor of the LA Times accusing Sullivan of using "shoddy tactics." Sullivan, in response, quoted the lead attorney of the Wallace estate calling the newspaper "a co-conspirator in the cover-up."
In January 2011, the case was reinvigorated as a result of new information reported by Anderson Cooper's AC360 "Cold Case" show and blog that it was being re-investigated by a law enforcement task force comprised of the LAPD, the L.A. County District Attorney's Office, and the FBI. In April, the FBI released redacted documents about their investigation into the shooting, revealing that the bullets were rare 9mm Gecko ammunition manufactured in Germany. The documents reported that LAPD officers monitoring the party Wallace was attending were also employed as security personnel for Knight; the documents also speculated that the Genovese crime family was withholding evidence about Wallace's death.
Basketball player Shaquille O'Neal was a close friend of Wallace's and on the night of Wallace's death, he was supposed to meet him at an after party. O'Neal has reportedly struggled with guilt about Wallace's death since that night.
Wallace's lyrical topics and themes included mafioso tales ("Niggas Bleed"), his drug dealing past ("10 Crack Commandments"), materialistic bragging ("Hypnotize"), as well as humor ("Just Playing (Dreams)"), and romance ("Me & My Bitch"). Rolling Stone named Wallace in 2004 as "one of the few young male songwriters in any pop style writing credible love songs".
Guerilla Black, in the book How to Rap, describes how Wallace was able to both “glorify the upper echelon” and “ you feel his struggle”. According to Touré of the New York Times in 1994, Wallace's lyrics " autobiographical details about crime and violence with emotional honesty". Marriott of the New York Times (in 1997) believed his lyrics were not strictly autobiographical and wrote he "had a knack for exaggeration that increased sales". Wallace described his debut as "a big pie, with each slice indicating a different point in my life involving bitches and niggaz... from the beginning to the end".
Ready to Die is described by Rolling Stone as a contrast of "bleak" street visions and being "full of high-spirited fun, bringing the pleasure principle back to hip-hop". Allmusic write of "a sense of doom" in some of his songs and the NY Times note some being "laced with paranoia"; Wallace described himself as feeling "broke and depressed" when he made his debut. The final song on the album, "Suicidal Thoughts", featured Wallace contemplating suicide and concluded with him committing the act.
On Life After Death, Wallace's lyrics went "deeper". Krims explains how upbeat, dance-oriented tracks (which featured less heavily on his debut) alternate with "reality rap" songs on the record and suggests that he was "going pimp" through some of the lyrical topics of the former. XXL magazine wrote that Wallace "revamped his image" through the portrayal of himself between the albums, going from "midlevel hustler" on his debut to "drug lord".
Allmusic wrote that the success of Ready to Die is "mostly due to Wallace's skill as a storyteller"; In 1994, Rolling Stone described Wallace's ability in this technique as painting "a sonic picture so vibrant that you're transported right to the scene". On Life After Death Wallace notably demonstrated this skill on "I Got a Story to Tell" telling a story as a rap for the first half of the song and then as a story "for his boys" in conversation form.
Biopic
Notorious is a 2009 biographical film about Wallace and his life that starred rapper Jamal "Gravy" Woolard as Wallace. The film was directed by George Tillman, Jr. and distributed by Fox Searchlight Pictures. Producers included Sean "Diddy" Combs, Wallace's former managers Wayne Barrow and Mark Pitts, as well as Voletta Wallace. On January 16, 2009, the movie's debut at the Grand 18 theater in Greensboro, North Carolina was postponed after a man was shot in the parking lot before the show. Ultimately, the film grossed over $43,000,000 worldwide.
In early October 2007, open casting calls for the role of Wallace began. Actors, rappers and unknowns all tried out. Beanie Sigel auditioned for the role, but was not picked. Sean Kingston claimed that he would play the role of Wallace, but producers denied he would be in the film. Eventually it was announced that rapper Jamal "Gravy" Woolard was cast as Wallace while Wallace's son, Christopher Wallace, Jr. was cast to play Wallace as a child. Other cast members include Angela Bassett as Voletta Wallace, Derek Luke as Sean Combs, Antonique Smith as Faith Evans, Naturi Naughton formerly of 3LW as Lil' Kim, and Anthony Mackie as Tupac Shakur. Bad Boy released a soundtrack album to the film on January 13, 2009; the album contains hit singles of B.I.G. such as "Hypnotize", "Juicy", and "Warning" as well as rarities.
Discography
Main article: The Notorious B.I.G. discography
Studio albums
* 1994: Ready to Die
* 1997: Life After Death
Posthumous albums
* 1999: Born Again
* 2005: Duets: The Final Chapter
Collaboration albums
* 1995: Conspiracy (with Junior M.A.F.I.A.)
Compilation albums
* 2007: Greatest Hits
* 2009: Notorious: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Awards and nominations
The Notorious B.I.G. awards and nominations
Awards and nominations
Award Wins Nominations
Billboard Music Awards
2 2
Grammy Awards
0 4
MTV Video Music Awards
1 2
Soul Train Music Awards
1 3
Totals
Awards won 4
Nominations 11
Wallace received two nominations from the Billboard Music Awards in 1995, including Rap Artist of the Year and Rap Single of the Year. The song "Mo Money Mo Problems" received several nominations in 1998, including Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group at the Grammy Awards; Best Rap Video at the MTV Video Music Awards; and Best R&B/Soul Album and Best R&B/Soul or Rap Music Video at the Soul Train Music Awards. Overall, Wallace has received four awards from eleven nominations; one award and six nominations were received posthumously.
Billboard Music Awards
The Billboard Music Awards is sponsored by Billboard magazine and held annually in December.
Year Nominated work Award Result
1995 The Notorious B.I.G. Rap Artist of the Year Won
"One More Chance" Rap Single of the Year Won
Grammy Awards
The Grammy Awards are awarded annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States.
Year Nominated work Award Result
1996 "Big Poppa" Best Rap Solo Performance Nominated
1998 "Hypnotize" Best Rap Solo Performance Nominated
"Mo Money Mo Problems" (with Mase and Puff Daddy) Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group Nominated
Life After Death Best Rap Album Nominated
MTV Video Music Awards
The MTV Video Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony established in 1984 by MTV.
Year Nominated work Award Result
1997 "Hypnotize" Best Rap Video Won
1998 "Mo Money Mo Problems" (with Mase and Puff Daddy) Best Rap Video Nominated
Soul Train Music Awards
The Soul Train Music Awards is an annual awards show that honors black musicians and entertainers.
Year Nominated work Award Result
1998 Life After Death Best R&B/Soul Album, Male Won
"Mo Money Mo Problems" (with Mase and Puff Daddy) Best R&B/Soul Album Nominated
Best R&B/Soul or Rap Music Video Nominated
The Source Awards
The Source Awards were awarded by hip hop magazine The Source.
Year Nominated work Award Result
1995 The Notorious B.I.G. New Artist of the Year, Solo Won
Ready to Die Album of the Year Won
The Notorious B.I.G. Lyricist of the Year Won
The Notorious B.I.G. Live Performer of the Year Won
http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u113/dirtymic07/Notorious-B-I-G-Will-Be-Honored-At-.jpg
http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh235/JUAN_FRANCISCO_MENDOZA/For%20Gaia/Yu-Gi-Oh004.jpg
I like his music but not crazy about it.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 05/22/11 at 5:46 am
British Person of the Day: Margaret Rutherford
Dame Margaret Taylor Rutherford DBE (11 May 1892 – 22 May 1972) was an English character actress, who first came to prominence following World War II in the film adaptations of Noel Coward's Blithe Spirit, and Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest. She is best-known for her 1960s performances as Miss Marple in several films based loosely on Agatha Christie's novels.
Early life
Born in Balham, London, she was the only child of William Rutherford Benn and his wife Florence, née Nicholson. Her father's brother Sir John Benn, 1st Baronet was a British politician, and her first cousin once removed is British politician Tony Benn.
Her father suffered from mental illness, having suffered a nervous breakdown on his honeymoon, and was confined to an asylum. He was eventually released on holiday and on 4 March 1883, he murdered his father, the Reverend Julius Benn, a Congregational church minister, by bludgeoning him to death with a chamberpot; shortly afterward, William tried to kill himself as well, by slashing his throat with a pocketknife. After the murder, William Benn was confined to the Broadmoor Criminal Lunatic Asylum. Several years later he was released, reportedly cured of his mental affliction, changed his surname to Rutherford, and returned to his wife, Ann (née Taylor).
As an infant Rutherford and her parents moved to India but she was returned to Britain when she was three to live with an aunt, professional governess Bessie Nicholson, in Wimbledon, England, after her mother committed suicide by hanging herself from a tree. Her father returned to England as well. His continued mental illness resulted in his being confined once more to Broadmoor in 1904; he died in 1921.
Margaret Rutherford was educated at Wimbledon High School, and, from the age of about 13, at Raven's Croft School, a boarding school at Sutton Avenue, Seaford, where she is listed, aged 18, on the 1911 census.
Stage Career
Having worked as a teacher of elocution, she went into acting later in life, making her stage debut at the Old Vic in 1925, aged 33. Her physical appearance was such that romantic heroines were out of the question, and she soon established her name in comedy, appearing in many of the most successful British plays and films. "I never intended to play for laughs. I am always surprised that the audience thinks me funny at all", Rutherford wrote in her autobiography.
Rutherford made her first appearance in London's West End in 1933 but her talent was not recognised by the critics until her performance as Miss Prism in the play The Importance of Being Earnest at the Globe Theatre in 1939. In 1941 Noel Coward's Blithe Spirit opened on the London stage at the Piccadilly Theatre, with Coward himself directing. Rutherford played Madame Arcati, the bumbling medium, a role which Coward had earlier envisaged for her.
Rutherford had a distinguished theatrical career alongside her film successes. Totally against type, she played the sinister housekeeper Mrs Danvers in Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca at the Queen's Theatre in 1940. Her post-war theatre credits included Miss Prism in The Importance of Being Earnest again at the Haymarket Theatre in 1946 and Lady Bracknell when the same play transferred to New York in 1947. She played an officious headmistress in The Happiest Days of Your Life at the Apollo Theatre in 1948 and such classical roles as Madame Desmortes in Ring Round the Moon (Globe Theatre, 1950), Lady Wishfort in The Way of the World (Lyric Hammersmith, 1953 and Saville Theatre, 1956) and Mrs Candour in The School for Scandal (Haymarket Theatre, 1962).
Her final stage performance came in 1966 when she played Mrs Malaprop in The Rivals at the Haymarket Theatre, alongside Sir Ralph Richardson. Unfortunately, her declining health meant she had to reluctantly give up the role after a few weeks.
Film career
Although she made her film debut in 1936, it would be Rutherford's turn as Madame Arcati in David Lean's film of Blithe Spirit (1945) that would actually establish her screen success. This would become one of her most memorable performances, with her bicycling about the Kent countryside, cape fluttering behind her. Interestingly, it would also establish the model for portraying that role forever thereafter.
Some of Rutherford's finest screen work was done when she was in her fifties and beyond. She was Nurse Carey in Miranda (1948) and Professor Hatton Jones in Passport to Pimlico (1949). She reprised her stage roles of the headmistress alongside Alastair Sim in The Happiest Days of Your Life (1950) and Miss Prism in Anthony Asquith's The Importance of Being Earnest (1952).
More comedies followed, including Trouble in Store (1953) with Norman Wisdom, The Runaway Bus (1954) with Frankie Howerd and An Alligator Named Daisy (1955) with Donald Sinden and Diana Dors. Rutherford then rejoined Norman Wisdom in Just My Luck and co-starred in The Smallest Show on Earth with Virginia McKenna, Peter Sellers and Leslie Phillips (both 1957). She also joined a host of distinguished comedy stars, including Ian Carmichael and Peter Sellers, in the Boulting Brothers' satire I'm All Right Jack (1959).
In the early 1960s she became synonymous with Miss Jane Marple in a series of four films loosely based on the novels of Agatha Christie. Rutherford, then aged 70, insisted on wearing her own clothes for the part and having her husband appear alongside her. In 1963 Christie dedicated her novel The Mirror Crack'd : "To Margaret Rutherford in admiration". Christie reportedly did not approve of the 1960s films as they portrayed Marple as a comedy character and were not faithful to the original plots.
In 1963 Rutherford was awarded an Academy Award and Golden Globe as Best Supporting Actress for her performance as the absent-minded, impoverished, pill-popping Duchess of Brighton, the only light relief, in Terence Rattigan's The V.I.P.s, a film featuring a star-studded cast led by Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton.
She appeared as Mistress Quickly in Orson Welles' film Chimes at Midnight (1965) and was directed by Charlie Chaplin in A Countess from Hong Kong (1967), starring Marlon Brando and Sophia Loren, which was one of her final films.
Rutherford was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1961 and was raised to Dame Commander (DBE) in 1967.
Personal Life
Rutherford married character actor Stringer Davis in 1945 and the couple appeared in many productions together. They were happily together until Rutherford's death in 1972. Davis adored Rutherford, with one friend noting: "For him she was not only a great talent but, above all, a beauty." Davis rarely left her side. He was private secretary and general dogsbody - lugging bags, teapots, hot water bottles, teddy bears and nursing Rutherford through periods of depression. These illnesses, often involving stays in mental hospitals and electric shock treatment, were kept hidden from the press during Rutherford's life. In the 1950s, Rutherford and Davis unofficially adopted the writer Gordon Langley Hall, then in his twenties. Hall later had gender reassignment surgery and became Dawn Langley Simmons, under which name she wrote a biography of Rutherford in 1983.
Death
Rutherford suffered from Alzheimer's disease at the end of her life and was unable to work. Davis cared for his wife devotedly at their Buckinghamshire home but she died on 22 May 1972, aged 80. Many of Britain's top actors, including Sir John Gielgud, Robert Morley and Joyce Grenfell, paid tribute at a memorial service, where 90-year-old Sybil Thorndike praised her friend's enormous talent and recalled that Rutherford had "never said anything horrid about anyone".
Rutherford and Davis (who died in 1973) are interred alongside each other in the graveyard of St. James Church, Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire.
Filmography
1936 Dusty Ermine
1936 Talk of the Devil
1937 Beauty and the Barge
1937 Big Fella
1937 Catch as Catch Can
1937 Missing Believed Married
1940 Quiet Wedding
1941 Spring Meeting
1943 The Yellow Canary
1943 The Demi-Paradise
1944 English Without Tears
1945 Blithe Spirit
1946 While the Sun Shines
1947 Meet Me at Dawn
1948 Miranda
1949 Passport to Pimlico
1950 The Happiest Days of Your Life
1950 My Favourite Husband
1951 The Magic Box
1952 Curtain Up
1952 The Importance of Being Earnest
1952 Castle in the Air
1952 Miss Robin Hood
1953 Innocents in Paris
1953 Trouble in Store
1954 The Runaway Bus
1954 Aunt Clara
1954 Mad About Men
1955 An Alligator named Daisy
1957 The Smallest Show On Earth
1957 Just My Luck
1959 I'm All Right, Jack
1961 On the Double
1962 Murder She Said
1963 Mouse on the Moon
1963 The VIPs
1963 Murder at the Gallop
1964 Murder Ahoy
1965 Murder Most Foul
1965 The Alphabet Murders
1966 The Chimes at Midnight
1966 A Countess From Hong Kong
1968 Arabella
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/fd/Margaret_Rutherford.gif
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 05/22/11 at 6:31 am
British Person of the Day: Margaret Rutherford
Dame Margaret Taylor Rutherford DBE (11 May 1892 – 22 May 1972) was an English character actress, who first came to prominence following World War II in the film adaptations of Noel Coward's Blithe Spirit, and Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest. She is best-known for her 1960s performances as Miss Marple in several films based loosely on Agatha Christie's novels.
Early life
Born in Balham, London, she was the only child of William Rutherford Benn and his wife Florence, née Nicholson. Her father's brother Sir John Benn, 1st Baronet was a British politician, and her first cousin once removed is British politician Tony Benn.
Her father suffered from mental illness, having suffered a nervous breakdown on his honeymoon, and was confined to an asylum. He was eventually released on holiday and on 4 March 1883, he murdered his father, the Reverend Julius Benn, a Congregational church minister, by bludgeoning him to death with a chamberpot; shortly afterward, William tried to kill himself as well, by slashing his throat with a pocketknife. After the murder, William Benn was confined to the Broadmoor Criminal Lunatic Asylum. Several years later he was released, reportedly cured of his mental affliction, changed his surname to Rutherford, and returned to his wife, Ann (née Taylor).
As an infant Rutherford and her parents moved to India but she was returned to Britain when she was three to live with an aunt, professional governess Bessie Nicholson, in Wimbledon, England, after her mother committed suicide by hanging herself from a tree. Her father returned to England as well. His continued mental illness resulted in his being confined once more to Broadmoor in 1904; he died in 1921.
Margaret Rutherford was educated at Wimbledon High School, and, from the age of about 13, at Raven's Croft School, a boarding school at Sutton Avenue, Seaford, where she is listed, aged 18, on the 1911 census.
Stage Career
Having worked as a teacher of elocution, she went into acting later in life, making her stage debut at the Old Vic in 1925, aged 33. Her physical appearance was such that romantic heroines were out of the question, and she soon established her name in comedy, appearing in many of the most successful British plays and films. "I never intended to play for laughs. I am always surprised that the audience thinks me funny at all", Rutherford wrote in her autobiography.
Rutherford made her first appearance in London's West End in 1933 but her talent was not recognised by the critics until her performance as Miss Prism in the play The Importance of Being Earnest at the Globe Theatre in 1939. In 1941 Noel Coward's Blithe Spirit opened on the London stage at the Piccadilly Theatre, with Coward himself directing. Rutherford played Madame Arcati, the bumbling medium, a role which Coward had earlier envisaged for her.
Rutherford had a distinguished theatrical career alongside her film successes. Totally against type, she played the sinister housekeeper Mrs Danvers in Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca at the Queen's Theatre in 1940. Her post-war theatre credits included Miss Prism in The Importance of Being Earnest again at the Haymarket Theatre in 1946 and Lady Bracknell when the same play transferred to New York in 1947. She played an officious headmistress in The Happiest Days of Your Life at the Apollo Theatre in 1948 and such classical roles as Madame Desmortes in Ring Round the Moon (Globe Theatre, 1950), Lady Wishfort in The Way of the World (Lyric Hammersmith, 1953 and Saville Theatre, 1956) and Mrs Candour in The School for Scandal (Haymarket Theatre, 1962).
Her final stage performance came in 1966 when she played Mrs Malaprop in The Rivals at the Haymarket Theatre, alongside Sir Ralph Richardson. Unfortunately, her declining health meant she had to reluctantly give up the role after a few weeks.
Film career
Although she made her film debut in 1936, it would be Rutherford's turn as Madame Arcati in David Lean's film of Blithe Spirit (1945) that would actually establish her screen success. This would become one of her most memorable performances, with her bicycling about the Kent countryside, cape fluttering behind her. Interestingly, it would also establish the model for portraying that role forever thereafter.
Some of Rutherford's finest screen work was done when she was in her fifties and beyond. She was Nurse Carey in Miranda (1948) and Professor Hatton Jones in Passport to Pimlico (1949). She reprised her stage roles of the headmistress alongside Alastair Sim in The Happiest Days of Your Life (1950) and Miss Prism in Anthony Asquith's The Importance of Being Earnest (1952).
More comedies followed, including Trouble in Store (1953) with Norman Wisdom, The Runaway Bus (1954) with Frankie Howerd and An Alligator Named Daisy (1955) with Donald Sinden and Diana Dors. Rutherford then rejoined Norman Wisdom in Just My Luck and co-starred in The Smallest Show on Earth with Virginia McKenna, Peter Sellers and Leslie Phillips (both 1957). She also joined a host of distinguished comedy stars, including Ian Carmichael and Peter Sellers, in the Boulting Brothers' satire I'm All Right Jack (1959).
In the early 1960s she became synonymous with Miss Jane Marple in a series of four films loosely based on the novels of Agatha Christie. Rutherford, then aged 70, insisted on wearing her own clothes for the part and having her husband appear alongside her. In 1963 Christie dedicated her novel The Mirror Crack'd : "To Margaret Rutherford in admiration". Christie reportedly did not approve of the 1960s films as they portrayed Marple as a comedy character and were not faithful to the original plots.
In 1963 Rutherford was awarded an Academy Award and Golden Globe as Best Supporting Actress for her performance as the absent-minded, impoverished, pill-popping Duchess of Brighton, the only light relief, in Terence Rattigan's The V.I.P.s, a film featuring a star-studded cast led by Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton.
She appeared as Mistress Quickly in Orson Welles' film Chimes at Midnight (1965) and was directed by Charlie Chaplin in A Countess from Hong Kong (1967), starring Marlon Brando and Sophia Loren, which was one of her final films.
Rutherford was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1961 and was raised to Dame Commander (DBE) in 1967.
Personal Life
Rutherford married character actor Stringer Davis in 1945 and the couple appeared in many productions together. They were happily together until Rutherford's death in 1972. Davis adored Rutherford, with one friend noting: "For him she was not only a great talent but, above all, a beauty." Davis rarely left her side. He was private secretary and general dogsbody - lugging bags, teapots, hot water bottles, teddy bears and nursing Rutherford through periods of depression. These illnesses, often involving stays in mental hospitals and electric shock treatment, were kept hidden from the press during Rutherford's life. In the 1950s, Rutherford and Davis unofficially adopted the writer Gordon Langley Hall, then in his twenties. Hall later had gender reassignment surgery and became Dawn Langley Simmons, under which name she wrote a biography of Rutherford in 1983.
Death
Rutherford suffered from Alzheimer's disease at the end of her life and was unable to work. Davis cared for his wife devotedly at their Buckinghamshire home but she died on 22 May 1972, aged 80. Many of Britain's top actors, including Sir John Gielgud, Robert Morley and Joyce Grenfell, paid tribute at a memorial service, where 90-year-old Sybil Thorndike praised her friend's enormous talent and recalled that Rutherford had "never said anything horrid about anyone".
Rutherford and Davis (who died in 1973) are interred alongside each other in the graveyard of St. James Church, Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire.
Filmography
1936 Dusty Ermine
1936 Talk of the Devil
1937 Beauty and the Barge
1937 Big Fella
1937 Catch as Catch Can
1937 Missing Believed Married
1940 Quiet Wedding
1941 Spring Meeting
1943 The Yellow Canary
1943 The Demi-Paradise
1944 English Without Tears
1945 Blithe Spirit
1946 While the Sun Shines
1947 Meet Me at Dawn
1948 Miranda
1949 Passport to Pimlico
1950 The Happiest Days of Your Life
1950 My Favourite Husband
1951 The Magic Box
1952 Curtain Up
1952 The Importance of Being Earnest
1952 Castle in the Air
1952 Miss Robin Hood
1953 Innocents in Paris
1953 Trouble in Store
1954 The Runaway Bus
1954 Aunt Clara
1954 Mad About Men
1955 An Alligator named Daisy
1957 The Smallest Show On Earth
1957 Just My Luck
1959 I'm All Right, Jack
1961 On the Double
1962 Murder She Said
1963 Mouse on the Moon
1963 The VIPs
1963 Murder at the Gallop
1964 Murder Ahoy
1965 Murder Most Foul
1965 The Alphabet Murders
1966 The Chimes at Midnight
1966 A Countess From Hong Kong
1968 Arabella
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/fd/Margaret_Rutherford.gif
She had a great career.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 05/22/11 at 6:37 am
The person of the day...Bernie Taupin
Bernard John "Bernie" Taupin (born 22 May 1950) is an English lyricist, poet, and singer, best known for his long-term collaboration with Elton John, writing the lyrics for the majority of the star's songs, making his lyrics some of the best known in pop-rock's history.
In 1967, Taupin answered an advertisement in England's music paper New Musical Express that was seeking new songwriters. Around the same time Elton John submitted samples of his work to the paper, and the pair were brought together, collaborating on many projects since.
Taupin's mother had studied French Literature and his maternal grandfather "Poppy" was a classics teacher and graduate of Cambridge University. They taught him an appreciation for nature and for literature and narrative poetry, both of which influenced his early lyrics. Taupin's upbringing also influenced his lyrics - in songs such as "Lady, What's Tomorrow?", "Your Song" and "Country Comfort". Taupin's unique blend of influences gave his early lyrics a nostalgic romanticism that fit perfectly with the hippie sensibilities of the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Taupin sometimes wrote about specific places in Lincolnshire. For example, "Grimsby" on Caribou was a tongue-in-cheek tribute to a nearby port town often visited by Taupin and his friends. More famously, "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting" was inspired by Taupin's experiences in the dance halls and pubs of his youth. More often he wrote in more general autobiographical terms, as in his reference to hitching rides home in "Country Comfort." These autobiographical references to his rural upbringing continued after his departure for London and a life in show business, with songs such as "Honky Cat" and "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road", in which he thinks about "going back to my plough."
Taupin's most important influence was his interest in America's Old West, imbuing Tumbleweed Connection and recent songs such as "This Train Don't Stop There Anymore". When Taupin and Elton decided to write an autobiographical album in 1975, Taupin dubbed himself "The Brown Dirt Cowboy", in contrast to Elton's "Captain Fantastic."
Collaboration with Elton John
In 1967 Taupin answered an advertisement for talent placed in the New Musical Express by Liberty records A&R man Ray Williams who was searching for new talent. Elton John answered the same advert and although neither Bernie nor Elton passed the audition for Liberty Records Ray Williams recognised their respective talents and put them in touch with each other. The pair have collaborated on more than 30 albums to date. The team took some time off from each other for a while between 1977 and 1979, while Taupin worked with other songwriters, including Alice Cooper, and John worked with other lyricists, including Gary Osborne and Tom Robinson. (The 1978 single-only A side "Ego" was their only collaboration of note during the period, although John/Taupin B-sides such as "Lovesick" and "I Cry at Night" were issued with the respective singles "Song for Guy" and "Part-time Love" from the album A Single Man.)
John and Taupin resumed writing together on (at first) an occasional basis in 1980, with Taupin contributing only three or four lyrics each on albums such as The Fox, 21 at 33 and Jump Up! However, by 1983's Too Low for Zero, the two renewed their partnership on a full-time basis and from that point forward Taupin was again John's primary lyricist. (John often works with other lyricists on specific theatrical or film projects such as 1993's The Lion King, which featured lyrics by Tim Rice.)
Taupin's lyrics include such tunes as "Rocket Man", "Levon", "Crocodile Rock", "Honky Cat", "Tiny Dancer", which was dedicated for his first wife, Maxine, "Candle in the Wind", "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting", "Bennie and the Jets", "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road", "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me", "The Bitch is Back", "Daniel", and 1970's "Your Song", their first hit. Hits in the 1980s include "I'm Still Standing", "I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues", "Sad Songs (Say So Much)", and "Nikita." In the 1990s, Taupin and John had more hits, including "The One", "Simple Life", "The Last Song" and "Believe." In September 1997, Taupin rewrote the lyrics of "Candle in the Wind" (for "Candle in the Wind 1997") in tribute to the late Diana, Princess of Wales.
I thought it was very important to project it from a nation's standpoint. I wanted to make it sound like a country singing it. From the first couple of lines I wrote , the rest sort of fell into place
“
”
Bernie Taupin on writing the lyrics
for "Candle in the Wind 1997"
The 1991 film documentary Two Rooms described the John/Taupin writing style, which involves Taupin writing the lyrics on his own and John then putting them to music, with no further interaction between the two. This however was a process that was to change considerably over the years. The process is still fundamentally the same, with John composing to Taupin's words, but the two interact on songs far more today, with Taupin joining John in the studio as the songs are written and occasionally during recording sessions.
Taupin and John had their first Broadway musical open in March 2006 with Lestat: The Musical. Taupin wrote lyrics for 10 songs (and an 11th completed non-album track "Across the River Thames") for John's 2006 album The Captain & The Kid (sequel to Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy) and appeared on the cover with him for the first time marking their 40th anniversary of working together. ("Across the River Thames" was issued as an Internet-only download as a bonus with certain editions of The Captain and the Kid.) On 25 March 2007 Taupin made a surprise appearance at John's 60th birthday celebration at Madison Square Garden, briefly discussing their 40-year songwriting partnership. Of Taupin's importance to their careers, as recorded on the Elton 60 - Live at Madison Square Garden DVD, John told the audience that without Taupin there probably wouldn't be an Elton John as the public has come to know him. Taupin and John also composed several songs for "The Union," a collaboration album between Elton and his longtime hero Leon Russell released in October 2010. They have also collaborated on five original songs for the upcoming Miramax movie Gnomeo and Juliet, due out in 2011.
Collaboration with other artists
In addition to writing for Elton John, Taupin has also written lyrics for use by other composers, with notable successes including "We Built This City", which was recorded by Starship, and "These Dreams", recorded by Heart. In 1978, he co-wrote the album From the Inside with Alice Cooper. Taupin has also sat in the producer's chair, helming American Gothic for singer-songwriter David Ackles. Released in 1972, it did not enjoy big sales, but the album was highly acclaimed by music critics in the US and UK. The influential British music critic Derek Jewell of the UK Sunday Times described the album as being "the Sgt. Pepper of folk." Of Ackles' four albums, it was the only one recorded in England rather than in the United States. Taupin and Ackles had become acquainted when Ackles was selected to be the co-headlining act for Elton John's 1970 American debut at the Troubadour in Los Angeles. Taupin was mentioned specifically as being one of the reasons American Gothic was selected by the writers and editors for inclusion in the book, 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.
In 2002, Willie Nelson and Kid Rock recorded "Last Stand in Open Country" for Nelson's album The Great Divide. The song was the title track of the first album from Taupin's band Farm Dogs (see below). Nelson's album included two other Taupin songs, "This Face" and "Mendocino County Line." The latter song, a duet between Nelson and Lee Ann Womack, was made into a video and released as the album's first single. The song won the 2003 Grammy for best vocal collaboration in country music. In 2004, he co-wrote Courtney Love's song "Uncool", from her 2004 debut solo album America's Sweetheart. In 2005, he co-wrote the title track to What I Really Want For Christmas with Brian Wilson for his first seasonal album. In 2006, he won a Golden Globe Award for his lyrics to the song "A Love That Will Never Grow Old" from the film Brokeback Mountain. The music of the song was composed by Argentine producer and songwriter Gustavo Santaolalla.
Works as a performer
Solo albums
* 1971 Taupin
* 1980 He Who Rides The Tiger
* 1987 Tribe
With Farm Dogs
* 1996 Last Stand in Open Country
* 1998 Immigrant Sons
In 1971, Taupin recorded a spoken-word album entitled Taupin, in which he recites some of his early poems against a background of impromptu, sitar-heavy music created by some members of Elton's band, including Davey Johnstone and Caleb Quaye. Side One is entitled "Child" and contains poems about his early childhood in southern Lincolnshire. The first poem, "The Greatest Discovery," which looks at his birth from the perspective of his older brother Tony, was also set to music by Elton John and included on Elton's eponymous second album, Elton John. There are poems about Taupin's first two childhood homes, Flatters and Rowston Manor, and others about his relationship with his brother and grandfather. Side Two includes a variety of poems of varying obscurity, from a marionette telling her own story to a rat catcher who falls victim to his prey. While the lyrics to Side One provide interesting insights into Taupin's childhood, the album makes for a tedious listening experience, and Taupin stated in interviews that he wasn't pleased with the results.
In 1980, Taupin recorded his first album as a singer, He Who Rides the Tiger. Although he demonstrated a more-than-adequate vocal ability, the album failed to make a dent in the charts. Taupin later suggested in interviews that he didn't have the creative control he would have liked over the album. In 1987, he recorded another album entitled Tribe. The songs were co-written with Martin Page. "Citizen Jane" and "Friend of the Flag" were released as singles. Videos of both singles featured Rene Russo, the sister of Toni, his wife at that time.
In 1996, Taupin pulled together a band called Farm Dogs, whose two albums were conscious (and successful) throwbacks to the grittier, earthier sound of Tumbleweed Connection. While Taupin wrote the lyrics, the music was a collaborative effort among the band members. Their first album, 1996's Last Stand in Open Country, received critical praise but little airplay. As mentioned above, the title track was later recorded by Willie Nelson and Kid Rock for Nelson's 2002 album The Great Divide. In 1998, Farm Dogs released its second and final album, Immigrant Sons. The album was unsuccessful despite a tour of small clubs across America.
Non-musical projects
In 1973, Taupin collected all his lyrics up through the Goodbye Yellow Brick Road album into a book entitled Bernie Taupin: The One Who Writes the Words for Elton John. In addition to the lyrics from the albums, this book contained the lyrics to all the single b-sides, various rarities, and Taupin's 1970 spoken-word album. The songs are illustrated by various artists, friends, and celebrity guests such as John Lennon and Joni Mitchell. The book is in black & white except for the cover.
In 1977, Taupin collaborated with rock photographer David Nutter on, "It's A Little Bit Funny," adding text and helping chronicle Elton John's year-long, "Louder Than Concorde, But Not Quite As Pretty" world concert tour. The now-collectible book was published in hard and soft cover editions by Penguin Books. It collects the better part of one year's worth of personal adventures and memories of Elton and the band, aboard his private plane, on the beaches of Barbados, at backstage gatherings and in some quieter off-stage moments with friends (including some famous faces that Elton and Bernie met and palled around with in their travels).
In 1978, Taupin also appeared in an episode of The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries, The Hardy Boys & Nancy Drew Meet Dracula, singing backup to Shaun Cassidy. In 1988, Taupin published an autobiography of his childhood entitled A Cradle of Haloes: Sketches of a Childhood. The book was released only in England. It tells the tale of a childhood fuelled by fantasy in rural Lincolnshire in the 1950s and 1960s, ending in 1969 as Taupin gets on the train to seek his fortune in London.
In 1991, Taupin self-published a book of poems called The Devil at High Noon. In 1994, Taupin's lyrics up through the Made In England album were collected into a hardcover book entitled, Elton John & Bernie Taupin: The Complete Lyrics, published by Hyperion. However, it doesn't appear that Taupin was intimately involved in this project, as it contains multiple misspellings and outright misrenderings of the lyrics. It is also missing some of the rarities and b-sides found in the earlier collection. As with the 1973 collection, the songs are illustrated by various artists, this time in full color throughout.
In 2009, Taupin debuted his American Roots Radio with Bernie Taupin - roots music show hosted by Taupin on satellite radio Sirius XM Radio's The Loft channel.
Personal life
Taupin married Maxine Feibelman in 1971 (divorced 1976). In 1979 Taupin married Toni Lynn Russo, sister of actress Rene Russo. He and Russo divorced in 1991. Taupin married Stephanie Haymes, daughter of entertainers Dick Haymes and Fran Jeffries, on August 21, 1993. Taupin and Haymes divorced in 1998. Taupin is now married to Heather Lynn Hodgins Kidd, whom he wed on March 27, 2004, and with whom he has fathered two daughters, Charley Indiana and Georgey Devon.
Taupin has lived his dream of being a "Brown Dirt Cowboy". He moved to Southern California with then-wife Maxine in the mid-1970s; since the 1980s, he has been living on a working ranch north of Los Angeles near Santa Ynez, California, raising cutting horses. He co-owned a restaurant in downtown Los Angeles called "Cicada" with then-wife Stephanie Haymes. In the early 2000s, Taupin publicly displayed some of his paintings. He co-owned a PBR bucking bull named Little Yellow Jacket, which was recently retired as an unprecedented three-time world champion. He is a vocal supporter of gay rights.
* List of songs written by Bernie Taupin
http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd208/gotpinkfever/BernieTaupin.jpg
http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii42/dwfargo/elt-ber20.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 05/22/11 at 6:52 am
The person of the day...Bernie Taupin
Bernard John "Bernie" Taupin (born 22 May 1950) is an English lyricist, poet, and singer, best known for his long-term collaboration with Elton John, writing the lyrics for the majority of the star's songs, making his lyrics some of the best known in pop-rock's history.
In 1967, Taupin answered an advertisement in England's music paper New Musical Express that was seeking new songwriters. Around the same time Elton John submitted samples of his work to the paper, and the pair were brought together, collaborating on many projects since.
Taupin's mother had studied French Literature and his maternal grandfather "Poppy" was a classics teacher and graduate of Cambridge University. They taught him an appreciation for nature and for literature and narrative poetry, both of which influenced his early lyrics. Taupin's upbringing also influenced his lyrics - in songs such as "Lady, What's Tomorrow?", "Your Song" and "Country Comfort". Taupin's unique blend of influences gave his early lyrics a nostalgic romanticism that fit perfectly with the hippie sensibilities of the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Taupin sometimes wrote about specific places in Lincolnshire. For example, "Grimsby" on Caribou was a tongue-in-cheek tribute to a nearby port town often visited by Taupin and his friends. More famously, "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting" was inspired by Taupin's experiences in the dance halls and pubs of his youth. More often he wrote in more general autobiographical terms, as in his reference to hitching rides home in "Country Comfort." These autobiographical references to his rural upbringing continued after his departure for London and a life in show business, with songs such as "Honky Cat" and "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road", in which he thinks about "going back to my plough."
Taupin's most important influence was his interest in America's Old West, imbuing Tumbleweed Connection and recent songs such as "This Train Don't Stop There Anymore". When Taupin and Elton decided to write an autobiographical album in 1975, Taupin dubbed himself "The Brown Dirt Cowboy", in contrast to Elton's "Captain Fantastic."
Collaboration with Elton John
In 1967 Taupin answered an advertisement for talent placed in the New Musical Express by Liberty records A&R man Ray Williams who was searching for new talent. Elton John answered the same advert and although neither Bernie nor Elton passed the audition for Liberty Records Ray Williams recognised their respective talents and put them in touch with each other. The pair have collaborated on more than 30 albums to date. The team took some time off from each other for a while between 1977 and 1979, while Taupin worked with other songwriters, including Alice Cooper, and John worked with other lyricists, including Gary Osborne and Tom Robinson. (The 1978 single-only A side "Ego" was their only collaboration of note during the period, although John/Taupin B-sides such as "Lovesick" and "I Cry at Night" were issued with the respective singles "Song for Guy" and "Part-time Love" from the album A Single Man.)
John and Taupin resumed writing together on (at first) an occasional basis in 1980, with Taupin contributing only three or four lyrics each on albums such as The Fox, 21 at 33 and Jump Up! However, by 1983's Too Low for Zero, the two renewed their partnership on a full-time basis and from that point forward Taupin was again John's primary lyricist. (John often works with other lyricists on specific theatrical or film projects such as 1993's The Lion King, which featured lyrics by Tim Rice.)
Taupin's lyrics include such tunes as "Rocket Man", "Levon", "Crocodile Rock", "Honky Cat", "Tiny Dancer", which was dedicated for his first wife, Maxine, "Candle in the Wind", "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting", "Bennie and the Jets", "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road", "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me", "The Bitch is Back", "Daniel", and 1970's "Your Song", their first hit. Hits in the 1980s include "I'm Still Standing", "I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues", "Sad Songs (Say So Much)", and "Nikita." In the 1990s, Taupin and John had more hits, including "The One", "Simple Life", "The Last Song" and "Believe." In September 1997, Taupin rewrote the lyrics of "Candle in the Wind" (for "Candle in the Wind 1997") in tribute to the late Diana, Princess of Wales.
I thought it was very important to project it from a nation's standpoint. I wanted to make it sound like a country singing it. From the first couple of lines I wrote , the rest sort of fell into place
“
”
Bernie Taupin on writing the lyrics
for "Candle in the Wind 1997"
The 1991 film documentary Two Rooms described the John/Taupin writing style, which involves Taupin writing the lyrics on his own and John then putting them to music, with no further interaction between the two. This however was a process that was to change considerably over the years. The process is still fundamentally the same, with John composing to Taupin's words, but the two interact on songs far more today, with Taupin joining John in the studio as the songs are written and occasionally during recording sessions.
Taupin and John had their first Broadway musical open in March 2006 with Lestat: The Musical. Taupin wrote lyrics for 10 songs (and an 11th completed non-album track "Across the River Thames") for John's 2006 album The Captain & The Kid (sequel to Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy) and appeared on the cover with him for the first time marking their 40th anniversary of working together. ("Across the River Thames" was issued as an Internet-only download as a bonus with certain editions of The Captain and the Kid.) On 25 March 2007 Taupin made a surprise appearance at John's 60th birthday celebration at Madison Square Garden, briefly discussing their 40-year songwriting partnership. Of Taupin's importance to their careers, as recorded on the Elton 60 - Live at Madison Square Garden DVD, John told the audience that without Taupin there probably wouldn't be an Elton John as the public has come to know him. Taupin and John also composed several songs for "The Union," a collaboration album between Elton and his longtime hero Leon Russell released in October 2010. They have also collaborated on five original songs for the upcoming Miramax movie Gnomeo and Juliet, due out in 2011.
Collaboration with other artists
In addition to writing for Elton John, Taupin has also written lyrics for use by other composers, with notable successes including "We Built This City", which was recorded by Starship, and "These Dreams", recorded by Heart. In 1978, he co-wrote the album From the Inside with Alice Cooper. Taupin has also sat in the producer's chair, helming American Gothic for singer-songwriter David Ackles. Released in 1972, it did not enjoy big sales, but the album was highly acclaimed by music critics in the US and UK. The influential British music critic Derek Jewell of the UK Sunday Times described the album as being "the Sgt. Pepper of folk." Of Ackles' four albums, it was the only one recorded in England rather than in the United States. Taupin and Ackles had become acquainted when Ackles was selected to be the co-headlining act for Elton John's 1970 American debut at the Troubadour in Los Angeles. Taupin was mentioned specifically as being one of the reasons American Gothic was selected by the writers and editors for inclusion in the book, 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.
In 2002, Willie Nelson and Kid Rock recorded "Last Stand in Open Country" for Nelson's album The Great Divide. The song was the title track of the first album from Taupin's band Farm Dogs (see below). Nelson's album included two other Taupin songs, "This Face" and "Mendocino County Line." The latter song, a duet between Nelson and Lee Ann Womack, was made into a video and released as the album's first single. The song won the 2003 Grammy for best vocal collaboration in country music. In 2004, he co-wrote Courtney Love's song "Uncool", from her 2004 debut solo album America's Sweetheart. In 2005, he co-wrote the title track to What I Really Want For Christmas with Brian Wilson for his first seasonal album. In 2006, he won a Golden Globe Award for his lyrics to the song "A Love That Will Never Grow Old" from the film Brokeback Mountain. The music of the song was composed by Argentine producer and songwriter Gustavo Santaolalla.
Works as a performer
Solo albums
* 1971 Taupin
* 1980 He Who Rides The Tiger
* 1987 Tribe
With Farm Dogs
* 1996 Last Stand in Open Country
* 1998 Immigrant Sons
In 1971, Taupin recorded a spoken-word album entitled Taupin, in which he recites some of his early poems against a background of impromptu, sitar-heavy music created by some members of Elton's band, including Davey Johnstone and Caleb Quaye. Side One is entitled "Child" and contains poems about his early childhood in southern Lincolnshire. The first poem, "The Greatest Discovery," which looks at his birth from the perspective of his older brother Tony, was also set to music by Elton John and included on Elton's eponymous second album, Elton John. There are poems about Taupin's first two childhood homes, Flatters and Rowston Manor, and others about his relationship with his brother and grandfather. Side Two includes a variety of poems of varying obscurity, from a marionette telling her own story to a rat catcher who falls victim to his prey. While the lyrics to Side One provide interesting insights into Taupin's childhood, the album makes for a tedious listening experience, and Taupin stated in interviews that he wasn't pleased with the results.
In 1980, Taupin recorded his first album as a singer, He Who Rides the Tiger. Although he demonstrated a more-than-adequate vocal ability, the album failed to make a dent in the charts. Taupin later suggested in interviews that he didn't have the creative control he would have liked over the album. In 1987, he recorded another album entitled Tribe. The songs were co-written with Martin Page. "Citizen Jane" and "Friend of the Flag" were released as singles. Videos of both singles featured Rene Russo, the sister of Toni, his wife at that time.
In 1996, Taupin pulled together a band called Farm Dogs, whose two albums were conscious (and successful) throwbacks to the grittier, earthier sound of Tumbleweed Connection. While Taupin wrote the lyrics, the music was a collaborative effort among the band members. Their first album, 1996's Last Stand in Open Country, received critical praise but little airplay. As mentioned above, the title track was later recorded by Willie Nelson and Kid Rock for Nelson's 2002 album The Great Divide. In 1998, Farm Dogs released its second and final album, Immigrant Sons. The album was unsuccessful despite a tour of small clubs across America.
Non-musical projects
In 1973, Taupin collected all his lyrics up through the Goodbye Yellow Brick Road album into a book entitled Bernie Taupin: The One Who Writes the Words for Elton John. In addition to the lyrics from the albums, this book contained the lyrics to all the single b-sides, various rarities, and Taupin's 1970 spoken-word album. The songs are illustrated by various artists, friends, and celebrity guests such as John Lennon and Joni Mitchell. The book is in black & white except for the cover.
In 1977, Taupin collaborated with rock photographer David Nutter on, "It's A Little Bit Funny," adding text and helping chronicle Elton John's year-long, "Louder Than Concorde, But Not Quite As Pretty" world concert tour. The now-collectible book was published in hard and soft cover editions by Penguin Books. It collects the better part of one year's worth of personal adventures and memories of Elton and the band, aboard his private plane, on the beaches of Barbados, at backstage gatherings and in some quieter off-stage moments with friends (including some famous faces that Elton and Bernie met and palled around with in their travels).
In 1978, Taupin also appeared in an episode of The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries, The Hardy Boys & Nancy Drew Meet Dracula, singing backup to Shaun Cassidy. In 1988, Taupin published an autobiography of his childhood entitled A Cradle of Haloes: Sketches of a Childhood. The book was released only in England. It tells the tale of a childhood fuelled by fantasy in rural Lincolnshire in the 1950s and 1960s, ending in 1969 as Taupin gets on the train to seek his fortune in London.
In 1991, Taupin self-published a book of poems called The Devil at High Noon. In 1994, Taupin's lyrics up through the Made In England album were collected into a hardcover book entitled, Elton John & Bernie Taupin: The Complete Lyrics, published by Hyperion. However, it doesn't appear that Taupin was intimately involved in this project, as it contains multiple misspellings and outright misrenderings of the lyrics. It is also missing some of the rarities and b-sides found in the earlier collection. As with the 1973 collection, the songs are illustrated by various artists, this time in full color throughout.
In 2009, Taupin debuted his American Roots Radio with Bernie Taupin - roots music show hosted by Taupin on satellite radio Sirius XM Radio's The Loft channel.
Personal life
Taupin married Maxine Feibelman in 1971 (divorced 1976). In 1979 Taupin married Toni Lynn Russo, sister of actress Rene Russo. He and Russo divorced in 1991. Taupin married Stephanie Haymes, daughter of entertainers Dick Haymes and Fran Jeffries, on August 21, 1993. Taupin and Haymes divorced in 1998. Taupin is now married to Heather Lynn Hodgins Kidd, whom he wed on March 27, 2004, and with whom he has fathered two daughters, Charley Indiana and Georgey Devon.
Taupin has lived his dream of being a "Brown Dirt Cowboy". He moved to Southern California with then-wife Maxine in the mid-1970s; since the 1980s, he has been living on a working ranch north of Los Angeles near Santa Ynez, California, raising cutting horses. He co-owned a restaurant in downtown Los Angeles called "Cicada" with then-wife Stephanie Haymes. In the early 2000s, Taupin publicly displayed some of his paintings. He co-owned a PBR bucking bull named Little Yellow Jacket, which was recently retired as an unprecedented three-time world champion. He is a vocal supporter of gay rights.
* List of songs written by Bernie Taupin
http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd208/gotpinkfever/BernieTaupin.jpg
http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii42/dwfargo/elt-ber20.jpg
Somehow I knew that you would chose him.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 05/22/11 at 6:58 am
Always nice to hear one of Elton's songs.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 05/22/11 at 6:59 am
Always nice to hear one of Elton's songs.
Many of his songs are pleasant to hear
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 05/22/11 at 7:00 am
Many of his songs are pleasant to hear
I just listened to Honky Cat.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 05/22/11 at 8:08 am
Always nice to hear one of Elton's songs.
Yes it is :)
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 05/22/11 at 8:09 am
Somehow I knew that you would chose him.
:)
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 05/22/11 at 9:10 am
:)
Daniel comes to mind.
Good choice.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 05/22/11 at 1:47 pm
Daniel comes to mind.
Good choice.
I'm Still Standing
That's Why They Call It The Blues
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 05/23/11 at 8:01 am
Daniel comes to mind.
Good choice.
I'm Still Standing
That's Why They Call It The Blues
All good choices :)
Did I ever tell the story where I was singing "Daniel" to Daniel and when it came to the part of" Daniel is leaving tonight on the plane", he looked at me and said "no I'm not"..so cute and he's only 2.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 05/23/11 at 8:11 am
The person of the day...Drew Carey
Drew Allison Carey (born May 23, 1958) is an American actor, comedian, photographer, and game show host. After serving in the U.S. Marine Corps and making a name for himself in stand-up comedy, Carey eventually gained popularity starring on his own sitcom, The Drew Carey Show, and serving as host on the U.S. version of Whose Line Is It Anyway?, both of which aired on ABC.
Carey has appeared in several films, television series, music videos, a made-for-television film, and a computer game. He currently hosts the game show The Price Is Right and the improv comedy show Drew Carey's Improv-A-Ganza. He is interested in a variety of sports, has worked as a photographer at U.S. National Team soccer games, is a minority owner of the Major League Soccer team Seattle Sounders FC and is a member of the WWE Hall of Fame. Carey is engaged and has written an autobiography detailing his early life and television career.
In 1985, he began his comedy career by following up on a suggestion by David Lawrence (a disc jockey friend who had been paying Drew to write jokes for David's radio show in Cleveland) to go to the library and borrow books on how to write jokes. In 1986, after winning an open-mic contest, he became MC at the Cleveland Comedy Club. For the next few years, he performed at multiple comedy clubs in Cleveland and Los Angeles. He was first brought to the national eye as a comedian when he competed in the 1988 Star Search. Carey was working as a stand-up comedian in 1991 when he appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. His performance that night impressed Carson, who invited Carey to the couch next to his desk; this was considered a rare honor for any comedian. In that same year, Carey joined the 14th Annual Young Comedians Special on HBO and made his first appearance on Late Night with David Letterman. In 1994, Carey wrote his own stand-up comedy special which aired on Showtime, entitled Drew Carey: Human Cartoon, for which he won a CableACE Award for Best Writing.
Acting career
Early roles
Following on the success of his early stand-up career, he subsequently appeared in a number of supporting roles on television shows, during which he developed the character of a hapless middle-class bachelor. In 1993, Carey had a small role in the film Coneheads as a taxi passenger. Turning his attention to television, in 1994, Carey co-starred with John Caponera in The Good Life, a short-lived sitcom that aired on NBC. After the show's cancellation, Carey joined up with writer Bruce Helford (who was also a writer for The Good Life), who gave Carey a job as a consultant for the television show Someone Like Me.
The Drew Carey Show
Main article: The Drew Carey Show
After their stint on Someone Like Me, Carey and Helford developed and produced the storyline for The Drew Carey Show. The show premiered on September 13, 1995 on ABC. In his autobiography, Carey revealed his frustration with having to deal with censors and being unable to employ the off-color humor common to his stand-up routines. Carey initially earned $60,000 per episode in the first seasons, then renegotiated for $300,000. By the final season, he was earning $750,000 per episode. The show had high ratings for its first few seasons, but declining ratings and increasing production costs (around $3 million per episode) preceded its cancellation. The program had a total of 233 episodes over its nine-year run. Carey was one of four actors to appear in every episode. The show starred (in order of the amount of episodes they were in) Drew Carey, Diedrich Bader, Kathy Kinney, Ryan Stiles (all in every episode), Craig Ferguson (starring role in seasons 2-8 and guest appearances in 9), Christa Miller (seasons 1-7), and John Carroll Lynch (semi-regular from seasons 3/4-9).
Improv television
Main article: Whose Line Is It Anyway? (U.S. TV series)
In 1998, Carey began hosting the American version of the improvisational comedy show Whose Line Is It Anyway? He would announce the improv guests, direct the games, and then would usually involve himself in the final game of the episode. The show ran for a total of 220 episodes from 1998 to 2006. In 1998, the New York Friars' Club made Carey the newest inductee of the group's Comedy Central Roast. His friend Ryan Stiles (who costarred in The Drew Carey Show and Whose Line Is It Anyway?) served as the roastmaster. Carey's income from Whose Line Is It Anyway? and The Drew Carey Show led to his inclusion on the Forbes list of highest-paid entertainers of 1998, at 24th with $45.5 million.
For the WB's 2004-2005 prime time schedule, Carey co-produced and starred in Drew Carey's Green Screen Show, a spin-off of Whose Line Is It Anyway?. It was canceled by the WB, but picked up shortly afterward by Comedy Central. The catch on this show was that all the improv was done in front of a green screen, and then animation was inserted in post-production.
On November 18, 2010, the Game Show Network announced that Drew Carey will host a new improv show in primetime in the Spring of 2011, called Drew Carey's Improv-A-Ganza. The shows will be filmed at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada in January and February 2011, and will begin to air on April 11, 2011. The show will take on the premise of Whose Line? and Drew Carey's Green Screen Show in that it features many of the same performers from both shows and they will do improv based on audience-provided suggestions.
Improv All-Stars
Carey was one of the founders of the Improv All-Stars, a group of eleven actors who perform in unscripted skits. The group joined Carey in all three of his improv shows, Whose Line Is It Anyway?, Drew Carey's Green Screen Show, and "Drew Carey's Improv-a-ganza" and some members had major roles or guest starred on his previous shows. The Improv All-Stars travel on comedy tours, performing at comedy clubs throughout the United States. Laura Hall also reprises her role as the in-house musician.
Game show host
Power of 10
Main article: Power of 10
In 2007, Carey began hosting game shows. On April 13, 2007, Carey was selected to host the CBS game show pilot Power of 10. The show ran from August 7, 2007 to April 7, 2008 and aired twice weekly during the late summer and early fall. Each game featured contestants predicting how a cross-section of Americans responded to questions covering a wide variety of topics in polls conducted by CBS.
The Price Is Right
Main article: The Price Is Right (U.S. game show)
After taping the pilot episode for Power of 10, Carey was contacted by CBS about replacing the retiring Bob Barker at The Price Is Right. After initially turning down the offer, Carey announced on Late Show with David Letterman that he would succeed Barker as host of the program beginning in the fall of 2007. His first episode of The Price Is Right was taped on August 15, and his shows began airing on October 15, 2007. In response to replacing Barker as host of the game show, Carey stated:
“ You can't replace Bob Barker. I don't compare myself to anybody... It's only about what you're doing and supposed to do, and I feel like I'm supposed to be doing this. ”
When Carey began hosting, the set, theme music, and show logo were updated. Prizes previously removed at the request of Barker returned (such as leather and wool goods and foreign automobiles). During Carey's second year as host, he began to write some of the sketches used during the Showcase, which features guest appearances by stars of other CBS programs. The show also began including live performances by endorsers of musical instruments when those prizes were offered.
Other roles and appearances
Carey began appearing in commercials for restaurants in the late 1990s in Canada with The Great Root Bear, but his two-year contract with A&W Food Services of Canada was cut short in November 1998 after an episode of The Drew Carey Show featured McDonald's. As a result of his dismissal, Carey sued A&W for compensation.
Larger than life figure of Carey's head and shoulders, posted above the studio entrance.
Entrance to Sounds Dangerous! at Disney's Hollywood Studios
On April 22, 1999 at Disney's Hollywood Studios (then "Disney-MGM Studios"), part of Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, Carey debuted a 12-minute attraction entitled Sounds Dangerous! In the show, a camera follows Carey through a day as an undercover detective. When his video camera fails, the audience is left in complete darkness wearing earphones, following his adventure through sound cues. The attraction is presently running on a limited "seasonal" schedule.
In 1999, Carey made a cameo appearance in "Weird Al" Yankovic's music video for "It's All About the Pentiums". In 2004, he made an appearance for Fountains of Wayne's video for "Mexican Wine" giving an introduction to the video as if it were on a stage.
On May 7, 2000, Carey's television film Geppetto debuted on The Wonderful World of Disney. The film, an adaptation of Pinocchio, included actor Wayne Brady who had joined Carey on Whose Line Is It Anyway? and a few episodes of The Drew Carey Show. Carey took singing lessons to prepare for the role.
Drew Carey featured in The Sims
In 2000, Carey was given a cameo appearance in the House Party expansion pack of the computer game The Sims. To make him appear, the Sims must throw a successful party, which causes Carey to arrive in a limo and join the festivities. Carey is a fan of The Sims series and during one April Fool's episode of The Drew Carey Show, a scene takes place completely within The Sims.
In 2001, he made an appearance in the WWF's annual Royal Rumble event. He eliminated himself after Kane made his way to the ring.
Carey provided the entertainment for the 2002 Annual White House correspondents' dinner. Once Carey completed his standup routine for the 1,800 guests, President George W. Bush, noting Carey's improv work, made a joke of his own: "Drew? Got any interest in the Middle East?" In 2003, he joined Jamie Kennedy to host the WB's live special Play for a Billion. In September 2003, Carey led a group of comedians, including Blake Clark and the Drew Carey Show's Kathy Kinney, on a comedy tour of Iraq.
In 2005, Carey appeared in three films: the animated film Robots, where he provided a voice-over for the character Crank; The Aristocrats where he retold a dirty joke along with other celebrities; and the documentary, fudge, where he was interviewed.
On June 8, 2006, Drew Carey's Sporting Adventures debuted on the Travel Channel. In this series, Carey traveled throughout Germany to photograph multiple FIFA World Cup soccer games while he immerses himself in the culture of the towns and states he visits.
In early 2008, Carey appeared in Matt Groenings The Simpsons as part of the episode 'All About Lisa' as a guest on Krusty the Clown's Krusty The Clown Show.
In September 2008, Carey began filling in as a guest DJ on Little Steven's Underground Garage on Sirius Satellite Radio.
On April 2, 2011, Carey was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.
Writing
Full figure of Carey on book cover, along with the title.
Cover of Dirty Jokes and Beer: Stories of the Unrefined
Carey has routinely written throughout his career, including developing his stand-up comedy routines in his early stand-up career, and then moving on to assist in writing sitcoms. In 1997, Carey published his autobiography, Dirty Jokes and Beer: Stories of the Unrefined wherein he shared memories of his early childhood and of his father's death when he was eight. He also revealed that he was once molested, had suffered bouts of depression, and had made two suicide attempts by swallowing a large amount of sleeping pills. The book discusses his college fraternity years while attending Kent State University, and his professional career up to that time. The book featured large amounts of profanity and, as the title suggests, includes multiple dirty jokes (there is one at the start of each chapter) and references to beer. The book was featured on The New York Times bestseller list for three months.
Personal life
A United States Marine, he adopted his crew cut hair style during his time in the service. Carey has had refractive surgery to correct his vision and therefore did not really require glasses (any glasses he wore in public were merely props to help the audience recognize him). However, while this was true for several years, on the May 17, 2006 episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live! he revealed that when he turned 40, he actually developed a need for bifocals. Carey currently lives in Los Angeles and New York City.
On October 9, 2007 Carey proposed to Nicole Jaracz. In a statement regarding the engagement, publicist Christina Papadopoulos said, "It will be the first marriage for both. No date for a wedding has been set yet. They are both very happy and excited about their future together." She has a five-year-old son, Connor, from a previous relationship. They have no children of their own. Connor has appeared on The Price is Right several times, and Drew has referred to Connor as "his son" on the air, even though he is not Connor's biological father.
Carey had coronary angioplasty in 2001, which encouraged him to change his eating habits. This led to one of his comments on a Whose Line? episode after returning from commercials being, "I'm Drew Carey, and yes, I have lost weight. Thanks for asking."
In July 2010, Carey announced that he had lost an estimated 92 pounds.
Political views
Carey is an outspoken libertarian. He has expressed his political philosophy in the following terms:
I believe the answers to all the problems we face as a society won't come from Washington, it will come from us. So the way we decide to live our lives and our decisions about what we buy or don't buy are much more important than who we vote for.
Carey has expressed his distaste for the Bush administration's management of the War in Iraq, specifically on the September 15, 2007, episode of Real Time with Bill Maher. In 2007, he made donations to Ron Paul's presidential campaign. On the September 26, 2008 episode of The Late Late Show, Carey defined "libertarian" to host Craig Ferguson as "a conservative who still gets high."
Carey has spoken about his various political beliefs in several interviews and in 1998, he led a "smoke-in" in defiance of California's newly passed no-smoking ordinance inside bars and restaurants. Carey has hosted a series of mini-documentaries called The Drew Carey Project on Reason.tv, an online project of Reason Foundation, a libertarian think tank. The first episode, "Gridlock", addresses private highway ownership and was released on October 15, 2007. Other episodes discuss topics such as eminent domain, urban traffic congestion, and medical marijuana.
Sports involvement
Carey is a devoted fan of the U.S. National Soccer Team, Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Cavaliers and Cleveland Indians. In 1999, Carey was part of the pregame ceremonies at the first game of the return of the Cleveland Browns, televised on ESPN. Carey attended the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany and the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.
Carey preparing for a TV broadcast at the dedication of Cleveland Browns Stadium, September 1999
On November 12, 2007, Carey became a minority owner of the Seattle Sounders FC, who began play in Major League Soccer on March 19, 2009. On that evening in 2007, Carey raised the 12th man flag at the Seattle Seahawks Monday Night Football game against San Francisco; the Sounders and Seahawks share some partners and a stadium. He told reporters at the game that fans will have the option to purchase membership in the club and that every four years members will be able to vote out the team's general manager, in a move similar to Spanish powerhouses FC Barcelona and Real Madrid. Carey is a fan of Real Madrid and of the Scottish team Rangers. In 2006 he was a season ticket holder for the Los Angeles Galaxy.
Carey has shown his support for the Indians by throwing the first pitch at an August 12, 2006 game against the Kansas City Royals. He was rewarded by the Cleveland Indians for being "the greatest Indians fan alive" with a personal bobblehead doll made in his likeness that was given to fans. Carey responded to his bobblehead likeness by saying "Bobblehead Day, for me, is as big as getting a star in the Hollywood Walk of Fame."
In 2001, Carey was the first television actor to enter World Wrestling Entertainment's 30-man "Royal Rumble" match, which he did to promote an improv comedy pay-per-view at the time. He appeared in a few backstage segments before his brief participation in the match. Upon entering the ring, Carey stood unopposed for more than half a minute, but after the next entrant Kane refused a monetary bribe, Carey eliminated himself from the match by jumping over the top rope and retreated from ringside.
In 2003, Carey competed against five other celebrities in the first celebrity edition of the World Poker Tour. He placed fifth, only beating out comedian/actor/musician Jack Black. Carey won $2,000 for his charity.
On April 2, 2011, Carey was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.
Philanthropy
Carey smiling broadly, minus his usual glasses and in casual clothes with a green contest entry top. He is holding a camera with a long lens.
Carey at the World Cup Fest in Kaiserslautern, Germany in June 2006 while filming Drew Carey's Sporting Adventures
Carey is a supporter of libraries, crediting them for beginning his successful comedy career. On May 2, 2000, in a celebrity edition of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, he selected the Ohio Library Foundation to receive his $500,000 winnings. He later went on to win an additional $32,000 on the second celebrity Millionaire, making him one of the biggest winning contestants on Millionaire who did not win the top prize. Carey also has played on the World Poker Tour in the Hollywood Home games for the Cleveland Public Library charity. In June 2007, Carey offered to donate up to $100,000 (in $10,000 increments) to the Mooch Myernick Memorial Fund if anybody could beat him at the video game FIFA Soccer 07 for the Xbox 360. He dared five players from both the U.S. Men's and Women's National Teams to compete against him. Carey ended up donating $100,000 plus $60,000 for losing two games out of the six games he played.
In October 2009, Carey made a bid of $25,000 in a charity auction for the @drew Twitter account. He later increased his offer to $100,000 if the number of followers of his account @DrewFromTV reached 100,000 by the end of the auction. In an interview with CBS News, he announced that he would instead donate $1 million to the charity, Lance Armstrong's LIVESTRONG Foundation, if his follower count reached one million by December 31, 2009. In 2010, Carey became a public advocate for poor children through Children International Supporters.
Photography
Carey can sometimes be seen on the sidelines of U.S. National Team soccer games as a press photographer. His images are sold via wire services under the pseudonym Brooks Parkenridge. He was at the 2006 FIFA World Cup in the summer of 2006, for his television show Drew Carey's Sporting Adventures.
Awards and honors
Carey's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
* Carey won the Cable Ace Award for Best Writing for his work on Drew Carey: Human Cartoon.
* In 1995, he was named one of the "10 Hottest New Faces of '95" by TV Guide.
* Carey received an honorary DHL from Cleveland State University in 2000.
* He won the People's Choice Award for Favorite Male Television Performer for his work in The Drew Carey Show, in both 2000 and 2001.
* On February 21, 2003, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. His star can be found at 6664 Hollywood Blvd.
* In 2004, Comedy Central ranked him #84 on its list of the 100 greatest standups of all time.
* On June 21, 2008 Carey won second place from the Los Angeles Press Club for his feature on medical marijuana in the multimedia package category.
* On April 2, 2011 Carey was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, inducted by Kane.
Filmography
Carey has starred in only a few television shows and films, but also has numerous guest star appearances in a variety of other sitcoms and comedy shows.
Television work
Year Title Role Notes
1992 The Torkelsons Herby Scroggins Episode "Say Uncle"
1994 The Good Life Drew Clark
1994 The Adventures of Pete & Pete (uncredited) Veteran Episode "Grounded for Life"
1995–2004 The Drew Carey Show Drew Carey
1997 Home Improvement Road Kill specialist (Seymour 'Sy' Winterfleffin)
The Weird Al Show Himself Episode "The Competition"
Sabrina the Teenage Witch Episode "To Tell a Mortal"
1998–2007 Whose Line Is It Anyway? Host
1999 King of the Hill Hal Episode "Not in My Back-hoe"
2000 Baby Blues Himself Episode "Bizzy Moves In"
2001 WWE Royal Rumble 2001 Himself (5th Entrant)
2004–2005 Drew Carey's Green Screen Show Himself Host/Performer
2006 Drew Carey's Sporting Adventures
2007–2008 Power of 10 Host
2007–present The Price Is Right
2008 The Simpsons Guest on the Krusty the Clown Show
2010 Community Ted Episode "Accounting for Lawyers"
2011-present Drew Carey's Improv-A-Ganza Himself Host/Performer
2011 Family Guy Himself Host of The Price Is Right
Films
Year Title Role Notes
1993 Coneheads Taxi passenger
2000 Geppetto Mister Geppetto Made-for-TV movie
2005 Robots Crank Voice role
The Aristocrats Himself
http://i687.photobucket.com/albums/vv236/GaryMetsBlue/drew-carey3.jpg
http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q299/DucksJuniperLeeFan/Carey_tpir.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 05/23/11 at 11:52 am
The person of the day...Drew Carey
Drew Allison Carey (born May 23, 1958) is an American actor, comedian, photographer, and game show host. After serving in the U.S. Marine Corps and making a name for himself in stand-up comedy, Carey eventually gained popularity starring on his own sitcom, The Drew Carey Show, and serving as host on the U.S. version of Whose Line Is It Anyway?, both of which aired on ABC.
Carey has appeared in several films, television series, music videos, a made-for-television film, and a computer game. He currently hosts the game show The Price Is Right and the improv comedy show Drew Carey's Improv-A-Ganza. He is interested in a variety of sports, has worked as a photographer at U.S. National Team soccer games, is a minority owner of the Major League Soccer team Seattle Sounders FC and is a member of the WWE Hall of Fame. Carey is engaged and has written an autobiography detailing his early life and television career.
In 1985, he began his comedy career by following up on a suggestion by David Lawrence (a disc jockey friend who had been paying Drew to write jokes for David's radio show in Cleveland) to go to the library and borrow books on how to write jokes. In 1986, after winning an open-mic contest, he became MC at the Cleveland Comedy Club. For the next few years, he performed at multiple comedy clubs in Cleveland and Los Angeles. He was first brought to the national eye as a comedian when he competed in the 1988 Star Search. Carey was working as a stand-up comedian in 1991 when he appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. His performance that night impressed Carson, who invited Carey to the couch next to his desk; this was considered a rare honor for any comedian. In that same year, Carey joined the 14th Annual Young Comedians Special on HBO and made his first appearance on Late Night with David Letterman. In 1994, Carey wrote his own stand-up comedy special which aired on Showtime, entitled Drew Carey: Human Cartoon, for which he won a CableACE Award for Best Writing.
Acting career
Early roles
Following on the success of his early stand-up career, he subsequently appeared in a number of supporting roles on television shows, during which he developed the character of a hapless middle-class bachelor. In 1993, Carey had a small role in the film Coneheads as a taxi passenger. Turning his attention to television, in 1994, Carey co-starred with John Caponera in The Good Life, a short-lived sitcom that aired on NBC. After the show's cancellation, Carey joined up with writer Bruce Helford (who was also a writer for The Good Life), who gave Carey a job as a consultant for the television show Someone Like Me.
The Drew Carey Show
Main article: The Drew Carey Show
After their stint on Someone Like Me, Carey and Helford developed and produced the storyline for The Drew Carey Show. The show premiered on September 13, 1995 on ABC. In his autobiography, Carey revealed his frustration with having to deal with censors and being unable to employ the off-color humor common to his stand-up routines. Carey initially earned $60,000 per episode in the first seasons, then renegotiated for $300,000. By the final season, he was earning $750,000 per episode. The show had high ratings for its first few seasons, but declining ratings and increasing production costs (around $3 million per episode) preceded its cancellation. The program had a total of 233 episodes over its nine-year run. Carey was one of four actors to appear in every episode. The show starred (in order of the amount of episodes they were in) Drew Carey, Diedrich Bader, Kathy Kinney, Ryan Stiles (all in every episode), Craig Ferguson (starring role in seasons 2-8 and guest appearances in 9), Christa Miller (seasons 1-7), and John Carroll Lynch (semi-regular from seasons 3/4-9).
Improv television
Main article: Whose Line Is It Anyway? (U.S. TV series)
In 1998, Carey began hosting the American version of the improvisational comedy show Whose Line Is It Anyway? He would announce the improv guests, direct the games, and then would usually involve himself in the final game of the episode. The show ran for a total of 220 episodes from 1998 to 2006. In 1998, the New York Friars' Club made Carey the newest inductee of the group's Comedy Central Roast. His friend Ryan Stiles (who costarred in The Drew Carey Show and Whose Line Is It Anyway?) served as the roastmaster. Carey's income from Whose Line Is It Anyway? and The Drew Carey Show led to his inclusion on the Forbes list of highest-paid entertainers of 1998, at 24th with $45.5 million.
For the WB's 2004-2005 prime time schedule, Carey co-produced and starred in Drew Carey's Green Screen Show, a spin-off of Whose Line Is It Anyway?. It was canceled by the WB, but picked up shortly afterward by Comedy Central. The catch on this show was that all the improv was done in front of a green screen, and then animation was inserted in post-production.
On November 18, 2010, the Game Show Network announced that Drew Carey will host a new improv show in primetime in the Spring of 2011, called Drew Carey's Improv-A-Ganza. The shows will be filmed at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada in January and February 2011, and will begin to air on April 11, 2011. The show will take on the premise of Whose Line? and Drew Carey's Green Screen Show in that it features many of the same performers from both shows and they will do improv based on audience-provided suggestions.
Improv All-Stars
Carey was one of the founders of the Improv All-Stars, a group of eleven actors who perform in unscripted skits. The group joined Carey in all three of his improv shows, Whose Line Is It Anyway?, Drew Carey's Green Screen Show, and "Drew Carey's Improv-a-ganza" and some members had major roles or guest starred on his previous shows. The Improv All-Stars travel on comedy tours, performing at comedy clubs throughout the United States. Laura Hall also reprises her role as the in-house musician.
Game show host
Power of 10
Main article: Power of 10
In 2007, Carey began hosting game shows. On April 13, 2007, Carey was selected to host the CBS game show pilot Power of 10. The show ran from August 7, 2007 to April 7, 2008 and aired twice weekly during the late summer and early fall. Each game featured contestants predicting how a cross-section of Americans responded to questions covering a wide variety of topics in polls conducted by CBS.
The Price Is Right
Main article: The Price Is Right (U.S. game show)
After taping the pilot episode for Power of 10, Carey was contacted by CBS about replacing the retiring Bob Barker at The Price Is Right. After initially turning down the offer, Carey announced on Late Show with David Letterman that he would succeed Barker as host of the program beginning in the fall of 2007. His first episode of The Price Is Right was taped on August 15, and his shows began airing on October 15, 2007. In response to replacing Barker as host of the game show, Carey stated:
“ You can't replace Bob Barker. I don't compare myself to anybody... It's only about what you're doing and supposed to do, and I feel like I'm supposed to be doing this. ”
When Carey began hosting, the set, theme music, and show logo were updated. Prizes previously removed at the request of Barker returned (such as leather and wool goods and foreign automobiles). During Carey's second year as host, he began to write some of the sketches used during the Showcase, which features guest appearances by stars of other CBS programs. The show also began including live performances by endorsers of musical instruments when those prizes were offered.
Other roles and appearances
Carey began appearing in commercials for restaurants in the late 1990s in Canada with The Great Root Bear, but his two-year contract with A&W Food Services of Canada was cut short in November 1998 after an episode of The Drew Carey Show featured McDonald's. As a result of his dismissal, Carey sued A&W for compensation.
Larger than life figure of Carey's head and shoulders, posted above the studio entrance.
Entrance to Sounds Dangerous! at Disney's Hollywood Studios
On April 22, 1999 at Disney's Hollywood Studios (then "Disney-MGM Studios"), part of Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, Carey debuted a 12-minute attraction entitled Sounds Dangerous! In the show, a camera follows Carey through a day as an undercover detective. When his video camera fails, the audience is left in complete darkness wearing earphones, following his adventure through sound cues. The attraction is presently running on a limited "seasonal" schedule.
In 1999, Carey made a cameo appearance in "Weird Al" Yankovic's music video for "It's All About the Pentiums". In 2004, he made an appearance for Fountains of Wayne's video for "Mexican Wine" giving an introduction to the video as if it were on a stage.
On May 7, 2000, Carey's television film Geppetto debuted on The Wonderful World of Disney. The film, an adaptation of Pinocchio, included actor Wayne Brady who had joined Carey on Whose Line Is It Anyway? and a few episodes of The Drew Carey Show. Carey took singing lessons to prepare for the role.
Drew Carey featured in The Sims
In 2000, Carey was given a cameo appearance in the House Party expansion pack of the computer game The Sims. To make him appear, the Sims must throw a successful party, which causes Carey to arrive in a limo and join the festivities. Carey is a fan of The Sims series and during one April Fool's episode of The Drew Carey Show, a scene takes place completely within The Sims.
In 2001, he made an appearance in the WWF's annual Royal Rumble event. He eliminated himself after Kane made his way to the ring.
Carey provided the entertainment for the 2002 Annual White House correspondents' dinner. Once Carey completed his standup routine for the 1,800 guests, President George W. Bush, noting Carey's improv work, made a joke of his own: "Drew? Got any interest in the Middle East?" In 2003, he joined Jamie Kennedy to host the WB's live special Play for a Billion. In September 2003, Carey led a group of comedians, including Blake Clark and the Drew Carey Show's Kathy Kinney, on a comedy tour of Iraq.
In 2005, Carey appeared in three films: the animated film Robots, where he provided a voice-over for the character Crank; The Aristocrats where he retold a dirty joke along with other celebrities; and the documentary, fudge, where he was interviewed.
On June 8, 2006, Drew Carey's Sporting Adventures debuted on the Travel Channel. In this series, Carey traveled throughout Germany to photograph multiple FIFA World Cup soccer games while he immerses himself in the culture of the towns and states he visits.
In early 2008, Carey appeared in Matt Groenings The Simpsons as part of the episode 'All About Lisa' as a guest on Krusty the Clown's Krusty The Clown Show.
In September 2008, Carey began filling in as a guest DJ on Little Steven's Underground Garage on Sirius Satellite Radio.
On April 2, 2011, Carey was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.
Writing
Full figure of Carey on book cover, along with the title.
Cover of Dirty Jokes and Beer: Stories of the Unrefined
Carey has routinely written throughout his career, including developing his stand-up comedy routines in his early stand-up career, and then moving on to assist in writing sitcoms. In 1997, Carey published his autobiography, Dirty Jokes and Beer: Stories of the Unrefined wherein he shared memories of his early childhood and of his father's death when he was eight. He also revealed that he was once molested, had suffered bouts of depression, and had made two suicide attempts by swallowing a large amount of sleeping pills. The book discusses his college fraternity years while attending Kent State University, and his professional career up to that time. The book featured large amounts of profanity and, as the title suggests, includes multiple dirty jokes (there is one at the start of each chapter) and references to beer. The book was featured on The New York Times bestseller list for three months.
Personal life
A United States Marine, he adopted his crew cut hair style during his time in the service. Carey has had refractive surgery to correct his vision and therefore did not really require glasses (any glasses he wore in public were merely props to help the audience recognize him). However, while this was true for several years, on the May 17, 2006 episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live! he revealed that when he turned 40, he actually developed a need for bifocals. Carey currently lives in Los Angeles and New York City.
On October 9, 2007 Carey proposed to Nicole Jaracz. In a statement regarding the engagement, publicist Christina Papadopoulos said, "It will be the first marriage for both. No date for a wedding has been set yet. They are both very happy and excited about their future together." She has a five-year-old son, Connor, from a previous relationship. They have no children of their own. Connor has appeared on The Price is Right several times, and Drew has referred to Connor as "his son" on the air, even though he is not Connor's biological father.
Carey had coronary angioplasty in 2001, which encouraged him to change his eating habits. This led to one of his comments on a Whose Line? episode after returning from commercials being, "I'm Drew Carey, and yes, I have lost weight. Thanks for asking."
In July 2010, Carey announced that he had lost an estimated 92 pounds.
Political views
Carey is an outspoken libertarian. He has expressed his political philosophy in the following terms:
I believe the answers to all the problems we face as a society won't come from Washington, it will come from us. So the way we decide to live our lives and our decisions about what we buy or don't buy are much more important than who we vote for.
Carey has expressed his distaste for the Bush administration's management of the War in Iraq, specifically on the September 15, 2007, episode of Real Time with Bill Maher. In 2007, he made donations to Ron Paul's presidential campaign. On the September 26, 2008 episode of The Late Late Show, Carey defined "libertarian" to host Craig Ferguson as "a conservative who still gets high."
Carey has spoken about his various political beliefs in several interviews and in 1998, he led a "smoke-in" in defiance of California's newly passed no-smoking ordinance inside bars and restaurants. Carey has hosted a series of mini-documentaries called The Drew Carey Project on Reason.tv, an online project of Reason Foundation, a libertarian think tank. The first episode, "Gridlock", addresses private highway ownership and was released on October 15, 2007. Other episodes discuss topics such as eminent domain, urban traffic congestion, and medical marijuana.
Sports involvement
Carey is a devoted fan of the U.S. National Soccer Team, Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Cavaliers and Cleveland Indians. In 1999, Carey was part of the pregame ceremonies at the first game of the return of the Cleveland Browns, televised on ESPN. Carey attended the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany and the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.
Carey preparing for a TV broadcast at the dedication of Cleveland Browns Stadium, September 1999
On November 12, 2007, Carey became a minority owner of the Seattle Sounders FC, who began play in Major League Soccer on March 19, 2009. On that evening in 2007, Carey raised the 12th man flag at the Seattle Seahawks Monday Night Football game against San Francisco; the Sounders and Seahawks share some partners and a stadium. He told reporters at the game that fans will have the option to purchase membership in the club and that every four years members will be able to vote out the team's general manager, in a move similar to Spanish powerhouses FC Barcelona and Real Madrid. Carey is a fan of Real Madrid and of the Scottish team Rangers. In 2006 he was a season ticket holder for the Los Angeles Galaxy.
Carey has shown his support for the Indians by throwing the first pitch at an August 12, 2006 game against the Kansas City Royals. He was rewarded by the Cleveland Indians for being "the greatest Indians fan alive" with a personal bobblehead doll made in his likeness that was given to fans. Carey responded to his bobblehead likeness by saying "Bobblehead Day, for me, is as big as getting a star in the Hollywood Walk of Fame."
In 2001, Carey was the first television actor to enter World Wrestling Entertainment's 30-man "Royal Rumble" match, which he did to promote an improv comedy pay-per-view at the time. He appeared in a few backstage segments before his brief participation in the match. Upon entering the ring, Carey stood unopposed for more than half a minute, but after the next entrant Kane refused a monetary bribe, Carey eliminated himself from the match by jumping over the top rope and retreated from ringside.
In 2003, Carey competed against five other celebrities in the first celebrity edition of the World Poker Tour. He placed fifth, only beating out comedian/actor/musician Jack Black. Carey won $2,000 for his charity.
On April 2, 2011, Carey was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.
Philanthropy
Carey smiling broadly, minus his usual glasses and in casual clothes with a green contest entry top. He is holding a camera with a long lens.
Carey at the World Cup Fest in Kaiserslautern, Germany in June 2006 while filming Drew Carey's Sporting Adventures
Carey is a supporter of libraries, crediting them for beginning his successful comedy career. On May 2, 2000, in a celebrity edition of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, he selected the Ohio Library Foundation to receive his $500,000 winnings. He later went on to win an additional $32,000 on the second celebrity Millionaire, making him one of the biggest winning contestants on Millionaire who did not win the top prize. Carey also has played on the World Poker Tour in the Hollywood Home games for the Cleveland Public Library charity. In June 2007, Carey offered to donate up to $100,000 (in $10,000 increments) to the Mooch Myernick Memorial Fund if anybody could beat him at the video game FIFA Soccer 07 for the Xbox 360. He dared five players from both the U.S. Men's and Women's National Teams to compete against him. Carey ended up donating $100,000 plus $60,000 for losing two games out of the six games he played.
In October 2009, Carey made a bid of $25,000 in a charity auction for the @drew Twitter account. He later increased his offer to $100,000 if the number of followers of his account @DrewFromTV reached 100,000 by the end of the auction. In an interview with CBS News, he announced that he would instead donate $1 million to the charity, Lance Armstrong's LIVESTRONG Foundation, if his follower count reached one million by December 31, 2009. In 2010, Carey became a public advocate for poor children through Children International Supporters.
Photography
Carey can sometimes be seen on the sidelines of U.S. National Team soccer games as a press photographer. His images are sold via wire services under the pseudonym Brooks Parkenridge. He was at the 2006 FIFA World Cup in the summer of 2006, for his television show Drew Carey's Sporting Adventures.
Awards and honors
Carey's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
* Carey won the Cable Ace Award for Best Writing for his work on Drew Carey: Human Cartoon.
* In 1995, he was named one of the "10 Hottest New Faces of '95" by TV Guide.
* Carey received an honorary DHL from Cleveland State University in 2000.
* He won the People's Choice Award for Favorite Male Television Performer for his work in The Drew Carey Show, in both 2000 and 2001.
* On February 21, 2003, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. His star can be found at 6664 Hollywood Blvd.
* In 2004, Comedy Central ranked him #84 on its list of the 100 greatest standups of all time.
* On June 21, 2008 Carey won second place from the Los Angeles Press Club for his feature on medical marijuana in the multimedia package category.
* On April 2, 2011 Carey was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, inducted by Kane.
Filmography
Carey has starred in only a few television shows and films, but also has numerous guest star appearances in a variety of other sitcoms and comedy shows.
Television work
Year Title Role Notes
1992 The Torkelsons Herby Scroggins Episode "Say Uncle"
1994 The Good Life Drew Clark
1994 The Adventures of Pete & Pete (uncredited) Veteran Episode "Grounded for Life"
1995–2004 The Drew Carey Show Drew Carey
1997 Home Improvement Road Kill specialist (Seymour 'Sy' Winterfleffin)
The Weird Al Show Himself Episode "The Competition"
Sabrina the Teenage Witch Episode "To Tell a Mortal"
1998–2007 Whose Line Is It Anyway? Host
1999 King of the Hill Hal Episode "Not in My Back-hoe"
2000 Baby Blues Himself Episode "Bizzy Moves In"
2001 WWE Royal Rumble 2001 Himself (5th Entrant)
2004–2005 Drew Carey's Green Screen Show Himself Host/Performer
2006 Drew Carey's Sporting Adventures
2007–2008 Power of 10 Host
2007–present The Price Is Right
2008 The Simpsons Guest on the Krusty the Clown Show
2010 Community Ted Episode "Accounting for Lawyers"
2011-present Drew Carey's Improv-A-Ganza Himself Host/Performer
2011 Family Guy Himself Host of The Price Is Right
Films
Year Title Role Notes
1993 Coneheads Taxi passenger
2000 Geppetto Mister Geppetto Made-for-TV movie
2005 Robots Crank Voice role
The Aristocrats Himself
http://i687.photobucket.com/albums/vv236/GaryMetsBlue/drew-carey3.jpg
http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q299/DucksJuniperLeeFan/Carey_tpir.jpg
I only know him from WLIIA, which is a show I enjoy every time I see it.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 05/23/11 at 1:53 pm
All good choices :)
Did I ever tell the story where I was singing "Daniel" to Daniel and when it came to the part of" Daniel is leaving tonight on the plane", he looked at me and said "no I'm not"..so cute and he's only 2.
That's cute. ;D :)
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 05/23/11 at 1:54 pm
The person of the day...Drew Carey
Drew Allison Carey (born May 23, 1958) is an American actor, comedian, photographer, and game show host. After serving in the U.S. Marine Corps and making a name for himself in stand-up comedy, Carey eventually gained popularity starring on his own sitcom, The Drew Carey Show, and serving as host on the U.S. version of Whose Line Is It Anyway?, both of which aired on ABC.
Carey has appeared in several films, television series, music videos, a made-for-television film, and a computer game. He currently hosts the game show The Price Is Right and the improv comedy show Drew Carey's Improv-A-Ganza. He is interested in a variety of sports, has worked as a photographer at U.S. National Team soccer games, is a minority owner of the Major League Soccer team Seattle Sounders FC and is a member of the WWE Hall of Fame. Carey is engaged and has written an autobiography detailing his early life and television career.
In 1985, he began his comedy career by following up on a suggestion by David Lawrence (a disc jockey friend who had been paying Drew to write jokes for David's radio show in Cleveland) to go to the library and borrow books on how to write jokes. In 1986, after winning an open-mic contest, he became MC at the Cleveland Comedy Club. For the next few years, he performed at multiple comedy clubs in Cleveland and Los Angeles. He was first brought to the national eye as a comedian when he competed in the 1988 Star Search. Carey was working as a stand-up comedian in 1991 when he appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. His performance that night impressed Carson, who invited Carey to the couch next to his desk; this was considered a rare honor for any comedian. In that same year, Carey joined the 14th Annual Young Comedians Special on HBO and made his first appearance on Late Night with David Letterman. In 1994, Carey wrote his own stand-up comedy special which aired on Showtime, entitled Drew Carey: Human Cartoon, for which he won a CableACE Award for Best Writing.
Acting career
Early roles
Following on the success of his early stand-up career, he subsequently appeared in a number of supporting roles on television shows, during which he developed the character of a hapless middle-class bachelor. In 1993, Carey had a small role in the film Coneheads as a taxi passenger. Turning his attention to television, in 1994, Carey co-starred with John Caponera in The Good Life, a short-lived sitcom that aired on NBC. After the show's cancellation, Carey joined up with writer Bruce Helford (who was also a writer for The Good Life), who gave Carey a job as a consultant for the television show Someone Like Me.
The Drew Carey Show
Main article: The Drew Carey Show
After their stint on Someone Like Me, Carey and Helford developed and produced the storyline for The Drew Carey Show. The show premiered on September 13, 1995 on ABC. In his autobiography, Carey revealed his frustration with having to deal with censors and being unable to employ the off-color humor common to his stand-up routines. Carey initially earned $60,000 per episode in the first seasons, then renegotiated for $300,000. By the final season, he was earning $750,000 per episode. The show had high ratings for its first few seasons, but declining ratings and increasing production costs (around $3 million per episode) preceded its cancellation. The program had a total of 233 episodes over its nine-year run. Carey was one of four actors to appear in every episode. The show starred (in order of the amount of episodes they were in) Drew Carey, Diedrich Bader, Kathy Kinney, Ryan Stiles (all in every episode), Craig Ferguson (starring role in seasons 2-8 and guest appearances in 9), Christa Miller (seasons 1-7), and John Carroll Lynch (semi-regular from seasons 3/4-9).
Improv television
Main article: Whose Line Is It Anyway? (U.S. TV series)
In 1998, Carey began hosting the American version of the improvisational comedy show Whose Line Is It Anyway? He would announce the improv guests, direct the games, and then would usually involve himself in the final game of the episode. The show ran for a total of 220 episodes from 1998 to 2006. In 1998, the New York Friars' Club made Carey the newest inductee of the group's Comedy Central Roast. His friend Ryan Stiles (who costarred in The Drew Carey Show and Whose Line Is It Anyway?) served as the roastmaster. Carey's income from Whose Line Is It Anyway? and The Drew Carey Show led to his inclusion on the Forbes list of highest-paid entertainers of 1998, at 24th with $45.5 million.
For the WB's 2004-2005 prime time schedule, Carey co-produced and starred in Drew Carey's Green Screen Show, a spin-off of Whose Line Is It Anyway?. It was canceled by the WB, but picked up shortly afterward by Comedy Central. The catch on this show was that all the improv was done in front of a green screen, and then animation was inserted in post-production.
On November 18, 2010, the Game Show Network announced that Drew Carey will host a new improv show in primetime in the Spring of 2011, called Drew Carey's Improv-A-Ganza. The shows will be filmed at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada in January and February 2011, and will begin to air on April 11, 2011. The show will take on the premise of Whose Line? and Drew Carey's Green Screen Show in that it features many of the same performers from both shows and they will do improv based on audience-provided suggestions.
Improv All-Stars
Carey was one of the founders of the Improv All-Stars, a group of eleven actors who perform in unscripted skits. The group joined Carey in all three of his improv shows, Whose Line Is It Anyway?, Drew Carey's Green Screen Show, and "Drew Carey's Improv-a-ganza" and some members had major roles or guest starred on his previous shows. The Improv All-Stars travel on comedy tours, performing at comedy clubs throughout the United States. Laura Hall also reprises her role as the in-house musician.
Game show host
Power of 10
Main article: Power of 10
In 2007, Carey began hosting game shows. On April 13, 2007, Carey was selected to host the CBS game show pilot Power of 10. The show ran from August 7, 2007 to April 7, 2008 and aired twice weekly during the late summer and early fall. Each game featured contestants predicting how a cross-section of Americans responded to questions covering a wide variety of topics in polls conducted by CBS.
The Price Is Right
Main article: The Price Is Right (U.S. game show)
After taping the pilot episode for Power of 10, Carey was contacted by CBS about replacing the retiring Bob Barker at The Price Is Right. After initially turning down the offer, Carey announced on Late Show with David Letterman that he would succeed Barker as host of the program beginning in the fall of 2007. His first episode of The Price Is Right was taped on August 15, and his shows began airing on October 15, 2007. In response to replacing Barker as host of the game show, Carey stated:
“ You can't replace Bob Barker. I don't compare myself to anybody... It's only about what you're doing and supposed to do, and I feel like I'm supposed to be doing this. ”
When Carey began hosting, the set, theme music, and show logo were updated. Prizes previously removed at the request of Barker returned (such as leather and wool goods and foreign automobiles). During Carey's second year as host, he began to write some of the sketches used during the Showcase, which features guest appearances by stars of other CBS programs. The show also began including live performances by endorsers of musical instruments when those prizes were offered.
Other roles and appearances
Carey began appearing in commercials for restaurants in the late 1990s in Canada with The Great Root Bear, but his two-year contract with A&W Food Services of Canada was cut short in November 1998 after an episode of The Drew Carey Show featured McDonald's. As a result of his dismissal, Carey sued A&W for compensation.
Larger than life figure of Carey's head and shoulders, posted above the studio entrance.
Entrance to Sounds Dangerous! at Disney's Hollywood Studios
On April 22, 1999 at Disney's Hollywood Studios (then "Disney-MGM Studios"), part of Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, Carey debuted a 12-minute attraction entitled Sounds Dangerous! In the show, a camera follows Carey through a day as an undercover detective. When his video camera fails, the audience is left in complete darkness wearing earphones, following his adventure through sound cues. The attraction is presently running on a limited "seasonal" schedule.
In 1999, Carey made a cameo appearance in "Weird Al" Yankovic's music video for "It's All About the Pentiums". In 2004, he made an appearance for Fountains of Wayne's video for "Mexican Wine" giving an introduction to the video as if it were on a stage.
On May 7, 2000, Carey's television film Geppetto debuted on The Wonderful World of Disney. The film, an adaptation of Pinocchio, included actor Wayne Brady who had joined Carey on Whose Line Is It Anyway? and a few episodes of The Drew Carey Show. Carey took singing lessons to prepare for the role.
Drew Carey featured in The Sims
In 2000, Carey was given a cameo appearance in the House Party expansion pack of the computer game The Sims. To make him appear, the Sims must throw a successful party, which causes Carey to arrive in a limo and join the festivities. Carey is a fan of The Sims series and during one April Fool's episode of The Drew Carey Show, a scene takes place completely within The Sims.
In 2001, he made an appearance in the WWF's annual Royal Rumble event. He eliminated himself after Kane made his way to the ring.
Carey provided the entertainment for the 2002 Annual White House correspondents' dinner. Once Carey completed his standup routine for the 1,800 guests, President George W. Bush, noting Carey's improv work, made a joke of his own: "Drew? Got any interest in the Middle East?" In 2003, he joined Jamie Kennedy to host the WB's live special Play for a Billion. In September 2003, Carey led a group of comedians, including Blake Clark and the Drew Carey Show's Kathy Kinney, on a comedy tour of Iraq.
In 2005, Carey appeared in three films: the animated film Robots, where he provided a voice-over for the character Crank; The Aristocrats where he retold a dirty joke along with other celebrities; and the documentary, fudge, where he was interviewed.
On June 8, 2006, Drew Carey's Sporting Adventures debuted on the Travel Channel. In this series, Carey traveled throughout Germany to photograph multiple FIFA World Cup soccer games while he immerses himself in the culture of the towns and states he visits.
In early 2008, Carey appeared in Matt Groenings The Simpsons as part of the episode 'All About Lisa' as a guest on Krusty the Clown's Krusty The Clown Show.
In September 2008, Carey began filling in as a guest DJ on Little Steven's Underground Garage on Sirius Satellite Radio.
On April 2, 2011, Carey was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.
Writing
Full figure of Carey on book cover, along with the title.
Cover of Dirty Jokes and Beer: Stories of the Unrefined
Carey has routinely written throughout his career, including developing his stand-up comedy routines in his early stand-up career, and then moving on to assist in writing sitcoms. In 1997, Carey published his autobiography, Dirty Jokes and Beer: Stories of the Unrefined wherein he shared memories of his early childhood and of his father's death when he was eight. He also revealed that he was once molested, had suffered bouts of depression, and had made two suicide attempts by swallowing a large amount of sleeping pills. The book discusses his college fraternity years while attending Kent State University, and his professional career up to that time. The book featured large amounts of profanity and, as the title suggests, includes multiple dirty jokes (there is one at the start of each chapter) and references to beer. The book was featured on The New York Times bestseller list for three months.
Personal life
A United States Marine, he adopted his crew cut hair style during his time in the service. Carey has had refractive surgery to correct his vision and therefore did not really require glasses (any glasses he wore in public were merely props to help the audience recognize him). However, while this was true for several years, on the May 17, 2006 episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live! he revealed that when he turned 40, he actually developed a need for bifocals. Carey currently lives in Los Angeles and New York City.
On October 9, 2007 Carey proposed to Nicole Jaracz. In a statement regarding the engagement, publicist Christina Papadopoulos said, "It will be the first marriage for both. No date for a wedding has been set yet. They are both very happy and excited about their future together." She has a five-year-old son, Connor, from a previous relationship. They have no children of their own. Connor has appeared on The Price is Right several times, and Drew has referred to Connor as "his son" on the air, even though he is not Connor's biological father.
Carey had coronary angioplasty in 2001, which encouraged him to change his eating habits. This led to one of his comments on a Whose Line? episode after returning from commercials being, "I'm Drew Carey, and yes, I have lost weight. Thanks for asking."
In July 2010, Carey announced that he had lost an estimated 92 pounds.
Political views
Carey is an outspoken libertarian. He has expressed his political philosophy in the following terms:
I believe the answers to all the problems we face as a society won't come from Washington, it will come from us. So the way we decide to live our lives and our decisions about what we buy or don't buy are much more important than who we vote for.
Carey has expressed his distaste for the Bush administration's management of the War in Iraq, specifically on the September 15, 2007, episode of Real Time with Bill Maher. In 2007, he made donations to Ron Paul's presidential campaign. On the September 26, 2008 episode of The Late Late Show, Carey defined "libertarian" to host Craig Ferguson as "a conservative who still gets high."
Carey has spoken about his various political beliefs in several interviews and in 1998, he led a "smoke-in" in defiance of California's newly passed no-smoking ordinance inside bars and restaurants. Carey has hosted a series of mini-documentaries called The Drew Carey Project on Reason.tv, an online project of Reason Foundation, a libertarian think tank. The first episode, "Gridlock", addresses private highway ownership and was released on October 15, 2007. Other episodes discuss topics such as eminent domain, urban traffic congestion, and medical marijuana.
Sports involvement
Carey is a devoted fan of the U.S. National Soccer Team, Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Cavaliers and Cleveland Indians. In 1999, Carey was part of the pregame ceremonies at the first game of the return of the Cleveland Browns, televised on ESPN. Carey attended the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany and the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.
Carey preparing for a TV broadcast at the dedication of Cleveland Browns Stadium, September 1999
On November 12, 2007, Carey became a minority owner of the Seattle Sounders FC, who began play in Major League Soccer on March 19, 2009. On that evening in 2007, Carey raised the 12th man flag at the Seattle Seahawks Monday Night Football game against San Francisco; the Sounders and Seahawks share some partners and a stadium. He told reporters at the game that fans will have the option to purchase membership in the club and that every four years members will be able to vote out the team's general manager, in a move similar to Spanish powerhouses FC Barcelona and Real Madrid. Carey is a fan of Real Madrid and of the Scottish team Rangers. In 2006 he was a season ticket holder for the Los Angeles Galaxy.
Carey has shown his support for the Indians by throwing the first pitch at an August 12, 2006 game against the Kansas City Royals. He was rewarded by the Cleveland Indians for being "the greatest Indians fan alive" with a personal bobblehead doll made in his likeness that was given to fans. Carey responded to his bobblehead likeness by saying "Bobblehead Day, for me, is as big as getting a star in the Hollywood Walk of Fame."
In 2001, Carey was the first television actor to enter World Wrestling Entertainment's 30-man "Royal Rumble" match, which he did to promote an improv comedy pay-per-view at the time. He appeared in a few backstage segments before his brief participation in the match. Upon entering the ring, Carey stood unopposed for more than half a minute, but after the next entrant Kane refused a monetary bribe, Carey eliminated himself from the match by jumping over the top rope and retreated from ringside.
In 2003, Carey competed against five other celebrities in the first celebrity edition of the World Poker Tour. He placed fifth, only beating out comedian/actor/musician Jack Black. Carey won $2,000 for his charity.
On April 2, 2011, Carey was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.
Philanthropy
Carey smiling broadly, minus his usual glasses and in casual clothes with a green contest entry top. He is holding a camera with a long lens.
Carey at the World Cup Fest in Kaiserslautern, Germany in June 2006 while filming Drew Carey's Sporting Adventures
Carey is a supporter of libraries, crediting them for beginning his successful comedy career. On May 2, 2000, in a celebrity edition of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, he selected the Ohio Library Foundation to receive his $500,000 winnings. He later went on to win an additional $32,000 on the second celebrity Millionaire, making him one of the biggest winning contestants on Millionaire who did not win the top prize. Carey also has played on the World Poker Tour in the Hollywood Home games for the Cleveland Public Library charity. In June 2007, Carey offered to donate up to $100,000 (in $10,000 increments) to the Mooch Myernick Memorial Fund if anybody could beat him at the video game FIFA Soccer 07 for the Xbox 360. He dared five players from both the U.S. Men's and Women's National Teams to compete against him. Carey ended up donating $100,000 plus $60,000 for losing two games out of the six games he played.
In October 2009, Carey made a bid of $25,000 in a charity auction for the @drew Twitter account. He later increased his offer to $100,000 if the number of followers of his account @DrewFromTV reached 100,000 by the end of the auction. In an interview with CBS News, he announced that he would instead donate $1 million to the charity, Lance Armstrong's LIVESTRONG Foundation, if his follower count reached one million by December 31, 2009. In 2010, Carey became a public advocate for poor children through Children International Supporters.
Photography
Carey can sometimes be seen on the sidelines of U.S. National Team soccer games as a press photographer. His images are sold via wire services under the pseudonym Brooks Parkenridge. He was at the 2006 FIFA World Cup in the summer of 2006, for his television show Drew Carey's Sporting Adventures.
Awards and honors
Carey's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
* Carey won the Cable Ace Award for Best Writing for his work on Drew Carey: Human Cartoon.
* In 1995, he was named one of the "10 Hottest New Faces of '95" by TV Guide.
* Carey received an honorary DHL from Cleveland State University in 2000.
* He won the People's Choice Award for Favorite Male Television Performer for his work in The Drew Carey Show, in both 2000 and 2001.
* On February 21, 2003, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. His star can be found at 6664 Hollywood Blvd.
* In 2004, Comedy Central ranked him #84 on its list of the 100 greatest standups of all time.
* On June 21, 2008 Carey won second place from the Los Angeles Press Club for his feature on medical marijuana in the multimedia package category.
* On April 2, 2011 Carey was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, inducted by Kane.
Filmography
Carey has starred in only a few television shows and films, but also has numerous guest star appearances in a variety of other sitcoms and comedy shows.
Television work
Year Title Role Notes
1992 The Torkelsons Herby Scroggins Episode "Say Uncle"
1994 The Good Life Drew Clark
1994 The Adventures of Pete & Pete (uncredited) Veteran Episode "Grounded for Life"
1995–2004 The Drew Carey Show Drew Carey
1997 Home Improvement Road Kill specialist (Seymour 'Sy' Winterfleffin)
The Weird Al Show Himself Episode "The Competition"
Sabrina the Teenage Witch Episode "To Tell a Mortal"
1998–2007 Whose Line Is It Anyway? Host
1999 King of the Hill Hal Episode "Not in My Back-hoe"
2000 Baby Blues Himself Episode "Bizzy Moves In"
2001 WWE Royal Rumble 2001 Himself (5th Entrant)
2004–2005 Drew Carey's Green Screen Show Himself Host/Performer
2006 Drew Carey's Sporting Adventures
2007–2008 Power of 10 Host
2007–present The Price Is Right
2008 The Simpsons Guest on the Krusty the Clown Show
2010 Community Ted Episode "Accounting for Lawyers"
2011-present Drew Carey's Improv-A-Ganza Himself Host/Performer
2011 Family Guy Himself Host of The Price Is Right
Films
Year Title Role Notes
1993 Coneheads Taxi passenger
2000 Geppetto Mister Geppetto Made-for-TV movie
2005 Robots Crank Voice role
The Aristocrats Himself
http://i687.photobucket.com/albums/vv236/GaryMetsBlue/drew-carey3.jpg
http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q299/DucksJuniperLeeFan/Carey_tpir.jpg
I'm not crazy about him,He was inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 05/24/11 at 5:37 am
I'm not crazy about him,He was inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame.
How did he get inducted?
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 05/24/11 at 5:41 am
The person of the day...Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan (born Robert Allen Zimmerman; May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter, poet, and painter. He has been a major figure in music for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler, and an apparently reluctant figurehead, of social unrest. Though he is well-known for revolutionizing perceptions of the limits of popular music in 1965 with the six-minute single "Like a Rolling Stone," a number of his earlier songs such as "Blowin' in the Wind" and "The Times They Are a-Changin'" became anthems for the US civil rights and anti-war movements.
His early lyrics incorporated a variety of political, social and philosophical, as well as literary influences. They defied existing pop music conventions and appealed hugely to the then burgeoning counterculture. Initially inspired by the songs of Woody Guthrie, Robert Johnson, Hank Williams, and the performance styles of Buddy Holly and Little Richard, Dylan has both amplified and personalized musical genres, exploring numerous distinct traditions in American song—from folk, blues and country to gospel, rock and roll, and rockabilly, to English, Scottish, and Irish folk music, embracing even jazz and swing.
Dylan performs with guitar, keyboards, and harmonica. Backed by a changing line-up of musicians, he has toured steadily since the late 1980s on what has been dubbed the Never Ending Tour. His accomplishments as a recording artist and performer have been central to his career, but his greatest contribution is generally considered to be his songwriting.
Since 1994, Dylan has published three books of drawings and paintings, and his work has been exhibited in major art galleries. As a songwriter and musician, Dylan has received numerous awards over the years including Grammy, Golden Globe, and Academy Awards; he has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, and Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 2008, a road called the Bob Dylan Pathway was opened in the singer's honor in his birthplace of Duluth, Minnesota. The Pulitzer Prize jury in 2008 awarded him a special citation for "his profound impact on popular music and American culture, marked by lyrical compositions of extraordinary poetic power."
In May 1963, Dylan's political profile was raised when he walked out of The Ed Sullivan Show. During rehearsals, Dylan had been informed by CBS Television's "head of program practices" that the song he was planning to perform, "Talkin' John Birch Paranoid Blues", was potentially libelous to the John Birch Society. Rather than comply with the censorship, Dylan refused to appear on the program.
"The Times They Are a-Changin'"
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Dylan said of "The Times They Are a-Changin'": "This was definitely a song with a purpose. I wanted to write a big song, some kind of theme song, with short concise verses that piled up on each other in a hypnotic way. The civil rights movement and the folk music movement were pretty close and allied together at that time."
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By this time, Dylan and Baez were both prominent in the civil rights movement, singing together at the March on Washington on August 28, 1963. Dylan's third album, The Times They Are a-Changin', reflected a more politicized and cynical Dylan. The songs often took as their subject matter contemporary, real life stories, with "Only A Pawn In Their Game" addressing the murder of civil rights worker Medgar Evers; and the Brechtian "The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll" the death of black hotel barmaid Hattie Carroll, at the hands of young white socialite William Zantzinger. On a more general theme, "Ballad of Hollis Brown" and "North Country Blues" address the despair engendered by the breakdown of farming and mining communities. This political material was accompanied by two personal love songs, "Boots of Spanish Leather" and "One Too Many Mornings".
By the end of 1963, Dylan felt both manipulated and constrained by the folk and protest movements. These tensions were publicly displayed when, accepting the "Tom Paine Award" from the National Emergency Civil Liberties Committee shortly after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, an intoxicated Dylan brashly questioned the role of the committee, characterized the members as old and balding, and claimed to see something of himself (and of every man) in Kennedy's alleged assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald.
A spotlight shines on Dylan as he performs onstage.
Bob Dylan, as the college yearbook lists him: St. Lawrence University, upstate New York, November 1963
Another Side of Bob Dylan, recorded on a single June evening in 1964, had a lighter mood than its predecessor. The surreal, humorous Dylan reemerged on "I Shall Be Free #10" and "Motorpsycho Nightmare". "Spanish Harlem Incident" and "To Ramona" are romantic and passionate love songs, while "Black Crow Blues" and "I Don't Believe You (She Acts Like We Never Have Met)" suggest the rock and roll soon to dominate Dylan's music. "It Ain't Me Babe", on the surface a song about spurned love, has been described as a rejection of the role his reputation had thrust at him. His newest direction was signaled by two lengthy songs: the impressionistic "Chimes of Freedom," which sets elements of social commentary against a denser metaphorical landscape in a style later characterized by Allen Ginsberg as "chains of flashing images," and "My Back Pages," which attacks the simplistic and arch seriousness of his own earlier topical songs and seems to predict the backlash he was about to encounter from his former champions as he took a new direction.
In the latter half of 1964 and 1965, Dylan's appearance and musical style changed rapidly, as he made his move from leading contemporary songwriter of the folk scene to folk-rock pop-music star. His scruffy jeans and work shirts were replaced by a Carnaby Street wardrobe, sunglasses day or night, and pointy "Beatle boots". A London reporter wrote: "Hair that would set the teeth of a comb on edge. A loud shirt that would dim the neon lights of Leicester Square. He looks like an undernourished cockatoo." Dylan also began to spar in increasingly surreal ways with his interviewers. Appearing on the Les Crane TV show and asked about a movie he was planning to make, he told Crane it would be a cowboy horror movie. Asked if he played the cowboy, Dylan replied, "No, I play my mother."
Going electric
Main article: Electric Dylan controversy
Dylan's April 1965 album Bringing It All Back Home was yet another stylistic leap, featuring his first recordings made with electric instruments. The first single, "Subterranean Homesick Blues", owed much to Chuck Berry's "Too Much Monkey Business"; its free association lyrics have been described as both harkening back to the manic energy of Beat poetry and as a forerunner of rap and hip-hop. The song was provided with an early music video which opened D. A. Pennebaker's cinéma vérité presentation of Dylan's 1965 tour of England, Dont Look Back. Instead of miming to the recording, Dylan illustrated the lyrics by throwing cue cards containing key words from the song on the ground. Pennebaker has said the sequence was Dylan's idea, and it has been widely imitated in both music videos and advertisements.
The B side of Bringing It All Back Home consisted of four long songs on which Dylan accompanied himself on acoustic guitar and harmonica. "Mr. Tambourine Man" quickly became one of Dylan's best known songs when The Byrds recorded an electric version that reached number one in both the U.S. and the U.K. charts. "It's All Over Now Baby Blue" and "It's Alright Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)" were acclaimed as two of Dylan's most important compositions.
In the summer of 1965, as the headliner at the Newport Folk Festival, Dylan performed his first electric set since his high school days with a pickup group drawn mostly from the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, featuring Mike Bloomfield (guitar), Sam Lay (drums) and Jerome Arnold (bass), plus Al Kooper (organ) and Barry Goldberg (piano). Dylan had appeared at Newport in 1963 and 1964, but in 1965 Dylan, met with a mix of cheering and booing, left the stage after only three songs. One version of the legend has it that the boos were from the outraged folk fans whom Dylan had alienated by appearing, unexpectedly, with an electric guitar. Murray Lerner, who filmed the performance, said: "I absolutely think that they were booing Dylan going electric." An alternative account claims audience members were merely upset by poor sound quality and a surprisingly short set. This account is supported by Kooper and one of the directors of the festival, who reports his audio recording of the concert proves that the only boos were in reaction to the emcee's announcement that there was only enough time for a short set.
Nevertheless, Dylan's 1965 Newport performance provoked a hostile response from the folk music establishment. In the September issue of Sing Out!, singer Ewan MacColl wrote: "Our traditional songs and ballads are the creations of extraordinarily talented artists working inside disciplines formulated over time... 'But what of Bobby Dylan?' scream the outraged teenagers... Only a completely non-critical audience, nourished on the watery pap of pop music, could have fallen for such tenth-rate drivel." On July 29, just four days after his controversial performance at Newport, Dylan was back in the studio in New York, recording "Positively 4th Street". The lyrics teemed with images of vengeance and paranoia, and it was widely interpreted as Dylan's put-down of former friends from the folk community—friends he had known in the clubs along West 4th Street.
Highway 61 Revisited and Blonde on Blonde
"Like A Rolling Stone"
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Dylan's 1965 hit single, which appeared on the album Highway 61 Revisited. In 2004, it was labelled the Greatest Song of All Time by Rolling Stone magazine.
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In July 1965, Dylan released the single "Like a Rolling Stone", which peaked at #2 in the U.S. and at #4 in the UK charts. At over six minutes, the song has been widely credited with altering attitudes about what a pop single could convey. Bruce Springsteen, in his speech during Dylan's inauguration into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame said that on first hearing the single, "that snare shot sounded like somebody'd kicked open the door to your mind". In 2004, Rolling Stone Magazine listed it as number one on its list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". The song also opened Dylan's next album, Highway 61 Revisited, titled after the road that led from Dylan's Minnesota to the musical hotbed of New Orleans. The songs were in the same vein as the hit single, flavored by Mike Bloomfield's blues guitar and Al Kooper's organ riffs. "Desolation Row" offers the sole acoustic exception, with Dylan making surreal allusions to a variety of figures in Western culture during this epic song, which was described by Andy Gill as "an 11-minute epic of entropy, which takes the form of a Fellini-esque parade of grotesques and oddities featuring a huge cast of celebrated characters, some historical (Einstein, Nero), some biblical (Noah, Cain and Abel), some fictional (Ophelia, Romeo, Cinderella), some literary (T.S. Eliot and Ezra Pound), and some who fit into none of the above categories, notably Dr. Filth and his dubious nurse."
In support of the record, Dylan was booked for two U.S. concerts and set about assembling a band. Mike Bloomfield was unwilling to leave the Butterfield Band, so Dylan mixed Al Kooper and Harvey Brooks from his studio crew with bar-band stalwarts Robbie Robertson and Levon Helm, best known at the time for being part of Ronnie Hawkins's backing band The Hawks (later to become The Band). On August 28 at Forest Hills Tennis Stadium, the group was heckled by an audience still annoyed by Dylan's electric sound. The band's reception on September 3 at the Hollywood Bowl was more favorable.
While Dylan and the Hawks met increasingly receptive audiences on tour, their studio efforts floundered. Producer Bob Johnston persuaded Dylan to record in Nashville in February 1966, and surrounded him with a cadre of top-notch session men. At Dylan's insistence, Robertson and Kooper came down from New York City to play on the sessions. The Nashville sessions produced the double-album Blonde on Blonde (1966), featuring what Dylan later called "that thin wild mercury sound". Al Kooper described the album as "taking two cultures and smashing them together with a huge explosion": the musical world of Nashville and the world of the "quintessential New York hipster" Bob Dylan.
On November 22, 1965, Dylan secretly married 25-year-old former model Sara Lownds. Some of Dylan's friends (including Ramblin' Jack Elliott) claim that, in conversation immediately after the event, Dylan denied that he was married. Journalist Nora Ephron first made the news public in the New York Post in February 1966 with the headline "Hush! Bob Dylan is wed."
Dylan undertook a world tour of Australia and Europe in the spring of 1966. Each show was split into two parts. Dylan performed solo during the first half, accompanying himself on acoustic guitar and harmonica. In the second half, backed by the Hawks, he played high voltage electric music. This contrast provoked many fans, who jeered and slow handclapped. The tour culminated in a famously raucous confrontation between Dylan and his audience at the Manchester Free Trade Hall in England. A recording of this concert was finally given an official release in 1998, on the album The Bootleg Series Vol. 4: Bob Dylan Live 1966. At the climax of the evening, a member of the audience, John Cordwell, who was angry with Dylan's electric sound, shouted: "Judas!" to which Dylan responded, "I don't believe you ... You're a liar!" Dylan turned to his band and said, "Play it fudgeing loud!" and they launched into the final song of the night with gusto—"Like a Rolling Stone."
Motorcycle accident and reclusion
After his European tour, Dylan returned to New York, but the pressures on him increased. ABC Television had paid an advance for a TV show they could screen. His publisher, Macmillan, was demanding a finished manuscript of the poem/novel Tarantula. Manager Albert Grossman had already scheduled an extensive concert tour for that summer and fall.
On July 29, 1966, Dylan crashed his 500cc Triumph Tiger 100 motorcycle on a road near his home in Woodstock, New York, throwing him to the ground. Though the extent of his injuries were never fully disclosed, Dylan said that he broke several vertebrae in his neck. Mystery still surrounds the circumstances of the accident since no ambulance was called to the scene and Dylan was not hospitalized. Dylan's biographers have written that the crash offered Dylan the much-needed chance to escape from the pressures that had built up around him. Dylan confirmed this interpretation of the crash when he stated in his autobiography, "I had been in a motorcycle accident and I'd been hurt, but I recovered. Truth was that I wanted to get out of the rat race." In the wake of his accident, Dylan withdrew from the public and, apart from a few select appearances, did not tour again for eight years.
Once Dylan was well enough to resume creative work, he began editing film footage of his 1966 tour for Eat the Document, a rarely exhibited follow-up to Dont Look Back. A rough-cut was shown to ABC Television and was promptly rejected as incomprehensible to a mainstream audience. In 1967 he began recording music with the Hawks at his home and in the basement of the Hawks' nearby house, called "Big Pink". These songs, initially compiled as demos for other artists to record, provided hit singles for Julie Driscoll ("This Wheel's on Fire"), The Byrds ("You Ain't Goin' Nowhere", "Nothing Was Delivered"), and Manfred Mann ("Mighty Quinn"). Columbia belatedly released selections from them in 1975 as The Basement Tapes. Over the years, more and more of the songs recorded by Dylan and his band in 1967 appeared on various bootleg recordings, culminating in a five-CD bootleg set titled The Genuine Basement Tapes, containing 107 songs and alternate takes. In the coming months, the Hawks recorded the album Music from Big Pink using songs they first worked on in their basement in Woodstock, and renamed themselves The Band, thus beginning a long and successful recording and performing career of their own.
In October and November 1967, Dylan returned to Nashville. Back in the recording studio after a 19-month break, he was accompanied only by Charlie McCoy on bass, Kenny Buttrey on drums, and Pete Drake on steel guitar. The result was John Wesley Harding, a quiet, contemplative record of shorter songs, set in a landscape that drew on both the American West and the Bible. The sparse structure and instrumentation, coupled with lyrics that took the Judeo-Christian tradition seriously, marked a departure not only from Dylan's own work but from the escalating psychedelic fervor of the 1960s musical culture. It included "All Along the Watchtower", with lyrics derived from the Book of Isaiah (21:5–9). The song was later recorded by Jimi Hendrix, whose version Dylan later acknowledged as definitive. Woody Guthrie died on October 3, 1967, and Dylan made his first live appearance in twenty months at a Guthrie memorial concert held at Carnegie Hall on January 20, 1968, where he was backed by The Band.
"Lay Lady Lay"
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"Lay Lady Lay," on the country album Nashville Skyline, has been one of Dylan's biggest hits, reaching #7 in the U.S.A.
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Dylan's next release, Nashville Skyline (1969), was virtually a mainstream country record featuring instrumental backing by Nashville musicians, a mellow-voiced Dylan, a duet with Johnny Cash, and the hit single "Lay Lady Lay." Dylan and Cash also recorded a series of duets, including Dylan's "One Too Many Mornings," but they were not used on the album.
In May 1969, Dylan appeared on the first episode of Johnny Cash's new television show, duetting with Cash on "Girl from the North Country", "I Threw It All Away" and "Living the Blues". Dylan next travelled to England to top the bill at the Isle of Wight rock festival on August 31, 1969, after rejecting overtures to appear at the Woodstock Festival far closer to his home.
Bob Dylan is one of the most influential figures of the 20th century, musically and culturally. Dylan was included in the Time 100: The Most Important People of the Century where he was called "master poet, caustic social critic and intrepid, guiding spirit of the counterculture generation". Biographer Howard Sounes placed him among the most exalted company when he said, "There are giant figures in art who are sublimely good—Mozart, Picasso, Frank Lloyd Wright, Shakespeare, Dickens. Dylan ranks alongside these artists."
Initially modeling his style on the songs of Woody Guthrie, and lessons learned from the blues of Robert Johnson, Dylan added increasingly sophisticated lyrical techniques to the folk music of the early 60s, infusing it "with the intellectualism of classic literature and poetry". Paul Simon suggested that Dylan's early compositions virtually took over the folk genre: " early songs were very rich ... with strong melodies. 'Blowin' in the Wind' has a really strong melody. He so enlarged himself through the folk background that he incorporated it for a while. He defined the genre for a while."
When Dylan made his move from acoustic music to a rock backing, the mix became more complex. For many critics, Dylan's greatest achievement was the cultural synthesis exemplified by his mid-'60s trilogy of albums—Bringing It All Back Home, Highway 61 Revisited and Blonde on Blonde. In Mike Marqusee's words: "Between late 1964 and the summer of 1966, Dylan created a body of work that remains unique. Drawing on folk, blues, country, R&B, rock'n'roll, gospel, British beat, symbolist, modernist and Beat poetry, surrealism and Dada, advertising jargon and social commentary, Fellini and Mad magazine, he forged a coherent and original artistic voice and vision. The beauty of these albums retains the power to shock and console."
One legacy of Dylan's verbal sophistication was the increasing attention paid by literary critics to his lyrics. Professor Christopher Ricks published a 500 page analysis of Dylan's work, placing him in the context of Eliot, Keats and Tennyson, and claiming that Dylan was a poet worthy of the same close and painstaking analysis. Former British poet laureate, Andrew Motion, argued that Bob Dylan's lyrics should be studied in schools. Since 1996, academics have lobbied the Swedish Academy to award Dylan the Nobel Prize in Literature.
Dylan's voice was, in some ways, as startling as his lyrics. New York Times critic Robert Shelton described Dylan's early vocal style as "a rusty voice suggesting Guthrie's old performances, etched in gravel like Dave Van Ronk's." David Bowie, in his tribute, "Song for Bob Dylan", described Dylan's singing as "a voice of sand and glue". Dylan's voice continued to develop as he began to work with rock'n'roll backing bands; critic Michael Gray described the sound of Dylan's vocal on his hit single, "Like a Rolling Stone", as "at once young and jeeringly cynical". As Dylan's voice aged during the 1980s, for some critics, it became more expressive. Christophe Lebold writes in the journal Oral Tradition, "Dylan's more recent broken voice enables him to present a world view at the sonic surface of the songs—this voice carries us across the landscape of a broken, fallen world. The anatomy of a broken world in "Everything is Broken" (on the album Oh Mercy) is but an example of how the thematic concern with all things broken is grounded in a concrete sonic reality."
Dylan's influence has been felt in several musical genres. As Edna Gundersen stated in USA Today: "Dylan's musical DNA has informed nearly every simple twist of pop since 1962." Many musicians have testified to Dylan's influence, such as Joe Strummer, who praised Dylan as having "laid down the template for lyric, tune, seriousness, spirituality, depth of rock music." Other major musicians to have acknowledged Dylan's importance include John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Pete Townshend, Neil Young, Bruce Springsteen, David Bowie, Bryan Ferry, Nick Cave, Patti Smith, Syd Barrett, Cat Stevens, and Tom Waits. More directly, both The Byrds and The Band, two 1960s contemporary groups with some measure of influence on popular music themselves, largely owed their initial success to Dylan: the Byrds with their hit of "Mr. Tambourine Man" and subsequent album; and the Band for their association with him on tour in 1966, on retreat in Woodstock, and on their debut album featuring three previously unreleased Dylan songs.
There have been dissenters. Because Dylan was widely credited with imbuing pop culture with a new seriousness, the critic Nik Cohn objected: "I can't take the vision of Dylan as seer, as teenage messiah, as everything else he's been worshipped as. The way I see him, he's a minor talent with a major gift for self-hype." Similarly, Australian critic Jack Marx credited Dylan with changing the persona of the rock star: "What cannot be disputed is that Dylan invented the arrogant, faux-cerebral posturing that has been the dominant style in rock since, with everyone from Mick Jagger to Eminem educating themselves from the Dylan handbook." Joni Mitchell described Dylan as a "plagiarist" and a "fake" in a 2010 interview in the Los Angeles Times, while responding to a suggestion that she and Dylan were similar since they had both changed their birthnames. Mitchell's comment led to discussions of Dylan's use of other people's material, both supporting and criticising Dylan.
If Dylan's legacy in the 1960s was seen as bringing intellectual ambition to popular music, as Dylan reaches the age of 70, he is described as a figure who has greatly expanded the folk culture from which he initially emerged. As J. Hoberman wrote in The Village Voice, "Elvis might never have been born, but someone else would surely have brought the world rock 'n' roll. No such logic accounts for Bob Dylan. No iron law of history demanded that a would-be Elvis from Hibbing, Minnesota, would swerve through the Greenwich Village folk revival to become the world's first and greatest rock 'n' roll beatnik bard and then—having achieved fame and adoration beyond reckoning—vanish into a folk tradition of his own making."
http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f334/tomsunx/bob_dylan.jpg
http://i571.photobucket.com/albums/ss156/puzzled11/bob-dylan.jpg
* You can read more on Bob in wikipedia
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 05/24/11 at 6:52 am
How did he get inducted?
By appearing in one Royal Rumble and getting himself eliminated by Kane.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 05/24/11 at 6:54 am
The person of the day...Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan (born Robert Allen Zimmerman; May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter, poet, and painter. He has been a major figure in music for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler, and an apparently reluctant figurehead, of social unrest. Though he is well-known for revolutionizing perceptions of the limits of popular music in 1965 with the six-minute single "Like a Rolling Stone," a number of his earlier songs such as "Blowin' in the Wind" and "The Times They Are a-Changin'" became anthems for the US civil rights and anti-war movements.
His early lyrics incorporated a variety of political, social and philosophical, as well as literary influences. They defied existing pop music conventions and appealed hugely to the then burgeoning counterculture. Initially inspired by the songs of Woody Guthrie, Robert Johnson, Hank Williams, and the performance styles of Buddy Holly and Little Richard, Dylan has both amplified and personalized musical genres, exploring numerous distinct traditions in American song—from folk, blues and country to gospel, rock and roll, and rockabilly, to English, Scottish, and Irish folk music, embracing even jazz and swing.
Dylan performs with guitar, keyboards, and harmonica. Backed by a changing line-up of musicians, he has toured steadily since the late 1980s on what has been dubbed the Never Ending Tour. His accomplishments as a recording artist and performer have been central to his career, but his greatest contribution is generally considered to be his songwriting.
Since 1994, Dylan has published three books of drawings and paintings, and his work has been exhibited in major art galleries. As a songwriter and musician, Dylan has received numerous awards over the years including Grammy, Golden Globe, and Academy Awards; he has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, and Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 2008, a road called the Bob Dylan Pathway was opened in the singer's honor in his birthplace of Duluth, Minnesota. The Pulitzer Prize jury in 2008 awarded him a special citation for "his profound impact on popular music and American culture, marked by lyrical compositions of extraordinary poetic power."
In May 1963, Dylan's political profile was raised when he walked out of The Ed Sullivan Show. During rehearsals, Dylan had been informed by CBS Television's "head of program practices" that the song he was planning to perform, "Talkin' John Birch Paranoid Blues", was potentially libelous to the John Birch Society. Rather than comply with the censorship, Dylan refused to appear on the program.
"The Times They Are a-Changin'"
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Dylan said of "The Times They Are a-Changin'": "This was definitely a song with a purpose. I wanted to write a big song, some kind of theme song, with short concise verses that piled up on each other in a hypnotic way. The civil rights movement and the folk music movement were pretty close and allied together at that time."
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By this time, Dylan and Baez were both prominent in the civil rights movement, singing together at the March on Washington on August 28, 1963. Dylan's third album, The Times They Are a-Changin', reflected a more politicized and cynical Dylan. The songs often took as their subject matter contemporary, real life stories, with "Only A Pawn In Their Game" addressing the murder of civil rights worker Medgar Evers; and the Brechtian "The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll" the death of black hotel barmaid Hattie Carroll, at the hands of young white socialite William Zantzinger. On a more general theme, "Ballad of Hollis Brown" and "North Country Blues" address the despair engendered by the breakdown of farming and mining communities. This political material was accompanied by two personal love songs, "Boots of Spanish Leather" and "One Too Many Mornings".
By the end of 1963, Dylan felt both manipulated and constrained by the folk and protest movements. These tensions were publicly displayed when, accepting the "Tom Paine Award" from the National Emergency Civil Liberties Committee shortly after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, an intoxicated Dylan brashly questioned the role of the committee, characterized the members as old and balding, and claimed to see something of himself (and of every man) in Kennedy's alleged assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald.
A spotlight shines on Dylan as he performs onstage.
Bob Dylan, as the college yearbook lists him: St. Lawrence University, upstate New York, November 1963
Another Side of Bob Dylan, recorded on a single June evening in 1964, had a lighter mood than its predecessor. The surreal, humorous Dylan reemerged on "I Shall Be Free #10" and "Motorpsycho Nightmare". "Spanish Harlem Incident" and "To Ramona" are romantic and passionate love songs, while "Black Crow Blues" and "I Don't Believe You (She Acts Like We Never Have Met)" suggest the rock and roll soon to dominate Dylan's music. "It Ain't Me Babe", on the surface a song about spurned love, has been described as a rejection of the role his reputation had thrust at him. His newest direction was signaled by two lengthy songs: the impressionistic "Chimes of Freedom," which sets elements of social commentary against a denser metaphorical landscape in a style later characterized by Allen Ginsberg as "chains of flashing images," and "My Back Pages," which attacks the simplistic and arch seriousness of his own earlier topical songs and seems to predict the backlash he was about to encounter from his former champions as he took a new direction.
In the latter half of 1964 and 1965, Dylan's appearance and musical style changed rapidly, as he made his move from leading contemporary songwriter of the folk scene to folk-rock pop-music star. His scruffy jeans and work shirts were replaced by a Carnaby Street wardrobe, sunglasses day or night, and pointy "Beatle boots". A London reporter wrote: "Hair that would set the teeth of a comb on edge. A loud shirt that would dim the neon lights of Leicester Square. He looks like an undernourished cockatoo." Dylan also began to spar in increasingly surreal ways with his interviewers. Appearing on the Les Crane TV show and asked about a movie he was planning to make, he told Crane it would be a cowboy horror movie. Asked if he played the cowboy, Dylan replied, "No, I play my mother."
Going electric
Main article: Electric Dylan controversy
Dylan's April 1965 album Bringing It All Back Home was yet another stylistic leap, featuring his first recordings made with electric instruments. The first single, "Subterranean Homesick Blues", owed much to Chuck Berry's "Too Much Monkey Business"; its free association lyrics have been described as both harkening back to the manic energy of Beat poetry and as a forerunner of rap and hip-hop. The song was provided with an early music video which opened D. A. Pennebaker's cinéma vérité presentation of Dylan's 1965 tour of England, Dont Look Back. Instead of miming to the recording, Dylan illustrated the lyrics by throwing cue cards containing key words from the song on the ground. Pennebaker has said the sequence was Dylan's idea, and it has been widely imitated in both music videos and advertisements.
The B side of Bringing It All Back Home consisted of four long songs on which Dylan accompanied himself on acoustic guitar and harmonica. "Mr. Tambourine Man" quickly became one of Dylan's best known songs when The Byrds recorded an electric version that reached number one in both the U.S. and the U.K. charts. "It's All Over Now Baby Blue" and "It's Alright Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)" were acclaimed as two of Dylan's most important compositions.
In the summer of 1965, as the headliner at the Newport Folk Festival, Dylan performed his first electric set since his high school days with a pickup group drawn mostly from the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, featuring Mike Bloomfield (guitar), Sam Lay (drums) and Jerome Arnold (bass), plus Al Kooper (organ) and Barry Goldberg (piano). Dylan had appeared at Newport in 1963 and 1964, but in 1965 Dylan, met with a mix of cheering and booing, left the stage after only three songs. One version of the legend has it that the boos were from the outraged folk fans whom Dylan had alienated by appearing, unexpectedly, with an electric guitar. Murray Lerner, who filmed the performance, said: "I absolutely think that they were booing Dylan going electric." An alternative account claims audience members were merely upset by poor sound quality and a surprisingly short set. This account is supported by Kooper and one of the directors of the festival, who reports his audio recording of the concert proves that the only boos were in reaction to the emcee's announcement that there was only enough time for a short set.
Nevertheless, Dylan's 1965 Newport performance provoked a hostile response from the folk music establishment. In the September issue of Sing Out!, singer Ewan MacColl wrote: "Our traditional songs and ballads are the creations of extraordinarily talented artists working inside disciplines formulated over time... 'But what of Bobby Dylan?' scream the outraged teenagers... Only a completely non-critical audience, nourished on the watery pap of pop music, could have fallen for such tenth-rate drivel." On July 29, just four days after his controversial performance at Newport, Dylan was back in the studio in New York, recording "Positively 4th Street". The lyrics teemed with images of vengeance and paranoia, and it was widely interpreted as Dylan's put-down of former friends from the folk community—friends he had known in the clubs along West 4th Street.
Highway 61 Revisited and Blonde on Blonde
"Like A Rolling Stone"
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Dylan's 1965 hit single, which appeared on the album Highway 61 Revisited. In 2004, it was labelled the Greatest Song of All Time by Rolling Stone magazine.
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In July 1965, Dylan released the single "Like a Rolling Stone", which peaked at #2 in the U.S. and at #4 in the UK charts. At over six minutes, the song has been widely credited with altering attitudes about what a pop single could convey. Bruce Springsteen, in his speech during Dylan's inauguration into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame said that on first hearing the single, "that snare shot sounded like somebody'd kicked open the door to your mind". In 2004, Rolling Stone Magazine listed it as number one on its list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". The song also opened Dylan's next album, Highway 61 Revisited, titled after the road that led from Dylan's Minnesota to the musical hotbed of New Orleans. The songs were in the same vein as the hit single, flavored by Mike Bloomfield's blues guitar and Al Kooper's organ riffs. "Desolation Row" offers the sole acoustic exception, with Dylan making surreal allusions to a variety of figures in Western culture during this epic song, which was described by Andy Gill as "an 11-minute epic of entropy, which takes the form of a Fellini-esque parade of grotesques and oddities featuring a huge cast of celebrated characters, some historical (Einstein, Nero), some biblical (Noah, Cain and Abel), some fictional (Ophelia, Romeo, Cinderella), some literary (T.S. Eliot and Ezra Pound), and some who fit into none of the above categories, notably Dr. Filth and his dubious nurse."
In support of the record, Dylan was booked for two U.S. concerts and set about assembling a band. Mike Bloomfield was unwilling to leave the Butterfield Band, so Dylan mixed Al Kooper and Harvey Brooks from his studio crew with bar-band stalwarts Robbie Robertson and Levon Helm, best known at the time for being part of Ronnie Hawkins's backing band The Hawks (later to become The Band). On August 28 at Forest Hills Tennis Stadium, the group was heckled by an audience still annoyed by Dylan's electric sound. The band's reception on September 3 at the Hollywood Bowl was more favorable.
While Dylan and the Hawks met increasingly receptive audiences on tour, their studio efforts floundered. Producer Bob Johnston persuaded Dylan to record in Nashville in February 1966, and surrounded him with a cadre of top-notch session men. At Dylan's insistence, Robertson and Kooper came down from New York City to play on the sessions. The Nashville sessions produced the double-album Blonde on Blonde (1966), featuring what Dylan later called "that thin wild mercury sound". Al Kooper described the album as "taking two cultures and smashing them together with a huge explosion": the musical world of Nashville and the world of the "quintessential New York hipster" Bob Dylan.
On November 22, 1965, Dylan secretly married 25-year-old former model Sara Lownds. Some of Dylan's friends (including Ramblin' Jack Elliott) claim that, in conversation immediately after the event, Dylan denied that he was married. Journalist Nora Ephron first made the news public in the New York Post in February 1966 with the headline "Hush! Bob Dylan is wed."
Dylan undertook a world tour of Australia and Europe in the spring of 1966. Each show was split into two parts. Dylan performed solo during the first half, accompanying himself on acoustic guitar and harmonica. In the second half, backed by the Hawks, he played high voltage electric music. This contrast provoked many fans, who jeered and slow handclapped. The tour culminated in a famously raucous confrontation between Dylan and his audience at the Manchester Free Trade Hall in England. A recording of this concert was finally given an official release in 1998, on the album The Bootleg Series Vol. 4: Bob Dylan Live 1966. At the climax of the evening, a member of the audience, John Cordwell, who was angry with Dylan's electric sound, shouted: "Judas!" to which Dylan responded, "I don't believe you ... You're a liar!" Dylan turned to his band and said, "Play it fudgeing loud!" and they launched into the final song of the night with gusto—"Like a Rolling Stone."
Motorcycle accident and reclusion
After his European tour, Dylan returned to New York, but the pressures on him increased. ABC Television had paid an advance for a TV show they could screen. His publisher, Macmillan, was demanding a finished manuscript of the poem/novel Tarantula. Manager Albert Grossman had already scheduled an extensive concert tour for that summer and fall.
On July 29, 1966, Dylan crashed his 500cc Triumph Tiger 100 motorcycle on a road near his home in Woodstock, New York, throwing him to the ground. Though the extent of his injuries were never fully disclosed, Dylan said that he broke several vertebrae in his neck. Mystery still surrounds the circumstances of the accident since no ambulance was called to the scene and Dylan was not hospitalized. Dylan's biographers have written that the crash offered Dylan the much-needed chance to escape from the pressures that had built up around him. Dylan confirmed this interpretation of the crash when he stated in his autobiography, "I had been in a motorcycle accident and I'd been hurt, but I recovered. Truth was that I wanted to get out of the rat race." In the wake of his accident, Dylan withdrew from the public and, apart from a few select appearances, did not tour again for eight years.
Once Dylan was well enough to resume creative work, he began editing film footage of his 1966 tour for Eat the Document, a rarely exhibited follow-up to Dont Look Back. A rough-cut was shown to ABC Television and was promptly rejected as incomprehensible to a mainstream audience. In 1967 he began recording music with the Hawks at his home and in the basement of the Hawks' nearby house, called "Big Pink". These songs, initially compiled as demos for other artists to record, provided hit singles for Julie Driscoll ("This Wheel's on Fire"), The Byrds ("You Ain't Goin' Nowhere", "Nothing Was Delivered"), and Manfred Mann ("Mighty Quinn"). Columbia belatedly released selections from them in 1975 as The Basement Tapes. Over the years, more and more of the songs recorded by Dylan and his band in 1967 appeared on various bootleg recordings, culminating in a five-CD bootleg set titled The Genuine Basement Tapes, containing 107 songs and alternate takes. In the coming months, the Hawks recorded the album Music from Big Pink using songs they first worked on in their basement in Woodstock, and renamed themselves The Band, thus beginning a long and successful recording and performing career of their own.
In October and November 1967, Dylan returned to Nashville. Back in the recording studio after a 19-month break, he was accompanied only by Charlie McCoy on bass, Kenny Buttrey on drums, and Pete Drake on steel guitar. The result was John Wesley Harding, a quiet, contemplative record of shorter songs, set in a landscape that drew on both the American West and the Bible. The sparse structure and instrumentation, coupled with lyrics that took the Judeo-Christian tradition seriously, marked a departure not only from Dylan's own work but from the escalating psychedelic fervor of the 1960s musical culture. It included "All Along the Watchtower", with lyrics derived from the Book of Isaiah (21:5–9). The song was later recorded by Jimi Hendrix, whose version Dylan later acknowledged as definitive. Woody Guthrie died on October 3, 1967, and Dylan made his first live appearance in twenty months at a Guthrie memorial concert held at Carnegie Hall on January 20, 1968, where he was backed by The Band.
"Lay Lady Lay"
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"Lay Lady Lay," on the country album Nashville Skyline, has been one of Dylan's biggest hits, reaching #7 in the U.S.A.
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Dylan's next release, Nashville Skyline (1969), was virtually a mainstream country record featuring instrumental backing by Nashville musicians, a mellow-voiced Dylan, a duet with Johnny Cash, and the hit single "Lay Lady Lay." Dylan and Cash also recorded a series of duets, including Dylan's "One Too Many Mornings," but they were not used on the album.
In May 1969, Dylan appeared on the first episode of Johnny Cash's new television show, duetting with Cash on "Girl from the North Country", "I Threw It All Away" and "Living the Blues". Dylan next travelled to England to top the bill at the Isle of Wight rock festival on August 31, 1969, after rejecting overtures to appear at the Woodstock Festival far closer to his home.
Bob Dylan is one of the most influential figures of the 20th century, musically and culturally. Dylan was included in the Time 100: The Most Important People of the Century where he was called "master poet, caustic social critic and intrepid, guiding spirit of the counterculture generation". Biographer Howard Sounes placed him among the most exalted company when he said, "There are giant figures in art who are sublimely good—Mozart, Picasso, Frank Lloyd Wright, Shakespeare, Dickens. Dylan ranks alongside these artists."
Initially modeling his style on the songs of Woody Guthrie, and lessons learned from the blues of Robert Johnson, Dylan added increasingly sophisticated lyrical techniques to the folk music of the early 60s, infusing it "with the intellectualism of classic literature and poetry". Paul Simon suggested that Dylan's early compositions virtually took over the folk genre: " early songs were very rich ... with strong melodies. 'Blowin' in the Wind' has a really strong melody. He so enlarged himself through the folk background that he incorporated it for a while. He defined the genre for a while."
When Dylan made his move from acoustic music to a rock backing, the mix became more complex. For many critics, Dylan's greatest achievement was the cultural synthesis exemplified by his mid-'60s trilogy of albums—Bringing It All Back Home, Highway 61 Revisited and Blonde on Blonde. In Mike Marqusee's words: "Between late 1964 and the summer of 1966, Dylan created a body of work that remains unique. Drawing on folk, blues, country, R&B, rock'n'roll, gospel, British beat, symbolist, modernist and Beat poetry, surrealism and Dada, advertising jargon and social commentary, Fellini and Mad magazine, he forged a coherent and original artistic voice and vision. The beauty of these albums retains the power to shock and console."
One legacy of Dylan's verbal sophistication was the increasing attention paid by literary critics to his lyrics. Professor Christopher Ricks published a 500 page analysis of Dylan's work, placing him in the context of Eliot, Keats and Tennyson, and claiming that Dylan was a poet worthy of the same close and painstaking analysis. Former British poet laureate, Andrew Motion, argued that Bob Dylan's lyrics should be studied in schools. Since 1996, academics have lobbied the Swedish Academy to award Dylan the Nobel Prize in Literature.
Dylan's voice was, in some ways, as startling as his lyrics. New York Times critic Robert Shelton described Dylan's early vocal style as "a rusty voice suggesting Guthrie's old performances, etched in gravel like Dave Van Ronk's." David Bowie, in his tribute, "Song for Bob Dylan", described Dylan's singing as "a voice of sand and glue". Dylan's voice continued to develop as he began to work with rock'n'roll backing bands; critic Michael Gray described the sound of Dylan's vocal on his hit single, "Like a Rolling Stone", as "at once young and jeeringly cynical". As Dylan's voice aged during the 1980s, for some critics, it became more expressive. Christophe Lebold writes in the journal Oral Tradition, "Dylan's more recent broken voice enables him to present a world view at the sonic surface of the songs—this voice carries us across the landscape of a broken, fallen world. The anatomy of a broken world in "Everything is Broken" (on the album Oh Mercy) is but an example of how the thematic concern with all things broken is grounded in a concrete sonic reality."
Dylan's influence has been felt in several musical genres. As Edna Gundersen stated in USA Today: "Dylan's musical DNA has informed nearly every simple twist of pop since 1962." Many musicians have testified to Dylan's influence, such as Joe Strummer, who praised Dylan as having "laid down the template for lyric, tune, seriousness, spirituality, depth of rock music." Other major musicians to have acknowledged Dylan's importance include John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Pete Townshend, Neil Young, Bruce Springsteen, David Bowie, Bryan Ferry, Nick Cave, Patti Smith, Syd Barrett, Cat Stevens, and Tom Waits. More directly, both The Byrds and The Band, two 1960s contemporary groups with some measure of influence on popular music themselves, largely owed their initial success to Dylan: the Byrds with their hit of "Mr. Tambourine Man" and subsequent album; and the Band for their association with him on tour in 1966, on retreat in Woodstock, and on their debut album featuring three previously unreleased Dylan songs.
There have been dissenters. Because Dylan was widely credited with imbuing pop culture with a new seriousness, the critic Nik Cohn objected: "I can't take the vision of Dylan as seer, as teenage messiah, as everything else he's been worshipped as. The way I see him, he's a minor talent with a major gift for self-hype." Similarly, Australian critic Jack Marx credited Dylan with changing the persona of the rock star: "What cannot be disputed is that Dylan invented the arrogant, faux-cerebral posturing that has been the dominant style in rock since, with everyone from Mick Jagger to Eminem educating themselves from the Dylan handbook." Joni Mitchell described Dylan as a "plagiarist" and a "fake" in a 2010 interview in the Los Angeles Times, while responding to a suggestion that she and Dylan were similar since they had both changed their birthnames. Mitchell's comment led to discussions of Dylan's use of other people's material, both supporting and criticising Dylan.
If Dylan's legacy in the 1960s was seen as bringing intellectual ambition to popular music, as Dylan reaches the age of 70, he is described as a figure who has greatly expanded the folk culture from which he initially emerged. As J. Hoberman wrote in The Village Voice, "Elvis might never have been born, but someone else would surely have brought the world rock 'n' roll. No such logic accounts for Bob Dylan. No iron law of history demanded that a would-be Elvis from Hibbing, Minnesota, would swerve through the Greenwich Village folk revival to become the world's first and greatest rock 'n' roll beatnik bard and then—having achieved fame and adoration beyond reckoning—vanish into a folk tradition of his own making."
http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f334/tomsunx/bob_dylan.jpg
http://i571.photobucket.com/albums/ss156/puzzled11/bob-dylan.jpg
* You can read more on Bob in wikipedia
I remember when he was with The Traveling Wilburys.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: CatwomanofV on 05/24/11 at 10:51 am
There is a rumor that Bob Dylan may be getting back together again.
Cat
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 05/24/11 at 11:42 am
I remember when he was with The Traveling Wilburys.
Great band, I should have the album somewhere.
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 05/24/11 at 12:45 pm
By appearing in one Royal Rumble and getting himself eliminated by Kane.
That's it..I'm sure their are wrestlers out there who have wrestled for years that aren't even inducted. >:(
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 05/24/11 at 7:54 pm
That's it..I'm sure their are wrestlers out there who have wrestled for years that aren't even inducted. >:(
I agree Ninny I agree Randy Savage should've been inducted instead of Drew Carey. ::)
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 05/24/11 at 7:55 pm
There is a rumor that Bob Dylan may be getting back together again.
Cat
The Traveling Wilburys? ???
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 05/25/11 at 5:39 am
The person of the day...Lauryn Hill
Lauryn Noelle Hill (born May 26, 1975) is an American recording artist, musician, producer and actress. Early in her career, she established her reputation as a member of the Fugees. In 1998, she launched her solo career with the release of the commercially successful and critically acclaimed album, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. The recording earned Hill five Grammy Awards, including the coveted Album of the Year and Best New Artist.
Following the success of her debut album, Hill largely dropped out of public view, in part due to her displeasure with fame and the music industry. After a four-year hiatus, she released MTV Unplugged No. 2.0, a live recording of "deeply personal songs" performed mostly solo with an acoustic guitar. In more recent years, Lauryn Hill has recorded songs for soundtracks and mixtapes, as well as performing live at several music festivals. To date, she still avoids publicity, and is the mother of five children with Rohan Marley, the fourth son of reggae musician Bob Marley.
The Refugee Camp ("Fugees") formed after Prakazrel "Pras" Michel approached Hill in high school about joining a music group he was creating. Soon after, she met Michel's cousin and fellow Haïtian, Wyclef Jean. At some point, Hill was nicknamed "L Boogie", as she began to convert her poetic writing into rap verses. Hill's singing gained worldwide acclaim with the Fugees' remake of "Killing Me Softly with His Song", accompanied by a sample from Rotary Connection's "Memory Band".
The Fugees' first album, Blunted on Reality, peaked at #49 on the U.S. Hot 100. The album sold over two million copies worldwide. Blunted on Reality was followed by The Score, a multi-platinum, Grammy-winning album that established two of the three Fugees as international rap stars. Singles from The Score include "Ready or Not", "Fu-Gee-La", "No Woman, No Cry" (made famous by Bob Marley), and "Killing Me Softly" (made famous by Roberta Flack).
The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (1998)
In 1996, Hill began production on an album that would eventually become The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. The title was inspired by The Mis-Education of the Negro book by Carter G. Woodson and The Education of Sonny Carson, a film and autobiographical novel. The album featured contributions from D'Angelo, Carlos Santana, Mary J. Blige and a then-unknown John Legend. Songs for the album were largely written in an attic studio in South Orange, New Jersey and recorded at Chung King Studios in Jamaica. Wyclef Jean initially did not support Hill recording a solo album, but eventually offered his production help; Hill turned him down. Several songs on the album concerned her frustrations with The Fugees; "I Used to Love Him" dealt with the break-down of the relationship between Hill and Wyclef Jean. "To Zion" spoke about her decision to have her first baby, even though many at the time encouraged her to abort the pregnancy so as to not interfere with her blossoming career.
The Miseducation contained several interludes of a teacher speaking to what is implied to be a classroom of children; in fact, the "teacher" was played by Ras Baraka (a poet, educator and politician) speaking to a group of kids in the living room of Hill's New Jersey home. The singer requested that Baraka speak to the children about the concept of love, and he improvised the lecture. Though The Miseducation was largely a collaborative work between Hill and a group of musicians known as New Ark (Vada Nobles, Rasheem Pugh, Tejumold and Johari Newton), there was "label pressure to do the Prince thing," wherein all tracks would be credited as "written and produced by" the artist with little outside help. While recording the album, when Hill was asked about providing contracts or documentation to the musicians, she replied, "We all love each other. This ain't about documents. This is blessed." Hill, her management, and her record label were sued in 1998 by New Ark, claiming to be the primary songwriters on two tracks, and major contributors on several others. The suit was settled out of court in February 2001 for a reported $5 million.
In 1998, Hill released The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, which was both critically and commercially successful. It sold over 423,000 copies in its first week and topped the Billboard 200 albums chart for four weeks and the Billboard R&B Album chart for six weeks; it would go on to sell more than 18 million copies over the next decade. The first single off the album was "Lost Ones" (US #27), released in Spring 1998. The second was "Doo Wop (That Thing)", which reached #1 in the Billboard charts. Other singles released in support of the album were "Ex-Factor" (US #21), "Everything Is Everything" (US #35), and "To Zion". At the 1999 Grammy Awards, Hill was nominated 10 times, becoming the first woman ever to be nominated 10 times in one year: Hill won five Grammys including Album of the Year (beating Madonna's critically acclaimed Ray of Light and Shania Twain's bestselling Come on Over), Best R&B Album, Best R&B Song, Best Female R&B Vocal Performance, and Best New Artist. Hill set a new record in the industry, becoming the first woman to win five Grammys in one night. Between 1998 and 1999, Hill earned $25 million from record sales and touring.
Hill became a national media icon, as magazines ranging from Time to Esquire to Teen People vied to put her on the cover. In the late 1990s, Hill was noted by some as a humanitarian. In 1996 she received an Essence Award for work which has included the 1996 founding of the Refugee Project, an outreach organization that supports a two-week overnight camp for at-risk youth, and for supporting well-building projects in Kenya and Uganda, as well as for staging a rap concert in Harlem to promote voter registration. In 1999 Hill received three awards at the 30th Annual NAACP Image Awards. In 1999 Ebony named her one of "100+ Most Influential Black Americans". She was named with Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr. and others among the "10 For Tomorrow," in the EBONY 2000: Special Millennium Issue.
Self-Imposed Exile and MTV Unplugged No. 2.0 (2000–2003)
After the release of her debut album, she explored other methods of expressing herself, including creating an extensive amount of music, poetry, and clothing designs. She started writing a screenplay about the life of Bob Marley, in which she planned to act as his wife Rita. She also began producing a romantic comedy about soul food with a working title of Sauce, and accepted a starring role in the film adaptation of Toni Morrison's novel Beloved; she later dropped out of both projects due to pregnancy. Hill became dissatisfied with the music industry; she felt she was being unfairly controlled by her record label, and disliked being unable "to go to the grocery store without makeup." She fired her management team and began attending Bible study classes five days a week; she also stopped doing interviews, watching television and listening to music. She started associating with a "spiritual adviser" named Brother Anthony. Some familiar with Hill believe Anthony more resembled a cult leader than a spiritual advisor, and thought his guidance probably inspired much of Hill's more controversial public behavior.
"There were a number of different reasons. But partly, the support system that I needed was not necessarily in place. There were things about myself, personal-growth things, that I had to go through in order to feel like it was worth it. In fact, as musicians and artists, it's important we have an environment — and I guess when I say environment, I really mean the industry, that really nurtures these gifts. Oftentimes, the machine can overlook the need to take care of the people who produce the sounds that have a lot to do with the health and well-being of society, or at least some aspect of society. And it's important that people be given the time that they need to go through, to grow, so that the consciousness level of the general public is properly affected. Oftentimes, I think people are forced to make decisions prematurely. And then that sound radiates."
- Hill talks about why she left music.
In 2000, she dropped out of the public eye. She described this period of her life to Essence: "People need to understand that the Lauryn Hill they were exposed to in the beginning was all that was allowed in that arena at that time… I had to step away when I realized that for the sake of the machine, I was being way too compromised. I felt uncomfortable about having to smile in someone's face when I really didn't like them or even know them well enough to like them." She also spoke about her emotional crisis, saying, "For two or three years I was away from all social interaction. It was a very introspective time because I had to confront my fears and master every demonic thought about inferiority, about insecurity or the fear of being black, young and gifted in this western culture." She went on to say that she had to fight to retain her identity, and was forced "to deal with folks who weren't happy about that."
On July 21, 2001, Hill unveiled her new material to a small crowd, for a taping of an MTV Unplugged special. An album of the concert, titled MTV Unplugged No. 2.0, focused on the lyrics and the message rather than the musical arrangements. "Fantasy is what people want, but reality is what they need", she said during the concert. "I've just retired from the fantasy part." Most of the songs featured only an acoustic guitar and her voice, somewhat raspy from rehearsal on the day before the recording. Hill used the set as an opportunity to give information on why she had been absent from the public for a period of time and what she had found while away. Unlike the near-unanimous praise of The Miseducation, 2.0 sharply divided critics. AllMusic gave the album 4 out of 5 stars, saying that the recording "is the unfinished, unflinching presentation of ideas and of a person. It may not be a proper follow-up to her first album, but it is fascinating." Rolling Stone called the album "a public breakdown". Slant Magazine's Sal Cinquemani wrote, "Hill's guitarwork is multi-textured and fine-tuned but her vocals lack confidence and seem to toe the edge of her range throughout the album. And though the stripped-down nature of the show is fitting, many of the songs sound as if they are still in their infancy." Despite the mixed reviews, 2.0 debuted at #3 on the Billboard 200 and went platinum four weeks after its release. Despite Hill's departure from the media and celebrity, she continued to have some success in the music world. Her song "Mystery of Iniquity" was nominated for a Grammy without promotion or radio airplay and used as an interpolation by hip-hop producer/song-writer Kanye West for his single "All Falls Down" (eventually recorded by Syleena Johnson).
Vatican controversy
On December 13, 2003, Hill made headlines by denouncing "corruption, exploitation, and abuses" in reference to the molestation of boys by Catholic priests in the United States and the cover-up of offenses by Catholic Church officials. The statements were made during a performance at a Christmas benefit concert at the Vatican. Reading from a prepared statement, Hill told the crowd of 7,500:
“ I am sorry if I am about to offend some of you. I did not accept my invitation to celebrate with you the birth of Christ. Instead I ask you why you are not in mourning for Him in this place? I want to ask you, what have you got to say about the lives you have broken? What about the families who were expecting God and instead were cheated by the Devil? Who feels sorry for them, the men, women and children damaged psychologically, emotionally and mentally by the sexual perversions and abuse carried out by the people they believed in? Holy God is a witness to the corruption of your leadership, of the exploitation and abuses which are the minimum that can be said for the clergy. There is no acceptable excuse to defend the church." ”
Hill called on the church leaders to "repent" and encouraged the crowd to "not seek blessings from man but from God." She then performed the songs "Damnable Heresies" and "Social Drugs". High-ranking church officials in attendance included Cardinal Camillo Ruini, Monsignor Rino Fisichella and Cardinal Edmund Szoka. Pope John Paul II was not present. The segment was cut from the television broadcast. Both the Vatican and Columbia Records refused to issue official statements regarding Hill's actions. Monsignor Fisichella told reporters that Hill had acted "in poor taste and very bad mannered. It showed a complete lack of respect for her invitation and for the place where she had been invited to perform". The Catholic League called Hill "pathologically miserable" and claimed her career is "in decline". Hill responded to the controversy on December 16: "What I said was the truth. Is telling the truth bad manners? What I asked was the church to repent for what has happened." The following day, several reporters suggested that Hill's comments at the Vatican may have been influenced by her "advisor" Brother Anthony.
Short-lived return of the Fugees (2004–2006)
The Fugees performed on September 18, 2004 at Dave Chappelle's Block Party in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn. They headlined a bill that included a star-studded cast of hip-hop celebrities. The concert featured Hill's nearly a cappella rendition of "Killing Me Softly". The event was recorded by director Michel Gondry and was released on March 3, 2006 to mostly positive reviews. In 2005, she told an interviewer that "The Fugees was a conspiracy to control, to manipulate and to encourage dependence. I took a lot of abuse that many people would not have taken in these circumstances." The Fugees also appeared at BET's 2005 Music Awards on June 28, 2005, where they opened the show with a 12-minute set. One track, "Take It Easy", was leaked online and thereafter was released as an internet single on September 27, 2005. It peaked at #40 on the Billboard R&B Chart. The song was mostly panned by critics, as The Village Voice wrote, "Turns out that a Fugees reunion wasn't really what anyone was waiting for; we just wanted Lauryn to start rapping again."
"I'm trying to open up my range and really sing more. With The Fugees initially, and even with Miseducation, it was very hip-hop — always a singing over beats. I don't think people have really heard me sing out. So if I do record again, perhaps it will have an expanded context. Where people can hear a bit more."
- Hill talks about her work with The Fugees.
The Fugees embarked on a European tour from November 30, 2005 through December 20, 2005. The group played in Austria, Slovakia, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Germany, Belgium, Italy, France, England, Ireland and Switzerland. On February 6, 2006, the Fugees did a special "Reunion Concert" in Hollywood, that was offered as a live webcast on the Verizon Wireless website. The Fugees were featured in numerous Verizon Wireless VCast advertisements in magazines and on TV around that same time. A new song titled "Foxy" was made available on VCast and a third new song was leaked, unofficially titled "Wannabe", which uses the same hook as the Michael Jackson song "I Wanna Be Where You Are". Old tensions between Hill and the other members of the group soon resurfaced, and the reunion fizzled before an album could be recorded. Jean and Michel both blamed Hill for the split. Hill reportedly demanded to be addressed by everyone, including her bandmates, as "Ms. Hill"; she also considered changing her moniker to "Empress". Her chronic tardiness — sometimes stalling up to 45 minutes after the two had taken the stage to join them — has been cited as another contributing factor to the break up. Michel told the press in August 2007, "Before I work with Lauryn Hill again, you will have a better chance of seeing Osama Bin Laden and George W. Bush in Starbucks having a latte, discussing foreign policies… At this point I really think it will take an act of God to change her, because she is that far out there."
2004–2009
Hill has been slowly working on a new album and in November 2004 shot a music video. The album had a slated street date of November 2005, and neither it nor the music video have been released. It was also reported that as of 2003, Columbia Records had spent more than $2.5 million funding Hill's new album, mostly spent on installing a recording studio in the singer's Miami apartment and flying different musicians around the country. In 2004, Hill contributed a new song, "The Passion", to The Passion of the Christ: Songs. Around this time, Hill began selling a pay-per-view music video of the song "Social Drugs" through her website. Those who purchase the $15 video would only be able to view it three times before it expired. In addition to the video, Hill began selling autographed posters and Polaroids through her website, with some items listed at upwards of $500. In 2005, she told USA Today, "If I make music now, it will only be to provide information to my own children. If other people benefit from it, then so be it." When asked how she now felt about the songs on 2.0, she stated "a lot of the songs were transitional. The music was about how I was feeling at the time, even though I was documenting my distress as well as my bursts of joy."
She has toured several times in recent years, though most of her concerts have received mixed reviews. Hill is often late to concerts (sometimes by over two hours) and reconfigures her well-known hits in to "unrecognizable scat chants" while "sporting frizzy orange hair and exaggerated makeup". On some occasions, fans have booed her and left early; some fans have also demanded their money back after concerts. On October 6, 2005, Hill emceed and performed two songs at the Take Back TV concert launching Al Gore's CurrentTV. In June 2007, Sony records said though Hill has "consistently recorded over the past decade" and has what amounts to "a library of unreleased material in the vault", she had recently re-entered the studio "with the goal of making a new LP." Later that same year, a new album entitled Ms. Hill, which featured cuts from The Miseducation, various soundtracks contributions and other "unreleased" songs, was released. It features guest appearances from D'Angelo, Rah Digga and John Forté. Also in June 2007, Hill released a new song, "Lose Myself" on the soundtrack to the film Surf's Up under her new professional name, Ms. Lauryn Hill. The song is also played over the credits.
Reports in mid-2008 claimed that Columbia Records currently believe Hill to be "on hiatus." Rohan Marley disputed these claims, telling an interviewer that Hill has enough material for several albums: "She writes music in the bathroom, on toilet paper, on the wall. She writes it in the mirror if the mirror smokes up. She writes constantly. This woman does not sleep". One of the few public appearances Hill made in 2008 was at a Martha Stewart book-signing in New Jersey, perplexing some in the press. On November 4, 2008, Hill was scheduled to perform at the Avo Session Basel music festival in Basel, Switzerland. Her concert was canceled "for personal reasons". In April 2009, it was reported that Hill would engage in a 10 day tour of European summer festivals during mid-July of that year. She performed two shows for the tour and passed out on stage during the start of her second performance and left the stage. She refused to give refunds to angry consumers for the show. On June 10, Hill's management informed the promoters of the Stockholm Jazz Festival, which she was scheduled to headline, that she would not be performing due to unspecified "health reasons." Shortly afterward, the rest of the tour was canceled as well.
2010-Present
In January 2010, Hill returned to the live stage and performed in stops across New Zealand and Australia on the 'Raggamuffin Festival'- a music festival that celebrates reggae music. She performed songs from the Miseducation album and some Fugees hits. On April 19, Hill appeared at the Tanzania Education Trust Gala And Reception in New York City for a Charity Event. When making this public appearance, she was asked by paparazzi whether she is working on a new album, to which she replied "Yeah, possibly", suggesting that she may be working on new projects, and possibly a sophomore album. On June 8, it was announced that Hill would be the very special guest performer at Rock the Bells hip hop Festival series. Five days later, Hill appeared at the Harmony Festival in Santa Rosa, California, her first live American performance in several years. In a June interview with NPR reporter/producer Zoe Chace as part of NPR's 50 Great Voices Series, Hill confirmed that she was planning to begin recording again and discussed her hiatus and five children. Ronald Isley of the Isley Brothers confirmed he worked with Hill on an upcoming album as well. On September 8, 2010, Isley and Hill's duet, Close To You, a remake of the classic song by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, was leaked online.
"There are a lot of different creative energies out there right now. I respect the different sounds that I'm hearing. It's been such a long time since I've gotten my voice and my ideas out In terms of collaborations, that's not even something I've been thinking about per se. I'm happy that people are still making music. That we still have a platform with which to make music. It's gonna be interesting to see what the future holds."
- Hill talks to MTV.
An unreleased song called "Repercussions" was leaked via the internet in late July. On August 28, 2010 the song debuted at #94 on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (which peaked at #83 the following week), making it her first Billboard chart appearance as a lead artist since 1999; last song on the charts being her cover version of Bob Marley's "Turn Your Lights Down Low" which reached #86 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #49 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. In April 2010, many of the songs that Hill had performed and recorded over the past six years were included on an unofficial compilation album titled Khulami Phase. The album also features a range of other material found on the Ms. Hill compilation. On August 28, Hill performed at Rock the Bells Hip Hop festival on Governor's Island in Brooklyn. Hill performed several songs from The Miseducation, including "To Zion", during which she brought her five children on stage. On November 5, 2010, Hill headlined the University of Miami's annual Homecoming concert. Hill performed several songs in front of a very large and responsive crowd. Her hour long set included songs from the Miseducation album such as "Lost Ones", "Ex-Factor", "To Zion" (during which she brought her son Joshua on stage and allowed him to sing into the microphone), a few Bob Marley songs, and several Fugees tracks. Hill was announced to headline the 6th Annual Jazz in the Gardens, in Miami Gardens, Florida in December 2010. She performed on the first day of the two day concert, March 19, 2011, along with Jazmine Sullivan, Charlie Wilson, Al Jarreau, and Doug E. Fresh with Slick Rick.
In spring of 2011, Lauryn Hill preformed at the Coachella Valley Music Festival to a multitudinous crowd. Hill is also playing at the New Orleans JazzFest, on the Congo Square Stage, Saturday, May 7 at 5:25 pm and at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas on May 13 at 8:00 pm.
Controversy
In 1998, a caller on The Howard Stern Show mentioned that he heard Lauryn Hill state on MTV "I would rather have my family starve than have white people buy my albums". MTV publicly disclaimed the quotation, and after a discussion on The Howard Stern Show, Hill herself called in from Norway to refute the rumor, stating "How can I possibly be a racist? My music is universal music. And I believe in God. If I believe in God, then I have to love all of God's creations. There can be no segregation". She also told Teen People magazine "There's absolutely nothing racist about anything in my heart". As this rumor would continue through the press, Hill would repeatedly assert in later interviews that this accusation was false, that she never made such statements, would never make such statements, and that she is in no way racist.
Humanitarian
In the late 1990s, Hill was noted as a humanitarian. In 1996 she received an Essence Award for work which has included the 1996 founding of the Refugee Project, an outreach organization that supports a two-week overnight camp for at-risk youth, and for supporting well-building projects in Kenya and Uganda, as well as for staging a rap concert in Harlem to promote voter registration. In 1999 Hill received three awards at the 30th Annual NAACP Image Awards. In 1999 Ebony named her one of "100+ Most Influential Black Americans". She was named with Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr. and others among the "10 For Tomorrow," in the EBONY 2000: Special Millennium Issue.
Legacy and influences
Lauryn Hill has been cited as an influence by many, especially those in the neo-soul movement of the 2000s. Musicians who have acknowledged Hill's importance include Prince, John Legend, Alicia Keys, Christina Aguilera, D'Angelo, Mary J. Blige, Lil' Kim and Jazmine Sullivan. In 2005, Talib Kweli released a song about the singer, titled "Ms. Hill", on Right About Now.
Michelle Obama, wife of U.S. President Barack Obama, told the BBC that she frequently listens to Hill's music on her iPod, while 2008 Republican presidential candidate Senator John McCain's daughter Meghan stated that her father listens to Hill: "I borrowed his car once in D.C., and I was looking through CDs, and I was like, 'Oh, Lauryn Hill.'" Actors Russell Crowe and Denzel Washington are also reportedly fans of the singer. D'Angelo, who appeared on "Nothing Even Matters," referred in an interview to at least one church reportedly having used the song in a service.
Discography
Main article: Lauryn Hill discography
Filmography
* 1998 - Restaurant .... Leslie
* 1997 - Hav Plenty .... Debra
* 1996 - ABC Afterschool Specials .... Malika
* 1993 - Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit .... Rita Louise Watson
* 1993 - King of the Hill .... Elevator Operator
* 1992 - Here and Now
* 1991 - As the World Turns .... Kira Johnson
See also
* List of awards and nominations received by Lauryn Hill
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http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii55/sammyda12/lauryn_hill.jpg
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Howard on 05/25/11 at 6:50 am
The person of the day...Lauryn Hill
Lauryn Noelle Hill (born May 26, 1975) is an American recording artist, musician, producer and actress. Early in her career, she established her reputation as a member of the Fugees. In 1998, she launched her solo career with the release of the commercially successful and critically acclaimed album, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. The recording earned Hill five Grammy Awards, including the coveted Album of the Year and Best New Artist.
Following the success of her debut album, Hill largely dropped out of public view, in part due to her displeasure with fame and the music industry. After a four-year hiatus, she released MTV Unplugged No. 2.0, a live recording of "deeply personal songs" performed mostly solo with an acoustic guitar. In more recent years, Lauryn Hill has recorded songs for soundtracks and mixtapes, as well as performing live at several music festivals. To date, she still avoids publicity, and is the mother of five children with Rohan Marley, the fourth son of reggae musician Bob Marley.
The Refugee Camp ("Fugees") formed after Prakazrel "Pras" Michel approached Hill in high school about joining a music group he was creating. Soon after, she met Michel's cousin and fellow Haïtian, Wyclef Jean. At some point, Hill was nicknamed "L Boogie", as she began to convert her poetic writing into rap verses. Hill's singing gained worldwide acclaim with the Fugees' remake of "Killing Me Softly with His Song", accompanied by a sample from Rotary Connection's "Memory Band".
The Fugees' first album, Blunted on Reality, peaked at #49 on the U.S. Hot 100. The album sold over two million copies worldwide. Blunted on Reality was followed by The Score, a multi-platinum, Grammy-winning album that established two of the three Fugees as international rap stars. Singles from The Score include "Ready or Not", "Fu-Gee-La", "No Woman, No Cry" (made famous by Bob Marley), and "Killing Me Softly" (made famous by Roberta Flack).
The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (1998)
In 1996, Hill began production on an album that would eventually become The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. The title was inspired by The Mis-Education of the Negro book by Carter G. Woodson and The Education of Sonny Carson, a film and autobiographical novel. The album featured contributions from D'Angelo, Carlos Santana, Mary J. Blige and a then-unknown John Legend. Songs for the album were largely written in an attic studio in South Orange, New Jersey and recorded at Chung King Studios in Jamaica. Wyclef Jean initially did not support Hill recording a solo album, but eventually offered his production help; Hill turned him down. Several songs on the album concerned her frustrations with The Fugees; "I Used to Love Him" dealt with the break-down of the relationship between Hill and Wyclef Jean. "To Zion" spoke about her decision to have her first baby, even though many at the time encouraged her to abort the pregnancy so as to not interfere with her blossoming career.
The Miseducation contained several interludes of a teacher speaking to what is implied to be a classroom of children; in fact, the "teacher" was played by Ras Baraka (a poet, educator and politician) speaking to a group of kids in the living room of Hill's New Jersey home. The singer requested that Baraka speak to the children about the concept of love, and he improvised the lecture. Though The Miseducation was largely a collaborative work between Hill and a group of musicians known as New Ark (Vada Nobles, Rasheem Pugh, Tejumold and Johari Newton), there was "label pressure to do the Prince thing," wherein all tracks would be credited as "written and produced by" the artist with little outside help. While recording the album, when Hill was asked about providing contracts or documentation to the musicians, she replied, "We all love each other. This ain't about documents. This is blessed." Hill, her management, and her record label were sued in 1998 by New Ark, claiming to be the primary songwriters on two tracks, and major contributors on several others. The suit was settled out of court in February 2001 for a reported $5 million.
In 1998, Hill released The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, which was both critically and commercially successful. It sold over 423,000 copies in its first week and topped the Billboard 200 albums chart for four weeks and the Billboard R&B Album chart for six weeks; it would go on to sell more than 18 million copies over the next decade. The first single off the album was "Lost Ones" (US #27), released in Spring 1998. The second was "Doo Wop (That Thing)", which reached #1 in the Billboard charts. Other singles released in support of the album were "Ex-Factor" (US #21), "Everything Is Everything" (US #35), and "To Zion". At the 1999 Grammy Awards, Hill was nominated 10 times, becoming the first woman ever to be nominated 10 times in one year: Hill won five Grammys including Album of the Year (beating Madonna's critically acclaimed Ray of Light and Shania Twain's bestselling Come on Over), Best R&B Album, Best R&B Song, Best Female R&B Vocal Performance, and Best New Artist. Hill set a new record in the industry, becoming the first woman to win five Grammys in one night. Between 1998 and 1999, Hill earned $25 million from record sales and touring.
Hill became a national media icon, as magazines ranging from Time to Esquire to Teen People vied to put her on the cover. In the late 1990s, Hill was noted by some as a humanitarian. In 1996 she received an Essence Award for work which has included the 1996 founding of the Refugee Project, an outreach organization that supports a two-week overnight camp for at-risk youth, and for supporting well-building projects in Kenya and Uganda, as well as for staging a rap concert in Harlem to promote voter registration. In 1999 Hill received three awards at the 30th Annual NAACP Image Awards. In 1999 Ebony named her one of "100+ Most Influential Black Americans". She was named with Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr. and others among the "10 For Tomorrow," in the EBONY 2000: Special Millennium Issue.
Self-Imposed Exile and MTV Unplugged No. 2.0 (2000–2003)
After the release of her debut album, she explored other methods of expressing herself, including creating an extensive amount of music, poetry, and clothing designs. She started writing a screenplay about the life of Bob Marley, in which she planned to act as his wife Rita. She also began producing a romantic comedy about soul food with a working title of Sauce, and accepted a starring role in the film adaptation of Toni Morrison's novel Beloved; she later dropped out of both projects due to pregnancy. Hill became dissatisfied with the music industry; she felt she was being unfairly controlled by her record label, and disliked being unable "to go to the grocery store without makeup." She fired her management team and began attending Bible study classes five days a week; she also stopped doing interviews, watching television and listening to music. She started associating with a "spiritual adviser" named Brother Anthony. Some familiar with Hill believe Anthony more resembled a cult leader than a spiritual advisor, and thought his guidance probably inspired much of Hill's more controversial public behavior.
"There were a number of different reasons. But partly, the support system that I needed was not necessarily in place. There were things about myself, personal-growth things, that I had to go through in order to feel like it was worth it. In fact, as musicians and artists, it's important we have an environment — and I guess when I say environment, I really mean the industry, that really nurtures these gifts. Oftentimes, the machine can overlook the need to take care of the people who produce the sounds that have a lot to do with the health and well-being of society, or at least some aspect of society. And it's important that people be given the time that they need to go through, to grow, so that the consciousness level of the general public is properly affected. Oftentimes, I think people are forced to make decisions prematurely. And then that sound radiates."
- Hill talks about why she left music.
In 2000, she dropped out of the public eye. She described this period of her life to Essence: "People need to understand that the Lauryn Hill they were exposed to in the beginning was all that was allowed in that arena at that time… I had to step away when I realized that for the sake of the machine, I was being way too compromised. I felt uncomfortable about having to smile in someone's face when I really didn't like them or even know them well enough to like them." She also spoke about her emotional crisis, saying, "For two or three years I was away from all social interaction. It was a very introspective time because I had to confront my fears and master every demonic thought about inferiority, about insecurity or the fear of being black, young and gifted in this western culture." She went on to say that she had to fight to retain her identity, and was forced "to deal with folks who weren't happy about that."
On July 21, 2001, Hill unveiled her new material to a small crowd, for a taping of an MTV Unplugged special. An album of the concert, titled MTV Unplugged No. 2.0, focused on the lyrics and the message rather than the musical arrangements. "Fantasy is what people want, but reality is what they need", she said during the concert. "I've just retired from the fantasy part." Most of the songs featured only an acoustic guitar and her voice, somewhat raspy from rehearsal on the day before the recording. Hill used the set as an opportunity to give information on why she had been absent from the public for a period of time and what she had found while away. Unlike the near-unanimous praise of The Miseducation, 2.0 sharply divided critics. AllMusic gave the album 4 out of 5 stars, saying that the recording "is the unfinished, unflinching presentation of ideas and of a person. It may not be a proper follow-up to her first album, but it is fascinating." Rolling Stone called the album "a public breakdown". Slant Magazine's Sal Cinquemani wrote, "Hill's guitarwork is multi-textured and fine-tuned but her vocals lack confidence and seem to toe the edge of her range throughout the album. And though the stripped-down nature of the show is fitting, many of the songs sound as if they are still in their infancy." Despite the mixed reviews, 2.0 debuted at #3 on the Billboard 200 and went platinum four weeks after its release. Despite Hill's departure from the media and celebrity, she continued to have some success in the music world. Her song "Mystery of Iniquity" was nominated for a Grammy without promotion or radio airplay and used as an interpolation by hip-hop producer/song-writer Kanye West for his single "All Falls Down" (eventually recorded by Syleena Johnson).
Vatican controversy
On December 13, 2003, Hill made headlines by denouncing "corruption, exploitation, and abuses" in reference to the molestation of boys by Catholic priests in the United States and the cover-up of offenses by Catholic Church officials. The statements were made during a performance at a Christmas benefit concert at the Vatican. Reading from a prepared statement, Hill told the crowd of 7,500:
“ I am sorry if I am about to offend some of you. I did not accept my invitation to celebrate with you the birth of Christ. Instead I ask you why you are not in mourning for Him in this place? I want to ask you, what have you got to say about the lives you have broken? What about the families who were expecting God and instead were cheated by the Devil? Who feels sorry for them, the men, women and children damaged psychologically, emotionally and mentally by the sexual perversions and abuse carried out by the people they believed in? Holy God is a witness to the corruption of your leadership, of the exploitation and abuses which are the minimum that can be said for the clergy. There is no acceptable excuse to defend the church." ”
Hill called on the church leaders to "repent" and encouraged the crowd to "not seek blessings from man but from God." She then performed the songs "Damnable Heresies" and "Social Drugs". High-ranking church officials in attendance included Cardinal Camillo Ruini, Monsignor Rino Fisichella and Cardinal Edmund Szoka. Pope John Paul II was not present. The segment was cut from the television broadcast. Both the Vatican and Columbia Records refused to issue official statements regarding Hill's actions. Monsignor Fisichella told reporters that Hill had acted "in poor taste and very bad mannered. It showed a complete lack of respect for her invitation and for the place where she had been invited to perform". The Catholic League called Hill "pathologically miserable" and claimed her career is "in decline". Hill responded to the controversy on December 16: "What I said was the truth. Is telling the truth bad manners? What I asked was the church to repent for what has happened." The following day, several reporters suggested that Hill's comments at the Vatican may have been influenced by her "advisor" Brother Anthony.
Short-lived return of the Fugees (2004–2006)
The Fugees performed on September 18, 2004 at Dave Chappelle's Block Party in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn. They headlined a bill that included a star-studded cast of hip-hop celebrities. The concert featured Hill's nearly a cappella rendition of "Killing Me Softly". The event was recorded by director Michel Gondry and was released on March 3, 2006 to mostly positive reviews. In 2005, she told an interviewer that "The Fugees was a conspiracy to control, to manipulate and to encourage dependence. I took a lot of abuse that many people would not have taken in these circumstances." The Fugees also appeared at BET's 2005 Music Awards on June 28, 2005, where they opened the show with a 12-minute set. One track, "Take It Easy", was leaked online and thereafter was released as an internet single on September 27, 2005. It peaked at #40 on the Billboard R&B Chart. The song was mostly panned by critics, as The Village Voice wrote, "Turns out that a Fugees reunion wasn't really what anyone was waiting for; we just wanted Lauryn to start rapping again."
"I'm trying to open up my range and really sing more. With The Fugees initially, and even with Miseducation, it was very hip-hop — always a singing over beats. I don't think people have really heard me sing out. So if I do record again, perhaps it will have an expanded context. Where people can hear a bit more."
- Hill talks about her work with The Fugees.
The Fugees embarked on a European tour from November 30, 2005 through December 20, 2005. The group played in Austria, Slovakia, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Germany, Belgium, Italy, France, England, Ireland and Switzerland. On February 6, 2006, the Fugees did a special "Reunion Concert" in Hollywood, that was offered as a live webcast on the Verizon Wireless website. The Fugees were featured in numerous Verizon Wireless VCast advertisements in magazines and on TV around that same time. A new song titled "Foxy" was made available on VCast and a third new song was leaked, unofficially titled "Wannabe", which uses the same hook as the Michael Jackson song "I Wanna Be Where You Are". Old tensions between Hill and the other members of the group soon resurfaced, and the reunion fizzled before an album could be recorded. Jean and Michel both blamed Hill for the split. Hill reportedly demanded to be addressed by everyone, including her bandmates, as "Ms. Hill"; she also considered changing her moniker to "Empress". Her chronic tardiness — sometimes stalling up to 45 minutes after the two had taken the stage to join them — has been cited as another contributing factor to the break up. Michel told the press in August 2007, "Before I work with Lauryn Hill again, you will have a better chance of seeing Osama Bin Laden and George W. Bush in Starbucks having a latte, discussing foreign policies… At this point I really think it will take an act of God to change her, because she is that far out there."
2004–2009
Hill has been slowly working on a new album and in November 2004 shot a music video. The album had a slated street date of November 2005, and neither it nor the music video have been released. It was also reported that as of 2003, Columbia Records had spent more than $2.5 million funding Hill's new album, mostly spent on installing a recording studio in the singer's Miami apartment and flying different musicians around the country. In 2004, Hill contributed a new song, "The Passion", to The Passion of the Christ: Songs. Around this time, Hill began selling a pay-per-view music video of the song "Social Drugs" through her website. Those who purchase the $15 video would only be able to view it three times before it expired. In addition to the video, Hill began selling autographed posters and Polaroids through her website, with some items listed at upwards of $500. In 2005, she told USA Today, "If I make music now, it will only be to provide information to my own children. If other people benefit from it, then so be it." When asked how she now felt about the songs on 2.0, she stated "a lot of the songs were transitional. The music was about how I was feeling at the time, even though I was documenting my distress as well as my bursts of joy."
She has toured several times in recent years, though most of her concerts have received mixed reviews. Hill is often late to concerts (sometimes by over two hours) and reconfigures her well-known hits in to "unrecognizable scat chants" while "sporting frizzy orange hair and exaggerated makeup". On some occasions, fans have booed her and left early; some fans have also demanded their money back after concerts. On October 6, 2005, Hill emceed and performed two songs at the Take Back TV concert launching Al Gore's CurrentTV. In June 2007, Sony records said though Hill has "consistently recorded over the past decade" and has what amounts to "a library of unreleased material in the vault", she had recently re-entered the studio "with the goal of making a new LP." Later that same year, a new album entitled Ms. Hill, which featured cuts from The Miseducation, various soundtracks contributions and other "unreleased" songs, was released. It features guest appearances from D'Angelo, Rah Digga and John Forté. Also in June 2007, Hill released a new song, "Lose Myself" on the soundtrack to the film Surf's Up under her new professional name, Ms. Lauryn Hill. The song is also played over the credits.
Reports in mid-2008 claimed that Columbia Records currently believe Hill to be "on hiatus." Rohan Marley disputed these claims, telling an interviewer that Hill has enough material for several albums: "She writes music in the bathroom, on toilet paper, on the wall. She writes it in the mirror if the mirror smokes up. She writes constantly. This woman does not sleep". One of the few public appearances Hill made in 2008 was at a Martha Stewart book-signing in New Jersey, perplexing some in the press. On November 4, 2008, Hill was scheduled to perform at the Avo Session Basel music festival in Basel, Switzerland. Her concert was canceled "for personal reasons". In April 2009, it was reported that Hill would engage in a 10 day tour of European summer festivals during mid-July of that year. She performed two shows for the tour and passed out on stage during the start of her second performance and left the stage. She refused to give refunds to angry consumers for the show. On June 10, Hill's management informed the promoters of the Stockholm Jazz Festival, which she was scheduled to headline, that she would not be performing due to unspecified "health reasons." Shortly afterward, the rest of the tour was canceled as well.
2010-Present
In January 2010, Hill returned to the live stage and performed in stops across New Zealand and Australia on the 'Raggamuffin Festival'- a music festival that celebrates reggae music. She performed songs from the Miseducation album and some Fugees hits. On April 19, Hill appeared at the Tanzania Education Trust Gala And Reception in New York City for a Charity Event. When making this public appearance, she was asked by paparazzi whether she is working on a new album, to which she replied "Yeah, possibly", suggesting that she may be working on new projects, and possibly a sophomore album. On June 8, it was announced that Hill would be the very special guest performer at Rock the Bells hip hop Festival series. Five days later, Hill appeared at the Harmony Festival in Santa Rosa, California, her first live American performance in several years. In a June interview with NPR reporter/producer Zoe Chace as part of NPR's 50 Great Voices Series, Hill confirmed that she was planning to begin recording again and discussed her hiatus and five children. Ronald Isley of the Isley Brothers confirmed he worked with Hill on an upcoming album as well. On September 8, 2010, Isley and Hill's duet, Close To You, a remake of the classic song by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, was leaked online.
"There are a lot of different creative energies out there right now. I respect the different sounds that I'm hearing. It's been such a long time since I've gotten my voice and my ideas out In terms of collaborations, that's not even something I've been thinking about per se. I'm happy that people are still making music. That we still have a platform with which to make music. It's gonna be interesting to see what the future holds."
- Hill talks to MTV.
An unreleased song called "Repercussions" was leaked via the internet in late July. On August 28, 2010 the song debuted at #94 on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (which peaked at #83 the following week), making it her first Billboard chart appearance as a lead artist since 1999; last song on the charts being her cover version of Bob Marley's "Turn Your Lights Down Low" which reached #86 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #49 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. In April 2010, many of the songs that Hill had performed and recorded over the past six years were included on an unofficial compilation album titled Khulami Phase. The album also features a range of other material found on the Ms. Hill compilation. On August 28, Hill performed at Rock the Bells Hip Hop festival on Governor's Island in Brooklyn. Hill performed several songs from The Miseducation, including "To Zion", during which she brought her five children on stage. On November 5, 2010, Hill headlined the University of Miami's annual Homecoming concert. Hill performed several songs in front of a very large and responsive crowd. Her hour long set included songs from the Miseducation album such as "Lost Ones", "Ex-Factor", "To Zion" (during which she brought her son Joshua on stage and allowed him to sing into the microphone), a few Bob Marley songs, and several Fugees tracks. Hill was announced to headline the 6th Annual Jazz in the Gardens, in Miami Gardens, Florida in December 2010. She performed on the first day of the two day concert, March 19, 2011, along with Jazmine Sullivan, Charlie Wilson, Al Jarreau, and Doug E. Fresh with Slick Rick.
In spring of 2011, Lauryn Hill preformed at the Coachella Valley Music Festival to a multitudinous crowd. Hill is also playing at the New Orleans JazzFest, on the Congo Square Stage, Saturday, May 7 at 5:25 pm and at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas on May 13 at 8:00 pm.
Controversy
In 1998, a caller on The Howard Stern Show mentioned that he heard Lauryn Hill state on MTV "I would rather have my family starve than have white people buy my albums". MTV publicly disclaimed the quotation, and after a discussion on The Howard Stern Show, Hill herself called in from Norway to refute the rumor, stating "How can I possibly be a racist? My music is universal music. And I believe in God. If I believe in God, then I have to love all of God's creations. There can be no segregation". She also told Teen People magazine "There's absolutely nothing racist about anything in my heart". As this rumor would continue through the press, Hill would repeatedly assert in later interviews that this accusation was false, that she never made such statements, would never make such statements, and that she is in no way racist.
Humanitarian
In the late 1990s, Hill was noted as a humanitarian. In 1996 she received an Essence Award for work which has included the 1996 founding of the Refugee Project, an outreach organization that supports a two-week overnight camp for at-risk youth, and for supporting well-building projects in Kenya and Uganda, as well as for staging a rap concert in Harlem to promote voter registration. In 1999 Hill received three awards at the 30th Annual NAACP Image Awards. In 1999 Ebony named her one of "100+ Most Influential Black Americans". She was named with Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr. and others among the "10 For Tomorrow," in the EBONY 2000: Special Millennium Issue.
Legacy and influences
Lauryn Hill has been cited as an influence by many, especially those in the neo-soul movement of the 2000s. Musicians who have acknowledged Hill's importance include Prince, John Legend, Alicia Keys, Christina Aguilera, D'Angelo, Mary J. Blige, Lil' Kim and Jazmine Sullivan. In 2005, Talib Kweli released a song about the singer, titled "Ms. Hill", on Right About Now.
Michelle Obama, wife of U.S. President Barack Obama, told the BBC that she frequently listens to Hill's music on her iPod, while 2008 Republican presidential candidate Senator John McCain's daughter Meghan stated that her father listens to Hill: "I borrowed his car once in D.C., and I was looking through CDs, and I was like, 'Oh, Lauryn Hill.'" Actors Russell Crowe and Denzel Washington are also reportedly fans of the singer. D'Angelo, who appeared on "Nothing Even Matters," referred in an interview to at least one church reportedly having used the song in a service.
Discography
Main article: Lauryn Hill discography
Filmography
* 1998 - Restaurant .... Leslie
* 1997 - Hav Plenty .... Debra
* 1996 - ABC Afterschool Specials .... Malika
* 1993 - Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit .... Rita Louise Watson
* 1993 - King of the Hill .... Elevator Operator
* 1992 - Here and Now
* 1991 - As the World Turns .... Kira Johnson
See also
* List of awards and nominations received by Lauryn Hill
http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k289/nellersbme/Lauryn_Hill.jpg
http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii55/sammyda12/lauryn_hill.jpg
My favorite song is Doo Wop (That thing)
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: CatwomanofV on 05/25/11 at 11:37 am
The Traveling Wilburys? ???
My joke just went WAY over your head (and under your feet).
Cat
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: Philip Eno on 05/26/11 at 1:37 am
There is a rumor that Bob Dylan may be getting back together again.
Cat
Is the answer blowin' in the wind?
Subject: Re: ninny's New Person & Word of the Day
Written By: ninny on 05/26/11 at 5:53 am
The person of the day...Helena Bonham Carter
Helena Bonham Carter (born 26 May 1966) is an English actress of film, stage, and television. She made her film debut in K. M. Peyton's A Pattern of Roses before winning her first leading role as the titular character in Lady Jane. She is known for her roles in films such as A Room with a View, Fight Club, and the Harry Potter series, as well as for frequently collaborating with director Tim Burton, her domestic partner since 2001. Bonham Carter is a two-time Academy Award nominee for her performances in The Wings of the Dove and The King's Speech; her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth in the latter film garnering her a BAFTA Award in 2011.
Bonham Carter has not received any formal training in acting. In 1979, she won a national writing contest and used the money to pay for her entry into the actors directory Spotlight. She made her professional acting début at the age of 16 in a television commercial. She also had a part in a minor TV film A Pattern of Roses.
Her first starring film role was as Lady Jane Grey in Lady Jane (1986), which was given mixed reviews by critics. The story reflected the tragic life of England's nine-days' Queen from her troubled adolescence and arranged marriage to her ill-fated accession and subsequent execution. Her breakthrough role was Lucy Honeychurch in A Room with a View, which was filmed after Lady Jane, but released beforehand. Bonham Carter also appeared in episodes of Miami Vice as Don Johnson's love interest during the 1986–87 season and then, in 1987 opposite Dirk Bogarde in The Vision and Stewart Granger in A Hazard of Hearts. Bonham Carter was originally cast in the role of Bess McNeill in Breaking the Waves, but backed out during production due to, "...the character's painful psychic and physical exposure," according to Roger Ebert. The role went to Emily Watson, who was nominated for an Academy Award for the role.
These early films led to her to being typecast as a "corset queen", and "English rose", playing pre- and early 20th century characters, particularly in Merchant-Ivory films. She played Olivia in Trevor Nunn's film version of Twelfth Night in 1996. She has since expanded her range, with her more recent films being Fight Club, Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, and Tim Burton's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Corpse Bride, Big Fish, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street and Alice in Wonderland.
Bonham Carter speaks French fluently, starring in a 1996 French film Portraits chinois. In August 2001, she was featured in Maxim. She played her second Queen of England when she was cast as Anne Boleyn in the ITV1 mini-series Henry VIII; however her role was restricted, as she was pregnant with her first child at the time of filming. Bonham Carter was a member of the 2006 Cannes Film Festival jury that unanimously selected The Wind That Shakes the Barley as best film.
Bonham Carter played Bellatrix Lestrange in 2007's Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, 2009's Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and the 2010–2011 film adaptations of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Bonham Carter received positive reviews as Lestrange, described as a "shining but underused talent". She then played Mrs. Lovett, Sweeney Todd's (Johnny Depp) amorous accomplice in the film adaptation of Stephen Sondheim's Broadway musical, Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street. The film was released on 21 December 2007 in the US and 25 January 2008 in the UK. Directed by Tim Burton, Bonham Carter received a nomination for the Golden Globe for Best Actress for her performance. She won the Best Actress award in the 2007 Evening Standard British Film Awards for her performances in Sweeney Todd and Conversations With Other Women, along with another Best Actress award at the 2009 Empire Awards. Bonham Carter also appeared in the fourth Terminator film entitled Terminator Salvation, playing a small but pivotal role.
Helena Bonham Carter at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival in 2011.
In May 2006, Bonham Carter launched her own fashion line, "The Pantaloonies", with swimwear designer Samantha Sage. Their first collection, called Bloomin' Bloomers, is a Victorian style selection of camisoles, mop caps and bloomers. The duo are now working on Pantaloonies customised jeans, which Bonham Carter describes as "a kind of scrapbook on the bum".
Bonham Carter joined the cast of partner Tim Burton's 2010 film, Alice in Wonderland as The Red Queen. Bonham Carter appears alongside Johnny Depp, Anne Hathaway, Christopher Lee and Alan Rickman. Bonham Carter's role was an amalgamation of two roles, The Queen of Hearts, and The Red Queen. In early 2009, Bonham Carter was named one of The Times newspaper's top 10 British Actresses of all time. Bonham Carter appeared on the list with fellow actresses Julie Andrews, Helen Mirren, Maggie Smith, Judi Dench and Audrey Hepburn.
In 2010, Bonham Carter played Queen Elizabeth in the film The King's Speech. As of January 2011, Bonham Carter had received numerous plaudits for her performance, including nominations for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role and the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Bonham Carter won her first BAFTA Award but lost the Academy Award to Melissa Leo for The Fighter.
Bonham Carter signed to play author Enid Blyton in the BBC Four television biopic, Enid. It was the first depiction of Blyton's life on the screen, and Bonham Carter starred with Matthew Macfadyen and Denis Lawson. Bonham Carter also received her first Television BAFTA Nomination for Best Actress, for Enid. In 2010, she starred with Freddie Highmore in the Nigel Slater biopic Toast, which was filmed in the West Midlands and received a gala at the 2011 Berlin Film Festival. She has now been confirmed to be taking on the role of Miss Havisham in Mike Newell's adaptation of the Charles Dickens novel, Great Expectations.
Personal life
In 2001, she began her current relationship with director Tim Burton, whom she met while filming Planet of the Apes. Burton has taken to casting Bonham Carter in his movies, including Big Fish, Corpse Bride, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, and Alice in Wonderland. They live in Belsize Park, London, in neighbouring houses with a connecting doorway because they could not get along in the same house.
They purchased the houses when she became pregnant with the couple's first child, son Billy Raymond Burton, who was born on 4 October 2003. The couple maintains a close relationship with Johnny Depp, who appears in many of Burton's films. Depp is godfather to both of Burton and Bonham Carter's children, accepting the role after Burton persuaded Bonham Carter to ask him. At age 41, she gave birth to her second child, a daughter named Nell Burton, on 15 December 2007 in Central London. She says she named her daughter Nell after all the "Helens" in her family.
In August 2008, four of her relatives were killed in a safari bus crash in South Africa, and she was given indefinite leave from filming Terminator Salvation, returning later to complete filming.
In 2008, Bonham Carter and Burton put their American apartments up for sale. The apartments are in the Greenwich Village area, in New York City. The couple sold them for a collective $8.75 million. In early October 2008, it was released that Bonham Carter had become a patron of the charity Action Duchenne, the national charity established to support parents and sufferers of Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
On 5 January 2011, a photo was released of Bonham Carter and Burton walking on Coombe Hill, the Chilterns, with British Prime Minister David Cameron and his family. It has been suggested that the two couples were introduced through Nick Clegg whom Bonham Carter had performed alongside in a play while attending Westminster School.
Filmography
Films Year↓ Title↓ Role↓ Notes
1983 Pattern of Roses, AA Pattern of Roses Netty Bellinger
1985 Room with a View, AA Room with a View Lucy Honeychurch
1986 Lady Jane Lady Jane Grey
1987 Maurice Lady at Cricket Match (cameo role)
1987 Hazard of Hearts, AA Hazard of Hearts Serena Staverley
1988 Mask, TheThe Mask Iris
1988 Six Minutes with Ludwig The Star
1989 Francesco Chiara Offreduccio
1989 Getting It Right Lady Minerva Munday
1990 Hamlet Ophelia
1990 Early Life of Beatrix Potter, TheThe Early Life of Beatrix Potter Beatrix Potter
1991 Where Angels Fear to Tread Caroline Abbott
1991 Brown Bear's Wedding White Bear (voice)
1992 Howards End Helen Schlegel Nominated—BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role
1993 Dancing Queen Pandora/Julie aka Rik Mayall Presents Dancing Queen
1994 Mary Shelley's Frankenstein Elizabeth Frankenstein Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Actress
1994 Fatal Deception: Mrs. Lee Harvey Oswald Marina Oswald Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film
1994 Dark-Adapted Eye, AA Dark-Adapted Eye Faith Severn (adult)
1994 Butter Dorothy
1995 Mighty Aphrodite Amanda Weinrib
1995 Margaret's Museum Margaret MacNeil Genie Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
Chlotrudis Award for Best Actress (also for The Wings of the Dove)
Fantasporto International Fantasy Film Award for Best Actress
1995 Jeremy Hardy Gives Good Sex Herself (voice)
1996 Twelfth Night: Or What You Will Olivia
1996 Portraits chinois Ada
1997 Petticoat Expeditions, TheThe Petticoat Expeditions Narrator (voice)
1997 Keep the Aspidistra Flying Rosemary aka A Merry War
1997 Wings of the Dove, TheThe Wings of the Dove Kate Croy Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actress
Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress
Chlotrudis Award for Best Actress (also for Margaret's Museum)
Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress
Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress
Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award for Best Actress
London Film Critics Circle Award for British Actress of the Year
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress
National Board of Review Award for Best Actress
Society of Texas Film Critics Award for Best Actress
Southeastern Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress
Toronto Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress
Nominated—Academy Award for Best Actress
Nominated—BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role
Nominated—Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress
Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama
Nominated—Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Actress
Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama
Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
1998 Merlin Morgan le Fay Nominated—Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress – Miniseries or a Movie
Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film
1998 Sweet Revenge Karen Knightly
1998 Theory of Flight, TheThe Theory of Flight Jane Thatchard Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama
1999 Fight Club Marla Singer Empire Award for Best British Actress
1999 Women Talking Dirty Cora
1999 Nearly Complete and Utter History of Everything, TheThe Nearly Complete and Utter History of Everything Lily
2000 Carnivale Milly (voice)
2001 Planet of the Apes Ari Nominated—Empire Award for Best British Actress
Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress
2001 Novocaine Susan Ivey
2001 Football Mum
2002 Heart of Me, TheThe Heart of Me Dinah Nominated—British Independent Film Award for Best Actress
2002 Live from Baghdad Ingrid Formanek Nominated—Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress – Miniseries or a Movie
Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film
2002 Till Human Voices Wake Us Ruby
2003 Big Fish Jennifer Hill/The Witch
2003 Henry VIII Anne Boleyn Fantasporto Award for Best Actress
Zee Cine Award – Critics' Choice Best Actress
2004 Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events Beatrice Baudelaire Uncredited cameo
2005 Conversations with Other Women Woman Evening Standard British Film Award for Best Actress
Tokyo International Film Festival Award for Best Actress
2005 Magnificent 7 Maggi Jackson
2005 Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit Lady Tottington (voice) Zee Cine Award for Best Voice Actress
Nominated—Annie Award for Best Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production
2005 Corpse Bride Emily the Corpse Bride
(voice)
2005 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Mrs. Bucket
2006 Sixty Six Esther Reubens
2007 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Bellatrix Lestrange Nominated—Fantasporto Award for Best Actress
Nominated—Scream Award for Scream Queen
2007 Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street Mrs. Lovett Empire Award for Best Actress
Evening Standard British Film Award for Best Actress
Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
Nominated—Italian Online Movie Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Nominated—London Film Critics Circle Award for British Actress of the Year
Nominated—National Movie Award for Best Performance – Female
Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Actress
Nominated—Scream Award for Best Actress in a Horror Movie or Show
2009 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Bellatrix Lestrange Nominated—Scream Award for Best Villain
2009 Terminator Salvation Dr. Serena Kogan Nominated—Scream Award for Best Cameo
2009 Enid Enid Blyton International Emmy Award for Best Performance by an Actress
Nominated—BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress
Nominated—Broadcasting Press Guild Award for Best Actress
2009 Gruffalo, TheThe Gruffalo Mother Squirrel (voice)
2010 Alice in Wonderland The Red Queen Nominated—Comedy Film Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated—London Film Critics' Circle Award for Actress of the Year in a Supporting Role
Nominated—MTV Movie Award for Best Villain
Nominated—National Movie Award for Performance of the Year
2010 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 Bellatrix Lestrange
2010 King's Speech, TheThe King's Speech Queen Elizabeth American Film Institute Award – A Year of Excellence Award
BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role
British Independent Film Award for Best Supporting Actress
British Independent Film Award – The Richard Harris Award
Hollywood Award for Best Supporting Actress
Italian Online Movie Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Santa Barbara International Film Festival Award for Best Ensemble Cast
Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
Nominated—Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated—Alliance of Women Film Journalists Award for Best Ensemble Cast
Nominated—Alliance of Women Film Journalists Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated—Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Acting Ensemble
Nominated—Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated—Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated—Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated—Denver Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated—Detroit Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated—Empire Award for Best Actress
Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture
Nominated—Houston Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated—Iowa Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated—London Film Critics Circle Award for British Actress of the Year
Nominated—National Movie Award for Performance of the Year
Nominated—North Texas Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated—Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Acting Ensemble
Nominated—Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role
Nominated—St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated—Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress
2010 Toast Joan Potter Nominated—Broadcasting Press Guild Award for Best Actress
2011 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 Bellatrix Lestrange, Hermione Granger Post-production
2012 Dark Shadows Dr. Julia Hoffman Filming
Television Year↓ Title↓ Role↓ Notes
1987 Miami Vice Dr. Theresa Lyons Multiple Guest Arc
- "Duty and Honor"
- "Theresa"
1987 Screen Two Jo Marriner Episode: "The Vision"
1989 Theatre Night Raina Petkoff Episode: "Arms and the Man"
1991 Jackanory Reader Multiple Guest Arc
- "The Way to Sattin Shore: Part 1"
- "The Way to Sattin Shore: Part 2"
- "The Way to Sattin Shore: Part 3"
- "The Way to Sattin Shore: Part 4"
- "The Way to Sattin Shore: Part 5"
1994 Absolutely Fabulous Dream Saffron Episode: "Hospital"
1994 Good Sex Guide, TheThe Good Sex Guide Herself Episode: "Episode #2.1"
1996 Great War and the Shaping of the 20th Century, TheThe Great War and the Shaping of the 20th Century Vera Brittain Multiple Guest Arc
- "Slaughter"
- "Explosion"
Stage and radio Year↓ Production↓ Role↓ Notes
1985 Reluctant Debutante, TheThe Reluctant Debutante Unknown Performed on BBC Radio 4
1987 Tempest, TheThe Tempest Unknown Performed at Oxford Playhouse
1988 Woman in White, TheThe Woman in White Laura Fairlie Performed at Greenwich Theatre, London
1989 Happiest of All Princesses, TheThe Happiest of All Princesses Unknown Performed on BBC Radio 4
1989 Chalk Garden, TheThe Chalk Garden Unknown Performed at Windsor/Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford
1991 House of Bernarda Alba, TheThe House of Bernarda Alba Magdalena Performed at Nottingham Playhouse
1992 Barber of Seville, TheThe Barber of Seville Rosina Performed at Palace Theatre, Watford
1992 Trelawney of the Wells Imogen Parrot Performed at Comedy Theatre, London
1993 Secret Garden, TheThe Secret Garden Narrator by Frances Burnett
1993 Whales' Song, TheThe Whales' Song Narrator by Dyan Sheldon
1994 Seagull, TheThe Seagull Nina Mikhailovna Zarechnaya Performed on BBC Radio 4
1994 Dog So Small, AA Dog So Small Narrator by Philippa Pearce
1994 Way to Sattin Shore, TheThe Way to Sattin Shore Narrator by Philippa Pearce
1995 Song of Love Unknown Performed on BBC Radio 4
1995 Remember Me Narrator
1996 Capture the Castle, II Capture the Castle Rose Performed on BBC Radio 4
1997 House by the Sea, AA House by the Sea Unknown Performed on BBC Radio 4
1997 Diary of Anne Frank, TheThe Diary of Anne Frank Narrator
1998 Lantern Slides Violet Bonham Carter Performed on BBC Radio 4
2000 As You Like It Rosalind Performed on BBC Radio 4
2004 Rubenstein Kiss, TheThe Rubenstein Kiss Unknown Postponed
2010 Private Lives Amanda Performed on BBC Radio 4
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